Scout Notes – Gameweek 16 – Tuesday

Sunderland’s main Fantasy assets all come good as the Black Cats sweep aside Reading at the Stadium of Light. James McClean, Steven Fletcher and Stephane Sessegnon each find the net, while Adam Johnson bags an assist before picking up a knock. Elsewhere, Arsenal sensationally exit the Capital One Cup to Bradford and Villa end Norwich’s unbeaten run with a clinical performance at Carrow Road…

Sunderland’s Midfield Deliver
It was a double Gameweek that failed to somewhat whet the appetite, yet Martin O’Neill’s main midfield protagonists all produced double figures across their pair of matches. Adam Johnson added an assist to Saturday’s goal against Chelsea and has now produced attacking returns in five of his last seven – the winger was subbed off with a leg knock at the break, though. James McClean picked the perfect occasion to notch his first strike of the campaign, supplementing his assist for Johnson’s weekend consolation, while Stephane Sessegnon saved the best till last. Drafted in by nearly 70,000 Fantasy managers, the Benin international looked like ending with a pair of blanks before giving many a Gameweek a timely boost by slotting home the Black Cats’ third deep into injury time. Sessegnon has now produced double figures in two of the last home Gameweeks, albeit he did need two attempts this time round – despite last night’s endeavours, Sunderland’s upcoming schedule (mun, sou, MCY, TOT, liv) is likely to see an exodus of Sunderland Fantasy assets over the next few days.

Fletcher Back in the Goals
Pre-match reports had suggested the Scot would fail to make last night’s match with the ankle injury that sidelined him at the weekend but Fletcher recovered to notch for the first time since Gameweek 12. Indeed, this was the first time Fletcher has scored in front of his own fans since Gameweek 6, with last night’s strike helping him climb above Wayne Rooney in the FPL standings on 74 points. Not surprisingly, O’Neill was full of praise for his returning striker, post-match…

“Steven was magnificent. He has had no training whatsoever this week and for him to start the game for us was great, but to complete the game was even better – I wasn’t expecting him to do that! I thought he may last until half-time. He’s a fine player and he is so important for us. I wonder where we’d be without his goals at this point. He’s done exceptionally well and I’m delighted with him.”

Despite last night’s display, Sunderland’s schedule, mentioned above, will surely be enough deterrent for those mulling over his acquisition.

Defensive Joy and Woe for Sunderland
Having shipped five goals in their last two, Martin O’Neill’s backline produced a resilient display to rack up a clean sheet. While Carlos Cuellar’s owners were also treated to an assist, Phil Bardsley wasn’t quite so fortunate – he was named as a sub but, after climbing off the bench to replace Adam Johnson, the right-back was also replaced after picking up an injury. O’Neill also saw Danny Rose replaced with a knock and ended the match with Carlos Cuellar and John O’Shea – his first-choice centre-backs – playing at right and left-back respectively; hardly ideal preparation for a weekend trip to Old Trafford.

Reading Double Disappointment
No goals, no clean sheets, back-to-back defeats – the double Gameweek proved no more than a bitter disappointment for those who invested in Brian McDermott’s side. Sean Morrison failed to recover from the ankle injury picked up at Southampton at the weekend, though it was Alex Pearce who stepped in, with Kaspars Gorkss returning, only to warm the bench. Adam Le Fondre arrived with almost 70,000 transfers in for the double but failed to replicate his home form. The forward has scored three times in his last couple at the Madejski but has now drawn four back-to-back blanks on the road since returning to the first-team in Gameweek 12.

McDermott revealed post match that both Jason Roberts and Hal Robson-Kanu were missing from last night’s lineup through injury, while Adrian Mariappa was forced to play on with a knock…

“Jason Roberts pulled out yesterday, Kanu, the list goes on. Mapps was playing with an injury, Morrison is out, there’s a long list and we had three pull out yesterday. We’ve had long term injuries, it’s not helpful but I can’t hide behind it, it happens in football.”

