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After an impressive display from the bench in Fulham’s 3-2 defeat against Everton last weekend, Scott Parker must trust Chelsea loanee Ruben Loftus-Cheek with a start in the Cottagers’ next game against Leicester City.

The West London club travel to the King Power Stadium on Monday in the hope of picking up their first away win of the 2020/21 Premier League season.

Parker’s side produced a promising second-half display against the Toffees in their last fixture but despite pushing hard for an equaliser in the late stages of the game, they fell to a 3-2 defeat.

One man who impressed with his display against Carlo Ancelotti’s side was Loftus-Cheek, as he came off the bench to score Fulham’s second goal, which earned him a 7.71 rating from WhoScored.

The England international was far better than teammate Mario Lemina, with the Gabonese midfielder earning a shocking 6.23 rating for his performance in the same game, so surely Parker won’t opt to start the Southampton loanee again on Monday night.

Following the game, the Fulham manager was full of praise for Loftus-Cheek, saying:

“I thought he was brilliant. Ruben came in and we’ve worked really hard together, in terms of the information I’m trying to give him and how he can have a big impact on the pitch.

“Sometimes I feel as if Ruben has a tendency for games to drift by him, and today was everything that we spoke about with him.

“He came on and made a real difference. He looked every bit of a top, top player.

“He got the ball, was brave, scored a goal, got in the box, and was dynamic in between the lines.

“He’s got a real ability and he’ll be big for us this year. He needs to keep working on it and keep listening to what we’re saying.

“No doubt he’ll keep improving like we’ve seen today.” (per West London Sport)

You could also argue that Loftus-Cheek has a lot to prove during his time with Fulham, as he will no doubt be pushing for a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the Euros next summer, so will be desperate to impress.

The injury-prone 24-year-old must also ensure that he performs with Fulham, otherwise, he may well be axed by Chelsea boss Frank Lampard next summer, considering the number of top-quality players the Blues brought in over the summer.

Therefore, Parker should reward his impressive display against Everton with a start against Leicester City on Monday in the hope that he can inspire the Cottagers to just their second Premier League win of the season.

AND in other news, Scott Parker must consider giving”brilliant” academy talent a chance in his first-team

Chelsea face FC Krasnodar in the Champions League on Tuesday night having already qualified for the knockout stage of the competition after their 2-1 win away at Group E rivals Rennes last month.

The Blues are back in action this evening, as they welcome the Russian club to Stamford Bridge for their final Champions League game in the group stages.

Frank Lampard has revealed that Hakim Ziyech has been ruled out of the Champions League clash due to a hamstring injury, whilst Callum Hudson-Odoi suffered a similar injury in training.

Lampard will most likely take the opportunity to rotate his squad ahead of a busy schedule, as he confirmed both Kepa Arrizabalaga and Billy Gilmour will start in the pre-match press conference.

Here is our predicted starting line-up for tonight’s game against Krasnodar in the Champions League, which sees the Blues boss make nine changes to the team that thumped Leeds United.

Aside from Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi, Chelsea have a clean bill of health, and Lampard is expected to ring several changes for this dead rubber, with the likes of Timo Werner, Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma receiving well-deserved rests.

This means that Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Emerson Palmieri and club captain Cesar Azpilicueta are likely to start, which means there is no room for Reece James, who registered an assist against Marcelo Bielsa’s side at Stamford Bridge.

N’Golo Kante and Mason Mount may make way for a midfield trio consisting of Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho and Gilmour, who will receive his first start of the season after his knee surgery in the summer.

Ziyech actually offered very little against Leeds, so switching Kai Havertz to the right wing and bringing fit-again Christian Pulisic in on the right should be a tempting option, whilst Olivier Giroud is likely to lead the line.

Maybe Tammy Abraham could come in, but Giroud has been in such impressive form in recent weeks that we reckon that Lampard will stick with the Frenchman upfront.

Manchester City made it back to back wins and continued their impressive defensive form as they secured a comfortable 2-0 win against Newcastle United on Saturday night.

One player who will have delighted Pep Guardiola with his performance was Portuguese defender Ruben Dias.

The centre-back has been a mainstay in the City side since joining from Benfica during the summer transfer window, and produced another solid display against the Toon on Boxing Day.

As per SofaScore, the 23-year-old picked up a strong 7.1 rating for his display against Steve Bruce’s side, on a night where the Manchester City defence was rarely troubled.

Whilst Joao Cancelo may pick up a lot of praise for his performance, earning a 7.9 match rating for his display, it was arguably Dias who stole the show.

The defender won four out of six of his duels during the game, and made three clearances, so was clearly solid from a defensive perspective.

However, it was the consistency of his passing that will perhaps please Guardiola most, as he completed 116/119 of his passes during the game, resulting in a superb accuracy rate of 97%.

