Injuries and Suspensions

No big intro today, other than to highlight the fact that Rooney and Chicharito being back probably has us all scrambling to figure out how to align our teams to get as many United players as possible into our line-ups against Norwich.

Injuries and Suspensions

We're finally back on schedule here at blog headquarters and since it is Friday morning on the East Coast of the United States that means it is time for all the news that is fit to print, err, type and link to about injuries and suspensions and how they impact your fantasy choices for the weekend.

Injuries and Suspensions: Week 4

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet:

Here is the important news from behind the link along with the fantasy implications that the news implies.

Injuries and Suspensions

• Arsenal v Swansea
• Everton v Aston Villa
• Man City v Wigan
• Stoke v Liverpool
• Sunderland v Chelsea
• Wolves v Tottenham
• Bolton v Man Utd
• Norwich v West Brom
• Fulham v Blackburn

Here's a summary of the news that can be found behind the links above:

Injuries and Suspensions: Week 3

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet:

There are a fair number of interesting line-up machinations related to injuries, suspensions, and transfers.  For all of the fantasy implications for this weekend, here is everything you need to know:

Injuries and Suspensions

Oh, how miserable it is to be an Arsenal supporter these days.  Critical matches to start the season, two excellent players seemingly out the door, two questionable suspensions from the first match of the season, and now the typical injury-riddled squad adding to the misery.  Here's the quick round up of the latest injury news heading into the weekend and the implication for fantasy owners:

Injuries and Suspensions - Week 1

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet

So, what to make of all the injury news discussed behind the link above?

Here are my rapid-fire thoughts:

Premier League Injuries and Suspensions

Berbatov battles Tevez, again.

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet

Of course it may all be irrelevant due to the inconvenient timing of "the Rapture" but if we manage to avoid the end of days on Saturday, we will indeed have a final day of the season on Sunday.

Honestly, as I looked at the content behind the link above, I don't think I saw anything that moved me to make a change.  Surely, you have already seen SAF's plans for his starting line-up (Berbs and EvdS being "in" are the big headlines).  The only other item of note is that Kevin Doyle sounds pretty doubtful for Wolves which should solidify the value of Ward as an inexpensive midfielder playing as a withdrawn striker.

The final note is that our makeshift Sunderland forwards all take a step down in value as Gyan has returned to training and at least has a chance to feature on the final day of the season (although why Steve Bruce would put him out there is a mystery to me - let him start his summer early and ensure that he's healthy going into next season after a long year between club and World Cup commitments).

With that said, we conclude the final Injuries and Suspensions post of the 2010-11 season.  It has, as always, been a blast doing this.  We thank everyone who reads and comments - even the ones (maybe even especially the ones) who disagree with us.  The fact that it is generally done respectfully and in the interest of improving the dialog makes this something we are very proud to write and moderate. 

Join in Sunday for the final live chat of the season and we'll look forward to seeing you all over the summer as transfers happen and we start getting ready for next season.

Cheers - Neal

Injuries and Suspensions

Head-to-head this week.

So I started the week with a real bee in my bonnet for 2-gamers. As I posted on Monday I made room for ten of them in my team.

Now? Now I'm not so sure.

I think there's value in some of the one-gamers, notably Bolton hosting Sunderland, Rovers @ West Ham, and West Brom @ Wolves. And I can't get a good handle on whom will play (and perform) for the doubles.

So here's where I am going into what is sure to be wild Friday trading:

