Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand return as Javier Hernandez bags a brace for United. Norwich’s Robert Snodgrass is stretchered off with concussion. Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil are rested to the bench as Juan Mata helps Chelsea to victory at the Emirates. Marko Arnautovic is move to “the hole” and scores for the second game in succession for Stoke, whilst Andre Villas-Boas talks rotation ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Hull.
Defensive Problems Ease for United
David Moyes made nine changes to the XI that started against Stoke last weekend, with both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand fit to return at centre-half after recent injuries. United lined up in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Wilfried Zaha on the right and Adnan Januzaj handed the role in “the hole” behind Javier Hernandez – the latter maintained the form which saw him bag the winner against the Potters by scoring twice in a comfortable 4-0 demolition of a much-changed Norwich side.
The Scout Says: The return of Vidic and Ferdinand looks vital for Moyes as he attempts to address a poor defensive record that has seen his side concede in each of the last five league games. With the duo re-installed at the back, Phil Jones (who partnered Jonny Evans at centre-half against Stoke) was shifted into the centre of midfield and also managed to find the net in the rout. Moyes may opt for Evans and Jones again for this weekend’s trip to Fulham, though with a Champions League trip to Real Sociedad three days after the Craven Cottage clash and five days prior to a home game against Arsenal, owners of Vidic and Ferdinand still face uncertainty over their game time, given Moyes’ defensive rotation habits thus far.
Midfield Concerns Add Up for Hughton
The Canaries went into the Old Trafford game without Alex Tettey (ankle), while forward Ricky Van Wolfswinkel was rested after recently returning to action following a foot problem. The injury worries piled up for Chris Hughton, though, despite the Norwich boss making eight changes – a clash of heads with Rafael saw Robert Snodgrass knocked unconscious and resultantly subbed off after an eight-minute delay in the proceedings. Nathan Redmond is a also a concern – he was replaced with 15 minutes remaining after apparently pulling a hip muscle, according to his manager.
After the game Hughton, rolled out an update on his playmaker after the former Leeds man was stretchered from the pitch:
“He’s gone to a local hospital. I think that is very much a precaution, he was out for a period of time. It is very much concussion. He has also taken a whack in the incident itself so they will have a look at that and X-ray that just to make sure there is nothing broken. But by the time he was on his way out he was awake and aware of what was happening around him. Whether he will he kept in overnight or not, I don’t know.”
The Scout Says: Losing Snodgrass would be a huge loss for Hughton as he attempts to rectify a run which has harvested just four goals in the last eight league matches. As highlighted in last night’s Big Numbers members article, Snodgrass’ underlying stats remain particularly strong in spite of his failure to produce any returns thus far – with a trip to City and home clash against a resilient West Ham in the next two, though, the Canaries attacking woes look likely to continue in light of last night’s setback.
Wenger Turns to Rotation
The Gunners boss granted Olivier Giroud’s wish for a brief rest and benched the Frenchman for last night’s visit of Chelsea. Nicklas Bendtner led the line but was replaced by Giroud with just over 20 minutes remaining after an ineffectual display, while Mesut Ozil was also introduced midway through the second period. With Mikel Arteta suspended and Mathieu Flamini injured, Aaron Ramsey played 82 minutes in the double-pivot, though the Arsenal boss admitted after the game he had no regrets over rotating his side – only one of the back-four (Laurent Koscielny) and keeper that started at Palace on Saturday retained their place:
“I think it was a very tight game that was decided on one or two mistakes but overall we cannot play all the games with the same players, at the same stage you have to rotate. No, that’s not a regret overall – there’s a lot of positives in the game, there is as well negatives because we lost it and that we repeated a little bit giving the first goal away.”
The Scout Says: Giroud and Ozil owners will be more than happy with Wenger’s decision last night as the pair were handed minimal game time against Jose Mourinho’s side. To an extent, the Arteta and Flamini situations somewhat forced his hand in fielding Ramsey, though with four days until Liverpool roll up to the Emirates, the Welshman should be afforded plenty time for recuperation and is expected to slot in alongside Arteta in the centre once again. Wenger’s decision to make so many alterations at the back was intriguing – clearly, he wants his first-choice defenders fully fresh as the hosts attempt to put a stop to Liverpool’s foraging front two of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez.
Mata Stakes a Claim
Chelsea’s incredible strength in depth was highlighted last night as Jose Mourinho made 10 changes to the side that beat City on Sunday afternoon. Only Gary Cahill retained his place, with the likes of Juan Mata, Willian and Kevin Bruyne and Samuel Eto’o handed the main attacking roles. Cesar Azpilicueta opened the scoring before Mata notched the second courtesy of a Willian assist – after the final whistle, the Chelsea assistant boss Steve Holland talked up the competition for places in light of an impressive display:
“Jose – when he addressed the players before the game – asked to be given selection problems for the weekend. He didn’t want a flat performance tonight so that the 11 players who did well on Sunday automatically play again. He wants headaches and for everybody to do well when they get the chance to play, and you’d have to say that that was the case tonight. The players responded tonight. It’s been a satisfying three days. We’re in a great place at the moment. The objective at Chelsea’s always to compete in all competitions and given that we had to play the game tonight – which was far from ideal with one day between the two games – it gave us no choice but to use the full squad.”
