All posts by n8rngtd.top

Tottenham Hotspur head into this afternoon’s Premier League meeting against AFC Bournemouth hoping to end a run of three fixtures without a win.

Antonio Conte’s side fell to defeats against Manchester United and Newcastle United in the league over the last fortnight, as well as being held to a draw against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League on Wednesday.

However, with a few injury concerns and the general poor form of a number of his first-team squad, the Italian looks to have a couple of big decisions to make concerning his starting XI for the visit to the Vitality Stadium – a venue at which the promoted home side have impressed this season.

Will the 53-year-old make any changes to the side which lined up in the 1-1 draw against Sporting in midweek? Here’s how we at Football FanCast think Spurs could line up against Bournemouth, as well as the latest team and injury news…

Predicted Tottenham XI: Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Lenglet; Doherty, Bissouma, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Gil, Kane, Son.

With Conte revealing in his pre-match press conference that both Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison remain unavailable due to injury, as well as the 53-year-old hinting that both Cristian Romero and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could use a rest ahead of a crucial fixture against Olympique de Marseille on Tuesday, we predict the Italian will make five changes from his last starting XI.

Two of these alterations come in Tottenham’s three-man backline, with Ben Davies dropping out of the side for Clement Lenglet and Davinson Sanchez coming in for Romero – who Conte claimed was a “big risk” to play against Sporting – while Eric Dier retains his starting berth in the heart of the Italian’s defence.

There is a further change at wing-back, with Ryan Sessegnon coming in for Ivan Perisic on the left, while Matt Doherty is once again given the nod ahead of Emerson Royal after highly impressing on the right in recent weeks.

In the middle of the park, despite Conte suggesting that Hojbjerg is “100%” available for Bournemouth, we predict it will be Yves Bissouma who starts alongside Rodrigo Bentancur in central midfield, allowing the Denmark international a rest before the trip to Marseille next week.

Finally, the fifth change comes in attack, with Bryan Gil – who the 53-year-old recently compared to Bernardo Silva and who The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell previously said was “like Messi” – coming in for Lucas Moura, while Son Heung-min and Harry Kane rather predictably make up the front three.

Celtic have the opportunity to extend their lead again at the top of the Scottish Premiership to four points on Sunday lunchtime.

The Hoops take on Livingston with Ange Postecoglou’s side hoping to fire again after scoring just one goal against Shakhtar in the Champions League.

It was a rare European strike for the Bhoys but they will be hoping to take confidence from that encounter into domestic action this weekend.

Ange Postecoglou’s side look well-placed to win the SPFL once more, something that’s been backed up by recent performances – scoring ten times in their last two league outings.

With that in mind, how could the Australian’s team look come 12pm today? Here’s the XI that Football FanCast are predicting…

Celtic predicted XI vs Livi: Hart, Juranovic, Carter-Vickers, Jenz, Taylor, O’Riley, Mooy, Hatate, Forrest, Giakoumakis, Haksabanovic (4-2-3-1).

We are tipping the Hoops to make two changes from the side that drew in midweek with an emphasis on cramming the club’s most in-form players into the starting team.

That means that 5 foot 7 Kyogo Furuhashi could be dropped from the XI. He was lacklustre in Europe and has struggled in that competition all season long, failing to score so far. The Japan international’s form domestically of late has also left a lot to be desired with the “special” forward – as dubbed by his manager – scoring only twice in his last ten outings.

His absence should see James Forrest come into the team with Giorgis Giakoumakis – fresh from his goal a few days ago – leading the line.

The former has looked “reborn” in the words of journalist Josh Bunting, with the veteran winger’s time at the club seemingly coming to a close in the earlier stage of the campaign. However, the Scot has swatted away the critics in devastating fashion to score four times in his last three appearances.

The other changes sees Israeli winger Liel Abada drop out of the team after looking somewhat off the pace in the stalemate with Shakhtar. That sees Aaron Mooy come into the team to occupy a central position, with a slight change in formation from midweek.

He had a slow start to life in Glasgow but has now started the last two Premiership matches, assisting three goals in the process.

