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Around the Grounds FPL Team News Gameweek 10

By FF247 on October 23, 2016 207 Comments

Around the Grounds FPL Team News Gameweek 10

Welcome to Around the Grounds FPL Team News Gameweek 10. Another week, another week to disappoint and deflate – or as so many are feeling after a rough few weeks which has seen captain choices fail and regular names not delivering. And so onto game-week 10 and we kick off at the Stadium of Light where Sunderland host Arsenal in the lunchtime match. Five 3pm matches follow as Man United aim to bounce back from last week’s nightmare at Chelsea as they host Burnley, Boro face Bournemouth, Spurs welcome the Champion Foxes, Hull go to Watford and West Brom tackle Man City. Liverpool again appear in front of the cameras as they face Palace under the lights at Selhurst… oh the memories. Sunday sees two matches – firstly Everton welcome the Happy Hammers before in-form Chelsea go to Southampton. Our game-week ends as we get to find out if Bob Bradley and his men can do their thing on a cold Monday night in Stoke. Let’s go Around the Grounds to see the latest team news.

Sunderland vs Arsenal (Sat 29 Oct 12.30)
Oh dear, oh dear – life ain’t great for Moyesie. Sunderland have for the second consecutive season failed to win any of their first nine matches and life ain’t about to get any easier as Arsenal stroll into town. Two points from those nine matches results in winless, hopeless, useless Sunderland lying 18 points behind their opposition who are second to Man City on goal difference. There is allegedly no truth to the rumour that Moyesie was trying to raid the Chinese market for star striker “Win Won Soon” and there would appear to be more basis to the fact that the Black Cats do indeed have three seasons left in the Premier League – Autumn, Winter and Spring. The Gooners are unbeaten in their last 13 meetings with Sunderland, winning 8 of those.

It’s been another week of misery for the Black Cats – they were dumped out of the League Cup by Southampton reserves, could and maybe should have had a penalty, which resulted in Moyesie getting sent to the stands and then they had to stay in Southampton for the night as fog meant they couldn’t fly. Hahahahaha – sorry. Actually I’m not sorry. Anyway, since then Moyesie has been charged by the FA and Sunderland have returned home. Onto the team news, just on the off chance that you care – Adnan Januzaj has returned to training and will be assessed today to see if he can be added to the weekend squad. Defender Jason Denayer has also returned to training but won’t feature this weekend, while Vito Mannone, Seb Larsson, Fabio Borini and Jan Kirchoff all remain absent.

I hope you made the most of it while you could with young Theo. The in form, usually underperforming wannabe Man City winger missed the midweek League Cup win with illness. Having recovered from that, he has now picked up a slight hamstring problem – he will be assessed today, but Wenger’s comment that “he should be ok for the Champions League on Tuesday” suggests he won’t be risked. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s impressive performance in the week adds ammunition to the argument that Walcott won’t start. Santi Cazorla and Nacho Monreal also face fitness tests today, but there is better news of Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey who should return to the squad. However, the Gooner jinx has struck Lucas Perez, who got a kick in the midweek win and faces 6-8 weeks on the sidelines. The injury room conveyor belt continues to work well. Xhaka misses out through suspension.

Man Utd vs Burnley (Sat 29 Oct 15.00)
Last weekend’s loss at Chelsea certainly raised more questions than answers for Mourinho, who was clearly angry and embarrassed at being humiliated on his return to the Bridge. For Burnley, GW9 provided a much needed win as they snuck past Everton with a late winner to give them some breathing space from the drop zone. Most will be expecting United to return to winning ways, after all they haven’t lost at home to Burnley since 1962 and although Sean Dyche’s men have proved resolute at home, they have conceded three goals in each of their three away matches so far.

Jose was fairly useless in regards to team news in his presser, meaning I cannot bring you an update on the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial or Chris Smalling. He praised Michael Carrick but said he has to be managed due to his age. That really was about it unless you care about Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Jose said soon there “will be no problem”. Oki doki. Thanks Jose. Eric Bailly has been ruled out for around two months, while Phil Jones is obviously injured.

Good news for Burnley as Stephen Ward has recovered from a knock picked up last week, George Boyd who missed the win has trained ahead of the trip to United and Ashley Barnes is close to being in contention. It doesn’t end there as naughty boy Andre Gray has served his suspension and is available if Sean Dyche wants to throw his striker straight back in. Steven Defour remains a doubt with the manager saying his midfielder is “touch and go” – comments like that are enough for young Andre to reactivate his Twitter account.

