All posts by z3u9t.icu

Rangers went top of the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon as they hammered Hamilton Academical 5-0 at Ibrox.

The Gers went into the game just around an hour after Celtic had lost at the Tony Macaroni Arena to Livingston and knew that a win would take them top of the league.

Some added pressure to a game they were already expected to win, then, but they dealt with it well and put away the visitors with real ease.

A Jermain Defoe hat-trick was the main reason for the win, but goals from defenders Borna Barisic and Connor Goldson helped add sheen to the victory.

Indeed, Goldson silenced a few critics with his display as he battered in a header from a James Tavernier cross for 2-0.

Here, then, is some of the reaction to the defender’s goal and performance on social media:

A fine win for the Gers and a good performance from the centre-half as we head into the international break.

Ryan Fredericks is more than just a very good right-back.The West Ham man may be a very solid player, but he’s also one of the funniest characters in the Premier League these days.Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Indeed, the defender is a goldmine for hilarious content, as West Ham often call on the Englishman when they’re looking to have a bit of fun on social media.

To celebrate the former Fulham man’s 27th birthday, the Hammers posted a compilation of Fredericks’ best moments from both on the pitch and off it.

In between footage of a couple of Fredericks’ goals for the Hammers, we’re treated to some golden moments from the birthday boy.

The right-back tells a fan whose girlfriend supports Tottenham to dump her, and we also get to relive his hilarious shocked reaction after finding out Declan Rice’s FIFA rating last year.

Many West Ham fans will love this video as it highlights all the best things about Fredericks’ time at the London club.

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

Under the management of Mark Warburton, Queens Park Rangers have started their 2019/20 Championship campaign in strong form to emerge as contenders for the play-offs, and the performances of Nahki Wells will be giving the west London side faith that they really can return to the promised land of the Premier League.

The R’s have scored 18 goals so far in the current campaign, the joint-fourth highest of all teams in the division, and central to the club’s goalscoring record has been Wells – the Bermuda international who has scored six goals.

Wells’ goalscoring prowess, combined with Jordan Hugill’s six strikes, is propelling the club towards the realms of the play-offs, but it is Wells who is catching the eye with his clinical performances.

Whilst Wells and Hugill have both scored six league goals, Wells has done so having played just 519 minutes in the league, compared to Hugill’s 852 minutes.

The 29-year-old is also taking more shots in the box, averaging one every 34.6 minutes, while Hugill is taking a shot from inside the penalty area every 47.3 minutes in the league.

Wells is playing a hugely important role for Warburton’s side in 2019/20 – not only scoring goals but doing so at a ridiculously clinical rate, holding the best minutes-per-goal (87) of any striker in the Championship to have scored more than three goals.

If the striker is able to continue scoring at this remarkable efficiency, then the west London outfit could truly be in with a chance of returning to the English top-flight and ending a six-year absence in the process.

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…

Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Massimo Luongo has fired a warning to his teammates ahead of their game against Cardiff City on Friday evening.

What’s he said?

As the international break comes to an end, the Championship is back in action, and the Owls have been handed the first game back in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

They head to the Welsh capital to face a side that sits just three points behind them in 11th, so an evenly-matched encounter could well be on our hands.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Luongo made his first start of the season last time out after joining the club in the summer from Queens Park Rangers.

He replaced the suspended Sam Hutchinson in midfield, and his performance would have given Monk a healthy selection headache ahead of this tie.

The 27-year-old has since given his side a rallying call as he knows the sort of test they’ll be coming up against later this week, he said:

“It will be a tough test. You always know what Neil Warnock teams are about.

“They will be big, physical and I think we are probably suited to that a little bit. I think in our teams everybody does their job and does it well.”You definitely have to roll your sleeves up when you play them. It is never going to be an easy fight.

“It is Friday night on TV so it is a great game to be involved in.”

Physical battle

Luongo isn’t wrong as the Bluebirds rank as one of the most physical sides in the division.

For aerial duels won per game, Cardiff are third in the league, averaging 30.5 while for fouls they are inside the top-five at an average of 13.5 per match, via WhoScored.

The Australia international also believes Wednesday are well equipped to deal with it, and further figures would certainly back that up as the Owls are fifth in the league for aerial duels won, averaging 24 per game – five-goal striker Steven Fletcher accounts for 6.5 of those himself.

While the 6 foot 6 presence of Atdhe Nuhiu probably gives them something that no other team has in terms of sheer height alone.

However, Garry Monk will need to ensure his side are careful as they go into the game with the third-worst discipline record in the league, per Transfermarkt, so they can’t afford to get frustrated by the number of fouls Cardiff will concede.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

West Brom managed to keep their throne atop the Championship table on Saturday afternoon but needed late, late heroics to do so as they defeated Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.

Baggies substitute Hal Robson-Kanu, who signed a contract extension during the week, popped up with the winner just eight minutes from time.

