Finishing up the mini-Scout Notes from the FA Cup fifth round, we look over the main talking points to emerge from Nottingham Forest v Ipswich Town and Manchester United v Fulham.
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- READ MORE: Scout Notes: Villa + City edge closer to Blank Gameweek 34
FA CUP RESULTS
| Goals | Assists | |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester United 1-1 Fulham (Fulham win 4-3 on pens) | Fernandes | Bassey | Dalot | Muniz |
| Nottingham Forest 1-1 Ipswich Town (Forest win 5-4 on pens) | Yates | Hirst | Elanga | Johnson |
TEAM SELECTION/ROTATION
| Starting XI changes from Gameweek 27 | Players who kept their place (mins) | Other mins for selected players | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | 2 | Onana (120), De Ligt (120), Fernandes (120), Dalot (120), Zirkzee (120), Maguire (90), Hojlund (68), Yoro (53), Ugarte (53) | Mazraoui (120), Eriksen (68), Garnacho (67) |
| Fulham | 3 | Leno (120), Andersen (120), Castagne (120), Berge (120), Lukic (101), Pereira (93), Muniz (93), Traore (53) | Bassey (120), Robinson (120), Iwobi (107), Jimenez (67), Jimenez (27) |
| Nottingham Forest | 6 | Sels (120), Murillo (120), Aina (120), Hudson-Odoi (120), Elanga (111) | Morato (120), Yates (120), Moreno (82), Awoniyi (82), Sangare (60), Danilo (60), Anderson (60), Gibbs-White (60), Williams (38), Wood (38) |
| Ipswich Town | 8 | Palmer (120), Morsy (120), Tuanzebe (45) | Townsend (120), Woolfenden (120), Johnson (120), J Taylor (120), Hirst (92), Greaves (75), O’Shea (75), Broadhead (67), Luongo (67), Cajuste (53), J Clarke (53), Burgess (45), Delap (28) |
FOURTH GAMEWEEK 34 FIXTURE CONFIRMED AS ‘ON’
There’ll be no ‘double double’ for Newcastle United after Ipswich Town bowed out of the FA Cup on Monday.
The Magpies play twice in Gameweek 32 and could have done so again in Gameweek 33, had their Gameweek 34 meeting with the Tractor Boys needed rescheduling.
But now, with Ipswich and Newcastle both eliminated from the FA Cup over the last two days, that’s off the table.
It does mean that those two sides, a freak postponement aside, won’t blank in Gameweek 34. Four fixtures are now ‘on’:
| GW34 Premier League fixture | Status | The match will be postponed in the following situation: |
| Arsenal v Crystal Palace | Possible postponement | If Crystal Palace beat Fulham (a) in the FA Cup quarter-finals |
| Bournemouth v Manchester United | Possible postponement | If Bournemouth beat Manchester City (h) in the FA Cup quarter-finals |
| Brighton and Hove Albion v West Ham United | Possible postponement | If Brighton and Hove Albion beat Nottingham Forest (h) in the FA Cup quarter-finals |
| Chelsea v Everton | On | |
| Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur | On | |
| Manchester City v Aston Villa | Possible postponement | If Manchester City beat Bournemouth (a) in the FA Cup quarter-finals and/or Aston Villa beat Preston North End (a) in the FA Cup quarter-finals |
| Newcastle United v Ipswich Town | On | |
| Nottingham Forest v Brentford | Possible postponement | If Nottingham Forest beat Brighton and Hove Albion (a) in the FA Cup quarter-finals |
| Southampton v Fulham | Possible postponement | If Fulham beat Crystal Palace (h) in the FA Cup quarter-finals |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leicester City | On |
RESTS FOR WOOD, GIBBS-WHITE, DELAP ET AL – AND NO MILENKOVIC
With a combined 14 changes across the two starting XIs, Forest v Ipswich wasn’t too far away from being a reserve match.
Chris Wood (£7.2m) and Liam Delap (£5.6m) avoided the fate of some other FPL forwards, seemingly emerging from their cameos unscathed. Morgan Gibbs-White (£6.5m) and Neco Williams (£4.4m) also started this one on the bench.
Missing out altogether was Nikola Milenkovic (£4.8m). There was no official word on the reason for the Serbian centre-half’s absence, although Nuno Espirito Santo – as he does most weeks – did say some players had to be “assessed” ahead of the game.
If you didn’t see the match… you didn’t miss much.
Set-piece goals from George Hirst (£5.4m) and Ryan Yates (£4.8m) cancelled each other out, while many of the other efforts came from distance. A total of 16 of Forest’s 22 shots came from outside the box, including a Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.2m) attempt that shaved the bar.
Anthony Elanga (£5.3m), supplier of five assists in the last nine Gameweeks, crossed for Yates’ goal – one of 20 deliveries he flung in on Monday.
Matz Sels (£5.0m) was the penalty shootout hero, saving Jack Taylor‘s (£4.8m) effort.
ROBINSON RETURNS BUT MUNIZ KEEPS PLACE
It wasn’t a great spectacle at Old Trafford, either, with Manchester United again short on inspiration in attack. The cheering of Rasmus Hojlund‘s (£6.3m) second-half substitution sums up their current malaise up top.
If it wasn’t for Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m), you wonder where United would be. He’s not at his vintage best, of course, and he’s had days when he’s drifted through games.
But it was his moment of quality in this match that drew the Red Devils level. He also finished top for chances created (four), as he so often does.
Fulham weren’t that much better, despite going back to full strength after some midweek rotation. Antonee Robinson (£5.1m) and Alex Iwobi (£5.7m) returned to the side but Raul Jimenez (£5.5m) didn’t, with Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) keeping his place.
Muniz did quite well up top with little service, doing a lot of the off-the-ball graft that Jimenez typically excels at. The Brazilian flicked on for Calvin Bassey (£4.5m) to open the scoring, with Jimenez eventually replacing the striker in extra time.
The Cottagers are already struggling with injuries out wide and now they may have another problem. Adama Traore (£4.6m) came off with a twisted ankle and now faces assessment. Any absence for him could open up a spot for out-of-position defender Ryan Sessegnon (£4.1m) or the returning Willian (£5.0m), who is still building up his fitness after his free transfer move, out wide.
