Liverpool fans may believe that this could be their year in the Champions League after being drawn against FC Porto recently. The Reds managed to get the better of the Portuguese club in last year’s competition, so they’ll feel confident heading into this year’s clash. 

It’s safe to say that Jurgen Klopp already faces a busy summer with a number of loan players returning and a few first-team members possibly taking their careers elsewhere.

One player who may be coming to the end of his time at Anfield is James Milner.

The Englishman hasn’t been able to secure regular minutes in the current campaign, other than when there’s an injury. He’s filled in at right-back, left-back and in central midfield at times but he just hasn’t looked comfortable in possession and he turns 34 next year with his contract set to run out in the summer.

Luckily, Jurgen Klopp has already found the perfect replacement for Milner in the form of Marko Grujic. The 22-year-old has spent the current campaign on loan at German side Hertha Berlin, scoring three and assisting one.

Grujic has earned rave reviews in the current campaign as one of the rising stars in the Bundesliga. His temporary manager Pal Dardai described him as top shelf and intimated (as per Index, via Empire of the Kop) that he is the most talented footballer he’s ever worked with.

His performances in the middle of midfield have been sensational, with his passing, tackling and eagle eye for goal making him a very well-rounded midfielder.

The Serbian has done more than enough to warrant a first-team place at Anfield in the summer. He offers so much more than Milner and could provide a different dynamic, with his attacking qualities benefiting Klopp’s style.

Liverpool fans, do you think Grujic is ready to make the step up? Surely his performances have been too good to ignore this season…

Despite having lost all of their last three matches in the Premier League, Everton will head into Tuesday night’s match with Cardiff City as slight favourites after Neil Warnock’s men were hammered 5-1 by Watford this past weekend.

Everton probably preferred having the weekend off to regroup as a team ahead of the match at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Marco Silva’s men dominated proceedings at Watford last weekend but suffered defeat thanks to an Andre Gray goal in the second-half.

But, one big positive that the manager could’ve taken from the match with the Hornets was the short but clinical performance by substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who replaced Gylfi Sigurdsson in the 74th minute.

The change saw Calvert-Lewin and Cenk Tosun play together for the first time in quite a while. And, Calvert-Lewin immediately made his presence felt as Everton pressed high up the pitch, hoping to snatch a late equaliser.

Silva has struggled to find his best combinations so far this season and has been rotating his team quite regularly in recent matches.

Playing Calvert-Lewin and Tosun together, as two strikers, could give the team a significant boost.

Indeed, this new solution may just be the answer to the Toffees’ recent attacking woes, with a successful trial in their next game against Cardiff City possibly being the first step to launching Everton into the European places.

Silva dropped Bernard to the bench for the match against his former team and started Sigurdsson on the left wing, with Tom Davies operating in the middle.

A change in formation might be more accommodating if both Calvert-Lewin and Tosun start on Tuesday, which would present Everton with a new and exciting tactical shift.

It could also present more chances for crosses to be whipped into the box, while Calvert-Lewin has shown in the past that he has the pace to cause opposition defenders problems.

Tosun could assist Calvert-Lewin, with his shooting accuracy and ability to create space possibly proving too much for a very vulnerable Cardiff defence to handle.

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Southampton central midfield trio James Ward-Prowse, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oriol Romeu will likely continue their partnership when the club faces Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday, and they may well have received a potential boost following an interesting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer comment.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the south coast outfit will be determined to stay out of the Premier League relegation zone now having moved above the safety line with their 2-0 win against Fulham at St Mary’s on Wednesday night, but that is easier said than done given they face the Red Devils and then Tottenham Hotspur next.

Normally, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men would be coming up against the likes of Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera in the United midfield, but it could be a very different story at the weekend with both of those set to miss out through injury.

Fred and Scott McTominay started the 3-1 success against Crystal Palace in midweek, with 17-year-old James Garner making his first-team debut late on from the substitutes’ bench, and Solskjaer has hinted he will be involved again at the weekend.

Speaking to manutd.com, the interim manager said: “We’ve been waiting for that chance [to introduce him to the first team]. Of course, now with Nemanja [Matic] and Ander [Herrera] injured, there’ll be more chances for Jimmy.

“We might even see him on Saturday against Southampton again.”

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

Good news?

It certainly would be, especially if the teenager starts.

