All posts by z3u9t.icu

[ad_pod ]This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…ÂLeeds have started the season with a win and a draw in the Championship, proving to be impressive when they knocked three goals past Bristol City, but less so against Nottingham Forest.The attacking prowess they had on the opening weekend seemed to be a distant memory versus Forest as Patrick Bamford missed six opportunities as Leeds scored just one despite playing 13 key passes.It was a frustrating afternoon for the Whites but they bounced back with a much-changed team against Salford in midweek.Yet, going into the game with Wigan this weekend, Bielsa has handed the opposition a major advantage.

On the chalkboard

In the build-up to the game against Sabri Lamouchi’s side, the Leeds boss admitted his team would be similar but in his latest press conference he’s actually stated that his side will be exactly the same.

This is an interesting approach from Bielsa who is a character that never fails to go under the radar, offering a rather comical response to journalists at Thorpe Arch.

His reply was tongue-in-cheek but there is a more serious matter to address here.

It’s all well and good having a personality in press conferences but to physically reveal your team is rather strange, especially days before the match is set to take place.

It gives the opposition a huge advantage and allows them to focus directly on the threats with the knowledge of who will be starting.

In a division which is so competitive and tough to get out of, this could prove telling for Leeds.

After all, they missed out on promotion via the playoffs last term and by handing knowledge like this to the teams they’re about to face could cost them significantly.

The fact of the matter is that Bielsa needs to stop this insightful approach.

After the performances of players like Helder Costa who created the opening goal for debutant Eddie Nketiah against Salford, there could have been food for thought for Wigan.

Just who was going to start would have been interesting but it’s already been revealed and their threats can be prepared for adequately.

After spy-gate last season it’s rather ironic that he reveals his team in the build-up to the game but it’s one aspect of Bielsa’s managerial repertoire that he needs to eradicate.

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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…

West Ham’s record signing Sebastien Haller grabbed his first two goals for the club against Watford in the Hammers’ last Premier League outing, showcasing his predatory instincts with some well-taken efforts from inside the box.

The two goals made him the club’s top scorer in the league this term after three games.

Whilst you would expect the 25-year-old to be pleased with his match-winning double, Haller has shown just how high his personal standards are with his words in the aftermath of the 3-1 win.

What did he say?

Haller told The Evening Standard: “It was a terrible game for me against Watford. It was not my best game but at the end I got two goals and that is the job of a striker.

“It is not easy to judge a player when he plays well but he does not score, but Saturday was the opposite. I am just happy because I helped the team to win.”

Shows just how high his standards are

That first sentence from Haller tells you everything you need to know about the 6 foot 3 forward’s mentality.

“It was a terrible game for me against Watford” is the nine-word response that proves the powerful striker wants more goals, better performances and is striving for the very best at the London Stadium.

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

It is probably the reason why he managed to hit an impressive 15 Bundesliga goals whilst also recording nine assists last term – with his peak years still looking likely to be ahead of him, his comments should certainly excite a large portion of the London Stadium faithful.

Haller’s words will also presumably be music to the Hammers fans’ ears as it has been a long time since they have had a prolific frontman leading the line for them for an extended period of time; Marko Arnautovic threatened to change that before his time in east London eventually ended in acrimonious fashion.

There is certainly more to come from the £45m man given the immensely high standards he has clearly set for himself.

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Shkodran Mustafi is far from a popular figure at the Emirates Stadium.

The Germany international has often been criticised for his below-par performances, and many of the Arsenal supporters have called for Unai Emery to sell the 27-year-old.

The former Valencia and Sampdoria central defender has yet to feature this term and has been told by his current boss that he has no future with the Gunners. However, despite that, it seems that there are still some clubs in Europe who would be willing to sign him.

“It feels like a loss” – that was the view of a Spurs fan after this weekend’s North London Derby in the video below…

Amongst them are Serie A champions Juventus. It has been reported (Sky Germany via talkSPORT) that the Old Lady are interested in Mustafi, and want to take him to Italy before the end of the transfer window.

