Scout Scribbles – Wednesday Friendlies Round Up

Stevan Jovetic bags a brace in City’s clash with Liverpool. Raheem Sterling is amongst the goals again for Brendan Rodgers’ side. Diego Costa plays a part in all three of Chelsea’s goals in a 3-1 win over Vitesse, David Nugent helps Leicester to another win, whilst Costel Pantilimon gets the nod over Vito Mannone again as Sunderland lose in Portugal:

Jovetic At the Double Once More
The City forward scored twice for the second game in succession as Manuel Pellegrini’s side drew 2-2 with Liverpool before falling to defeat on penalties. Having bagged a brace against AC Milan earlier in the week, the Montenegro star replicated the feat to strengthen his case for consideration in our initial squads – given that Eden Dzeko was handed 45 minutes (his first of the summer), Alvaro Negredo is injured and Sergio Aguero has yet to return to action, Pellegrini’s post-match comments certainly he will have no qualms over beginning the season with Jovetic in his first XI:

“I have said before that Stevan is a very important player for us and he proved again what an asset he can be. He had a number of different injuries last season but now he is fully fit. I’m sure if he continues in this way he will show why he is here. If he’s fit all the year he will be a very important player for us.”

Intriguingly, the City boss also admitted he was uncertain whether a handful of his World Cup stars will be ready for the start of the season. Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis and Fernandinho have yet to return to training and their manager is somewhat sceptical over their fitness levels with the campaign just over a fortnight away:

“We have a very good squad but this pre-season we have a lot of players who cannot play. We’re happy with the squad, not only the team. That’s why it’s important for all these players to take there chance when they get it. The five players who arrived last Thursday, Hart, Milner, Yaya, Silva and Dzeko, I think they will be ready for the Premier League. We will with see the rest of the players who arrive next Monday. Can they be fit in 15 days? Maybe not all of them will do it.”

Sterling Nets Again for Reds
The winger continued his sparkling summer form as Liverpool twice came from behind to see off City. Having fired the winner against Olympiacos at the weekend, Sterling was handed a sub role but still found time to emerge from the bench to grab a goal and serve a reminder of his capabilities in the final third. Elsewhere in the midfield, though, Jordan Henderson also found the net in a standout display and the former Sunderland man’s attacking potential was discussed by Brendan Rodgers after the match, with the Reds boss revealing he’s looking for more impact in the opposition box in the season ahead:

“That’s the objective for Jordan [to get more goals]. The finish he produced to get the equaliser, he does that day in, day out in training. He’s a player that is so fit and strong, and he’s such a team player – he does a lot of unselfish work. This year we’re asking him to get more into the box. I thought he had more opportunities when he played just around the corner [of the striker] in the last 20 minutes of the game – he was able to time his runs better going forward and he got in a few times. That’s his strength – he can really penetrate the defensive line. He’s an athlete and can run all day. I would expect him to be getting up to 10 goals this season because he has the quality and tactical awareness to arrive into the area to do that.”

Rodgers also took time to discuss his tactical tinkering, with Liverpool lining up in three different formations over the 90 minutes last night:

“In the first half, we played a 4-4-2 diamond that refreshed the players with some of the work we did last season. At times, we worked it well and at other times, there were areas that we can improve on. It was good to see it in this environment. Then in the second half we went more to a 4-3-3 and then changed it with 20 minutes to go to 4-2-3-1. It’s really about the physical fitness of the players and reintroducing the tactical element of the game.”

Costa Stars in Blues Cruise
Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas continued their impressive summer showings as Chelsea won 3-1 against Vitesse Arnhem last night. Costa may have failed to add to his goal against NK Olimpika Ljubljana at the weekend but his value up front is already beginning to tell – he provided an assist for all three goals, teeing up Mohamed Salah and Nemanja Matic in addition to being fouled for Fabregas’ superbly-taken free-kick.

Post-match, the former Atletico Madrid man earned the praise of Jose Mourinho, who insisted there will be occasions next season where he’ll be looking to field a couple of forwards:

“You could see today our third goal came at a moment when the team were not playing well. Vitesse were on top. We recovered the ball, one pass and Diego created the situation. When you have this kind of player it’s important because you can score out of context. The other good thing is we have not just Diego – we also have Drogba and Torres. I know what they can give. I also know because of Fernando’s great mentality he is ready to work the way he did today. ‘We can work and play with two of them at the same time. We are preparing things and we are working on things where it is possible to have two of them on the pitch. We have a group of three strikers that hopefully are going to give us a lot.”

