Bayern Munich starlet Jamal Musiala is not trying to be the next Lionel Messi, with the 21-year-old admitting that would be an “impossible mission”.
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West Bromwich Albion secured an impressive 2-0 victory over Ipswich Town on Saturday evening to strengthen their play-off hopes.
The Baggies have now won four of their last five matches to move up to fifth in the table and their performance against the promotion-chasing Tractor Boys was a sign of their progression under Carlos Corberan.
Statistically, the hosts restricted Ipswich to zero shots on target for the first time this season, as per Sofascore, and an expected goal (xG) of 0.23, compared to West Brom's 1.70.
Despite putting in a domineering display against quality opposition, Corberan could make some changes for their visit to fellow play-off chasers, Cardiff City, who snatched a dramatic victory over Preston North End last time out, scoring goals in the 96th and 99th minute.
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Carlos Corberan could make a couple of changes for West Brom’s mid-week game, despite the Baggies beating Ipswich Town 2-0 on Saturday.
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One man who could get dropped for this crunch fixture – purely for tactical reasons – is playmaker Alex Mowatt.
Mowatt has operated as a deep-lying playmaker for Corberan, dictating play from deep through his astute passing range, and that was no different against Ipswich.
He started alongside ball-winning midfielder Okay Yokuslu, who made the second-most tackles on the pitch for West Brom, while Mowatt made the most accurate passes.
The 28-year-old possesses incredible technical ability and his confidence in possession provided a strong platform for the hosts to start brightly, taking the lead through Darnell Furlong inside six minutes.
|
Alex Mowatt's performance in numbers vs Ipswich |
|
|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Figure |
|
Touches |
58 |
|
Acc. passes |
45/50 (90%) |
|
Long balls (acc) |
3 (2) |
|
Dribble attempts (succ.) |
1 (0) |
|
Ground duels (won) |
1 (0) |
|
Tackles |
0 |
|
All stats via Sofascore |
|
As the table above delineates, the former Leeds United star is quality at distributing the ball, short or long, while his ability to win possession back and drive forward with the ball is lacking.
When entering the cauldron of the Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday night, winning the midfield battle will be crucial to whoever comes out on top and if Mowatt drops a similarly weak defensive display, he could hamper the Baggies' chances of recording a positive result.
That said, he could make way for all-action midfielder, Jayson Molumby, who possesses the sought-after attributes to cope with the danger posed by the likes of Callum Robinson and Karlan Grant.
Molumby has been restricted to cameos from the bench in his last seven appearances this season but the ball-winning midfielder, who previously compared himself to Roy Keane, can offer an abundance of attributes that give him the upper hand over Mowatt.
Dubbed an "animal" by Corberan having shown his capabilities as a pressing machine last term, the £17k per-week titan can provide the Baggies with control in midfield and an ability to carry the ball from deep.
According to FBref, Molumby has averaged more progressive carries than Mowatt this term (1.39 v 0.82) and touches in the attacking penalty box (1.73 v 1.02), underscoring his importance as a press breaker and energetic ball carrier.
Despite averaging fewer tackles than Mowatt this term (1.5 v 0.7), this is largely down to the attacking responsibility he's ushered as opposed to him not being a tough tackler.If he does start against the Bluebirds, Corberan will hope Molumby can unleash an animalistic performance onto proceedings and help his side keep a stranglehold on the play-off places.
Leicester City were in cruise control at the top of the Championship, sweeping past teams with relative ease and making a mockery of the division.
When the Foxes made it 11 wins from 12 with a 3-1 victory over Swansea City in October, they broke the record for the best start to a Championship season since the league rebranded in 2004.
Because of this, talk of Enzo Maresca's side totalling the most points ever in a single second-tier campaign began to surface, however, consecutive 1-0 defeats against Leeds United and Middlesbrough have quelled those talks, at least for the time being.
In an all-star Leicester team, only one thing has remained a constant since his arrival in 2012, and that has been Jamie Vardy spearheading their charge towards success.
At the age of 36, Vardy is no spring chicken anymore and of course, those once magical goal-scoring powers were going to suffer an alarming drop off one day.
In the past few seasons, the Englishman has lost a yard of pace and doesn't get into scoring positions as often as he used to, but you never lose the knack of scoring goals, and the former Fleetwood Town striker has demonstrated that this term.
