Tempting as it is to start a look at this fixture by listing out why milk is the drink of football heroes of yesteryear*, there’s a somewhat more serious undertone to the game now for Arne Slot’s Premier League leaders, who have just shown the slightest wobble of form of late.
*Before we go any further, and if you’re weren’t alive in the UK during the 1980s, here’s a link to the TV advert that will forever link these two clubs – watch here.
Top of everything, winless in two
Liverpool’s midweek League Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, contentious as it was, means Slot’s side are two without a win in all competitions, following a surprise home draw to Manchester United. For most teams that would be nothing of note; for the Merseyside club it’s their worst run of the campaign.
Yet, as we’re told every year, the magic of the FA Cup means it’s not always about form, favourites or even footballers. Fourth tier Accrington Stanley visit the top side in the country and the storylines write themselves, not the least of which is Josh Woods being likely to lineup for the away side, when he can frequently be found in the stands instead, supporting the Anfield club. This is only the second-ever time the teams have met, after the Reds won 2-0 in the FA Cup third round in 1956.
Recent form
Prior to losing at Spurs it was 24 in a row unbeaten for Slot’s team, so there won’t be panic buttons being pummelled just yet. Accrington have actually won their last two, so come into this game as the in-form team…though if we want to add context, which we should, victories over Grimsby and Colchester don’t move the needle much – particularly coming after a winless run of eight beforehand. Bottom line: they’re 19th in League Two, away to the Premier League leaders.
Team news
Liverpool should be able to call upon the previously ill Dominik Szoboszlai, while Jarell Quansah went off in the first half midweek. Joe Gomez is the only other definite absentee after some recent returns to fitness for Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota and Ibrahima Konaté, but Slot will probably also start the likes of Caoimhin Kelleher, Darwin Núñez, Harvey Elliott and Wataru Endo.
Accrington have a full squad available and will likely go with a full-strength side in a bid to cause the biggest shock of the third round.
Key player
Tough to know exactly where Slot will go with his lineup, but given the Forest game is three days away, rotations in some areas are a necessity, including full-back. That gives Conor Bradley another chance to shine, particularly on the back of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s poor showing against Manchester United and the ongoing contract talks there. While Bradley’s 250-odd league minutes are nowhere near enough to be truly telling, his per-90 stats are alarmingly high across the board in shooting, passing, dribbling, recoveries and touches. The more we see of him, the more idea we’ll have of just how sustainable that is…and whether he could really be a long-term answer for the Reds.
Prediction
No cup shock this time around; Liverpool’s second string will ease aside Accrington and continue their domestic cup adventures. Liverpool 4-0 Accrington…exactly.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every FA Cup game with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.
With AFC Bournemouth flying high this season, sitting in seventh in the Premier League at the time of writing, it was inevitable that the Cherries’ young stars would catch the eye of England’s top clubs, and that’s certainly the case with their talented left back, Milos Kerkez.
FotMob understands from sources in Hungary that Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea are all closely following his development, but the Red Devils are leading the race to sign the 21-year-old defender, who has started each and every match in England’s top-flight this season. However, Bournemouth are under no pressure to sell with the Hungarian international who is contracted on a long-term deal until 2028, and Bill Foley & co. are set to ask north of £35m if the interest materialises in the player, who arrived at the Vitality Stadium from AZ Alkmaar just 18 months ago for reportedly for a fee around the £15m mark.
Here, we analyse Kerkez’s most likely destination, if the left back is to leave during the January transfer window, and give the lowdown on what makes him one of the top full-back prospects in the Premier League as well as Europe, despite questions remaining about his character.
United in desperate need of fresh energy on the left flank
Even though each of the five clubs mentioned hold an interest in signing the prodigy, Manchester United’s need for a new left wing-back is the most urgent, and FotMob understands that Kerkez is one of the leading candidates on the club’s shortlist to strengthen the squad during the January transfer window.
Kerkez possession stats, Premier League 2024/25
The Hungarian impressed Rúben Amorim in last month’s audition at Old Trafford, and it is quite telling that Tyrell Malacia has not played a single minute since that 3-0 defeat to the Cherries, a match in which Kerkez earned a 7.3 FotMob rating, while the Dutchman was hooked at half-time with a damning 5.7 rating. Additionally, with Luke Shaw and Malacia’s injury troubles over the past couple of seasons and Amorim’s change of system to 3-4-3, the 21-year-old could be the ideal solution on the left flank for the newly-appointed head coach. Furthermore, reports indicate that Kerkez is extremely interested in a move to Manchester United and would relish the chance to play at the Theatre of Dreams, with the Kerkez family being lifelong supporters of the club, and the player himself spoke about the interest last year, referring to Nemanja Vidić as his childhood idol.
