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[ad_pod ]On Tuesday afternoon, Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa revealed that Liam Cooper, Barry Douglas and Ezgjan Alioski were all injury doubts for Wednesday’s Championship clash with Brentford.

Indeed, speaking to the media at his press conference, Bielsa suggested that the trio could miss out, although their absence has not been confirmed.

Cooper and Douglas have started all three of Leeds’ league matches this term whilst Alioski has been used twice off the bench in the second tier.

Bielsa is fully prepared for two of the three to be unavailable, though, revealing that Stuart Dallas will switch to left-back with Jamie Shackleton on the right if Douglas and Alioski are both unable to face the Bees.

The Leeds fans have been on social media offering their views on the update and whilst some are concerned/angry/upset by the injury situation, others are calm due to Bielsa having other options at full-back.

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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Manuel Pellegrini has never really had the correct options at his disposal to play with a two-man strike partnership at West Ham – he has instead used a 4-2-3-1 system – as per his Transfermarkt page – or a 4-1-4-1 formation like he did against Brighton last time out.

The mind naturally casts itself to Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez – why couldn’t the 6 foot 4 striker play up top with the Mexican, win flicks ons and knock the ball down to him?

Perhaps the Geordie’s chronic injury problems prevented that from happening. Marko Arnautovic? He was too selfish to even want to play for the club let alone play for Hernandez.

However, in £45m summer recruit Sebastien Haller, Pellegrini has the perfect man to revert back to the 4-2-2-2 formation that served him so well at Villarreal, and also the 4-4-2 system which he had success with at Manchester City.

The 6 foot 3 Frenchman looks a real powerful force up front – you can see just how good his hold-up play is and how hard he works off the ball by looking at the stats from his Premier League debut against the Citizens.

And then you have Hernandez. Chicharito. The Little Pea.

At 5 foot 9, you immediately think of the traditional big-man-little-man strike partnerships that the game has loved over the years – Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips and Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe are others which spring to mind.

You can teach yourself 3 crazy football skills in the video below…

Also, the former Manchester United striker is a natural-born goalscorer – as of December 2018, all of his 47 Premier League goals had come from inside the box, whilst it goes without saying there aren’t much better in the league in terms of movement.

Just even thinking about the Mexico international timing his runs off Haller’s flick-ons and dragging defenders away for the 25-year-old to have a pop at goal himself is a mouthwatering proposition.

The former Eintracht Frankfurt man unfortunately missed the trip to Brighton due to injury, although when he does return, Pellegrini would be a fool not to at least dust off the old two-man strike partnership system and see how Haller and Hernandez get on.

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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…

West Ham United boss Manuel Pellegrini has warned his players that they will have to keep Teemu Pukki quiet if they are to beat Norwich City this weekend, per The London Evening Standard.

What’s he said?

The Canaries have endured a mixed start to life back in the Premier League following their promotion, losing 4-1 to Liverpool and 3-2 to Chelsea, but beating Newcastle United 3-1.

Pukki scored the consolation goal at Anfield and netted a hat-trick against the Magpies, while also scoring once versus Chelsea.

It means that the forward, who has averaged a goal every 53 minutes in the top-flight, is tied with Raheem Sterling as the league’s top marksman.

And Pellegrini is wary of the threat Pukki poses, telling reporters: “He is working exactly the same with good movements, he is a player that has scored five goals in three games so we need to be very careful about him.

“When you have to change competition it always makes some players feel the difference between the Championship and the Premier League.

“We know what Pukki did last season in the Championship and he is demonstrating that the Premier League is not big for him.”

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Understatement

Pukki is probably the in-form player in the Premier League at this point.

The Finland international has taken to top-flight football like a duck to water and is surely set to keep scoring, at least until defences work out how to stop him.

It remains to be seen if West Ham can be the first team to do that; the stats, though, do not bode well.

They have not kept a clean sheet this season, losing 5-0 to Manchester City, drawing 1-1 with Brighton & Hove Albion and beating Watford 3-1.

If they can’t manage it this weekend, it may well be Pukki firing Norwich to all three points, and Pellegrini’s somewhat understated verdict may leave the gaffer with egg on his face.

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Tottenham Hotspur loanee Jack Clarke has been called up to the England Under-20 squad, the FA have confirmed.

What’s the word?

The winger, signed from Leeds United in the summer and immediately loaned back to the Whites, has yet to play in the Championship this season.

