Scout Scribbles – Tuesday Friendlies Round Up

Remy Cabella and Emmanuel Riviere net again for Newcastle. Leonardo Ulloa bags a brace for Leicester. Lukas Jutkiewicz is at the double for Burnley, Charlie Austin is in the goals once more for QPR, while Alan Hutton fires Villa to victory at Walsall:

Toon New Boys in the Goals
Remy Cabella and Emmanuel Riviere scored for the second successive outing as Newcastle drew 2-2 at Huddersfield Town last night. In defence, Daryl Janmaat was handed his debut at right-back for the Magpies, with Mike Williamson partnering Fabricio Coloccini in the heart of defence and Massadio Haidara on the left. Pardew continued with a 4-4-2 formation, fielding Cabella and Yoan Gouffran on the flanks and with Siem de Jong missing out due to a foot problem once again, summer signings Riviere and Facundo Ferreyra led the line. That’s two goals in as many appearances for Cabella, while Riviere leads the way with three to his name so far; potentially handing us a mid-price differential option (7.0, with 1% ownership) ahead of a decent set of opening fixtures for the Tyneside team. Given that de Jong has also netted twice, the signs look promising for Pardew, with his signings already looking vital additions.

After the game, Pardew confirmed that, despite a lack of pre-season, Janmaat will be a definite starter against City in Gameweek 1:

“He is a class act. He will play for us against Man City – there’s no doubt about that. He had 60 minutes, and hopefully he’ll get 80 on Sunday, and he’ll be ready to go.”

Austin Nets Again for R’s
Harry Redknapp made just four changes from the side that defeated Shamrock Rovers 4-0 on Saturday for last night’s 2-0 triumph over Athlone Town. Danny Simpson, Steven Caulker, Nedum Onuoha, Joey Barton, Junior Hoilett, Bobby Zamora and Charlie Austin were the men to keep their places and the latter continued the form that saw him bag a brace last weekend by netting his fourth goal of the summer. Zamora chipped in with a goal and assist but despite that lowly 4.5 FPL price tag, Redknapp will surely strengthen up front before the summer transfer window closes, making the 6.0-priced Austin the stronger option ahead of home games with Hull, Sunderland and Stoke in the first five Gameweeks.

Baggies Youngsters Stake a Claim
Joleon Lescott, Sebastien Pocognoli, Gareth McAuley and James Morrison all remained sidelined through injury as Alan Irvine’s side lost 3-2 to Port Vale last night. The Baggies boss fielded a mixture of senior figures and academy graduates and lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Craig Gardner tucking in behind lone forward Victor Anichebe – both players picked up an assist apiece after teeing up youngsters Kemar Roofe and Bradley Garmston for the visitors’ goals. In all likelihood, though, neither of last night’s scorers look like retaining their starting berths once Irvine’s injury problems finally come to an end. Elsewhere, Andre Wisdom was again handed the full 90 minutes at right-back – whilst it raises hopes over his appeal as a 4.0 FPL option, it remains to be seen where he’ll sit in the pecking order once new boy Cristian Gamboa is ready for action.

Hutton Wins it for Villa
The Scotsman grabbed the only goal of the game as Paul Lambert’s side defeated Walsall 1-0. Farmed out on loan last term, Hutton is turning in some decent displays as a right wing-back in Villa’s 3-5-2 formation which suggests he may yet have a part to play in his manager’s plans this time around – at 4.0 in FPL, he could potentially hand us a cheap fifth defender option, though with just two favourable fixtures in the first eight, few are eyeing up the midlands side right now. Ron Vlaar watched from the stands as he builds up his match fitness, while Darren Bent joined Joe Cole on the sidelines with injury. In terms of selection, Lambert opted for Jores Okore, Ciaran Clark and Nathan Baker as the back-three, with Kieran Richardson fielded on the left of the midfield five and a front two of Gabby Agbonlahor and Andi Weimann.

Jutkiewicz at the Double
The Clarets summer signing continued his excellent pre-season by scoring both goals in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo. With Danny Ings missing out due to a minor calf complaint, Jutkiewicz was partnered by Ashley Barnes up front and took his tally to five for the summer; joint-top with Stevan Jovetic and Glenn Murray so far. First-choice keeper Tom Heaton made his first appearance of the summer after recovering from a calf problem, whilst Sean Dyche rolled out last season’s regular back-four – Kieran Trippier, Jason Shackell, Michael Duff and Ben Mee – ahead of the final friendly against Verona on Saturday.

After the match, the Burnley boss heaped praise on new boy Jutkiewicz, who has make a significant impact since arriving from Middlesbrough earlier in the summer. Dyche also explained Ings’ absence and dismissed suggestions the frontman could be set to depart the club:

“I thought Lukas’ first goal was an excellent finish after he showed good strength to shrug off his man. We know he is very powerful and then he had the calmness to slot it past the keeper. The second one comes from some fantastic play from Ashley Barnes and he puts a great ball across the box and Lukas is in the right place which is where you want your strikers to be…He’s (Ings) not going anywhere, he just had a knock and we had to be careful with it. We have to make sure at this stage of the season as it is vital the players come through it. Everyone knows there was a few knocks in the early part of the game programme and we had to leave people out to make sure they’re fit and well for when it really matters.”

Ulloa Bags a Braces in Foxes Canter
Leicester’s summer signing from Brighton found the net twice last night in a 3-1 win at Rotherham. Bearing in mind The Foxes played MK Dons the night before, Nigel Pearson changed his entire XI for yesterday’s encounter, with Ulloa joined by 2013/14 regulars such as Kaspar Schmeichel, Ritchie de Laet, Liam Moore, Danny Drinkwater and Anthony Knockaert – Drinkwater netted his second of the summer, though Knockaert will need monitored after being forced off with an ankle problem according to the club’s website. While Ulloa’s display will have caught the eye, David Nugent is the man in form for the Championship winners – despite being rested last night, the latter still leads the way this summer for Pearson’s side, with four goals to his name thus far.