All posts by h716a5.icu

The Hoops were unable to make amends for their Old Firm loss on Saturday as AC Milan handed them another defeat at Celtic Park. Neil Lennon opted for a weakened side to face off against the frighteningly in-form Italians, who cruised to their tenth win in a row.

It took 14 minutes for Milan to open up the scoring after Rade Krunic beat a struggling Varsilis Barkas for an early lead. After netting a second just before half-time, substitute Mohamed Elyounoussi’s strike looked to put Celtic back in the game, but another Milan goal sealed the result.

With Odsonne Edouard currently ruled out, it looked likely that Lennon would opt for the same strike force he deployed against Rangers. However, he instead dropped both Elyounoussi and Patryk Klimala to the bench and put faith in elusive striker Leigh Griffiths.

Leigh Griffiths stats vs AC Milan

It was certainly an odd decision to start a player who has featured just twice this season, but it’s arguably one of the biggest places Lennon went wrong last night.

Whilst the defence could have been tighter to stop the Milan forwards, the starting Celtic attack was extremely disappointing.

According to Sofascore, Griffiths made just eight successful passes and attempted no shots towards goal. The 30-year-old also struggled to create chances for his teammates, with no successful crosses, long balls or dribbles registered. Needless to say, he was hauled off at half-time and replaced by Ryan Christie, who had a much stronger game.

The midfielder came on and set Elyounoussi up for Celtic’s only goal of the game. He also made a total of three key passes in the second half and created an additional big chance for the Hoops to score.

Griffiths has recently returned from a calf injury, which saw him sidelined for 11 matches. He may still have some fitness to catch up on and will more than likely be left on the bench in Celtic’s next match against Aberdeen on Sunday.

In other news, Celtic will be wishing they had Fraser Forster to fend off AC Milan…

Aaron Cresswell proved to be a rare gem for West Ham United in their 2-1 loss to Liverpool on Saturday, with the defender the stand-out player in David Moyes’ visiting side.

Moyes entrusted Cresswell with once again serving as his left-sided centre-half at Anfield, in a role the 30-year-old full-back has now occupied in the east London outfit’s last six Premier League fixtures.

The Liverpool-born defender was unable to influence the scoring on Merseyside as he did with assists in victory over Leicester City and his side’s 3-3 draw at Tottenham Hotspur, but stood out for his defensive game up against the likes of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

Cresswell’s sublime efforts to hold off Mane proved key to preventing the Senegalese sensation from scoring his fifth goal of the Premier League season, too, as the 28-year-old found himself thwarted perfectly when otherwise presented with a glorious chance to bear down on Lukasz Fabianski’s net.

Moyes would have been delighted with the efforts put in by Cresswell at Liverpool this weekend, though knowing the £5.85million-rated ace deserves even greater praise having shrugged off a groin injury to feature at Anfield and maintain his 100% appearance record for the top-flight campaign.

Irons icon Trevor Sinclair will also have been vastly captivated by the display, having told talkSPORT (23/10, 09:20) of his surprise at how well the three-time England international had taken to his new position at centre-half.

“Would you have said at the start of the season that Cresswell would be a great left-sided defender? I wouldn’t. He’s gone in there and he looks so composed.”

Cresswell’s performance at Liverpool on Saturday deservedly secured the 30-year-old the highest match rating by a West Ham player from SofaScore, who marked the defender at 7.2 out of 10 – only Salah (7.4), Mane (7.3) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.3) scored higher of those who started.

The former Ipswich Town full-back warranted the Hammers’ Man of the Match rating thanks to recording five successful tackles, five clearances and four interceptions whilst he won all four of his aerial duels, six of his eight ground contests, committed zero fouls, took 62 touches and completed 75% of his 32 attempted passes.

Cresswell was further never dribbled past by one of Liverpool’s boisterous forward options, was fouled once, and picked out teammates with three of his seven attempted long balls.