Injuries and Suspensions

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet

• Sturridge and Steinsson are both doubtful for Bolton which is certainly a bummer for fantasy managers - Sturridge has been great (and still leads Torres 7 goals to one meaningless goal since the Transfer Window closed). Steinsson is a bummer because he's a cheap way to get in on Bolton's potential CS against Rovers who have been bad since their ownership/managerial change. [Thought: PRobbo switches to the right and Alonso gets in at (attacking) left-back. -jeremy]
• Eth is confirmed out for the match at Blackpool - Pennant becomes even more attractive as the percentage of kicks that come his way increases. [Thought: Whelan is a NICE enabler. Under 3 and likely to take some percentage of corners. -jeremy]
• Sunderland are missing all of their forwards which should push Sessegnon up as a great fill-in option - the bitch of it all is that he isn't listed in the game so while he WOULD be a great option, Yahoo! has shown their weakness in never adding him. [Thought: Malbranque likely to start behind the "forward" and may be your way in if you fancy Sunderland. And if you do, why? -jeremy]
• Zamora and AJ are both "pushing" for starts - no idea what that is going to translate to other than "I'd avoid the situation" [Thought: Shame as I'm liking Eidur "Iceman" Gudjohnsen as an enabler this week. Eidur and Steed... what is this, 2002 all over again?. -jeremy]
• Brunt, Thomas and Reid are out for WBA which will hurt their attack against Villa. [Thought: Jara and Vela become relevant, but Cox isn't listed. He's been sessegnoned. -jeremy]
• Old blog favorite fallen on hard times Mikel Arteta has a chance to come back into the squad - this one is worth watching but more for next week than this one. [Thought: Beckford or Osman in this one. -jeremy]
• THud is doubtful along with Corluka and Kranjcar with BAE definitely out of action.
• SEB appears unlikely to return joining Doyle on the sidelines as Wolves see it all slipping away. [Thought: As Neal suggested in The Week Ahead, load up on your BRM defenders. Maybe Larsson as well. -jeremy]
• Carroll seems likely but not definite to return for the NUFC match. [Thought: I'm thinking this is another SAF 'resting' Rooney @Everton. It works in Liverpool's favor if Carroll misses this one. I'm in on Suarez and Kuyt. Don't trust that Maxi was anything but a flash in the pan -jeremy]
• No useful news on the Citeh line-up other than confirming that Tevez will definitely NOT play.

Injuries and Suspensions

Here are the important notes from the team news focused mostly on the two-match teams:

• Bolton - Not sure how to feel about the supposition that the "weary trio" of MPet, Elmander, and Klasnic will make way for Sturridge, Mark Davies, and Matty Taylor.  Sturridge will have a spot because he's been awesome and was only out due to being Cup tied.  As for the others, I wouldn't worry too much about any of them.
• Fulham - They look to be at nearly full health minus I&S All Star Damien Duff who looks like he'll definitely miss the first match of Fulham's two and is probably unlikely at best for the second.
• Stoke - Not much injury news for Stoke other than the assertion that Begovic will return to the starting line-up after making way for Sorensen in the FA Cup Semi-Final last weekend. 
• Wolves - The important news is that SEB was in training yesterday and presumably will be again today after leaving the Everton match two weeks ago with a hamstring complaint.  With a general lack of alternatives up front and a desperate need for points you have to imagine he'll be starting.

What does all of the above mean? Mostly that injuries and suspensions - at least the ones we know about going into the weekend - won't make much of an impact on your starting line-up.  If you're looking more to the promising one-gamers, here are some key notes from those teams:

• Chelsea - Alex and Ramires are definitely out with ACole a question.  The BBC team report indicates that Ancelotti "hinted he will make changes" which could put Drogs and Kalou at risk of sitting in favor of Elk and Nando.  Makes me VERY nervous.
• Man United - Not much here with Berbs a slight doubt, Scholes out on suspension, and Rafael back.
• Arsenal - The only injuries of note (aside from the long term ones) are to Diaby and Rosicky and I hope you weren't looking to add them to your line-up.
• Citeh - Tevez and Micah Richards are still out but that's about it from the injury front.  Not much indication on rotation policy and who is likely to play which is frustrating.
• Liverpool - No useful news on Carroll, Carra, or Aurellio who are all listed as "doubts" which pretty much kills the value of both those players and their potential replacements.
• Spurs - Bale is listed as a major doubt after coming off early against Arsenal.  He looked pretty beat up so I'd be surprised to see him play.

Again, not a lot to really impact the one-gamers you likely want in your line-up.  The only potential impact comes from Ancelotti's cagey statements about line-up changes.

Look for "Barn Door Watch" a little later in the day and then a Live Chat as usual on Saturday.

