Scout Scribbles – Black Cats in the Final

Sunderland defeat United on penalties to reach the Capital One Cup final against City on March 2. Fabricio Coloccini edges towards a Newcastle return, Jan Vertonghen and Paulinho return to training for Tottenham and Everton confirm Seamus Coleman’s hamstring problem is a “minor” one:

Mannone the Black Cats Hero

Gus Poyet made just a couple of changes from the side that drew with Southampton last weekend as his starting XI becomes increasingly settled. Steven Fletcher was fit enough to start and took the place of Jozy Altidore up front, whilst Jack Colback got the nod ahead of Seb Larsson in central midfield. Phil Bardsley’s eye for goal again came to the fore as the full-back notched the visitors’ goal in the 2-1 defeat, which resulted in the tie being decided on spot-kicks. In what was, arguably, one of the worst ever penalty shoot-outs, Vito Mannone limited the hosts to a single converted spot-kick to clinch the Wearsiders a place in the final.

The Scout Says: As mentioned in Tuesday evening’s article, this now means Sunderland’s Gameweek 28 match with West Brom will need to be rescheduled. There’s plenty of leeway for the fixture organisers to allocate another date aside from the midweek of Gameweek 28, due to international friendlies…There’s no doubt the manner of last night’s win, though – emerging triumphant despite conceding a last-gasp leveller to the home side – will be a real shot in the arm for Poyet’s increasingly resilient side for the relegation run-in. Mannone and Bardsley’s cup heroics seem set to earn them increased investment as the Black Cats look to seven favourable home games (STO, HUL, WBA, CPL, WHM CAR, SWA) to help them scramble up the table.

United Shot Down by Black Cats

With Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie absent yet again, David Moyes turned to Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez up front against the Wearsiders, affording Shinji Kagawa and Adnan Januzaj the flank roles. Welbeck was unable to replicate the league form which has produced six goals in as many matches, however, with goals from Jonny Evans and Hernandez not enough to earn United a place in the final. Along with Sunderland and West Brom, the Champions also have a blank Gameweek 28 – as we explained on Tuesday evening, their derby clash with City, initially pencilled in for March 1, is now postponed.

The Scout Says: Last night’s match merely summed up just how limited Moyes’ side are without a number of key players. Aside from Rooney and van Persie, Nemanja Vidic was suspended and Patrice Evra fit enough only for the bench, whilst Michael Carrick added to his manager’s concerns by limping off with an ankle problem. The expected arrival of Juan Mata will no doubt inspire some Fantasy managers to take a punt but, despite four kind fixtures in the next five (CAR, sto, FUL, cpl), unless the treatment room empties quickly, the current options available for our 15-man squads simply fail to inspire confidence.

Coloccini Nearing Newcastle Return

Alan Pardew has revealed his skipper could be back in training prior to next week’s Tyne-Wear derby with Sunderland, though has confirmed the defender won’t be fit in time to face the Black Cats:

“I think he’ll return to training, maybe the Sunderland week. He certainly won’t play against Sunderland. Maybe the week after, or maybe the week after that. It’s frustrating for Colo. Colo’s desperate to play football – he just wants to play.”

The Scout Says: Coloccini’s injury absence, allied with Mathieu Debuchy’s recent three-match suspension, has allowed Steven Taylor and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa stints at centre-half and right-back respectively. Having conceded in each of the last five, though, the Magpies have been far from resilient of late – considering they face Spurs and Chelsea directly after the Sunderland game, few Fantasy managers will be quick to invest in their defence. Their schedule picks up considerably after the trip to Stamford Bridge, though – a run which pits them against Villa, Hull, Everton, Fulham and Palace in the subsequent five may well help Pardew’s side deliver defensive points once again, though Taylor, Yanga-Mbiwa and Mike Williamson face a battle to partner Coloccini in the centre if all four remain injury free for such a run.

Vertonghen and Paulinho Back in Training for Spurs

The duo have stepped up their recoveries from ankle injuries by returning to training. Both were pictured in action in an article on Tottenham’s official website, which revealed Vertonghen has now taken part in four training sessions ahead of next Wednesday’s visit of City.

The Scout Says: Vertonghen’s possible return to the first-team looks set to raise question marks over the game time of Michael Dawson and Vlad Chiriches in the heart of the back-four. Both have played every minute under new boss Tim Sherwood as a result of Vertonghen’s absence but, with the Belgian expected to be immediately installed to the XI when fully-fit, it remains to be seen where the remaining centre-halves fit into Sherwood’s plans. Paulinho has played just one of the six league games under the new manager due to a mixture of injury and suspension but, given that Sherwood has already gone on record as saying he “didn’t realise how good a player” the Brazilian is, he looks set to stand a strong chance of nailing down a central role at the expense of Mousa Dembele.

Toffees Optimistic on Coleman

Everton allayed any fears of a lengthy injury to Seamus Coleman by revealing the right-back suffered no more than “minor tissue damage” in Monday’s draw at West Brom.

The Scout Says: Given that the Merseysiders also proceeded to say Coleman “has already begun his recovery”, it seems he is still in with a chance of making the Gameweek 23 trip to Liverpool. Over 28,000 Fantasy Premier League managers have parted company with the defender as a result of his Hawthorns withdrawal and, with visits to Spurs and Chelsea also in the next five, Coleman’s upcoming away schedule is far from appealing. Nonetheless, if he’s passed fit for the Anfield derby, the eye for goal that has already seen him strike five times this term may well come to the fore against the Reds’ porous backline, whilst home games against Villa and Palace in the subsequent three look very much in the Toffees’ favour.

Deulofeu Progressing Well

Roberto Martinez also discussed the on-loan winger’s hamstring injury with the club’s official website. Deulofeu has been sidelined since pulling up in Gameweek 16 and his manager revealed he is on the mend yesterday, before confirming in this morning’s press conference he could be back by the “end of next week”.

“He is doing really well. It was a bit more of a complicated injury because it affected the tendon, something which we need to be sure has healed because it could get re-injured very easily, especially with the type of player that Gerard is; a sprinter. We reassess him every three days and from that we get a clear idea where he is. At the moment he is regenerating really well and hopefully it will carry on with no set-backs.”

The Scout Says: Deulofeu’s injury arrived at a time where he had started to make his mark in the Toffees first-team. Prior to limping off against Fulham, he had notched twice in three appearances and looked a viable alternative to Kevin Mirallas on the right. Ironically, the Belgian has now benefitted from a move to the centre as a result of Ross Barkley’s toe injury and has scored in each of the last couple of matches. With Aiden McGeady also on board, though, it remains to be seen just how much of an impact Deulofeu will have from here on in.

Reid Close to Hammers Return

In an interview with West Ham’s official website, the centre-half has confirmed he is finally edging towards a full recovery from a calf injury. Reid went on to say:

“The last seven-odd weeks I’ve been working hard to get my fitness back. Injuries never really come at a good time, but that’s part of football and I’ve got over it and I’m looking to finish off the season well. I’m as close as I’ve ever been to returning to training, so hopefully in a week or so I’ll be out there again. We’ll just have to see how it feels as to how we play it.”

The Scout Says: One look at the defensive stats shows just how damaging Reid’s absence has been for Sam Allardyce’s side. West Ham managed six clean sheets in the first 10 Gameweeks with the Kiwi in the heart of the back-four – without him, they have mustered three in the subsequent 12 league fixtures. Now down to 4.7 in FPL, Reid seems set to miss Wednesday’s trip to Chelsea, then, but following that one, the next seven (SWA, avl, NOR, SOU, eve, HUL, sto) suggest he could be worth consideration.