Unsurprisingly, these links have got the Arsenal supporters talking in numbers, and they have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts. You can see the best comments from the social media platform below.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

It’s been two years since Dani Ceballos originally joined Real Madrid from Real Betis. It was a big transfer for a young and talented midfielder who had plenty to prove in a much bigger team.

But somehow, the now 23-year-old never truly found his footing and in the last summer transfer window he was shipped off to Arsenal on loan.

And, since leaving the Spanish capital, something has clicked and the young Spaniard has been enjoying himself in north London.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

So far, he’s played four games for Unai Emery’s Arsenal in the new 2019/20 Premier League campaign, starting two of those and coming on as a substitute in the other two. But he’s been extremely proficient, too.

In those four games, he already tallied two assists and averaged 1.3 key passes, 1.8 dribbles, 86.7% passing accuracy and even 1.3 shots per game. These are impressive stats that illuminate his ascendancy since landing in England, and his dynamic-shifting impact from the bench in the north London derby also proved his appetite for the big occasion, as he recorded two shots, two key passes and 89.5% passing accuracy in an electric cameo.

Just for comparison’s sake, in 2018/19 for Real Madrid, he averaged one key pass, 0.6 dribbles, 92.6% passing accuracy and one shot per game. Granted, that’s over a much bigger sample of games but Ceballos is definitely off to a great start at the Emirates.

Particularly impressive was his first Premier League start against Burnley. In that game, he tallied two assists, three shots, three key passes, 90% passing accuracy and a total of four dribbles. By anyone’s standards, he was Arsenal’s top performer on the day.

He may not have found his groove at Real Madrid but this loan spell seems to be doing him the world of good thus far.

If he continues progressing and improving steadily, Zinedine Zidane might be looking at a serious reinforcement to restore to his ranks in 2020.

Maybe a spark of creativity and youth would do the current Real Madrid a lot of good.

Only time will tell, though.

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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…

In his Premier League predictions for this weekend’s round of fixtures, Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas has tipped Southampton to struggle against Sheffield United.

The Saints have gathered four points from their opening four matches, including a win over Brighton and a draw against Manchester United, although they suffered a 3-0 loss to Burnley on the opening weekend of fixtures.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have been far from convincing – it should be noted that their only win came against a Brighton side who had Florin Andone sent off in the first half – but one line from Nicholas’ prediction seems harsh.

What did he say?

Nicholas said: “Chris Wilder is a man of substance when it comes to his players not doing the job. He does not take fools. He has no loyalty to the players who will not do the job. If you are doing well, you are in the team, and if not then you are not fulfilling the duties that he wants.

“It is similar to Ralph Hasenhuttl at Southampton, but if Nathan Redmond is not fit on Saturday, I don’t think they have enough of a threat up front.”

Harsh words

Admittedly, Redmond is probably the Saints’ best attacker and has already scored once in three league outings this term, after hitting six and grabbing four assists last term – however, he is not the only danger-man Southampton have.

In Danny Ings, Hasenhuttl has a £20m forward of decent pedigree who has turned out for Liverpool and England – the 27-year-old scored seven goals last season and has been involved in two goals so far this term.

Furthermore, in Che Adams, the Saints have a man who hit 22 goals in the Championship last term and merited a £15m fee this summer as a result.

You may argue that the 23-year-old’s goals came outside the top-flight, but Nicholas can’t really say Adams won’t be a threat against the Blades seeing as the newly-promoted side effectively have the same backline that they had in the second-tier – the division where Adams was so prolific.

Of course, Hasenhuttl would presumably prefer to have Redmond fit, although you can’t deny there are still some dangerous attackers up top without the former Norwich man available.

Nicholas’ words, then, seem overly harsh ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

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Manchester United got back to winning ways on Saturday with a narrow 1-0 win over Leicester City at Old Trafford. 

