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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…

Life without Christian Eriksen would have seemed like a daunting prospect for Tottenham at one point in the recent past, but there have been signs recently that it may not be such a loss.

The 27-year-old has been on a slow decline for much of 2019, and he is now a far cry from the player of 2017/18, when he scored 14 goals and assisted 13 in all competitions.

This term he has a combined total of just two goals and assists – as well as picking up a 2/10 rating from Football London for his display against Brighton – and with his mind seemingly elsewhere amid speculation about his future, Mauricio Pochettino may begin to prepare for life without him

Check out a hilarious FIFA Forefiet Challenge with a Watford Ladies pro in the video below…

Eriksen was left on the bench in Spurs’ 5-0 win against Red Star Belgrade, and although he was still recovering from a dead leg, there is a chance that he won’t be selected against Liverpool even if he is deemed fit enough to play.

Erik Lamela’s impressive display eased any worries that Pochettino’s side may lack creativity, with the Argentine assisting two and making three key passes, whilst Harry Kane has also earned praise for his creativity and passing.

As well as the winger, Spurs also have Son Heung-min scoring regularly, Lucas Moura on the bench and the returning Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso – the latter a midfielder who fans are looking forward to seeing after he bagged 16 goals for Real Betis last year.

As a result, Eriksen could be in danger of losing his place in the matchday squad, and although such a move would be a bold call from Pochettino, it is a strategy which could hugely benefit the club in the long-term, with Six Alex Ferguson once suggesting a policy of getting rid of disillusioned players served him well.

Since the Denmark international looks set to leave at some point, with no sign that he will renew his contract, Pochettino is better off giving game time to players who want to be at the club.

Those players showed they can perform with their showing against Red Star, and with a bit of consistency in the starting line-up they could begin to build both cohesion and confidence, with Dele Alli also indicating that he could return to his best with a fine performance against Watford.

Should that happen, Spurs may begin to turn their fortunes around, and therefore Christian Eriksen could soon become a distant memory, which would certainly please some supporters.

Marcelo Bielsa introduced Liam Cooper for Helder Costa in the 76th minute of Leeds United’s Championship clash with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon.

The substitution saw the Whites switch to a back three with their fit-again skipper slotting in alongside Ben White and Luke Ayling in defence.

However, the Yorkshire side could not find a late goal on the afternoon as they shared the points for a second successive match having drawn at Preston North End on Tuesday.

The club’s fans are already frustrated that their manager is not making more changes to his starting XI on a week-to-week basis.

And a number of the supporters were unhappy with the late alteration against Wednesday as Cooper replaced Costa.

Costa has actually been slammed by the fans for his form in recent weeks, but not too many could understand why a centre-back was introduced when their team were looking for a late goal at Hillsborough.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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…

Sky Sports pundit Danny Mills has claimed Everton midfielder Andre Gomes has been “a big miss” at Goodison Park since suffering a rib injury, with the Portuguese’s absence helping to show his true worth to the Toffees.

What’s he said?

Everton turned Gomes’ temporary stint on loan from FC Barcelona into a permanent arrangement this summer for £22million, per BBC, after the midfielder featured in 29 games across all competitions last season, assisting twice.

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The 26-year-old began the new campaign as a regular in Silva’s plans, as well, with a starting role in each of the Blues’ opening four games of the Premier League season, but has featured for just six minutes since, coming in his return appearance from the bench at Burnley.

His absence from defeats against AFC Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Manchester City through a rib injury has helped to show what Gomes brings to the table, in the eyes of Mills, who believes the 29-cap international often goes under the radar.

Speaking with Football Insider, Mills said:

“He’s one of those players you don’t always notice until he’s not there. A lot of people go: ‘Yeah, he’s alright, he does this, does that, but what does he really do?’ Then he goes missing and they go: ‘Oh yeah, that’s what he does.’

“He doesn’t have those outstanding performances where he’s bossing it and driving through the midfield, scoring and shooting and all those types of things.

“He has been a big miss. It’s no excuse, Everton have got strength in depth and some quality and they should have coped better without him, but if they can get him back fit and firing that’s a massive plus.”

Schneiderlin showed why Gomes was missed

Since featuring from the bench at Burnley, Gomes has had the international break to help finalise the closing stages of his rehabilitation in the hopes of earning his fifth start of the term against West Ham United on Saturday.

