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Steve Bruce must ruthlessly axe Emil Krafth from the Newcastle United starting line-up as he never looked comfortable defending against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Krafth was recalled to the Magpies’ backline for the visit of Jose Mourinho’s Spurs to St. James’ Park, after missing his side’s 3-0 humbling to relegation-rivals Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Amex Stadium affair marked the first Premier League match that Krafth had missed since February 2, having opened five-straight fixtures after replacing Javier Manquillo at home to Southampton.

But Krafth failed to show Bruce why he was wrong to omit him from the matchday squad on the south coast, as the Sweden right-back endured endless troubles in an unnatural centre-half role up against Harry Kane and Carlos Vinicius.

Krafth didn’t know whether to push tight or stand-off Tottenham when Tanguy Ndombele brought the ball forward, leaving Kane with acres of space to run into behind Jamaal Lascelles and prod home moments after Joelinton had broken the deadlock.

The £57k-per-week full-back had a chance to clear his lines and prevent Kane from equalising after Martin Dubravka got down to deny the striker’s initial effort. But rather than clear the danger for a corner, he was made to pay for trying to play in his six-yard area.

His moments of hesitation set the tone for Krafth’s performance and he never managed to find a platform to build from after that, before eventually being hooked in the 79th minute having never instilled any confidence at the back.

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Krafth managed to offer brief moments of potential at the other end of the pitch, having sent a fizzing ball across the Spurs box only for Joelinton to blot his copybook by lashing a shot past the post.

But it was defensively where Bruce needed Krafth the most on Sunday, only to be let down and see his decision to field the 26-year-old full-back in the centre backfire.

Krafth would earn the joint-lowest SofaScore match rating of any Newcastle player who featured on Sunday with Dwight Gayle at 6.4 out of 10 due to their below-par displays, while only Davinson Sanchez would score lower at 5.9 for Tottenham.

The Swedish defender scored so poorly thanks partly to his error leading to Kane’s initial equalising goal, but also as the £3.5m-rated dud failed to register a single successful tackle or interception and lost his only aerial duel.

Lascelles averages the least successful tackles per Premier League game by a Toon player who has featured at centre-back more than once this term with 0.7 from 0.9, while the Englishman and Federico Fernandez offer the fewest interceptions (0.6), per WhoScored.

Isaac Hayden has played four times at centre-back this season and ranks last for aerial duels won per game with two from 2.8 attempts, while Ciaran Clark – who was on the bench against Spurs – tops the Magpies’ chart with 3.5 won from 5.5 challenges.

Bruce will be well aware that Newcastle cannot have any passengers on the pitch as they look to pull themselves clear of the relegation zone, having opened a slender three-point advantage over Fulham with a draw and still hold a game in hand, so must axe Krafth again.

AND in other news, a 9-cap dud who was expected to be a “massive asset” faces an uncertain future at Newcastle…

Plenty of Aston Villa fans have been having their say on the club’s confirmed fixture changes for May on social media.

Two fixtures involving Villa have been rescheduled due to broadcast rights, with the club confirming the alterations on their official Twitter page on Wednesday afternoon.

Dean Smith’s side will now take on Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday, May 1 at 8pm, with the game available to watch on BT Sport.

Villa’s next fixture against Manchester United will take place eight days later on Sunday, May 9 at 2:05pm, broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Villa’s home clash against Everton is still yet to be rescheduled after being postponed back in January due to health protocol issues at Villa Park.

Villa fans react

This is what these fans had to say to the club’s tweet about the fixture changes, with a few left wondering about the reverse fixture against the Toffees.

“Schedule the second Everton game please it’s doing my head in”

Credit: @ReubenOwen_

“Please stop moving fixtures to a Saturday night when I can’t watch them”

Credit: @FootballJustFoo

“Everton double header”

Credit: @smithy1874

“I like how serious they look about the fixture change.”

Credit: @Elliot_CB

“right so what about the other Everton game”

Credit: @catrinedwards18

“How about a home match with Everton?”

Credit: @AVfc_PL

In other news: Many AVFC fans share love for Christian Purslow’s European Super League comments, find out more here. 

Glasgow Rangers may be Scottish champions, but that didn’t stop plenty of their fans from hammering the performance of Joe Aribo this afternoon.

