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Southampton have been rocked by a triple injury blow which could result in Ralph Hasenhuttl fielding a weakened squad against Newcastle.

The Saints are currently in seriously impressive form and sit fifth in the Premier League table after huge victories over the likes of Everton and Aston Villa. However, the Magpies are also in good stead so far and are reaping the benefits of new signing Callum Wilson.

But three key players are likely to be absent after picking up injuries in their previous fixture. Danny Ings is set to undergo knee surgery whilst Ryan Bertrand and Jan Bednarek are suffering from thigh and head injuries respectively (via premierinjuries.com). With the ever-present left-back out of action, and with Jake Vokins also confirmed as an absentee, Hasenhuttl could call upon Kyle Walker-Peters to step in.

Walker-Peters to step up to the plate

As highlighted by Transfermarkt, the former Spurs man is confident playing in both full-back roles and has so far completely edged out Yan Valery at right back this season. He could be the difference between the result the team needs and one they would rather avoid.

Fans would certainly feel at ease seeing Walker-Peters filling in for the absent Bertrand, perhaps more so than James Ward-Prowse, who filled in there when the former Chelsea man went off with his hamstring issue at Villa Park.

The Englishman, rated at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, has received a lot of praise from fans and professionals alike after making a big impact on the team since his arrival. He was also picked out by Theo Walcott as the player to impress him the most since he joined the club with the ex-England international calling him a “grafter”, which is a huge compliment for the 23-year-old.

There has been no timeframe set on when Bertrand could be due to return. But should it be a lengthy time on the sidelines, a solid performance against Newcastle will prove to Hasenhuttl that he has a confident and reliable versatile player on his hands in Walker-Peters.

In other news, Southampton must act fast or risk losing Mohamed Elyounoussi permanently…

Glasgow Rangers travel to Lisbon to take on group leaders Benfica in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Steven Gerrard’s side are enjoying an incredible run of form, having won their past 18 games in a row in all competitions, as they started their Europa League Group D campaign with two wins from two away to Standard Liege and at home against Lech Poznan respectively.

After a bright start to the season, Benfica were beaten 3-0 by Boavista on Monday, but they have also made a perfect start to top Group D by beating both Lech Poznan and Standard Liege as well.

Gerrard will be well aware that his side will have to be at their very best if they are to best the Portuguese giants, who have become Champions League regulars in recent years, and last won the league title in 2019.

Here’s Football FanCast’s prediction for the starting line-up, which sees Gerrard make four changes to the team that travelled to Kilmarnock at the weekend.

Gerrard is likely to make several changes to the side that won at Rugby Park, particularly in the midfield.

Both full-backs Borna Barisic and James Tavernier pick themselves, along with Connor Goldson, but questions remain over who plays in the heart of the defence, as he could change Filip Helander for Leon Balogun to form the rest of the back four. The Rangers manager has so far rotated his centre-back options this season, so Balogun will be hoping to get the nod after Helander played in the Scottish Premiership at the weekend.

This means that Glen Kamara and Steven Davis could start in the midfield alongside Scott Arfield, which would see Joe Aribo and Ryan Jack drop to the bench. South Africa international Bongani Zungu has been training with the first team ahead of the away fixture but the loan signing may have to settle for a brief cameo as a substitute in the second half.

In attack, Alfredo Morelos should lead the line, with Ryan Kent to one side and Ianis Hagi the most likely option to start out wide on the right in place of Cedric Itten. £4m-rated Hagi has started two games out of two in the Europa League this season, having scored two goals and supplied one assist in the competition last term, via Transfermarkt.

As we’ve previously discussed, we think that Kent is long overdue a well-deserved rest, but it’s hard to imagine Gerrard giving him a break against Benfica with so much at stake.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers defender George Edmundson faces uncertain future at Ibrox…

Yerry Mina offered Carlo Ancelotti further reasons to look away from the Everton defender, after producing a torturous display as Colombia were beaten 3-0 in their World Cup qualifier with Uruguay on Friday night.

Ancelotti had opted to bench the former FC Barcelona centre-half for Everton’s final Premier League fixture before the November international break, with the Italian instead favouring a starting role for Mason Holgate against Manchester United upon his return from a toe injury.

Mina had opened each of the Toffees’ previous seven top-flight fixtures alongside Michael Keane and helped the Blues to their only clean sheet on the opening day of the season, marking the 26-year-old’s longest run in the starting line-up under Ancelotti to date.

But Mina may now have to wait for his next chance to impress at Goodison Park, as the £27million Marco Silva signing offered what El Tiempo described as a performance to be forgotten against Uruguay after seeing red for two yellow card fouls.

The Colombian outlet tore into Mina for his efforts at home to Uruguay, as the 26-year-old’s struggles ensured Oscar Tabarez’s team were able to play below their best and still leave the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez with all three points.

