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After suffering a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Burnley last time out, Aston Villa will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they travel to St Mary’s to take on Southampton.

Dean Smith’s side will want to pick up some momentum as soon as possible as they search for a surprise European place this season, and face a Southampton side who are coming off the back of a timid loss of their own, losing 3-1 to Arsenal.

But whilst the Saints will look to Danny Ings for inspiration – the England international has been in fine form once again this season with seven goals in 14 Premier League games – Villa should be just as wary about Stuart Armstrong.

The Scotland international has looked in impressive form in recent weeks, and capped off a fine individual performance against Arsenal with a well-taken goal after a James Ward-Prowse corner.

His former boss at Celtic, Brendan Rodgers, raved about Armstrong’s abilities when the versatile ace made the move south of the border to join Southampton.

He said: “What sets him apart from a lot of midfield players is he has an instinct to arrive in the box and score. I think with that opportunity, with him being really aggressive, he can go and hopefully take that because we all know he can get goals.”

The £50k-a-week ace will no doubt fancy his chances of causing Matty Cash some problems down the Southampton left, after really making life difficult for Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin, who’s one of the quickest players in the Premier League.

And when you factor in the fact Cash arguably produced his worst performance in a Villa shirt since his summer arrival from Nottingham Forest against Burnley, Smith will surely be worried that the Saints’ in-form winger could cause his full-back yet more problems.

So whilst Ings might be Southampton’s star attraction, Villa must pay close attention to Armstrong on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, this Aston Villa star was Dean Smith’s only silver lining vs Burnley…

West Brom’s U23 match this week was a sight for sore eyes as numerous Baggies outcasts were named as starters in their Premier League 2 victory over Sunderland.

Two players who looked certain to leave in the summer, Charlie Austin and Kamil Grosicki, both featured with the Polish winger bagging a brace.

There were also appearances for first-team wing duo Matty Phillips and Kyle Edwards, who have hardly been involved in the Albion’s top-flight campaign so far.

The latter is even out of contract at the end of the season, so it’s quite an important year for him if he’s to remain at his boyhood club.

It speaks volumes that the club only triggered the 12-month extension in his deal back in May, had they been convinced on his true ability, then he’d have received a long-term offer considering he’s only 22.

Speaking in a Q&A with fans last week, The Athletic’s Steve Madeley revealed that talks over a new deal were progressing, albeit slowly and claimed that Slaven Bilic is a big fan of the young winger.

They should be approaching this situation with caution as he’s done nothing to warrant a new contract just yet. It can be argued that he hasn’t been given a fair opportunity, having only played 114 minutes in the Premier League so far, but Bilic watches the player in training more than we do.

And he may be inclined to turn to Grosicki instead as it was the veteran who made the biggest impact in this week’s youth outing, not Edwards. The 22-year-old needs to be pulling up trees in games like this to get truly noticed.

His current teammate, Romaine Sawyers, recollected the time he was compared to Lionel Messi, he told The Athletic:

“I remember Kyle when he was proper, proper small — he was an unbelievable player even then. Mark Harrison, our old academy manager, told my age group, ‘We’ve got this kid who is 10 years old and this is Messi. No word of a lie; I could see the comparison back then. If Kyle’s got videos, I’d urge him to show anybody. He was unbelievable and to see him now in the first team warms my heart.”

That level of ability is something we’re yet to see at a senior level with Edwards only delivering four goals and five assists in 48 appearances for Albion, via Transfermarkt.

For now, Bilic should be ruthless in order to make the wing dynamo earn his stripes.

AND in other news, West Brom could land an upgrade on Livermore with £12m swoop…

Jurgen Klopp’s injury woes look to have eased somewhat after it was revealed that Diogo Jota could return to action this month, despite it having been previously suggested that he could be out until February.

The Portuguese winger made a superb start to life at Anfield following his summer arrival from Wolves, grabbing nine goals for the Reds in all competitions.

The 24-year-old was perhaps expected to be a back-up to the front three at first but clearly won over Klopp with his excellent form and he quickly established himself as a starter at the Merseyside club.

However, disaster struck when he was injured in the Reds’ final Champions League group fixture against FC Midtjylland, with a knee problem reportedly set to keep him out until February.

