Team Talk Fantasy Football Game-week 36

Team Talk Fantasy Football Game-week 36

So, just three game-weeks to go before our summer holidays, although watching some of the Premier League teams you could be mistaken for thinking they have beaten you to the beach. But for us we need to finish the season well, chase down or see home our mini-leagues and ensure that this season doesn’t go down as our worst ever! There is no early match this week, but we do at least have a full compliment of fixtures, so no excuses for not fielding a full team this week. Five 3pm matches kick us off as Everton host Bournemouth, Newcastle aim for a much-needed win at home to Palace, Sunderland do likewise at Stoke, relegated Villa go to Watford and it’s “Go West” as Bromwich face Ham. The early

evening should treat us well as Arsenal welcome Norwich at the Emirates. Onto Sunday and Liverpool go to Swansea, before Leicester visit Man Utd and will seal the league with a win. In the final game of the day, Southampton welcome Man City. Our game-week concludes Monday evening and it’s Spurs again, for the 3rd Monday in a row as they take the short trip to Chelsea.
Both Man City and Liverpool have been involved in Europe this week and face 2nd leg ties next week, so good luck with the rotation! Let’s go Around the Grounds to see what the managers have had to report.

Everton vs Bournemouth (Sat 30 Apr 15.00)
If ever a match should be played on the beach it’s this one as both teams seemed to give up the ghost weeks ago and are seemingly playing out the season with little regard to result or performance. Everton may consider themselves unlucky to have lost last week’s Cup semi-final to Man Utd and Saturday will tell whether that is still on their minds or if under-fire manager Roberto Martinez has been able to galvanize them to finish the season strongly. Bournemouth can be slightly forgiven for their drop in form, they reached the 40pt mark weeks ago and in their first season in the top flight they have proved many doubters wrong. However, four defeats in five won’t be a stat that pleases Eddie Howe and he will want to take the winning feeling into the summer. Everton have failed to win any of their last eleven league matches but have’nt lost to Bournemouth in five previous meetings.

The Toffees will be weak again in defence as Seamus Coleman and Phil Jagielka are ruled out through injury while Ramiro Funes Mori is suspended. The make-shift defence won’t be helped by the absence of Gareth Barry who is missing with a groin injury. U21 striker Kieran Dowell could be handed an opportunity, with Martinez saying the youngster has been outstanding for the U21s this season and is ready for the first team. Romelu Lukaku has scored in both appearances vs the Cherries this season, but is anyone brave enough to jump on the perennial FPL let down?

Bournemouth are hopeful that Max Gradel will return to the squad having missed out last week with a dead leg. Defender Adam Smith is unlikely to play again this season as he has a hernia while Harry Arter is improving but is unlikely to be risked, with Howe saying, “we have to think of his long term future.” Tyrone Mings continues to be sidelined. Although the Cherries are on a poor run of form, they have only lost one of their last seven away matches.

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Newcastle vs Crystal Palace (Sat 30 Apr 15.00)
Palace of course will be feeling glad all over after reaching the Cup Final, which is great in every regard apart from we’re going to have to listen to the Lord blowing smoke up his own arse over the next few weeks. Joy. But of course, that’ll mean more ammunition for me, so it’s not all bad. The Toon need wins and quick. Draws vs City and Liverpool are great, and shouldn’t be undervalued, but draws are unlikely to keep them up. This week presents a decent chance for Rafa Benitez’s men, they have shown that they can play at home and will want to recapture their form from when they beat Swansea comfortably in GW34 and maintain the momentum that recent results have brought. Palace have won just one of their last twelve meetings with the Toon – unfortunately for Rafa and crew that one was the last one in November when the Eagles won 5-1 at Selhurst Park.

Rafa will again have to do without Fabricio Coloccini and Daryl Janmaat, although both could return to training next week. Fellow defender Kevin Mbabu is available again, Steven Taylor has returned to training, but Tim Krul, Rob Elliot and Massadio Haidara remain out. Papiss Cisse is likely to start again and he has scored in all three of his previous matches vs Palace.