Carl Starfelt has been back in training this week but this game will likely come too soon for him, with Moritz Jenz again partnering Cameron Carter-Vickers at the back.

Liverpool have taken all three points from Napoli in the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over the Italians at Anfield, however, despite destroying the side’s 21-game unbeaten run, it won’t be enough to top the group.

The Reds needed a 4-0 win in front of the Anfield faithful yesterday evening to knock their opponents off the top of Group A but will now have to settle for qualification in second place, something Jurgen Klopp won’t grumble at given the state of Liverpool’s season domestically.

Over the performance, Liverpool dominated possession (52%), had more shots on target (6 v 2), more big chances created and completed more accurate passes (406 v 366).

In a largely uneventful game, the two teams looked fairly balanced with barely troubled either goalkeeper until the 85th minute of the game when the inevitable Mohammed Salah finally broke the deadlock to make it 1-0.

This was quickly followed up by another chance tucked away by Darwin Nunez who got the final touch on Virgil van Dijk’s last-minute attempt on goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time to give the Merseysiders their 2-0 victory.

Despite the positive result for Klopp’s side, there was one player who had a performance he will be wanting to forget with Roberto Firmino struggling to positively influence in his position throughout the clash.

The Liverpool ace put in an awful lightweight display that was rather uncharacteristic of his season so far.

Indeed, the Brazilian has found the net on eight occasions this term, while laying on four assists for his teammates. However, that form seemed to vanish against the Naples outfit.

He remarkably lost 89% of his duels (8/9) and failed to register a single shot on or off target in an anonymous outing. What made matters worse was that he gave the ball away every 3.6 touches, as well as being unsuccessful in 100% of his dribble attempts. In committing four fouls, it proved that the forward struggled to remain disciplined throughout.

Darwin Nunez was left out of the clash until he replaced Curtis Jones on the left side of the front three in the 73rd minute, but if Klopp decides to resort back to his 4-3-3 formation again when they face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at the weekend, it may be worth considering resting Firmino and deploying the Uruguayan striker in the centre-forward role instead.

With that being said, although the 2-0 win against Napoli did not do anything to change Liverpool’s fate going into the Champions League draw, Klopp will be hoping that the performance can inspire his players to put on a similar resilient performance when they travel to north London on Sunday.

Scottish champions Celtic have been dealt a setback ahead of tonight’s clash with Motherwell, following an injury to midfielder James McCarthy.

What’s the word?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday ahead of the trip to Fir Park, manager Ange Postecoglou revealed that the Republic of Ireland international is set for an extended spell on the sidelines as a result of a hamstring issue.

Asked about any potential absentees for the upcoming meeting with Steven Hammell’s side, the 57-year-old stated:

“James McCarthy, unfortunately, picked up a hamstring injury in training. He will miss out – it’s quite a significant one. Obviously with the break coming, he will be back training by the group.”

The 31-year-old has endured a stop-start spell at Parkhead thus far since his free transfer arrival last summer, with the 42-cap playmaker having been restricted to just five appearances in all competitions this season.

Frustration for Postecoglou

While the former Everton man would have been unlikely to start this evening’s encounter having largely been a peripheral figure during his time in Glasgow to date, the £14k-per-week gem’s absence will still be a source of frustration for Postecoglou, with the former Yokohama boss already somewhat under strength in the centre of the park.

The Old Firm outfit have been forced to make do without influential skipper Callum McGregor in recent times, with the Scotland international having been absent with a knee injury since the defeat away to RB Leipzig in the Champions League last month.

The 29-year-old’s spell out of the side has reduced the club’s options at the base of the midfield, with losing another defensive-minded asset such as McCarthy no doubt set to be a further setback, even with just two games left to play until the World Cup break.

There will also seemingly be frustration for both Postecoglou and the player himself that his move to Parkhead is still yet to work out, with the one-time Wigan Athletic ace having made just 27 appearances over the past year or so, including just six starts in that time.

The decision to hand the struggling asset a four-year deal at the time of his arrival has no doubt backfired as far as the Bhoys are concerned, with McCarthy having yet to justify such a strong show of faith from the club.

