Jordon Ibe emerges from the bench to hand Liverpool a first-leg cup advantage over Stoke. Wilfried Bony is a doubt for City’s clash with Everton tonight, West Brom’s Ben Foster steps up his injury recovery, whilst Hammers skipper Winston Reid returns to training.
Injuries Rack Up for Reds
Jurgen Klopp named a strong starting XI for Liverpool’s League Cup tie at Stoke but elected to demote Christian Benteke to the bench. Substitute Jordon Ibe scored the only goal of the encounter from close range, turning in Joe Allen’s square pass as the Merseysiders recorded a 1-0 win.
The victory was overshadowed by injuries, however, as the Reds’ treatment room shows no sign of emptying. At the back, Mamadou Sakho missed out after sustaining a knock at the weekend, though Klopp then saw both centre-halves, Dejan Lovren and Kolo Toure, pick up problems. Philippe Coutinho completed the trio of walking wounded, as he lasted just 18 minutes before pulling up with a hamstring problem. In his post-match interview, the Reds boss went on to say:
“It’s a big, big shadow for us over the game that we cannot ignore – we have two injuries [Coutinho and Lovren] and I honestly don’t know how serious they are. They did not look too good and so we have to wait… [Kolo’s performance was] perfect. The best situation was the one just before he had cramp when he blocked the ball. Kolo played outstanding tonight and was really good for us, but we’ll see if he can play the next game.”
Liverpool were forced to play Lucas at centre-half for much of last night’s match and their manager conceded he may have to add to his depleted squad over the next month:
“In this moment with no centre-back fit I would say it is a situation where we have to think about going into the transfer market. Two weeks ago we had three centre-backs, that’s a good situation, at the start of the season we had five, now we have none. We have five hamstrings (Coutinho, Lovren, Martin Skrtel, Jordan Rossiter and Divock Origi plus Daniel Sturridge is still rehabilitating from one) and it’s my responsibility, but it is like it is and we have to see what we can do.”
The Scout Says: Conversely, the injury situation will be music to the ears of those holding Arsenal attackers as the Gunners prepare to visit Anfield next midweek. At the other end of the pitch, Coutinho’s hamstring concern gives his 18% ownership the perfect excuse to ship out a player that’s drawn five blanks since a three-match flourish that harvested four goals and one assist. In the event that he’s ruled out for a few weeks, Ibe (4.5) could earn a run of starts and emerge as a profitable budget midfielder. The result hands Liverpool the advantage heading into the second-leg semi-final at Anfield on January 26, then. Obviously, that next result will have a significant impact on Fantasy managers’ plans – should they progress past the Potters, Klopp’s side will have no Gameweek 27 fixture (currently at home to Everton) as it takes place on the same day as the cup final, with the re-scheduled fixture setting up a first double Gameweek of the season.
Potters Fail to Flourish
Stoke have it all to do when they make the trip to Anfield later this month, having failed to capitalise on their home advantage. Geoff Cameron – who saw his red card rescinded by the FA earlier in the week – was stationed in midfield for the first period as Mark Hughes named an unchanged XI from the side that lost to West Brom last weekend.
The US international made way for Jonathan Walters in the second half as Hughes looked to up the ante to take advantage of the visitors’ patched-up rearguard. Despite claiming 64% possession and mustering 15 attempts at goal, the hosts carded just two accurate attempts throughout the 94 minutes and were unable to find a way past Simon Mignolet.
The Scout Says: Stoke’s inability to find the net last night highlights their problems in the final third. Although they recently put four past Everton, that result is looking more like an anomaly – Hughes’ tenth-placed outfit have scored just 21 times in the league, more than only four other sides and less than any team in the top half of the table. Indeed, the Potters rank fourth-bottom in the top-flight for shots (216) and third-bottom for efforts in the area (122) ahead of a schedule that pits them against Arsenal, Leicester and United’s resilient rearguards in the next four Gameweeks.
