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Aston Villa return to Premier League action later this evening and they’ll be looking to continue their fantastic start to the new campaign with three points at Craven Cottage.

Dean Smith’s side are unbeaten from their first three matches in all competitions, Last week, they defeated Sheffield United and now they head to London to face top-flight newcomers and old foes Fulham.

Whilst in mid-week, a fringe XI thrashed Bristol City 3-0 in the EFL Cup to advance into the round of 16, so will the Villa boss make any changes today?

Here’s what we are predicting…

Smith could name almost an entirely new starting XI with only one player keeping their place from Thursday evening.

Between the sticks, summer signing Emi Martinez returns over Jed Steer whilst a usual back four of Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Matty Cash is also named.

£15m enforcer Douglas Luiz also starts at the expense of Marvelous Nakamba in defensive midfield although this time, the Brazilian sits behind John McGinn and skipper Jack Grealish, who perhaps surprisingly moves into the hole having played left-wing for the majority of the past 12 months or so.

The one name to remain could be the debutant from Ashton Gate, Bertrand Traore. The £19m summer arrival scored an outstanding goal and got some much-needed match fitness, he’s surely in line to start.

It means Trezeguet takes up a spot on the other wing with Ollie Watkins playing through the middle in the attack.

Therefore, there are no places for Conor Hourihane, Anwar El Ghazi, Keinan Davis or Henri Lansbury, who are all likely to settle for the bench.

AND in other news, Villans have to break club-record fee again to sign “incredible” transfer target…

Manchester United thrashed Aston Villa 3-0 at Villa Park on Thursday night to extend their unbeaten run to 17 games in all competitions.

Plans seem to be in motion to return the Red Devils to their pedestal, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eager to sign Jadon Sancho this summer.

While the club legend ferrets around for some new additions to his squad, United are in a strong position in the Premier League. They are currently fifth in the table, a point behind fourth-placed Leicester and two points away from Chelsea.

Solskjaer’s side remain firmly in the race for Champions League football next season with only four games remaining. If United keep on going as they are, they may not even need to take Manchester City’s place in the competition – although this is not guaranteed.

As the transfer window approaches, Ed Woodward will begin to feel pressure to keep this momentum going and make a statement signing, as used to be a tradition under Sir Alex Ferguson. While Fergie’s days are long gone, and the club has been on a rollercoaster ever since, the reality remains that the Glazers must take advantage of this situation.

Solskjaer has built a platform for the Glazers to build a winning team again but, as Mark Ogden has opined, they are still several signings away from challenging Liverpool and Manchester City for the title.

The foundations are there for all to see, as Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes have formed a formidable midfield partnership, but United’s defence has been circumspect at best.

Signing Sancho isn’t enough as there are other key areas that urgently need addressing. The Red Devils don’t seem to have any problems scoring goals – indeed, Mason Greenwood has racked up a tally of nine goals in the league.

David de Gea and Harry Maguire have copped a fair amount of criticism from club legend Roy Keane amongst many others, as they have made a string of errors on multiple occasions. That’s not to say that Solskjaer should get rid of the culprits, far from it, and it is hard to imagine that the board will be willing to sell Maguire after they spent a fortune on him last summer.

Rather, it suggests that there are other areas where they need improvement to bring out the best in them. If United have to splash the cash on another centre-half to compliment the club captain, so be it, as Victor Lindelof has never looked particularly convincing alongside him.

For whatever reason, Eric Bailly can’t seem to get a game at the moment, while Lindelof has received a below-par rating of 6.69 overall for his performances so far.

The Glazers have a real chance to close the gap on the runaway leaders this summer and get the club back to where they used to be. Money shouldn’t be a problem as The Athletic revealed the board still have an ample amount to spend.

Chelsea have already paved the way by bringing Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech to Stamford Bridge, and United should follow suit by making several signings to level the playing field.

Jurgen Klopp has insisted that Liverpool will not be spending vast sums, while City’s transfer policy hinges on the outcome of their appeal against a two-year ban from UEFA competitions, and the Glazers should be looking to seize the advantage in the transfer window.

