Scout Notes – Pre-season Round Up

Graziano Pelle nets again as Southampton cruise past Feyenoord. Jordon Ibe keeps Liverpol’s unbeaten pre-season record intact. Yaya Toure grabs City’s consolation against Real Madrid. Palace’s fringe players grab their chance to impress, West Ham squeeze through in Europe, whilst Kyle Bartley earns Swansea a draw at Reading.

Feyenoord 0 Southampton 3

The Saints’ triumph over Ronald Koeman’s former club served as the last chance for the players to catch the eye ahead of their Europa League qualifying tie against Vitesse on Thursday, giving us the clearest indication yet of how the south coast club will set up next term. Graziano Pelle netted the opener on his return to the Dutch outfit, slotting home from close range after Dusan Tadic rounded the keeper. Maya Yoshida doubled the visitors’ advantage at the 60-minute mark, before Juanmi capped off the scoring seven minutes from time.

Koeman deployed his charges in a 4-2-3-1 set-up, with Jordy Clasie and Victor Wanyama playing in front of a back four comprised of Cedric Soares, Jose Fonte, Yoshida and Matt Targett. Maarten Stekelenburg got the nod between the sticks, while Sadio Mane, Steven Davis and Dusan Tadic supported lone striker Pelle.

Although Yoshida, who comes in at 4.5 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, continues to impress, Koeman has reiterated his desire to strengthen at the back after fellow centre-half Florin Gardos was ruled out for “six or seven months” with a knee injury:

“That’s the priority, to bring in one or maximum two centre backs. It’s too small with Maya and Jose. Ok, we have Stephens, we have Turnbull, but they are young and still they have to improve themselves and that’s the point for attention at the moment, the centre back position.”

Elsewhere, Matt Targett, valued at just 4.0 in the FPL, appears to be an obvious short-term budget route into the Saints rearguard whilst Ryan Bertrand remains sidelined. Bertrand is expected to miss at least the first two league encounters, having suffered a knee injury earlier this month which is expected to keep him out for around six weeks. Targett appears to have seen off the challenge of new signing Cuco Martina to claim the left-back berth in his absence.

Birkirkara 1 West Ham 0

The Hammers narrowly escaped an early exit in the second round of Europa League qualifying, with Diego Poyet converting the crucial penalty after extra time. Slaven Bilic named a number of regulars in the starting XI but their chances of progression were hampered by the dismissal of James Tomkins on the stroke of half time, following an altercation with Serbian defender Nikola Vukanac.

Bilic lined up his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation from the outset, with Adrian in goal and a back four that included Joey O’Brien, Tomkins, James Collins and Aaron Cresswell. Cheikhou Kouyate and Mark Noble shielded the back four, while Kevin Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Morgan Amalfitano operated behind Mauro Zarate. Diafra Sakho was still suspended after also being dismissed earlier in the competition, whilst the likes of new boys Angelo Ogbonna and Dimitri Payet played no part. Winston Reid also missed out with a knock sustained in training.

Felda United 0 Liverpool 7

Malaysia XI 1 Liverpool 1

Danny Ings bagged a hat-trick as a Liverpool XI dispatched of the Kuala Lumpur outfit with consummate ease. Lazar Markovic lobbed the opposing keeper to claim a goal of his own, while Joao Carlos Teixeira delivered the moment of the match with a superb 40-yard chip. Youngsters Sheyi Ojo and Pedro Chirivella completed the scoring. Andre Wisdom, Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho also featured in the 60-minute match (30 minutes per half), as Brendan Rodgers opted for a youthful lineup.

Twenty-four hours later, Rodgers put out another XI which earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw with a Malaysia XI, concluding the pre-season tour. The match was lit up by Jordan Ibe’s superb strike for the Reds’ equaliser – a sublime left-foot finish into the top right-hand corner.

Ibe’s performance is timely in the light of Raheem Sterling’s departure and doubts over Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho’s availability for the opening Gameweek trip to Stoke: Fantasy managers will be monitoring his prospects closely given his classification as a 5.0 midfielder in the FPL. Rodgers was certainly full of praise for the youngster’s display in his post-match summary…

“He’s been outstanding since he’s been out here and he’s staken a real claim to start the season in the team. [It was a] wonderful goal, I thought he was a threat all night with his pace, his quality and it was wonderful finish cutting inside and a great strike. He was very good and like I say he has been working very hard.”

