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Wolverhampton Wanderers produced arguably their finest performance of the season by defeating a shellshocked Liverpool 3-0 at Molineux on Saturday, and the result reverberated around the Premier League, with the result a major statement of intent towards their relegation rivals that the Old Gold are ready to remain in the top flight.

Julen Lopetegui delivered a tactical masterclass against the Reds, and goals from Ruben Neves, Craig Dawson and a Joel Matip own goal surely has Jurgen Klopp fearing the worst for the rest of the season for his beleagured Liverpool side.

Despite signing the likes of Mario Lemina, Pablo Sarabia and Matheus Cunha during the January transfer window, Saturday’s performance would suggest that capturing Dawson for a fee of just £3.3m could prove to be Lopetegui’s finest piece of business last month, and that he must be unleashed on a regular basis to save Wolves’ campaign.

The 6 foot 2 titan was thrust into action at the weekend as the 56-year-old gave him his club debut, and the defender didn’t let his boss down, delivering a stunning performance.

Displaying a striker’s instinct, he rifled the ball into the Liverpool net from inside the penalty box to give Wolves a two-goal advantage inside 12 months, and his defensive performance was superb.

He achieved a Sofascore rating of 7.6/10, ranking him as Wolves’ third-best performer on the day behind Max Kilman and Neves, while he took 59 touches and completed 89% of his passes during the match.

The 32-year-old made a staggering seven clearances, blocked two shots and made one tackle, also winning three duels, and his experience and physicality were crucial advantages which prevented Liverpool from finding the net.

Should the Molineux faithful be surprised at how well he performed, considering his vast defensive acumen and the fact he has been playing at the highest level for more than a decade? Although he didn’t enjoy the best of periods at West Ham United earlier this season, with a Sofascore rating of less than 7.0 for all but one of his final eight matches for the east London club, he was solid throughout 2021/22.

Across 34 Premier League appearances last term, Dawson won 56% of his duels and made 4.1 clearances, 0.9 interceptions and 0.9 tackles per game, ranking as the seventh-best performer in the West Ham squad.

David Moyes described him as a “warrior” following a Europa Conference League match against Silkeborg at the beginning of the season, and Lopetegui certainly seems to have pulled off a real bargain by securing the 32-year-old services for under £4m.

Saturday’s performance will give the Wolves manager some food for thought, and Dawson should now be unleashed on a regular basis as he could save his new club’s campaign and help them to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side return to action in the Premier League later today as they take on reigning champions Manchester City at The Etihad.

Both sides head into the match off the back of defeats in the English top-flight and it will be fascinating to see how they respond to their latest setbacks.

Villa were beaten 4-2 by Leicester City on their own turf whilst Pep Guardiola’s men suffered a 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur, thanks to a goal from Harry Kane.

Emery may look to make changes to his side after the disappointing result last time out and it could be time to unleash Jhon Duran for his full debut.

The centre-forward arrived at Villa Park on a permanent deal from MLS outfit Chicago Fire during the January transfer window and made his debut, off the bench, against the Foxes last time out.

He could come in to replace Leon Bailey after the Jamaica international forward failed to impress up front alongside Ollie Watkins in the 4-2 defeat.

As per Sofascore, the ex-Bayer Leverkusen winger recorded a score of 6.5 as he lost 11 of his 14 individual duels and failed with four of his five attempted dribbles, whilst losing possession a whopping 23 times.

Bailey, who has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.68 across 20 appearances in the Premier League, has one goal and zero assists in his last nine competitive matches for Villa and this does not suggest that he is likely to cause City many problems this evening.

Duran, on the other hand, is somewhat of an unknown quantity as the gem is yet to start a match in England but with that in mind, could catch the Cityzens by surprise with his ability in the final third. Indeed, the likes of Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, and Ruben Dias will not be used to defending against him.

The 6 foot 1 Colombian marksman, who was once dubbed a “complete forward” who is an “aerial threat” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is also coming into 2023 off the back of an impressive year in the MLS with the Fire.

He averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.91 and plundered eight goals and three assists in just 14 MLS starts for his old club throughout 2022, whilst winning 47% of his duels and losing possession 7.1 times per match.

These statistics indicate that the 19-year-old has the potential to be a better option than Bailey if the gem can replicate that form in the Premier League, due to his effectiveness in front of goal and his reliability in possession – not consistently gifting the ball back to the opposition as the 25-year-old did last weekend.

His rawness and youthful enthusiasm, mixed in with the potential surprise he could spring upon the City defence, is why the forward could be an upgrade on the Jamaican attacker, who struggled badly against Leicester.

Arsenal take on Manchester City at the Emirates this evening in what could be a defining tie in the Premier League title race.

