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A number of Liverpool supporters are delighted after Jurgen Klopp said Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could be fit to face Crystal Palace this weekend.

The Reds made it into the Carabao Cup final on Thursday night, coasting to an impressive 2-0 victory away to Arsenal.

Diogo Jota was Liverpool’s hero at the Emirates, scoring both of his side’s goals as he stepped up in the absence of key duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

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Someone who was unavailable for the game was Oxlade-Chamberlain, however, who missed out on taking on his former club because of an injury sustained against Brentford last weekend.

Speaking in his pre-Crystal Palace press conference on Friday [via journalist James Pearce on Twitter], Klopp said the midfielder was back in training, meaning he could be available for the weekend trip to Selhurst Park.

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Liverpool fans react to Ox injury latest

These Reds fans took to Twitter to reveal their happiness at the news, no doubt relieved after the Englishman found form with a goal against the Bees.

“Fantastic”

Credit: @NegusSabali

” Oh wow”

Credit: @toyoblo

“Great news for Liverpool to have another midfield option back. But I would start with Fabinho, Henderson and Jones again. They were all pretty good against Arsenal last night. Having a consistent midfield line-up may help the team too.”

Credit: @ReviewFootball

“Great news but Jones deserves the nod after his performance last night”

Credit: @Declancarr96

“Let’s goooo”

Credit: @KopiteZac

“Phew, will be needed over the next couple of weeks”

Credit: @Nuggs_

In other news, some Liverpool fans have slammed one player’s performance against Arsenal. Find out who it is here.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has his first chance to win silverware at the club as his side face Hibernian in the League Cup final this weekend.

The Hoops beat St Johnstone 1-0 in the semi-finals and come into this game off the back of a 2-1 win over Ross County in the Premiership, with Liel Abada and Antony Ralston scoring in midweek.

Forget Welsh

However, one problem Postecoglou faces heading into this match is the suspension of Carl Starfelt after his red card in midweek. He was given his marching orders for two bookable offences as the Hoops picked up the three points and he is now set to miss the final.

Starfelt’s indiscrection has left the 56-year-old with a decision to make regarding who he selects in his back four for this match. He should forget about making a like-for-like change by bringing Stephen Welsh in for the Swede and instead unleash Greg Taylor from the start.

By starting the Scotland international against Hibernian, Liam Scales could move from left-back to his natural central defensive position. The Irishman won eight of his 12 duels against Ross County and completed 100% of his dribbles whilst registering an assist from full-back, showing that he was strong in his defending and capable of playing out with the ball at his feet.

Postecoglou sang Taylor’s praises earlier this year after he put pen to paper on a new contract, saying: “He has had an excellent start to the season and has made a really valuable contribution to the team.

“Unfortunately he has suffered the injury in recent weeks, but our focus and his, is now to get him back in the squad as soon as possible, have him pick up where he left off and playing at that same high level.”

The £8.2k-per-week gem is a natural left-back and has averaged an impressive SofaScore rating of 7.13 in the Premiership this term. He has averaged 1.8 key passes and 2.6 tackles and interceptions per game, showing his ability to perform at both ends of the pitch.

Postecoglou could duly get Scales and Taylor into the team in their favoured positions, without needing to start Welsh next to Cameron Carter-Vickers. It is now down to the Australian to make the call and unleash the Scottish left-back against Hibernian on Sunday.

AND in other news, Celtic can finally axe “stupid” Lennon signing by landing “unstoppable” 30 y/o machine…

With just five goals scored in their previous seven Premier League games, the upcoming January transfer window could provide the Merseyside club with a good opportunity to add some attacking reinforcements to their squad and potentially put their poor run of form behind them.

Taking this into account, it seems as though the Toffees already have their eye on securing a new attacking talent next month.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from L’avenir.net, Everton are interested in signing RSC Anderlecht winger Francis Amuzu.

After joining Anderlecht’s youth system back in April 2015, the 22-year-old has gone on to make a total of 142 appearances for the Belgian club across their youth sides and senior team, scoring 15 goals and providing 15 assists along the way.

So far this season in the Belgian league, the winger has managed to score three goals and provide three assists.

In terms of a potential move to Everton in January, this could give Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri the chance to replicate the same transfer masterclass he and Rafa Benitez pulled off in the summer by signing Demarai Gray, another young winger from a foreign club who has managed to hit the ground running at Goodison Park by scoring five goals and providing two assists in 16 league appearances.

