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After securing a win against mid-table Blackburn Rovers at the weekend, Nottingham Forest turn their attentions towards relegation battlers Rotherham on Tuesday night.

Chris Hughton’s side have picked things up in recent weeks in terms of their form, with the defeat to Swansea last Wednesday their only loss in the last six Championship games.

Things are looking much brighter for Forest, and while Hughton will be unlikely to ring massive changes for tonight’s game, he may look to freshen things up slightly given the quick turnaround in games.

And with that in mind, below is a look at how Forest might line up.

In goal, Bryce Samba should keep his place, with the back-four in front of him remaining unchanged, with Forest’s defence having improved significantly in recent weeks – they’ve kept four clean sheets in their last six games.

The midfield could see one key change, with Hughton no doubt keen one eye on the East Midlands derby on Friday against Derby County, and that could see Manchester United loanee James Garner given a rest.

If Hughton does make that bold call, then the 6 foot 3 Ryan Yates could well be in contention for a recall to the starting line-up alongside Cafu.

Further ahead, Joe Lolley will also be hoping that he’s the beneficiary of Hughton wanting to keep players as fresh as possible, with another young talent in Alex Mighton benched in his place.

Predicted XI: Samba; Christie, Figueiredo, Worrall, Ribeiro; Yates, Cafu; Knockaert, Krovinovic, Lolley; Murray.

When it came to Leeds’ transfer activity last summer, it was all about Rodrigo De Paul.

The Argentine was linked with a switch to Elland Road on a regular basis and it seemed at one stage that the player wanted the move himself.

His social media activity at the time was rather questionable but he ended up staying at Udinese. His asking price was above £35m and that was a move that Leeds simply couldn’t afford.

De Paul is still very much a player that United and Victor Orta admire but it’s unlikely he’ll end up in Yorkshire come the end of the January transfer window.

Similarly, it’s also unlikely that Norwich City dynamo Emi Buendia will leave the Canaries for Leeds. Daniel Farke wants to keep him at the club but like De Paul, he was someone they made an enquiry for in the summer.

If Leeds are still trying to pick between the two then their form this season dictates that Buendia can be the only option.

Dubbed a “revelation” by Chris Sutton, the attacking midfielder has been a mesmeric influence for the Canaries in the Championship.

He has scored seven goals and contributed seven assists for Farke’s men, producing performances that defy belief. The diminutive midfielder saved one of his greatest displays for Barnsley last weekend.

Buendia touched the ball on so many occasions that he lost possession a remarkable 28 times but he found the back of the net and completed six dribbles in the process. On top of that, Buendia won a whopping 12 duels in an all-action showing that left Barnsley defenders spinning.

De Paul is a fairly consistent player himself but he’s seldom replicated the 24-year-old’s stats. He’s scored just three goals but he has still been a dazzler with the ball at his feet – performing 3.3 dribbles a match.

That being said, the Norwich attacker is already well-versed in English football and would surely represent a cheaper and safer alternative.

Orta has to at least test the waters with a bid this year.

AND in other news, “He’d fit into Bielsa’s team” – Exclusive: Pundit claims £30m gem would be perfect Leeds signing…

Writing on Twitter, reliable journalist David Ornstein of the Athletic has dropped an encouraging six-word West Ham transfer claim in a social media message – going on to say that, while the pursuit for Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri looks all but over, GSB haven’t given up in their quest sign a striker before deadline day.

Hammers boss David Moyes recently confirmed that the club have made numerous enquires for forwards in attempts to get a deal over the line as soon as possible (football.london), but so far, West Ham have had little luck.

Ornstein’s encouraging West Ham claim

Ornstein, dropping an update on social media, has shared words of encouragement for Irons in a message on Twitter – revealing, despite the setbacks, they still ‘aim to sign a striker pre-deadline’.