The rough diamond can develop into one of the world’s best left backs under the right coach, although doubts exist about his character
With 48 Premier League’s appearances under his belt at the age of 21, it is fair to say that Kerkez is not only a young and talented left back, but a fairly experienced one for his age. Also, with three assists and one goal scored this season, the Hungarian ranks among the top five full-backs in the Premier League based on goal involvements, and only Trent Alexander-Arnold (5), Pedro Porro (6), Antonee Robinson (7) and Rayan Ait Nouri (8) are ahead of him.
Kerkez passing stats, Premier League 2024/25
With that being said, doubts remain over his character, andsources in Hungary explain that if judged only by his talent, his world-class potential and on pitch abilities, the 21-year-old would be top of Manchester United’s shortlist and the other interested parties, but some people within the club have doubts about the player’s character and whether the Hungarian is mentally ready to make the next step now and excel at a top level club.
Also, figuring high on a shortlist that includes the likes of Alphonso Davies, Theo Hernández and Nuno Mendes among others, just shows how highly rated Kerkez really is. On the other hand, despite the doubts about his mentality, the left back only turned 21 in November and under the right coaching staff, he has all the tools and time on his side to improve, both on and off the pitch. Another factor in Kerkez’s favour is his tactical versatility, as the efficient dribbler is capable of playing both as a left back in a four-man defence and as a left wing-back in a three-man defence, a role he occupies for his national team, which gives the coaches a variety of options on how to use him.
Summary
The Cherries are in no rush to sell and are aware that some of the interested parties, like Manchester United, find themselves in a tight financial situation in January, plus they believe Kerkez’s value and subsequently, price will only rise if he continues to perform well in the second part of the season and if they can possibly maintain their push for securing European football for next season.
Finally, with the market of young, talented and fairly experienced left backs in the Premier League being limited, and with Liverpool’s ever-growing need to find Andrew Robertson‘s successor, with Joško Gvardiol being Man City’s only left back option, and Arsenal’s never-ending search for defensive reinforcements, it might be in Bournemouth’s best interest to resist any attempts to part ways with Kerkez in January as the summer might be the ideal time to cash in on him.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.
Thierno Barry signed off for LaLiga’s winter in break in style. Indeed, 22-year-old scored three times in Villarreal’s final match before Christmas – a 5-2 win over Leganés. This was Barry’s biggest haul of the season so far, but it highlighted the potential of a player who has quickly settled into his new surroundings at El Madrigal.
Signed from Basel last summer, few truly knew what to expect from Barry at Villarreal. The Frenchman had shown glimpses of his ability in Switzerland, but scored just nine goals in 35 games over the course of his one and only full season at St Jakob Park during which Basel battled relegation.
Since joining Villarreal for a reported €14m, though, Barry has taken a major step forward in his development. His seven goals in 17 games (only 12 of them starts) make him LaLiga’s top-scoring youngster alongside Jude Bellingham with the Yellow Submarine once again incubating the growth of another elite level centre forward in the making.
Alexander Sørloth led the line for Villarreal last season, scoring 26 times in all competitions. This convinced Atlético Madrid to spend €35m on the Norwegian who is now a key figure in Diego Simeone’s title-chasing team. This was the void Barry stepped into last summer and the 22-year-old is doing a good job of filling it.
Barry player traits
In terms of his all-round game, Barry might even be an improvement on Sorloth who is a penalty box poacher. Physically, Barry is an imposing figure. Standing at 6’5”, the young Frenchman is dangerous in the air and can hold his own against even the strongest opposition defenders. He gives Villarreal a focal point to target with crosses and long passes.
Barry’s intelligent movement is another trait that makes him special. This allows him to play on the shoulder of the last defender and get in behind, taking up good goal-scoring positions inside the box. Countless LaLiga defenders have been caught out by the Villarreal striker’s shape-shifting in the final third this season. Barry’s movement is arguably his best quality.
For someone of such physical stature, Barry is remarkable comfortable on the ball. And mobile, too. He likes to drift out wide to create overloads and is handy in tight spaces. He can dribble and carry possession. These are qualities which surely have scouts from even bigger clubs keeping a close eye on the young French centre forward.
Nobody is averaging more shots per 90 minutes for Villarreal this season than Barry (3.6). It helps that he has the likes of Álex Baena and Dani Parejo to create for him, with Ayoze Pérez a useful foil and attacking partner, but Barry is undoubtedly Villarreal’s attacking focal point. Their forward line is built around him.
Barry shot map, LaLiga 2024/25
Critics could argue that Barry has been wasteful in front of goal at times this season. After all, he is underperforming his Expected Goals (xG) of 7.9. However, this shows that Barry’s goal-scoring form is no fluke. Top-level scouts value forwards who get into high percentage positions to find the back of the net and Barry does that consistently.
Villarreal have a strong track record of harnessing young forwards and sending them on their way to the elite level. Before Sørloth, the Yellow Submarine had Nicolas Jackson who is now leading the line for Chelsea in the Premier League. Samuel Chukwueze is another attacker – albeit a winger – who used Villarreal as a platform with the Nigerian now at AC Milan.
