All posts by h79snht.top

To say that Dominic Solanke has impressed this pre-season since making the move from Chelsea to Liverpool would be a massive understatement.

With an assist against Tranmere Rovers in their first fixture, the signs were good, but he’s followed that up with goals against Crystal Palace, Hertha Berlin and on Saturday in Dublin against Athletic Bilbao.

The Bilbao test was the Reds last pre-season action before their opening Premier League fixture next week away to Watford and they passed with flying colours, running out 3-1 winners over the La Liga side.

The jury was out on Solanke when he signed given he didn’t quite make the grade at Chelsea and the low-value nature of his switch to Merseyside, two turn offs for an expectant fan base that want to see big money signings.

However, the striker is doing everything he can to win over supporters and force his way into Jurgen Klopp’s first team, with some suggesting he is already above the likes of Divock Origi and Ben Woodburn in the pecking order at Anfield.

His display on Saturday delighted fans and they took to Twitter to share their thoughts about his progress in a Liverpool shirt…

Chelsea have not had the easiest few months after lifting the Premier League title, but Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville believes that there is one thing that the club are not struggling with, and that is player unrest.

Aside from the situation involving wantaway striker Diego Costa, Neville has claimed that the rest of the squad are fully behind manager Antonio Conte.

The defending league champions have come under question for their transfer activity so far, having allowed Nemanja Matic to join Manchester United and missing out on Romelu Lukaku to their fierce rivals.

The campaign got off to a bad start for Chelsea as they were beaten 3-2 by Burnley on the opening day of the season at Stamford Bridge, but they responded at Wembley.

The Blues faced Tottenham Hotspur at the national stadium on Sunday, and thanks to a double from Marcos Alonso, the team were able to seal all three points as 2-1 winners.

During Jose Mourinho’s final season in charge of Chelsea, there were many suggestions that the players had turned their backs on the manager, but Neville believes that there was no evidence of that at the weekend.

The ex-Man United star said on the Gary Neville podcast:

“They stood up today. They stood up like champions. They pulled together a makeshift team, this is certainly not their first XI, and they’ve shown something today. They’ve shown they are actually with the manager. If you think about the accusations last time Chelsea won the league it’s that they weren’t with Mourinho. Today they played, even when they went to 1-1, brilliantly. They put in a good performance against a really good Tottenham team.”

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s clash against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte confirmed that forward Eden Hazard is finally available for selection and he could make his first appearance of the season against the Foxes.

The Belgium international picked up an ankle injury while on duty with his country earlier in the summer but he made his comeback from injury for them during the recent international break, scoring one and assisting another in the 9-0 win against Gibraltar at the end of last month.

The 26-year-old’s fine form last season – the attacker scored 16 goals and provided a further five assists in 36 Premier League outings – was one of the main reasons the Blues won the title.

Chelsea supporters were quick to have their say on Conte’s comments via social media, and not only are they delighted about Hazard’s return, they think that Arsenal will be “shaking” ahead of the two clubs’ clash next weekend.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

At this point, it feels almost pointless to try and anticipate Pep Guardiola’s team selections. This season already, we’ve seen 15 different players start in the Premier League, and the City gaffer usually reserves his most audacious tactical ploys for his most significant of opponents.

Liverpool firmly fall into that category. Not only is Jurgen Klopp the manager Guardiola has lost to the most times throughout his trophy-laden career, but Manchester City have also failed to win their last five Premier League meetings with the Reds, losing four.

There does, however, appear to be two dividing sections of strategy in the Guardiola playbook, centring around the defence. During the first two fixtures of the season, the Spaniard selected a back three, leading to a win over Brighton and a draw with Everton, but City’s last outing saw a back four line up for the dramatic win over Bournemouth.

So, City fans, which foundation should Guardiola build his side on this weekend – a back three or a back four? Let us know by voting below…

Tottenham’s mixed started to the season suggests there are still a few ingredients missing for a successful title charge. Although Spurs’ starting XI is as strong as any other in the Premier League, the Lilywhites have struggled to break down water-tight defences, especially at their temporary home for 2017/18.

Indeed, Spurs have scored just twice and taken only two points from their three top flight encounters at Wembley stadium so far this season, on each occasion failing to penetrate sides who set up deep defensive lines and looked to spoil the match.

Although Mauricio Pochettino’s boys will be on the road this weekend, we could see similar dynamics at the London Stadium, where Saturday’s opponents West Ham recorded an incredibly attritional 1-0 victory over them at the end of last season.

Pochettino does have a potential solution at his disposal, however, in the form of Harry Winks. Following an injury layoff, the 21-year-old has only featured as a substitute so far this season, but he’s shown before that he has the passing quality and vision to unlock defences – something Spurs lacked in midfield last weekend with Eric Dier and Moussa Sissoko as the middle men.