Marcus Rashford’s 8th-minute penalty proved the decider, which sees the Red Devils climb above the Foxes and into fourth-place.

Former Leicester defender Harry Maguire – who made the switch to Old Trafford in the summer for a world record £80m fee – put in a solid display for his new employers, registering an overall rating of 7.51 from WhoScored after winning four aerial battles and keeping a clean sheet.

However, it was young midfielder Scott McTominay who has impressed the United faithful on Twitter, after his hard (but fair) tackle on Leicester and England full-back Ben Chilwell.

United’s official Twitter account posted a GIF of the bullish challenge this morning, alongside the caption “Going in with everything you’ve got, a bit like Scott McTominay #MondayMotivation”.

Unsurprisingly, this sort of passion has gone down excellently with the club’s supporters, with one fan stating that the tackle was similar to the kind of tackles Jaap Stam and Nemanja Vidic used to put in. Indeed, the Dutchman hit the headlines for his crunching tackle against a Bayern XI player as recently as May of this year and Vidic put in his fair share of devastating tackles at Old Trafford, with this video from Manchester Evening News displaying that.

Here’s how some reacted:

United fans, how much do you rate McTominay this season? Let us know in the comments!

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

As quoted by The Shields Gazette, Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has revealed he is close to signing a new contract with the club.

What’s the word?

The Slovakian joined the Magpies from Czech side Sparta Prague, and has been a reliable figure in between the sticks for the Magpies, keeping 16 clean sheets in 55 league appearances.

Speaking after the 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday, Dubravka admitted he and the Magpies are in talks over a new deal.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said: “We’re in talks. I’m close. We are in contact and hopefully we can sort it out as soon as possible. I’m happy here so if I can stay longer here, I will be happy. Since I came here, people have treated me really well. I can say that I feel at home here. I’m glad that people think that I can stay here for the longer term. It’s such a big honour for me.”

Safe pair of hands

Despite committing a major mistake in the clash at Anfield, the 30-year-old has generally been one of Newcastle’s better performers since his arrival at the club.

Speaking to Sky Sports back in February, Newcastle legend Alan Shearer hailed the impact the Slovakian has had on the team. He said, via The Chronicle: “In general I think he’s been a fantastic buy, when you look at the fees that have been paid for some players. His handling, for the most part, has been superb. If he can get over the mistakes that have happened in the last few games then great but in the main I think he’s been a superb buy.

“He seems to be a very good character, not afraid to make a couple of mistakes – as all good players do. He’ll learn from those mistakes.”

Goalkeepers are always going to make mistakes, and Dubravka is no different. But Shearer’s comments on him being the type of character to learn from them proves why Newcastle are absolutely right to offer him a new deal.

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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…

Although it was only against Nottingham Forest, Unai Emery will have been happy about the way his Arsenal side put the Championship team to the sword in the League Cup on Tuesday night.

The Gunners were ruthless with their performance against Sabri Lamouchi’s side, and ended up winning 5-0.

English trio Rob Holding, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson were all on the scoresheet, while Brazilian 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli bagged himself a brace.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The former Ituano man was one of several youngsters who were brought into the side for the game and he took full advantage of the chance that he was gifted.

Despite having just 29 touches throughout the game, he hit the back of the net twice.

Those weren’t his only shots – he had six overall as the Emirates outfit dominated proceedings from start to finish, showing that he was not afraid to take aim.

He was also good with his feet, completing two dribbles, whilst he won the most fouls for his side, with two.

His performance will have been particularly pleasing for Unai Emery.

Other than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the former Sevilla boss has no other natural striker currently available with Alexandre Lacazette out injured. Martinelli showed against Forest that, should he need to be called upon to lead the line, he is capable of doing so.

With Arsenal next in action at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Monday, Aubameyang will surely be restored to the side as the Gunners go in search of another victory.

The young Guarulhos native, though, has given his boss a valuable alternative moving forward.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…

Things have gone pretty well for Nottingham Forest so far this season.

