Fantasy Football Team Talk Game-week 36 – FPL Premier League

Welcome to GW36 and what a week it’s been. Liverpool march closer to the title, The Special One loses his first ever league game at the Bridge as Sunderland’s late late escape act gathers pace, Newcastle’s holiday goes into its fifth week, West Ham are booed off again, Ramsey’s Return looks like Arsenal will nick 4^th, David Silva gets injured again and of course, dear old Moysie has gone. We’ll cover all the above in the article, but let’s have a sneak preview of what is in store for us this week.

We kick off Saturday lunchtime as Everton travel down to Southampton and then on a relatively quiet Saturday afternoon we have just four 3pm matches: Fulham entertain Hull, Stoke welcome Spurs, Aston Villa travel to Swansea and West Brom meet West Ham. Saturday evening sees Giggsy’s first match in charge as United host Norwich. Then onto Sunday and lunchtime sees Sunderland welcome Cardiff to the Stadium of Light, before the main event – probably the game that will decide if Liverpool win the league or not as they host Chelsea. Following that Man City play Crystal Palace and our gameweek ends on Monday evening as Arsenal entertain Newcastle.

Let’s get Around the Grounds and catch up with all the latest team news.

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Southampton vs Everton (Sat 26 April 12.45)

The fifth placed Toffees travel down to the South coast confident, buzzing and smug after they became the team that finally saw off Moyesie. Last week’s win over United keeps Everton sniffing on Arsene’s coat tails in the battle for a Champions League place and one feels that Everton will need to win all their remaining games if they are to make the top 4. The Saints meanwhile seem to have taken off on the hols already, having not won in three, two of which were against Cardiff and Villa. Lesson – beware the team playing for something vs the team with nothing to play for. Everton are unbeaten in their last eight matches vs Southampton, although bizarrely they have only won one of their last twelve matches away to the Saints – probably more relevant is the fact that Southampton have failed to score in the two matches J-Rod has missed due to his season-ending knee injury.

Roberto Martinez confirms that Kevin Mirallas’ groin injury rules him out for the rest of the season, while Sylvain Distin has a hamstring injury and is not available this weekend. Fellow defender Phil Jagielka is making good progress and the manager hopes to have him back in the squad next week, so Antolin Alcaraz will partner John Stones at the back this week, as he did in the second half of the win over Man Utd. The rest of the squad is unchanged from last week.

Saints midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has injured himself in training and will miss out, while young midfielder Harrison Reed also misses out with illness. Nope I’ve never heard of him either – bang goes that cheeky differential. Kelvin Davis, Maya Yoshida, Gaston Ramirez and J-Rod are all still on holiday.

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Fulham vs Hull City (Sat 26 April 15.00)

Fulham welcome Hull to the Cottage knowing a win could well see them jump out of the relegation zone, while Steve Bruce knows that 36pts may or may not be enough for safety and is targeting one more win before he can concentrate on the FA Cup final. With both sides suffering defeats in GW35, it’ll likely be a nervy encounter, full of tension and nerves. Fulham have shown signs of a late season rally with wins over Norwich and Villa and as we know, they always score at home, while Hull will hope they keep up their season-long habit of nicking the odd win, meaning they just do enough to stay up. Fulham will still have nightmares of the league meeting in December when they were trounced 6-0 at the KC Stadium and won’t be buoyed about their record vs Hull which shows them losing four of their five top flight meetings.

Hull striker Shane Long has recovered from a calf injury and will be available, while fellow striker Sone Aluko also has a chance of making the squad after recovering well from a hamstring problem. Bruce says keeper Allan McGregor is making good progress and may be available for the Cup final. Midfielder Robbie Brady and defender Paul McShane also remain out.

Midfielders Mahamadou Diarra, Sascha Reither and Kieran Richardson all return to the squad, but striker Koastas Mitroglou won’t be available…obviously…despite him returning to training – don’t want to rush the poor love do we? I mean, it’s only relegation they’re fighting to avoid. Scott Parker and John Heitinga have both recovered from knocks and are in contention – which I guess the club view as good news.

