The tragic scenes overnight in Paris overshadowed yesterday’s round of international fixtures.
Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those involved.
As football played on, oblivious to the events, Anthony Martial and Olivier Giroud stood out in the Stade de France, whilst a lacklustre England suffered defeat and injuries at the hands of Spain in Alicante. Meanwhile, Philippe Coutinho continued his scoring spree in a behind-closed-doors encounter…
Martial and Giroud Feature On Tragic Night In Paris
Anthony Martial’s dazzling run helped him to the assist for Olivier Giroud’s strike in France’s 2-0 win over Germany.
The Scout Says: The action on the pitch at the Stade de France paled next to the events taking place in the French capital. Nonetheless, the continued form of both Martial and Giroud will offer encouragement to their Fantasy owners at a time when both are coming under question as Fantasy assets. Martial returned to a central striker role for the majority of United’s 2-0 win over West Brom but, despite claiming the assist for Juan Mata’s late spot-kick, he has found the net just once in his last nine United appearances. As for Giroud, his form has remained strong in Theo Walcott’s absence – he has now scored eight goals in his last nine appearances for club and country. However, Walcott’s imminent return for the Gunners will again offer Arsene Wenger options in attack and place question marks over Giroud’s pitch time, starting with the Gameweek 13 trip to the Hawthorns. The Gunners boss will also be pleased with the form of Santi Cazorla, who netted Spain’s second in a 2-0 win over England – given the Spaniard has just three assists to his name in the league, though, he remains far behind Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil in our thinking.
Injury Scares for United Pair as England Slump
Michael Carrick had to be stretchered off in the final minute of England’s head-to-head with Spain after suffering an ankle injury. Roy Hodgson suggested that the United man may have sustained ligament damage, whilst also revealing that Chris Smalling picked up a minor knock in the latter stages of the defeat…
“It doesn’t look good. He’s [Carrick] got a severely twisted ankle, which normally means ligament damage. But we won’t know until the X-ray or scan tomorrow. We conceded the second goal with Smalling limping, so we didn’t have the best of luck in those areas.”
The Scout Says: The extent of Smalling’s knock is not yet known, although we’d hope that it would not be enough to keep him out of contention for Tuesday’s Wembley friendly with France, should that fixture go ahead – reports this morning suggest the match is likely to be cancelled. Carrick’s situation has the potential to be far more damaging for United, if not for Fantasy managers. A lengthy layoff would increase the pitch time of Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger, but it would reduce Louis van Gaal’s options. Indeed, Carrick’s experience and prowess at screening the Red Devils’ rearguard should not be underestimated: his absence would be felt by Van Gaal’s side and may have knock-ons for their defensive resolve.
Saints Duo Find the Net
Having shrugged off an ankle knock sustained in training, Sadio Mane leveled things up for Senegal as they recovered from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Madagascar, with Stoke City’s Mame Diouf also on the scoresheet. Meanwhile, Steven Davis scored the only goal for Northern Ireland in a 1-0 win over Latvia. There was less positive news for the Saints from the Dutch camp, as the influential Virgil van Dijk picked up a first-half knock which forced him off at the break as Holland ran out 3-2 winners over Wales.
The Scout Says: Mane’s strike bodes well ahead of Southampton’s home encounter against Stoke City. The Senegalese attacker – who’s bagged three goals and one assist in his previous six league starts – will be looking to terminate the Potters’ recent impressive away record, given Mark Hughes’ men have carded three successive clean sheets (two wins, one draw) on the road. Meanwhile Stoke will look to Diouf’s international strike as evidence that he is back in the fold following the tragic loss of his mother last month – Diouf returned to the squad for recent matches against Newcastle and Chelsea but only featured on the bench. Both Mane and Diouf will be in action on Tuesday in the second leg of their World Cup qualifier with Madagascar before travelling back to rejoin their clubs ahead of Gameweek 13. As for Steven Davis, he is enjoying a rich vein of form on the attacking front, boasting three in three for his country and two in five for Saints. That being said, the fact that the 4.8-priced midfielder has notched just five attempts (three on target) throughout the course of the campaign suggests that he’s experiencing a rare purple patch. Virgil van Dijk’s half-time withdrawal for the Dutch will give Ronald Koeman and his Fantasy owners some cause for concern, although little is known on the extent of the problem at this point. Van Dijk is due to face Germany in a “friendly” on Wednesday.