There is not a moment to waste and United should be seeking to snap up some key players to improve the squad.

United fans, do you think the Glazers will make several major signings? Let us know your views below!

Things are starting to get even more heated amid Rangers’ attempt to push for an investigation into the SPFL.

The Gers accused the SPFL of corruption, and a vote was taken amongst Scottish sides to decide whether to press forward. However, only 13 clubs sided with the proposal set out by Steven Gerrard’s side, whilst another 27 took the opposite stance.

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However, two clubs decided to abstain, with one of them, Clyde, posting an official statement outlining their decision. They revealed that the matter is not a “priority”, even despite admitting that “as a board, we were unanimous in our view that the resolution and the supporting report had merit in it”.

After hearing about Clyde’s explanation for their choice to abstain, Rangers fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

One Rangers fan voiced their anger at seeing Clyde choose not to vote at all.

Voting against the proposal is one thing, but deciding to abstain from it is certainly another.

Rangers fans are rightly frustrated by Clyde’s decision to back away from what is undeniably a tricky situation, but without clear transparency and accountability, it’s difficult to shake off the feeling that something just doesn’t sit right.

Loads of Sheffield United supporters reacted to a tweet from the club’s official Twitter account sharing a clip of John Fleck’s son demonstrating an unbelievable first touch. 

Due to the ongoing pandemic, many football clubs have resorted to keeping their fans entertained with an array of hilarious clips and iconic montages, and the Blades posted a video of the midfielder’s child practising his skills in the back garden.

After arriving at Bramall Lane from Coventry City on a free transfer in July 2016, Fleck has helped Chris Wilder’s side spring from the lower regions of League One all the way to the upper echelons of the Premier League, scoring 5 goals and providing 2 assists in 25 appearances in the English top fight this season. The 28-year-old has won 2 caps for the Scottish national team so far and he is currently valued at £5.85m via Transfermarkt.

Unsurprisingly, loads of SUFC fans replied to the club’s post, with many urging the board to “sign him up” and offer him a contract, with one fan pleading with Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad to “sign him up.”

Take a look at the rest of the reactions down below…

Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Blades discussion going on in the Vital Blades Forum! Click here to get involved!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Liverpool will face Brighton at the weekend as they look to maintain their eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League. One battle in particular could decide the final outcome.

On the chalkboard

It has been a wonderful start to the campaign for the Reds. In their first 13 games, they have picked up maximum points from 12 of them, with the other one being a draw. They have not always been at their best, but they have been relentless in their pursuit of glory. After a disappointing 1-1 draw with Napoli in midweek – they had 71% possession but couldn’t score more than once – they will be hoping to bounce back against the Seagulls.

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Brighton, meanwhile, have had a mixed term up until now. They have won four, drawn three and lost six, with them picking up varying results. They have beaten the likes of Tottenham and Everton, for example, but have also lost to the Southampton and Aston Villa. It will be interesting to see which team turns up on Saturday.

As such, this has the potential to be a fascinating game, and one duel in the middle of the park could have a telling impact.

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It wasn’t just the result that will have disappointed Jurgen Klopp on Wednesday in the Champions League. Fabinho, who has been one of the Anfield outfit’s best players so far this campaign – he was called the best defensive midfielder in the world in September by Gary Neville (Sky Sports via Metro) – was forced off after just 19 minutes after picking up an ankle injury, and is out until 2020.

Check out footballers’ biggest fashion disasters in the video below…

So far this campaign, the Brazil international has started 11 of 13 league games in that position. In the two matches he was not included in the starting XI, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana played in that deep-lying midfield position instead. With Wijnaldum not having missed a game so far this campaign, and the Reds easily dispatching Arsenal with him in the team, there is every chance he could be starting there again against Graham Potter and Co.