So long as Silva has no doubts over the 26-year-old’s fitness, the Everton boss will likely be keen to hand his compatriot that start, as Schneiderlin and Delph were not able to fill the void Gomes’ absence created, as Mills pointed to.

Particularly against Burnley last time out, Schneiderlin showed why Gomes was missed, as the Frenchman often tried to keep things simple and play it sideways or backwards at Turf Moor, rather than advancing play up the field.

The 29-year-old offered no defensive support, either, with no tackles attempted or interceptions recorded, while WhoScored registered his central partner Delph as making one of each.

Gomes was not statistically superior to his Everton teammates in his first four outings of the season, with both Delph and Schneiderlin recording more successful tackles, interceptions, and accurate short and long passes, but it is in the things you often do not notice, as Mills said, that saw Gomes prove himself as Silva’s first-choice midfielder.

Former Liverpool under-23 manager Michael Beale has spoken out about Jurgen Klopp’s dealings with the club’s Academy when he first came to Anfield.

Speaking exclusively to the Liverpool Echo, current Rangers assistant manager Beale said that Klopp immediately met with him and Academy director Alex Inglethorpe after being shocked to learn that the club had 17 players out on loan at the time of his arrival in October 2015.

Beale told the Liverpool Echo: “To be fair, all our dealings with Jurgen, from the moment he come were fantastic.

“I think he got announced as manager and then the very next day he was straight to the Academy, because we had an U18 game that day and we had one or two players playing in that he wanted to get a look at.”

Beale added that Klopp has always been “very, very open and friendly with all of the Academy staff” during his time at Anfield. [via Liverpool Echo]

Klopp would hand first team opportunities to several players who were loaned out by Liverpool four years ago. Marko Grujic, Tiago Ilori, Kevin Stewart, Sheyi Ojo and Danny Ward were all on loan from the Reds during the 2015/16 season but all subsequently played for the German.

Klopp has also utilised the loan market to afford first team experience to players such as Taiwo Awoniyi, Jon Flanagan, Adam Bogdan, Ovie Ejaria, Ryan Kent, Ben Woodburn and Harry Wilson. [via TransferMarkt]

However, none of those have since currently out on loan from Liverpool, with the latter yet to make a first team appearance despite being loaned out at the time of Klopp’s arrival. The others have all left the club permanently having failed to become regulars at Liverpool under the current manager.

The only player from the Reds’ Academy to have become an closing in on a century of appearances for the club despite having just turned 21 this week.

Even though Beale has praised Klopp’s interest in the Academy and the first team manager was reportedly alarmed at how many players were loaned out by the club in 2015, he is still utilising the loan market despite allowing many previously on-loan players to leave permanently.

To his credit, Klopp has given chances to a lot of Academy and on-loan players during his time at Liverpool, while he has been honest enough to let those who aren’t in his plans to leave Anfield altogether.

However, history suggests that the current Academy crop, as well as those on loan from the club, would prove to be the exception rather than the rule if they can go on to become Liverpool first team regulars under Klopp.

Liverpool fans, do you think Klopp has used the loan market effectively? Has he been fair to fringe players at the club in terms of first team opportunities? Have your say by commenting below!

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Tottenham Hotspur host Crystal Palace in north London on Saturday looking to pick up just their second win in five Premier League matches.

It has been a mixed start to the campaign for Spurs, with an impressive opening day win being followed up by creditable draws on the road against Manchester City and Arsenal – albeit they surrendered a two-goal lead in the latter – and a disappointing home defeat against Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United.

They face a tough task against an Eagles side coming into this fixture on the back of successive victories, with their previous away match a 2-1 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

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Having also won at Manchester City, Arsenal, Wolves and Leicester – among others – last term, they clearly pose a big threat on their travels.

Here’s the starting XI we expect Mauricio Pochettino to select at the weekend…

Following the news that Davinson Sanchez may be a doubt, we expect the Argentine manager will continue with Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen at the heart of the backline, with Danny Rose again starting at left-back.

Right-back is more interesting however, with Sanchez playing there last time out, Serge Aurier producing some controversial comments during the week and Kyle Walker-Peters back in training but no confirmation whether he is yet ready to start.

As a result, we think Pochettino may spring a surprise and play Eric Dier there.

The former Southampton boss played a 4-3-1-2 formation on the opening day against Villa, and we expect him to replicate that here to try and quell the counter-attacking threat Palace pose.

