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[ad_pod ]Leicester City defender Harry Maguire is set to be fit to face Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday evening, after making a full recovery from a knock sustained in the dramatic 4-3 loss to Wolves in the Foxes’ last Premier League outing, as reported by the club’s official Twitter account.

Whilst that may seem like good news for Claude Puel and Leicester, it could also be a blessing in disguise for the Reds.

Why could it be a good thing?

Whilst the England international is undoubtedly the Foxes’ best defender, his few weaknesses could be exploited to the maximum against Jurgen Klopp’s side. The 25-year-old is a commanding, physically imposing presence who is surprisingly very good on the ball, although his lack of pace and noticeable immobility could and should be taken advantage of at Anfield.

Those of you who remember this same fixture on Merseyside from last season should recall the joy Mohamed Salah had against the former Hull City man, in which he turned Maguire and made him look foolish before slotting into the back of the net.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

Could the same happen again?

Maguire has since embarked on a memorable World Cup campaign with the Three Lions, becoming a household name in the process as he won admirers from all over the country, although he may not be the same player against the Reds on Wednesday evening.

Leicester are in a bit of a rut and have lost four of their last five games, and after being cut apart by Wolves like a hot knife through butter on more than one occasion last time out, the game against a Liverpool side who are top of the league could expose Maguire in noticeable fashion.

Salah is one of the quickest players in the league, and his new role as a central striker will see him come up directly against Maguire – if you were to ask me who I think would win the battle, I’d say the Egyptian could have a very fun evening against the team from the east Midlands.

West Ham fans will be over the moon to see Marko Arnautovic commit his long-term future to the club.

Speculation raged on throughout January after it emerged that an unnamed Chinese club were interested in the Austrian international. Bids of around £35m were rejected by the Hammers but rumours persisted that Arnautovic was keen to make the move to Asia. However, the former Stoke man put an end to the links by committing his long-term future to the London Stadium, penning a new long-term contract.

Manuel Pellegrini is now able to build his team around his star forward and improved form in the coming weeks could help secure a return to Europe. Ending the season in a European place would benefit the Hammers greatly in the summer as they would be able to attract a much higher calibre of player.

One man Pellegrini could look to lure to east London is Hoffenheim maestro – Kerem Demirbay. Valued at £18m by Transfermarkt, the 25-year-old has established himself as one of Germany’s top midfielders despite struggling with injuries in recent seasons. Finally, Demirbay is back to full fitness and is showing fans exactly what they’ve been missing out on.

The former Borussia Dortmund man is one of the world’s most complete midfielders, effortlessly combining defence and attack. He loves to get stuck in, averaging 2.3 tackles per game, but also has the quality to dictate the tempo of the game. Demirbay’s creative ability would be music to the ears of Arnautovic as the German has averaged an incredible 3.2 key passes per game in the Bundesliga this season (WhoScored).

Demirbay, who was once linked with Liverpool, has all the attributes to be a massive success in England and Pellegrini should do all he can to lure him to the Premier League.

West Ham fans, thoughts?

According to the Independent, Chelsea are monitoring Philippe Coutinho, with the Blues interested in the prospect of bringing him in as a potential replacement for Eden Hazard.

Certainly, if Hazard were to leave, Chelsea would need a top replacement – but would Coutinho be the best option? It’s hard to suggest that he would.

After all, Coutinho isn’t best suited to a role on the flanks. In fact, he’s the very definition of a central attacking midfielder, and that’s not a role that Chelsea tend to utilise at present. He doesn’t have the work ethic or the drive to play as a winger, and in truth, his talents would simply be wasted in the role.

Sure, he’s a great player, and he may be able to play in place of someone like Mateo Kovacic in the middle, but would he be an upgrade? It’s hard to say so.

Of course, he’s currently in the midst of a really poor season with Barcelona. He’s picked up just 4 league goals and 2 league assists this term, and for a player of his quality, that’s just not good enough. In truth, he looks out of his depth in Spain, and he’s really struggling to hit the heights that his transfer fee demanded. It might be a case of the system not quite fitting him, but as mentioned, that would be something that he’d have to deal with at Stamford Bridge, too.

He’s also rated at a whopping £126 million, and so he wouldn’t be a cheap signing for the Blues at all, despite his recent form.

That’s all without considering the Chelsea fans and their feelings towards Coutinho, too. Owing to his Liverpool history, the Brazilian isn’t a popular man at Stamford Bridge – and so this isn’t a move that would quell the inevitable fan fury if Hazard were to leave.

In truth, this move doesn’t tick any boxes for Chelsea – and it’s one to be avoided.

Thoughts?

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Loads of Tottenham fans have been reacting to the latest transfer rumour, as reports claim the Lilywhites are eyeing a summer move for midfield enforcer Franck Kessie.

According to Tuttomercatoweb, Tottenham have contacted Kessie’s agent about a summer move.