Popular Colombian football commentator Ivan Mejia also had some choice words for Mina, taking to Twitter to claim: “Mina, keep organizing the little dance. Fortunately, this torture was over, it had not been played so bad for a long time.”

Uruguay’s win moved Luis Suarez’s side two points clear of Colombia in the CONMEBOL table, with Mina and James Rodriguez’s country falling to seventh place and facing a five-point margin to leaders Brazil.

Mina’s struggles at home to Uruguay were capitalised by his late sending off for a second yellow card, but his performance was worrisome before referee Fernando Rapallini reached for his back pocket.

The 26-cap centre-half failed to register a single successful tackle up against the likes of Luis Suarez and Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani, while losing two of his four ground duels, three of his six aerial duels, misplacing 13 of his 57 passes and losing possession 13 times, per SofaScore.

Mina only committed one foul that did not see Rapallini reach for a card, but his two clearances and one interception were fewer than defensive partner Jeison Murillo achieved, with the Celta Vigo man clearing danger on three occasions and making two interceptions.

Ancelotti would have hoped to see Mina respond from his omission at home to Manchester United, but instead saw the centre-half let himself and his country down.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands holds a key advantage in Everton’s hunt for Carlo Ancelotti’s £13m target.

Dean Smith must unleash Ross Barkley against Wolverhampton Wanderers a week on Saturday amid reports Aston Villa could welcome the Chelsea loanee back from injury.

Barkley missed the Villans’ 2-1 defeat at West Ham United on Monday night after sustaining a hamstring strain inside the opening minute of last month’s loss at home to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The blow was expected to see the 26-year-old miss two fixtures but could sit out just the Irons affair, after Friday’s clash with Newcastle United was postponed amid an outbreak of coronavirus at the Toon’s Darsley Park training facilities.

Smith will gain the short-term benefit of having longer to prepare for next week’s Midlands Derby with Wolves as a result of Friday’s fixture being pushed back, and could receive some welcome news once Barkley undergoes further assessments on his hamstring injury.

According to the Express and Star, there is a chance the Chelsea midfielder will be passed fit to face Nuno Espirito Santo’s high-flying Wolves, who sit two points above the Villans in seventh ahead of visiting Premier League title-holders Liverpool on Sunday night.

Smith is mindful of the risk in rushing Barkley back from injury ahead of Villa’s packed festive schedule, which sees the Birmingham-based outfit play five games in 16 days between December 12’s derby with Wolves and a trip to Chelsea on the 28th.

Villa are hopeful scans over the next week will reveal Barkley has overcome his hamstring strain, allowing the £19.35-rated midfielder to earn his seventh Premier League start in claret and blue.

Barkley had started Villa’s last six top-flight fixtures and provided a hand in two goals (one scored, one assisted), having taken over duties in midfield from Conor Hourihane.

Smith accepts Hourihane was disappointed with being benched and left to play just 15 minutes before replacing Barkley at West Ham on Monday, but his reasoning for switching the Republic of Ireland international out for the Chelsea talent would justify doing so again at Wolves.

“Conversations can be difficult but if you’re just speaking to the players with honesty then you usually find a way through that,” Smith said, via quotes by BirminghamLive. “I wouldn’t say it’s easy but it’s part and parcel of your job.

“We’d played two, won two and Conor had come off in both games. We signed Ross and I felt we needed to go a different way against Liverpool given who we were playing against. I explained that to Conor and, yes, he was disappointed because he had been involved in the first two games, but we felt we’d brought in a real, high-calibre, different type of player.”

Smith will need to go in a different direction against Wolves than he did against West Ham, with Hourihane offering no tackles, interceptions, clearances, aerial duels won, dribbles attempted or key balls at the London Stadium while directing one of his two shots off target, per WhoScored.

Barkley, meanwhile, continues to rank highest among the Villans’ midfielders for his number of successful dribbles (2.18), shots taken (2.0), key passes (3.09) and second-most final third passes (14.55) per 90 minutes in the Premier League, per SofaScore, despite his injury.

AND in other news, Dean Smith must demand more from his “erratic” £75,000-per-week Aston Villa favourite.

The proposed £300m takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium has been dealt a big blow as the Premier League have agreed to extend its Middle East/North Africa deal with beIN Sports to cover the period of 2022 to 2025.

That is according to The New York Times journalist Tariq Panja, who went on to tweet that the deal is worth $500m (£367.3m) over the three years, which is the same as their current contract.

Panja also said that there was “no sign of a Saudi bidder”, given the past disputes over piracy in the KSA and the illegal streaming of games in the English top flight through Saudi broadcaster beoutQ.

