In last night’s Capital One Cup matches, Man City and Tottenham are taken to extra-time but eventually prevail against Newcastle and Hull respectively. Edin Dzeko grabs a goal and assist as Sergio Aguero is handed the night off, whilst Gylfi Sigurdsson strikes a wonder goal to strengthen his case for a return to the XI. Elsewhere, Ryan Shawcross criticises Stoke’s recent defending, Aly Cissokho is happy with a new role at wing-back for Liverpool, while Jozy Altidore talks up his forward partnership with Steven Fletcher:
Dzeko Helps Steer City Through
For last night’s trip to Newcastle, Manuel Pellegrini made 10 changes to the side that lost away to Chelsea last Sunday, with only Javi Garcia retaining his place. Between the posts, Costel Pantilimon was preferred to Joe Hart, while up top, Sergio Aguero was given the night off entirely as the City boss opted for a front two of Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko. An injury to the former forced an early change, though, with Alvaro Negredo brought on after just 10 minutes. David Silva was introduced just after the hour mark as Pellegrini looked to win the game in normal time but the Magpies stood firm until 99 minutes, with Negredo finally breaking the deadlock. Dzeko also played a pivotal part with a goal and assist in the 2-0 win.
After the game, Pellegrini praised Pantilimon’s display but refused to be drawn on the possibility of keeping Hart on the bench for the weekend visit of Norwich:
“He is a very good goalkeeper and he normally plays in the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup. This was a very important match for him. But I will start to think about the game against Norwich on Thursday. Today I was just thinking about winning this match. I think that we will talk tomorrow (about the team selection). One goalkeeper can play but the other will have our full support. We will think about it.”
The Scout Says: Given his cheaper price, Pantilimon would appeal as a Fantasy prospect if he can indeed oust Hart from the XI but with his manager remaining non-committal, it’s far too early to draw any conclusions from last night’s line-up. With back-to-back clashes against Norwich and CSKA Moscow within the space of three days from next Saturday, Pellegrini’s rotation policy was to be expected. Certainly, Aguero owners will be delighted with his omission, while the fact that last night’s game went to extra-time surely allays any fears of another rest against the Canaries – with Dzeko and Negredo playing 120 and 110 minutes respectively, in addition to Jovetic’s injury, Aguero looks likely to be handed the platform to wreak havoc and continue the form that has harvested six goals and two assists in his last four league matches.
Further Defensive Concerns for Pardew
The Magpies boss made five changes from the side that lost to Sunderland last weekned. Loic Remy, Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye were amongst those who dropped to the bench, though the latter two were introduced late in the second-half. With Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini missing out through injury, Mike Williamson was partnered by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa at the heart of the back-four, but Pardew saw both left-back Massadio Haidara and his replacement Paul Dummett forced off with knocks as injury concerns at the back continue to grow.
The Scout Says: With a home game against Chelsea up nest for the Tyneside team, Pardew has every reason to worry. Jose Mourinho made 10 changes for the Blues win over Arsenal and leads a fully-refreshed side to St James’ Park in Saturday’s early kick-off – if Taylor and Coloccini fail to recover in time, the hosts will have little option but to continue with last night’s centre-back pairing, with Pardew also awaiting prognosis on Dummett’s problem.
Spurs Toil Up Top Again
Younes Kaboul recovered from injury to start at home to Hull alongside Jan Vertonghen in the heart of defence, whilst Etienne Capoue was named amongst the substitutes after a recent ankle injury. Andre Villas-Boas saw Kyle Naughton and Nacer Chadli limp off injured, though, with the latter making way just nine minutes after being introduced as a substitute. Once again, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela disappointed in the attacking midfield three but Gylfi Sigurdsson staked a claim for a quick return to the XI – the Icelandic international was dropped at the weekend but struck a first-half wonder goal to suggest he could be ready to return at Everton on Sunday. Once again, Tottenham failed to impress in front of goal and had to rely on substitute Harry Kane to rescue a 2-2 draw deep into extra-time before persevering on penalties.
