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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Even though it sounds strange to say at this stage in the competition, Real Madrid are truly desperate to stay afloat in the Champions League.

And yes, seeing how they are the single most dominant force in European football – having already bagged 13 trophies to their names and snatching a historic three in the row not that long ago – this statement really does make you think.

But without too much exaggeration, and despite their Tuesday night clash only being their third in the 2019/20 season, they have already reached a “do or die” phase of their Champions League campaign.

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How did it come to that, you may ask.

Well, despite being decent in La Liga, considering they just suffered their very first defeat last Saturday in a huge upset against Mallorca, they were, for the lack of a better term, pretty abysmal in Europe.

And that’s another thing you rarely connect to Real Madrid and especially to Madrid under Zinedine Zidane. After all, it was the Frenchman who orchestrated that historic run of three consecutive Champions League crowns a couple of years ago during his first tenure with the club.

But at the moment, that is their reality.

Los Blancos were humiliated in their Champions League curtain-raiser at Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain, losing 3-0 in the process, before Club Brugge added insult to injury, robbing them of a win at the Santiago Bernabeu by snatching a point with a 2-2 draw on the night.

Because of that, the illustrious Galacticos are sitting last in the group and will be hoping to tally their first European triumph on Tuesday night.

But it will be a task easier said than done as they are travelling to Galatasaray away from home.

The Turkish side will no doubt welcome them in a fiery atmosphere and will be looking to take advantage of the recovering giants from the Spanish capital who definitely seem quite shaken at the moment.

Indeed, not all is rosy back in Madrid and, should Zidane fail to win on Tuesday, it could potentially set things into motion that cannot be stopped anymore. But we’ll have to wait and see about that one.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

One thing that we can definitely be sure of, however, is that a certain no.7 in the team will have to take out his shooting boots on Tuesday and finally show his true colours.

Of course, Eden Hazard is no Cristiano Ronaldo and this is not meant as an insult in any shape or form.

The truth is, rarely anyone is like the Portuguese superstar but just by donning that famous number on his back and playing in Ronaldo’s position, Real Madrid just might look to the Belgian to take them out of this slump, just as Ronaldo used to do back in the day before he joined Juventus.

After all, that’s exactly what you would expect from an £89m man who arrived with certain pedigree and reputation from his days spent at Stamford Bridge, wouldn’t you?

By now, we all know that Hazard has been underperforming ever since he joined Real Madrid or rather, he is yet to fully emerge from his cocoon.

So far, he only has one goal and one assist to his name while donning the royal white, which is, by all accounts, not good enough.

And of course, just like any other player who’s making a huge leap from one league to the other, from country to country, he needs time to settle. But the game against Galatasaray has his name stamped all over it.

After all, this is exactly the type of must-win game that Real Madrid brought him in for, is it not?

A game-changer, a player to decide who wins and who loses and the one to turn the tides in Los Blancos’ favour during times when it seems all but impossible. That’s more or less what it should say in the contract he signed back in the summer.

Just as Gotham city light up the bat-signal when they need their Dark Knight to save them in their hour of need, Real Madrid will also look to get the Hazard-signal up and running.

Is the Belgium bomber going to answer the call and be the hero the Madridistas need him to be?

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Some QPR fans have taken to Twitter to name Nahki Wells and Jordan Hugill as the Championship’s most ‘dynamic duo’, after a tweet from Sky Bet’s Twitter account called on supporters to reveal their choice.

Along with the prolific QPR pair was Charlton’s Jonny Williams and Lyle Taylor, Blackburn’s Bradley Dack and Danny Graham, as well as Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and Tom Cairney.

In the R’s case, both of their frontman top the Championship scoring ranks with five league goals each, which bodes pretty well for the argument of them being the most dynamic duo.

Some QPR supporters certainly think they’re the best pairing.

One fan said anyone who doesn’t think the pair are the best duo in the league doesn’t “know football”, while another supporter asked how it was even a question seeing as Wells and Hugill are both at the top of the scoring charts.

Let’s take a look at some more of the Twitter reaction…

There are plenty of points to talk about in this team.