While he clearly has plenty of potential given he has made his bow at such a young age, there is no doubt that Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg and Romeu would prefer to come up against an inexperienced player who may be nervous about potentially making his first senior appearance at Old Trafford, than say Herrera, Matic or Fred.

Southampton face a tough task to take anything back home with them from ‘The Theatre of Dreams’, but coming up against Garner would certainly give their midfield hope that they can win important battles in that area to hopefully pick up a much-needed point.

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Freddie Woodman has been called up to the England under-21 squad despite the fact he is yet to play a single minute of Premier League football this season.

What’s the word?

Newcastle United’s back-up goalkeeper has been bookmarked as one for the future, but his development is likely to be stunted by his lack of first-team opportunities.

The 22-year-old has made just three appearances for the first-team this season, all of which arrived in the FA Cup.

According to Chronicle Live, Woodman wants a loan move away from the club, but there is plenty of reason to suggest that he should be looking for a permanent move instead.

 Dubravka shall not be moved

The decision to sign Martin Dubravka on an initial loan deal in January 2018 arrived as a surprise to the Magpies faithful. The Slovakia international was something of an unknown entity when he left Sparta Prague for the North East, but his performances since arriving at the club have justified what now looks like a genius decision from the club.

Dubravka has established himself as a first-team regular and a firm favourite amongst the St James’ Park faithful. As much as the fans want Woodman – a player who has risen through the academy ranks on Tyneside – to succeed, it’s difficult to see how he fits into the picture at present.

At just 30-years-old there is no rush to replace Newcastle’s number one and he could yet enjoy another half decade at the club, so Woodman should push for a permanent move in the summer window to breathe new life into his stuttering career.

The consistent performances and determination shown by West Ham United striker Javier Hernandez have probably not received the full credit it actually deserves.

And, while the club is currently enjoying a good run of form with much more solid showings than at previous stages this season, it might be a good time to state that Hernandez might be little underrated.

West Ham’s current successes have been down to a number of positive factors which have finally given the Hammers fans some reason to optimistic about what manager Manuel Pellegrini can achieve in the future.

But, that success can largely be narrowed down to what Hernandez has brought to the team since joining the east London club in 2017.

On Saturday evening, the Mexican led the line of attack for West Ham in their 2-0 win over Newcastle United at the London Stadium.

The all-round team performance on the night might not have been that great but Hernandez was playing on a different level than his teammates.

His commitment in the match was unprecedented, putting his body on the line and throwing himself at every opportunity to get to the ball or reach a cross or long ball.

It was quite surprising to see him being substituted in the 70th minute by the manager, given that he was one of the club’s best hopes of finding another goal, but in the moment ot probably made sense because he was replaced by a player like Marko Arnautovic, able to carry the game in a much more physical way.

It is also quite clear that Hernandez is a player who has been at the summit of the Premier League and have reached the ultimate success their is, winning the league title twice during his spell at Manchester United.

For West Ham, he should be a player that drives the team forward in the coming seasons and be at the heart of the goals the club sets out to achieve.

أكد سيد عبد الحفيظ مدير الكرة بالنادي الأهلي، أن أي مدير فني يتولى قيادة الفريق يتم توفير له كل الأجواء الصحيحة لكي يطبق فكره.

فاز الأهلي على المقاولون العرب بهدف دون رد، في الجولة 31 من مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز، في أول مباراة رسمية يقودها الجنوب إفريقي بيتسو موسيماني، المدير الفني الجديد للأحمر.

اقرأ ايضًا.. موسيماني: الأهلى أصبح مستشفى وسنريح الأساسيين.. ويكشف سبب انفعاله على كهربا

وأضاف سيد عبد الحفيظ خلال لقائه عبر قناة “الأهلي”: “المدير الفني المتواجد نكون في ظهره، كل الأجواء الصحية متوفرة لكي يطبق فكره”.

وتابع: “إن شاء الله سنكون موفقين معه، ويصبح إضافة كبيرة لنا، هو قدم أوراق اعتماده، قبل أن يأتي لنا، في مشاركاته الإفريقية خلال السنوات الماضية”.

وواصل: “أي لاعب يشعر بأي شيء نحاول إراحته، التوقيت وصل لمرحلة صعبة، وإن شاء الله قبل مباراة الوداد سيكون الفريق بلا إصابات”.

