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After absolutely thrashing West Brom 5-0 away from home, Leeds United face a more stiffer test when they take on Tottenham.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side were in imperious form last time out at the Hawthorns, and blew away the Baggies inside the first-half, racing to a four-goal lead before the break.

Spurs on the other hand seem to have hit a sticky patch, failing to win in their past four Premier League games. Bielsa will no doubt be reluctant to make too many significant changes to his side – that isn’t his style anyway – but injuries may play a part in forcing his hand.

And with that in mind, below is a look at Leeds’ potential line-up to face Jose Mourinho’s men on Saturday afternoon.

In goal, Illan Meslier will hope to continue where he’s left off in the past couple of months. The Frenchman has managed to keep two clean sheets in succession in the top-flight since that 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United.

The back-four is also likely to remain the same, with Pascal Struijk keeping his place at the heart of defence following Liam Cooper’s injury.

Midfield however could be the one area where Bielsa tinkers slightly. Mateusz Klich picked up a knock against West Brom last week, but the Leeds boss may wish to keep him out of the side regardless of whether he passes a late fitness check, given his questionable form in recent weeks.

That could see Jamie Shackleton make a Premier League start, whilst Bielsa may also make a big call over who plays on the right hand side.

Raphinha – hailed a “complete player” by Victor Orta recently – is beginning to find his feet at Elland Road, but some of the Whites’ best performances against the heavyweight sides this season, against Chelsea and Liverpool respectively, have seen Helder Costa start on both occasions.

That could be the case again, as Bielsa goes with a more tried-and-trusted option in a big game like this.

Predicted XI: Meslier; Dallas, Ayling, Struijk, Alioski; Phillips, Rodrigo, Shackleton; Costa, Bamford, Harrison.

Carlo Ancelotti is facing the “impossible” task of finding a like-for-like replacement for Richarlison with Everton potentially without the Brazilian at Sheffield United on Boxing Day.

According to The Guardian, the Goodison Park natives are waiting anxiously for word on whether or not Richarlison can take to the field at Bramall Lane on Saturday night as he continues to be assessed for a potential concussion.

The 23-year-old was substituted off during the Toffees’ Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to Manchester United on Wednesday night under the orders of the club’s doctor, having received an elbow to the head in an accidental collision with Eric Bailly.

Ancelotti has insisted Everton will not breach the Football Association’s concussion protocols and field Richarlison regardless, after he claimed “everything is fine” in a message shared on Twitter.

Everton will be hoping Richarlison can feature at Bramall Lane as they strive to secure a fourth-straight Premier League victory to maintain the club’s position in the top-four places, as the Toffees are yet to win a top-flight fixture without the Brazilian since his arrival in 2018.

Ancelotti will also be without James Rodriguez after confirming the Colombian will miss the festive meetings with Sheffield United and Manchester City with the same calf injury that has sidelined the 29-year-old for the Blues’ last three league games.

“Without Richarlison, we know it will be difficult,” Ancelotti said. “If he had a concussion he has to stay out, we have to follow the protocols, and we have to be able to replace him better than what we did when he was not here.

“James will not be available for the next few games and it is a challenge for us to replace them both.”

Everton lost all three Premier League fixtures while without Richarlison earlier in the season following his red card at home to Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby, during which Ancelotti admitted it is “impossible” to find a like-for-like replacement for the 23-year-old with who he already has at the club.

Ancelotti will be keen to see Everton avoid a repeat of their struggles while Richarlison was suspended should he not be able to feature against Sheffield United on Boxing Day, knowing the £50m record signing accounts for much of the Toffees’ offensive advances.

No Everton player has registered a higher number of successful dribbles than Richarlison (32), who ranks second to Dominic Calvert-Lewin (39) for total shots (24) in Premier League fixtures and third for big chances created (3), per SofaScore.

Only Calvert-Lewin (11) and Rodriguez (3) have scored more often than Richarlison (2), too, with fellow forwards Alex Iwobi, Anthony Gordon and Cenk Tosun yet to find the back of the net.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands will have to ditch his favoured Everton approach to sign a sought-after £18m enforcer.

Glasgow Rangers may soon have to bite the bullet and address an elephant in the room.

And no, we’re not talking about Ryan Kent’s contract situation, nor Lille’s long-term interest in Alfredo Morelos, but an underlying problem between the posts. Namely, the fact that veteran Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor isn’t getting any younger.

The Rangers shot-stopper wasn’t directly at fault for Benfica’s remarkable comeback in the closing stages of the Europa League game at Ibrox as he couldn’t do much about the goals but his wayward kicking left a lot to be desired with a nervy moment towards the beginning of the game.

On its own as an isolated incident, Steven Gerrard probably won’t be too concerned by a mistimed kick here or there.

