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West Ham fans are urging Manuel Pellegrini to do the unthinkable after Saturday’s match, hoping the boss will keep Fabian Balbuena out of the team even once the Paraguayan international is fully fit.

West Ham continued their impressive run of form in Saturday’s late kick-off, beating a red-hot Newcastle side 2-0 without any real difficulty at the London Stadium.

The Magpies travelled to east London with four wins from their last six league games, but Declan Rice opened the scoring with a thumping header from a Robert Snodgrass corner.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals what Lasagne-Gate was really like for Tottenham’s food-poisoned stars – Check out the video below…

Mark Noble then doubled the lead from the spot after Florian Lejeune clumsily brought down Javier Hernandez, but it was the Hammers’ defensive duo that were the stars of the show.

Ogbonna, starting once again alongside Issa Diop in Balbuena’s absence, took loads of criticism earlier this season, but has consistently performed well since that horror show against Wolves.

He was dominant against the physical threat of Salomon Rondon, recording four tackles, three interceptions, three clearances, two blocks and also winning four aerial duels, per Whoscored.

Fans now want Pellegrini to keep Balbuena out of the team even once he is fully fit, something that would have been truly unthinkable just a few weeks ago, given how well Balbuena performed before his injury.

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

Isco is seemingly an ever-present name in Liverpool’s (Tuttosport via the Daily Mail) rumour column whilst Zidane is said (via France Football) to be interested in Sadio Mane as he looks to reform a broken Real Madrid side.

It goes without saying that the two players are currently experiencing very different seasons at their respective clubs.

On top of the misery of being dumped out of every possible competition, Isco has faced the imposed isolation from former manager Santiago Solari, who has quite rightly been sacked for one of the unsuccessful reigns in the club’s illustrious history.

The gossip surrounding the Spaniard’s future may have calmed thanks to the recent appointment of Zidane, who is a firm admirer of the player, but there is still every chance he could be used as a makeweight for Mane’s future transfer to the club – with Madrid reportedly very keen on the player.

Mane, on the other hand, has been in tremendous form for Liverpool of late and is the key player in their drive for the Premier League title and Champions League.

But who comes out on top?

Sadio Mane

FSG really did pull off a masterstroke by signing him for £34 million back in the summer of 2016 as he’s gone on to become a world-class attacker and one of the Reds’ current heroes.

Senegal international Sadio Mane has been sensational in recent times, bagging nine goals in his previous ten games, lifting Liverpool from their recent ‘slump’ – if you could call it that.

He has more than capably taken the star role from Mohamed Salah, and as far as we are concerned, is a more important player to the club at the moment. A sentiment echoed by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp, who declared the forward “the main man” (via Sky Sports Football YouTube channel).

The industrious efforts of Mane both in attack and defence has really caught our eye so far this season, as it has with every previous campaign, but the fact that he has added more goals to his game (which were not lacking in the first place) makes him one of the most exciting talents in the world at this moment in time.

TT Rating: A+

Isco

Isco, who is valued at £54 million (by Transfermarkt), will want to put this season behind him after what has proven to be an absolute nightmare experience.

Despite being favoured by the former, and considerably more successful, Real Madrid manager Zidane, Isco found himself slumped on the bench more often than he was on the pitch, and the team suffered because of it.

The Spaniard is easily one of the most gifted players in the game when it comes to technical ability and dribbling, using his immense ability to weave past punters with the most admirable ease.

His goalscoring efforts are not too bad either.

During his prolific campaign (2017/18), the Spaniard recorded an impressive 10 goals in 30 games, and though these statistics have declined slightly since then, we think it is fair to say that he has the return to his best in front of goal.

Should Isco sign for Liverpool there is every bit of evidence to suggest that he would have a similar, if not better, impact on the squad.

TT Rating: A-

TT Verdict:

Both players are world-class but we have decided to go with Sadio Mane on this occasion.

The Liverpool forward has been on fire this season scoring goals, making chances, chasing back, defending, and passing – he has mastered the lot.

At this moment in time he’s simply outclassing Isco in all departments.

To knock Salah off his perch as the most important forward plater is no easy feat, but Mane has managed it with relative ease at such a vital stage of the season as well.

However, we must add that once Isco is back to his best then the results could look a little different.

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Charlton’s 2-1 win over Burton on Tuesday night extended their unbeaten league run at home to 13 games, with first-half goals from Lyle Taylor and Ben Reeves enough to best the Brewers.

The victory means that the Addicks now have a surely insurmountable 11-point lead on seventh-placed Peterborough and finishing in one of the play-off spots looks more like a reality now rather than just a possibility.

Rather than heaping praise on goal-scorers Taylor and Reeves, the former of whom’s strike was his 14th league goal this campaign, many Charlton fans felt that midfielder Josh Cullen outperformed both.

