Man City cruise past Cardiff in the FA Cup, but an injury to Leroy Sane spoils the celebrations, while Marcos Alonso is among the goals again as Chelsea brush aside Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
Pep Guardiola’s side made short work of their Championship opponents, with goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling barely indicative of the dominant display by the Premier League leaders.
The excellent Bernardo Silva had a strike incorrectly ruled out for offside that would have more accurately reflected the tenet of an encounter in which seven of City’s 17 attempts were on target.
Ilkay Gundogan drew the foul for the free kick dispatched by the imperious De Bruyne, while Silva did at least have the satisfaction of setting up Sterling’s goal.
The Portuguese midfielder has now been directly involved in nine goals (three goals and six assists) in his last 13 matches in all competitions as he continues to grow into his career in England.
As for Sterling, he profited from a first-half role through the middle to fire his first strike in four matches, which would have come as some relief to his 36.9% Fantasy Premier League (FPL) ownership.
City’s immediate schedule (WBA bur LEI) remains attractive, but that hasn’t stopped a growing exodus of late, with 61,000+ managers selling Sterling ahead of Gameweek 25.
A similar fate will surely now befall Sane (12.6%) after he sustained an ankle injury following a studs-up challenge from Cardiff’s Joe Bennett.
The in-form German, who had scored once and produced two assists over the last three Gameweeks, didn’t come out for the second half and Guardiola’s post-match assessment was not positive.
“He will be out for a while, minimum two, three weeks, one month, we will see what exactly tomorrow. ”
Guardiola rang the changes for the cup tie, bringing in Vincent Kompany for John Stones at centre-half, starting Danilo at left-back, benching Sergio Aguero and leaving David Silva out of the squad altogether.
The top transfer target for Gameweek 25, Aguero then had to come on for Sane at the break as Guardiola’s plans to rest his only fit forward were scuppered by Bennett’s crude intervention.
As befits a side still in four competitions this season, City’s fixture list remains busy, with three league fixtures and a trip to Basel in the Champions League to come over the next 15 days.
But until Gabriel Jesus returns from the knee injury that has kept him sidelined since New Year’s Eve, Aguero’s growing ownership should be confident of his security of starts for the foreseeable future.
In many ways, a potential term on the sidelines for Sane may just add greater security for Aguero owners. While Bernardo Silva seems a natural fit for the role vacated by the German, Guardiola may also use a fit-gain Jesus in a wider role in Sane’s absence, perhaps protecting Aguero’s start as the central striker for a longer period.
Meanwhile, Stones’ omission from the XI would seem to guarantee his start for Wednesday’s visit from the Baggies. It remains to be seen if that puts Nicolas Otamendi’s starting role under threat, though Kompany is perhaps unlikely to be risked for back-to-back appearances following his recent injury concerns.
Even so, with the club thought to be closing in on the capture of Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao, it is clear that Guardiola will soon have a wealth of options available at centre-back.
Otamendi is long overdue a rest having started in 12 successive Gameweeks and, indeed, 12 consecutive matches in all competitions.
Batshuayi impresses in Chelsea stroll
Michy Batshuayi continued his improved FA Cup form with two of Chelsea’s three goals in a regulation win over Newcastle.
The Belgian striker had scored in the third round replay against Norwich and was at it again yesterday, finishing off fine breaks as the Blues took control of the tie in the first half.
Marcos Alonso and the busy Eden Hazard provided the assists before the Spanish defender rounded off the scoring with an excellent free-kick given for a foul on Davide Zappacosta.
Chelsea coach Antonio Conte made four changes to the side that lost the midweek EFL Cup tie at Arsenal. Gary Cahill, Zappacosta, Danny Drinkwater and Batshuayi were brought in and Cesar Azpilicueta given a rare day off.
Willy Caballero remained in goal in place of Thibaut Courtois (ankle), while Conte was also without Alvaro Morata due to his ongoing back problem. David Luiz also missed out after picking up a minor ankle injury in training.
The Italian again went for a 4-3-3 formation, with Hazard and Pedro playing off lone striker Batshuayi.
Should both Morata and Willian (hamstring) fail to recover in time for Wednesday’s visit from Bournemouth, the Belgian forward might well have done enough yesterday to retain his start.
However, when asked on Morata’s availability for midweek, Conte seemed optimistic:
“Morata probably. He is going to start the training from tomorrow, but not with us. Tomorrow he is going to start for sure, but with an injury of this type you need a bit of time to recover, for sure.”
Hazard has certainly prospered when the inclusion of a specialist striker has meant he’s not had to play the ‘false nine’ role, scoring twice against Brighton in Gameweek 24 and looking lively throughout the 73 minutes he was given against Newcastle.
New signing Ross Barkley eventually replaced his fellow midfielder, while the fit-again Cesc Fabregas remained on the bench for the duration of the tie, boosting his chances of featuring against the Cherries.
Azpilicueta is surely set to earn a recall for Wednesday’s fixture, while Andreas Christensen would seem more assured of his start in light of Luiz’s knock. Cahill would be the most likely rested from Conte’s back three – he has been rested/rotated in three of the last seven Gameweeks.
As for Newcastle, coach Rafa Benitez made five changes as he kept one eye on Wednesday’s home match with Burnley, with Chancel Mbemba, Massadio Haidara, Henri Saivet, Matt Ritchie and Dwight Gayle all returning to the starting XI.
Karl Darlow once again retained his spot between the sticks as Rob Elliot missed out with a minor knock.
