Team Talk Fantasy Football Gameweek 16

Team Talk Fantasy Football GW16

Well, how much fun was GW15? Ah come on, don’t tell me you didn’t secretly enjoy it? Red card after red card, yellow cards leading to suspensions, injuries mounting, the unbeatable getting beaten, a clean sheet for Simon Mignolet – it truly had it all. And that, my friends, is why we love it. After a week of contemplating how to spend your “Kun dollars” and for some, wondering how the hell they’ll field a full team, the time has come. It’s decision time. We’ve arrived. It’s GW16.
And just to string out the tension, it’s another 3-day weekend, but no early game, giving you time to get the Christmas tree and then sit back for six 3pm matches as Burnley bore Southampton, Chelsea demolish Hull, Stoke strangle Crystal Palace, Leicester roll over for Man City, Sunderland defend vs West Ham and there’s a West Midlands derby as Aston Villa take the short trip to West Brom. And that, my friends, is just the hors d’oeuvre.
Saturday evening we’re down at the Emirates as Arsenal attempt to bounce as they entertain Newcastle. And then onto Sunday lunchtime, to what is arguably still the biggest fixture in English football as Man Utd “welcome” old rivals Liverpool to Old Trafford. Following that there are reunions for Ben Davies and Gylfi Sigurdsson as Spurs travel to Swansea.
Our gameweek is completed with some good old Monday Night Football – and we’re treated to a night under the lights at Goodison as Everton take on ‘Arry’s Rangers. Much to look forward to and some points to be made up for many of us!
After a busy week of Champions League and Europa League action, coupled with all the injury updates, there is much to catch up on. Let’s go Around the Grounds to see what the managers have had to say.

Burnley vs Southampton (Saturday 13 Dec 15.00)
Southampton travel up to Burnley on the back of three successive losses which has taken them from 2nd place to fifth, while Burnley are struggling in the drop zone and need to somehow build on just two wins this season. Closer analysis on the Saints suggest they have been somewhat unfortunate of late – they kept the Gooners out until unluckily losing a defender to injury and conceding a late goal, while they had the better of United on Monday, but lost again. So the signs are not all negative for Koeman and co, but it is a run that needs to be ended sooner rather than later if they are not to be dragged into mid table. These two haven’t met in the top flight since 1974, their most recent meeting was last season in the FA Cup when Southampton triumphed 4-3 in an entertaining game – fingers crossed for the same here. Well, we can hope.

Sean Dyche says that defender Michael Duff will again be missing this weekend, though he has resumed training and could be back in GW17, while striker Sam Vokes, who hasn’t featured at all this season, continues to work towards full fitness, but is not quite yet in the manager’s plans for selection. Steven Ward has been ruled out for a minimum of six weeks with a broken ankle and Matty Taylor remains out.

Saints boss Ronald Koeman is pleased to report that James Ward-Prowse, who has not played since mid-September has restarted training and has a chance of making the squad over the weekend, but he probably needs more time. However Jack Cork has been ruled out, while Morgan Schneiderlin is unlikely to be fit, but better news as central defender Toby Alderweireld is welcomed back after recovering from a hamstring injury.

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Chelsea vs Hull (Saturday 13 Dec 15.00)
So they are beatable after all. Poor old Jose, he still can’t turn around and congratulate the winner. Then again I’d struggle to congratulate Pardew. Punch him, yeah no problem, congratulate him? Nah thanks. But moving on and it would appear that the Blues can get back to their winning ways home against a Hull side that has slipped into the relegation zone after going eight games without a win. In fact the only thing they’ve done of note lately is denying Everton a home clean sheet in GW14 – I’m not bitter, honest. Hull have never won at Chelsea. Ever. Not once. Not even in the Cup. That’s not likely to change this weekend, which will hopefully bring a smile back to Jose’s face while Steve Bruce may be plunged into a deeper gloom as Christmas approaches.

The big news from Chelsea is that first choice keeper Thibaut Courtois will miss the match with a minor muscle injury, so Petr Cech will stand in. Nemanja Matic returns from suspension, which is convenient as Cesc Fabregas sits this one out after picking up his 5th yellow card in the defeat to Newcastle. Jose says Diego Costa is now 100% fit but did also go on to say that not one of his players will play six games out of the next six. Christmas rotation is coming people….be warned and be prepared!

Steve Bruce has Mohammed Diame and longer term absentee Robert Snodgrass missing for the trip to west London, but is buoyed to be able to partner Nikica Jelavic with Abel Hernandez up front for the first time since GW7, when Hull beat Palace 2-0. That was Hull’s last win and Bruce sees the opportunity to unite his two main strikers as a potential turning point for their season. Well, maybe next week eh Brucie? The manager said he got the scouting report back on Chelsea and under “weaknesses” it said “none”. Which is pretty much what Hull will get from this game. Gaston Ramirez is available after suspension, but Haten Ben Arfa is expected to miss out, probably due to pure laziness.

