Scott Sinclair scores three times as Villa book their place in the third round of the Capital One Cup. Jermain Defoe and Leicester youngster Joe Doodoo also bag hat-tricks. Junior Stanislas nets twice for Bournemouth, Florin Thauvin sparkles on his first start for Newcastle, whilst Bojan makes his long-awaited return from injury in a night where many top-flight managers hand their squad players a chance to impress.
Sinclair Hat-Trick Seals it for Villa
Tim Sherwood made nine changes from the side that lost at Palace last weekend, with only Jack Grealish and Carlos Sanchez retaining their places. This saw the likes of Jordan Veretout and Jordan Ayew handed starting berths after both dropped to the bench at the weekend.
With the match all square at 3-3 after 90 minutes, the Villains scored twice in extra time to emerge as 5-3 victors over League Two club Notts County. Scott Sinclair rounded off a hat-trick with a penalty, having netted twice in the second half.
Sinclair started Villa’s opening two league ties but was replaced by Grealish for their trip to Crystal Palace. The latter brings a much-needed creative spark to the their set-up – as evidenced by his two assists against Notts County – so one would imagine that Sinclair will continue to be utilised as an impact sub.
Adama Traore – who Sherwood recently revealed is short of fitness – scored during his 60-minute stint at Villa Park, bolstering his case for increased league minutes over the coming weeks. Carles Gil, meanwhile, made his first appearance of the new campaign following his recovery from a hamstring complaint, lasting 100 minutes before being replaced by the scorer of Villa’s fifth goal, Joe Bennett.
Foxes youngster in the Goals
Claudio Ranieri made 11 changes as Leicester City recorded a 4-1 victory over League One outfit Bury. Summer signings Christian Fuchs, N’Golo Kante, Gokhan Inler and Yohan Benaloune were handed the full 90 minutes as the Italian utilised the strength and depth of his first-team squad.
Young Joe Dodoo stole the headlines after notching a hat-trick and an assist on his debut. The 20-year-old tallied seven goals in 19 outings for the Foxes U21 side last term and could be considered for a bench role if Claudio Ranieri deems him ready to make the step up.
Andrej Kramaric scored the visitors’ other goal, while Leonardo Ulloa turned provider for Dodoo’s third strike. The former is yet to feature at all in the league this term, while the latter came on for the final minute against Tottenham Hotspur, with Jamie Vary and Shinji Okazaki looking favourites to start up top again away to Bournemouth.
Much-Changed Palace Ease Through
Alan Pardew made nine changes from the side that beat Villa at the weekend, with Joel Ward and Wilfried Zaha the only survivors. Pape Souare earned an assist after coming on for Ward at the break, while Patrick Bamford was handed the lone forward role and clocked 74 minutes pitch time before making way for Glenn Murray.
The Eagles racked up three goals in extra time to secure a 4-1 victory over Shrewsbury Town at Selhurst Park. Dwight Gayle’s restored parity in the first half with a spot-kick, before Murray (penalty), Lee Chung-Yong and Zaha put the tie out of reach in the additional periods.
Stanislas Impresses in Cherries Win
Eddie Howe rung the changes Bournemouth’s 4-0 win over Hartlepool, with Matt Ritchie – who entered the fray in the 77th minute – the only notable first-teamer to make the pitch at Victoria Park. Yann Kermorgant opened the scoring, before Dan Gosling double their lead just four minutes later. The 4.4-priced Junior Stanislas netted either side of the half to apply some gloss to the scoreline and staked a claim for further pitch time by also supplying an assist.
Club-record signing Tyrone Mings donned the Cherries strip for his debut at left-back, with the likes of fellow new boys Sylvain Distin and Christian Atsu also playing from start to finish.
Potters Taken to Spot-Kicks
Mark Hughes made nine changes from the side that drew at Norwich last week, with Marko Arnautovic and Erik Pieters the men to retain their places. Bojan returned to first-team action for the first time since January as he steps up his recovery from a knee injury, whilst Jon Walters recovered from the illness that kept him out of the Carrow Road showdown.
Walters grabbed Stoke’s only goal but the Potters were taken to spot-kicks by Luton before triumphing 8-7. Bojan managed 87 minutes as he steps up his fitness and could be pushing for a role on the bench for this weekend’s home derby with West Brom.
