Team Talk Fantasy Football Game-week 18

Team Talk Fantasy Football GW18

No poems, no songs, no game intros – the FPL Scrooge (Init) has spoken and decreed that no fun or “crap songs” may be enjoyed by anyone. Bah humbug ya grumpy old git! Boxing Day footy is one of the greatest traditions in sport and gives many the opportunity to don their coats and scarves and escape the domestic Christmas mayhem for a few hours. GW18 kicks off on Saturday lunchtime in Stoke as United come to visit with LVG allegedly under fire and on borrowed time. Seven 3pm matches follow with West Ham going to Villa, Bournemouth hosting Palace, Chelsea welcome Watford, Klopp’s Liverpool get to watch Riyad Mahrez and co strut their stuff as the Foxes go to Anfield, Sunderland have the simple task of stopping City at the Etihad, Spurs play Norwich and Swansea and West Brom do battle. Everton’s trip to Newcastle follows and then finally our game-week is brought to an end as Arsenal go to Southampton for an evening kick off
Deadlines!
Please be aware of the different deadline times over the Christmas period.

We’ve added in GW21 there because despite it not really being part of the Christmas fixtures it is still worth noting as it’s an odd one being on a Tuesday evening and the first one back after the break.

There will be no TeamTalk for GW19, but given GW18 and GW19 are so close then much of the team news you read below will be relevant for both game-weeks. Bear in mind also that many managers will rotate their squads to some extent so it’s wise where possible to have a squad full of starters.
Let’s Go Around the Grounds to see what those pesky managers have had to say.

Stoke vs Man Utd (Sat 26 Dec 12.45)

Mark Hughes says Geoff Cameron is unlikely to be fit for the two festive games as he won’t be taking any chances with any of his injured squad. Peter Crouch has already been ruled out, though the beanpole striker has returned to training while Shay Given, Marc Muniesa and Stephen Ireland remain sidelined. The Potters are unbeaten in the last two vs United but have also won just one of the last sixteen meetings.

Poor old LVG has had a rough week. Disconsolate and bereft of ideas or excuses after the home loss to Norwich and then there was huge speculation during the week that he was about to be replacd by Jose Mourinho, Ryan Giggs, Pep Guardiola, Neil Lennon, Fred the Red and Sir Alex Ferguson. Some management team that. Grumpy in his presser LVG asked for an apology from the press and when he didn’t get one wished everyone a Happy Christmas and walked after saying the injury situation is pretty much unchanged. Matteo Darmian has a chance of returning vs Chelsea in GW19 but Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia and Jesse Lingard remain unavailable while Bastian Schweinsteiger completes his suspension.

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Aston Villa vs West Ham (Sat 26 Dec 15.00)

Villa boss Remi Garde says his team need ten wins to escape relegation and it really is now or never with games vs Norwich and Sunderland coming up after the visit of West Ham this week. Garde is hopeful that Micah Rcihards may be available for Boxing Day but won’t know for certain until training on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, left back Aly Cissokho has been recalled from his loan spell at Porto and will be available for Villa from GW21 when Palace visit Villa Park.

Slaven Bilic is expecting to select from the same squad that drew at Swansea, but there appears to be better news on the horizon. Manuel Lanzini is progressing well and could be available for the Southampton game in GW19, while Dimitri Payet remains ahead of schedule and is expected to resume training with the squad after this weekend with a view to him returning in or around GW20. Andy Carroll remains out with a groin strain but could return vs Southampton on Monday. Bilic is expecting a tough time at Villa but three clean sheets in a row have proved the Hammers resilient – however a failure to also score in the last three have highlighted how much they miss the likes of Payet and Lanzini – you’ll not therefore be surprised to learn that the Hammers have failed to score in three of the last four meetings with Villa. Pretty sure this one won’t be a Christmas cracker!

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Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace (Sat 26 Dec 15.00)

The Cherries are on a roll having won three matches on the bounce and now find themselves four points clear of the drop zone. They welcome sixth placed Palace this week, though manager Eddie Howe says he is “unsure” if attacking midfielders Junior Stanislas and Josh King will play any games over the Christmas period, which presumably rules them out of Boxing Day at the very least. Tommy Elphick, Tyrone Mings, Max Gradel, Christian Atsu and Callum Wilson remain unavailable to Howe.

