Injuries and Suspensions

Premier League Team News - Barclays Premier League - ESPN Soccernet

The news is slow to come in to SoccerNet today but I'm in off-site planning meetings for 2010 as part of my day job so I'm getting a head start of things. 

Arsenal - I'm not going to repeat the entire injury list because I just don't have the time.  Here's what you have to know...1) RvP is out.  Nasri should be fully healthy and start.  EdS is their only real option at striker.  Gibbs, while not as crocked as first reported, will miss out.  Silvestre is likely to deputize.  I'm not sure how thrilled I am with Silvestre as an option given that he weakens the defence overall but he's a nice option at a cheap price.  EdS is almost a must-have.

For Sunderland Fulop will deputize for the injured Gordon and Turner and KJones are both suspended.  Frazier Campbell remains a great inexpensive striking option (I don't know where they came from but he had 9 points for a cost of 3+ last time out - just saying).

For the feature match of the weekend - Gerrard, GJohnson and Agger should play.  Nando is going to miss out.  Yossi and Riera are likely but not certain and Aquilani is going to come off the bench.  For Citeh MPet, Bellamy, Robinho are the relevant players on the sidelines.  That's a lot of striking power not playing.  For me, that means that Ireland is an interesting play.

Very interesting news from Chelsea on the BBC site which seems to imply that JT, Ballack, Drogs, and ACole should all be back from their rumored injuries while Lamps will miss out with a thigh strain.  The big question is which Chelsea midfielder does this benefit? Deco? Ballack? Essien? JCole? FloMal? What it does do is make it likely that Kalou will remain on the bench and not be the fantasy boon everyone was hoping.  Hopefully, people didn't get too carried away and sell Drogs thinking he'd indeed be out for an extended period.

For the ManYoo/Everton match - Vidic is likely to play while Rio, GNev, O'Shea, and Evans are all rated somewhere between doubtful and out which means that ManYoo's entire defence is going to be pretty shaky.  I'd stay away.  On the Everton side, Bily (suspended), PNev, Osman, and Pienaar are all rated as out for this weekend.  The complication is that the last three are all "close to returning" which means they might play midweek complicating life for fantasy managers.

Of the other 2-match teams, Rovers are pretty much fully healthy, Fulham should have Danny Murphy and he should be taking a lot of kicks which is a good thing for his value.  Hull may still be missing Myhill not that you should have been considering him (or any Hull keeper) very strongly.  Geovanni is also back from suspension but not sure he's that terribly valuable either.

Other random notes...Carlton Cole should be back at WHU as should SPet at Villa (back from suspension)...SeaBass remains out...Lennon might make it back...Modric still out...

Not too much else to report.  Good luck with team selection.  For those who follow the live chat on Saturdays - I'm not sure if I'll be able to host or not.  If you're interested, please come by and check it out but my wife and I are moving so I can't make any promises.

Cheers - Neal

43 comments:

  1. On the Chelsea situation:
    "Chelsea will be without Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Deco against Wolves.

    Drogba is back in training after the rib injury he received against Manchester United but will be out for another week while Ballack (knee) should be back for the Champions League match against Porto on Wednesday.

    Lampard (thigh) is expected to be out for three weeks while Deco sustained a knock to the adductor."
    ------------------------------------------------
    As per Chelsea's website now:

    "Carlo Ancelotti has ruled Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Deco and Michael Ballack out of Saturday's match against Wolves.

    All except Lampard should be fit to play Porto on Wednesday.

    Drogba has been able to train but needs to avoid physical contact on his ribs, injured by Man United's Jonny Evans. Ashley Cole is fit for Wolves."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10:50 AM

    No mention of Saha, yet he has a calf injury. Is he a two-gamer or will he only be featured in Wednesday's game?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11:39 AM

    Will JCole start?

    ReplyDelete
  4. So hang onto Drogba then, Owen?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Skysports:

    "Fulham will once again be without Andrew Johnson and captain Danny Murphy for the game."

