Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling rescue a late win for Liverpool at Bolton. Ivory Coast clinch a place in Sunday’s African Cup of Nations Final, whilst West Ham are fined and reprimanded for fielding Diafra Sakho in the FA Cup after he withdrew from the ACoN due to injury.
Reds March On
Brendan Rodgers made just two changes to his XI for last night’s FA Cup replay at Bolton, with Jordan Henderson and Lucas dropping out for Steven Gerrard and Joe Allen in the centre of the park. Daniel Sturridge earned another 20 minutes off the bench as he builds up his match sharpness, though he was overshadowed by the Reds’ in-form duo Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho, who bagged a goal apiece as Liverpool came from behind to seal a late, late win against Neil Lennon’s side.
The Scout Says: Despite the narrow margin of victory, the Reds once again impressed in attack as Rodgers’ side fired 21 attempts on the home side’s goal. Sterling’s strike continued the form that has harvested returns in four of his last five league appearances, whilst Coutinho’s goal arrives on the back of five assists in his previous six in the top-flight. Sturridge’s second-half cameo again indicates Rodgers is determined to ease him back into the fray after months on the sidelines and his current lack of starts may be enough of a deterrent for many. Sterling and Coutinho, meanwhile, go from strength to strength and whilst the short-term schedule is taxing (eve, TOT, sou, MCI), the former’s 31% owners will surely be convinced to hold in light of his current level of performance.
Hammers Hit with Sakho Fine
West Ham have been fined £71,000 and reprimanded by FIFA after Diafra Sakho played in the recent FA Cup win over Bristol City. The forward scored the winner at Ashton Gate just over a fortnight after withdrawing from Senegal’s African Cup of Nations campaign through injury.
The Scout Says: Sakho’s emergence from the bench that day prompted Senegal to slap in an official complaint to FIFA and despite his striker’s form, Allardyce was advised against playing him for last Saturday’s trip to Liverpool. Senegal’s appeal to have him made unavailable until the end of the ACoN – ie, this Sunday evening – has been unsuccessful, then, meaning Sakho is available to turn out against United at Upton Park this weekend. With Andy Carroll a doubt after limping off at Anfield due to a knee problem, yesterday’s news will be a welcome relief for Big Sam as he looks to address a run which has seen his side win one of the last six. Given that the Hammers also play Southampton, Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal in the next six, Fantasy faith is on the slide, though the schedule does smile far kinder on Sakho and co. from Gameweek 30 onwards.
City Pair in ACoN Final
Wilfried Bony and Yaya Toure both played pivotal roles in the Ivory Coast’s 3-1 semi-final win over DR Congo last night. The latter opened the scoring for the Elephants, whilst his new Etihad team-mate Bony supplied a pair of assists to help clinch a place in Sunday’s final against either Ghana or Equatorial Guinea.
The Scout Says: The result means that the City pair, along with Kolo Toure and Cheick Tiote, will now remain on international duty until Sunday evening. Bearing in mind Gameweek 25 takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, it places major question marks over any of the quartet’s chances of making the next round of domestic matches – certainly Liverpool’s Toure looks the least likeliest, given that the Reds’ home clash against Spurs is on Tuesday evening. The City duo have another 24 hours before they travel to Stoke the following night, whilst Palace’s Yannick Bolasie will now feature in Saturday’s third/fourth place play-off ahead of a clash with Newcastle on Wednesday, suggesting he has a better chance of recovering than any of the Ivorians. As we saw in the case of Mame Biram Diouf and Sadio Mane last weekend, though, most managers have been keen to ease their African contingent back into domestic action due to fatigue concerns.
