Liverpool continued to pile the pressure on Manchester City this weekend with an excellent comeback win over Southampton at St Mary’s.

The Reds are keeping their title tilt going and Jurgen Klopp’s men will be keen to ensure they manage to finally snaffle a first Premier League title since the league’s inception.

The lack of January signings however could well prove to be a big problem for the Reds, with no action in the market and manager Klopp left with what he already had at his disposal.

However, there are already rumours beginning to surface about who the club might look to move for in the summer, and one man who is being linked with the club today is former Manchester United winger Memphis Depay.

The Dutch star has been in fine form for Lyon since making the move to the French side following a failed spell at Old Trafford, and he might well look at Anfield as the ideal sort of destination to prove the doubters wrong and show he can be a success in the English game.

Depay has been a bundle of tricks in Ligue 1, and has added plenty of goals and assists to his CV along the way.

With the story reporting that Sadio Mane could be the one Depay is replacing at Anfield if a move does go through, Liverpool would need someone who can fit into Klopp’s system and replace the goals and assists that Mane provides.

Depay could well be that man, and while it won’t delight United fans if he does move to Liverpool, he could be a massive success at Anfield and prove to be a shrewd addition by the Merseysiders.

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Arsenal’s miserable away record continued on Sunday as they were beaten 1-0 by Everton at Goodison Park, and they will drop out of the Champions League qualification spots on Monday night if Chelsea avoid defeat against West Ham United.

The Gunners have taken 44 points from a possible 51 at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League this season, but they have only picked up 19 points on the road – the loss against the Toffees was their sixth in 15 attempts on their travels during the current campaign.

In another disappointing performance, the following two players will surely have gone down in manager Unai Emery’s estimations following below-par showings.

Sead Kolasinac

Whether he has been featuring as a left-back or a left wing-back – the latter more in recent weeks – the Bosnia and Herzegovina international looked to finally be showing that he could be relied upon to be a regular starter for Arsenal.

Emery may well have been thinking that buying a left-sided defender during the summer wasn’t of paramount importance, but his mind may have been changed after the 25-year-old’s latest outing.

After being dispossessed on two occasions and failing to make an impact at either end of the pitch for his team, he was hooked by his manager at half-time – his pass percentage being below 54% before he went off probably tells you all you need to know.

Matteo Guendouzi

Having been a starting XI regular earlier in the season, the young Frenchman has found that he has been in and out of the side in more recent times.

With Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny to compete alongside, the 19-year-old should know that he needs to take his opportunities when they come his way if he wants to be a consistent pick for Emery.

He hardly did himself any favours at Goodison Park though in what was always going to be an interesting midfield battle, picking up a silly yellow card in the sixth minute following a foul on Lucas Digne.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Bhav runs down his Arsenal transfer wish list in the video below…

When a mature performance was needed, Guendouzi instead produced an immature one that left him walking a tightrope for the remaining 84 minutes on Merseyside.

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It was never previously a debate. Mohamed Salah, since his arrival at Anfield and subsequent blistering start, has always been deemed as Liverpool’s star man, the go-to guy, the one who others look to for inspiration.

Whilst he has since returned to his talismanic ways of old after an eight-game goal drought, others have stepped up whilst he went missing.

Virgil van Dijk, of course, and the two full-backs in Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold have become pivotal to Jurgen Klopp, but Sadio Mane has arguably been the club’s best player this season and was the one who kept the title challenge alive during Salah’s dry spell with 11 goals in 11 games.

That form has led to talk of a summer move to Real Madrid, but is he now the Reds’ star man ahead of the Egyptian international?

Are the media letting Jurgen Klopp off lightly for his lack of silverware? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

Football FanCast’s writers give their verdicts on the matter…

Harry Sherlock

“No. Mane is a pacy winger and he has a fantastic end product but Salah is perhaps the third best player in world football, behind… well, you know who. Mane does struggle to carry Liverpool at times and Salah regularly steps up. The question comes down to this: Who would the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG prefer? The answer, obviously, is Salah.”

Matt Dawson

“It was going to take quite something for Mo Salah to replicate what he achieved last term and there’s no doubting his ability, but for me, Sadio Mane has overtaken him as Liverpool’s most important player. Mane has become more ruthless and he’s been the man in the right place at the right time on so many occasions. His performance at the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich on the biggest of stages showed just how valuable he is. Personally, I think Liverpool would struggle to replace him more than Salah.”