Rodgers opted for a 4-3-3 set-up once again, deploying a back five of keeper Adam Bogdan, Nathaniel Clyne, Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno. Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Lucas Leiva formed the midfield three, while Ibe and Adam Lallana provided the width behind Divock Origi. The Liverpool boss made a handful of changes very late on in the match, allowing many of his regulars increased pitch time. Despite this, Rodgers watched on while his side toiled throughout in what was an error-strewn display.

Lovren’s selection would indicate that he is currently above Sakho in the pecking order to sit alongside Skrtel in defence, while Moreno’s recall at left-back casts doubt on Joe Gomez’ claims for a starting berth, despite his encouraging displays in pre-season.

New signings Christian Benteke and Firmino are expected to make their first pre-season appearances in Liverpool’s final friendly against HJK Helsinki next weekend. Coutinho and Emre Can are also set to get their first run-outs in that fixture following their summer international exertions.

Manchester City 1 Real Madrid 4

Real Madrid’s first-string XI proved too much for City’s inexperienced rearguard as the La Liga giants were crowned International Champions Cup victors. Eliaquim Mangala missed out through illness and with Vincent Kompany attending the birth of his child back home, Manuel Pellegrini fielded youngsters Jason Denayer and Cameron Humphreys in between full-backs Bacary Sagna and Aleksandar Kolarov in a 4-2-3-1 set-up. Debutant Fabian Delph and Fernando filled the deep-lying midfield roles, with Yaya Toure, David Silva and Samir Nasri playing behind lone striker Raheem Sterling.

Toure netted the Sky Blues’ solitary goal, slotting a penalty into the corner after Sergio Ramos seemingly handled the ball outside the area. City ultimately struggled to find their groove on the attacking front, mustering just two shots on target throughout the encounter.

City’s disappointing afternoon was compounded with an injury to Delph, who was replaced after 18 minutes with a suspected hamstring complaint. Post-match, Pellegrini revealed the midfielder is set to be assessed:

“Unfortunately, it looks like Fabian has a problem with his hamstring – we thought it would be useful for him to play 45 minutes but he got the injury so it’s not the best news. We will have a more clear diagnostic from the doctor tomorrow.”

Pellegrini has also conceded he may well be without his South American contingent for the season opener at West Brom due to their exertions in the recent Copa America tournament:

“You have so many games throughout the year, that if you don’t give them 30 days after they’ve finished their internationals, it’s very difficult for them to work hard. It’s more difficult for Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis, Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho, they finished later, the first days of June, so they won’t have thirty days. I think when we return to Manchester they will start their pre-season, maybe they will not be involved in the first game but I am sure they will work hard and will be involved as soon as they can.”

Supersport United 0 Crystal Palace 4

The Eagles gained entry into the Cape Town Cup final at a canter, courtesy of four goals in the first period from Mile Jedinak, Chung-yong Lee, Jordon Mutch and Fraizer Campbell. Alan Pardew set out his charges in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Wayne Hennessey supported by a back four of Martin Kelly, Scott Dann, Brede Hangeland and Pape Souare. Jedinak and Joe Ledley were stationed in the double pivot, while Jason Puncheon, Mutch and Lee comprised the trio behind Campbell. Yohan Cabaye and debutant Patrick Bamford entered the fray in the second half.

Speaking after the encounter, Alan Pardew confirmed that Palace are still looking to bolster their squad depth. In addition, the English boss revealed he rested a handful of key players as a precaution:

“We’ve looked to improve with the signings of Cabaye and Bamford, but I am still hoping to bring in more. We want more competition. Remember we had no Zaha, Bolasie or Murray today, they were carrying slight knocks. So there is plenty of competition in our squad.”

Reading 1 Swansea City 1

Jefferson Montero shone the brightest as a largely second-string Swans outfit were held to a draw at Wycombe’s Adams Park. The Ecuadorian winger terrorised Reading full-back Chris Gunter all evening with his blistering pace and trickery, strengthening his case for a starting berth against Chelsea when he set up Kyle Bartley for the equaliser.

Swansea lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Kristoffer Nordfeldt in goal behind a rearguard of Angel Rangel, Stephen Kingsley, Bartley and Franck Tabanou. Leon Britton and Jonjo Shelvey manned the midfield, while Nathan Dyer, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Montero pulled the strings for lone marksman Marvin Emmes.

A reminder that all these results, along with Scout Notes on formations and form players, is being captured on our dedicated page right here.