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According to journalist Matt Maher, who writes for the Express & Star, Aston Villa will be without Jack Grealish for tonight’s EFL Cup game with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 24-year-old had to be replaced in the latter stages of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester City having picked up a calf issue.

However, according to Maher, whilst the Englishman will miss out against Wolves, he could be fit to face Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

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Grealish has been in impressive form for Villa at the start of the 2019/20 campaign – scoring four times and contributing four assists in 12 appearances.

And the midfielder had not missed a minute of Premier League action for Dean Smith’s side until he was replaced in the final exchanges against City.

Find out what happened when a world-record-holding freestyler attempting skills with the worst pair of boots available on eBay in the video below…

It is doubtful whether Grealish would have been included against Wolves even if he were fit, but it would be big news if the skipper missed out against Liverpool.

A selection of the Twitter reaction to the injury update can be seen below:

Perhaps he needs to take the hint.

Leeds United’s owner Andrea Radrizzani recently spoke to The Times about how he is open to investment at Elland Road when he thinks the time is right.

In the interview, he claimed that Leeds could be in a position to challenge the likes of Manchester City if the club were to accept offers of investment from Qatar Sports Investments, the same group that owns Paris St-Germain.

“They have the possibility to bring this club to compete with Manchester City, so for the fans that could be a fantastic opportunity.”

But he was keen to stress that he isn’t exactly in any major rush to sell the club, and that he wants to see Leeds back in the top flight before he considers opening the door to offers.

“When I will open the door to others I don’t know, hopefully when we are in the Premier League. The financial support would be more important in the Premier League.”

However, Leeds United fans weren’t exactly best pleased when they saw what he had to say.

They seem to think that the lack of investment from the Italian himself might mean the dream of being promoted and then taking on money from new parties ends up dead before it even gets off the ground.

Here’s a look at what Leeds fans have been saying on Twitter…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Yan Valery is certainly not one of the first names on Ralph Hasenhuttl’s teamsheet right now.

That much was evidenced when Cedric Soares was forced to pull out of the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham during the warm up, and instead of calling on a natural right-sided defender in Valery to replace him, Hasenhuttl instead turned to James Ward-Prowse, a centre-midfielder by trade.

Southampton fans called for the young Frenchman’s inclusion for the next game against Chelsea, and the former RB Leipzig boss duly obliged by handing the 20-year-old a fourth Premier League start of the season.

Valery’s position in the team is far from a concrete one, as he made 22 appearances at right-back last term but also made 15 as a right wing-back.

And while he didn’t set the world alight in the 4-1 loss, there were two moments that suggested Valery may be better suited to a wing-back role, rather than a right-back in a flat back four…

Brilliant surge to set up Danny Ings

We saw the France Under-18 international at his attacking best in the build-up to Southampton’s one and only goal against the Blues.

Valery embarked on a brave but mesmeric dribble to beat six Chelsea players in total down the right flank – one of three completed dribbles from the youngster – before crossing with accuracy towards the feet of Ings, who gratefully prodded home.

Rush of blood at the back

After his moment of brilliance, we saw a moment of stark contrast in which Valery showed why he can be a defensive liability.

In the build-up to N’Golo Kante’s goal, Jorginho clipped a ball out to Marcos Alonso, who was in an unbelievable amount of space on the left wing.

Why? Because Valery had surged out of his position to get tight to Callum Hudson-Odoi – we can only presume that the Southampton man thought Jorginho was going to play it into the England international’s feet.

The rush of blood allowed Alonso to stroll forward and play the ball to Kante, who found the net via a deflection.

All in all, these two moments sum up why Valery would be much better suited to a wing-back role rather than on the right of a flat back four – his attacking qualities would shine and his defensive negligence would be better hidden if he was consistently played as a wing-back with three central defenders covering.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Liverpool will face a high-flying Leicester side on Saturday with the Foxes’ English stars bang in form, but Ricardo Pereira is a major threat who the Reds must keep in check.

When you think of Leicester’s danger men under Brendan Rodgers, you think of Jamie Vardy and James Maddison.