Injuries and Suspensions

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet

Here are my fantasy-related thoughts on the injury news which can be found in more detail on the other side of the link above.

• Smalling In - With Rio and Evans out, Smalling will deputize at CB.  #ChinkInArmor
• de Jong Doubtful - There may be more goals than you think in this match with Rio and de Jong both potentially out. #WeakenedSpines
  
• Saha Out - He made it easy on managers who were contemplating keeping him for the one match week by injuring himself significantly. #Fragile
• Luiz Starts - Unless he's a disaster, you have to think this will be CHE's preferred defensive group ACole - JT - Luiz - Ivanovic. #NoRotationPlease
• Bale/VDV/Modric Out - Crouch is doubtful as well plus long term injuries to King, Woody, and Kaboul.  Not good times.  #IsThisSpursOrArsenal?
• Kelly Passed Fit - For those holding Kelly, it looks like he'll at least get LIV's one match this week. #Recovered
• RSC Healthy - We'll see how long it lasts but file this away as one to pay attention to over the weekend. #BDWatch
• Martins Included - With Martins included in the squad, there is still uncertainty about how much he'll play in the first match against Stoke. #TwoMonthLayoff
• ARS Injuries - RvP is healthy (shocking so quickly after bowing out of Holland squad), Djourou back, Diaby/Sicky out.  #AllGoodNews

Join us bright and early for the Manchester Derby Live Chat right here on this very web page.  We'll stick around for Arsenal and all of the other matches after that.  Have a great weekend if we don't see you on the chat, comments section, Twitter (@nealjthurman and @jspitzberg), Facebook, or well, you get the idea.

Tweets of Interest

This one's for @nealjthurman, the latest to be sucked into the wonderful world of Twitter.

Rafael van der Vaart, Gareth Bale, and Luka Modric all out of the trip to Sunderland.
http://xrl.in/77h0less than a minute ago via webfantasyfootballscout
FFScout

Louis Saha has a hamstring injury and will not play for Everton this weekend. http://bit.ly/KpgS4less than a minute ago via TweetDeckPhysioroom.com Ltd
physioroom

David Luiz will get a full debut for Chelsea when they travel to Fulham on Valentines night. http://tinyurl.com/63ajxzwless than a minute ago via webFantasy League
fantasyleague

INJURY NEWS: Cesc and RVP recovered from illness and fit to face Wolves. http://www.arsenal.com/pressconferencedigestless than a minute ago via webArsenal.com
Arsenal

INJURY NEWS: Djourou is fit, Denilson back, Rosicky unavailable, Diaby banned: http://www.arsenal.com/pressconferencedigestless than a minute ago via webArsenal.com
Arsenal

Ferdinand and Evans miss the Manchester derby, city are expected to be unchanged. http://tinyurl.com/5uy2te7less than a minute ago via webFantasy League
fantasyleague

You can follow me @jspitzberg and get your fantasy Premier League news at Fantasy EPL Twitter List, which is featured to the right.

Boxing Day Team News

Our gift to you... all the Boxing Day team news in one convenient blog post package.

After the jump.

Injuries and Suspensions

Sorry for the quick post but it's a busy Friday and, as it turns out, there also isn't a lot to report on.  Here are the quick highlights:

• Gerrard seems likely - Woy isn't committing 100% but the tone of all of the conversations make it seem likely that Gerrard will return.  The problem here is that the uncertainty kills the value of both Gerrard (because he might not play) and Meireles (because we're guessing his value drops if Gerrard does play).  Good thing there are lots of available midfielders in the same price range.
• VDV possible - Again, nothing definitive but it looks like VDV is in contention.  My guess is that he gets between 20 and 60 minutes.
• Arsenal mostly healthy - The goalkeeper situation seems a bit up in the air but I'm guessing Szczesny will get the start.  Otherwise, the attacking positions will be in a huge amount of flux with Fab4 and RvP available again.  My guess is Song, Cesc, Nasri, Arsh, Chamakh, RvP but with Theo, Rosicky, Wilshere, etc. all available I'd be very careful about hitching your wagon to Arsenal attackers.
• Lamps back - We talked about this in TWA - tough few matches to bring him into your squad for but we'll be sitting ready on the BD if it looks like he's back to his best. 
• Odemwingie out - Tchoyi likely deputizes making him a great value. 
• Adam is suspended - Just a reminder.

