Carlos Tevez returns to training

Carlos Tevez returns to training, talks set for Friday - ESPN Soccernet

Tevez is one of a number of senior players to be rested [for Thursday's Europa League match against Juventus], although Mancini has already indicated that former Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli will travel, even though he was racially abused by some Juventus fans last season.

City do not have a Premier League match until next Monday when they face Everton at Eastlands.

In related Europa Cup news...

Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina will feature in Liverpool's Europa League tie against Utrecht, Roy Hodgson confirmed on Tuesday...

Liverpool are in dire need of an upturn in form after losing three of their last six Premier League matches, and Torres is a player who could use a confidence boost after failing to score in his last four outings. With skipper Steven Gerrard expected to return against Fulham at the weekend, Hodgson confirmed some of his biggest stars will be handed match-time against Utrecht.

"It is a good chance to give some players a run-out," explained Hodgson. "It's a good chance for Jonjo [Shelvey] to show what he can do again. He's played a lot of European games and done very well. But it's also a chance for Ryan Babel. Fernando Torres will be involved in the game, as will Pepe Reina and our centre-backs.

Barton escapes FA punishment

Football - Yahoo! Eurosport

Joey Barton will not face disciplinary action from the Football Association for apparently making an offensive gesture towards Liverpool's Fernando Torres.

Apparently not. Feel good about fielding Barton at Birmingham.

Well, as good as you can about handling a lit firecraker.

Gerrard 'on track' to return at weekend

Roy Hodgson is hoping Steven Gerrard can train on Tuesday with a view to making his comeback against Fulham at the weekend.

A bit wishy-washy for my tastes. More as the story develops.

UPDATE, via Football365.com:

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson admits captain Steven Gerrard's anticipated return from a hamstring injury this weekend is "touch and go".

The midfielder has not featured for his club since November 13 at Stoke after sustaining the problem on England duty four days later.

Last week Hodgson pencilled in Saturday's match at home to Fulham for a comeback but now he is not so sure.

"Steven Gerrard is not fit and will be touch and go for Fulham," he said.

Don't sell Meireles just yet.

First Impressions and Second Thoughts - Week 16

I'll be writing some thoughts as I watch the massive MAN/ARS match here on Monday as the introduction to this week's column:

• I think we all saw the Berbs benching coming from a mile away.
• Very interesting to see how Szczesny does filling in for Fabianski who is out with a hip injury (but not SO injured that he isn't on the bench).
• Fab4 also on the bench - interested to see if he gets the Lampard-style cameo from yesterday.
• In a non-MAN/ARS thought, odd move by Rovers to sack a manager who is currently in 13th and has the team playing reasonably well given the talent/budget on hand.  One wonders if the new owners are planning to spend some money in January and don't trust Big Sam to spend it wisely.  That was one theory I saw on why Houghton was let go as well.  Certainly an interesting angle.  
• Back to the match, for a home team, ManYoo seem to have a lot of high-energy/low talent players clogging midfield (Carricck, Park, Anderson, and Fletcher).  Neither side able to get much rhythm in midfield in the early going as a result.
• Arsenal matching ManYoo physically and stating their intention that they may be a less finesse oriented team than in years past.  
• Lots of nerves as players are trying to force passes that aren't there or send misguided passes into spaces where no teammates are. Through 35 minutes Arsenal have had more pretty good attacking movements while ManYoo have had more direct attacks on Arsenal's net but neither have really had an opportunity that SHOULD have resulted in a goal.  
• Nice goal for United but it's all down to Nani who makes the goal and Park sneaks it in - could have gone to either side of the post but it went in and that's a huge advantage to United playing at home.
• And that's halftime...
• I hate to say it but Anderson looks to be a different (and rather competent) player - still has a bit of work to do to become a match-winner but for the first time in my recent experience (I didn't see the Champions League match) he didn't look like a weak link.
• ManYoo just SO solid at the back.  The difference between pretty good CBs and just being excellent back there.  
• Nice to be able to bring Cesc and RvP off the bench.
• Weak PK and justice served with Rooney missing badly although my fantasy team isn't so happy with that justice.
• Arsenal just didn't get much in the way of an attack going - maybe they'll handle the challenge better at home or with RvP and Cesc in better shape in the second half of the season but this was well won by ManYoo.
• My man of the match is a toss-up between Nani on the attacking end and the partnership of Rio and Vidic who were just incredible at the back.  
• This will make next weekend against Chelsea even more interesting.

So, what about the rest of the league? Here we go with the usual:

Adam Out After Accumulation

Boss slams Adam decision - Yahoo! Eurosport

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway has branded the decision to show Charlie Adam a yellow card in Saturday's 1-0 victory at Stoke as 'absolute nonsense'.