Under Marcelino, Villarreal have gone from fighting relegation to being in European contention. The former Athletic Club and Valencia manager is clear in his tactical ideas. He likes a compact defence that can manage a game. He favours a hard-working midfield unit that can offer plenty on both sides of the ball.
In the attack, Marcelino wants forwards who can press from the front and attack open space. Against the strongest opponents, Villarreal can play on the counter-attack. Against lower calibre teams who sit deep in a low defensive block, though, Marcelino’s approach gives his team enough control and creativity to cope.
Barry is the perfect striker for this system, although he could still afford to refine some areas of his game. His passing numbers aren’t the best. He is only in the third percentile for passes completed per 90 minutes, averaging just 7.9. This is because Villarreal funnel their attacking play into the Frenchman, but the best modern forwards can create as well.
On a fundamental level, though, Barry has a unique skill set. On his current trajectory, the French youngster is destined for the top and has even been tipped for an international call-up. Les Blues need new attackers after the international retirement of Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann. Barry could fit the bill.
For the time being, Barry is spearheading a resurgent Villarreal team and developing at a rapid pace few could have envisaged when he made the move to LaLiga from Switzerland. The 22-year-old is following in the footsteps of Jackson and Sorloth in yellow. He will have more opportunities to showcase his potential when the LaLiga season resumes this weekend.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every game from LaLiga on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.
Over the course of the January transfer window, we are taking a close look at some of the biggest and best business in our ‘Transfer of the Week’ columns. The first edition focuses on new Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Antonín Kinský, who has already impressed on debut.
Tottenham Hotspur’s season has been anything but straightforward. An ever-growing list of injury issues among other factors has forced them to fall on contingency plan after contingency plan, unsurprisingly impacting their performances and results.
The January transfer window could not have come soon enough for them, so they have already made a noteworthy move. With first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario out for at least a couple of more months due to an ankle injury and backup Fraser Forster seemingly unfit for Ange Postecoglu’s ball-playing requirements, Spurs spent €16.5 million to sign Antonín Kinský. The Czech goalkeeper was dropped straight into the thick of it as he made his club debut in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool this week, and he hit the ground running with a man of the match performance.
Tottenham fans will surely be excited to see more of the youngster now, so we have taken a look at what they should expect.
Promising modern goalkeeper
As is most often the case in the mid-season transfer window, Tottenham have had to pay a bit of a premium to sign Kinský at this time. Nevertheless, they will hope that he proves to be worth the fee in the long run.
The 21-year-old shot-stopper has only seen a season and half of top-flight action so far, though he has looked quite good after a promising youth career. The son of a former Czech national team goalkeeper of the same name, Kinský spent much of his childhood under his tutelage at Tempo Prague. Even before he made his senior debut, he earned a national team call-up with the under-17 side.
Kinský has only gone from strength to strength since. He got his senior breakthrough with Dukla Prague in 2020, playing a handful of matches for the then-second-tier side. A year later, domestic giants Slavia decided to sign just after he turned 18 years old. As is often the case at such big clubs, though, the youngster had no clear shot at regular first-team action and soon had to look elsewhere for game time. He decided to get more second-tier action at MFK Vyškov, playing close to 50 matches for the club in a season and half on loan.
Kinský player traits
The situation at Slavia remained similar thereafter, but Kinský’s consistent showings in the second division attracted interest from top-flight clubs. So, Pardubice decided to bring him in for the 2023/24 season and give him his first taste of top-flight action. He got off to a rocky start by picking up a red card in the second match of the season and soon suffered some physical setbacks, so it was not until December that he made his third appearance for the club. Nevertheless, he went on to have a strong second half of the season, ending the season with an impressive save percentage of 79 with an average of around 4 saves per match. The youngster also showed himself to be very capable on the ball, completing just over nine long passes per 90.
As he returned to Slavia once again last summer, Kinský was prepared to seek a permanent move away in search of sustained game time. However, a long-term injury suffered by the club’s first-choice goalkeeper gave him a golden opportunity at the club, and he took it with both hands. In his 19 league matches for the Czech leaders this season, Kinský let in just seven goals and kept out 83% of the shots he faced, making him the best stopper in the division in that respect. He also continued to shine with the ball at his feet, averaging 27.5 successful passes per 90 of which a third were accurate long balls. The youngster could be regularly seen playing well outside the box, but was not caught out of position for any goals conceded and consistently made the right decisions when it came to intercepting balls in behind.
This combination of excellent shot-stopping and ball-playing quality is surely what moved Spurs to sign Kinský in this window. He should be expected to keep that up in the English Premier League, but it will be interesting to see how he deals with corners and set-pieces. That has been the glaring weakness in Vicario’s game this term which opponents have looked to target while Tottenham’s defending has not been great either, so Kinský could be in for some tough tests against dead balls.
