Scout Scribbles – Lukaku Saves Toffees’ Blushes

Romelu Lukaku’s late leveller keeps Everton in the FA Cup after a 1-1 home draw with West Ham. Leighton Baines and Andy Carroll head into the weekend as injury doubts after missing out at Goodison. Luke Shaw and Daley Blind could return for United’s clash with Southampton, reports grow of a possible move to City for Wilfried Bony, whilst Wojciech Szczesny looks poised to be re-installed between the sticks for Arsenal this weekend.

LATE LUKAKU STRIKE KEEPS EVERTON’S HOPES ALIVE

Everton boss Roberto Martinez made three changes to his side for their FA Cup meeting with West Ham last night, returning to a flat back-four after recently trialling three in defence. Sylvain Distin, Bryan Oviedo and Romelu Lukaku were brought in, with the latter notching a 92^nd-minute leveler to earn his side a replay.

Distin sustained a groin problem and was forced off after 71 minutes of the tie, whist Leighton Baines missed out entirely with a knock, though Martinez confirmed that he expects the left-back to be fit in time for their weekend clash with City:

“Baines picked up a knock in the last game – it’s nothing serious, we’re just making sure he’s fully fit and we’re not taking any risks. Expect him to be available for the weekend.”

The Scout Says: Despite the late celebrations, there’s no doubt that this is still a troubling time for the Toffees, who have won just once in their last nine domestic matches. To compound matters, the Merseysiders are rated second worst in our ticker for the next five fixtures, which involves encounters with City, Liverpool and Chelsea, suggesting that their toils could well continue. Lukaku will be optimistic that his strike will see him recalled in the league after having had to settle for a bench role in the last two Gameweeks, though he, like Baines, is unlikely to tempt much investment with the Toffees’ schedule and form in mind, with many current owners likely to ditch the duo’s services with their winter Wildcards.

HAMMERS PEGGED BACK

Sam Allardyce opted to make four changes to his West Ham team for last night’s cup clash, with Alex Song, Diafra Sakho, Cheik Kouyate and Andy Carroll those to drop out in favour of Matt Jarvis, Kevin Nolan, Enner Valencia and Mark Noble. James Collins retained his place in the Hammers’ backline, despite the availability of James Tomkins, and netted the opener from a Morgan Amalfitano corner.

Post-match, Big Sam revealed that Carroll missed out with a foot injury sustained in training:

“Andy kicked the floor in training and obviously his foot’s a bit sore so we didn’t bring him with us. We didn’t (want to) risk the fact that if he’d played today it would’ve probably got worse.”

In better news, however, it has been confirmed that Song will now miss the African Cup of Nation (ACoN) with Cameroon and be available for the Hammers throughout January, after announcing his retirement from international football.

The Scout Says: Is it possible for Carroll to go a couple of months without picking up a fresh injury? His Fantasy owners will be despairingly asking that question, with his role in this weekend’s trip to Swansea now hanging in the balance. With Sakho either injured or jetting off to the ACoN, Allardyce will be desperate to have the big Geordie fit as soon as possible, though a prolonged absence could see Valencia profit; the 6.4-valued forward looks set for a return to the starting XI in the league anyway, though could be the sole focus of the Hammers’ attack if no other striker is available to line up beside him. Big Sam will at least take comfort in Song’s imminent return from Africa, with the Barcelona loanee now set to hand the Londoners a major boost in the middle of the park. Meanwhile, yesterday’s match saw Stewart Downing draw his fourth consecutive blank in all competitions, and with the Hammers’ problems building ahead of him in attack, an exodus of his 25% ownership could be on the cards, bearing in mind his next six (swa, HUL, liv, MNU, sou, tot).

BONY TRANSFER RUMOURS INTENSIFY

A number of reports yesterday revealed that Swansea striker Wilfried Bony is on the verge of a £30 million transfer to Man City after the two clubs entered talks earlier this week.

The Scout Says: Manuel Pellegrini insinuated at the start of the month that City could do business in the January transfer window, and it’s seemingly taken little time for the Chilean to put his money where his mouth is. The Bony news will, however, dishearten many Fantasy managers, with the forward’s potential position in the Sky Blues’ pecking order a major drawback; with Sergio Aguero clearly the number one when fit, the Ivorian will surely be prone to rotation with Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko, thus seriously denting the prospects of an asset who has proven so reliable over the past couple of seasons, scoring nine times already in the current campaign. Back at Swansea, meanwhile, life without Bony will surely be tough, though Bafetimbi Gomis’s prospects at 6.5 could be boosted if Garry Monk doesn’t decide to immediately splash the cash and find a replacement up front – with loanee Nelson Oliveira also in the mix, we could be handed a mid-price option to consider as the Swans’ leading man, should Bony indeed depart.

MAN UNITED HANDED INJURY BOOST

Reports suggest that Luke Shaw and Daley Blind could be in contention to face Southampton on Sunday after recovering from ankle and knee injuries respectively. The latter has been out of action since November but, having trained with United’s first team for the past two weeks, could now be ready to make his return.

The Scout Says: Having played every minute of the season prior to succumbing to injury, it seems fairly certain that Blind will be reinstated in Louis van Gaal’s first XI as soon as he reaches the right level of fitness. Likely to play alongside Michael Carrick in the middle of the park, his return could have a knock-on effect on Wayne Rooney’s position and see the United captain move behind the front two – after blanking for the past two Gameweeks, such a scenario would be welcome news for the 10.8-priced striker’s 22.5% ownership. With Angel Di Maria also in contention to start after a goalscoring substitute appearance against Yeovil Town in the FA Cup, United are beginning to build themselves back to full strength, and now have the fixtures in hand to flourish over their next six (SOU, qpr, LEI, whm, BUR, swa). It’s hard to see how Juan Mata might fit into their set-up now, though, and the Reds’ top scoring midfielder could find that his minutes are far from guaranteed from here on in.

SZCZESNY EYES STOKE START

Wojciech Szczesny is expected to return to Arsenal’s starting XI this weekend, despite off-field problems having supposedly jeopardised his place.

The Scout Says: Recent rumours surrounding the goalkeeper – which suggested he was set to be dropped for an indefinite period after a dressing room fall-out with Arsene Wenger – appear to be unfounded, then, with the 4.8-priced David Ospina now likely to return to the bench after being handed a start in the Gunners’ FA Cup win over Hull. The north London outfit have three great home fixtures in their next five (STK, AVL, LEI) to boost their appeal, though with a little uncertainty still surrounding the situation between the sticks , Mathieu Debuchy (5.2) and Per Metersaker (6.0) are still the most secure and stand-out options in their defensive ranks.