The former has scored five league goals already this campaign and has Sadio Mane gushing over his quality, while the latter has one goal and two assists in top-flight action, averaging a superb Whoscored rating of 7.42.

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That said, the Foxes’ last two fixtures have seen a new threat emerge, as Pereira has found the back of the next in each of his last two games.

The Portugal international has enjoyed a fantastic start to the campaign under Rodgers, so good in fact that it may actually alter the way Mane plays on Saturday.

Indeed, not only is Pereira fulfilling his defensive duties with a whopping 4.7 tackles per game, he is proving to be quite the attacking outlet for his side, racking up over 60 passes per game.

He is completing those passes at a rate of 80%, making 0.7 chances per game, but even more impressively is terrifying his opposite number with 2.1 dribbles per game.

To put that into perspective, Andy Robertson completes 1.3 dribbles each match, while Trent Alexander-Arnold musters a measly 0.3. Even Mane himself doesn’t top Pereira with just 1.3 dribbles per Premier League outing this season.

The 25 year-old loves romping forward and pinning his opposing winger and full-back into their own half, and his battle with Liverpool’s left flank could well decide the game.

If Pereira uses his nearly 5 tackles per game to halt Mane and his excellent bursting runs forward to get in behind the constantly overlapping Robertson, the Foxes could well be the first side in England to take something off the Reds this season.

It is something Jurgen Klopp will have to consider, and it may even force a slightly more cautious approach from the usually unstoppable duo of Robertson and Mane.

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Rangers games are coming thick and fast just now and squad rotation is the name of the game.

One summer recruit who is yet to play more than a bit part role though is Wales international and Premier League winner Andy King – a player hopeful he can win trophies at Ibrox, as reported in The Sun.

But omitted from the match day squad completely against St Johnstone on Sunday, some Rangers fans have been discussing his exclusion.

King arrived on loan from Leicester late in the transfer window and it was thought he would provide much needed experience and quality to the centre of midfield. With just four appearances and fifty one minutes of action so far though, King, as yet, hasn’t had the impact that would be excepted of a player with his pedigree.

After a tough Europa League fixture in midweek where he came off the bench, Sunday’s game could’ve been the ideal occasion to give him a run out, but when the team sheet was revealed there was no sign of King’s name.

Here’s a quick look at how Rangers fans reacted to his absence on Twitter…

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Marouane Chamakh.

Cameron Jerome.

Glenn Murray.

Crystal Palace have a history of playing with a traditional target man up top.

After the aforementioned names moved on, Christian Benteke was the next in line for the throne, signing from Liverpool in a club-record deal worth £27m to lead the line for the Eagles.

The Belgium international thrived in his first season at Selhurst Park under both Alan Pardew and then Sam Allardyce, justifying the decision to pay a premium for his services.

Benteke scored an impressive 15 Premier League goals in his first season in SE25, spearheading a system that suits his strengths – his heading ability and physical power in the air was utilised to the maximum.

Under Pardew and then Allardyce, the south Londoners put in 23 crosses per game, the second-most in the Premier League that season – you can see why Benteke notched as many goals as he did, with seven of his strikes coming via his head.

However, as has been well documented, the former Aston Villa striker has tailed off massively since Roy Hodgson stepped into the hotseat following Allardyce’s resignation and Frank de Boer’s short-lived tenure.

Since the former England manager took charge, Benteke has managed to score just four league goals in the last two seasons prior to the current campaign, and the proof is in the pudding as to why.

It’s the crossing stats again. The 28-year-old thrives in the air and always appears to be most effective when the ball is whipped onto his head – two of his four goals since Hodgson’s arrival have been headers, whilst the other two have been penalties.

Under the 72-year-old manager, Palace put just 15 crosses in per game in the 2018/19 season – the joint-fewest out of any team in England’s top-flight. It’s no surprise that Benteke only managed to notch one header that term, with that being his only goal in all competitions.