واستكمل: “جونيور أجاي قد يصبح جاهزًا بحلول الغد، وأحمد الشيخ سيتحدد موقفه غدًا أيضًا، ومحمد الشناوي سنرى اليوم أو غدًا إصابته، على حسب تحديد موعد الآشعة”.

وأوضح: “محمد الشناوي طلب الخروج من المباراة فورًا وقت أن شعر بألم بسيط، سوف يخضع للآشعة كي نحدد موقفه ولكن أثق في قدرته على التعافي”.

واختتم: “تحدثت مع موسيماني وحددنا السفر يوم 13 أكتوبر بطائرة خاصة إلى المغرب والعودة بعد المباراة مباشرة”.

يذكر، أن الأهلي سيواجه الوداد البيضاوي المغربي، في ذهاب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا، يوم 17 أكتوبر المقبل، بالمغرب، على أن تُقام مباراة الإياب يوم 23 من الشهر نفسه في مصر.

Many players at Man Utd have flourished following the departure of Jose Mourinho. Paul Pogba has turned back into the superstar that everyone knew he could be, Anthony Martial is reaching his potential, and Ander Herrera is finally getting some much-deserved minutes.

However, perhaps the player that has been most impacted by the arrival of the new manager is Marcus Rashford. He was featuring regularly under Jose Mourinho – but rarely was he able to have the game-changing impact that he was having when he first emerged at Old Trafford.

That’s all changed in recent weeks, however, and much of that is down to the plans of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The boss has primarily played Rashford through the middle, and that decision has been vindicated by some brilliant performances from the Englishman.

He’s scored regularly – with 9 goals this season – but even more impressive has been his overall contributions to this team. A relentless runner with bags of agility, tenacity and guile, Rashford has helped transform the Man Utd attack in more ways than one, namely with his energy, finishing and range of passing, and he’s quickly emerged as arguably the club’s most important forward.

Sky Sports analyst and pundit Adam Bate has been discussing the Englishman’s form, and he’s expecting him to get even better.

In a column on Rashford, Bate wrote: ‘For all the bumps in the road, the 20 games without a goal for club and country in his second season, and the tension with Mourinho, this upsurge in form serves as a reminder of just how far ahead of schedule that Rashford really is. He is two years younger than Anthony Martial and five years younger than Jesse Lingard. He has few equals in his age bracket.’

He later added: ‘It has been quite the three years, a period that has brought trophies and tournaments, but plenty of upheavals too. The possibility of an extended run in his best position could be enough to ensure that the next three years will complete Marcus Rashford’s evolution and see him truly emerge as one of the leading forwards in world football.’

It’s sometimes easy to forget, but Rashford is still just 21-years-old. By that point, many young talents are only beginning to dip their feet in the water of European football. Take Ruben Loftus-Cheek, for example. Now 23-years-old, the Englishman is only now beginning to get a few chances in the Chelsea first team, and even those opportunities have been sporadic.

Rashford, meanwhile, has been a regular for the best part of three years, and his involvement has been increasing with every passing season.

It’s important to recognise, as Bate has, the recent role that Rashford has had. Shifted to the number 9 position regularly for perhaps the first time in his career, he’s able to make the most of his abilities as a result. He’s always been an expert finisher, but he’s only now getting a chance to really show that off, and fans are finally getting to see him at his best as a result.

Given Romelu Lukaku’s struggles, there’s a real opening for Rashford to get an extended run in this area of the field. He’s no longer just being squeezed in where the manager sees fit. He’s finally actually playing where he belongs, and the stats speak for themselves.

Over the last 3 years, Rashford has been able to emerge as a top young talent. However, as Bate says, the next 3 years will allow him to go to the next level, taking him from a homegrown starlet to one of Europe’s best – and it’s hard to disagree with that sentiment on current form.

Thoughts?

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Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has demanded that Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino becomes more selfish in attack for Liverpool, and has suggested that his unselfish work for the team is affecting his personal goal tally.

The former Chelsea striker scored 200 goals throughout his career, which implies that he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to forward play and what an attacker needs to do – however, on this occasion, he might not have hit the nail on the head regarding Firmino’s form.

What’s he said?

Hasselbaink wrote in his column for the BBC: “What you also need as a traditional striker is a selfish streak. When I played, I always wanted to score goals and I would love to play in this Liverpool side because they create so many opportunities.

