Dilemmas of the Week - GW8 (26/27)

Not that many new injuries this week, thank heavens - but a couple of BIG ONES!!

I'll try to update this evening, if any further news of note emerges in Friday's press conferences.

For some years, I have found the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information; although this site, Premier League Injuries, is a very good alternative (often a little quicker to update, I think - though it did go through a bit of a glitchy period for a while last year).  Go check these out for more comprehensive coverage. 

The Fantasy Premier League site itself now has a 'Player Availability' page (though hidden under 'The Scout' tab?!). That also seems to be reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date, but god knows how it's supposed to be 'organised' - maybe by 'date of injury'? Obviously, arranging it by club and alphabetical order would be more sensible; but the denizens of FPL Towers seem to have a deep aversion to the sensible.

I've recently discovered this additional resource, the weekly Predicted Lineups from Fantasy Football Edits. My longtime standby for this sort of news, Fantasy Footall Scout, does usually provide some explanatory commentary on its predictions, even including reminders of the key injury concerns, and sometimes also some discussion of possible alternate selections; so, if you like a bit more detail with your 'probable lineups' for the week, that could still be the preferable roundup to look at. But because FPL Edits is so stripped-down, it's rather more straightforwardly accessible, easier to scan through quickly; and I think it's also perhaps a tad more reliable with its expected formations and lineups, and a little quicker to update.

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 8?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

The big news of the week, of course, is that Bukayo Saka (17% owned) went down with a quad injury just 10 minutes into Wednesday's clash with Bayern Munich.

Johan Manzambi came off 20 minutes from the end against Newcastle last week after suffering a knock (although some reports later described his problem as a calf-strain), and he missed the midweek game against Viking; but Emery has since been making light of the issue, implying that he could be available again this weekend. Aaron Wan-Bissaka also had to come off against Newcastle with an apparent hamstring problem, which might keep him out for the next 3 or 4 weeks.

Emi Martinez had to come off last weekend after a heavy collision with Branthwaite, which would probably have kept him out for a week or two under concussion protocols; but apparently he's needed surgery on a fractured jaw, so could be missing for a month or so. Presumably the Belgian Mike Penders will deputise for him.

Jorgen Strand Larsen went off in yesterday's Europa League match against Besiktas with an Achilles problem. With Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah still feeling their way back from injuries, Palace may be without a recognised forward this week. Quinten Timber picked up a hamstring problem in training earlier in the week, leaving the team a bit thinly stretched at the back too.

Hull's French forward Robinio Vaz had to come off with an Achilles problem at the end of the Fulham game last Saturday, though apparently scans showed no serious damage, and he has returned to training late this week.

Jeremie Frimpong came on for the second-half against Brentford last week, but lasted barely 5 minutes before going down with what looked like a pretty serious hamstring issue. Victor Munoz also had to come off after taking a heavy knock, and was subsequently missing from the midweek Champions League game against Villareal. A third casualty in that game was Dominik Szoboszlai, troubled again by his sore hamstring; Iraola has been giving slightly mixed signals on that, suggesting that it is "not serious" but needs to be "dealt with patiently".

The other major new absentee is Antoine Semenyo, (15% owned at the start of the week, but there's already been a big sell-off), who had to be withdrawn near the end of last week's Ipswich game, after coming on as a late substitute, with what appeared to be a thigh-strain - although subsequent reports have suggested it may be a problem with his knee. Maresca has said he expects him to be missing for about 2 months. Matheus Nunes, Nico O'Reilly, and Mateo Kovacic all missed Tuesday's game in Athens after apparently picking up problems in that Ipswich game.

Marcus Rashford missed the midweek debacle in Como with a hip issue.

Lukas Bergvall missed Monday's game against Coventry with a knee problem picked up the previous week, and Savio was a last-minute dropout with a muscle injury which is expected to sideline him for some weeks.

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

Vitaly Janelt is banned this week after receiving 2 yellow cards against Liverpool, while teammate Yegor Yarmolyuk is starting a 3-match ban for committing a "headbutt motion" (rather than an actual headbutt) on Jeremy Jacquet.

Sunderland's Kevin Danso is also serving a 1-match ban for his clumsy 'denial of a goalscoring' opportunity offence early on against Bournemouth.

Ryan Sessegnon begins a 3-match ban for his sending-off for a high challenge on Vaz last week.

Rodrigo Bentancur is serving the second leg of his 3-match 'violent conduct' ban.

There may also be some doubt about Bruno Fernandes getting dropped after he caused a bit of a ruckus in his post-match interview in Como on Wednesday night. It seems to me as though his remarks were quite measured and reasonable, and inflammatory pundits in search of clickbait have been blowing it out of all proportion; but... it is probably inappropriate for the club captain to suggest that there may have been problems with the coach's tactical decisions, and if Carrick is feeling prickly, he might get sent to the 'naughty seat' for a match. I suspect, though, that he's too important to be dropped, and that he and his manager will probably just kiss-and-make-up behind closed doors. The bigger worry than possible 'disciplinary action' would be if he's got so disillusioned with the coaching staff and the team's performances that he's starting to feel demoralized and demotivated; that does seem a serious possibility. I said before the start of the season that Bruno couldn't possibly reproduce his massive returns of last year, and that, even if he could come somwhere close, that still wouldn't be enough to justify his ludicrously excessive price-tag this time. And since the one-off freak of that monster-haul against Ipswich in Gameweek 2, he's done absolutely nothing; it is remarkable - and inappropriate - that anyone at all still owns him.

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

Sunderland and Nottingham Forest are in a dangerous slump at the moment, and Fulham and Spurs, despite somewhat fortuitous wins last week, aren't yet showing any real signs of recovery. Crystal Palace are also in the mire, not helped by a spiralling injury crisis. I wouldn't be touching any of these bottom-end teams. Bournemouth and Coventry, though, are both much better than their current position suggests, posing a lot of attacking threat - even when their defences let them down; so I might consider one or two options from them; but not from the rest of the current bottom-of-the-table crowd.

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

Um, NO - it was a thoroughly drab set of games last week! The only new prospect that does intrigue me a bit is Jack Hinshelwood, back from injury at last: he scored in a 20-minute cameo off the bench last week - but, of course, it remains to be seen if he'll get a regular start again (with Gomez, Ayari, De Cuyper, and Rutter - and soon, perhaps, Mitoma and Minteh again too - all competing for spots in the creative trident behind the striker)

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!