Team News: Late Fitness Check – Week Five
Goalkeepers dominate the headlines this week. Firstly news broke late on Wednesday that Chelsea stopper Thibaut Courtois had suffered a serious knee injury in training which requires surgery. While in stark contrast Manchester United confirm that David De Gea has signed a new four year deal which will hopefully end all speculation – for the time being at least – of a move away from Old Trafford.
Despite a Champions League hat-trick and breaking international records Wayne Rooney is now ten games without a BPL goal for only the second time in his professional career. Has the scene been set for Wazza to break his duck against their fierce North West rivals?
Second placed Palace welcome league leaders Man City to Selhurst Park on Saturday. The good news is that David Silva won’t be risked ahead of a midweek UEFA Champions League match versus Juventus. The bad news, £58m new arrival Kevin de Bruyne looks set to make his debut. Ouch.
Elsewhere Arsenal will be looking to maintain their home dominance against Stoke. The Gunners have recorded 11 straight wins while you’ll need to go back to 1981 for the last time the Potters’ took all three points.
Everton – vs – Chelsea
Everton get us underway in the early game on Saturday and Roberto Martinez will give Bryan Oviedo “right up until kick off” to prove his fitness after the Costa Rica defender missed the midweek internationals because of a knee injury. Brendon Galloway is available again should the 25 year-old fail to recover in time while new signing Ramiro Funes Mori can play on the left if required. Aaron Lennon “is ready and he will play some part” but an ankle ligament injury means Tom Cleverley “could be out for 6-8 weeks” hopefully “he’ll be back quicker.” Kevin Mirallas looks favourite to take his place. Darron Gibson is “back with the group and training well,” confirmed Martinez. “Everyone who went away on international duty has come back in good shape.”
No fresh injury concerns for Jose Mourinho other than Belgium goalkeeper Courtois who “will be out for quite a long time. He was injured in a training session and he needs surgery on his right knee.” Asmir Begovic will come in for his third appearance of the season with Jamal Blackman providing the back up. Oscar is “almost there” but won’t feature on Saturday but the Brazilian could make the Champions League game on Wednesday. John Terry is available again following his suspension and could partner Gary Cahill at the expense of Kurt Zouma.
Norwich City – vs – AFC Bournemouth
Martin Olsson and Kyle Lafferty were involved in Euro qualifiers this week and both players will come into Alex Neils’ thinking. Dynamo Kiev loanee Dieumerci Mbokani “is a bit short of match fitness, but he’s certainly in contention.” Lewis Grabban “accepts” he broke the rules after going AWOL before the Capital One cup tie at Rotherham “he’s apologised [but] he [needs] builds his fitness up.” The forward will not be considered for Saturday. Steven Whittaker is suspended and Matt Jarvis could make his Canaries’ debut. Gary Hooper is a doubt after “tweaking his ankle in training.” Youssouf Mulumbu is progressing well but won’t be ready for another 4-6weeks.
Charlie Daniels [hamstring] is rated as “touch and go” after undergoing treatment in Rome. If he fails to recover in time then Aston Villa loanee Joe Bennett may make his first start for the club. Harry Arter has returned to full training following groin surgery “We are hopeful that he is now through the worst of his problems and on the road to recovery.” The Irishman is likely to be another 4-6 weeks. Josh King should return after missing out in game week four due to a minor hamstring complaint but the summer signing faces stiff competition from new boy Glenn Murray while Callum Wilson is in red hot form. Max Gradel had reconstructive knee surgery and will miss a minimum of 6-months while Tyrone Mings is out for around a year after rupturing his ACL and medial collateral ligaments.
Crystal Palace – vs – Manchester City
Marouane Chamakh “is still not fit” after suffering an adductor tear whilst recovering from a hamstring strain but “the rest are all back.” Mile Jedinak and Yohan Cabaye returned to training on Thursday and Julian Speroni played for the development side this week. Joel Ward has been ruled out for up-to a month because of a training ground knee injury and Alan Pardew will run the rule over Joe Ledley [hamstring] and Connor Wickham [knock]. No team has won more points away from home in 2015 than Palace but their form at Selhurst Park is another story [L6, D1] from twelve PL games. Bakary Sako has hit the ground running scoring twice from his two starts which means Yannick Bolasie or Wilfried Zaha could start on the bench. Dwight Gayle has forced his way into the reckoning “With Glenn [Murray] leaving it gives him an opportunity. He’s trained very well. The only frustration [with Gayle] was his playing time and he may be able to get that now. We’re very pleased with him.”