On Friday evening, their win over Stoke City saw them take a temporary stand at the top of the Championship table having only lost one game this season, and that came on the opening weekend.

But some tough tests lay ahead due to the injuries picked up throughout September.

In that Stoke game, captain Michael Dawson was withdrawn early, meaning he is set to be out for the next couple of matches barring any major update on the medical front.

Watch Nottingham Forest Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

While Carl Jenkinson’s absence has forced Matty Cash back into the right-back role to deputise just like he did before the arrival of the former Arsenal man.

To be fair to the 22-year-old, he’s done a fantastic job there as he has averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.36 in that position and has also picked up a goal and two assists.

But after all, his natural position is in attack. Consequently, he can be lacking defensively sometimes as his 1.1 tackles per game suggests – Jenkinson averaged 1.7 per match when he was fit.

Therefore, it would make sense to utilise the other defenders at Sabri Lamouchi’s disposal, and their academy has produced many a fine player over the years – none more so than the aforementioned skipper along with his defensive partner Joe Worrall.

Alex Mighten and Brennan Johnson have been given a taste of the first-team this season, though, both are attacking players and right now, the cause for concern is in defence.

So maybe it is time to give right-back Jordan Gabriel a go.

Former caretaker boss and academy manager Gary Brazil called the 21-year-old an ‘exceptional talent’ with the official Forest website also describing him as a ‘fast and tricky’ full-back.

He was first brought through the ranks around three years ago, but a serious injury hampered his chance of fully taking that opportunity.

Gabriel was introduced against Arsenal last week with 15 minutes left, and despite being four goals down, the 21-year-old displayed an impressive work ethic which left the team only conceding one more goal.

The youngster also recorded a 100% passing success rate and one tackle, per WhoScored.

Back in 2016, then U21 coach Jimmy Gilligan praised Gabriel, he said: “He has a great physique for a full back and is a very receptive learner. He has all the attributes to do well.”

Lamouchi has hinted that he may need to call upon the academy in light of this week due to the lack of options at his disposal.

With so many injuries to defenders, the electric right-back could well be one of those in line for an opportunity.

Leeds may be one of the best defensive sides in the league but it’s still very much a grey area.

Pontus Jansson walked out of the doors in the summer for Brentford and even though Ben White has been a more than able replacement, some issues still lie around Elland Road.

The Whites have conceded just five times in the Championship with Ben White and Liam Cooper predominantly at the back.

White won the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month for August but Cooper is now set for six weeks on the sidelines.

That is an issue in itself but the fact he’s the player who’s won the highest number of aerial duels in the side makes it an even bigger problem.

Leeds are already poor at defending set-pieces and 60% of the strikes they’ve let in during 2019/20 have been from dead ball scenarios.

With that in mind, White faces a titanic contest this weekend when the west Yorkshire outfit travel to Bermondsey.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

On the chalkboard

White has been in superb form this season, something that’s evident from the number of interceptions he’s making at 3.5 per game.

However, that may count for nothing this week if Millwall are aiming for the head of Matt Smith.

The striker has only found the net three times so far but his presence in the air is colossal, winning 9.6 aerial duels per match.

The 30-year-old stands at 6 foot 6 and as a result, White faces one of his toughest tests yet – as do the rest of the visitors’ defence.

Why are Leeds fans the best in the country? Find out in the video below…

The Leeds defender is only 6 foot 1 himself and therefore is considerably shorter. But if Gaetano Berardi also plays, who is 5 foot 10, it seems like somewhat of a mismatch.

Smith could cause a threat by bringing others into play but also from set-pieces. Leeds have struggled to clear their lines and defend set-plays so this doesn’t particularly bode well for Marcelo Bielsa’s men.

In terms of ground duels, it wouldn’t be a great surprise if White got the better of him.

After all, Smith has only completed 47.7% of his passes and manages 1.4 unsuccessful touches per game, via WhoScored.

Though, if Millwall go aerial, White could have his work cut out.