In fact, we said just last month that McGregor is one of, if not the best keepers in the Scottish Premiership but that doesn’t hide from the fact that he has started to show signs that his powers are somewhat waning.

Per SofaScore, the 38-year-old has received a low rating of 6.38 for his performances in the Europa League so far this season – he is averaging just 0.3 saves and conceding 1.3 goals per game. By comparison, he averaged 2.2 saves per game last season, whilst he only conceded 1.2 goals per game in the very same competition, as per SofaScore.

It goes without saying that it’s the most challenging and unforgiving position on the pitch. Facing a torrent of abuse often comes with the territory of being the last person in the line of defence as the main purpose is to stop goals throughout the game.

Rangers signed Scotland and former Hearts keeper Jon McLaughlin from Sunderland on a two-year-deal in the summer to provide cover and compete with McGregor for a place in the starting line-up. But therein lies the problem, as the 33-year-old is no spring chicken, either.

According to FootyStats, the Gers have the best xGA (Expected Goals Against) in the Premiership with just 0.61 goals expected against them per game, but this could be primarily due to the fact that they have the best defence in the competition.

In four appearances in the Europa League this season, McGregor has conceded five goals, whilst he has kept two clean sheets.

Whilst Brian Kinnear could soon be pushing for a call up to the senior squad, what they need right now is a reliable stopper who still has plenty of shelf life left and is comfortable with the ball if they are to push onwards to domestic and European glory. It’s surely worth a gamble as until then it may become a bit of a bumpy road in the path to success.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must unleash Brandon Barker against Falkirk in Betfred Cup…

Jarrod Bowen was far from his best at Anfield on Saturday night as the winger struggled to make an impact for West Ham United in their 2-1 loss to Liverpool, leaving manager David Moyes short-changed on Merseyside.

Moyes brought Bowen to the Premier League in January when the Irons struck a deal worth up to £22million with Championship side Hull City, and has reaped some rewards from the move with the winger currently the Hammers’ joint-leading goalscorer in the top-flight.

Only Michail Antonio (three) has the found the net as much as the Leominster-born 23-year-old, who earned his 18th straight Premier League start on Saturday having now opened each of the east London’s top-flight fixtures since February’s 3-2 loss to Liverpool.

Moyes will be hoping that Bowen is as capable of impressing the week after losing to Liverpool this time around as he were earlier in the year, having scored his first West Ham goal in the London Stadium outfit’s following fixture, a 3-1 win over Southampton.

The Irons host London rivals Fulham next time out, a side Bowen faced on four occasions in the Championship and struck three goals but only beat once, with Hull losing two and drawing one of their other encounters with the Craven Cottage natives.

Moyes did not anticipate Bowen being West Ham’s saviour when the former Manchester United head coach welcomed the forward to the club in January, though would have hoped for a better showing this weekend in their defeat to Liverpool.

“I’ve got to use my experience,” Moyes said, via quotes by Sky Sports. “Players like Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka took six months to settle into the Premier League, but others like Tim Cahill made an impact straight away.

“I want him [Bowen] to be for the long-term. If we are signing a player from Hull and hoping him to be a saviour, I think that’s unfair, but he’s looking very good and very sharp.”

Bowen was far from sharp at Anfield on Saturday, as the £80,000-per-week attacker continuously struggled to get the better of Andrew Robertson and failed to use his boundless energy to produce any quality when on the ball.

Moyes eventually hauled the 23-year-old off in the 89th-minute to hand Said Benrahma his West Ham debut following Diogo Jota’s match-winning strike, with Bowen only recording a 25% duel success rate having lost each of his two aerial contests and four of his six battles on the ground, per SofaScore.

Bowen further failed to register a single shot on Alisson Becker’s goal, made just one attempted dribble, offered no tackles, interceptions, clearances, was dribbled past twice, committed one foul, lost possession eight times and misplaced each of his four crosses.

His efforts ensured Bowen left Merseyside having warranted SofaScore’s lowest match rating for any player on either side at 6.1 out of 10, marking a continued decline after a 6.4 showing at Tottenham Hotspur and a 6.3 at home to Manchester City.

AND in other news, West Ham’s injury nightmare will only amplify David Moyes’ regret on failing to sign an “extraordinary” hitman.

Glasgow Rangers secured their second successive victory at Celtic Park with a dominant performance in the Old Firm derby.

The Light Blues cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win over their biggest rivals with Connor Goldson bagging a brace, meaning they now have a four-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table and Steven Gerrard will have been secretly pleased to see his side dominate the midfield battle from start to finish.

The Rangers boss has lamented the lack of a ball-carrying midfielder in the past, which explains why he was so delighted when the Gers signed Bongani Zungu on a season-long loan from Amiens two hours before the close of play on deadline day.

Scott Arfield and Steven Davis bossed the Bhoys in their own backyard, but it was Glen Kamara who was the best of the bunch in the midfield.