Pardew says last week’s win at Wembley was superb but he will need to focus his team on this weekend as Palace are still not mathematically safe. The Eagles only concern is WIlfried Zaha who is rated at just 50-50 to make the trip. The Lord says he is desperate for Newcastle to stay up, but with a virtually fully fit squad for the first time in weeks the manager is hopeful that his team can carry on their momentum to produce their first win in the league since GW17. Marouane Chamakh has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

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Stoke vs Sunderland (Sat 30 Apr 15.00)
You have to give credit to Sunderland. Every season they embark on a “surely they can’t get out it this time” battle vs relegation and guess what? They’re at it again. Seven matches and just one defeat, with the only loss coming at Leicester, who beat everyone anyway. However, a bit like their nearest and dearest, there have been too many draws in that period – five to be exact, so maybe this week will be their turn to celebrate a win. They have a chance one feels as they are playing a team in Stoke who have lost their last three matches, conceding four goals in each of those and frankly look like a team who should be partying with Bournemouth, Everton and Watford in Tenerife. The Black Cats turned Stoke over at the Stadium of Light in GW14 but have failed to win any of their previous three visits to Stoke, with two of those matches ending in draws. No surprise there and of course it’ll be no surprise if this one also ends in a stalemate. Stoke will probably take that on current form, but will it be enough for Sunderland?

Marko Arnautovic is a doubt for Stoke after picking up a knock in last week’s defeat at City – manager Mark Hughes is naturally desperate for his leading scorer to play and will give him every opportunity to prove his fitness. Xherdan Shaqiri should be back after recovering from a hamstring injury while Jon Walters could also be a surprise inclusion in the squad. More changes in goal as Shay Given picked up a groin injury at the Etihad, so Jakob Haaugard will play in the continued absence of Jack Butland. Glen Johnson has a chance of returning to training next week.

Jeremain Lens has recovered from illness to give Big Sam a fully fit squad to select from as they travel to Stoke. The manager is looking for Fabio Borini to fire up in front of goal to take some of the pressure of leading scorer Jermain Defoe with the Black Cats failing to score in three of their last four matches.

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Watford vs Aston Villa (Sat 30 Apr 15.00)
Relegated Villa travel to Watford having achieved ultimate success at last after scoring two goals last week vs Southampton. Yes, two goals, in one match! Let’s forget about the fact that they let in four, that’s just become standard practice. The Hornets meanwhile will be disappointed after losing last week’s semi to United and must try and recover some sort of winning feeling after falling apart since Christmas. Amazingly, these two produced five goals between them when they met in November, with Watford winning 3-2 with both Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney scoring – ah those were the days. What happens this week is frankly anyone’s guess and I assume apart from Gomes, a Watford defender or a wild punt on Deeney, you’ll not really care that much, so let’s move on.

Interesting times at Watford – one would imagine that having led the Hornets to safety and also to the FA Cup semi-final, the club would be happy with QSF, but it’s looking increasingly likely that the managerial merry-go-round will continue in the summer. QSF says that Ighalo is in the right frame of mind to play vs Villa, despite the death of his father on Monday. Midfielder Etienne Capoue misses out with a knee injury and could miss the last four matches of the season.

The Villans welcome back defender Ciaran Clark for the trip to Watford as he has recovered from the knock that kept him out of last week’s defeat to Southampton. However, Kieran Richardson again misses out through injury, while Micah Richards faces a race against time to be fit after being forced to withdraw at half time last week. Jordan Amavi won’t be selected again this season, while Jack Wilshere wannabe Gabby Agbonlahor has apologised to the fans for his “actions”, been fined and has resigned as club captain – and will apparently be available for selection after this week. All a bit of a shambles, summed up perfectly by Eric Black – “I should have listened to my wife and not taken the caretaker job. I’ve never seen a team surrounded by such negativity.”

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West Brom vs West Ham (Sat 30 Apr 15.00)
Just as we’d labelled West Brom as an easy touch, they go and become firm favourites of Arsenal, West Ham, Chelsea and Leicester fans by spoiling Spurs’ title chances. Their performance at the Lane bared all the hallmarks of a Pulis team of yesteryear – gritty, organised, determined, niggling, dreadful to watch – but mighty effective, if you’re a fan of a spoiler. Not a spoiler in the West Ham world of course, no they are more used to spoilers in the form of a Mark 11 Escort or Subaru, but I digress and I’m not actually sure where I’m going with this. The Hammers will still believe they can finish above 5th placed Man Utd but a win is likely necessary here, so expect the usual flair and panache from Slaven Bilic’s men while you can expect the usual from Pulis’ boys.

Pulis is hopeful that keeper Ben Foster will be able to train today, which will leave the manager a selection headache with Boaz Myhill performing well at Spurs. Midfielder James Morrison is training but not quite fit enough to play, while Sadio Berahino will face a late fitness test with Pulis saying, “if he is fit, he will play.” The Baggies are likely to introduce some of the youngsters into the first team before the end of the season with midfielder Sam Field and strikers Jonathan Leko and Tyler Roberts the names mentioned by Pulis who says the youngsters deserve a chance after impressing in training.

