Injuries and Suspensions

Premier League Team News - Barclays Premier League - ESPN Soccernet

The news from Arsenal (or at least it is news to me) is that Denilson is out this week with an abdominal injury.  This definitely leaves me wondering about who will nominally play in the holding spot this weekend for Arsenal.  Denilson wasn't a great choice as a replacement for Song but he IS a better choice than anyone else on the roster.  I guess the next most likely candidate is former "next Vieira" Diaby even though he has been playing much better in a more advanced role this season.  If Diaby is indeed the choice then that would re-open a more advanced spot for Ramsey or Rosicky (probably Ramsey as Wenger can't help but be ultra-cautious with 'sicky at this stage...right?)

Elsewhere the news is what we expected...
Liverpool - Nando, Gerrard, GJohn, and Benayoun all out (Riera too not that anyone really cares); Masch returns (pushing Aquilani a little further forward?) and Maxi Rodriguez will play if he is cleared (like there's a choice).  For the 3 of you who may be thinking that Babel is an option given the injury issues up top and on the wings we have this from Babel's very own Twitter page...
Hey people, I got some disappointing news, I m not travelling 2 Stoke.. The Boss left me out the squad. No explanation..
So...where will Babel end up? Hopefully somewhere he can start and we can find out if he is going to be a solid player or not.  I still hold out hope that he can contribute to a fantasy team and a real life team if given a legitimate shot.


ManYoo - Fletch and Rio are out and I'd personally rate Vidic as questionable given his recent health record but EvdS returns for ManYoo leaving the possibility that things will be solid at the back again.  Not a guarantee, just a possibility.

Spurs - King, Hutton, BAE, Lennon, and Woody are all ruled out.  This means Bale and SeaBass are in at the back (both are under 7 in cost and playing winnable matches where Spurs could easily get a CS).  Lennon's continued absence means that the Modric/Kranjcar pairing is likely to continue (and why not? as they're doing well).  No mention of Defoe's injury which I assume means he's in good shape to play.

Chelsea - Still missing their quartet of ACN players (Drogs, Mikel, Essien, and Kalou) along with the injured Deco and Bosingwa but the Elk returns.  Seems to me that their best line-up at this point is Elk + Sturridge which is nice for fantasy owners but we certainly don't know that for sure.  What we do know is that FloMal and JCole have been pretty close to useless and Sturridge has at least shown some flashes when given the chance so if you're taking a chance, go that way.

Elsewhere - I'm not sure on the status of O'Hara's loan deal at Pompey but I will be curious to see what they have left with Dindane, Belhadj, and Yebda all at the ACN.  If O'Hara is recalled to Spurs then things will start looking pretty thin at Fratton Park (although KPB might re-emerge as a great fantasy option as he will see more of the ball)...Sunderland is still missing a bunch of players (Turner, Gordon, Nosworthy, Ferdinand, BFAR, Cattermole, and Mensah) which means that Chelsea are essentially playing the Sunderland reserves with the starting strikers...Citeh have their line-up essentially determined by the ACN + injuries with K2, Bridge, Ireland, Lescott, Onuoha, RSC, and Kolo all out for one reason or another according to BBC.com...Everton are likewise depleted with Yak, Yobo, Rodwell, Arteta, and Jagielka definitely out with Distin facing a fitness test.

Not too much excitement that we didn't know about already.  Good luck choosing your squads and I'll see you tomorrow on the Live Chat...

Cheers - Neal

19 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:05 AM

    Belated happy birthday to you Neal!:)
    With all the injuries in Liverpool,do you think Aurelio will be a solid choice for this week?He may play at the Wing now(Babel,Benayoun and Riera are out)and will take the kicks.Thanks!

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  2. i am still stuck on lee. i have up to 11.23 and put in lee. i think he is too erratic. is nasri, when i already have 4 arsenal players, or modric, when i have krancjar a better option or somebody else you might think. this is my last questionmark.

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  3. @greg I would play Modric. Seems like a surer bet imo.

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  4. LBarroso1:00 PM

    I would play modric also....

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  5. Carbon Vs. Ti1:25 PM

    My team thus far:

    Kirkland
    Vermaelen/Heitinga/Bale
    THud/Kranjcar/Arshavin/Fabregas/Ramsey
    Eduardo/Klasnic

    Any thoughts? I'd like to swap Ramsey for Modric but am 0.8M short (picking up Fabs for 21.53 really hurt, so does selling Rooney for 16 which I still haven't confirmed).

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  6. Anonymous1:41 PM

    Carbon, Im gonna stick my neck out and say that I think Fabregas is overpriced, even in a double week, and with his recent injury COULD be a doubt to play both games, or at least to play all of either game. Rooney plays Burnley at home and if I had him at 16 I think I would keep him. Personally Im a bit wary of picking up arsenal players, particularly the overpriced arshavin, after being burned so much recently. I currently have Rosicky and EDS, but I think virtually anyone outside of Arshavin is a risk for playing time this week (esp Rosicky and Ramsey). Have you considered Defoe? That said I have a horrible feeling that with cesc at least partially back arsenal could be good again, so maybe you're right! JT

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  7. According to one paper: Daily Mail.
    "Tottenham Hotspur are set to ask FIFA for special dispensation so Jamie O'Hara can play for another club.

