Stevan Jovetic and Samir Nasri grab the goals as City send Chelsea tumbling out of the FA Cup. Craig Gardner’s solitary strike is enough to see Sunderland edge past Southampton as both sides ring the changes, whilst Cardiff’s struggles under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continue after there are beaten at home by holders Wigan.

Dominant City Ease Through as Fixture Backlog Looms
Manuel Pellegrini’s men ended a run of two games without a goal and also avenged their home defeat to Chelsea earlier this month with an impressive display yesterday evening. The Blues boss made four changes from the side that drew at Norwich last weekend; Edin Dzeko replaced Alvaro Negredo as Stevan Jovetic’s strike partner, whilst Javi Garcia, Joleon Lescott and Costel Pantilimon came in for Jesus Navas, Martin Demichelis and Joe Hart. Jovetic strengthened his claim for a starting berth by grabbing the opener and fit-again Samir Nasri – on for the former Fiorentina forward just after the hour mark as City moved to 4-4-1-1 – struck the second to ensure City’s progress.

From a Fantasy perspective, though, this result throws a real spanner in the works. Pellegrini’s side already had a blank Gameweek 28 due to the Capital One Cup but will now be without a fixture the following Gameweek, too – their league game with Aston Villa, initially scheduled for Saturday March 8, cannot be moved to midweek due to the Champions League clash with Barcelona on Wednesday March 12. In addition, the cancellation of last Wednesday’s home showdown with Sunderland will also need to be rescheduled, meaning that City will have three doubles on their agenda from Gameweek 30 onwards. At present, only double Gameweek 31 has been confirmed.

After the match, Pellegrini admitted the midweek postponement allowed his side some much-needed rest and also explained the upcoming clash with Barcelona had an effect on yesterday’s selection:

“It was important not to play against Sunderland on Wednesday. This team has played 18 games in the last two months. That’s why we were down in our performance against Chelsea and Norwich. But working again on Thursday and Friday we were fresh and I was absolutely sure we are going to play a good game. We have two important games today and Tuesday that’s why we had a mix of different players – we’ll see what we’ll do on Tuesday.”

Cahill Boost Not Enough for Beaten Blues
Gary Cahill recovered from the calf complaint picked up in Tuesday’s draw at West Brom to partner David Luiz at centre-half for the beaten visitors. Jose Mourinho utilised Ramires on the right flank, mirroring a tactic that proved successful at the Etihad in Gameweek 24 and, once again, dropped Oscar to the bench, with Willian keeping his place in the attacking midfield three. The Blues boss moved to a 4-4-2 after the break, with Eden Hazard and Mohamed Salah fielded through the middle and Willian shifting to the left, but the visitors managed just two attempts on goal afternoon, with both off target.

The 2-0 defeat means Chelsea’s Gameweek 29 home clash with Tottenham will now go ahead as scheduled – Mourinho couldn’t argue with the result and agreed City’s midweek break proved decisive:

“City played much better than us and deserved to win. Credit for what my team did two weeks ago. Today the situation was simple. It’s simple to analyse. They were the best team and they won. Today was also clear there was a different freshness between the teams, one team played a few days ago and another team played last week and had one week without competitive football. It was easy to see the difference.”

Gardner The Black Cats Hero
Gus Poyet made nine changes from the side that lost at home to Hull in Gameweek 25, with only John O’Shea and Fabio Borini retained in the starting line-up. Craig Gardner grabbed the only goal of the game as the Wearsiders continued to impress in the cup under their new manager – Sunderland already have a blank Gameweek 28 due to Capital One up Final duties but, unfortunately for Fantasy managers, yesterday’s win also puts their Gameweek 29 clash against Liverpool at risk, though, with neither club in Europe, it’s still conceivable the fixture may be moved to midweek. After the game, Poyet admitted a number of fringe players have strengthened their case for regular game time after impressing against the Saints:

“There were players today that have given me a lot to think about for the future and also about the shape of the team and the idea of playing with two strikers. I thought we were excellent on the ball today. Everybody was brave with their passing and decisions and that was the part that pleased me the most.”

The Saints Go Tumbling Out
Mauricio Pochettino made six changes from the side that defeated Hull at the KC on Tuesday evening. The likes of Artur Boruc, Jose Fonte and Calum Chambers all dropped out at the back, while, further up the field, Jack Cork, Morgan Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguez also made way. From a Fantasy perspective, the defeat means that Southampton’s Gameweek 29 trip to Palace, scheduled for Saturday 8th March, will now go ahead as planned. After the game, the club’s assistant manager, Jesus Perez, faced the press and defended the decision to make so many alterations to the starting XI:

“After the last game, we assessed our players and we decided the best team to play today. Obviously, it was a tough game against Hull, we played away as well, we came home late and some of our players were not fully recovered and we decided the best players to play today. For us, every single player is important and useful for us and it doesn’t matter who is on the pitch. When we decide to play with one or another player, it’s because we trust them, they trust us. They support us, so there’s nothing to complain about.”

Bluebirds Crash Out to Holders
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made five changes from the midweek goalless draw against Villa, as Cardiff played host to Wigan. Both Kenwyne Jones and Fabio were cup-tied and, with Craig Noone, Ben Turner, Declan John and Jordan Mutch, dropping out of the XI, the Bluebirds boss handed Jo Inge Berget and Jose Cala their debuts. Having rolled out a 4-4-2 against Villa, Solskjaer reverted to a lone striker system – Fraizer Campbell led the line and scored the hosts’ only goal in the 2-1 defeat, meaning he has now notched four of the Welsh club’s eight strikes in nine matches across all competitions since the departure of Malky Mackay. The loss also ensures Cardiff’s Gameweek 29 home match against Fulham will go ahead as planned – Solskjaer may look to bring Mats Møller Dæhli into contention for that one after singling out the Norwegian’s display post-match:

“Everyone who was here would have to agree that Mats did fantastically well, for me the outstanding player on the pitch. Today he did himself the world of good, playing a full ninety minutes. He proved again today that he’s going to be a fantastic footballer one day. He wants to get on the ball and play, creating chances for others. He also rarely gives possession away and even as the game was getting away from us, he helped us to regain a foothold.”