In addition to this, even though he only joined the club in the summer alongside Gray, the fact that Andros Townsend has hit the age of 30, Amuzu could be a suitable long-term replacement for the Englishman on the right-wing.

Moving forward, Everton should definitely explore the possibility of signing Amuzu in January to see if he can spark a bit of life back into Benitez’s squad.

However, with the report saying that Rangers and Wolfsburg are also reportedly interested in signing Amuzu, but that Anderlecht aren’t looking to sell the winger anytime soon, Everton may have a challenge on their hands to secure his signature.

Either way, if Everton don’t end up signing Amuzu in January, they should probably look to sign a defensive player given how they’ve managed to concede 29 goals in their 17 league games this season.

In other news: Forget Rondon: Moshiri can sign Everton’s new Lukaku in “powerful” 28-goal “rocket” – opinion

Celtic centre-back Stephen Welsh could be fit to face Bayer Leverkusen despite being forced off injured at the weekend, according to The Daily Record’s Michael Gannon. 

The lowdown

Celtic are due to travel to Germany to face Group G leaders Leverkusen on Thursday night. If they lose, and Real Betis beat point-less Ferencvaros in the other game, they’ll be out of the Europa League.

Welsh would automatically have been considered a doubt for the vital clash after taking an elbow in the head from St Johnstone’s Shaun Rooney in Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semifinal.

He had to be substituted off 12 minutes from time.

Injury expert Ben Dinnery told Football Insider that a ‘severe’ facial injury could require ‘surgical intervention’, sidelining Welsh for ‘months’.

The latest

Happily for Celtic, the ‘excellent’ Welsh seems to have escaped a serious injury. It’s ‘understood’ that he didn’t suffer from concussion in the wake of the clash.

And he could be in contention to face Leverkusen, who currently sit 4th in the Bundesliga.

The verdict

Intriguingly, Carl Starfelt is apparently ‘in the running to be involved’ at the BayArena, having returned to training.

So does Postecoglou go with Welsh after his Saturday scare or throw Starfelt back in for what looks a daunting test?

If there’s no risk of Welsh exacerbating the problem, then you’d arguably lean towards him, purely for that added sharpness. He’s played the last three games, and you wouldn’t want Starfelt to be caught cold in a game of this magnitude.

In other news, read this exciting Jota claim from a journalist.

A number of Liverpool supporters are over the moon after Roberto Firmino returned to training on Thursday, following a lengthy injury absence.

The Reds are back in Premier League action on Saturday afternoon, with Jurgen Klopp’s side hosting Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa.

It is sure to be an emotional occasion on Anfield but Liverpool must focus on the job in hand and pick up another three points in the title race.

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Klopp’s injury woes have eased significantly in recent weeks, and on Thursday, he was further boosted by Firmino returning to training, as confirmed by the club’s official Twitter account.

The Brazilian hasn’t played since the 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid in early November because of a hamstring issue.

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Liverpool fans delighted with Firmino return

It is undoubted good news for Liverpool – the Brazilian has racked up an impressive 163 goals plus assists in 303 showings for the Reds – and these fans took to Twitter to express their delight at the update.

“LET’S GO BOBBY”

Credit: @theKop1952

“Bobby’s back. No stopping us now”

Credit: @starwart1

“YESSSSSS”

Credit: @dededekko

“I love this from LFC. Out of nowhere, Bobby is back. We are cooking well. Love this”

Credit: @jmarah_arnold1

“Look who’s back”

Credit: @esebit

“This is the best news I’ve heard in a while!”

Credit: @Brayden_W11

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been reacting to a Reds transfer claim. Read more here.

After failing to beat Burnley in their previous Premier League game, which ended with a 2-2 draw, Southampton take on Watford at Vicarage Road in what is another big clash for the Saints, with the Hornets only two points ahead of them in the table and scoring five goals in their previous league outing against Everton.

On the chalkboard

Looking ahead to the match against the Hertfordshire club, one player who Southampton will have available and who we feel should be in the starting XI is captain James Ward-Prowse.

During Southampton’s 3-1 defeat against Chelsea earlier this month, Ward-Prowse was shown a red card and given a three-game ban for a challenge on Jorginho, which saw him miss the matches against Leeds United, Burnley and their Carabao Cup clash against the west Londoners in midweek.

Prior to that, Ward-Prowse had played every minute of Premier League action for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, proving just how vital he is for the club.

Now that the 26-year-old, who is currently earning £45k-per-week according to Spotrac, has completed his ban, we feel that Hasenhuttl should have no qualms over putting him straight back into his starting line-up to try and get all three points out of the game against Watford on Saturday.

