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Tottenham Hotspur are gearing up to open the return of Premier League football. The domestic clubs have cast a watchful eye over their players during the international break and will be looking to vie for three points in their respective league fixtures.

Second place Spurs will play host to out of favour Manchester City, who are in desperate need of a win in order to climb the table. However, Jose Mourinho is unbeaten in his last seven matches and will see this evening’s clash as a huge opportunity to make moves in what could be a potential title race.

The north Londoners are currently harbouring six first team injuries, including the recent loss of Tanguy Ndombele. With this in mind, here’s how Football FanCast has predicted Mourinho to line up tonight…

Usual attacking midfield choice Ndombele has picked up a foot injury and won’t be available for selection. Giovani Lo Celso will likely come in to replace the France international in what could be a huge match for him to prove himself to Mourinho.

In a more bold prediction, the manager may opt to deploy Moussa Sissoko on the right-hand side in order to rest Gareth Bale and play a more tactical approach. The Frenchman plays on the wing for his country and has shown he can put his speed and strength to good use out wide. It will certainly be an option City won’t expect and Sissoko’s strong attacking-defensive balance will help nullify the threat posed by Raheem Sterling.

With space in the midfield, £50,000-a-week man Harry Winks could return to give Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg a helping hand in protecting the backline against Pep Guardiola’s attack. City will be hungry for the win and will undoubtedly throw everything at trying to unsettle Spurs.

Across the backline, everything stays the same apart from the absence of new signing Matt Doherty, who is currently self-isolating. Natural back up Serge Aurier will likely be the man to fill the spot after falling down the pecking order since the former Wolves man arrived.

In other news, Dele Alli situation could brew storm between Daniel Levy & Jose Mourinho…

Moise Kean’s time at Everton continues to hit the headlines and this week fresh reports have emerged over a potential summer exit…

What’s the word?

According to Italian newspaper Tuttosport, the Toffees are considering the possibility of sending the 20-year-old back to Serie A champions Juventus just a year after paying £27.5m for him.

It’s claimed that Carlo Ancelotti cannot give him the game time that he desires after both Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin hit 13 each for the season, meaning he’s likely to continue to be third or fourth choice.

The Italian outfit are lacking in homegrown talent and that’s something the three-time international could resolve having come through the system in Turin.

Brands failings

Kean has found life at Goodison Park very tough in the year that he’s been in Merseyside – ranging from a few disciplinary issues to being the substitute that got substituted.

Overall, two goals in 33 appearances isn’t enough to fill you with confidence that he could one day push ahead of the aforementioned Everton duo.

However, it won’t be a good look if the Toffees cut ties with him just yet as at only 20, adapting to new surroundings can be quite tough and he should be given support and guidance rather than slinging him aside.

If the club were to move him on, then question marks but be hanging over director of football Marcel Brands’ head after a very disappointing summer of business last year.

Everton have lost around £33.5m in total from this Kean saga already when you factor in the Italian youngster sitting on a cool £110k-per-week on top of the transfer fee.

Ancelotti has labelled Kean a “great talent” and claimed that he’s going to be part of the squad next season whilst teammate Theo Walcott believes the striker is a “workaholic” who is “probably the strongest guy I’ve ever come across.”

So perhaps there’s a chance we do see Kean around in the upcoming campaign. If not, then should Brands be trusted with his activity this time around?

AND in other news, Everton target Bundesliga brute who is shades of Idrissa Gueye…

Let’s paint the scene, shall we?

You’ve made a start with your Fantasy Football team, the first few game weeks haven’t proven too great, have they? Your team is lacking in points, your mates at work have all had a great start, 100+ points in the bag, lovely stuff – but not you. No, you’ve had a torrid start, red cards for Andreas Christensen, John Egan, and Kieran Gibbs, an Erik Pieters own goal, a Mo Salah stalemate – thing’s just aren’t looking too positive at the moment, are they?

Well, just your luck that FPL gives you some great little tricks up your sleeves for the season, one of those being the wildcard.

The use of the wildcard allows the user to make an unlimited amount of transfers for a game week, without incurring any point penalties or deductions for doing so – one week of unlimited transfers to completely revamp your squad, just to give you that little points boost you so desperately need to reduce the gap between you and your mates in the mini-league. The use of a wildcard can be done twice per season – during the first half of the season between GW1 and 29th December, and once again for the remainder of the season.

Now you’re probably thinking, when should I use it then? A good question, as there are a few loopholes in the Premier League calendar that allows you to get the most out of your use of a wildcard. You may feel you need to use your wildcard due to injuries across your squad, which is a great idea, as you can make quick transfers for a game week at no extra cost, in time for your injured squad to become fit again. The best time to use it, however, is during a double game week.