No news yet on Citeh which is of course what everyone wants to know about.  The evils of Monday Night Football.  See you tomorrow for the Live Chat starting with the early kickoff.

Injuries and Suspensions

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet

There are plenty of notes in this injury review but here are the big ones...

Injuries and Suspensions (the BPL v. MAN is officiall CANCELLED edition)

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet

The News You Need To Know...

ARS v. FUL - Cesc is out meaning Nasri (who is fit) will be even more central and that Wilshere and possibly Rosicky increase in value.  Squillaci is also back which provides another moderately priced defender as an option although Koscielny is a better bet.  For FUL, AJ is back while Salcido joins Dembele and Zamora as key missing men.  Looks like an ARS win, I'd guess 3-1.

BRM v. TOT - Hleb is out (what a nothing acquisition he's been) and there's some question about which of Gardner or Bowyer will start.  For Spurs, Dawson returns to the squad and 'arry will presumably need as much as he can get from the defender as Kaboul, VDV, Jenas, King, Woody, O'Hara, etc. are all out.  If I had to guess, I'd say 1-1 draw with Foster saving the point for the Blues at home.

BLA v. WOL - MGP is back and Mame Diouf is eligible again meaning that there are no real injuries that should impact fantasy choices.  I'd guess a hard-fought 2-1 win for Rovers.

CHE v. EVE - I've seen/heard a lot of varying opinions on Zhirkov this week but SoccerNet at least says that he will miss out along with Alex and Lamps.  The good news for CHE is that JT and Essien are back.  For slumping EVE, Jags is a doubt, Hibbert is definitely out and the club switches suspended midfielders (Fellaini back and Arteta suspended).  Sounds like a 2-1 Chelsea win to me.

MAC v. BOL - The only significant injury question for this match is Stuart Holden who seems more than 50% likely to be out for a second week.  As always, the big question is rotation at Citeh with the value of players like Silva, Balotelli, and JBoat hanging in the balance. I'm guessing 1-0 win for Citeh as Bolton hit a rough patch.

WIG v. STO - Wigan's attack is a bit of a shambles with Yayga suspended, Moses is out, and Boselli and di Santo are in some question.  The only important question mark for Stoke is Pennant who faces the dreaded late fitness test. Hard to see where a Wigan goal would come from so I'm going with a 2-0 Stoke win in this one.

BPL v. MAN - Rio Ferdinand has apparently tweeted that the match is definitely off.  I don't know if his Twitter account is gospel but that seems like a strong enough reason to stay away from this one. (hat tip FFScout again - he's good at the Twitter thing).

WBA v. NUFC - Frustration for fantasy managers abounds as nearly all of WBA's worthwhile fantasy players - Brunt, Odem, Morrison, and Scharner will face late fitness tests (oh yeah, Shorey too but who really cares?).  For NUFC, Barton is back but Nolan is still out while Taylor and Sol continue on for the suspended duo of Coloccini & Williamson (worst personal injury law firm ever).  Your guess is as good as mine on the outcome of this one with so many key WBA players in question.  I'd say a 2-2 draw if everyone is healthy for WBA but who knows if that will be the case.

SUN v. WHU - No new injuries means that the only injury factor here is really Sunderland's missing CB pairing of Bramble and Turner.  Feels like a high-scoring match to me with one team or the other winning 3-2 and I'd guess Sunderland if forced to make a choice (I'm a sucker for the home team).

LIV v. AST - This will be an interesting one with Gerrard and Carra out for Liverpool and AY (suspended for accumulation) out and Bannan a doubt after a mid-week Carling Cup injury.  I'll guess a 2-1 win for the home side against a depleted Villa squad.

Good luck with your final picks and hopefully we'll see you for the Live Chat tomorrow.

