All posts by z3u9t.icu

When asked about the latest Tottenham Hotspur team news, manager Jose Mourinho confirmed the latest to football.london – with Spurs star Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg set to miss the Europa League clash tonight against Dinamo Zagreb through suspension.

The Dane, who will not feature tonight, joins the likes of Son Heung-min (injury) and Joe Rodon (ineligible) on the list of players unable to take part this afternoon.

Jose Mourinho confirms Tottenham team news

Hojbjerg, who signed for Tottenham in the summer, has debatably been one of their best signings of that window alongside Sergio Reguilon – and he could be a miss.

Mourinho is predicted by reliable Lilywhites correspondent Alasdair Gold to play both Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks in midfield as a replacement for the Dane while Erik Lamela, Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn play further in front of him.

Tottenham hold a solid 2-0 advantage over the Croatian giants heading into tonight’s second leg, courtesy of a brace from Harry Kane in north London, and Mourinho has also confirmed that the Englishman is set to start this afternoon.

Giovani Lo Celso, who has been sidelined for months, is also ‘back to the squad’ according to Mourinho.

As Hojbjerg is set to miss the Zagreb clash, with Mourinho previously hailing him as a ‘phenomenal player’, it remains to be seen how Tottenham line up in midfield.

In other news: Daniel Levy will be offered this ‘extraordinary’ star, find out more here.

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire polished off his international break with an all-dominant display for England on Thursday evening.

Deployed alongside John Stones at the heart of the Three Lions’ defence against Poland in a FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifier, the former Leicester City man turned in a hugely impressive performance as Gareth Southgate’s men secured a third consecutive victory.

According to WhoScored, the 28-year-old was the second highest rated player on the entire pitch, earning a score of 7.75. Only opening goalscorer Harry Kane was awarded a higher score of 7.79.

Specifically, Maguire was a hugely influential figure defensively by contributing two tackles, two interceptions and accumulating a further two clearances. Meanwhile, the former Leicester City man also won four aerial duels.

This defensive solidarity certainly kept the visitors at bay with starting attacking pairing Arkadiusz Milik and Krzysztof Piątek not able to generate any real goalscoring threat and only managing to contribute two shots between them throughout the game.

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Maguire’s influence for the Three Lions did not just end by attempting to keep the ball out of his own net – he was also a hugely useful asset as the hosts attempted to build attacks of their own.

He had 97 touches of the ball, only Ben Chilwell having more in the entire Three Lions’ squad, whilst he completed 85 passes during the match, more than any other player.

Maguire also proved pivotal in the closing stages to score the all-important winning goal for England – showing fantastic instincts to latch onto John Stones’ knockdown before lashing home past Wojciech Szczęsny and into the back of the net for his third international goal.

With Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praising Maguire’s “strong” performances and character throughout the season, he will certainly hope to see similar displays from his defender as the international break draws to a close and club football returns this weekend.

AND in more news, take a look at which Red Devils is proving former boss Jose Mourinho wrong…

Reliable journalist Pete O’Rourke has confirmed that three clubs are ‘eyeing’ up a potential move to sign Jacob Murphy from Newcastle United.

As per a tweet from O’Rourke, who is oftenÂa reliable source for transfer news, those three teams are Rangers, Southampton and Watford.

Newcastle must keep Murphy

The St. James’ Park faithful must look to keep hold of Murphy at all costs in the summer window, and should especially not be considering selling him to a direct rival in the Premier League.

The 26-year-old is coming in to a nice bit of form in the North East, as he scored a fine goal against Burnley recently to put Steve Bruce’s side on track for a crucial three points at Turf Moor.

Alan Shearer thought that he was ‘excellent’ in the 2-2 home draw with Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, and his performances of late have certainly warranted him a regular place in the starting eleven.

The fact that the Englishman can play as a wing-back as well as a winger is also a great asset to have for the Tyneside club, and could be very useful in the future.

Nonetheless, the Magpies have to try and do all that they can to keep Murphy and thus fend off any interest from elsewhere.

In other news, find out what emails have shown a Premier League U-turn on a takeover decision here!

