Team Talk Fantasy Football – GW3 2014/15
GW3 is upon us and there’s plenty to look forward to. Mad Mario is set to be unleashed on Spurs, Angel Di Maria looks to make his United debut, Samuel Eto’o has turned up at Goodison, while Michael Dawson has left Spurs for Hull. The injury to Diego Costa has rocked 42.2% of FPL teams, while the return of goal machine Sergio Aguero gathers pace. Oh and happy-go-lucky Neil Warnock makes a Premier League reappearance as he’s given another go at Crystal Palace where the fireworks between him and Jason Puncheon will make Mario’s best Guy Fawkes impersonation pale into insignificance.
Our gameweek begins with the derby between struggling Burnley and struggling United and then we have five 3pm kick offs as City host Stoke, Newcastle entertain Crystal Palace, Sunderland take the long trip to QPR, Swansea welcome West Brom and Southampton take on West Ham at the Boleyn. The early evening kick off sees Everton play Chelsea at Goodison. Our week is completed on Sunday – Villa hosting Hull is an insomniac’s dream while at the same time increased excitement is expected at White Hart Lane as Spurs welcome Liverpool. The final match is Leicester vs Arsenal.
Don’t forget that after GW3, we have a two-week gap due to the international break, so careful on those early transfers!
Let’s get Around the Grounds and catch up on all the latest news.
Burnley vs Man Utd (Sat 30 Aug 12.45)
LVG’s squad is still depleted by a whole host of injuries – Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini, Luke Shaw, Rafael, Chris Smalling, Shinji Kagawa and Jesse Lingard are all still on the treatment table, while new signing Marcos Rojo is still awaiting his work permit. LVG says Angel Di Maria is fit and ready to play, whether that means a start or a cameo remains to be seen.
Burnley have concerns over midfielders David Jones and Dean Marney, who both picked up knocks against Sheffield Wednesday in midweek. Sam Vokes remains out.
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Man City vs Stoke (Sat 30 Aug 15.00)
Stoke have problems at the back with Phil Bardsley struggling with a knee injury – the full back has missed training this week, but manager Mark Hughes hasn’t definitely ruled him out yet and will be extra keen to have Bardsley on the pitch as understudy Geoff Cameron is out for another couple of weeks with a thigh strain. Bojan Krkic trained on Thursday and should make the squad, while Victor Moses impressed in the week and should also feature at some stage at the Etihad.
Edin Dzeko has recovered from the knock he picked up against Liverpool on Monday, meaning Manuel Pellegrini has to choose two from the Bosnian, in form Stevan Jovetic and star striker Sergio Aguero. Talking of Aguero, the boss said, “Kun is available, we’ll see tomorrow how many minutes he will play.” So there you go, your guess is as good as mine! City’s only absentees are Eliaquim Mangala and Alvaro Negredo, while the more attack-minded Aleksander Kolarov may be preferred to Gael Clichy at the back.
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Newcastle vs Crystal Palace (Sat 30 Aug 15.00)
Toon midfielder Chieck Tiote will again miss out with a hamstring injury as will Ryan Taylor and Davide Santon. Promising news of forgotten striker Papiss Cisse, who is expected to return to training soon after the international break, while Jack Colback and Rolando Aarons should both be fit to face Palace.
New Palace chief Neil Warnock has quashed rumours of an issue with Jason Puncheon, saying, “I have spoken to Puncheon and his response has been great. He trains very hard and will be involved at the weekend.” Probably as Warnock’s driver or manservant. Joe Ledley is struggling with a groin injury, while Scott Dann is touch and go and will need a late fitness test. Wilfried Zaha has rejoined the club on loan and is likely to be given a start.
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QPR vs Sunderland (Sat 30 Aug 15.00)
Rangers striker Charlie Austin is expected to be available after recovering from a hamstring injury, but Alejandro Faurlin is likely to be sidelined for 6-9 months with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Striker Eduardo Vargas is unlikely to feature as he was last spotted in Italy trying to sort out his work permit.