The Glasgow-born figure will seemingly be further frustrated at his inability to stay injury-free, having notably endured a miserable stint at Goodison Park in the past that was plagued by spells on the treatment table.

As for Celtic, amid what has been a hectic run of fixtures both domestically and in Europe, it is far from an ideal scenario to have one less option to choose from.

Glasgow Rangers have endured a horrible opening few months of the campaign. The Ibrox side find themselves nine points adrift of the league leaders in the race for the Premiership title, recorded the worst-ever Champions League group stage performance and Giovanni van Bronckhorst has seen an injury crisis envelope the squad.

With all this in mind, the break for the World Cup couldn’t have come at a better time, although the Dutchman will have plenty of thinking to do over the next few weeks, especially considering there are a raft of players approaching the final few months of their contracts.

The most notable of these is Ryan Kent, and journalist Dean Jones has dropped a behind-the-scenes claim regarding his contract that will prompt Van Bronckhorst into acting swiftly.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones said: “I know he’s got a couple of clubs interested in him in England, there’s been a couple of clubs in Germany tracking him for a little while now as well too. So, we should know by the end of the year exactly which way this is going.”

The left winger has attracted interest from clubs south of the border, with Fulham the most recent side to be linked with the 26-year-old.

Despite his poor form this season, recording just seven goal contributions in 19 matches, while also failing to shine in the Champions League – earning an extremely disappointing SofaScore rating of just 6.28 – Van Bronckhorst won’t want to let him leave for free.

At his best, Kent is arguably one of the finest players in Scotland, evidenced by his performance against Livingston last month – a fixture in which he made seven key passes, assisted the last-minute equaliser and was a general nuisance to the opposition defence throughout.

Furthermore, the former England U20 international also played a starring role in Rangers’ title-winning campaign back in 2020/21, scoring 10 goals, registering nine assists and creating nine big chances over his 37 Premiership outings, in addition to taking an average of 2.3 shots, making 1.8 key passes and completing 1.9 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the £15.2m-rated talent average a simply sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.23, not only ranking him as Gers’ fourth-best performer in the league but also as the seventh-best player in the top flight of Scottish football as a whole that season.

However, these displays have been few and far between in the current campaign, and with an initial outlay of £7m back in 2019 when Steven Gerrard signed him from Liverpool, some sections of the Ibrox faithful will argue he hasn’t lived up to the billing.

The next four to five weeks could be crucial in any developments and the 47-year-old manager must use the break to focus on getting Kent to pledge his future to Rangers should he wish to avoid losing the winger on a free next summer.

West Ham United have seen a few of their players feature already at this World Cup, with Declan Rice likely to demand the most attention, having put in an impressive display as England cruised to victory,

However, it is with the lesser nations where it is arguably more impressive to see a star perform, especially when the gulf in quality is as dramatic as between Croatia and Morocco.

Whilst the European outfit reached the final of this competition just four years ago, the African nation had qualified for only their second World Cup since the turn of the century this year.

There also marked a ten-team gap between the two in the FIFA world rankings.

Despite this, in what was admittedly a poor game of football, both sides were held to a goalless draw.

This will have pleased Morocco far more, especially their staunch back four who defended like warriors to deny the likes of Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic a first win of the competition.

Whilst Dejan Lovren earned the best rating of anyone on the pitch, it was the Hammers’ centre-back Nayef Aguerd whose 7.3 rating was the most impressive of any Moroccan.

This was well-earned, as his statistics denote a player who gave his all defensively to prohibit an opposition boasting immense quality.

Throughout his 90 minutes, he managed to make three clearances, one block, one interception and one tackle, maintaining a 100% success rate in the four duels he competed in (via SofaScore).

He would also marry this with an impressive 87% pass accuracy as he looked to show a cutting edge despite his side only boasting 35% possession.

Having signed in the summer for £30m, the fee raised eyebrows after the 26-year-old had impressed for Rennes.

However, with displays like that, the monetary value will become inconsequential.

He is yet to really kickstart his career at the London Stadium, with injuries having limited him to just four appearances for the Irons.