Although a return of four goals in 16 matches is underwhelming for someone who used to regularly break the 20-goal mark in one season – winning the Premier League Golden Boot in 2019/20 – Vardy still plays a crucial role in stretching opposition defences with his pace in behind.
A menace to play against physically and difficult to stop with his sharp movements, the veteran striker has made a career out of lurking on the last defender and pouncing at the chance to be sent through on goal.
Much like Wayne Rooney, Vardy possesses a street striker element to his game – never giving a defender a moment of peace – and wreaking havoc in the attacking third with his devastating finishing.
He's accumulated a staggering 175 goals in 444 appearances for Leicester but given he's soon to retire, the Foxes will forever rue their decision to sell Andrej Kramaric in 2016, who has since become a world-class finisher in the Bundesliga.
Leicester broke their transfer record in 2015 when they shelled out £9m on a 23-year-old Kramaric from FC Rijeka.
Despite rigorously scouting the young Croatian, he immediately struggled to adapt to the intensity and demands of the Premier League – like many foreign exports – and only found the net four times in 20 appearances.
In truth, he just did not fit into City's shape, or with their intense, pressing, relentless style and was never going to get in ahead of Vardy, for whom Leicester's entire game was based around getting him in behind defences.
Indeed, Nigel Pearson, the man who brought him to the club, couldn't fit Kramaric into the team and shipped him out on loan to Hoffenheim in the 2015/16 campaign.
Whilst the Foxes were celebrating their famous Premier League title triumph, the striker posted nine goal contributions in 15 matches for the Bundesliga outfit, so few were shocked to see Hoffenheim snap him up in the summer of 2016.
Now aged 32 and in his eighth season with the German side, Kramaric – much like Vardy – has become a goal-machine since departing the King Power, amassing a staggering 121 goals and 51 assists in 262 appearances for the club.
|
Goal records since Kramaric departed Leicester in 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat |
Club appearances |
Goals / Assists |
|
Jamie Vardy |
300 |
125 goals / 34 assists (159 G/A) |
|
Andrej Kramaric |
262 |
121 goals / 51 assists (172 G/A) |
|
Stats via Transfermarkt |
||
On the international stage, the 88-cap Croatia "genius" – as hailed by commentator Derek Rae – has had huge success too, reaching the World Cup final and semi-final in 2018 and 2022, respectively, including scoring the winner which knocked England out at the last four stage in Russia.
Leicester ultimately missed the chance to enjoy an elite European striker as his spell at the club overlapped with the time in which Vardy was at the peak of his powers, and not one supporter would change that for the world given the legendary status that the Englishman has achieved.
But considering that Kramaric has plundered six goals in nine matches this term and outscored Vardy, perhaps they would now take him back in a heartbeat.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag banned three newspaper journalists from asking questions in his press conference on Friday.
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Time must now surely be wearing thin for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.
Of course, the Dutchman has had external forces hindering the club’s development this term but the fact of the matter is that results haven’t been good enough.
United are on the verge of exiting the Champions League after a comical 3-3 draw in midweek against Turkish opposition Galatasaray.
It was a result that typified their shoddiness in recent times, with a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday evening only exacerbating their problems.
This side couldn’t be further from the days of Sir Alex Ferguson if they tried. Being devoid of a ruthless streak in front of goal is one thing but the work rate is remarkably bad. This doesn’t look like a team willing to fight for the badge, let’s put it that way.
Take your pick. There certainly wasn't a lack of poor performers in red at St James’ Park this weekend.
For instance, it was down Diogo Dalot’s left flank that Kieran Trippier was able to exploit to lay the ball on a plate for Anthony Gordon’s winner with the Portuguese partially at blame for the loss.
However, the distinct lack of threat and indeed desire from some of those in attack must be questioned above all else.
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Last weekend against Everton it looked as though things had begun to click again. Anthony Martial picked up a confidence-boosting goal but you wouldn’t have thought it on this occasion.
Picked ahead of Rasmus Hojlund, the Frenchman barely had a kick in the northeast, leaving the pitch after 61 minutes having taken just 17 touches – 36 fewer than Andre Onana – and made only eight accurate passes. A torrid night indeed.
