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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Moussa Sissoko is insistent that Tottenham Hotspur can still finish in the top four this season, per The Daily Telegraph.

What’s the word?

Spurs have endured a horrific start to the campaign and are currently 11 points behind fourth-placed Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s team are joined by Liverpool, Leicester City and Chelsea in the top four but Sissoko remains positive about the chances of Mauricio Pochettino’s side climbing the table.

Indeed, Spurs have won just three times in the Premier League thus far this term and have not won away in the league since January.

Sissoko said: “Of course we are far, far behind the top four, but the season is long and we can still win a lot of games.

“It will not be easy but we know we have the qualities to do it.

“When we come back [after the international break] we will try to catch the teams in front of us and see where we are at the end of the season.”

Sissoko believes that the key to an upturn in results could be the club’s home form – they have already drawn twice and lost once in north London in 2019/20.

He added: “We have to make our home a fortress. Normally we have to take most of the points at home against every team, but we have a bit of a problem with that. It is a shame for us because the fans are pushing us along with their support, but at the end we don’t win.”

Misdiagnosis

Spurs need to improve their away form instead of focusing on winning at home.

They last won on the road in the league against Fulham in January. That’s the Fulham team that have since been relegated and begun the season anew in the Championship.

Thus far this season, Spurs have taken three points from six games on the road. They have a goal difference of minus five and would be in the bottom three if only away games counted. Burnley have an identical record of three draws and three defeats, while only Norwich City, with five losses, have worse.

Compare that with the current top four. Liverpool are unbeaten and have 16 points away from home, Chelsea have 15, Manchester City 12 and Leicester 10.

It is no surprise that the top four overall is also the top four on the road.

But if Spurs are to heed Sissoko’s words and climb the league, they need to start turning up on their travels and taking the points back to London as a matter of urgency.

Their home form, by comparison, has seen them take 11 points, only one fewer than Pep Guardiola’s side, who have the third-best home record in the league.

Sissoko, then, has managed to miss the point by a convincingly wide margin.

Celtic fans have taken to Twitter to discuss the prospect of signing loan star Mohamed Elyounoussi on a permanent basis, following the forward’s latest goal for the club.

The Bhoys secured the Norway international on a season-long loan deal back in the summer, and he has made an excellent start to life at Celtic Park with a huge amount of goal involvements.

Elyounoussi, 25, has scored seven goals and recorded five assists in just ten appearances for the Scottish giants since arriving from Southampton, with his most recent outing for Celtic seeing him score two and assist two in a 5-2 win over Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup.

One would assume that the former FC Basel forward won’t come cheap, as the Saints shelled out £16m for him back in 2018 – Elyounoussi has, however, made such a good start to his Celtic career that a permanent deal would seem extremely tempting.

Let’s take a look at what the Celtic fans on Twitter think about signing the Norwegian permanently…

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…

So just like that, everything seems to be rosy in the Manchester United garden. From the turmoil of staring the Premier League’s relegation places right in the eyes before the Liverpool game, to the jubilation of knocking out Chelsea on Wednesday night, things have turned around dramatically at Old Trafford for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Red Devils earned a hard-fought draw against Jurgen Klopp’s men to halt their rivals’ flawless start to the league campaign, before sealing back-to-back away wins against Partizan Belgrade and Norwich. And to well and truly cap off their recent revival, Solskjaer’s men turned over Chelsea 2-1 in the Carabao Cup to reach the quarter-finals of the competition. So everything back to perfect then?

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Not quite. Whilst the confidence appears to be soaring back to some of the squad’s most important players – Marcus Rashford in particular following his run of four goals in three games – there are some under-lying issues that need to be fixed. The Red Devils’ victories over Partizan and Norwich were absolutely to be expected – the former are currently only fourth in the Serbian top-flight, and the latter are deep in the Premier League relegation zone.

Their triumph in the League Cup against Frank Lampard’s Chelsea was decided by a thunderbolt free-kick from Marcus Rashford – the type he has ballooned into the stands multiple times before. Not to mention that neither side put their best team out. So whilst United do deserve credit for going away to Stamford Bridge and clinching victory, the kind of praise they get should be tempered. They remain goal-shy, having scored just 13 times in their opening ten league games, and only had seven shots in the entire game against the Blues on Wednesday.

Injuries have taken their toll on the side in these opening months of the campaign, not least the almost two-month lay-off suffered by Anthony Martial. The Red Devils’ squad depth means that injuries to just one or two players in key areas can threaten to leave a gaping hole in the side. With an already congested December schedule further made troublesome by their progress into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, issues of burn-out and muscle fatigue are likely to be far more prominent.

So whilst things appear to look like they’re heading in the right direction, Solskjaer simply cannot afford to get carried away.

