Scout Scribbles – Mirallas Makes an Instant Impact

Kevin Mirallas runs riot on his Everton debut as the Toffees hammer Orient in the Capital One Cup. Spurs sign Moussa Dembele, QPR solve their keeper problem by grabbing Julio Cesar from Inter Milan and Roberto Mancini admits David Silva is still lacking match fitness. Elsewhere, Lucas could be out for three months for Liverpool, while Roberto Martinez reckons Mauro Boselli could finally be ready to grab the goals for Wigan…

Everton 5 Orient 0
David Moyes retained a handful of first-team regulars in his starting XI last night for the visit of Orient. The likes of Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Phil Neville and Leon Osman were all involved from the off, while Kevin Mirallas was handed his Toffees debut up front. Mirallas was outstanding in the rout, finding the net twice in addition to supplying assists for goals by Osman and Victor Anichebe, while Magaye Gueye chipped in with a goal and assist as Everton continued their superb start to the season ahead of the weekend trip to West Brom. The hosts were dealt an injury worry late on in the game, though –having used all three substitutes at the break, Moyes was forced to see out the game with 10 men after Phil Neville limped off with 80 minutes on the clock. Neville withdrawal was apparently just a precaution, although he will be a concern ahead of the trip to West Brom; with Tony Hibbert still troubled by injury – the Toffees look light at right-back.

Mirallas will now be pushing hard for inclusion when Everton pay visit to the Hawthorns although assistant boss, Steve Round, indicated post-match that the Belgian is still some way short of full fitness…

“Kevin gave us a cameo of what he’s about with his speed, his movement and his finishing…He showed why he was one of the top goalscorers in Greece. That is why we have got him at the Club. He tired quite badly in the second half but we expected that. He missed quite a chunk of pre-season with a knee injury. He’s not really up to speed yet but he is getting there.”

While Mirallas will eventually present another option for Fantasy managers, his impact on David Moyes’ seemingly settled 4-5-1 will be a concern. Marouanne Fellaini has so far flourished up in support of Nikaca Jelavic, while Steven Naismith was handed a start on the right of midfield at Villa. The emergence of Mirallas will now cast doubt over both those roles and Moyes seems to have a rare selection headache looming.

Spurs began to splash the Luka Modric cash yesterday by snapping up Moussa Dembele from Fulham. While the Belgian looks set to be a key component of Andre Villas-Boas’ new-look side, it seems unlikely his Fantasy prospects will change too much right now. A role in the double-pivot looks likely if the manager continues with a 4-2-3-1, though with the transfer window open until tomorrow night, Spurs may still bring in enough names (Joao Moutinho continues to be mentioned) for Villas-Boas to consider his favoured 4-3-3; at the moment, then, Dembele’s acquisition seems a risky one, despite a kind 6.0 FPL price tag. According to rumours, though, the move could see Martin Jol reunite with Dimitar Berbatov as the Fulham boss looks to the Bulgarian to lead the line for the Cottagers – if this one transpires, you just know there’s a bandwagon waiting to happen.

Robert Green’s time as QPR number one looks as good as over after Julio Cesar signed for the Loftus Road outfit yesterday. The former West Ham man hardly covered himself in glory with a disastrous debut against Swansea – having conceded five goals in front of his home fans Mark Hughes has swiftly, and somewhat ruthlessly, moved to address the problem. Undoubtedly, Cesar’s quality will surely help boost the club’s clean sheet potential, with plenty of save points also looking on the agenda until the back-four begin to gel. Cesar’s deal is still subject to international clearance, meaning he is expected to be available in time for the Gameweek 4 London derby against Chelsea, while Green’s likely swansong sees him roll up to the Etihad on Saturday evening.

Liverpool were dealt a severe blow yesterday with the news that Lucas is set to be sidelined for the foreseeable future with a thigh injury. The Brazilian picked up the problem early on in Sunday’s draw with City and was immediately withdrawn – according to Brendan Rodgers, however, the prognosis isn’t good:

“It is very unfortunate. He has worked ever so hard to come back and he has been an outstanding player for me and person off the field as well. The indications are two to three months. It is quite a unique injury at the top of his right thigh. He has had a scan and we will see a specialist this evening. We’ll see if it needs an operation or whether it is just recuperation.”

Immediately, this presents Nuri Sahin with a chance to slot straight into the first XI alongside Joe Allen in the heart of midfield. Yet to be added to FPL, Sahin comes in at 6.0 in the Sky Sports in comparison to Allen’s 5.8 and his potential is sure to be boosted by the new bonus point scoring system for 60+ passes made per game. If he’s handed a chance to show his set-piece potential, too, he could well be one to watch.

Roberto Mancini has revealed he will continue to ease David Silva back into first-team action after admitting the midfielder is far from fully fit right now. The playmaker arrived back later than the majority of the City players this summer due to his exertions in Euro 2012 – a factor his manager feels is fundamental to his recent out-of-sorts displays:

“We don’t have all the players in good form. The international players started pre-season on July 25. They are not in good form. This is one of the reasons. David started his pre-season late and for one week went to Puerto Rico with Spain. He needs training and maybe to play, but not for 90 minutes.”

So far, Silva has started the home game with Southampton before climbing off the bench as a late sub at Anfield last Sunday. In total, he has played 86 minutes and judging by his manager’s words, the scenario looks set to continue – much to the Spaniard’s Fantasy owners’ frustration. With a home game against QPR this weekend, Silva may well start if Mancini reverts to 4-4-2 but, with City desperately seeking a win after picking up just a point at Liverpool, his game time is far from assured. Given his high price across the Fantasy games, it’s understandable to see a fall in ownership right now – Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri both look guaranteed starters, with the Ivorian’s form in particular making him the target for an obvious switch.

Having signed Arouna Kone from Levante, many had assumed the new boy would be an automatic pick for the lone forward role in Wigan’s 3-4-2-1 system. Yesterday, however, Roberto Martinez admitted there is another Latics forward currently in his thoughts – Mauro Boselli. Wigan’s top scorer in pre-season, Boselli was handed an opportunity to impress in Tuesday night’s Carling Cup trip to Nottingham Forest and found the net again. According to his manager, he could well be set to produce in the league at last…

“We are very, very excited about Mauro. His movement in the box is of someone very special in front of goal. A typical goalscorer needs to get an advantage into a defender and probably what Mauro does really well in that box is he comes alive. He sees that space and obviously you need good service. I thought Ronnie Stam’s ball was outstanding, but you always need goalscorers and a goalscorer is precious. He’s desperate to work hard for the team and have an opportunity in the league. Nights like that help him towards achieving that.”

Kone scored on his first start for the club last week at Southampton and with Franco Di Santo also netting in the 2-0 win, Martinez’s up front options look strong right now. With (STO, FUL, EVE) all rolling up to the DW in the next five Gameweeks, Wigan could well prosper – for many of us, though, the decision to draft in Boselli for the start of last season is enough to deter us from going there again. It’s likely only a hat-trick will see us reconsider.