Saturday, March 8, 2025

Dilemmas of the Week - GW28

A close-up of Rodin's famous statue of a sitting man, resting his chin on his hand, deep in thought

 

Oh dear, with a busy couple of weeks since the last EPL gameweek, we have been fairly deluged with suspensions and injury doubts following the 4th Round of the FA Cup.... and the European competitions getting feisty....

I'm trying to streamline these weekly round-ups, as they have been getting dangerously over-long recently! I'm going to confine myself to just the injuries to players that are likely to have a major significance in FPL. [I currently find the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information - go check that out for more comprehensive coverage.]


So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 28?


Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

Jean-Philippe Mateta is probably the biggest blow, as he was becoming a popular striker pick in FPL - despite next week's 'blank' - because of Palace's impressive recent form, and soft fixtures against Southampton and Leicester up next. Amazingly, he was not considered to have suffered a concussion from Milwall keeper Liam Roberts's outrageous kung-fu kick to the side of his head, but his left ear was so badly torn up by his opponent's studs that he's likely to be out for a least a couple of weeks while that heals.

Kaoru Mitoma limped off in the Cup tie against Newcastle with a knee problem, but scans apparently revealed nothing too seriously wrong, and he's now expected to be able to take part this week.

Kieran Trippier (not that he's featured much this year anyway....) also had to go off in that game with a back injury, And Lewis Hall had already picked up an injury in training ahead of that - now revealed to be a broken bone in his foot which will keep him out for the rest of the season. Alexander Isak also limped out of the Brighton game, but it looks like he's going to be OK.

More woes too for Spurs, as Dominic Solanke, getting his first run-out after injury, had to go off with a 'knock' in the Europa League game against Alkmaar on Thursday, and Rodrigo Betancur, who's apparently been playing with a foot injury for a while, is now expected to be unavailable for two or three weeks. However, central defenders Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven could be close to a comeback.

Sammie Szmodics suffered a recurrence of his ankle injury in the FA Cup defeat to Forest, and has had to have surgery; likely to miss the rest of the season. Kalvin Phillips, however, who was suffering with a calf-muscle problem for the past couple of weeks, has now returned to training.

Cody Gakpo is still (again...) suffering with an ankle problem, and was omitted from the squad for Wednesday's game against PSG.

Nathan Ake also suffered a broken bone in his foot in the Cup game against Plymouth and is likely to miss the rest of the season - which leaves City very short of defenders.

And Fulham's Adama Traore is a doubt after twisting his ankle in the Cup tie against Manchester United.


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

Will Hughes and Sasa Lukic are starting two-match bans for picking up their 10th yellow cards of the season in their last Premier League outing.

And Patrick Dorgu, Anthony Gordon, and Matheus Cunha are suspended for the next three games for 'violent conduct' offences in the FA Cup last weekend. (Cunha's ban seems likely to be extended, as the FA filed an additional 'misconduct' charge against him in relation to the incident on Wednesday. And, having let him off so ridiculously lightly last time, they might be less inclined towards leniency now....)

And Tariq Lamptey is out for one game after receiving two yellow cards in the Cup game against Newcastle.


Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

Dear, oh dear - well, most of the Manchester United team, really (does anyone still have any of their players - even Bruno??); but especially Andre Onana, whose confidence is looking pretty shotl; I rather fear that being forced to play behind a different back three almost every single week has eroded his understanding with his defensive partners and is leading him into increasingly panicky decision-making.


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

Cup competitions aren't usually much of a guide to League form anyway. And I can't think of anyone who was that eye-catching on the last EPL weekend, or since.


As for the goddamned AssMan.... no strong table-bonus opportunities this week: Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton currently look to have no chance of even beating each other, let alone anyone higher up the table. A lot of the so-called 'experts' seem to be tipping Graham Potter, though without any obvious reason for doing so; even at home, I don't much fancy West Ham's chances against Newcastle. With the likes of Van de Ven, Romero, and Solanke poised for a possible return, there might be a case for taking a chance now on Ange Postecoglou, with Bournemouth, Fulham, and Chelsea all comfortably above them in the table, but looking very beatable.


BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!


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

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