The Black Cats have no injury worries for the trip to west London. Adam Johnson and Emmanuel Giaccherini have both recovered from illness, while a fit again Billy Jones will be pushing Santiago Vergini for the right back slot.
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Swansea vs West Brom (Sat 30 Aug 15.00)
Mixed news for the Baggies as they travel to Wales. Defender Sebastien Pocognoli is a doubt and has not trained this week, while the game comes too soon for new signings Georgios Samaras and Silvestre Varela. Joleon Lescott could well be in contention after the international break. On the plus side, Gareth McAuley, James Morrison and Cristian Gamboa will be part of the squad for this weekend, while Graham Dorrans and Craig Gardner have shaken off knocks and Victor Anichebe is expected to recover from a groin problem.
The Swans are still missing Leon Britton, Rory Donnelly, Marvin Emmes and Alan Tate but with two wins out of two, clearly they’re not being missed. New centre-back Federico Fernandez may be the only change that Garry Monk makes to a confident side.
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West Ham vs Southampton (Sat 30 Aug 15.00)
The Saints are expected to field an unchanged team this weekend. J-Rod continues to miss out as does young midfielder Lloyd Isgrove and striker Sam Gallagher. Gaston Ramirez or Shane Long could get a start this week as Ronald Koeman seeks some goals from his side.
The emergency ward at West Ham is as busy as ever as Big Sam has to do without Andy Carroll, Matt Jarvis, Kevin Nolan, Carl Jenkinson and James Collins, while Diafra Sakho is a doubt with a back injury. Enner Valencia is still not match fit, despite playing 120mins in the week.
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Everton vs Chelsea (Sat 30 Aug 17.30)
Steven Pienaar is ruled out for the Toffees with a groin injury, but Romelu Lukaku, formerly of Chelsea, is expected to shake off a toe problem and will hope to haunt his old employers. If Lukaku doesn’t make it, Samuel Eto’o, also ex-Chelsea could be thrown in at the deep end for his debut. Loanee Christian Atsu is ineligible to face his parent club – anyone spotting the pattern here? These Merseysiders just take rejects from other clubs – as Liverpool have become Scousehampton, Everton have turned into Eversea, or Chelton. I’m waffling. Ross Barkley, Arouna Kone and Bryan Oviedo, none of whom have a connection with Chelsea, remain out, but Darron Gibson is available.
It’s wait and see time for Diego Costa owners. Jose said this about him in his presser today: “Costa hasn’t trained for 2 days. Trying a light training session today – if the reaction is positive he will travel to Everton and maybe play, maybe bench, let’s see. If the reaction is not so positive he will not travel, obviously. For tomorrow he is a big doubt.” I’m not here to advise, just inform, so read into that what you will. Everyone else is fit, according to Mourinho, suggesting Andre Schurrle is ok.
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Aston Villa vs Hull (Sun 31 Aug 13.30)
Villa striker Christian Benteke is on course for a return to training after the international break, which should help Paul Lambert’s side who have managed just one goal in two matches. Ron Vlaar reseumed training today and is likely to play, but Aly Cissokho remains a doubt. Libor Kozak remains sidelined.
Hull defender James Chester misses out through suspension, meaning Michael Dawson is likely to make his debut alongside Curtis Davies and Alex Bruce. Yannick Sagbo is available again but Robert Snodgrass misses out as Hull attempt to put their Europa League disappointment behind them.
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Spurs vs Liverpool (Sun 31 Aug 13.30)
Spurs continue to be without Kyle Walker and Roberto Soldado as the scousers march into town. With most of the first team being rested for the Europa League win on Thursday, an unchanged side from the one that destroyed QPR is likely. The game will be a good guide to how good Spurs are – having beaten West Ham and QPR so far, Liverpool will be a completely different prospect.
Liverpool have a few worries at the back – new signing Alberto Moreno twisting his ankle at the Etihad, but has been recovering well and could play, while Martin Skrtel has a knock, will be checked and given maximum time to make the game on Sunday. The good news for Rodgers is that Glen Johnson is unlikely to be available. Adam Lallana will make the squad for Sunday, but does lack match fitness, while the manager said Mad Mario has looked fantastic in training. Defender Jon Flanagan is nearing a return to full fitness, but will not quite be ready to face Spurs, but Jose Enrique has been training for over a week now and will be given every chance to make the squad.
