Scout Scribbles – Pelle the Hero for Saints

Graziano Pelle scores twice as the Saints see off Stoke for the second time in four days. David Silva is forced off early as City suffer a shock home loss to Newcastle, with fit-again Rolando Aarons notching in a 2-0 victory. Erik Lamela and Harry Kane grab the goals for Spurs, whilst the Spain international doctor has his say on the Diego Costa injury saga.

PELLE BAGS ANOTHER BRACE

The Saints made four changes for last night’s cup tie with Stoke, with Ryan Bertrand amongst those rested and Sadio Mane missing out with an ankle knock. In the latter’s absence, Shane Long was promoted to the starting XI and was amongst the scorers, while Graziano Pelle notched his side’s other two goals in the 3-2 victory, with the second a late winner after a spirited comeback attempt from the Potters.

The Scout Says: It’s now eight wins in the last nine in all competitions for Ronald Koeman’s side, whose current form has seen their assets at both ends of the pitch rocket to the top of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) rankings and pick up significantly in popularity. With three great fixtures on the horizon for the Saints (hul, LEI, avl) that trend shows no sign of abating. FPL top points scorer Pelle remains the pick of their attacking options, with his brace last night his third two-goal showing of the season, taking his tally to eight goals in all competitions – with his form so strong, some may even be considering holding, even when the fixtures get tough from Gameweek 13.

POTTERS FACE SUSPENSION DILEMMA

Mark Hughes made three changes from the weekend for his side’s cup clash with Southampton yesterday evening. Mame Biram Diouf came into the side and scored his side’s second goal, which was preceded by Steven N’Zonzi’s long range strike. Peter Crouch was introduced as a substitute after 73 minutes, but subsequently saw red for picking up two yellow cards and will now be suspended for Stoke’s weekend meeting with West Ham.

The Scout Says: With Crouch now set to miss the visit of the Hammers, Diouf is likely to retain his starting spot as the Potters’ lone forward in what will be just his second start in the last five Gameweeks. However, Crouch won’t be the only absentee for Saturday’s fixture – Phil Bardsley received his fifth booking of the season last night and will now sit out a one-match ban, with Geoff Cameron now likely to move back to right-back after being utilised in midfield for Stoke’s previous two. Meanwhile, Marko Arnautovic will be optimistic of earning his first start since Gameweek 7 after producing the assist for N’Zonzi’s goal last night.

AARONS ON THE RADAR

Alan Pardew made six alterations from last weekend’s win at Spurs as Newcastle shocked the Etihad last night. Teenagers Rolando Aarons and Adam Armstrong were called up to first team duties, with the former capitalising on slack defending from City to notch his side’s first, before substitute Moussa Sissoko then made it 2-0.

The Scout Says: Aaron’s claim for more first team action received a serious boost last night – the youngster grabbed a goal and an assist in just 24 minutes in his last league appearance in Gameweek 3, and now back from injury, will be confident of earning plenty more pitch time in the league from here on in. With that in mind, the competition out wide for the Toon is building, with Remy Cabella earning an assist against Spurs on Sunday and Sammy Ameobi now with a goal and an assist in his last two appearances from the bench. Newcastle’s form is certainly picking up, and with West Brom, QPR and Burnley in their next five, investment in their attacking assets is suddenly not looking such a preposterous idea.

CITY RECORD BACK-TO-BACK DEFEATS

Manuel Pellegrini chose to make seven changes for yesterday’s cup loss, with captain Vincent Kompany rested completely and Sergio Aguero limited to a 20-minute cameo from the bench. Things started poorly for the home side, with David Silva forced off after eight minutes with a knee problem, meaning that Pellegrini had to introduce Samir Nasri on his return from injury sooner than he would have liked. Yaya Toure then hobbled off with a knock in the second half, though his manager has revealed that the problem ‘wasn’t serious’.