The Scout Says: Poor performances from the likes of Eriksen, Lamela and Jermain Defoe make Villas-Boas’ selection for the weekend Everton clash a little easier. With none of the fringe players impressing, Andros Townsend owners will be confident of yet another league start for the mid-price winger, whilst Roberto Soldado also looks set to continue up top in light of a dire display from Defoe. At the back, though, Kaboul managed to last the entire 120 minutes to highlight his return to full fitness and with Vlad Chiriches also in the mix, in addition to Michael Dawson, the centre-half situation is becoming a little more clustered by the week. Indeed, with Naughton picking up a problem and Danny Rose still on the sidelines, Vertonghen’s versatility could see him shifted to left-back once again as his manager looks to alternate his numerous options in the heart of defence.
Cissokho Happy with Wing-Back Berth
Liverpool’s on-loan full-back has admitted he is revelling in his new role in the left of midfield after Brendan Rodgers shifted to a 3-4-1-2. Recently recovered from an ankle injury, the Frenchman revealed:
“It’s a role I like a lot. I can get up the field a lot, whilst remaining safe in terms of the three behind me. We have three defenders in line as flat backline, which gives me a lot of freedom. My natural position is a left-sided defender, so this freedom allows me to give everything I can to the team. We have midfielders who work in line, so it takes a lot of physical and cardio effort to get up the wing and track back in case of danger and to defend as well. The injury was very painful and it took all my energy to recover from the injury itself first, then to get back to form in terms of cardio and physical work. It’s getting better a little at a time. I have some more cardio work to do but that’s not too tough. It takes a big physical effort, but the manager demands a lot of effort in these areas among the defenders.”
The Scout Says: With Jose Enrique still struggling due to a knee problem, Cissokho has now started each of the last two league matches for the Reds and picked up an assist in Saturday’s 4-1 win over West Brom. Priced at just 5.0 in FPL, he has been transferred in by just 1,300 managers since arriving on Merseyside but may well edge ahead of Enrique in the pecking order if he continues to impress – with competition on the opposite flank non-existent, though, Glen Johnson remains a safer option and costs just 0.7 more ahead of a run which pits Rodgers’ side against Fulham, Hull, Norwich and West Ham in the next six.
Shawcross Slams Stoke Defence
The Potters skipper was far from happy with Tuesday evening’s cup display at Birmingham. Despite playing against 10 men for much of the match at St Andrews, the visitors still managed to ship four goals, with Shawcross highly critical of their display:
“All the players must take a long hard look at themselves, me included – it’s just not good enough. As soon as they went down to 10 men we should have cruised through the game. As brilliant as we were in attack to score four times, defensively we need to improve drastically. “The whole team needs to defend better and work harder because I think the attitude against Birmingham was really poor. Southampton at home this Saturday is a really big game for us and we have to have a much better focus.”
The Scout Says: Having conceded a mere seven goals in Mark Hughes’ first 10 games in all competitions, Stoke have now shipped the same number in their last two matches after United put three past them at Old Trafford. Hughes clearly is struggling to find a balance – his side had scored nine times in the opening 10 and have since found the net six times, with a greater emphasis on attack clearly proving detrimental to their defensive prospects. With four home games in the next six, though, the Potters boss may continue to go on the offensive as he looks for goals to halt a run which has seen his side slump to seventeenth in the table.
Altidore Praises Fletcher Partnership
The Sunderland forward is keen to continue alongside Steven Fletcher after he was handed a chance to start in tandem with the Scotsman for only the second time this season last weekend.
“It has been difficult for him because he has been out injured a lot and he was only training a little bit until recently. But it has been great to have him out training again and when he is on the field in match situations it gives everybody else room to operate and be more dangerous. We have worked on set-pieces quite a bit so it was nice to see one work out with Fletch scoring. We just need to get him healthy and keep him that way.”
The Scout Says: Gus Poyet’s decision to move from 4-4-1-1 to 4-4-2 proved instrumental in the Black Cats’ derby win over Newcastle. In his fifth game of an injury-hit start to the campaign, Fletcher notched the opener, whilst Altidore teed up sub Fabio Borini for the late winner – not only was this the first time the summer signing had provided returns this term, it also proved the first time the Wearsiders had scored more than once in a league match. With City, Chelsea and Spurs their next three visitors, though, Poyet’s team may have to rely on their away displays to continue improving – up next , they pay visit to Hull, Stoke and Villa in the following four.