For many, this will mark their first real chance to view their top defender in action. Should he continue to play like this, fans will be desperate for him to get back to playing under David Moyes.

West Ham United seem to have all but finalised a move for a key south American target…

What’s the latest?

As per Goal Brasil (via Sport Witness), Sao Paulo centre-back Luizao has reportedly already signed a pre-contract agreement to join the Hammers at the end of January.

Even though they hold long-term interest, they will have to wait until his contract ends to fully welcome him to east London.

Despite the notion that he will arrive on a free, the Brazilian outfit were demanding €10m (£8.6m) only back in October. It makes this even more of a coup than was first thought.

Dawson heir

With Craig Dawson’s move in the summer having collapsed, it seems all but certain that this January will finally see him exit the London Stadium.

Despite arriving as an unassuming loan deal from Watford, the 32-year-old stalwart became a key figure in east London, announcing himself as a mainstay at the back for David Moyes.

His absence will be felt heavily, but few fans would stand in the way of someone who very quickly captured the fans’ attention.

The arrival of Luizao might ease this sadness, however, as they welcome his successor in the form of a 20-year-old who comes highly rated from his homeland.

With just 20 senior appearances to his name, the central defensive titan stands at 6 foot 1 and would more than replicate the physical presence held by Dawson.

Not only this, but his ability on the ball has also seen Jorge Nicola label him “super confident”, explaining why he truly believes he is good enough to make the step up straight into Premier League football.

Despite his youth, an average SofaScore rating of 6.79 marks a solid return in what is his true breakout year.

He is averaging a mammoth 3.8 clearances per game, which even outperforms the 3.0 that his English predecessor has offered this campaign.

Boasting the physicality and core defensive principles that have already seen him succeed in Brazil, under Moyes this could be quickly translated into tangible success at the highest level.

Crystal Palace were one of several sides to be linked with Watford winger Ismaila Sarr in the summer and after some strong performances at the World Cup, the Eagles must be regretting not signing him.

The Athletic suggested in August that Patrick Vieira’s side were working on a deal to bring the Senegal international to Selhurst Park as the Frenchman looked to add to his squad following the departure of Christian Benteke.

In the end, no attacking reinforcements were signed by the Eagles, which has almost certainly cost them already this season, with Wilfried Zaha once again shouldering the burden of regularly being the only real goal threat in Palace’s squad.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, Watford wanted £40m for the former Stade Rennais man during the summer and Premier League sides clearly weren’t willing to meet that asking price, so he would remain with the Championship side.

So far this campaign, the 24-year-old has contributed an impressive six goals and four assists for the Hornets in the second tier, averaging a strong 6.96 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

This would rank him as the third-best performer in Palace’s squad this season, with only Zaha and Eberechi Eze ranked higher, which emphasises the quality that he could have added at Selhurst Park.

Sarr is now catching the eye with Senegal at the World Cup, scoring with an “absolute class” penalty in their win over Ecuador on Tuesday, which sealed the Lions of Teranga’s place in the knockout stages, where they will face England on Sunday.

This will surely only increase Watford’s valuation of the young winger further, which is a cruel blow to Palace if they harboured any hopes of bringing him in during the January transfer window.

Of the members of Aliou Cisse’s squad to start all three games in Qatar, Sarr’s WhoScored average rating of 7.37 is the best, which shows just how important he has been in the African Cup of Nations holder’s progression.

He has averaged three shots, 1.7 key passes and 2.7 dribbles per game in Qatar, which would rank him first in every one of those statistics had he produced the same level of performance for Palace in the Premier League this season.

This would rank him significantly better than Palace’s regular right-wing option Jordan Ayew, whose return of no goals and one assist this season have helped him to a disappointing 6.65 rating from WhoScored.

So far at the World Cup, the Ghana international has averaged zero shots, 1.5 key passes and 0.5 dribbles per game, so Sarr is clearly the superior winger, so Palace will surely be regretting not paying the money to sign him earlier this year.

Aston Villa have been linked with a move for Marcus Thuram and now a new update has emerged on the club’s pursuit of their potential transfer target.