Fortunately for the German manager, who has seen his side slip to consecutive draws against West Brom and Newcastle, journalist James Pearce has now confirmed that Jota is making good progress with his injury and could be back in action by late January.

The Reds were desperate for some quality from the bench against Newcastle and West Brom recently but with Klopp reluctant to turn to Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri and Takumi Minamino recently, it seems clear that he is desperate for Jota to make his return.

Following his signing from Wolves, assistant manager Pep Ljinders was full of praise for the £36 million-rated winger, saying:

“Diogo, what can I say? His technical level is on the same as our front three.

“He has so much future in the game and he will have a great pathway inside our club. He’s like a pressing monster, so he will fit in straight away.”

Certainly, when Jota returns, Klopp could return to a 4-2-3-1 formation that would allow him to accommodate the Portuguese international as well as Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in the Reds attack, which could be the key to solving their lack of goals in recent fixtures.

And, in other news… Liverpool can sign their next Salah in “perfect” 51-assist ace

Chris Kirkland has slammed Everton for not making, or potentially allowing, Jordan Pickford to apologise for his challenge on Liverpool central defender Virgil Van Dijk.

Speaking to This Is Futbol, the former Premier League goalkeeper was questioned why he thinks the England number one has not been come out to apologise to Van Dijk following the challenge, and was also asked if he thought the lack of an apology was perhaps down to the bitter rivalry between the two Merseyside clubs.

Kirkland said:

“It’s not helped Jordan. I’m really disappointed with Everton and would like to know the reason why they’ve not come out and let him have his say.

“If it is [down to the rivalry between both clubs], they’re bang out of order and they’re a disgrace, basically. I’d hope not, but if that was the case [and] why they’ve done it then, shocking, shocking.”

Pickford has received a lot of criticism

Indeed, Pickford has received a lot of criticism following his challenge on Van Dijk, which went unpunished in the game and also went without any retrospective action taken after the match.

Not only was the 26-year-old slammed by his own fans following the tackle, but his action also struck the nerves of former top flight football players like Tony Cascarino and Frank McAvennie.

Teammates of Van Dijk and fellow ‘keepers Adrian and Alisson were also very critical of Pickford, who faced a fierce media backlash after the derby.

Should Pickford be allowed to come out and apologise?

Indeed, the question now is whether Pickford should come out and apologise for his challenge on Van Dijk.

While the Dutch international suffered a rather severe injury from the challenge, these things do happen in football, and the game was a few weeks ago now.

Some Blues may feel that while the challenge was a bad one, perhaps the whole situation should just be dropped so that all parties involved can now solely focus on the matches that they have got ahead.

In other news, find out which EFC target has shone on international duty here!

Tottenham Hotspur are back in action once again as their quest to qualify for the Europa League ends this evening.

Jose Mourinho’s side welcome Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa to north London knowing that a victory would see them into the group stage at long last.

Spurs have already played two matches this week, drawing to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday before they defeated arch-rivals Chelsea in the Carabao Cup just two days ago.

With fixtures coming thick and fast, Mourinho has had to rotate his side frequently, so how will the XI look tonight? Here’s what we are predicting…

The Special One could make as many as eight changes from the side that beat the Blues on penalties just 48 hours ago.

Spurs skipper Hugo Lloris remains between the sticks as the issue of physical fitness shouldn’t be a problem for the Frenchman, although there’s a viable alternative in Joe Hart if needed.

Mourinho could revert to a four-at-the-back formation with only Eric Dier keeping his place having picked up the Man of the Match award in midweek. He’s joined by Davinson Sanchez, who replaces Toby Alderweireld.

Whilst both wing-backs are replaced by Ben Davies and Matt Doherty.

In midfield, summer arrival Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is welcomed back to partner Harry Winks whilst there’s also a place for Giovani Lo Celso in the advanced position.

It means both £40.5m-rated Tanguy Ndombele and fellow Frenchman Moussa Sissoko are dropped, and there’s still no spot for Dele Alli either, though he could feature from the bench.

