Dilemmas of the Week - GW25

Damn, it seems like ages since we last had any EPL football! In the last two weeks, the winter transfer window has finally closed (with the usual flurry of late business on the final day), the delayed Merseyside derby has been caught up, the finalists for the League Cup Final have been determined, the new play-off stage for the European competitions has got under way, .... and the 4th Round of the FA Cup has inevitably produced a few more injury worries for us to ponder. Oh, and the damned new 'Assistant Manager' chip has been available for the first time in this Gameweek just past (and a lot of people were using it already...).

The biggest news for FPL is that Liverpool prevailed on the FA to move their GW29 fixture against Villa (the weekend they'll play the League Cup Final against Newcastle) forward rather than backwards - 'anteponing' it! (I really can't ever recall that happening before!!), so it's now scheduled for Wednesday 19th February..... making this a Double Gameweek for Liverpool and Villa (and the Scousers' second in successive weeks).

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 25?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

Gabriel Martinelli came off in the FA Cup defeat to Newcastle last week with a hamstring problem; 'not too serious', but likely to keep him out for 3 or 4 weeks. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz has apparently picked up a similar - but reportedly much more severe - problem while Arsenal were taking a break for some warm-weather training.... which looks as though it could keep him out for most of the rest of the season. (Grim news for Arsenal, coming hot on the heels of their embarrassing failure to land any new players in the transfer window. At least this presumably means that Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard will be getting reliable minutes for a while; that could be interesting for FPL.)

Ezri Konsa also hobbled off with a leg muscle problem in the Cup win over Spurs; again, Emery thinks 'not too serious', but he is a major doubt for the current gameweek. (This presumably means that new loan signing Axel Disasi might come straight in, as Pau Torres is expected to be out for a few more weeks, and Tyrone Mings has only just resumed training after suffering a jarred knee a couple of weeks ago.) Ollie Watkins, withdrawn at half-time against Wolves with a groin muscle problem two weeks ago, has apparently resumed light training in the last couple of days, but is looking doubtful to be fully involved in the next two matches.

Lewis Dunk had to come off in the surprise Cup win against Chelsea last week with 'sore ribs', and seems unlikely to be available for Brighton this weekend.

Brentford keeper Mark Flekken missed the League game against Spurs two weeks ago because of strained side muscles, and continues to be a doubt this week, with his deputy Hakon Valdimarsson looking likely to step in again.

Both Nico Jackson and his understudy Marc Guiu picked up hamstring problems in the game against West Ham two weeks ago; Jackson is now thought likely to be out until the end of March, Guiu possibly even longer. (Could perhaps be an opportunity for 'forgotten man' Christopher Nkunku to become a surprise late-season FPL asset...?)

Ismaila Sarr missed Palace's Cup game on Monday night with an illness, Eddie Nketiah with a twisted ankle, and Eberechi Eze was simply treated to a precautionary rest (as his long-standing foot injury is still bothering him) - but Glasner thinks all three should be OK for the visit of Everton.

Everton's star man recently, Illiman Ndiaye, went off in Wednesday's rambunctious Merseyside derby after 20-odd minutes, having suffered a knock to his knee; no word yet on how serious it might be. Full-back Nathan Patterson is also missing again, with a hamstring problem picked up in training before last week's FA Cup games.

Reiss Nelson was apparently on the verge of being eligible for a comeback for Fulham, but has just injured his other hamstring in training and is now expected to be unavailable for more several weeks.

Ipswich's Sammie Szmodics, only just back from an ankle injury, had to come off in their FA Cup tie with a similar problem - possibly a recurrence of the same thing - and is now likely to be out again for some weeks.

Jamie Vardy and Jannik Vestergaard both missed Leicester's Cup game against Manchester United with training-ground knocks, but are expected to be available again this week.

Joe Gomez went off with a hamstring problem in Liverpool's shock Cup defeat to Plymouth Argyle: not 'that serious', but likely to make him a doubt for a few weeks at least (though you wouldn't expect him to be making any starts in the League while Konate and Van Dijk are fit). Cody Gakpo might also be a doubt, complaining of a knock when he came off against Everton.

Jack Grealish and Manuel Akanji both had to come off in the Champions League defeat to Real Madrid with a muscle injuries - yet more woe for Pep!