Leicester are once again well represented after beating Shearer’s beloved Newcastle 5-0, as Jamie Vardy and Ricardo Perreira both make the squad.

VAR couldn’t stop Josh King from making the team after he was awarded a goal that was originally chalked off.

However, perhaps the most interesting point is the fact that Aaron Cresswell slots in at left-back for the second week in a row.

The defender continued his goalscoring form by netting the equaliser against Bournemouth on Saturday, just one week after scoring against Man United.

Shearer is a man who knows all about goals, and he was seemingly impressed by Cresswell’s strike as he put him in his team once again.

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Former Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that Arsenal will be better this season than in the previous campaign.

What did he say?

In their first season under a manager other than Arsene Wenger for over 20 years, Arsenal had a disappointing term last time around. They finished fifth in the Premier League, meaning they failed to qualify for the Champions League, whilst they were humiliated by Chelsea in the Europa League final.

They have brought in several new names during the recent transfer window, and 33-year-old Vermaelen, who currently plays for Vissel Kobe in Japan, believes they will improve this campaign. He said:

“Arsenal have improved with the players they got in the summer. I think they did a good job in the transfer market.

“It’s a new Arsenal but it doesn’t mean it is going to be worse than last season or difficult now.

“Of course a few players have to adapt but I think there is a good manager there (Unai Emery) who wants to play football. I expect them to do better than last year.”

“They have the bigger mentality” – Spurs fans come to blows after the North London Derby in the video below…

The perfect time to get back into the top four

It has not been the best few years for Arsenal. They have not qualified for the Champions League, which is where the club want to be, in each of the past three campaigns. Getting into Europe’s premier club competition is once again the objective this term, and it would be the improvement that Vermaelen alluded to.

Whilst Manchester City and Liverpool are still the top dogs in England, the Gunners have the perfect opportunity to jump ahead of the rest of the sides competing just below. Out of Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, the sides who should be competing for the top four, the latter have had the best start to the season as they lay in fifth place. Chelsea and Manchester United have won just one game each so far this term, and Spurs were eventually outplayed by their north London rivals last weekend despite taking a 2-0 lead.

As such, Vermaelen may just be right with his prediction. Unai Emery and co have already stolen a small march on their competitors – now it’s just a case of holding onto that advantage.

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Leeds have come a long way since Andrea Radrizzani took over in 2017.

They appointed a world-renowned manager in Marcelo Bielsa, reached the playoffs and now once more sit in a promising position in the league table.

After six matches the Whites are third after heading into the international break with their first Championship defeat of the campaign.

But good news has followed as the west Yorkshire side aim to bounce back and that falls at the feet of Kalvin Phillips.

The midfielder has put pen to paper on a new five-year deal, putting months of speculation surrounding his future to bed.

It’s a contract that could be worth around £40k a week, thus putting him on parity with both Patrick Bamford and Kiko Casilla.

For someone who played 44 times in the league last term, it’s richly deserved, but it may not have been possible without some of the brutal decisions taken from the Leeds hierarchy.

This summer, Leeds had a colossal clear out as 31 players departed Elland Road either on temporary or permanent terms.

Victor Orta quickly got to work on slimming down a squad that wasn’t particularly big on the face of it.

Leeds have used just 17 players this season, the fewest of anyone in the division, so that perhaps gives an indication they didn’t need them after all.

But considering the injury problems Leeds suffered in 2018/19, the sheer volume of those who walked through the exit door may have come as a surprise.

What was particularly brutal was seeing players like Tom Pearce, Clarke Oduor and Aapo Halme leave. They were all young individuals who were in and around the first team boasting promise but were – perhaps a tad surprisingly – shipped out.

Of course the most prominent departures were Kemar Roofe and Pontus Jansson, the latter who left partly for financial fair play reasons after a £5.5m switch to Brentford.

But it’s the club bringing in various sums of money during the course of the window that has arguably led to a new deal for Phillips even being possible.

The Whites’ wage bill, according to Angus Kinnear, has skyrocketed since Radrizzani took over.

