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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…

Premier League legend Alan Shearer has praised Andre Gomes and Yerry Mina after their performances in Everton’s 2-0 win over West Ham United.

What did he say?

Shearer picked Gomes and Mina in his Premier League Team of the Week in their respective positions. The Colombian defender kept a clean sheet against the Hammers, just as the former Benfica midfielder controlled the game along with Tom Davies in the centre.

The pundit told the Premier League website: “Everton barely gave the West Ham midfield a look-in and a big part of that was down to Gomes. He ran the centre of the park with his touch, technique and energy,” he said.

Shearer also touched on Mina, saying: “This was a powerful display by the Everton defender. They needed a leader and he fitted the bill. He was dominant at the back and didn’t give Sebastien Haller a sniff for West Ham United.”

Vital for Everton

Prior to the weekend victory over the Hammers, it had been a torrid time for Mina this season. The former Barcelona defender was part of a defensive unit that let in 13 goals in just eight games.

However, over the weekend, in form striker Sebastien Haller never got a chance to add to Everton’s woes and was well marshalled by Mina, who arrived on Merseyside in a deal worth £27.2m in 2018, and his fellow defenders.

Mina was a leader at the back, and with his 6ft 5 stature, he proved he is a physical presence for any attacker.

Gomes, who joined the Toffees in a £22m summer deal, started a game for Silva for the first time since he picked up an injury against Wolverhampton Wanderers. That match was the last time the Blues tasted victory in the Premier League, which just goes to show how important this man is for the team.

Simply put, Everton lost all four league games without Gomes, yet both of their last two league wins had him in the centre. The former Barcelona midfielder is incredibly important for the squad and he and Mina could end up being the catalysts in saving Silva’s job.

Jamie Carragher had a long and storied career, and throughout his football journey, he had no greater rivals than Manchester United, while Arsenal certainly found themselves crossing paths with Liverpool on enough occasions.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It must pain the Anfield legend to do this, but he’s been forced to put together his best United and Arsenal combined XI from Premier League history.

With these two clubs winning 16 Premier League titles between them this team is understandably brimming with talent.

Unsurprisingly, Peter Schmeichel starts between the sticks for Carragher’s side.

However, there is a bit of controversy when it comes to his back four. The former England international opted to not select his Sky Sports colleague Gary Neville at right-back.

Instead, he chose to play Denis Irwin in that spot, with Rio Ferdinand, Tony Adams and Ashley Cole making up the defence.

The midfield is rather straightforward. Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs play on the wings while old rivals Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira play together in the midfield.

There’s no space for England’s all-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney in this team as Carragher instead goes for the classic partnership of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.

Traore showed great humility in his post after netting a brace.

The goalscorer had every reason to heap praise upon himself after scoring the vital goals for his team this weekend, but instead, he wanted to give credit to everyone around the club from the players to the coaches to the fans.

This post just highlights the togetherness and team spirit within the club at the moment, and if that continues to grow Wolves could cause a few more upsets before the end of the season.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Injury News series, which considers the impact of the latest updates on players’ fitness

Charlton could well be without their star man Lyle Taylor for the game against Birmingham this weekend, after the forward suffered an injury while on international duty with Montserrat.

Taylor, the Addicks’ top scorer so far this term with five goals, played in his nation’s CONCACAF Nations League win over the Dominican Republic on Saturday but missed Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Saint Lucia.

Taylor returned to south London after cutting his international commitments short due to the injury.

How bad is it?

Not too bad it seems, although Bowyer could not give confirmation on whether or not the 29-year-old would be available for this weekend’s game.

The 42-year-old said: “It’s just a precaution.

“We are going to try and get him out training tomorrow and see how he responds to that.”

While that doesn’t sound like the worst update in the world, it doesn’t appear as if the 29-year-old is a surefire bet to appear against Birmingham.

Chance for Tomer Hemed to shine

Former Brighton striker Tomer Hemed joined the south Londoners this summer after the Seagulls agreed to terminate his contract at the Amex Stadium, due to the 32-year-old’s desire to play regular football.

Two substitute appearances for the Addicks – 45 minutes on his debut against Brentford and nine minutes against Reading – is all that the Israel international has managed so far, with Bowyer saying towards the end of August that Hemed needs to get a bit more match fitness under his belt before he can start games.

However, having had a full international break to work on his fitness, one would assume that Hemed is ready for a start in Taylor’s absence.

There is no doubting Hemed’s pedigree at this level. He notched 17 goals for Brighton in the 2015/16 season, and also netted 11 goals as the Seagulls won promotion back in the 2016/17 campaign.

He has netted 93 goals across his career and has an impressive 17 goals in 38 appearances for his country – he certainly knows where the back of the net is. Last season, while on loan at QPR, he scored seven goals in the Championship.

With star man Taylor potentially out injured, this could be Hemed’s chance to shine from the first whistle.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

Kieran Dowell is on loan in the Championship again this season but his career seems to be stagnating a little at Derby County.

The 21-year-old made a big impression in his first taste of senior football when turning out for Nottingham Forest in 2017/18, scoring nine goals and assisting four in 38 league games, but he has failed to take advantage since.