So, Spurs fans, should Winks make his first start of the campaign against the Hammers? Let us know by voting below…

According to reports on ESPN, Leeds United are lining up a January move for Liverpool striker Danny Ings, and Whites fans have been quick to have their say on the rumour.

ESPN says that the 25-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Anfield following two serious injuries in his two years with the Reds following a move from Burnley in 2015, which hasrestricted him to just 12 first team appearances.

Meanwhile, the report adds that the Yorkshire outfit believe that Ings could play a key role in their bid to win promotion back to the Premier League for the first time since 2004 this season, with the club currently lying fifth in the Championship standings.

Leeds supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the story, and while some ‘would love Leeds to sign him’, others believe that “anybody is better than Lasogga” for them right now.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Over the last few weeks, the headlines where Tottenham Hotspur are concerned have centred around Harry Kane.After another dry August, the 24-year-old burst into life by scoring 11 goals in all competitions during the month of September.The striker failed to add to his tally against Bournemouth at Wembley over the weekend, with Christian Eriksen scoring the one and only goal on the day.Despite that, Kane has become the face of Tottenham, but there is one man who has received some high praise from former England goalkeeper Ray Clemence.The ex-Liverpool and Tottenham star has spoken of the importance of shot-stopper Hugo Lloris.The France international was solid in between the sticks and ended up making two crucial saves to deny Bournemouth.Clemence has taken to Twitter to suggest that Lloris will play a key role if Spurs finish the season with silverware.

Lloris has been part of the Tottenham setup since 2012 when he signed from Lyon.

Everton caretaker manager David Unsworth has hinted that he wants midfielder Ross Barkley to stay at the club, and Toffees fans have been having their say on his comments.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Merseyside outfit’s EFL Cup fourth round tie against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, Unsworth said: “My opinion of Ross is that I would absolutely love him to stay.”

The England international’s contract at Goodison Park is due to expire next summer and he has failed to feature this season because of a hamstring injury, although it is doubtful whether he would have featured under previous boss Ronald Koeman anyway after coming close to leaving the club at the end of the summer transfer window.

Everton supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the situation, and while some said “he has been sadly missed this season” following a disappointing start to the campaign, others said they ‘never wanted him to leave’.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

According to an interview he did with French media outlet SFR Sport, Southampton star Sofiane Boufal’s agent Yvan Le Mee has revealed that the forward was in demand during the summer transfer window with Serie A duo Inter Milan and Fiorentina and Spanish side Celta Vigo keen to sign him.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Morocco international has struggled for game time under Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino this term – and for form generally following his £16m move from Lille in 2016 – but he scored a brilliant solo winning goal against West Bromwich Albion last weekend to pick up a much-needed three points for his team.

Following the strike his agent decided to come out and speak about the 24-year-old’s future, and confirmed he could have left St Mary’s during the summer with a number of European clubs interested in his client.

What did he say?

Speaking to SFR Sport, Le Mee said: “In August we had clubs like Inter, Fiorentina and Celta Vigo, who know what they’re doing when it comes to buying players, who all wanted to buy him at any cost.

“Southampton said no though, and now he’s proving he’s someone who can win points.

“He feels good now, he’s just waiting to play more.”

Is his future in doubt then?

If he isn’t given a regular run in the starting line-up before the January transfer window then you would assume that the player would start to agitate for a move, and the club could decide to cash in on a player that hasn’t performed consistently following his move in 2016.

However, Boufal has impressed in Saints’ last three Premier League matches from the substitutes’ bench and he should be in line to start against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday – if he does it will be only the third time he has been named in the XI this season.

Why hasn’t it worked out for him yet?

Boufal was suffering from injury and didn’t have a pre-season when he first joined Southampton, and that lack of sharpness and form seemed to hamper him throughout the 2016/17 campaign.

However, he has no excuses this term and he has finally shown in the last few weeks that he is able to make an impact, as well as working hard defensively for the team, but he now needs a run in the side.

Paul Pogba will reportedly make his long-awaited return from a hamstring injury when Manchester United host Newcastle United after the international break.

The France international has missed Man United’s last 12 matches after tweaking his hamstring during the Champions League clash with Basel at the start of September.

The midfielder travelled to Miami, Florida as part of his recovery, but has since returned to Carrington ahead of his first-team return.

The 24-year-old, who is valued at £67.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, was not involved against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, despite suggestions that he had completed a week of training.

According to The Mirror, Pogba’s return will arrive against Newcastle on November 18, where the Red Devils will be looking to bounce back from the defeat at Stamford Bridge.

Pogba, who has scored twice and provided two assists in his four Premier League matches this season, is one of four Man United players closing on a return as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcos Rojo and Michael Carrick also near comebacks.

Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera started their fourth straight Premier League match as the midfield pair last weekend, and Pogba’s return would be a big boost ahead of key games against Arsenal and Manchester City towards the start of next month.