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Manchester City produced a professional display to see off Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage on Saturday evening, with Pep Guardiola springing a lot of surprises with his team selection.

The Spanish manager set his team up in a 3-4-3 formation, with Gabriel Jesus featuring on the left-wing, whilst Raheem Sterling was omitted from the squad completely.

The former Liverpool man was also left out against Southampton in midweek following his poor performance in the 2-0 defeat against Manchester United, and after Jesus’ impressive display in East London last night, he may well struggle to force his way back into the team.

As per SofaScore, the Brazilian forward would earn an impressive 7.7 rating for his display, with only Joao Cancelo rated higher of any player on the pitch.

Jesus scored the second goal of the evening by capitalising on a Fulham mistake and rounding Alphonse Areola, before firing into the net, showing the sort of composure that he has often lacked in front of goal.

When playing up front, the 23-year-old is sometimes left isolated, but he was supported by Sergio Aguero and Ferran Torres in attacking roles, which allowed him to get much more involved in the build-up play, whilst also causing problems for the Fulham defence with his runs in behind.

During the game, the former Palmeiras man would impressively complete 6/7 of his dribbles, whilst 25/30 of his passes were accurate, resulting in an 83% accuracy rate.

He also contributed impressively when it came to winning duels, as he was successful in 9/13 of his ground duels during the game, which emphasises that he is more than willing to get stuck in and defend from the front, something which Sterling struggles with.

In his appearance against United, the winger would fail to win a single duel or complete a single dribble, so it is easy to see why he hasn’t featured in the last two games, as he was very disappointing.

Whilst both Sterling and Jesus have been guilty of missing big chances in recent seasonsm if the Brazilian is given more opportunities to impress in a new role on the left-wing, then you could definitely argue that the £99m-rated England international’s place in Guardiola’s side could be under serious threat.

And, in other news… Forget Haaland: Txiki could sign City’s next Aguero in “outstanding” £90m-rated gem

When you look at the right-hand side of Leeds’ defence, there aren’t really too many issues.

Luke Ayling has become one of the most reliable figures in the squad and nothing summed that up more than his virtuoso display against Leicester at the weekend.

When he’s injured or has to cover in the middle of defence, it’s Stuart Dallas who fills in. Again, he is a picture of consistency, winning their Player’s Player of the Year in 2019/20 for his displays at full-back.

With that in mind, it might be difficult to get into the team if you’re an outsider looking in. Certainly, that’s what young full-back Cody Drameh might be thinking.

The 19-year-old has been making waves at academy level this term but his performances should bring huge belief. Some of his outstanding displays for Mark Jackson’s U23s have been eye-catching to say the least.

Not since a young Sam Byram have we seen a young defender make such an impact at Elland Road. The right-back became a key part of the Championship side as a youngster before he was sold to West Ham in January 2016.

Byram was someone who was adept defensively but also loved to get forward. He had pace, energy and was confident.

Coincidentally, those are similar qualities that Drameh possesses. The teenager signed from Fulham in the summer but despite failing to work his way into Marcelo Bielsa’s first-team plans, a call-up surely won’t be too far away.

During the club’s 2-0 win over Sunderland U23s on Monday, Drameh was one of the best players on the park.

Leeds commentator Tom Hill called the youngster a “box of tricks” during the coverage of the match and it’s hard to argue with that statement. He constantly got down the right-hand channel and failed to lose much energy.

Writing at full-time, Leeds Live reporter Joe Donnohue said: “Down the right flank combining with Helder Costa, Drameh’s flicks, tricks and backheels were a welcome addition to his game. His constant running in behind meant Sunderland were pinned back on that side of the pitch, which contributed to Leeds’ complete dominance.”

Donnohue continued: “Drameh’s defensive game was called upon more often in the second half, but it was of a similar calibre to his first-half attacking.”

Byram may have kept things simpler than flicks and tricks but he still had an unrelenting ability to get forward. The two players are also similarly adept defensively.

For context, the former Leeds man won 2.4 tackles per game last season. Drameh, on the other hand, has won 2.5 in the EFL Trophy for the Whites.

Improving all the time, it will surely only be a matter of time before he’s involved in senior team life more often. He is a radiant ball of attacking fun and defensive nous. What’s not to like?

AND in other news, Never mind Alioski: Leeds gem who lost possession 19x let Bielsa down on Wednesday…

Many Wolves fans were not happy with the performance of right-back Ki-Jana Hoever during his side’s 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday night.

The Black Country club put up a good fight at the Etihad against the league leaders and were level-pegging with 10 minutes to spare before the floodgates opened.

Hoever came off second best to his opposite number Riyad Mahrez, who made him look foolish on several occasions, although the young defender was often finding himself in situations where he had two Citizens’ attackers to deal with.

