Shay Given to be fit for Blackburn Match

Shay Given set to be declared fit for Aston Villa's clash with Blackburn - Aston Villa FC news - Aston Villa - Sport - Birmingham Mail

Given will resume full training tomorrow after being advised to rest up following the slight groin problem he sustained in Saturday’s goalless draw at Fulham...

And Given is expected to be fit and raring to go for his and McLeish’s home debuts in Saturday afternoon’s Premier League clash against Blackburn at Villa Park.

“He’s on the mend,” confirmed McLeish. “He should be OK for the weekend.

A tip in the comments of my Barn Door Team post suggested that Given was struggling, but it looks like he'll be fine for this weekend's match against Blackburn Rovers.  And if Collins has to take goal kicks again as a precaution, so be it.  No fantasy points in that. ;-)

Week Two Barn Door Team

A bit of analysis, including who is on the bubble, coming soon.

This was my team after the weekend matches, though in truth I do have Riise and Formica held "behind the scenes", as Nik likes to say.  There's obviously a strong Manchester City contingent after yesterday's match.  Aguero was devestating in his 30-minute cameo and I wouldn't expect his playing time to be limited going forward.  Silva was the straw that stirred the drink, and Richards and Toure were sometimes the most advanced players on the pitch!  They travel to Bolton this weekend (top of the table clash!), and I am still betting against the Trotters.  Yes, I tried that last weekend with Taarabt and DJ Campbell, and no it didn't work out.  Bolton have a settled back five at the moment, even if those players couldn't keep a clean sheet to save their lives last season.  I'm not going to over-react to the QPR match (though maybe I'm over-reacting to the Swansea match?) and I'm going to bet on Citeh to do the business again.

Everton and Aston Villa get strong representation here, with two players apiece. Everton are opening their season and get to do so now at home, against QPR.  Saha is fit and does well when healthy.  Cahill should again play as a withdrawn forward, which is great for a fantasy midfielder.  He's also healthy, and scored for Australia against Wales last week. Mikel Arteta is back for Everton, but I'm not sure he'll start.  Osman is a bit more expensive than Cahill but could also represent a good bet.

Aston Villa are represented after their credible 0-0 draw at Fulham.  Given goes into the team and can hopefully replicate the clean sheet at home against a struggling Rovers side. Rovers played Hanley and N'Zonzi at center back last weekend so N'Zogbia (battle of the N's!) gets the nod in midfield.  Other candidates for the fantasy team would include Darren Bent - LOVE the idea of his running at that makeshift backline) and Warnock - who is back in the team and getting involved going forward as far as I can tell.

Rounding out the team is Luis Suarez, who picked up right where he left off after last season and seems to be a +10 fantasy player.  He should love running at, and around, the Arsenal defence this weekend.  That defence may or may not have Gibbs as he is not "unlikely" to be fit.  I may keep Gibbs at his ridiculously low price, but I may look to gut Bosingwa and bring in two mid-price defenders (back to Riise?) for the combined value.

Season Preview - Aston Villa

Quick Reminder, Real Life

Last season started out with an odd choice for manager (Houlier) who didn’t make it through the year due to health reasons. The team that had been excellent the year before regressed terribly despite a lot of the same talent and they hovered just above the relegation zone for a good part of the first half. In January they added Darren Bent as a front line of John Carew/Emile Heskey and Gabby Agbonlahor just wasn’t getting it done. The new acquisition helped them climb from the depths of the table to 9th. Still, a disappointing finish given the talent on hand and the expectations created in 2009-10 when they flirted with a Top 4 spot until well into the season.

Quick Reminder, Fantasy

BFAY (that’s Blog Favorite Ashley Young to the newly initiated), Downing, and DBent were exactly what you’d expect (very good) but also fairly expensive at this point. Albrighton and Clark were excellent values when they played. Friedel was a bit of a disaster in the first half but as tends to happen, his numbers improved along with the team’s fortunes in the second half. The forwards who started the season - Gabby, Carew, and Heskey - didn’t show much. Kyle Walker, a loan signing from Spurs, came on in the second half of the season and provided some good value when he was in the line-up. Left back Stephen Warnock disappeared after a very good 2009-10.