It is important that he keeps up with the 28-year-old’s ability on the ball. Fabinho has averaged 60.4 passes so far this campaign, the most in the midfield and the sixth-most in the team. With 1.1 key passes per match too, he is also the most creative in the centre of the park. Wijnaldum, meanwhile, has averaged 42.4 and 0.2 respectively. Both of those would need to go up drastically.

Opposite him for Brighton, Davy Propper will be looking to take advantage of Liverpool’s misfortune. As part of a ball-playing team – only six sides have a higher average possession than their 53.4% – he is the key element in the midfield. With the fourth-most passes in the team, and the most in the middle, the Seagulls will be looking to get him into play as much as possible.

His 1.1 key passes are the third-most amongst his teammates, whilst only Steven Alzate has more than his two dribbles per match. Wijnaldum, who has averaged 1.2 tackles, 0.6 interceptions and had been dribbled past 0.5 times, will need to be at the top of his game to stop the Netherlands international from driving forward and finding danger men such as Leandro Trossard, Pascal Gross and Neal Maupay.

Should £45m-valued Wijnaldum – as per Transfermarkt – be able to do that, his job will then be to look forward creatively and pick out the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. But with 2.6 tackles per match and 1.2 interceptions, Propper has the ability to thwart the 29-year-old. This really will be a contest that could shape the whole 90 minutes.

In other news, Paul Robinson says one Liverpool man is “struggling” at Anfield.

Liverpool are flying high at the top of the Premier League table, and beating Manchester City 3-1 on Sunday clearly left star left-back Andrew Robertson in a positive mood.The Scot took to Twitter shortly after helping Jurgen Klopp’s side pull off a huge win against their title rival to tease one of his teammates, Roberto Firmino, and remind everyone of the dangers of the Brazilian’s flying kick celebration.Firmino had shown off his trademark celebration in response to the action unfolding on Merseyside, as defeating the Sky Blues put a nine-point gap between Liverpool and the reigning champions.

Manchester City now find themselves behind Leicester and Chelsea after goals from Fabinho, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane dealt more damage to Pep Guardiola and his side’s title defence.

A photo of Firmino celebrating Mane’s goal perfectly captured the £72million-rated Brazilian in mid-flight as he flew towards Robertson and the jubilant Senegal winger, which led the Scot to tweet: ‘Never celebrate with Bobby.’

Here’s a look at the full-back’s post…

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…

As quoted by the club’s official website, Nicky Butt has delivered his verdict on Manchester United starlet James Garner.

What did he say?

The 18-year-old has made just the three appearances for the senior side this season, with only eight minutes of Premier League football to his name. He has however been in fine form at Premier League 2 level with the U23s, scoring five goals in five games.

Despite seeing him predominantly feature on the fringes of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-team squad, Butt hailed the teenager’s mentality, and insisted that being patient now will reward him handsomely in the future.

He said: “Jimmy Garner is a good player. He’s very mature for his age, so he can handle all the hype and all that comes with playing in the first team. He’s scored some good goals in the Under-23s and the EFL Trophy, so he’s developing that bit.

“He’s just got to be patient because he’s a very good player who will hopefully have a long career at Manchester United. There’s no rush with him. He’s still growing, still got to build himself up in the gym and naturally grow.”

Patience

It’s the one thing all young players desperately need. Being thrown in at the deep end can be a dangerous approach for those who are trying to break through into the first-team, and it’s very much a toss-up between who sinks and who swims.

In Garner, United have a central midfielder who has shown he has an eye for goal this season in his time with the academy sides. And with the future of Paul Pogba still seemingly uncertain, the Red Devils starlet will surely be getting ample first-team opportunities in the near future. Butt’s profile of the teenager makes for good reading for the club, with mentality often being the difference in making it to the very top of the game.

That maturity of being able to handle all the pressure and the limelight that comes with playing for one of the biggest sides in the world will hold Garner in great stead. And that is exactly why Butt’s verdict on him should be encouraging for those of a United persuasion.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

With England set to face off against Montenegro on Thursday night, a number of players will be vying for a starting berth within Gareth Southgate’s first-choice XI, but Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings is not deserving of a first home start; on the basis of current form.