The Scout Says: In spite of Holland’s words, there’d be little surprise if Mourinho made a similar number of changes for the weekend trip to Newcastle. While Eden Hazard and Oscar’s displays have ensured they remain guaranteed picks in the league, Mourinho’s decision to hand Andre Schurrle the night off entirely perhaps hinted at another start for the German at St James’ Park. Similarly, up top, Eto’o was given 80 minutes before being replaced by Demba Ba – further indication that Fernando Torres remains in the driving seat for the lone forward role.
Arnautovic in the Goals Again
After opening his account for the season against United last weekend, Marko Arnautovic added another as Stoke squeezed past Birmingham on penalties after an incredible 4-4 draw at St Andrews. Mark Hughes named a solid side, with Robert Huth fit enough to partner Ryan Shawcross at centre-half after recovering from an ankle problem sustained at Old Trafford, while Arnautovic’s versatility saw him move to the role in “the hole” behind Peter Crouch – his third different position in as many games.
The Scout Says: With Crouch also finding the net for the second match running, Mark Hughes looks to have finally solved his lone forward dilemma, with Arnautovic seemingly set for a midfield role again. Nonetheless, after stints on both flanks since moving to the Britannia, a central berth in support of Crouch could well see Fantasy managers reconsider the enigmatic Austrian. Having failed to score in any of the previous three prior to Saturday’s trip to United, Stoke have now notched six times in two games and with four home games in the next six, Arnautovic – at 5.5 in FPL – may just be worth considering again, after a weekend where every premium midfielder failed to register any attacking returns.
Villas-Boas Discusses Rotation Plans
Ahead of this evening’s trip to Hull, Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas discussed new boy Erik Lamela’s failure to live up to his talents since arriving from AS Roma. The Spurs boss cited the language barrier as fundamental to the Argentine’s poor start before confirming he plans to maintain his rotation policy as the north London outfit battle on domestic and European fronts:
“He (Lamela) knows he is not producing half of what he can produce, but he understands that he has to compete for his place. We have been speaking a lot with him. I think getting acquainted with the Premier League is important, but he doesn’t know the language. Roberto Soldado had some knowledge of the language before he came to the club, so it was probably a little bit easier for him to settle. With Erik, it was a little more difficult, but we have given him massive, massive help – and his family arrived this week…We will definitely do lots of changes because the schedule has been quite tight – we will have played Thursday, Sunday and Wednesday. We want to continue to do well and we have a responsibility at home to go through. We have the team to do it, so naturally the changes will happen.”
The Scout Says: Given the form of Andros Townsend, Villas-Boas has been reluctant to bring Lamela into his league plans, with the new boy afforded game time in cup competitions. Indeed, Spurs’ progress in Europa League group stages may slow his top-flight progress further – a win over Anzhi next week would ensure they qualify for the knockout stages and enable Villas-Boas to hand his fringe players more game time in Europe to build up their understanding. With Everton, City and United in the next four, Lamela could be set for further frustration as his manager looks to Townsend to make the difference on the right as he affords his big-money signing plenty time in what has proved a longer-than-expected settling-in period for many of the new signings, with arguably only Paulinho living up to expectations.
Martinez On Player Fatigue
The Everton boss discussed the recent displays of Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley yesterday. Having recently hinted that Lukaku didn’t have the energy to sustain his intensity over 90 minutes, Martinez now seems happy with the on-loan Belgian:
“I do feel he is getting stronger for longer in games and remember, Rom plays with real power and that’s the way he should be playing every time he’s on the pitch. It was positive for him to finish the whole game against Villa. Now he must try to carry on working hard and make sure that his strength and power can be there to help the team for the full duration of the game.”
When it came to Barkley, however, the Spaniard indicated he may be a little more tentative with the teenager’s game time:
“Football will make that decision. I am not going to be someone who will do something unless I see clear signs that a player needs to be rested or given a breather. When you are young you can cope with anything as along as everything is being done in the right way.”
The Scout Says: For Lukaku owners, the news is reassuring after Martinez had previously hauled him off on 67 minutes at home to Hull in Gameweek 8. Barkley owners may be a little concerned, though – he was subbed off just before the hour mark last weekend and also withdrawn on 79 minutes against Hull – prior to that, he had played all but three minutes of the opening seven Gameweeks. With Steven Pienaar fit again, Martinez has plenty options available should he choose to be careful with Barkley’s game time – his replacement on Saturday, Leon Osman, supplied a goal and assist in the 2-0 win. Barkley has started every game and has risen to a 36% ownership in FPL – while Martinez looks likely to retain him in the Toffees XI, the 5.6 priced midfielder may find himself withdrawn midway through the second period with a little more regularity as his manager attempts to stave off any long-term fatigue.
