Our latest Scout Notes article rounds up the five Carabao Cup fourth-round matches to feature Premier League clubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A red card for Matteo Guendouzi could have implications for Arsenal – and Liverpool – ahead of Gameweek 11, with Unai Emery potentially short of defensive-minded assets for the clash against Jurgen Klopp’s side on Saturday.
An Eden Hazard-less Chelsea made hard work of beating Derby County at Stamford Bridge, with Ross Barkley among the eight names rested by Maurizio Sarri.
Spurs prevailed in the all-Premier League clash with West Ham United, with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli delivering attacking returns as they work their way back to fitness.
Bournemouth saw off Norwich City, but Crystal Palace fell to Championship opposition after a 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough.
We’ve all the goals, assists, manager quotes, Fantasy talking points and injury news from the midweek League Cup encounters.
Chelsea 3-2 Derby County
- Goals: own goals x2, Cesc Fabregas (£6.3m)
- Assists: Davide Zappacosta (£5.1m) x3
Eden Hazard (£11.3m) was, as expected, not involved in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup win over Derby County last night, though the Belgian winger was pictured in training on Tuesday and looks set to return to contention for the visit of Crystal Palace on Sunday.
It was a good night for those not involved with the Chelsea first team on Wednesday, with the Blues’ second-string turning in a less-than-impressive display against their Championship opposition.
Mateo Kovacic (£5.9m) was perhaps crucially given 90 minutes, potentially good news for Ross Barkley (£5.8m) and his legions of new Fantasy Premier League owners with the ex-Everton midfielder seemingly rested for the match against the Eagles in Gameweek 11.
Kovacic was among a number of squad players who failed to grasp their opportunity last night, with the Chelsea back four particularly shambolic and suggestive that none of the four understudies who played against the Rams is ready to challenge the established backline of Marcos Alonso (£7.0m), Antonio Rudiger (£5.9m), David Luiz (£5.5m) and Cesar Azpilicueta (£6.4m) just yet.
Gary Cahill (£5.1m) and Andreas Christensen (£5.0m) were poor at centre-half, something assistant manager Gianfranco Zola half-acknowledged in his post-match comments:
It’s fair enough to say players like Cahill play and then don’t play for a while, so sometimes they might have a problem. Plus, the way we play means sometimes our defenders are exposed. When I say we didn’t defend well I don’t mean just the defenders, everyone has to participate to the defensive phase and some things didn’t work.
I felt Gary and Andreas, in the first half, could have done better with the ball because normally the distribution from the back is better than it was tonight, that’s the only complaint I can make. But we’ll go through it and we’ll discuss it.
Davide Zappacosta (£5.1m) registered an unlikely hat-trick of assists from right-back, with two of his crosses being turned past Scott Carson by Derby defenders and Cesc Fabregas (£6.3m) firing in Chelsea’s winner after the ball bobbled off Zappacosta’s foot in the Rams’ box.
He and Emerson Palmieri (£5.2m), however, left plenty of room behind them and were repeatedly exposed by Chelsea’s plucky visitors.
N’Golo Kante (£4.9m), Willian (£7.4m) and Alvaro Morata (£8.7m) were the only survivors in the starting XI from the side that saw off Burnley and it would be fair to say none of this trio particularly shone at Stamford Bridge – Morata particularly poor and wasting a couple of decent opportunities.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£5.2m) was perhaps the pick of Chelsea’s players, starting on the right flank – a position he occupied when replacing Pedro (£6.3m) at Turf Moor on Sunday – and impressing with his driving runs and strong hold-up play.
Pedro himself returned from the stomach ache that forced his withdrawal at Burnley and was given a 21-minute run-out off the bench.
Olivier Giroud (£7.8m), however, missed out with a “fatigue problem” in one of his legs.
Chelsea XI (4-3-3): Caballero; Zappacosta (Azpilicueta 78′), Christensen (Luiz 66′), Cahill, Emerson; Kante, Fabregas, Kovacic; Willian, Morata, Loftus-Cheek (Pedro 69′)
Arsenal 2-1 Blackpool
- Goals: Stephan Lichtsteiner (£4.6m), Emile Smith Rowe (£4.5m)
- Assists: Matteo Guendouzi (£4.5m), Carl Jenkinson
Arsenal’s problems at full-back may have indirectly worsened thanks to Matteo Guendouzi‘s (£4.5m) dismissal for two bookable offences in the Carabao Cup match against Blackpool on Wednesday evening – potentially a boost for owners of Liverpool’s attacking assets ahead of the Reds’ visit to the Emirates on Saturday evening.
