Team Talk Fantasy Football GW11

Team Talk Fantasy Football GW11

GW11 is upon us, which is news welcomed by some and feared by others, depending on how your GW10 turned out – or put more simply, whether you owned Alexis and Chambers or not! Well, you’ve had all week to revel in your success or reflect on the disappointment and plan your comeback. Whether GW11 is a good or bad one, enjoy it for we then have another annoying international break, giving you a chance to get your life back, talk to your partner and mates and get out again. So here we go and we kick off at Anfield for the early game as Liverpool host Chelsea – will Chelsea “park the bus” again? Has Gerrard changed his boots from last season? All will be revealed. We then have just four 3pm matches as Burnley entertain (?) Hull, Crystal Palace go to Old Trafford to face United, Southampton welcome Leicester and West Ham take on Aston Villa at the Boleyn. Early evening we are down in west London as Man City travel down to face QPR. Sunday sees our Europa League representatives play as Spurs host Stoke and Everton go to Sunderland, while at the same time West Brom take on Newcastle at the Hawthorns. Our final match of the gameweek will excite many (i.e. Alexis owners) as Arsenal travel the length of the M4 to play Swansea.
With European action this past week, we have plenty to catch up on, so let’s go ‘Around the Grounds’ and find out what the managers have been saying.

Liverpool vs Chelsea (Sat 8 Nov 12.45)
Memories of last season’s clash between these two will be recalled leading up to the game – the bus, the slip, the collapse of Liverpool’s title bid. However, Brendan Rodgers and his men will have no excuses this season, especially when you bear in mind that he decided to rest most of his first team in that small midweek friendly in Madrid. Simon Mignolet is one person likely to start both matches – the keeper, or more like punch bag as he was on Tuesday, produced one of his finer performances in a Liverpool shirt. From a very low base admittedly, but even so, you can only save what is shot at you. Chelsea of course spent a frustrating Wednesday evening in Maribor, but are unbeaten in their last four vs Liverpool, with Eden Hazard scoring in two of his three appearances against them.
Liverpool haven’t scored in their last two league matches and will not be helped by the continued absence of Daniel Sturridge who has yet to return to full training, with manager Brendan Rodgers saying of his striker, “He’s probably a little bit of time away”. Aside from Sturridge, none of Liverpool’s other strikers (Lambert, Balotelli, Borini) have scored in the league this season, so much will continue to depend on Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard. Jon Flanagan, Jose Enrique and Mamadou Sakho all remain on the sidelines.
Jose Mourinho has revealed he has a fully fit squad for the trip to Anfield. Diego Costa will start the game and then take a complete break after Spain decided not to call him up for their internationals. In Jose’s own words that means Costa will “not train or receive treatment, but just rest for a few days and make the full use of the two week break”. No operation was spoken about. Cesar Azpilicueta returns from suspension and is expected to reclaim his left back berth, while Loic Remy and Jon Obi Mikel have recovered from injury, leaving everyone available for selection.

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Burnley vs Hull (Sat 8 Nov 15.00)
Poor old Burnley – a couple of opening defeats was followed by three scoreless draws and we all thought they’d push on having proved their resilience. However, since then, 15 goals conceded in five matches and just one point gained has seen them firmly entrenched at the bottom, they’re even making Sunderland and Leicester seem partially respectable. Well, Sean Dyche’s men now enter a run of games which could have a huge bearing on their survival hopes – three home games in their next four, starting with Hull this weekend and followed by Villa and Newcastle. Hull themselves are not exactly doing great, two wins and five draws, but they have at least shown some fight of late, with draws vs Arsenal and Liverpool and they only lost to Southampton last week due to their third choice keeper doing his best Vito Mannone impression. Traditionally this is not a high scoring match, four of the last five meetings between the two has ended 1-0., while Hull’s away form is rubbish, they have won just once in their last ten on the road. But this is Burnley – and if Hull can’t win this one, then they’ll probably never win away again. Ever.
Burnley have no new injuries for the game and could even welcome Steven Reid back into the squad. Matty Taylor remains out, while striker Sam Vokes is recovering well, but won’t be rushed back any time soon.
Hull’s first choice keepers Allan McGregor and Steve Harper have resumed training and there is a hope that one or both could make a return to the squad, but a late decision on both will be taken to give them maximum time. If neither make it then Eldin Jakupovic will continue between the sticks. Alex Bruce, Michael Dawson, Robert Snodgrass, and Nikica Jelavic are all still sidelined . Gaston Ramirez is eligible to play again. Steve Bruce says he is preparing his team as if they were playing Arsenal or Liverpool – so expect Hull to create plenty of chances and concede a harsh penalty in a silent stadium full of fickle fans praising their manager and then calling for his head 25mins later.