AND in other news, West Ham’s injury nightmare will only amplify David Moyes’ regret on failing to sign an “extraordinary” hitman.

Leeds are currently in a tough situation as they use the international break to try and shake off their recent back-to-back heavy defeats in the Premier League. What started as the perfect returning season has quickly turned on its head and the Whites must rediscover their form in order to escape the pull of the relegation zone.

This is of course easier said than done, but the defence seems to be the biggest problem for Leeds, who have shipped the joint-highest amount of goals this season (17). Only West Brom have conceded the same amount and they are currently in the bottom three having lost five of their eight games played.

Leeds Live recently reported that bookmakers had tipped the Championship winners to sign Dean Henderson, who is searching for regular minutes amid a potential spot in the England team.

Should Leeds sign Dean Henderson?

Bookies make the Whites 11/1 to bring the Manchester United shot-stopper to Elland Road. After his impressive spell with Sheffield United, it’s no surprise that more clubs are eyeing up the 23-year-old’s services.

Although Henderson has featured in all of United’s cup fixtures so far, he is still waiting on an opportunity to challenge David de Gea in the Premier League. However, this an opportunity that may never come. Luckily, it seems that the rising talent is already aware of this after Gareth Southgate implored him to seek out regular game time.

According to 90min, the England boss has admitted that if Henderson was consistently getting out on the pitch at club level, he would already be his country’s No.1.

With this on his mind, the FA Cup winner will be exploring his options. Leeds will certainly have cropped up as an attractive destination after returning to the Premier League following a 16-year absence. Knowing they are struggling defensively at the moment and won’t want to face relegation, the goalkeeper and his agent could target the Whites as their preferred choice.

The 23-year-old recently signed a new deal with United worth a handsome £100,000 per week. Whilst Leeds may not be able to foot 100% of his wages, it seems there’s a bigger plan in place at Old Trafford for Henderson, so the Reds will help out on that front.

A loan deal would hugely pay off for both Henderson and Marcelo Bielsa’s side, as not only would he improve his England chances, but he can mentor Illan Meslier during his time in Yorkshire.

Former Sheffield United teammate Sander Berge heaped praise on the shot-stopper during his time at Bramall Lane, admitting that he’s an “insane” talent who left him “completely speechless” on the training pitch at times (via VG).

In other news, Signing this out of favour Premier League ace will transform Leeds’ midfield…

Andrew Taylor gets his second bite of the cherry in the Sunderland hot seat this weekend.

His first game in caretaker charge of the Black Cats ended in a 1-1 draw with Burton, but now he has to prepare his side to face Wigan Athletic.

Taylor fielded a pretty similar team to Phil Parkinson in midweek, perhaps due to a lack of preparation time.

Therefore, now he’s had a few days to practise his methods, will we see greater change? Only time will tell.

Here’s the XI we’re predicting Taylor to select for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday.

Sunderland are stuck in a rut at the moment and could be without three key players this afternoon.

Lynden Gooch has been ruled out for around a month and it’s been reported that Luke O’Nien could miss as many as three months with a dislocated shoulder.

There are also fears over the fitness of Charlie Wyke who suffered a knee issue against Burton a few days ago.

As such, we think that Taylor will have to make two enforced changes. Will Grigg was unlucky not score against the Brewers, hitting the post, so he comes into the XI for Wyke, while the other change is at right wing-back.

Loanee Dion Sanderson replaced O’Nien for the final exchanges when he went off last Tuesday so looks set to replace the former Wycombe man out wide.

The final change we’re tipping Taylor to make is in goal. Remi Matthews had a howler for Burton’s goal, spilling it straight to Charles Vernam who was left with a simple tap in.

He’s not looked particularly assured between the posts so we reckon it’s time for an adjustment.

The rest of the side sorts itself out, but starting for a successive game is Elliot Embleton, someone striving to prove himself after a lengthy injury spell last season.