Liverpool slumped to their sixth straight home defeat in the Premier League after their 1-0 loss to Fulham on Sunday.

Pearce reacts

Things went from bad to worse for the reigning Premier League champions as they fell further off the pace in the race for the top four. If there were any doubts of their title charge being over before the game, they have now surely been confirmed.

Mario Lemina scored the only goal of the game right on half-time to secure the points for the relegation-battling Cottagers, who latched onto a mistake from Mohamed Salah.

After the full-time whistle, The Athletic journalist James Pearce provided immediate analysis on the game as soon as referee Kevin Friend put the whistle to his mouth.

Transfer Tavern Verdict

Liverpool have had just 10 shots on target in their last three games, which is nowhere near good enough for a team which recently won the Champions League and the Premier League in the space of 13 months.

It’s becoming increasing unfathomable that their gruesome run has continued. Jurgen Klopp freshened the squad up and featured some new faces in a bid to provide some new ideas, but ultimately nothing new came to the table.

The mystery is growing. Only Klopp and his coaching staff can work on the possible answers with a huge Champions League game on the horizon in midweek.

In other news, Liverpool blockbuster move in trouble as ‘unplayable’ star’s hefty demands emerge

When Slaven Bilic brought Michail Antonio to West Ham in 2015 few would have expected him to make the impact he has.

The £7m signing from Nottingham Forest has been a revelation for the Irons and alongside the likes of Tomas Soucek, is leading David Moyes’ men towards European football.

It’s been quite the season for the Hammers who have bounced back remarkably well from a relegation-threatened term in 2019/20.

Antonio has been vital, making everyone stand to attention by knocking four goals past Norwich last season. The forward has since shown this season that wasn’t a one-off.

The Englishman has been tremendous, racking up a tally of five strikes in 12 outings. He’s missed a period of time through injury but has offered plenty to West Ham.

He is a bustling energetic striker, one capable of hassling opponents until they’re on their knees begging for mercy. Antonio is relentless, pressing from the front and providing tireless work rate.

Those attributes were typified by comments from Graeme Souness earlier this season. He said: “He’s one of those centre-forwards you wouldn’t enjoy playing against. You get in a race with him, he’s going to beat you, physically if you have a tangle with him, he’s going to beat you.”

Though, Moyes could be on the verge of luring a similar sort of player to West Ham. That’s because they’re monitoring the situation of Spezia forward M’Bala Nzola. Foot Mercato reported this week that Fulham had a bid rejected for the 24-year-old, but mentioned the Hammers were interested too.

Those claims were furthered by West Ham insider ExWHUemployee who made an eye-catching comparison between Nzola and one of the Premier League’s greatest players. He said: “He’s meant to be a bit like Didier Drogba in his physique and playing style.”

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For a closer indication of his style, you only need to consult words from Metropolitan Magazine who described him in the following way: “[Nzola is] a very fast central striker who manages to attack space with absolute effectiveness. He is also difficult to deal with because he has enviable physical strength which makes him an extremely uncomfortable customer.”

That couldn’t be closer to Antonio, someone who also uses his powerful nature to bulldoze his way past defenders.

Nzola isn’t just about physicality either – he can also find the back of the net on a regular basis. The Frenchman has racked up an impressive tally of nine goals in just 13 Serie A appearances this season.

Bearing in mind how well Antonio has done in east London, Nzola would surely fit Moyes’ style of football. With West Ham craving a new forward after Sebastien Haller’s departure, they could do far worse than signing Nzola as his replacement.

AND in other news, WHU sealed dream deal over “top quality” £27m-rated gem “playing out of his skin”…

Many Rangers fans have been left lauding the display of Allan McGregor in the first half of their game at home to Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership.

The Scotland international made a number of very good saves to deny Lawrence Shankland and Louis Appere in the opening half as Steven Gerrard’s men look to keep their highly impressive record in the SPFL.

The Ibrox faithful will not want McGregor to be as busy as he has been in the first half as the Gers look to chase all three points, but the 39-year-old has shown himself to be a very safe pair of hands in between the posts for the Glasgow club.