Long-term role
All being well, nothing should stop Kinský from immediately establishing himself as Tottenham’s second-choice goalkeeper. His performance against Liverpool showed that he is well up to the task, so he should continue to start between the sticks ahead of Forster and Brandon Austin until Vicario returns from injury.
Thereafter, it will be interesting to see whether the Czech youngster can challenge the 28-year-old Italian for the starting spot. Vicario should certainly retain the edge, but his set-piece weakness might just give Kinský a potential opening. At the very least, he should be Spurs’ cup goalkeeper next season.
Kinský also has a great opportunity to earn his first national team cap and even become the first-choice for Czechia before long. Slavia’s Jindřich Staněk and Bayer Leverkusen’s Matej Kovar are the only two keepers currently standing in his way, but he could easily overtake them with a run of impressive performances at the highest level of English football.
Clearly, the future looks quite bright for Kinský, but making a memorable instant impact at Tottenham should remain his foremost task.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
To keep up date with all the latest deals this window, check out the FotMob Transfer Centre. Download the free app here.
Premier League clubs spent over £2bn during the summer transfer window. A lot of big moves occurred and a number of teams were prematurely crowned winners of the window.
With half of the season now in the history books, it is becoming much clearer who actually won the transfer window and which player has the best claim to the title of bargain of the summer.
Bournemouth. The Cherries are the winners after their purchase of Dean Huijsen for just £16million. The centre-back is now being chased by Real Madrid and Manchester City having impressed in his first few months in the English top flight.
What makes this even more remarkable is the fact he only started two of the opening 13 games for Andoni Iraola’s side. Since breaking into the starting XI having settled into life in the Premier League, Huijsen has bossed, well, everything. He’s made the FotMob Team of the Week in four of his last seven appearances.
He made the matchday 14 team with a rating of 8.3 after netting the winner against Spurs. The former Juventus youngster then made the team on successive machdays, 17 and 18, with ratings of 8.3 and 8.4 One of these arrived against Manchester United in a 3-0 win for the Cherries, another game in which Huijsen found the back of the net. He missed Team of the Week for Matchday 19 but returned for Matchday 20, as Iraola’s side claimed a win over Everton to move to within three points of fourth-placed Chelsea.
Key to this climb up the table has been a steady flow of clean sheets. The Cherries have kept five clean sheets all season, three have arrived in their last four outings. In fact, Huijsen has been present for all but one of those performances.
The 19-year-old has had a transformative impact on this side following his move in the summer. The 6″5′ centre-back, who spent the second half of last season on loan at AS Roma, was highly rated during his time in Italy but there had been question marks over his suitability to first-team football right now.
Transfer expert Jatin Dietl had some reservations this summer when the centre-back was linked with Liverpool and Newcastle, saying: “He was not (yet) at the level to be a starter for a club like Roma. But he has a lot of potential and extremely good technique for a central defender.
“Sometimes at Roma he even played in midfield. He’s very elegant but he lacks experience in one-v-one defensive situations and he also has to grow physically to adapt to the higher requirements of top level football. So I would say it would be an investment in the future, but if he develops well he can become a very good modern defender.”
Those reservations appear to have been misplaced with the 19-year-old seamlessly adapting to life in the English top tier. So much so, in fact, he’s now being courted by the champions of England and the reigning champions of Europe.
Huijsen player traits
His career has been a strange one.
Born in Amsterdam, his parents moved to Spain when he was a youngster and he grew up idolising Sergio Ramos. He was on the books of Malaga before Juventus snapped him up. He was expected to be the next great defender to play for the Old Lady of Italian football but was sacrificed with Juventus needing to raise funds for a rebuild.
Bournemouth snapping him up was viewed as a coup at the time. Now it appears to be a masterstroke.
His game showcases his upbringing. There’s a Dutch bluntness to his ways mixed with a Spanish flair. The fact he’s now playing for Spain ahead of the Netherlands is a huge blow to the latter who may well have seen him as a long-term heir to Virgil van Dijk.
In the English top flight this term, he’s won, on average 75% of his tackles. He’s winning almost five duels per 90 and his aerial duel win rate currently stands at 60%. The latter figure will likely rise as he grows into his body. It has to. He’s 6″5′!
Huijsen defensive numbers, Premier League 2024/25
His aggressiveness without the ball, combined with his composure in possession, has helped give the Cherries a platform in the Premier League this term.
They’re seventh in the league having allowed just 23 goals in 20 matches. They’ve conceded fewer goals than the likes of Manchester City (27), Chelsea (24) and Aston Villa (32). They’re averaging just 1.2 goals against per game, the fifth best record in the league. It is a staggering improvement on the 1.8 they conceded last term.
Only four teams have a lower xG Conceded total than Bournemouth’s 24.9. And three of those teams – Liverpool, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest – make up the top three in the Premier League.