Per Sofascore, the 19-year-old lost 10 duels, was dribbled past five times, lost possession 16 times and accumulated a pass success rate of 79%.

Unsurprisingly, supporters were heavily critical towards the youngster with some suggesting that he should be dropped from Nuno Espirito Santo’s side altogether.

Hoever didn’t impress these fans

“Hoever continues to not be able to pass to a teammate by hitting the Trafford Centre with a cross”

Credit: @mitchdavis_1

“Someone tell me why Hoever can’t cross a ball and it doesn’t get mentioned enough”

Credit: @k_horton22

“Hoever is awful”

Credit: @WVjugsy

“Scrappy game from @Wolves. The final scoreline was a bit harsh. Seriously unimpressed with Jana Hoever. Absolutely terrible game from him. Also, Otasowie is cursed it seems.”

Credit: @chinacomedystu

“Hoever for £10 million is a ridiculously bad transfer, recruitment team needs looking at. The business done at Wolves over the last 18 months is criminal.”

Credit: @JackHeather7

“Hoever was shocking tonight!! Another waste of multi-millions!!”

Credit: @SteveWiles20

In other news, Wolves fans responded to Tim Spiers’ claims on Nuno’s squad issues.

Speaking exclusively to Transfer Tavern, former Premier League referee Mark Halsey discussed Fabio Silva’s penalty shout in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

In the fixture itself, Spurs took the lead in the first minute, as Tanguy Ndombele’s shot from the edge of the penalty area found its way past Wolves ‘keeper, Rui Patricio.

And, it appeared as if Spurs had done enough to win the fixture, as Jose Mourinho’s side led until the 86th minute, only for Romain Saiss to brilliantly glance a header home in the dying moments, with the match finishing 1-1.

However, Wolves could well have taken all three points from the fixture, had a penalty been awarded early in the second half, when it appeared that Eric Dier made contact with Fabio Silva, who subsequently hit the deck, only for Paul Tierney to wave away the challenge, with VAR subsequently deeming the referee’s call not a clear and obvious error.

“The concerning thing is, if you look, the assistant is right there, he’s got a great view,” Halsey told Transfer Tavern. “The referee is quite some distance from it, but the assistant is right there.”

He continued: “I think on-field officials are now getting lazy, they’re relying on VAR too much and, the reason I think that the VAR never got involved was because they’re looking at it saying, ‘Is it a clear and obvious error?’

“Now, had a penalty been given that in the first place, I don’t believe VAR would have overturned it. I think Wolves were unlucky, they should’ve had a penalty.”

So, according to Halsey, it would indeed appear as if Nuno Espirito Santo can feel arrived that his side were not awarded a penalty in the second half, which could well have seen them leave the fixture will all three points, rather than the one they ended up taking from the match.

What is also interesting is Halsey’s wider claim that officials appear to be relying on VAR too much, and are thus being less decisive with their calls on the pitch, which could lead to incidents such as Dier’s challenge on Fabio Silva going unpunished.

After almost three weeks away from playing Premier League football, Aston Villa returned to top-flight action on Wednesday night as they took on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Dean Smith’s side were in the contest until well into the second-half, when controversy struck with just ten minutes to go. Tyrone Mings was adjudged to have played Rodri onside after the Spaniard stole the ball off him after coming from way behind, and Bernardo Silva stuck one into the corner of the net to set City on their way to victory.

And whilst VAR played a massive role in Villa’s 2-0 defeat to Pep Guardiola’s men, Bertrand Traore was a bit of a let-down for his manager too.

The Burkina Faso international was given the nod to start ahead of the in-form Anwar El Ghazi, who’s scored five goals in his last games in the Premier League.

And but for one of those stand-out ‘did you see it?’ moments where Traore made Kevin De Bruyne look a fool with an incredible first touch, it just wasn’t the former Lyon man’s night.

Too often he got himself into promising situations but couldn’t deliver a good enough end product, and his reliance on his stronger left foot meant that City could play him far more easily and just force him onto his weaker right.

In the 68 minutes that he was on the pitch, he lost possession 10 times, and given that he only 23 touches of the ball, he conceded possession with every 2.3 touches – by far the worst of any player on the pitch, and an indication of how much he still needs to adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premier League.

Traore failed to find his man with any of his three attempted crosses, whilst he only made four successful passes in the entire time that he was on the pitch. It certainly didn’t help his team that he wasn’t much of a help for Matty Cash defensively, which is quickly becoming a theme whenever he’s playing.

Whether it was Joao Cancelo who recognised that he could have a field day with Traore not tracking back, or Guardiola making that a part of his tactical blueprint before-hand, it was no surprise to see the Portuguese left-back be one of City’s chief creators on the night.