Post-match, Pellegrini also acknowledged that his side are struggling for form ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby:

“We didn’t play well, we didn’t move the ball the way we normally do and we’re not scoring chances we have. It’s a concern because it’s a week where we’ve conceded too many and we’re not scoring. At the moment we’re not a team we used to be. Of course we must be worried – we didn’t win the three games we played this week. We must be worried about that but we must find a solution and we must address it.”

The Scout Says: It’s both rare and refreshing to hear such honesty from a Premier League manager, though Pellegrini’s words won’t come as great news for Fantasy managers, with City’s players hardly likely to be inspired by their manager’s opinions. With Nasri now back, and Edin Dzeko and Stefan Jovetic both proving ineffective in their 90 minute showings last night, Pellegrini is likely to move to a 4-2-3-1 set up against United at the weekend, with Aguero leading the line on his own – the last time he was afforded this opportunity, the Argentine found the back of the net four times on his way to a 19-point haul, and he certainly looks the best bet to help his side out of their current rut.

LAMELA AND KANE SEND SPURS THROUGH

Mauricio Pochettino made mass changes to the side he fielded at the weekend for last night’s cup tie with Brighton, with only Jan Vertonghen keeping his place. Erik Lamela notched his side’s first after being introduced as a substitute at half-time before Harry Kane’s instinctive finish saw Spurs through to the quarter-finals of the competition with a 2-0 win.

The Scout Says: Kane now has eight goals in twelve appearances this season, as he continues to push for a regular first team role. However, with Emmanuel Adebayor scoring at the weekend, he may have to wait a while yet before he gets his wish, though should this eventually happen, the young forward could prove an outstanding budget option at just 4.8 in FPL. Meanwhile, Kyle Naughton returned from injury yesterday to line up at right-back, and now looks set to challenge Eric Dier for that spot when Spurs travel to Aston Villa on Sunday.

COSTA INJURY MYSTERY DEEPENS

Spain national team’s doctor has revealed that Diego Costa carried a very minor groin problem into his recent international displays, contradicting Jose Mourinho’s insistence that his star striker has been unable to feature in recent weeks due to a hamstring concern.

The Scout Says: Have Mourinho’s mind games finally caught up with him? Or is this all just one big misunderstanding? Mourinho specifically stated that Costa missed the United match with a hamstring injury, and not the virus which he contracted prior to the fixture, though whether this can now believed has been brought into serious question. Costa has already lost 63,000 owners since the weekend as managers continue to lose patience with the constant uncertainty surrounding his availability. If the Spanish doctor’s words are indeed true, however, the forward’s remaining owners should be even more confident of a start against QPR on Saturday, with Mourinho having already insisted that the former Atletico Madrid man should ‘normally’ be fit for the London derby. Chelsea have an enticing schedule ahead of them (QPR, liv, WBA, sun, TOT, new), and Costa – who was pictured in training yesterday – could yet return to the summit of our Watchlist if he can carry on his goalscoring form when finally restored to the starting XI.

STURRIDGE SPEAKS OUT ON INJURY STRUGGLES

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge believes that his chronic injury problems could be hereditary, but has spoken of his intent to produce for his side alongside Mario Balotelli once he returns from his current calf injury:

“I was unfortunate with the calf injury. When I come back I am hoping to score goals and help the team win games. I’m not going to say I am going to come back and be a genius because everyone takes time to come back from injuries. Once I get back fit I’m hoping we can strike up a partnership. Last season with Luis (Suarez) we had a great relationship up front and scored a lot of goals. Hopefully this season it will be the same.”

The Scout Says: The disappointing news for Liverpool fans is that Sturridge’s words suggest he is still not fit, and thus is unlikely to be involved against Newcastle this weekend. This will also come as a worry for Raheem Sterling’s owners, with the young midfielder having proved significantly more dangerous when playing alongside Sturridge so far this campaign. Having scored just once during Sturridge’s absence, Sterling’s appeal is clearly diminishing in the eyes of Fantasy managers – over 67,000 having already shifted him on this week, despite Liverpool’s strong fixture list (new, CHE, cpl, STO, lei, SUN).