Will Adebayor and Berahino return with a bang, can Elneny grab his Arsenal opportunity and is it time for Manchester United to dispense with Fellaini?
1) Adebayor can light up battle of the dark horses
Crystal Palace against Stoke City could be the tie of the round: two dark horses with a genuine chance of going all the way to Wembley and numerous captivating storylines. The return of Emmanuel Adebayor will be watched with interest. How fit is he? Can he solve Crystal Palace’s goalscoring problems? Can Alan Pardew get the best out of a player who cannot be tamed? How Stoke respond to that penalty shootout defeat at Anfield in midweek will be fascinating too. Both teams have shown they are capable of beating the best this season, yet a challenge in the Premier League remains beyond their reach. It should make Cup competitions all the more important and seeing a mid-ranking Premier League side climbing the Wembley steps in May would be healthy for a competition losing a little bit more lustre every season
2) Elneny has chance to make first-XI case
After watching from the bench as an unused substitute during Arsenal’s draw at Stoke and their defeat to Chelsea, Mohamed Elneny is set for his debut at home to Burnley on Saturday. With Frances Coquelin injured and Mathieu Flamini struggling to fill the hole in his absence, Arsène Wenger has been crying out for some dynamism at the base of his midfield. Arsenal’s players seem to be impressed with Elneny, Olivier Giroud referring to him as “a complete player”. Quite the statement after a few training sessions, but Elneny will not be afforded much time to settle in with Coquelin expected to make Arsenal’s bench on Saturday – the onus is on the Egyptian to make a good first impression against an inferior (albeit in-form) Burnley side. Elneny’s first task in English football? Get to grips with Joey Barton.
3) Kane and Alli need a proper rest with title charge in mind
He will continue to play it down, of course, but Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham are title contenders. Still fighting on three fronts, this is a prime opportunity to give his key players a day off. Colchester are rooted to the bottom of League One and have not won in the league since October. Their Cup run has seen them defeat two teams in lower divisions and Charlton, a team in similar disarray. It should be a straightforward afternoon for Spurs, then. Pochettino has relied upon the same core of players all season and there must be some tired legs there. While Harry Kane and Dele Alli were substitutes against Leicester, they were called upon when the going got tough. It would be good to see Josh Onomah given another chance, Nacer Chadli could do with more minutes and Son Heung-min will look to reaffirm the theory that he can be a more than capable back-up for Kane, who might even have the luxury of a full day off.
4) Dropping Fellaini could help Manchester United turn a corner
This season, Manchester United have won 70% (and lost none) of the league games that Marouane Fellaini has missed. They have won only 23.1% of those (and lost 46.2%) that he has, a stat that has seemingly bypassed the club’s analytics department, with the Belgian starting the last nine of United’s 11 matches in all competitions (in which United have won three, lost five). Louis van Gaal suggested on Thursday that his job hinges on his team’s result at Derby County on Friday night and it will be baffling if the Dutchman retains the 28-year-old in his starting XI for such a crucial game, in which the United performance will be scrutinised as much as the result. Perhaps even more bewildering is Paul Clement, Derby’s manager, who told the Guardian this week that Fellaini remains one of Manchester United’s most potent weapons. “United still have match-winning players – Rooney can produce moments of magic. I like Mata – I think he’s a great player. I knew about Herrera from my time in Spain. The young ones [Martial and Depay] are doing it some days but not others. Fellaini’s a bit inconsistent but dangerous.”
5) Byram ready to rock Anfield on first West Ham start
Sam Byram is certainly not lacking in confidence. Having ably deputised for the injured Carl Jenkinson at right-back in West Ham’s 2-2 draw against Manchester City just three days after signing from Leeds, the 22-year-old wasted no time in telling the media he thinks the Hammers can qualify for the Champions Leagueand now looks set for his first start away at Liverpool. Does nothing phase this lad? Just the thought of singing a song, apparently. “I’ve not had my initiation yet. It’s normally on the first away trip you’ve got to get up and sing. I’m trying not to think about it,” Byram said earlier this week. “Can I sing? No I’m horrific! I will be more nervous doing that than playing. One of the young lads when I was at Leeds sang Uncle Kracker, Follow Me. That went down well. I might stick with that one.” A fine choice, even if Byram was seven years old when that song came out in 2001.
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