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Tottenham Hotspur will have a firm opportunity on Saturday to hand Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea their first defeat of the season when the two London rivals square off at Wembley.

Chelsea are yet to lose a game in all competitions this season and have had a tremendous start under the new Sarri regime.

But, Saturday’s trip to North London would be a real test of character for the Chelsea team as they hope to keep their 100% record intact for a little longer.

Spurs seem to have found their rhythm again with four straight wins following a 1-0 loss to Manchester City at the end of last month. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been able to call on the likes of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen again since their return from injuries and their impact have highly rewarding in terms of results and squad morale.

Following the Blues’ poor performance against Everton last weekend, an international break might have come at just the right time for Sarri to get his troops together and regather their focus.

But his opposite number would certainly be relishing the opportunity to do what no other team has been able to do this season and that is to get one over the 2017 Premier League champions.

Spurs will take the confidence of their recent results into the game and try to capitalise on it by putting Chelsea to sword and given Alvaro Morata’s continued struggle in the Nations League to score goals, Pochettino would certainly prepare his men to not give the likes of Eden Hazard and Ross Barkley any opportunity to work their magic.

Having said that, the Argentinian manager would also try to execute a game-plan that would allow Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura to have a go at the Chelsea defenders and create chances for themselves or set up Harry Kane.

The striker scored the winning goal for England against Croatia on Sunday and would certainly be aiming to do similar against Chelsea. Spurs would also look back on last season’s 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge to give them the belief and ambition they require for a big encounter like this.

With the stadium move surely close now, Tottenham could enjoy one last famous Wembley night with a major win over Chelsea.

Goodison Park was a miserable place to be in the 2017/18 campaign, but the arrival of Marco Silva is rapidly shifting the mood towards one epitomised by optimism and enthusiasm for the direction in which the club is heading. 

A painfully mediocre Premier League campaign, an early exit from the Europa League and three different managers, including the notoriously unpopular Sam Allardyce, contributed towards a depressing feeling at Everton last season.

The Toffees were not performing incredibly poorly; they were performing at an excruciatingly average level, with little by way of genuinely achievable targets to aspire towards.

Allardyce’s stint in the managerial hot-seat was particularly frustrating for a set of supporters who want to see their side break free from the manacles of the twilight zone between the top-six and the rest of the division and compete amongst the very best in the league.

Big Sam’s decisions perplexed supporters, his style of play was frustrating and his general demeanour did not evoke much by way of notable enthusiasm.

But after a season of treading water and hurling abuse at Allardyce, the club appear to have turned a corner, not only in terms of their results but also in the context of the feeling around Goodison.

Silva’s impressive start to life at the club has not completely blown away the supporters just yet but, together with the arrival of Marcel Brands, the Toffees faithful now have reason to believe once again.

Ahead of Everton’s home clash with Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon Silva was faced with an incredibly difficult decision: choosing between Kurt Zouma and Yerry Mina in central defence.

He went with the latter, which is exactly what the supporters wanted according to our poll result. Prior to the fixture, we asked Everton fans whether they wanted to see Mina or Zouma partner Michael Keane in central defence, and an overwhelming 73% opted for the Colombian giant.

It was a decision which will have had Silva caught between two minds. On the one hand Zouma had been excellent until he had been ruled ineligible to face Chelsea, and on the other Mina is a permanent member of the squad who was outstanding in Zouma’s absence.

Clearly, Mina’s showing at Stamford Bridge provided sufficient evidence to convince both Everton supporters and Silva that he deserves a place in the starting eleven now he is back to full fitness.

That Silva’s decision aligned with popular opinion amongst the Everton supporters is indicative of the growing feeling of harmony at Goodison Park, which is characterised by a collective understanding between manager, players and supporters of the club’s core ambitions and values.

Sure, riots wouldn’t have broken out if Zouma had been given the nod, but Silva’s decision to opt for Mina proves that Goodison is changing, and the Portuguese man is rapidly gaining the trust of the progressive-minded Evertonians donning blue and white on the terraces.

Everton fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

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Loads of Newcastle fans have been giving their verdict on Monday’s momentous win at Turf Moor, and they’re full of praise for summer signing Federico Fernandez.

Newcastle grabbed their third win on the bounce on Monday, winning 2-1 at Burnley courtesy of an own goal and a deft finish from Ciaran Clark.

The Magpies had to fight for it though, as the home side heaped tons of pressure on in the second half.

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Rafael Benitez surprised the Clarets by selecting a back three, and Fernandez’s performance in the middle of that three was sensational.

The 29-year-old seemed like a panic signing to many fans this summer, but he has proved his worth already, winning five aerial duels and making a whopping ten clearances in Monday’s win.

It was also his strike that was deflected over Joe Hart to open the scoring, and it’s not hard to see why Swansea fans loved the Argentine international so much.

