Gerrard goes home with a match ball. Castillo goes home in an ambulance. Newcastle fans still haven’t gone home. Here’s my notes from the midweek replays….
Liverpool 5 Luton 0
A resounding win then, although it didn’t look like that for 44 minutes. It took that long to break the Luton resistance, Babel firing home after being freed by Torres. Gerrard then took over to deliver a hat-trick, with Hyypia joining the party with Liverpool’s third.
Lineup wise, Rafa promised a strong side and he delivered. He shifted Arbeloa back to right-back with Finnan rested. Riise returned to left-back with Babel starting on the left of midfield. Pennant came in for Benayoun, Alonso for Mascherano. Kuyt dropped to the bench with Crouch coming back into the side to partner Torres.
Gerrard’s goals were a timely reminder of just what he can do at the business end. It’s fourteen goals in the last nineteen for the Liverpool skipper, although before this game it was just one in the last six. Babel is beginning to suggest he can start chipping in. He’s appeared in the last seventeen consecutive matches, ten as sub and has found the net six times. It’s difficult to predict Rafa of course but he needs wins so he may well look to attack Villa at the weekend. Bablel’s current form suggests that Rafa may well be ready to hand him another Premiership start and if that’s the case, he could well be amongst the points in a game in which Liverpool are likely to need a couple of goals to get the points.
Reading 0 Tottenham 1
Keane’s winner, his first in six games, was enough for Spurs then. A deserved win in a game which they bossed, Reading struggling to make an impact on an improved Spurs defence.
Coppell picked a slightly stronger side, Ramos a slightly weaker one. Federici, De la Cruz, Pearce, Rosenior, Lita and Long all started alongside regulars such as Shorey and Harper. Coppell went with 5-4-1 initially, shifting to a 4-4-2 once behind. He has now started with five at the back in the last three matches, obviously in a bid to tighten things up.
That’s surely likely to continue against United which could mean we may not see the avalanche of goals we’d expect from a game featuring Reading. Amongst those five defenders, De la Cruz appears to be Coppell’s choice as an emergency centre-back in the absence of Bikey and Sonko to the African Cup of Nations and Duberry to injury. He man-marked Keane tonight and is probably being earmarked for a similar role at the weekend.
Tottenham brought in Kaboul, Tanio and Defoe while Jenas returned from suspension. Gunter made his debut Cerny was once again in goal – Robinson escaping another night on the bench by celebrating the birth of a baby boy apparently. King was rested, O’Hara dropped to the bench and horror of horrors – Berbatov was out with the flu. Pretty unspecific that – with someone likely Berbatov we ideally need Doctors notes and a sickbed webcam to assess the chances of him turning out against Sunderland at the weekend – a potential points bonanza if he makes it. Malbranque is suspended for that game with Tanio the likely but boring replacement, Taarabt the slightly exciting one.
Injuries and Suspension
Long picked up his fifth booking for Reading this season and will be banned for the Chelsea game in a fortnight.
Spurs lost Kaboul to injury after 81 minutes.
Man City 1 West Ham 0
A shocker for the BBC live camera’s – City squeaking through with an Elano goal amidst an improved second-half performance. Petrov once more the architect and the bright spark amongst a dire game strangled by City once they’d taken the lead. Indeed City’s buccaneering early season style is a distant memory right now with Sven seemingly happy to sit back, wait for Petrov to pick the lock with a telling run and cross and then shut up shop. Effective and certainly handy if you’re looking for clean sheets. It’s four out of the last five for City.
Talking of which, Sven made one significant change at the back. He brought Ireland back into the midfield, moving Corluka back to right-back and dropping Onuoha to the bench. That appears to indicate Sven’s thinking on the right-back role which is likely to be cemented once Johnson returns from injury. Onuoha’s chances of starting then appear to have taken a major blow with Ball now a far better target if you’re looking at City’s full-backs. Onuoha may well make a brief return at the weekend however, with Castillo out of the picture and Corluka poised to pushed forward.
Castillo started again and once more looked lost, short on fitness and out of his depth. He then capped a miserable start to his year-long City loan by crashing to the Eastland’s pitch under a Lucas Neill challenge. It’s a dislocated shoulder and six weeks or more on the sidelines for the Mexican. No need for that Scout Report of mine then.
Castillo’s injury could at least see Elano restored to an attacking role behind Vassell at the weekend. Tonight he was initially played deep alongside Hamann with Ireland pushing up from midfield. Sven spoke after the game and remarked that Elano has been struggling for fitness for a couple of months and that has been a factor in his form. Reassuring words but I can’t many takers for the Brazilian right now with Petrov so firmly established as the fantasy favourite at City.
Curbishley dropped Cole to the bench and brought in Boa-Morte to support Ashton up front. Neill returned at right-back after injury kept him out at the weekend. Bowyer came in for Mullins in midfield.
A frustrating night for West Ham – they had some clear cut chances, Ashton in particular. He clearly needs a settled parter up front though and Bellamy’s return can’t come quick enough.
Injuries and Suspension
Castillo suffered a dislocated shoulder after half-an-hour and is set to miss 4-6 weeks of his loan period.
Newcastle 4 Stoke 1
The result and performance played second fiddle to Keegan’s return but the four goals here perhaps provide a preview of what’s to come at St James’ Park in the coming months. Owen got things underway after eight minutes whilst Keegan still had his head in the clouds, a helicopter providing his passage to the ground. He did arrive however to see Cacapa put Newcastle two up. In between all that Emre got himself sent off for a naughty tackle on Stoke’s Eustace. Milner and Duff capped a special night with further goals.
Pearson was forced to make changes for his last game as caretaker – Butt and Smith served the first matches in two match bans so Emre came into midfield and Viduka partnered Owen up front in a 4-4-2. In fact it was an attacking lineup for Newcastle with Emre, Nzogbia, Milner and Duff the midfield quartet. I’m not sure even Keegan would be that bold again.
Injuries and Suspension
Emre will serve a three match ban and will miss the weekend game with Bolton, the next round of the FA Cup with Arsenal and the Premiership trip back at the Emirates after that.