Numerous reports have cropped up in the past few days alone, with Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard now an option (The Daily Star), as well as GSB allegedly being offered the chance to sign former Premier League striker Edin Dzeko (Corriere dello Sport via Sport Witness) and Ornstein reports that the club are still keen to bring in a new forward.

Transfer Tavern take

Until Moyes manages to land a new addition, speculation will continue to arise over who could walk through the doors in east London – but it appears that West Ham have no shortage of attacking candidates.

Ornstein’s message indicates that the chase is still very much on, and Irons supporters will be hoping for a meaningful update very soon in regards to finally signing a striker.

In other news: West Ham fans loved this update from ExWHUemployee, find out more here.

MatériaMais Notícias

Visando deixar para trás as frustrações da temporada de 2015, Friburguense e Macaé se enfrentam hoje, às 17h (de Brasília), no Eduardo Guinle. As duas equipes iniciam o Campeonato Carioca em panoramas diferentes.

Tentando uma vaga na Série D para esquecer o pífio Estadual de 2015, o Frisão optou por manter a base e fez contratações pontuais. Bernardo é a maior aposta.

– Nossa filosofia de dar continuidade ao grupo ficou mais fortalecida na pré-temporada. Agora, é tentar fazer uma boa estreia – disse o técnico Gerson Andreotti, ao L!.

Já o Macaé lida com um processo de “reconstrução” após a queda para a Série C. Mesmo com a penca de jogadores que chegaram ao clube, o técnico Toninho Andrade alerta para a busca por pontuar:

– A gente começa fora de casa, e depois pega Flamengo e Botafogo. Tropeçando em um campeonato curto, vai ficar mais difícil – finalizou o técnico.

Tottenham Hotspur suffered their first defeat in the Premier League since the opening day as they relinquished their place at the top of the table.

Jose Mourinho’s side were beaten by defending champions Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday evening after Roberto Firmino headed home the match-winner in injury time.

Heung-min Son had cancelled out Mo Salah’s deflected opening strike all before half-time, but Spurs attackers Harry Kane and Steven Bergwijn squandered at least four chances between them whilst the game was still all-square.

The Reds have now gone three points clear of the north Londoners going into the weekend’s fixtures.

Whilst Mourinho will undoubtedly be fuming with his side’s inability to convert chances on the night, he could well be even more embarrassed by the display from Ben Davies at left-back.

It was a mighty call to start the Welshman over usual first-choice Sergio Reguilon, one that we also backed prior to kick-off but it evidently didn’t pay off whatsoever.

The £18m-rated full-back was abysmal with the ball at his feet, making just 32% of his 19 passing attempts whilst also losing possession 14 times and failing to record a single accurate cross or long ball (seven attempts), via SofaScore.

Davies did do his defensive duties somewhat, managing four clearances, two interceptions and one tackle, though he hardly offered Son much respite in the attack, something that perhaps the snubbed Spaniard would’ve done.

The Express graded the 27-year-old a disappointing five out of ten in their post-match ratings, and summed up his performance by saying: “Much like Aurier on the other side, was restricted by the amount of attacking fervour on display from the home side.”

With Leicester City on Sunday, Mourinho may need to think again before selecting the £65k-per-week calamity – the Foxes will be looking to bounce back themselves having lost at home to Everton last night too.

AND in other news, Worse than Bergwijn: £108m-rated Spurs star who won only 33% duels cost Mourinho badly…

MatériaMais Notícias

Para começar o ano de 2016 “voando” durante os jogos, o elenco alvinegro trocou o treino no gramado de General Severiano por uma bateria de exames. Na manhã desta quinta-feira, os jogadores foram levados para o departamento de saúde da UFRJ, na Ilha do Fundão, onde passaram por diversos testes, entre eles o “wingate test”, que mede de maneira muito apurada o esforço dos jogadores durante uma série de atividades.

Fisiologista do Botafogo, Manoel Coutinho explicou a importância desta bateria de testes no início da temporada.

