What can we learn from this weekend’s cup ties – apart from the fact that George Boeteng is just a little bit too scared of being hit in the face by the ball? Read on and find out…

Middlesbrough vs Man United

Boro lined up as expected. Arca and Cattermole were both passed fit, with the Argentine remaining in central midfield. Parnaby continues to keep Xavier on the bench. Southgate is bound to make changes on Saturday however, given that the replay is on Monday. Have a read of this article for my views on how this will affect the Boro lineup and the other teams involved in Cup replays.

United suffered an injury to Van Der Sar in the warm-up for the match. He was due for a scan today but there’s no news on that at the time of writing. Vidic and Ferdinand also picked up knocks apparently, as I reported here earlier. Larsson played his last match for United, keeping Smith on the bench. O’Shea took the place of the suspended Scholes in midfield, while Heinze continued at left-back in place of Evra who is still feeling a hamstring injury. You can expect plenty of changes to the United lineup come Saturday. Again, read this for my thoughts on how this could pan out.

Chelsea vs Tottenham

Chelsea were without Terry and chose to rest Makelele who apparently had suffered a slight knock in the Champions League game with Porto. Ferreira came in at right-back and Diarra pushed into midfield. Essien remained at the centre of defence. The lineup really does offer little indication of the side that Jose will pick next however. Terry is set to return on Wednesday against City and it might not be then that Jose makes changes. However, Saturday’s game with Sheffield Utd is a different matter. With the replay on Monday, you can expect a whole bunch of changes.

Spurs were without a raft of players through injury and interestingly, Jol still rested Malbranque, Gardner and Chimbonda. Again today’s lineup offers little clue as to the side that will take the field at the weekend – I strongly suspect that Berbatov will be rested for starters. Again, check this article for more views on this.

Blackburn vs Man City

Hughes once again opted for a McCarthy/Derbyshire pairing up front, although Nonda wasn’t in the 16 so presumably hadn’t recovered match fitness after illness. Elsewhere, Blackburn were as expected. They now appear to be one of the most settled lineups in the Premiership with only the Dunn/Tugay rotation and the question mark over McCarthy’s partner as the only variables to watch for. However there are some forced changes coming up after this game. Nelson was substituted at half-time with an injury so is now a doubt for the weekend. I’ll bring you an update on that injury as soon as there is news from Blackburn as currently, Nelson, is in my 11 for the weekend’s games. Mokena was also red carded for a second bookable offence. This will mean the South African will miss the game against West Ham on Saturday. With Savage a long-term injury victim, this poses a problem for Hughes as to who he turns to to play the “enforcer” role in midfield. Khizanishvili could play there, with Henchoz replacing Nelson if required.

City meanwhile opted for a Corradi/Vassell front two with Samaras benched. Beasley was also dropped to the bench with Hamann coming into midfield. As expected, Sun Jihai replaced Trabelsi on the right of midfield. Trabelsi was on the bench but it was Beasley who later replaced Jihai, so it appears that the Tunisian has slipped further down the pecking order. Holding on to Trabelsi may well be fruitless, although its worth waiting until after Wednesday’s game with Chelsea to see if Pearce has a shake up of his lineup following the Cup exit.

Plymouth vs Watford

Boothroyd kept faith with Priskin up front and partnered him with Kabba. Bouazza moved into a midfield role as Williams was cup-tied. Powell came in for Jordan Stewart at left-back. Stewart is nursing a calf injury and will be out for up to a month. Foster returned in goal and Chambers made it off the bench, coming on for Kabba, half way through the second half. Mariappa seems secure at right-back though, so Chambers faces a real fight to regain a regular spot.