Telling the BBC last week he said: “The biggest thing to understand is how much the wage bill has grown under Andrea’s tenure. The wage bill when he took over was for a mid-table team and there was a correlation with how much you spend on the wage bill and where you finish.”

Consequently, is it any surprise Leeds shipped on so many players? Probably not.

The Whites may have been brutal in their strategy but in terms of securing the long-term future of the club it’s a justifiable approach.

Losing 31 players has cleared the way for potential new terms for some of their biggest names, one of which is Phillips.

An academy graduate, his renewal can be seen as somewhat of a coup given the events of only a few months ago.

Leeds swatted away £14m interest from Aston Villa as they demanded £30m for the midfielder.

The 23-year-old was also being mooted with a potential switch to either Wolves or Bournemouth.

Those didn’t happen as the Whites fended off strong interest.

But ultimately, letting players like Jansson and Roofe seep through the net has allowed for greater freedom in how Leeds go about maintaining the integrity of the squad.

Whether Phillips stays the full five years will depend on Leeds’ success in their pursuit of Premier League status but, in regard to the short-term, they’re making terrific strides.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Their mass clear-out this summer seems to have put them in a position to offer players like Phillips the kind of terms they want and merit, something the board must also be considering for other players who are out of contract.

As things stand, Mateusz Klich and Pablo Hernandez could both depart on a free after Stuart Dallas and Liam Cooper put pen to paper on new deals in midweek. It would be a shock if they all left but Radrizzani and Orta’s brutal decisions may be beneficial for them.

Ultimately it’s cleared the wage bill and has given the Whites some leniency in terms of who they can now tie down.

Leeds got rid of a brimming pool of players who weren’t going to play a significant senior role and subsequently it’s now allowed them to keep Phillips without any wider ramifications coming into play.

This is a big step in the right direction from those at the top of Elland Road and, even if some of the transfers in the last few years haven’t paid off, they must be hailed.

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[ad_pod ]Notts County confirmed the signing of Michael Doyle from Coventry City on Transfer Deadline Day.

The 37-year-old midfielder arrives at Meadow Lane with the Magpies mired at the foot of the League Two table. Neal Ardley will be hoping that the veteran’s experience and leadership can help his side claw their way to survival before the end of the campaign.Â

Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!

Doyle certainly brings plenty of experience to the table, having spent much of his career at Championship level. He also brings quality though, and he’ll provide an extra level of calmness and tenacity to the middle of the park for Notts County.

Doyle is something of a Coventry legend, and the leadership he showed at the Ricoh Arena is something that’s been missing at Meadow Park. Ardley will be looking to Doyle to rally his side and restore some confidence in the dressing room, as it’ll be needed if Notts County are to succeed in escaping the drop out of the Football League.

After Doyle’s signing was made official, plenty of County fans took to Twitter to celebrate…

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Mauricio Pochettino does not appear to be a happy man.

The Tottenham Hotspur manager is not his usual engaging self, the energetic boss of one of the best young sides in Europe. No, he’s actually miserable, bemoaning a lack of squad unity after Newcastle United beat Spurs at home on Sunday. That’s Steve Bruce’s Newcastle, one of the sides who look destined for a relegation battle this season.

He has not played Jan Vertonghen at all this season; Christian Eriksen has been benched for two of the three games and it appears that all is not well in north London.

Sources have suggested to Football FanCast that the Belgium international has had a private disagreement with his manager over the club’s tactical direction, while there is an understanding at the club that Eriksen could still depart before the end of the European transfer window. Sources have confirmed that he would still like to join either Real Madrid or Barcelona but there has yet to be a bid from either.

And so we come to the north London derby, Arsenal await at the Emirates before the international break.

Usually, one would suggest that it is must-win, that the whole narrative of the international break can be set by the team that emerges victorious but, really, that’s not the case for Spurs.

To examine their form in 2019 is to see a team more likely to be threatened by relegation, not one aiming to win the Premier League title.

They have collected 15 points in their last 15 games.