Bournemouth have assembled a squad made up of a lot of talent with huge potential. The one with the most potential, however, could well be Huijsen. How he finishes the season could well dictate how much the Cherries bank when he’s inevitably sold in the summer.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every game from the Premier League on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.
Despite not yet turning 22, his birthday less than two months before this season’s Champions League final, Harvey Elliott is something of a veteran of this Liverpool squad.
But despite already making 128 appearances for the first team – thus triggering the majority of the clauses worked into the £4.3 million deal that brought him from Fulham in 2019 – there is a sense that he is yet to fully convince Arne Slot.
With the Premier League’s halfway point reached in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United, Elliott reached mid-season having only started one game – that being the 2-1 win over Southampton in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup in mid-December.
Elliott recent season summary
After featuring in the second-most games of any Liverpool player last season (53) and forcing Jürgen Klopp to admit he wished he’d started him more often, the 21-year-old has only played nine times under Slot so far.
Eight of those nine appearances have come in the last 10 games and in the seven of those outings that came from the bench he averaged only seven minutes on the pitch; his longest, at 16 minutes, came when Liverpool were already 4-0 up at West Ham.
That can, of course, be partly explained by a fractured foot suffered in training with England’s under-21s in September, an issue which kept the playmaker out for two months.
But ahead of a likely second start of the season against League Two strugglers Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup third round, it is hard to escape the feeling that, if he were to figure prominently in Slot’s plans, his reintegration would have been accelerated.
The Dutchman has effectively admitted as much, explaining of Elliott’s peripheral role at the beginning of January: “The ones that have played a lot under me, it is easier to come back after an injury than the ones that didn’t because the ones that played under me, I know what I can expect from them and I know what they bring to the team.
“With the ones, for example, Harvey, he was injured after two games I think. But he is also in competition with many good midfielders who are doing really well so that makes it hard for him to get playing time at the moment.”
At face value, it is a reasonable explanation, but there are aspects that don’t exactly wash.
Elliott player traits
For starters, Elliott was a staple of Slot’s first pre-season in charge of the club: no player clocked more minutes (290), made more assists (two), created more chances (nine) or played more passes into the final third (26).
It seemed throughout Liverpool’s warmup schedule that the youngster could fit seamlessly into the new head coach’s setup, with a more natural No. 10 built into Slot’s nominal 4-3-3 shape.
But the return of Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch from summer international duty, along with Elliott’s prolonged spell on the sidelines, have shunted the No. 19 down the pecking order; only Curtis Jones, who was required to fill in as a deep-lying midfielder at the start of the summer, has broken into that established unit.
However, with Szoboszlai sidelined through illness in the last two games and Jones struggling against both Manchester United (2-2 draw) and Tottenham (1-0 loss), that Slot still did not turn to Elliott may be telling.
Slot only made four changes to his starting lineup for the Carabao Cup semi-final opener at Tottenham on Wednesday night, with Conor Bradley, Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas and Diogo Jota coming in, but he retained his midfield trio of Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Jones.
Even in a game of little quality and certainly less control than Liverpool usually enjoy, both Gravenberch and, most notably, Jones played the full 90 minutes – Mac Allister only withdrawn after 80 minutes as Wataru Endo moved from centre-back to midfield.
Elliott spent a night he will have been hoping to start on the pitch as an unused substitute – the first time in eight games that he did not get the call-up, but perhaps the most significant occasion.
Instead Jones was left to toil away, safe in his passing (completing 45 of 47, or 96%) but failing to create a single chance or attempt a shot on goal, on a night where Liverpool really needed a spark to establish a lead going into the second leg at Anfield.
The visit of Accrington Stanley will almost certainly be one for Liverpool’s second string, and Elliott’s status among those is belying the unique ability he can offer as one of Slot’s No. 10s.
Though of shorter stature than either Szoboszlai or Jones and therefore lacking the same natural running power of Slot’s regular options in that advanced role, that is not to suggest that Elliott lacks the endeavour or off-ball grit required.
And more importantly, he arguably offers more thrust and, crucially, productivity in the final third; admittedly his sample size is small at just 147 minutes this season, but he has averaged 7.14 shot-creating actions per 90 in that time.
In a different system and under a different manager last term, Elliott averaged 4.72 shot-creating actions per 90 – similar to Szoboszlai (4.74), considerably more than Jones (2.77) and the sixth-most of Klopp’s regular starters, the highest being Luis Díaz (5.40).
Only Mo Salah (14) and Darwin Núñez (13) assisted more goals than Elliott last term (11), which is perhaps the clearest indicator of what he can offer as the creative outlet in Slot’s midfield.
That will no doubt have informed those clubs reportedly considering a move for the Englishman in January, with Sky Sports crediting both Dortmund and Brighton with interest in a deal.
But more importantly it should be of paramount interest to Slot at Liverpool.
