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Liverpool will face the next task in their Champions League run as they travel to Italy to take on Atalanta in another group stage match.

As it stands, the Reds top their group having won 100% of their games played so far. Atalanta are their direct competition, sitting two points behind on four. It will be an exciting clash this evening as the six-time winners look to partake in another title run.

Fortunately for them, Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Naby Keita and Joel Matip have both returned to training and could be available for selection today. With that being said, Football FanCast has predicted how Liverpool might line up, including three changes from their 11 against West Ham…

Despite being a potential doubt for this evening, Klopp could choose to deploy Matip alongside Joe Gomez at centre-back tonight. In his latest presser, the manager said: “A lot of players will be on the plane hopefully, and so decisions will be made late, late, late.”

This could indicate that the £28.8million-rated defender is in the running to start but it will all boil down to last minute decisions.

However, one thing he may not do is risk Keita in midfield. After an impressive performance against West Ham, Xherdan Shaqiri may earn himself a start against Atalanta. The elusive Swiss international picked out the exquisite pass to Diogo Jota to net the winner at Anfield on Sunday.

Similarly, the man who bagged the winning goal also deserves to start against the Italians. His form since making his debut has been electric and he has contributed three goals in five appearances. Two of those were crucial in securing a win and proved the difference between one and three points (via Transfermarkt).

Roberto Firmino had a quiet game against the Hammers and was substituted off in the 70th minute. Klopp may use this as the perfect chance to rest the Brazilian and start Mohamed Salah in the No.9 position instead. The last time he did this was against Sheffield United, which paved the way for Jota to dominate the right flank and bag himself a goal.

It can be expected for the Portuguese ace to continue his run of form as the Reds take a higher grip on the Champions League.

In other news, Liverpool could have transformed Dele Alli had they snapped him up before Spurs…

Leeds United have one of the best managers in the world at the helm, but sometimes we struggle to make sense of Marcelo Bielsa’s ideas and plans.

Indeed, El Loco has been labelled as the best coach in the world in the past, but we can’t help but feel that his latest tactical plan makes very little sense.

The Argentine gave us some insight into the inner workings of his mind when it comes to the pecking order in some key positions in his squad and he stated that Tyler Roberts is his second-choice striker this season behind Patrick Bamford.

“Just to make a reference, for example, we have Bamford and Roberts up front, Rodrigo and Pablo in attacking midfield. Poveda and Costa, Raphinha and Harrison [on the wings],” he said.

It’s great to see that the gaffer has his second-string options all planned out, but it’s hard to understand why he sees Tyler Roberts as his second-choice striker while Rodrigo is considered an attacking midfield option, surely these two should be swapped around?

Now, we’re not saying that Roberts isn’t a good player, he has been described by the boss as a man with “undoubted qualities” in recent weeks, but he doesn’t seem to be cut out to be a top-flight striker.

He played more often as an attacking midfielder last season, earning plaudits from fans in that role with many christening him as the new Samu Saiz, meanwhile, the sad reality is that he doesn’t score enough to be a viable option up front.

He has just seven goals in 59 games for Leeds, and that simply isn’t good enough for a man that you may be relying on to lead your line.

Rodrigo on the other hand, does have that striking instinct that Roberts lacks, he once hit 16 goals in a La Liga campaign and he’s regularly found the back of the net in both the Champions League and the Europa League.

Roberts and Rodrigo both seem to be viewed in the wrong way by the manager.

It’s only taken a few months for Tottenham talisman Harry Kane to make a complete mockery of Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson’s claims after a 1-1 draw against Manchester United last season.

“When Jose took the job I worried for Harry Kane. He played under Pochettino and Tottenham sort of had a go wherever they went. There were goals, there were crosses, there were shots. (But now) he’s going to be playing up front on his own and it is going to be hard work. In the end he’s trying to hit 60-yard passes just to be involved in the game. That’s not Harry Kane.

“I think he’ll have a serious think at the end of the season, I really do. I don’t see him getting 25-30 goals next season with the way Jose will want to play. And Jose won’t want to play like he did when he first got in there and it was 4-2 and 5-3, no way. He’ll like those games like Friday night, 1-1.”