The report claims Spurs would have to pay AC Milan £35m to sign the midfield ace.

The north London outfit lost Mousa Dembele last month, and Eric Dier’s injury woes have left Mauricio Pochettino with just Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko to choose from in the middle of the park.

Kessie is currently at AC Milan on loan from Atalanta, though the San Siro outfit are expected to activate a clause that will make the move permanent for £17.5m, which would then allow them to sell him on and double their money.

The 22 year-old is a full Ivory Coast international, and is an all-action midfielder who will break up play, move the ball around and chip in with the odd goal.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Wolves fans have taken to Twitter to heap praise on Joao Moutinho’s performance against Bristol City in the FA Cup fifth round.

The Portuguese international bossed the midfield at Molineux on Sunday afternoon, as Nuno Espirito Santo’s men recorded a 1-0 win to progress into the quarter-finals, although it was not without its nervy moments, including a last minute scramble in the box involving Robins ‘keeper Frank Fielding.

Nonetheless, last season’s Championship winners are now well on their way to a seventh-place finish in the Premier League, and have a quarter-final tie to look forward to in what has been a phenomenal season so far.

It was a frantic affair against Bristol City, but Moutinho’s composure and ability in the middle of the park helped calm things down and allow Wolves to see the game out.

As a result, the club’s supporters on Twitter wasted no time in praising the former Monaco midfielder for his classy display…

IMO the best we’ve seen in the gold and black since the late great Peter Broadbent. A sublime player.

— Terry Barlow (@Shrewsburywolf)

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Leeds United have been handed a huge boost ahead of their promotion showdown with West Brom on Friday night, as Ahmed Hegazi is a major doubt for the Baggies.

Leeds welcome West Brom to Elland Road on Friday night in what is sure to be one of the fixtures of the season.

The Whites were crushed 4-1 by a counter-attacking master-class when they visited the Hawthorns in October, as Darren Moore outwitted Marcelo Bielsa.

The Baggies boss will now have to try and replicate that feat without one of his best players on Friday though, as both Hegazi and January signing Jacob Murphy could miss the clash.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

So what’s the word?

“It didn’t look good for him so we had to make an immediate change,” Moore said of the decision to substitute Hegazi during the defeat to Sheffield United.

“We’ll wait and see in the next 48 hours what’s happened with him. He looked in a lot of discomfort.”

According to Birmingham Live, the Egyptian international is a “major doubt” for the clash, while 24 year-old Murphy could also miss out.

The Newcastle loanee has scored twice in five Championship appearances, but the aforementioned report says he has a “strain” due to playing too many games.

Boost for Bamford

Hegazi in particular would be a huge miss for the Baggies, and Patrick Bamford will be the main beneficiary if the Egyptian international does miss out.

Bamford has scored twice since returning from injury – a penalty against Bolton and a vintage Bamford header against Norwich.

The 25 year-old has only played ten times in the Championship this season due to injury, but he is elite in the air when fully fit and firing.

Without the 6 ft 4 in Hegazi at the back, Bielsa may opt to be slightly more pragmatic than usual and lump some crosses into the visitors’ box come Friday night.

The boss won’t like straying from his typical game plan, but Bamford could have an absolute field day if he plays his cards right.

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Tyrone Mings found it very difficult to earn minutes for Bournemouth in the first half of this season, but he has been an ever-present since arriving at Aston Villa.

Mings joined Villa on loan from Bournemouth in January and has not missed a minute of football for the Championship club since his arrival.

Mings again operated alongside Tommy Elphick at the heart of the defence in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium.

And the Villa fans absolutely loved what they saw from the towering centre-back again.

It remains to be seen whether Dean Smith’s side are able to secure a spot in the playoff positions come the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

However, whatever happens, it would be fair to say that the Villa fans are absolutely desperate for their club to sign Mings on a permanent contract.

According to WhoScored, the 25-year-old had a pass success rate of 88% against Stoke, which is staggering for a centre-back at Championship level.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Villa fans can be seen below:

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Crystal Palace recorded a hugely important away win against Burnley on Saturday and the Eagles will undoubtedly be frustrated that they weren’t able to keep a clean sheet having gone 3-0 up with relative ease. Each of the Palace back four were brilliant but Dann in particular, deputising for Mamadou Sakho, can feel aggrieved if he is dropped to the bench for the Brighton clash this weekend.

On the chalkboard

A trip up to Turf Moor was always going to represent a huge, physical challenge to Roy Hodgson’s side but they dealt with bustling Burnley brilliantly from start to finish.

The Clarets typically find their success down the wings, swinging the ball into the box for their brutish strikers and, while another faultless Aaron Wan-Bissaka performance was helpful, Palace’s two centre-backs were excellent at dealing with the danger if the ball did get past the impressive Englishman.

James Tomkins was partnered by Scott Dann at the heart of defence, with the latter making his first start – talk about being thrown in at the deep end – although he didn’t look out of place once, deputising capably for the injured Sakho.

