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Tottenham may have got back to winning ways on Tuesday but they face a much sterner test when they take on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

As a result, whilst Mauricio Pochettino would perhaps like to field the same starting XI as he did in the Champions League, he will probably proceed with a little more caution, and that could mean a change in formation.

There could be personnel differences, too, with the Argentine likely to recall Danny Rose and Harry Winks to the side, both of whom have been regulars this term, with nine and 11 appearances respectively.

He has other defensive decisions to make, with who gets the nod at centre-back particularly pertinent. Having played well against Red Star Belgrade and achieved a Football London rating of seven, it could be Davinson Sanchez who faces the task of dealing with Roberto Firmino.

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There is a lot riding on the fixture for both teams, with the hosts likely keen to get back to winning ways after losing their 100% record against Manchester United last time out.

For Spurs, a result here could kickstart their season and help them move on from their poor run, and the front three could be crucial to that happening.

Both Erik Lamela and Son Heung-min Son ran riot on Tuesday. With Harry Kane operating effectively as a creative passer, the two wingers were clinical in attack with a combined total of three goals and two assists, so should be confident going into Sunday.

However, one man who didn’t perform to the same level against the Serbian champions was Dele Alli, with no goal contributions, and that means he could miss out against the Reds.

He performed well against Watford but facing a side who have averaged 57% possession this campaign means he may not be the best option for Pochettino.

Instead, he will prefer a midfield three who can retain possession and provide better protection for the defence, with Sissoko and Ndombele producing four tackles and five interceptions between them on Tuesday.

Winks has also achieved a pass accuracy of 92% in the league, with Sissoko’s 91% also bettering that of Alli’s 85%.

The Argentine is also likely to recall Rose as Davies looks to build his fitness – with only four starts this season – and having played on Tuesday he might be considered not fit enough to deal with Mo Salah.

On average, Rose has been dribbled past just 0.8 times per game, and his pace and awareness should serve him well in the battle against the Egyptian, which will probably sway Pochettino’s decision.

Manchester United are in trouble.The fact that Thursday night’s miserable goalless draw against AZ Alkmaar felt so utterly normal, as did the following unfounded praise heaped on the hapless players by the equally estranged Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is a worrying indication of how far the 20-time champions of England have fallen.Success and silverware have been exchanged for mediocrity and money, at Old Trafford. While Ed Woodward announces revenues of almost £630m, the United we have grown to know, and respect, shrivel and squirm in the shadows, shrinking smaller and smaller by the week. But, money, money, money.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The football is embarrassing to watch at times and results show. United have won just five times in their previous 22 outings and since defeating Paris Saint-Germain have seen the likes of Rochdale, West Ham United, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town, Everton, Wolves and Arsenal hammer home their misery.

It’s unsurprising, then, that such damning verdicts are passed on the current state of the club and their place on the footballing ladder. Jason Cundy was the latest pundit to criticise United’s fall from grace…

To put things into context, Everton haven’t been crowned English champions since their reign on dominance in the 1980s that saw them lift the trophy in ’85 and ’87.

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…

Speaking on ITV Sport, Roy Keane has slammed Danny Rose’s performance for England on Friday night.

What did he say?

The Tottenham man had an evening to forget against the Czech Republic, and looked all at sea at left-back. As per SofaScore, he produced no tackles or accurate crosses, and lost possession 15 times over the course of the 90 minutes. His match rating of 6.1 was the worst of any England player who started the game.

How much money could you make busking for a week as a freestyle footballer? Find out in the video below…

And, speaking after the Three Lions’ 2-1 defeat, Manchester United legend Keane delivered a damning verdict on Rose’s defensive credentials.

He said (as quoted by The Evening Standard): “Rose’s performance tonight, my goodness. Someone’s got to get hold of that guy. He was shocking! Abysmal! I think he will be the same in another three or four years. Some players do not learn from their mistakes at the highest level. You will suffer from it.”