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Man Utd vs Crystal Palace (Sat 8 Nov 15.00)
The problems are not disappearing for LVG – more injuries, suspensions, doubts on whether Radamel Falcao will be a United player next season and van Gaal himself said in August, “give me three months”. Luis, those three months are up and so what can we expect now? Well, Palace are in town. This is the Palace that were humbled and humiliated by Sunderland, yes Sunderland (!!), at home on Monday. Palace have lost three out of four, but could at least beat Leicester, something United couldn’t do, so rule nothing out here – a cheeky away win is as likely as a thumping home win. How times have changed. United won both games vs Palace 2-0 last season with RvP and Wayne Rooney both scoring in each game and their record vs the Eagles is good, winning ten and drawing two of the last twelve. Palace has conceded at least two goals in each of their last six away matches in the league.
Palace have no new injuries for the trip to United, but Mile Jedinak is suspended following his sending off vs Sunderland and Wilfried Zaha is ineligible to play vs his parent club. Neil Warnock says his squad have a couple of niggles, but nothing too serious, while defender Damian Delaney is expected to return from injury, probably at the expense of Brede Hangeland.
LVG has confirmed that defenders Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Rafael and Jonny Evans are all ruled out, though the good news is that Rojo will not need an operation and should miss just six weeks at the most. Radamel Falcao hasn’t recovered from injury and remains on the sidelines, so Antonio Valencia will play right back, while the speculation is that Michael Carrick and Paddy McNair will play at the back, with Chris Smalling suspended. It’s a pretty good time to play United.

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Southampton vs Leicester (Sat 8 Nov 15.00)
Who can stop this Southampton juggernaut? Well, in all likelihood it ain’t going to be lowly Leicester, who are in the relegation zone and have gained just one point in five matches since smashing five past United. The Saints sit pretty in second, having won seven out of eight and have fresh memories of knocking eight past Sunderland just three weeks ago. A Saints clean sheet looks almost guaranteed as they have conceded only three goals in their last nine at home, keeping six clean sheets in the process, while Leicester have failed to score in four of their last five league games. Leicester have actually won the last two matches with the Saints, though when both were in the League Championship
The Foxes have no new injuries for the match and defender Matthew Upson has returned to training to give manager Nigel Pearson an almost fully fit squad. Keeper Ben Hamer remains out with a hand injury, while the manager implied that top scorer Leonardo Ulloa will be recalled to the starting line-up.
Saints have no new injuries and James Ward-Prowse, Sam Gallagher and J-Rod remain out. Sadio Mane is 100% fit to start.

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West Ham vs Aston Villa (Sat 8 Nov 15.00)
A tale of two very different seasons for the claret and blue teams. The Hammers are fifth, playing some nice football and loving their manager (for now), while the Villains sit perilously close to the relegation zone, having lost six in a row. Recent history would suggest this one could go either way, but in all likelihood and on current form, West Ham will be disappointed not to walk away with the three points and continue their impressive run. Poor old Villa have been so bad that their official website had the embarrassing task of having to cancel October’s goal of the month competition for the simple reason being that they didn’t score any! If Villa are searching for some historical form in this fixture then they can take heart that they have only lost five of their last 27 matches vs the Hammers, though their recent record in London is nothing short of abysmal as they have lost their last five matches in the capital.
Big Sam reveals that in form striker Diafra Sakho and defender Winston Reid only returned to training on Thursday and a decision will be taken on their weekend availability today after training. Sakho is quoted as saying, “I have been ready since Monday. It’s up to the manager if I start the game”. Andy Carroll also has a chance of making the squad for the weekend, but if he falls just short he will definitely be back after the international break. Guy Demel remains out.
Mixed news for Paul Lambert – Philippe Senderos returned to training on Thursday and if he has no reaction he’ll be in contention for the squad, but fellow defender Alan Hutton continues to miss out with his ankle injury. Striker Christian Benteke is suspended after his red card in the loss to Tottenham, while Libor Kozak is expected to start light jogging soon. Fabian Delph is still sidelined with a shoulder injury.

