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Liverpool are back in action at Anfield once again this afternoon with a Premier League clash against Southampton, after beating Arsenal 4-0 in their previous league game followed by their 2-0 victory over FC Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday, both of which were also on home turf.

With Klopp making four changes from the Gunners match for the European fixture against Porto, it will be intriguing to see how many alterations he makes today.

On the chalkboard

One player who didn’t start in midweek but should be in the starting XI to face the Saints this afternoon is Andy Robertson.

Kostas Tsimikas failed to make even one tackle in midweek and won just one of his six duels, as well as losing possession 15 times and completing just one of his six crosses before being replaced by the Scottish left-back in the second half. That could perhaps sway Klopp into starting the 27-year-old ahead of the Greece international today.

Since joining the Merseyside club back in the 2017 summer transfer window from Hull City in a deal worth a reported fee of £10m, Robertson – who has been labelled an “inspirational” player by compatriot Darren Fletcher – has made 190 appearances for the Reds across all competitions.

Along with cementing himself as a crucial figure for Liverpool, the 27-year-old, who is currently earning £50k-per-week according to Spotrac, has also proved himself as a deadly attacking force for the Reds by scoring five goals and providing 39 assists along the way.

With this in mind, even though he’s only provided two assists so far this season for Liverpool across all competitions, he could be a real danger to the Saints today as an attacking outlet for the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, if he is preferred to Tsimikas.

Considering how Southampton have only conceded three goals more than Liverpool in the league and with Klopp saying that his team will need to be “creative” to break Hasenhuttl’s side down, this could also work in Robertson’s favour in terms of team selection.

Taking all of this into account, if the Reds boss plays the Scot today and he manages to put in an impressive performance, he definitely has what it takes to keep his place in the team moving forward.

Also, with Robertson having yet to register a goal or assist in nine previous games against Southampton, he will definitely want to get off the mark in this regard from an individual point of view.

In other news: Matip 2.0: Edwards must seal Liverpool move for £22.5m-rated tank who “has everything”

West Brom will be desperate to take a crucial three points tomorrow night at the Hawthorns as their competitors for automatic promotion dropped points in their midweek games.

Both Fulham and Bournemouth were tied to a draw last night in their Championship fixtures, which will give West Brom the opportunity to tighten the gap between the two in third, with a three-point win in their Friday night game against Nottingham Forest.

One player who will be hoping to get the nod for a start in the side is Robert Snodgrass.

The 34-year-old returned from injury a few weeks ago, but is yet to make his return to a starting lineup for the Championship challengers, and will be hoping that a failed appeal attempt on Jake Livermore’s red card from last weekend, will give him the opportunity to make an impact and start in the side.

Snodgrass was thought to still be unavailable due to injury and fitness issues, however, Valerien Ismael confirmed this wasn’t the case when asked if the player was still unfit, the Albion boss simply said;

“No, I picked the squad.”

The Baggies boss has been selecting midfielder Jayson Molumby in Livermore’s absence, but after a draw against Blackpool where leadership was clearly lacking, Ismael could look to a more experienced player like Snodgrass to fill the boots of the former England international, in the home clash against Forest.

Speaking to West Brom News, former West Brom forward, Kevin Phillips, spoke out about getting Snodgrass into the team, and utilising his expertise;

“I would like to see more of him. Snoddy’s got experience and he stood out to me,” he said.

“Snodgrass has that experience to guide people around him.”

This West Brom squad are clearly lacking something in their set-up, as they continue to waste opportunities and are failing to dominate games enough to actually register a win, especially in their last three games where we have seen the Baggies have a number of chances but never really complete them, scoring just once.

A natural leader with experience could inject a bit more structure into the build up play from midfield, and £24k-per-week Snodgrass can potentially offer that to the Albion side.

In other news: Ismael could solve big issues with forward from Ligue 2

Leeds United must finally sell Tyler Roberts amid Graham Smyth’s recent transfer update on the 22-year-old.

What’s the story?

The Wales international has endured a nightmare start to the campaign thus far, scoring no goals and providing no assists, but The Yorkshire Evening Post’s Smyth has insisted that a permanent exit from Marcelo Bielsa’s side makes “little sense”.

He said: “While Bielsa’s patience and trust are undoubtedly helpful, it’s not unreasonable to think of other action Leeds could take to benefit the player in the short term and the club in the long term. A January loan was briefly mooted midway through last season, but he stayed and enjoyed a run of a dozen Premier League starts.

“Having handed him a new contract in the summer and given that despite a relative wealth of experience he’s still only 22, letting him go permanently would make little sense. A Championship loan, however, if not in January then in the summer, would release him out from under the scapegoating and into space in which to breathe and develop.”

