Newcastle United v Wolverhampton Wanderers

A few years ago, Wolverhampton Wanderers were seen as one of the up and coming forces of English football. Backed with finance from China and with an increasingly star-studded squad, they looked set to become one of the leading ‘other’ forces in the English game. Stalls since the COVID era, though, have seen Wolves become a team more accustomed to fighting for the top half of the league as opposed to European spots. Newcastle, now backed by money from the Middle East, have taken their spot.

Can Wolves bite back here, though, and make up some ground on the top half of the table after all?

Newcastle United News

Newcastle come into this game with a few players missing. Fabian Schar is almost certain to miss out, while Joelinton will also not be available to play after being suspended. Other players who are unlikely to be involved include Ryan Fraser, who has essentially been banished from the first team picture.

Wolverhampton Wanderers News

Wolves have a longer injury list, with the likes of Hugo Bueno, Diego Costa, Hwang Hee-Chan and Chiquinho all out. Sasa Kalajdzic is still out, too, meaning that Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui is picking from a smaller pool than he would have hoped. Coming into this game, they need to find some form having only won seven games all season – but with so many injuries, it is hard to build confidence.

Verdict

Both sides have struggled for goals in recent times, and this is not likely to change here. Newcastle are seeing their season slowly dissipate and have not win in their last five league games. They were also well-beaten in the League Cup Final. Wolves won at Tottenham last week, but they are often a poor outfit away from home, winning twice all year away from Molineux. Do not expect that to change here.

PREDICTED SCORE: 0-0

Nottingham Forest v Everton

 

Out of all of this weekends games, this would have been the one where fans pinned ‘relegation battle’ on at the start of the season. Nottingham Forest are newly promoted and have looked as inconsistent as one would expect with a team that made 20+ signings. Everton are a mess, and have been playing with a loaded deck for what feels like five years now. Who wins this basement battle?

Nottingham Forest News

Forest still come into this game with an eye-watering injury list that covers as many as ten players. This includes first-choice defenders in Willy Boly and Scott McKenna. Key forward Taiwo Awoniyi is out, as are other key players like Sergie Aurier and Dean Henderson. For Nottingham Forest, the injuries are not drying up and it is leaving Steve Cooper in a tough spot with regards to selection.

Ryan Yates might return, but no other injury complaints look close to a return.

Everton News

The Toffees are seeing their own injury nightmare clear-up, though they will be without Andros Townsend and Nathan Patterson for the foreseeable. It does look like James Garner and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are close to a return, though a trip to the Midlands will likely come too soon for both.

Expect the Blues to come into this one looking to try and find some consistency in selection. New manager Sean Dyche is winless since his opening game, and needs to see something here to help dispel any worries about his new employers.

Verdict

This is a game between two sides low on belief and confidence. Forest do have a decent unbeaten home run, but they are not scoring enough goals. Everton do not create enough and have a nasty habit of producing comical defensive displays. It is hard to call a winner, though, with both teams so lacking in both squad depth and scoring form.

SCORE: 0-0

Leeds United v Southampton

Talk about relegation battles in England, and two teams which are right in amongst the madness include Leeds United and Southampton. Both teams escaped the drop last year, but look almost certain to be involved until the latter stages of the season this year. While Leeds finally found a new manager in Javi Gracia, Southampton are still searching after failing to complete a deal for ex-Leeds boss Jesse Marsch.

Leeds News

Leeds come into this game with an eye-watering injury list, with no more than nine players likely to be either doubtful or missing the game entirely. The key players who are set to miss out include Maxi Wober, the January signing, and Luis Sinisterra, their livewire Colombian winger. Other important misses include Rodrigo, Pascal Strujik, and Liam Cooper.

This has left Leeds with next to no players to choose from, and their selection on the day is likely based on who is fit and available rather than any tactical switches or tweaks.

Southampton News

Saints, meanwhile, got a huge lift with their 1-0 win at Chelsea in their last game. They will likely be without Che Adams, though, who has been an important player for the club since he signed. His energy and enthusiasm, as well as his ability to harry defenders, will be missed.

They did go to Chelsea and win without him, though, so it is not impossible that Saints can repeat the trick. If their star man James Ward-Prowse is fit, they definitely have a chance here given his quality.

Verdict

Leeds are a shambles, and have done nothing to really convince anyone with their scrambled appointment of former Watford man Gracia. This should be a tight, frenetic game with plenty of nervous energy in the air. Expect a result for Saints, though, who are trending upward while Leeds collapse.

SCORE: 1-2

Player Profile - Paul Pogba

If you have somehow managed to get to 2018 without hearing the name of Paul Pogba, we’d be quite impressed in a way. The big Frenchman is among the finest midfielders in the world game; a unique blend of grace, style, personality and raw power. Whether he’s nutmegging a fellow midfielder or lashing an unstoppable drive from distance, the fiery midfielder has earned his right to be among the global pantheon of midfield stars.

At 24, he’s maturing into the next midfield legend at Manchester United. Following an acrimonious exit from the club due to a lack of playing time under Alex Ferguson, Pogba made his way over to Italy with Juventus. In Turin, he established himself as a global star and quickly became an icon for a club perpetually in the midst of winning titles.

In four years in Turin, he clocked up over 150 appearances and won several medals, including four Serie A crowns as the Old Lady became one of the most dominant sides in the European game. While his then-world record move back to Manchester United is yet to truly catch fire, a League Cup and UEFA Europa League is a fine start to his return to Manchester.

Seemingly set with the aim of finishing off what he left behind the first time, the 2013 Golden Boy has all the talent and aptitude to make it at the top of the game. His unique blend of power, precision, persistence and personality makes him the kind of player that is so easy on the eye.