A double game week is where two or more teams face two separate fixtures in a single game week, giving you double the number of potential points on your wildcarded players. These double game weeks often occur due to clashes with games in other competitions, and it can prove wise to hold onto your wildcard until one may occur.

It’s simple really, and it is a great little tool to give you that needed points boost for your team – especially during the aforementioned double game weeks. It is also key to remember that these transfers don’t have to be made at once, and can be done throughout the week before the next game week deadline, as long as you’re sticking to the budget, and make sure you use the wildcard right at the start of each game week, to give yourself enough time to implement any needed changes.

So there you have it, the wildcard – a simple yet effective tool that can be very useful in FPL, so use it wisely, and good luck for the rest of the season!

Carrow Road plays host to one of the biggest games of the Premier League weekend on Saturday afternoon, with Norwich City and West Ham going head-to-head in what is expected to be a tense battle between two relegation-threatened clubs.

Many will have already written the Canaries’ chances off, with Daniel Farke’s men 10 points adrift of safety with just four games left to play, and defeat to West Ham this weekend will indeed confirm their immediate return to the Championship for a fifth time – which would be a Premier League record.

It will, of course, bring an end to what started as a promising campaign for Norwich, who had shown glimpses of having enough to stay up when they recorded victories against the likes of Newcastle and Manchester City in August and September, and only missed out narrowly Chelsea.

But victories have since been hard to come by for the Canaries and since football restarted in June, they’ve lost five games on the spin and only managed to find the net once.

West Ham, on the other hand, have Premier League survival firmly in their own hands and can put a six-point gap between themselves and the bottom three with a win here.

David Moyes’ side had initially looked prepared to pull away from relegation danger sooner rather than later with victory over Chelsea and a draw away at Newcastle, but Wednesday’s 1-0 home defeat to Burnley means they’re still looking over their shoulder with four games to play.

Form

Since Norwich’s 1-0 home victory over Leicester City at the end of February, the Canaries have recorded six consecutive defeats, scoring just once during that run. With just five league wins on the board in 19/20 and only two of those coming since November, Daniel Farke’s men are unsurprisingly the worst form team in the division right now.

The Hammers have endured similar struggles of late but have won four points since the restart to give themselves a strong chance of staying in the division. However, David Moyes has only overseen three wins since returning to the club in January, all of which have come at home.

West Ham are currently on a run of eight games without a victory on their travels, dating all the way back to the middle of December, and they have conceded 17 goals in that run.

Team News

Todd Cantwell may face a late fitness test for the hosts after missing the midweek defeat to Watford but they will definitely be without sidelined quartet Sam Byram, Grant Hanley, Moritz Leitner and Christoph Zimmermann.

Record signing Sebastien Haller is on course to make his first West Ham start since the restart after overcoming a hip injury but Moyes will still be without Felipe Anderson and Robert Snodgrass due to injuries.

How to Watch

Norwich’s latest attempt at sparking a great escape kicks off at 12:30pm on Saturday 11 July.

The game will be shown live on BT Sport and fans will also be able to catch the action via football live streams.

Rangers have entered the race to clinch one of the Premier League’s underrated stars as he enters the final year of his contract and with Glen Kamara’s own future up in the air, it could be the perfect move…

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic, Sheffield United midfielder John Lundstram is of interest to Steven Gerrard with the Scottish Premiership front-runners one of several teams monitoring the situation.

The Blades triggered an automatic one-year extension to his current deal but talks over an extension appear to be wavering.

It remains to be seen what sort of fee would tempt Chris Wilder into a sale and much of it could depend on the Yorkshiremen getting John Swift’s £4m move over the line.

Lundstram is currently rated at £7.2m by Transfermarkt.

Bye-bye Kamara?

As audacious as it is, if Rangers can pull this one off, then Ross Wilson should be lauded from the treetops as it would be a phenomenal swoop for a player who’s been regularly featuring in the top-flight this season.

Per WhoScored, the 26-year-old provided five goals and three assists from a predominantly defensive midfield position. His box-to-box abilities are further emphasised when delving into the numbers a bit more – the Liverpudlian averaged 1.4 tackles, 1.3 clearances, 1.3 shots and 2.5 long balls per game.

His Blades teammate Billy Sharp adds further weight to that, describing the 5 foot 11 powerhouse as a “real menace” whilst Wilder has called him an “outstanding” player as well as a “fantastic example of a professional”.

