Scout Scribbles – Baggies Through on Spot Kicks

Darren Fletcher grabs a rare goal before West Brom squeeze past Peterborough on penalties. Swansea’s Ki Sung-Yueng is set to return, Cheikhou Kouyate is ruled out of West Ham’s trip to Norwich, whilst Everton new boy Oumar Niasse looks in line for his top-flight debut.

Pulis’ troops taken to penalties

Courtesy of a penalty shootout, West Bromwich Albion sneaked into the fifth round of the FA Cup when their replay against Peterborough United ended as a 1-1 draw after extra time. The League One hosts opened the scoring, but Darren Fletcher – who has been utilised in an advanced central role in the league in recent matches – leveled things up with a stunning effort. Despite fielding Salomon Rondon and Saido Berahino as a strike duo from the offset, the Baggies could only chalk up five shots on target throughout the encounter. On the injury front, Craig Dawson failed a late fitness test, but Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley made the starting XI. The latter, however, lasted just 19 minutes before pulling up with a hamstring complaint that Tony Pulis expects will rule him out for two weeks:

The Scout Says: West Brom recorded three blanks in their previous four outings, and that same lack of attacking spark was again on display last night. This will come as music to the ears of Fantasy managers who’ve recruited Everton or Crystal Palace defenders, given that the West Midlanders travel to Goodison Park and welcome the Eagles across the next two Gameweeks. At one stage in the season, the Baggies’ defensive assets were in hot demand but since Gameweek 11, no team in the league has notched fewer clean sheets (two), ensuring that Dawson has fallen off our radar as a desirable pick-up. With McAuley now looking set to miss out at Goodison this weekend, Romelu Lukaku owners will be optimistic that the Belgian can build on his strike in the 3-0 win at Stoke last time out.

Ki fit to return for Swansea

Ki Sung-Yueng has returned to training following the concussion he sustained from a collision with Stephane Sessegnon back in Gameweek 24, putting him in contention for Swansea City’s home tie against Southampton this weekend. Having rested up for a week, the South Korea international feels ready to take to the field:

“I felt really dizzy after the game and had a big headache for a few days, but I feel good now. I tried to stop his shot and we both made contact with each other – it certainly wasn’t intentional. I had a few days of rest and I had ice on my face for two days, but now I’m back in training and ready to play this weekend.”

The Scout Says: Ki’s absence prompted Francesco Guidolin to shift Andre Ayew to the left side of a midfield diamond, with new signing Alberto Paloschi and Wayne Routledge leading the line. His return could find the latter dropping to the bench and Ayew pushing up alongside Paloschi – furnishing us with an out-of-position prospect. With five goals (two pens) in his last six starts, Gylfi Sigurdsson – who also ranked joint-second among midfielders for key passes (four) last Gameweek – represents the prime route into the Swans’ offense. Ayew also piques our interest: across the previous four Gameweeks, the Ghanaian winger places joint-third for attempts (13) and joint-second for shots inside the box (eight). Nonetheless, our enthusiasm in this duo is tempered by the strength of their upcoming opponents’ defences, with a home clash against Southampton preceding back-to-back trips to Spurs and Arsenal

Kouyate ruled out for weekend

West Ham United’s head of sports science, Stijn Vandenbroucke, presented a squad-fitness update on their official site. Both Winston Reid and Joey O’Brien sustained hamstring injuries against Liverpool and will undergo scans today, whilst Alex Song is a minor doubt for the trip to Norwich with a knock collected against Liverpool in midweek. Vandenbroucke revealed that Manuel Lanzini is “only a few days away” from returning to training and also explained the reasons behind Cheikhou Kouyate’s absence for the Hammers’ trip to Carrow Road this weekend:

“Cheikhou Kouyate lost consciousness during a challenge with Liverpool defender Jon Flanagan. He came off the pitch with mild concussion and was taken to hospital to clear any further problems. He was cleared by a specialist and is fine now. The rules stipulate that when a player is concussed, they cannot have significant physical activity for the next six days so he will miss the weekend game against Norwich.”

The Scout Says: In light of the injuries to Tomkins and O’Brien, Sam Byram is afforded a great opportunity to stamp his authority on the right-back berth in the coming weeks. Pitched at 4.8, the ex-Leeds United defender could emerge as a tempting Fantasy prospect over a favourable pair of fixtures (nor, SUN) if he can display a capacity for attacking returns. Considering that Kouyate has been ruled out of the Canaries match-up and Song is a doubt, the Irons will likely retain a 4-2-3-1 set-up. Looking further ahead, Lanzini’s imminent return to the starting XI should cement that formation as the favoured one, with the fleet-footed Argentine likely to displace Victor Moses on the left, with Dimitri Payet operating in “the hole” and the in-form Michail Antonio manning the right flank. Certainly, it will be interesting to observe whether the likes of Antonio (three goals and five assists in eight) or Lanzini (two goals in last three full matches) can usurp Payet (four successive blanks) as the most popular route into West Ham’s attack.

Niasse close to Toffees debut

After undergoing a week’s full training, Everton’s new recruit Oumar Niasse is primed for a Premier League debut at home to West Brom. Speaking on the Senegal international’s chances of featuring at Goodison Park, Roberto Martinez said that there’s a possibility:

“It could. He had one full session with the team before the Stoke game but I thought it was probably a bit too early [to involve him]. This week has been completely different, he has had a really good working period and all he needs is some good solid work before he can compete in the team. The Premier League is a competition that you have to be ready in order to have an impact. It is important he gets the time and the understanding he needs but, at the same time, I have seen he is desperate to be involved.”

The Scout Says: In acknowledgement of the fact that Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley are sure-fire starters in their respective berths, Niasse will be tussling with a glut of midfielders for minutes on the wing. His arrival comes at a time when Tom Cleverley (three assists in two) and Aaron Lennon (three goals and one assist in four) have flourished on the flanks and turned in some impressive displays that have been key to the Toffees’ recent turnaround. Unfortunately, Niasse’s classification as a forward effectively renders him a non-factor on the Fantasy scene and merely lessens our options in the Everton midfield.