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Stoke City vs Tottenham (Sat 26 April 15.00)

Tim Sherwood takes his troops up to Stoke in the hope that he can lead them to Europa Cup qualification, before he is given the Moyes treatment at the end of the season. Stoke have nothing to play for, but are on a decent run that has seen them lose just once in eight matches. Spurs are about as enigmatic as you can get – smashed by Liverpool, they responded by demolishing Sunderland, threw away a three-goal lead at West Brom and knocked three past Southampton and Fulham – bear in mind they have lost four and drawn one of their last five matches on the road. However much I try and dress this one up, let’s not overcomplicate this – every one of the five previous Premier League meetings between these two at Stoke has ended 2-1, with Stoke winning twice and Spurs winning three – so stick a monkey on both sides to win 2-1 and you’ll be quids in Saturday evening. Job done.

Tim Sherwood announces that Michael Dawson will be available again this weekend, but Etienne Capoue and Jan Vertonghen, despite both returning to training this week, will not be ready for the trip to Stoke – and who can blame them? Erik Lamela is confirmed, again, as being out for the season. Mousa Dembele is a doubt for the game, while Kyle Walker continues to miss out.

Stoke expect Erik Pieters to return to the squad after suffering from illness, but Matty Etherington continues to be ruled out with his back injury. Charlie Adam is ok following his nose operation, but Robert Huth is, of course, ruled out for the season.

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Swansea vs Aston Villa (Sat 26 April 15.00)

The Swans gained a much need victory at Newcastle last week, taking them onto the 36pt mark and will be confident of securing survival at home to Villa. Paul Lambert will have other ideas, of course, but four losses in five matches suggests confidence in low. Since Christian Benteke suffered his season-ending injury, the Villains have struggled to find the net, scoring just once in three games and with the Swans scoring in eleven of their last twelve matches at the Liberty Stadium, you have to fear for Villa – saying that, Villa’s defensive record on the road is half-decent – they have only conceded 21 goals on the road this season, that’s eight fewer than Liverpool and each of their three Premier League visits to Wales have ended in a draw….0-0 anyone?

Garry Monk says that attacking midfielder Michu remains out with his ankle injury – a return date is unknown at this stage, but the manager hopes the Spaniard may play again this season – well, he better hurry up. Defender Chico Flores is suspended and Kyle Bartley is injured.

Villa defender Joe Bennett is the only fresh doubt with an ankle problem – Jores Okore, Chris Herd, Charles N’Zogbia, Christian Benteke and Libor Kozak all remain sidelined.

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West Brom vs West Ham (Sat 26 April 15.00)

Well, I’m trying really hard to think of something, anything to say of interest about this match. West Ham win or lose get booed off and hate their manager, while West Brom just continue to stare the threat of relegation in the face – let’s be honest there’s little positive to say about either, so to avoid you all reaching for the cyanide pill let’s just move onto the facts. The Baggies have won only won one of their last ten PL meetings with the Hammers, who themselves have lost six of their eight and not kept a clean sheet in nine matches. Avoid and move on fast to avoid clinical depression.

The Baggies will have to do without defender Liam Ridgewell, who limped out of Monday’s game at City, while Gareth McAuley will need a late fitness test as he hasn’t trained this week with a calf injury.

Big Sam reveals that Matty Taylor will probably not be available at the weekend due to a family illness, while Marco Borriello remains unavailable. The rest of the squad is fit and up for selection.

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Man Utd vs Norwich (Sat 26 April 17.30)

Just like any 80’s UK retailer, the future of this article is clouded with deep uncertainty following the demise and departure of Moyesie. My Moyesie. We’ve celebrated the good times (that draw at home to Fulham in February being a particular highlight), we’ve shared the lows (well, he created them, we took the piss out of them) and now we say farewell, au revoir, adieu. Or should we say “a bientot”, as we truly hope you turn up somewhere a bit more suitable soon. Like Mansfield or Northampton. So, Giggsy’s in charge for now – what an amazing accomplishment for the United legend, who has already achieved so much – 13 League titles, 2 Champions Leagues, 4 FA Cups for starters – his family must be so proud – well, some of them anyway. The Canaries’ manager, Neil Adams, is also new to the job, he has been in charge for just two games, both lost, though they did put up a tremendous fight against Liverpool – but hard luck stories will not be enough to keep them up, they’ll need to continue to fight and a little bit of luck along the way, especially with their fixtures.

