TEAM NEWS & Late Fitness Check Week 36 : Southampton v Everton - The early Saturday kickoff doesnt have much in the way of late fitness checks that will force you to hold up on final changes until starting line-ups are released. What it does have is a lot of certain absences including Sylvain Distin, Phil Jagielka (STILL), and Kevin Mirallas for Everton and Morgan Schneiderlein, Jay Rodriguez and Gaston Ramirez for Southampton. The fantasy opportunities here are Alcaraz (5.6) and Naismith (9.79) who seem very likely to get starts at very reasonable prices. I cant say Im nearly as excited about any of the Southampton alternatives. Fulham v Hull City - Anyone going against Fulham will at least be of passing interest to fantasy managers and it appears that Hull Citys attackers are returning to health with Shane Long and Sone Aluko are both available again. Long seems like he could be a solid pick as Fulham are forced to press forward in an attempt to win to avoid relegation. Long could be the beneficiary of Tom Huddlestones passing through the middle as he hits on the counter. At 10.49, Long isnt a bad bet at all. Man Utd v Norwich - Not surprisingly, there isnt much news of use on the United side other than that van Persie and Rafael are still both out for the Red Devils. It remains to be seen what interim manager Ryan Giggs decides to do with a squad that has a lot of options but few who have really distinguished themselves. Even with Norwich the opponent I wouldnt invest in United anywhere other than the very obvious places (Rooney, DDG, Phil Jones) for fear of not knowing how Giggs views the squad. Stoke v Tottenham - Not a great deal of fantasy relevant news here with Assaidi (Stoke) and Dawson (Spurs) returning to fitness (I cant say Im particularly optimistic about either from a fantasy standpoint). Feels like a 1-1 draw with relatively few fantasy points unless you pick a goal scorer out of the hat. Probably the weekend Adebayor scores for Spurs after weve all ditched him over bitter disappointment last weekend. Swansea v Aston Villa - Swansea will be missing Michu (ankle again) and Chico (suspended) with Jordi Amat a semi-interesting option in defense priced at 7.55 facing a solid match-up. On the Villa side, there isnt much to say other than the continuing absence of Christian Benteke which continues to suck (unless youre the opposing defense). West Brom v West Ham - West Brom face a bit of a defensive crisis over and above the fact that they just arent very good with Liam Ridgwell out and Gareth McAuley a major question mark. West Ham are poised to take advantage of the Baggies injury issues with a squad that is almost fully fit. Matt Taylor will miss out on compassionate leave but the players that might take advantage of West Broms defensive issues - Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan, etc - are available and ready to go for once. Crystal Palace v Man City - Crystal Palace are almost entirely fit for their big Sunday test while Manchester City will be without David Silva and Jesus Navas. Yaya Toure will return to the heart of the City midfield and it is highly likely that James Milner will get a start in place of Navas. Milner, priced at 6.8, becomes an interesting bargain option if you need a reasonably priced midfielder. Liverpool v Chelsea - The big question on the Liverpool side is whether Daniel Sturridge will recover from his hamstring issues in time to feature in Liverpools biggest match since their last Champions League final. It seems likely that hell play but that isnt enough assurance for me to recommend starting him no matter how many players Chelsea are missing or thinking of rotating. Jordan Henderson is definitely out serving his suspension. For the Blues, who the hell knows whats going to happen. Petr Cech is definitely out making Mark Schwarzer very interesting for just about any week OTHER than one in which a far-less-than-full-strength Chelsea face off with Liverpools historicallly strong attack. Oh, that Chelsea are also missing John Terry, Ramires, Eden Hazard and Samuel Etoo for sure makes Schwarzers 2.62 price tag even less attractive. Sounds like a Barn Door opportunity to me. The four players that should start for sure because they are healthy and not eligible for the return match against Atletico Madrid are Frank Lampard, Nemanja Matic, Mohamed Salah, and John Obi Mikel. Ill trust that you can decide which of those players are and arent interesting no matter how certain they are to start. Sunderland v Cardiff City - A huge match at the bottom with Norwich free-falling and the likelihood that only one of Sunderland, Cardiff and Fulham will be able to save themselves. While the match may be huge, the news leading up to it isnt very meaningful. If there is a player you want to invest in on either side, it looks highly likely that he will be available unless youre a huge Carlos Cuellar fan. Arsenal v Newcastle - The injury list must be getting a little boring at Arsenal if theres an Abou Diaby mention - no, hes not actually going to play but hes getting close enough that it apparently merits a mention alongside the usual absences of Jack Wilshere, Keiran Gibbs, and Theo Walcott. Thomas Vermaelen is healthy again but seems highly unlikely to start given the health of Mertesacker and Koscielny. For Newcastle, the news is promising with Loic Remy and Mathieu Debuchy possibly ready to start after making substitute appearances last weekend in their respective returns from significant injury absences. Moussa Sissoko is also back at training but it seems more likely that hed be a substitute after missing the better part of a month with a hamstring issue. Newcastle had better hope Remy and Sissoko can play some meaningful part because Papiss Cisse, Hatem Ben Arfa, and Luuk de Jong are all likely to be out. Not a lot of options if Remy and Sissoko join that trio on the bench.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 23:07:35 +0000
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