Jurgen Klopp has gotten quite inventive with his excuses this season. FFC’s James Jones think he has no one but himself to blame for Liverpol’s poor form in the video below…

“With 13 goals in all competitions this season, Firmino is not doing badly, but he ended up with 27 in 2017-18 and at this stage he already had 23.

“Salah is struggling for goals too, but Mane is making up for that with 11 goals from his past 11 games, and he is on fire right now. At the moment Liverpool do not have a big problem, but if Mane stops scoring they could have because they rely so heavily on their front three.”

Firmino simply has to sacrifice his personal goal tally

As Hasselbaink said, the Brazilian’s goal tally isn’t too bad and whilst it could be better, the role that Firmino plays right now is vital for Jurgen Klopp and the Reds.

It is abundantly obvious that Liverpool’s midfield is lacking creativity and has done ever since the departure of Philippe Coutinho – the likes of Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Fabinho, Adam Lallana and Gini Wijnaldum have contributed just seven goals and six assists in the league throughout the entirety of this season.

What Firmino does is vital to provide any sort of link between the midfield and attack. Yes, at times he does end up far too deep in positions that make you wonder what on earth he’s doing, but he simply has to do that in order to keep things ticking over nicely.

The former Hoffenheim forward is the epitome of a team player, and is perhaps the only member of the squad who will be bought a pint from each and every one of his teammates should Liverpool secure a maiden Premier League title.

Hasselbaink is wrong – whilst Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are finding the back of the net, Firmino can pat himself on the back for making it all happen.

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It’s easy for a goalkeeper down the pecking order at a club to be forgotten about and that seems to be exactly the case with Birmingham stopper Tomasz Kuszczak.

The 37-year-old hasn’t played a single game this term and only managed ten appearances in 2017/18 too. As a result, supporters of the Blues responded to the club’s tweet wishing him a happy birthday on Wednesday by questioning where he’d actually got to.

Some of the response was extremely sarcastic as one fan said he’d had a great season whilst another asked whether he was still locked in a cupboard.

Many fans claimed they weren’t even aware he was still at St Andrews, forgetting he existed altogether.

One supporter was rather more brutal, thankful that the 6 foot 3 shot-stopper’s contract is up at the end of the season.

But there was at least one positive response for Kuszczak with an individual saying he was better than Lee Camp, the current number one.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

Tottenham Hotspur will host Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in Saturday’s lunchtime kickoff as both sides prepare to do battle in the north London derby.

Spurs will be coming off the back of a challenging fixture against Chelsea from midweek, whilst the Gunners will have met Bournemouth as they continue their fight for a place in the top four.

Both sides will be looking to win bragging rights over each other and have the players capable of ensuring that can happen, with the likes of Son Heung-min and Mesut Ozil in their ranks.

However, which player is more important to their respective club and will have the impact to ensure all three points is theirs?

Let’s take a look…

Son Heung-min

The South Korea international has been outstanding during his time at Tottenham, making Levy’s £27million swoop from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2015 appear a bargain.

Despite having missed part of the campaign through international duty, he has still managed to record red-hot figures for Mauricio Pochettino’s side this season.

Son has 16 goals in his 33 appearances across all competitions and nine assists, with 11 of those strikes in the Premier League which have included a couple of braces.

Still only 26-years-old, there is no doubt that the Korean will continue to develop further and become even better as he produces a number of world-class displays.

TT Grade: A Mesut Ozil

The German arrived at Arsenal in the summer of 2013 from Real Madrid, when Arsene Wenger shelled out £42.3m for the playmaker.

Things had started well for Ozil at the Emirates, with him proving to be a hit with the club’s fanbase and his statistics do not hide the fact of how well he has done in north London.

In the 216 appearances he has made for the Gunners, he has an astonishing 73 assists and 41 goals to his name and earned him a huge contract, however, he appears to have fallen out of favour at the club this season, per Transfermarkt.

Unai Emery does not seem to be impressed with what the 30-year-old can bring to the team and has given him just 13 starts in the Premier League so far, whilst he has rarely been used in their Europa League campaign.

TT Grade: B- The Verdict:

Son and Ozil appear to be at contrasting ends of the spectrum at the moment, which makes it relatively easy to decide who comes out on top in this battle.

There is no doubt that the German is a quality footballer, however, his performances are far too hit-and-miss and he can often go missing in games.

Son, on the other hand, is far from that and always looks to put in more than 100%, ensuring the team can continue their quest for silverware.

Tottenham and Arsenal fans – thoughts?