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Premier League sides averaged seven changes in FA Cup

:Headline: Premier League sides averaged seven changes in FA Cup: ID:385258: from db_amp
Sheffield United altered all 11 players and Leicester and Southampton 10 apiece.

Premier League sides made seven changes to their teams on average as the FA Cup third round followed a hectic festive programme.

Sheffield United altered all 11 players and Leicester and Southampton 10 apiece as teams averaged 7.0 changes.

There were 140 changes in total, with only Everton, Tottenham, West Ham and Arsenal – who made four alterations for Monday night's clash with Championship leaders Leeds – naming fewer than five.

It was all change for Sheffield United (PA graphic)

Premier League managers have been critical of the fixture schedule across the Christmas and New Year period, with several teams forced to play games only two days apart. The round of fixtures on December 28 and 29 saw Leicester make nine changes and Brighton and West Ham seven apiece.

One of the strongest critics, Newcastle boss Steve Bruce, made only five changes for his side's cup trip to League One Rochdale – though, with 10 players injured including three full-backs, his options were limited.

The Blades, though, gave debuts to goalkeeper Michael Verrips and new signing Jack Rodwell against non-league AFC Fylde and included two players, Kieron Freeman and Kean Bryan, who have yet to play a minute of Premier League football. Ravel Morrison and goalscorer Leon Clarke have played just 12 and 13 minutes respectively in the league.

Verrips was injured before half-time, meaning an unscheduled outing for regular keeper Dean Henderson, while Chris Basham replaced Rodwell just before the hour mark, but it was nevertheless a chance for manager Chris Wilder to give his first-choice XI a breather.

James Ward-Prowse was the only Southampton player to retain his place from the win over Tottenham, while Leicester kept only full-back Ben Chilwell in the line-up from their league win over the Magpies.

An Everton side showing just two changes – Morgan Schneiderlin and Theo Walcott replacing Tom Davies and Fabian Delph – went down 1-0 to Liverpool as Curtis Jones scored a stunning winner for an inexperienced Reds side with nine players switched.

Steve Bruce, one of several managers to criticise the Premier League fixture schedule, made five changes at Rochdale (Richard Sellers/PA)

The Toffees made the fewest changes of any side, one fewer than Tottenham and West Ham, while Arsenal named four and Wolves and Crystal Palace matched Newcastle's tally of five.

The remaining 10 top-flight teams in action across Saturday and Sunday made either seven, eight or nine changes.

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5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
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13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
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19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
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