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yup, yup... news trickling in this morning (for us). We'll update the post in a bit with all the latest. Thanks for the information as you find it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lennon and Bassong are back for Sunday???

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous12:38 PM

    Drogba being injured was just a lie from the medical staff...I can't believe I bought into it and sold him but oh well I didn't listen to your advice Jeremy or was it Neal "hold onto him until there's something concrete, or till friday"...not your exact words but I got the message. Still it was killing me and I made a harsh decision, now I'll have to find someone to replace him...EdS maybe? By the way Jeremy, what does this guy "murraypaul" have against you, he appears to be The Fantasist himself because I only see him defending he/she/it. Anyway....
    My team is...
    PRobbo
    Heitinga/Verm/Baines
    Dunn/Duff/Dempsey/Yummy
    J.Roberts/EdS/Saha

    ReplyDelete
  9. Got myself into a little bit of an either/or situation. Duff or Dempsey. I might literally flip a coin. Duff could either be a headcase as a result of the loss on Wednesday or a man on a mission, and Dempsey has been so famously hit and miss. I could, now that I think about it, also sell my premium midfielder (keep going back and forth between Fab and Stevie) and grab both plus upgrade EdS to Elk.

    I'm in extreme danger of too many moves on Friday. Need to get out of my own head.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Why is everyone so HOT for Dempsey? The guy just does not perform well in clutch situations.

    ReplyDelete
  11. you mean for hull. he does fine for the US

    ReplyDelete
  12. everyone at AM's blog has been down on duff and are dropping him. is he going to start or not?

    i just read on goal.com that the coach is going to put him and stephen kelly in against birmingham this saturday even though they are emotionally drained. i want to keep him. do you folks think his 120 minutes is a deterent?

    ReplyDelete
  13. i meant fulham for the dempsey comment

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous5:22 PM

    I brought into the BS and sold the Drog........
    Now after reading what you guys are saying today i feel sick.

    ReplyDelete
  15. - If Drogs misses only 1 game then I'm keeping him. I will most likely keep him by the sounds of all this news.
    - I feel sorry for those who jumped the gun and sold him already!! lesson learned! no need to sell him THIS early in the week!!
    - I'd pick Dempsey over Duff. 1. Duff played the full 120 and is apparently still feeling the affects of that loss. With Danny Murphy out, Duff will probably take more kicks. but it IS really a coin toss.
    - Bassong is back and so is Azza (Lennon). King is most likely out AND. Modric is running and doing ball work.
    -I like EdS as a cheap forward.

    ReplyDelete
  16. i have dempsey, cesc and dunn

    ReplyDelete
  17. William6:15 PM

    DG,Geo vs Hara/Cole?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Owen, I am going to roll the dice like you and keep him. What the hell, why not. Course I got him at 15m though.

    ReplyDelete
  19. If you have him at 15 then I'd drop him if I were you. You can scrape together another 2 to get him back the following week by dropping a midfielder for Bily (just make sure you grab him before he plays in mid week). Could probably get the extra 2 you need other ways too, that's just one example off the top of my head. But this way you can have all 11 players scoring for you this week as well as truly exhausting all of your two gamer options. Just my two cents.

    ReplyDelete
  20. - I agree with Degel. At 15 I would drop Drogba as well. Keep close eye on the Barn Door, as his price might drop from not playing. I have him at 10 and change so I'm keeping him.
    - It looks as if JCole WILL start by the injuries Chelsea have, so not a bad option for a cheap midfielder for a 1 gamer.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Not liking this Saha injury. is he worth the possible only 1 game?!
    I'd rather drop the forward and go with a 5th midfielder spot. Decisions, decisions...