The hope is that this is simply a longer-term bedding-in process and that the new head coach has not already decided a player who has invested so much into his life at Anfield is not the profile of midfielder he needs.
“With the games coming thick and fast, it’s now just about practising the new style of play that we’ve learned with the gaffer and how we’re going to keep applying it in games,” Elliott explained of his marginal role in a recent interview.
“It’s completely different to what we used to play before, so it’s like if you’re performing, if you’ve got a show, you keep going over and rehearsing it and rehearsing your lines or your part of the play.
“That’s kind of what we’re doing at the moment. We just keep going over and over things and making sure we’re getting it to a tee, really.”
Only time will tell, starting with Accrington Stanley on Saturday, but Elliott clearly deserves the opportunity to prove on a bigger platform why he has earned the nickname of Liverpool’s little diamond all over again.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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There is nothing more quintessentially English on the football calendar than FA Cup third round weekend. It’s when the modern game clashes with the tradition of another era and the fabled ‘magic of the cup’ is palpable. Or at least, that used to be the case.
The FA Cup lost its lustre some time ago. Fans and experts may try to make a case for the oldest cup competition in club football, but the game has moved on. Increasingly, the FA Cup is seen as an irrelevance, certainly at the elite level.
It doesn’t have to be this way, though. Indeed, the FA Cup could learn lessons from other cup competitions around the world. At 154 years old, the FA Cup needs a rethink. Some new ideas could make it special again.
Spain’s Copa del Rey could offer some inspiration, certainly regarding the competition’s early rounds which are seeded. This means there are no all-LaLiga ties in the early rounds, instead pitting the country’s biggest clubs against lower league minnows.
On top of this, the minnows are always given the opportunity to host. Barcelona, for example, travelled to fourth tier Barbastro last week where they played on a muddy pitch in front of a crowd of just a few thousand. Despite their 4-0 win, it was a humbling experience for Hansi Flick and his players.
There were a number of upsets across last weekend’s Copa del Rey round of 32, including a 3-0 win for fourth tier Pontevedra over last season’s competition runners up Mallorca. Sevilla were also thumped 4-1 by second division Almería.
If the ‘magic of the cup’ is most evident in the upsets produced in a competition, the FA Cup must do more to harness its lower league participants in the early rounds. What do so many all-Premier League ties – like Aston Villa v West Ham and Arsenal v Manchester United this weekend – offer fans that the Premier League itself doesn’t already?
While the Premier League is purely concerned with producing the highest quality of football, the FA Cup should be designed to produce storylines. Neutral viewers won’t tune in to Saturday’s third round tie between Manchester City and Salford City hoping to see a win for Pep Guardiola’s team. They want to see a shock.
The Coupe de France is another cup competition that has a strong track record of providing a pathway to lower league teams. Last season, Ligue 2 Valenciennes made a run to the semi-finals. The season before that, Annency of the same division also made the final four. In 2000, amateur side Calais reached the final.
English football could follow the lead of its neighbour across the Channel by scrapping the League Cup. That’s what France did by abolishing the Coupe de la Ligue in 2020, primarily to ease fixture congestion. The competition was seen as superfluous, as many would argue the Carabao Cup is.
However, a byproduct of the Coupe de la Ligue’s scrapping has been a more intense spotlight on the Coupe de France, French football’s last remaining cup competition for all teams in the league pyramid. Might a similar move to get rid of the Carabao Cup help boost the FA Cup?
In Scotland, they have experimented with a group stage in the League Cup that guarantees each team a certain number of matches. A seeded draw means every group pairs sides from the top two divisions against relative minnows, increasing the likelihood of an upset. Other innovations – like penalty kicks for a bonus point in the event of a draw – have also been introduced.
It’s never been more important for there to be a common thread through the fabric of English football and the FA Cup provides this. While the rich getter richer at Premier League-level, the fact that the competition tethers the biggest clubs in the country to those further down the ladder should be cherished.
Such is the wealth at the top of English football in the modern age, no format change will alter the dynamic of the FA Cup’s latter rounds. Since 2013, only one non-Big Six member (Leicester City) has won the competition and that run is expected to continue indefinitely. The grip of England’s biggest clubs on the trophy is a firm one.
The magic of the FA Cup, however, could be rekindled by looking to how other cup competitions have caught the imagination and found their place in the modern game. The FA Cup might be the original, but the likes of the Copa del Rey and Coupe de France have surpassed it as the best. Measures must be taken to change that.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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After an uncertain start to the season, Real Madrid are building momentum having won five of their last six matches in all competitions with last week’s victory over Valencia a classic comeback by Los Blancos.
Jude Bellingham’s stoppage time winner at Mestalla continued his scoring run of six goals in seven games and came with Real Madrid down to 10 men after the sending off of Vinícius Júnior. The Spanish champions backed this up with a 5-0 Copa del Rey win over Minera on Monday.