After crashing out of the Europa League to Slavia Prague on Thursday, the Gers travelled to Parkhead to face their fierce city rivals Celtic and, although they went behind to an effort from Mohamed Elyounoussi, Alfredo Morelos was on hard to score his first goal in this fixture (Transfermarkt).

However, Aribo was far from at his best for the newly-crowned champions. He spent much of the game on the periphery, failing to influence matters in the final third, and was unable to have a telling impact on the match. Steven Gerrard will have been hoping for more in what is always a big game despite the league title already being won.

These fans were quick to share their displeasure with Aribo’s display – one even dubbed him a ‘waste of a jersey’ – and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Aribo below

“Aribo definitely been a passenger, and not for the first time in this fixture. Questions will begin to get asked if he is up for it.”

Credit: @kennyfergie1984

“I would consider taking Aribo off as he’s been woeful again”

Credit: @WATPDUNC

“Joe Aribo is so frustrating”

Credit: @GilmertonLoyal

“Aribo is very poor today. Arfield on”

Credit: @runawayrfc

“Aribo and Hagi. Miles off it”

Credit: @ShankillBear

“If I was Hagi I’d be asking why Aribo is allowed to stay on. Aribo has been horrendous, a waste of a jersey.”

Credit: @MitzisLapdog

In other news, some Rangers fans slam this BBC pundit’s comments.

Glasgow Rangers beat Royal Antwerp 5-2 (9-5 on aggregate) at Ibrox to book their place in the Europa League last 16 for the second season in a row.

Even with a strong team, Steven Gerrard’s side didn’t have it all their own way, as Antwerp pushed them to their very limit on Thursday.

Goals from Nathan Patterson and Ryan Kent appeared to have restored order after Alfredo Morelos’ opener was cancelled out by Antwerp’s Lior Refaelov in the first half.

But Didier Lamkel Ze pulled a goal back for the Belgians to cause a brief moment of panic, before Borna Barisic’s penalty strengthened their lead, leaving Cedric Itten to wrap up proceedings shortly before the final whistle blew in stoppage time.

Whilst Morelos will receive most of the plaudits for arguably his best performance of the season with the Colombian striker playing a starring role in the famous victory, it was perhaps the performance of his teammate Kent that stood out the most on the night.

As per SofaScore, Kent earned a high match rating of 8.6 for his efforts, that being the second-highest out of almost every player on the pitch and bettered by none other than Morelos himself.

Back on home soil, Gerrard’s side were looking to make a real statement, helped by a virtuoso performance from the 24-year-old as the visitors were run ragged.

Antwerp were punished for some sloppy passing as Kent set up Morelos to put Rangers in front after nine minutes, then just 40 minutes later the English winger gave the Gers a two-goal lead after combining with the Colombian to score his 10th goal of the season.

Kent, who reportedly earns £18,000-per-week at Ibrox, took four shots in total, including two on target, which was the most of any player for either side, and at least two more than Morelos, while he also recorded a superb 24 out of 28 passes, earning an impressive 86% pass accuracy.

As a result of Kent’s constant pressure, Antwerp were rarely able to trouble Rangers, with their first goal only coming after a mix-up between Connor Goldson and Allan McGregor.

The former Liverpool man currently averages 20.6 passes per game this season thus far, which suggests that he was performing a level above his best at Ibrox on Thursday night.

But it wasn’t just his attacking output that caught the eye, either, as he also diligently carried out his defensive duties to deny their opponents several chances on the night. He won four out of his seven duels overall (57%), while he also made one tackle and one interception, the latter of which is more than his season’s average of 0.6 per game.

While Morelos may have terrorised the Antwerp defence on the night, it was Kent’s overall contributions that stood out for Gerrard.

AND in other news, Rangers suffer devastating injury blow as Steven Gerrard confirms Ryan Jack will miss Royal Antwerp…

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa favoured Helder Costa over Jack Harrison against Aston Villa last week and Noel Whelan has been discussing both the players ahead of their next match.

Whelan comments on Leeds duo

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan was asked whether Harrison would could back into the starting XI and said: “Absolutely. Look, people are given an open door to come in and take your opportunity as Helder Costa was. I think Jack Harrison had been quiet for three games prior. Helder Costa’s come on and made some influence on a game from the substitutes’ bench.”

