Spurs dish out a beating to Rafa’s reserves. Drogba returns but can’t save Scolari from tasting defeat at the hands of Burnley and Santa bears gifts for Ince as Rovers edge past Sunderland. Here’s the notes on last gulp from the Carling Cup…
Scolari made a raft of changes to his lineup but still fielded a side that looked more than capable of seeing off Championship Burnley. There were starts for Cudicini, Ivanovic, Ferreira and Mineiro but alongside them were experienced first choice players such as Malouda, Kalou and surprisingly, Deco. Drogba also got a first start up front after recovering from injury, while Lampard replaced the injured Belletti early on. Despite the star names, Chelsea could not find a way past Burnley and were taken to the lottery of penalty kicks.
The Chelsea side that takes the field at West Brom is likely to be a very different one. Drogba looked impressive enough but seems likely to find himself starting on the bench as the red-hot Anelka returns to the starting lineup. Terry will come back in alongside Alex, while Cech, Bosingwa and Mikel will surely return to the eleven. Long-term, the alleged Drogba coin throw could be an issue. The FA are reportedly looking at the incident and there could be disrepute charge. A ban seems unlikely but we’ll need to monitor that.
At the Lane, Redknapp also put out a weakened side but included regular first choice players including Zokora, Huddlestone, Hutton, Corluka and Bale. Pavlyuchenko also got a start up front, partnered by Campbell in a 4-4-2. The two strikers took their opportunity with aplomb – handing Redknapp headache and Darren Bent all the motivation he needs to maintain his current form in front of goal.
Frazier Campbell could yet be an option worth consideration. He’s firmly in the budget bracket and will bring in points if selected – that’s a big “if” however. The Carling Cup could well be his platform, whilst in the Premiership he could be restricted to cameo appearances. If Harry goes with 4-4-2 and Bent and Pavlyuchenko fail to click however, he could get some joy and offer excellent value.
Harry has options then, which will be a slight concern for the many new Bent owners. This shouldn’t be a factor come the weekend though and the shift to 4-4-2 last night is further proof that Redknapp is considering pairing Bent with Pavlyuchenko in the long term. That would be good news for Bent owners – not so good news for those who have pounced on Modric. His role just behind a lone striker has seen him thrive of late and his potential returns may well be reduced if Harry reverts to 4-4-2. We’ll need to monitor this.
While Spurs continue to look a force going forward, there will be few takers for their defensive players while Gomes stands between their posts. He put up a dreadful showing once again, and despite being stretchered off for a brave challenge in the second half, it will be his two hapless flaps at the Liverpool corners that lead to their two goals that will live in memory after the game. Redknapp remarked that Gomes should be fit for the trip to Fulham this weekend. That’s only good news for Hodgson’s mob on this showing. While a clean sheet looks unlikely for Hangeland – he will doubtless cause major problems at set plays this weekend; Tottenham looked vulnerable to say the least here.
While Redknapp and Scolari made selective changes, Rafa went crazy with his rotation policy and fielded a second string side at White Hart Lane: He paid the price. Torres made a return up front but only lasted the hour before being replaced with Liverpool 4-1 down at the time. He was surely be saved for the trip to Bolton this weekend. He was starved of service as a result of Liverpool’s abject performance – even so, he looked jaded and well short of his best – understandably perhaps.
Agger and Degen were the only players on show who are likely to be in the frame for the weekend. Agger should start alongside Carragher, although Rafa could think about using Hyypia’s aerial dominance against Bolton. He was hardly convincing in this one however. Degen is set to start at right back once again with Arbeloa suspended. Aureillio will surely replace the dreadful Dossena. As far as I could see, he was caught out for at least two of the Spurs goals here and looks well short of the standard you would expect from a Liverpool full-back. Aurellio is beginning to look very secure as a fantasy option.
In the all Premiership clash between Sunderland and Blackburn we saw far fewer changes to personnel – anyone would think they were taking the competition seriously. Keane did give a full debut to Henderson in midfield – he replaced a benched Andy Reid. However, this move was countered by the surprise selection of Kenwyne Jones up front, who returned ahead of schedule having seen a specialist for his knee problems.
Jones got the Sunderland goal and gave a typically muscular performance. He looks set to start at Blackburn at the weekend then and could well provide decent cover in the long-term should the Bent situation not work out for us. While he is hardly as prolific as Bent, he piles up assists and stands out in the Sunderland team which helps him haul in decent FPL bonus. We also need to monitor how the return of Jones will affect Cisse up front, both in terms of his starting role and his points output. You would anticipate that Cisse would benefit and, with good fixtures over the next few weeks, it’s worth keeping an eye on.
Ince also made changes to his Blackburn lineup but kept the core of his strongest side. Like Keane, he handed a youngster a start, although Howarth was later replaced by the returning Roque Santa Cruz who duly scored Blackburn’s first goal. He is another favourite of last season who is yet to produce this term – mainly as a result of absence through injury. Like Jones, he suffered a price hike across the games and although is value has fallen in the FPL in recent weeks, Blackburn will need to offer up evidence of a change in fortune and form before many fantasy managers will be turning to Santa.