Team Talk Fantasy Football Gameweek 27

Team Talk Fantasy Football GW27

Well here we are, you eager beavers, GW27 has arrived – a crucial part of the season as blank GWs are followed by DGWs and it’s time to preserve a mini-league lead for the lucky ones, while others will be throwing caution to the wind as they attempt to chase down their leader. Another busy week of European football has taken place with Man City (lost), Arsenal (embarrassed), Spurs (lost), Liverpool (lost) and Everton (phew, at least someone won) all in action, while Sunday sees the Capital One Cup between Chelsea and Spurs, hence those two have a blank FPL week alongside Leicester and QPR.
So our reduced gameweek begins down in the East End and another derby for the Hammers as they host Crystal Palace. We then have five 3pm kick offs as Burnley entertain Swansea, United welcome Sunderland to Old Trafford, Tim Sherwood takes his Villains up to St James Park to face Newcastle, Stoke and Hull do battle at the Britannia and finally West Brom take on Southampton. Sunday sees two matches and provides the highlight of the gameweek – firstly at lunchtime Liverpool face Man City at Anfield, with both teams in great league form and that is followed by a tricky away trip for Everton as they travel down to Arsenal.
Let’s go Around the Grounds and see what the managers have had to say.

West Ham vs Crystal Palace (Sat 28 Feb 12.45)
Lord Pardew of the Palace takes his troops north of the river for a lunchtime derby with the Hammers, who in a few week’s time will just be glad to be playing someone not based in the capital. Big Sam and his men were unfortunate to only get a draw last week at Spurs and will be looking to go one better this week against a Palace team who have a draw, a victory and a defeat in their last three. Not that West Ham’s form has been any better, they are winless in their last four, though those games were against Liverpool, United, Southampton and Spurs and their only defeat was vs the scousers. A Mile Jedinak penalty was enough to win the corresponding fixture last season and a similar result this season would see Palace reach 30pts and close to safety, while Big Sam will be desperate to get back to winning ways.

Big Sam says his only injury worries are strikers Carlton Cole and Andy Carroll, while midfielder Morgan Amalfitano misses out through suspension. New signing Nene will likely make the bench after building up his fitness. Now Nene is a striker, but listed as a midfielder in FPL I see. Not a Tip, that’s Kop’s job, but worth pointing out to you. Think I’ll be avoiding him myself as everytime I see his name i see an image of a mixture of Nani and Bebe.

Just to add to the absence of strikers in the game, Pardew has confirmed that Palace frontmen Fraizer Campbell, Yaya Sanogo and Marouane Chamakh will all be unavailable. Campbell could be out for 5/6 weeks, while Sanogo and Chamakh could be out for a couple of weeks. There is better news of James McArthur, who has returned to training this week and is fine, while fellow midfielder Mile Jedinak is now 100% fit.

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Burnley vs Swansea (Sat 28 Feb 15.00)
Burnley are in a dogfight to stay up, but last week’s battling draw at Chelsea will have given their confidence and belief a huge boost and they welcome Swansea this week knowing that a win would likely take them out of the drop zone, helped by QPR’s blank week. Swansea had a great result themselves, beating United at the Liberty, a victory that cements their position in the top half. And everyone said they’d miss Wilfried Bony! Both club’s form is scratchy and any result is possible here – one thing almost certain is goals as Burnley have kept just one clean sheet in fifteen matches and have scored in every game bar two in eleven. The Swans have kept just one clean sheet in eight and have only ever won twice at Burnley.

Burnley have no fresh injury worries for the game, with just Dean Marney and Kevin Long remaining on the treatment table with long-term injuries. Matty Taylor is back training with the first team squad, while Stephen Ward is a couple of weeks away from full match fitness. The form of Danny Ings may be the key to Burnley’s survival – the striker has scored in five of the last seven matches and a goal at the weekend will take him into double figures for the season.

Garry Monk reports that he has no new injury concerns, with just Kyle Bartley ruled out with a knee injury. Then again, Monk has been known to conceal information before so treat everything he says with a pinch of salt.

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Man Utd vs Sunderland (Sat 28 Feb 15.00)
The loss at Swansea last week has made this a must win for United as they attempt to hold on to a Champions League place, with others now sniffing on their tails. The LVG philosophy remains unconvincing for many and failure to really dominate teams and control games is a worry for the Reds with their fixtures due to turn for the worse in a couple of weeks. Fortunately for United, Sunderland make LVG’s men look positively exciting – a failure to score at home vs QPR and West Brom, so maybe they’ll take heart from a fixture on the road, especially when you bear in mind that they have scored in their previous three away matches. It’ll probably be tight, low scoring and dull and don’t bet against the Black Cats taking something from the game – they are unbeaten in their last four vs United.