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

The 22-year-old, on loan from West Ham, excelled in the absence of Krystian Bielik at the base of Lee Bowyer’s diamond, breaking up play for fun and covering plenty of ground.

With promotion to the Championship in sight, Addicks fans are surely keen to keep the players that have helped them get their beyond the 2018/19 season and Cullen’s excellent showing has convinced the majority reacting on Twitter that they should try and snap him up permanently…

كشف الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم عن موعد قرعة ملعب المباراة النهائية لبطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وكان كاف قد أعلن عن إقامة مباراة نهائي النسخة الحالية من البطولة القارية يوم 6 نوفمبر المقبل.

ومن المقرر أن تقام فعاليات القرعة بين دولتي مصر والمغرب لاختيار أحدهما لاستضافة المباراة النهائية في تمام الساعة 11 ونصف صباحًا بتوقيت القاهرة، العاشرة والنصف بتوقيت المغرب.

ونشر الحساب الرسمي للاتحاد الإفريقي عبر موقع “تويتر”: “لا شيء أجمل من أن تبدأ يوم الجمعة بقرعة.. غدًا نتعرف على الدولة المضيفة لـ نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا”.

ويستعد الأهلي والزمالك لمواجهة منافسيهما الوداد والرجاء من المغرب على الترتيب يوم 17 و18 أكتوبر الجاري، ضمن منافسات ذهاب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

لا شيء أجمل من أن تبدأ يوم الجمعة بقرعة. 😄🗳️

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غدًا نتعرف على الدولة المضيفة لنهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا! #TotalCAFCL pic.twitter.com/XyekdypOnJ

— دوري أبطال إفريقيا 🏆 (@caf_online_AR) October 15, 2020

Garry Monk has demanded an immediate response after admitting that his side are in a “sticky patch” following their home defeat to Millwall last night.

It was the Blues’ third loss in a row in what had been a difficult 11 days, with the club suffering problems on and off the pitch.

But Monk refused to use tiredness as an excuse, and although he admitted there were heavy legs, stressed that as professionals  they “need to understand that that’s a demand on you”.

He told the Birmingham City official website: “We’re in a sticky patch at the moment, and we need to come out of it. There are no excuses tonight, we simply weren’t good enough and at the end of the day to be successful as a player, as a team and as a club, you have to meet the demands of the Championship.

“What’s important in the remaining games is that we finish what has been a really positive season up to this point as strongly as possible. We have a changing room capable of doing that, but it needs a realisation of that happening very quickly.

“We’re just in a patch at the moment where things aren’t quite going for us. Like tonight, we haven’t performed to the levels that we know we can and what we have to do is respond strongly. We need to stick together and show the spirit that we have this season.”

The Blues were in a fairly decent position before this poor run, and while they are still only six points off the play-off places, they languish in 12th spot, needing to overhaul six other teams in order to make it, which will be a tall order.

After last season’s struggles, it would be harsh to say that this season could turn out to be a disaster, but it could certainly become a ‘what could have been’ years.

The team simply must get back to winning ways or any outside hopes they have of a decent season will be washed away.

Monk acknowledges the importance of not letting the season peter out when spelling out the importance of the games coming up.

He said: “We have to make sure all the positives that we’ve had from this season don’t go to waste and everything we’ve tried to do needs to come shining through. I’m more than confident that that changing room can do that. We need to show that as soon as possible, which is this Saturday’s game.”

The Blues’ next game is a tough trip to Preston North End, who are unbeaten in their last 11 games, including an impressive win at high-flying Middlesbrough last night.

What are your thoughts on the current run of defeats, and the season as a whole City fans? Let us know below…

It’s been a woeful season to be a Fulham supporter, hasn’t it?

With only four wins to their name in the Premier League this season and their club now thirteen points from safety, it is almost certain that the Cottagers will be heading straight back down to the Championship after achieving promotion last year.

In a campaign which started with a great deal of promise at Craven Cottage, former boss Slavisa Jokanovic’s disastrous signings in the summer transfer window seemingly destroyed all the harmony and togetherness in the squad.

The Serbian was sacked in November and was replaced by the tinker-man Claudio Ranieri who didn’t fare much better, winning three and losing eleven of his games in charge of Fulham before leaving the club last month.

Now with former player Scott Parker in caretaker charge of the Cottagers, it is time to prepare for the Championship and to do this, he has to test out all of his defensive options ahead of next season.

This includes handing Steven Sessegnon his Premier League debut on Saturday against Liverpool at Craven Cottage. The 18-year-old right-back has made three appearances for the club in cup competitions this season but has yet to start a game in England’s top tier.