The former Palace captain matched the Frenchman for not only physical and defensive qualities, but in terms of leadership as well.

Dominant Dann

The 32-year-old, tasked with nullifying the likes of Chris Wood, Peter Crouch and Ashley Barnes – some of the best aerial threats the Premier League has to offer – completed a whopping 11 clearances and won 6 aerial duels, while also registering 1 tackle and 2 blocks.

The former Blackburn man’s partner in crime, meanwhile, did all his defensive work in the air, failing to tackle, intercept or block once all game – not to say he wasn’t equally impressive, though.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

Martin Kelly has also come in when the Selhurst Park outfit have struggled with injuries or suspensions this season and has also impressed, but Dann’s dominant display at the weekend should convince Hodgson to keep faith in him for the eagerly-anticipated derby this weekend.

The game will undoubtedly have the verve that some derby games have lacked this season and, for that, Palace will need fighters all over the pitch – Dann should be on the team-sheet for sure.

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Sunderland fought tooth and nail for a 0-0 draw at Barnsley on Tuesday, where three points would have taken them just a point behind the second-placed Tykes.

Plenty of fans were frustrated with the goalless draw at Oakwell, but there are lots of reasons to be optimistic despite the relatively dull game.

The Black Cats failed to secure three points and also ruined their record of having scored in every league game this season, but here are three reasons why the trip to Oakwell was actually a success.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

The circumstances

It may be an overused cliché, but it was more important to not lose Tuesday’s clash than to win it, considering the circumstances.

Jack Ross was without his captain in George Honeyman, who is suspended, and Duncan Watmore, who provides something a little different for defenders to worry about out on the wing.

Honeyman in particular is a huge loss, as a potentially promotion-deciding clash away from home under the lights is exactly the type of game you need your captain to show up in.

The rest of the players, and Ross of course, deserve immense credit for putting in a shift and making sure they did not allow Barnsley to pull seven points clear. A defeat for the Black Cats would have been devastating.

The form

Take the promotion race out of the picture for a moment and look at the game objectively – Sunderland visited a side who have not lost at home since a 2-0 defeat to Millwall in March 2018.

The Tykes had won seven of their last eight at home and had been kept off the scoresheet at Oakwell just twice all season before Tuesday’s clash.

To rock up to your promotion rivals’ home ground, where they are practically unstoppable, and keep a clean sheet without your club captain is an incredible achievement by the Black Cats.

The fixtures

Finally, fans of the Wearside outfit should be relieved when they look at the upcoming fixtures, as Barnsley’s next game is away at Doncaster, who are fighting for a play-off spot.

The Tykes then travel to a Walsall side fighting desperately to stay out of the drop zone, before a home clash against Coventry, who are just three points behind the play-off chasers.

Meanwhile, Ross’ side take on Walsall at home, where dispatching teams fighting relegation is much easier than on the road, before games against Accrington Stanley, Rochdale and Burton Albion, two of which have nothing to play for while Rochdale lead the league in goals conceded with 75.

Fans may have been frustrated by the drab draw at Oakwell, but this time next year they could well be looking back at it as the turning point of their quest for promotion.

It’s fair to say that was the best game West Ham United have ever had at the London Stadium. Indeed, the Hammers left it rather late on Saturday when they incredibly came from behind to beat Huddersfield Town 4-3 at the London Stadium thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Javier Hernandez.

The Hammers were 3-1 down with 16 minutes left on the clock but the introduction of midfielder Samir Nasri in place of captain Mark Noble on the hour mark certainly lifted the spirits of his teammates as they set out to change the game around.

And, that is exactly what the East London club managed to do when Nasri had the ball at his feet, almost dictating play and setting West Ham up to move forward very quickly.

The Frenchman showed glimpses of his brilliant past again on Saturday when he ran at the Huddersfield defenders, while his vision and passing definitely made West Ham far more threatening than in the first-half.

The decision by manager Manuel Pellegrini to bring Nasri on for Noble definitely was a sign that the gaffer feels his team has been somewhat poor in moving forward lately. Together with Manuel Lanzini, Nasri was able to pick out teammates who he felt was in good positions to do something or he played them into good positions, something Noble isn’t really capable of doing.

Nasri’s little cameo was almost reminiscent of the match he started against his former club Arsenal in January when West Ham claimed a surprise victory over the Gunners, proving the immense quality he boasts when he’s on form.

In that game, as was the case on Saturday, defenders were scared to rush onto Nasri due his ability to beat them, instead, they waited on him, giving him a lot of time on the ball to make the perfect pass. That ultimately made West Ham much more threatening in attack and it clearly got to the Huddersfield defenders who crumbled under the pressure mainly applied by Nasri.

A strange signing at the time, Nasri is looking at home in Stratford. More performances like that and the fans will too.

West Ham fans, was that the best game at the London Stadium to date? If not, which is? Join the discussion by commenting below…