Upon his return to Merseyside he didn’t do enough to prove to then newly-appointed Marco Silva that he could have a role to play in the first-team, and he subsequently went out on loan to Sheffield United.

After a frustrating spell with the Blades where he made only eight starts, he has been handed a first-team place by Phillip Cocu at Derby, but so far has failed to make the most of his opportunity.

In his six Championship matches the Rams have just one win, against lowly Huddersfield, and Dowell’s failure to influence the game has been a contributing factor to their poor form, with him dropping to the bench against Cardiff last week.

He has no goals and only one assist to show for his efforts so far and one aspect of his game which is often reliable – his passing ability – has been underwhelming, boasting a pass accuracy of just 77%, according to WhoScored.

However, he has achieved an average of 1.7 key passes per game, which shows his link-up play with his teammates can be effective, and therefore he needs to be more adventurous in his positioning, and get in and around the final third more often.

Currently, the difficulty is that Tom Lawrence is taking up similar positions to Dowell, and Cocu’s system focuses more on keeping possession than risky passes forward – as evidenced by their average of 54% possession this term – and that has limited Dowell’s significance somewhat.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The Toffees academy product has to be more decisive in attack. Dowell has shown he has ability on the ball, improving his dribbling from last season, with an average of 1.3 successful dribbles in this campaign compared to 0.4 per game whilst at Sheffield United, but his return in terms of goals and assists will have to improve.

His use of the ball will ultimately decide whether he has a future at Everton. He is competing for a place with the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Bernard, two players who are capable of producing assists and dangerous balls in the opposition penalty area on a regular basis.

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Manchester City face Chelsea in a vital Premier League encounter this weekend.

After cutting the gap to Liverpool to two points prior to the Reds’ clash with West Ham United on Monday evening, by virtue of their dominant 3-1 win over Arsenal, City will be out to keep up their momentum against Maurizio Sarri’s inconsistent Blues.

On the chalkboard

City are perhaps the best possession-based team in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s teams regularly strangle teams with possession, but every pass has a purpose.

The likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva always find their man and they are constantly looking forward, seeking to bypass the defensive line.

They had 59% possession against Arsenal and used it well, racking up 19 shots, 12 of which were on target, attempting 613 passes, with 87% accuracy.

Chelsea, by comparison, have struggled to implement Maurizio Sarri’s gameplan thus far this season.

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

A 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town was an excellent clap back to their critics, but their 4-0 loss to Bournemouth laid bare their recent failings.

In that game, they had 68% possession, attempting 716 passes, with 89% accuracy.

Whereas Chelsea continue to pass the ball, from side to side, with no point to their play, City do the opposite, forever passing forward, looking to get beyond the backline.

A lesson in possession

Guardiola can teach Sarri something about the art of keeping possession.

The Italian manager has yet to show Chelsea how to hurt teams with the ball, instead boring them into submission.

Or, as Bournemouth proved, they can merely wait, counter and hit four past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

This weekend, of course, may see Chelsea cede possession and attempt to break themselves, but they would be well advised to take notes from the way City play.

Whereas Chelsea are inactive on the ball, City are seductive, forever circling the ball, weaving patterns and besting their opponents through keep-ball.

Expect them to do the same this weekend – Chelsea fans must hope Sarri pays close attention.

[ad_pod ]A trio of Championship clubs are facing an investigation from the EFL over financial fair play.The Times claim that Derby could face possible sanctions for breaches of FFP after the Football League ordered an independent valuation of Pride Park.Valuations of Sheffield Wednesday and Reading have also been commissioned according to the report.Upon seeing an article from Yorkshire Evening Post, detailing the claims, Leeds fans have had their say on matters surrounding their league rivals.There were varying viewpoints with one suggesting that nothing would happen because it wasn’t Leeds involved. A further supporter commented that it was about time something like this was looked into.Another individual said to relegate them all as one went as far as labelling the Football League as corrupt.

Leeds have had financial fair play issues themselves after Paul Bell admitted that one of the reasons for moving Pontus Jansson was because of that very matter.

Managing Director Angus Kinnear recently told West Yorkshire Daily that Championship clubs would have to restrict their spending because of FFP.

Here’s what Leeds fans have been saying on the reported investigation.

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This has been a seriously impressive winter for Aston Villa as Steven Gerrard sinks his teeth into a transfer market while manager of the Midlands club for the first time.

Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho are the marquee additions but in the mind of Johan Lange, there is more work to be done before the window slams shut.

What’s the word?

This has been a rather momentous 24 hours in the world of Villa’s recruitment team if you believe reports.

They are still very much interested in Yves Bissouma while an offer has even been tabled for Luis Suarez according to sources in Spain.

If that wasn’t enough, they’ve now been urged to make a move for another superstar plying his trade in the Spanish capital; Eden Hazard.

That’s the word of former Dutch star Johan Boskamp who told Het Nieuwsblad, via Sport Witness: “I really hope he changes clubs this winter

“Then maybe he can play 25 games in the next few months. Because if he stays at Real, I don’t think he will play many more games this season.