In other news, check out the XI that we think would play if Sunderland appointed Danny Cowley…

Carlton Palmer, while speaking exclusively to Football FanCast’s Tom Ward, has backed Dean Smith to deliver the impossible dream and guide Aston Villa into Europe this season.

The Villans staved off the threat of Premier League relegation on the final day of last season, but have turned their fortunes around drastically this term to sit just two points behind fifth-placed West Ham United after the opening 10 rounds of fixtures.

Villa hold a game in hand over the London Stadium natives, too, which with a win could see Smith move the Birmingham-based outfit into the top-four with the claret and blue side boasting a better goal difference than Brendan Rodger’s fourth-placed Leicester City.

Palmer has lauded Smith for the work he has carried out to change Villa’s fortunes for the better after a challenging debut campaign in the top-flight, with the 49-year-old now in charge of a well-organised unit.

“I think Villa could push for a top-six, top-seven finish this season. I think they really could. I think they’re hard-working and they’re very well-organised now,” Palmer told Football FanCast.

Aston Villa ended the 2019/20 campaign just a point above the drop zone with a final day draw at West Ham United enough to force AFC Bournemouth to join Norwich City and Watford in falling into the Championship.

Smith struggled to establish Villa as a top-flight side during his first season as a Premier League head coach, with the Villans allowing the second-most goals (67) in the division with only the basement boys Norwich shipping more (75). Only the Canaries (27) and Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth (22) lost on more occasions (21), too.

Villa have been an almost entirely different unit defensively since the summer, with league-leaders Tottenham Hotspur (9), plus Chelsea (10), Manchester City (11), West Ham (11), Wolves (11) and Arsenal (12) the only sides to have allowed fewer goals than Smith’s men (13) in the new campaign thus far.

The Birmingham-based side also rank 11th in the division for the highest number of shots allowed per game this season with 11.9, the same as Spurs who top the table with 21 points having lost just once in ten games.

In fact, Smith’s work to better organise the Villans backline has seen the claret and blue side earn WhoScored’s best defensive rating of the season so far at 6.97, thanks to registering an average 12.4 tackles and 10.4 interceptions, catching the opponent offside 1.9 times and committing just 11.3 fouls a game.

That’s a distant cry from last season, which saw Villa rank 17th with 16 shots allowed per game while recording fewer tackles per game than all bar Manchester City and Bournemouth.

AND in other news, Dean Smith must demand more from his “erratic” £75,000-per-week Aston Villa favourite.

Steve Bruce must show no mercy and wield the axe on Emil Krafth after the Newcastle United full-back endured a challenging afternoon against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Krafth was given a rare start at St. James’ Park for the visit of Slaven Bilic’s Baggies, having only opened two Premier League fixtures heading into the weekend and not been seen on the field at any stage since October.

Javier Manquillo has often been favoured for the right-back role when Bruce has chosen to name a four-man defence, but was not listed in the 18-man squad for the Toon’s 1-0 win whilst Bruce was without several of his regulars following an outbreak of coronavirus.

Bruce will be blessed with additional options when Newcastle visit Championship title-holders Leeds United on Wednesday night after DeAndre Yedlin made his campaign debut as a late substitute against West Brom.

Yedlin has been shunned to the fringes on Tyneside this term with Saturday’s inclusion in the matchday squad only his third appearance of the season, after Bruce openly admitted the United States international might find it hard to secure minutes as he enters the final year of his £30,000-per-week contract.

The 27-year-old could even leave Newcastle in January with club chiefs open to offers to avoid losing the man Rafa Benitez stated: “I love this player” for the speed he brought to the side.

Even if Bruce does not feel the same way about Yedlin as he continues to try and stamp his mark on the Toon first-team, the Newcastle boss cannot persist with Krafth in his line-up should Manquillo not be passed fit to face Leeds.

Krafth held the Magpies back in their efforts to beat West Brom on Saturday, as he once again made United’s £5million investment appear as nothing but a disastrous decision of Bruce’s first window in charge last year.