Thauvin Makes his Mark
The Magpies made nine changes from the weekend trip to United, with Ayoze Perez and Massadio Haidara keeping their places. Perez was shifted to the central striker role, having started on the right flank at Old Trafford, but it was new boy Florian Thauvin (6.5) who was the star of the show as Newcastle recorded a comfortable 4-1 victory over Northampton. The French winger opened the scoring after three minutes with an acrobatic volley, before bagging a hat-trick of assists as Siem de Jong, Daryl Janmaat and Mike Williamson extended the Magpies lead. Having handed Thauvin a 22-minute cameo against Manchester United, Steve McClaren will surely be tempted to start him ahead of the underwhelming Gabriel Obertan against Arsenal.
Janmaat’s goal serves as a reminder of his capacity for attacking returns. The 4.9-priced left-back – who was absent from the Red Devils clash due to suspension – tallied an eye-watering eight assists last season but was hampered by the Magpies’ lacklustre defensive record. If McClaren’s troops can build upon their well-drilled display at Old Trafford, Janmaat could well shoot onto our radar.
Britos Off in Hornets Loss
Quique Sanchez Flores made wholesale changes for the trip to Preston but the Hornets second-string failed to take their chances, slipping to a 1-0 loss at Deepdale.
Miguel Layun returned to the XI after dropping to the bench for the weekend draw with Southampton, whilst Flores afforded the likes of Matej Vydra, Almen Abdi, Nathan Ake and Steven Berghuis pitch time. New boy Miguel Britos had a disastrous debut. Having served a two-match ban at the start of the season, he is now set for a further three fixtures on the sidelines after being dismissed in the second-half for violent conduct.
Howson in the Goals for Canaries
The Canaries gained entry into the Third Round courtesy of goals from Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Jonny Howson in a 2-1 win at Rotherham. Alex Neil named just three of the starting XI that drew with Stoke last Gameweek, affording Howson, Sebastien Bassong and Graham Dorrans their second run-out in five days. Garry Hooper and Lewis Grabban were both absent from the matchday squad amid rumours that they’re set for moves to Sheffield Wednesday and Bournemouth, respectively, in the coming days.
Defoe at the Treble
The Black Cats played out a nine-goal thriller at the Stadium of Light, recording a 6-3 win over League Two outfit Exeter. Jermain Defoe scored a hat-trick to boost his tally to five goals in four matches. The 5.5-priced striker has clearly found his groove in these early stages, rendering the former Spurs stalwart a viable alternative to Callum Wilson in the budget bracket.
Jack Rodwell also cashed in with two strikes of his own, while Duncan Watmore made it two goals in three outings as he steps up his claim for a starting berth in the absence of Adam Johnson.
The top-tier side made hard work of the lower-league opposition, despite having made just two changes to the XI that drew with Swansea City last time out – with Adam Matthews and Sebastian Larsson coming in for Billy Jones and Jeremain Lens. Dick Advocaat will certainly be concerned that his defence – whatever the composition – have failed to offer their goalkeeper enough protection, shipping 11 goals across four fixtures ahead of the weekend trip to Villa.
Ki Returns to Action in Swans Stroll
The Swans eased into the next stage by way of a 3-0 home win over York. Marvin Emnes, Matt Grimes and Nathan Dyer did the damage at the Liberty Stadium, after head coach Garry Monk named an entirely different starting XI from that which faced Sunderland.
Encouragingly for Monk, Ki Sung-Yeung made his return from injury after limping off with a hamstring problem in the season opener at Chelsea. The Korean was afforded 81 minutes before making way for Jonjo Shelvey and will be hoping to partner the former Liverpool player against United this weekend, with Jack Cork’s starting berth now looking at risk.
Shelvey – who has produced more key passes than any player in the league so far – continued his impressive start to the season by bagging the assist for the Swans’ third goal of the night, while Andre Ayew came on for the final five minutes.
Blunt Baggies Scrape Through
The Baggies beat Port Vale 5-3 on penalties after both sides failed to score during the preceding 120 minutes. Tony Pulis fielded close to his first-choice starting XI against the League One team, with Salomon Rondon and Craig Dawson the only notable omissions. Chris Brunt will be monitored ahead of the trip to Stoke after limping off early on.
As such, the Baggies boss will doubtless be troubled by the fact his charges have drawn blanks in three of their previous four encounters. On the flip side, a second clean sheet over that period serves as encouragement for Boaz Myhill’s 3.5% ownership ahead of a trip to Stoke.
It’s looking increasingly likely that Saido Berahino – who was left out of the squad for the second match running – will complete a transfer to Tottenham before the window closes. West Brom officially announced that they’d rejected a second bid for the England U21 international, but Spurs are expected to soon launch a third bid in an attempt to land their man. Now down to 6.4 in FPL, Berahino would certainly arrive on our radars if he makes his way to the Lane, given that Harry Kane comes in at 9.5 in light of last season’s exploits.