What’s the latest?

According to journalist and transfer insider Dean Jones, Aston Villa are “well positioned” to sign the Borussia Monchengladbach striker.

Jones told GIVEMESPORT:

“We’ll just have to see who has a nibble on that and decides to actually make an approach.

“Certainly, Villa should be well positioned just in case it gets down to them and they actually do have a run at getting him.”

He’s a Danny Ings upgrade

There is no doubt that Unai Emery will be wanting to make his own personal mark on the team when the transfer window reopens next month and Thuram could be the perfect statement for the new manager to prove his ambitious intent for the Villa team.

The talented £8.5m Frenchman – who was once hailed “world-class” by Daniel Farke – is currently at the World Cup in Qatar and will be hoping that he can play a part in his nation’s quarter-final clash with England this weekend after making three substitution appearances so far.

In terms of his club performances, the Gladbach centre-forward has been in impeccable form in front of goal which clearly led to his France squad call up.

Over 15 Bundesliga appearances, Thuram has scored 10 goals, registered three assists and created three big chances, as well as averaging 3.7 shots on goal, 1.5 successful dribbles and 4.6 duels won per game.

Not only that, the goal machine ranks in the top 10% of his positional peers in the top five European leagues for interceptions, dribbles completed, touches and non-penalty goals.

In fact, Emery could land a huge Danny Ings upgrade with Thuram outperforming the 30-year-old striker in many attributes over the season so far including more goal contributions (13 v 5), a better shot-on-target rate (53.6% v 45.5%), more shot-creating actions (39 v 14) and more tackles and interceptions combined (13 v 9).

Villa are currently 12th in the Premier League and will need to increase their goal-scoring opportunities if they are going to climb into the top half of the table.

With that being said, the signing of Thuram would be a massive coup for Aston Villa and could certainly improve the attacking threat in front of goal over the second half of the season.

The January transfer window is a matter of weeks away from opening for business and Leeds United could be in the market to improve their squad.

Jesse Marsch will be hoping to steer the club clear of relegation for the second season in succession and he currently has the team sitting two points above the drop zone after 14 Premier League matches, although they have a game in hand over all of the teams below them.

The American head coach may now look to the next window in an attempt to improve his side and their chances of avoiding relegation to the second tier.

One player who is reportedly on Leeds’ radar heading into January is Club Brugge attacking midfielder Noa Lang, who was recently at the World Cup in Qatar with the Netherlands.

Dean Jones, writing for GIVEMESPORT, claimed that the attacker is set to be available for a transfer next month and that the Whites, alongside West Ham, are interested in snapping him up.

Marsch could land his own version of Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar by securing a deal to sign Lang, who talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed “unstoppable”, ahead of the second half of the season.

Bart Baving, the gem’s agent, compared the Dutchman to Brazil’s joint all-time top scorer in September 2021 as he told Italian outlet Calciomercato: “Noa is Noa, he has always had this type of playing style. He always works hard and has excellent technique, dribbling and vision.

“He is also an excellent decision-maker and a neat finisher. He is also a generous player, anything but selfish. I’ve heard a lot of people say he looks like Neymar, especially after the PSG match.”

Like Neymar, Lang is predominantly a left winger but can also play through the middle and out wide on the right. He is a versatile, right-footed, forward who has been in fine form for Brugge in recent years.

Between the 2020/21 and 2021/22 Pro League campaigns, the 23-year-old plundered 21 goals and 20 assists in 59 starts for the Belgian outfit.

This term, the £25k-per-week dynamo, who journalist Peter Vandenbempt once hailed a “phenomenon”, has scored two and assisted two in four top-flight starts and these statistics show that he has the quality to make a huge impact at the top end of the pitch.

Neymar has racked up 290 goals and 183 assists in his club career for Santos, Barcelona, and PSG combined and Lang, albeit at a lower level, is showing that he is also a double threat on the left wing by scoring and assisting goals on a regular basis.

Therefore, Marsch could land his own version of the Brazilian icon by signing the Brugge playmaker when the transfer window opens next month.