Scout Scribbles – Lukaku Concern for Toffees

Romelu Lukaku nets against City before limping off with an ankle problem. Sergio Aguero lasts the full 90 minutes and supplies an assist in the 2-1 loss at Goodison. Elsewhere, Southampton’s Fraser Forster steps up his recovery and Cesar Azpilicueta is to wear a protective mask after suffering a fractured cheekbone in Chelsea’s win at Palace.

Injury Concerns for Toffees

Everton ran out 2-1 victors in the home leg of their league cup clash against Manchester City, courtesy of goals from Romelu Lukaku and Ramiro Funes Mori. On the playmaking front, Gareth Barry earned a rare assist with the cross for Lukaku’s header.

Somewhat removing the gloss from the scoreline, Lukaku (ankle), Tom Cleverley (calf) and Seamus Coleman (calf) all suffered injuries at Goodison Park. Post match, Roberto Martinez rolled out an update on his injured players:

“We lost Tom Cleverley at half time and had to readjust. Then we lost Romelu with a knock to his ankle, and late on we had to play the last few minutes with 10 men because Seamus and had to come off. Romelu took a knock to his ankle and he will need assessing. I don’t know if he will be available at the weekend [against Dagenham] but I don’t expect anything too serious. With Tom and Seamus, Tom picked up a knock to his calf against Spurs and it flared up at half-time. Seamus is probably the most serious of the three. He has pulled his calf and that type of injury usually takes three or four weeks to fully recover.”

The Scout Says: Although Martinez allayed fears regarding the extent of Lukaku’s ankle complaint, it seems likely that the Toffees boss will rest his star striker from FA Cup duties this weekend to aid his chances of recovery for the Gameweek 21 trip to the Etihad. Frustratingly, this comes at a time where Leicester’s Jamie Vardy is also a doubt for next midweek, essentially leaving question marks over the two most popular forwards in the FPL game, with the pair sitting in 54% and 48% of teams respectively. Coleman’s absence further diminishes our confidence in a Toffees defence that’s struggled to hold up its end of the bargain this term. Aside from chalking up just two shut-outs in their last 14 league match-ups, the Merseysiders rank second for goals conceded (eight) across the last four Gameweeks, having surrendered seven goals in three home fixtures. Last night’s result takes the Toffees one step closer to the Wembley final on February 28 – a scenario that would cancel their Gameweek 27 league clash with Liverpool on the same day. The Reds also have the advantage in their semi-final after winning 1-0 at the Britannia on Tuesday evening, with a cancellation and subsequent reschedule triggering the first double Gameweek of the season.

Navas Strike Not Enough for City

Manuel Pellegrini benched the likes of Joe Hart, Aleksandar Kolarov and Raheem Sterling for City’s trip to Goodison last night. Despite the defeat, the Sky Blues scored a vital away goal through Jesus Navas, who received a slide-rule pass from Sergio Aguero, with the latter’s return to match sharpness highlighted by the fact that he played from start to finish last night. On the injury front, City have more concerns in defence, though, after Eliaquim Mangala was withdrawn at the break because of a hamstring problem.

The Scout Says: Although Aguero failed to find the net, he fired five of City’s 18 attempts last night and his excellent build-up play for Navas’ goal suggests that his sharpness is returning. With doubts over Lukaku and Vardy, the Argentine’s improving form has already seen nearly 40,000 FPL managers to snap up his services this week as City – who rank top for home goals (29) – gear up for four Etihad encounters (EVE, CPL, LEI, TOT) and trips to West Ham and Sunderland in the next six Gameweeks. At the back, it’s fair to say that Mangala has belied his £32 million price tag since a switch from Porto back in 2014, so Martin Demichelis’ reinstatement wouldn’t impact our assessment of a Man City back line that’s notched one clean sheet in eight outings and continues to offer little resilience without their injured captain Vincent Kompany.

Azpilicueta To Wear Protective Mask

Following a kick to the face from Crystal Palace’s Frazier Campbell at Selhurst Park, Cesar Azpilicueta sustained a double fracture of the cheekbone during Chelsea’s 3-0 win last weekend. Although the Spanish full-back has been cleared to play, he’ll be required to wear a protective mask.

The Scout Says: Priced at 5.7, Azpilicueta represents the cheapest secure starter among Chelsea’s back line, given that Kurt Zouma (5.4) is a rotation threat now that Gary Cahill has returned to training. Branislav Ivanovic (6.5) remains the prime pick for those Fantasy managers that aren’t shopping on a budget: despite delivering fewer attacking returns (one goal and an assist) than Azpilicueta this season, the Serbia international has amassed three times as many attempts (18 compared to six), five more shots inside the box (nine to four) and three more key passes (seven to four). The Londoners secured clean sheets in their previous two outings and will fancy their chances of extending that run with four home fixtures (WBA, EVE, MUN, NEW) in the next six, as they belatedly start to show their Fantasy potential under interim boss Guus Hiddink

Forster Returns to Action

In the wake of a nine-month injury layoff, Fraser Forster was part of a Southampton U21 unit that recorded a 1-0 win over Chelsea last night. The English shot-stopper expressed his delight at getting a 90-minute run-out:

“Obviously, a bit rusty, but it was perfect. I’m buzzing to get 90 minutes under my belt – it’s probably been nine-and-a-half months now. I’m just delighted, just to kind of get through it, and the victory makes it that much better. We’ve done everything correctly for the last nine months and not rushed. We’ve done it step by step and that’s how we’ll continue to the end. There’s no rush. I just want to make sure I get it right and when that day comes it will come.”

The Scout Says: As Forster begins to step up his rehabilitation, the clock is ticking for Maarten Stekelenburg and his spell as the Saints’ number one goalkeeper. In truth, the south-coast club’s rearguard has failed to reach the heights it scaled last term, carding just three clean sheets since Gameweek 6. Moreover, Southampton saw their net ripple on just 33 occasions during the last campaign but have already shipped 24 goals this time around. Nonetheless, their mid-priced centre-backs – Jose Fonte and Virgil van Dijk – boast strong attacking statistics (two goals apiece) and could profit from a pair of upcoming home ties (WAT, WBA) before the Saints face back-to-back trips to United and Arsenal.

Liverpool set to recall Ilori

In the face of mounting injuries at the back, Liverpool are set to cancel Tiago Ilori’s season-long loan deal at Aston Villa.

The Scout Says: Given that Dejan Lovren and Kolo Toure picked up problems during Liverpool’s Capital One Cup win over Stoke, and Mamadou Sakho and Martin Skrtel both missed the Britannia encounter through injury, the Reds are facing a crisis in defence ahead of Gameweek 21, which sees league leaders Arsenal roll up to Anfield. As a result, Jurgen Klopp is entertaining the thought of dipping into the January transfer market, but until then Ilori could be tasked with filling the void, given that Lucas Leiva was forced to play at centre-half at the Britannia Stadium. There’s no doubt that the Merseysiders’ concerns at the back will be music to the Gunners’ ears, though, with the appeal of Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud sure to be strengthened if Klopp’s treatment room fails to empty in time for next Wednesday evening.