Team News: Late Fitness Check GW22
We keep waiting for the Leicester City bubble to burst but the Foxes continue to surprise and entertain: “It’s not normal what we are doing. It’s unbelievable. It’s fantastic and our fans are dreaming,” said Claudio Ranieri. “We don’t have the quality to keep possession of the ball. But we have the players who can open the door.” With Arsenal facing a tricky game at the Britannia, Leicester could move clear of the pack with a win against the leagues bottom side.
Tottenham “need to be careful” as Jermain Defoe rolls into town. “He is a great player and goal scorer,” Pochettino announced during the build-up to the game. The Lilywhites of course have their own in-form hit man – Harry Kane – but you may be surprised to learn that without his 11 Premier League goals this season Spurs would be just one point worse off. The draw gained at Arsenal.
Alex Neil will be looking to make it three wins from three as a manager against Bournemouth but Norwich are expecting a tough game. The Cherries look more balanced and the squad in much better shape having spent quickly during the January window: “I felt the last time against Norwich we didn’t perform to standard,” Eddie Howe said. “We’d like to put that right.”
What a whirlwind start to life at Anfield for Jürgen Klopp who celebrates 100 days at the club. After 21 games: “We could have done better, we could have done worse. Some great moments and some average moments.” Sundays’ derby promises to be: “The salt in the soup.”
Still talk of a Top Four finish at Chelsea – despite dropping points against West Brom – although this time Guus Hiddink felt urge to be realistic about the clubs’ league position: “Looking at relegation as a possibility as well as a Champions League place.” But, fear not because come what may, the Dutchman will always have a career to fall back on: “I was a builder before I started football management,” and as long as there is Costa and a tunnel he should be guaranteed a steady flow of work.
Palace are trying to bring in a striker to address their worrying lack of goals, although more worryingly that striker is Emmanuel Adebayor. Alan Curtis is looking to take Jonathan de Guzman back to the Liberty: “The midfielder is one of a number of players we looking at.”
And finally. Stoke up-to seventh. “We weren’t aiming for Champions League at the start of the season, but you never know, it’s one of those seasons, we’ll have a go,” said Hughes. Surely not, not even in this the strangest of Premier League seasons.
Tottenham Hotspur – vs – Sunderland
“No real change,” in terms of personnel for Tottenham who will be without Ryan Mason and Alex Pritchard (both ankle) again. Spurs will be looking to bounce back having failed to beat Leicester for the second time within the space of three days at White Hart Lane. No injury time penalty from Harry Kane to save the day as the Foxes condemned the Lilywhites to their second PL home defeat of the season. Mousa Dembele returned to the bench after missing the two previous matches due to an ankle complaint and the Belgium will be hoping his 20 minute cameo was enough to convince Pochettino that he deserves a start. Tom Carroll could make way.
A massive victory at the Liberty Stadium saw Sunderland climb above local rivals Newcastle and after back-to-back wins the Black Cats are just one point from safety. Jermain Defoe helped himself to a hat-trick on the night and the ex-Spurs striker would love a repeat against his former employers. Younes Kaboul and Sebastian Larsson will miss out but Sam Allardyce has hinted that Jan Kirchhoff might come in at White Hart Lane. Vito Mannone looks to have nailed down the goalkeeping spot with Jordan Pickford named ahead of Costel Pantilimon on the bench. Dame N’Doye won’t be eligible to play but should have a work permit in time to play against AFC Bournemouth next weekend.
Manchester City – vs – Crystal Palace
Pellegrini confirms: “The injuries are exactly the same as the last game. We are without Fernandinho, Eliaquim Mangala, Wilfried Bony, Vincent Kompany, Samir Nasri and Patrick Roberts.” Mangala suffered a slight setback in training this week (hamstring) but hopefully the problem is not too serious and the defender can return next weekend. Demichelis and Otamendi are favourites to play centrally although Bacary Sagna is an option. Growing concerns over the fitness of Kompany who will go through a battery of tests to try and find a solution to his ongoing injury problems. The City skipper is expected to return during the latter part of the season. “If I could guess the future it would be very easy for me to answer – but no,” said the Chilean boss.
Dwight Gayle “has trained a little bit” and could return in game week twenty-three. Meanwhile Alan Pardew reveals that Marouane Chamakh, Bakary Sako and Connor Wickham need: “Match fitness. We’re doing loads of work in training but they need to play.” The Eagles look set to be without Bolasie for up-to a month as his recovery from a hamstring strain takes a lot longer than expected: “We think it’s another three or four weeks away for Yala.” Pardew described the Palace performance as: “Our worst of the season” during the defeat to Aston Villa and the Eagles are struggling to recapture their early season form. After being ensconced in the upper half of the table since the opening weekend, Palace are at risk of dropping out unless their form improves.
