United’s fringe player Fabio needed fewer than five minutes to make his mark during Sunday afternoon’s FA Cup loss to Swansea. Replacing the injured Rio Ferdinand on 76 minutes, as Chris Smalling moved to centre-half, the Brazilian received his marching orders for a reckless lunge on Swansea’s Jose Cañas in the 80th minute of the 2-1 defeat:
Fabio – who has played just once in the league all season for David Moyes – now finds himself sidelined for three matches. He will therefore miss this evening’s Capital One Cup Semi-Final first leg against Sunderland in addition to the upcoming league clashes against Swansea and Chelsea.
City’s Dedryck Boyata will miss Wednesday’s Capital One Cup clash against West Ham after being dismissed in the weekend FA Cup draw at Blackburn. Handed a rare chance to impress by Manuel Pellegrini at Ewood Park, his eagerness got the better of him as two yellows brought his afternoon to an early close and his one-game ban means Pablo Zabaleta is likely to be fielded at right-back against the Hammers. The Argentine’s owners would have been hopeful of a rest but, with Micah Richards still injured, Zabaleta looks the obvious option.
Elsewhere, Southampton’s Pablo Osvaldo serves the second of a three-match ban for violent behaviour this weekend. The Italian international has already missed the cup win over Burnley but will also be sidelined for league games against West Brom and Sunderland. With Rickie Lambert forced off early due to a leg problem, Jay Rodriguez looks in pole position to be fielded as the lone striker against the Baggies at St Mary’s.
Newcastle’s Mathieu Debuchy will serve the second game of a three-match ban this weekend as the Magpies entertain City at St James’ Park, whilst West Ham skipper Kevin Nolan’s league prospects have been somewhat helped by his side’s cup ties. Nolan is currently banned for four games but, having sat out the weekend FA Cup loss at Forest, he will also miss tomorrow’s Capital One Cup clash with City, meaning he will skip just two league encounters (car, NEW) before returning for the Gameweek 23 trip to Chelsea.
The weekend cup ties ensured the Suspension Tightrope was kept busy, with 18 players having now received more than five yellow cards. Swansea’s Chico Flores, Chelsea’s Ramires and Villa duo Ashley Westwood and Ciaran Clark all picked up their sixth cautions of the campaign, though the latter two have some way to go to match their team-mate Fabian Delph. The midfielder is now the outright Tightrope leader on eight yellows – two more bookings before the second Sunday of April (Gameweek 34) and he’ll be looking at a suspension.
