So it’s that time of the year again where top teams start to drop out of the Caramel Cup (that is the name, isn’t it?) like flies. Liverpool, Manchester United, Burnley and Wolves have all seen untimely exits in this round. It’s also that time where we start to come out in our droves and exclaim that we need to be taking this competition seriously, and that’s right, we really do need to.
Something that would put the Marco Silva doubters to bed entirely (or at least kill the credibility of anyone who tries to carry on) is a title. I don’t care if it’s the Caramel Cup, we need to win a trophy. The FA Cup is the big one, obviously, but this is not an easy competition to win.
With that in mind, Silva needs to play as strong a team as possible in every round that we find ourselves in from here on out, especially if we get through to play Leicester away next round, that is far from an easy game.
There are players who need rest, probably, I haven’t asked any of them to be fair, but they might do. Does anyone really know about anything like that? No.
Is most of that just me trying to achieve a word count? Yeah.
Anyway here’s the team I’d put out to beat Southampton, twice, in the space of 2 months.
Jordan Pickford — Leighton Baines, Mason Holgate, Michael Keane, Jonjoe Kenny — Morgan Schneiderlin, Idrissa Gana Gueye — Ademola Lookman, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Bernard — Cenk Tosun
There will be a need for big performances from Lookman, Holgate and Bernard, all for different reasons. Mason Holgate is looking to re-establish himself as a starting caliber centre-back, Bernard is trying to force his way into a first-team spot at the weekend (and more assists like the David Silva-esque effort against Fulham wont hurt) and Ademola Lookman is fighting to stay relevant in a pool of Everton wingers consisting of players both better and more professional than he is.
Let’s get this job done with minimal stress please, Blues. A nice 2-0, no panic game with goals from Tosun and Lookman with two Bernard assists would be ideal.