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Crystal Palace vs Stoke (Saturday 13 Dec 15.00)
The ghost of Pulis past meets the ermmm, ghost of Pulis past as Stoke travel down to sauf London on the back of their tremendous victory over the Gooners last weekend. Palace themselves played well in GW15, dominating Spurs and were unlucky to come away with just a point, but that’s just two points out of nine for Neil Warnock’s men since they dispatched Liverpool with ease in GW12. A victory for Stoke would lift them up to half way in the table, though they’ll have to reverse last season’s result when a Jason Puncheon goal was enough to see the Eagles soar to victory.

Warnock says defender Damien Delaney is likely to be available for the first time since injuring his calf at Liverpool in GW12. Jason Puncheon and Joe Ledley are slight doubts for the game, but the rest of the squad is likely to remain unchanged with Warnock happy with his side’s recent displays, but worried about the lack of goals. It’s Crystal Palace Neil, what do you expect? You don’t play Liverpool every week pal. Adrian Mariappa could return in 2-3 weeks.

Mark Hughes says that defender Marc Muniesa is a major doubt with a hamstring injury, while Jon Walters has an ongoing problem with his knee which needs constant managing – the implication being that Hughes would rest Walters if he could or indeed bring him off if his team were coasting in a game. Marc Wilson should be ok, but Marco Arnatouvic and Steven Ireland are also doubts, while Victor Moses, Steve Sidwell and Peter Odemwingie will all continue to miss out.

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Leicester vs Man City (Saturday 13 Dec 15.00)
YNWA is of course synonymous with Liverpool, but will now be adopted by whoever is playing City for the next couple of months or so as they adapt to life. “You’re Nothing Without Aguero” will, of course, be a true test of City’s title credentials – just as they were hitting some form and making up ground on Chelsea, their star man has been cruelly taken away from them. And us. To soften the blow they have been presented with a gorgeous set of fixtures, starting this week at Leicester, who are bottom and have lost eight and drawn the other two since they beat United. However, those hoping that YNWA will come to fruition will of course received a shock in the arm by City’s midweek win in Rome and subsequent qualification from their Champions League group, while it is a very interesting stat that City’s win ratio with Aguero is 63%, while the ratio without him is….50? No. It’s 60%. YNWA? Nah, don’t think it will catch on. City have won their last two league matches on the road, scoring seven goals in the process, while Leicester have kept just one clean sheet in eleven. Can see where this is going…..

Leicester have been hit by news that keeper Kasper Schmeichel will miss at least 4-6 weeks after having an operation on a broken metatarsal. Ben Hamer will deputise in goal, with manager Nigel Pearson admitting he may be forced to buy another keeper in the January transfer window. In fairness to Hamer, he has already appeared in the Premier League this season, keeping a clean sheet in his only appearance away at Stoke in GW4. Wes Morgan returns from suspension, while Paul Konchesky is available after having the red card he was given at Villa, rescinded. Leonardo Ulloa is ok after limping off at Villa, while Anthony Knockaert and Ritchie De Laet are back in the squad after missing last week.

With Aguero injured, manager Manuel Pellegrini is pleased to welcome back both Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic – Dzeko started and played most of the midweek match in Rome and it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise to see the tall statue start tomorrow, with Jovetic getting a run out for the final 25mins or so. Captain Vincent Kompany is also welcomed back into the squad, while David Silva will need a late assessment, with the manager expecting him to be ok. Whether Kompany or Silva start remains to be seen. Matija Nastasic remains the only other squad member unavailable.

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Sunderland vs West Ham (Saturday 13 Dec 15.00)
It’s not only the bubbles that are flying high, the Hammers themselves are on a roll as three wins in a row has taken them into the Champions League spots. How different from this time last season when the fans were calling for the blood of Big Sam. “He’s not a West Ham manager”, they cried. “He can’t get us playing the West Ham way” – oh leave it out you idiots. West Ham haven’t played the self-proclaimed “West Ham way” since the days of Shergar and Aldaniti. Talking of horses, Andy Carroll will be hoping to emulate last week’s match winning performance and where else would the exiled Geordie rather do that than at Sunderland? The Black Cats, the enigmatic Black Cats. Hold Chelsea, stuffed by Kun, hold Liverpool, what next? The truth is no-one really knows, especially the manager, so let’s just wait and see.