Adam received the booking - his fifth of the campaign - from referee Anthony Taylor in the first half at the Britannia Stadium following an aerial challenge with Dean Whitehead.

It means the Seasiders captain will miss his side's Barclays Premier League clash with Tottenham next weekend, and Holloway felt the match official made the wrong call.

Adjust your line-ups accordingly.

Tevez hands in transfer request

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1350615.html

"I can confirm I have handed a transfer request to the chairman of Manchester City Football Club," said the 26-year-old. "Now I need to clear my head and think because this is an important part of my career. My feelings have not changed and it is regrettable that we have reached this situation. But it is something I have felt for some time and have spent many hours thinking this through."

So Tevez hands in a transfer request, which is rejected. But he states that he needs time to think (now?) and it doesn't seem as if he will be available next week when City host Everton. I know we are all feeling a bit burned after Balotelli's -2 yesterday. But what if his early tap-in had rolled into the net instead of across the face? How different would it all have been? It will be very hard - for me at least - to stay away from him at just over 6.

Though Defoe at 10, at Blackpool, may be too tempting as well alongside Torres and Rooney.

And of course, this isn't the first time Tevez have been involved in some unseemly dealings.

The Barn Door Live

Replay after the jump.

Injuries and Suspensions

Premier League team news - ESPN Soccernet

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

The Week Ahead

This has to be considered a huge weekend in the Premier League and starting off any column about the league with anything else - even if that column is more focused on fantasy than reality - just wouldn't seem right.  So many questions to be answered - Can Arsenal consolidate their place at the top? Can ManYoo continue to piece things together when the opposition is tougher? Can Chelsea rebound before they drop too far? Can Spurs take a massive leap forward with a second consecutive win against a "Big Four" opponent? Will Citeh just sit back and chuckle at their rivals as they get as close to free points as the league offers in an away match at Upton Park?  Throw in an inordinate number of key fantasy players - Rooney, Nasri, Nani, Bale, Drogba, Malouda, etc. - that will be involved in those two critical matches and fantasy managers everywhere will be sweating for two reasons - title race implications AND fantasy fortunes.  Should be a fun weekend (and Monday).

Before we get to the fantasy recommendations, here are a few specific things I'll be looking for early in the big matches:

• ManYoo: Rooney LOVES playing and scoring against Arsenal - will he be deployed as a lone striker of the type that has been killing Arsenal in the Champions League (speed plus energy)? It's what I'd do after watching Arsenal's frailty and Berbs stink up the place in midweek.
• Arsenal: How does Wenger come out for this key match? Does he attack with Arsh/Chamakh/Nasri backed up by Song/(RvP or Wilshere)/Rosicky or does he go more conservative with Song/Denilson/Rosicky in an attempt to shield the always-questionable backline? My sense is that Denilson isn't THAT much of a deterrent so why not go for it and continue to play defense by attacking. 
• Chelsea: What will Chelsea give up in an effort to slow down Bale and avoid Bosingwa/Ferreira suffering Maicon's fate? Will they pull Kalou off in favor of someone who might play a little defense and attack with Drogba/Elk/FloMal? That's what I'd do since adding Kalou to that mix makes them very top heavy in my opinion with no creative player to orchestrate.
• Spurs: How will they align their attack to counter Chelsea's focus on Bale? Chelsea is going to say "We don't think Defoe/Modric/2nd Striker/Lennon can beat us" - will Spurs overload the right side? Will they get a bit scared and include two players in a holding role because of the (under-performing) big names in Chelsea's attack? If it were me, I'd give Bentley a chance - I think he creates more problems than Lennon and will force Chelsea to balance their defending approach.  It's too easy for ACole to keep Lennon pinned to the sideline by himself where Lennon isn't a reliable crosser of the ball.  Bentley offers better crossing as well as the ability to cut infield and become a creator.  

So, with those random thoughts out of the way.  Here's what you need to know about the upcoming week in fantasy.

Kolo Fit

Manager Roberto Mancini on Carlos Tevez's long-term future at Man City - Manchester City FC

Manager Mancini confirmed that centre-half Kolo Toure has shrugged off a calf worry: 'Kolo will be available for Saturday. We'll test him tomorrow but he trained today with the team without a problem.'

So much for your big Lescott plans. But Richards is still a good bet to come in at right back, with Zabaleta moving to the left to cover for Kolarov's absence.

Baggies duo doubtful for Villa clash

Dangerous game, football

Baggies duo doubtful for Villa clash - Yahoo! Eurosport

Here we go again.

West Brom's leading scorer Peter Odemwingie and key midfielder Chris Brunt are battling to be fit for Saturday's away derby clash with struggling Aston Villa...

But the Nigeria international - on target six times this season - has been unable to train this week with a groin problem suffered during the game.