De Bruyne Steers Belgian Victory
Kevin De Bruyne scored one goal and set another up for Jan Vertonghen during Belgium’s 3-1 home victory against Italy. Meanwhile, City’s Aleks Kolarov also figured on the night, with an assist for Serbia’s goal in their 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Czech Republic. Tottenham’s Moussa Dembele was an unused sub as he nurses a calf complaint that makes him a doubt for Belgium’s clash with Spain on Tuesday.
The Scout Says: De Bruyne has been excelling on all fronts this term, delivering consistent returns for both club and country. Although the 10.7-priced midfielder failed to find the back of the net in his last four league starts, he claimed two assists during that time frame and ranked sixth among midfielders for key passes (11). It’s worth noting, though, that De Bruyne chalked up just five attempts (two on target) over that stretch – compared to Raheem Sterling’s 12 and Yaya Toure’s nine – so he’s certainly not an essential source of Man City coverage. Kolarov notched four attempts and as many key passes in the last four Gameweeks but has just the one goal to his name in 11 appearances. In light of Gael Clichy’s return to the bench heightening Kolarov’s risk of rotation, his 30% ownership may now consider him an expendable asset. As for Tottenham’s Dembele, he is widely expected to be available for the Belgian’s on Tuesday, reassuring his Fantasy owners that he will be available for Spurs’ derby clash with West Ham in Gameweek 13.
Coutinho Maintains Scoring Spree
Philippe Coutinho grabbed a brace while Roberto Firmino also graced the scoresheet as Liverpool ran out 3-2 victors against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a training-ground friendly. Elsewhere in the Reds camp, Joe Allen chalked up a pair of assists in Wales’ 3-2 defeat to Netherlands and James Milner is hopeful that he’ll shake off his hamstring injury in time for Liverpool’s trip to Manchester City next Gameweek:
“It’s always disappointing to miss any games – and obviously missing last weekend and the England games is disappointing. It shouldn’t be too long and hopefully I’ll be back for the next game, but we’ll have to wait and see. You never like to put a timeframe on it because it’s a hamstring and they’re always difficult and a bit unpredictable, but hopefully I’ll be alright. It’s disappointing, but these things happen and hopefully I’ll be back soon.”
The Scout Says: With three goals in two starts arriving in the wake of a nine-match barren spell, Coutinho has shot back onto our radar. Over the last six Gameweeks, the silky Brazilian ranks top among midfielders for attempts (24) and second for shots on target (10), underlining his potent goal threat. Beyond the Sky Blues encounter, the Merseyside’s embark on a strong run of six fixtures (SWA, new, WBA, wat, LEI, sun) that could tempt prospective investors to recruit Coutinho. As for Milner, he tallied one goal and three assists in five starts prior to sustaining his hamstring complaint, so it will be interesting to observe how he fares under Jurgen Klopp’s tutelage. Priced at 6.7, there’s scope for the all-action midfielder to emerge as a profitable pick-up, although we’re yet to see how Milner will fit into the jigsaw once both Christian Benteke and Daniel Sturridge are available to Klopp.
Villa To Assess International Knocks
Aston Villa have confirmed that left-back Jordan Amavi will undergo scans on his injured knee after sustaining an injury for France U21s in their European Championship qualifier with Northern Ireland on Thursday evening. The club are expected to announce the prognosis over the weekend. In addition, Remi Garde’s outfit will have concerns over Rudy Gestede’s fitness after he was forced off just before half-time in Benin’s 2-1 win over Burkina Faso on the same night.
The Scout Says: Mentioned in yesterday’s Scribbles, a term of absence for Amavi would be a major blow for Garde early on in his tenure as Villa boss. Amavi’s attacking instincts were likely earmarked as a key weapon by the new Villa boss and a spell on the sidelines would limit his options, promoting Kieran Richardson in his thinking. There’s no clarity on Gestede’s knock as yet, although Benin are due to play out their second leg with Burkina Faso on Tuesday – should Gestede miss out, there would be heightened concern in the Villa camp ahead of their Gameweek 13 trip to Everton.