The only other player to keep his place from midweek is Steven Bergwijn as he pairs with Lucas Moura on the wings whilst through the middle, Harry Kane starts after a rest against Chelsea.

Sergio Reguilon, Serge Aurier, Gedson Fernandes and Japhet Tanganga are likely to be on the bench.

AND in other news, Spurs’ £18m transfer target is shades of Kyle Walker…

Micky Adams expects his former club Leicester City to bid farewell to Ben Chilwell this summer amid serious interest from Chelsea.

The ex-Foxes manager believes the England international is set to leave the King Power Stadium this transfer window. Speaking to the Daily Star, Adams has summed up the situation in a blunt manner, admitting simply that ‘money talks’.

Indeed, Chilwell has been heavily linked to a move to Chelsea who are in a strong position for welcoming new recruits. After enduring their two-window transfer ban, the Blues have a hefty amount of funds to splurge on transforming their squad ahead of this season.

“It’ll be down to Chilwell. The power is always with players,” Adams said. “If he gets his head turned by Chelsea, then money talks.”

Frank Lampard identified his defence as an area that needs attention ahead of what promises to be an exciting 2020/21 season. The Blues conceded the most goals out of the top ten Premier League sides last term (54) and with new quality attackers coming in, Chelsea must balance the squad with similar calibre defenders.

Chilwell has been named amongst several high profile defensive targets Lampard wants to bring to Stamford Bridge. Others include Declan Rice and Thiago Silva, who is close to joining the West Londoners on a one-year deal

“Leicester are no different to anyone else. If they feel the cash is too good to turn down, then he’ll go,” Adams concluded.

According to a recent report from the Daily Express, Chelsea are willing to table an offer of £50million for Chilwell alongside a wage packet worth £150,000 per week. This will put the 24-year-old in the club’s top three earners, behind only Kepa Arrizabalaga and highest paid player Christian Pulisic (via Spotrac).

Do you want to see Chelsea finalise a move for Ben Chilwell? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

With the arrival of highly-rated David Turnbull to the squad, it suddenly seems like Celtic have far too many midfielders in their squad. For that reason, coach Neil Lennon is open to making some necessary cuts for the ongoing 2020/21 Scottish Premier League season.

One of the players who were all set to leave Celtic Park in the immediate future was Tom Rogic. But now, according to the latest reports from The Scottish Sun, he could be staying at the club for a while longer.

Rogic was supposed to move to Qatar in a £4m deal but the negotiations have stalled ever since and if the same outlet is to be believed, the move is now on the brink of collapse.

Of course, the 27-year-old is still likely to leave the Scottish giants but not to join a lower-tier league such as the one in the Middle East. For that reason, he might wait for a better offer that would also allow him to continue playing in Europe.

As far as Lennon is concerned, however, and seeing how Rogic still has three years left on his contract, the Hoops wouldn’t exactly be opposed to their star staying at the club when everything is said and done.

It will largely depend on the player’s wishes and the direction in which he wants his career to move from this point onward. He was so close to leaving but nothing seems set in stone just yet.

Only time will tell.

Verdict

Rogic became one of the Bhoys after completing a bargain £400,000 move from Central Coast Mariners all the way back in 2013. Needless to say, he’s been a great servant to their badge and at 27 years of age, still has a lot to offer.

For that reason, maybe this fresh twist in the story does have a silver lining after all. Keeping Rogic in the squad is not the worst thing that can happen to the Hoops.

Many Crystal Palace fans are reacting to the news that the club will be looking towards their youth players for the final nine games of the Premier League season.

According to the Sun on Sunday reporter Alan Nixon, Roy Hodgson would like to look more towards his youth for the final fixtures of the season to help save money for future transfers.

This would be a good idea for the club, as they have recently been granted all the planning permission needed to redevelop their academy, whilst they currently have on average the second oldest squad in the division, so need a young crop of players to come in and be ready for when some of the old guard move on.

With Palace on 39 points so far, there is a lot to play for as they sit just six points from European qualification, but also only 12 points from relegation, per BBC Sport. With many agreeing the club has one of the hardest fixture lists for these final games, it may be a risk to throw the youngsters in.