“And then the World Cup is coming up. It’s a tricky situation. I don’t dare say Chelsea are the answer.”

Boskamp continued: “Eden plays better in a team that has the ball. So I don’t know if he fits into coach Thomas Tuchel’s plans. He has also brought back Lukaku, and that is not going well either.

“They could also loan Eden to Aston Villa or another club. It doesn’t matter where; he just has to play. That’s the most important thing.”

Time to revive Hazard

The Belgian sensation has rather gone off the rails since swapping Chelsea for Real Madrid but there is no denying that he is still a remarkable player.

He has scored just five goals in 59 outings since a mega £89m move back in 2019 but the fact of the matter is that Hazard is someone who not only knows English football inside out, but is a player who performed spectacularly during his time at Chelsea.

The 31-year-old racked up a supremely high volume of 110 goals while contributing a seriously impressive tally of 92 assists as well.

In the process, Hazard won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and also took home two Europa League trophies.

It was his performances that played a massive hand in securing those honours and he was met with some eye-catching praise as a result.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hailed him as a “special” player, while others mentioned the forward in the same breath as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Furthermore, he has been compared to one of the greats we’ve seen on English shores. Christophe Dugarry once said of the Belgium international: “He’s faster than Zidane, more technique than Thierry Henry.”

Of course, his stock has fallen since those appraisals, so much so that Madrid reportedly accepted a €40m (£33m) proposal from Newcastle for his services, only for the player to reject them.

With that in mind, he may well reject any potential advance from Lange and co too, but a six-month stint alongside Coutinho is surely attractive for Hazard.

His star isn’t burning quite so bright as it was but he is still special and there is never any reason to question his technique.

A fifth deal of the winter when you consider incomings and outgoings, specifically Hazard, is unlikely for Villa but if a deal can be struck, he’d be quite the coup.

AND in other news, Sky Sports journo drops exciting AVFC transfer update on live TV, fans surely buzzing…

Having secured a 1-0 victory in their previous SPFL match against Livingston, Rangers are back in action this afternoon with an away clash against Ross County next up for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side in their latest attempt at moving a step closer to securing the league title.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Van Bronckhorst could select to be in his starting XI to take on County this afternoon, one figure that didn’t start against Livingston but ended playing a big part in the win that we feel should be in the team from the beginning on this occasion is Scott Arfield. 

After replacing James Sands in the 59th minute in midweek, Arfield managed to get his name on the scoresheet and score the vital goal that earned Rangers the three points on the day. 

With that in mind, it would be a good option to give Arfield, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £16k-per-week according to Salary Sport, the chance to potentially add another goal to his tally for the season from the start rather than the substitutes bench again. 

Also, with Van Bronckhorst recently sharing his wishes at seeing the Canadian stay at the club for the foreseeable future after his current contract at Ibrox expires at the end of the season, starting him this afternoon would be a good way of proving just how important he is for the team.

Labelled as a “reliable” player for Rangers by Kenny Miller, Arfield has racked up 165 appearances for the Scottish champions across all competitions with 32 goals and 18 assists under his belt, showing not only how experienced he is but also how capable he is in front of goal.

Taking into account how the 33-year-old has already scored against County this season back in August during Rangers’ 4-2 win, he now has the chance to haunt them again this time around and terrify them with his goalscoring ability.

Moving forward, while the midfielder proved in the game against Livingston how much of a useful impact player he can be for Rangers off the substitutes bench, it could be worth starting him this time to see if he can help his side have a more comfortable game this time around.

In other news: “Monitoring”: Journalist delivers key Rangers transfer update which Van Bronckhorst will love…

Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard could sign the club’s modern-day successor to John Carew in towering Genk striker Paul Onuachu.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks had suggested that the Premier League side are interested in making a move for the 6 foot 7 man-mountain, and now, The Express and Star’s Luke Hatfield has thrown his backing behind a potential move.

He said: “Yeah, I mean, any player of that stature certainly does that (brings a presence to both penalty areas).”

Shades of John Carew

When Carew was in his pomp at Villa Park, Premier League defences were left bullied and terrified by the Norwegian’s incredible combination of power and technique.

Just like the former Valencia man – who scored 48 goals in 131 games for Villa – Onuachu is a real handful up front, with his natural height and physicality making him an unsurprising threat in the air especially.

Three of his 12 strikes this season in the Belgian top-flight have come from headers, while he wins a monstrous 62% of his duels in the air – to put that into context, Tyrone Mings wins just a touch more at just 66%.

The £19.8m-rated forward, was once dubbed a “goal king” by former Wimbledon star John Fashanu, while Alexander Scholz, Onuachu’s former teammate at FC Midtjylland, once claimed he was “impossible to beat.”

Onuachu’s profile makes him completely different to what Gerrard currently has at his disposal in the likes of Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings, and could give Villa a hugely imposing option off the bench or even to challenge for a starting spot.

It’s been so long since Villa fans watched Carew run riot at Villa Park. Onuachu’s arrival would give them another battering ram-like striker to idolise once again.

Meanwhile, Villa can finally replace Idrissa Gueye by signing this star…