Ruthless

After watching his disastrous outing for England, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino must be wondering whether he really should have been more ruthless with Rose this summer. According to reports, the north London side rejected a bid from Watford for the left-back, whilst he also missed the club’s pre-season tour in order to “explore” a move away.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

A deal however, failed to materialise, and the 29-year-old has somehow worked his way back into first-team contention for both club and country. It has been quite the remarkable turnaround, but in truth, his displays simply haven’t been up to scratch. Compared to last season, Rose has made less tackles (1.6), less dribbles (0.9) and committed more fouls (1.9) per game in the Premier League this year.

It all points to someone who is declining in ability, and more worryingly for Spurs someone who isn’t learning with experience. As Keane alludes to, the defender’s mistakes are essentially basic in nature, and at 29, you would hope those kinds of errors would have been stamped out long ago. Instead, by not giving the green light for him to leave, and now including him in his first-team, Pochettino is facing a campaign where he knows he will quite simply be let down.

If he was deemed not good enough last year, then he’s arguably much worse now. And Pochettino and Spurs are likely to encounter similarly disappointing showings as the one Rose produced for England on Friday.

This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.

Chelsea paid around £25m to sign Oscar back in 2012 from Internacional in a deal that had then-boss Roberto Di Matteo appearing to jump for joy regarding the possibility of bringing him to Stamford Bridge (BBC).

Indeed, the former Brazil international appeared to take to life rather well in SW6 as he managed to record some rather remarkable figures in his debut campaign. Having signed as a 20-year-old, the midfielder managed to net 12 goals and provide a further 12 assists for his team-mates in his 64 appearances (Guardian).

However, that was, perhaps, as good as it got for the South American, as he saw his contributions (and appearances) dwindle as each year passed by.

Oscar made 41 times the following season (with a contribution of seven goals and nine assists).

He played another 11 more appearances (with one assist) before deciding to leave Chelsea for the Chinese Super League.

That meant he would end his time at Stamford Bridge with a respectable record of 38 goals and 37 assists in 203 appearances (Transfermarkt), although it might not have been one that was worthy of the fee that was understood to have been paid for him.

It was reported that Shanghai SIPG had decided to splash an alleged £52m on signing the now-28-year-old, therefore handing the Blues a profit of just over 100% on the original figure they spent on him.

Oscar, though, appears to have repaid that huge transfer fee back with his performances for the Chinese outfit, as he has totalled 117 appearances that has seen him contribute with 36 goals and 60 assists.

Having moved to the Far East after thinking about the future security of his family (Guardian), it would appear Chelsea managed to cash in on him at the right time, as his figures were starting to be on the decline in the high-intensity style of football that the Premier League brings.

Chelsea fans, what did you make of Oscar during his time at the club? Let us know your thoughts by sharing them below!

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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…

Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, Kevin De Bruyne’s former coach at Genk, Hein Vanhaezebrouck, has revealed the midfielder may need to leave Manchester City to win the Ballon d’Or.

What did he say?

The Belgium international has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best players, registering 25 goals and providing a further 53 assists in just 126 appearances in the top-flight.

Despite being a key part of City’s recent success, De Bruyne has not figured amongst the top three for the coveted Ballon d’Or. And now, Vanhaezebrouck has suggested the 28-year-old may be better off playing for a team like PSG where he can win the big titles and accolades on both a personal and collective level.

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He said (as translated by The Daily Mail): “He has never won anything internationally. No Europa League, no Champions League, no World Cup – and these are the things that are always taken into account.

“As soon as he wins one of these prizes I have no doubt that he will be in the running for the FIFA player of the year award and the Ballon d’Or trophy. He could yet do it with City – but with the defence they’ve got I am not convinced. I’m not saying that it would be easier for him to win the Champions League with Barcelona or Real Madrid.

“But to my mind it would be if he played for Paris Saint-Germain. Get De Bruyne to feed Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe with his pinpoint passes, and you have a team that is virtually impossible to play against.”

