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Jurgen Klopp has been speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Old Trafford on Sunday and many fans are amused by his swipe at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Manchester United are on a horrific run of form which leaves them with two wins in the league from eight games and 15 points off the Reds in 12th place.

However, their manager still feels that facing Klopp’s side is the “perfect team for us”, possibly as a win over their fierce rivals would grant his players the confidence and motivation to kickstart their season.

In response the German has stated that his side will have to make sure Solskjaer’s way of thinking is a ‘misunderstanding’, implying that the Reds will undermine his assertion by extending their 100% record.

Many Liverpool supporters are liking the edge that Klopp is showing and the competitive, battling spirit that is on display from their manager, as their reactions show.

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

Wolves are back in Europa League action this week, 14 days after their disappointing defeat to Braga at Molineux which kickstarted the group stages.

They have worked ever so hard to reach this point by winning all six qualification games, and that run started before the Premier League season had even got underway – a time where plenty of other clubs were still enjoying pre-season.

Watch Wolverhampton Wanderers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Now they set out on their first away day of the group campaign with a trip to Besiktas, who themselves will be looking to put behind an embarrassing defeat as Slovan Bratislava netted twice in injury time to clinch all three points.

Most shockingly, their domestic form has taken a gigantic hit with just one win in six matches this term, putting them in one of the three relegation places.

But that doesn’t mean they won’t have a threat. In fact, there is one man Wolves will need to be very wary of.

On the Chalkboard

Adem Ljajic has been the Black Eagles’ dangerman so far this season.

The 28-year-old has netted two goals across the Super Lig and the Europa League while also providing three assists.

In the league alone, he averages 49 passes per game, 3.4 of which are key passes, meaning he is at the focal point of pretty much everything they do – particularly in attack where he is recording 1.8 dribbles and 2.2 shots per match, via WhoScored.

His primary position is as a central attacking midfielder, but he can sometimes line up on either flank.

With him being the crucial instigator to Beskitas’ attack, it makes sense for Conor Coady to be the man that can thwart his advances.

The Wolves skipper plays a crucial role in the centre of defence which allows him to come forward slightly as the ball-playing defender or even drop back as a sweeper.

A lot of Nuno Santo’s system runs through the 26-year-old, and that’s reflected in his 41.3 average passes per game – not too much of a surprise considering he used to be a midfielder himself.

Coady has been a mainstay in defence for the last few seasons having made a minimum of 37 league appearances each year at Molineux.

This term he is averaging 3.9 clearances and 1.7 tackles per match which could suggest he’s more than capable of battling it out with Ljajic.

Another thing on his side is his ability to not concede so many fouls at 0.6 per game, but he can be exposed to the odd dribble – 1.1 times per match on average, so he will need to be very, very careful on Thursday night.

Carroll explained that he was buzzing for the midfielder after his goal against Man United, and you can understand why.

The striker knows better than most what it’s like to earn the adulation of the fans at St James’ Park and how much that means for a local lad who has always supported the club.

You can see just how happy Carroll was for Longstaff in his Instagram post, as the smile on his face tells the whole story as he celebrates alongside his teammate.

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Tottenham Hotspur’s Anthony Georgiou helped Cyprus record a 4-0 win over San Marino in Monday night’s Euro 2020 qualification match.

The 22-year-old did not start the international affair but was introduced at the break as Ran Ben Shimon’s side put three points on the board in routine fashion.

Georgiou was involved in Tottenham’s preparations for the 2019/20 campaign.

However, the defender was deemed surplus to requirements during the summer – joining Ipswich Town on loan until the start of 2020.

The versatile left-sided player has made three League One appearances for his loan club this term, and will be hoping to impress in the third tier with the view to returning to Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the January transfer window.

Tottenham’s official Twitter account drew attention to Georgiou’s performance for his country, which led to a few of the Premier League club’s fans taking to social media to reveal their thoughts.

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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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

The start to Garry Monk’s reign at Sheffield Wednesday couldn’t have been more perfect after his new team picked up all three points at local rivals Huddersfield, but now attention turns to Fulham this weekend.

Scott Parker’s side have hit a rough patch early in the season, failing to win in their last three matches and their latest 1-1 draw with West Brom will have them baying for blood following a late equaliser.

Only one point separates the two in the Championship so you would imagine this will be a well-contested affair.

The Owls’ new leader can make things easier for himself not only for this game but for the remainder of the season provided he can cut out one of Wednesday’s major faults.