Fast forward to the beginning of October, and the England international has been directly involved in 27 goals in just 26 games under Jose Mourinho, including a truly remarkable tally of seven goals and six assists in his seven matches this season.

But whilst Kane has been enjoying a truly astonishing run of form in front of goal, the most awe-inspiring thing has been the way he has created chances for others.

Heung-min Son enjoyed a field day against Southampton a few weeks ago thanks to Kane’s vision and timing of passes, and it was noticeable that he was dropping more and more deeper in that game to catch Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side off guard.

A look at his heatmaps last season and the 2017/2018 campaign saw a noticeable difference in where the 27-year-old was picking up the ball, with less emphasis on being inside the box and being a predatory striker.

With Gareth Bale working his way back from fitness, Mourinho should seriously consider starting the Welshman up top, and dropping Kane into a number ten role and leaning on him as more of a goal-scoring playmaker, than a play-making goal-scorer.

Described as someone with a bit of “magic” by teammate Ben Davies, this season could see Kane transform into one of the Premier League’s leading assist-producers, and really bring the best out of a returning Bale.

Leeds United’s great start to life in the Premier League continued this afternoon as they edged past old Championship foes Sheffield United this afternoon.

And whilst they were making moves on the pitch, they appear to have been doing the business off it too.

According to the Press Association, the Yorkshire giants have launched a £15m bid to sign Norwich City playmaker Todd Cantwell, although no agreement has yet been reached.

The 22-year-old was absent from the Canaries’ matchday squad earlier this afternoon.

It’s also claimed that Norwich want add-ons involved in any deal.

During his first-ever season in the top-flight, Cantwell provided six goals and two assists whilst averaging 1.4 tackles, 1.3 dribbles, 1.1 shots and 0.9 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

He could well be a viable alternative to the host of midfield options the Whites have been linked with in recent weeks, namely Udinese’s Rodrigo De Paul, Fiorentina’s Erick Pulgar and Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskiy.

Cantwell has drawn plenty of plaudits since his meteoric rise up the Canaries ranks. Danny Murphy once told Match of the Day that he’s a “terrific player,” adding: “I like his creativity. I like his bravery on the ball. Good awareness of where players are. With and without the ball he does his job.”

Whilst former youth coach Gary Cockaday believes the young sensation is a “God-given” talent whilst he’s been likened to Spurs’ Dele Alli for similar playing styles.

Without Pablo Hernandez, Marcelo Bielsa has been torn between Tyler Roberts and summer signing Rodrigo to play out of position in his absence, thus a player like Cantwell could help fill that void substantially.

He also fits the mould of being a player that can improve tenfold under the Argentine’s stewardship – ala Ben White, Robin Koch and many more.

AND in other news, Bielsa may have already found his new Ben White right under his nose…

West Ham United are finally back in Premier League action this afternoon following a controversial pre-season which saw the club sell promising academy graduate Grady Diangana.

The Irons will not want to let that affect them as they start the new campaign at home to Newcastle United, who have signed no fewer than three players themselves.

David Moyes managed to steer the Hammers away from relegation but will they face a similar fate having not made a single signing?

Here’s how they could line up at the London Stadium tonight…

Lukasz Fabianski is getting no younger at 35 but he remains as West Ham’s first-choice shot-stopper.

Moyes could name an interesting back four with the both Arthur Masuaku and Ben Johnson doing enough in pre-season to warrant a starting spot this evening.

It means there’s no place for Aaron Cresswell or Ryan Fredericks.

The Scotsman is trying to sign James Tarkowski from Premier League rivals Burnley, but for the time being, he’ll have to make do with Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop.

Declan Rice has got in some valuable game time whilst on England duty so should be fit to feature but Tomas Soucek has barely trained since making his £18m move permanent and won’t be risked.

Instead skipper Mark Noble will partner Pablo Fornals, who takes up a spot in the hole instead of out wide.

£22.5m-rated Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio are deployed on either wing, the former taking what may have been Diangana’s spot whilst club-record signing Sebastien Haller takes up a solitary place in attack.