The extended deal has come as a “major boost” to England’s highest division given the added revenue that they will generate, but it does also mean that fans in the KSA will continue to have to rely on illegal streams to watch matches in the EPL amid the ongoing ban of Qatari broadcaster beIN in the Gulf country.

Newcastle takeover dealt big blow

The prospective deal between Mike Ashley and the KSA group has now suffered a big blow considering the conflicts between the league and the KSA as a result of the controversies to do with piracy.

The fact that supporters in the Kingdom would not be able to watch games involving the St. James’ Park faithful legally as well is an added problem that may not be able to be resolved if the bid were to be pushed through.

In other news, find out which Magpie has been tipped for a new deal here!

Glasgow Rangers may have brought in backup for Borna Barisic in the shape of Calvin Bassey, but they may well have another long-term replacement lined up for a future move to Ibrox if recent reports are to be believed.

What’s the story?

According to The Daily Record, Rangers are interested in signing Croatian left-back Marijan Cabraja from Gorica.

It’s claimed that the 54-time Scottish champions are closely monitoring his situation, with his agent Miroslav Bicanic adding that there is interest from Italy, Poland, Russia and the United States as well as from the Ibrox outfit.

Cabraja said: “It is true that Rangers are following me, contact has been established but it all depends on how the situation with Borna Barisic develops.

“I don’t believe that the Scots will pay as much as Gorica are asking for, but let’s leave that aside now, the only thing that matters to me is how we will play in Split on Sunday.”

Ross Wilson would be wise to secure his services as not only would the former Croatia U21 international be able to provide cover and competition for his fellow countryman and he’d also add an alternative threat in attack

Papac 2.0?

Ibrox has borne witness to some of the best full-backs ever to grace the Scottish game, but that hasn’t always been the case.

For every Arthur Newman, there’s an Agnestis Argyriou, although it looks like the club could land an absolute bargain in the 23-year-old defender.

Standing at 5 foot 9 inches, Cabraja is cut from a similar cloth to former Rangers left-back Sasa Papac, who spent six years with the Govan-based Glaswegian giants.

The Bosnian defensive stalwart, who stands slightly taller at 1.85m tall, was also known for his unflappable style of play, having scored six goals and supplied 14 assists in all competitions for the club, via Transfermarkt.

In 13 appearances in the HNL, the Pula-born left-back has bagged one goal and two assists in total, whilst he has played in every minute of every single game so far this season.

This kind of calm presence and confidence on the ball would be most welcome in Glasgow as the Gers crashed out of the League Cup after Calvin Bassey conceded a sloppy penalty.

To sign a player with Cabraja’s obvious potential, whose market value is estimated at as little as £585,000, to provide injury cover for Barisic, could be a shrewd bit of business.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must cash in on Greg Stewart in January…

Glasgow Rangers return to Premiership action this afternoon for the first time since their Betfred Cup exit, when Steven Gerrard’s side welcome Motherwell to Ibrox on Saturday.

St Mirren stunned Rangers after Conor McCarthy bundled in an injury-time winner on Wednesday night, which will have forced Gerrard to go back to the drawing board, as the Gers turn their attention to hunting for the league title.

The Ibrox boss made a number of changes for the Scottish League Cup quarter-final, and has a huge selection dilemma on his hands as he looks to stop the rot from spreading further.

Here at Football FanCast, we’ve worked on a predicted starting line-up, which sees Gerrard make five changes to the chastening defeat at the Saints.

Allan McGregor started against St Mirren, so maybe Jon McLaughlin could push for a recall, but we’re backing the veteran goalkeeper to keep the gloves, having been trusted for most of the season so far.

James Tavernier, Connor Goldson and Filip Helander also started on Wednesday night, and it’s hard to imagine Gerrard making too many changes to the trio, with Leon Balogun ruled out due to injury, while Borna Barisic comes back in for Calvin Bassey, who will have to drop to the bench.

Bongani Zungu has struggled as of late, so bringing Steven Davis into the midfield alongside Scott Arfield and the in-form Glen Kamara makes most sense, at the expense of the South African midfielder and Joe Aribo.

Following his heroics in the Europa League, Cedric Itten offered very little at St Mirren Park, which means Jermain Defoe should be back in action this afternoon, with Kemar Roofe resuming his place on the right wing opposite the ever-reliable Ryan Kent.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard must unleash Jermain Defoe on Motherwell…

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Sporting Lisbon left-back Nuno Mendes recently and the Portuguese defender could be the perfect long-term replacement for Andrew Robertson.

What’s the word?

According to journalist Bruno Andrade (via Sport Witness), Liverpool remain strongly interested in the 18-year-old, having seen an offer for the youngster rejected during the summer transfer window.

