Scout Scribbles – Blues off to Wembley

Branislav Ivanovic grabs an extra-time winner to earn Chelsea a place in the Capital One Cup Final at Liverpool’s expense. Stoke’s Bojan is ruled out for the season with a knee injury, Senegal are eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations, whilst Nacer Chadli is again left out of Tottenham’s squad to face Sheffield United this evening after time off for personal reasons.

Ivanovic Nods Blues Into Final

The Serbian’s extra-time winner at Stamford Bridge was enough to earn Chelsea a 2-1 aggregate win over Liverpool last night and a place in the final on March 1. Jose Mourinho chose to partner John Terry with Kurt Zouma as Gary Cahill dropped out, whilst Filipe Luis was selected ahead of Cesar Azpilicueta at left-back before being forced off with injury.

Ahead of Saturday evening’s home encounter with City, the Blues boss also has concerns over Cesc Fabregas after an accidental collision with Terry saw the playmaker subbed off with injury, whilst the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Diego Costa all played the full 120 minutes for the home side. Costa’s massive 60% owners will be a little concerned after two apparent stamps on Emre Can and Martin Skrtel went unnoticed by the match officials, with the FA potentially taking retrospective action if the referee confirms he failed to spot them.

After the match, Mourinho rolled out an update on the injury situation before lauding the display of Zouma in the heart of defence:

“Ivanovic’s boot should be put in the lobby of the Academy, so the kids can see a boot completely full of blood. His foot with the big cut and lots of stitches cannot go there, but the boot, which is white, is full of red blood and should go to the Academy. Branislav could finish the game, Fabregas and Filipe Luis couldn’t. Filipe was a calf problem, Fabregas was his hamstring…He (Zouma) was very good. Playing against Sterling is something nobody enjoys, the kid is very good, very quick. Zouma coped so well with that, Brendan brought on Balotelli and put Sterling on the sides. Zouma is very quick, fast and he’s learnt positional play. Despite the fact he’s 20, he’s very mature. In the Premier League he hasn’t started many matches but in the Capital One Cup he’s played every game, also in the FA Cup. At this moment we have three central defenders and we are fine.”

The Scout Says: Given that Azpilicueta offers an obvious replacement for Luis if the latter is ruled out and Ivanovic played the full 120 minutes in spite of his manager’s post-match comments, there’s less concern at the back. Instead, the injury to Fabregas is Mourinho’s real worry – the Spaniard has assisted 15 of Chelsea’s 51 league goals so far and bearing in mind Oscar and Eden Hazard have 12 between them, his creativity would be sorely missed if he is, indeed, ruled out. Second only to Alexis Sanchez for popularity amongst midfielders in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, his 41% owners will be eagerly awaiting further prognosis, given that Mourinho simply has no like-for-like replacement in his squad. The main knock-on effect from last night’s result is that Chelsea will no longer have a Gameweek 27 fixture, as their trip to Leicester – due to take place on Saturday February 28 – will now be rescheduled, thus setting them up for the first double Gameweek of the season. The Blues’ recent FA Cup exit at the hands of Bradford could prove beneficial to Fantasy managers, though. Currently, the weekend of March 7-8 is set aside for FA Cup sixth round matches but if Leicester are defeated at Villa in the fifth round midway through next month, they would also be free that weekend. Such a scenario may well hand both a double Gameweek 28, with Chelsea also travelling to West Ham and the Foxes also facing City – virtually killing off the latter’s potential. Obviously if Nigel Pearson’s side prevail against Villa, their match against the Blues would need to be moved to another, as-yet unconfirmed, date, and with many sides containing three Blues players, we may need to re-assess our plans to cope.

Reds’ Unbeaten Run Ends

Liverpool arrived at the Bridge on the back of a run that had seen them avoid defeat in their previous ten outings across all competitions. Brendan Rodgers named the same XI that started the first leg, with Steven Gerrard and Philippe Coutinho tucked in behind Raheem Sterling as Daniel Sturridge failed to recover from injury in time to face his former club. The likes of Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli were handed roles off the bench but were unable to make a difference as Rodgers switched tactics late on in an attempt to save the tie.

After the match, the Reds boss rued the visitors’ lack of cutting edge, though was quick to praise his side, as they continue to benefit from a return to the high-pressing tactic from last season:

“We created the chances, particularly in the first half and at Anfield. We had enough opportunities to score, but just couldn’t make the finishing touch. We did everything in the game; we played 3-4-3 and flipped the team about in extra-time to play with a diamond three to try to create more pressure. For us to be successful, at times it’s got to hurt as well. In this competition in particular, we’ve started to get our flow in our football back again. And, very importantly for us, how we press the game, and I thought we gave Chelsea a lot of problems. ”

The Scout Says: Whilst the Reds will be downhearted by their exit, it’s clear that they are much improved from earlier in the season and the move to 3-4-2-1 has been key. Liverpool had 35 shots over the two legs and scored once, suggesting that once Sturridge is back in the fold, they will surely kick on further. At the back, they have now conceded just one goal in normal time of their last five matches – an Eden Hazard penalty in last week’s first-leg – though with West Ham, Everton, Spurs, Southampton and City in the next five, they’ll need to maintain that resilience. Rodgers is sweating over the availability of Mamadou Sakho, who was subbed off with a knock – Dejan Lovren could be set to deputise in the back-three if the Frenchman fails to recover in time for Saturday’s Anfield clash with the Hammers.

