FA Cup Scout Notes – Fifth Round – Sunday

Dimitri Payet and Emmanuel Emenike both score twice as West Ham ease past Blackburn. Eden Hazard provides a goal and two assists as Chelsea crush an under-strength Man City, whilst Martin Kelly fires Palace into the last eight at Tottenham’s expense.

Payet at the double

Dimitri Payet scored two spectacular goals and grabbed an assist as West Ham United dished out a 5-1 thrashing to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. Allied with his 13-point haul last Gameweek, the 8.2-priced midfielder is in fine form ahead of a favourable home clash against Sunderland. That being said, Watford’s triumph over Leeds on Saturday already ensured that the Hornets’ visit to the Boleyn Ground in Gameweek 30 will be postponed, diminishing Payet’s appeal on the Fantasy market – nonetheless, more than 69,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers have snapped up the Frenchman ahead of the Black Cats showdown.

Emmanuel Emenike also bagged a brace in his maiden start for the Hammers – given that Enner Valencia (ankle) and Andy Carroll (hip) are nursing knocks, the Nigerian marksman, who is priced at 5.0 in FPL, is likely to lead the line against the Black Cats.

In the wake of an impactful cameo against Norwich City last time out, Victor Moses opened the scoring with a drilled strike. If the fit-again Manuel Lanzini – who was deployed in the 67^th minute and went on to card an assist – is handed a starting role next time out, Moses and Michail Antonio look set to compete for a wide berth in Slaven Bilic’s preferred 4-2-3-1 set-up. Antonio filled in at right-back against Blackburn as Joey O’Brien and James Tomkins are injured and Sam Byram is cup-tied, having previously played for Leeds in an earlier round.

Cheikhou Kouyate received his marching orders for denying a goal scoring opportunity, ruling him out of the Sunderland encounter. However, Bilic confirmed post-match that he intends to appeal the decision and believes the Irons can present a strong case.

Spurs slip to defeat

Tottenham Hotspur succumbed to a 1-0 home loss at the hands of Crystal Palace. Mauricio Pochettino shuffled the starting XI following their draw at Fiorentina earlier in the week, dropping Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen to the bench.

On the injury front, Hugo Lloris remained sidelined with the shoulder complaint he sustained against Manchester City, while Mousa Dembele was withdrawn at the break with a minor groin problem. Spurs’ last two defeats arrived when the ex-Fulham recruit was hamstrung by injury, so investors in their offense will be hopeful of a swift recovery.

As a consequence of Spurs’ exit from the FA Cup, their road tie against Aston Villa in Gameweek 30 will go ahead as planned. Given that Harry Kane (41% ownership), Alderweireld (42%) and Dele Alli (31%) are among the most popular Fantasy recruits, many managers will find it far easier to cobble together a full team in three weeks’ time.

Kelly wins it for Palace

Martin Kelly steered the Eagles into the quarter finals with a thunderous effort. Wilfried Zaha – who notched two assists in his previous four league starts and netted the winner against Stoke in the Fourth Round – underlined his good form with the assist. Valued at 5.3, the fleet-footed winger could well factor into our thinking for future double Gameweeks.

Yannick Bolasie made a second-half cameo, priming him for a return to league action at West Bromwich Albion next weekend. Nonetheless, his differential potential is curtailed by the fact that Palace’s trip to Manchester United in Gameweek 30 is set to be rescheduled in response to their win over Spurs. On that note, the ownerships of Scott Dann (23%), Chris Smalling (25%) and David De Gea (11%) face the prospect of benching considerable funds during the blank.

Hazard steers Blues to victory

Chelsea put Manchester City to the sword in a 5-1 win at Stamford Bridge. Eden Hazard showed shoots of recovery with a goal and pair of assists, while Diego Costa complemented his assist against Paris Saint-Germain with a goal on Sunday afternoon. Willian, Gary Cahill and Bertrand Traore also graced the scoresheet, with Oscar claiming an assist.

Speaking of Oscar, the Brazil international came up short from the penalty spot for the second time this term, perhaps giving Guus Hiddink food for thought with regards to the Chelsea spot-kick pecking order.

Chelsea’s passage through to the last eight of the FA Cup results in the postponement of their road clash against Liverpool in Gameweek 30. From the Blues’ perspective, Willian is the second-most popular midfielder with regards to transfers in (57,000) this week, while Costa (46,000) is the third-most popular forward, which throws up a dilemma for those new owners. Moreover, Cesar Azpilicueta’s 14% ownership might need to do some tinkering ahead of that date.

The postponement of Chelsea’s clash with Liverpool means that the latter – like Everton – play just twice over the next four Gameweeks. Considering that one of those match-ups is a visit from Manchester City, Roberto Firmino’s 17% ownership will likely be exploring other avenues. On the flip side, both Merseyside clubs will now enjoy two double Gameweeks at some point down the line, which encourages us to keep tabs on the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho following their return from the treatment room.

Pellegrini rings the changes as City tumble out

Manuel Pellegrini made nine alterations for the Sky Blues’ trip to the capital, ensuring that his first team are well rested for the first leg of their Champions League match-up against Dinamo Kiev on Wednesday.

The likes of Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany all played no part as the Chilean handed five debutants a chance to impress at the Bridge.

Ultimately, City’s defeat to Chelsea means that their trip to Norwich City in Gameweek 30 remains intact. This will be music to the ears of Aguero’s 30% ownership and may persuade many to hold now – a win for City yesterday would have handed Aguero two blanks in the next four, bearing in mind he already misses out this upcoming weekend due to City’s Capital One Cup final clash with Liverpool.