Town travel to Bolton for the third round of the FA Cup today. I remember when the cup was a relief from the trudge of playing in the league and a chance for glory. This season it’s a distraction. Playing in the Premier League is so entertaining the FA Cup feels a bit like a sideshow.
David Wagner has consistently rotated his team for cup games during his time at Town. He argues that he does the same in the league too, but that’s usually two or three players, whereas today it is likely to be somewhere between 9 and 11 players.
Goalkeeper: Joel Coleman
As I’ve mentioned above, I think there will be wholesale changes for this game. Joel Coleman is confirmed to start in goal, giving Jonas Lössl a day off.
From Wagner’s comments, it sounds like he’s chosen Coleman over Rob Green entirely based on their form in training. I like this about Wagner, he makes it clear to the players that if you play well in training then you’ve got a chance. This must surely make the players work that bit harder to impress when out on the training pitch.
Defence: RB: Hadergjonaj, CB: Hefele, CB: Kongolo, LB: Malone
Michael Hefele is now back from injury, so I expect he’ll start in central defence. I’m not sure who will partner him though.
Cranie has done well when called upon, but new boy Kongolo may play alongside him. I think Wagner will want to use this match as an opportunity to give competitive minutes to Kongolo so Cranie may have to start on the bench.
Löwe is injured, so Malone will likely start and Hadergjonaj will probably come in for Smith. The fullbacks have been rotating on a regular basis, so there shouldn’t be any problem for Malone to play this game and still be fresh for West Ham next weekend.
Defensive Midfield: Hogg and Williams
I’m pretty sure Aaron Mooy won’t even make the bench. He posted a picture of the Louvre in Paris on his Instagram yesterday, so he’s unlikely to feature.
Given there’s going to be no Aaron Mooy I think Williams and Hogg will play in the central positions. Billing is close to getting back to fitness but unfortunately, I think this game is too soon for him to get back into the team.
I always feel like Williams is having to hold himself back when paired with Mooy, to cover the defensive duties. Alongside Hogg, he should have more licence to burst forward and unsettled Bolton’s defence.
RW: Quaner, No. 10: Sabiri, LW: Lolley
The attacking three behind the striker is a problem area in my eyes. While Mounié took a bit of flack from some fans during the Leicester game, he had little service from those behind him. This game may offer an opportunity for the creative players to shine.
I could be wrong about Sabiri starting because he’s not even made the bench over the hectic Christmas schedule but I hope he’s given a chance. If not then he’s not likely to feature in the Premier League in the near future and should probably be shipped out on loan.
Striker: Depoitre
Bolton won’t make it easy for Town and we’ll need to work hard to get through to the next round. With that in mind, I expect Depoitre to get the nod ahead of Mounié. He’s more of a grafter and lately the big Belgian has looked like Town’s best striker.
Who will make it to the bench?
There are two approaches Wagner could take to picking substitutes. Either he’ll pack it full of kids from the youth team to give them a bit of experience or the first-teamers that he’s resting will be there in case things aren’t going our way.
David Wagner will see a draw in this game as worse than a defeat because the replay would add another midweek fixture to the schedule. For that reason, I think he’ll put players like Ince, VLP, and Mounié on the bench so we’ve got match-winners to bring on.