Scout Scribbles – Theo to the Rescue

Theo Walcott and Marouane Chamakh are the main protagonists as Arsenal claw back a four-goal deficit to send Reading spinning out the Capital One Cup. Christian Benteke bags a brace for Villa, while Southampton, Wigan and Sunderland all exit without a goal between them:

Reading 5 Arsenal 7 (aet)

Arsene Wenger changed all 11 of the side that narrowly beat QPR last weekend ahead of the Gunners’ Saturday lunchtime trip to United. In a proverbial game of two halves, Arsenal came back from 4-0 down to stun Reading 7-5 after extra time, thanks to a Theo Walcott hat-trick, two from forgotten man Marouane Chamakh (in his first start since January) and singles from Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny. Carl Jenkinson was selected for this one after being dropped for Bacary Sagna last weekend; the right-back played the full 120 minutes, suggesting Sagna may be in line to keep his starting role for the Old Trafford showdown.

Arsenal Starting XI: Martinez, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Djourou, Miquel (Meade 105),Walcott, Coquelin, Frimpong (Giroud 62), Arshavin, Gnabry (Eisfeld 62), Chamakh

Brian McDermott made six changes from the side that drew at home to Fulham last wek but maintained the recent 4-4-2 formation which has harvested plenty of goals for the Royals. Unfortunately for Adam Federici, Reading look a little too exposed; the Australian has been missing since Gameweek 2 due a knee problem and hardly covered himself with glory upon his return; Alex McCarthy owners will perhaps be a little more confident he can hold onto his place between the sticks. Both Reading’s starting forward, Jason Roberts and Noel Hunt, were amongst the goals, while Mikele Leigertwood notched for the second game in a row. Pavel Pogrebnyak also notched, climbing off the bench to make it 5-5.

Reading Starting XI: Federici, Gunter, Morrison, Gorkss, Shorey, Robson-Kanu, Tabb, Leigertwood , McCleary (McAnuff 73), Hunt, (Pogrebnyak 73), Roberts (Church 90)

Leeds 3 Southampton 0
Nigel Adkins’ side continued their abysmal away form with a 3-0 hammering at Elland Road. The Saints boss made 11 changes from the side that were beaten at home by Spurs on Sunday but, once again, their inability to keep out opponents proved their undoing. With 16 goals conceded in their four away fixtures in the top-flight already, many Fantasy managers will be eyeing up West Brom’s attacking options ahead of next Monday’s clash at the Hawthorns.

Southampton Starting XI: K. Davis, Butterfield, Hooiveld, Seaborne, Reeves, Ward-Prowse, Chaplow, Guly, De Ridder (Isgrove 67), Mayuka, Lee (Shaw 67)

Swindon 2 Aston Villa 3
Paul Lambert made five changes from the side that drew with Norwich in Gameweek 9’s early kick-off. Lambert once again named Darren Bent as a sub but the performance of Christian Benteke more than justified that decision. The Belgian bagged a brace as Villa put paid to Paulo Di Canio’s hopes of progress and has now scored five goals in his last four starts for club and country across all competitions. Gabby Agbonlahor also found the net for the midlands outfit, while Stephen Ireland also impressed with a pair of assists.

Villa Starting XI: Given, Lowton, Vlaar, Herd (Stevens 30), Lichaj, El Ahmadi, Weimann, Bannan (Delph 82), Ireland (Bent 83), Agbonlahor, Benteke

Wigan 0 Bradford 0 (Bradford win 4-2 on pens)
Roberto Martinez made nine changes from the side that saw off West Ham last weekend, with Ali Al-Habsi and Ivan Ramis the players to keep their places. By all accounts, the Latics created chances aplenty but were simply unable to finish off the opponents, despite the introduction of first-team regulars Shaun Maloney and Jean Beausejour.

Wigan Starting XI: Al Habsi, Ramis, Stam (Orsula 120), Lopez, Jones, Watson, Gomez, Fyvie, Redmond (Beausejour77), McManaman (Maloney 77), Boselli

Sunderland 0 Middlesbrough 1

The dire attacking form that has harvested just six league goals all season shows little sign of abating – a real worry for Martin O’Neill as his saw slipped to defeat at the hands of their local rivals. Phil Bardsley made his first start of the season at right-back, while Jack Colback filled in on the other side of defence. Stephane Sessegnon began the game on the right wing, with Adam Johnson filling in on the left as James McClean dropped to the bench, with Sunderland moving to 4-4-2. Suffice to say, the change in formation failed to boost their attacking potential, with O’Neill complaining post-match:

“We have to do more to get goals. We have to look dangerous, and when we get the ball in and around the penalty area, we can’t pass the buck and we can’t lose it in a good position. There must have been six occasions I can easily recall when we had the ball in really good positions in and around the penalty area and either overrun it or misjudged the next pass through. That’s disheartening and we have to do better.”