Bielsa needs to sell him

Former Leeds striker Noel Whelan has previously insisted that the £12.6m-rated forward hasn’t shown enough in the Premier League to convince Bielsa that he’s cut out for this level – he managed just one goal in 27 top-flight appearances all of last season, and even that came in the penultimate game against Southampton.

Whelan added: “Is he good enough? In my opinion he isn’t. I would love him to go out there and prove me wrong because I want everyone to succeed. I need him to show me more. He needs to show more fight and desire. I just do not see that.”

With a total record of just eight goals and nine assists in 96 games in all competitions for the Whites, the time for waiting around to see if he can really make his mark is running out.

Leeds need to be pushing to take that next step, and Roberts has simply fallen far too behind.

Victor Orta and co will no doubt be already making plans for the upcoming January transfer window and how best to strengthen the first-team squad at Elland Road, and an area in need of desperate improvement is in Roberts’ position.

Signing an upgrade on the Welshman would go a long way to ensuring that the Whites can still thrive whenever Patrick Bamford is missing, like right now for instance.

A genuine goal-scoring attacking midfielder come forward would be a welcome addition in January, and be the final nail in the coffin for Roberts’ career at Leeds.

Constantly backing him to eventually come up with the goods is simply holding the Whites back.

Meanwhile, Leeds have been handed a boost before Spurs…

Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones should be fit to return from an eye injury after the current international break, according to James Pearce.

The Lowdown: Midfield issues for Liverpool

The Reds were beaten 3-2 at West Ham on Sunday, with the midfield producing a lifeless performance for much of the game.

Jurgen Klopp has had constant injury problems in the middle of the park this season, which has seen him struggle to keep a rhythm in that area.

Jones is one of the midfielders currently sidelined, along with Naby Keita, James Milner and Harvey Elliott, but some positive news has emerged regarding the 20-year-old.

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The Latest: Pearce provides Jones update

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic after the West Ham game, Pearce claimed that Jones could be back in the fold for the Premier League clash with Arsenal on November 20, with him likely to have recovered from an eye issue by that point.

When asked if there was any update on the young midfielder, the journalist replied: “Curtis got a finger in the eye in training mate. Should be fine after the international break.”

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The Verdict: Much-needed boost for Reds

Last season Liverpool had a centre-back shortage and this time around it is midfield woes which threaten to derail their season, so this is undoubtedly good news.

Granted, Jones wouldn’t necessarily be guaranteed a place in the team if everyone was fit – he has only started three league games this season – but he gives Klopp a much-needed option and is a talented young player, as he illustrated by scoring against Brentford and providing an assist against Manchester City a week later.

The youngster may be lacking a bit in terms of match fitness to start against Arsenal but he could be a vibrant option to bring off the substitutes’ bench.

In other news, Pearce has talked up Liverpool’s potential interest in one player. Find out who it is here.

It was an unproductive day for England batsmen at Lord’s. And just to brighten the mood of the England selectors even more, the innings of the day came from a 20-year-old Australian

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's11-Aug-2009
ScorecardGetty Images