Bony Concern for City
In his pre-match press conference ahead of City’s clash with Everton tonight, Manuel Pellegrini revealed that Wilfried Bony is likely to miss out with a calf complaint:
“Bony has a kick in his calf so maybe he’s not fit for tomorrow”
The Chilean also went on to state that Sergio Aguero is back to full fitness and will no longer have his minutes rationed:
“Sergio played three games in a week which was no problem for this moment. The last injury was not a muscle injury, just a pain in his heel. He’s fit and the best way for him to recover his best performance is to play games.”
The Scout Says: Although Pellegrini insists that Aguero can negotiate three fixtures in a week, his 14% ownership will be hoping his minutes are managed tonight and in the FA Cup this weekend ahead of next Wednesday’s league encounter with the Toffees. The ex-Atletico Madrid marksman netted for the first time in four outings at Vicarage Road last Gameweek, prompting many Fantasy managers to draft a route for him into their 15-man squads. There are some challenging head-to-heads on Man City’s agenda (EVE, CRY, whu, sun, LEI, TOT) but they’re at home for four of the next six Gameweeks and rank top for goals scored on familiar soil (29), underlining Aguero’s points potential – providing he can steer clear of injury again.
Garde Issues Villa Injury Update
Remi Garde is confident that Adama Traore will recover from a foot injury in time to feature for Aston Villa in their FA Cup clash against Wycombe. Alan Hutton (hamstring) and Gabriel Agbonlahor (back) are more doubtful but could be passed fit by Saturday.
The Scout Says: It’s fair to say that Villa’s dire form has ensured that their players remain off our radars this season, with just one clean sheet and four points accrued in nine outings under new boss Garde. Despite clocking a mere 173 minutes this term, Traore still has two assists to his name – only one team-mate, Jordan Veretout (three), has managed more. For now, though, Jordan Ayew – who’s notched five of his side’s last eight goals – serves as their only viable source of attacking coverage. The Ghana international is back in contention, having served a one-match ban during the 3-1 loss at Sunderland, and faces four home fixtures (CPL, LEI, wba, whu, NOR, LIV) in six.
Foster on the Mend
Ben Foster was afforded a 45-minute run-out for West Bromwich Albion’s U21 outfit in a behind-closed-doors friendly yesterday, before training with the first team. As a consequence, Tony Pulis believes that Foster could be far enough along in his rehabilitation to feature for the Baggies when Bristol City pay visit this weekend:
“It’s good to have Ben back. He played 45 minutes and then trained with us. I will speak with the medical staff but I would like to think he might be involved in Saturday’s FA Cup game.”
The Scout Says: News of Foster’s imminent return will force Boaz Myhill’s 10% ownership to scout out potential replacements for the incumbent shot-stopper. Foster is valued just 0.2 above the Welshman (4.9 to 4.7), yet West Brom have produced minimal defensive returns since Gameweek 11 – chalking up one clean sheet in 10 match-ups – ahead of next week’s trip to Chelsea. Nonetheless, Craig Dawson (5.1) remains the prime route into the Baggies’ rearguard, given that he’s bagged two goals and ranks top among all defenders for shots inside the box (eight) across the past four Gameweeks.
Reid Steps Up Recovery
West Ham have confirmed that Winston Reid has returned to training as he steps up his recovery from a hamstring strain.
The Scout Says: Once fit, Reid’s likely reinstatement will consign one of James Collins or Angelo Ogbonna to bench-warming duties. Although Collins started way down the pecking order at the beginning of the campaign, he’s been one of the Irons’ star performers during a six-match period that’s yielded four clean sheets, so with James Tomkins excelling at right-back, it may well be Ogbonna that looks more likely to miss out in central defence. In terms of West Ham’s marquee rearguard asset, Aaron Cresswell (5.5) gets the nod by virtue of his share of free kicks and marauding instincts. The English left-back has accrued one goal and three assists so far this term and places third among all defenders for key passes (26). Further attacking returns could be just around the corner, given that the Hammers enjoy a favourable run of fixtures (bou, new, MCI, AVL, sou, nor, SUN) through to Gameweek 27.
