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Wolves fans on Twitter have disagreed with Nuno Espirito Santo’s team selection for the game against Brighton on Saturday and claimed Ruben Vinagre should have started ahead of Jonny Otto to provide more threat going forward.

Wolves have often struggled against lower-end clubs this season with Huddersfield, Fulham and now Brighton all taking points off of the Midlands club.

This is in complete contrast to Wolves’ record against top six clubs where they typically thrive using a counter-attacking style.

Nuno’s side can look lost for ideas when going forward against a team that sits back and soaks up pressure and this was evident again as they failed to find the back of the net against Brighton at Molineux.

And fans have claimed that Vinagre, who has made just seven starts this season, should play more against weaker teams  due to the size of the attacking threat he poses. The Portuguese wing-back has been dangerous when deployed on the left side so far this season and Wolves fans want to see more of him.

Here’s what Wolves fans have been saying on Twitter after his omission on Saturday…

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

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Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has given his latest round of Premier League predictions and failed to recognise a key trend in a wide-of-the-mark statement on the Crystal Palace vs Manchester City match.

What’s he said, then?

Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens make the tricky trip to Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon in dodgy form, coming off of Champions League disappointment at Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday evening.

Before that, they could only just edge past Brighton & Hove Albion in the Emirates FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley last weekend.

Whereas, Roy Hodgson’s Eagles are high on confidence following an impressive away three points at Newcastle United the last time they took to the field.

Predicting a 2-1 triumph for Blue Moon, Merson commented the following on the intriguing encounter:

“I think Man City win because Palace haven’t been great – especially at home. But it’s down to pressure, now. They could be 1-0 up and cruising, with five minutes to play. And then from a set play it could be 1-1 and that could be it.

“It’s getting to that stage. They lacked a bit of cutting edge against Brighton and again in midweek in the Champions League. I don’t know if that’s them hitting a brick wall.

“I think they’ll have just about enough here but it’ll be a tense game.”

Sorry Paul – this one’s off target

Talking about the match, the Arsenal legend hasn’t picked up on an important pattern that’s developed in meetings of these teams recently.

Merson didn’t mention the fact that the Cityzens have really struggled in these sides’ last two meetings, in a way they haven’t against any other lower opposition.

There’s good news for fans of City, Liverpool, Spurs and United in the video below…

Last season, Guardiola’s men’s 100 per cent record came to an end at Selhurst and just before Christmas, they were stunned by the South Londoners 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium.

Combine these facts with City’s lackadaisical form and we get the recipe for Palace getting a result, in contrary to Merson’s prediction.

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According to Tutto Mercato, Everton are interested in a move for Roma forward Patrik Schick, who has reportedly been made available for just €24m by the Italian side.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Czech Republic international used to be one of the most highly-rated young forwards in Europe having slammed in 13 goals in 35 appearances for Sampdoria at a young age.

His form there earned him a huge €42m move to Roma, a club-record fee for them, although it is safe to say that things haven’t exactly gone to plan for the 23-year-old.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

Since arriving in Rome, Schick has found the back of the net just eight times in 53 appearances, ultimately proving to be a big-money flop for the Serie A side and a player definitely not worth such a huge sum of money.

However, as aforesaid, he is just 23 years of age; with time on his side, he could still fulfil his huge potential.

Completely unfair on Dominic Calvert-Lewin

One man who has worked tirelessly for the Toffees this season, and is visibly improving with every passing game, is Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The Toffees academy graduate has scored six league goals this season – double that of Schick – whilst also recording an assist in just 13 starts.

His overall game is coming on nicely, although reports linking Everton with a move for Edin Dzeko, Jean-Kevin Augustin and now Schick suggest that they are attempting to push the England Under-21 star further down the pecking order – that is simply unfair given his obvious improvement and good work for the team this season.

At just 22 years of age, Calvert-Lewin should be being nurtured and focused on, and not looking to be replaced by a player in Schick who is just one year older than him and not even guaranteed to deliver better numbers.

Claims that Rafa Benitez has demanded funds of £75 million to spend on strikers if he is to stay, appear to be how some people interpreted his post-match comments following the defeat to Arsenal on Monday.

But if you listen to what he actually said, it is not exactly the point he was making.