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Leicester vs Arsenal (Sun 31 Aug 16.00)
Arsene Wenger has to do without Mikel Arteta and Kieran Gibbs again for the trip to Leicester, but welcomes back Aaron Ramsey, who sat out Wednesday’s Champions League victory through suspension. Keeper David Ospina has returned to full training but will not quite be ready on Sunday to challenge Wojciech Szczesny. Oliveir Giroud has been ruled out until the New Year with a broken ankle, so Alexis Sanchez is likely to start up front again, although Lukas Podolski may make an appearance. Nacho Monreal will continue at left back.
Leicester winger Marc Albrighton is fit to start, but midfielders Danny Drinkwater and Matty James are still missing. Nigel Pearson could hand a debut to former Inter Milan and Argentinian midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, who joined the club this week.
That’s your lot, good luck for GW3.
Here’s my weekly team update and reasoning behind it, it seemed to get a good reception last week so figured I’d just throw my thoughts down when asking for a RMT!
I had a decent second week, Jovetic pulled me out the shi + t for a respectable 57, bringing me to a total of 126 and a position of 46, 906. I had two major issues that needed addressing, Cameron wasn’t playing for Stoke, and Baines wasn’t even involved in attacking play. For that price, I wanted to shift both out, and save some cash in the process to fund a possible Aguero move / shift in midfield in the coming weeks.
Janmaat had stood out statistically, as had Clyne. Both had decent fixtures and pretty much chose themselves. I have Krul as a second keeper though, so the choice to play Mannone away from home this week was to spread my risk as I feel both Sunderland and Newcastle have a decent chance at a clean sheet. I decided to leave Clyne on the bench, however, as Debuchy and Taylor have been impressive and West Ham have actually played impressive football, taking (I think) the highest % of their shots from within the area amongst any team so far this season – route 1 big Sam? I think not.
My midfield has looked solid from the first GW, Fabregas certainly excites me and he’s a possibility if Costa turns out to have a niggling injury. The only other worry I had was Eriksen, yet after watching his game, and looking at his stats, I was extremely impressed.
Up top, Jovetic’s stats impressed me in GW1, so he stayed for GW2 and boy did that pay off. Rooney is just a placeholder until I can figure out if United cover, at all, is worth it. Costa’s injury could have been an issue but I suspect he’ll either make an appearance or he wont, nothing in between. Clyne is an OK replacement for him as Southampton could keep a cleansheet at West Ham.
In the coming week I’ll be looking at an update on Costa’s injury, and if necessary I will opt for a 3-5-2, placing Fabregas in for Davis and losing Costa for a cheaper striker. Another issue i’d like to address is the United cover, depending on where Di Maria plays, Mata could come in to contention if he keeps his favoured position. I just wish I could play 3-6-1.
solid, well balanced team Flingy, with sound reasoning.
hey flingy!
well balanced side there!
although i would personally go for keeping costa instead of getting fab oevr him.
if possible, look for upgrading jovetic to aguero as even though jovetic’s been brilliant, his play time might be in question when aguero gets back 100% fit and ready to start.
to fund that – getting rid of rooney over costa would be my suggestion.
Evening all!!!
Who would you pick out of the following based on this weeks fixtures!
Silva or sterling
Ozil or Sanchez
Aguero or jovetic
Rooney or Sturridge
Evening trouble!
Silva, Sanchez, Aguero, Sturridge
Good evening sir!!
How is one today??
I was hoping someone said those 4!! Do you think costa will be risked tomorrow?
Evening Mitro,
do I think Costa will be risked? Well, I understand he has travelled with the squad. Persoanlly I think he will start on the bench. But it’s guess work. I don’t know why they would risk him, given his hamstring history, but that’s just my view.
sterling, sanchez, aguero, rooney
Cheers cookie, top bloke
Cheers Benchish
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