Chelsea – vs – Everton
No fresh injury concerns for Chelsea but the big news is that Eden Hazard won’t be fit for the visit of Everton. The Belgium playmaker is still recovering from a minor groin strain and won’t train fully until next week. Radamel Falcao is another who will remain on the sidelines. This latest setback halted any plans of an early return to his parent club – Monaco – earlier this month. Nemanja Matic, Diego Costa and Oscar were all passed fit to face West Brom while Loic Remy was named amongst the substitutes for the first time since Boxing Day. The Frenchman remained on the bench as Chelsea’s hopes of a Top Four finish all but disappeared.
It’s as you were with Everton who must dust themselves down following a frenetic 90-minutes at The Etihad on Wednesday. Tim Howard repaid his manager’s confidence with a superb individual performance in an entertaining draw. Tom Cleverley (Achilles) will face a late fitness test but James McCarthy and Seamus Coleman won’t be involved despite responding well to treatment. Phil Jagielka started his first Premier League game since limping off at The Emirates in October and the England international looked like he had never been away. John Stones will continue to provide cover at right-back.
AFC Bournemouth – vs – Norwich City
Matt Ritchie is rated as 50/50 after suffering a dead leg against West Ham. Juan Iturbe is in line to make his first Premier League start should the midfielder fail to recover in time. “Callum Wilson is still a long way off,” confirmed Eddie Howe. “Tommy Elphick is making good progress but we want to make sure he’s right. It’s small steps.” New signing Benik Afobe was bright on Tuesday but the former Arsenal trainee (via Wolverhampton Wanderers) was unable to convert either of his two very good chances which ultimately cost the Cherries. Josh King is still struggling with a hamstring issue. Lewis Grabban will be hoping for an early chance against the team he left just one week ago.
Mulumbu could come in for the suspended Gary O’Neil. The 32-year-old received his marching orders for a rash challenge at The Britannia which left the Canaries short-stacked for over an hour. The numerical disadvantage eventually took its toll as Stoke cruised past a tired Norwich side in the latter stages. One positive on the night was the return of Matt Jarvis. The former West Ham winger who signed a permanent deal this month had missed the last ten games due to a medial knee ligament injury. No Ivo Pinto this weekend: “He has come off a mid-season break, a different football culture and he has not trained a full week with the squad. I don’t think it would be fair on him to throw him in the deep end,” Alex Neil said.
Southampton – vs – West Brom
Fraser Forster will continue in goal as Maarten Stekelenburg recovers from a hamstring problem. The England international has spent the last eight months recovering from a serious knee injury and looked assured as Southampton swept Watford aside. Victor Wanyama is available again following his ban and Graziano Pelle (knee) is back but Shane Long should keep his place after opening the scoring midweek.
“James Morrison is injured and won’t be fit,” said Tony Pulis. “We will have to have a look at Jonas Olsson too.” The Swede played for the first time since limping off versus Newcastle and there were concerns during the opening forty-five on Wednesday as Olsson struggled with cramp. Rickie Lambert missed the Chelsea trip through illness but will come back into contention while Saido Berahino performed well from the bench as his fitness levels slowly improve. A late decision will be made on who will start in goal following the return of Ben Foster in the FA Cup last weekend. Domestic bans completed – Salomon Rondon and James McClean – were back in the Baggies squad which took a point off the champions.
Newcastle United – vs – West Ham
Rolando Aarons and Emmanuel Riviere played for the under-21s on Thursday but neither are expected to feature after months in the treatment room. However, Jonjo Shelvey and Henri Saivet will be in the squad: “They both have a chance (of making their debut),” said McClaren. Cheick Tiote looks to have earned his last yellow card for Newcastle. The midfield enforcer is meeting with Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua to discuss a potential move although: “Nothing has been finalised.” No Siem de Jong who was left with blood gushing from his eye socket on Wednesday following a training ground accident – the Dutchman will be out for one or two weeks. Groin surgery means Papiss Cisse “will miss between 6-8 weeks. Possibly less,” said an optimistic McClaren. And despite a touted loan move away from St James Park, Florian Thauvin will be in tomorrows’ squad. A thigh injury rules Kevin Mbabu out. Newcastle need to build upon the performance over Man United as Paul Dummett became the unlikeliest of heroes with his 90th minute equaliser to cap a thoroughly entertaining 3-3 draw.
