Scout Scribbles – Dzeko at the Double

Edin Dzeko bags a brace as City cruise past Leicester. Manuel Pellegrini has concerns over Pablo Zabaleta’s hamstring and fears Sergio Aguero could be out for eight weeks. Ki Sung Yeung grabs a late winner to knock Chelsea out in extra-time, Leighton Baines is nearing a comeback for Everton, whilst Jack Wilshere could be set to face a one-match ban after being charged by the FA:

Zabaleta Hamstring Concern as City Cruise Past Leicester

For City’s cup trip to Leicester, Manuel Pellegrini continued with the 4-2-3-1 formation he turned to after Sergio Aguero was subbed off in the second-half of Saturday’s win over Arsenal. This saw David Silva, Jesus Navas and James Milner line up behind Edin Dzeko, with the Bosnian bagging a brace in a 3-1 win which saw Aleks Kolarov also get amongst the goals. The City boss is sweating over the availability of Pablo Zabaleta, though – the defender was subbed off during the first period with a hamstring injury and will be assessed tomorrow. Pellegrini also admitted after the game that Aguero could be out for up to eight weeks with the calf injury sustained against Arsene Wenger’s side.

The Scout Says: Owned by over 27% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers and, after producing an assist in three of his last four appearances, drafted in by over 32,000 this week for the trip to Fulham, Zabaleta’s possible absence would be a real blow for Fantasy managers. It also presents Pellegrini with a real headache at right-back, where Micah Richards is also injured with a similar complaint. The City boss may be forced to turn to Dedryck Boyata as cover, handing Fantasy managers a real bargain at just 4.2 in FPL, though Milner is also versatile enough to cover in the back-four if needs be… Given that Aguero was set to be sidelined for at least a month, his owners are already leaving en masse but last night’s news means he could miss the next 10 Gameweeks, depriving us of a player who has averaged 7.8 points per game this term until mid-February. While it’s likely to leave Alvaro Negredo in the driving seat for starts if Pellegrini continues with a lone striker system, it’s worth noting that the Spaniard has played 90 minutes just five times this season due to his manager’s second-half tinkering – with Dzeko and forgotten man Stevan Jovetic also vying for game time, Negredo may struggle to last the full match going on past substitutions.

Black Cats Leave it Late to Sink Blues

For the cup trip to Sunderland, Jose Mourinho made eight changes from the side that squeezed past Palace on Saturday. The Blues boss started Willian, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre Schurrle behind Samuel Eto’o in a 4-2-3-1 formation but, despite bringing on Eden Hazard on 83 minutes, had to rely on a Lee Cattermole own goal as his side spurned chance after chance. Chelsea have now lost in three of their last four away games in all competitions but, despite their inability to keep out opponents, Mourinho is determined not to change his side’s style of play:

“We want this team to play the way we are playing. We want this team to have evolution but based on the way we are playing at the moment we have to finish opponents and we need goals to do that. Maybe the way to rectify it is to not concede goals and to have a different approach, to be more defensive, concede fewer goals and win matches with the few goals we score – but that’s not what I want. We are going in one direction which is the right direction in terms of the quality of football we want to play, so it would be quite frustrating to change that, take a step back and go in another direction just because we want better results.”

In contrast, Gus Poyet named a strong line-up to face the Blues. Jack Colback and Steven Fletcher missed out through illness as the Black Cats boss rolled out a 4-1-4-1 formation, handing Adam Johnson and Emanuel Giacherrini the wide roles as Jozy Altidore led the line. It was two subs, though, that proved the difference – Fabio Borini emerged from the bench to take the tie to extra-time with just two minutes of normal time remaining before he teed up Ki Sung-Yeung to notched the winner with 118 minutes on the clock.

The Scout Says: Poyet will by buoyed by a series of displays which has now seen his side win four times in six matches in all competitons at the Stadium of Light since he replaced Paolo Di Canio. With wins over Newcastle, Southampton and City also under his belt, the Sunderland boss will be a little more optimistic of steering his side to safety – with Norwich, Cardiff, Villa and Fulham in the next five, the likes of Phil Bardsley, Ki and Giaccherini all look vital, with the South Korean benefitting from a more advanced central midfield berth… Mourinho’s fringe players certainly failed to take their chance to impress and last night’s result merely underlined the importance of Hazard and Oscar to their title challenge – if anything, rest and rotation look less likely for the pair over the festive period in light of their rivals’ displays. With three road trips in the next five Gameweeks, the Blues will need to cure their travel sickness quickly, with their porous backline seeing plenty transfers out this week in light of a run which has harvested a single clean sheet in 11 Gameweeks.