With Nacho Monreal (£5.5m) and Sead Kolasinac (£4.9m) still sidelined through injury and uncertain to be ready for Gameweek 11, Granit Xhaka (£5.3m) may have reprised his role as a makeshift left-back for the visit of Jurgen Klopp’s side this weekend.
Xhaka was stationed at full-back at Crystal Palace last Sunday, with Guendouzi brought in to fill the gap in the double pivot, but with the 19-year-old now suspended for Saturday’s match and Mohamed Elneny (£4.3m) ruled out with a thigh injury Emery’s defensive-minded options in midfield are limited – possibly meaning a return for Xhaka to his usual position in front of the back four. Aaron Ramsey (£7.4m) is another option in the engine room but his attacking instincts would need to be curbed for a more disciplined shielding role – as evidenced when failing to shine in that position on Wednesday night.
If Xhaka returns to midfield and Monreal and Kolasinac remain unavailable, Emery could turn to Stephan Lichtsteiner (£4.6m) to plug the hole at left-back as he did against Leicester City – although the veteran Swiss defender may be needed to deputise for Hector Bellerin on the opposite flank if the Arsenal right-back fails to recover from a muscle injury.
The fit-again Ainsley Maitland-Niles (£4.4m), who started the Gameweek 1 match against Manchester City at left-back before being withdrawn through injury, returned to the first-team fold last night after his lay-off and his services might well be needed again for the Liverpool match if the worst-case scenario happens on the injury front.
Carl Jenkinson, not listed in FPL but part of Arsenal’s 25-man squad this season, played at left-back on his own return from injury last night but after not previously featuring for the Gunners in over two years it remains to be seen whether Emery considers Jenkinson ready to face Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) on Liverpool’s right flank.
Speaking of Guendouzi’s dismissal, Emery said:
We spoke in the dressing room at half-time [about Guendouzi being on a yellow card]. I said it is very important to keep control, but I don’t think that he really lost control in this action.
We have a lot of players looking to play and to take this responsibility to show their performance, their quality for the team and I am going to prepare with other players and thinking that we can also have a performance for a big match on Saturday.
Emery had made nine changes to his starting XI for the visit of League One club Blackpool, with only Guendouzi and Shkodran Mustafi (£5.4m) surviving the cut.
Given that Mustafi has been Arsenal’s first-choice centre-back, owners of Liverpool’s Fantasy assets may have been encouraged to see the German stopper and the Arsenal backline struggling from set-piece situations, conceding from a corner-kick a quarter of an hour after Blackpool goalscorer Paudie O’Connor had hit the crossbar from another dead-ball delivery.
Petr Cech (£5.0m) produced another shaky performance with the ball at his feet, almost costing the Gunners a goal when caught in possession by Jay Spearing, and would seem set to continue as understudy to Bernd Leno (£4.8m) in the Premier League for now.
Emery predictably backed Cech after full-time and promised to stick to his guns regarding playing out from defence:
It’s normal, the centre-backs when they are with the ball and have pressure from the opposition, they need to play with the goalkeeper and continue building up our attacking moments. I want to give them confidence, give them calm and it’s true, today after this mistake the supporters also when the ball was arriving to him.
I think it’s better, in my opinion, to continue giving him and the other players confidence to continue our style and our ideas in the game. He has experience and also he can do good and we are going to continue with this idea with the security and with the confidence.
Mesut Ozil (£8.4m), Alexandre Lacazette (£9.8m), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10.9m) and Alex Iwobi (£5.5m) were either given the night off completely or used only as late substitutes, so it is assumed that the attacking quartet will be back in the starting XI for the match against Liverpool on Saturday.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£6.8m) played the whole 90 minutes, meanwhile.
Lichtsteiner demonstrated his ability to get forward by popping up in the Blackpool box to convert Guendouzi’s fine pass before Emile Smith Rowe (£4.5m) scored what turned out to be Arsenal’s match-winner after Jenkinson’s cross-shot had been palmed out to him.
Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Cech; Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Pleguezuelo, Jenkinson; Guendouzi, Ramsey; Maitland-Niles (Torreira 60′), Smith Rowe (Iwobi 73′), Mkhitaryan; Welbeck (Aubameyang 76′).
West Ham United 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur
- Goals: Lucas Perez (£6.2m) | Son Heung-min (£8.3m) x2, Fernando Llorente (£5.7m)
- Assists: Robert Snodgrass (£5.3m) | Dele Alli (£8.9m) x2, Christian Eriksen (£9.2m)
Dele Alli (£8.9m) and Christian Eriksen (£9.2m) continued their respective comebacks from injury with assists in Spurs’ 3-1 win over West Ham on Wednesday evening.
The premium FPL pair, restricted to only substitute appearances in the match against Manchester City on Monday evening, lined up in a familiar-looking attacking midfield with Son Heung-min (£8.3m), and it was the Korean who twice benefitted from deflected Alli passes to put Spurs 2-0 up.
Mauricio Pochettino said he hoped that brace will kick-start Son’s season after a fairly indifferent opening to 2018/19:
He has been working hard to try and change his situation [goal drought] and it now gives him good confidence and trust in himself.
Fernando Llorente (£5.7m), leading the line in Harry Kane’s absence, volleyed home Eriksen’s corner on 75 minutes to put the game beyond their hosts.
Marko Arnautovic (£7.0m) recovered from the illness that had led to his absence at Leicester on Saturday and was named on the substitutes’ bench, being brought on with half an hour remaining but ultimately being well-shackled by the excellent Juan Foyth and Davinson Sanchez (£5.8m).
The sight of Arnautovic feeling his troublesome knee and walking gingerly would have perturbed his owners (and potential owners) in FPL, but the Austrian was soon haring after the ball and came through his 30-minute cameo seemingly without any serious aggravation to his long-standing problem – as Manuel Pellegrini confirmed after full-time:
Marko just worked one day during the week so it was too risky to play more than 30 minutes. He has no problem but he always has some sort of disturbance with his knee but it is not an injury.
The Hammers’ manager had made five changes from the side that drew 1-1 with Leicester on Saturday, with the fit-again Pedro Obiang (£4.4m) among the players restored to the starting XI.
Javier Hernandez (£6.2m) led the line with Felipe Anderson (£6.8m), Michael Antonio (£6.8m) and Grady Diangana (£4.5m) supporting him in attack but only Diangana emerged from the match with any credit – further encouragement for those FPL managers considering the budget pick as a money-freeing fifth midfielder with the Hammers’ fixtures so appealing in the coming weeks and months.
Pellegrini spoke of the youngster in his post-match interview:
In the first half he played very well, after that he felt a little pace of the game maybe but I always felt that he has the ball and he does good things with the ball.
I think he was very confidence, he has a lot of confidence for me, the technical staff and in himself as well.
Diangana was probably West Ham’s stand-out player, causing makeshift left-back Serge Aurier (£5.8m) plenty of problems down the West Ham right, and the below-par performance of potential rival Antonio – who wasted several excellent opportunities – on the opposite flank perhaps bodes well for Diangana’s chances of starting against Burnley on Saturday.
Anderson, not for the first time this season, also struggled and Robert Snodgrass (£5.3m) will surely feel confident of a recall to the starting XI this weekend given the displays of that aforementioned pair.
The Scottish winger provided the assist for Lucas Perez‘s (£6.2m) goal from a corner-kick.
Snodgrass seems likelier to take Antonio’s place, with Pellegrini having this to say about Anderson after full-time:
I didn’t want Felipe to play more than 45 minutes, he is going to play on Saturday.
Davinson Sanchez was the only Spurs player to start last night who also lined up against Manchester City on Monday, so the likes of Kane, Kieran Trippier (£6.3m) and Lucas Moura (£7.2m) will likely come back into the reckoning for Gameweek 11.
West Ham United XI (4-2-3-1): Adrian; Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Masuaku; Obiang (Perez 58′), Rice; Diangana, Anderson (Snodgrass 46′), Antonio; Hernandez (Arnautovic 58′)
Tottenham Hotspur XI (4-2-3-1): Gazzaniga; Aurier, Sanchez, Foyth, Walker-Peters; Wanyama, Winks; Son, Alli (N’Koudou 63′), Eriksen (Skipp 84′); Llorente (Sissoko 77′).