Since making his senior debut for the Saints back in 2011 after working his way through their youth system, Ward-Prowse – who has been previously labelled an “exceptional” player by Stephen Warnock – has made 331 appearances for the Saints across all competitions, scoring 35 goals and providing 42 assists in the process.

So far this season, he has racked up an average of 1.4 shots at goal and 1.4 key passes per game in the Premier League, showing just how much of an attacking influence he has on the team, and that’s why we believe he could frighten Watford at the weekend.

Looking ahead to the match against Claudio Ranieri’s side, we feel that Ward-Prowse should definitely be in Southampton’s starting XI to see if he can add to the two goals he has under his belt already this season and give the Saints the best chance of getting three points and climbing further away from the relegation zone.

In other news: Hasenhuttl could unearth Southampton’s next Redmond in ‘talented’ 18 y/o four-goal starlet

Everton could head into the winter transfer market head-on, with Rafa Benitez hoping to spend the club’s money more wisely going forward.

Sporting director, Marcel Brands, will have a job on his hands to make the right moves this January as Everton are currently falling behind in the race for European football spots in the Premier League.

Rafa Benitez’s side are sitting 11th in the league, with just four wins in their Premier League challenge so far, the Spanish manager will be looking to improve his side and climb up the table to achieve European football in the season ahead.

There has been one particular Premier League loan signing that has caught the attention of everyone over the season so far and has now captured the attention of England manager, Gareth Southgate, too.

Conor Gallagher has been tearing it up at Crystal Palace with the midfielder showing impressive attacking capabilities with four goals and two assists in 11 appearances for the South London club, with the performances earning him his first England call up.

The 20-year-old has been called up to the England side due to a number of players dropping out of the last World Cup Qualifying fixture of the international break against San Marino, and will be hoping to make his mark on the team to impress Southgate ahead of the World Cup 2022.

Everton were previously linked with the youngster, when they were encouraged to scout the £13.5m-rated midfielder, after Blues officials watched him over ten times between 2018 and 2020, but never made an official move.

The Chelsea loanee, should they reignite their interest, would be an incredible addition to Everton and would become a long term solution to short term problems that the Toffees have been experiencing with inconsistency in their midfield after Abdoulaye Doucoure’s injury.

For starters, he’d give them more of an all-around presence in the middle of the park, both from an offensive and defensive point of view when you consider the numbers he’s contributed this term.

Crystal Palace podcaster, HLTCO, took to his Twitter account to praise the “transformative force” of Gallagher upon his England selection;

“Conor Gallagher has been a truly transformative force in the Palace midfield since joining the club. I’m over the moon for him, it’s a richly deserved call-up for one of the most energetic footballers I’ve ever had the joy of watching.”

Brands and Benitez will have a challenge on their hands to secure the signature of the 20-year-old central midfielder, as he continues to thrive at Crystal Palace, and draw attention from many title-challenging Premier League clubs, including his parent club, Chelsea.

That said, if he finds himself with no future at Stamford Bridge, the top brass at Goodison must ensure he becomes their player. They can’t afford to let all of that scouting go down the drain.

And in other news, Rafa could revive Everton’s season by unleashing £40.5m-rated “nightmare”…

Despite having an average squad age of 26, Southampton do have a number of players in their side in and around the age of 30.

One player that fits this criteria is 30-year-old Oriol Romeu, who has managed to rack up a total of 221 appearances for the Saints across all competitions since joining the club back in the 2015 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League club Chelsea.

With the Spaniard’s current contract set to run out in the summer of 2023, we feel that the Saints could possibly already have their ideal replacement for Romeu if he were to leave the club when his deal expires.

18-year-old central-midfielder Kgagelo Chauke made his senior debut for the Saints back in January during the club’s 2-0 win over Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup.

As well as this, Chauke, who Hasenhuttl apparently “really likes” according to journalist Joe Crann, has nine appearances for Southampton’s U18 side and 29 appearances for their B team under his belt as well.

In two appearances for Southampton B in the Football League Trophy so far this season against Leyton Orient and Charlton Athletic, Chauke managed to earn himself a match rating of 7/10 for both performances according to SofaScore, which just goes to show he can play well against senior opposition when given the chance.

In addition to this, the midfielder has managed to make two interceptions per game in those two cup matches and 3.5 tackles per game as well, showing how much of a defensive unit he can be in the team from midfield.