A report in the Daily Mirror yesterday suggested that it was some sort of ultimatum, which is not how it appeared to us.

They report Benitez said: “The final third, we have been speaking all season… the final third you have to spend £40m, £50m, £75m.”

He is quite right, too.

The point he was making is for a team to be able to compete week in, week out, and challenge the top six sides, they would need to spend those sums of money.

But Rafa has consistently maintained that he does not want, or expect, Newcastle to be transformed overnight into a title-chasing club, or even to be perennial Champion’s League contenders.

He wants to be given a budget that will see the club pull away from their annual relegation scrap, consolidate themselves as a top half team, and if results go better than expected, could push for a top seven or eight finish.

After two or three seasons as an established squad, maybe then they could increase the budget, due to higher prize payouts, and look to kick on towards Europa League places.

To suggest that he is demanding ridiculous amounts for the next transfer window is mischief-making.

It is misinformation like this that gives fans in other regions of the country the wrong impression that Newcastle fans expect success, when all they have ever wanted is a team they can be proud of, that wears the black and white stripes with pride, and makes them excited for Saturdays to arrive.

Do you expect Newcastle to entice Benitez to stay? Do you think it would take a huge budget to convince him? Let us know…

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Bournemouth returned to winning ways on Saturday as they emerged 2-0 victors over Huddersfield, with goals from Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson enough to sink Jan Siewert’s side.

The former was full of praise for the latter, who was making his long-awaited comeback from injury, even saying that the former Coventry striker makes the rest of the team play better individually.

Here’s what Scotland international Fraser had to say via The Bournemouth Daily Echo:

“When you get your important players back, it makes the team feel a bit better. It gives you a bit of encouragement and spark again.

“Cal didn’t look like he had been out for seven weeks. He makes everyone around him better and that’s the kind of player you want in your team.”

The 27-year-old had been out since January with a knee problem and the Cherries have sorely missed him – February saw Eddie Howe’s side endure a woeful run of form in which they lost three out of four games.

Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!

Wilson has chalked up 11 goals – of which his strike against the Terriers was most recent – and seven assists this season and Fraser is certainly right in that the speedster transforms the side when he’s in it.

The pair, plus David Brooks and Josh King, have the makings of a top-half strike-force and, if the south coast outfit are to finish in single digits this season, Wilson’s fitness will be crucial.

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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli is hopeful of returning from injury in time to face Southampton this weekend, according to the London Evening Standard.

The England midfielder has been out of action since sustaining a hamstring strain against Fulham at the end of January.

What’s the word?

Alli has made 25 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring seven goals and laying on four assists.

The 22-year-old, who featured heavily at the World Cup in Russia in the summer, scoring in the quarter-final against Sweden, has missed six Premier League games with his latest setback, including defeats against Chelsea and Burnley. He also missed both legs of the Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund.

Perhaps evidence of his hefty workload also comes in the fact that he sustained a hamstring injury earlier in the season, missing games against Liverpool, Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City and West Ham, as well as European clashes with Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven.

Alli, however, is now confident of returning to the fray and may also be included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad next week, according to the aforementioned report.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino confirmed the report on Thursday, telling reporters, per Football.London: “Yes, that’s good news to be available. We need to wait tomorrow for the last training. But in all aspects doing so well and hope he’s going to be available and maybe can play on Saturday.

The former MK Dons midfielder has become a key player for both club and country and has already won 33 caps for the Three Lions.

Unsurprising fatigue

Alli should not be rushed back.

While he may feel that he is fit to play against the Saints, a successful cameo would surely see him called up by Southgate for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro.

However, in doing so, both club and country risk the talented midfielder burning out.

He has played an awful lot of football since his move to Spurs and is clearly susceptible to muscle injuries; he has sustained two this season alone.

Since his transfer to north London, Alli has made 171 appearances for the club in just four years.

If he is rushed back into the fray, he may well be spending even more time on the treatment table.

اعترف مدرب وولفرهامبتون نونو سانتو، بأن مانشستر سيتي تفوق عليهم في الأداء خلال مباراتهما مساء أمس، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وتواجه الفريقان في الجولة الثانية من البطولة، حيث فاز السكاي بلو بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدف.