“I felt he deserved the opportunity. However, I was very, very disappointed once again with his contribution from the start to the time he came off.

Costa needs to start impressing

Harrison has had a good season as he managed six goals and four assists, whilst also managing 1.3 shots and 1.7 key passes per game (WhoScored).

However, Costa has failed to set the division alight this campaign. He has managed three goals and three assists, but has only averaged 0.8 shots and 0.5 key passes a game (WhoScored). The £10.8m-rated ace has made 64 appearances for the club throughout his career, but only has seven goals and 11 assists to his name (Transfermarkt), so it is obvious to see why he has only started nine games in 2020/21. He was hauled off after 64 minutes against Villa last week, having played just 18 passes in that time (WhoScored).

His former manager Nuno Espirito Santo heaped praise on him in recent months as he said: “So that season was not the best for him, but in the first season we were in the Premier League, Helder was immense and had a huge impact on the team.

“He’s a very talented player, but things happen naturally, players move from here to another place. It happens in football. Honestly, I’m delighted he’s showing his quality and enjoying his football.”

Hopefully we can see Costa’s quality start to shine more as he tries to help Leeds finish in the top half of the table.

In other news, a Leeds transfer target could be available in the summer!

Jose Mourinho will need to get his tactics spot on if he’s to put a stop to Tottenham Hotspur’s abysmal week as they head to Aston Villa in the Premier League this evening.

After being defeated in the North London derby, Spurs were embarrassingly knocked out of the Europa League by Dinamo Zagreb despite going into the second leg with a two-goal advantage.

Aside from the Carabao Cup final, Mourinho’s side only have European places to contend for, so a victory tonight would not only alleviate some pressure but also keep the side below them further adrift.

Mourinho has plenty to consider, with injuries and suspensions throwing in a few unneeded curveballs, so here’s our predicted Spurs XI ahead of kickoff tonight…

We’re expecting there to be as many as six changes from the side that tasted defeat in the Croatian capital on Thursday.

Club captain Hugo Lloris launched a scathing attack on his teammates for their performance in midweek, dubbing them a “disgrace,” and he’ll need to motivate his side from between the sticks once more.

Only Serge Aurier and Davinson Sanchez should remain in the back four, with veteran Toby Aldwereireld and Sergio Reguilon likely to come in for Eric Dier and Ben Davies, who both endured shockers in the Europa League.

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Mourinho will be able to welcome back Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in midfield having missed the Zagreb trip through suspension, and that’ll be a big boost as he’s widely regarded as a ‘captain without the armband.’

He will slot back in alongside Tanguy Ndombele, meaning both out-of-sorts Englishman Harry Winks and the £90k-per-week earning Moussa Sissoko are axed from the lineup.

Whilst Giovani Lo Celso got through his cameo on Thursday unscathed and could be in line to start for the first time in 2021.

The Argentine playmaker should get the nod over Dele Alli.

There’s also a big call to make over Gareth Bale, especially with Heung-min Son still ruled out through injury.

After failing to impress in the North London derby – being withdrawn after just 57 minutes – he was dropped in midweek but in an hour’s worth of action from the bench, the Welshman couldn’t inspire Spurs to a positive result.

We think he could be snubbed from the starting XI here as a consequence, so Steven Bergwijn comes in for his first league start since the defeat to Chelsea at the start of February.

Lucas Moura could remain in the lineup but is expected to move out wide, having played in the no.10 role for several weeks now. Erik Lamela, however, is serving a one-game suspension.

Likewise, Harry Kane is going to start, too.

AND in other news, Mourinho must axe “exposed” Spurs liability tonight, Watkins could haunt him…

Many West Bromwich Albion fans have flocked to a tweet from The Telegraph’s John Percy in which issued an update on West Brom’s interest in former Leicester City attacker Ahmed Musa. 

Albion have recently been linked with a move for the £5.4m-rated man, who is a free agent after departing from Saudi club Al-Nassr, back in October. 

Now, Percy has revealed that the 28-year-old is set to train with the Baggies for the week, with manager Sam Allardyce thinking about offering him a short-term deal at The Hawthorns. 

So, how have these West Brom fans reacted to this update?