Sunderland Starting XI: Westwood, Bardsley, O’Shea, Cuellar, Colback, Sessegnon, Cattermole, Vaughan, Johnson (Campbell 82), Saha (McClean 59), Fletcher

In Other News

Micah Richards confirmed yesterday that he is set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines. Having been stretchered off in Saturday’s win over Swansea, the City right-back revealed:

“The positive thing is that the injury has been repaired so the knee will be as good as new. I have a brace on it and I am using crutches. I can’t do anything at all for the next four to six weeks and I am probably looking at 12-16 weeks before I am back in action. I knew straight away in the game that it was quite a bad injury. The knee locked and I couldn’t straighten it.”

The news is a significant blow to Roberto Mancini. Aside from the current injury situation which also sees Maicon sidelined and Pablo Zabaleta doubtful for this weekend, Richards’s return from a recent ankle injury saw an upturn in defensive resolve from the champions – City had conceded just a single goal in the three league games Richards had started, compared to eight against (and no clean sheets) in their opening six. While Maicon has managed just one game for the club before succumbing to a foot injury, Roberto Mancini seems to be unconvinced over using Kolo Toure as cover – Zabaleta could well be set to pick up Fantasy investment, should he shake off a hamstring problem in time for the weekend trip to Upton Park.

Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are both closing in on a return to action for United, according to Sir Alex Ferguson. The United boss told MUTV yesterday:

“We will try to push Chris on quickly. I don’t think he will make Wednesday’s game but I am sure he will be ready for the following week. There was some hope both he and Phil would be back for this busy schedule. Phil will be starting football training next Monday. He still has some running to do. The good news is they are not far away.”

While it’s good news for Ferguson as he looks to rest and rotate his options at the back, the news is frustrating for Fantasy managers, with the pair set to offer an alternative to Rafael in the right-back role. The Brazilian has now started United’s last eight and despite his side returning just two clean sheets so far, he has been the only real source of attacking consistency, with two goals and an assist to his name thus far. With six FPL bonus points also thrown in, his price has risen from 5.5 to 6.0 but his 19% of owners will be wary of his upcoming game time in light of this news.

Reports suggest Guy Demel could be out for another fortnight for West Ham due to an ongoing groin problem. The Ivorian has missed the last couple of matches after picking up the problem in the Gameweek 7 home defeat by Arsenal, affording James Tomkins the chance to deputise. Bearing in mind the Hammers are set to face City and Newcastle in the next two, Demel’s absence is perhaps not quite the blow it could have been; indeed, with the fixtures firmly against Sam Allardyce’s side from now until Gameweek 20, many of his owners will be planning an escape route over the next week or so.

Kevin Mirallas is expected to overcome the ankle injury that forced him off at half-time in Sunday’s Merseyside derby. The Belgian has quickly nailed down a regular role on the right of the Toffees midfield and had been steadily picking up points prior to the 2-2 draw against Liverpool, with a goal and couple of assists in the previous three Gameweeks. With Steven Pienaar coming back from suspension and Marouane Fellaini recovering after injury, a return for Mirallas would mean David Moyes only has concerns over Darron Gibson ahead of the Toffees trip to Fulham this weekend.

Alan Pardew has praised the performance of James Perch in last Sunday’s home win over West Brom after the defender deputised for the suspended Cheick Tiote in the Newcastle midfield:

“You’ve got get the balance of the team right. I did think of Vurnon Anita, but I just went for Perchie because of the power of that striker. Perchie did a brilliant job in the first half stopping the supply to him. He also used the ball really well – he was a big player for us, I thought. Last year he did that – he came in when Cheick was away. He did terrifically for us. We’ve won again without Cheick, and that’s important. But we need him out there for us.”

With Tiote still sidelined for the next two, which sees the Magpies travel to Liverpool before hosting West Ham at St James’ Park, Perch – who has now started the last six – looks in the driving to continue until the Ivorian is available for the Gameweek 12 visit of Swansea.

Liverpool have confirmed Pepe Reina and Glen Johnson will remain sidelined for the Reds’ Capital One Cup clash with Swansea this evening. Reina made the bench for the weekend draw at Everton after sustaining a hamstring problem during the recent international break, while Johnson was subbed off at half-time in the 1-0 Europa League win over Anzhi. While Reina’s absence should see Brad Jones once again feature in goal as Brendan Rodgers square up to his former employers, Liverpool coach Mike Marsh admitted the hosts are likely to freshen things up ahead of the visit of Newcastle on Sunday afternoon:

“The boys have come out of it [the derby] well and they’re all fit and strong. One or two are carrying knocks…. and it’s a chance to rest one or two and give one or two other players a chance to get some game time.”