Dias also had 126 touches of the ball against Newcastle United, so was clearly heavily involved throughout the game but still only lost possession on four occasions, which emphasises just how much quality he has on the ball.

Guardiola’s side have now kept six clean sheets in the league this season, which is the joint-second most of any team in the league, which demonstrates just how much of an impact Dias has had since joining the club.

Before he signed for City in the summer, he was heavily praised by international teammate Jose Fonte, who said:

“So, for me, it’s a great acquisition for Manchester City. They’re getting a top, top player, who wants to get better and better and that’s very important.

“He’s humble. He’s very, very skilful with the ball at his feet. He has a good pass between the lines. He reads the game well, he attacks the ball well in the air. He’s strong in the duels.

“They’re getting a very good player. I have no doubt he’s ready; he’s been playing at the highest level for the last two, three years.

“He gives instructions, he commands from the back and that’s very important for a defender. So he’s already a leader.”

Certainly, the Portuguese international has been a revelation in Guardiola’s side since joining the club, and if this partnership at the back alongside John Stones continues to reap rewards for Manchester City, there seems no reason why they can’t challenge for the Premier League title this season.

And, in other news… Pep Guardiola can bring an end to his striker nightmare by signing prolific beast

Many West Ham United fans have been talking about the latest update about Sebastian Haller that emerged on social media.

French outlet L’Equipe have recently reported about Haller, saying that the striker is now set for a move to Dutch giants Ajax. The fee in question is said to be €25 million (around £22.6 million) and is quite a lot less than what the Hammers spent on the forward to sign him from Eintracht Frankfurt for £45 million.

Since arriving at the London Stadium, the 26-year-old has played a total of 53 games for the Hammers and has found the back of the net 14 times – he has also picked up three assists for the club (as per Transfermarkt).

In the current campaign, Haller has scored thrice in better ratings than Haller in the current league campaign, but the forward was their third-highest rated player in the 2019/20 season.

This suggests that while he hasn’t been prolific in front of goal, he has made important contributions for West Ham – David Moyes recently praised the striker’s “incredible” ability to score acrobatic goals.

The news surrounding Haller though, was relayed on Twitter by West Ham Transfers. This caught the attention of many West Ham fans and they made their opinion clear about the forward’s potential exit.

What did West Ham fans make of this news about Haller?

“If they pay over a million for him there needs to be an investigation.”

Credit: @stackzinho9

“Please be true.”Credit: @marksjones70“It’s not like he’s torn up the premier league, time to move on.”
Credit: @fredfisher_
“Please take him.”Credit: @RobertM57362312“Awful business imo, if Antonio inevitably pulls a hammy we have 0 strikers.”
Credit: @Rxg_sms

“Much better player than he’s shown, very skilled in many ways and a very smart and personable person from his videos with Issa and Arthur. I wish it worked out for him. He’s gonna fire Ajax back into CL for sure.”Credit:@JrTheSavior87“Fine with this. I want him to be better but he offers nothing to us.”Credit: @DuncanLucy“Oh my what’s going on? I think it’s not working out for him at West Ham so it’s probably best to sell him and 25m is a decent price but we’re then left with only Antonio. Need 2 Striker quick.”
Credit: @WestHamInfo1

In other news, many West Ham fans have been buzzing at links with a former forward – read more here.

Despite winning the Old Firm derby 1-0 on Saturday, Glasgow Rangers fans are far from happy with Scotland first minister Nicola Sturgeon following her failure to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the Ibrox disaster at any point during the day.

The Gers defeated Celtic 1-0 at Ibrox to move 19 points clear at the top of the Premiership. It was perhaps fitting that such an important victory would come on this emotional day. On January 2nd 1971, 66 fans lost their lives at Ibrox in one of Britain’s worst football disasters.

There were plenty of comments and commemorations for the anniversary, but Sturgeon’s lack of acknowledgement did not go unnoticed by the Gers supporters. What makes it even more surprising is that she is actually the local Member of Scottish Parliament for Glasgow.

The Gers supporters were absolutely disgusted, and they took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Sturgeon below

“@NicolaSturgeon is our national disgrace.”Credit: @StevenW77751462“She’s a disgrace”Credit: @Coplandbear1872“disgusting”Credit: @alanmcd59“It’s absolutely appalling and symbolic of the contempt she has for football fans and the working class in general. I’d like to see any SNP supporting Rangers fans justify it.”Credit: @TL_Pintov“Why are you surprised? She hates football and football fans even more. Look at the way she has treated the sport since last March. Shameful”Credit: @Ad_Astra7“No class, no style!”Credit: @Albamale2008In other news, this Rangers star has been urged to stay at the club.