Newcastle have become infamous for underwhelming transfer business under the leadership of Mike Ashley, but the £6m move for Fernandez is looking like a stroke of genius from the club.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions to the display down below…

Newcastle United supporters are dreaming of a future without Mike Ashley at the helm and a recent report suggests the obnoxious owner is taking the necessary steps towards making that dream a reality. 

On the field of play the Magpies managed to clinch a priceless point away at Everton on Wednesday evening.

The pre-match buildup was dominated by reports regarding a potential takeover, with Peter Kenyon one of four groups reportedly expressing a strong interest in completing a takeover exceeding £300 million (as per Sky Sports).

The latest report is another instalment in a story which has been brewing beneath the surface since Ashley put the club up for sale in 2017, and it seems that a conclusion to the saga may be looming on the horizon.

According to the Daily Mail, Ashley does not know if Kenyon has the necessary funds to complete a takeover, however, he has taken a vital step towards striking an agreement.

Indeed, the report claims that Ashley has given Kenyon ‘access to the club’s detailed accounts’, in order to help him drum up the required level of investment in the US.

‘It is thought the consortium Kenyon has been putting together could firm up their backing following analysis of Newcastle’s finances, and Ashley is hoping this proves to be the case.’

Whilst there remains plenty of reason for scepticism over the takeover reports, it would appear that Ashley is doing everything in his power to help Kenyon complete a successful takeover.

Whether Ashley’s decision to provide access to the club’s accounts proves to entice or dissuade potential investors to pump money into Newcastle United remains to be seen but, considering the enormity of the revenue created from the fan base and the enormous scope for potential at the club, investors have plenty of reason to make their interest concrete.Ashley appears to be doing all the right things, now it’s just a case of hoping at least one set of the four interested parties can strike a deal.

Newcastle fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

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The emergence of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez at Liverpool has reduced Nathaniel Clyne to a bit-part role at Anfield. The right-back’s own fitness issues have not helped matters either, and now his career looks to have stalled entirely.

In order to get back on track and playing regularly, Clyne must now seek a move away from Liverpool.

What’s the word?

Clyne has only featured once for Jurgen Klopp’s side this season – in an EFL Cup game. Though his absences can be put down to injury to an extent, it is doubtful that the 27-year-old would be anything other than a rotation and back-up player even if fully fit.

Playmaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he often received racist abuse after North London Derbies – Check out the video below…

At this stage in his career, the 14-cap England man must be playing week in, week out as often as possible. He will never get that opportunity at Liverpool.

The full-back must push for a move in January, and his former club, Southampton, should try and lure him back to St Mary’s Stadium.

A welcome return

Clyne spent three seasons with the south coast outfit, between 2012 and 2015, making over 100 appearances for the club in that time, becoming a firm fan favourite and England international in the process.

Clyne would now likely be welcomed back by the Saints faithful, and new boss Ralph Hasenhuttl ought to be keen to add depth in the right full-back position. Cedric Soares is currently Southampton’s first choice right-back, but Clyne has the ability to usurp the Portuguese to claim the starting spot for himself.

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Former Tottenham star Jermaine Jenas has revealed to Playmaker FC that he often received racist phone messages from Arsenal fans after North London Derbies.

Jenas played for Tottenham between 2005 and 2013 and while he wasn’t specific about which North London Derbies the racist abuse occurred after, his time at the club overlapped with the Gunners careers of several black and mixed raced players such as Thierry Henry, Sol Campbell and Theo Walcott.

According to Jenas, his phone number would always be leaked after North London Derbies and racist Arsenal fans would take advantage by leaving abusive messages on his voicemail.

And after Raheem Sterling highlighted the media’s role in racist abuse a few weeks ago following an incident at Stamford Bridge, Jenas’ comments suggest racism amongst sections of English football fans has never truly gone away – despite practically every club having modern day heroes from ethnic minorities like Arsenal legend and four-time Premier League Golden Boot winner Henry.

Jenas told Playmaker FC’s Natalie Polycarpou; “Any time I played against Arsenal, I don’t know who it was but after every single game I played, somebody would have given out my number. And I would have like fifty voice messages from Arsenal fans.

“Some of them were really racist,” he added.

Tottenham and Arsenal face each other again on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup and after the North London Derby earlier this season was marred by a racist incident – a Tottenham supporter hurling a banana at Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang – hopefully the coming instalment at the Emirates Stadium won’t be overshadowed by abusive behaviour.

Check out the video above to hear in full what Jenas had to say about how he was treated by Arsenal fans.

Having been appointed as West Ham manager in the summer, Manuel Pellegrini spent roughly £100m in his first transfer window on the likes of Felipe Anderson, Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena and Lukasz Fabianski as he attempts to get the club challenging for Europe.