The 30-year-old was on hand to tap home the ball at the back post following a goalmouth scramble.

Slaven Bilic’s men managed to hang on to move two points clear of second-placed Leeds United, who are the only team to defeat Albion this season.

In the heart of midfield, Jake Livermore continued his fine form, as if he has been given a new lease of life under the Croatian.

The addition of Romaine Sawyers during the summer has certainly brought the best out of him as he’s been able to play his more natural style, instead of carrying the older duo of Gareth Barry and Chris Brunt on his legs alone.

This performance has to be up there with one of the best we’ve seen from the 29-year-old this season, and maybe over the past 18 months or so.

Per SofaScore, Livermore managed to record a 92% passing accuracy, which was aided by him completing three of his four long balls. He also managed five tackles, two blocked shots, and even fired off two of his own.

In the process, he offered something no other Albion midfielder does as Sawyers failed to make a single tackle.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It is his presence in the centre of the pitch that is so needed in a Bilic side – his fast-tempo and passing style of football often requires the smaller, enigmatic type of players like Grady Diangana or Matheus Pereira, who if you could find a weak point in their game, it would be their lack of physicality.

And that is what the seven-time England midfielder can offer as displayed by him winning five of his eight ground duels. This is further backed up by Express & Star journalist Joe Masi, who labelled Livermore as ‘commanding’ and that he is ‘physically so important to this team.’

The former Tottenham Hotspur man is just so integral to Bilic’s midfield, especially after performances like that.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Once again, Arsenal showed themselves up defensively against Crystal Palace.

They were 2-0 up after nine minutes against the Eagles, and they really should have pushed on from there to put the game to bed. However, their defensive frailty prevented them from doing so.

In the end, Roy Hodgson and co earned themselves a 2-2 draw thanks to goals from Luka Milivojevic and Jordan Ayew.

Arsenal fans have started to turn on Unai Emery, find out who they’d rather have in charge in the video below…

Ironically, it was the centre-back pairing of David Luiz and Sokratis who put the Gunners ahead.

However, they should be more occupied with keeping out the opposition, which is something they have struggled to do so far this campaign. In the nine games they have played together, they have conceded 14 goals. In terms of the Premier League table, only Chelsea have shipped more in the top 10.

Unai Emery clearly sees this as a problem position for him, and it is being reported that the north London outfit are interested in signing Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez. It is a move that makes perfect sense, especially next summer, as it would complete a backline that would be able to stay together for years to come.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It has been a difficult time for 22-year-old Gomez since aggravating his ankle injury and needing to have surgery last December.

However, before that, he was looking to be the perfect partner for Virgil van Dijk at the heart of Liverpool’s defence. He started 12 of the first 14 Premier League matches, with the Reds conceding just five during that time. He even played 90 minutes for England in both of their UEFA Nations League fixtures against Spain and Croatia.

His time on the sidelines means he has appeared to have lost his place to Joel Matip, which explains why he is considering leaving the club. He would be a fantastic addition for most sides in the Premier League though, including Arsenal.

They already have one centre-back to come in next summer in William Saliba. The 18-year-old has spent a good portion of time out too, but since returning to the action for Saint-Etienne, Les Verts have kept two clean sheets in his three starts in Ligue 1.

Before that, they conceded in all of the seven league matches he missed due to a hamstring injury.

On the flanks, the Gunners have Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin, two young full-backs who have looked promising so far. A back four of those two, Saliba and Gomez would have a combined age of 86. They would, therefore, have a backline that could stay together for the foreseeable future, and could be the base of the side.

Arsene Wenger built his first successful team on a solid and settled four of Lee Dixon, Tony Adams, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn, and the addition of Gomez would allow Emery to rest easy as he goes in search of success.

Valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, a huge rise on the £3.5m Liverpool paid to Charlton in 2015, he would not come cheap, but he would be worth every penny. Such a talented player does not come around too often. The Emirates Stadium team’s hierarchy should jump at the opportunity.

Tottenham Hotspur fans are worried that Giovani Lo Celso could sustain an injury during his time with Argentina.

The summer signing from La Liga club Real Betis, who has initially joined the club on loan, has played a total of 46 minutes in the Premier League thus far this season, with a further 11 coming in the Champions League.

He sustained a hip injury the last time he linked up with the national team that subsequently ruled him out of five domestic outings and their first two European fixtures of the season. Spurs won just two of those games and were thumped 7-2 by Bayern Munich in north London.

And supporters are worried about a repeat as Argentina prepare to take on Brazil and Uruguay in November.

Indeed, a number have taken to Twitter to express their fears about the playmaker struggling to stay healthy across the coming fixtures.

Take a look at the best of the reaction on social media below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

QPR fell below their usual standards against Leeds but Eberechi Eze maintained his consistency and proved why he is one of the best young players outside of the Premier League.

He has made huge strides under Mark Warburton since last season, though Saturday was a small reminder of the Eze of old, as though he impressed in some areas, he lacked the killer ball or clinical edge when he found himself in a scoring position at the beginning of the second half.