With Fulham extremely unlikely to pick up anything other than a heavy defeat at the weekend, there would be no risk whatsoever in playing Sessegnon as he will learn more from playing 90 minutes against the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah than he ever will from youth football.

Having represented England at numerous youth levels already during his career, it is clear that he is a promising young talent who would undoubtedly benefit significantly from experiencing what the Premier League has to offer. Even if he only features in three of four games towards the end of the season, it could be worth its weight in gold for both Fulham and Sessegnon.

His brother Ryan was handed his league debut in 2016 against Leeds United in the Championship and has not looked back since, scoring 25 goals for the club in 112 appearances.

Fulham’s recent utilisation of their youth academy has seen both Olympique Lyonnais forward Moussa Dembele and Manchester City winger Patrick Roberts, who is currently on loan at La Liga side Girona, come through the ranks.

With these three examples demonstrating just how fruitful it can be to bring through your own players, Sessegnon could provide another chapter in Fulham’s history of promoting home-grown talent if given the chance to feature in the club’s final eight fixtures.

What do you think Fulham fans? Should Parker give Sessegnon the opportunity to make an impression on this side? Or is it still too early for the teenager to be thrown in at the deep end? Get in touch below…

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Leeds United star Stuart Dallas started and was involved in both of Northern Ireland’s goals in their 2-1 win against Belarus on Sunday night, as his impressive form during the international break continued.

On the chalkboard

The 27-year-old was named in the XI at right-back for the latest victory and the one against Estonia just a few days earlier, as they got their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign off to a perfect start.

Even though the versatile player has largely had to settle for making an impact from the substitutes’ bench in recent weeks with Luke Ayling, Pablo Hernandez and Jack Harrison nailing down the right-back, right wing and left wing positions respectively, he showed the quality he does have at the weekend in the final third.

Firstly, it was his corner that was flicked on by Steven Davis for Jonny Evans to score the opener against Belarus, before he was involved in the neat interplay that led to Josh Magennis netting the decisive goal in the second half.

Not enough to earn a club start

Marcelo Bielsa will need to reshuffle things slightly with Pontus Jansson set to miss out against Millwall on Saturday through injury, but it seems unlikely that Dallas will get the nod – even if he has impressed for Northern Ireland.

The Argentine manager is someone that is often set in his ways and one that backs his players even when the going gets tough, and the 27-year-old won’t start ahead of Ayling right now – his most likely route into the XI.

As is the case currently, Dallas may have to settle for making an impact off of the bench if needed, with three points desperately needed against the Lions following the defeat against Sheffield United last time out.

Will it be automatic promotion or a spot in the play-offs? Leeds fans just cannot hack the pressure right now and just want the season to end with them back in the Premier League. Indeed, it seems the players can’t either, if yesterday was anything to go by. 

The passionate bunch of supporters have waited far too long for a top-flight return but thanks to the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa, they appear on the cusp of doing just that. But that’s the thing, it’s only the cusp. Getting over that final hurdle will be a major obstacle.

Indeed, there are sure to be some more twists and turns in the race for promotion but having fought so hard, Leeds can safely say they’re deserving of an achievement like this.

With possible promotion into the Premier League, Leeds will have to upgrade their squad in a number of areas to ensure they’re equipped for the far greater challenge that lays in wait.

A midfielder they reportedly (as per AS) had previous interest in was Spanish midfielder Ander Iturraspe and rekindling that interest would be a smart move by Leeds.

Iturraspe, (who is valued at £2.7 million on Transfermarkt) has been previously linked with Leeds and with him being out of contract in the summer, it surely makes sense for all involved. Having been at Athletic Bilbao since he was 10-years-old, a move away will be extremely hard but he would be welcomed with open arms at a club like Leeds.

A statement signing, the vastly experienced defensive midfielder could patrol the engine room for the Whites, allowing Kalvin Phillips to flourish alongside him, and bringing top-level nous to a team otherwise lacking in it.

It comes after he has made just 3 appearances in La Liga this season and despite his long-term commitment to the Spanish club, he will be moving on this summer.

At the age of 30, Iturraspe has all the experience Leeds could wish for to bolster their midfield with and on a free transfer as well, the deal makes complete sense for all involved.

Leeds fans, do you agree? If not, why not? Join the discussion and let us know down below!

كشف علاء عبد الغني مدرب فريق المقاولون العرب حقيقة التفاوض مع الأهلي من أجل ضم أحمد الشيخ جناح القلعة الحمراء خلال الموسم الجديد.

وكان الأهلي قد أتم الاتفاق مع المقاولون العرب على شراء طاهر محمد طاهر بدايٍة من الموسم الجديد، بجانب انتقال عدد من لاعبي الأحمر لصفوف الأخير على سبيل الإعارة.