Middlesbrough 1-0 Crystal Palace
Roy Hodgson’s troops were dumped out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening by a Middlesbrough side coached by their former manager, Tony Pulis.
Only Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.3m), Andros Townsend (£5.7m) and Jordan Ayew (£5.8m) kept their places in the starting XI from the side that drew 2-2 with Arsenal but the Palace second string did little to impress their manager on a night of few clear-cut chances.
That home goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos was only really tested by a speculative Townsend effort from distance said much about Palace’s goal threat, with Ayew particularly ineffectual up top.
Wilfried Zaha (£6.9m) was one of the regulars missing from the match-day squad but Hodgson assuaged fears of an injury to their Ivorian talisman after full-time:
He was fine last time I saw him. He took a bang on the shoulder at the weekend but will be fine by the game with Chelsea.
It would have been difficult to play him today with that knock on the shoulder anyway but when I spoke to him yesterday he was fine.
The Palace manager discussed his decision to make eight changes for the match against Middlesbrough, with the likes of Max Meyer (£5.6m) and Jason Puncheon (£4.3m) failing to impress when handed a rate start.
Hodgson said:
You have to use these competitions. Football today is a competition where you have a squad of players and if you don’t give those players a chance to play – we’ve had a fairly stable 11 or 12 this season – and a lot of players there tonight really needed a game and they didn’t let me down in any way, shape or form.
Furthermore, the players that we left at home; three of those are injured so there was only four or five at home that could have come – one of those being the goalkeeper – so we pretty much used the players that we had at our disposal and the three players that we spared were Tomkins, Sakho and Van Aanholt who are important with the other four important to us in other ways.
Crystal Palace XI (4-4-2): Guaita; Wan-Bissaka, Kelly, Riedewald, Souare (Woods 78′); Townsend, Meyer, Puncheon (Kaikai 84′), Schlupp; Sorloth, Ayew (Milivojevic 65′).
Bournemouth 2-1 Norwich City
- Goals: Junior Stanislas (£6.0m), Steve Cook (£4.6m)
- Assists: Jermain Defoe (£5.7m), Marc Pugh (£4.3m)
A much-changed Bournemouth side were a tad fortunate to see off Norwich City on Tuesday evening, though Junior Stanislas (£6.0m) kept up the pressure on Ryan Fraser (£6.1m) and David Brooks (£5.1m) with the opening goal of the match.
Steve Cook (£4.6m), Simon Francis (£4.4m) and Charlie Daniels (£4.2m) were the only players to keep their places from the win over Fulham on Saturday, with the defensive trio all featuring at centre-back as Howe once again rolled out a 3-4-3.
Cook was to score the game’s winner in the second half, highlighting his threat at set-piece situations by lashing home after Marc Pugh‘s (£4.3m) shot had been blocked from a corner.
Pugh and Diego Rico (£4.4m) were used as wing-backs, with Stanislas and Jordon Ibe (£5.1m) flanking Jermain Defoe (£5.7m) in a three-man attack.
Defoe and Stanislas indeed combined for the Cherries’ first goal, with Stanislas’ fierce shot being deflected past Michael McGovern in the Norwich goal.
Howe acknowledged after the match that the Canaries were unfortunate to be eliminated and revealed that Francis picked up a groin injury during the game:
A tough night for us, Norwich played very well. We’d watched them a lot, they’re an improving team and on that evidence will take some stopping in the Championship.
We were below-par and rode our luck. We looked disjointed, maybe the players who came in haven’t had enough games, but we lacked the sharpness and fluency that’s usually there. We’re pleased to get through, but it’s a performance we won’t want to remember.
Artur Boruc was good for us in goal, Marc Pugh was his usual consistent self. Simon Francis looks like he’s tweaked his groin, we don’t know how serious it will be.
Joshua King (£6.4m) also missed the tie with an ankle injury and Friday’s press conference will hopefully help us clarify if either player will be fit to feature against Manchester United on Saturday.
Fraser and Callum Wilson (£6.6m) came through their substitute’s appearances seemingly unscathed, meanwhile.
Bournemouth XI (3-4-3): Boruc; Francis (Simpson 86′), S. Cook, Daniels; Pugh, Gosling, Surman, Rico; Stanislas, Defoe (Wilson 71′), Ibe (Fraser 61′).
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