Those eyeing up Fabregas will be intrigued by a change of role against the Dutch side. After playing in the double-pivot at the weekend, the former Arsenal skipper – who continues to take the majority of set-plays – was fielded in “the hole” behind Costa, suggesting Mourinho intends to vary his position from time to time over the season.

Mourinho’s defensive selection also underlined the dilemma Fantasy managers face in the season ahead. Branislav Ivanovic started at centre-half alongside Gary Cahill, with Cesar Azpilicueta and Filipe Luis handed the full-back berths but the latter’s half-time withdrawal for John Terry saw Azpilicueta move to the left, with Ivanovic switching to the opposite side of the back-four. The versatility afforded by Azpilicueta and Ivanovic in particular clearly has the potential to cause us headaches as Mourinho utilises the depth of his backline options.

QPR Held in Stalemate
The R’s could only manage a goalless draw at Southend last night as Harry Redknapp rang the changes just 24 hours after a 2-2 draw with Leyton Orient. Once again, the London club lined up in a 3-5-2 formation, with South Korean Yun Suk-Young (a 4.0 priced defender in FPL) fielded at wing-back in his first appearance since playing in the recent World Cup. Wide man Matt Phillips was afforded a role up front but failed to take his opportunity and was withdrawn just after the hour mark.

Rio Ferdinand was one of the few players who failed to feature in either of the midweek friendlies and after the match, assistant boss Kevin Bond explained why:

“He’s fine. He joined us later than everybody else and what you don’t want is him getting a niggle. The medical and fitness guys just need to make sure he’s ready to take part.”

Mannone Benched in Black Cats Loss
Gus Poyet fielded the majority of his first-team regulars for last night’s 1-0 defeat to CD Nacional. New boys such as Billy Jones, Patrick Aanholt and Jordi Gomez all started, whilst Connor Wickham was afforded a role on the left flank, with Steven Fletcher leading the line in a 4-1-4-1. From a Fantasy perspective, the main point of note was the selection of Costel Pantilimon ahead of Vito Mannone in goal – the Italian, who sits in 13% of FPL teams, has now failed to start the last three friendlies and with just two more games left of Sunderland’s pre-season, there could be an exodus on the cards if Pantilimon retains the number one spot.

Nugent Nets in Foxes Win
The Leicester frontman grabbed his third goal of pre-season in a 3-2 win at Walsall last night. Nugent was partnered by Chris Wood up front as Nigel Pearson rolled out his preferred 4-4-2 formation, whilst Tom Hopper was selected alongside skipper Wes Morgan in the heart of defence. Morgan was also amongst the goals after heading home a Marc Albrighton cross and the former Villa man was handed a share of corners and set-pieces for The Foxes, heightening his budget appeal across the Fantasy games – the 4.5-priced midfielder is now owned by just under 12% of FPL managers. Danny Drinkwater also served a reminder of his attacking potential for Pearson’s side. Available for 5.5 in FPL, he netted the winner to hint at the form that produced seven goals and five assists in the Championship last season.

N’Zogbia Earns Lambert Praise
Paul Lambert rested arguably all of his regular outfield players for last night’s 3-1 loss to Chesterfield. The Villa boss handed Brad Guzan his first minutes of the summer between the posts, though aside from the US international, it was mainly fringe players and youngsters that took to the field suggesting that, while the midlands side lost for the first time this summer, there was little to read into the result.

After the game, Lambert explained his team selection and praised Charles N’Zogbia’s display off the bench, with the Frenchman teeing up Jack Grealish for his side’s only goal:

“A lot of the lads we didn’t bring up as they have jet lag still in their system. The ones that were here I felt needed a little bit more game time. Charles, for instance, I thought did well when he came on – that’s another 45 minutes under his belt. The only reason Charles played is because he missed a lot of football from the previous year.”

Perez Opens Magpies Account
Alan Pardew rested a number of his regulars as Newcastle edged past Sheffield Wednesday 1-0. The likes of Fabricio Coloccini, Tim Krul, Siem de Jong and Remy Cabella were all given the night off, as Gabriel Obertan teed up summer signing from Tenerife Ayoze Perez notched the game’s only goal. Having rolled out a 3-5-2 in the previous friendly, Pardew returned to a 4-2-3-1, with new boy Emmanuel Riviere afforded 55 minutes as the lone striker before being replaced after the break. In defence, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa seems to have convinced his manager he’s worthy of a place – the Frenchman fell out of favour towards the end of last season but has started all four of Newcastle’s friendlies over the summer.