All of the aforementioned names have slotted straight in and performed admirably, and that’s without even mentioning the fact that the former Manchester City boss also signed Jack Wilshere, Andriy Yarmolenko and Lucas Perez.

£42m man Anderson, signed from Lazio, saw the Hammers smash their transfer-record, but the Brazilian has delivered with six goals and two assists so far in his debut Premier League season.

Diop and Balbuena have been rocks at the back, whilst behind them, Fabianski has continued his excellent form and picked up where he left off whilst with Swansea.

At just 21 years of age, we feel that the signing of Diop from Toulouse was the best of the bunch, given his current ability and ceiling to improve even more; he is even of interest to Manchester United, thanks to his stunning start to life in England.

There are so many to choose from, but we want to know who you think Pellegrini’s best signing at the London Stadium has been since his appointment.

Have your say down below, and keep an eye out for the published results…

Hull City boss Nigel Adkins has conceded that Tommy Elphick will more than likely return to parent club Aston Villa at the start of next month.Elphick joined Hull on loan from Villa during the summer, and was expected to spend the entire 2018-19 campaign with the Tigers.Axel Tuanzebe’s foot injury has harmed Villa’s options in defence, however, and Adkins has told HullLive that Elphick looks likely to return to Villa Park.The 2016 arrival from Bournemouth has performed impressively at Hull, with the team showing a lot of improvement in recent weeks.It was a surprise when the 31-year-old was allowed to leave Villa, though, when considering the team’s problems in a defensive position.However, Elphick could now be heading back to his parent club in January.The Villa fans have been on social media offering their views on the situation, and a selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Playmaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

Wolves supporters have been making a lot of noise in recent times after seeing their team return to winning ways in impressive fashion over the weekend.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men went into their encounter with second place Tottenham off the back of drawing 1-1 with Fulham on Boxing Day, and thus seeking to go one better by recording what would be their eighth win of the campaign at Wembley on Saturday. And they did just that as goals from Willy Boly, Raul Jimenez, and Helder Costa inspired the visitors to a 3-1 victory at the national stadium, in turn moving them up to seventh place in the Premier League table.

As such, there have been many delighted Wolves fans up and down the country in recent times, with almost all of the 14 players used by Santo at the weekend against Spurs likely coming in for praise after an outstanding team display from the West Midlands club.

Yet one man in particular epitomised everything magnificent about last season’s Championship title winners, namely defender Conor Coady who, valued at £7.2 million by Transfermarkt, produced a stunning performance to help negate the attacking threat posed by Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

The 25-year-old has been a standout performer for Wolves this term upon their return to the Premier League, starting all 20 of their league games so far, and in that time producing many dominant defensive displays to help Santo’s side to the lofty heights of seventh place in the table.

And that was none-more-so evident than against Tottenham on Saturday, with the Englishman completing 45 of his 52 attempted passes to help Wolves wrestle control of the encounter – in fact, only Ruben Neves completed more passes (50) of those in a Wolves shirt (as per WhoScored).

But it was defensively in which Coady really proved his worth in doing a fine job on striker Harry Kane – the England captain may well have scored the opener for Spurs, but after that he didn’t get much of a sniff.

And that’s because 25-year-old Coady dominated proceedings in winning one of the two aerial duels he contested and indeed one of the two tackles he attempted, while his tally of two interceptions was the joint-most of any Wolves player to underline his excellent reading of the game.

Add in four clearances to help Santo’s side relieve some pressure, and the English defender was invariably in the right place at the right time to help Wolves to arguably their finest result of the season so far.

Thus, while it was a brilliant team display from Santo’s men at Wembley on Saturday, the outstanding efforts of centre back Coady epitomised everything magnificent about the Midlanders against Spurs.

Wolves fans… what do you think? Let us know!

With the transfer window now open, Arsenal supporters will be hoping to see the arrival of some fresh faces as their club battles it out for a Champions League spot.

And while there may not be that much noise right now in regards to incomings, the Emirates faithful could still be about to get some good news elsewhere.

The Breakdown

ESPN reports the Gunners have activated the one-year contract extension option in Nacho Monreal’s contract, which should come as a huge boost to Unai Emery.

The Spaniard’s deal was initially set to expire in the summer, which would have left his manager in quite the dilemma.

Given Arsenal’s struggles at the back this season, Emery will likely have to dip into the summer market to bring in a central defender or two heading into the 2019/20 Premier League season.

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Under the budget he is currently working with, doing that, in addition to trying to add a new left-back to the squad, would not be easy.

But with Monreal, who is probably the team’s best defender, now set to stay at the Emirates for another year, Emery should be able to strengthen Arsenal where they are at their weakest — central defence — without having to worry about putting money aside when doing so in order to buy a new left-back.