Villa are dumped out of another Cup. David Luiz remains a doubt for Chelsea’s midweek trip to Reading. Sir Alex Ferguson protects an under-fire David De Gea. David Moyes considers dropping an out-of-sorts Nikica Jelavic, while Peter Odemwingie is trying to talk himself out of the door at the Hawthorns…
Millwall 2 Aston Villa 1
Paul Lambert’s recent misery was compounded with last night’s FA Cup defeat the New Den: Villa’s second cup exit to a lower league club in a week. Once again the Midlander’s weakness from set-plays and crosses was in evidence as the Lion’s levelled from a Dan Shittu header, before John Marquis struck the winner. Villa had taken an early advantage through Darren Bent in the first half; the striker was restored to the starting lineup which again fielded a 3-4-1-2 formation with Matt Lowton, Ron Vlaar and Ciaran Clark, flanked by Eric Lichaj and Joe Bennett as wing-backs. Charles N’Zogbia was deployed “in the hole†behind both Bent and Andreas Weimann, a development which perhaps requires monitoring. Both Christian Benteke and Gabby Agbonlahor were rested for crucial league tussles. Lambert did not escape without an injury concern, however, with Fabian Delph limping off on 33 minutes.
Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that both Jonny Evans and Ashley Young would miss United’s Cup tie with Fulham this weekend as they continue to make returns from injury. Both are expected to be in contention for United’s Champions League tie with Real Madrid on February 13, although it’s unclear whether either will factor in league action before then. Ferguson also used yesterday’s press conference to address the recent criticism of his keeper, David De Gea. Speaking with some frustration, given Ferguson’s statements, it would seem likely that the United boss will stand by the Spaniard as his number one…
“It has been over the top. It’s always over the top when it comes to criticism here. The boy has got to brush it aside. Thirty seconds from time, he was a revelation according to most people. He was fantastic and made some fantastic saves. I’m not interested in discussing the criticism now because it’s unfounded…He had a fantastic game and was 30 seconds away from that. I remember talking about how well he played and then 30 seconds from time the ball park changes. It is unfortunate for the lad but he has to deal with it. We will help him. Outfield players maybe make 20 mistakes in a game. But they are in a crucial position. We are okay with him.”
Rafa Bentitez yesterday confirmed our fears on the fitness of David Luiz going into their FA Cup tie with Brentford on Sunday. Luiz missed the 2-1 victory over Arsenal last weekend, to return to the bench at Swansea on Wednesday evening, only to suffer a further setback with an ankle problem late on. The Chelsea boss revealed that Luiz will miss Sunday’s tie and will remain a doubt for the league trip to Reading in midweek…
“He [Luiz] had a problem before. He had treatment, didn’t play the other game (against Arsenal) and we were protecting him. I was talking with medical staff and him before the game about whether we could take the risk. I waited until the end and didn’t want to risk him but we had to play him and after 10 or 15 minutes he felt something and we had to move him to the middle of the park. He won’t be fit for this game and it will be difficult for him to be ready for Reading.”
Luiz’s absence could, however, be covered by the return of John Terry who now appears to be in contention for the starting lineup having been preserved on the bench in recent matches…
“Terry has been training again so he is fine, maybe he will have a chance. He was doing really well in the training sessions and was on the bench just in case we needed him at the end. He is doing well, progressing and will have a chance to play.”
With Terry back and Luiz currently out of the picture through injury, there will be concern that the Brazilian may struggle to regain a starting role. Certainly competition for the centre-back roles is fierce, perhaps leaving just the central midfield role open to Luiz. With Mikel absent at the African Cup of Nations, Benitez has fewer options in that position but, on his return, again Luiz would appear to be prone to rotation. Owners of Cesar Azpilicueta will also be anxious given Terry’s return to the fray – Branislav Ivanovic may now struggle to cement his start over Gary Cahill at centre-back and rotation at right-back could now be on the horizon.
Rafa certainly has changes mind for Sunday’s tie. He revealed more on his plans to shuffle his squad, leaving us with no doubt that he his keen to rest some of his key players for the Griffin Park trip…
“We were thinking about it in the last game, depending on the score, how to approach it. You have Mata, Hazard, Oscar, they don’t play long balls and win second balls. Torres isn’t a target man, so you have to try and play quickly. When the players are rested the tempo of the game is higher. When they are tired we have more problems. With the players you have you can manage the shape of the team, but the style has to be playing good football on the floor with pace and a high tempo. It’s what we have…On Sunday we will try to strike the right balance. We need to deal with a different team in a different pitch but I cannot explain too much about what we do. It’s part of our game plan and how we approach the game in terms of tactics. We will use different players but the question is how many of these players can you use to keep the level and have fresh legs. We have an idea.”