Steven Fletcher has recovered from a knock and is available for Saturday, while Billy Jones and Emanuele Giaccherini are set to return to full training ahead of GW17. Patrick van Aanholt remains out, but midfielder Ricardo Alvarez is fully fit.
Big Sam says his only injury is midfielder Mark Noble, who continues to struggle to shrug off an Achilles injury. Defender Carl Jenkinson should be ok after picking up a knock on his hamstring in the win over Swansea last weekend. The manager said he feels Andy Carroll is still getting back to full fitness and he will only get better once he’s 100%, but in the meantime he is delighted to have all his strike force fit and available for selection. Even Carlton Cole.

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West Brom vs Aston Villa (Saturday 13 Dec 15.00)
Local derbies are one of the greatest ingredients in football. Whether it be the passion of the Old Firm derby, the banter before the North London derby, the local bragging rights after the Manchester derby, the coming together on Merseyside for the so-called Friendly derby or the rivalry of the Tyne Wear derby. And then you have West Brom vs Aston Villa. You know how unexciting a game is when you’re looking for an Andre Wisdom or Alan Hutton clean sheet. Which is where the problem lies. There has been 17 goals in the last four meetings between these two, with Villa winning the last clash 4-3.

Paul Lambert is hopeful that both defender Ron Vlaar and midfielder Fabian Delph could both be ready to return for the derby – both will need a late assessment, but have stepped up their training this week. Andreas Weimann returns from suspension but Ashley Westwood has been ruled out and Tom Cleverley is a doubt, but like Vlaar and Delph will need a late test and has a chance. Philippe Senderos, Nathan Baker, Joe Cole and Libor Kozak will all miss out.

Baggies midfielder Chris Brunt remains out with a hamstring injury but Claudio Yacob returns from suspension. Good news as Stephane Sessegnon and Youssuf Mulumbu have both been passed fit, while James Morrison and Victor Anichebe will both need to be assessed closer to the game. Defender Jonas Olsson remains out.

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Arsenal vs Newcastle (Saturday 13 Dec 17.30)
Now, you’re going to have to trust me here, I really don’t have anything against Arsenal. Honestly. I like their football, they’re good to watch, most of the time, and I respect the job Arsene Wenger has done at the club. But the fun just writes itself doesn’t it? Last season it was Mesut Ozil who was going to win them the league, this season it was Alexis Sanchez and then Danny Welbeck, the striker they loved to slag off until they, errrr, went and bought him! The “New Henry” they were calling him. And last week – 3-0 to Stoke….whahahaha – no-one goes 3-0 down to Stoke. Anyway, it’s been another “Wenger out” week cos they lost, though they did score a couple so Arsene could “take the positives” from the afternoon. “Wenger in” I say, it’s too entertaining watching the fans bitch and moan. The visitors this week are the Toon, the proud conquerors of Chelsea last week – can they make it a double? Unlikely, looking at previous form in the fixture as the Gooners have won the last five and lost just one of the last 17 between the two. Put that together with Newcastle’s injury lists suggests this one may be a job too big, even for Alan Pardew.

Trouble at the back for the Goonies as Wenger reveals that Laurent Koscielny remains a doubt and the odds are he will just miss out, due to the calf injury he sustained in the Southampton match. Nacho Monreal is likely to be missing for a further 7-10 days, while Calum Chambers is suspended. This clearly leaves Arsenal short at the back with Per Mertesacker looking around desperately for a partner (no Alexis or Giroud jokes please). Presumably either Hector Bellerin or Mathieu Debuchy will be asked to play alongside Mertesacker. Unless Steve Bould fancies a go. Aaron Ramsey has also been ruled out with a hamstring injury picked up in midweek, but Mathieu Flamini is ok. Tomas Rosicky and David Ospina have returned to full training, though I doubt they would be any good in defence. Mikel Arteta could be missing for a further 2-3 weeks, Theo Walcott has returned to training and is making decent progress but is now just missing fitness and won’t feature this weekend, while Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshire are obviously still out. Wenger says Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud are all fit and well rested, while he also praised the performance of Lukas Podolski and said the striker will get opportunities – presumably at centre back!! The Gooners have recalled defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin from his loan spell at Charlton.

With Toon keepers Tim Krul and Rob Eliot both ruled out, Jak Alnwick will deputise between the sticks. Krul is out until the New Year, while Eliot is likely to miss around 6-7 matches, after picking up a thigh injury vs Chelsea. Fabricio Coloccini is struggling with a calf injury, while defender Steven Taylor and midfielder Moussa Sissoko are both suspended, while Siem de Jong, Gabriel Obertan, Rolando Aarons, Ryan Taylor and Davide Santon continue to be sidelined. Pardew has said that he will have to protect Papiss Cisse over the hectic festive period.