    O'Hara, who has been on loan to Portsmouth, has returned to White Hart Lane because although Pompey would like to extend the loan, which Spurs are happy with, the midfielder cannot return to Fratton Park until their transfer embargo has been lifted."

    - While it looks like O'Hara is back at WHL, it seems that they want to loan him back out. Either way, steer clear of this until it gets sorted. KPB might be a decent option? But I'd go with a 2 gamer instead.

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  8. @1:41 Yeah but Fabregas always brings you the possibility of a massive return. Two gameweeks ago he scored more points in 20 minutes than a lot of guys scored in two (and possibly three had that last one been played).

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  9. Anonymous3:19 PM

    Happy late birthday Neal! Thanks for the blog and good info you provide every week, love reading it.

    My team now is...
    Kirk
    Verm/Bale/Gallas
    Rosisky/Palacios/Krankjar/A.Young
    Tevez/Defoe/Crouch

    What do you guys think about me changing Kirk/Tevez/Crouch for Almunia/Anelka/Vela, I know Vela is a risk and will probably(big probably) come off the bench but at his price I can upgrade Kirk to Almunia. On the other hand I have Tevez @15 and want to keep him but Anelka has such a great fixture. What do you think is the best decision? I knew I should've kept Gomes, he's too expensive now...oh well :(
    (Honduran-Saul)

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  10. Anonymous3:30 PM

    o'hara....is he allowed to play this week?

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  11. Sky just reported that Amr Zaki is undergoeing a physical to play the remained of the season at Hull City. Hopefully he's still the guy we remember from the first half of last season.

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  12. Anonymous4:07 PM

    Who would be the best 3 guys...
    Crouch/Defoe/Tevez

    EdS/Defoe/Anelka

    EdS/Defoe/Tevez

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  13. Anonymous4:45 PM

    Physio room shows EvdS not back until 23/Jan.

    Kuszczak could be the man infront of the sticks for the Burnley match

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  14. Anonymous8:01 PM

    @ anon, if you have Tevez cheap then he could be worth hanging onto, although he has a dead week next week. If not (or if you're going to drop him next week anyway) then I would probably go with Anelka, Crouch/EDS is a tough pick, one im trying to make myself - I feel I should have an Arsenal player in case they go nuts, and EDS seems a decent bet to play both games, but Crouch has a great match up and then plays against an old club. If I didnt already have pretty much the entire midfield Id maybe go for Crouch. Could get rested for Keane tho at any point, I dont think he will, but just warning.

    Joshtottenham

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  15. Chris O.8:49 PM

    ZAKI for Hull? If they think he's going to save them after the awful second half of the season he had at Wigan, they deserve to go down.

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  16. - Zaki for Hull sounds good. He was impressive at the begining for Wigan. But No one else for Hull is stepping up to perform. (JVoH and Jozy) Zaki knows the game so transition in the EPL(Maxi will find it difficult at first I think) will be easy
    - Josh: I think Defoe starts both games and Crouch starts 1 and Keane the other. Harry has tried to instill confidence into Keane, so a run against Hull by be the antidote
    - My final team:
    Given
    Verm/Givet/Bale
    Arsh/M.Taylor/Modric/Aquilini
    Drogs/EdS/Defoe

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  17. Two Face10:54 PM

    Guys, this is my line-up for this week

    Given
    Verm/Bass/Bale
    Arshavin/Modric/Kranj/Aqua
    Defoe/Sturidge/Kuyt

    I'm keeping Given at Disc instead thinking upgrading him to Almunia, i'll take big fat zero next week though but planning him for season keeper..

    Arshavin is not in the best form but he's the most sure starter beside Diaby..maybe i could upgrade Modric to Nasri but sticking with the Croat.

    Sturridge is my gamble for the week for one gamer, hope he scores more point than Anelka :p i could upgrade him to Ngog but i'm not to keen with Liv current form, on the other hand Kuyt is a sure starter in both game than eduardo so i'm sticking with him..

    klasnic is another option for me but with Coyle new regime , i'm not willing to take the risk..

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  18. I'm hoping Aquilani starts both games with the state of Liverpool are in the moment, with all their injuries. Sadly, Yahoo's predicted lineup doesn't show Aquilani in the starting 11. Maxi sounds like a steal at 1.5 mil but I don't expect him to shine this soon.

    This is how my team looks.

    Almunia
    Verm Evans Bale
    Kranjcar Modric Diaby Aquilani
    Rooney Tevez Eduardo

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  19. Anonymous6:27 AM

    PORTSMOUTH vs BIRMINGHAM CALLED OFF DUE TO WATERLOGGED PITCH! Remove any players that you have picked for this game!

    CJ SHIELDS

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