The likes of Felipe Anderson, Robert Snodgrass, Andriy Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshere will have to settle for a place on the bench.

Michael Edwards looks to have done it again.

Liverpool look set to receive around £11m for Dejan Lovren as the Croatian’s move to Zenit looks set to be finalised in the coming days.

The defender has made just 10 Premier League appearances this term, and while he has been a good servant over the years, it’s fair to say that he won’t be missed all that much after falling out of favour.

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There’s no reason why Liverpool’s defence can’t remain just as strong without Lovren in the squad as Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip remain as the spine of what makes the Reds’ backline one of the best in the world.

Of course, only having three senior centre-backs is a dangerous game. We all saw how much Man City struggled after Aymeric Laporte’s injury, and that was partially down to their inability to replace Vincent Kompany in the summer, but despite this, Liverpool don’t need to replace Lovren.

Sepp van der Berg and Ki-Jana Hoever are two highly-rated young centre-halves who could easily fill the void left by Lovren in the cup games or off the bench, while any serious injury to one of their stars could be covered by Fabinho dropping back and playing in defence, a position he’s adept at, playing there three times under Jurgen Klopp.

Rather than spending their windfall on a replacement for Lovren, they should take the fee and the money they’re saving on his £100k-a-week wages and use that to bolster another area of the squad, perhaps it could even go towards that elite attacker James Pearce spoke about a few weeks ago.

Liverpool should put their money straight in the bank for later use rather than spending it on a replacement for Lovren.

Sunderland are reportedly looking to hire Leeds United’s head of emerging talent Craig Dean, according to the Chronicle.

The League One club are expecting to undergo a number of significant changes, with current owner Stewart Donald much-criticised and keen to sell.

Having missed out on promotion to the Championship for a second consecutive season, the club have also lost the likes of academy manager Paul Reid, Richard Hill and Head of Recruitment Tony Coton, who have all departed their roles at the club.

As the summer transfer window edges closer, two potential replacements for Coton have emerged with Leicester City’s academy loan manager Guy Branston being linked earlier this week.

The second potential candidate now being linked with the role is Leeds United’s head of emerging talent Dean.

He is highly regarded at Leeds, having been instrumental in signing Tyler Roberts from West Brom and playing a large part in the Yorkshire club’s successful promotion-winning season, seeing them return to the Premier League after a 16-year exile.

Leeds fan website MOT Leeds News discussed Sunderland’s interest, citing their hope that Dean will stay at Elland Road, writing: “Hopefully Sunderland end up getting Branston from Leicester because it will be tough to replace someone as good at his job as Dean is.”

It is highly unlikely that Dean would leave Leeds or that the newly-promoted Premier League club would readily allow him to move.

The task at Sunderland is a massive one – in fact, it is a mammoth one, especially with the growing uncertainty on whether or not a new owner will come in to replace Stewart Donald.

It therefore seems unlikely that they could entice Dean to vacate his role at Elland Road, but if they did, it would represent quite a coup.

Do you think Dean would be a good appointment at the Academy of Light? Let us know in the comments section below…

Newcastle United’s prospective £300m takeover by Amanda Staveley’s Saudi Arabia-backed consortium has been delayed, according to The Sun’s Neil Custis.Speaking on Twitter on Thursday morning, he claims that the Premier League are concentrating on ‘Project Restart’ with plenty of their clubs resuming training this week and that the issue of the Magpies’ changing ownership could be resolved next week instead.He said:

It comes less than a day after the Express reported that the Premier League had given the green light on the deal.

Supporters at St James’ Park have been growing tired over just how long this process has taken as it’s been well over a month since news first broke suggesting that Mike Ashley was going to sell up at last.

The single toughest football logo quiz of all time…

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If Custis’ statement rings true, then it’s going to be another week before fans hear the official word on their new era.

AND in other news,ÂMark Douglas makes Steve Bruce claim amid Newcastle takeover…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Wolverhampton Wanderers look set to be active in the January transfer window.

Previous reports from Birmingham Live suggested that the club were keen on adding central options in both defence and midfield, and that was before mainstay colossus Willy Boly went down injured.