However, arguably even worse was Marcus Rashford. Last term the wide man was in exceptional form for the Red Devils, scoring 30 times in 56 outings. However, he has endured a distinctly poor 2023/24 campaign to date, finding the net on only two occasions from 18 matches. To make matters worse, one of those strikes was from the penalty spot.
The loss to Newcastle typified Rashford’s struggles in recent times, notably criticised for a lack of tracking back and a lack of effort.
Content creator Liam Canning was quick to notice this, suggesting the England international was “genuinely shocking” against the Magpies.
|
Rashford vs Gordon (Newcastle v Man Utd – 2nd Dec 23) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat |
Rashford |
Gordon |
|
Touches |
22 |
55 |
|
Accurate Passes |
11/17 (65%) |
27/33 (82%) |
|
Key Passes |
0 |
2 |
|
Crosses |
0/1 |
1/3 |
|
Expected Goals (xG) |
0 |
0.96 |
|
Expected Assists (xA) |
0.01 |
0.12 |
|
Duels Won |
1/4 |
5/8 |
|
Tackles |
0 |
2 |
|
Stats via Sofascore. |
||
Indeed, when comparing him to the match-winner it becomes abundantly clear why. Having been withdrawn just after the hour mark by Ten Hag, the 26-year-old did so after completing just 65% of his 17 attempted passes.
Like Martial, there was a distinct lack of touches for Rashford, who took only 22 throughout the evening. What makes matters worse is that the England man didn’t register a single shot.
Manchester Evening News correspondent Samuel Luckhurst perhaps summed up his display best, writing: “Fortunate to start and he was poor in attack and slack in defence, offering Wan-Bissaka no protection. Should not have started”. That came as the reporter gave him a dismal 2/10 match rating.
Luckhurst is correct, however. Even with Antony on the bench, this felt like an incorrect call. The Brazilian is yet to register a single goal involvement this term but they have been just as bad as each other.
Both contribute very little in the final third and struggle to track back. Any degree of work rate or effort to help the team defensively is non-existent. If the £300k-per-week Rashford was scoring goals then this could probably be ignored. Sadly that is not the case. It’s time for the club’s number 10 to be given a spot on the bench.
USMNT star Ricardo Pepi was vibing and dancing during the PSV parade celebrating their Eredivisie title Monday.
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Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed his secret to de-stressing, with the Al-Nassr superstar extending his remarkable career towards a 40th birthday.
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Leeds United will host Ipswich Town just two days before Christmas next time out, hoping to give the Elland Road masses an early present with three points at the end of what should be a barnstorming contest between two promotion hopefuls.
Picking up a victory in this potentially thrilling encounter would ease some worries in Leeds quarters, Daniel Farke's side now winless in their last two matches after losing away to Sunderland narrowly and then having to settle for a share of the points against Coventry City despite dominating for large spells.
Farke might well have to be more cut-throat with his selection choices as the games start to come thick and fast in the Leeds calendar, the Whites showing signs of fatigue recently with the German boss not one for widespread rotation.
He might well have to change this approach, however, with one reserve defender becoming increasingly more eager for first team minutes at Elland Road.
Charlie Cresswell will hope he can get more opportunities to impress in the matches to come if selected, the patient 21-year-old sparingly utilised by his boss even after a promising loan switch to Millwall last campaign.
Only starting one game so far for the Whites in the Championship, the towering titan has shown signs of his obvious quality even in fleeting moments.
Cresswell played his only full 90 minutes away at Birmingham early on this season when the Leeds team was very much still finding its feet after relegation, putting in a sterling effort at the back despite the narrow 1-0 loss on the day.
Leeds' number five was aerially strong in the game at St Andrew's, winning all but one of his aerial duels against the Blues as per Sofascore.
Further, the 21-year-old didn't shy away from making himself available for a pass in the game – amassing 95 touches in the defeat, accurate with 87% of his passes in a display that showed a real inner calmness for an inexperienced head.
Unfortunately for the one-time Millwall man, he could not quite kick on after starting this game with Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk since forming an effective partnership at the heart of defence.
Yet, Farke will see how he started this campaign and look at his time away in London as grounds for Cresswell being able to come in and do a job for the promotion challengers when required.