Middlesbrough vs Bournemouth (Sat 29 Oct 15.00)
Unlikely to be the first game shown on Match of the Day on Saturday evening, most FPL managers with any interest here will likely be concentrated on the defensive qualities of both teams. Boro were Scrooge-like in gaining promotion last season and battled to keep out Arsenal last week, which should give them confidence as they seek their first clean sheet at home this season, while Bournemouth have been surprisingly tight thus far, holding off Spurs last week for their third clean sheet at home. These two have never met in the top flight, but the last three meetings between the two at Boro have all resulted in draws.

Aitor Karanka says he felt Boro could easily have come away from the Emirates with the three points last week and his team will have been boosted by the performance. There is little change in the injury situation – Grant Leadbitter and James Husband continue to build up their fitness but Calum Chambers is available again after being ineligible to play vs Arsenal.

Andrew Surman has recovered from the illness that kept him out of last week’s draw with Spurs and could replace Dan Gosling in midfield. Junior Stanislas will be assessed late on but remains a doubt for the game, while Brad Smith and Lewis Cook remain out.

Spurs vs Leicester (Sat 29 Oct 15.00)
The visit of the Champions to the Lane will only serve to rekindle Spurs memories of what could of been last season, before they blew themselves up. However, it is Mauricio Pochettino’s men who have started the season better as they remain unbeaten and sit in 5th place, just a point behind the leaders. The Foxes consistency from last season has disappeared, somewhat unsurprisingly, but last week’s win over Palace will at least give Claudio Ranieri’s skulk of foxes some confidence as will the memory of winning at Spurs last year courtesy of a rare Robert Huth goal.

Spurs will again be without Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld for the visit of Leicester but Poch says that both are making excellent progress. Expect Eric Dier to partner Jan Vertonghen again at the back, while Son-Heung-min is likely to start up front. Spurs will be confident as Leicester have lost all four matches on the road, conceding 13 goals, but before all you Spurs fans (are there any here?) get too excited in front of the weekend, bear in mind that Ranieri has never lost a league game vs Spurs.

Ranieri says he was delighted with his team’s win over Palace last week – “I recognised my players again” ! However he knows Saturday will be tough and expects Spurs to be challenging for the title again. Midfielder Andy King has recovered from a knock, but Nampalys Mendy, Matty James and Ben Chilwell remain unavailable. Jamie Vardy will be hopeful of a recall after being benched vs Palace and Ranieri admits he is considering changes for the weekend while he also has one eye on Wednesday’s trip to Copenhagen as the Foxes continue their Champions League adventure.

Watford vs Hull (Sat 29 Oct 15.00)
Poor old Hull – the manager walks out just before the season, the squad has less strength in depth than a puddle and then they only go and win their opening two matches, including the opening day victory over the Champions. But just one draw in their next seven matches sees the club firmly entrenched in the Sunderland zone – even Stoke beat them last week. Watford have made a decent start – 12 points from 9 matches sees the Hornets sit in ninth place. This will be the first meeting between the two in the top flight, though the two did meet in the Championship in 2012/13 with the away team winning each time. Watford striker Troy Deeney has scored in each of the previous three meetings with Hull and is one short of 100 goals for the club. The Hornets have won just one of their last five Premier League games at Vicarage Road and just two of their last 11, but with Hull shipping 1 goals in their previous two away days a home win looks likely.

Watford can welcome back Daryl Janmaat as the Dutch defender has shrugged off his shoulder injury, though manager Walter Mazzarri is unsure if he will start or not. However, Isaac Success remains out with a foot injury, while Craig Cathcart, Kenedy and Stefano Okaka remain sidelined.

Bad news for Hull and those FPL managers who have included Adama Diomande in their 3-5-2 system as the striker has been charged with violent conduct by the FA and after accepting the charge has been suspended for three matches. Micky Phelan says Tuesday’s win in the League Cup has brought a smile to the faces of the squad again – errrr hold up, you were playing Bristol City. Still, beggars can’t be choosers I suppose. Injuries again become a problem for Phelan with creative midfielder and Gallant Pioneer’s BAE, Robert Snodgrass, ruled out for around four weeks with an ankle injury – Snoddy, as GP calls him, joins Andrew Robertson, Alex Bruce, Allan McGregor, Dieurmerci Mbokani, Brian Lenihan and Moses Odubajo in the treatment room which is quickly becoming in need of an extension.