David Silva will miss Saturdays’ game due to the ankle problem he picked up on international duty “He is out as I think it would be a risk for him to take another knock. I hope he will be OK for Juventus,” confirmed Pellegrini. His absence could hand Kevin De Bruyne a debut otherwise a rare start for Samir Nasri would be the call. Pablo Zabaleta [knee] and Gael Clichy [ankle] remain sidelined along with Fabian Delph [hamstring] “I don’t know how long it will be, we’ll see. I think at this moment it will be a month and a half.” Bacary Sagna is “100%” fit after recovering from a minor ankle injury. Wilfried Bony returned to training this week “my foot is feeling fine” but GW5 could be too soon for Fernando.
West Brom – vs – Southampton
Saido Berahino was back in training on Monday and the England under-21 could be in line for a recall following his spat with Baggies’ chairman Jeremy Peace. Almost all of Berahino’s 20 competitive goals have come at the Hawthorns [85%] and another for the youngster would benefit all concerned. Salomon Rondon has travelled over 15k miles during the international break and Tony Pulis may keep the Venezuelan on the bench. James Morrison was also singled out as a player who would be checked following important games against Georgia and Germany, otherwise “all players are back fit.” Jonny Evans joins from Man United while Joleon Lescott has moved to local rivals Aston Villa. James Chester will face a late test [hamstring] but the £8m arrival from Hull hasn’t started since the opening day defeat at home v Man City.
Victor Wanyama “is mentally and physically” ready to be considered for the trip to the Hawthorns on Saturday. “He’s back with real focus and it’s possible he starts,” revealed Ronald Koeman. Sadio Mané and Cuco Martina will be assessed on Friday following their late return from international duty but neither have any obvious problems. New addition Virgil van Dijk is in contention “He is a quality player. He’s in a good physical stage and we will make a decision whether he will start or not.” However Clasie and Bertrand will both miss out “Jordy is recovering well [but] he’s not close to playing. He will not be part of the team. That’s the same for Ryan. He’s the closest to be back and I have good hope that he can start normal training from next Monday.”
Arsenal – vs – Stoke City
Per Mertesacker is training fully again “[but] we need to see how fit he is,” said Wenger. Laurent Koscielny however “is OK and will be available.” No fresh injury problems with those players returning from international duty but Jack Wilshere “has had a little setback” in his recovery which is going a slower than expected. No return date. Arsene Wenger denies he knew anything about Danny Welbecks’ knee surgery at his last press conference “I did not lie to you.” The England international won’t be back until the New Year.
Jon Walters “will be involved” after the Republic of Ireland forward was linked with a move away from the Britannia “He is a good pro and he has gotten his head down and done well.” Stoke decided not to appeal Charlie Adams’ red card “We thought his reputation would go against him [but] it doesn’t reflect our view,” and he – along with Ibrahim Afellay – miss out through suspension. Mame Diouf missed training on Thursday “he is a doubt” along with Marko Arnautovic “who had a real bang on his ankle” although Stoke are hopeful the Austrian will be passed fit. Glen Johnson has a little bit of a hamstring issue “which we hope will settle down in the next day.” Bojan “is very much in contention” and could come in if Diouf fails to recover. Peter Odemwingie will step up his recovery by playing for the under-21s this weekend.
Watford – vs – Swansea City
Watford made just one change for the trip to the Etihad in GW4 with Almen Abdi coming in for Ikechi Anya as Flores played three advanced midfielders supporting striker Troy Deeney. However the Italian coach could tinker with his formation again after working on their attacking threat during the international break having failed to score in four PL attempts “The main problem is when we are in the last third and in the box.” Victor Ibarbo is unlikely to feature because of a visa issue “We don’t know exactly the time it will be solved but maybe four or five days.” Ibarbo had trained with the club but is now in Italy. Adlene Guedioura returned to Vicarage Road on a permanent basis after two successful loan spells whilst striker Oulare who joined for an undisclosed fee from Club Brugge is lacking fitness “The physical condition of Obbi is not the best so we will have to think a little bit more.” Matej Vydra left for Reading on-loan having signed a permanent 5-year deal in the summer. Miguel Britos will serve the second game of his 3 match ban.
Swansea have enjoyed a fine start to the season which saw a nomination for Garry Monk – PL Manager of the Month, while both Bafetimbi Gomis and summer signing Andre Ayew were shortlisted for the Player of the Month trophy with the latter winning the prize for August. The duo have scored 7-goals between in four games. Jefferson Montero “is back and fully fit” so Wayne Routledge could drop out. Modou Barrow has been recalled from his loan spell at Blackburn Rovers after Nathan Dyer joined Leicester City until the end of the season. No fresh injury concerns.
