Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi injured as Germany win again

Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi was an injury casualty in Germany's
5-1 win of Azerbarjan on Saturday in a their last World Cup qualifier.

He was helped off the field in the first half when he pulled off with
what looked like a thigh injury which left him in some discomfort.

The match was his fifth in a little over two weeks for both Arsenal and Germany.

He is now a strong doubt for Arsenal's trip to neighbours Watford this weekend.

Arsene Wenger has the option of calling upon Per Mertesacker. Laurent
Koscielny is still nursing an Achilles injury, but he should be back
after the international break.

Rob Holding is another option as well as the injuried Calum Chambers.

Shkodran Mustafi has always been deployed in the middle of Arsenal's
back three because of his nous for picking a pass from the back.
Wenger would have to consider who to play in the middle of his back
three in the German's absence.

Chelsea's Kante suffers injury in France win

Chelsea are bracing themselves to be without the services of N'golo
Kante for period of time after he got injured in France hard fought
victory over Belarus on Saturday.

According to report, he suffered a hamstring injury and had to be
replaced after 34 minutes in the World Cup qualifier.

It is yet another setback for Antonio Conte who is already without the
services of striker Alvaro Morata. It means he would now have to
negotiate the next few weeks without two of his most important players
something he wasn't hard pressed to do last season, because of the
limited number of matches Chelsea played last season.

With Danny Drinkwater still out, his first team option in the middle
could vary between Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas in the coming
weeks.

Blow for Manchester United as Marouane Fellaini suffers knee injury

Manchester United midfielder, Marouane Fellaini is expected to be out
for weeks after he picked up a knee injury on Saturday.

The 29 year old suffered the injury during the World Cup qualifier
between Belgium and Bosnia Herzegovina. He left the field in the first
half, and after initial fears from the Belgian press that he might
have picked up a ligament injury, scans carried out by the Belgian FA
reveals he has a knee injury that would keep him out for a number of
weeks.

The injury is another setback for Jose Mourinho's side. Who is already
without the services of Paul Pogba. He has missed a month with a
hamstring. In his absence, Marouane Fellaini has been a more than
capable replacement with three goals, including the brace he scored
against Crystal Palace before the international break.

A performance that drew praises from Jose Mourinho, which prompted the
Portuguese to refer to him as an important player.

In the mean time, he is now expected to miss the North-West derby
against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

WCQ Teams: Nigeria unchanged against Zambia

Nigeria coach Gerhot Rohr has named an unchanged side for the crucial
World Cup qualifier against Zambia in Uyo.

The German sticks to the starting eleven that produced a complete
performance in the double header against Cameroon in September.

It means the returning duo of midfielder, Alex Iwobi and goalkeeper
Daniel Akpeyi on are on the bench.

A win for Nigeria would see her clinch a sixth appearance at the World
Cup and a third straight appearance at football's show piece event.

Teams:

Ikechukwu Ezenwa (GK), Shehu Abdullahi, Leon Balogun, William
Troost-Ekong, Elderson Echijele, Wilfred Ndidi, Ogeyi Onazi, Mikel Obi
(C), Moses Simon, Victor Moses, Odion Ighalo

WCQ: Nigeria vs Zambia preview: Sixth World Cup appearance beckons

Match: Nigeria vs Zambia
Venue: Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Date: Saturday, 7th October, 2017
Time: 5pm

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are a win away from a sixth appearance at
FIFA's show piece event in Russia next year.

Its the penultinate match of the World Cup qualifiers as Zambia are
the visitors.

The Super Eagles took a huge step towards qualification when they
earned four points from the double header against Cameroon in
September, with the first of those matches being a blistering 4-0 win
in Uyo.

Meanwhile Zambia revived their hopes with two wins over hapless
Algeria to move to within three points of Nigeria in their meeting
last month.

Going into Saturday's match in Uyo, the Zambians are three points
behind Nigeria on seven points with Nigeria on ten.

The first match of the opening weekend of qualifers was between these
two sides a year ago in Ndola, as goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and
Alex Iwobi sealed a 2-1 win for Nigeria.

Team news:

Nigeria have a clean bill of health going into the match. It is now
left to Gerhat Rohr to chose from the full squad at his disposal.

However, the Chipolopolo of Zambia on the other hand, have some injury
worries as coach Wedson Nyirenda, would have to contend with the
absence of some of his players.

Possible line up for Nigeria:

Ikechukwu Ezenwa (GK), Shehu Abdulahi, William Troost-Ekong,
Leon Balogun, Elderson Echijele, Wilfred Ndidi, Ogeyi Onazi, Mikel
Obi, Victor Moses, Moses Simon (Alex Iwobi) Odion Igaho

What the coaches said ahead of the match

Nigeria Coach, Gerhat Rohr:

"The situation we are in today is a good situation because we have 10
points and Zambia 7 points. We have to win and we must win. We want to
win."


Zambia coach Wedson Nyirenda:

"The atmosphere is so great here and there is so much positive energy
in the team that I can see us beating Nigeria. The captain is here as
well as Chisamba and they have been training extremely well with the
rest of the team,"

Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata facing more than a month out with injury

Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata is facing more than a month out with a
grade two hamstring injury.

He picked up in the Premier League defeat to Manchester City on Saturday.

The 24 year old had hit the ground running since being signed from
Real Madrid for a club record £60m in the summer. Scoring seven goals
in as many games.

His injury is a setback for Chelsea as there is no direct replacement
that commands the same quality he posseses. Bashuayi is now expected
to get some run of games in that position in the absence of the Spain
international.

He would miss Spain's concluding World Cup qualifiers against Isreal
and Albania this week.

While he would not play a part in Chelsea's visit to Selhurst Park to
play Crystal Palace in the Premier League next week Saturday.

Arsenal vs Brighton teams: Koscielny and Ozil out, Alexis and Iwobi starts

Arsenal host Brighton in the first Premier League match of the month
of October.

Arsene Wenger makes nine changes to the team that played in the Europa
League on Thursday.

Laurent Koscielny and Mesut Ozil sit out the match with injury. Alex
Iwobi and Rob Holding come into the team

Full Teams:

Arsenal:

Cech, Holding, Mustafi, Monreal, Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac,
Iwobi, Sanchez, Lacazette.

Subs: Mertesacker, Wilshere, Giroud, Ospina, Walcott, Maitland-Niles, Elneny.

Brighton:

Ryan, Saltor, Duffy, Dunk, Bong, March, Stephens, Propper, Izquierdo,
Gross, Brown.

Subs: Krul, Knockaert, Murray, Goldson, Schelotto, Suttner, Molumby