He had three shots, one of which hit the woodwork, completed 100% of his dribbles and had a whopping 108 touches of the ball – the joint-most of any City player, and showing how much City attacked down Traore’s side.

Writing in his post-match player ratings, The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece said that he was “guilty of losing him as the City full-back burst forward to link up with Foden” and that he was “a bit wasteful on occasion”.

VAR might take the headlines, and rightly so given how it’s cost Villa. But Smith will also be very disappointed with Traore’s showing after showing him the faith to start him over El Ghazi.

Meanwhile, Villa may already have the perfect Jack Grealish back-up…

David Moyes must find a solution for Tomas Soucek’s struggles after frequently being caught out of position as West Ham United beat Aston Villa on Monday night.

Moyes handed the Czech Republic international his 10th start of the Premier League season for the visit of Dean Smith’s Villans, who arrived in east London within three-points of the Champions League places following Leicester City’s surprise loss at relegation-threatened Fulham.

A win for West Ham saw the Irons move ahead of the Birmingham-based outfit and up to fifth place, and could now go third with a win over Manchester United on Saturday evening.

Moyes will need to see an improved performance from Soucek if the Scottish coach is to orchestrate a victory over his former employer, who he has only beat on four occasions in his managerial career despite facing them 28 times across all competitions.

Soucek had been one of Moyes’ standout stars of the season so far prior to the visit of Villa, but failed to deliver the same impact at either end of the field with no key passes and one shot that was off-target, plus just one touch (38) more and one fewer accurate passes (12) than goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, per WhoScored.

Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville was far from impressed with Soucek’s positioning, in particular, having felt the £19.1million summer signing was too rash in applying pressure that he exposed his defensive teammates.

“An old principle. If you think about central midfield play, coaches would always say that a central midfield player, in this case Soucek, furthest away from the ball, he should be able to see his mate’s back and read what’s on the back of his shirt,” Neville said during Sky Sports’ coverage of Monday night’s game (30/11, 20:55).

“You look at Soucek, he just gets drawn forward and leaves that space. That’s the place you’ve got to block. Every coach in football now stops that ball into the strikers and forwards.”

Moyes can ill-afford to see Soucek similarly be caught out of position when Manchester United visit the London Stadium this weekend, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils boasting the Premier League’s fifth-most active offence with 13.8 shots a game, and with the second-most coming from outside the penalty area (44%), per WhoScored.

The Old Trafford natives are far more inclined to try their luck from range than inside the six-yard box (2%, a league-low), while forward Anthony Martial registers a large per cent of his 37.8 touches per game on the edge of the opponents’ area – where Soucek was often not found against West Ham.

AND in other news, David Moyes dodged a £34m bullet in “incredible” rocket West Ham eyed this summer.

The power has started to shift from one side of Glasgow to the other as Rangers sit top of the Scottish Premiership with a 13-point gap between them and second-placed Celtic.

Steven Gerrard’s side cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory over their arch rivals in the first Old Firm derby of the season and sporting director Ross Wilson could deal another huge blow to Neil Lennon in the transfer window.

According to The Daily Mail, as quoted by The Sun, Rangers are among a group of clubs interested in signing out-of-contract Queens Park Rangers sensation Bright Osayi-Samuel as Lennon has made him a ‘priority signing.’

It’s claimed Rangers, Crystal Palace and Club Brugge are keeping close tabs on his situation after the right-winger was linked with a move to Ibrox last summer.

The 22-year-old’s contract will run out in June, which means that Ross Wilson could land himself one of the bargains of the winter transfer market in the QPR star, as he could sign a pre-contract deal with the club before joining the Glaswegian giants in the summer.

With Brandon Barker’s time at the club all but over, this means that Gerrard will only really have two viable options for one position, although the least said about Jordan Jones, the better.

An injury crisis could quickly cause problems on the left-wing, so the Ibrox boss will need to sign a player who will not only be able to provide cover and competition for the ever-reliable Ryan Kent but someone who will add an alternative in attack.

Therefore, Wilson must strike while the iron is hot to sign a like-for-like replacement and in doing so, he could hit Celtic where it hurts the most.

In 16 appearances in the English Championship so far this season, Osayi-Samuel has scored two goals and supplied three assists, whilst he is averaging 1.3 shots, 1.3 key passes and 3 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

By comparison, Barker hasn’t even managed one key pass and one dribble on average per game in the Scottish Premiership this season, as per WhoScored.

Former Rangers and current QPR manager Mark Warburton has heaped praise on his young charge, calling him a “constant threat”, whilst Robins boss Dean Holden admitted his side had no answers for the “outstanding” dynamo after he caused Bristol City all sorts of problems at the start of the month.