Since the 2-1 defeat to Burnley, they have been beaten by Chelsea, Southampton, Liverpool, Manchester City, West Ham United, AFC Bournemouth and Newcastle United. Only three of those teams finished inside the top six last season. Spurs have also drawn with Arsenal, Everton and City in that time and their wins, all three of them, came over Crystal Palace, Huddersfield Town and Aston Villa. One of those teams now plays in the Championship and another was recently promoted from it.

A win over Arsenal, then, would be papering over the cracks in an A1 form.

But, of course, Pochettino has grown rather good at that.

While Spurs were on a downward spiral in the league, they reached the Champions League final, beating City and Ajax to reach a showdown with Liverpool in Madrid. They lost, obviously, but the run was heralded as perhaps Pochettino’s crowning achievement in north London.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

But now serious questions have to be asked regardless of this weekend’s result.

What is happening with Eriksen’s future and will he be at the club for the resumption of the league? Why is Vertonghen out of favour? What is going on with Harry Kane, who has been execrable against both Manchester City and Newcastle? Is there still any hope of Spurs being involved in the title race?

The irony is that a loss this weekend would almost certainly answer the latter question and increase the feeling that something is dreadfully amiss at Spurs, but a win would do no such thing; it might alleviate the pressure a little, at least until Spurs face Palace on September 14th, but it would not do much to reassure supporters that all is rosy.

It would be instant catharsis, of course, especially given that they haven’t won a league fixture at The Emirates since 2010, but then Pochettino would go straight back under the microscope.

It is a catch-22. Even if Spurs win, Pochettino can’t.

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Taking to Twitter, a number of West Ham fans have slammed the rumours suggesting that Andy Carroll could return to the club, following the news that he was pictured at the Hammers’ Rush Green training ground.

Shared by WestHamFans.org (via Claret & Hugh), images of former Hammers player Carroll at West Ham’s training ground have recently emerged, sparking rumours that he could be making a shock return to the club.

The 6 foot 3 striker made 142 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 34 goals during his tenure at the East London side.

In November last year, the 32-year-old joined Reading on a short-term contract. However, this contract has now expired, and the former Newcastle man is without a club. As a result, it remains to be seen what lies in the player’s imminent footballing future.

These West Ham fans react to the Carroll news

Club insider ExWHUemployee downplayed the rumours of Carroll’s return on Twitter, claiming that he has ‘been told the deal isn’t on’, further stating that he was ‘not sure why this Carroll rumour has so much legs’.

However, this still doesn’t explain why the player was pictured at the club’s training ground.

Consequently, fans flocked to the comments to share their disbelief, many slamming the club for entertaining such a prospect.

Here’s what some of them had to say:

“It’s baffling he is playing in the championship for a reason IMO even if we were in the bottom 4 it’s the wrong move and there are better options out there.”

Credit: @AshBarton70

“Don’t need to sign him ( we do need a striker). That’s a step backwards for us . Leave him in our history & move on .”

Credit: @SkeltonTony

“We’re desperate. That’s why hahahahaha”

Credit: @breggertelli

“Think it’s more about just how low our expectations still are!”

Credit: @richards_shaun

“Would be my last day as a West Ham fan”

Credit: @altgram

“Why on earth would they even consider it, are our fans deluded or something???”

Credit: @BKhammer1

Sharing a live TV development out of Eastlands, Sky Sports have some big Manchester City transfer news involving River Plate striking sensation Julian Alvarez.

The Lowdown: Guardiola in striker hunt…

Over the summer, it is no secret that Pep Guardiola and sporting director Txiki Begiristain were on the hunt to sign a world-class out-and-out striker to boost City’s chances of retaining their 2020/21 Premier League crown.

Bids were lodged for Spurs superstar Harry Kane, with links even emerging to Cristiano Ronaldo during the latter stages of that transfer window.

City were ultimately unable to bring in a target of Guardiola’s desired calibre, but reliable reports have suggested that the Sky Blues will be on the lookout for a new forward addition as the main summer priority in 2022.

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is seen as a top target with meetings planned (David Ornstein), but Sky Sports have now shared news out of Eastlands as the English champions also eye a star for the future.