However, with the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid also reportedly interested, it seems as if the Reds will face stiff competition for Mendes, who is also currently protected by a €70 million release clause.

Robertson’s heir?

Whilst Konstantinos Tsimikas was signed by Liverpool during the summer transfer window, he has struggled to impress on his few appearances thus far and is already 24-years-old, so was perhaps signed as a back up to Robertson rather than the Scottish international’s long-term replacement.

After all, the former Hull City man is only 26 himself and has been a mainstay in Jurgen Klopp’s side this season despite the arrival of Tsimikas, starting all 17 games in the Premier League and averaging a solid 6.96 rating.

Therefore, whilst Robertson is likely to be a first-team regular at Liverpool for the next five years at least, signing Mendes as his long-term heir could definitely be a sensible move by the club.

The teenager has averaged a superb 7.26 rating across his 12 appearances for Sporting Lisbon in the Liga NOS so far this season and has also appeared twice in the Europa League, meaning he would bring plenty of experience with him to Anfield despite being so young.

Mendes has also featured regularly as a left-midfielder in his career thus far, suggesting that he loves to get forward and can be a threat in the opposition half, which would certainly suit Liverpool’s style of play, with both Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold having registered excellent attacking returns in recent seasons.

Therefore, Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards should certainly consider a move for the £10.8 million-rated youngster in the near future, before the likes of United or Madrid snap him up.

And, in other news… Forget Thiago: £80k-p/w LFC star was Klopp’s game-changer vs Villa

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit Noel Whelan has reacted to reports that West Ham could land Watford star Ismaila Sarr in January – with journalist Alan Nixon claiming David Sullivan is ‘keen’ and the Irons are preparing a £30 million bid. 

Sarr, impressing for the Hornets again this campaign, has started 19 Championship matches as he remains a mainstay for Watford – coming after his head-turning exploits in the Premier League last year.

Over his 2020/2021 campaign so far, he has racked up four goals and assisted two others whilst averaging an impressive 2.2 shots per 90 (WhoScored) – leaving little wonder why teammate Andre Gray called him a ‘beast’ and likened him to Lionel Messi recently (Watford Observer).

Whelan reacts to Sarr swoop

Now, Whelan has joined in on the act amid claims West Ham are preparing a swoop with Sullivan ‘keen’ on signing the 22-year-old.

“He would definitely be a good signing. You have Manchester United sniffing around him as well, that says a lot,” he told Football Insider.

“It would be a short move away from Watford to West Ham, he would not have to relocate. They will have the funds now from the Haller deal and it would probably take £20-25million to sign him I would imagine.

“It is a deal that makes sense and that is perhaps why they got rid of Haller so quickly. I would be very surprised if West Ham did not sign a replacement this month. They will want that to happen as quickly as possible.”

Transfer Tavern take

Whether or not the Irons get this deal done remains to be seen, but judging by his accolades so far, it could be a real coup for GSB and the east Londoners.

In other transfer news: West Ham contact has been made for this bargain, find out more here.

A goal from Alfredo Morelos was enough to give Glasgow Rangers a well-deserved victory over Hibernian.

On paper at least, it looked like a potential banana skin, but the 54-time Scottish champions hardly put a foot wrong as they maintained their 23-point lead over Celtic.

The Colombian finished off a fine team move to score the only goal of the game at East Road.

Of course, the result could’ve been very different indeed had Morelos been sent off for an alleged stamp on Ryan Porteous in an otherwise dull first half.

Rangers captain James Tavernier has been an integral part of Gerrard’s side as they seek to end Celtic’s quest for an unprecedented ten in a row.

Since Gerrard’s arrival, Tavernier has transformed his fortunes, proving to be a force to be reckoned with on the right-hand side of the defence, bombing up and down the flanks with bundles of energy.

While he has received many plaudits for his performances in front of goal this season, his defensive contributions must not go under the radar.

During the full 90 minutes, the right-back put in a tremendous defensive shift to deny Hibs any clear-cut chances, as he made two tackles, three clearances and three interceptions, per SofaScore, which is more tackles than his teammate Filip Helander, who picked up an 8/10 rating from Glasgow Live for his display.

But it’s fair to say that one of his best traits is his willingness to bring the ball out from the back, as evidenced by his sole successful dribble from four attempts, as he tried to set his side on the front foot. For context, he took more touches (112) than any other player in the entire game. Tavernier had close to double the highest haul from a Hibs player and managed 23 more touches than Glen Kamara himself.

He also made more key passes (2) than anyone else besides Joe Aribo, Borna Barisic and Ryan Kent for Rangers as he set up several chances.

This was yet another step towards the title and Tavernier had another big part to play as he delivered the goods once again .

AND in other news, Rangers missed the boat with Stoke City left-back Alfie Doughty…