Slaven Bilic says the aim is to secure a top six place and win the remainder of their games in order to bring European football to the new stadium. The Hammers will be wary of going to West Brom having seen the Baggies dent Spurs’ title hopes last week with Bilic expecting a tough game, but West Ham will be at full-strength for the trip. Sam Byram played for the U21s on Monday to build up his match fitness and Bilic may choose to recall the defender who has missed the last seven matches.

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Arsenal vs Norwich (Sat 30 Apr 17.30)
They can’t win the league (did any of us really believe they would?) but the Gooners will still think they can finish above Spurs – and that really is what their season is built upon now. Norwich at home is pretty much up there with the nicest fixture possible, though their welcoming of Villa in GW38 will obviously just sneak ahead. Having failed to score or beat a resolute Sunderland last weekend, Arsene Wenger will be keen for his lads to turn on the style and put on a performance for his adoring fans, or at least those who turn up. The poor Canaries shouldn’t stand a chance – they have conceded at least three goals in each of their last five trips to Arsenal but did at least manage to hold the Gooners to a 1-1 draw at Carrow Road in November.

Are you sitting down? You need to be because I have ground-breaking news. Arsenal have no injuries. It’s true, honest! Wenger says that Santi Cazorla could even make the squad vs Norwich – we haven’t seen young Santi since 29th November. The only squad member who won’t be considered this week is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who has just returned to training this week.

Norwich will clearly have their work cut out at the Emirates but at least they will able to call upon Russell Martin who has recovered from a virus. He may have another one if my man Alexis (c) does what is required on Saturday evening. Fellow defenders Andre Wisdom and Tim Klose have both been ruled out for the season and Alex Tettey remains unavailable.

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Swansea vs Liverpool (Sun 1 May 12.00)
Poor old Swansea need to do soemthing about Francesco Guidolin if he stays on next season. Ever since Romeo returned to attending matches and stopped spending the weekend’s curled up with Juliet, the Swans have played like a bunch of Aston Villa wannabes. Last weekend at Leicester was a great case in point – Vardyless, Mahrez relatively quiet, yet the Foxes still strolled to a 4-0 win in a match that should have been more competitive. Liverpool come to town less than 72 hours after their Europa semi-final first leg, which means only one thing – Klopptation. Word of advice here, don’t try and second guess the German as to what team he will put out – if you have or buy Liverpool assets then be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. And if I read any comments on site when the team is announced such as, “I hate Klopp. I hate Cookie.” I will hunt you down. By the way, the scousers have their won last five meetings with the Swans and could probably play the U21s this week and still win. Which on both counts is very likely.

The Swans will be without midfielder Leroy Fer and striker Alberto Paloschi for the visit of Liverpool. Aside from these two, Francesco Gaudolin will have a fully fit squad to select from and though he didn’t understand the term “on the beach” he says his squad are working hard in training and are determined to finish the season strongly.

It’s all a bit déjà vu’ish as we look forward to Liverpool’s visit to the valleys on Sunday. Thursday’s Europa defeat to Villareal and the fall-out from it has not made life any easier, with Klopp saying, “we have to respect the intensity of the last game. We will need fresh minds and fresh legs vs Swansea.” Cue the rotation! Klopp says he hasn’t yet been able to check on his players as they only returned from Spain at 3am, but he did say keeper Danny Ward will likely play on Sunday. Philippe Coutinho didn’t emerge after half time on Thursday as he was unwell, Daniel Sturridge didn’t appear at all, but Christian Benteke came on as a last minute substitute for Firmino who maybe played more minutes than Klopp will have liked due to Coutinho’s illness. No-one bar Klopp really knows where that leaves us in term of selection for Sunday, but we all remember his selection at Bournemouth after the Dortmund tie which resembled more of an U21 match. What we do know is that Jordan Henderson, Emre Can, Danny Ings and Divock Origi are ruled out with injury, while Mamadou Sakho is banned. Now you know what I know, so please don’t ask me if Coutinho, Firmino or Sturridge will play or start at Swansea!!

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Man Utd vs Leicester (Sun 1 May 14.05)
Today could be the day. A win for Leicester would seal the most unlikely title win ever, well certainly in my lifetime and I’d hazard a guess that I’m older than most of you (not you Elle, sit down). To win the title on Sunday, the Foxes will need to produce their first win at Old Trafford since 1998 – but they’ll be confident with every good reason and showed last week that they can still win without the Artful Dodger Jamie Vardy and a quiet(ish) Riyad Mahrez. Vardy of course is still suspended but Fagan Ranieri showed last week that he is tactically astute enough to plot and plan without his main marksmen as was shown in the comprehensive win over Swansea. All will not be lost for Leicester if they fail to win as even a draw would mean Spurs would have to win at Chelsea on Monday for Leicester not to be crowned top dog this game-week.