The Latest: Sky Sports drop Alvarez to Man City news live on air…

As per the reliable broadcaster, sharing a live TV transfer update out of City, Begiristain and co are in talks to sign ‘exciting’ South American forward Alvarez.

“We’ve got some breaking transfer news here on Sky Sports News,” they explained (via Football Daily).

“We can reveal that Manchester City are in talks with River Plate striker Julian Alvarez, now sources in Buenos Aires have told us his release clause is somewhere in the region of £15 million-£17 million.

“They’ve tracked him for some time, along with a host of other top clubs, he’s 21-years-old, he’s been capped five times for Argentina, and he’s scored 36 goals in 96 appearances for River Plate.

“In that time, he’s also set up 25 goals as well, certainly an exciting player, and Manchester City are in talks with his club about bringing him to the Etihad.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

Journalists close to the club, such as Manchester Evening News correspondent Stuart Brennan, say that a move for the Argentine marksman would not affect City’s interest in signing Haaland or returning for Tottenham star Kane later this year.

Taking this into account, we implore Guardiola’s side to win the race for Alvarez given his sky-high potential and ‘meteoric rise to prominence’, as Brennan put it.

Additions from the Americas have worked out well for City thus far, with Brazil international Gabriel Jesus really coming into his own since signing from Palmeiras in a £27m deal in 2016. Still just 24 years old, he has racked up a brilliant 88 goals and 43 assists in 220 City appearances as he nears a century of goals under Guardiola.

Going by his own prolific record across the Atlantic, Alvarez could follow a similar trajectory and become a real favourite for the Citizens. For a meagre fee between £15m-£17m, this move really seems like a no-brainer.

In other news: ‘Yes please’, ‘Finally’, ‘We need him’…Man City fans erupt over ‘perfect’ transfer claim involving £146,000-per-week ace, find out more here.

Fabrizio Romano has delivered an encouraging update on Harry Kane’s situation at Tottenham Hotspur…

What’s the word?

The renowned Italian transfer expert dropped a fresh behind-the-scenes claim about the 28-year-old on a recent episode of his ‘Here We Go’ podcast this week.

“I want to say that Harry Kane, now with Antonio Conte, is super happy, he’s super happy,” he revealed.

“A lot of rumours, but I don’t see him leaving in January – let’s see what happens in the summer. But the relationship with Conte is very good, they feel each other as important for the future of the project.

“So Harry Kane knows that if Tottenham will be back for Champions League football, Antonio Conte is the man to do it. And Harry Kane knows that now with this manager, this is the plan for Tottenham: to win and to be back in Champions League football.

“And Antonio Conte loves Harry Kane, as he always says in public and he told him in private many times, ‘you will be my striker’. So this is the message from Conte and he wants Kane to stay for the future.”

His form must return

The England international was at the centre of one of the summer transfer window’s biggest sagas as a move to Premier League champions Manchester City looked to be on the cards following Euro 2020.

However, the switch failed to materialise and Kane has just not looked the same since.

He has found the net just twice in the Premier League this season, with six of his nine goals across other competitions coming against lowly opposition in the Europa Conference League.

Perhaps surprisingly, Kane has been linked with an exit once again heading into next month as reports in Spain suggest that Real Madrid are keen, whilst Pep Guardiola retains interest from the summer.

But that has been refuted by Romano in his claims above and that should delight the Spurs boss heading into a crucial second half of the season.

The Italian head coach must get his leading striker firing on all cylinders once again and it is hugely encouraging to learn that the Englishman is actually “super happy” at the club, so surely the form will follow if his mind is in the right place now.

Spurs have a genuine shot at making the top four this season as the north London outfit occupy seventh place, just five points adrift of the benchmark with three games in hand.

Elsewhere, Conte’s side have advanced into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, so there’s once again a real chance at ending their barren run without silverware.

The 52-year-old needs Kane, so this latest behind-the-scenes development should leave him, and the Lilywhites faithful, absolutely buzzing.

AND in other news, Forget Bergwijn: £36m-rated Spurs “monster” with 76 touches ran the show vs West Ham…