We analyse the team sheets over the weekend’s nine matches this morning to search for any lessons learned. Southampton’s new formation, Stoke’s numerous options in attacking midfield and Jose Mourinho’s tinkering at the back are all worth keeping a keen eye on.
Aston Villa
Starting XI: Guzan; Bacuna, Richards, Clark, Amavi; Gueye, Westwood, Sanchez (Traore 69), Agbonlahor, Gestede, Grealish
Tim Sherwood made his first lineup changes of the season, having seen his side slip to defeat to Man United last time out. Rudy Gestede, Jack Grealish and Carlos Sanchez came in to replace Jordan Ayew, Scott Sinclair and Jordan Veretout, who all dropped to the bench. New signing Adama Traore was also named amongst the subs but emerged from the bench midway through the second period as Villa switched from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2. Given his impact, both Sinclair and Veretout now face a battle to reinstate themselves in the starting lineup. Gestede completed the 90 minutes and would now seem set to get a run at the Sunderland defence next time out.
Bournemouth
Starting XI: Boruc; Francis, Elphick, Cook, Daniels; Ritchie (Smith, 90), O’Kane, Surman, Gradel (Gosling, 85); King (Pugh, 50); Wilson.
Eddie Howe resisted the temptation to change his starting XI, despite suffering defeat at Liverpool; this saw Eunan O’Kane retain his start in midfield. Marc Pugh’s introduction just before the hour-mark for Josh King will give him food for, though, as the midfielder took his opportunity with a curling effort for the Cherries third goal. Tyrone Mings was again an unused sub as Charlie Daniels continues to hold the left-back role, while Sylvain Distin also looks unlikely to dislodge the pairing of skipper Tommy Elphick and Steve Cook in central defence.
Chelsea
Starting XI: Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta; Fabregas, Matic; Pedro (Mikel 84), Willian (Cahill 60), Hazard; Costa (Falcao 77).
Jose Mourinho rang the changes in defence as anticipated although few expected Gary Cahill to be the one dropped to the bench. His omission for Kurt Zouma was one of three changes as Pedro was given an immediate debut for the champions: Ramires joined Cahill on the bench as Cesc Fabregas continued in the double pivot and Willian was deployed in the number ten role once again. As expected, Thibaut Courtois returned for Asmir Begovic in goal following his suspension. John Terry’s red card forced Mourinho to shuffle, with Cahill introduced to replace Willian and reinforce the back-line. Terry will now miss the Palace encounter, opening the way for Cahill to regain his place, presumably alongside Zouma.
Crystal Palace
Starting XI: McCarthy; Ward, Delaney, Dann, Souare; McArthur, Cabaye (Jedinak 81); Zaha (Mutch 45), Puncheon, Sako; Murray (Gayle 45)
Bakary Sako was handed his Crystal Palace debut against Villa and duly took his opportunity with a late winner. Sako replaced Yannick Bolasie in the starting lineup as the DR Congo winger missed out following the death of his father. Alan Pardew has remarked that Bolasie will be given as much time as he needs before returning to contention, making the player a major doubt for the Gameweek 4 clash with Chelsea. That was one of two changes to the Palace side that lost 2-1 to Arsenal, with Glenn Murray also drafted in to replace the injured Connor Wickham up front. Murray only lasted 45 minutes, however, as Pardew made tactical tweaks at the break which saw the introduction of Dwight Gayle and Jordan Mutch, as Wilfried Zaha also made way. With the Eagles continuing to shuffle in attacking positions, it appears that Yohan Cabaye and Jason Puncheon are the only constants right now.
Everton
Starting XI: Howard; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Galloway (Browning 45); McCarthy, Barry; Kone (Naismith 64), Barkley, Cleverley (Deulofeu 86), Lukaku
Roberto Martinez kept an unchanged side following the 3-0 win at Southampton but lost Brendan Galloway to a first half injury which forced Tyias Browning into action from the bench. Steven Naismith and Gerard Deulofeu saw action late on as the Toffees chased an equaliser with Arouna Kone and Tom Cleverley making way. Kone’s start against Spurs next time would seem most at threat, while Browning is in line to start should Galloway be ruled out although Martinez did confirm post-match that Bryan Oviedo is also close to being in contention – he could well figure at Spurs.
Leicester
Starting XI: Schmeichel, De Laet, Morgan Huth, Schlupp; Mahrez (Ulloa 90), King, Drinkwater (Inler 80), Albrighton (Kanté 78); Vardy, Okazaki,
Not surprisingly, Claudio Ranieri named an unchanged starting XI for the meeting with Spurs, with new signing Gökhan Inler on the bench. Both he and fellow new-boy, N’Golo Kante, were introduced late on for Danny Drinkwater and Marc Albrighton respectively and it’s clear that there is the threat of a Foxes shake-up in midfield, given Ranieri’s options. Both Drinkwater and Andy King would appear to be the most at risk, currently. Christian Fuchs and Yohan Benalouane were both unused subs as we await their impact on Ranieri’s first choice XI.