The 21-capped Finland international continued his fine form for club and country with another comprehensive display in the Old Firm clash.

SofaScore graded the 24-year-old as one of the best players on the pitch – he won seven out of his nine ground duels (77%), whilst he made three tackles, one clearance and one interception, and successfully dribbled past three out of four players.

The Daily Record gave Kamara an 8/10 rating, claiming he picked “the right moments to keep it short and simple or burst into advanced areas with examples of ball carrying”, whilst The Independent were also impressed, insisting he was a “very clever player” who “won the battle against Ntcham and allowed the game to tick over favourably for Rangers.”

If you look at his heatmap, you can see that he was involved in the build-up play on the right before Goldson’s second goal.

It’s hardly surprising that Kamara received praise from Rangers fan Oli McBurnie. The Sheffield United striker tweeted “Glen Kamara is really good at football btw” after the game.

With Zungu’s arrival and with Ryan Jack’s immenent return, it’s fair to say that the midfielder may have been nervously looking over his shoulder as his place was by no means assured. What better way to send the boss a timely reminder with a big performance in one of the biggest games of the season?

AND in other news, Rangers must sign Alfredo Morelos to new contract after Gerrard comments…

Tottenham Hotspur aren’t done in the transfer market just yet and it appears they could be making a splash at centre-back, according to reports this week…

What’s the word?

Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano told supporters on Twitter that Spurs had ‘opened talks’ with Inter Milan over the potential signing of their aggressive defender Milan Skriniar.

He claims that Jose Mourinho is a huge fan and sees the 25-year-old as his favourite target for the role this summer.

The Serie A outfit have asked for €60m (£55m) with there being no chance that Tanguy Ndombele is included as part of any swap deal.

Dier upgrade?

Alongside the addition of a new striker, another defensive option should be a top priority. Mourinho has lost veteran Jan Vertonghen whilst the futures of Juan Foyth and Cameron Carter-Vickers are by no means certain.

Spurs had the second-worst record for goals conceded of any top-seven team in the Premier League last season and they have only bolstered the wings with attacking full-backs in Sergio Reguillon and Matt Doherty.

In Skriniar, they’d be getting a massive upgrade to midfielder-turned-defender Eric Dier.

Last season, the Slovakian powerhouse managed more tackles (1.2) and passes (62.4) per game than the Englishman, even recording a better passing accuracy at an impressive 92.1%, which is perhaps a surprise given Dier’s experience in midfield.

Skriniar has been lauded as a “leader on and off the pitch” by his former youth coach Tibor Goljan whilst Goal.com believe he was one of the signings of the 2018 summer window, claiming he’s “a strong tackler who is quick to make clearances.”

His playing style has been likened to both Martin Skrtel and Alessandro Nesta, so Spurs would certainly be getting quite the player on their hands – 31 caps, 143 Serie A appearances and 25 matches in Europe, it would be a great move by Levy.

AND in other news, Spurs could find Mourinho’s new Ibra in Dutch colossus…

£27m. That’s how much Leeds spent to sign Rodrigo this summer.

United’s made the striker their record signing last month, and since his arrival, the goals have been flying in for Marcelo Bielsa’s side with the Whites finding the net seven times in their opening two games.

However, Rodrigo hasn’t played a part in any of them, with no goals or assists to his name so far, and while the Spaniard has been faltering, United’s other striking option has flourished.

Plenty of questions were asked about Patrick Bamford ahead of Leeds’ return to the Premier League, and you can understand why.

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He underperformed his xG by more than 18 last season, and with chances supposedly harder to come by in the top-flight, his wastefulness was highlighted as a potential problem.

However, two games into the season he’s been United’s brightest attacking spark, netting two goals and grabbing an assist so far, and his performance against Fulham on Saturday showed exactly what he can bring in this league.

Bamford’s goal was a result of his clever movement and link-up play, while his assist highlighted his tireless running as he sprinted down the wing towards the by-line before cutting the ball back to Helder Costa who duly applied the finish.

Rodrigo also started the game for Leeds, coming in as a late change for Pablo Hernandez after the 35-year-old picked up an injury in the warmup, and while Bamford flourished, he faltered, failing to have a single shot or play a single key pass before coming off at half-time.

So now the question before Bielsa is, which striker is his first choice? Rodrigo would seemingly be the logical answer due to his pricetag and international pedigree, but with Bamford making the step-up to the Premier League so brilliantly and fittin the system perfectly, the manager’s dilemma is that much tougher to solve.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the Argentine handles his record-signing and his in-form striker. This could be Bielsa’s biggest selection headache since coming to Yorkshire.

According to La Voix du Nord, Glasgow Rangers have turned down a bid from Lille for Alfredo Morelos.

The Colombia international has been strongly linked with a move to Lille, and has even been said to have agreed personal terms with the Ligue 1 outfit.