– Estamos a cada dia medindo um parâmetro. Parâmetros médicos, ergométricos, ecocardiograma. Nesta sexta-feira vamos terminar com testes de velocidade, agilidade e resistência. Depois, isso vai facilitar ao Ednilson Sena (preparador físico) em que ponto atacar com cada um dos jogadores – explicou o fisiologista.

Além de medir a condição física do elenco, Coutinho esclareceu também que os exames servem principalmente avaliar os jogadores estrangeiros e equipará-los aos atletas que permaneceram no clube.

– Pelo fato de não conhecermos eles, vamos avaliar e comparar com os nossos antigos atletas. Isso vai permitir fazer um diagnóstico e treinamento para eles – disse Manoel.

O preparador físico Ednilson Sena, por sua vez, comentou como está a condição física dos atletas alvinegros após o período de férias.

– Estão sendo feitos alguns testes que não foram feitos na temporada passada, para análise mais individualizada. Aqueles que ficaram do ano passado se encontram em um nível muito bom para um início de temporada – destacou o preparador físico do Botafogo.

There is a lot of change going on within the academy at Crystal Palace after the club were recently granted category one status.

The club are building a new facility for the youngsters and hope to build a future revolved around their academy. However, the latest news suggests that one of the coaches within the development setup could be leaving.

According to Football Insider, and tweeted out by @cpfc_xtra, Crystal Palace development coach Shaun Derry is in contention to become the new Mansfield Town manager.

The former Crystal Palace captain only joined the club as Professional Development Coach within the club’s Academy in September 2019. However, a possible move to the League Two side makes sense as it would be a route for Derry to get back into management.

He currently has a key role with the Eagles as he helps older age-group players ease player progression from development to senior football.

Therefore if he does leave, the South London side should look to find a replacement as soon as possible as player progression from the academy is very important. You can also find some great talents, which Palace have done in the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Tyrick Mitchell.

Here is how Palace fans are reacting to this news:

In other Palace news, one senior player shone for the U23’s recently. Have a read who it was here!

Liverpool are certainly in the middle of a golden generation at the moment.

It could easily be argued that the Reds have been the best team in the world over the past three years, losing just four league games over the past two seasons, while reaching back-to-back Champions League finals during that period, lifting the famous trophy in 2019.

The driving force behind the Merseyside club’s success has undoubtedly been their front three.

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Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have won three Golden Boots between them during this period, while Roberto Firmino has redefined the role of a striker, playing as a false nine in a way we haven’t really seen before in this country.

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, and with all three attackers now aged 28, Liverpool may need to start planning for the future sooner rather than later.

The Reds could very easily fall into a slump after the Mane-Salah-Firmino era comes to an end, but one recent transfer story, combined with the young talent already at the club, hints that their future attack could be just as strong.

Bild have linked the Merseyside club with a move for Borussia Dortmund starlet Giovanni Reyna, while European Golden Boy nominee Rhian Brewster and Premier League record-breaker Harvey Elliott both remain on the books.

Reyna and Elliott on the wings with Brewster leading the line is a mouth-watering prospect if the trio get anywhere close to reaching their perceived potential.

Jurgen Klopp has already put together arguably the best front three in world football, and he may soon assemble the next greatest attacking force on the planet if he manages to land Reyna while also aiding the development of Brewster and Elliott.

Of course, it’s hard to gauge how high a young player’s ceiling is, but you don’t get a starting role at Dortmund as a 17-year-old if you’re not special, nor do you get nominated for the Golden Boy, nor do you break the record for youngest Premier League player ever.

West Ham are safe for another year following a string of hugely impressive results.

On Friday evening, the Irons were all but confirmed to have beaten the drop after David Moyes’ side rocked relegation-threatened Watford 3-1 at the London Stadium.

That came just days after a 4-0 dismantling of rock-bottom Norwich City, courtesy of a Michail Antonio masterclass.

