The Care-less Cup got that little bit more serious last night with Arsenal fielding a recognisable team at White Hart Lane and Stoke’s defenders showing that their definition of “injury time” is rather different to the norm. Even Mark Hughes flinched.
Fantasy Managers need to stay alert during the midweek distraction – the Carling Cup teamsheets often hide nuggets of information and out on the pitch the second-string can often stake claims to impact on the weekend league lineups. Luckily we’ve gone crazy with our Scout Notes and brought you an blast of information from all last night’s events.
Phil Neville returned to the starting lineup which also included starts for Coleman, Bilaletdinov, Gueye ere and Yakubu. The likes of Arteta and Pienaar started on the bench but were called upon as Moyes looked to kill off Brentford without success. We can expect changes for the trip to the Cottage and Moyes will hope that Tim Cahill is fit to return. It remains to be seen if he will be the focal point of the attack or whether Moyes opts for Yakubu or Beckford as a partner as Everton continue to struggle for goals.
“He played, tackled, won the ball and tactically his position on the pitch was always good. He had an outstanding first half. He is fearless.”
Samir Nasri also showed up on the night and grabbed two goals from the spot to promote him in our thinking. Nasri was employed in the Fabregas role up in support of the lone striker Vela and should hold that role along with spot-kick duties, for the visit of West Brom at the weekend. He looks a strong short-term option – more on that in a forthcoming article.
Wenger’s lineup was surprisingly strong give that the Gunners boss has often fielded youngsters for Carling Cup matches. The likes of Kosocielny, Rosicky, Eboue, Wilshere and Denlison all started and all stand a chance of retaining starting roles against the Baggies given that Arsenal travel to Belgrade on Tuesday. Kieran Gibbs won’t feature in either game however, he limped off with a metatarsal injury in extra time with Wenger fearing that he may well have suffered a similar injury to the one that kept him for six months last season. Gibbs’ absence will take the pressure of Gael Clichy once more and he would look assured of starts at left-back for the foreseeable.
Tottenham will want to forget last night’s events but from a Fantasy perspective there were some points of interest. Robbie Keane’s form once introduced from the bench hinted that he could see further opportunities whilst Defoe remains sidelined. The fact that Roman Pavlyuchenko started last night would suggest that Peter Crouch will get the nod again at West Ham. Similarly with Assou-Ekotto playing 120 minutes at left-back, he could find himself bench at the weekend. Harry Redknapp certainly hinted it was a concern…
“I could have done without Benoit playing extra-time and I thought he was outstanding.”
That could see Gareth Bale perhaps shifted to the full-back role having started in midfield against Wolves, although much depends on the availability of Luka Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart.
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce will perhaps be more concerned about the injuries sustained on the night than the exit from the tournament. Bruce put out a strong side – making just two changes – he may have paid the price for that selection. Anton Ferdinand, Kieran Richardson and new signing Asamoah Gyan all suffered hamstring problems which will make them immediate doubts for the trip to Anfield this weekend. The Black Cats boss can at least welcome back Lee Cattermole from suspension for the Liverpool game as he served out his three-match ban last night.
Avram Grant made seven changes to his lineup but kept the inspirational Scott Parker in midfield and was duly rewarded with another superb display. The goals came from Frederic Piquionne and Victor Obinna, who also earned the assist for Piquionne’s goal. Carlton Cole was on the bench and his starting role for the crucial home clash with Spurs could now be under threat with Grant singing the praises of last night’s pairing.
“They worked very hard, they moved very well and they played well together – but all the team behind them played well.”
Grant started with all three strikers at Stoke in a new 4-3-3/4-5-1 system and would seem likely to revert to that again at the weekend but the Hammers boss will find it difficult to make too many changes after this first win of the season.
Beausejour announced himself on his full debut with two assists and earned praise from McLeish in his post-match comments.
“He’s adjusting. It’s difficult for foreign guys to come and slot right into the Barclays Premier League..We were delighted with his contribution, his use of the ball for the first and second goals.”
It looks likely that we will see Beausejour in league action soon, although a place on the bench is most likely for the weekend meeting with Wigan. McLeish was plenty to contemplate by the performances of several other fringe players and the goal for Zigic in particular may well earn him a place in the lineup on Saturday. Alexander Hleb’s well taken opener will have pleased the Blues boss, while Craig Gardner’s third offered further evidence that he remains strong value as a Fantasy option as Birmingham head into a smart set of fixtures.
Set-plays were yet again their key to victory with Higginbotham converting an Etherington corner and Jones notching his third goal in as many games from a Delap slingshot throw.
Both sides went into the tie with very strong lineups although Stoke drafted in Tuncay, Diao and Whelan from the side that were held against West Ham on Saturday. Notably Eidur Gudjohnsen was left as an unused sub, perhaps suggesting that he will get the nod over Fuller as Jones’ partner at Newcastle this weekend. He will be competing with Jon Walters for a start however and it could be that, just like Tuncay, Gudjohnsen faces a wait before he gets the chance to impress.
Mark Hughes’ lineup showed just one change with Zoltan Gera coming in for Duff on the left flank. With Dembele absent for the visit or Everton this weekend, we could see Gera shifted up to a support role behind Dempsey in attack, unless Hughes turns to Eddie Johnson who was once again used from the bench last night just before the hour-mark.