Three games in under a week could make fatigue a factor for Madrid against Mallorca, but the talent advantage will be in the favour of the Spanish champions.
Mallorca enter the Spanish Super Cup after making last season’s Copa del Rey final. More recently, though, Jagoba Arrasate’s team suffered an embarrassing cup exit at the hands of fourth tier Pontevedra as the defending Copa champions.
The Balearic Islands outfit will have to rediscover the magic of last season’s Copa del Rey run to stand any chance against Ancelotti‘s side in Riyadh.
Key players
Bellingham has been pushed forward into a more advanced role in recent weeks which has seen the England international score a number of important goals, including the late winner at Valencia.
Kylian Mbappé will lead the line for Real Madrid with Vinícius available despite being sent off on Monday night. The suspension only applies to LaLiga and so the Brazilian will likely line up on the left wing.
However, there are still questions over Ancelotti’s integration of Mbappé and Vinícius into the same forward line with Real Madrid recently playing better without the latter.
Muriqi scored against Real Madrid in the opening game of the season and will pose a physical and aerial threat with Mallorca’s game plan designed to get service into the 30-year-old centre forward.
Goalkeeper Greif should expect a busy evening against one of the most formidable frontlines in European football.
Mallorca and Madrid’s last meeting
Team news
Madrid remain without Dani Carvajal who is expected to miss the rest of the season through injury, explaining why Los Blancos are reportedly keen to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold to fill the vacant right back spot.
Éder Militão and Jesús Vallejo will also miss Thursday’s match against Mallorca, although David Alaba is now back in training after a year on the sidelines. This game, however, will come too soon for the Austrian.
Defensive midfielder Samu Costa is the only Mallorca player expected to miss the Spanish Super Cup semi-final with Arrasate otherwise boasting a fully fit squad despite knocks to Antonio Raíllo and Antonio Sánchez.
Prediction
As one of the most successful clubs in world football, Madrid don’t often miss out on the opportunity to collect more silverware. We’re therefore predicting that they will make it safely through to Sunday’s final: Real Madrid 2-0 Mallorca
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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The first half of the 2024/25 season has gone pretty poorly for Tottenham Hotspur, who are currently 12th in the Premier League standings and on course for their worst league finish in over two decades. As pressure starts to build around head coach Ange Postecoglu’s position, it is worth examining what is going wrong.
After an eighth-place league finish in 2022/23 – their worst in about 15 seasons – Tottenham Hotspur went for a change in direction and hired a relatively unproven head coach in the form of Ange Posecoglu. While the Australian tactician had a great deal of experience from around the world, he had not worked at the most elite level for as long as predecessors such as José Mourinho or Antonio Conte. More importantly, his style of play was quite different, requiring the squad to be rebuilt in his image.
About 18 months down the line, the Premier League table alone suggests Spurs’ fortunes have not improved much. However, it hardly paints an accurate picture. There are a myriad of factors that need to be analysed to appropriately assess Tottenham Hotspur’s current position.
Exceeding expectations in 2023/24
Postecoglu’s side might actually have done too well for their own good in their first season. Many analysts warned that they would need a good deal of time and transfers to properly click, so another finish outside the European spots was said to be on the cards. Instead, Spurs finished as high as fifth and even came within a couple of points of the Champions League places, naturally leading fans to get their hopes up for what they would have expected to be an even better second season.
However, it is worth noting that Tottenham overperformed in various respects last term. It could also be argued that rivals’ struggles were the main reason they jumped up three spots from the previous campaign. Indeed, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Chelsea – who all finished above Spurs in 2022/23 – had disappointing seasons for varying reasons. Even then, Tottenham had to outperform their expected points pretty significantly to finish fifth.
In the 2023/24 xG table – Spurs actually finished 9 points better off than their xG numbers suggested
Had Spurs ended up in a mid-table position last season and improved to fifth in 2024/25, there would surely be widespread positivity around Postecoglu’s work.
Unending injury issues
Tottenham’s league position last season earned them UEFA Europa League qualification, which obviously is a positive on the whole. However, one downside was an increased number of fixtures since they did not play European football in 2023/24. This has proven to be an issue in some respects as the constant barrage of matches has likely contributed to Spurs’ ever-increasing injury list.
The perfect encapsulation of Tottenham’s ongoing predicament is the fact that their first-choice back four of Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie have only shared the pitch for 15 minutes since starting eight of the season’s first nine Premier League matches together. At present, all of them bar Porro is out injured, as is first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and backup defender Ben Davies. While the forward department has not suffered such massive losses simultaneously, each of Tottenham’s senior attackers other than Dejan Kulusevski have also missed some matches this season.
As a result of these absences, Postecoglu has had to fashion all sorts of makeshift solutions from fielding teenage full back Archie Gray at the heart of the defence to consistently using 17-year-old attacking talent Mikey Moore for a stretch of games. Despite these players’ best efforts, Spurs’ performances and results have naturally taken a hit.