However it seems that the majority of fans would be happy to see youth given a chance at Selhurst Park – one even said it was an “excellent idea.” This is perhaps because of the current average age of their side, whilst some may also have the success of Aaron Wan-Bissaka in their minds, a player who came through their ranks before being sold for a huge £50m to Manchester United last year.

Here is what fans said following the news:

Palace fans, are you happy with these plans? Comment below!

After arriving from Leicester for a world-record fee for a defender last summer, big things were no doubt expected of Harry Maguire at Manchester United.

The England international has become a permanent fixture in the United back-line since his arrival, playing 41 games across all competitions for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

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And after a stats graphic emerged on Twitter, United fans flooded the replies section to share their thoughts on how impressive Maguire has been for the club.

One United fan even suggested that the club had finally replaced Nemanja Vidic.

With United enduring an up-and-down season that has left them outside of the top four in the Premier League at the moment, it’s perhaps understandable if people have some doubts over Maguire’s displays – after all, the team as a whole have been struggling.

But these stats show how the centre-back has actually enjoyed a rather fine debut campaign at Old Trafford, and United will be hoping that he can kick on for them over these coming years.

The early signs are very promising indeed.

MatériaMais Notícias

A Fifa irá sortear, nesta quinta-feira (5), os oito grupos do Super Mundial de Clubes de 2025. As equipes conhecerão seus primeiros adversários no torneio internacional, que acontecerá entre os dias 15 de junho e 13 de julho, nos Estados Unidos. O Lance! perguntou para a Meta AI, nova inteligência artificial do WhatsApp, qual a melhor projeção dos grupos a serem sorteados.

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➡️ Fifa define potes do sorteio do Mundial de Clubes de 2025; veja

Clubes classificados ao Mundial de Clubes

Na competição, o Brasil conta com superioridade numérica em relação aos outros países, já que tem quatro clubes como representantes no torneio intercontinental. Para o sorteio do Mundial de Clubes, são cinco potes que separam os 32 times classificados.

Pote 1: Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense, River Plate, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain e Bayern de Munique
Pote 2: Chelsea, Porto, Benfica, Inter de Milão, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atlético de Madrid e RB Salzburg
Pote 3: Botafogo, Boca Juniors, Ah-Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, Al-Hilal, Ulsan, Monterrey e León
Pote 4: Inter Miami, Seattle Souders, Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, Esperance, Mamelodi Sundowns, Pachuca e Auckland City

continua após a publicidadeGrupos do Mundial de Clubes segundo IAGrupo A

Manchester City (Inglaterra)
Borussia Dortmund (Alemanha)
Al Hilal (Arábia Saudita)
Botafogo (Brasil)

Grupo B

Real Madrid (Espanha)
Juventus (Itália)
Boca Juniors (Argentina)
Mamelodi Sundowns (África do Sul)

Grupo C

Bayern de Munique (Alemanha)
Atlético de Madrid (Espanha)
Wydad Casablanca (Marrocos)
Inter Miami (Estados Unidos)

Grupo D

PSG (França)
Benfica (Portugal)
Al Ahly (Egito)
Cidade de Auckland (Nova Zelândia)

Grupo E

Flamengo (Brasil)
Inter de Milão (Itália)
León (México)
Al Ain (Emirados Árabes Unidos)

Grupo F

Palmeiras (Brasil)
Chelsea (Inglaterra)
Ulsan (Coreia do Sul)
Seattle Sounders (Estados Unidos)

Grupo G

River Plate (Argentina)
Porto (Portugal)
Monterrey (México)
Esperança (Tunísia)

Grupo H

Fluminense (Brasil)
RB Salzburg (Áustria)
Urawa Red Diamonds (Japão)
Pachuca (México)

Qual formato do Mundial de Clubes?

As 32 equipes serão divididas em oito grupos com quatro clubes em cada chave, como era o formato da Copa do Mundo até 2022. Os dois melhores times de cada chave avançam para as oitavas de final após os três jogos da fase de grupos.

A fase de mata-mata será disputada em confrontos únicos até que os dois finalistas se encontrem na decisão em busca do troféu. Não haverá disputa de 3º lugar no torneio, como havia no antigo formato do Mundial de Clubes.

continua após a publicidade

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