وقال نونو سانتو، في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي” العالمية: “لم نبدأ الشوط الأول بشكل جيد، تحرك مانشستر سيتي بالكرة بشكل جيد وخلق الكثير من المشاكل لنا”.

وأضاف: “اُحتسبت ضدنا ركلة جزاء ومنذ ذلك الحين أصبحت الأمور أكثر صعوبة، في الشوط الثاني تحسننا، صنعنا الكثير من اللحظات والفرص التي يمكن أن نسجل منها، كنا نعلم أن لحظة واحدة يمكن أن تغير كل شيء، الشوط الثاني جيد جدًا للفريق”.

وواصل: “علينا دائمًا أن نشيد بخصومنا بسبب الموهبة والجودة التي يمتلكونها، لكن يجب أن نفعل ما هو أفضل لنا، حتى في الشوط الثاني يمكننا تحسين الكثير من الأشياء، لقد تغيرنا وحاولنا التكيف”.

وتابع: “تمكنا من الضغط واستعادة الكرة، نجحنا في منح مانشستر سيتي من الاستحواذ على الكرة من خلال خط الوسط، كان لدينا الكثير من الأشياء لتغييرها والعمل، من المؤسف أننا لم ننهي المباراة بطريقة مختلفة”.

A year after the Argus review delivered a damning indictment of Australian cricket’s culture, the national captain Michael Clarke has delivered a stern reminder that much still needed to improve if the team are to rise above what he called an “unacceptable” present.Before departing for an ODI tour of the UAE that will take in matches against Afghanistan and Pakistan, Clarke outlined how he and the coach Mickey Arthur had stressed at the team’s Darwin camp that representing Australia is no laughing matter, requiring harder work and higher standards than anything at first-class level.Their message was supported by the embarrassing mid-year tour of England, which saw the ODI team routed 4-0 to surrender top spot in the ICC rankings. With an increasingly youthful, changing team around him, Clarke is adamant that the players with whom he shares a dressing room take responsibility for their roles and acknowledge that, while talent may have lifted them into the Australian team, hard work alone will keep them there.”The most important thing for Mickey and myself is to continue to build the culture we want,” Clarke said in Sydney. “For me the reason I sit where I am today is because of hard work; preparation and hard work are the only two answers for me to be representing Australia, and that’s something that I will continue to push with the young Aussie boys who haven’t played too much cricket around us.”There is a difference between first-class cricket and playing for Australia. Yes, you have to be very talented to be playing for your state, and to get selected for Australia, but the amount of cricket you play these days, the amount you travel, there’s a lot of difference.”The most important thing is the culture. We want to make sure we’ve got the right culture, which we’ve been working on really hard since Mickey’s come in, and I think we’re certainly getting there…hard work and preparation is something I’ll continue to push.”Michael Clarke pushed his men hard at the Darwin training camp that followed a heavy defeat in England•Getty Images

Clarke spoke frankly that all players had to deliver far more with actions than words, after several players’ pre-series pronouncements were made to look decidedly hollow when the tourists were completely outplayed by an England side who were themselves then beaten by South Africa to lose the top Test match ranking.”The other thing I spoke about on the camp was it’s actually not about what you say, it’s about what we do as a team,” Clarke said. “We’ve all sat in meetings and heard the coach or the captain have their opinions and say what they felt, but it’s now up to us as individual players and a team to do something about it, to realise we sit fourth in the ODI rankings, third in the Test rankings and ninth in the Twenty20 rankings. Every player knows that’s unacceptable for an Australian team to sit there, but that’s easy to say – it’s now about what we do.”It’s not about being selected and that’s it, go and have a good time. There’s a lot that comes with representing your country, on and off the field and it’s just about making it very clear to all the boys that we all sit on the same line, there’s no-one special in the team, everyone has the same rules, the same guidelines and the same expectations.”I’m pretty sure all the players know where we sit now, we know how hard it’s going to be, Darwin was a great indication of how hard we’re going to have to work to get back to being the No. 1 team in all three forms – we’ve set a good standard.”These words echoed many of those contained in Don Argus’ review of the Australian team’s performance, released on August 19 last year. It was a frankly worded excoriation of a decline that followed the retirements of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist in the 12 months after the 2007 Ashes victory.Australia’s first match is against Afghanistan on Saturday, before three matches against Pakistan. Clarke expected spin to play a major role in the matches, a measure the touring party prepared for on slow, spinning wickets prepared to emulate those of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”We’ve got a lot of work to do to get back to the No. 1 one day team in the world, where we’d all like to be,” Clarke said. “We came up against a pretty good team in England in conditions they were used to, their confidence was pretty high as well after beating the West Indies. But it’s no different against Pakistan, they know these conditions really well, I think spin’s going to play a huge part in this series, both facing it and bowling it.”