Brunt, who has been the subject of speculation linking him with a move to Liverpool, has also had a groin injury in recent weeks and has also been unable to play a full part in training.

Boss Roberto Di Matteo confirmed: "We have some problems. Odemwingie hasn't trained this week yet. He has got a groin problem. If he manages to train [on Friday], we have a chance. We have to wait and see how he is going to be.

"Chris Brunt had to miss some training sessions so we just have to manage him and Peter and hope they will be available for Saturday."

It seems like this is going to be the "news" every week for a while. Brunt has had the groin injury since the last international break but has been able to play in the matches. So I'm not worried about him. The Odemwingie injury seems new - as in recent, and different from his last knee injury - and will bear close scrutiny. Somen Tchoyi may be a good bet this weekend if Odemwingie can't make it. Tchoyi may be a good bet regardless, to be honest.

Gerrard on course to face Fulham - not Newcastle

Gerrard on course to face Fulham - Yahoo! Eurosport

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will not be fit to play in Saturday's match at Newcastle but is on course for a return the following weekend...

"I don't know where the stories came from that Gerrard would be fit for Newcastle," said manager Roy Hodgson. "We have always been thinking he would be fit to face Fulham the following weekend, it would be much too early to consider him for Newcastle.

Well now I feel like an idiot for selling Meireles after last weekend's games. But at least I'm used to that feeling this season.

First Impressions and Second Thoughts - Week 15

I have a new theory.  That theory is that there is only so much that can be going right in your life from a sports standpoint at any one time.  What do I mean? In most years, I have the following things going on in the fall/winter when it comes to the sports and teams I follow:

• Arsenal
• Philadelphia Eagles (gridiron football)
• Philadelphia Flyers (hockey)
• Philadelphia Phillies (baseball)
• Philadelphia 76ers (pro basketball)
• my fantasy premier league team 
• upwards of 4 NFL fantasy teams
• the blog

As you might imagine, that's a lot to keep track of, give attention to, and hope goes well from both a skill and luck standpoint.  Inevitably, not everything can be going well at once.  In most seasons, this is how it tends to go:

• Arsenal seem terribly flawed but are hanging around with Chelsea and ManYoo into the new year with little real hope that they can go the distance.
• The Eagles are extremely similar to Arsenal really, always in the conversation but not QUITE strong enough to go all the way.
• The Flyers have traditionally been a top 10 team in a 30 team league but rarely are they among the top couple teams.
• The Phillies have been among the best three or four teams in the sport over the last 3 years with a championship to their credit two years ago. 
• The 76ers have been rotten for the last 7 or 8 years with no end in sight. 
• My fantasy premier league team (in the Yahoo game) has been one of the top two or three in our private group year in and year out and I've generally finished somewhere in the triple digits (100 to 999) in the overall standings. 
• One or two of my fantasy NFL teams have been in strong contention for a championship
• The blog has been ascending steadily with some years finding us holding steady (more traffic but no major leaps forward) and some finding us experiencing major milestones (being paid to write for the first time, being paid to write in print for the first time, syndicating our column with TheScore in Ireland, etc.) 

THIS year has been a bit different.  The Eagles and Arsenal both seem like they have a better chance than usual at a title due in large part to the fact that the dominant teams that usually stand in their way seem more flawed than usual this season.  I don't think either team is really that much better than they have been in years past but this might be the year that's good enough. The Phillies are coming off of a deep run in the playoffs.  The Flyers were in the Stanley Cup Finals last season and have opened this season among the best teams in the league.  The 76ers continue to stink but that was pretty well expected.  The blog has continued to grow and progress and expand in scope (and thank you to everyone for your contributions in readership, "Likes," and sharing of articles, etc.). 

Finally, and this is the major change, my NFL fantasy teams have been REALLY good (knocking furiously on wood).  Of the four leagues I'm in, I am far and away the best team in three of them and in the conversation for a championship in the other. Now, none of this guarantees me a win in any of those leagues because I still have to win playoffs but regardless of those outcomes, this is certainly my best fantasy NFL season ever by a wide margin. 

So, unfortunately, something had to give and that something has been my Fantasy EPL team.  For about five weeks, it just hasn't been going well.  I've stuck with some players too long (Drogba, Malouda, Adam) and slept too long on others who were emerging (Brunt being the big one).  Finally, I've just been unlucky.  If you read The Week Ahead you'll know that I've at least been considering extremely solid contributors most weeks but sometimes you just don't pick the right ones.  For all of November and now into December I've been on a horrible streak of picking around the points.  Does my theory above hold any water? Probably not but I have to come up with some excuse for such a crappy month so that's what I'm going for.  I'm sure those of you inclined to comment will suggest some other reasons for my bad month.

OK, enough of my moaning, here's the review of the weekend that was in the Premier League:

The Barn Door Live - Snowy Edition

Replay after the jump.