The 26-year-old arrived as a player previously praised for his physicality with Roar Hansen, who managed Krafth at both Osters and Helsingborgs, telling the Chronicle: “He developed very good, he played all the games.

“He is a physical, quick player. He improved with the ball at the time and he is not the most talented player I ever worked with, but he always worked hard. He always wanted to be better, always listened to the coaches and the more experienced players.”

Either Krafth is not listening to his coaches and the experienced heads in the Newcastle dressing room, or he simply is not cut out for Premier League football. He emptied the tank trying to make an impact against West Brom, but left the pitch in the 80th-minute to make the Toon better.

Krafth offered no successful tackles or interceptions during his time on the field, was dribbled past once and lost possession 15 times. He failed to find teammates with either of his four crosses or four long balls, and made just one successful dribble, per SofaScore.

Only 15 of his total passes were deemed to have been aimed forward in the final third, per WhoScored, while Matt Phillips was easily able to skip away from the 24-cap Sweden international before delivering a cross into the area for Darnell Furlong to score West Brom’s equalising goal.

Bruce simply must see that Newcastle cannot rely on Krafth if he hopes to take a result at Elland Road.

AND in other news, Mike Ashley’s January transfer stance could see Newcastle miss out on a £30m gem compared to Alan Shearer.

Celtic are reportedly looking to offer a new bumper deal to reserve goalkeeper Conor Hazard. That’s according to Football Insider, who claim that Peter Lawwell is looking to increase his terms after the 22-year-old stepped up to the plate in Celtic’s last two matches.

Hazard started ahead of Scott Bain and Vasilis Barkas against both Lille and Kilmarnock, helping the Hoops return to the winning streak they are more than capable of maintaining.

It’s likely that Neil Lennon will now turn to the youngster for the remainder of the season. Celtic are playing catch up as they hope they still have time to close down rivals Rangers and take back the top spot in the Premiership.

Big responsibility for Hazard

Summer signing Barkas has had a disappointing debut season so far after struggling to cement himself as his new club’s first choice. Bain took over from the Greece international after he struggled with a back injury and he has rarely been seen since. But now, even his teammate has disappointed Lennon and he has been forced to call upon Hazard to step up.

Before his back-to-back starts, the Northern Ireland international had featured just one other time for the Celtic senior team. This was way back in 2017, in a cameo appearance against Partick Thistle in the league (via Transfermarkt). However, being just a teenager at the time, he clearly wasn’t viewed as a reliable option to integrate into the team.

His patience and hard work has paid off though and he could now be looking at becoming Celtic’s No.1 next season. With Lawwell acknowledging his work ethic and eagerly lining up a new deal for him, this could spell a very fruitful career for Hazard at Parkhead. It’s also a smart piece of business from the Englishman, who will be more than aware of other clubs noticing the goalkeeper’s progress.

Tying him down whilst he is still on the rise is essential for the Bhoys if they want to return next season and punish Rangers.

In other news, Mark McKenzie is ideal signing amid potential Ajer departure…

Spurs look to have been handed a huge boost ahead of Saturday’s clash with Leeds after Jose Mourinho confirmed in his pre-match conference that both Carlos Vinicius and Lucas Moura would be fit to face Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Both Brazilians have been missing of late through injury but it seems as if they could be in with a chance of appearing against the Yorkshire outfit in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Spurs are without a win in their last four Premier League games, whereas Leeds were superb in their 5-0 win against West Brom last time out, so it is definitely going to be a tricky game for the Lilywhites.

Recently we have seen Steven Bergwijn play in the front three alongside Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane, although with the Dutchman having failed to contribute a goal or an assist in his 10 top-flight appearances this season, Mourinho will surely be glad to welcome back Moura, especially with fellow winger Gareth Bale also sidelined with injury.