Summer Changes

Season Preview: Manchester City

Overall Outlook - So here we go, the big wild card.  We'll assume for the sake of this analysis that Milner and Balotelli are in and that Ireland, Robinho, RSC, Jo, Bellamy, and SWP are either out or marginalized to the point of pretty much being out.  The first big myth of last season at Eastlands is that the attack was potent while the back line let them down in their quest to rise up to Champions League contender status in their first year of oil money.  The reality? Citeh just weren't clutch.  Their goals for and goals against numbers were about the same as the rest of the contenders for the final 2 Champions League spots the difference was the 13 draws.  If they can find a way to convert even a few of those to wins, then Arsenal and Spurs should be rightfully frightened as they look to challenge their 3 and 4 spots.  The question one has to ask is where Citeh actually improved in the off-season and if bringing in a bunch of Premier League newbies who, regardless of their eventual quality, may drop some points as they adapt.  I wouldn't bet against them but it's hard to forget Mancini's inability to break through in a meaningful way at Inter until Milan and Juve were eliminated from competition due to the match-fixing scandal.  Is he the guy to bring together a fairly random set of talent and reign in all the huge egos?  I honestly have no idea but the answer to that question will determine where Citeh end up the season.  The good news? There are a lot of new players in Silva, Kolarov, Boateng, Toure, and (maybe) Balotelli who will provide fantasy managers with early season value.

Given set for City return

Sky Sports | Given set for City return

Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given could make his return from injury in Thursday's friendly against Club America.

The 34-year-old has been absent from Roberto Mancini's side since dislocating his shoulder towards the end of last season.

But the shot-stopper is now hoping to resume his role as No.1 for the Blues - either in Atlanta or in Saturday's clash with Inter Milan.

This would be big news before the start of the Premier League season. For fantasy managers it would raise all the "wither Joe Hart" questions again. Surely he wouldn't sit on the bench all season. That would be a disaster for his career and potential England hopes. But it is just as certain that Citeh can't afford to let him go. #loggerheads

Manchester City seek emergency loan of Marton Fulop

UPDATE: from the BBC:

Manchester City will be given special dispensation to sign a goalkeeper on an emergency loan deal until the end of the season, BBC Sport understands.

Shay Given will miss City's last three games after dislocating a shoulder in the 0-0 draw with Arsenal on Saturday.

Stuart Taylor is also out and Joe Hart is on loan at Birmingham, which leaves only the inexperienced Gunnar Nielsen.

Spokesmen for Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool said they had "no comment" on the Premier League ruling.

###

from The Guardian:

Manchester City want to sign Marton Fulop from Sunderland to take over from the injured Shay Given on an emergency loan deal until the end of the season.
Fulop, the Hungary goalkeeper, has fallen out of favour at the Stadium of Light and heads a list of targets drawn up by City to fill the void left by Given dislocating a shoulder in Saturday's 0‑0 draw at Arsenal...
City need permission from the Premier League to allow them to bring in another goalkeeper outside of the transfer window. The club have made an official request, backing up their claim with medical statements, and will find out tomorrow if they have been successful. However, it is understood that the Premier League is likely to be sympathetic as they fit the criteria for an emergency deal.

Fulop is 1.6 in the Y! game and could be a great bargain, with two home matches this week.  However, I'm likely to stick with the even cheaper Begovic (for a buck) home to Everton and at Fulham.  Pending Europa Cup results, of course.

In other Sunderland-related news:

Sunderland are appealing to the Football Association over the red card shown to Alan Hutton following his altercation with Jozy Altidore in the win at Hull City.
A spokesperson has confirmed they "are appealing the severity of the sanction" following Hutton's dismissal in Saturday's 1-0 win. The defender was embroiled in an altercation with the Hull City striker at the end of the first half that resulted in the referee Lee Probert dismissing both players.
Followinga challenge between the duo, Hutton sparked the incident by throwing the ball at Altidore, who responded by headbutting the Scot, causing facial injuries. Hutton is now due to miss the final two games of this season, at home to Manchester United and at Wolves, as well as the first of next term.