Despite that, he was very influential for his team, helping the R’s to a majority of possession, some feat against a side which loves to get on the ball and dominate, averaging 59% possession this campaign.

In Kalvin Phillips, the England U20 international was coming up against one of the best defensive midfielders in the league. Not only has the Leeds player attracted interest from Manchester United, but he ranks third for most tackles made in England’s second tier this term.

Eze is also a top performer this term, and his nine successful dribbles at Elland mean he now ranks highest in the division in that department, with an average of 3.3 successful dribbles per game.

That often allows him to create chances to score, with his two penalty wins against Hull City a few weeks ago evidence of that, and such trickery is unlikely to go unnoticed by Premier League clubs.

Watch Queens Park Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, as per WhoScored, there are still improvements to be made until he is ready for the step-up.

Steve McClaren showed the faith in him to play him regularly last term, even though he only returned four goals and four assists in 42 league games.

That game time allowed him to develop, and this season the 5 foot 8 midfielder already has a combined total of 10 league goals and assists. That underlines the progress he is making in his game, so there is certainly the potential for him to get better in and around the final third and improve on the zero key passes he made against Leeds.

For QPR, they are in a win-win situation. Producing and developing young players is exactly what they should be aiming to do, and in Eze they have a flair player who has been significant in taking them from fighting relegation to challenging for the play-offs.

If he is sold, they can expect a decent sum of money for his services, though that may have to happen soon as he is approaching the last 18 months of his contract.

Tying him down to a new deal will be crucial to their success over the foreseeable future, as he certainly has the ability and will probably only get better.

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 Everton boss Sam Allardyce has warned Marco Silva that he must change his tactics with the club sat just three points above the relegation zone.

What did he say?

The Portuguese replaced Allardyce back in 2018 and the former England boss has suggested that his work at the club was better than Silva’s.

Allardyce has criticised the current tactics of the Everton man and told talkSPORT: “It’s a massive disappointment for [Farhad] Moshiri with the money available at Everton.

“The things is with Everton, even before me, it was a massive struggle to win away from home for whatever mental reason for the players. It’s gone on for ages, and it’s still the same now.

“I went in in November and I remember winning at Newcastle and that was the club’s first away win since January.

“Our home record, I think I only lost to Man City and Man United. So I was giving the home fans what they want but they didn’t see that as enough because we didn’t have enough goals.

“Now they’re trying to play more of this rubbish that goes around the world of football, this fake news of so-called ‘open attractive football’.

“It’s not ‘open attractive football’ if you’re fourth from bottom of the league with 11 points. Everton fans won’t put up with that.”

Change has to come

After the defeat to Burnley last month, it was reported that Silva had the next three games to save his job. In the time since that report was published, Everton have won two, drawn one and lost one.

However, with the club 17th in the table, there is justification for him to be gone very soon. Up next for the Blues are clashes with Southampton and Norwich City – both are below them in the table.

Dropped points in these fixtures could put Everton in the relegation zone as we head into Christmas, especially when you consider the calibre of the opposition they are set to face after the next pair of games.

After a trip to high-flying Leicester City, Silva must battle with Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City within a month of each other.

Silva has to change something because there is a serious possibility of the club falling into a genuine relegation scrap in the coming weeks.

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

In his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed that Moussa Djenepo has returned from injury and is available for selection once again.

The eight-cap Mali international hasn’t started since the 1-0 win over Sheffield United on the 14th September, a game in which he scored the winner – his effort was later named as the Goal of the Month.

Djenepo – signed for £15m back in the summer – made his long-awaited return last time out against Manchester City, playing the final six minutes of the 2-1 defeat.

Watch Southampton Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

With the former Standard Liege attacker – who has two league goals in four appearances this term – now fully fit again, here are two things that need to happen against Everton on Saturday.

Change the formation

Against the Citizens last time out, Hasenhuttl adopted a heavily defensive 5-3-2 formation.

There was nothing wrong with doing that against the back-to-back Premier League champions, but against Everton – a side who are just three points above the Saints in 17th – Hasenhuttl must be more attacking.

In that respect, a switch to a 4-2-2-2 formation, or a 4-3-3 system, absolutely must happen – especially with such a potent attacker in Djenepo now back and ready to play.

Drop Jannik Vestergaard

If Hasenhuttl is going to be more attacking, then he needs to drop a member of the back-five who started at the Etihad Stadium.

Jack Stephens has been performing well lately and was exceptional against City, whilst Jan Bednarek is one of the Saints’ better defenders, so £18m man Jannik Vestergaard should be the one to drop out to make way for Djenepo’s return to the XI.

The 6 foot 6 centre-back did make a game-high 18 clearances in what was a backs-to-the-wall showing against City, although with Everton being an easier opponent on paper, Hasenhuttl shouldn’t be setting his side up to simply clear everything that comes their way.