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Man Utd vs Liverpool (Sunday 14 Dec 13.30)
It still doesn’t get any bigger than this for either United or Liverpool, forget City and Everton, it’s the first fixture both clubs look for at the start of the season. United, as we know spent years chasing down Liverpool’s record League haul and having matched and then knocked them off their perch, it’s now Liverpool who are flapping to try and get back on top. Though, on current form, a league title is season’s away for either club. United have dominated this fixture at Old Trafford over the years until last season when Liverpool triumphed 3-0, but it’ll be United coming into the game on a great run after five successive wins, which has lifted them to third place, while Liverpool hover just above mid table and will need to put their Champions League exit behind them if they are to recover anything from their season.

Angel di Maria continues to miss out for United as he has failed to shrug off his hamstring injury, while Chris Smalling, who limped off in the first half of Monday’s match at Southampton is expected to miss around a fortnight. Luke Shaw and Daley Blind also continue to be ruled out, but Phil Jones and Rafael have recovered from injury and have resumed training, while Radamel Falcao has stepped up training and is likely to feature on Sunday.

Brendan Rodgers says Adam Lallana is feeling stronger and should be ok for Sunday – the midfielder suffered two broken ribs in the recent win at Leicester, hence why his game time has been limited since. Enigmatic striker Mario Balotelli has only just returned to training, but Rodgers will give him every chance to make the game, though his record of scoring erm, no league goals so far this season, means it’s unlikely he’ll be the first name on the teamsheet. Defender Kolo Toure has recovered from a groin strain and has also returned to training and should be available for selection, but Daniel Sturridge and Jon Flanagan remain sidelined.

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Swansea vs Spurs (Sunday 14 Dec 16.00)
Got to love Spurs, they nick a couple of wins, everyone gets bullish, piles into Eriksen and Kane and then are shocked when they fail to score in their last two matches. Despite outplaying Chelsea, of course. Well this week the great pretenders march across the bridge into deepest, darkest Wales to visit Garry Monk’s Swansea. This is the Swansea, who prefer the comforts of their own home as they have gathered 17 of their 22pts at the Liberty. However, you long-suffering pretenders, this is a fixture you like – Spurs have never lost to Swansea in the Premier League, winning five and drawing one.

Neil Taylor returns from suspension into what is predominantly a fully fit squad for Garry Monk. Defender Frederico Fernandez is close to a return, but it is thought Monk will continue with Kyle Bartley this week, to save rushing Fernandez back. Lukasz Fabianski is of course suspended for this match, leaving Gerhard Tremmel to come in and deputise. Tom Carroll is unable to play against his parent club.

Spurs have a near full squad to choose from for their visit to Swansea, but one player they will have to continue to be without is Emmanuel Adebayor, who has returned to Togo for personal reasons. It is reported that the striker has accused some of practicing witchcraft on him, the term used is Juju and relates to allegations he has kicked his mum out of her house. All very strange, but in fairness it’s a better story than the usual Spurs ones. Anyway, when Adebayor returns is anyone’s guess, depends on the curse I assume, but is good news for Harry Kane and his thousands of owners and indeed Roberto Soldado. And his owner. Great news too for Kyle Walker who stepped up his comeback by playing 76mins in Thursday’s Europa defeat to Beskitas. Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen, Harry Kane, Ryan Mason, Kyle Naughton and Nabil Bentaleb were given a rest and didn’t even travel to Turkey, while interestingly Nacer Chadli did travel and played the entire game, suggesting there is doubt he will start on Sunday.

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Everton vs QPR (Monday 20.00)
The end of our gameweek, but they’ll be lots of potential points on offer for those Baines, Coleman, Mirallas and Lukaku owners amongst our throng. A quick glance at the fixture smacks of a home win, but in reality only four points separate the teams with Everton having won just once in their last six league matches. QPR, of course, come into the game on the back of last week’s victory over Burnley which lifted them out of the relegation zone, but Rangers at home are not the same Rangers we see on the road, a fact best demonstrated by their record of seven defeats out of seven away from Loftus Road.

Roberto Martinez gave the majority of his starting line up the night off in Thursday’s Europa League tie, though Antolin Alcaraz, Steven Pienaar, Bryan Oviedo and Arouna Kone all played as they stepped up their comebacks. Martinez now believes Oviedo and Kone are ready for league action, but not Christian Atsu, who suffered a hamstring strain early in the match. Gareth Barry is suspended for Sunday after collecting five yellow cards, while John Stones, James McCarthy and Darron Gibson have all returned to training and will be assessed to see if they can be part of Monday’s squad.