Percy’s update drew a negative reaction from many fans of the West Midlands club after he relayed it via Twitter, with some Baggies fans indicating that they’re embarrassed to see their club linked with a move for Musa.

“Good God, what have we become?”

Credit: @NedJ55135980

“Damn, this is getting embarrassing now”

Credit: @Yacxb

“What is the point in signing any so-called striker? With our midfield, they’ll never get any chances”

Credit: @bluntroger

“What a state our club is in #WBA”

Credit: @DexWBA__

“Stinks of desperation #wba”

Credit: @rmelrose11

“Look at the comments, everyone laughing at us, it’s actually embarrassing supporting this football club at times.”

Credit: @RyanPGlasgow

In other news, Kevin Campbell has had his say on the possibility of West Brom signing Hamza Choudhury.

West Brom’s shocking run of form continued on Saturday evening as Newcastle United piled more pressure on struggling Albion boss Slaven Bilic.

According to reports in the build-up to this weekend’s crunch match at St James’ Park, the Croatian is facing an unlikely future in the Midlands and that defeat may have not done him many favours at all.

The home side took the lead inside 20 seconds when Miguel Almiron was given acres of space inside the penalty area and Darnell Furlong’s half-volley equaliser five minutes after the break wasn’t enough to stop former Baggies loan star Dwight Gayle late on.

He nipped in past Branislav Ivanovic to head home the winner just five minutes from time, sending West Brom back to the Hawthorns with an eighth defeat in 12.

Some may look to the enigmatic right-back for one positive from the match, but instead, attention should turn his fellow defender, young Dara O’Shea, who performed immensely out of position.

No player in the game was more involved than the Irishman, managing a whopping 90 touches, that’s one per minute, via SofaScore.

The 21-year-old also did his defensive duties, recording three clearances, two tackles, one interception and one block, as well as winning nine duels and making 53 of 69 passing attempts.

It was just his sixth-ever start in the Premier League, which makes it all that more impressive and had Albion come away with a draw in the north-east, then he would have rightly been picked out as a Man of the Match contender.

Aside from bringing the Baggies back to the top-flight, O’Shea is someone that Bilic should be lauded for as he first introduced him into the senior set-up last term – he even went as far as dubbing him “the future” of the club in one interview.

The “exceptional” beast deserves to keep his place amongst the starting XI, even when usual first-choice Kyle Bartley returns. He was the one shining light yesterday afternoon.

AND in other news, West Brom disaster who lost 84% of duels badly let Bilic down in Newcastle defeat…

Steve Bruce would be heading for an unforgivable mistake by pursuing a move for outcast Manchester United defender Brandon Williams to join Newcastle in January.

What’s the word?

According to The Shields Gazette, the Magpies and Red Devils have agreed on the framework to a half-season loan deal that will see Williams move to St. James’ Park for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign.

Manchester United club chiefs have granted the England U21 international permission to leave Old Trafford on a temporary agreement after falling out of favour following the summer arrival of Alex Telles and form of Luke Shaw.

Newcastle may yet face further competition for Williams’s signature with a deal yet to be signed off and ratified, but are currently at the front of the queue featuring Southampton, as Bruce strives to secure competition for Jamal Lewis and Matt Ritchie.

Lewis has struggled at times as Bruce’s first-choice left-back since his £15m summer arrival, and could face a fight for his position from former Eintracht Frankfurt loanee Jetro Willems with the Dutchman also said to be under consideration.

A step in the wrong direction

Newcastle moving to sign Williams on loan would see Bruce head for an unforgivable mistake, as the £65,000-per-week prospect would be a step in the wrong direction compared to Lewis despite the former Norwich City full-back’s struggles at St. James’ Park.

Williams would arrive on Tyneside completely lacking match fitness, having played just six minutes of Premier League football so far this season beside two brief cameo outings in the Europa League and appearances in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup back in September.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not named the £10m-rated talent in a league squad since the start of December, either, despite likening the 20-year-old to Gary Neville last year.

“I think he’s been absolutely outstanding since he came in, every challenge we’ve put in front of him he’s tackled head-on. He’s only 19, made 10 or 11 starts but he reminds me so much of the mentality of Gary Neville,” Solskjaer said, via quotes by the Manchester Evening News.