It was an unproductive day for England batsmen at Lord’s. Ravi Bopara, desperate for form, bowled five overs and spent most of his time at cover, Alastair Cook parked himself at slip or gully and Owais Shah, an outside candidate to bolster England’s flimsy line-up, managed 8.And just to brighten the mood of the England selectors, the innings of the day came from a 20-year-old Australian. Sam Robson, born in Sydney, staged a Middlesex recovery with his maiden first-class century alongside South African-born Dawid Malan. Their combined age is less than two years more than Mark Ramprakash, but it only went to highlight a major problem in English cricket. A lack of good home-grown talent.To be fair on Robson he has committed himself to qualifying for England and began his five-year residency period at the start of this season. He made his second XI and one-day debuts last year and this summer has been given the role vacated by Phillip Hughes, a former schoolmate of Robson. It was a nervous wait as he approached three figures – and there was nearly a mix-up with Gareth Berg – but eventually Robson worked a two past mid-on from his 255th ball. It certainly wasn’t flashy, but instead hard-working, determined and solid. What England would give for a bit of that next week.The closest there was to success for an England player was Graham Napier, and his international career only extends as far as the World Twenty20 squad earlier this year. He bowled with good pace from the Pavilion End on a fairly docile surface, extracting three wickets either side of lunch. At the moment England need batsmen, but very soon they’ll need another allrounder. Napier is averaging 48 with the bat and 30 with the ball in four-day cricket this year while English allrounders normally have numbers the other way round.His second scalp was Shah, who played round a straight ball, when a major innings would at least have kept his name in the selectors’ minds. However, even a scorching hundred – such as the 129 out of 226 he made against Derbyshire – probably wouldn’t have been enough to expand on six Test caps. Everyone is talking about Ramprakash’s unfulfilled talent, but Shah’s spluttering Test career could end up on a par.Before Shah’s failure, Nick Compton cut lazily to cover where Bopara took a sharp, low catch – a not insignificant moment after some of his sloppy fielding in the Test series. After lunch Eoin Morgan (his star appears to have faded recently) who laboured for 40 balls over 4, was well caught down the leg side by James Foster to leave Middlesex struggling on 64 for 3 and making Mark Pettini’s decision to bowl appear less of a gamble.It has been a difficult season for Middlesex and before this match only Shah had passed 500 runs in the Championship, so the recovery staged by Robson and Malan will have boosted spirits. Caution was the watchword for both as they ensured against further losses in the face of a disciplined Essex attack.Malan, who has made his name with some dashing one-day innings, restrained himself with 109-ball half-century but did open his shoulders against Bopara’s medium pace and played one dismissive lofted drive over mid-on. Their stand of 143 in 43 was eventually broken by the preserving Danish Kaneria, after a switch to the Pavilion End, when he drew an edge from Malan that was taken at slip. Then just like the clichéd London bus, another came along straight away when Ben Scott was trapped leg before.However, the innings was given another kick by the in-form Berg. He twice notched career-best scores in the previous match against Kent – where Middlesex registered their first Championship victory of the season – including a vital 98 in the second innings. Here he dominated the sixth-wicket stand of 55 as Robson sweated on his hundred.Robson couldn’t quite put the finishing touches to his determined innings when he played across the line to Tony Palladino, but scoring a maiden first-class century at Lord’s means he won’t forget this day in a while.

According to TUTTOmercatoWEB, as relayed by Sport Witness, it appears Tottenham Hotspur haven’t given up their chase for Lille’s star right-back Zeki Celik despite the fact they signed Emerson Royal in the summer.

The Lowdown: Paratici era in full swing…

Since the appointment of new managing director Fabio Paratici in the summer, Tottenham have been linked to a host of players as the Italian transfer chief aims to guide them into a new era.

The 49-year-old, tasked with developing Spurs’ on-field sporting operations, which includes taking charge of transfer activity, recently orchestrated his first ever Lilywhites transfer window and one where there many faces went in and out of N17.

Now, more news has emerged as Paratici sets his sights on a prime Spurs target.

The Latest: Spurs refuse to quit in Celik race…

Despite landing a capable Serge Aurier replacement in former Real Betis full-back Emerson, who has drawn comparisons with Dani Alves, it appears Spurs and Paratici haven’t lost sight of Celik.

The Ligue 1 title-winner impressed under Christophe Galtier last season and attracted Tottenham’s interest in the summer, becoming one of Paratici’s ‘first targets’.

As per TMW (via Sport Witness), he remains one of Tottenham’s top targets and the club ‘have not given up’ on signing him.

The Verdict: Really necessary?

While the 27-cap Turkey international stands out as a great player in France, with expert Adam White calling him ‘talented’ and ‘consistent’, he arguably isn’t a necessity at this point.

Emerson’s signing, not to mention the versatility of Japhet Tanganga who can operate as a right-back, provides plenty of depth for Nuno Espirito Santo in that area – and that’s not even taking into account the presence of Matt Doherty.

Celik, once reportedly ‘favoured’ by Jose Mourinho when he was in charge at N17, could be one for future seasons but Tottenham are far better served prioritising other positions at the moment.

In other news: Talks ongoing…Sky Sports journalist makes exciting Spurs transfer claim involving ‘phenomenal’ star, find out more here.

A number of Liverpool supporters have urged the club to sign Atletico Madrid striker Joao Felix after he was linked with a move to Anfield.

The Reds had a quiet summer in the transfer market, with Ibrahima Konate ending up being the only new player to come in.

While Liverpool are well-stocked in a number of areas, there was a feeling that they were an attacker light, with freshening up needed in the final third. With Roberto Firmino now 30 and arguably past his absolute best, seeing a younger alternative come in would have pleased many.

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According to Fichajes [via Anfield Edition on Twitter], Liverpool could potentially sign Felix on loan in January, but only if Jurgen Klopp has an option to buy him permanently.

The Portuguese has been hailed as a ‘genius’ by Atletico idol Paulo Futre and is believed to be keen on an exit from the La Liga champions. At the tender age of 21, he has already won league titles in two countries, earned 18 senior Portugal caps and commanded a transfer fee of €126m (£113m).