Ben Goodwin

“No way. Take nothing away from Mane because he’s been sensational this season, but part of the reason he is afforded so much space is thanks to teams putting two, three or even more defenders on Salah. The Egyptian has created 10 clear-cut chances for Mane this season, double the next best link-up at Liverpool (Robertson has done so for Firmino five times). Salah is more clinical, more consistent and does much more for his team than just goalscoring.”

It’s no secret that Arsenal are enjoying a resurgence to form with Unai Emery at the helm, but the philosophies of Arsene Wenger still linger at the club.

For all the social media attention and praise ‘Wengerball’ got during the legendary manager’s final season with Arsenal, it’s clear to see that the team are still stuck playing some of the styles Wenger laid out in his decades at the club.

This was evident in Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Newcastle, where there were many times where the Gunners played way too many passes in an attacking sequence or tried way too hard to try and walk the ball into the net.

Of course, the result is the only thing that really matters at the end of the day, and the performance overall was a positive one from the Gunners with Mesut Ozil having one of his best games this season and Ainsley Maitland-Niles yet again stepping up in a big game, but with Unai Emery keen to get his team to play his way of football, it’s pretty damming that the XI are still occasionally playing Wenger’s style of football.

We have seen countless times this season when Arsenal stick to Emery’s plan, goals and fluid attacking football are a given, but through the cracks that are there under the Spaniard’s system we have seen the team resort to the ways of old under Wenger, and the sooner this is weeded out of the club the better.

There’s no doubt that Wenger’s style of winning in a flashy and sometimes beautiful fashion revolutionised English football, but in the modern era, that style of football does not win you titles unless you are willing to adapt it, which is why it is important for Emery to filter out that style at Arsenal.

The Gunners have a good future under the former PSG manager, but if the team aren’t willing to shake off the ghosts of the past, then Arsenal as a club will not progress.

Arsenal fans, what have you made of Emery’s tactics this season?

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Arsenal do not yet know if they will be playing in the Champions League next season.

The Gunners have endured a strange season under Unai Emery, turning in a number of genuinely terrible performances on the road, while remaining excellent at home.

They are also in the Europa League semi-finals, where a clash with Valencia lies in wait.

Regardless of whatever happens between now and May, the Gunners have a number of problems that need addressing.

Football FanCast takes a look at some of the issues that need to be solved by the former PSG boss ahead of next season.

Is Ozil staying?

Is Mesut Ozil staying at Arsenal?

Previously a genuinely world-class talent when he arrived at Arsenal for £42.5 million, the Germany international has struggled under Emery, who has regularly dropped the star throughout 2018-19.

He has played 90 minutes just nine times in the Premier League this term.

Still, he earns £350,000-per-week and Emery must decide if the 30-year-old has any kind of future at the club.

As it is, it may well be difficult for the club to ship Ozil out. His wages are such that only a handful of clubs could potentially afford him and he is not at the level of the likes of PSG, Barcelona or Manchester City.

If he is to stick around, though, Emery will have to build around him next season and tailor some of his summer business towards Ozil being the club’s playmaker.

His future, then, could shape the entirety of the club’s summer.

What’s Plan A?

Arsenal don’t seem to have a playing style.

Under Arsene Wenger, they did have a soft underbelly, but they tried to play the same way in every game, moving the ball quickly and trying to exploit the centre of the pitch.

Under Emery, though, there is something of a mishmash of ideas. He regularly deploys defensive-minded players in midfield, seemingly to allow the attackers to thrive, but then plays his forwards out of position.

It remains to be seen if Emery actually knows whether Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is best deployed as a striker or a winger.

If he can settle on a playing style, however, and start training the Gunners to that end, then the club could reap the rewards of consistency.

As it is, they are an unpredictable opponent largely because they don’t seem to know their own tactics, and that is often brought into a sharper focus when they fall behind, and the wheels fall off.

Emery needs to fix that this summer.

What’s your best XI?

This is similar to the last point but has a key difference; regardless of playing style, Emery does not seem to know his best XI.

We know that Bernd Leno is the No.1 choice in goal. That’s fine.