Nonetheless, they will now be expecting to go on and win the game, and edge ever nearer to taking the title away from their bitter rivals Celtic.

Rangers fan reaction to McGregor display

These Rangers supporters lauded his performance on Twitter, with one fan even going as far as to say that the goalkeeper is ‘unreal’:

“Still one of the best stoppers on the planet”

Credit: @Russell0716

“What a keeper”

Credit: @Sargman2

“Big save from McGregor, brilliant once again #RFC”

Credit: @JakeLog18721892

“McGregor is honestly unreal”

Credit: @DaneG_72

“Alan McGregor is unbelievable man”

Credit: @leewill96967911

“Allan McGregor is the best ever to grace the park”Credit: @cammylikescoffeIn other news, find out what new partnership has been lauded by Gers fans here!

David Moyes will be eager to receive some good news on the fitness of Pablo Fornals after the West Ham midfielder missed Sunday’s defeat to Manchester United through injury.

That’s according to football.london, who note that Fornals was a late withdrawal from the squad at Old Trafford after sustaining a minor knock.

But the Irons are unlikely to be without the Spaniard for long, with it expected that the 25-year-old should make a quick return.

Fornals’ recovery is likely to hand Moyes a triple boost after the upcoming international break, with Angelo Ogbonna and Arthur Masuaku also said to be closing in on a return to first-team action.

Fornals had started West Ham’s past three Premier League fixtures before missing the 1-0 loss to Manchester United, having been given a surprise recall against Tottenham Hotspur last month after playing just six of the previous 270 available minutes of top-flight action.

Ogbonna has been in the treatment room since the FA Cup fifth-round loss at Old Trafford at the start of February when he sustained a high ankle sprain, ruling the 32-year-old out of five league games and counting.

Masuaku, meanwhile, has been sidelined since the Red Devils’ visit to the London Stadium in December, 20 games ago, having undergone career-saving knee surgery following the 3-1 defeat in what was his 11th start in all competitions.

Speaking ahead of the weekend’s action, Moyes had said: “Angelo is doing great. He’s back in the gym regularly. He’s out of his [protective] boot and we’re expecting him to start some running on the AlterG, which is the machine that takes a bit of your bodyweight off.

“He’s coming along and I’m hoping that, maybe by the end of the international break, we might have him back on the grass in some capacity. Arthur’s trained two or three days this week with the U23s and trained with me for a couple of days now, so Arthur’s getting much closer to match fitness and all-round fitness generally.”

Moyes will be eager for good news on the potentially swift return of Fornals to action, having missed the Spaniard’s energy during Sunday’s 1-0 loss at Old Trafford.

Fornals had proven a vastly important cog in the West Ham attacking midfield line with his performances against Tottenham, Manchester City and Leeds United, while assisting Jesse Lingard’s winning goal in the London derby with Spurs.

Beyond penning his first assist in 17 Premier League games, Fornals justified his appearance against Jose Mourinho’s north Londoners as he was lively throughout the tie with a tireless persistence to his efforts, which returned more tackles (4) than his per-game average (1.2), per SofaScore.

He was the energetic star once again at Manchester City the following week, constantly driving the Hammers up the pitch and proving a handful for the runaway league leaders.

West Ham were without that presence at Manchester United on Sunday, where Moyes felt his side’s offensive moves were often “really poor” and sloppy, leading to a lack of sustained efforts to hit the Red Devils on the break.

AND in other news, West Ham in four-way Premier League battle for 13-goal striker who is “annoying to the defender”…

Some Everton fans have been lauding a transfer update involving a potential swoop for West Ham United star Felipe Anderson.

As per TEAMtalk, the Goodison Park faithful are considering a move for the Brazil international as Carlo Ancelotti is looking for a possible replacement for Bernard, of whom the Italian boss is preparing for his exit from the Merseyside club to AS Roma.

While he has fallen out of favour at the Hammers, having been shipped off on loan to FC Porto for the 2020/21 term, he could still be a good signing for the Toffees.

