Around the Grounds FPL Team News Gameweek 4

Around the Grounds FPL Team News Gameweek 4

Welcome to Around the Grounds FPL Team News Game-week 4. Urgh those distasteful international breaks. Well this one is over and we have four weeks of FPL to enjoy before the next one, so out with the old, in with the new, let’s get it on. And get it on we will with a monster game-week which starts off with the biggest game of the season so far – the Manc derby at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime. If that wasn’t enough then we have no less than six 3pm matches to really get our teeth into. Arsenal and West Ham are both at home in the capital as they host Southampton and Watford respectively – West Brom have an away day down the beach at Bournemouth, Burnley welcome Hull, Boro take on Palace and Spurs take the journey to Stoke. Still gagging for more? Excellent, for at 5.30pm we have Liverpool vs Leicester and then my friends you can tally up your points and threaten to delete your team. Having woken up Sunday morning fearing the worst, take heart, especially if you have captained Hazard or Costa as Chelsea go to Swansea in the only match of the day. And just when you think it is all over, BOOM, we still haven’t finished – Monday evening sees Sunderland welcome Everton. Dare to Romelu anyone?!

So, with some players arriving back late from international duty, let’s see what the managers have had to say as we go Around the Grounds.

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Man Utd vs Man City (Sat 10 Sept 12.30)
What a way to kick off the gameweek – United vs City, Jose vs Pep, Pogba vs de Bruyne, Ibra vs Stones. It’ll be electric, it’ll be fiery, no doubt there will be controversy, action, excitement and tension – what there won’t be of course is Sergio Aguero, who was a very naughty boy vs West Ham and has to sit in the stands – with the other 74 City fans. Both the teams have 100% records along with Chelsea and both will be keen to land an early blow in the title race. There is nothing obvious to choose between the teams, both have recruited well, not only on the pitch but as importantly off it too. Jose and Pep were of course colleagues as assistant manager and player at Barca, but if they were buddies then, they aren’t now. They have had fearsome clashes as opposing managers, none more so than when Jose was managing Real Madrid and Pep was managing Barca. They don’t like each other, their styles are completely alien to each other and on a stats basis it’s Pep that comes out on top thus far – in 16 meetings, Pep has won 7, Jose has won just 3 and there have been 6 draws. The Manchester derby just got a little bigger – don’t miss it!

Unsurprisingly Jose tells us that “everyone is available” – now it’s up to you if you believe him or not! The boss says that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is “ready to help us” though not necessarily for 90mins, while Mourinho’s initial comment suggests that Luke Shaw and Marouane Fellaini have recovered from knocks and Antonio Valencia is ok after returning Friday morning from South America. The exact comment was, “Everyone has returned safely and on time for at least one training session.”

Pep reveals that Claudio Bravo and Leroy Sane are both fit to play tomorrow and Ilkay Gundogan is “much better”. Captain Vincent Kompany is fit but won’t be risked until the doctor has given the club notification that he is 100%. Just a reminder if you have been in a cave all week – Aguero is suspended! Pep says he will be happy to accept a postmatch glass of wine with Mourinho, if invited. Bring it on!

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Arsenal vs Southampton (Sat 10 Sept 15.00)
A slow start to the season and the knives were out for Monsieur Wenger. And then came a trip to Watford and a couple of hand-me-down purchases late on in the transfer window and we are back to the Gooners being self-appointed title favourites. The Saints remain winless after three matches and they’ll have their work cut out to change that this weekend for they have failed to score in their last three league visits to the Emirates, with last season’s encounter ending in a drab goalless draw.

Wenger says he now has the “most mature” squad he has had for a long time – funny what getting rid of Jack Wilshere does eh Arsene? Wenger said he hasn’t yet decided if new signings Shkodran Mustafi (I’m not spelling that every week, fyi) and Lucas Perez will play at the weekend, but he spoke highly of both: “They bring us their qualities. Mustafi has international experience and Perez is versatile, can provide assists.” Interesting final comment there, does that suggest Olivier Giroud remains the no.1 favoured striker? Hmmmm. Alexis Sanchez will need to be assessed after his late return, with Wenger reminding us the Gooners play Champions League on Tuesday, but Alexis does normally start after an international. Aaron Ramsey remains missing with his hamstring injury and Gabriel, Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck remain longer term absentees, but the lack of a mention for Nacho Monreal suggests the left back has recovered from the knock that forced him off at Watford.