Guthrie Saga Continues
There’s been a long-running mystery surrounding the role of Danny Guthrie in the Reading squad, with the suggestion that the player has fallen out with manager Brian McDermott amidst a spell on the sidelines with injury. Post-match, McDermott revealed that the saga had taken a new twist, casting further doubt on the player’s future at the club…

“Danny Guthrie made a decision that his head wasn’t right to travel. He was definitely going to have been involved. He texted me to apologise on Monday night, it’s an unfortunate situation to say the least. Any player has to be part of what we’re about. We can’t deviate from that, all pulling in the same direction. It’s probably not a conversation for this evening, it’s something we need to address in the week, we have to wait and see. It’s not helpful, of course. Everyone has to be in the same direction, that’s very important to me and we’ve had everyone together over a long period of time. You have to put yourself up to play in every game, that means every player.”

Capital One Cup Round-Up

Norwich 1 Villa 4
Chris Hughton made three changes from the side that saw off Swansea at the weekend. Wes Hoolahan was handed the night off as Steve Morison partnered Grant Holt up top, with the Canaries switching from 4-4-1-1 to 4-4-2. Elsewhere, Marc Tierney was given a rare run out at left-back, affording Javier Garrido a rest, while Leon Barnett started at centre-half – this allowed Russell Martin to shift over to right-back, with Steven Whittaker dropping out. Michael Turner returned from injury but was kept on the bench. Hughton’s decision to start Morison certainly paid off as the Welshman fired his side ahead but Norwich’s recent unbeaten form came undone as Villa hammered four past Mark Bunn. The loss of John Ruddy is more significant as the games go by – he had conceded just two goals in his last six league fixtures before picking up a thigh injury; Bunn, on the other hand, had been beaten five times in three games prior to last night.

Norwich Starting XI: Bunn; R. Martin, Bassong, Barnett, Tierney; Snodgrass, Johnson, Howson (Bennett 86), Pilkington; Holt, Morison (Jackson 80)

Paul Lambert continued with his new 3-5-2 formation, though made four changes, with Shay Given, Ahmed El Ahmadi, Fabian Delph and Darren Bent all handed starts. Bent’s night lasted just over half an hour before he limped off with what seemed to be a hamstring injury. Lambert brought us this on the Bent injury, post-match…

“I thought Darren was looking pretty sharp…It was just a blow for us. I don’t know how bad it is but he was hurt. It is just a thing we have to contend with next week.”

Bent’s replacement Andreas Weimann played a significant part in the win by bagging a brace as Villa clawed back a one-goal deficit in emphatic style. Brett Holman and Christian Benteke were also amongst the goals as the latter continued his recent impressive form. Lambert was full of praise for Weimann following his performance from the bench…

“He was brilliant…One thing about Andi is he is a natural finisher and his work ethic for the game of football is absolutely brilliant. If Andi was getting X amount of money, you’d get the same out of him in every game. That is a testament to him. I left him out just to give him a rest in the last couple of weeks but Weimann is a natural goalscorer. He ran himself into the ground, especially in the two Manchester games and the Arsenal game, but he came back tonight and he certainly knows where the goal is.”

Aston Villa Starting XI: Given; Clark, Herd, Baker; Lowton, El Ahmadi, Holman (N’Zogbia 73), Delph, Lichaj; Benteke, Bent (Weimann 35)

Bradford 1 Arsenal 1 (3-2 aet and pens)
In a statement of intent, Arsene Wenger made only three changes from the side that saw off West Brom last Saturday. Olivier Giroud missed out with a back injury, while Mikel Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were both rested to the bench. Gervinho was handed the lone striker role as a result of Giroud’s absence, with Lukas Podolski returning to the side after being rested at the weekend. The Ivorian’s miss last night will go down in notoriety, as will the result – Thomas Vermaelen’s last-ditch header forced the match into extra-time but despite the likes of Santi Cazorla playing the full 120 minutes, Arsenal were sent tumbling out the tournament on penalties. With six days until the next league game, though, Cazorla will be afforded plenty rest before Wenger attempts to rally his troops at Reading next Monday.

Arsenal Starting XI: Szczesny, Sagna, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Wilshere, Coquelin (Chamakh 60), Ramsey (Rosicky 69), Cazorla, Podolski (Oxlade-Chamberlain 69), Gervinho.