‘Arry is pleased to say he has no new serious injuries, but there are a few minor knocks in the squad, which are not that serious and should be fine as the game is on Monday. He is happy with his squad’s fitness going into the Christmas period. Only Sandro, Adel Taaarabt and Alejandro Faurlin are definitely sidelined through injury, while Charlie Austin is suspended following his red card vs Burnley. Steven Caulker is ok after last Sunday’s “incident” when he was taken to hospital with a cut on his head.

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Suspension Report

Players suspended for GW16

Calum Chambers (Arsenal)
Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea)
Gareth Barry Everton
Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle)
Steven Taylor (Newcastle)
Charlie Austin (QPR)
Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea)

Those players on 4 yellow cards and one booking away from suspension:

Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)
Tom Cleverley (Aston Villa)
Alan Hutton (Aston Villa)
Dean Marney (Burnley)
Steven Naismith (Everton)
Tom Huddlestone (Hull)
Jake Livermore (Hull)
Andrew Robertson (Hull)
Liam Moore (Leicester)
Martin Skrtel (Liverpool)
Vincent Kompany (Man City)
Eliaquim Mangala (Man City)
Yaya Toure (Man City)
Daryl Janmaat (Newcastle)
Leroy Fer (QPR)
Graziano Pelle (Southampton)
Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton)
Victor Wanyama (Southampton)
Mame Diouf (Stoke)
Ryan Shawcross (Stoke)
Marc Wilson (Stoke)
Ashley Williams (Swansea)
James Tomkins (West Ham)

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Africa Cup of Nations (ACON)
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[/three_fourth]Despite the fear of the spread of the ebola virus and Morocco’s decision to withdraw from hosting the tournament, the ACON goes ahead with Equatorial Guinea the new host. Qualification was completed last month, but with many managers splashing their “Kun cash” this week, we thought it prudent to list the players involved, who will miss some Premier League games, as you ponder your transfers. The tournament will be held between January 17th – February 8th, but players will likely be called to join up with their countries a few days before that. The gameweeks that will be definitely be affected are: GW22, GW23 & GW24 (bear in mind the FA Cup Round 4 is between GW22 & 23).
The players likely to be involved are:

Crystal Palace – Adlene Guediora (Algeria), Yannick Bolasie (DR Congo)
Everton – Christian Atsu (Ghana)
Hull City – Mohammed Diame (Senegal)
Leicester City – Riyad Mahrez (Algeria), Jeff Schlupp (Ghana)
Liverpool – Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast)
Manchester City – Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast)
Newcastle United – Mehdi Abeid (Algeria), Papiss Cisse (Senegal), Cheick Tiote (Ivory Coast)
Southampton – Emmanuel Mayuka (Zambia), Sadio Mane (Senegal)
Stoke City – Mame Biram Diouf (Senegal)
Swansea – Wilfried Bony (Ivory Coast)
Tottenham – Nabil Bentaleb (Algeria)
West Ham – Alex Song (Cameroon), Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Diafra Sakho (Senegal)
West Brom – Youssouf Mulumbu (DR Congo)

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[/three_fourth]AFC Asian Cup
The lesser recognised, and let’s face it, little heard of distant cousin of the ACON, unless you’re Asian of course. The Cup takes place between 9 January – 31 Janaury. Players can be asked to report from December 29th, though we expect after January 1st to be more realistic. Hence the gameweeks definitely affected are GWs 21, 22 & 23. The good news is that there aren’t many Premier League players affected but there are some so we thought we had best mention it. We are good like that. No stone unturned for you. The players likely to be affected are:

Aston Villa – Chris Herd (Australia)
Crystal Palace – Mile Jedinak (Australia)
Liverpool – Brad Jones (Australia)
QPR – Yun Suk Young (South Korea)
Southampton – Maya Yoshida (Japan)
Swansea – Ki Sung Yueng (South Korea)
West Brom – Jason Davidson (Australia)

All the above have been named in their nations preliminary 30-man squad, it is possible they will not necessarily make the final squad for the tournament.

Good luck and go big!

Thanks for reading Team Talk Fantasy Football GW16. This article was written by Cookie

Follow @SteveCook9

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WooFBet
Over on the WooFBet website the exclusive FF247 league is back for GW16 and has a prize pool of €150 and it is free to enter so get yourselves over there sharpish!

To enter, visit woofbet.com and sign up (no card details required). Navigate to the Tournament section and click participate on the ‘FF247 – €150 FREEROLL’ tab.

Isn’t it time your fantasy manager job finally paid off!

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Don’t forget to vote on our Captains Poll

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