All the Saintly internationals returned safely according to manager Claude Puel. There is also positive news of defender Ryan Bertrand who should be available to start this weekend, while Fraser Forster who picked up an arm injury while with England is also fine to feature at the Emirates. Puel has been very impressed with Jay Rodriguez but there is not so good news on Jeremy Pied and Sofiane Boufal – Pied’s knee injury will keep him out for 6-9 months while Boufal will likely not be fit for another month or so.

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Bournemouth vs West Brom (Sat 10 Sept 15.00)
This is the dawning of the new age at West Brom – gone are the days of tight, negative, dull football and here is the new world, the world of Chadli. Come on, we can dream. The Baggies new acquisition will be keen to get started for his new owners and what better than a goal or two down by the seaside. Bournemouth will of course have other ideas and with just a single point on the board so far will be keen to get that first win under their belts.

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe is expecting a tough game from Pulis’ men – he says this every week whoever they are playing – he’s such a polite young likeable man. Howe says Jack Wilshere has fitted in well, is ready to start at the weekend and so far remains uninjured. Give it time. Howe will give his internationals a late assessment, with Josh King a major doubt after limping off for Norway with a hamstring complaint – King has not been able to train since returning. Tyrone Mings appeared for the U21s in the week as he builds up his fitness.

Tony Pulis was clearly annoyed at the lack of transfer activity in the summer but says it’s time for the moaning to stop and get on with things. I tried using that line with my mrs once. I didn’t try again. Pulis says the focus will be getting Nacer Chadli into the box and into goalscoring positions, while Saido Berahino now has a chance to score some goals and show everyone what he can do. Hal Robson-Kanu is not yet ready for a start, while Salomom Rondon will need to be assessed as he was playing in Venezuela in midweek. Chris Brunt remains out, while Jonathan Leko is a doubt with an ankle injury.

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Burnley vs Hull (Sat 10 Sept 15.00)
This is one of those games that I start off by moaning how dull and boring it will be and it ends up as a 7-goal thriller. Yeah, righto. Both teams like to keep it tight but at least both have recorded wins this season and can’t be disappointed at their starts. Hull of course went shopping late on in the transfer window and will be keen to integrate the new signings into the team asap. Their record at Burnley is not great – they have lost five of the last six at Turf Moor, scoring just one goal in the process.

An extremely boring presser from Sean Dyche who told us that there are no fresh injuries, Ashley Barnes is still out with a hamstring injury and the news you have all been waiting for is that Andre Gray will play at the weekend as we continue to wait for a date for his hearing. Dyche says that new boys Patrick Bamford and Jeff Hendrick are both coming into his thoughts for the weekend, but he is yet undecided on his starting XI.

Mike Phelan is happy with the late business the club made and says that all the new signings are available for the weekend. The caretaker boss recognises Hull’s poor record at Burnley but says he hopes his team will rise to the occasion and come away with a positive result. Striker Abel Hernandez will need assessing, but should be ok as he didn’t start either match for Uruguay, but Allan McGregor, Michael Dawson, Moses Odubajo, Alex Bruce and Greg Luer all remain long term absentees. A significant number of managers will be eagerly awaiting the news as to who Phelan chooses to play in goal with new signing David Marshall putting pressure on FPL favourite Eldin Jakupovic, who is owned by over 20% of managers.

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Middlesbrough vs Crystal Palace (Sat 10 Sept 15.00)
Most eyes will of course be on Christian Benteke as Lord Pardew looks to the striker to rescue a season which has seen the Eagles just pick up a solitary point in the first three matches. Such a shame. Boro meanwhile have started well and find themselves in 6th place and unbeaten. Palace have won just two out of their last 24 league matches and have failed to win a Premier League match this calendar year – ah this is superb and we’ll make the most of it while we can because that run should come to an end soon with Benteke and Remy up front.

Aitor Karanka is confident going into the weekend saying that his team are well organised and difficult to score against and beat. The boss says that the only definite absentees are James Husband and Grant Leadbitter, hardly two names to cause a FPL meltdown amongst managers. This presumably means that Victor Valdes, George Friend and Marten de Roon have all recovered from injury and are in contention to play. Karanka also has to decide whether to use his new arrivals, Calum Chambers and Adama Traore, while Gaston Ramirez and Stuani will both be assessed as they arrived back late from international duty.