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QPR vs Man City (Sat 8 Nov 17.30)
Strange old week for City, held on vs 10 men to win the derby and then Wednesday night humbled at home by CSKA Moscow, booed off, with Manuel Pellegrini claiming the side is facing a crisis of confidence. So, which City side turns up down at Loftus Road is anyone’s guess – will their Euro horror show continue into the weekend or will they revert to their league form which has seen them win four of their last five? Despite their good league form, City have actually lost four of their last five in all competitions while Rangers have lost four out of five in the league and sit second from bottom, held up only by Burnley. And form in this fixture would suggest an away win for City, who have won three and drawn one of the four matches played between the two since both returned to the top tier.
For The Hoops ‘arry is able to welcome back Joey Barton, Jordan Mutch, Niko Kranjcar and Nedum Onuoha into the squad, while Adel Taarabt may also win a place after he played 90mins for the U21s this week. Rio Ferdinand is suspended, while Alejandro Faurlin is a long-term absentee.
City captain Vincent Kompany has been ruled out of the game with a calf injury while playmaker David Silva and defender Aleksander Kolarov remain out. Expect Eliaquim Mangala to partner Martin Demichelis at the back, while Frank Lampard has recovered from injury as is available for the trip.

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Spurs vs Stoke (Sun 9 Nov 13.30)
Spurs welcome Stoke to the Lane with both in somewhat stuttering form. Last week Tottenham were beneficiaries of some Benteke lunacy which saw them take advantage of the extra man to win late on – but this was the first time since mid-September that they have scored more than one goal in a league game. The Potters continue to struggle to find any consistent form and generally “win, lose, draw” sums up their previous three matches at any given point of the season.
Spurs enjoyed a Thursday night Europa League victory in Greece, with Harry Kane maintaining his great recent form and despite Mauricio Pochettino denying rumours of a rift with Emmanuel Adebayor (never going to take long that, was it?), it may well be that Kane sees increased gametime in the league. Roberto Soldado, Nacir Chadli, Paulinho and Ryan Mason were all benched in Greece, while Andros Townsend impressed on the pitch alongside Kane. Eric Dier has recovered from illness, but Kyle Walker and Nabil Bentaleb remain out. Aaron Lennon and Adebayor, who are both suffering with hamstring strains, will need to be assessed closer to the game.
Stoke welcome back Peter Crouch and Phil Bardsley from suspension and defender Marc Muniesa will again challenge Erik Pieters for the left back spot after recovering from his ankle injury. Midfielder Marko Arnautovic is expected to play, despite breaking a hand in training this week, but Dionatan Teixeira will miss out after breaking his foot in the same training session. Training is obviously tough at Stoke! Robert Huth, Glenn Whelan and Peter Odemwingie are longer term absentees.

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Sunderland vs Everton (Sun 9 Nov 13.30)
Sunderland won last week! Haha how crap are Palace? Would never have seen that under Pulis. Ooooops I’m talking about the wrong team here. But only cos I have very little to say about The Black Cats. Apart from they’re crap too. Anyone with Wes Brown at the back deserves all they get. Poor old Gus Poyet eventually has enough and benches him at Palace for an 89 year old French Monsieur. What happens? Brown comes on for the injured Patrick van Aanholt and what does he do? Puts it past his own keeper, Costel Pantilimon, who was only playing cos the normal keeper had also been dropped for being crap. Brilliant. Jeez, I haven’t even spoken about Everton. The last three matches between these two have only produced a goal per game, with Everton winning the last one at the Stadium of Light last season, care of…wait for it….A WESLEY BROWN OWN GOAL!!!!
Sunderland will try and build on Monday’s win, but they will do so without the injured Billy Jones, Patrick van Aanholt, Emanuele Giaccherini, Ricardo Alvarez and Sebastien Coates, while midfielder ruffian Lee Cattermole is unsurprisingly suspended. There is good news as Jack Rodwell has recovered from injury to rejoin the squad. The bad news is young Wes is likely to play.
The big issues for Everton are midfielder Gareth Barry, who picked up knocks on his ankle and leg in Thursday night’s comprehensive win against Lille and Seamus Coleman. Coleman picked up a cut on his Achilles vs Swansea and has needed stitches and they will follow doctor’s advice regarding his availability for the weekend. Barry will be assessed over the next 24 hours. Ross Barkley was rested for that match, so expect him to start vs Sunderland. Antolin Alcaraz has joined fellow defender John Stones on the treatment table, so either Sylvain Distin or Tylas Browning will come in to partner Phil Jagielka at the back. Kevin Mirallas and Arouna Kone remain out.