Illogical

To win the Ballon d’Or, surely you have to be considered the best player on your team first? If De Bruyne were to take his coach’s advice and join PSG, he would have both Mbappe and Neymar as teammates who could quite conceivably make their claims to be the star attraction.

The latter even took the decision to leave Barcelona in part to get away from Lionel Messi’s shadow, so why on earth would City’s mercurial midfielder intentionally become a team’s number two or number three option?

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

At the Etihad, the road to becoming the world’s best player is far more smoother. Yes the likes of Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva offer tough competition, but De Bruyne’s influence on the side is second to none. Already this season, the Belgian has scored two goals and picked up seven assists in just six Premier League games. The Ballon d’Or is perfectly within his grasp at City, he just needs to prove it by helping City to major European success.

[ad_pod ]Leeds United took a step closer to promotion on Saturday afternoon with a narrow 2-1 victory over Championship strugglers Bolton Wanderers.The weekend result enabled them to keep pace with league leaders Norwich City, who sit two points ahead, albeit having played a game more than the Whites.Promotion fever has gripped Elland Road this season under Marcelo Bielsa, and it appears that it hasn’t taken long for January signing Kiko Casilla to embrace the optimism which has gripped the club in recent months.According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds’ number one has made a bold claim about the prospect of winning promotion this season:”It would mean more than winning the Champions League,” Casilla said. “It’s the objective we have and this is why I am here.”Clearly, it hasn’t taken Casilla long to appreciate the significance of the narrative which is unfolding in Yorkshire.The fact the 32-year-old stopper was on the periphery at Madrid and played little part in their Champions League triumphs has presumably influenced his stance, but that has not prevented the supporters from gushing over his bold claim.

Indeed, the fans on Twitter were clearly delighted by Casilla’s desire to help Leeds end their top-flight exile, and it seems his popularity has soared in light of his verdict.

Here’s what some of the Leeds fans had to say about Casilla’s comments on Twitter:

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Tim Cahill picked up an assist in Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match earlier this week with a moment of individual genius which has impressed some Everton fans.

In the match between Manchester City Legends and Premier League Legends, the former Toffees player showed he still has it in him to perform when required, leading one Everton fan to state that ‘class is permanent’.

The former Australian international rolled back the years to team up with Robin van Persie in a one-two passing move which resulted in his side’s second goal of the match. The game ultimately finished 2-2.

His backheel to tee up the Dutchman is evidence that he still has quality, but some fans were left astounded that his piece of skill went unnoticed by the Sky Sports commentators.

Cahill himself seemed proud of his work by posting the clip on social media, whilst humorously suggesting that he should ‘get the boots back on’.

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Here is some of the reaction to Cahill’s assist, with Toffees fans enjoying the chance to see him in action once again.

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Lots of Sunderland fans have been left blasting the performance of Lynden Gooch in their 6-0 defeat away at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon.

It was a dismal day for the Stadium of Light faithful in their race to get promoted from League One, and while the defenders were truly awful in trying to keep the ball out of the net, the attackers were equally as poor going forward.

None more so than Gooch, who failed to record a single shot on goal or key pass, and was inaccurate in three of his attempted crosses and long balls (SofaScore).

The winger also gave the ball away on no fewer than on 21 separate occasions in total, the most out of any player on the pitch, in what was a disappointing game for him and the whole team.

Sunderland fans blast Gooch

These SAFC supporters were left blasting his display on Twitter, with one Black Cat even going as far as to claim that he is an ‘imposter’:

“100% convinced Gooch is a imposter”

Credit: @freddiesafc27

“Lynden Gooch plays every week, surely the “management team” can see he’s simply not good enough, it doesn’t matter who we face or any other excuses he’s simply not a good footballer.”

Credit: @jfoster3_

“Gooch has to be dropped now”

Credit: @woodylad83

“They were all atrocious. Gooch just stood out. LJ’s tactics aren’t working either.”

