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Liverpool’s 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich on Tuesday showed signs that their relatively free schedule compared to Manchester City could be their downfall in the Premier League title race.

The Reds no longer feature in the FA Cup and won’t be playing in the Carabao Cup Final on Sunday because they were knocked out in the early rounds after fielding weakened sides. This could be a masterstroke because, as City find out regularly, fixture congestions test the depth and fitness of your squad, and Liverpool simply don’t have enough depth to deal with it.

However, at times the best way to recover from poor form or continue good form is to play quickly after it, something Liverpool won’t be able to do when FA Cup weekends crop up or they’re out of the Champions League, which could be the case considering the prospect of having to win at Bayern Munich. Their prioritisation could come back to bite them.

Jurgen Klopp’s men were warm-weather training in Marbella for a week prior to the Bayern game and when it came to the final pass or shot on Tuesday night, it looked like they thought they were still there. Liverpool were lacking the cutting edge we saw early this season and last season, as they have since the year turned quite frankly.

Yes, it’s important that in a title run-in players have chance to rest before their next match, but a week’s rest may be too much and could be even more detrimental than playing every three or four days. This is certainly the case when the extra games City are playing involve teams of much less quality like Rotherham, Burton, Swansea and even Schalke in the Champions League.

If City get past Schalke, they could face a much tougher draw in the next round and that will certainly test their ability to play across three competitions, as it will be by then. Liverpool’s position in the Champions League is less assured, but those who would prioritise the Premier League over Europe should hope Liverpool remain in the competition.

Without playing regularly, Liverpool could become lethargic as it looked in and around the box on Tuesday, so their weapon of prioritisation could become their own worst enemy in the title race.

Do you think Liverpool staying in the Champions League would help or hinder their Premier League title chances?

Tottenham Hotspur face Aston Villa in this evening’s teatime kick-off, with Antonio Conte’s side looking to keep up their impressive recent run of Premier League form in a bid to secure a top-four finish.

Indeed, with Spurs having won five of their last six league outings and Steven Gerrard’s side having lost their last three Premier League fixtures, the north London outfit will certainly fancy their chances of taking all three points back to the capital tonight.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-martinez-dybala-spence-conte-2” title= “Read the latest Spurs news!”]

However, with Spurs only narrowly defeating Villa 2-1 in the meeting between the two sides earlier this season, Conte will be well aware that he must get his team selection spot-on in order to give his team the best chance of victory this afternoon.

Will the 52-year-old make any changes to the side which started the 5-1 win over Newcastle United last weekend? Here’s how we think Tottenham could line up against Aston Villa, as well as the latest team and injury news…

With Antonio Conte recently revealing that both Sergio Reguilon and Ryan Sessegnon are back in contention after recovering from their respective knocks, we predict the 52-year-old will make just one change to the team which lined up against Newcastle last time out.

The back four remains intact, with Hugo Lloris starting between the Spurs sticks, while Ben Davies, Eric Dier and Cristian Romero make up Conte’s three-man defence.

The solitary change comes at wing-back, with Reguilon – the player who Jonathan Woodgate dubbed “horrendous” and has recently been linked with a £43m move back to Real Madrid this summer – returning to the XI on the left. Matt Doherty moves over to his preferred role on the right, with the 23-year-old Emerson Royal – who Lucas Moura claimed has a “great future” – dropping to the bench.

In the middle, with Oliver Skipp still sidelined due to injury, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur start once again, while Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski also remain unchanged in the two attacking midfield roles.

Up top, Harry Kane leads the line, with the 28-year-old undoubtedly hoping to add to his seven goals and four assists over his last eight Premier League outings.

AND in other news: Conte can form “dangerous” duo as Spurs plot bids for £156m pair who “really get along”

West Brom have had a pretty turbulent past few years in terms of their league positions in the Premier League and Championship, with numerous managers and head coaches trying their hand at bringing some sort of stability to the Hawthorns.

During that time, the Baggies have seen numerous players join the club on loan and permanent deals.

As tends to be the case at most clubs, not all transfer deals end up being particularly successful.

One prime example of this happening at West Brom in recent memory is with striker Brown Ideye, who signed to the Baggies back in the 2014 summer transfer window from Dynamo Kyiv in a deal worth a then-club record fee of around £10m.

After securing this deal, Alan Irvine, who was in charge of the team at that point, said that Brown is a “quality striker” as well as being a “strong, quick, powerful player who likes to get in behind defences.”

Despite this praise from Irvine, the forward failed to show anyone why the club chose to splash the cash on him, having scored just seven times in 30 senior appearances across the 2014/15 season in all competitions, meaning that he cost the club an alarming £1.4m-per-goal.

As well as his lack of regular goals, the Nigerian’s performances in the Premier League weren’t much to shout about either, as WhoScored gave him a disappointing overall season rating of 6.36, making him the second-lowest rated player to start more than one league game in that campaign.

Even though Tony Pulis said that the striker “looked dangerous” on the pitch after he replaced Irvine in January 2015, this didn’t stop the club from selling the centre-forward in the following summer transfer window to Olympiacos.

Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that this was not West Brom’s finest moment in terms of their transfer activity over the past few years given the money they paid to sign Ideye and what they ended up getting out of him on the pitch.

Even though the Baggies have not always found it easy to find the back of the net throughout their latest attempt at breaking out of the Championship this season, it would be a safe bet that not many supporters at the Hawthorns will have been wishing the club had kept hold of the 33-year-old striker.

In other news: Sold at £13m, now worth £49.5m: WBA will have nightmares over 6ft4 “beast of a man”

Tottenham Hotspur are lining up a move for Mario Hermoso this summer, according to reports…

What’s the word?

The Daily Mail claim that the north London outfit are tracking the Atletico Madrid centre-back ahead of the transfer window reopening at the end of the season, with RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol and Antonio Conte’s former Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni also being monitored.

Spurs are on the lookout, specifically, for a left-sided central defender and the five-time Spain international is amongst the targets.

Having joined in a £25m deal from Espanyol in July 2019, Hermoso now finds himself down the pecking order under Diego Simeone at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Back three complete?

Signing Hermoso could hand Conte a frightening backline heading into next season as the 26-year-old colossus could sit perfectly alongside Eric Dier and Cristian Romero.

Regarded as an impressive ball-playing defender, Hermoso has averaged a passing accuracy of at least 84% across the last two LaLiga seasons, as well as at least three long balls per outing too.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-martinez-dybala-spence-conte-2” title= “Read the latest Spurs news!”]

He also ranks in the top 1% of his positional peers for passing into the penalty box (0.68 per 90) and top 14% for progressive passes (3.89 per 90), meaning the Atletico star likes to play forward, rather than sideways or backwards, as per FBRef.

The 6-foot centre-back is also adept in terms of defensive output, having averaged 3.5 clearances, 1.7 headers won, 1.2 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game, via WhoScored.

Now valued at €40m (£33m) by CIES Football Observatory, the centre-back wouldn’t come cheap but his passing capabilities on the left foot clearly make him an appealing candidate to fill that final spot in Conte’s current defence.

Conte is currently depending on full-back Ben Davies to partner both Dier and Romero in his back three, so Hermoso – once dubbed an “absolute beast” at Espanyol by LRT journalist Aivaras Katutis – would be a very welcome addition indeed.

Just imagine the three thwarting many a Premier League attack next term.

AND in other news, Lost the ball every 2.6 touches: “Quiet” Spurs passenger let Conte down vs Brighton…

West Ham United will make the short trip to west London to take on Chelsea this afternoon as the Hammers look to boost their chances of a top-six finish in the Premier League.

The Blues already look set to finish third in the league whilst the Irons’ fate is still uncertain with Wolves and Manchester United also in the hunt for sixth place.

David Moyes’ men will take confidence from the fact that they beat Thomas Tuchel’s side 3-2 in the reverse fixture with every remaining game now vital for the east London club.

With a crunch first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Frankfurt on Thursday, will the Scotsman prioritise Europe and look to make changes against Chelsea? Here is how Football FanCast expects the Hammers to line up.

West Ham XI: Fabianski, Johnson, Dawson, Alese, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Lanzini, Benrahma, Antonio

As expected there’s no change in goal as Lukasz Fabianski continues his role as league goalkeeper whilst there’s a major change in the defence with Issa Diop now ruled out with an ankle injury.

With Craig Dawson the only fit senior centre-back, we expect Moyes to finally give an opportunity to exciting youngster Aji Alese.

The 6 foot 3 Nigerian has been excellent for the Hammers’ U23s this season and was described as “gold dust” by Tom Edwards on the We Are West Ham Podcast.

Moreover, the 21-year-old is a left-footed centre-back so should slot in next to Dawson perfectly as he gears up to make a potential Premier League debut.

Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice are set to continue their partnership in front of the back four whilst there is another change in the attacking midfield trio with Moyes playing his usual 4-2-3-1 set-up.

Nikola Vlasic was handed a rare league start against Burnley last weekend and failed to deliver once again, therefore we expect the Croatian to be replaced by Said Benrahma to add much-needed creativity to the side and support for striker Michail Antonio.

The £69k-per-week 24-year-old has endured a tough first season in claret and blue, scoring just one goal in all competitions.

Despite playing a London rival in Chelsea, this afternoon’s match is crucial if West Ham are serious about securing a top-six finish, with other sides in the hunt breathing down their neck.

AND in other news, Moyes can axe “superb” £50m ace with WHU swoop for “one of the most exciting talents”…

Newcastle United are keen on signing Napoli striker Victor Osimhen in this final week of the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to Calciomercato (via Sport Witness), Eddie Howe’s side have got “concrete” interest in signing the Nigeria international, and that if a sizeable offer does come in for him, then Napoli owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, would be willing to come to the table.

It is added that a deal in January would be difficult to do, but if that can’t be done, then it could well be set up for the summer.

He’s better than Callum Wilson

While Callum Wilson has certainly shown why Newcastle were keen to bring him in from Bournemouth a couple of seasons ago, his injury troubles haven’t meant that he hasn’t been able to feature week-in and week-out for the Magpies.

In the form of Osimhen, Howe would be getting an elite goal-scorer who has proven himself at the highest level with Napoli, both in the Serie A and in European competition too.

This campaign has seen him score nine goals in just 16 games for the Italian giants, including bagging four in just three Europa League group stage games – a couple of those coming away from home against Leicester to rescue a point for his team.

And, as per Whoscored, Osimhen also appears to be a far more complete striker than Wilson, averaging far more shots, key passes and dribbles per game this campaign, while his average match rating comfortably trumps that of the English ace.

Even back when he had just signed for Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, he had made an immediate impression on his coaches, with then manager Andries Jonker saying: “He has great potential in him. He is ambitious, quick and highly unpredictable, he will be a star in the future if he maintains his focus.”

But perhaps the biggest indication of why Osimhen may be the perfect signing for Newcastle is the way former Manchester United star and Nigeria teammate Odion Ighalo talked about him.

He said: “He’s the future, he’s going to do so well in football. I love him, he’s down to earth, he’s hard working, he has a future and he has the mentality of a winner, that’s what I love about him. He has that lion’s heart. I love him, I just want him to keep working hard the way he’s doing, he’s going to break so many records in Europe and Nigeria.”

With the Magpies well and truly in the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League this season, getting someone with the mentality of Osimhen will help immensely.

The £54m-rated star would be a very exciting signing for the Magpies, and one that would be a real upgrade even on someone like Wilson.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are keen on a deal for this Ligue 1 star…it’s not Bruno

An update has emerged on Rangers and their interest in bringing a Scotland international back to Ibrox.

What’s the talk?

According to 90min, the Gers are one of the possible destinations for their former academy starlet, Billy Gilmour, in the summer as he looks set for a loan move.

The report claims that his parent club will allow him to leave on a temporary basis again and Rangers are one of the teams in the mix for his signature.

Gio van Bronckhorst must get it done

This is a major deal that the Dutch head coach must get over the line as he would be a fantastic addition to the squad next season.

Despite Norwich’s struggles in the Premier League, Gilmour has shown flashes of Premier League quality this season with an average SofaScore rating of 6.84.

He has made 2.7 tackles and interceptions along with creating 1.2 chances per game in midfield, showing off his ability to win the ball back at one end and his ability in possession at the other. Although, he has lost 51% of his duels and may need to improve on the physical side of the game in the years to come.

Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness lavished him with praise last year. The ex-Liverpool man said: “He’s a fabulous little football player and when you factor in that last season he only made five starts in the Premier League for Chelsea, he’s not played a lot of football and he came into what was a hothouse of a game – high tempo, loads of pressing – and he managed to stay there.

“He’s just got that all round awareness of where people are all of the time and his first touch is generally away from the man who is marking him. He creates space for himself.”

He was previously hailed as “world-class” by Manchester United legend Roy Keane and his performances on the international stage suggest that he deserves that tag. In World Cup qualifiers for Scotland, Gilmour has averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.13 – showing that he has been producing consistently brilliant displays for his country in competitive matches.

The £28k-per-week gem’s impressive form for Scotland and the glimpses he has shown with Norwich in England suggest that he would be a major signing for Rangers. He has the quality to dominate games in midfield with his aforementioned ability on and off the ball and van Bronckhorst would surely love to work with the 20-year-old to help him fulfill his potential.

Get it done.

AND in other news, Sources: Shock Rangers transfer claim emerges that will leave Wilson excited…

Former Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez enjoyed a successful spell at St. James’ Park as he re-established the club in the top-flight.

He led the team to the Championship title in his first full season in charge of the Magpies before finishing tenth and 13th in his two Premier League campaigns respectively.

However, it was not all sunshine and rainbows with the ex-Liverpool boss as he also made some mistakes along the way…

Shocker

One player the Spanish head coach had a shocker with was right-back Kevin Mbabu as he decided to sell the defender to BSC Young Boys for a fee Transfermarkt claim to be just £108k in the summer of 2017, having been on loan to the Swiss outfit for the 2016/17 campaign.

He had spent four years on Tyneside as a youngster and only made five senior appearances, with three coming in the Premier League, before Benitez decided to wield his axe.

The full-back admitted that his exit from the club spurred him on to achieve his success, telling The Athletic last year: “When I left Newcastle, I had it in my head that, ‘I’m going to prove them all wrong, to show them it was a mistake to let me go’. That’s what I’ve been trying to do this whole time.”

Since moving on from St. James’ Park, he has certainly proven Benitez wrong. He made 56 league appearances for Young Boys and provided two goals and nine assists from right-back – earning himself a move to Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg in 2019.

Mbabu has played 78 matches for the German side to date and chipped in with three goals and five assists, playing 62 matches in the top-flight.

At the time of writing (28/03/22), Transfermarkt values Mbabu at a whopping £10.8m. This is an almighty 9,900% increase and suggests that the Magpies missed out on millions of pounds because they sold him too early into his career as he has been able to fulfil his potential and make huge strides as a defender.

They allowed a Bundesliga-quality player valued at over £10m to leave for a little over £100k and supporters will surely look back on that deal and wonder what could have been. Benitez, therefore, had a shocker as he did not give the full-back enough chances to showcase his quality and then sanctioned his sale far too early, with Mbabu now proving that it was the wrong decision.

AND in other news, NUFC now plotting move for “one of the best ever”, just imagine him and Burn…

Everton journalist Patrick Boyland picked out Vitaliy Mykolenko for praise following Saturday’s 4-1 FA Cup win over Brentford. 

The lowdown

Frank Lampard oversaw a resounding Goodison Park victory in his first game in charge, with Yerry Mina, Richarlison, Mason Holgate and Andros Townsend all finding the net.

He set out the team in a 3-4-3 formation, with Mykolenko lining up at left wing-back.

It was the 22-year-old’s home debut following his £17.9million January move from Dynamo Kyiv.

The latest

Boyland took to Twitter shortly after the final whistle to applaud Mykolenko.

He reckons Frank Lampard will be more than satisfied with the performance of the young Ukrainian.

“Others will take plaudits but [we saw a] much more assured Mykolenko this afternoon,” he wrote. “Did everything asked of him and more.”

The verdict

What do the stats say about Mykolenko’s performance? Well, he didn’t have much to do out of possession, contesting only one duel and making a single interception (via SofaScore).

The £58,000-per-week defender was decent with the ball however, completing 18 of his 21 passes for an accuracy of 86%.

While he did manage to create a chance, none of his three crosses found a team-mate, and so that may be the area to work on.

Boyland wrote following his debut in the third round of the cup that he had initially looked ‘shaky’, but he now appears to be building his confidence, with Saturday’s display the first step in the right direction.

In other news, Everton are in the race for an out-of-window signing.

Crystal Palace are one of three teams lining up a bid for Ajax’s Edson Alvarez, Football Insider claim. 

The lowdown

With just over a week of the January transfer window remaining, Palace are yet to do any first-team business, in or out.

But that could change as they set their sights on Alvarez, who’s valued at £18million by Transfermarkt and has three and a half years left on his Ajax contract.

The 24-year-old is predominantly a defensive midfielder but he’s also capable of operating as a centre-back.

The latest

The report cites a ‘recruitment source’ who says that Palace have been making ‘regular checks’ on Alvarez.

They’re one of three Premier League sides in the running, along with Leicester City and Chelsea.

Ajax would like to keep him but know it will be difficult and have ‘braced’ themselves for offers.

The verdict

Alvarez, who’s played 15 Champions League games during his time in Amsterdam, looks like he’d represent a considerable upgrade on the likes of Cheikhou Kouyate and Luka Milivojevic.

He shone for the runners-up Mexico at the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, earning a place in the Team of the Tournament.

According to WhoScored, he’s mighty in the air and also excels at passing, in addition to reading the game well.

Indeed, they rank him as one of the 10 best performers in the Eredivisie so far this season.

What’s more, talent scout Jacek Kuling has raved about him, calling him a ‘superb tackler’, ‘tenacious’ and ‘charismatic’.

If Palace can fend off the competition and persuade Ajax, it could be an excellent signing.

In other news, this man is set to leave Selhurst Park after losing his place.