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West Brom vs Newcastle (Sun 9 Nov 13.30)
How annoying is Pardew? Loses every week, team is sh*te, fans are revolting (make your own jokes…..), Ashley is fat and hated by all and it’s just the easiest joke that keeps on giving every week. And then. And then….then they have the audacity to start winning. Three in a row now in the league. Even Gabriel Obertan has taken a form tablet, though that was never going to last long. But worst of all – that smug **** is beaming in all the interviews with that “told you I’d turn it around” arrogant look on his face. Urgh. So, come on the Baggies, wipe that grin off his face for the sake of football fans everywhere please. The Baggies are unbeaten in their last three matches and are sitting pretty in mid-table alongside United and Everton and a win here would elevate them to the brink of the European qualifications while also making 99.99% of the UK football loving population very happy.
Alan Irvine says his squad do not have any fresh injuries, but will lose Craig Gardner to suspension this week. Defender Sebastien Pocognoli has been passed fit but Silvestre Varela and Jonas Olsson remain on the treatment table.
Pardew has said that striker Papiss Cisse is still struggling with his knee injury, but hopes to “patch him up” for the game – a late decision will be taken. The aforementioned Obertan has been ruled out for three months after rupturing his quadriceps (thigh injury to you and I), midfield enforcer Chieck Tiote will be out for a further two weeks and promising youngster Rolando Aarons is a doubt after picking up a knock in the win over Liverpool. Siem de Jong, Davide Santon and Jonas Gutierrez all remain unavailable, though there was great news in the week as Gutierrez revealed he has been given the all clear after undergoing treatment for testicular cancer.

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Swansea vs Arsenal (Sun 9 Nov 16.00)
Owners of Alexis Sanchez will no doubt be considering skippering him again and who can blame them after the diminutive yet destructive Chilean has recorded scores of 13,16 & 16 in the last three gameweeks. Those of us who don’t own him will of course hope that imperious, and frankly unfair run, shudders to an immediate halt this weekend down in the valleys. Not that I’m too confident. Sanchez scored again on Tuesday, sending a powerful volley past the Anderlecht keeper, though that game did serve to remind us how the Gooners can as easily capitulate as well as dominate. So, what of Swansea? Recent form is “iffy” at best and they haven’t beaten Arsenal in their last five meetings, in fact not since the days when Michu was doing his best Sanchez impression, at a fraction of the cost – and even then many were reluctant to jump on the forgotten Spaniard.
Jack Wilshire returns for the Gooners this week after recovering from illness, but fellow midfielder Mikel Arteta will miss out with a hamstring injury. Theo Walcott will be keen to increase his game time with Wenger saying he is ready to start, whilst there is positive news of Olivier Giroud, who will return to training next week. Mathieu Debuchy, Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny and David Ospina remain out. Koscielny is hoping to reappear sometime in November, while Wenger spent much of his presser telling Aaron Ramsey he needs to prioritise helping the team, rather than trying to score goals. Trouble in the camp?
Swans’ midfield Adonis Jonjo Shelvey is suspended after he was sent off in the draw at Everton last weekend, while defenders Jordi Amat and Dwight Tiendalli have recovered from injury and have returned to full training. Midfielder Leon Britten is still a few weeks away.

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Suspension Report

Players suspended for GW11

Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace)
Chris Smalling (Manchester United)
Lee Cattermole (Sunderland)
Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea)
Craig Gardner (West Brom)

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

Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea)
Gareth Barry (Everton)
Steven Naismith (Everton)
Jack Colback (Newcastle)
Daryl Janmaat (Newcastle)
Graziano Pelle (Southampton)
Winston Reid (West Ham)

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There you go boys and girls, good luck for GW11 and please don’t forget to vote in the Captain poll below. See ya!

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Thanks for reading Team Talk Fantasy Football GW11. This article was written by Cookie

Follow @SteveCook9

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