Others point-givers could be Mata, Ba and the Southampton v QPR game
You know it is the business end of the Premier League season when it is March and the football fantasy managers will be feeling no different. Injuries, suspensions and a rather weird looking second week of this month (match-day 29) make for an interesting this match-day week number 28.
First up let's look at the players who may not feature in the coming week. Robin van Persie's unfortunate knock with a camera meant that he had to be subbed off last week and with a vital upcoming Champions League mid-week clash for Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson may not want to risk him for the Norwich fixture. It should allow Javier Hernanadez another go as the leader of the attack with Wayne Rooney playing behind him.
Another player who could miss out this week is Marouane Felliani who suffered an injury last week and even missed Everton's FA Cup match against Oldham Athletic. While manager David Moyes stated that he should be fit to play in Everton's clash against Reading, they do not feature in the Premier League next week. So Felliani may not be the best player to get in and it may not be a bad idea to replace him with another if he's already in your team.
There are others who will miss the forthcoming clashes. Luke Shaw had a wretched night against Newcastle and could miss Southampton's match against bottom-placed QPR because of an injury. Pavel Pogrebnyak was red-carded in Reading's 3-0 defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic which not only puts him out for three games but also ensures that Adam le Fondre will have a good chance or two to get a start instead of coming on as a late substitution.
And Robert Huth, that burly Stoke defender also gets a retrospective three-match ban for his foul on Fulham's Philippe Senderos.
West Bromwich Albion are the worst hit with Romelu Lukaku having to sit out their game against current owners Chelsea and Shane Long expected to miss the game because of an injury. It could allow Peter Odemwingie a rare chance to get into the starting 11. And with Odemwingie having a lot to prove those with a really strong heart could look at getting him in for a couple of weeks.
Speaking of proving a lot, Chelsea's manager Rafa Benitez has finally announced that he will leave the club at the end of the season. With Chelsea's performances ranging from mediocre to under-par and with couple of previous managers having lost their jobs after a West Brom game, this could be his chance to prove his detractors wrong. Expect a few goals going their way against WBA this weekend with Juan Mata and Demba Ba in goal-scoring contention.
With only 11 games remaining and the team eight points off from safety, QPR have only one way of staying back in the Premier League - win a lot of games. While they had a decent run recently, QPR have now lost two matches in a row and will look to play a tad more expansively against Southampton. The Saints were themselves involved in a six-goal thriller against Newcastle and while they are off the relegation zone they will look to pick up points from this one too.
I expect this to be another high-scoring match but with Bobby Zamora injured it will be left to Adel Taarabt and Loic Remy to get QPR going while Southampton will rely on their usual suspects - Rickie Lambert and captain Adam Lallana.
There are two other games I will be most interested in; Wigan's home game against Liverpool and Aston Villa hosting Manchester City. Despite being away games, Liverpool and City can be expected to pump in plenty with the Reds having had a couple of weeks off since gunning down Swansea 5-0 and the Blues finding back their touch against Chelsea.
Luis Suarez's brace against Zenit puts him in a very good stead while City will look to Carlos Tevez for inspiration going into this game. Couple of reasons why I will choose Suarez over Tevez - City do not play next week while Mancini's rather strange selections makes it difficult to predict his next move.
First up let's look at the players who may not feature in the coming week. Robin van Persie's unfortunate knock with a camera meant that he had to be subbed off last week and with a vital upcoming Champions League mid-week clash for Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson may not want to risk him for the Norwich fixture. It should allow Javier Hernanadez another go as the leader of the attack with Wayne Rooney playing behind him.
Another player who could miss out this week is Marouane Felliani who suffered an injury last week and even missed Everton's FA Cup match against Oldham Athletic. While manager David Moyes stated that he should be fit to play in Everton's clash against Reading, they do not feature in the Premier League next week. So Felliani may not be the best player to get in and it may not be a bad idea to replace him with another if he's already in your team.
There are others who will miss the forthcoming clashes. Luke Shaw had a wretched night against Newcastle and could miss Southampton's match against bottom-placed QPR because of an injury. Pavel Pogrebnyak was red-carded in Reading's 3-0 defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic which not only puts him out for three games but also ensures that Adam le Fondre will have a good chance or two to get a start instead of coming on as a late substitution.
And Robert Huth, that burly Stoke defender also gets a retrospective three-match ban for his foul on Fulham's Philippe Senderos.
West Bromwich Albion are the worst hit with Romelu Lukaku having to sit out their game against current owners Chelsea and Shane Long expected to miss the game because of an injury. It could allow Peter Odemwingie a rare chance to get into the starting 11. And with Odemwingie having a lot to prove those with a really strong heart could look at getting him in for a couple of weeks.
Speaking of proving a lot, Chelsea's manager Rafa Benitez has finally announced that he will leave the club at the end of the season. With Chelsea's performances ranging from mediocre to under-par and with couple of previous managers having lost their jobs after a West Brom game, this could be his chance to prove his detractors wrong. Expect a few goals going their way against WBA this weekend with Juan Mata and Demba Ba in goal-scoring contention.
With only 11 games remaining and the team eight points off from safety, QPR have only one way of staying back in the Premier League - win a lot of games. While they had a decent run recently, QPR have now lost two matches in a row and will look to play a tad more expansively against Southampton. The Saints were themselves involved in a six-goal thriller against Newcastle and while they are off the relegation zone they will look to pick up points from this one too.
I expect this to be another high-scoring match but with Bobby Zamora injured it will be left to Adel Taarabt and Loic Remy to get QPR going while Southampton will rely on their usual suspects - Rickie Lambert and captain Adam Lallana.
There are two other games I will be most interested in; Wigan's home game against Liverpool and Aston Villa hosting Manchester City. Despite being away games, Liverpool and City can be expected to pump in plenty with the Reds having had a couple of weeks off since gunning down Swansea 5-0 and the Blues finding back their touch against Chelsea.
Luis Suarez's brace against Zenit puts him in a very good stead while City will look to Carlos Tevez for inspiration going into this game. Couple of reasons why I will choose Suarez over Tevez - City do not play next week while Mancini's rather strange selections makes it difficult to predict his next move.