LVG reveals there are no new injuries for United with just Bastian Schweinsteiger and Luke Shaw ruled out. After an impressive display in the Cup semi-final last week, Wayne Rooney is again likely to be adopted in a midfield role, while the conundrum of who will start in defence continues with the safest candidates remaining David de Gea, Chris Smalling and the “midfielder” Daley Blind.

I say it every week, but how can one not love Claudio. He steps into his presser and goes round and shakes every hand in the room, which incidentally was jam-packed with standing room only. And while the rest of us worry about rotation, Ranieri jokes, “I have a lot of choice. I have 24 players. Maybe I’ll change them all! The Tinkerman never changes his ways!!” Lovely stuff. In fact, he does have most players available, with only Jamie Vardy and Matty James not in contention. Obviously, Leicester will make few changes – Leonardo Ulloa has recovered from his back injury that he picked up in last week’s win over Swansea. Ranieri is calling for his players to be strong and solid at Old Trafford.

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Southampton vs Man City (Sun 1 May 16.30)
City will need to forget about their Champions League distractions if they are to fend off the challenge of Arsenal for the coveted 3rd place position. Next week’s fixture between the Goonies and City will obviously be key for that but Manuel Pellegrini’s men will not want to go into that game with a 3pt deficit, and with Arsenal at home to Norwich this week City will likely need to get something out of Sunday’s trip to Southampton. The Saints won 4-2 at Villa last week, but I’m not sure how much we can read into that – apart from the fact they conceded two! City have won the last four meetings between the two and a fifth straight win here would leave them in good shape going into next week’s big match vs Arsenal.

Saints striker Charlie Austin has returned to training to give Ronald Koeman a fully fit squad for Sunday’s visit of City. Austin is unlikely to start, while Graziano Pelle could be handed a recall in place of Jay Rodriguez.

City midfielder David Silva has been ruled out for 2-3 weeks with a hamstring injury, while Yaya Toure will also miss out vs Southampton though there is a chance of him being fit for the second leg vs Real Madrid. There is better news of Samir Nasri who has trained this week and will be in the weekend squad and Raheem Sterling could also see some game time as he continues to build up his fitness. Manuel Pellegrini says, “to play 8 games in 30 days is a lot for this squad so I’m making rotations in every game we play.” Expect Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov to start at full back, while Eliaquim Mangala may come in to allow Vincent Kompany a rest. Regarding Sergio Aguero and KdB, well they weren’t mentioned by Pellegrini but I would think it’s safe to assume that they will see limited game time vs the Saints.

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Chelsea vs Spurs (Mon 2 May 20.00)
Poor old Spurs, they had us believing for so long. They’d bucked the trend, they’d shown a new belief, they were the team with momentum, but it seemed like it was one Monday evening match too many as they succumbed to West Brom’s boredom last week. Of course it’s always difficult to be the team chasing and also playing last in the game-week, especially if the team they are chasing has won convincingly the day before. Chelsea would love of course to be the team that officially and mathematically end Spurs’ chances and they’ll come into the game confident having seen off holiday-bound Bournemouth last weekend. Just when things couldn’t look much bleaker for Spurs, they’ll need no reminding of the fact that they have never won a Premier League match at the Bridge.

Chelsea could welcome back John Terry and Gary Cahill for Monday night, though Hiddink suggests that Terry won’t be ready to play the whole 90mins. Kurt Zouma and Loic Remy both remain sidelined for the Blues and Asmir Begovic will continue in goal as Thibaut Courtois completes his suspension.

Spurs will be without the suspended Dele Alli who decided to pretend to be Muhammed Ali vs West Brom and won’t now play again this season. Apart from his ten goals and twelve assists, it may also be worth noting that Spurs have only won one of the six matches that Alli has missed this season, proving how crucial he has become to the team. Eric Dier suffered concussion vs Stoke but has trained this week and Mauricio Pochettino says a decision on him will be made on Sunday. Nabil Bentaleb is the only other player unavailable.

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Suspension Report for Game-week 36

Those players suspended this week are:

Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea)
Ramiro Funer Mori (Everton)
Jamie Vardy (Leicester)
Dele Alli (Spurs)

Please note that a player will not now be suspended for receiving 10 yellow cards – the next limit is 15 yellow cards which is valid until the end of the season.

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

Follow @SteveCook9

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