On the Chalkboard

No team in the league concedes more fouls than Wednesday – they average 16.3 per game.

On the face of it, that doesn’t appear to be a problem as they are merely one point off a playoff spot.

But it has the potential to be a big issue if it isn’t ironed out soon enough, especially as their defence will be somewhat makeshift in the immediate future.

Skipper Tom Lees faces a spell out through injury, leaving Monk with a dilemma – one that saw him move Dominic Iorfa into the centre against Huddersfield despite being primarily a right-back.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Sam Hutchinson is also able to play there too.

Several of the team’s defensive-minded players are at fault for this statistic, and when you concede fouls, you give the opposition a chance from a dead-ball situation whether that be a close-range free-kick or from a crossing situation.

Hutchinson is the worst culprit averaging 2.7 fouls per game and right-back Moses Odubajo is close by with 2 per match while Iorfa averages 1.7, via WhoScored.

Lees actually concedes the least in the team at 0.2 per game so that goes to show how significant a loss he could potentially be.

To ensure a smoother first season at the helm, this is one of the key things Monk must iron out.

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According to Sky Sports, a Chinese club have begun negotiations with Manchester United over a deal for midfielder Marouane Fellaini.

Then-Red Devils manager David Moyes brought Fellaini to Old Trafford for a fee of £27.5 million in 2013, as per BBC. The 6’4” Belgian has since made more than 150 appearances for the club, according to Transfermarkt. He became a particularly effective player during the Jose Mourinho era at old Trafford, when the Portuguese coach regularly used the 31-year-old as an impact substitute or auxiliary forward.

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…

So impressive was Fellaini under Mourinho that the Belgium international was handed a new contract by the club in June 2018.

However, Fellaini has barely featured for the club since the interim appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the time has come for him to move on to pastures new.

When the story of Belgian’s potential departure emerged, plenty of United fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions on his seemingly imminent exit…

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Sheffield Wednesday finally appointed a new boss over the weekend as Garry Monk was named as Steve Bruce’s successor nearly two months after he left the club.

The 40-year-old has a CV rife with managerial experience at Championship level having led Leeds, Middlesborough and Birmingham in the last four years.

He will have to wait until Sunday for his first match in charge as they face a trip to Huddersfield, who themselves will have a new man in the dugout with Lincoln City manager Danny Cowley taking the reins.

Monk took to Twitter following his appointment to share a few words, which has gone down well with much of the Hillsborough support.

Wednesday sit 11th in the table but have lost three of their last four Championship games which played a part in the new appointment. Former caretaker boss Lee Bullen has moved back down to the coaching team.

Several Owls supporters responded to Monk’s comments with one brandishing him the ‘Ginger Mourinho’ while another hoped he would be the man to take the club back to the promised land of the Premier League.

A further member of the Hillsborough faithful asked him to make himself a legend in south Yorkshire.

Here’s the best of the reaction…

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Jordan Campbell has dropped an update on Glasgow Rangers’ bid to bring Danilho Doekhi to Ibrox in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

In a recent article for The Athletic, the journalist revealed that, following the pre-contract signing of John Souttar, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are also in a strong position to secure a deal for the Vitesse Arnhem centre-back this month, with the Gers manager keen to bolster his numbers in the heart of defence prior to the closure of the transfer market.

In his piece, Campbell wrote: “Rangers are also keen on Vitesse captain Danilho Doekhi and are in a strong position to land the Dutch defender.”

Fans will be buzzing

Doekhi has been impressive in the Netherlands this season, and Van Bronckhorst is in rather desperate need of defensive reinforcements ahead of the restart of the Premiership season given the injuries to Filip Helander and Leon Balogun out, as well as the latter and Connor Goldson being out of contract at the end of the current campaign. Therefore, the news that Gers appear to be closing in on a deal for the 23-year-old is sure to have left the Ibrox faithful buzzing.

Indeed, over his 14 Eredivisie appearances this term, the £2.7m-rated Vitesse defender has helped his side to keep three clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as making 1.6 interceptions, two tackles, 3.6 clearances and 39.1 passes per game and winning 65% of his duels.

These returns have seen the £3.4k-per-week centre-back average a SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking him as Vitesse’s joint-seventh best performer in the Dutch top flight.

