Michu goes yet another game without a caution as Swansea earn a place in the Capital One Cup semi-finals with a narrow win over Middlesbrough. Nemanja Vidic could come back for United this weekend, Vincent Kompany may miss out for City, Benoit Assou-Ekotto returns to first-team training for Tottenham, while Alan Pardew is determined to go on the attack against City this weekend.
Swansea 1 Middlesbrough 0
Michael Laudrup made four changes from the side that lost 4-3 at home to Norwich last Saturday. At the back, Angel Rangel was rested to the bench while Ashley Williams sat out a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth caution of the season against the Canaries. Elsewhere, Leon Britton returned from a hamstring injury to take his place in central midfield and Itay Shechter was preferred to Danny Graham for the lone forward role. Michu continued to escape the referee’s wrath and remains on four cautions for the season – a big relief for his owners ahead of this weekend’s trip to Spurs.
Swansea Starting XI: Tremmel; Tiendalli, Monk, Chico, Davies; Britton, De Guzman, Michu; Dyer, Shechter (Moore 55), Routledge (Ki 65)
In Other News
Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed Nemanja Vidic is in contention to feature in this Saturday’s home clash with Sunderland after missing the last few months with a knee injury:
“It would have been crazy to play him against City but against Sunderland…definitely. It’s a big bonus to have him back. He is a real competitor with that uncompromising way of his. He likes defending – that’s what it is. In the last 18 months he has only had 10 games or something. It is not many games that he has played. Now he has no pain in the knee, and it’s a different knee to the one he did his cruciate on.”
United have managed just two clean sheets since Vidic was sidelined from Gameweek 5 onwards, with Jonny Evans slotting in alongside Rio Ferdinand in a reprisal of his role in the latter part of last season. The Serbian was scheduled for a return last week and while Ferguson is clearly taking no chances with his skipper’s fitness, Evans’ withdrawal due to a hamstring injury picked up at City on Sunday, affords Vidic the perfect platform to make his comeback. Intriguingly, Vidic is down to 6.6 in FPL and with a strong run of fixtures up next, United could be set for plenty investment – the return of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones also offers Ferguson options, though, and as the festive schedule picks up pace, he’s perhaps unlikely to field Vidic in all of United’s five fixtures over the next three weeks or so
Alan Pardew intends to put Man City on the back foot this weekend as Newcastle look to rectify a run of games which has harvested just one win in the last 10:
“We’ve got the Man City and QPR games – they loom large. There’s no reason why we can’t win both of those. We’ve got to go and attack Man City. If we play at that level in the second half at Fulham, we’ve got a chance.”
The return of Hatem Ben Arfa will boost the Magpies ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off –a superb strike in Monday’s defeat at Fulham signalled his comeback from a hamstring injury and highlighted the Frenchman’s increased potential in a 4-3-3. Pardew’s plans will certainly please Demba Ba’s owners – some are eying up a transfer out due to a difficult next few fixtures but with goals in three of his last four at St James’ Park, Ba’s home form could be the difference against a City side that have racked up six clean sheets in their last 10 fixtures.
City may be without Vincent Kompany, however. The Belgian was subbed off early on against United with a hamstring injury and reports suggest he failed to train yesterday and is set to see a specialist over the problem. While Kompany’s absence would be a real blow for the champions as they attempt to recover from their last-ditch defeat in the Manchester derby, it would surely dispel any fears over Matija Nastasic’s regular role – the Serbian has started seven of the last eight alongside his skipper and is likely to be a pivotal figure at the back if Kompany is indeed ruled out.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto has handed Spurs a boost by returning to first-team training yesterday. Out of action since Gameweek 3 with a knee injury, Assou-Ekotto’s absence has forced Jan Vertonghen over to left-back, affording Steven Caulker the chance to nail down a regular role in recent months. With Michael Dawson and William Gallas also vying for starting berths, the Cameroon international’s return may give Fantasy managers a clearer picture of how Andre Villas-Boas sees his first-choice back-four ahead of three kind home games and trips to Villa and Sunderland in the next five.
Adel Taarabt has admitted he has a quandary on his hands after he was asked by Harry Redknapp to withdraw from international duty in next month’s African Cup of Nations.
“It’s a difficult decision because the manager asked if I could stay. I would love to but it’s my country so if I say ‘No’, everybody at home will think I don’t want to play – so I think I will go. I go to Morocco every summer. If they don’t do well, the fans will have a go at me and I don’t want that.”
The Moroccan’s relationship with Redknapp at previous club Spurs was never the greatest and judging by his words, it seems he’s ready to defy Redknapp and turn out for his country. As mentioned in yesterday’s African Cup of Nations article, those players who reach the final could potentially be missing from Gameweek 22 to 27 – a run of games which sees QPR face some crucial home games against the likes of City, Spurs and Norwich. Taarabt has started every game so far under Redknapp and provided an assist against Wigan last weekend but could have some competition upon his return from the tournament, with the new man in charge certain to replenish his squad over the transfer window.