So far this season, Hodgson’s much-changed style in comparison to Allardyce’s is continuing as it did in 2018/19 – with few crosses coming in and little success for Benteke.

The Eagles have completed just 16 crosses per game, the fourth-fewest in the Premier League, and things have gotten even worse for Benteke as he has recently been dropped for Jordan Ayew.

In telling fashion, it is the form of the Ghanaian – signed from Swansea this summer for £2.5m – which has served to prove that the target man days at Selhurst Park are over, with Benteke being the main casualty of this changed approach.

Ayew has netted two goals this season whilst playing as a centre-forward in Hodgson’s possession-based game, already netting half of Benteke’s total tally across the last two campaigns in just two games against Manchester United and Aston Villa.

Not to be reactionary, as Ayew could well not score another goal this term seeing as he is far from prolific, but it is becoming apparent that there is no use anymore for a tall, aerially-reliant striker in this Hodgson team.

Despite the Eagles’ history of playing with a traditional target man up top and utilising their best abilities, Ayew’s recent form coupled with Benteke’s woes for the last two years strongly suggest that this era is over at Selhurst Park.

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أكد كلاوديو رانييري، المدير الفني لفريق سامبدوريا، أن حكم مباراة أتالانتا وريال مدريد، كان متعسفًا في قراره بطرد ريمو فريلير من صفوف الفريق الإيطالي.

فريلير لاعب أتالانتا تلقى بطاقة حمراء مباشرة في الدقيقة 17، وأثار قرار الحكم حالة واسعة من الجدل.

وفاز ريال مدريد على أتالانتا بهدف دون رد سجله فيرلاند ميندي في الدقيقة 86 بذهاب دور الـ 16 لدوري أبطال أوروبا في بيرجامو.

سُئل رانييري عما إذا كان شاهد مباراة أتالانتا أمام ريال مدريد، وقال في تصريحات نشرها موقع “توتو ميركاتو” الإيطالي: “شاهدت اللقاء.. يجب أن أقول إنه لم تكن هناك بطاقة حمراء”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. رئيس أتالانتا يفتح النار: الحكم خضع لـ ريال مدريد.. والطرد أصابني بالقشعريرة

وأضاف: “الحكم كان صارمًا للغاية، إنه أمر سيء جدًا لأنه بالتأكيد كانت ستكون مباراة أخرى (إذا لم يحدث الطرد)”.

وشدد: “أتالانتا خرج برؤوسهم مرفوعة وسيكون قادرًا على تقديم أداء جيد جدًا في مدريد، لم ينته الأمر في بيرجامو، أنا متأكد من ذلك”.

يذكر أن أتالانتا سيواجه سامبدوريا يوم الأحد القادم في الجولة 24 للدوري الإيطالي. طرد فريلير أمام ريال مدريد

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Xherdan Shaqiri faces a big season at Liverpool.

The winger, signed from Stoke City last summer, made 30 appearances in all competitions as the Reds attempted to chase down Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and won the Champions League.

The £13m acquisition – bought after Stoke were relegated to the Championship – had 24 outings in the Premier League, where he scored six goals and registered three assists.

He also played four times in Europe and once each in the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup.

His most telling contribution, of course, came in the scarcely believable 4-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League; he registered an assist in that game as the Reds booked their flight to Madrid, where they would win the trophy at Tottenham Hotspur’s expense.

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Yet, to dig a little deeper is to see a player who was nothing more than a rotation option.

He had 11 starts in the top-flight and completed the 90 minutes just four times.

Now, of course, he is playing behind Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. Any player would find it difficult to make his way into the Reds’ starting XI.

But one has to ask if Shaqiri actually enjoyed any real influence when he was on the pitch outside of that Barcelona game.

Per Understat, he averaged 2.23 shots-per-90 and 1.72 key passes-per-90, meaning a pass leading to a shot.

His expected goals (xG) statistic was 4.06, meaning that he over-performed in front of goal and actually scored goals that he shouldn’t have.

His expected assists (xA) stat was 1.89; those he assisted were being superbly clinical when he passed them the ball.