LVG has revealed that Robin van Persie is the only squad member not available – the striker picked up an ankle injury in the defeat at Swansea and there is speculation he could be out for 4-6 weeks. Fellow forward James Wilson has recovered from a dead leg sustained in an U21 match on Monday and Michael Carrick has returned to full training after missing the last four matches, but is unlikely to feature due to a lack of match fitness.

Poyet comments that Patrick van Aanholt will come back in contention this weekend, with the manager saying he was left out vs WBA as he felt his side needed height. The Black Cats will be without Jack Rodwell and Billy Jones for GW27 – they are not far away, but won’t be risked, though both could be available for GW28. Will Buckley may return to the squad, while midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini is likely to miss the rest of the season after suffering another ankle injury.

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Newcastle vs Aston Villa (Sat 28 Feb 15.00)
7 December 2014 – that was the date of Villa’s last win in the league! Eleven matches and just three points later sees Villa second from bottom, struggling for points and goals, yet we’re led to believe they’re in good hands in the shape of Tim Sherwood. Well, according to Tim Sherwood anyway. Newcastle sit ten points ahead of Villa and while they’re probably not far away from safety, their recent form is also rubbish – they were handed their usual lesson by City last week and have won just two in eleven. Villa haven’t won at Newcastle since 2005, then again it probably feels to them that they haven’t won anywhere since 2005.

Newcastle stand in boss John Carver reports that Daryl Janmaat is fine – the full back was taken off as a precaution at City and has trained well this week. Steven Taylor, Paul Dummett, Remy Cabella, Chieck Tiote, Rolando Aarons and Siem de Jong all remain out, while Jack Colback is suspended. Surprising but great news that Jonas Gutierrez could make the bench.

Villa have a small injury crisis of their own, with most of it concerning their defence. Philippe Senderos is still not training due to his calf, while Aly Cissokho and Alan Hutton both have knocks, with Sherwood describing Hutton as “touch and go”. Oh and don’t forget Ron Vlaar, he is suspended! Kieran Richardson is also ruled out, not that you care.

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Stoke vs Hull (Sat 28 Feb 15.00)
When Stoke vs Hull isn’t the dullest fixture of the weekend, it doesn’t bode well for Match of the Day viewing figures, but in fairness it also highlights that both have stepped up recently to produce some decent performances. Last week’s win against gonad-grabbing QPR has lifted Hull away from the drop zone for now, but they’ll find it tough vs a Stoke side which has beaten Arsenal and drawn with United at home this season and has only lost once to Hull in their last eleven meetings. However, Steve Bruce’s men have won two and drawn the other of their past three matches in the league and will go into the game believing they can continue their run and achieve a victory that, if other results go their way, could see them jump three of four places to just under half way in the league.

Stoke welcome back defender Geoff Cameron, who returns from suspension, while Erik Pieters is fine after limping out of the win at Villa with pain following his hernia operation. However, defenders Ryan Shawcross and Marc Muniesa both remain out while Peter Odemwingie and Bojan Krkic are longer term absentees.

Hull midfielder Mo Diame will continue to miss out with a knee injury, while defenders Liam Rosenior and James Chester will be unavailable until April. Robert Snodgrass, the forgotten man, is still not sure if he will be able to return before the end of the season.

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West Brom vs Southampton (Sat 28 Feb 15.00)
The battles of the defences is sure to be the order of the day. Another clean sheet for the Baggies last weekend showed Tony Pulis at his best – organising a team to keep it tight – although it was against Sunderland. So it doesn’t really count. Southampton boast the meanest defence in the league, conceding just 19 goals in 26 matches. Last week’s loss at home to Liverpool was the first time they have conceded two goals in a match since their home defeat to United in GW15 so don’t expect a classic. Hence, it won’t surprise you to learn that there has only been a total of two goals in the last three meetings between the clubs – their meeting this season at St Mary’s in GW2 ended….go on guess…..yep, 0-0! Do I need to go on? Nope, thought not.

Pulis says that midfielder James Morrison and striker Saido Berahino will need to be assessed before the weekend. Morrison is struggling with a hamstring injury, while Berahino was, according to Pulis, “Cattermoled” in the goalless draw at Sunderland last week. Aside from that pair, Victor Anichebe has a chance of being available and could replace Berahino if required.

The Saints will continue to be without Toby Alderweireld, who is not quite ready for a return, but has returned to training and could well be in the squad for Tuesday night’s match vs Palace. Sadio Mane was punished last week for his poor time keeping, but has now served his punishment and will come back into the side, with Koeman suggesting he could be played through the middle. Another to return is Ryan Bertrand, who has completed his suspension and will replace Matt Targett, who had a shocker vs Liverpool. Eljero Elia is confident of shrugging off a knock but Jay Rod and Emmanuel Mayuka remain sidelined.