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Liverpool fans react to Felix rumour

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to get behind the rumour linking Felix with a move to Anfield, with some imploring sporting director Michael Edwards to work his magic.

“Just this”

Credit: @SalahFanV1

“Michael Edwards please”

Credit: @sethmensa_

“BRING HIM TO ANFIELD”

Credit: @starwart1

“I can’t think of a better replacement for Firmino. Literally a like for like replacement”

Credit: @NiHADlfc

“YES PLS”

Credit: @Wiogo21

“I hope this happens”

Credit: @yUNg_KellA

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been reacting to another transfer claim. Read more here.

تعرض الدولي الإسباني، تياجو ألكانتارا، لاعب وسط ليفربول، لإصابة خلال مباراة فريقه الجارية الآن أمام فولهام في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

فولهام يستقبل ليفربول على ميدانه ووسط جماهيره في ملعب “كرافن كوتيج”، بالجولة الافتتاحية من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ميرسون ينصح يورجن كلوب بشأن نونيز قبل مباراة ليفربول وفولهام

وتعرض ألكانتارا لإصابة عضلية في الدقيقة 49، في أوتار الركبة، وتدخل الطاقم الطبي لإسعاف الإسباني، ولكنه كان غير قادر على استكمال المباراة.

وتدخل يورجن كلوب، وقام بإخراج الإسباني في الدقيقة 51، ودفع بالصاعد هارفي إليوت بدلًا منه.

Thiago subs off with an injury in Liverpool’s league opener pic.twitter.com/vj7TjokU55 — B/R Football (@brfootball) August 6, 2022

New Zealand A won another high-scoring contest at Fitzherbert Park to clinch the series against the visiting England Lions 2-0

Cricinfo staff16-Mar-2009
ScorecardNew Zealand A won another high-scoring contest at Fitzherbert Park to clinch the series against the visiting England Lions 2-0. Set 285 to win, James Marshall took charge of the chase with an aggressive century to secure victory with six wickets in hand and 23 balls to spare.England Lions chose to bat in this game, after their decision to field in the first match had resulted in a target of 374. They got off to a quick start, with the openers adding 36 before Robert Key was dismissed in the seventh over. However, Denly, who top-scored with 68, ensured that England continued to score steadily. It was after his dismissal – caught by Ewen Thompson off Nathan McCullum – that the innings began to unravel. From 138 for 1, England Lions slipped to 148 for 4. They never regained momentum and had to settle for 284 when they looked like scoring more than 300 at one stage.They would have needed a lot more than 300 going by the way New Zealand’s chase turned out. The hosts lost an early wicket – Aaron Redmond for 17 – but Marshall’s 125 off 112 balls was the decisive innings in the match. He added 65 with Peter Ingram for the second wicket and remained steady through a middle-order stumble that left New Zealand A on 138 for 4. Marshall then put on 147 with Gareth Hopkins, who scored 66 off 67 balls, to clinch the series for the hosts.

Pep Guardiola has been dealt a blow at Manchester City as Aymeric Laporte has picked up an injury on international duty with Spain.

What’s the word?

The 27-year-old centre-back, who has enjoyed a fine start to the season with the Citizens, was forced off at half-time with an adductor injury in Spain’s 4-0 win against Georgia at the weekend, which will put him in doubt for City’s trip to face Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.

The former Athletic Bilbao man has impressed in each of City’s last two games, which resulted in 5-0 victories against Norwich City and Arsenal, with his 7.61 average rating from WhoScored ranking him as the fifth-best performer in Guardiola’s side so far this season.

A big blow for Guardiola?

There were some suggestions that Laporte could leave during the summer transfer window after he spent much of last season playing second fiddle to Ruben Dias and John Stones, who formed a superb partnership in the heart of City’s defence.

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However, he remained at the Etihad and his impressive performances thus far have reinforced his immense quality, and he is sure to play a regular part in Guardiola’s side throughout the 2021/22 campaign.

The Spanish manager certainly rates Laporte highly, as he sang his praises following the game against Norwich, saying:

“Aymeric Laporte is the best left-footed centre-back for build-up in the world.”

Unfortunately for Laporte, with Stones surely now close to full fitness, it seems likely that he will resume his partnership with Dias at the back for City’s game at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, and it may be tough for the Spaniard to re-establish his place in the starting lineup following his recovery from injury.

Therefore, it is undoubtedly a blow that the £40.5m-rated man could be set for a spell on the sidelines and City fans will be gutted that he has picked up this injury after such a solid start to the season.

And, in other news… Guardiola set for huge Man City boost with “incredibly talented” star