Man City
Starting XI: Hart, Sagna, Mangala, Kompany, Kolarov; Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, Navas, Silva (Delph 89), Sterling (Nasri 76); Aguero (Bony 81)
City kept faith with the same XI that routed Chelsea at the Etihad with Aleks Kolarov and Eliaquim Mangala retaining their starts in defence, whilst new signing Nicolas Otamendi was ruled out of squad as City pursued international clearance for the Argentine. Manuel Pellegrini again introduced Samir Nasri in the latter period of the game with Raheem Sterling making way. Barring injury, City look set to retain the same XI for the visit of Watford next time out with Pellegrini currently showing little inclination to rotate.
Man United
Starting XI: Romero; Darmian (Valencia 77), Smalling, Blind, Shaw; Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger (Carrick 59); Mata, Januzaj (Hernandez 67), Depay; Rooney.
Louis van Gaal handed Bastian Schweinsteiger his first start of the season, dropping Michael Carrick to the bench. The Dutchman suggested that he was preserving the latter for future matches in the light of injuries last season and, clearly, the spot alongside Morgan Schneiderlin appears locked in a “job share” scenario with Van Gaal again making a switch on the hour-mark for the third successive match – Carrick replacing Schweinsteiger. Elsewhere, there were no changes with Adnan Januzaj again handed the number ten role, with Memphis Depay deployed wide left and Ashley Young benched. Januzaj was hauled off on 67 minutes with Javier Hernandez seeing action as United struggled for a cutting edge. This also saw Matteo Darmian replaced by Antonio Valencia as a tactical move as Van Gaal chased the elusive goal. Hernandez and the returning Marouane Fellaini will be pushing for starts at Swansea next time out with Januzaj’s role under obvious threat, while Wayne Rooney could be shifted to a role behind Hernandez, should the Mexican start.
Newcastle
Starting XI: Krul; Mbemba, Taylor, Coloccini, Haidara; Anita, Colback; Perez (Tiote 78), Wijnaldum, Obertan (Thauvin 69); Mitrovic (Cisse 88).
Steve McClaren elected to bring Steven Taylor into his defence, shifting Chancel Mbemba to right-back to cover the suspended Daryl Janmaat. Given Taylor’s performance alongside Fabricio Coloccini, McClaren now faces a selection headache ahead of the home meeting with Arsenal in Gameweek 4. There were two changes elsewhere, with Aleksandar Mitrovic earning a first start of the campaign, ousting Papiss Cisse to the bench. We can presume that he has now settled on Tyneside and that Cisse will now be used as an impact sub pending a shift in formation from McClaren’s preferred 4-2-3-1. Ayoze Perez also earned a first start of the season as he replaced the injured Mousa Sissoko. That situation could be reversed next time out, while Florian Thauvin, who made his Magpies debut from the bench with 20-minutes remaining, will be pushing Gabriel Obertan for a start on the left flank.
Norwich
Starting XI: Ruddy; Whittaker, Martin, Bassong, Brady; Redmond, Tettey, Dorrans, Howson, (O’Neil 86); Hoolahan; (Johnson 77), Jerome
Alex Neil named an unchanged lineup for the meeting with Stoke, leaving Bradley Johnson on the bench once more. He eventually saw action on 77 minutes, replacing Wes Hoolahan but looks destined to struggle to retain a starting role having fallen out of favour for the Gameweek 2 trip to Sunderland. The rest of the Norwich XI appears settled, with Steven Whittaker continuing to hold off the claims of Andre Wisdom for a start at right-back.
Southampton
Starting XI: Stekelenburg; Yoshida, Fonte, Caulker; Soares, Wanyama, Romeu, Targett; Davis (Ward-Prowse 72); Mane (Long, 24), Pelle (Rodriguez, 80).
Ronald Koeman changed shape to a 3-4-1-2 setup, recalling both Cedric Soares and Steven Davis after they were rested in Thursday’s Europa League tie. Soares and Matt Targett were deployed as wing-backs, while Oriol Romeu made his full league debut in central midfield, having started in midweek and emerged from the bench in the defeat to Everton. Sadio Mane started up front with Graziano Pelle but was forced off on 25 minutes with a hip problem, with Shane Long replacing him.
Stoke
Starting XI: Butland; Johnson, Cameron, Muniesa, Pieters; Whelan, Van Ginkel (Adam 79); Shaqiri 7, Afellay (Ireland 57), Arnautovic (Joselu 57); Diouf
Xherdan Shaqiri was handed his Stoke debut as expected, although Mark Hughes decision to start with the Swiss international was perhaps somewhat a surprise. Shaqiri replaced Jon Walters on the right flank with the Irishman missing out through illness. That represented the only change to the Potters’ lineup, although the likes of Stephen Ireland, Joselu and Charlie Adam emerged from the bench in the second period to push their claims for starting roles over Stoke’s run of three home matches in the next four Gameweeks. Ibrahim Afellay and Marko Arnautovic were both replaced before the hour mark as Hughes utilises the depth of options in the attacking third. Shaqiri would appear to be the only guaranteed starter behind lone striker Mame Biram Diouf going into that spell, particularly with Bojan believed to be nearing full fitness. At the back, Marc Wilson returned to contention but was an unused sub as Hughes stuck with the same back four for the third consecutive outing.
