The FA Cup third round on a Thursday evening? Sacrilege!
Purists would have been spitting feathers at the untraditional timeslot (just nine of the 32 third-round fixtures will kick off at 3pm on Saturday), while even reformists would probably have baulked at tuning into Sheffield United v Cardiff City on BBC One Wales.
But with Premier League sides Everton and Fulham also in action, there’s no escaping Scout Notes duties.
As ever with these notes, it’s less a blow-by-blow account and more about the wider Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points.
THURSDAY’S RESULTS
| Goals | Assists | |
|---|---|---|
| Everton 2-0 Peterborough | Beto, Ndiaye (pen) | Armstrong, Branthwaite |
| Fulham 4-1 Watford | Muniz, Jimenez (pen), Andersen, Castagne | Traore x2, Godo |
TEAM SELECTION/ROTATION
| Starting XI changes from Gameweek 20 | Players who kept their place (mins) | Other mins for selected players | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everton | 6 | Branthwaite (90), Mykolenko (90), Gueye (90), Ndiaye (90), Mangala (89) | Keane (90), Beto (68), Broja (21), Young (17), Doucoure (1) |
| Fulham | 7 | Castagne (90), Lukic (77), Andersen (66), Iwobi (66) | Andreas (90), Adama (90), Smith Rowe (66), Muniz (45), Jimenez (45), Diop (24) |
EVERTON WING-BACK SYSTEM
Everton, under the combined stewardship of FPL luminaries Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman (£4.3m), set up in a 3-4-3 for Thursday’s contest.
A brave new dawn for Everton, perhaps influenced by the incoming manager’s tactical preferences? Not really – apparently this was the team and formation Sean Dyche was going to pick anyway.
“The team was picked and the shape was very, very similar. I think probably just some of the messages, really, more than anything.” – Leighton Baines on what he tweaked to the set-up on Thursday
Just to prove this was still Dyche’s squad, the Toffees a) kept a clean sheet and b) failed to create too many quality chances against a side with the worst defensive record in League One.
There was at least the rare sight of a centre-forward scoring in Everton blue. Beto (£4.9m), the last man standing in an injury-hit attack, took his goal well. Receiving the ball from impressive young midfielder Harrison Armstrong (£4.5m), Beto rounded Posh’s Nicholas Bilokapić to break the deadlock.
Armstrong had got his first serious Premier League minutes (45 of them) in Gameweek 20 and here started in a three-man attack. We’re always on the lookout for £4.5m midfielders but of course, it remains to be seen if the new Everton boss favours him.
Nathan Patterson (£4.4m), without a league start in 2024/25, will be another Evertonian hoping for more of a look-in after the change in head coach. Looking more comfortable as a wing-back and on a share of corners, he created more chances (three) than anyone on show.
BROJA INJURY
Everton were without injured strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.4m) and Youssef Chermiti (£4.9m) on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Armando Broja (£5.4m) recovered from a minor issue sustained in Gameweek 20 to feature off the bench. However, he too may have rejoined the injury list.
The Chelsea loanee was stretchered off in the closing minutes of the game, although Baines’ post-match comments offered some hope.
“Not loads [of feedback on Broja’s injury], no. It obviously looked bad, didn’t it? All I know is that you seen him go off to the other side of the pitch and then we weren’t sure if he’d go to hospital or not – but he hasn’t. He hasn’t because hopefully it’s not [serious]… we don’t know at the moment the extent of it other than it’s a lower leg injury but he’s still here. He hasn’t been taken to hospital so I’ve took that as a good sign.” – Leighton Baines
NDIAYE ON PENS IN CALVERT-LEWIN’S ABSENCE
Calvert-Lewin’s absence didn’t just leave a space in the attack but a chance for someone else to stake a claim from the penalty spot.
That opportunity arose deep into second-half stoppage time, when Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.8m) was hauled down.
Up stepped Illiman Ndiaye (£5.4m) to confidently score from 12 yards. That was his first-ever senior penalty, in fact.
If the new Everton boss redeploys Ndiaye more centrally (Dyche insisted on playing him on the left), and the Senegalese attacker retains spot-kick duties, then there’s a possible cheap FPL forward there in the making.
Ndiaye – one of Everton’s best players this season – was actually quite poor against Peterborough but in truth, the Toffees didn’t really have to get out of second gear to win this one.
MUNIZ INJURY COULD BOOST RAUL’S MINUTES
Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) and Raul Jimenez (£5.7m) both got 45 minutes at Craven Cottage on Thursday. Both found the net, too.
Muniz superbly lashed in an Adama Traore (£4.7m) cross to open the scoring, while Jimenez converted a second-half penalty after Adama was felled.
Jimenez had replaced Muniz at the interval but this was no pre-planned sharing of game-time.
“Yes, unfortunately he got a small issue close to half-time.
“Firstly, great goal from him. Great finish from him, not an easy finish. The way he did it was really, really good. It was a proper striker’s finish in that situation.
“Unfortunately, he felt something in his back close to half-time and it was impossible for him to come to the second half. We’ll have to assess him, which we did already. We have to assess him tomorrow and see how he’s going to recover from that.” – Marco Silva on Rodrigo Muniz
A Muniz injury would be welcome news for Jimenez owners, should it materialise.
WHY ROBINSON DIDN’T PLAY
Silva rotated his squad for this clash, making seven changes in all. Six of the outgoing players were benched, while the other wasn’t involved at all.
The missing man was the 25%-owned Antonee Robinson (£5.0m), Fulham’s most popular FPL pick.
Don’t worry though, Robinson owners, this was a mere rest:
Marco Silva confirms Rodrigo Muniz picked up a back injury in the first half, leading to his sub. He will be assessed tomorrow ahead of West Ham next week.
Antonee Robinson was rested tonight, not injured. #FFC #whufc pic.twitter.com/KPqPPMKIya— Toby Bryant (@toby_bryant_) January 9, 2025
Ryan Sessegnon (£4.2m) got a rare run-out at left-back instead, with Silva keen to see him for 90 minutes.
After the recent dalliance with a wing-back system, it was back to a back four for the Cottagers on Thursday. Silva had indeed abandoned the 3-4-3 at half-time in Gameweek 20.
Timothy Castagne (£4.2m) and Joachim Andersen (£4.2m), two of the four to keep their places, irked their Fantasy owners by getting on the scoresheet in a cup tie. Castagne owners would still have been encouraged to see him ghosting into those goalscoring positions from open play, as Fulham’s right-back – whether it’s been the Belgian or Kenny Tete (£4.4m) – has done all season.
Emile Smith Rowe (£5.3m) started for the first time since recovering from injury but Andreas Pereira (£5.0m) stole the show. So often poor this season, and possibly on his way out, the Brazilian was superb. One of his own shots thundered off the bar, while he created a whopping nine chances for others.
It was fairly comfortable for Fulham in the end. The hosts finished 27-5 up on shots and with 72% of the ball, only conceding to a Rocco Vata stunner.
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8 days, 23 hours agoThat'll do Robinson. Never miss a minute in the league, rested for the cup.