Well, while everyone is banging on about Wazza and Mata and Januzaj, listen in. Want a differential? Shinji Kagawa – scored a hat-trick vs the Canaries last season – don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Adams says that defender Joseph Yobo is ruled out with a calf injury, but midfielder Elliott Bennett who has not played since the opening day, is back in the squad.

Giggsy has already impressed – a nice early presser at 9.30 am, clear guidance as to injuries as he declares that Rafael and RvP are still injured and are the only absentees and even made a few jokes with the media. When asked if he would play himself, Giggs replied, “of course – I’ve just given myself a new 5-year contract. I’m using the power while I can” !! See Moyesie, it’s not a difficult game. The energy, relief and freshness running through the club is likely to see a much improved performance from United – and while it would be wrong to expect miracles, some investment in United over these next 3GWs is strongly recommended. Giggs said he wants the team to play with “speed, passion, tempo, imagination, but above all, to enjoy it”.

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Sunderland vs Cardiff City (Sun 27 April 12.00)

A Sunday feast of football starts at the Stadium of Light as bottom club Sunderland host 18^th placed Cardiff – and if this isn’t a six pointer, I don’t know what is. A win for either club will be a mahoosive boost to their chances of staying up, especially for the Black Cats who still have a double game-week coming up in GW37. Gus Poyet’s men have surprised us all by taking four points out of six vs City and Chelsea, plus ending Mourinho’s unbeaten league record at Stamford Bridge, however this will mean little if they can’t then go on to beat the teams around them and survive. Cardiff have suffered just the one defeat in their last four, unfortunately there has only been one win in there and with a tricky fixture vs Chelsea coming on the last day of the season, games like this and next week’s trip to Newcastle are becoming “must wins”.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reports no fresh injuries and says that Craig Bellamy returns to the squad. Craig Noone and captain Mark Hudson remain out.

Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley is available again following suspension and could be recalled in place of Santiago Vergini, while midfielder Liam Bridcutt returns to the squad after a period out for personal reasons – probably just couldn’t work out why he joined Sunderland, poor chap. Keeper Keiren Westwood and striker Steven Fletcher remain sidelined, but most importantly Connor Wickham is expected to shrug off a knock in time for the game.

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Liverpool vs Chelsea (Sun 27 April 14.05)

So one of the most explosive and dramatic rivalries of the last decade sees another outing on Sunday – and what a huge game it is, certainly for Liverpool, who will all but guarantee the league title with victory. Even a draw would probably be enough for the title, given the scousers play Newcastle on the last day of the season. But what of Chelsea? Well, Jose has threatened to play a weakened team as he sets his sights on the Champions League semi-final 2^nd leg on Wednesday and has got the hump because the Premier League refused to move this game forward by a day or two. You have to have a certain sympathy with him, well obviously Liverpool won’t as they will love nothing more than to face Chelsea reserves – after all, the history books just show the table, not how you got there. So there is a chance that the game may not be as nervy or tense as some were expecting but with Luis Suarez and Branislav Ivanovic on the same pitch (assuming Ivan plays), there’s always the chance of some ‘armless banter. Interestingly, the Goofy One has failed to score in any of the previous five matches against the top four clubs this season- is this a pattern worth following when deciding your captain or will he break that duck on Sunday?

The main news from the Liverpool camp is regarding striker Daniel Sturridge, who limped off against City with a slight hamstring injury and hasn’t been seen since. Brendan Rodgers says the striker may be available for the weekend, but a decision on that will be taken in the next 24 hours – the manager confidently said that even if Sturridge wasn’t fit, it wasn’t a problem, “we’ve coped before”. Aside from him, Jordan Henderson is suspended and Victor Moses ineligible to play vs his parent club.