Egypt Speaks, You Listen

Plenty of good reaction to our post last week from (and with) Mohamed, the current overall #30 (up from 37 last week). So we've asked him for another round of player suggestions which you'll find below.

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.

Holden worry for Bolton

Sky Sports | Football | Premier League | News | Holden worry for Bolton

Bolton Wanderers could again be without midfielder Stuart Holden for Saturday's Premier League game at Manchester City.

Holden missed last week's 2-2 draw with Blackpool due to a thigh strain and has yet to fully recover from the problem.

He is still to return to training and Trotters boss Owen Coyle admits the USA international is a major concern for Saturday's trip to the City of Manchester Stadium.

This could be good news for those of you who grabbed Mark Davies at 2-and-change. I think you can spend your current 7-something better elsewhere this week. But if you want to bet on Bolton at Manchester City - and we never suggest you bet on Bolton, unless we do - go right ahead.

VDV Injury Report: Might Only Miss 1-2 Premier League Matches!

Tottenham Hotspur could be without Rafael van der Vaart and Younes Kaboul for their next three matches - Telegraph

Important info for fantasy managers trying to decide what to do with the crocked van der Vaart (hat tip @FFLScout on Twitter).

Assuming that diagnosis holds through the team reports on Friday, my inclination is to keep him at 6.  If you have him closer to market value, you may be thinking differently.

Blackpool vs. ManYoo in Question

Football365 | All The News | Football News | HOLLOWAY HOPEFUL OVER UNITED CLASH

Click on the link for the full story but the quick summary is that there is some chance that ManYoo's match with Blackpool will have to be postponed this Sunday.  Talk about a potential fantasy mess.  With lots of people having Berbs at a discount, Nani at a fairly high price, and potentially counting on expensive acquisitions like EvdS, Rafael, or Rooney as well we all have to decide how much of our respective budgets we want to risk on a match that may or may not happen.  Hopefully, there will be news well in advance of the deadline but I wouldn't count on it as I'm sure they'll continue to try to make the field playable until the very last minute that they can. 

The Week Ahead

So, I'm going to keep writing about this until it is picked up as a major story.  I've mentioned it a few times already in First Impressions but has anyone noticed the job that Sir Alex is doing at ManYoo this season? Seriously.  Just incredible.  And, yes, I still consider it to be incredible despite the @sskicking that they got from West Ham in the Carling Cup in mid-week.  Why is it incredible?

ManYoo is at the top of the table after 15 matches despite:

• Having started the really pretty poor Jonny Evans at center back in 6 of those 15 matches;
• Having a way sub-par Patrice Evra for nearly all of those matches;
• Having Valencia for only two matches;
• Having exactly 1 league goal from Rooney all season (and that was a PK vs. WHU);
• Having goals in only 5 of the 15 matches from his other big name striker (Berbs);
• Having two of your best three remaining midfielders about ready to enter retirement homes and generally unable to start on a regular basis (Scholes has started 9 of 15 and Giggs 5, two of which he left before the 60th minute);
• Having no idea who his starting right back is or should be;
• Having modestly talented central midfielders in Park, Fletcher, Carrick, and Anderson.

Somehow, this ragtag bunch of underachievers, kids, solid-but-not-spectacular players, aging/injured stars, Nani, and Vidic hadn't lost a match in any competition until the mid-week match against West Ham where they trotted out a group that was clearly second choice even by the standards of the list above and in most years would look third choice at ManYoo or any of the other top clubs.

Contrast this with what's going on at Chelsea.  Yes, they're only two points behind ManYoo in the standings but they're there based on the strength of the points accumulated when they were at full health.  Since they were hit by injuries and suspensions to players as critical as those lost by ManYoo, Chelsea have crumbled to the point where they have clearly lost all of the intimidation factor they built up early in the season with their crushing victories and run of not giving up any goals at home. 

Now, I'd imagine that if asked before November what the average fan thought of Anceloti as a manager they would have looked at his record at Milan and Chelsea thus far and said, pretty darn good manager.  The results speak for themselves - lots of titles.  So if we assume that ol' Carlo hasn't forgotten how to manage in the last month, then we have to assume that even a really good manager at a very well-to-do club is prone to a bad month when hit with injuries and suspensions.  Taking that thought forward, it is all the more impressive that after FOUR months of injuries, suspensions, poor play, and lack of funds to buy replacements for Scholes, Giggs, GNev, and Rio that SAF HADN'T LOST A GAME.  Just amazing.  And this from an Arsenal supporter.  I never have been nor will I ever be a SAF apologist but all credit where it is due - in the hands of even a better-than-average manager this would be a mid-table team after 15 matches.

OK, enough gushing over Sir Alex and the job he's doing at ManYoo, on to the week ahead.