Scout Scribbles – Saints and Spurs March On

Shane Long fires Southampton past Ipswich in the cup but the win comes at a cost, as the injuries rack up for Ronald Koeman. Tottenham get the better of Burnley in a six-goal thriller at the Lane, with a number of fringe players on the scorehseet for both sides, whilst Robin van Persie looks poised to miss United’s trip to QPR due to an ankle injury.

INJURIES MOUNT IN SAINTS WIN

Ronald Koeman fielded a 3-5-2 formation for Southampton’s FA Cup third round replay with Ipswich last night, making five changes to his starting line-up in the process. Nathaniel Clyne was deployed as a right wing-back, with Ryan Bertrand alongside Florin Gardos and Jose Fonte in the back three, whilst youngsters Matt Targett and Harrison Reed were afforded starts. Shane Long put his side ahead early on with an instinctive strike, and the Saints held on for their second 1-0 victory in the space of four days to book their spot in the fourth round.

However, last night’s win came at a price; Victor Wanyama was forced off at half time after suffering a hamstring problem, whilst Dusan Tadic was also withdrawn due to a hip complaint. Post-match, Koeman was seemingly pessimistic over Wanyama’s situation:

“I already spoke before the game with Victor and Steven Davis as I had made the decision to give both players 45 minutes. Then 12 seconds before half-time, he got his hamstring injury and, okay, you know if it is really a hamstring injury then he will be out for four or five weeks.”

Morgan Schneiderlin missed out entirely with an adductor injury, and Koeman confirmed that the midfielder could miss up to a month with the problem:

“Schneiderlin has a little bit the same as he had when he came back from the French national team. It is an adductor problem in his right leg and he will be out for three or four weeks, like Toby Alderweireld, but, okay, we have a lot of young players.”

The Scout Says: Frustratingly for Fantasy managers, the Saints’ injury problems are beginning to mount just as we start to wield our winter wildcards. With Alderweireld missing from their rearguard and Wanyama looking very likely to join Schneiderlin on the sidelines, managers may begin to question whether Southampton can continue to deliver the sort of defensive returns that have made their backline assets such popular picks in recent times. Their fixtures are certainly enticing (new, SWA, qpr, WHM), but injuries to important players in key areas will certainly dent their prospects and Koeman will be more reliant than ever on Graziano Pelle finding his form if the St Mary’s outfit are to retain their top three ambitions.

SPURS RALLY TO COMEBACK VICTORY

Mauricio Pochettino made seven changes to his Spurs starting XI for their FA Cup replay with Burnley. Jan Vertonghen, Benjamin Stambouli, Andros Townsend and Danny Rose were the quartet to keep their places, with the latter fielded as a left-winger, whilst Roberto Soldado replaced Harry Kane up front. Despite falling behind to two early goals, Spurs rallied back through goals from Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Vlad Chiriches and Rose to progress to the next round of the competition.

The Scout Says: The north Londoners’ fringe players certainly staked a claim with last night’s defiant comeback display, though Pochettino is still likely to recall his regulars to the starting line-up against Sunderland this weekend. Soldado’s display was particularly encouraging, as the Spaniard earned two assists against the Clarets, though he failed to find the net despite several decent chances. Nevertheless, Harry Kane will surely be reinstated up top on Saturday, and with Spurs now scoring an impressive nine goals in their last two home matches, the England Under-21 star is understandably leading this week’s Captain Poll. Paulinho, meanwhile, supplemented his strike with two assists last night, and could now come into contention for his first league start of the current campaign against the Black Cats at the expense of Mousa Dembele or Stambouli.

CLARETS FAIL TO CAPITALISE ON EARLY LEAD

There were five changes to Burnley’s line-up for yesterday’s cup defeat, with the likes of George Boyd, Danny Ings and Ashley Barnes all benched for the White Hart Lane encounter. Marvin Sordell put the visitors ahead just three minutes into the tie after latching onto Kieran Trippier’s long ball, before Ross Wallace doubled the Clarets’ lead with a deflected free-kick shortly after.

After the match, Sean Dyche confirmed that Trippier was withdrawn in the second-half due to a hamstring problem but is confident the right-back will be fit for this weekend. The Clarets boss also discussed Sam Vokes’ fitness after the forward played from start to finish:

“The massive positive is Sam Vokes coming through 95 minutes, when you think of the length of time out. He was a little ring-rusty, but that will come with fitness and training. We had to be cautious with Tripps at the end because he had a tight hamstring. I think he’ll be ok, but ultimately it’s a night of disappointment.”

The Scout Says: In spite of yesterday’s defeat, Burnley’s attacking form remains impressive, with 11 goals now accrued in their previous five matches in all competitions and a variety of their attacking assets getting their names on the scoresheet. With Crystal Palace, Sunderland and West Brom up next in the league, the Clarets have an opportunity to make that offensive form count; Ings has already earned over 18,000 new owners this week after fetching returns in each of his last three outings, and with last night’s rest ensuring he’ll be fully refreshed for the weekend, the 5.7-valued forward could be set to profit further. Boyd has, similarly, found himself in many managers’ transfer plans recently thanks to back-to-back goals in Gameweeks 19 and 20 and, having risen in price over the last few days, is clearly being regarded as more than just a cut-price bench-warmer.

VAN PERSIE A DOUBT FOR WEEKEND

Reports suggest that Robin van Persie is expected to miss Man United’s trip to QPR this weekend with the ankle problem sustained against Southampton last Sunday.

The Scout Says: Whilst the same report indicates that the Dutchman’s injury is only a minor one, and that he should return in time for United’s FA Cup duties in two Fridays’ time, his 3.8% owners are likely to be looking for an exit route anyway. The 12.3-priced forward has scored just once in his last five league appearances, and with the Reds stuttering against the Saints, faith in their attacking assets is at a low point, with many Van Persie owners shifting their target to the similarly-priced Sergio Aguero. Angel di Maria partnered Van Persie up top last time out, and should continue in that role at Loftus Road, though who will join him is uncertain; Radamel Falcao could be recalled after being dropped last weekend, though Louis Van Gaal also has the option of bringing Wayne Rooney further forward in what would be an encouraging move for his band of owners, bearing in mind that the United skipper has blanked in four of the last five Gameweeks from a deep-lying position.