Baines Close to Toffees Return

Roberto Martinez has confirmed Leighton Baines is on the verge of a first-team return after missing the last four Gameweeks with a broken toe. Speaking to the Everton official website, the Toffees boss is optimistic his first-choice left-back will be back in contention soon and even refused to rule him out of the weekend trip to Swansea:

“I always said I thought Leighton would recover quickly and he’s been doing really, really well. But obviously it’s a bit early yet to see if he’s going to be available for Sunday. I think we’ll see over the next few days, but what is great to see is that Leighton is feeling better every day, that he’s desperate to come back and that the squad is desperate to see him back. What we’re hoping is that he’s going to be fit for the Christmas period. I think it will be an incredible boost to the squad and it will be great to see Leighton running around again.”

The Scout Says: While there’s no doubting Baines is a key player for the Merseysiders, their recent form has ensured he has barely been missed. Everton have won three and drawn one of the last four – including a victory at United and stalemate at the Emirates – while his replacement Bryan Oviedo has seized a rare first-team opportunity, producing two goals and six bonus points over those fixtures. Although he is classified as a midfielder, Oviedo has still acquired over 82,000 new FPL owners but with Baines on the verge of a return, he may only get one more start before returning to his usual spot on the bench. Baines is now down to 13% ownership in FPL but, in spite of the Toffees kind run of fixtures, many will be happy with Seamus Coleman (6.0) or Phil Jagielka (5.9), with Baines’ 7.4 price tag offering far less value for money.

Van Wolfswinkel in Line for Weekend Comeback

Norwich boss Chris Hughton has hinted that Ricky van Wolfswinkel could be set to return for this week’s trip to Sunderland:

“It was unfortunate for Ricky to get injured when he did. It can take different individuals longer to get a rhythm and a feel for the league but I have no doubt he will be a welcome addition when he does come back in. Ricky will have a good week’s training with us now and we hope he will come into contention for Sunderland and the festive games. It was touch and go whether we used him against Swansea; we decided to look at the bigger picture. You look at someone like Gary (Hooper) now who is fit and scoring and you want strikers to take their opportunities.”

The Scout Says: Having started the season with van Wolfswinkel as the lone forward, Hughton’s side toiled for goals and scored just five times in the first seven with the Dutchman leading the line. Norwich have since scored 10 in the eight league games in van Wolfwinkel’s absence, with Hughton partnering Hooper and Johan Elmander up top in recent matches – given that the former Celtic man has scored four in the last six now, Elmander looks the most at risk should the Dutchman be handed a start at against the Black Cats. With Fulham and Palace also in the next four, Hughton will be pinpointing the upcoming games as a source of points and could finally be set to pair his big-money summer signings up top for the first time this term in an attempt to climb up the table.

Moyes Hails Welbeck Impact

The United boss praised his forward’s performance in Sunday’s win at Villa. Handed a rare chance as the lone striker, Welbeck hogged the headlines by bagging a brace against Paul Lambert’s side but, despite his impressive showing up front, his manager also admitted that the forward’s versatility out wide is key:

“The name of the game is goals. Whether you score all your goals from outside the box or whether you score them from inside, you have to get them. Danny would say he wants to be a striker but he is very good there (out wide). He plays more like a wide striker who tries to get into the box rather than a winger and he has a big appetite for work. We like Danny a lot. He is really important to this club and he is important to me.”

The Scout Says: Welbeck’s double, allied with a deeper role for Wayne Rooney against Villa, has persuaded over 13,000 FPL managers to draft in the former ahead of the weekend home clash against West Ham. With Robin van Persie sidelined for a month and Javier Hernandez and Shinji Kagawa both ruled out last weekend, Moyes’ options were somewhat limited – given that United have scored once in their last three at home, Welbeck may have done enough to get the nod again but there’d be no real surprise if Rooney was moved further forward against the Hammers if Kagawa recovers from illness in time for Saturday’s showdown. Indeed, reports suggest the Japan international has returned to training and could be set to feature in tonight’s cup match against Stoke.

Wilshere Charged by FA

The Gunners midfielder has been retrospectively slapped with an FA charge after an alleged gesture to the City fans at the end of Saturday’s loss at City. Arsenal have until 6pm today to appeal – a one-match ban looks on the cards should they decide not to contest the decision, a scenario which would see Wilshere sit out Monday evening’s match against Chelsea:

The Scout Says: The return of Theo Walcott to Arsenal’s XI forced Wilshere onto the left flank at the Etihad, with Santi Cazorla the man to make way. The Spaniard looks the likeliest beneficiary of Wilshere’s potential suspension – indeed, he’d started each of the previous eight before warming the bench against City. With Walcott’s superb double leaving him in the driving seat for the role on the right, Wilshere – who has started four of the last five league games – may find it difficult to force his way back into the XI, with the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil looking automatic picks amongst Wenger’s midfield five. Ramsey’s versatility may even earn him the nod on the left, though, if his manager opts to partner Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini in the double-pivot.