The centre-back had impressed in his first three games to receive a call-up to the Three Lions senior squad, making 42 clearances in that time, but he did not feature in September’s international break.

However, the former AFC Bournemouth man did make his first start in the 6-0 demolition of Bulgaria in October.

Since the last round of international fixtures, Mings has started Villa’s last four games, with his side failing to keep a clean sheet in that period alongside losing their last three to Manchester City, Liverpool and most recently Wolves.

Although the defender has recently played arguably the league’s two best teams in Liverpool and City, a sense of leniency could be applied to the unimpressive defensive record his side have conjured up, but the individual performances of the £26.5m summer signing have also dropped.

According to the individual match ratings on WhoScored, in Mings’ first three top-flight games as a Villa player, he recorded an average rating of 7.42 which consequently led to his call-up, but in the last four Premier League matches his average has dropped by nearly 13% to 6.46 per match.

Not only has Mings’ defensive unit been unable to keep the opposition out, but the centre-back’s own individual performances have seemingly dropped in comparison to his early-season displays. 

With his club side now sitting in 17th place, just three points above the relegation zone, Mings returning to form will be vital for Dean Smith’s side if they are to retain their top-flight status after having ended their three-year absence.

Yet on Thursday night, if Southgate is to select his starting XI on the basis of current form, the inclusion of Mings is not a decision that the England boss can comfortably justify given the decline in the performances of the Villa man.

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

Chris Smalling has been ridiculed a little bit on Twitter this week.

The centre-back gave away a last-minute penalty for Roma in the Europa League on Thursday, but recent reports from Gianluca Di Marzio indicate that he’s actually having a fruitful spell in Rome.

What’s the story then?

After just two months of playing for the Serie A side, AS Roma apparently already want to make their loan deal for Smalling a permanent one.

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The article describes Smalling as “Always among the best in the field and the leader of a defense that has found stability and compactness with [Gianluca] Mancini.”

After years of being panned by his own fans it’s interesting to see Smalling described in such a way, but following these supposedly incredible performances for Roma, Manchester United have a decision to make.

Don’t decide yet

United would be foolish to call it quits on Smalling’s Old Trafford career now.

With the centre-back impressing over in Italy, surely he’s worth another go if he keeps this up.

Thogden ranks every Premier League striker from best to worst in the video below…

Ok, he’s only played four league games, and even the biggest Smalling sceptic will tell you that he’s capable of hitting form, but if this truly is the beginning of a resurgence, then United shouldn’t think about selling him just yet.

The report states that Roma will try to meet with United in the next few weeks to discuss his transfer, but the Red Devils should hold off these types of negotiations until the end of the season where they can fully assess whether or not he has the ability to be an asset in the Premier League.

After all, United have conceded on average one goal per game in the Premier League this season, and former boss Jose Mourinho has identified aerial quality as one of Victor Lindelof’s key weaknesses – Smalling, meanwhile, has won almost six aerial duels per game in Serie A.

Perhaps he can still have a role to play at Old Trafford.

Arsenal fought back from 2-1 down to prevail as 3-2 winners against Vitoria Guimaraes in a vital Europa League clash for Unai Emery’s side, and whilst Nicolas Pepe’s match-winning brace has understandably stolen the headlines, these Gunners fans have been singing the praises of one individual after yet another sensational European display.

Gabriel Martinelli, 18, got Arsenal’s opener on the night with a well-taken header, taking the Brazilian’s tally to three goals in two Europa League appearances. Although the forward is yet to start a Premier League game in 2019/20, performances such as these are likely to be giving Emery a selection dilemma if his goalscoring form persists.

With the club securing a vital victory in their bid to reach the knock-out stages, maintaining their 100% winning start to Group F, some Arsenal fans were quick to praise Martinelli’s performance. Here are some of the best reactions to the Brazilian’s display against Vitoria Guimaraes.