According to The Daily Mirror, Aston Villa have earmarked Reading starlet Michael Olise as a possible signing in this January transfer window.

What’s the story?

After their flying start to the Premier League season, Dean Smith’s side will no doubt be keen to enjoy as good of a second-half to the campaign as possible, with the possibility of European football even within their sights.

The Daily Mirror now claim that Olise is a transfer target for Villa, and that Smith is keen to add younger players to his first-team squad, and that he will be given the funds to make significant moves this month.

Imagine him and Louie Barry

Hailed as “super talented” by Reading boss Veljko Paunović, the 19-year-old has already earned rave reviews for his ability, with his former manager at the Royals, Jose Gomes, adding: “Michael is really special. He can see, even before receiving the ball, more options than regular players. His technical ability and speed, decision capacity is really, really good.”

Given Olise’s age, he would fit in superbly well with the kind of young talent Villa have got emerging and knocking on the first-team door at the moment.

The FA Cup defeat to Liverpool last time out saw Villa’s kids do the club and entire fan-base proud, with the likes of Louie Barry and Ben Chrisene shining on their first-team debuts.

The £7.2m-rated Olise of course does have a considerable edge over those players in that he’s been playing senior football week-in and week-out for a while now, and his performances with Reading this season have been nothing short of outstanding.

He’s scored four goals and provided a further eight assists in just 24 games, and could be the latest break-out star from the Championship to really set the Premier League alight. Him and Barry could lead Villa into an incredible future in the years to come.

For Celtic, not even the possibility of a few new signings will help turn their fortunes this season.

They are considerably off the pace in the SPFL but Neil Lennon won’t leave his post as manager until he is sacked by the hierarchy. That means that for the time being, he and Nick Hammond can continue to plan their assault on the January market.

What’s the word?

According to Football League World, Celtic are interested in signing Stoke City winger Tom Ince this January.

The Hoops are looking at ways they can complete a deal for the 28-year-old who currently earns a salary of £27k-per-week at the Championship club.

It’s not known whether a deal would be permanent or temporary but it’s evident that the Bhoys are looking for solutions to improve their attack.

Ince has played just seven matches this term so a move would probably benefit him personally.

Replacing Forrest

When you look at Celtic’s squad, they have been particularly lacking in wide areas. With James Forrest out injured, their only real viable options have been Ryan Christie and Mo Elyounoussi.

Christie has scored just once in his last 16 and Elyounoussi is only on loan. As a result, they clearly need to bring in more depth.

Though, if they do sign Ince, it would surely spell bad news for Forrest, someone who has played only seven Premiership matches this term because of an ankle injury.

The winger hasn’t been seen since mid-September but despite making over 400 appearances for the Glaswegians, his place in the squad should be under threat.

After all, Ince is a winger too and would undoubtedly offer qualities that could improve Lennon’s ranks. For starters, the wide man is a quick player capable of stretching defences and his direct nature ensured he contributed to five goals last season.

Ultimately, that was an arduous term but it wasn’t helped by Stoke’s league placing of 15th. You only need to look at what he did in a more attacking-minded team such as Derby to understand his true qualities, however.

When the Rams finished fifth in the Championship during the 2015/16 season, Ince racked up 12 goals and eight assists. He managed 14 goals the following campaign.

That may have been a number of years ago but it goes to show what the attacker is capable of when a team caters to his strengths.

Considering how much Celtic have dominated Scottish football in recent years, there’s no reason he couldn’t rediscover his mojo at Parkhead in a team who like to attack far more than Stoke.

It would be a good move for player and club, but for their own winger in Forrest, it wouldn’t be positive news at all. He will struggle enough as it is to get back in the team without the addition of another flanker in January.

He should be running scared.

AND in other news, 1 goal in 16 games: Celtic star who lost possession 17x failed Lennon again on Wednesday…

This week has been a positive one for Wolves. They’ve not had many in the last few weeks but after signing Willian Jose and drawing with Chelsea, Nuno Santo can begin to breathe a sigh of relief.

Of course, they’re not out of the woods yet but in keeping a clean sheet against Thomas Tuchel’s men, it will have brought a huge degree of confidence to the team.

On the chalkboard

Wolves have endured a torrid time lately. Nuno’s men have won just three of their last 12 games in all competitions which coincidentally marks the period of time that Raul Jimenez has been out for.

Before their draw with the Blues, they’d failed to keep a clean sheet in the league for 13 outings – a run stretching back to the end of October.

They came close against Manchester United only to concede a late injury-time goal but fortunately, there was no repeat of that when they travelled to Stamford Bridge.

The defence stayed resolute and in the process, their three centre-backs of Willy Boly, Conor Coady and Max Kilman lost just one defensive duel between them.

However, now they’ve addressed their frailties at the back and returned to basics, they need to find a fix to their lack of goals.