No accord between the two clubs has yet been found, though, and this report states that the Gers have rejected a bid worth €15m (£13.5m) for their star striker – they say the Ibrox side are not satisfied with what has been put on the table.

This is a transfer saga that continues to rumble on and, with just under two months of the transfer window left, the speculation is unlikely to go away any time soon. Lille looked like a good option, but the imminent signing of Jonathan David, as well as their Financial Fair Play issues, means that Morelos’ future is now far from certain.

The Gers are said to be looking for £20m, and this offer from Les Dogues is nowhere near that sum. Following the 24-year-old’s brace against St. Mirren on Sunday, it doesn’t look like Morelos is pushing for a move, which does leave the Gers in a strong position. Even if Lille drop out, though, it is unlikely that there will be a lack of interest from other quarters between now and the first week in October.

Let us know what you think below!

Key Information about Cardiff City Stadium

The Cardiff City Stadium is one of the newest football grounds built in the United Kingdom. It was opened on 22 July 2009 for Welsh football club Cardiff City, as well as for the Welsh national football team.

After the Millennium Stadium, it is the second-largest stadium in Wales and it comprises four notable stands; the Canton Stand, the Ninian Stand, the Grange Stand, and The Grandstand. Following the expansion of the Ninian Stand in the summer of 2014, Cardiff City Stadium now officially holds an all-seated capacity of 33,280.

A history of Cardiff City Stadium

The ground first gained public approval after a meeting between former club owner Sam Hammam and then Cardiff Lord Mayow Russell Goodway at the start of 2002. Though, after many years of financial struggles and losses, construction on the ground did not commence until 2007 when the plans were altered to allow construction to begin as soon as possible, and to minimise costs, the club decided to reduce the proposed 30,000 capacity by 5,000 by removing three-quarters of the second tier of seating with plans to expand in the future possible. The Cardiff City Stadium was finally completed in May 2009, having missed the previous opening deadline of Christmas 2008.

The ground was unveiled as the Cardiff City Stadium earlier in March after Hammam agreed to sell the stadium’s naming rights to Swiss-based financiers Langston. Cardiff City Stadium officially opened to the football club on 22 July 2009 as it welcomed a pre-season friendly match against Celtic which ended in a 0-0 draw. The first Football League game was played on 8 August as Cardiff thrashed Scunthorpe United 4-0. Wales played their first international football match on 14 November 2009 which they triumphed against Scotland, 3-0.

In the summer of 2012, new Malaysian co-owner of Cardiff City Vincent Tan, set out plans to upgrade the stadium’s capacity by 8,000 seats with a £12m investment. The following year it was announced that the ground could be expanded up to 35,000 in time for the 2014-15 season.

Planning permission by the local council was granted in 2013 to add a second tier to the Ninian Stand which would increase the stadium’s capacity to 33,280, in addition to brand new commercial and hospitality facilities for around 1,500 people. On 1 June 2017, Cardiff City Stadium famously hosted the final of the 2016-17 UEFA Women’s Champions League. The record attendance for Cardiff City was set during a Premier League match against Liverpool in April 2019 – this was a massive 33,082.

Tickets to Watch Cardiff City at Cardiff City Stadium

General adult ticket prices start from just £17, with seniors (60+) from £13, 16-21s from £10, and juniors (under-16s) from just £7. Season tickets can be purchased for just £299 for adults and £79 for juniors. All tickets are available to purchase in person at the Cardiff City Stadium Ticket Office, over the phone, or online through the club site.

Related Links

https://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/ – Official website of Cardiff City

https://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/tickets/ – Cardiff City Ticket Office

Liverpool will be offering Adam Lallana a ‘mini extension’ with the club which will see him eligible to play theÂremaining Premier League fixtures.

According to Paul Joyce, long-time serving veteran Lallana will be departing the club this summer after a troublesome career in red. However, despite his many injury problems, Jurgen Klopp sees the 32-year-old as a vital part of this Liverpool side.

The Englishman will pen a new deal, seeing him stay with the club long enough to feature in the remaining league games this season and ultimately share in Liverpool’s inevitable domestic success.

Lallana has been with the club for six years after Brendan Rodgers signed him from Southampton in 2014 (via BBC Sport). Since then, he has made 178 appearances for the Reds and has contributed 22 goals and 22 assists (via Transfermarkt).

Liverpool fans are in agreement that the midfielder should stay until the end of the season and believe he deserves to enjoy the title win as much as any other senior player given his efforts down the years, including this term where he has made 15 league appearances and scored one goal – a vital equaliser against Manchester United (Transfermarkt).

One supporter has commented on Joyce’s update saying ‘Klopp is too good’ as they laud the manager for his decision to see Lallana involved in the celebrations.

How do you feel about Lallana’s ‘mini contract extension’, Reds? Join the discussion in the comments below!