وقال علاء عبد الغني في تصريحات إذاعية عبر أثير “راديو مصر”: “لم يتم طرح اسم أحمد الشيخ للانتقال للمقاولون العرب ضمن صفقة طاهر محمد طاهر”.

طالع | طاهر محمد طاهر: لم أشترط على الأهلي بند الاحتراف.. والخطيب طلب عدم ظهوري في إعلان

وأوضح: “لكن هناك أسماء مطروحة من الشباب الصاعدين الذين شاركوا مع الأهلي خلال المباريات الأخيرة بالدوري”.

واختتم: “أيضا هناك عمرو جمال مهاجم الأهلي والمعار لطلائع الجيش، وهو لاعب متميز وصاحب مسيرة جيدة”.

اقرأ أيضًا | أحمد حسن: ركلة جزاء الوداد أمام الأهلي صحيحة.. وموسيماني دخل قلوب الجماهير

يذكر، أن عمرو جمال انضم لصفوف طلائع الجيش في بداية الموسم الجاري على سبيل الإعارة قدامًا من صفوف الأهلي.

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The Three Lions welcome the Czech Republic to Wembley on Friday evening under rather unprecedented circumstances. International breaks are routinely greeted with disdain and frustration, but the latest hiatus from club football has provided a cathartic relief from the predictable narrative surrounding the Premier League title race.

Instead, football fans can begin to look forward to their next dose of Lightning Seeds induced carnage when England kick off their qualifying campaign for Euro 2020; the first step towards another summer of international football mania on English soil could be made on Friday evening.

The visiting side are a nation with a rich footballing history but the current generation of talent leave plenty to be desired. Unlike England, the Czech Republic have won the European Championships in the past – albeit prior to the dissolution of Czechslovakia – when they beat West Germany via a penalty shootout in 1976. Any lingering dreams of emulating that glory are firmly in the realm of fantasy; merely qualifying for the tournament would represent an achievement in itself given the strength of their squad.

Ahead of the fixture, we’ve taken a look at the history behind the fixture, a head-to-head battle and some important selection decisions Gareth Southgate could be faced with.

What History Tells Us

The head-to-head record detailed above includes all England fixtures against both the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia. Both nations have struggled to record victory over the Three Lions throughout history, with just two wins to boast and a notable disparity in the number of goals they have managed to accumulate.

Given the calibre of the players who are available to Southgate and the history behind the fixture, it’s fair to say that the hosts are strong favourites to kick off their qualifying campaign with a morale-boosting three points.

That the Czechs are 39 places below England in the FIFA rankings speaks volumes about their standing in international football right now. The current quality of Jaroslav Silhavy’s squad is a far cry from golden era which saw Milan Baros, Pavel Nedved, Tomas Rosicky, Jan Koller and Peter Cech all star at Euro 2004.

Key Battle

Patrik Schick is the proverbial rose amongst the thorny Czech squad. If anyone is likely to cause some damage in and around the penalty area this evening then it’s the AS Roma striker.

The 23-year-old has struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular in Serie A this season but his international form reads well for the visitors. In the UEFA Nations League group stage, Schick notched three goals and underlined his capabilities to operate as a target man by winning eight aerial duels.

In the opposite corner we have the undisputed heavyweight attacker in this battle, with Harry Kane likely to spearhead a scintillating front-three. A series of impressive performances in the Nations League group stage saw him thrive as a playmaking link to connect the midfield to the attack, but that did not prevent him from scoring the priceless winner against Croatia which enabled England to top the group and secure their place at the Nations League finals this summer.

The 25-year-old only recently returned to full fitness and question marks remain over whether he is match sharp, so it will be interesting to see if a fresh-legged Schick can outshine his opposite number this evening.

England Team News

Southgate will be missing plenty of key players for the opening of the qualifying campaign. John Stones, Jesse Lingard, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez and Harry Winks, who would all be considered probable starters, have all been ruled out through injury, while the likes of Luke Shaw, Fabian Delph, Ruben Loftus-Cheek also miss out. The lengthy list of absentees has forced Southgate to draft James Ward-Prowse and Callum Hudson-Odoi into the squad this week.

One of the most intriguing selection choices will revolve around Declan Rice, who has controversially opted to become an England international despite playing friendlies for the Republic of Ireland. West Ham’s lynchpin represents a fantastic option to deploy at the base of a three man midfield behind Tottenham’s Dele Alli and Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, and on current form nobody is more deserving of that particular role.

Marcus Rashford trained separately from the rest of the England squad on Thursday and is a major doubt for the clash, and his absence could pave the way for the insatiable Jadon Sancho to step into the starting XI, but of course England’s main goal threat will be captain Kane.