Mikel Arteta’s men have stumbled in recent weeks, firstly losing to Everton in what was arguably their worst performance of league season to date, while failing to capitalise on a 1-0 lead against Brentford at the weekend, having to settle for a share of the points.

Granted, City haven’t exactly been in the greatest form either, losing three times in 2023 already, although their recent Jekyll and Hyde nature will be of major concern to Arteta, who will have to be wary of which City will turn up tonight.

The Spaniard will likely start with the vast majority of the team that lined up against Brentford, although we at Football FanCast predict one major change…

What could Arsenal’s starting XI look like against Manchester City?

Aaron Ramsdale will keep his place in goal and has been in excellent form this campaign, conceding 18 goals while keeping nine clean sheets in 21 Premier League matches.

The back four will remain unchanged from the weekend. Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko will take up their usual spots on the right and left side of the defence respectively, while William Saliba and  Gabriel Magalhaes will form the central defensive unit. The Brazilian was impressive against the Bees, winning 70% of his total duels and Arteta will require this level of performance tonight.

The midfield triumvirate which has been so effective this season will start against the champions. Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka have racked up 25 goal contributions between them and their chemistry has enabled Arsenal to leap to the summit of the league table.

Bukayo Saka will once again start on the right wing, with Eddie Nketiah leading the line through Gabriel Jesus’ injury absence, however there will be a change on the left flank ahead of the match tonight.

Gabriel Martinelli will drop to the bench, as the £90k-per-week fan favourite has struggled recently – despite Arteta keeping the faith in him regularly – and will be replaced in the starting XI by Leandro Trossard, the recent £27m January signing.

He was praised by Alan Shearer for a “magnificent” goal he netted against Brentford last season and having scored against the same opposition after arriving from the substitutes bench at the weekend, he deserves a start to give Arteta that extra attacking spark they have been lacking recently.

Leeds United have interviewed former Wolves and Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo ahead of a potential return to the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Skubala and co

The Whites haven’t been able to bring in Jesse Marsch’s long-term successor, which has left Michael Skubala, Chris Armas and Paco Gallardo in caretaker charge.

The trio took both fixtures against Manchester United last week and will continue to lead the first team for the club’s upcoming fixtures. That leaves Leeds still on the search for a new manager, with Nuno seemingly still of interest to those at Elland Road.

The Latest: Nuno update

The Times shared a story on Tuesday regarding Leeds and a new manager, claiming that Nuno has been interviewed for the role and “is a surprise contender to return to England with Leeds”.

No offer has been made to the 49-year-old yet, with the report adding Leeds will need to pay Saudi club Al-Ittihad £5.3 million in compensation to extract Nuno from his contract.

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The Verdict: Get it done?

Nuno, who likes to play a 4-2-3-1 system, has plenty of experience in England, something that could come in extremely handy in the final games of the season with Leeds currently in another relegation battle.

In total, he has won 210 of his 427 games as a manager, with 48 victories coming in the Premier League. He may not have been the club’s top target from the off, but you could argue that Leeds could do a lot worse than Nuno at this moment in time, despite the fact they’d have to pay a relatively large fee for his services.

Liverpool target Jude Bellingham is willing to move to Anfield this summer should Jurgen Klopp remain in charge, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Long-standing admiration

The Borussia Dortmund star’s contract at the Signal Iduna Park isn’t set to expire until 2025, but currently being Edin Terzic’s top-performing player with a rating of 7.49, has been attracting plenty of attention.

Several Premier League clubs, including the Reds, have been long-term admirers of the 19-year-old, with a host of potential suitors queuing up to secure his services in the upcoming window.

Dortmund’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl recently admitted that there has so far been no official approaches or offers for the England international, but it seems he’s already pondering his next move.

The Latest: Bellingham open to joining

According to TEAMtalk, Bellingham is ‘enamoured’ by the thought of joining Liverpool, but both him and his representatives are looking for ‘reassurances’ that Klopp will be in charge for the long term.

The opportunity to play under the German boss is one of the ‘major draws’ for the hot prospect, meaning that if he was to depart, the club’s target would have a ‘big decision’ to make.

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The Verdict: Massive coup

Bellingham has been dubbed ‘the new Stevie G’ by talent scout Jacek Kulig and it would be a massive coup for Liverpool should they finally be able to secure their number-one midfield target.

The Adidas-sponsored gem has clocked up 16 goal contributions in all competitions this term and is a consistent standout performer having bagged six man-of-the-match awards from 20 Bundesliga appearances.

The Stourbridge-born talent also ranks in the 99th percentile for most successful take-ons, further highlighting his desire to make an impact in the final third.

Finally, Bellingham has captained Dortmund on several occasions this season so would bring plenty of leadership qualities to Merseyside, making him the perfect candidate to put pen to paper at Anfield.

Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos is expected to leave in the summer with the Colombian interested in a potential move to the Premier League.

How long does Morelos have left on his contract?

The 26-year-old is set to find himself as a free agent in the summer with his current deal at Ibrox set to expire at the end of the current campaign.

Morelos has now been playing his football in Scotland since 2017 after making the move to Rangers from the Finnish side HJK Helsinki.

The Colombian has endured some struggles in recent years at Ibrox, however, not finds himself back in the mix with Micahel Beale regularly using the 26-year-old.

And speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Pete O’Rourke has suggested the striker would be keen to make a move to England over the summer:

“Yeah, I think it’s getting closer and closer now to the end of his contract. We’re in this situation where maybe with just a few months left he was out of contract and he’s free to talk to foreign clubs right now on a pre-contract due to his contract situation.

“The player is keen to play at the highest level possible as well. He’d be really interested in the move to the Premier League if that was to be an option for him as well.”

How will Rangers replace Morelos?

Morelos had some issues over the course of his time at Rangers with the Colombian showing signs that he would be keen to move on from Ibrox.

However, the influence he has provided over the years cannot be ignored with the striker having played a huge role in their recent history.

The Colombian has now played 257 times for the Gers across all competitions and has provided a stunning return of 121 goals and 57 assists (via Transfermarkt).

And despite having only started 10 games in the Scottish Premiership this season, the striker has still been able to offer Rangers nine goals and five assists.

Although his game time has been inconsistent, Morelos is still Rangers’ third-highest goalscorer this term which will leave a big hole to be filled if he does leave in the summer.

Perhaps what will be equally as crushing is the fact if he does leave they will not see any money come in given he will be leaving as a free agent following the conclusion of his contract.

However, there may be a lot of things which Morelos’ departure could offer Rangers some relief from with the player consistently showing a lack of discipline throughout his time at Ibrox.

Beale does have the likes of Antonio Colak to potentially choose ahead of next season but the Englishman has shown he is more than willing to look south of the border to bolster his squad.

Liverpool produced a magical performance under the Anfield lights on Sunday as Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Reds defeated Manchester United 7-0.

They were fortunate not to go behind in the early exchanges when Bruno Fernandes missed a gilt-edged header from a few yards out but that appeared to be a turning point in Merseyside.

After that moment, Liverpool were by far the better side with Cody Gakpo truly bursting onto the scene in English football.

The January signing found the net on two occasions while his attacking colleagues in Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez also scored braces.

The scoring was then rounded off by Roberto Firmino, just days after he confirmed his intentions to leave the club behind.

That said, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows at Anfield with one unsavoury moment drawing quite the reaction from Klopp.

Amid the celebrations for Firmino’s goal, a fan raced onto the pitch and slid, slide tackling and injuring Andy Robertson in the process.

The supporter was ejected from the stadium by stewards, with Klopp left furious with the events that played out, screaming at the individual at question.

The moment drew quite a reaction from those on Twitter. The best of the reaction can be found below…

Former Tottenham Hotspur player and current talkSPORT pundit Jamie O’Hara is thrilled by the news that Daniel Levy is eyeing a move for former manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The Lowdown: Conte on the way out

Sky Sports’ Melissa Reddy dropped a massive update on Tottenham’s future this week, revealing there is “growing belief” Antonio Conte will depart before the end of this season.

The Italian is of course out of contract in the summer, but work has already begun on finding his replacement, with Reddy revealing a whole host of names on the shortlist.

Indeed, Pochettino is seen as the front-runner, with some members of the playing squad “hankering for the brave, progressive style” the Argentine would bring, but Roberto De Zerbi, Luis Enrique, Thomas Tuchel, Marco Silva and Thomas Frank are all in the mix as well.

The Latest: O’Hara reacts

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, O’Hara only has one man in mind for the job, practically begging Levy to bring Pochettino back:

“You don’t need three candidates. Get Pochettino in. Bring that sexy man back that everyone can see. That’s all we need, so get him in.

“There’s candidates and there are good managers out there – you can say Thomas Tuchel and Thomas Frank – but no.

“Pochettino needs to come back to the football club. He’s got unfinished business. He left when Daniel Levy was being tight and now Daniel Levy has realised he can’t do that anymore.”

The Verdict: Slow your roll…

Reddy reports in her update for Sky that Tottenham chiefs will not be ruled by emotion, and we believe that is certainly the right mindset for the hierarchy to hold.

Yes, Pochettino has been called a “genius” by his old Spurs players and drawn praise from greats such as Pep Guardiola, but the other candidates are certainly no pushovers.

Frank’s Brentford lost their first Premier League game since October this weekend, Enrique has won multiple league titles with Barcelona and De Zerbi’s Brighton have the fourth-highest expected goals in the top flight this season, behind only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

The Lilywhites chiefs absolutely have to get this appointment right with rumours swirling of possible investments and takeovers, and there’s no guarantee things would go differently the second time around under Pochettino.

