Calvin Bassey: Full 90 in Fulham’s win, so is he Chelle’s CB option?

Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey played every minute as Fulham beat Coventry City 1-0 on Saturday, his second start at the back in back-to-back Premier League wins, and it comes as compatriot Gabriel Osho faces a three-match ban at Cardiff.

Oscar Bobb scored the only goal in the 80th minute at the Coventry Building Society Arena, according to Premium Times. Alex Iwobi came off in the 74th minute, while Coventry’s Taiwo Awoniyi and Frank Onyeka came on in the 67th.

A week earlier Bassey played at centre-back in Fulham’s win at Hull City, the club’s first Premier League win under Álvaro Arbeloa. Iwobi scored the winner that day, his first goal of the season, as Pulse Sports Nigeria noted in its 19 October round-up.

Osho’s ban changes the picture for centre-back minutes

Osho, the Cardiff centre-back, lost his appeal against a red card shown in the 83rd minute of the 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough on 17 October. He misses games against Birmingham City, Wolves and West Ham, as Soccernet reported on Friday.

Analysis: Bassey is playing, and that counts

Chelle can only select from players who are playing, and Bassey is playing regularly for a Premier League side that has just found its first league wins under a new manager. Osho’s three games out mean fewer competitive minutes for another of the options at the back.

That does not decide who starts against Tanzania in November, and it would be wrong to treat one weekend as a selection verdict. But if Bassey keeps starting for Fulham while rivals for the centre-back places miss games, his case for the Super Eagles back line gets stronger by default.

Soccernet previewed the game in Coventry vs Fulham, where Iwobi was the focus.