Sunderland
Starting XI: Pantilimon; Jones, O’Shea, Coates, Van Aanholt; Cattermole, Rodwell, M’Vila; Lens (Larsson, 90), Graham, Defoe (Watmore, 86)
Dick Advocaat acted on his side’s recent defensive troubles by recalling John O’Shea for the injured Younes Kaboul but retained the rest of the rearguard as Adam Matthews remained benched. There were two additional changes for the Black Cats as Danny Graham and Jack Rodwell earned starts in place of Steven Fletcher and Seb Larsson, who dropped to the bench. Both were eventually introduced, with Fletcher replacing Graham just after the hour-mark as Advocaat kept a 4-3-3 formation throughout.
Swansea
Starting XI: Fabianski; Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Cork, Shelvey; Ayew, Sigurdsson, Montero; Gomis (Eder, 76).
Garry Monk kept an unchanged lineup for the trip to the Stadium of Light as Ki Sung-Yeung again missed out of the matchday squad as he continued his recovering from a hamstring injury. That saw Jack Cork retained in the double pivot alongside Jonjo Shelvey. Monk’s lineup looks to be one of the most settled, with little or no current threat of rotation on show from back to front.
Tottenham
Starting XI: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Mason (Bentaleb 88); Dembele (Carroll 77), Lamela (Alli 65), Chadli; Kane
Mauricio Pochettino made just a single change to his Spurs lineup for the King Power stadium visit as Erik Lamela was drafted in to replace knee injury victim, Christian Eriksen. This saw Ryan Mason start alongside Eric Dier in the double pivot, as Nabil Bentaleb was again benched and introduced for Mason late on. Ben Davies kept Danny Rose on the bench. With Spurs struggling for a creative spark, Pochettino introduced both Tom Carroll and Dele Alli from the bench, with the latter breaking the deadlock from Nacer Chadli’s cross. It remains to be seen how the Spurs boss approaches the clash with Everton next time out, with Eriksen’s availability no doubt key to his thinking when it comes to his attacking midfield trio. Clinton N’jie could be another to enter the equation; he missed out at Leicester as Spurs continued to seek his international clearance.
Watford
Starting XI: Gomes; Nyom, Prodl, Cathcart, Holebas (Diamanti, 45); Capoue, Behrami (Watson, 84); Jurado, Ighalo, Anya; Deeney
The Hornets made one change to the team that faced West Bromwich Albion, with Jose Holebas coming in for Miguel Layun. Holebas started at left-back with Ikechi Anya shifting further forward to replace Layun in the attacking midfield three as Quique Sanchez Flores again kept faith with the 4-2-3-1 setup. The Watford boss made a change at half-time with new signing Alessandro Diamanti coming on for his debut as he replaced Holebas, forcing Anya to left-back once again. Having been replaced before the hour mark in the previous two matches, Layun’s brief dalliance as an out of position prospect now looks to have come to an abrupt end.
West Brom
Starting XI: Myhill; Dawson, McAuley, Olsson, Brunt; McManaman (Gnabry 77), Morrison Gardner 88), Fletcher, Yacob, McClean; Rondon.
Saido Berahino’s omission from the Baggies matchday squad heightened speculation on his future at the Hawthorns. It also meant a first start for new signing Salomon Rondon. Calum McManaman and James McClean were also handed starts as Craig Gardner and Rickie Lambert made way to the bench. Tony Pulis kept his back four intact with both James Chester and Joleon Lescott named amongst the substitutes once again. The Baggies lineup up in a 4-1-4-1 setup, with Claudio Yacob protecting the defence. Lambert was introduced on the hour mark by Pulis, as the Baggies shifted to two up front following Terry’s dismissal.
West Ham
Starting XI: Randolph; Jenkinson, Reid, Ogbonna (Tomkins 35), Cresswell; Obiang, Noble, Kouyate; Nolan (Jarvis 46), Payet; Sakho (Maiga 73)
Slaven Bilic was forced to field summer signing Darren Randolph in goal. having failed with the appeal on Adrian’s red card received in the defeat to Leicester. Randolph was joined on the teamsheet by Kevin Nolan, making his first start of the campaign, as Mauro Zarate missed out through injury. A third change saw new signing Pedro Obiang earn a start in the engine room as Reece Oxford was ruled out of the squad with a knock. Bilic’s backline remains in flux thanks to another ban which will see Carl Jenkinson miss the Gameweek 4 trip to Anfield. That’s likely to see James Tomkins recalled at right-back. Tomkins saw action early on against Bournemouth as Bilic hauled off Angelo Ogbonna as the visitors run his defence ragged in the opening spell. Given Jenkinson’s absence, Ogbonna would be expected to retain his start against Liverpool. Nolan’s role could be more at risk – he was replaced by Matt Jarvis at half-time, while Modibo Maiga also staked a claim for a start on Merseyside having struck the Hammers’ third goal on his introduction from the bench on 73 minutes.
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