Credit: @Lauren_McLeish

“Leave Lynden Gooch in Bolton”

Credit: @mackemroy66

“Never want to see Gooch in a Sunderland kit again”

Credit: @omiddsafc

In other news, find out what transfer update has Black Cats buzzing here!

Celtic duo Kyogo Furuhashi and David Turnbull could make their returns from injury later this month, according to The Daily Record.

The Lowdown: Hamstring issues

Both players have been missing due to respective hamstring issues and haven’t been seen since the winter break.

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Furuhashi suffered a reoccurrence of the problem against St Johnstone prior to the winter break, whereas Turnbull hobbled off in the Scottish League Cup final seven days earlier.

The Hoops have coped without the pair, though, with Ange Postecoglou’s side winning every game since the winter break, which has resulted in them leapfrogging Rangers at the top of the Premiership.

The Latest: Europa Conference League inclusions

As reported by The Daily Record’s Lindsay Herron, both Furuhashi and Turnbull have been included in Celtic’s 25-man Europa Conference League squad.

Herron said that the ‘key stars could make their comebacks against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt’ – an exciting 10-word claim ahead of the two games on February 17 and 24.

The Verdict: Would be huge…

Celtic have been extremely impressive without the pair this year, but you’d expect that they would be even better with Furuhashi and Turnbull back in the side.

The Japanese forward has contributed to 21 goals in 26 games as a Celtic player, whereas the Scottish midfielder has made a whopping 4.1 key passes per game, as per WhoScored, with both regulars in the first XI before their respective injuries.

Having the pair back against Bodo/Glimt would give Postecoglou even more creative and attacking options over the two legs, which could be key, especially with the Hoops boss able to make five substitutions during the 90 minutes.

In other news: ‘Seen the reports’ – Kieran Devlin ‘surprised’ as Celtic now move for nine-position ace

Manchester United have had a quiet transfer window so far in terms of incoming players, but when it comes to speculation surrounding outgoings, the club has been caught in the middle of a media circus.

There have been reports that up to 17 players were rumoured to want out of the club, and Ralf Rangnick could be on his way to offloading one of them.

What’s the word?

According to reports from Manchester Evening News, United midfielder Donny Van De Beek has been offered to Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund on a loan deal for the rest of the season.

The 24-year-old has started just four Premier League games since he joined the club from Ajax in 2020, he and doesn’t seem to be getting more favourability since the arrival of Rangnick in late November.

Fabrizio Romano also weighed in on the Van De Beek situation at the club late on Thursday night tweeting:”Donny van de Beek situation. No decision made yet by Manchester United on his potential loan elsewhere, nothing communicated to player/agent. Ralf Rangnick still wants Donny to stay until the end of the season. #MUFC”

“No direct contacts with Borussia Dortmund as of now.”

Rangnick could make a huge mistake

Despite Romano’s comments about Rangnick wanting the midfielder to stay until the end of the season, if there is truth in the club offering out the player on loan to Newcastle and Dortmund, this could be a step in the wrong direction for the German coach.

Indeed, a number of United fans were raging earlier this week over the lack of game-time that Van de Beek has been afforded by the interim manager.

Before the Dutchman joined Man United in 2020, Erik ten Hag was getting the very best out of him at Ajax, with the player netting moved to the Premier League. However, he has been unable to emulate that success and get a good run of form going at Old Trafford because of the inconsistent game-time he has been given at his current club, with only two goals and two assists in 1,835 minutes of football over the last 16 months.

Going on loan to play more regularly would obviously benefit Van De Beek massively, but with the Champions League knockout rounds, FA Cup games and Premier League fixtures on United’s agenda, you would expect that Rangnick would want to keep as many midfield options as possible, as his 4-2-2-2 formation is heavily reliant in how they play. Therefore, it could be a big mistake for the German coach to let Van de Beek go this month, and it would likely not go down well with many of the Old Trafford faithful.

In other news: Rangnick could sign this gem as an upgrade on Wan-Bissaka