The 27-year-old has a vast amount of experience playing in the Premier League, scoring 10 goals and making a further eight assists in 63 games over the last three consecutive terms (Transfermarkt).

If Bernard were to go, the winger could be his ideal replacement.

Everton fan reaction to Anderson link

These Toffees supporters lauded the transfer update on Twitter:

“If he’s not on mad wages then yes! Could be an exceptional signing if Carlo can get him to his best”

Credit: @rimmerefc

“You know what, I’d take that, I still rate him”

Credit: @RyanG78_

“If it’s a straight choice between him and Bernard then I’d take him. New challenge/motivation may be the move he needs. Bernard is just woeful”

Credit: @AlexOBr82171506

“Be a great signing!”

Credit: @Tomwalk62023010

“If this actually means Bernard leaves the club, get the deal done asap”

Credit: @johngale_

“It’s a yes from me”

Credit: @Paul1878W

In other news, find out who some Blues want to keep after news emerged here!

After a very promising couple of results seemed to suggest things were heading in the right direction for Newcastle, a dismal defeat to Southampton just before the international break delivered a damaging blow.

Steve Bruce’s side welcome Chelsea on Saturday, with the Blues’ upturn in form seeing them come into title contention. With the Magpies also suffering from numerous injury doubts and concerns, the Premier League clash looks like a tall order.

With the couple of weeks to try and potentially change things up, Bruce may spring a surprise or two to just shake it up in terms of tactics and personnel, and with that in mind, below is a look at just how the Magpies could line up.

In goal, Karl Darlow will continue to deputise in Martin Dubravka’s absence, although the Slovakia international is set to be approaching a potential return to first-team training sometime soon.

The first major call Bruce may want to make is the kind of system he uses. Recent weeks have seen him use the five-at-the-back to try and offer a better defensive balance, but he could show a bit more attacking intent by reverting to a more traditional back four on Saturday.

That could see Fabian Schar be the man to drop out, with Javier Manquillo coming in to give Bruce a genuine right-back option. In midfield, Jeff Hendrick’s poor form surely has to see him make way, with Isaac Hayden waiting in the wings to partner Sean Longstaff in the engine room.

Further forward, Miguel Almiron’s travelling for Paraguay whilst on international duty may see him get a breather, and his agent’s comments won’t have helped his cause either.

And having been deployed as a right wing-back, Jacob Murphy must surely get the chance to operate further forward, whilst if Callum Wilson can pass any late fitness checks, Bruce will be keen to see him start too.

Predicted XI: Darlow; Manquillo, Lascelles, Fernandez, Lewis; Murphy, Hayden, Longstaff, Saint-Maximin; Wilson, Joelinton.

Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to build on last weekend’s victory when they hit the road in the Championship this afternoon.

It took nine games, but recently-appointed Owls boss Tony Pulis clinched his first win in charge of the south Yorkshiremen to move them off the foot of the table by goal difference.

Their 1-0 victory over Coventry City at Hillsborough Stadium should be a welcome boost ahead of the trip to Blackburn Rovers today, though the 62-year-old is dealing with a mini injury crisis.

So, what sort of lineup will we see at Ewood Park? Here’s what we are predicting…

Pulis could make as many as three changes.

Starting in goal should be Keiren Westwood once again. His return spearheaded a clean sheet last time out, whilst a natural back three of Chey Dunkley, Tom Lees and Joost van Aken may start, meaning there’s no place for 29-year-old Liam Palmer.

With doubts over Kadeem Harris’ fitness, Moses Odubajo could come straight back in at right wing-back with Adam Reach continuing on the other flank.

There are also concerns over Owls skipper Barry Bannan, but he’s expected to feature after declaring himself fit on social media. He should continue a partnership with Joey Pelupessy, though young midfielder Liam Shaw is axed.

Pulis may hand Massimo Luongo a start on his return – if fit.

Whilst a front two pairing of Josh Windass and Calum Paterson seems likely given the manager’s lack of faith in Jordan Rhodes.

AND in other news, Pulis can land Sheff Weds a bargain in “real handful”, he won’t cost Chansiri a PENNY…