The solution

In Wolves’ last five outings, they have scored only five times. It’s not a great record but there’s one clear reason as to why they’re not finding the net regularly; they have no Jimenez.

Therefore, the manager simply has to unleash the deadly Willian Jose on Saturday afternoon. The Brazilian may have only just penned terms from Real Sociedad but the Molineux outfit need results quickly.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-wolves-news” title=”Read this week’s latest Wolves news”]

Jose has now had a number of days to get up to speed and become accustomed with the way Nuno plays. He also enjoyed a small run out against Chelsea where he earned his first taste of English football.

Though, with the qualities he possesses, attributes that have been compared to Jimenez’s, he has to be played from the off.

The Brazilian bagged 62 in 170 appearances for Sociedad and with a record like that has the potential to terrify Crystal Palace. After all, Cheikhou Kouyate has already struggled against a physical presence this week.

The Eagles lost 3-2 to West Ham a few days ago where Michail Antonio bulldozed his way past the defender in dominant fashion. He assisted a goal and also hit the woodwork twice, finding life all too easy against the Senegalese.

With that in mind, Willian could have a field day when Wolves travel to Selhurst Park this weekend.

Like Antonio, he possesses plenty of strength and crucially, makes clever runs. Rio Ferdinand said on BT Sport (via Molineux News) this week: “He can hit the ball off both feet and he’s got good movement in and around there, he knows where to be. That’s what they need, that’s what they’ve been missing.”

Wolves potentially have an option to buy the forward permanently for £17m in the summer and they will surely take that up if he hits the ground running. That begins on Saturday against Palace.

AND in other news, Shi must reignite Wolves swoop for 23 y/o “Rolls-Royce of a player” who bullied Traore …

Gabriel Agbonlahor believes free agent Daniel Sturridge would be a fantastic signing for West Bromwich Albion.

Baggies urged to make Sturridge move

Sturridge has been without a club since leaving Trabzonspor last March, with him also serving a ban for breaching betting regulations (The Guardian). He has been linked with a move to the Hawthorns in recent days (90min.com), with claims that they have already made contact for him.

And now, speaking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor believes the 31-year-old would be ‘perfect’ for Sam Allardyce and co. He said:

“I think he just wants to play football. I’ve been following his social media recently and he clearly just wants to play.

“What better move could there be? He’s a West Midlands lad and they need goals. I think it would be perfect.

“I hope that can happen and that he can get back to the Premier League because he’s a fantastic player and that’s where he belongs.

“He’s only 31 and he’s still got a lot to offer. Everyone wants to see Sturridge scoring goals and doing that dancing celebration that he does.”

Worth the risk

Sturridge’s injury issues have been well documented down the years (Transfermarkt), and that has stopped him achieving more in the game. However, he is still a player with a vast amount of quality – at Liverpool, he netted 68 times in 160 matches, and has 118 goals to his name throughout his career.

On a free transfer, the Baggies would surely have nothing to lose in signing Sturridge. He knows where the back of the net is and, with just 19 goals from 24 matches (Sky Sports), they clearly need as many strikes as they can get. However, if they do want him, they must move quickly before it is too late, especially with suggestions that Sheffield United have made contact for him.

In other news, West Brom tried to sign this fan favourite in January.

Southampton take on Wolves in the FA Cup fifth round on Thursday evening and will be hoping to put their recent poor form in the Premier League behind them.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side beat Shrewsbury Town and Arsenal to get to this stage, which represent their only wins in any competition since the early January win against Liverpool.

Wolves meanwhile, beat Crystal Palace before edging past non-league Chorley to set up this tie.

Southampton were boosted by the news that Kyle Walker-Peters is back fit for this game, with the right-back having been a real miss in recent fixtures.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Saints to line up at Molineux, with five changes from the side that took on Newcastle…

Fraser Forster reclaims his place in goal as he is very much second-choice ‘keeper behind Alex McCarthy, but deserves the opportunity to play after keeping clean sheets against Shrewsbury and Arsenal.

There are change in defence, as Walker-Peters returns at right-back, which allows Jack Stephens to return to centre-back ahead of Jannik Vestergaard who has only just returned from injury. It looks as if he will partner Mohammed Salisu, who is reportedly in line for his debut on Thursday night.

There’s also one change in midfield as Moussa Djenepo replaces Takumi Minamino, who is ineligible for this game after featuring in Liverpool’s third-round win against Aston Villa.

Finally, Daniel N’Lundulu comes in for the out-of-form Che Adams up front, in the hope that he can help to turn Southampton’s recent poor form around with an important cup win against the Old Gold.

And, in other news, Ruthless Ralph: Hasenhuttl must bench Saints “hero” who’s bereft of confidence…