West Brom vs Man City (Sat 29 Oct 15.00)
It’s three league matches without a win for City and Pep, but the lack of bite from the pussies of North London mean the Citizens remain on top of the league, on goal difference. It was another failure for Kun last week and if this carries on he will soon be losing his “must-have” status for the masses. This week sees Pep’s Premier League education extend to West Brom and Tony Pulis. Should be an interesting match up. The Baggies were soundly beaten, in performance if not score, by Liverpool last week and will want to bounce back on Saturday – however they have lost all the previous nine meetings with City, conceding 23 goals in the process.

Pulis is his usual unhelpful self – “We’ve got one or two knocks and niggles that we won’t be sure about until Saturday, but I don’t want to say any names.” Thanks pal. Jonny Evans returns from suspension while Claudio Yacob replaces him on the naughty step – either Chris Brunt or James Morrison will replace Yacob, while Evans will return in place of Jonas Olsson. Saido Berahino is still believed to be working on his fitness – whatever, no-one owns him, well no-one I know anyway.

Much FPL chat these past few days has surrounded City, Pep and Sergio Aguero. Sadly there is nothing concrete to bring you from the Spaniard – he says that Kevin de Bruyne and Pable Zabaleta are “getting better” but didn’t confirm if they would be available for the trip to the Hawthorns. He then went on to say that Vincent Kompany will continue to be managed after only being able to play 45mins in the midweek Cup defeat at Old Trafford. Bacary Sagna and Fabian Delph are expected to miss out. Bear in mind City host Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool (Sat 29 Oct 17.30)
Nights under the lights at Selhurst Park don’t bring happy memories for Liverpool – images of Dwight Gayle’s inspired comeback and Suarez crying will live long in the memory, but a closer look at recent events suggest things may well be different as Liverpool have won on their last two visits to Selhurst, with Christian Benteke scoring the winner last season. Tekkers is now at Palace of course and he’ll be chomping at the bit to prove Jurgen Klopp wrong for selling him. Liverpool have of course been impressive this season and are on level points with Man City and Arsenal at the top, while for Palace it’s been an inconsistent and unconvincing start to the season and were undone fairly easily by Leicester last week.

Palace have a doubt over Jason Puncheon who is struggling to shake off a calf injury. The better news is that Scott Dann is now 100% and with the Lord talking about Palace’s lack of clean sheets, it’s fair to assume that Dann will come back into the team. Loic Remy remains out until December and Pape Souare until next year. Pardew is fully expecting Benteke to be up for the game vs his former club.

Klopp says “we have a few knocks.” Hey hey hey Jurgs. Let’s nip this in the bud right now – do not take lessons from Pulis pal. James Milner has been struggling with illness, though he did some running on Thursday and will be checked after training today. Oh well, if Milner doesn’t make it at least we may have the joy of watching the legendary Alberto Moreno parade himself. So with no further details we’ll have to see if these knocks clear themselves up, which we expect they will.

Everton vs West Ham (Sun 30 Oct 13.30)
It’s been a season of mixed fortunes for these two so far – Everton started well and sit sixth but were beaten last week, while the Hammers had a dreadful start but have won their last two, so trying to predict what may happen here is nearly impossible. I say nearly, because one reliable stat we have to go on in this fixture is that Romelu Lukaku always scores vs the Hammers – he has found the back of the net in all of the last eight meetings with the eastenders and has contibuted a goal or assist in all but one of Everton’s previous six league matches. Sunday captain anyone?

Ronald Koeman confirms that Leighton Baines and James McCarthy will again miss out for the Toffees – Bryan Oviedo will likely fill in at left back again with the manager saying he is happy with the defence. Koeman did say he isn’t happy with things further up the pitch, bemoaning a lack of creativity. Enner Valencia is ineligible to play vs his parent club while Mo Besic remains a long-term absentee.