And on Wednesday, they managed to hold off Manchester United in their quest for Champions League football even despite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer selecting a dangerous attack involving Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes.

Integral to all three matches has been Declan Rice – the England lynchpin has enjoyed quite the resurgence at exactly the right time.

Per WhoScored, the 21-year-old has averaged a rating just shy of 8.0, making him one of the Hammers’ current top performers. In that time, he’s recorded 15 long balls, 11 interceptions, ten tackles, six dribbles and six shots at goal.

It’s no wonder Rice has been attracting interest from some of the Premier League’s elite. Both Chelsea and Manchester United have regularly been linked.

According to The Athletic, the Blues may use Fikayo Tomori as bait to land their former academy starlet whilst The Sun claim their London rivals believe £45m could be enough to clinch him in the summer. They also hint at United and Arsenal being keen admirers.

However, if the last three games are anything to go by, then Rice has fired a timely transfer warning to Moyes that he’s simply irreplaceable in this Hammers side.

Having already racked up seven caps for Gareth Southgate at 21, these sorts of displays are going to have him as a shoo-in to be on the plane for the Three Lions at next summer’s delayed European Championships.

Rice’s ability to also play in defence makes him even more invaluable to Moyes and the Glaswiegen once said he could “arguably be my best centre half and best midfielder.”

Whilst the praise hasn’t stopped there. Former Irons boss Manuel Pellegrini dubbed Rice a “complete player” who’s rather similar to Javier Mascherano and Joe Cole lauded his mentality and his love for the game in an interview with talkSPORT.

The Hammers on an upward trend under Moyes and if that’s to continue, Rice simply has to be at the forefront of it all as the team’s leading talisman.

You can throw whatever you like at the club, £45m, £60m, heck make it £100m, no one can replicate the 6 foot 1 enforcer’s impact in east London.

Industrious. Indispensable. But will GSB agree? Only time will tell.

AND in other news, here are the referees West Ham will want to see more of in future…

According to The Athletic’s Greg O’Keeffe, Everton have “monitored” Espanyol’s Marc Roca as a potential alternative to their pursuit of Allan.

What did he say?

One of the big names to be linked to be with a move to Goodison Park this summer has been Napoli midfielder Allan, but a deal for the Brazilian has yet to materialise.

Now, O’Keeffe has suggested that if the Toffees can’t lure the 29-year-old away from Naples, they could turn their attentions to Roca, who was a mainstay for Espanyol with 44 appearances across all competitions last season.

How big of an Everton fan are you? Can you spot Mikel Arteta from Graham Stuart? This quiz will test your knowledge, try it if you’re brave enough…

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He said: “Ancelotti has also been interested in luring another Brazilian, his former Napoli charge Allan, to Merseyside. If not Allan, who at 29 would have no sell-on value, the remit for their new midfielder remains a dynamic, box-to-box player with leadership abilities; something Everton have visibly lacked.

“One who fits that bill, and has been monitored by Everton scouts, is Espanyol’s Marc Roca. The 23-year-old made 35 La Liga appearances for the Barcelona club last season and impressed despite their relegation after finishing bottom of La Liga. Again though, Arsenal are rumoured to be interested and, according to reports in Spain, so are Real Madrid.”

Better value than Allan

At 23, Roca is considerably younger than Allan, and would give Everton a better chance of recouping their money if they were to sell him down the line.

The Spaniard is also still a couple of years away from reaching his peak, and would be the kind of midfield talent that Carlo Ancelotti could really build around at Goodison Park.

The 6 foot ace is a midfield powerhouse, averaging 2.3 tackles per game in La Liga last season – to put that into context, only Djibril Sidibe managed more in Everton’s squad. Having a player like him to break up the play and protect the back-four will be crucial to ensuring the Toffees don’t concede cheap goals.

If Everton can’t secure Allan for Ancelotti, then Roca seems like a very decent alternative.