Manchester United – vs – Liverpool
Louis van Gaal hints that David De Gea is ready for a return “You shall see – you never know. We have to judge him in training.” Andreas Pereira picked up an injury while on international duty but Michael Carrick has been passed fit after the midfielder missed the midweek Euro qualifier because of a calf problem. Phil Jones is still out through illness but recovering well “we need to speak to the specialist.”
Daniel Sturridge returned to full training on Thursday but Brendan Rodgers’ has insisted “there is no timeline on when he will [return to playing].” Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana will be assessed “over the next 24 hrs” but the pair remain big doubts despite responding well to treatment. Jordon Ibe could be recalled as Phillippe Coutinho misses out through suspension but Joe Allen is not yet ready to return. Christian Benteke is fine after a minor thigh problem restricted his involvement for Belgium.
Sunderland – vs – Tottenham
Jordi Gomez “is really, really close but he needs a little bit more sharpness-wise,” said Advocaat. “Adam Johnson is training in parts of the sessions but not still in the man-to-man situations.” Adam Matthews and Tom Beadling will miss “between six to eight weeks.” Fabio Borini played centrally in a behind-closed-doors game last week and the former Liverpool man could partner Jermain Defoe in attack. Steven Fletcher picked up a knock in training and will miss out. DeAndre Yedlin is unable to face Tottenham under the terms of his loan agreement.
Christian Eriksen “is close but not yet fit” which will see the Dane miss his third successive PL game due to a knee injury. Mousa Dembele “is doubtful” and will have a late fitness test after injuring his ankle v Everton last time out. Clinton N’Jie “is also close” [lacking fitness] and may make the bench. Heung-Min Son impressed for South Korean midweek – scoring a hat trick – and is in line to make his debut. Andros Townsend is available.
Leicester City – vs – Aston Villa
Ranieri adds Dyer to the Foxes squad “We needed another winger because they must run a lot and we need to change. Nathan is very good at 1v1. He’s fast and has good ability with the ball.” Gokhan Inler impressed v England and could force his way into the starting line-up “I’m thinking about his full debut.” All the international players came back in good condition. No fresh injuries. Matty James has started to warm up with the squad “He will need 2 or 3 more months.” Riyad Mahrez is fully fit after recovering from the kick which forced him off at Dean Court in game week four.
Jack Grealish and Adama Traore “are making progress” but Tim Sherwood is “not sure if they are going to be fit. We are monitoring them day by day.” Traore got kicked on the calf and injured his ankle at the same time “the calf has improved, but it’s the ankle [that’s the] problem.” Idrissa Gueye is a major doubt after picking up a hamstring injury on international duty “We’re hoping he can get himself fit” but it doesn’t look good. Gabby Agbonlahor has recovered from his bout of sickness but Gary Gardner and Jose Angel Rincon are expected to miss out again. Joleon Lescott has been added to the squad and will compete with Micah Richards and Ciaran Clark for a start. Sherwood indicated that Liverpool loanee Tiago Ilori could play in a midfield role as well as his more familiar place in defence.
West Ham – vs – Newcastle United
Andy Carroll has “had a six-week pre-season and looks very good” and the former Magpie could be added to the West Ham bench on Monday. New signings – Victor Moses, Michail Antonio and Nikica Jelavic – have impressed in training “it’s all very positive and they’re the players we wanted.” Moses and Antonio “play more or less the same position, but they are different. Expectations for both players are high.” Adrian remains out through suspension while the lesser spotted Morgan Amalfitano is out of any first team plans currently. Dimitri Payet has recovered from a slight knock but a persistent calf issue rules Joey O’Brien out.
Newcastle were unfortunate to lose at home to Arsenal in GW4 having been reduced to ten men after just 16 minutes – Serbian Aleksandar Mitrovic will serve a 3-game suspension. In his absence Steve McClaren could change his tactics with Siem de Jong and Ayoze Perez coming into attack leaving Papiss Cisse on the bench. Newcastle haven’t managed a single shot on target in their last two PL games and it’s now over 300 minutes since their last goal – the pressure is beginning to mount. Paul Dummett suffered a fresh setback in his recovery from a hamstring strain and following an improved defensive performance Steven Taylor is likely to remain on the bench. Sylvain Marveaux and Emmanuel Riviere are progressing nicely but neither are ready for a return just yet.
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