Some Charlton fans have taken to Twitter to reveal that they’re in agreement with the club’s decision to let Tariqe Fosu join Oxford United back in the summer.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed an impressive season so far in League One under Karl Robinson, scoring four goals and grabbing three assists in ten league appearances.

Contrastingly, Fosu endured a tough campaign in the same division while with the Addicks last term, scoring just twice and setting up four goals in 27 appearances – it is telling that he has already been involved in more goals in 17 less games.

Because of his fine form so far in 2019/20, the topic of whether or not it was a good decision to sell the 5 foot 11 forward has arisen amongst some Charlton fans on Twitter, and it’s safe to say that the majority are in agreement with the club’s summer decision.

Let’s take a look at some of the responses…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

After a fruitless derby over the weekend, Real Madrid will be hosting Club Brugge at the Santiago Bernabeu this Tuesday night. And Los Blancos will be looking to continue their unbeaten streak but in order to do so, they will also have to contain David Okereke.

On the chalkboard

Zinedine Zidane didn’t really have the best opening to the 2019/20 La Liga season.

Early on in the campaign, the Galacticos struggled immensely with getting a clean sheet in the books, conceding in each of the initial five games across all competitions.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Not to mention that the start of the Champions League was, in fact, the worst of the lot. Real Madrid not only lost the game at Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain but they also did it while conceding three goals with absolutely no reply.

Now, however, their fortunes just might be changing since they’ve managed to keep a clean sheet in the last three games, the latest one coming from the Madrid derby at Wanda Metropolitano.

But even though Club Brugge are no Paris Saint-Germain, they do have a prolific young player in their midst that is bound to cause the Galacticos a lot of trouble if he isn’t properly taken care of.

And that’s where Sergio Ramos comes into play.

Experience vs youth

At the moment, Real Madrid’s defensive woes seem to be going out the exit door.

The last couple of games have indeed proved that Zidane’s troops do know how to defend, after all. But in the Champions League, everything is possible and no opponent should be underestimated.

Okereke is still only 22 years old but this season he has been extremely prolific for Brugge in their domestic competition. The young forward has scored four goals in a total of eight games played, six of which he started from the get-go.

His Champions League opener was also quite a good one as he tallied three shots in that game and one key pass in Brugge’s draw against Galatasaray, so Ramos could have his hands full with the 22-year-old.

But the experienced Spaniard is no slouch either, having averaged 1.6 tackles, one interception and 3.7 clearances per game so far in La Liga.

And bearing in mind the former World Cup and Champions League winner’s vast experience, Okereke might face a really stern challenge come Tuesday night – not that Ramos can afford to take the 22-year-old lightly.

According to The Sheffield Star, Leeds United are interested in signing John Swift from Reading.

The Lowdown: Leeds struggling

The Whites have not had a good start to the season in what is their second campaign back in the top flight following a 16-year absence.

As it stands, they are 17th in the table, having won just one of their first nine matches (Sky Sports). Up front, they have particularly struggled, scoring just eight times while the injury issues for Patrick Bamford have been a major setback.

The Latest: Leeds eye Swift

As per this latest report, the Whites are interested in signing Swift from Championship outfit Reading.

Brentford and Newcastle United are two other outfits also believed to be in pursuit of the 26-year-old.

The Verdict: The next step

After coming through the ranks at Chelsea, Swift has spent his career outside the Premier League – in fact, he has made just one appearance in the top flight (Transfermarkt).

Still, he has impressed for Reading during his time at the club, and is enjoying arguably the best campaign of his career to date. In 14 games in the second tier, he has managed eight goals and six assists, with Royals boss Veljko Paunovic calling him “super-talented”.

Given his solid displays over the years, you would believe he has earned the chance to show of his quality against the elite. Valued at just £3.6m (Transfermarkt), he would hardly cost the Whites a fortune – it remains to be seen whether they make a concrete move for the midfielder.

In other news, this man has been suggested as an eventual Marcelo Bielsa replacement.

Some Liverpool supporters have reacted negatively after James Pearce provided an update on the Reds’ December and Christmas schedule.

Jurgen Klopp’s men are in the middle of a key run of fixtures, with victory at Watford followed up by two important trips to Atletico Madrid and Manchester United.

Liverpool look on top form at the moment, however, and as each week passes, the more it looks as though they could be locked in a fascinating Premier League title battle with Manchester City and Chelsea.

[freshpress-quiz id=“375258″]

The Christmas period can always be key in that respect, with games coming thick and fast and the chances of shock results increasing as fatigue sets in across the top flight.

