Injuries and Suspensions

Just a flesh wound.

Premier League team news - Barclays Premier League - ESPN Soccernet

The team news is still coming in but there's still plenty to report...

There are suggestions that Silvestre will partner Sol Campbell for Arsenal which - if you ask me - diminishes the value of the entire Arsenal back line including Almunia.  I'd feel much better with Song/Campbell with Denilson or Diaby holding than I would with Silvestre's corpse combining with Campbell's ghost with Song in front of them.  On the plus side, Arsenal should have Bendtner available to start which is a great sign for the attack.

Across North London, the team report indicates that Pav may only be ready for the bench - not sure what they're basing that on since he seemed quite effective in his mid-week test.  If you're worried that he won't start because a) he's a risk to be re-injured or b) because Spurs are playing Pompey and should be able to beat them with any line-up they throw out there then you'd probably be better off with Bentley/Eidur or Bentley/Crouch than with spending a ton of money on Pav.  Not sure what I'm going to do on this topic yet.  Probably will make a change late in the day that I'll regret when the matches start.

Oh yeah, SeaBass is also a question mark and Corluka appears to be out.  Not sure there's much to be made of the central defender pool but Kyle Walker might be a great and inexpensive play at right back for the low-low price of 5.93. 

In ManYoo news, looks like the Rooney injury scare was just a media creation than a real risk this week (at least according to SAF's most recent statement).  Looks like Rooney should start and keep ManYoo pushing toward another title. (and no, I'm not trying to jinx them in any way with that statement, really, I'm not).

Dunne...Milner...Heskey...Gabby...all in doubt for villa as they travel to Chelsea.  There was some healthy debate on the Live Chat last weekend over the depth of Villa's squad and whether they had added enough to make a realistic push for 4th.  I'm sorry I don't remember who was taking the optimistic view for Villa but seeing this list I have to re-iterate the point that I (and many others) have been making for the last few years...Villa are too thin at key positions and tend to wear down during the home stretch.  The above injuries - if they cause absences or mediocre play from the above gentlemen - mean that Villa have no spine to their team as their best central defender, best (and only) attacking midfielder, and two of their three best strikers would all be out or functioning well below their potential.  And who exactly are the alternatives? Cuellar moving infield with one of Villa's fullbacks (Beye or Luke Young) deputizing works well but there is N...O...T...H...I...N...G... behind Milner/Heskey/Gabby if they were to be out.  I don't want you to get the idea I'm hating on Villa, I actually like them and hope they do well but I'm trying to be realistic about their squad.  When you compare the reserve options at Villa with those at Spurs/Everton/Citeh - their main competition for the 4th spot and Europa Cup places - then Villa comes up wanting.  Same can be said of Liverpool - the depth just isn't there and there is too much dependence on a few key, very skilled players.

At Hull, Stephen Hunt and Andy Dawson are doubts while Jozy Altidore should be back from injury.

My read on Zamora is that he should be healthy after having severe cramps in mid-week.  Really? Cramps? Couldn't Fulham/Hodgson have come up with some better excuse for him coming out of the match that would have preserved Bobby's manhood a bit?

THo will have a late fitness test for the match against Wolves - a major concern for those of you who have him at a huge discount and want to keep him.  I'd guess he'll make it but at least something to think about.

At Chelsea, Carvalho is added to Ivanovic, ACole, and Bos to give the training room a fantastic starting defence.  Looks like JT, Alex, Yuri, and Paulo will be the starting quartet (Villa fans can ponder that for a minute when they want to discuss squad depth). 

Finally, Citeh who face an N'Zobgia-less Wigan but will have their own concerns over Ireland (a doubt but not ruled out entirely ruining both his own and SWP's value).  K2 is back from suspension so they do have that going for them, which is nice (I guess).

Good luck.  I'm on the road and hope to have a Live Chat going tomorrow but am not sure how late we'll get to go.  Will definitely be there for the early match but am uncertain after that as the in-laws will have their say in the planning process.

Cheers - Neal