The 6 foot 3 Whites centre-back scored five times for the Lions in a fruitful loan stay at the Den, described by his then-manager Gary Rowett as "fabulous" in terms of his potential and "incredible" in his professionalism.
Struijk will be wary that he has keep his up his excellent form for Leeds with Cresswell breathing down his neck, the Dutch defender previously shaky in a Whites strip.
Whilst other senior figures exited Leeds in the off-season – the likes of Rasmus Kristensen and Tyler Adams leaving West Yorkshire – Struijk decided to stick it out with the Whites in a bid to help his team mount an immediate return to the Premier League.
It's been a largely positive season from a personal perspective for the Dutch defender, averaging 6.3 ball recoveries per game as a tireless presence.
Yet, he has had his fair share of off-days in the Championship too.
His individual display in a 3-1 home win over Swansea City was noticeably below-par despite Farke's men picking up three points come the end of the game, the 24-year-old failing to go in for a single duel or tackle against the Swans in a weak showing.
He was then caught out most recently against Coventry on Saturday as Bobby Thomas managed to get up between him and Archie Gray to score.
Struijk also experienced a horror season during Leeds' relegation down to the second tier, averaging a second-rate 6.75 Sofascore rating in the Premier League.
Whilst featuring for the Whites in that disastrous campaign, he helped his side pick up a pitiful four clean sheets from his 29 matches.
It even saw football pundit Clinton Morrison describe Struijk as looking uncomfortable during an FA Cup tie against Cardiff last season when speaking to Sky Sports, the 24-year-old now a key part of the Leeds jigsaw under Farke despite this poor season.
Still, with the fixture list becoming congested soon, there must be some temptation on the German manager's end to switch things up slightly and potentially finally give Cresswell a start with the £50k-per-week Struijk – as per Capology – at risk of dropping out if so.
Farke must now unleash the England U21 international and see what he is capable of in a Leeds shirt at this level ahead of Struijk.
West Ham could potentially sign a "top level" Premier League striker in January, and it is believed manager David Moyes is a big fan.
The Hammers are in brilliant form overall so far this season, winning 10 of their last 14 matches in all competitions. Their impressive 2-0 win away to Arsenal has seen them climb to sixth in the table, just three points behind London rivals Spurs, and they've also sailed into the last 16 of the Europa League.
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However, Moyes is apparently eager to shore up key areas of the squad in January, and West Ham are tipped to busy when the transfer window reopens (Fabrizio Romano).
The east Londoners appear light in certain positions, like centre-half, with the barely-seen Konstantinos Mavropanos and Angelo Ogbonna forced to come in against Arsenal and do a brilliant job in the absence of Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna.
West Ham have been linked with signing a new defender to give Moyes more options, with the Scotsman also eager to sign a new left-winger next month.
Michail Antonio's injury has also forced the Irons to play Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus as makeshift centre-forwards this season, and while they've performed exceptionally in parts, you could still make the case that Moyes needs another striker option.
West Ham have displayed an interest in Stuttgart star Serhou Guirassy as one option, while Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah is a name regularly mentioned by sections of the press.
The Englishman, despite playing in nearly every Premier League game for Mikel Arteta's side so far this season, may well depart the Emirates mid-season.
Nketiah has scored five goals and assisted one other in his 18 league appearances for Arsenal, with journalist Malik Ouzia sharing an update on his future for The Evening Standard.
Detailing West Ham's "possible ins" next month, Ouzia names the forward, saying Nketiah could leave Arsenal and Moyes is a known admirer. The 24-year-old is apparently a candidate to strengthen West Ham's forward line, alongside PSG striker Hugo Ekitike who Moyes and co chased a deal for in the summer.
It appears Nketiah might well join West Ham as an option, depending on developments, and we believe he could be a good addition to Moyes' squad if they do end up pursuing a deal.
The former Leeds loanee is a proven Premier League player and still fairly young, with Arteta even calling him a "top-level" striker.
"Well to me he is top level,” said Arteta on Nketiah.
“He’s started nine out of our ten Premier League games, so that tells you how much we trust him and the importance he has in the team. I’m really happy for him, an academy player to experience a Premier League hat-trick. He needs to enjoy the moment, he fully deserves it, and hopefully there are many more to come.”
Marcus Rashford has been selected to model England's Euro 2024 clothing range from Marks and Spencer, despite being left out of the squad.
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