He has made two appearances in the League Cup, though, playing 70 minutes in the 3-0 win over Salford City and 45 minutes in the penalty shootout defeat to Stoke City.

Nevertheless, he has been selected in Keith Downing’s squad, his first call-up for the age group.

Promising signs

This is good news for Spurs.

International recognition for a player of any age is something to be celebrated, with England’s Under-20 side set to take on the Netherlands and Switzerland.

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He is now likely to play alongside defender Japhet Tanganga, who is also on the books at Spurs.

Clarke has yet to gain too many minutes for Leeds this season but this is a step forward and, at the very least, a chance for him to get some game time under his belt.

If he proves his worth, his burgeoning reputation will only grow.

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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…

Former Republic of Ireland international Richie Sadlier has shared his views on Shane Long’s exclusion from Mick McCarthy’s most recent squad.

The former Reading forward finds himself behind Danny Ings, Che Adams and even 19-year-old Michael Obafemi under Ralph Hasenhuttl at St Mary’s, and McCarthy cited Long’s lack of game time as the reason for him not being called up.

Following Long’s exclusion, Sadlier – who made 103 first-team appearances for Millwall and scored 34 goals – had some harsh words for the Saints striker.

What did he say?

Speaking on RTE Sport, Sadlier said: “I think it’s an indication of where Mick sees him in the pecking order.

“It’s been a while, I don’t hear many people clamouring for Shane Long to be included. It’s been a long time since I’ve looked at an Irish squad with Shane Long in it and thought, this is a goal threat.”

Comments should act as a wake-up call for Long

Long has been on the wrong trail for a while now.

He made just 12 Premier League starts last season, scoring five goals, and has only made a single substitute appearance so far this term in the league – academy graduate Obafemi also started ahead of him in the Carabao Cup game against Fulham.

One thing that hasn’t been taken away from him as a result, until now of course, was his place in the Republic of Ireland squad, although the fact that he has now been withdrawn should act as a wake-up call for the 32-year-old alongside Sadlier’s comments.

Whether that means he works even harder to impress Hasenhuttl and try to get a bit more game time, or asks for a move to get his career back on track, Long must do something in order to solve this sticky situation he finds himself in for the sake of his own career.

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

According to Spanish publication Marca, Christian Eriksen has “rejected every contract offer” Tottenham have offered him, and is waiting for a call from Real Madrid.

What’s the word?

The Denmark international saw his name linked with a move away from Spurs all summer, and reports in the closing stages of the transfer window had suggested Manchester United were eyeing up a potential swoop.

However, it was then claimed Eriksen has his heart set on a future transfer to Madrid, and Marca now back that, saying the 27-year-old is “hoping” the Spanish side come back in for him.

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The report adds the playmaker’s lawyers are making phone calls to clubs across Europe, with the Dane free to talk to clubs in January over a free transfer in the summer.

Cash in

Since his arrival from Ajax a few years ago, Eriksen has proven his quality in English football year-in and year-out. The 27-year-old has amassed 67 goals and 86 assists in 281 games for the north London side, and is a key performer for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

However, the Spurs boss’ comments in recent weeks have acted as an eye-opener. The Argentine publicly admitted that players like Eriksen were distracted over their futures being uncertain at the club, and all the transfer talk surrounding them was having a negative impact.

Whilst Pochettino has now insisted the squad have been able to re-focus, those previous issues are simply going to resurface in a couple of months time when the January transfer window rolls around. At that point, Spurs really will be left with a major conundrum. They only have to look at their bitter rivals Arsenal and see the kind of perilous situation the team can be in when key stars could be set to depart.

If Spurs can’t convince Eriksen to sign a new deal before January, it would be in their best interests to simply sell him. No waiting around or hoping, but acting decisively to ensure the squad knows where they stand and to prevent the catastrophe of losing him for free in the summer.

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[ad_pod ]Arsenal’s visit to Vicarage Road on Sunday was an absolute disaster.

From leading the game at halftime to scrapping for their lives against a lively Hornets side who registered a total of 31 shots, a statistic Opta claim to be the most Arsenal have registered since they started collecting data in 2003/04. You know, around about the time that whole invincible thing happened.

For those of you who are Twitter-savvy and football friendly, you may be aware of a particular brand of users who hide behind accounts dedicated to their favourite footballers.