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Liverpool vs Man City (Sun 1 Mar 12.00)
The match of the weekend at Anfield sees the meeting of the two in-form teams of the division. City are scoring goals again, knocking in nine in their last two matches and have lost just once in 17 league matches. Pretty decent form, yet Liverpool’s form is equally as good – just one loss in ten, winning five out of their last six, which also includes five clean sheets in six matches. Who said Simon Mignolet was a dodgy keeper?! Philippe Coutinho was the hero for Liverpool in this fixture last season, scoring the winner in a 3-2 victory which threatened to derail City’s title challenge – the diminuitive midfielder is in great form, scoring two and assisting five in his last ten matches, including last week’s blockbuster at Southampton. Anfield has not been a happy hunting ground for City, who have not won there since 2003 when Premier League traveller Nicolas Anelka scored both City goals. City come to the game on the back of their midweek defeat to Barcelona, in which they rallied well in the second half after spending the first 45mins probably wishing they were facing Stoke rather than the Catalans, while Liverpool lost in Besiktas despite being given their usual five penalties per match.

A long, draining 120mins in Turkey on a Thursday night is not the ideal preparation for the visit of the Champions and it will become apparent on Sunday, how much the match took out of those that played. Injury magnet Daniel Sturridge played 105mins, while Sleepy Raheem Sterling played all 120mins, highlighting the problem Brendan Rodgers has for Sunday, with limited recovery time. Jordan Henderson is hoping to recover from the minor ankle injury that kept him out of the trip to Istanbul, while Philippe Coutinho will definitely be involved after Rodgers decided to leave him at home. Mad Mario will of course be keen to score vs his old employers. Steven Gerrard and Lucas remain out as does Jon Flanagan and Jose Enrique, while Sunday is likely to come too soon for Mamadou Sakho, who has only just returned to training.

City has no new injury worries and welcome back Yaya Toure into the side after the midfielder missed the defeat to Barca through suspension. Manager Manuel Pellegrini must decide whether to persevere with Edin Dzeko up front alongside Sergio Aguero, or hand Wilfried Bony a first start – or alternatively, he may choose to play the in-form David Silva just off the Argentine.

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Arsenal vs Everton (Sun 1 Mar 14.05)
The end of our gameweek, but many, if not all managers, will have strong representation here and will be hoping for a huge influx of late points to boost their total score. Recent results have shown us that, Man City vs Newcastle apart, there are no guaranteed results in the Premier League. Or indeed the Champions League, eh Arsene? Fresh off their midweek humiliation at home to Monaco, the Goonies will either surge back to beating below average Premier League sides or their Champions League hangover will have an adverse effect to inflict a second embarrassing 90mins at the Emirates in four days. Of course, Wenger’s men should really win. Everton are awful, even worse after playing on a Thursday night and the last time they won at Arsenal, Neville Southall was in goal for them, John Major was Prime Minister, Charles and Diana were still married and England were still crap at cricket. The Toffees have won just once in their last ten matches, while the Gooners are on a hot streak of five league wins in six, scoring 15 goals in the process.

Wenger says he expects a strong response from his side after their midweek capitulation. Nothing new really injury wise – Jack Wilshire is out for a few (more) days after (more) minor ankle surgery, while Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini are not quite ready, but both could make the midweek squad at QPR. Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy are still weeks away.

Roberto Martinez says that Romelu Lukaku is fine, despite coming off after 48mins on Thursday – the striker was showing signs of tiredness, but has trained well Friday morning and all is well. Gareth Barry returns from suspension this week, while Aaron Lennon and John Stones come back into the squad after they missed Thursday’s Europa victory through ineligibility and suspension, respectively. Darron Gibson and Leon Osman are both back and featured vs Young Boys, with Gibson especially impressing, but Tony Hibbert, Aidan McGeady, Bryan Oviedo, Steven Pienaar and Christian Atsu all remain unavailable.

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Suspension Report

Players suspended for GW27
Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa)
Jack Colback (Newcastle)
Morgan Amalfitano (West Ham)

Players who receive ten cautions by the second Sunday in April will receive a 2-match ban. Players currently on 9 cautions are:

Gareth Barry (Everton)
Phil Bardsley (Stoke)
Lee Cattermole (Sunderland)
Neil Taylor (Swansea)

Thanks for reading Team Talk Fantasy Football GW27. This article was written by Cookie

Follow @SteveCook9

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WooFBet

We would like to remind you that our official partners, WooFBet, are again running a whole host of prize competitions, which will please many of you who are slowly building a lovely retirement nest egg, while others continue to persevere in the hope that this week will be their week! If you haven’t done so yet we recommend you get yourselves over to WooFBet.com as this week they have over €300 in free entry prizes and a whopping €1475 in guaranteed pots. You also have the option to create your own tournaments and head-to-head challenges. Choose your rules and buy-in fee, and invite friends or leave it open for the public to challenge you.

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Don’t forget to vote in this week’s Captain Poll

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