Shaqiri averaged 0.35xG-per-90 and 0.16xA-per-90.

A good comparison here would be Divock Origi, the striker who has emerged as an excellent back-up to the fabled front three.

Again, per Understat, in 12 Premier League appearances – four were starts – he scored three goals and registered one assist.

He averaged 3.28 shots-per-90 and 0.76 key passes-per-90. He had an xG of 2.24, which he outperformed, and an xA of 0.19, again which he outperformed.

He averaged 0.57xG-per-90 and an xA-per-90 of 0.05.

Shaqiri, clearly, is a more useful distributor of the ball but Origi is a more clinical option.

Both are forwards and the key for Liverpool is that their forwards can interchange with fluidity and swap positions. Salah scored 27 goals in all competitions, Mane scored 26 and Firmino scored 16. That’s a combined 69 goals.

If Shaqiri is to be kept around by manager Jurgen Klopp and if he is to make an impact next season, he simply must improve his output.

He is clearly a good forward; Liverpool would not have signed him had he not been thoroughly scouted and vetted.

But where Origi has taken his chances when he has come onto the pitch, one feels that Shaqiri has struggled with his consistency.

His statistics are not as good as they need to be and if he is to gain more minutes, he has to improve.

Otherwise, one feels that Liverpool will not hesitate to cash in next summer.

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Lots of Newcastle fans have been reacting to a first-team update, as stand-in manager Neil Redfearn reportedly wants Achraf Lazaar to feature heavily next season.

Now that the departures of Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon have left Newcastle with a gaping hole at the top end of the pitch, it may be easy to forget that full-back is still major weak point that needs addressing by whoever replaces Rafael Benitez.

Redfearn though, who has been taking first-team training while the club is without a new gaffer, believes Lazaar has what it takes to succeed at the club.

That is according to Alan Biggs, who says he spoke to Redfearn last season, and that the former Leeds United and Liverpool Women boss rates Lazaar very highly.

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The 27 year-old left-back has only featured ten times for the Newcastle senior side. He was impressive out on loan at Sheffield Wednesday last season, but that success was cut short by injury.

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where it’s safe to say Redfearn’s verdict hasn’t gone down too well…

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According to UOL, Everton are in negotiations over the signing of Ajax forward David Neres along with French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

The 22-year-old was in sensational form for the Dutch giants last season, scoring 12 goals and recording 15 assists as Ajax won the Eredivisie title, the Dutch Cup and also came within seconds of making the Champions League final.

Already a full Brazil international at such a young age, Neres is definitely amongst the most precocious of young footballers in Europe right now and it would represent a major coup for the Toffees if they can beat PSG to his signature.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

The aforementioned report from UOL states that the Merseysiders are ‘advanced’ in negotiations and are finding talks easy due to their previous dealings over the signings of Bernard and Richarlison – it also helps that Neres wants to play in England.

Would the Ajax wide man be a good signing for Marco Silva’s side? Football FanCast’s writers have their say on the matter…

Harry Sherlock

“Neres is exactly the type of player Everton should be signing. He’s young, exciting and offers all the attributes required to absolutely thrive in the top-flight. It remains to be seen whether the price will be right but, really, he’d be a truly exceptional winger at Goodison Park, capable of playing both on the right and the left. This is a deal that should be done as soon as possible.”

Matt Dawson

“Neres would be an absolutely phenomenal signing for Everton. He was a star in the Champions League and would provide them with much needed quality in the final third. You imagine that with the strides Bernard has made on the left that he’d feature on the right but the fact he’s so versatile only makes this potential signing even better. The Toffees would have a sensational player on their hands if they complete a deal.”

Luke Glanville

“A player of David Neres’ ability would be a fantastic signing for any club, regardless. And whilst I think an Everton move for the Ajax right winger would be harsh on Theo Walcott because he hasn’t really done much wrong since arriving at Goodison Park, it’s one they should go for. The signs are all there for the 22-year-old Brazilian to take the Premier League by storm and Marco Silva and Marcel Brands will want to make sure it happens with their team.”