In defence, however, Emery continually chops and changes, picking between veteran Laurent Koscielny, gaffe-prone Shkodran Mustafi, former Borussia Dortmund star Sokratis and youngster Konstantinos Mavropanos.

He signed midfielder Denis Suarez in the January transfer window on loan from Barcelona but routinely overlooks him, while picking between Aaron Ramsey, who is leaving in the summer, anyway, Matteo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Mohamed Elneny in midfield.

Aubameyang appears to be his first-choice striker but even that is up for debate with Alexandre Lacazette in the squad.

If Arsenal are to get their summer business right, Emery needs to decide his strongest starting XI and build on it.

That will, in turn, lead to the identification of the deadwood. As it is, it appears that everyone is getting a chance and it could lead to the Gunners keeping players who are not of the required calibre ahead of next season.

In short, Emery must be ruthless.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves shone and scored a brilliant free-kick in his side’s 3-1 win against Arsenal at Molineux on Wednesday night, and his display didn’t go unnoticed by Tottenham Hotspur fans who are keen for their club to sign him.

The 22-year-old was one of Wolves’ biggest stars in the Championship last term and he has brought that form into the Premier League during the current campaign, scoring four goals and providing a further two assists in 32 top-flight outings.

His stunning set-piece against the Gunners was particularly impressive and proves the quality he has in his locker when it comes to taking free-kicks, and that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Spurs supporters who were clearly watching on as their arch-rivals suffered a defeat in the exciting race for a top-four finish.

Should Neves end up arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium he would likely be competing with the likes of Moussa Sissoko, Harry Winks and Christian Eriksen – if he stays – for a spot in the starting XI.

Speaking about the Portuguese’s latest performance, one Spurs fan said it’s “my dream” to see him play for his team, while another said “get him in a Spurs shirt”.

Relive all the drama of Man City v Spurs through the eyes Spurs’ fans in the video below…

Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Levy may well choose to make waves in the summer transfer window following two without any additions, but it remains to be seen whether they would be interested in Neves.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Andre Villas-Boas is the latest name to make the rounds as Celtic continue their hunt for a permanent manager, but is he the right man for the job?

What’s the word?

Celtic have been rather tenuously linked with a move for Villas-Boas, and fans on Twitter were freaking out about the possibility of landing the 41 year-old on Tuesday.

SkyBet have slashed odds on the former Chelsea and Spurs boss moving to Paradise all the way down to 3/1, and some of the manager’s scouting notes on Celtic from 2003 have caused quite the stir as well.

Even The Daily Record are now talking about the rumours, but should the Bhoys actually swoop for Villas-Boas?

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

A monumental risk

On the surface, Villas-Boas looks like a prime candidate to take over from Neil Lennon.

The Portuguese boss is perhaps one of the game’s most underrated tacticians, played some lovely football during his time at Tottenham and Porto, and has multiple league titles and a Europa League winners medal to his name. He is also only 41 so would have plenty of time to learn and grow with Celtic.

However, the Hoops are in need of a bit of a mini-rebuild in the near future, with several defenders now past their peak and a squad in desperate need of trimming and reshaping.

This takes time – only now is Jurgen Klopp seeing the effects of his work at Liverpool after nearly four years at the helm for example – and Villas-Boas simply does not spend long amounts of time at one club.

Despite managing six clubs in his career, he has never spent more than two years at any of them, and spent a year or less at four of those clubs, only eclipsing 12 months with Spurs and Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Villas-Boas is charismatic and exciting, but he is not a long-term option for Celtic, and hiring him could lead to far more disarray when he inevitably leaves within two years. Quite simply, swooping for a manager who so consistently struggles to leave a lasting impact would be a monumental risk from the Hoops.

أعلن المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي يوفنتوس، أندريا بيرلو، عن قائمة اللاعبين الذين سيخوضون مباراة الغد أمام فيرينكفاروس في الجولة الثالثة من بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويحل يوفنتوس ضيفًا على منافسه المجري في تمام الساعة “العاشرة” مساءً بتوقيت “القاهرة” بقيادة الحكم الصهيوني، أوريل جرينفيلد.