The former PSG man has struggled with his performances in the Premier League this season, averaging a disappointing 6.30 rating, although his performances in the Europa League have been excellent, as he has earned a superb 7.40 average rating in that competition.

Therefore, it seems as if Mourinho has a huge decision to make ahead of Saturday’s game, as to whether Moura or Bergwijn start on the right-hand side.

Considering the way Leeds attack in numbers, the Portuguese boss might go with Moura as he is more adept at tracking back and contributing defensively, although Bergwijn’s pace could be useful to exploit Bielsa’s side on the counter-attack.

Whoever Mourinho selects, it seems clear that they will be in for a tough game against Leeds, as they continue to impress following their promotion from the Championship but if Spurs have title aspirations, these are the sorts of games they need to be winning.

And, in other news… Spurs must cash in on £22.5m-rated “liability” amid Pochettino interest

Aston Villa must make a decisive call on Conor Hourihane’s future and offload him permanently in this January transfer window.

What’s the story?

The Republic of Ireland international has been on the fringes of Dean Smith’s side this season, making just five appearances in total, and not playing a single minute of Premier League football since he started against West Ham in a 2-1 defeat.

Now, Football Insider claim that Villa are weighing up whether to let Hourihane leave the club this month, and that any move would most likely would be on loan.

The report also adds that there is “extensive interest” in the midfielder.

Sawiris won’t be happy

With 150 appearances to his name at Villa Park, there’s been no questioning that Hourihane has proven himself to be a worthy signing for the club over the past few seasons.

He played an integral role in getting Smith’s side promoted into the Premier League, scoring eight goals and providing a whopping 12 assists in the Championship and the play-offs, respectively.

Even last season saw Hourihane play his part in ensuring Villa’s top-flight safety, with 34 appearances in all competitions and with him scoring seven goals and setting up another five.

But this campaign has seen the Irishman drop completely out of the picture, so much so that he hasn’t even made it off the bench in Villa’s past six Premier League games.

Both Douglas Luiz and John McGinn have been the settled partnership in midfield for Smith, and with the kind of success the team have enjoyed – they find themselves ten points off the top with two games in hand – it’s no surprise that the Villa boss has been reluctant to make changes.

The 29-year-old is picking up a wage packet of £30k-a-week for sitting on the sidelines, and that is essentially wasting the money of owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, who are paying a player a pretty sum whilst he does almost nothing to justify receiving it.

Despite the success they are enjoying on the pitch, that isn’t an excuse to start making poor financial decisions off it, and continually paying a player who isn’t in Smith’s plans at the moment reeks of mismanagement.

It would be a rather ruthless call given everything Hourihane has given the club over the past few years and the impact he has had on establishing Villa as a top-flight side again.

But this is a cut-throat world where tough decisions need to be made, and if Hourihane isn’t better than what Villa have got, then they should cut their losses on him and let him leave permanently rather than on a loan deal.

Meanwhile, Villa must unleash this academy talent in the Premier League; it’s not Louie Barry…

Liam Kennedy has dropped a quite promising claim on any possible takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

Writing in his latest piece for The Shields Gazette, the football journalist claimed that there is a ‘growing optimism’ from both the buyers and the seller in terms of trying to get the proposed £300m deal between Mike Ashley and the KSA consortium back on track.

It would of course require the KSA’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to come back to the table to revive the original bid, but such optimism on both sides of the deal can only be seen as massively encouraging news.

What next for the potential Newcastle takeover?

The arbitration hearing between the St. James’ Park faithful and the Premier League is yet to take place over their legal disputes over the previous failed takeover bid, but the result of that will surely give a better idea as to what the next steps are with regards to its possible resurrection.

Still, the ‘growing optimism’ in both camps should give some members of the Toon Army at least some form of hope that it can eventually go through, providing that all of the pieces of the jigsaw are carefully put in place.

In other news, find out what relegation claim Mark Douglas has dropped on any possible takeover here!