Slaven Bilic expects to name the same squad that disposed of Chelsea in the League Cup in the week – the manager said there are a few minor knocks but “nothing serious” and was particularly pleased to be able to introduce Andre Ayew from the bench for the last 12mins vs the Blues – Ayew is very close to a start according to his manager. Aaron Cresswell is available again after serving his suspension. Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho, Arthur Masuaku and Sam Byram all remain unavailable. Edimilson Fernandes impressed as a right wing-back vs Chelsea and may retain the spot which allows Bilic to play Michail Antonio as a central striker.

Southampton vs Chelsea (Sun 30 Oct 16.00)
Full of confidence after hijacking Jose’s homecoming last week, Chelsea travel down to the south coast to face an inform Southampton side who have recovered from a stumbling start under Claude Puel to find themselves in eighth place and fresh off a draw at the Etihad last weekend. Since losing to Liverpool and Arsenal, Antonio Conte has now masterminded three wins on the spin, none bigger than last weekend and while Conte wasn’t around for last season, the players will remember winning 2-1 down at St. Mary’s. With their lack of involvement in Europe this season, maybe we were too quick to write off the Blues – a fourth successive victory will erase those doubts and see the Blues become a formidable force in the race to the top once again.

Southampton full back Ryan Bertrand is getting close to a return and will be checked on Saturday to see if he can come back into the squad, although young Sam McQueen has impressed since being given his chance. Sofiane Boufal was the star of the show vs Sunderland in the week, but Puel says, “it’s just the start for Boufal – we have to be patient with him.” Matt Targett, Cedric Soares, Shane Long and Jeremy Pied remain out while Jay Rodriguez is a doubt.

Not much in the way of team news for Chelsea. Branislav Ivanovic is available if required (unlikely) after recovering from injury, but Cesc Fabregas remains out and Kurt Zouma continues to build up his fitness. John Terry is fit again and played in the defeat at West Ham in the League Cup, but three successive clean sheets in the league may see Conte revert back to a back three of Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta. Willian also played in the week and will be challenging Pedro for a start.

Stoke vs Swansea (Mon 31 Oct 20.00)
Ah ye of little faith – everyone loves a Monday night football player in your FPL ranks. Even if it’s a Stokie. Well, Arsenal fans won’t of course, but they live in their own little world. So whether it’s Allen or Arnie, Grant or Pieters or indeed Siggy or Kingsley, strap yourself in for some Monday evening fun which will hopefully result in a late climb of the rankings. Let’s be honest, both teams have been dreadful this season, although Stoke have won their last two which has seen them replaced in the Sunderland zone by, yep you’ve guessed it, Swansea. So all to play for at the wrong end of the table as Bob Bradley seeks his first victory for the Welshies – however Stoke have never lost at home to Swansea in the Premier League.

Jack Butland continues his road back to playing with Mark Hughes saying he is “progressing” but will clearly not be rushed back – Hughes hopes to have his no.1 keeper back in “weeks rather than months” assuming there is no setback. Geoff Cameron is a doubt after picking up a knock late on at Hull – Hughes is hopeful the American will play if he can return to training on Sunday. Glen Johnson, Stephen Ireland and Ibrahim Afellay all remain out, while Phil Bardsley is unavailable after a family bereavement.

Swans winger Jefferson Montero has returned to training, with Bradley saying, “he has made great progress. If we are lucky he can play Monday, if not then he will play very soon.” Nathan Dyer is a long term absentee, while the back four of Kyle Naughton, Mike van der Hoorn, Alfie Mawson and Stephen Kingsley teamed up to produce the Swans first clean sheet of the season last week and may well be given another go.

Suspension Report

Any player who receives 5 yellow cards before 31st December will face a one-match suspension. There are a number of players on four yellow cards so we thought it prudent to detail those suspended and those nearing a suspension in case it affects your transfer decision.

Suspended for GW10:

Xhaka (Arsenal)
Moussa Sissoko (Spurs)
Claudio Yacob (West Brom)

One yellow card away from suspension:

Diego Costa (Chelsea)
Gareth Barry (Everton)
Idrissa Gueye (Everton)
Robert Huth (Leicester)
Marouane Fellaini (Man Utd)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Man Utd)
Gaston Ramirez (Middlesbrough)
Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City)
Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City)
Jan Vertonghen (Spurs)
Jose Holebas (Watford)
James Mcclean (West Brom)
Mark Noble (West Ham)
Winston Reid (West Ham)