Wilson simply must do everything in his power to ensure that Osayi-Samuel is lining up in the light blue rather than the green and white hoops in the near future.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must reward Glen Kamara with a new contract…

Liverpool defender Joe Gomez was singled out for praise after his side’s 2-1 victory against Sheffield United at Anfield last night.

Gomez impresses Pearce

The Reds took all three points in a game which saw Rhian Brewster return to Anfield for the first time since his £23.5m move to the Blades last month.

Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota sealed the deal for Jurgen Klopp’s side following yet more VAR controversy after the off-field officials believed that Fabinho fouled Oliver McBurnie inside the 18-yard box. However, replays showed that the challenge took place fractionally outside the area and Mike Dean’s original decision should have stood, much to Jurgen Klopp’s frustration at the final whistle.

With Dutch talisman Virgil van Dijk set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Gomez was paired with Fabinho as the Reds’ centre-back pairing as they look to adjust to life without the 29-year-old for the foreseeable future.

The Englishman performed superbly, winning 10 of his 19 duels along with recording nine clearances, a 100% long ball accuracy and an overall passing success rate of 94% (Sofascore).

During The Athletic’s Q&A session after the full-time whistle, Pearce was asked by a fan about Gomez’s performance and gave his view on his new role in the team. The journalist replied: “He does get some very unfair criticism. Lost a few aerial battles tonight but other areas of his game outstanding. Stepping up in the absence of VVD [Van Dijk].”

Unassisted dominance

Gomez is in a similar position to an 18-year-old going to university for the first time and no longer relying on their parents to get by – a similar scenario applies to him in Van Dijk’s absence.

Yesterday’s performance proved that he is competent without the Dutch international by his side, with Fabinho set to be his partner at the back unless Liverpool opt to make a move in the January transfer window.

The £36m-rated talent put in a dominant display and made up for the ghastly showing that he put in at Villa Park before the international break. He now has the opportunity to kick on and prove to his manager that he can cope without Van Dijk next to him.

In other news, Liverpool fans blast £99m-rated ace after he lost possession 26 times.

Andrea Radrizzani has signed off on some seriously smart decisions during his time at Leeds, with the signing of Patrick Bamford being one of them. However, one call he recently made is a bit of a head-scratcher. The chairman opted to extend Gaetano Berardi’s contract until the end of the current season, despite his ongoing injury woes.

Over the last two seasons, the right-back has missed a total of 38 matches due to a flurry of injuries. He is currently sidelined at the moment with a ruptured ACL and may not feature again for Leeds.

Leeds should have cashed in on Berardi

Fitness issues aside, Berardi was becoming more and more of an inconsistent starter for the Whites. Last season, Berardi was dropped for 22 games and started just 12, playing a minimal role in the club’s historic Championship-winning campaign (via Transfermarkt).

The defender also sparks worry surrounding his discipline. He has missed a whopping 18 games during his Leeds career due to red card suspensions, which is not a trait Marcelo Bielsa will want to advertise in the Premier League. The top flight strikers will be able to exploit his lack of discipline and could seriously hurt the defence by drawing in fouls from him.

Radrizzani’s decision to extend his contract doesn’t make much sense, considering the fact he is on a reported £35,000 per week, which he will be earning whilst on the sidelines recovering from injury.

Leeds will need to take to the transfer market in January to bolster their options in goal as well as attack. Spending a mammoth £1.6million on Berardi’s wages for the year seems like a complete and utter waste of money. The 32-year-old will likely be leaving the club at the end of this season on a free contract. Radrizzani must surely be wondering why he bothered tabling a new deal in such a strange scenario.

In other news, Signing Fraser Forster will help Leeds improve Illan Meslier…

According to TEAMtalk, West Ham United are considering a bid for Glasgow Rangers captain James Tavernier.

As the transfer deadline closes in, the Hammers remain in need of defensive reinforcements, and Tavernier has been pinpointed as one of the men who could help them in that department.

Steven Gerrard would fight to keep the right-back, of course, but the Irons are set to test the Ibrox outfit’s resolve with an offer.

The 28-year-old could hardly have hoped for a better start to the season north of the border. In his first 11 games in all competitions, he has scored six times, whilst he has created a further four. That now leaves his career total for the 54-time Scottish champions at 52 strikes and 78 assists – there are few defenders who could claim to have anything close to that kind of output.

Currently valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt, Tavernier still has two years left on his contract with the Gers and, as the armband indicates, he is an influential figure at the club. West Ham would likely need to make a significant bid to convince Steven Gerrard and co to part ways – it remains to be seen whether they do just that.

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