Week 8 - Update

First thing which I forgot to mention in my player picks post - Week 8 is Round 2 of The Blog Cup...602 teams remain, check here to see who made it through the first round!

The big news from the past 24 hours is Wenger's comments that Fabregas "is very, very short and unlikely to be involved on Saturday. He has a little chance for Tuesday.". That's enough for me, he's gone from my team. I'm likely to bring in Nasri instead as we know he gets to be on Cesc duty while the captain's away - corners, free kicks, penalties etc. Wenger also revealed that Theo Walcott could feature, but I'll probably leave it a week before jumping back on that bandwagon.

The extra £8m from Fabs gives me two options - keep Bale & go with Carroll, or switch things up to Coleman & Berbatov. I haven't decided which direction to in yet but I think both pairings will do well so I'll sleep on the decision and choose in the morning.

In other news, all the reports suggest that Jerome Boateng has recovered from his midweek bout of flu and is expected to continue at right back for Manchester City. Still no news on whether it'll be Silva or AJ on the wing so I'll probably leave both of them alone.

I saw a few people post team's with Sunderland's Mignolet as their goalkeeper choice, so this is your warning that Craig Gordon could be set to return. Slightly harsh considering the stand-in has done well but Gordon is the club's number 1 so it's possible that Bruce gives him his place back now he's fully fit. Darren Bent still isn't training so he's unlikely to play.

Some good news for Liverpool - Fernando Torres has recovered from his abductor tear and will start the Merseyside derby. Paul Konchesky is also back but Dirk Kuyt is set for a long spell on the sidelines after a nasty injury while on international duty.

Chelsea are still unsure whether John Terry will be ready to face Aston Villa tomorrow, although he is training again. With Alex out they'll do everything they can to get him on the pitch to partner Ivanovic, but we have no news about the right-back battle. If Terry doesn't make it then it's possible Ferreria goes to centre back and Bosingwa comes in at right-back.  Lampard still isn't ready..

UPDATES @ 12:00

- DROGBA OUT OF VILLA MATCH! Ancelotti names team as: Cech, Ferreira, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Essien, Mikel, Kakuta, Malouda, Anelka

- Kosielny is out for Arsenal according to Wenger's press conference. Squillaci to be paired with Djourou or Song?

- Kevin Davies, Cameron Jerome and Peter Odemwingie are doubts for Bolton, Birmingham & West Brom respectively.

- Etuhu is missing for Fulham, but Dembele is back in the squad.

- Fellaini out for 6 weeks, Jagielka a major doubt, Saha still out.

- David Jones is likely to replace the suspended Wolves skipper Karl Henry.

This changes everything. Despite the fact I hold Drogba at a £4m discount I really don't want to take a zero for the man taking up 1/5th of my entire budget, plus it's Blog Cup Week, so he's probably going to have to go.

After some further tinkering, I may go with this team (3-5-2): Fabianski, Salcido, Boateng, Bale, Adam, Barton, Nasri, Nani, Van Der Vaart, Chamakh, Drogba

I'm going to have to completely re-think my approach now which is annoying as I really liked the team above...might keep Malouda, and I'll consider Berbatov or Tevez upfront. Maybe this:

Krul, Salcido, Bale, Boateng, Adam, Nasri, Malouda, Nani, Van Der Vaart, Chamakh, Berbtov

I find it mildly amusing that I started the week set on dropping Bale & Malouda while keeping Drogba!

I'll update this post as the day goes on, with the majority of useful news coming from the manager's press conferences at lunchtime. Keep checking back and please add any useful team/injury information in the comments section below to help your fellow readers :)

Poll closes at 4pm today: http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/504642

Please join the Facebook Group if you've not done so already!

Cheers,
AM