There seems to have been no official announcement yet on the knee injury suffered by Lisandro Martinez in the defeat against Palace two weeks ago, but it looked very much like an ACL tear - which would obviously keep him out until next season. (With Luke Shaw having apparently picked up yet another muscle injury in training, this at least surely means that Mazraoui will now be assured of a regular start on the left side of the back three - his best position - with Maguire and De Ligt as his preferred partners. A bit of stablility and continuity in the defence selections can only be a good thing for United.)

Sven Botman is again a doubt, after complaining of pain in his knee after the League Cup semi-final win over Arsenal. With Dan Burn picking up a muscle problem in the FA Cup tie against Brimingham, Newcastle are possibly looking spread thin at the back again. Joelinton will also be missing for a few weeks, after having to come off with a knee problem in the League game against Fulham at the start of the momth. At least Anthony Gordon has been spotted back in training this week, after missing the Birmingham game with a 'knock'.

Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis missed the FA Cup game after coming off at half-time in the League win at Ipswich two weeks ago with an ankle injury - should be in contention again this week, though.

The Spurs injury list gets even longer, with defender Radu Dragusin now out for the season after suffering an ACL injury in their Europa League game against Elfsborg; while Richarlison seems to have picked up a significant calf-muscle injury in the League Cup defeat to Liverpool.

Lucas Paqueta missed the Chelsea game two weeks ago with a groin problem, and is still a doubt.

Hwang Hee-Chan had to go off with a hamstring problem in Wolves's FA Cup win over Blackburn, but Pereira didn't think it was too serious.

Do we have any players who are dropped, or not looking likely to get the starts we hoped for?

Abdoulaye Doucoure and Curtis Jones are banned for this weekend after the little post-game fracas at Goodison Park on Wednesday, for which they both picked up second yellow cards after the final whistle.

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

It looks rather as if the occasionally calamitous Robert Sanchez has finally lost his place in the Chelsea goal to Filip Jorgensen - although Maresca has been making noises about the Spaniard being 'given a rest' rather than dropped.... so, maybe he'll yet make a comeback. With Chelsea's recent form, not a very attractive pick anyway!

The recently even more disastrous Ari Muric at Ipswich will surely immediately lose his place beween the sticks to promising new signing Alex Palmer.

Did anyone play so well, you have to consider bringing them in immediately?

The uncannily rejuvenated Everton stole all the attention this past gameweek, with a convincing win over Leicester and a fighting draw against Liverpool on Wednesday night. While James Tarkowski hogged the headlines with his improbable last-gasp equaliser in the derby, I thought his young partner Jarrad Branthwaite produced the better all-round defensive performance in that game; but the real standout was centre-forward Beto, who really seems to have found the 'magic boots' and is now playing with a swaggering confidence. Given that Everton now have a run of pretty soft fixtures until they have to face Liverpool again at the beginning of April, and that he only costs 4.9 million at the moment, I think he's definitely worth considering for a cheap third-seat filler.

I'm also intrigued to see if Ipswich can rouse themselves to fight off the threat of relegation. For me, they are the only club that has done really good transfer business in the window - bringing in three players, creative midfielder Julio Enciso, nippy winger Jaden Philogene, and an excellent goalie in Alex Palmer: players who might - almost certainlly will - start immediately, and perhaps have an immediate impact. The only other new transfer who excites my hopeful curiosity is Brighton's outstanding young forward Evan Ferguson - loaned to West Ham, where he really ought to have an excellent chance of regular starts.

The Sheep are all dumbly bleating about what a great prospect Unai Emery is for the Assistant Manager Chip this week - just because Villa have two games. It's nonsense, of course. Even at home, and with a full-strength squad, you wouldn't fancy Villa to have much of a chance against Liverpool; but particularly not when they might be missing their star striker, and four of their preferred defenders. This is in effect only a 'single gameweek' for them! (And honestly, I fancy Ipswich to have a better chance of getting an upset result against them, than they do against Liverpool.)

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!

And DON'T FORGET The Boycott; the dratted new 'Assistant Manager' chip is in play now - and I am urging everyone to please consider quitting the game, or at least refusing to use this silly chip. 

And if you can't bring yourself to do either of those things, please do criticise the Assistant Manager chip as vigorously as possible on any relevant social media channels you use, raise objections to it with any football or media figures you know how to contact, and - if possible - try to find a way to protest about it directly to the FPL hierarchy (and let me know how, if you manage that!).

#QuitFPLinGW23         #DownWithTheNewChip