Tactical rigidity
While there is a significant element of misfortunate behind Tottenham’s injury crisis, it would not be right to entirely absolve Postecoglu of all blame. For one, critics may argue that his intense style of play is at least partly causing all these injuries, and it also makes it more difficult for those looking to return to full fitness.
An even stronger point is the fact that the 59-year-old coach has changed next to nothing in his system despite having to field players out of position and consistently failing to get good results. For example, his tactics are quite demanding on the centre-backs as they are often left isolated with a lot of ground to cover both in and out of possession. While the likes Romero and Van de Ven are adept at such roles, it is unreasonable to expect a teenager playing out of position in his first top-flight season to do an equally good job.
So, Postecoglu unwillingness to tweak his approach is one part of the reason that Spurs have conceded the fifth-highest xG tally in the league so far.
Questionable transfer business
Perhaps the biggest cause of Tottenham’s struggles this season is neither their tactical approach nor their luck with injuries but their work in the summer transfer window. Postecoglu did a fantastic job of making do with what he had last season and refashioning various players to suit his system, but there was still a good deal of work to be done in the transfer window to properly consolidate the squad. From attack to defence, various positions could have used reinforcement, but not all got them.
Spurs fans have often been displeased with a perceived lack of investment from their owners, but they have spent nine-digit sums on transfer fees in five of the last six seasons. They invested close to €150 million last summer, so the real issue lies in their decision-making rather than raw spending.
Almost half of the money Tottenham spent ahead of this season was on one player: Dominic Solanke. While he has not performed poorly at all, a big-money striker should never have been Spurs’ top priority. They averaged close to two goals per game in the league last season, so their attack was doing fine. Instead, they could have made a couple of signings in the defensive department, and with hindsight, it is easy to see why going into the season with just three out-and-out centre-backs was a bad idea.
Postecoglu has certainly proven that he can take a full-strength squad to impressive heights, so Tottenham must aim to support him with appropriate squad building. As long as he can field something close to a first-choice XI, the Australian tactician should still be fully backed to succeed with Spurs.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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Just two days after the end of the Supercoppa Italiana, Saudi Arabia is hosting the Supercopa de España in a similar four-team format. Athletic Club and Barcelona will kick the action off in the first semi-final.
Athletic Club have not defeated Barcelona in any of their last nine league games, but their head-to-head record in cups is quite different. The Basque side have knocked the Catalan giants out of the Copa del Rey in their last two clashes in the competition, requiring extra time to do so on both occasions. They also triumphed in their last two Supercopa meetings, winning 5-1 on aggregate in 2015 and registering yet another extra-time win in 2020.
The 2020 Supercopa Final
Barcelona eager for Lamine Yamal’s return
Barcelona have not done well after teenage superstar Lamine Yamal picked up an injury in mid-December. They lost the game he went off in at Leganés and suffered another defeat in the subsequent league match against Atlético Madrid, so their only win came against a lower-tier side in the Copa del Rey.
Head coach Hansi Flick was optimistic about the 17-year-old winger’s availability for this match, though he stopped short of confirming it. Either way, given Barcelona’s terrible track record with injury issues for young stars, they would be wise to carefully ease him back into the side.
In the meantime, Barça will hope to see some of their other creative players step up. Lamine Yamal is the outright assists leader in LaLiga ahead of Raphinha, who will be fresh after being rested on the weekend. However, no one else in the squad has more than three.
Unregistered players in Barcelona’s travelling squad
Barcelona had a two-week break around Christmas and the New Year, but they remained in the news thanks to their semiannual lever-pulling tradition. Even without any new signings made in the January window so far, they have squad registration issues to contend with as Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor can no longer feature for the team as things stand. However, the pair have travelled to Saudi Arabia with the squad.
On the bright side, Barça’s injury list is now down to just the two players with season-ending ACL injuries. Andreas Christensen is back after a long Achilles tendon issue, while Ronald Araújo made his return against Barbastro on the weekend.
Athletic’s impressive defensive solidity
Athletic Club have some injury issues of their own as top-scorer Oihan Sancet, centre-back Yeray Álvarez and defensive midfielder Íñigo Ruiz de Galarreta will all miss out. Nevertheless, they will back themselves to record yet another win over Barcelona thanks to their collective defensive solidity.
Under ex-Barça head coach Ernesto Valverde, the Basque side have consistently maintained one of the best defensive blocks in Spain. So far this season, they have conceded the third-lowest xG tally in LaLiga.
In the potential absence of creative players like Lamine Yamal and Olmo, Barcelona will surely find it tough to unlock this staunch defence.
Prediction
A minor format change has seen extra time eliminated from the Supercopa this season. Athletic may look to use that to their advantage having won each of their last five penalty shoot-outs, though their direct attacking threat might even make the difference in regulation time.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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