Back to pros where there's some midweek action.
| Day | Time (ET) | Player | Club | Opponent | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | 2:45 PM | Park Joo Ho | Dortmund | @Bayern Munich | ESPN2 |
| Wednesday | 3:00 PM | Lee Chung Yong | Crystal Palace | Tottenham | NBCSN |
| Wednesday | 3:00 PM | Son Heung Min | Tottenham | @Crystal Palace | NBCSN |
| Off | n/a | Ji Dong Won | Augsburg | ||
| Off | n/a | Koo Ja Cheol | Augsburg | ||
| Off | n/a | Kwon Chang Hoon | Dijon | ||
| Off | n/a | Ki Sung Yueng | Swansea |
Park Joo Ho -- Didn't make squad last weekend and doubt midweek, though I guess cup is less important than battle in table with Hoffenheim so maybe the reserve match was in preparation to warm bench for this.
Lee Chung Yong -- With short week against Tottenham, could LCY be cannon fodder for more winnable match on weekend? I'd think Allardyce wouldn't want to stop momentum so I doubt it but maybe LCY gets a bench spot/late cameo to rest legs.
Son Heung Min -- Pochettino tried to have 5 in the back AND Son in the XI and it was an awful experiment. Yes Son is fast and a hard worker, but his lack of defensive experience exhibited several times, worst of all giving up a penalty when he slid in too early. While Son has pace, it was not enough to beat Moses going forward. And being so deep, he didn't get the ball in his favorite shooting spots often, and couldn't use his best skill, quickness in beating offside trap, often. He did get a few quality runs in but by HT, Pochettino turned off the experiment, putting Son back at LW in 4-2-3-1, and then subbing him off for a proper fullback as they reverted to five in the back.
It seemed way too big a stage for such an experiment, especially one best suited for videogames, rather than real life. After that failure, we'll see how they line up at Crystal Palace.
Ji Dong Won -- Kind of a fluid role, ostensibly playing forward pair, particularly for long balls, but often dropping deeper behind Altintop to help in midfield. He played ok, with some good chances and touches, but it was a hard match to watch with Augsburg spending so much time in their own half, and not only giving up the lead in the final 20 minutes, but to fully implode losing by two. Things look really bad with tough fixtures against teams gunning for European spots, and this Saturday's match vs fellow relegation battlers Hamburg is a must win.
Koo Ja Cheol -- Season over.
Kwon Chang Hoon -- Returned to squad. I didn't watch but he did come on late in a big win where Dijon almost gave up a three goal lead but survived.
Ki Sung Yueng -- Better from Ki but far from his best. He looked pretty slow and unmotivated at times, and yet had some good hustle such as chasing down an attacker in the first half. When he did get the ball, he seemed sharper with it and pushed forward better than he had though he was far from his controlling best.
