I thought he would he twisted his knee badly from what I saw. Even so some on here think he was play acting.
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Go strong for this, we have 5 days rest before we play again.
Alisson, Jacquet, Araujo, Gomez, Tsimikas, MacAllister, Gravenberch, Wirtz, Barcola, Isak, Gakpo.
Get the win and it will help if we need to rotate more when the schedule is tighter.
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Itās been barely more than 2 days since we last played. Thatās not enough time to recover, Iraola will adjust his plans accordingly.
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Yeah thatās true. Was thinking forward instead of backwards!
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Just a cuppa, a tactics meeting and a reminder of the time schedule.
You can tell he wasnāt play acting due to the physios injury assessment whilst he was down
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I think JJ gets a rest.
My immediate thought was āShit. ACLā.
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My team, with this coming just three days after Brentford.
Alisson
Gomez Araujo Van Dijk Tsimikas
Gravenberch Nyoni
Ngumoha Wirtz Munoz
Koumas
Gomez Araujo Van Dijk Tsimikas
Gravenberch Nyoni
Ngumoha Wirtz Munoz
Koumas
Wholesale changes are not really possible, given the injuries.
Right back is a particular problem again, now Frimpong is out. I wouldnāt be surprised to see a bit of a wild card thrown in, like asking McConnell to fill in there. For now Iāll go with Gomez, but it increasingly feels risky to start the lad. Van Dijk and Jacquet to get 45 each.
Gravenberch will come back in for this one, and with Mac Allisterās rejuvenated importance, I think Nyoni starts this.
Wirtz needs to keep playing to find firm, Barcola probably steps out for this one, so that leaves Ngumoha and Munoz to cover.
Koumas for 60mins before Isak comes on.
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In that case, Araujo would almost certainly remain at RB and Gomez would come in at CB.
Average age of that attack must be around 20 years old? 
Villarreal have a young (22) American RB, Alex Freeman, who seems to have taken the starting position there. Not sure if heāll start today, but if he does, heās one to keep an eye on.
He is the son of Antonio Freeman, an all-pro receiver who played mainly for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL. Alex came into the USMNT as a raw athletic kid, and has made the RB position for the national team his. He seems to be rounding into a quality player, and has been playing well for Villarreal by all accounts.
RB looks a weak spot for us, so Freeman may be one to keep an eye on.
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Close, 21. Stick someone like Danns in for Munoz, then itās 20.
Munoz is humped, so maybe Gakpo gets a run out with Danns coming on at the hour mark? Or the other way round, I dunno.
Still, I broadly agree. Villareal arenāt exactly flying in La liga - they sit 12th with 9 points from 9 matches. The Man United of Spain. Because of the way this league phase is set up, we can draw with these and would still be favorites to progress. A win sets us up nicely to finish in the coveted top 8 spots, which is what we should aim for.
Really want us to beat Brighton on the weekend at home. Will be a tough ask, but if the likes of Gakpo, Isak, and Barcola are fit and rested weāll have a chance. I do not give a single shit about the tin-pot Carabao bastard cup. Happy to field a team of U18s against Chelsea for that. Does nothing but clog up the fixture list later on down the road.
Did Iraola say anything about Munoz? Might get something pre match
He hasnāt trained and wasnāt seen with the traveling squad.
Nah Iām just wondering in general, I know heās not gone but did we get any discussion about it?
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Donāt think Doni has addressed it directly yet.
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Is he nursing that knee following the challenge at Brentford. The one he carried on after and the Brentford fans spent the rest of the game booing him for?
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Yeah it seems so. He was strapped up pretty heavily to finish his outing against Brentford, I think Doni and the physios are giving him some rest in hopes that he can recover for the upcoming fixtures.
Iām guessing he had/has some swelling and discomfort with the knee, best to let the lad rest.
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