That means Tanguy Ndombele – who has also returned to training following a thigh issue – starts alongside Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko, with Christian Eriksen selected ahead of Erik Lamela in the No.10 role.

Up top, Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min get the nod, and Tottenham will be relying on them to deliver the goals.

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

Real Madrid had a great weekend.

They ran out 1-0 winners over Sevilla, a result worth celebrating, but Casemiro will have to be on top of his game if they are to follow that up with another three points against Osasuna.

On the chalkboard

The Galacticos travelled to Andalusia and faced a red-hot Sevilla last weekend in a venue that has been unkind to them over the years.

Indeed, Real hadn’t won at the ground since 2014/15, but Zinedine Zidane’s troops prevailed and grabbed all three points thanks to a 1-0 victory on the night.

The biggest takeaway from the Sevilla game, however, was the clean sheet – the first one they managed to keep in the ongoing 2019/20 La Liga campaign.

Replicating the same result at Santiago Bernabeu against Villarreal, though, will be key as Real look to keep their good form going.

With that in mind, one player who might play a key role in Los Blancos actually achieving that could be the 27-year-old Brazilian star, Casemiro.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The midfield battle

Casemiro has been a regular presence in Real Madrid’s midfield for years now and as the team’s only natural defensive-midfielder at the moment, a lot of the work just might fall on his shoulders.

Zidane has been no doubt doing his research on Osasuna and Roberto Torres definitely stands out as one of their best performers.

Seeing how the 30-year-old is an attacking midfielder by trade, he is likely to find himself battling with Casemiro for supremacy.

So far, Torres has scored two goals and assisted one in the five La Liga games he has played and has tallied 3.8 shots, two key passes and 1.6 crosses per game. Casemiro can follow that up with three tackles, two interceptions and 1.8 clearances per game.

The Brazilian is also a better passer of the ball, registering 88.7% passing accuracy as opposed to Torres’ average of 72.2%. Casemiro is also not afraid of a tactical foul or two when needed as he has registered two fouls per game so far, and his counterpart has been fouled 1.6 times per game in La Liga.

If these stats are any indication, we might be seeing a fierce battle in the middle of the park and whoever ends up victorious just might propel their team to all three points.

Torres has already caused a lot of trouble for Barcelona – he scored twice against the Catalans on matchday three in Osasuna’s 2-2 draw with the Blaugrana.

Will he be the main protagonist at the Santiago Bernabeu as well?

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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…

We can never be certain which players are on a Premier League club’s wishlist – if we did know, the transfer market would be an altogether different sphere of operation.

In West Ham’s case, however, two key areas of the team are in need of new faces – not desperately, but given the situations of two players, reinforcements may soon become a huge necessity.

The two players in question are Carlos Sanchez and Pablo Zabaleta.

Both men are well on the wrong side of 30 but are still being relied on by Manuel Pellegrini – the Chilean even said that Sanchez would be an important player for him this season, much to the bemusement of some West Ham fans.

The former Aston Villa man will be 34 years of age in January, and is coming into the current season off the back of knee surgery which saw him miss 34 games and 215 days of the 2018/19 campaign – that injury would be worrying for a fresh player in his mid-20’s, let alone a 33-year-old.

The Colombia international played in the Hammers’ Carabao Cup win over Newport recently as Declan Rice was rested, and he remains the only backup in Pellegrini’s squad for the England international – as a result, a new holding midfielder must be on the agenda.

Find out which Premier League stadium has been ranked the worst in the video below…

In Zabaleta’s case, whilst he is a dependable professional who made his 400th appearance in English football against Newport, he is set to retire at the end of the season, leaving just Ryan Fredericks as the Hammers’ only recognised senior right-back.

In regards to squad depth, that wouldn’t be a situation that Pellegrini should welcome and a new right-back and a defensive-midfielder should absolutely be on his immediate transfer wishlist.

If those two positions are not prioritised, it could leave the east Londoners in a real predicament with regards to squad depth.

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

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith dropped Conor Hourihane in favour of giving new £15m signing Douglas Luiz his first start for the club at the weekend.

His home debut was a tale of two halves after a blunder in the first half allowed Harry Wilson to score his first goal for Bournemouth with a long-range deflected effort before very nearly putting the ball into his own net following a cross from the Cherries’ other Wilson, Callum.