Senegal Sent Packing

Goals from Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez and Tottenham’s Nabil Bentaleb earned Algeria a place in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals after a 2-0 win over Senegal last night. The duo will now miss the Gameweek 23 fixtures this weekend as they face the winners of Group D on Sunday, though the result also means a quick exit for the likes of Papiss Cisse, Mame Biram Diouf, Cheikhou Kouyate and Sadio Mane, with the quartet looking on course to now return to domestic action this weekend.

The Scout Says: From a Fantasy perspective, Mane’s return for Southampton is arguably the biggest news, as he looks poised to immediately put pressure on Eljero Elia’s starting berth. The Saints play Swansea at 4pm on Sunday – suggesting Mane should be fully refreshed from a long-haul flight home – and, bearing in mind he scored in each of his last three league outings, he’ll be pushing for a place in the XI against Garry Monk’s men. After a brace against Newcastle, Elia has been transferred in by 69,000 FPL managers this week – more than any other midfielder – but with the Senegal international back in the frame, we’ll get a better idea of the Dutchman’s likely pitch time. Ronald Koeman’s side also face QPR, West Ham, West Brom and Palace in the next six, allowing their main assets a chance to stake a claim for a spot in our Fantasy plans.

Jedinak Out of Weekend Contention

The Palace midfielder is set to miss this Saturday’s home clash against Everton after Australia reached the Asia Cup Final with a 2-0 win over United Arab Emirates yesterday.

The Scout Says: Jedinak will now face South Korea in Sunday’s showdown before returning to league action in time for the following weekend’s trip to fellow strugglers Leicester. With five goals and two assists to his name already, the 5.1-priced midfielder had played a part in seven of his side’s 20 goals under Neil Warnock before the latter’s dismissal last month. Jedinak’s ball-winning abilities should ensure he retains a place at the heart of Alan Pardew’s midfield and with the Eagles on the rise, the Australian’s spot-kick duties could persuade some late Wildcarders to re-invest upon his return. With Jason Puncheon currently flourishing under Pardew and Yannick Bolasie also due back shortly from international commitments, the Eagles’ midfield has numerous options for us to consider, though the fixtures admittedly take a turn for the worse around Gameweek 26.

Chadli Still Absent for Tottenham

The Belgian is still out of contention for Spurs ahead of this evening’s cup trip to Sheffield United. Manager Mauricio Pochettino confirmed Chadli – who was given time off after his father passed away last week – has now returned to training:

“Nacer won’t be available, we need to analyse his situation after 10 days away. Everyone else is okay and we will decide the squad after training.”

The Scout Says: Since returning to the starting XI in Gameweek 17, Chadli has played a part in six of his side’s 12 strikes (a goal and five assists) compared to Christian Eriksen’s two goals. Averaging 5.4 points per appearances to the Dane’s 5.0, the 6.6-priced Belgian now sits in 17% of FPL sides ahead of a weekend trip to West Brom. With clashes against Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham in the subsequent three, the schedule is far from kind on Mauricio Pochettino’s side and his owners will be eager for him to prove his fitness in time for the Hawthorns clash. Those already with Harry Kane on board, for example, may well cut their losses with the Belgian if he fails to make Saturday’s squad in light of those fixtures.

Stoke Stunned by Bojan Loss

Mark Hughes is set to be without the Spaniard for the remainder of the season after scans revealed he suffered knee ligament damage during Monday evening’s cup win at Rochdale.

“It’s bitterly disappointing for the Club but even more so for Bojan himself as he was making such a big impact on the Premier League and clearly enjoying his football. We wish him a speedy recovery.”

The Scout Says: There’s no doubt the Spaniard’s loss is a real blow to the Potters after a series of eye-catching displays in the support striker role. After a slow start to the season, Bojan’s opener at Rochdale was his fifth in ten appearances in all competitions and with spot-kick duties also in his favour, some were considering his acquisition ahead of seven kind fixtures (QPR, new, avl, HUL, EVE, wba, CPL) in the next eight. With Mame Biram Diouf off on international duties, Hughes has fielded Jon Walters up front but with the former now back, Walters could be handed the role in “the hole” as a result of Bojan’s absence, though Hughes could also shift Marko Arnautovic into the middle after a stint on the right, allowing Walters to move back to the flank. Both Walters and Victor Moses grabbed a goal on Monday evening and at just 5.2 apiece, could be worth considering as the in-form Potters look to take advantage of such a kind schedule.