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'd say 5th middy. I wasn't even that sold on Saha before I noticed the injury, to be honest. Not a phantom points guy so if he doesn't score in the only game he plays it's a guaranteed poor return.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous7:38 PM

    Well I dropped Drogs a couple of days ago...now I have to test out my managerial skills without him...possibly gain ground on everyone else if he happens to underperform, which is very highly unlikely cause he's a monster. Ah well, I'm not whining...I'll just keep changing my forwards week in, week out.
    (Honduran-Saul)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous7:42 PM

    I say don't drop Saha...even if he doesn't play against united, surely he'll score against "Hull Chhhity". Possible 20 points there.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous8:01 PM

    Hey Jeremy -
    With Torres likely out, would NGog be a good bet against a leaky ManCity Defense.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Ngog is too much of a bet at 9 bucks. I had JRob on the BD and I think I'm dropping him for Kalou. Big Sam seems to like DiSanto and BenniMac more than JRob.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Sold: Defoe,Hunt,Arshavin,Aquilini
    Bought: EdS,Jummy,Dempsey,JCole

    Lineup:
    Given
    Verm/Heit/Givet
    Dunn/Jummy/Dempsey/JCole
    Drogs/Saha/EdS

    ReplyDelete
  28. -why doesnt anyone talk about zamora?is he injured?

    Lineup:
    Robbo
    Verm/Heit/Givet
    Dunn/Jummy/Dempsey/J.Cole/Rosicky
    Zamora/Anelka

    i have to change my formation from 3-4-3 to 3-5-3 because i dropped Drogba..huhu

    ReplyDelete
  29. Line-up. May go with JCole instead of Aquilani and just early BN Alberto in the AM when the matches start, just in case.

    Jaaskelainen
    Vermaelen/Ivanovic/W. Brown
    M. Etherington/J. O'Hara/C. Dempsey/A. Aquilani
    Eduardo/Agbonlahor/Anelka

    I could go with Dunn in the midfield I suppose too or gamble on Drogs. But like it was said, just let him go and move on since I got him at 15 anyways.

    ReplyDelete
  30. any news on zamora?please..

    ReplyDelete
  31. DarkZero11:15 PM

    is danny murphy definitely out?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous11:21 PM

    My line up

    Robinson
    g.alexander/nelsen/baird
    fabregas/dunn/dempsey/bullard
    drogs/zamora/eds

    But i've slight doubt about baird..Anyone knows whether he will play or not..?

    ReplyDelete
  33. - Murphy is definately out. "Danny Murphy and striker Andrew Johnson are expected to return to full training next week" as per Fulham Website.
    - Zamora is healthy and will start. But he's a terrible fantasy player. I haven't read any news about Baird NOT playing, but he's a terrible fantasy player also.
    - Lucid: I HAD Aquilini also, but figure for the week JCole will do better, so I will swap Aquilini BACK in during Barndoor. I like Dunn in Mid only cause of the 2 gamer, and he's been on fire this year.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous11:50 PM

    Keeping Drogs at 10.76...Dunn, Bullard, Dempsey, Geovanni are the golden 2gamer middies this week...Verm, alexander (5+ each) and Konchesky with DD, Defoe and EdS up front...Myhill between the woodwork, maybe he will play and has a couple home games against average teams...maybe not play, still hurt so no harm, no foul...

    ReplyDelete
  35. DarkZero12:00 AM

    Thanks! any word for Saha? I still have him on my squad, if he's out, then have to change with any striker soon .. ><

    Man..too many injuries and uncertainties!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Just not sure if I want to give up Gabby - who is doing well and should still score against Burnley, though Burnley statistically should win given it is at home - or Anelka - who should pick up major Drogba slack and plays Wolves.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous12:36 AM

    Geovanni or eduardo..? which one better..?

    ReplyDelete
  38. I would say Eds. But that is just me.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous3:18 AM

    I Gona try this line-up

    Schawarzer
    Alexander,Zayatte,R.Johnson
    Dunn, Dempsey, Geovanni, Etherington, Bullard
    Zamora, Campbell

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous4:15 AM

    may i know how many games left for drogba untill his ANC duty?

    ReplyDelete
  41. final team
    robbo
    verm/heit/baird
    dunn/dempsey/jcole/jummy
    eds/anelka/zamora

    hope my 2 gamers perform well..yeahhh

    ReplyDelete