Whilst in the second half, the Brazilian earned some reprieve having thrashed a stunning strike in from well outside the area but it wasn’t enough to claw back any form of result for the Villans as they lose their opening two matches.

Hourihane will surely feel harshly done by after losing his starting spot despite a very good showing against the Champions League runners-up, Tottenham Hotspur, on the opening day. He is currently averaging the third-highest rating of any other Villa player at 7.03.

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On the Chalkboard

The 21-year-old Luiz has unquestionable talent, there’s no doubting that.

None more so then when he put in a midfield clinic against one the best teams in the world in Real Madrid – he recorded a 90.7% passing accuracy rate, made three clearances, one interception and won 100% of his tackles.

Despite that, the change in midfield for the game with Bournemouth was a strange one and it was made more questionable following Luiz’s debut in the anchorman role.

He looked far off the pace of the Premier League against Bournemouth.

This, in one part, could be down to the lack of pre-season he’s had – his work permit was finally allowed just days before the season started, meaning his substitute appearance on the opening weekend was his first minutes in a Villa shirt, including pre-season.

In addition, another factor could be the fact that the Premier League is a more intense league than any of its European rivals, including La Liga where Luiz has been plying his trade for the best part of two seasons for Girona.

In 2016, ESPN described England’s top division, saying: “Intensity in the Premier League takes a more physical form. Games tend to be more box-to-box.”

And that is arguably why Luiz struggled.

The quality of the league has increased since those comments too, as seen last season when both the Champions League and Europa League finals were contested fully by four English teams – something that had never happened before.

Against Bournemouth, Luiz had one sloppy error leading to an opposition goal and he also tied second in the game for loss of possession with five, 75% of which led to a turnover.

The 5 foot 9 midfielder did produce a moment of pure quality with his second-half strike further emphasising that the talent is there, but that merely papered over the cracks.

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West Ham’s number 19 posted an image of his impassioned celebration, while his caption clearly showed that he was happy with how the game went on Tuesday evening.

Wilshere displayed a great attitude with his social media post. His main focus wasn’t his goal as his caption mainly focused on being in the hat for the next round and continuing to work hard going forward. An excellent sign for a fan base desperate to land some silverware.

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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…

It’s fair to say there have probably been better times than now to be a Manchester United supporter. The club have drifted away from the elite since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2013, and have had a huge turnover of both managers and players alike.

Now it’s the turn of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to try and turn things around for the Red Devils, and the Norwegian has publicly insisted he is keen to rebuild this new side around some of the club’s brightest home-grown players.

Whilst that hasn’t exactly been the case entirely – stand-out prospect Mason Greenwood hasn’t made a single Premier League start this season – the future does look genuinely bright for the Manchester side, despite their current struggles.

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

Teenagers and young stars are on the verge of making their breakthroughs into the side, and quite promisingly for United, in a wide array of positions too. So cheer up United fans, as we take a look at just what the team could look like if the academy is really given the chance to shine.

Having signed a new long-term contract, David de Gea is likely to be the man in between the sticks for the foreseeable future despite potential competition from Dean Henderson. And as two big-money arrivals this summer, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka will surely nail down two of the positions in the back-four.

Elsewhere is where things get really interesting. Axel Tuanzebe and Brandon Williams could be two of United’s homegrown youngsters to play in defence – and as such, it will make for equally good reading for England boss Gareth Southgate.

In central midfield, Scott McTominay looks to be an ever-present, as he continues to get better game-by-game. Former United ace Lee Sharpe even drew huge comparisons between the Scot and Red Devils legends Roy Keane and Bryan Robson – high praise indeed. Alongside him, 18-year-old James Garner could finally replace the likes of Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes.

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The teenager has earned rave reviews from Solskjaer, and looks set for a very bright future indeed. And, in an academy-dominated front four, Angel Gomes and Tahith Chong may feel confident of establishing themselves on a more regular basis. Marcus Rashford’s striking woes could see him shifted out on to the left-hand side, but it is the position from where he has produced two goals and an assist in three games this season.

Last, but not least, Greenwood is the man the entire club appear to be resting their fortunes on. The starlet has hit the ground running in the first-team, scoring in his first two starts of the season against both FC Astana and Rochdale. Amidst all the criticism the club have received for not having a proven goal-scorer, the Manchester-born forward may ease those concerns once and for all over the next couple of seasons.

Things may look bleak now, but there does appear to be a light at the end of the tunnel for United and their supporters.