That would appear to indicate that we may see a new shape from Chelsea for the tie and Juan Mata owners will certainly be hoping that their man is omitted, with league matches at Reading and Newcastle to come. It will also be interesting to see how Rafa deals with his striker options – should Torres get the nod, it would clearly indicate a start for Demba Ba at Reading, making him all the more attractive as a Gameweek 24 option.
Over at Goodison, David Moyes is considering taking striker Nikica Jelavic out of the spotlight as his form continues to frustrate. Having missed another clear cut opportunity in the 0-0 draw at Southampton, there is increasing pressure on the Croatian to revive his fortunes and, with options now available, Moyes is mulling over the idea of handing Jelavic a rest…
“I’ve got some more options now that I could use and he could benefit from time out but I also think that maybe a couple of goals might change his world and change how it’s seen…Jela is not quite firing. The chance against Southampton is the type that last season he’d have been sticking away and we were winning the game and it was making things look a lot easier…In the last month we haven’t had many options. I think a lot of Nikica. He is our main striker and because of that I want to give him the opportunity to be the main striker. I’m caught between whatever I do, because it might end up being the wrong thing. I will look to try to do the right thing for him.”
Moyes was able to welcome back Kevin Mirallas to the fold at St Mary’s and it appears that the Belgian striker may now get an opportunity to lead the Everton attack…
“If Jelavic didn’t perform then I have the option of playing Kevin as an out and out forward himself…Ideally we would have them both in the team. But maybe there will be times where it will benefit us that only one or the other is in the team.”
Staying on Merseyside, and Brendan Rodgers has revealed that Jose Enrique is closing in on a return to action following his recent hamstring injury, whilst stating that Glen Johnson could miss out in this weekend’s FA Cup tie at Oldham; Pepe Reina is also close to a return having missed the win over Norwich last weekend…
“We’ve got Jose Enrique, who is making good progress on his injury but it’s probably too soon for him this weekend. By next week he’ll be fine. Glen Johnson has been stiff in his hamstring so we’re monitoring the risk in that for the weekend. It’s nothing serious, but something we’ll assess over the next 24 hours. Pepe won’t be available for the weekend, he’ll just miss out. I’d assume that after the weekend he’ll be fine. I wouldn’t have played him in the game anyway.”
Enrique has missed the last three league outings, with Andre Wisdom recalled to the side at right-back and Johnson shifting over to the left. Wisdom’s starting role would now, presumably, come under threat with the young full-back likely to make way for Enrique’s return. It remains to be seen whether the Spaniard will be in contention for the trip to the Emirates on Wednesday.
Over at the Hawthorns, Peter Odemwingie’s future at West Brom looks somewhat untenable after he followed up his recent transfer request with a plea to be released and allowed to join Harry Redknapp’s QPR. In an extraordinary statement, the Nigerian openly criticises the Baggies, claiming he feels “offended†by their reluctance to allow him to depart for Loftus Road…
“I’m deeply hurt and in some ways offended by the lack of reciprocal common respect from the management of West Bromwich Albion…At this stage of my career, this opportunity may not come around again. A new challenge, a new opportunity, and a chance to play under the stewardship of one of the most respected managers in the game (Harry Redknapp). I hope the management of West Bromwich Albion will accept my transfer request in the manner that I have requested it.”
West Brom had previously turned down Odemwingie’s request, with the club’s Sporting and Technical Director releasing their own statement earlier this week…
“Peter is under contract until the summer of 2014 and we have no need or desire to sell our core players. We want to keep the squad intact to enable us to build on an encouraging first six months of the season.”
Given Odemwingie’s actions, however, it would seem unlikely that the striker will now be considered for Steve Clarke’s squad for the forthcoming trip to Goodison on Wednesday.
Finally, Harry Redknapp is doing all he can to keep Ryan Nelsen at the club that little bit longer. With reports confirming that Nelsen will play his last match for the London club in Tuesday’s clash with Man City before joining Toronto FC as coach, the R’s boss has stated that he’s moving to try and keep the centre-back for the following fixture with Norwich…
“I need to speak to Ryan, I need him here for the Norwich game. I thought we were talking March 1 when I spoke to Ryan last. Suddenly this has all changed. I’m hoping we can put it back a few days. He’s been away all week in Canada doing some work for his new club. I need him next week – we’re desperately short and I need Ryan to play…I can understand where he’s coming from because it’s his future, but I wish he was staying because there haven’t been too many better players than him here this year.”
Nelsen continues to hold a 4% ownership in the Fantasy Premier League game having emerged as a mainstay in the QRP rearguard. Following the recent reports, Fantasy managers have been considering their options in the R’s back four with Nedum Onuoha and Clint Hill both earning some interest.