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Mason Mount this summer and now a new update has emerged from a reliable source on the club’s pursuit of the player.

Could Liverpool sign Mason Mount?

According to CBS reporter Ben Jacobs, Liverpool hold a “genuine” interest in the Chelsea midfielder amid stale contract negotiations at Stamford Bridge.

Jacobs tweeted: “Mount & Chelsea have been some way apart on terms. CFC have made multiple offers that Mount has turned down. Chelsea value Mount, but any agreement must be in keeping with the new incentive-driven wage structure, including decreases for lack of UCL.

“As reported, LFC interest is genuine.”

Why should Mount join Liverpool?

It is no secret that Liverpool are in desperate need of a shake-up this summer following a disappointing and inconsistent campaign this season.

The Reds have been knocked out of the FA Cup and League Cup, as well as currently being fifth in the Premier League table and set for a difficult Champions League second-leg clash with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday following a disappointing 5-2 defeat at Anfield in the opener of the tie.

Not only are Liverpool desperate for a refresh based on the quality displayed on the pitch so far, but are also set to lose several players who will be out of contract this summer.

James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner, Arthur Melo and Roberto Firmino are all set for an Anfield exit this summer which leaves the midfield personnel significantly weakened in depth ahead of next season.

As a result, the signing of Mount could be the perfect opportunity to bring in a young player with bags of Premier League experience and ultimately, a dream replacement for Naby Keita who is an incredibly unreliable presence.

Over 23 league appearances, the England star – who has a reported price tag of £50m – has scored three goals, registered two assists and created three big chances so far.

Furthermore, he has averaged 1.3 key passes and 1.4 shots on goal per match while impressing in a defensive capacity too, making 1.4 tackles, and winning 3.6 duels per game. That all-action nature encompasses precisely why the Chelsea ace is the ideal man to replace Keita.

Former Liverpool captain and legendary Premier League midfielder Steven Gerrard is a huge admirer of Mount and heaped praise on the Chelsea sensation:

“I’ve watched his progress. He’s a big talent for the country.

“He can create, he can score, and he’s already a European Cup winner, so I don’t think he needs the likes of myself to big him up or praise him.”

Keita is often deployed as the most advanced midfielder in Jurgen Klopp’s system, breaking the lines to link up with the forward. However, he is also relied upon to provide sound defensive transition. Those are areas in which Mount thrives too, clearly possessing the tools to offer creativity in the final third and the defensive presence in front of the back four.

With that being said, there is no doubt that Mount would be an incredible replacement for Keita next season and if the powerbrokers at Anfield can negotiate a good deal with their top-flight rivals this summer it could spark the much-needed revolution in the centre of the pitch.

West Ham will be looking to seal their spot in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals when they take on AEK Larnaca at the London Stadium this evening.

David Moyes' side lead 2-0 after their win in Cyprus last week and are comfortable favourites, despite their disappointing form in the Premier League so far this campaign.

How should West Ham line up vs AEK Larnaca?

Although the Hammers don't have a Premier League game this weekend due to Manchester City's progression in the FA Cup, Thursday still represents an opportunity for Moyes to unleash some of the academy talents and fringe players available to him at the London Stadium.

Here is how Football FanCast expects West Ham to line up on Thursday evening, with eight changes from the team that started against Aston Villa over the weekend.

With Lukasz Fabianski still sidelined through injury, Alphonse Areola looks likely to keep his place in goal, and the Frenchman will no doubt be targeting another clean sheet against the Cypriot minnows this evening.

There are three changes in defence, as only Kurt Zouma keeps his place as the former Chelsea man continues to regain his match fitness following his injury problems.

Nayef Aguerd is rested with Angelo Ogbonna replacing him in the heart of the defence, while Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell are handed starts at right-back and left-back respectively, with Thilo Kehrer and Emerson dropping out.

Declan Rice might be West Ham's best player, with Moyes labelling him an "exceptional" talent earlier in the season, but if there were any game to rest him for, it would be this one.

This frees up 18-year-old academy talent George Earthy to start alongside Tomas Soucek in the middle of the park, with the 18-year-old boasting four goals and eight assists in just nine appearances in the U18 Premier League this season.

Forgotten men Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini are also given a chance to impress after underwhelming league campaigns which have returned just one goal and one assist between them, while Maxwel Cornet also earns a start after returning from his long-term injury in recent weeks.

Finally, Gianluca Scamacca starts as the lone striker, in what could be one of the last chances for the former Sassuolo man to win over Moyes, with the Italian having dropped down the pecking order at the London Stadium following a series of poor performances, as well as the January addition of Danny Ings.