These individuals are usually the most active on matchdays – from trolling opponents and making the most outlandish claims about how X is better than Y, you can bet your bottom dollar that they’ll be relentlessly attacking your timeline like a sugar frenzied wasp on a hot summers day. Every. Single. Weekend.

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An Arsenal fan thought he’d got the better of AS Roma’s official Twitter account when he responded to their post about loanee Henrikh Mkhitaryan; unfortunately for that supporter, it didn’t end well…

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Lots of Charlton fans have taken to Twitter to moan about Jonathan Leko, after the south Londoners suffered a second consecutive defeat with a loss against Wigan.

The 20-year-old – who is on a season-long loan from fellow Championship side West Brom – was making his seventh start of the campaign – the youngster has a goal and two assists to his name so far this term.

But he turned in a below-par performance against the Latics.

Leko – who has six career goals in 105 appearances –  was starting in attack alongside Tomer Hemed but did very little to threaten Wigan’s goal.

He failed to have a single shot and was also dispossessed once while having one unsuccessful touch.

Lee Bowyer’s side as a whole are seemingly struggling without Lyle Taylor, but Leko in particular was extremely quiet without the Montserrat international alongside him.

Let’s take a look at what a lot of unhappy Charlton fans have been saying about Leko…

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Harvey Elliott caught the eye of several Liverpool fans with an impressive performance against MK Dons, leading some to suggest that he should be given more of an opportunity in the first-team, perhaps even ahead of Mo Salah.

He is just 16 but already showed composure on the ball and looked an exciting threat going forward with four successful dribbles and three key passes, and a step-up to the Premier League could be good for his development.

However, Jurgen Klopp has not always shown faith in young players, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez a rarity in a team full of experienced players.

Given his age and the number of years he has to progress Elliott may have to bide his time, but if he can continue to display his talent in cup competition, as he did on Wednesday, then he should have a good chance of breaking into the first-team on a more regular basis.

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That would certainly please some sections of the Anfield support, some of whom are keen to see more of him as soon as possible, as evidenced in the responses below.

Aston Villa face a tough trip to Norwich as the search for their first away win in the Premier League this season continues.

Dean Smith’s side have struggled so far with only one top flight win and that has partly been due to the inconsistency in his team selection, although he does appear to have narrowed in on his preferred starting XI.

John McGinn impressed many with his performance against Burnley last time out, and Conor Hourihane playing alongside him allowed Jack Grealish more freedom in attack, with the Irishman also unlucky to see a first-half assist ruled out for offside.

Midfield could prove to be very important for Villa once again.

They enjoyed a lot of the ball against the Clarets but Norwich promise to be a different proposition, having had the majority of the ball in the league games they’ve played in 2019/20.

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Daniel Farke’s side have looked impressive at Carrow Road, beating Newcastle and Manchester City whilst showing confidence and ability on the ball that could allow them to play the ball around with ease.

However, they have looked vulnerable in defence at times, and with the likes of McGinn and Anwar El Ghazi taking up goalscoring positions of late, the visitors could find a breakthrough.

Here is how they could line-up against Norwich on Saturday.

The Canaries may have lost all of their away matches but they have scored eight in three games at home, and therefore an improved defensive performance is needed from the Villans.

Who says there’s no atmosphere at the Emirates? The evidence in the video above suggests otherwise…

Marvelous Nakamba is central to that, and if he performs to the level he has shown this season then his side should have some joy.

He has made a great start to his Premier League career with an average of 4.7 tackles per game, and his handling of players like Todd Cantwell and Emiliano Buendia could be pivotal.

The pair have a combined total of six assists and have been instrumental in the success of six-goal Teemu Pukki – the one player Villa must watch out for.

In order to do so, Mings and Engels will need to organise the defence better than they have done so far, with 11 goals conceded from seven matches.

Frederic Guilbert will need to step up too, as he could drop out for Elmohamady if he fails to stop crosses coming into the box, as he did for Jay Rodriguez’s goals last weekend.

One player who may consider himself unfortunate to miss out is Hourihane. His energy and pass accuracy of 92% was important in Villa having as much possession as they did against Burnley, and he could be involved if Smith decides to play Grealish out wide once again.

However, Trezeguet made an immediate impact when he was brought on in the last match, assisting McGinn with a well-picked out cross and also enjoying a pass success rate of 100%, so he is deserving of a return to the starting line-up.