Andre Villas-Boas grabs a debut point in a bruising encounter at Stoke. Fernando Torres repays his manager’s faith and shows an appetite sorely missing of late. Man United steal a march on many of their rivals already, picking up all three points at the Hawthorns, as Ashley Young’s debut show overshadows Nani. Here’s the Scout Notes from yesterday’s games, then:
Torres Looking Lively
Andre Villas-Boas took everyone by surprise when the Chelsea line-up was announced for the Stoke game. With Fernando Torres just back in training from concussion, surely the last thing he needed was a bruising battle at the Britannia? To his credit, though, Torres proved the Blues boss right, with a determined performance that suggested he’s recaptured some of the confidence that seems to have evaporated over the last twelve months.
With two home games against West Brom and Norwich, Fantasy managers will be hoping Torres can keep his place and lessen the likelihood of rotation up top. Jose Bosingwa’s selection at right-back over the more battle-hardened Branislav Ivanovic suggests Villas-Boas may prefer his more attack-minded game in the Chelsea starting XI.
Woodgate Keeps Fit
Robert Huth continued at right-back for the Potters, allowing Jonathan Woodgate to keep his place alongside Ryan Shawcross in the heart of defence. Tony Pulis’ injury worries continued yesterday, with both Matt Etherington and Rory Delap departing the proceedings with possible shoulder and hamstring problems respectively.
Fergie Keeps Faith in Youngsters
After his Community Shield performance in the previous week, Sir Alex Ferguson started Tom Cleverley alongside Anderson in central midfield. Injuries to Rafael and Patrice Evra meant Chris Smalling and Fabio grabbed the full-back slots, though with Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic looking likely to be sidelined for six and two weeks respectively, the likes of Phil Jones seems set for some first-team starts over the upcoming Gameweeks.
Fergie once again chose the pace and movement of Danny Welbeck over Dimitar Berbatov up top, in light of Javier Hernandez’s absence through concussion. Ashley Young made an instant impact for United; the winger played a part in both his side’s goals, with a ball into the box deflected into his own net by Steven Reid.
Roy Starts Tchoyi Up Front
Somen Tchoyi once again featured as a forward for West Brom. Classed as a midfielder in many Fantasy games, Tchoyi was paired with debutant Shane Long in a front two, with Peter Odemwingie failing to recover from an ankle injury. Although the Baggies registered more shots than Man United yesterday, Long’s goal was somewhat fortuitous, with David de Gea allowing a tame shot to find its way past him. Graham Dorrans had to settle for a place on the bench, with James Morrison grabbing the left wing berth in the 2-1 defeat.