So, Lord Pardew has stolen my crown as the worst gambler in the world. Having taken a punt of loaning Loic Remy from Chelsea, the striker then decided he had to get away and injured his thigh and has been sent back to Chelsea to recuperate. Pardew is expecting Remy to return in 7-8 weeks. The Lord says he has a decision to make as to who plays in goal, but he did say of Steve Mandanda, “he played both games for France. Game time is important. I thought he was magnificent last week”. Mathieu Flamini has joined the club and will travel with the squad though the world’s greatest manager isn’t sure if the yellow card magnet is fit enough quite yet, while there are doubts over midfielders James McArthur and Yohan Cabaye. Another to join is Benteke’s brother, Jonathan – never heard of him? Nah, me neither. “It was Christian who pointed him out to me.” Ok. This is too much for me.

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Stoke vs Spurs (Sat 10 Sept 15.00)
Stoke have not made the start they were looking for – just a draw in the opening three matches sees them at the bottom of the league and this persuaded Mark Hughes to get busy last week by bringing in Wilfried Bony and Bruno Martins Indi as loanees. Spurs have made an ok start, winning one and drawing the other two, but are hardly firing as they were for the most part last season. This fixture last April saw Spurs notch a 4-0 win and they have now won three out of the last four meetings at the Britannia.

Hughes says Bony and Martins Indi are in his thoughts for the weekend and both have trained well, but their lack of game time so far this season will be factored in. Hughes says of Bony, “at times we have been guilty of missing the final end product but I sense that Wilfried will address that.” The chances of Bony starting are increased by Mame Biram Diouf being a major doubt for the game after he returned from the internationals with a slight hamstring injury. Xherdan Shaqiri is still struggling with a calf injury and misses out, while Geoff Cameron and Ramadan Sobhi will both need to be assessed after returning late from international duty. Glen Johnson has returned to first team training but is unlikely to be thrown straight back in on Saturday. Keeper Jack Butland is expected to be missing for anywhere between 6-10 weeks, so Shay Given will continue between the sticks.

There is good and bad news for Spurs. Firstly the good as keeper Hugo Lloris has recovered from his hamstring injury and is available. The bad news is that Danny Rose picked up a similar injury while with England and has been ruled out with Ben Davies set to stand in. Harry Kane’s wing man Mousa Dembele misses out again, but this is the last game of his suspension and the midfielder who seems to press all of Kane’s buttons will be in contention to return in GW5. Erik Lamela didn’t arrive back until Friday morning and will be assessed – if he is judged to be too tired then rsenal fan Moussa Sissoko could make his debut.

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West Ham vs Watford (Sat 10 Sept 15.00)
It was always going to be a tough start for the Hammers with away trips to City and Chelsea, but now their fixtures have turned, on paper at least with Watford the visitors to the new stadium this week. The Hornets were humbled at home last week by Arsenal and will want to show a more competitive display on Saturday but will have memories of last season’s 3-1 defeat at Upton Park when Mark Noble scored two penalties. Having Noble on spot kick duty takes some of the fun away from the Hammers recruiting Simone Zaza – how we’d love to see him stuttering up to the spot again.

Slaven Bilic is relieved to not only be able to introduce his new recruits but also welcome back some players from injury. The main one being of course Dimitri Payet, who Bilic hopes can start after he appeared for France in the international break. Sofiane Feghouli and Manuel Lanzini are also in contention, while Zaza will be hoepful of a first start. The only definite absentees are Aaron Cresswell, Andre Ayew, Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho. It is speculated that Feghouli may play for the U23s on Friday night, which would rule him out of appearing vs Watford.

Watford are likely to give starts to Daryl Janmaat and Roberto Pereyra, after both impressed off the bench vs Arsenal last weekend. Defender Craig Cathcart is a doubt with a groin injury with Miguel Britos returning.

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Liverpool vs Leicester (Sat 10 Sept 17.30)
Liverpool’s first home match of the season sees the Champions come to town. Both sides have identical records so far this season with one win, one draw and one loss, which confirms Liverpool’s inconsistency and also that the Foxes won’t have things all their own way again this season. Liverpool were one of only three teams to beat Leicester last season when they triumphed 1-0 at Anfield – it’s not a ground that the Foxes have enjoyed visiting, understandable, I hated it when I went there – but I digress, Liverpool have won four and drawn the other of the last five meetings between the two at home.