No old boys’ reunion for Andy Carroll who can add a hamstring injury to the latest in a long line of problems since he left Newcastle. The big target man will miss around a month which means Slaven Bilic could deploy either Nikica Jelavic or Enner Valencia in attack. Victor Moses “has started to train, so he’s available” and Cheikhou Kouyate (groin) – who was rested at Bournemouth – is available. Mauro Zarate also returns. A victory at The Vitality helped the Hammers climb to fifth in the table, a game which will be remembered for two stunning free-kicks and a Dimitri Payet masterclass. Manuel Lanzini is likely to miss “three, maybe four weeks” after suffering a recurrence against Liverpool last time out.
Aston Villa – vs – Leicester City
Jack Grealish appears to be over his recent bout of tonsillitis and the 20-year-old will come into contention along with Gabby Agbonlahor (back) and Carlos Sanchez (hamstring) who have all trained this week. No Alan Hutton though as the Villa full-back struggles to shake off his own hamstring injury. Joleon Lescott earned Remi Garde his first maximum since his arrival and the victory offers the merest glimmer of survival hope. An ankle injury restricted Micah Richards to a place on the bench midweek so it will be interesting to see what, if any changes will be made. A fractured metatarsal will keep Adama Traore out until March at the earliest.
Leading goal scorer Jamie Vardy came though the win at Tottenham unscathed following his recovery from groin surgery: “After the match he was good, slowly slowly he will start to make training sessions with us,” Ranieri said. “I prefer to manage him during training because the important players must play every time.” The Italian made it ten games unbeaten against Tottenham in his managerial career as Robert Huth planted a firm header past the hapless Hugo Lloris. Leicester managed their third successive PL shut out to share the top spot.
Liverpool – vs – Manchester United
Liverpool came through Wednesday night’s bruising encounter with Arsenal without any major problems although Kolo Toure was said to be: “Still in the ice bath.” Of course, Jürgen Klopp was only joking. But the physical demands of the Premier League will be taking their toll on the veteran defender. Loan signing Steven Caulker could fill the gap if needed. Jordan Henderson, Jordon Ibe and Mamadou Sakho are all okay but Dejan Lovren won’t be risked despite his progress this week. No definitive timeline for Daniel Sturridge which leaves Christian Benteke as the only recognised centre-forward. However, attacking responsibilities maybe left to Roberto Firmino once again.
“Bastian Schweinsteiger (knee) is coming back but he needs more time,” mused Louis van Gaal and with Michael Carrick injured Marouane Fellaini could partner Morgan Schneiderlin in midfield. Phil Jones “could be back soon” but Luke Shaw, Antonio Valencia and Marcos Rojo “are still unavailable.” Adnan Januzaj may be on the United bench following a solid week of training. Wayne Rooney took his tally to [14] goals against Newcastle on Tuesday scoring for the third game in-a-row. Jesse Lingard was preferred to Juan Mata who dropped to the bench and the young winger could keep his place having scored at St James Park.
Stoke City – vs – Arsenal
Xherdan Shaqiri is “not available” but Geoff Cameron “might be” although unlikely as the US international struggles with an ankle complaint. Joselu and Jon Walters will continue to deputise after scoring on Wednesday and Mark Hughes may be tempted into naming an unchanged side. Stephen Ireland and Phil Bardsley have a chance of returning but Marc Muniesa is out (hamstring). Marko Arnautovic “is fine” after feeling tightness in his hip. But that has been the case for a few weeks now and as long as he is managed correctly between matches it shouldn’t too much of an issue.
Arsene Wenger must decide whether to take a gamble on Alexis Sanchez this weekend. A decision will be made on Saturday and the manager gives the winger a 60:40 chance. Arsenal expect to have a similar squad as Wednesday. New signing Mohamed Elneny “is available for selection.” Tomas Rosicky won’t come under consideration just yet: “He needs first to have a game somewhere, maybe for the under-21s.” Danny Welbeck could return within three-weeks. Olivier Giroud was brilliant at Anfield grabbing two on the night to take his tally to 12 in the league and 9 in nine (all competitions).
Swansea City – vs – Watford
Unsurprisingly, Kyle Naughton had his very harsh sending off overturned. The Swansea full-back is now free to face Watford although that doesn’t help Alan Curtis’ side who were left exposed against Sunderland – and Jermain Defoe – during Wednesdays’ crucial bottom of the table clash. With Jonjo Shelvey gone Swansea will look to invest and strengthen in key areas. No fresh injury concerns.
Quique Flores apologised to fans on behalf of his team after a poor first half performance against Southampton. Watford never got going on the night and the Saints took full advantage. Four PL matches without a win means that the Hornets are at risk of dropping out of the Top Half for the first time since game week fourteen. But, Watford will fancy their chances against a team with just one win in 11. Nathan Ake returns to the squad having missed the last three games due to suspension.
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