Lundstram’s playing style has been likened to Frank Lampard in the past, which means there’s a bit of Gerrard about him too.

Coincidentally, United like the look of Glen Kamara, who has attracted interest from numerous teams this summer, so could it be a case of one in, one out at Ibrox soon?

The Scottish giants can’t go wrong with Lundstram either way.

AND in other news, Rangers move for PL OUTCAST would be shades of Sheyi Ojo…

In what proved to be a miserable afternoon all around, Arsenal were humiliated 3-0 by Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

Snapshot

The Gunners headed into the campaign on the back of a 3-1 victory over West Ham in the Premier League, and then securing qualification to the knockout stages of the Europa League with a draw away against Standard Liege.

But their new-found confidence took a body blow when they fell a goal down to an early strike from Kevin De Bruyne. and that virtually opened the floodgates. The Citizens would race into a 3-0 lead by half-time, and the rest of the game was essentially a formality as Pep Guardiola’s men played at walking pace.

Watch Arsenal Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, whilst the overall performance and result on the night left a lot to be desired, starlet Emile Smith Rowe showed a glimmer of hope for the Arsenal faithful to get behind with his cameo mid-way through the second-half.

Off the bench

The Gunners were 3-0 down and already staring down the barrel of a miserable defeat when Freddie Ljungberg took the decision to send on Smith Rowe in place of Mesut Ozil. It felt like a seismic moment. It may have represented a changing of the guard in terms of who could potentially be Arsenal’s long-term number ten, with the starlet going on to show yet more evidence that he is capable of making it to the very top.

Watch Bournemouth vs Arsenal Live and Free with Amazon Prime on Boxing Day

As per Sofascore, he completed the one dribble he attempted, made one tackle and won three ground duels – all three of those statistics were more than what Ozil could manage in the hour he was on the pitch. Smith Rowe’s ability to receive the ball on the half-turn and drive at the City defence got a beleaguered Emirates Stadium to stand up on their feet to applaud.

The 19-year-old took the game to City from the very first moment he got on to the pitch, and also set about trying to win the ball back as quickly as possible too. The Gunners were given some much-needed energy and movement, and it was chalk and cheese to see Smith Rowe and Ozil’s performances on the day.

Trivia addicts will love this quiz: How much did Arsenal pay for each of these players?

And with a new manager potentially coming in very soon, the academy product has announced himself this season at the right time. He could very well be the man to lead the north London side when Ozil finally makes his departure from the Emirates.

Meanwhile, Arsenal fans have slammed this star for his anonymous display against Manchester City.

David Luiz was one of many Arsenal players who produced a great performance in the Gunners’ 2-1 victory over Sheffield United in the FA Cup. We have taken a closer look at his performance against the Blades in the latest edition of our Unsung Hero feature.

Arsenal finally picked up their first win against Southampton since football has returned, and they now have two wins in two and are advancing to the semi-finals of the FA Cup after their victory against the Blades.

Wembley now awaits, and a trophy in Mikel Arteta’s first season would be a very good start and please many Arsenal supporters. Dani Ceballos scored the last minute winner and rightfully has been receiving a lot of praise, however David Luiz’s performance seems to have gone under the radar.

When his name was on the team sheet, many would have been worried following his awful display against Manchester City within his first 30 minutes of him being on the pitch since football returned. He made a mistake to gift City a goal and was then sent off after giving away a penalty. This led to SofaScore giving him a 3.0 rating.

However SofaScore clearly appreciated his performance in a back three at Bramall Lane on Sunday as they gave him a 7.2 rating which was the joint-second best on the pitch out of the Arsenal squad and the joint-fourth best out of everyone who played.

The centre-back was outstanding in a back five, which turned to a back three when attacking, as he managed six clearances, two tackles and won three of his four aerial duels as well as winning both of his ground duels, per SofaScore.

The Brazilian was also not dribbled past and Arsenal looked a strong unit when he was on the pitch, but Sheffield United started to get into the game soon after his substitution.

It has been a crazy couple of weeks as the defender has been slated not just by the Gunners fans but by many in the footballing world like former Ballon d’Or winner Ruud Gullit, who said to Ziggo Sport, via Metro, “Yes, David is not doing well. I think he’s an overrated player, really. When he played in midfield I thought he was reasonable, but then there was already discussion about what he actually is as a player.”

He has also been given a contract extension over the last week as his old contract was due to expire on June 30th and many have been debating whether he deserved this. However he has clearly proved doubters wrong whilst also showing many why Arteta still wanted him at the club following this performance.

Gunners fans may have gone from not wanting him in their team to not wanting him to have a long term injury.