Jurgen Klopp is excited at the new Anfield, he says it looks “fantastic” and ” we now have 8,000 more fans behind us.” Joy. Oh well, keeps them off the street I ‘spose – easier to control that way. Team news, ah yes team news. Emre Can returned to training late this week but won’t be ready to feature on Saturday while defender Ragnar Klavan has a knee injury which will result in Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip buddying up at the back again. Still injured are keeper Loris Karius and Joe Gomez while Mamadou Sakho will need to work on his fitness if he is to be considered. There was a scare surrounding Sadio Mane but the attacking midfielder has trained completely normally and is available.

Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel has spent the international break undergoing and recovering from a small hernia operation and he has done so successfully and is ok to play at Anfield. There is not so good news of Jeffrey Schlupp and Nampalys Mendy who are not quite ready to return. Claudio Ranieri says record signing Islam Slimani is available and could play vs Liverpool – the squad picked up no new injuries from the internationals.

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Swansea vs Chelsea (Sun 11 Sept 16.00)
It’s been an impressive start for Antonio Conte and Chelsea – three wins out of three suggests the good times are back, or at the very least, last season’s year of discontent is a thing of the past. Even the Swans beat Chelsea last season as a Gylfi Sigurdsson goal was enough to give the Welshies a 1-0 win. This was Swansea’s first and only win over the Blues in ten Premier League meetings – the season before Diego Costa scored five times vs the Swans in the two meetings and the Spanish Brazilian will be the focus of many a FPL manager this weekend.

Francesco Guidolin says it is time for his Swans to deliver after their disappointing display at Leicester last time out. This week it’s Chelsea and Guidolin’s old mate Conte, though Guidolin admits Conte has always got the better of him! New signing Borja Baston may be available for the bench while the manager waxed lyrical about new central defender Alfie Mawson who has joined from Barnsley and is “almost ready” for the Premier League – beware Jordi Amat fans, your fun is almost over it seems. Full back Neil Taylor is approaching peak match fitness after featuring for Wales, while Jefferson Montero and Sung-yeung Ki will be assessed after long-haul flights, but at least they have the extra day to recover.

Only Kurt Zouma is an injury absentee for Chelsea as they travel to Wales. Conte said the squad trained excellently this morning and this was the first time they have all been together since the arrival of Marcos Alonso and return of David Luiz. The manager said the two new arrivals are unlikely to start this weekend as they need to get used to the team, its tactics and style. Talking of tactics, Conte said that using Luiz in a back three is a possibilty in the future, but he sees the Chelsea squad as more suited to a 3-4-3 than a 3-5-2.

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Sunderland vs Everton (Mon 12 Sept 20.00)
Monday night football, on the TV, the end of the game-week, a final chance this week to climb up the rankings – what’s not to like? And it’s Moyesie!! Moyesie vs his old club, no less. Everton have moved on from our favourite ginger and have made a good start under Ronald Koeman winning two and drawing the other to sit in 4th place, but life has not been so straightforward for the Black Cats. Big Sam left for the England job just before the season, Moyesie was brought in and one point in three matches suggests a long season ahead for Sunderland. It was of course just four months ago that a 3-0 home win over Everton secured Sunderland’s survival for another season and prompted much Dad-dancing from Big Sam with Martinez quietly sloping out alone of the back door of his prom disco. While a similar result seems somewhat unlikely on Monday, consistency is not something that both teams possess right now, so never say never.

Koeman is delighted that Romelu Lukaku scored twice for Belgium in the week and believes that will help his confidence, but also that the striker is now close to being 100% fit and firing. The manager says Lukaku will face competition from Enner Valencia and also says, “we now have seven forwards for those three front positions.” Gulp – Deulofeu owners must be close to despair. Seamus Coleman is fit and ready to start, bad news this time for Mason Holgate owners, while there is further bad news for James McCarthy owners… (Ed…Cookie, stop, no-one cares.)

Moyesie says that Jordan Pickford “has the jersey, but needs to play well to keep his place.” Presumably, Ginge has told new signing, keeper Mika to ‘Relax, Take It Easy’ and he will get a chance. On the injury front, things are looking slightly better with Jan Kirchoff playing for the U23s in the week and Lee Cattermole returning to training this week. New acquisition Victor Anichebe isn’t fit to play against his old club, while Vito Mannone, Seb Larsson and Fabio Borini remain out.

Good luck for GW4!

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Thanks for reading Around the Grounds FPL Team News Gameweek 4. This article was written by Cookie

Follow @SteveCook9

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Fixture Tracker – the next 6 games

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