Williams would need to show a great deal of promise in training to move ahead of Lewis in Bruce’s pecking order if signed, as the youngster’s efforts last season were rarely at a higher level than what Newcastle have seen from their summer signing this term.

Williams’ creativity came from 0.3 shots and 0.8 key balls while playing 27.4 accurate passes and delivering 0.2 accurate crosses a game in the Premier League last season, per SofaScore. Defensively, he also made 1.2 successful tackles, 0.9 interceptions, won 3.6 duels and was dribbled past 1.2 times.

Lewis, meanwhile, has averaged 0.3 shots and 0.6 key balls a game in the top-flight since the 22-year-old joined from Norwich, while playing 18.5 accurate passes, 0.8 accurate crosses, making 1.4 successful tackles, 0.5 interceptions, winning 3.1 duels won and has been dribbled past 0.9 times.

AND in other news, Steve Bruce is keen to sign a “fantastic” £15.5m-rated brute for Newcastle United…

Roy Hodgson has delivered Everton a huge boost in the club’s hopes of signing Wilfried Zaha after admitting Crystal Palace expect to face a fight to retain the forward this summer.

What’s the word?

The 28-year-old Ivory Coast international has been heavily linked with moves away from Selhurst Park in recent years, but was blocked from leaving south London in 2019 by the Eagles demanding no less than £100m.

Zaha was claimed at the time to have handed in a transfer request after Everton saw a bid worth £70m plus James McCarthy rejected, in a deal that would also have seen Palace take Cenk Tosun on loan for the season.

The Toffees have continued to harbour an interest in luring Zaha to Goodison Park, with reports last summer claiming that a revised approach was on the cards as Carlo Ancelotti is a big admirer of the £130,000-per-week dynamo.

But, while no bid was tabled last summer despite Crystal Palace allegedly lowering their asking price to £30m amid the coronavirus pandemic, Hodgson expects sides to be queuing up at Zaha’s door come the end of the campaign.

“I think when the market opens up again Wilf Zaha will again be a name on many managers and Sporting Directors’ lips, and Wilf will retain his ambition of playing Champions League football and doing things we have not been able to give him while he has been playing here,” Hodgson said, via quotes by FourFourTwo.

“But I am hoping and believing also that the club will still be trying to persuade him that what he needs to get out of football he can get here and how that will pan out? I couldn’t say.

“He is good enough to play at other clubs, but also he is a player we would really like to keep here because he has been so important for us and he is very important to all the fans and everyone around the club.”

Should Everton revive their interest?

With Hodgson already accepting that interest will be inevitable in Zaha come the end of the season, Ancelotti should be urging Everton’s majority owner Farhad Moshiri to bankroll a swoop for the 28-year-old to ensure the Toffees are ahead of the queue.

Zaha sparked Marco Silva and Blues Director of Football Marcel Brands to bid £70m for his services in 2019 after providing 10 goals and 10 assists in 34 Premier League games during the previous campaign.

The 2019/20 season was far less fruitful for the 18-cap international, netting just four times and creating five goals. But he has clearly rediscovered the edge that Tony Cascarino believes makes him “unplayable” on his day, as Zaha already has nine goals and two assists to his name after 19 appearances in the top-flight this term.

Ancelotti would no doubt love to have a goalscorer as prolific as Zaha to support his top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin (13 goals), with James Rodriguez (5) the next best at Goodison Park as Richarlison continues to struggle.

Richarlison has just two strikes to his name in 17 league outings this term after hitting 13 in each of the previous two seasons, and despite the added creativity of summer signing Rodriguez.

Only seven players across the Premier League are offering a higher hit rate of key passes per game than Rodriguez (1.9) thus far, but no top-flight figure provides as many from long range than the Colombian (1.1), per WhoScored.

Everton also have Lucas Digne creating chances, with only Wolves’ Pedro Neto (1.9) and Newcastle’s Matt Ritchie (1.9) offering a greater average number of accurate crosses a game than the French full-back (1.8) ).

Zaha will likely not be cheap but that should not stop Ancelotti from trying his luck at adding the Ivory Coast international to his squad at Everton this summer.

AND in other news, Everton have their eyes on a £10m+ striker boasting 18 goals this season…