Taking this into account, and the fact that Romeu has made more tackles per game (3) than any other Saints player in the Premier League this season and the joint-second highest number of interceptions per game (1.6), this shows how Chauke could potentially be a good future replacement for the Spaniard if he leaves the club in the near future based on his defensive capabilities.

Moving forward, if Chauke keeps playing well for Southampton’s youth team and makes the most out of any other chance he may get to play in the senior side, we feel he could well go on to be a regular first team player for the club in the next few years.

In other news: Lost possession 19x: Southampton’s £60k-p/w “passenger” failed Ralph’s trust vs Leeds – opinion

Raphinha is expected to play for Leeds United in their crucial Premier League clash with Norwich City, according to journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Must-win game for Leeds

The Whites face a vital league game on Sunday afternoon, making the trip to Carrow Road to face the bottom-of-the-table Canaries.

Following Saturday’s results, Leeds also find themselves in the bottom three, with the pressure really building on Marcelo Bielsa and his players.

Only a win will do against Daniel Farke’s side – a defeat would feel disastrous – and the hope is that last weekend’s late draw at home to Wolves acts as some sort of catalyst.

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The Latest: Hay gives early team news

Speaking in a Q&A for The Athletic on Sunday morning, Hay said he expects to see Raphinha take to the field, as well as Kalvin Phillips and Pascal Sttuijk, giving the following team news update ahead of today’s match:

“There’s no Bamford again today and no Ayling either but Raphinha should be involved and Phillips is fine after his outing at Arsenal.

“We’ll probably be looking at a back three because Norwich have started using two up front so no surprise if Pascal Struijk comes into the team.”

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The Verdict: Raphina’s inclusion would be a boost for Leeds

Leeds haven’t made the greatest start to the season but Raphinha has been their biggest ray of light. Their top scorer with three goals, he is also by far their best performer of the campaign according to WhoScored’s metrics, averaging a 7.25 match rating.

His international form also sums up why he is probably the Whites’ best player right now. The 24-year-old has scored two goals and set up two more in his first three caps for Brazil and he needs to take that form with him to Carrow Road today.

Without him against Southampton two weeks ago, the Whites fell to a meek 1-0 defeat, and there may have been concerns about his involvement today after he limped off with an ankle injury against Wolves last time out.

His ability to beat a player and create havoc will make him a key figure for Leeds, especially up against a defence which has conceded 23 times already in the league in 2021/22, and his inclusion today would be a real boost for Bielsa.

In other news, one Leeds United hero has been tipped to join one of the Premier League heavyweights. Find out who it is here.

Southampton host Wolves at St Mary’s in the Premier League on Saturday as they go in search of their first top-flight win of the season.

The Saints have picked up four draws and one defeat from five league matches this season, whilst winning both of their Carabao Cup games against Newport County and Sheffield United.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side beat the Blades on penalties after a 2-2 draw in midweek, with a number of players given chances to show that they deserve a place in the starting XI against Wolves.

One player who was handed an opportunity to shine against the Blades was 22-year-old right-back Yan Valery, who came in for Tino Livramento.

However, the Frenchman failed to take his chance with both hands as he produced a worrying performance against Sheffield United. He was given a SofaScore rating of 6.5, better than only Moussa Djenepo and Lyanco.

As per SofaScore, Valery lost seven of his 11 ground duels and 50% of his aerial battles. He also made zero tackles as he was dribbled past three times during the game. This shows that he was too weak defensively and easy to play against for the Blades wingers, who were able to breeze past him with ease as he failed to win even one tackle in the 90 minutes.

He did not fare much better on the ball. As per SofaScore, he failed with seven of his eight crossing attempts and three of his six dribbles. The defender also gave away possession 15 times, providing just one key pass and one off-target shot. This shows that he offered next to nothing defensively or offensively, which makes him something of a liability to the team as he is not contributing at either end.

Livramento has started all five of Southampton’s Premier League matches this season and averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.80. He has made 3.8 tackles and interceptions per game whilst winning 56% of his duels so far.

This suggests that the summer signing from Chelsea is able to perform to a higher standard than Valery whilst winning a higher percentage of his battles against the opposition and providing more defensive quality in the tackle. For this reason, Hasenhuttl must ruthlessly axe the 22-year-old from the XI to reinstate his youngter team-mate back into the side for the clash with Wolves on Sunday.

AND in other news, Ralph provides update on “hard-working” £48k-p/w beast that’ll frustrate Saints fans…