Arsenal fans, what were your thoughts on David Luiz’s performance? Comment below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking to Sky Sports, former Arsenal striker Alan Smith has suggested Brendan Rodgers would be a fantastic appointment for the Gunners.

What did he say?

The north London side are on the lookout for a permanent manager after the sacking of Unai Emery last week, with Invincibles hero Freddie Ljungberg taking charge on an interim basis for the time being.

Reports have claimed the Gunners have drawn up a 12-man shortlist for the role, with names such as Mikel Arteta, Mauricio Pochettino and Rodgers all supposedly in the frame.

And now, Smith has thrown his backing behind a potential swoop for the current Leicester boss, and insisted he would fit the club’s profile extremely well.

He said: “Brendan Rodgers, at my former club, Leicester, I’d be delighted if they managed to secure him. I think his ethos suits Arsenal as well. When his name was mentioned before when they went for Emery a lot of people scoffed at it.

“But he’s since shown what a top manager he is. They have to take their time, they have to make sure they make a good choice.”

Identity

Following his comments in his press conference that he is happy where he is, it would represent a major turnaround for the Leicester manager to then take up the Arsenal job. Although, in the Gunners’ favour, Rodgers did leave Celtic half-way through a season earlier this year, when the Bhoys were edging closer to a historic ‘treble treble’.

The former Liverpool manager has built up a reputation for playing attacking football, and developing young players, and that is exactly the sort of profile Arsenal could do with at the moment. Unai Emery appeared to suck the life out of the club with his frustrating pragmatism, and a return to a more engaging style of play would surely go down well with the Emirates faithful. But as Smith suggests, the north Londoners must take their time to ensure they get the best possible candidate for the job.

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Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has paid tribute to Steve Bruce’s use of his bench during Sunday’s Premier League clash with Southampton at St James’ Park.Danny Ings sent Southampton ahead in the early stages of the second half, but goals from Jonjo Shelvey and Federico Fernandez saw the hosts turn the match on its head.Head coach Bruce was forced into making a defensive change at the break with Fabian Schar replacing the injured Ciaran Clark, but Andy Carroll and then Sean Longstaff were introduced off the bench as the Magpies looked to turn the game around.

Carroll provided the assist for Shelvey to equalise in the 68th minute, and Shearer has hailed the Newcastle boss for his substitutions against the Saints.

The Magpies have now taken seven points from their last three Premier League matches against Manchester City, Sheffield United and Southampton.

And things appear to be turning for the club after a tough start to the season.

Shearer’s message on social media can be seen below:

Meanwhile, the future of one Newcastle player is still very much in doubt under Bruce.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter Milan are looking into the possibility of incorporating Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen into their squad come next summer. If true, that could put the Nerazzurri right back on track.

What’s the word, then?

The Italian sources claim Eriksen is a big dream of Antonio Conte’s team.

Of course, seeing how it would be rather difficult actually getting the Danish playmaker to sign for them, with the likes of Manchester United prowling around, he is currently not the priority heading into the transfer window.

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But they will definitely study this option as Eriksen’s relationship with Spurs is also deteriorating, as per Gazzetta’s claims, and separation with the out-of-favour star is pretty likely in the near future.

Even though he hasn’t been at his brilliant best, the midfielder could complete Inter Milan’s jigsaw if the transfer were really to go through.

Wind in their sails

After a rather resurgent start to the 2019/20 campaign, the Nerazzurri have slowed down in recent times.

Of course, they managed to remain unbeaten in their first seven games of the season but couldn’t sustain it all the way. Now, they are in danger of not making it out of their Champions League group and they have to fend off the advances of Juventus over in Serie A.

But Conte’s men certainly look rather formidable as it is and maybe they just need one small boost to actually complete their jigsaw.

And by all means, Eriksen could definitely be that missing link to finally get the Nerazzurri going as they used to in the good old days.

Despite his limited game time this season – he has failed to start three of the north London outfit’s previous five fixtures in all competitions – the Danish playmaker has managed to bag one goal and one assist in the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, while also tallying 1.5 shots and 1.4 key passes per game.

Of course, Inter have a great playmaker in the form of Sensi but maybe pairing him up with current Tottenham Hotspur star could take the team to another level.

After all, last season when both Spurs and Eriksen were firing on all cylinders, the great Dane bagged eight goals and got 12 assists under his belt, which is something Conte could definitely use in his squad.

But as the original report made clear, Inter are not sure whether they can actually secure his signature, although they will definitely pounce on it if the opportunity arises.

Who knows, maybe Serie A would be a welcoming change for the struggling star.