While his critics might say he is yet to score enough goals or truly blossom into a world-record worthy player, there’s much to admire about Paul Pogba. For years to come, he’ll be remembered as a genuine Premier League great.

Dwight McNeil

It’s not often that we see a club often fighting in the bottom half of the Premier League producing exciting homegrown talent. In Dwight McNeil, though, Burnley have a young player who has the potential to be among the most exciting in the league.

What makes him so special?

His composure and his ability to handle the breakthrough. Thrown into a Burnley side that looked burnt out and exasperated, McNeil began to produce regularly impressive performances. He’s shown an impressive ability to get his teammates on the ball, and has a decent range of tricks in his locker.

Crossing, shooting, and dribbling are all key skills in a wide player and McNeil has them all in abundance. He’s strong on the ball, he does not mind getting stuck in, and he has a good decision making process when he is on the ball. It’s not often that a young player is so good at creating chances for his teammates, but he seems to have a strong understanding of both his role in the team and what his teammates need from him.

For Sean Dyche, this maturity allied to a natural work ethic should be very exciting.

Any concerns or doubts?

For McNeil, there aren’t too many concerns outside of a propensity to give the ball away. His passing is quite minimalistic at times, and even then the decision making can be poor. The fact that he coves so much ground and gets involved defensively means that, when he does get the ball, he can often make the wrong choice to spring an attack.

However, for McNeil, these are small issues that will be improved upon with time and more gameday experience in the Premier League. For Burnley, this must be the most exciting youth prospect they’ve produced in some time: McNeil looks like he has the tools to reach the very top.

Player Profile: Virgil van Dijk

Were it possible to go back to 2015, when Virgil van Dijk left Glasgow Celtic for Southampton, every club in Europe would admit their mistake. The defender, seen as ‘too good for Scotland, not good enough for the top’ made a move to Southampton for around £11m. After two years in Glasgow where he looked like he’d outgrown the league on debut, he made the move to England and continued his development.

However, van Dijk was earmarked for major success as early as his youth days with FC Groningen. There, he made a huge impression and moved to Glasgow after the regular Dutch giants turned their nose up at him.

Assured on the ball and built with absolute confidence, van Dijk brings an air of calm that many modern defenders. Exceptional in the air, strong, quick and capable of handling any forward, the Dutchman has rightfully been elevated to a worldwide status. Despite having just 16 caps for a mediocre Holland side at 26 years of age, it would be fair to say that the Breda-born star was overlooked by both Dutch clubs and the Oranje for too long.

Now an established defender for Liverpool, following a protracted and chaotic move that could be worth £75m, van Dijk has become a major part of the future at Anfield. With such a massive pricetag, he’ll be expected to live up to heightened expectations – however, an inner zeal and self-belief that’s hard to break could see him easily achieve his aims.

The 6’4” defender is a regular goal scorer, and has often been one of the most impressive players in his position ever since he arrived in the UK with Celtic. Snobbery aside, some clubs might wish they’d paid the relative pittance that Southampton paid for the Dutch international! 

 

Were it possible to go back to 2015, when Virgil van Dijk left Glasgow Celtic for Southampton, every club in Europe would admit their mistake. The defender, seen as ‘too good for Scotland, not good enough for the top’ made a move to Southampton for around £11m. After two years in Glasgow where he looked like he’d outgrown the league on debut, he made the move to England and continued his development.

However, van Dijk was earmarked for major success as early as his youth days with FC Groningen. There, he made a huge impression and moved to Glasgow after the regular Dutch giants turned their nose up at him.

Assured on the ball and built with absolute confidence, van Dijk brings an air of calm that many modern defenders. Exceptional in the air, strong, quick and capable of handling any forward, the Dutchman has rightfully been elevated to a worldwide status. Despite having just 16 caps for a mediocre Holland side at 26 years of age, it would be fair to say that the Breda-born star was overlooked by both Dutch clubs and the Oranje for too long.

Now an established defender for Liverpool, following a protracted and chaotic move that could be worth £75m, van Dijk has become a major part of the future at Anfield. With such a massive pricetag, he’ll be expected to live up to heightened expectations – however, an inner zeal and self-belief that’s hard to break could see him easily achieve his aims.

The 6’4” defender is a regular goal scorer, and has often been one of the most impressive players in his position ever since he arrived in the UK with Celtic. Snobbery aside, some clubs might wish they’d paid the relative pittance that Southampton paid for the Dutch international!

Player Profile - Christian Eriksen

For years, the name of Christian Eriksen has been on the tips of the tongue of scouts across the globe. Now 25, the Middlefart-born Dane is one of the most impressive creative players in the world. With a deftness of touch that wouldn’t look out of place in a Brazilian national side to a vision and general temperament on the ball that makes him almost impossible to frustrate, Eriksen is easily among the leading lights in the entire Premier League.

The Spurs man started out at AFC Ajax, like many of his fellow Danes. He quickly became a key man at Ajax, thriving as the key cog in a resurgent Ajax side led by Frank de Boer. With some exceptional performances domestically and in Europe, including rampaging performances on English soil, Eriksen was a player that most teams in the world would have taken a chance on.

It was a surprise, then, when he made a move to Tottenham for just £11m in 2013. The move was seen as a massive coup for the club, as he joined a mini revolution at Spurs. While at first he was somewhat slow to get started, despite an assist on debut, he quickly established himself as a player who could lift the tempo of a math seemingly at will.

With the ball under his control almost permanently, he’s become a player noted for important goals, including wonderful free kicks. He’s also a player who is known for his top quality link-up play, having become a key foil for teammates Harry Kane and Dele Alli and, at international level, alongside the likes of Lasse Schone and Kasper Dolberg – fellow Ajax players.

For many, he’s among the most underrated players in the world and, just 25, could yet establish a career to rival Danish legends such as Michael Laudrup.