Injuries and Suspensions

With a house full of relatives there isn't really a lot of time for analysis but please consider this to be at least a solid resource that will help you catalog the injuries and suspensions in the Premier League for this weekend.

Out

• Cesc/Eboue/Vermaelen - Just when you thought the list might really get smaller, it gets larger again.
• Albrighton/Heskey/SPet/Reo-coker/Sidwell -  With Collins back, the big issue will be central midfield
• Zamora/Dembele/AJ - This presumably means Dempsey will start at forward instead of midfield.
• Gardner - Hard to believe he's Brum's leading scorer but he's out.
• Fletcher plus the long termers - Not much missing for ManYoo this weekend really.
• Harewood - Out for six weeks making Varney a first team choice
• Williamson/Coloccini/Barton - That's a lot of suspensions which can't help with Chelsea coming to town.
• Lamps/Zhirkov/Essien - Still thin for Chelsea which could be made worse if Terry and Alex go from "doubtful" to "out" 
• Fellaini - Last match of his suspension - fortunately for Everton Brunt is still doubtful for WBA as well.
• Gerrard - Spurs vs. Liverpool could be missing two of the biggest names with Gerrard definitely out an VDV apparently a "major doubt" with an ankle issue.  
• Pennant - He's not all the way "out" but it certainly sounds unlikely that he'll make it in time.
• Zabaleta - Suspended for accumulation but Balotelli is back from his suspension and might be solid value in Citeh's attack.
• Bramble/Turner - Not a good sign when your two best defenders are out for the most congested 5 or 6 weeks of the year.  Those who were excited about Gordon, you might want to reconsider.  The good news is that Gyan seems likely to return from his thigh strain that pissed off fantasy managers like me who had no idea he'd be out last Monday.
• Rodallega/Alcaraz - Both suspended in the wake of their defeat to ManYoo.  Not good to be Wigan, playing on the road, and missing two of 11 first choice players.

OK, I hope that is enough to get everyone through the selection process.  I'll try to be around for as much "Live Chat" as I can be tomorrow but with relatives still here, it will be a match-time decision.  Regardless, enjoy the matches. 

Injuries and Suspensions

Well, the injury crisis at Chelsea was apparently somewhat overstated with Alex looking like he'll be able to play and Terry being readied for mid-week.  The dire predictions about the value of CHE's cheaper defenders (and Cech) appear to be a bit overblown.  That said, Zhirkov is apparently ruled out and there's a choice to be made between Bosingwa and Ferreira at right back.  So, there's definitely a better chance of a clean sheet now but the uncertainty now lies with selection. 

In other news, the takeover at Rovers is complete.  It will be interesting to see how the league's first Indian owners approach their investment in a club.  Is there the possibility that Rovers could become the unofficial club of India in the same way that all Americans have a soft spot for Fulham due to the number of American players who have (and currently) play there? India isn't ready to start supplying Premier League players but if Rovers could carve out a niche, it could be an opportunity to capture an over-sized portion of interest from a huge country that is growing incredibly quickly from an economic standpoint that is paralleled by a rising interest in the Premier League as well.  For those of our readers in India, I'd be curious to hear if Indian ownership makes you even slightly more interested in following Rovers.  If it doesn't right now, is there anything that would?

Finally, we welcome TheScore to our blogging family.  The start-up Irish sports site has asked Jeremy and I to derive a more general version of "The Week Ahead" appropriate for people playing any fantasy game for their site and our first installment was published this morning.  Check it and the rest of the site out.  If you like what you see, remember to hit the "Like" button - it's always important to show some traction when you're launching a new media property and advertisers like to see things like that.

OK, on to the injuries:

Injuries and Suspensions

Premier League team news - Barclays Premier League - ESPN Soccernet

The biggest news going seems to be the never ending list of injuries accumulating at Spurs.  Is there something in the water in North London? Do Spurs think the way to copy Arsenal's success is to emulate their yearly injury crises? Whatever the reason, it certainly isn't going to help Spurs end their 4 match winless streak in the Prem.  That and more below: