Morale in the Southampton camp will be through the roof after they caused a major upset to Premier League leaders Everton on Sunday. The Blues were hoping to return to winning ways after drawing against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, but the Saints had other ideas.

Goals from James Ward-Prowse and Che Adams brushed aside the table-toppers, who were without key players Richarlison and Seamus Coleman. It’ll be back to the drawing board for Carlo Ancelotti, whilst Ralph Hasenhuttl will hope to recreate a similar display against Aston Villa next.

However, one area of concern that the Austrian must address is the progressively weakened performances from Nathan Redmond, described as “important” by his manager back in July. Despite earning Man of the Match by Sky Sports, the England international was definitely more than a little fortunate to get it.

Hasenhuttl must decide what to do with Redmond

The winger found the back of the net eight times in his 2016/17 campaign with the Saints, which was a good return for the club’s eighth place finish. But since then, Redmond has declined and has struggled to contribute from the wing.

This season, the £16.2million-rated forward is still yet to open up his account. He has made five appearances across all competitions so far, but was dropped from the squad completely for Southampton’s game against Spurs and Burnley in the Premier League (via Transfermarkt).

According to Sofascore, Redmond failed to register a single shot on target against Everton and lost 14 of his 24 attempted duels. Additionally, he was dribbled past an alarming six times and committed three fouls. If the 26-year-old is this clumsy in possession when it comes to facing more attacking teams, he could seriously put his side at risk of conceding.

Redmond’s competition in Moussa Djenepo is currently sidelined due to a thigh injury. If the 22-year-old was fit and firing, there would likely be a lot more doubt over which of the two would start in Hasenhuttl’s lineup. On current performances, Redmond will be dropped to the bench and limited to substitute appearances at most.

However, after four years with the club, it could be time for the boss to move him on whilst he is still young enough to make first team football.

In other news, history came back to hurt Everton after Danny Ings masterclass…

Tottenham Hotspur may have already qualified for the Europa League knockout stages but they welcome Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp to north London in a battle for the top spot.

The visitors are two points clear of Jose Mourinho’s men and are the only side to have beaten the Premier League giants in the competition this season.

They’ll be out for revenge knowing that first place in Group J is likely to hand them a favourable tie, though they come into it on the back of an impressive and tireless victory over arch-rivals, Arsenal on Sunday.

Therefore, we’re expecting several changes and given the strength in depth at the Portuguese’s disposal, it could well be wholesale so here’s our predicted XI…

Mourinho could name an entirely new starting lineup from the side that defeated the Gunners.

Starting in goal, we might see back-up shot-stopper Joe Hart take the place of skipper Hugo Lloris whilst the central defensive pairing of Japhet Tanganga and Davinson Sanchez looks set to continue in Europe for a third successive outing.

One player who definitely won’t be featuring is Serge Aurier. He picked up a niggle ahead of the north London derby, but still managed to play the full 90 though his unavailability may hand an opportunity to Matt Doherty whilst Ben Davies takes over from Sergio Reguilon.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is another who will be handed a rest having started all 11 league games this term, which means Harry Winks could be given a rare start alongside U21 starlet Harvey White. The 19-year-old has played eight minutes against Ludogorets a few weeks ago.

Tanguy Ndombele should come back into the starting XI after being absent for the Arsenal win and he’s preferred to Dele Alli in the no.10 role.

Whilst in attack, Gareth Bale and Carlos Vinicius should replace the prolific exploits of Heung-min Son and Harry Kane, who quite rightly need a break from match action.

There may even be a start for Jack Clarke, who has only played 26 senior minutes this term. According to ESPN, the club’s staff “think very highly” of the 20-year-old, so it’s only right he’s given a fair crack.

AND in other news, Spurs could find their own Timo Werner in “stone-cold finisher”…

Aston Villa are seeing the fruits of their labour come to fruition this season as their summer transfer business has actually paid off this time around.

The arrival of Ollie Watkins for a whopping £33m looked to be a massive gamble, potentially overpaying for an unproven talent, but he’s duly delivered with eight goals in ten appearances in all competitions, including a hat-trick against defending champions, Liverpool.

We’ve also seen Chelsea outcast Ross Barkley come in and make an instant impact, averaging 3.4 shots, 3 key passes and 2.2 dribbles per match in the top-flight for the Midlands outfit, via WhoScored.

However, we shouldn’t forget their brash spending in the 2019 summer window, which nearly cost them their place in the big time, and to this day, they are still feeling the effects of what Suso left behind.

One poor signing has been Marvelous Nakamba, signed in an £11m deal from Club Brugge despite already bringing in a defensive midfielder in the shape of Douglas Luiz a week earlier.

This season, the 26-year-old has only featured for 13 minutes in the Premier League and when deployed last term, he was hardly inspiring.

Per WhoScored, Nakamba averaged 1.9 tackles, 1.5 clearances, 1.3 interceptions and just 0.4 key passes per game from 29 appearances.

It led to fans dubbing him their “worst signing of the summer,” a “liability” as well as looking like he’s “scared of the ball” – even if that’s something some of his teammates certainly disagree with.

According to Spotrac, the Zimbabwean international is earning around £32.5k-per-week at Villa Park, meaning he’s cost them around £13 in total since his arrival.

His continued omission from playing, whilst under contract until 2024, is merely just an absolute waste of money and is burning a massive hole in Nassef Sawiris’ pocket.

The Villans should look to end this Suso catastrophe in the January window.

AND in other news, Relegated in 2016, now worth over 2017: Lerner has been made to look a right fool…

كشف رئيس لجنة الحكام، عصام عبد الفتاح، إمكانية تطبيق تقنية الفيديو “الفار” في المرحلة النهائية من تصفيات كأس العالم، بعد عدم تطبيقها في دور المجموعات.

ويستعد المنتخب المصري لخوض المرحلة النهائية من تصفيات كأس العالم، بعدما تصدر مجموعته في الدور الثاني، حيث يخوض المباراتين في شهر مارس.

طالع أيضًا.. “بطولات” يوضح موقف أحمد فتوح من اللحاق بمباراة الزمالك والإسماعيلي بالدوري

وقال عصام عبد الفتاح في تصريحات خاصة لـ “بطولات”: “هناك احتمالية كبيرة أن تتوفر تقنية الفار في مباريات التصفيات النهائية المؤهلة لكأس العالم في شهر مارس المقبل”.

وأضاف رئيس لجنة الحكام: “الاتجاه حاليًا أن يُطبق الفار في هذه المباريات ذهابًا وإيابًا”.

يُذكر أن قرعة المرحلة النهائية من تصفيات كأس العالم من المتوقع أن تُقام في شهر ديسمبر المقبل.

MatériaMais Notícias

O otimismo tomou conta da chegada do Atlético-MG a Belo Horizonte, após a conquista da Florida Cup. Com direito à recepção calorosa de torcedores no Aeroporto de Confins, a primeira competição do Galo no ano fez o técnico Diego Aguirre vislumbrar uma temporada promissora, e com os pés no chão:

– Foi bom começar assim o ano, tomara que possamos continuar desse jeito. A equipe jogou bem e dá para sonhar. Agora é trabalhar, ter tranquilidade e pensar em competições importantes que vão começar. Temos que estar preparados- declarou, ao “Estado de Minas”.

RelacionadasFutebol NacionalCaixa sela patrocínio com Atlético-MG e CruzeiroFutebol Nacional19/01/2016

O treinador apontou qual o fator crucial para o Galo levar a melhor no torneio:

-Fundamentalmente, a atitude dos jogadores, que brigaram pelas bolas, jogaram como equipe, jogaram um bom futebol. Para um começo de trabalho foi bom ganhar, mas coisas importantes estão por vir.

Porém, Aguirre disse que há algumas coisas para melhorar na equipe:
​
-Vamos tentar trabalhar a defesa e o ataque para que o time possa melhorar.

Carlo Ancelotti must unleash Mason Holgate against Chelsea on Saturday after Michael Ball suggested Everton are “afraid” of the Stamford Bridge natives’ offensive strength.

The Toffees welcome Frank Lampard’s title-chasing Blues to Goodison Park this weekend looking to end a torrid run of fixtures that features only one win in their last seven Premier League games.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are pushing Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool for the top spot in the division with just two points separating the three sides after the opening 11 games, with Lampard’s men unbeaten since matchday two.

Ball believes Lampard has got Chelsea playing in a way that can cause Everton a world of pain on Saturday night, as the south west London outfit’s pace in attack and midfield runners are two traits Ancelotti is yet to find a way to beat.

“With Chelsea, they’ve got pace and midfielders with runners. I think they’re the two things we’re afraid of,” former Toffees academy graduate noted in his column for the Liverpool Echo.

“Chelsea’s new signings have come in and hit form now, so we’ll probably be a bit more cautious and not leave space in behind. Michael Keane and Yerry Mina aren’t the quickest.

“A back four, generally, should suit us more – but I understand why we switched to a three. Ben Godfrey came here and obviously didn’t want to sit on the bench, he’s forced his way into the starting line-up, and he needs game time to try and build his partnerships up.”

But with an ankle injury forcing Lucas Digne to undergo surgery and face a potential three months out of action, plus Fabian Delph limping off with a hamstring injury at Burnley on Saturday, Godfrey is now expected to move to left-back when Everton host Chelsea.

Ancelotti doing so could see Everton move back to a four-man defence like Ball believes is best, having favoured that at Turf Moor following Delph’s exit. Yet the Italian tactician should rather unleash Holgate to inject pace into the line alongside Keane and Mina.

Holgate has appeared to lose some of Ancelotti’s backing, despite the former Chelsea head coach lauding the “fighter” as a “complete defender” capable of becoming one of the best in his position earlier in the year, as the 24-year-old has only featured twice since recovering from a pre-season toe injury.

He was also benched for the trips to Fulham and Burnley after featuring against Manchester United and Leeds, as Ancelotti continued to step back and forth on who his favoured centre-half options are.

However Holgate is Everton’s only centre-half option capable of adding pace in front of Jordan Pickford’s goal if Godfrey is moved to left-back, otherwise Ancelotti risks seeing Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Mason Mount and co. run Keane and Mina ragged at the weekend.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands can land Everton’s new Idrissa Gueye in a £22.8m leader the Toffees’ are monitoring.

Steven Gerrard finally got what he wanted all along when Bongani Zungu joined Glasgow Rangers on loan from Amiens last month, but the South Africa international is yet to make his debut for the Ibrox outfit thus far.

What’s the word?

Rangers signed Zungu from the French Ligue 2 side on an initial loan deal on transfer deadline day. He has been named in the South Africa squad for their upcoming AFCON qualifiers as his quarantine restrictions in Scotland have come to an end following his loan move from Amiens.

Speaking to the This Is Ibrox podcast, South African journalist Lorenz Köhler believes Gerrard must unleash his countryman sooner rather than later.

“In my opinion, he’s best as a box-to-box midfielder because he’s an all-action player who just wants to be involved,” he said.

“He likes to take the game by the scruff of its neck.

“It’s going to sound ludicrous…when Yaya Toure left Barcelona, he was playing as a centre-back. He came to the Premier League and the manager saw that ‘this guy isn’t a centre-back’.

“I think the same can be said to Gerrard. He’ll take one look and say ‘this guy is not a defensive midfielder’. Unleash him. Let him be free, let him go forward. He’s got a bit of height to him, he can score from headers, he can find the top corner. He can do everything.”

The summer signing has been pictured training ahead of the club’s Europa League clash with Benfica.

Impact sub!

Zungu was an unused substitute against Lech Poznan last week, but was not included in the squad for the away trip to Kilmarnock on Sunday.

Whilst we have to admit that it’s highly unlikely the South African will start, as Glen Kamara, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield have all impressed in recent weeks, the midfielder may make an appearance as an impact substitute from the bench.

The 28-year-old has a decent personal record against the Portuguese giants, as he has previously scored one goal in four games, although it’s worth pointing out the fact that he has lost every fixture so far.

Last season, he played 21 games in Ligue 1, averaging more than one tackle and one clearance per game, via WhoScored. By comparison, even Arfield is managing fewer than one tackle and one clearance per game in the Scottish Premiership this season so far, as per WhoScored.

Flavio Meireles, the sporting director from Vitoria de Guimaraes, once hailed the South African powerhouse as a “special talent”, whilst Amiens sporting director John Williams insisted “he can do everything.”

If that isn’t enough to convince Gerrard to consider his options, we don’t know what will be. The Gers have the option to buy Zungu outright if he can impress the club during his loan spell at Ibrox. He just needs to get some minutes under his belt in order to demonstrate his value – the sooner he gets the time to shine, the better. Otherwise, what was even the point of signing him in the first place?

AND in other news, Shades of Prso: Steven Gerrard must unleash Glasgow Rangers ace Cedric Itten vs Benfica…

Southampton have truly found their groove in the Premier League this season and have come flying out the blocks. Now fourth in the table, they boast 13 points after winning four of their seven games played. An inspired performance against Aston Villa sees them just three points off the top spot.

Ralph Hasenhuttl is not holding back this time round. A top ten spot would have been the team’s target at the start of the season, but with so many twists and turns already, they may be eyeing up a top six finish instead.

The Saints have a lot to be thankful for as they enjoy their blistering start to the campaign. The team as a whole is working wonderfully together and the new signings appear to be settling in nicely. Kyle Walker-Peters has proved to be an extremely smart bit of business from Martin Semmens. But there’s one man who has impressed more than the defender.

Tying down James Ward-Prowse to a new five-year contract has arguably been the best decision the club has made during the transfer window and at the moment it is proving to be a Semmens masterclass.

James Ward-Prowse and his impact for Southampton

After guiding the Saints to a 4-3 win over Villa on Sunday, the skipper has made club history. The midfielder has overtaken club icon Matt Le Tissier as the player to score the most direct free-kicks with an impressive eight.

He also set up Jannik Vestergaard’s opener after 20 minutes at Villa Park, so not only does he have a wand of a right foot, but his eye for an opportunity is second to none in the team. Ward-Prowse now boasts four goalscoring contributions in his last two games, which could be the start of an exciting streak for the 26-year-old.

The Englishman was ever-present under Hasenhuttl last season, establishing himself as one of Southampton’s key players. Indeed, he hasn’t missed a single minute of football this term either and has stepped up to the plate with the captain’s armband too.

With teammate Danny Ings resurrecting his England career due to his phenomenal form, Ward-Prowse might not be far behind. He has appeared twice for his country this year, but with his current rate of performances, it will be impossible to count him out as a midfield contender for the Three Lions.

In other news, Southampton made right call not to cash in on Oriol Romeu in 2020…

Manchester City look to have made a terrible mistake in loaning out Spanish left-back Angelino, as he continues to impress for RB Leipzig.

The 23-year-old was loaned out to Julian Nagelsmann’s side during the summer, with the Bundesliga side reportedly holding the option to make the move permanent for £16.3 million.

This looks to be a bargain deal when you consider the impressive manner in which the left-back has started the season, both in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League.

So far this season Angelino, described as “inquisitive” by Nagelsmann in October, has averaged an incredible 7.46 rating for his performances in Germany’s top-flight, having contributed four goals and two assists in those games (per WhoScored).

He has been equally impressive in the Champions League, with three goals and three assists to his name in the group stages, which saw him average a 7.24 rating.

The defender will no doubt have won over a lot of Manchester City fans with his most recent performance for Die Roten Bullen, as he earned the man-of-the-match award after scoring and assisting in Leipzig’s 3-2 win against Manchester United in midweek, which knocked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side out of the competition.

Angelino’s average rating far surpasses the likes of Benjamin Mendy, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Nathan Ake, who have all featured at left-back for Manchester City this season, suggesting that the club may have made a mistake in loaning him out.

City’s sporting director, Aitor “Txiki” Begiristain Mujika, will surely be regretting the decision and will be hoping that Leipzig don’t exercise their option to buy him, although when you consider his superb start to the season, this seems unlikely.

The Spanish defender, who earns €55k (£50k) per week, was never really given an opportunity to impress in Guardiola’s side, with just 15 first-team appearances to his name, which certainly seems like something the club may regret if he continues to impress with Leipzig.

And, in other news… 0% duels won: “Special” MCFC ace badly let Guardiola down with an abysmal display…

For Celtic, this has already been a long arduous season. We’re only in December but it’s been full of immense drama.

The Hoops were dumped out of the Champions League in the qualifying stages and then conceded 19 in just six matches following their entrance to the Europa League. Being knocked out of that competition was a huge disappointment but the biggest frustration has come domestically.

Although the Bhoys have won the Scottish Cup, they are considerably off the pace in the SPFL and are in danger of losing their grip on the league crown.

It would now be a great surprise if it went any other way but Rangers’. Fortunately, they have a January transfer window to try and solve their woes. Naturally, the position they’ll look to strengthen in is defensively.

Celtic have shipped nine more goals than their arch-rivals despite playing three fewer games but one of the players linked with the club has been Philadelphia Union centre-back Mark McKenzie.

He’s one of the rising stars in MLS but Nick Hammond and Lennon could save themselves millions with one simple trick in the immediate future.

That’s to play Nir Bitton on a more regular basis. The Israeli has received vast waves of criticism during his stay at Parkhead, something that Brendan Rodgers described as “incredible” when he was still in Glasgow.

Yet, in a season where the likes of Shane Duffy and Christopher Jullien have provided drama at every corner, Bitton was safe as houses against Hamilton on Boxing Day.

He won a colossal seven aerial duels, taking his tally for the season to a massive 33 from just ten outings. It’s an almighty statistic but where he stood out above others a few days ago was in terms of reading the play.

Jullien and Duffy were at sixes and sevens throughout the Scottish Cup final but Bitton registered four interceptions versus Hamilton, producing the type of solid performance that Lennon needs to see more of.

If the Israel international manages more displays like this, it may just dissuade Hammond from entering the transfer market for a new defender.

All eyes are on Lennon and the hierarchy now.

AND in other news, Celtic must swoop for “extraordinary” colossus, he’s BETTER than Barkas…