Festive fun from the Lord as he says he has a number of injuries in the squad, but refuses to name them as he claims he doesn’t know the seriousness of them at this stage. One of those is rumoured to be Yannick Bolasie while we know that Connor Wickham is struggling with a hamstring injury. Midfielder Yohan Cabaye is rated 50/50 as he has a heel injury, while Bacary Sako and Dwight Gayle have already been ruled out. Mile Jedinak has at least shaken off his inury and will make the squad. In the Lord’s own words, “the next two games are about the squad.”

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Chelsea vs Watford (Sat 26 Dec 15.00)

New Chelsea boss Guss Hiddink says that Eden Hazard returned to light training on Wednesday and will need to be assessed further before the weekend to see if he can feature vs Watford. Radamel Falcao remains out injured. Hiddink didn’t say much of note, but says while it is mathematically possible for Chelsea to reach the top four, the strength of teams such as Leicester, Watford and Palace will make it tough. He is looking for his players to show the desire on the pitch that he has witnessed on the training ground and wants them to go a run of results to follow on from last week’s win.

Watford left back Nathan Ake is ineligible to face his parent club, so manager QSF will decide between Ikechi Anya and Jose Holebas to deputise. The Hornets have no new injuries but will continue to be without defenders Sebastian Prodl, Joel Ekstrand and Tommy Hoban. Odion Ighalo has scored in his last four league matches and if he nets vs Chelsea he will break partner Troy Deeney’s record.

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Liverpool vs Leicester (Sat 26 Dec 15.00)

Jurgen Klopp confirms that Martin Skrtel has been ruled out for a while with a hamstring injury picked up during the loss at Watford – the defender himself sent out a message on social media in the week suggesting it could be six weeks. The good news, ish, is that Dejan Lovren has trained this week and is available but James Milner remains out. Simon Mignolet has recovered from his hamstring injury, while Daniel Sturridge, is doing his own “little pre-season” for the next week or ten days “and then we will see”.

Claudio Ranieri said that “everybody is fine”, which should hopefully ease the fears of worried Jamie Vardy owners – the record breaking striker hobbled away from Goodison last week with the manager saying it wasn’t a serious injury and Vardy was just “a bit tired”. Midfielder Danny Drinkwater is recovering well but won’t be risked with Andy King performing well. Jeffrey Schlupp remains unavailable while Robert Huth returns from suspension to bolster the defence. The Foxes haven’t won at Anfield since 2000 but will feel this is their best chance as they aim to step up the pace at the top of the league.

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Man City vs Sunderland (Sat 26 Dec 15.00)

City needed some good news and Santa has delivered as captain Vincent Kompany has finally been passed fit to play. This is huge news for City who have looked awful at the back in Kompany’s absence and they have failed to keep one clean sheet while he has been missing. In the eight games he has played, City have kept seven clean sheets and conceded just a single goal. Pablo Zabaleta and Fernando are also available again, leaving Samir Nasri as the only squad member out. Manuel Pellegrini says Sergio Aguero was never going to play 90mins vs Arsenal and it may take 3-4 matches for the striker to play a full game as he returns from injury. Despite not being in red-hot form City have won six out of six against bottom six opposition this season.

The Black Cats have a small crisis in midfield – Seb Larsson and Lee Cattermole are injured and Jack Rodwell’s booking at Chelsea last week was his fifth of the season, which apparently came as a surprise to Big Sam and his staff. Nothing like keeping on top of things, though to be fair Rodwell has hardly played so maybe its excusable. In fact Rodwell hardly played for City either. Sunderland have never won at City in the Premier League and it would be a massive shock if they bucked that trend on Saturday. Younes Kaboul has suffered a hamstring strain and will be missing for several weeks, leaving Big Sam with just three fit central defenders, one of whom is Wes Brown. Adam Matthews is also out after damaging ankle ligaments. Jeremain Lens returns to the squad after missing the loss at Chelsea for disciplinary reasons, though the player is apparently looking to move from the club. Can’t blame him.

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Spurs vs Norwich (Sat 26 Dec 15.00)

Harry Kane and Danny Rose have both been passed fit for Spurs while midfielder Ryan Mason has recovered from injury and is available for selection if Mauricio Pochettino “decides to select him”. The only squad members unavailable are striker Clinton N’Jie and midfielder Alex Pritchard.