West Brom are very keen admirers of their loanee Grady Diangana, but what are the chances they are able to clinch him long-term? Can he become a permanent fixture at the Hawthorns? And for how much? All has been revealed, at least in the eyes of The Athletic correspondent Steve Madeley.

What’s he said?

During the January transfer window, Albion sealed the 21-year-old on loan for the rest of the season by sweetening his parent club, West Ham United, with a little boost to their financial coffers.

It was also reported by The Sun that the Baggies were keen on making his temporary switch permanent for £10m, although it remains to be seen when they would plan on doing so as the enigmatic is under contract in east London until 2025.

Madeley was asked in a recent Q&A about the chances of that move actually happening, and how much it would cost, to which he replied:

“He likes it at Albion, Adam, so if they get promoted then I’d give them a chance. The asking price would be somewhere north of £15m, I’d imagine – maybe even £20m-plus, given he is young, home-grown and English. So I don’t see how Albion would afford it in the Championship but they probably could as a Premier League club.

“Much would depend, though, on whether West Ham are willing to sell, whether they stay up and, if they don’t, on what assurances he is given about his future there. Much as he’s enjoyed his time at Albion, West Ham are a more established Premier League club, based in his home city who generally pay better than Albion would.”

Steve Madeley, The Athletic.

No-brainer

Although this would be a bold and audacious move by the west Midlanders, it ultimately is one they should do their utmost to try and pull off. It’s simply a no-brainer.

Madeley suggests Albion would have a chance, and it would take £15m-£20m+ which will be pennies if West Brom secure promotion as local rivals Aston Villa pocketed around £170m alone for winning the playoffs last season, which will only increase with TV revenues and staving off relegation.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Diangana has been an integral part of their success so far this season with the Baggies sitting top of the Championship table – somehow following a run of one win in eight league games. The Hammers loanee has directly contributed to 11 goals this term.

Following the Stoke City defeat on January 20th, Slaven Bilic’s men had won 62% of matches with him in the side whereas just 14% in his absence, which speaks volumes on his influence and worth to this team.

Call yourself a Championship expert? Name all the top-scorers from each of these Championship seasons…

He’s currently absent through injury so they’ll need him back at the earliest opportunity to bolster their title bid, and should they gain promotion back to the Premier League then a permanent return for Diangana can’t be ruled out of the equation just yet.

And in other news, West Brom have missed out on the next Luka Modric as Bilic pulled out of a loan switch late on deadline day…

According to The Shields Gazette, Sunderland are interested in signing Will Grigg from Championship outfit Wigan Athletic. 

The Black Cats are apparently interested int the 27-year-old after he was an unused substitute in his club’s victory over Aston Villa at the weekend.

Grigg is not a regular starter for Wigan this season, and as a result has only scored four goals in 16 Championship games so far. On the other hand, he managed to bag an impressive 19 goals in 43 League One matches last season with The Latics, and may be keen to return to the division in which he thrived.

However, reports are also emerging that Jack Ross is also interested in signing 23-year-old striker Lawrence Shankland from Scottish Championship outfit Ayr United, but face competition from Hull and Wigan themselves.

The Scot has managed 18 goals in 18 appearances so far in the Scottish Championship, which is an stunning record. In addition to his form in the league, he managed nine goals in six Scottish League Cup appearances this season, which is terrific by anyone’s standards. His wonderful form has put Ayr in a great position to earn promotion to the Scottish Premiership this season.

Therefore, when weighing up these two options, The Black Cats would be much wiser to move for Shankland. Not only would Grigg probably cost more, because he is a bigger name from a bigger club, but his form this season is in no way as good as the Scot’s. The fact that Shankland is four years younger is just further reason why Sunderland should move for him.