Gareth Bale is expected to return for Tottenham on Sunday after being omitted from their Europa League trip to Maribor this evening. Elsewhere, City and Arsenal both slump to defeat against Ajax and Schalke respectively. Roberto Mancini ends the game in Amsterdam with all four of his forwards on the pitch, while over at the Emirates, Olivier Giroud is dropped for Gervinho in the lone striker role.
Gareth Bale has been omitted from the Spurs squad for tonight’s Europa League match with Maribor. The Welshman missed out in last week’s defeat to Chelsea but Andre Villas-Boas revealed he expects the player to be available for Sunday’s trip to Southampton:
“We’ve been discussing it since he left us for the game against Chelsea, so he is allowed to stay with his family until tomorrow. I think on such an important date, it’s important to give the player the choice of return, so he returns mentally strong and ready to focus on the game. It’s all very emotional for him at the moment, like it has been for a couple of us here, so I think it is the right time for him to be off so that we have no doubts about his mental state when he returns for Southampton. In these occasions, it’s important to have the input from the player. We left it up to him to decide on the Chelsea game. Obviously it was an important date for him and we allowed him to go back to his family. It’s the normal amount of time.”
Bale has returned double figures in each of his last two away games and is a strong captaincy favourite for the St Mary’s showdown. His manager’s words will certainly reassure Bale’s Fantasy owners that he will be available to face his former employers as the Londoners go in search of their fifth win in the last six. Moussa Dembele didn’t travel with the squad due to his hip injury but is a ”possibility” to return this weekend, while Emmanuel Adebayor also stayed behind – the Togo international has a back problem, according to his manager:
“Adebayor has a pain in his back that he’s had for quite some time. He had it last season too. He felt it in training after the Chelsea game so he hasn’t travelled with the team. The assessment we do gives us the chance to count on him for the trip to Southampton on Sunday, because there isn’t a lot of time between the games.”
Ajax 3 Man City 1
Roberto Mancini made just two changes from the side that started at the Hawthorns last weekend, with Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko replacing Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli in attack. Despite going ahead through Samir Nasri (James Milner supplied the assist), City again displayed the defensive frailties that have plagued them all season and were 2-1 down within the hour mark. Mancini then switched to a three-man backline, bringing on Aleksandar Kolarov for Joleon Lescott, but after conceding a third, moved to a back-four again and ended the match with all four of his forwards on the pitch as City chased the game.
Tevez’s owners will certainly be confident of a start for the Argentine against Swansea at the weekend after he was handed 19 minutes game time last night. Balotelli climbed off the bench on 79 minutes, while Aguero and Dzeko played the full 90 minutes, suggesting Mancini’s rotational whims could kick in once again this weekend. City’s game with the Welsh club is at 5.30pm on Saturday, though – a factor that may influence Mancini’s selection, with an extra few hours rest afforded to his stars.
Post-match, Micah Richards admitted the squad are far from comfortable with Mancini’s new formation:
“It’s something we have not worked on a lot. That’s twice we have gone to a back five and conceded but the manager likes it. If we want to do well with it we are going to have to work on it. The players just want to play. It’s a hard system for us because we are not used to it and the players prefer a 4-4-2 but he’s the manager and we will do what he says.”
Arsenal 0 Schalke 2
The Gunners made just one personnel change from the side that slipped to defeat at Norwich on Saturday evening. Francis Coquelin replaced Aaron Ramsey in the double pivot, allowing the Welshman to move to the right flank – this saw Gervinho return to his recent role of lone forward, with Olivier Giroud dropping out. Giroud replaced the Ivorian with 14 minutes remaining but the Gunners once again failed to find the net – a real worry for their Fantasy owners ahead of the weekend home clash with QPR. Many will now have second thoughts over captaining Santi Cazorla against Mark Hughes’ outfit after assistant boss Steve Bould admitted morale in the camp is low right now:
“We haven’t looked our best since the international break. We lacked a bit of confidence. It’s a concern we’re not making many chances. We normally create chances, so we’re not accustomed to this. It looks like we’re lacking confidence on the ball and that’s unusual. We looked a bit tired and jaded. We have a tough game here on Saturday. We’ve gone behind in our last five games – to keep coming back is tough.”