The Special One looked more like the The Unhelpful One in his presser – clearly annoyed by the fixture scheduling, the refusal of the Premier League to change the date of the game and his charge from the FA, The Frustrated One was very guarded and blunt. Basically none of the injured players will return – so John Terry, Petr Cech, Eden Hazard and Samuel Eto’o will all miss out, while Ramires’ domestic season is over after being handed a four-match ban. Asked whether the board had given him permission to field a “weakened” team at Anfield, The Evasive One said “my talks with my board are private”. So I cannot help you or advise you anymore on their line-up – but if you want my view, but bear in mind, this is just my view, I think his team for Sunday will be a lot different from his team for the second leg of the semi-final.

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Crystal Palace vs Man City (Sun 27 April 16.10)

Just when you want an easy fixture and play before your main rivals for the league, the fixture chap completely screws City with a tough trip to Fortress Selhurst AFTER Liverpool play? Now where is the fun in that? I thought, two or three weeks ago, that we were going to have a brilliant finish to the season with three clubs fighting for the title on the last day of the season, but sadly it looks like it’s not going to be the case. By the time City kick-off, they could be 9pts behind the Scousers with just four games left – actually call it 12pts as Newcastle will just be fodder for Liverpool in GW38. But let’s not forget Palace here, for they have now won their last five matches, keeping four clean sheets in the process – a true testament to great organisation, team spirit and limited game time for Marouane Chamakh.

Talking of Chamakh, he’s a doubt for the weekend, so that’s great news for Palace, while midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi is also a concern after he suffered a knock in the win over West Ham.

Manuel Pellegrini cheers up thousands of FPL managers by declaring Yaya Toure as fit. Well what he actually said was that David Silva, Matija Nastasic and Jesus Navas are all out and everyone else is fit – so presumably that includes the big man. The manager said he had no return date for Silva, but the Spanish midfielder’s twitter feed revealed he has a “sprain, grade 2 partial rupture of the ligament of the right ankle and will be out for 2-3 weeks”.

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Arsenal vs Newcastle (Mon 28 April 20.00)

Our game-week ends with the Goonies vs the Loonies on Monday evening. Just when the fans were getting on his back again, Le Proffeseur delivers his annual lecture and looks like delivering another season of Champions League football (take note Moyesie) and probably the FA Cup too, though Hull may have something to say about that. “He must go now”, “Don’t give him a new contract”, “Time for him to move upstairs” rang the headlines just a fortnight or so ago – so what does he do? Spends Easter raising Mesut Ozil from the dead and returns Aaron Ramsey from the depths of his Welsh hospital bed and BOOOOOM – the FA Cup final rehearsal is won 3-0, the defence learns how to keep a clean sheet, Lukas Podolski remembers where the goal is and even Abou “Lazarus” Diaby is soon to return to action. Alas, young Olivier Giroud still looks like he has problems finishing in the box – he has scored just four times in 13 weeks, but then as we are all aware he did have a period of great outperformance earlier in the season. The Toon are in town this week, they have very kindly agreed to temporarily leave their extended holiday for the weekend to fulfil the fixture – and what’s more Mr Angry is back in the dugout – his touchline ban is over, so beware Messrs Ozil, Ramsey & Pod – fortunately, in preparation the Goonies have made available protective headgear for their players to wear in case things get out of hand.

Wenger says that defender Thomas Vermaelen has recovered from his hamstring injury and will be available, while Diaby had a small setback after playing for the U21s and will not be available. Kieran Gibbs remains sidelined, but there are no fresh injuries from last week. There are reports that The Ox is carrying a slight groin problem and while it is not thought to be serious, the chat is it is being managed carefully.

Mr Angry tells us that midfielder Moussa Sissoko has returned to training and could feature, while Loic Remy and Mathieu Debuchy, who both appeared as substitutes last weekend could return to the starting line-up. Papiss Cisse is out for the season with a knee injury, fellow striker Luuk de Jong is doubtful with an ankle problem and midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa is doubtful with an inflated ego.

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Best of luck to you all for GW36.

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Team Talk Game-week 36, this article was written by Cookie.