وشهدت القائمة عودة القائد، جورجيو كيليني، بعد تواجده في تدريبات الفريق الإيطالي الصباحية، وتتوقع شبكة “سكاي سبورتس” تواجده في التشكيل الأساسي للمباراة.

وضمت القائمة الأسماء التالية وفقًا للحساب الرسمي على “تويتر”:

حراسة المرمى: تشيزني، بينسوليو، بوفون.

الدفاع: كيليني، دانيلو، كوادرادو، بونوتشي، فرابوتا، ريكو.

اقرأ أيضًا.. سكاي تكشف موعد عودة دي ليخت وساندرو لـ يوفنتوس

الوسط: آرثر، رامسي، ماكيني، كييزا، رابيو، بنتانكور، برناردسكي، بورتانوفا، كولوسيفسكي.

الهجوم: رونالدو، موراتا، ديبالا.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s honeymoon period is over and Man United need to knuckle down and get the results from now until the end of the season. Clearly, things need to improve if they’re going to kick this new project off in the best possible way, with Champions League qualification the obvious goal. 

In recent weeks his side have found some games problematic, mainly because of important injuries his team have incurred. Still, the team needs some fresh impetus, whether it be new signings or trusting youth players.

Though with serious changes likely to be made by the manager over the summer, perhaps the judgement should take place after he implements his own style with his pick of players.

Something fans of all clubs love to see is the implementation of youngsters in and around their squad.

Man United have successfully paved the way for a number of players in the first-team so that same opportunity should be given to Mason Greenwood in the summer ahead of next season. It’s a tradition that hasn’t died and, considering their new manager’s love for all things United, it’s not likely to.

Mason Greenwood has once again been superb for Man United’s youth side, as he’s gone on to supply 22 goals and six assists in 24 appearances. Amazing stuff and stats that will surely excite the Old Trafford faithful.

Whilst he has been around the first-team at times, Greenwood is yet to be given a real chance by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, something that has to change this summer, if his fleeting performances in the first-team this term are anything to go by.

Having seen Marcus Rashford surge into the first-team picture unexpectedly, the same thing entirely could happen to Mason Greenwood, based on his phenomenal stats at youth level. With pace, power and finishing all top qualities of his, there is no reason to suggest why at the very least, he shouldn’t be given a chance to impress during pre-season.

After all with the significant spending United are probably planning, surely the idea of saving money wherever possible will be a good idea so they can concentrate on other positions, right?

Do you agree that Mason Greenwood is deserving of a shot in the first team? Let us know!

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Scott Brown has finally had his say on the media backlash directed at him after March’s Old Firm, and Celtic fans will surely love his verdict.

Never before has a player been the victim of three separate red card incidents in one match, two of which were correctly penalised by the referee on the day while Ryan Kent was banned after the fact, only for the media to paint said victim as the bad guy.

That’s exactly what happened with Brown after Celtic’s 2-1 win against Rangers, so much so the Bhoys skipper was even cited by the SFA for “not acting in the best interests of the game”, whatever that means.

And now, the 33 year-old has hit back at the bizarre reaction to his involvement in the incidents involving Alfredo Morelos, Kent and Andy Halliday.

Watch the best fails from the world of indoor football in the video below…

What has he said?

Asked about winding up his rivals, he told The Daily Record: “I’m doing something right! If people hate me it puts a smile on my face. It must mean I’m either playing well or I’m noising somebody up in the wrong way.

“I don’t care. I think for me I celebrated with my team-mates and a fight kicked off and I walked away from it.

“Somebody elbowed me in the face and I walked away from it. Somebody punched me in the face and I walked away from it. If I was a hooligan I’d have started a brawl in the middle of the pitch.

“But I just walked away from it all, I didn’t want to get myself booked or suspended. I think I acted quite well on the day.”

Never change!

Brown’s first four words that “I’m doing something right” should be music to the ears of Celtic fans, because it means he has no intention of changing his ways.

There is nothing wrong with a bit of extra bite, especially in derbies, and Brown’s ability to get under the skin of opposition fans and players is all part of what makes him such an effective player and leader.

If the Hoops ace was to sacrifice that in the hopes of placating some moaning media members, then he wouldn’t hold anywhere near the level of adoration he currently gets from the Parkhead faithful.

In short, he is never going to change, and that’s the best news Celtic could possibly get.