As such, it is clear for all to see that Doekhi would make a fantastic addition to Van Bronckhorst’s current options in the heart of his defence at Ibrox. The prospective arrival of the 23-year-old would undoubtedly provide Rangers’ chances of going on to retain the Premiership title with a considerable boost, an outcome which would delight everyone involved with the club.

In other news: Rangers dealt fresh transfer setback on “crazy” January transfer, Van Bronckhorst will be fuming

2021 was an extremely unkind year to Celtic Football Club and the Hoops’ supporters.

It was a year that saw Neil Lennon lose his job as the Bhoys surrendered their dominance of Scottish football, handing over the title to their fiercest rivals.

Ange Postecoglou did arrive and sealed a League Cup victory but 2022 hasn’t exactly started out perfectly.

The Australian coach has added the likes of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi to his ranks but there is a feeling that more transfer business could be concluded.

That’s because Celtic may already be working with a depleted squad just two matches it into the calendar year.

Callum McGregor suffered a severe facial injury in the win over Alloa Athletic on Saturday while Liel Abada had to hobble and Ideguchi also sustained some sort of injury too.

Couple that with Maeda’s international call up for Japan just in time for the Old Firm and it doesn’t paint a vibrant picture of availability in Postecoglou’s ranks.

Thus, the window could be exploited once again before it slams shut next week.

In order to combat injury blows to McGregor and Ideguchi in the middle of the park, the Glaswegian outfit must try their best to force through a late move for Ahmed Kendouci.

Also touted with Rangers, it’s thought the Celtic-linked midfielder handed in a transfer request earlier this week. That’s a situation Postecoglou simply has to take advantage of in the coming days, luring what would be another exciting signing to Parkhead.

The Algerian is just 22 years of age but has a plethora of qualities and attributes that would benefit Celtic.

First and foremost, the youngster is capable of playing all across the midfield, whether it’s in a holding role or more advanced. That has seen him score an impressive three strikes from a deep-lying role for ES Setif in the top tier of Algerian football this term.

Furthermore, stats first shared in September demonstrate how he’s not just effective in the final third, but also supremely combative in physical battles. He had made 96 recoveries and 46 interceptions, showing his ability to win back possession. With that in mind, he’d have loved the contest against Alloa just a few days ago.

Bullish in defensive duels, Kendouci is also a graceful midfield player. Known as a risk-taking ball carrier who can play defence-spitting passes, talent scout Jacek Kulig hailed his mesmerising feet last summer, saying that his left foot is “made of gold.”

With that in mind, Kendouci very much appears to be a sensible signing for Celtic this winter, especially when you consider the long-term blow to McGregor.

AND in other news, Celtic can finally axe the “new Ryan Christie” by signing £3.5m “Jota-type trickster”…

A key claim has been made over Rangers central midfielder Ryan Jack, regarding his latest injury…

What’s the latest?

Glasgow Times senior writer Chris Jack has claimed that it could be a while before the Gers have him back in action due to what he will need to go through before being back to 100%.

The reliable journalist told GIVEMESPORT: “He’s had this latest setback and it seems a bit of a long road.

“Another couple of weeks before he’s back in the fold, another couple of weeks to get him back up to speed and then another couple of weeks for him to establish himself in the team again. So, it’s looking like a frustrating start to the year for Ryan.”

Fuming

Rangers fans will surely be fuming with this update as it could now be a number of weeks before Jack is a viable first-team option for Gio van Bronckhorst to call upon as he recovers from injury.

His previous form in the Premiership shows that he has the quality to make a big impact at this level and that is why fans will be wanting to see him back as soon as possible. Last season, he averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.14 in 19 appearances, scoring two goals and providing one assist, which shows that he can perform consistently in the league.

Joe Aribo (7.20) is the only Rangers midfielder who has averaged a higher rating this term for the club in the Premiership. This suggests that Jack, if he can recapture his form from the 2020/21 campaign, could be one of the side’s top performers when he returns from injury.

Former Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard previously lauded the midfield gem, saying: “Ryan is an example for the rest of the squad because he never drops his standards, whether it’s a training session or a game.

“He knits everything together, he drives the team on, he demands from everyone else around him.”

This highlights why fans will be fuming with this latest claim on Jack. It appears as though they will need to wait a considerable chunk of time before he is back in all of his glory, which is a shame for the club – as they miss out on his talents – and the player – as he will surely be left frustrated sitting in the injury room.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Goldson: Rangers can seal dream replacement with “proven” 6 ft 3 powerhouse…