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While in the past seven days or so, the possibility of Real Madrid recalling Jesus Vallejo has gained traction following a story in Spain suggesting that the La Liga giants have been unhappy with the amount of game time the 22-year-old has played this campaign.

The Spanish centre-back has managed just 162 minutes in the Premier League with the likes of Romain Saiss and midfielder Leander Dendoncker being preferred over him, so Madrid could well exercise their right to cancel the loan deal in January.

However, this doesn’t come as majorly bad news as fans simply do not rate the European U21 Championship winning captain, although, this would make a move for a defensive option in the winter window of utmost importance.

On the Chalkboard

Wolves could well have a solution, as well as an upgrade, in one of their reported targets.

According to The Sun, the west Midlanders are one of three top-flight teams chasing SC Freiburg centre-back Robin Koch, who is currently valued at £9m by Transfermarkt.

The report suggests that the Bundesliga outfit would be willing to listen to offers of £15m should any bids come in for him in a few weeks.

Koch, who made his senior debut for Germany just last month, is a player that fits Nuno Santo’s profile almost perfectly as he has been utilised in midfield before, playing 49 of his 155 games in the role, per Transfermarkt’s recorded matches.

He’s also able to play on either side of defence at full-back, which means he should be comfortable slotting in either side of sweeper captain Conor Coady.

The 23-year-old’s ball-playing abilities are displayed by his passing success rate of 84.5% this term with WhoScored also showing his aerial ability – 3.8 aerial duels won per game – and defensive strength – 3.8 clearances, 1.3 interceptions and 1.1 tackles per game.

Bundesliga’s official website has even drawn comparisons to Bayern Munich stalwart Javi Martinez, labelling him a ‘rangy battering ram’ who has a ‘tremendous willingness to get stuck in.’

Koch has been a regular appearance in Christian Streich’s backline with 14 appearances this term, and his stock is only going to rise now that he’s been given an opportunity by national team coach Joachim Löw, so Wolves must act now and clinch him in January – irrespective of if Vallejo stays or goes.

Meanwhile, Nuno Santo has been left drooling over one ‘exceptional’ player in his side…

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…

Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has said at Sportsmail’s “A Pint with Piers” event that Liverpool could have the title won by Christmas.

What did he say?

The Reds currently top the Premier League by eight points from Leicester City and Chelsea, whilst Manchester City are a further point behind. As it stands, they have to be regarded as the favourites to win the title.

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72-year-old Redknapp certainly thinks they will be top at the end of the season, and he even believes they could be too far ahead to be caught as early as Christmas. He explained:

“If you look at Man City’s remaining fixtures, if it’s not won already now then I think it will be won by Christmas because they play Chelsea next, then they play Newcastle, Burnley away, Arsenal, they play Manchester United in a derby game finished off by Leicester.

“I know there’s a difficult period for Liverpool and their fixture load but it certainly looks prettier than Man City’s.

“I think it could all be finished by Christmas. Liverpool’s fixture list looks a lot prettier than City’s.”

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Fixture list has been kind to Liverpool

Although the Reds do have to contend with two games in 24 hours due to their participation in both the League Cup semi-finals and the Club World Cup, the Premier League fixture list has at least been kind to them.

Before the start of 2020, they will face Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Leicester City away from home, whilst Brighton, Watford, Everton and Wolves will all travel to Anfield to face Jurgen Klopp’s team. Only three of those sides are in the top ten in the division, and even then, Wolves and Bournemouth are eighth and ninth respectively.

The Citizens, meanwhile, have it a lot harder. They face third-placed Chelsea this Saturday before back-to-back away fixtures against Burnley and Newcastle. After that, they take on Manchester United, Arsenal and Leicester in successful matches, before a trip to Wolves and a home match against Sheffield United round off their year. Out of those teams, only Newcastle are not in the top half.

Redknapp is right. Such is City’s fixture list, there is a real chance they could drop a chunk of points before the year is even out, whilst Liverpool have a far easier set of matches to handle – that works out perfectly given their international commitments.

If they can navigate this busy run of games, then it will seem all but impossible for them to be caught by the Citizens.