Alex Neil reports no new injuries for the Canaries. Full back Andre Wisdom will undergo a late fitness test after missing the win at United, while Matt Jarvis remains unavailable. The manager says he will make changes for the trip to Spurs with the all-important clash with Villa coming up just two days later.

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Swansea vs West Brom (Sat 26 Dec 15.00)

Swansea are hoping that Angel Rangel and Wayne Routledge will be available for Saturday after both have been able to train this week. Rangel limped off vs West Ham last week but scans have shown he suffered only a minor ankle sprain, while Routledge missed that match with a knee injury but if he comes through training unscathed he could feature up front alongside Andre Ayew, as he did at City in GW16. The Swans will, however, continue to be without Eder and Franck Tabanou.

Tony Pulis says he will definitely rotate his squad over the Christmas period and suggests that Saido Berahino will get an opportunity to play before the January window opens and Spurs come sniffing around again. James McClean and Salomon Rondin start three match bans which mean their Christmas should be more enjoyable, while Claudio Yacob is back in contention after returning back from Argentina.

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Newcastle vs Everton (Sat 26 Dec 17.30)

Toon chief Steve McClaren said the injury situation is beginning to ease as defender Jamaal Lascelles has returned to training, while Rolando Aarons, Steven Taylor and Emmanuel Riviere are also closing in on a return. However the news is not so positive on Papiss Cisse, who picked up a groin strain in the draw with Villa last week and could be ruled out for up to a month – as a result the club has recalled Ivan Toney from his loan spell at Barnsley. Gabriel Obertan, Tim Krul and Massadio Haidara remain out.

The injury situation is showing huge signs of improvement for Everton with Roberto Martinez saying that Steven Pienaar, Phil Jagielka, Bryan Oviedo and James McCarthy will all feature over the next three weeks, despite not being ready for Boxing Day. Someone who could make the trip to Newcastle is Steven Naismith who resumed training Thursday after suffering a small ankle knock. Romelu Lukaku is looking to score for the eighth league match in a row, though Martinez would just be content with a win as the Toffees have picked up just three points in their last four matches.

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Southampton vs Arsenal (Sat 26 Dec 19.45)

Four defeats in five matches and just one point from a possible fifteen ain’t great, but welcoming a buoyant Arsenal to St Mary’s on Boxing Day is not going to make Ronald Koeman’s turkey taste any better. There is however some positive news as first choice back up keeper Maarten Stekelenburg has recovered from a toe injury and will be available to go face-to-face with Olivier Giroud, assuming the keeper has no setbacks in training before the weekend. Even better news for the Saints as Fraser Forster has resumed full training and is building up his fitness and will look to play some U21 matches in the New Year to prepare him for a return to the first team. Saints have not lost to Arsenal in their last four home meetings and won last season’s fixture with goals from Dusan Tadic and Sadio Mane – maybe a surprise is in store?

Arsene Wenger says none of his injured contingent will return at the weekend and so he will select from the same squad that disposed of Man City on Monday. Alexis Sanchez has been ruled out until GW21 after suffering a setback just as he was about to be named on the bench for Monday’s win. Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Jack Wishere, Danny Welbeck, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky all remain out.

Suspension Report GW18

Suspended this week –

Bastien Schweinsteiger (Man Utd)
Jack Rodwell (Sunderland)
James McClean (West Brom)
Solomon Rondon (West Brom)

It’s worth being aware that any player who receives five yellow cards before 31st December will receive an automatic one match ban. Those players currently sitting on four yellows are:

Jordan Ayew (Aston Villa)
Daniel Gosling, Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth)
Diego Costa (Chelsea)
Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace)
James McCarthy (Everton)
Jamie Vardy (Leicester)
Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool)
Nicolas Otamendi (Man City)
Vurnon Anita, Ayoze Perez, Cheick Tiote (Newcastle)
Sebastian Bassong (Norwich)
Jose Fonte, Oriol Romeu, James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)
Jan Vertonghen, Kyle Walker (Spurs)
Charlie Adam, Glenn Whelan (Stoke)
Ashley Williams (Swansea)
Etienne Capoue (Watford)
Matthew Connolly, Allan-Romeo Nyom (Watford)
Craig Gardner, James McClean (West Brom)

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On behalf of us all at FF247, we’d like to wish you all a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas.

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Thanks for reading Team Talk Fantasy Football Game-week 18. This article was written by Cookie

Follow @SteveCook9

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