On Monday, Pearce took to Twitter to confirm the kickoff times for six Liverpool games during the festive period, with a lunchtime clash with Leeds United on Boxing Day looking awkward, especially with a trip to Leicester City coming two days later.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-8/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans react to Pearce tweet

These Reds fans reacted to negatively to that aspect of the update on Twitter.

“That Leeds Leicester combo is not making me feel good…”

Credit: @LFCHalps

“December is brutal for us. Leicester & Chelsea away”

Credit: @Homes19LFC

“1 full day’s rest between games?! God, Big Jurg is gonna flip!”

Credit: @t_e_wellstead

“That Boxing Day fixture is absolutely vile”

Credit: @Tomffs

“The time between Leeds and Leicester is a joke. Klopp is going to be fuming and rightfully so.”

Credit: @tackleberry11

“Playing Leeds – one of the most physically demanding games who run more than anybody – and then travelling to Leicester with just 1 day rest in between. Going to be some fun that!”

Credit: @babuyagu

In other news, some Liverpool fans love an official club tweet that has emerged. Read more here.

Despite having scored more goals in the Premier League than any other team so far this season, Liverpool have managed to concede six times in their opening seven league games, more than the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

In the centre-back position, Jurgen Klopp currently has Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, Nat Phillips and Joe Gomez at his disposal.

One centre-back that Liverpool currently have out on loan is Sepp van den Berg, who is spending the season with Championship side Preston North End.

Liverpool signed Van den Berg back in the 2019 summer transfer window from Dutch club PEC Zwolle for a fee of £1.71m. Since then, the defender, who is currently valued at £2.25m according to Transfermarkt, has made 23 appearances for the U23 side and just four senior appearances.

Since arriving at Deepdale, van den Berg has made 14 appearances for the club across all competitions, managing to grab two goals in the process.

Interestingly, van den Berg, who has been described as a player with “magnificent energy” by Frankie McAvoy, has only played in the centre-back position on two occasions for Preston, both coming in the Carabao Cup.

In the Championship, the 19-year-old has been playing either as a right-back or a right-midfielder, showing just how versatile he can be on the pitch at such a young age.

Taking this into account, we feel that his versatility could well put him in a good position to return to Liverpool after his loan spell ends and potentially become a regular first-team player for the Reds at some point in the future.

Given how Gomez has only played 13 minutes of action in the Premier League so far this season, coming off the bench on two occasions, this says to us that he isn’t towards the top of the pecking order for centre-backs at the moment at Liverpool.

However, he has been a key member of the Reds in the past and has plenty of similarities to van den Berg. For starters, they are both versatile defenders with plenty of athletic traits, while crucially, they’ve now both progressed well in the Football League.

Before penning terms with Liverpool, Gomez progressed through the ranks at Charlton, an experience that has clearly played a vital part in his development.

Should the Dutchman’s progression continue, we feel that there is every chance that van den Berg could become the club’s next Gomez and even join him in the Liverpool defence.

If the teenager can prove to Klopp that he is capable of playing in numerous positions on the pitch, it will make him very useful member of the squad.

In other news: Klopp masterstroke: £50k-p/w Liverpool gem has seen value rise by £49.5m in 3 years – opinion

It’s been a difficult start to the new season for Leicester City, but they’ll be hoping to get back to winning ways when they take on Championship outfit Millwall in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

A 2-1 defeat at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion last time out made it back-to-back league defeats for the Foxes and condemned them to their third loss in just seven games in all competitions.

A major concern for manager Brendan Rodgers is how his charges appear to be struggling at both ends of the pitch at this moment in time. Veteran striker Jamie Vardy is the only Foxes player to score more than one goal in 2021/22, while Sunday’s disappointing display means that Leicester have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five outings.

However, the solution to one of those issues could be a rather simple one. Summer signing Patson Daka was brought to the King Power Stadium back in July in a £23m deal after lighting up the Austrian Bundesliga with Red Bull Salzburg.

In just 125 appearances for Salzburg, the Zambia international bagged an incredible 68 goals, laying on a further 27 assists for his teammates as he displayed his game-changing ability.

His outstanding displays for both club and country led to former Zambia head coach Herve Renard once describing the clinical speed demon as a “very promising player”, and he’s certainly had no problem living up to that billing since.

Rodgers must now award the 22-year-old another chance to impress from the off in Leicester’s midweek encounter, potentially discovering the answer to their attacking conundrums.

Daka made his first start for the Midlands outfit against Napoli in the Europa League and stood out against the Italian giants, seeing a well-taken effort ruled out for a tight offside before he was substituted midway through the second half.

Becoming acclimatised to the pace, physicality and different demands that English football places upon players usually takes time, but facing off against Championship opposition could be the ideal way for the 22-year-old to get up to speed.

In other news… Leicester liability who had just 62% passing accuracy had a nightmare against Brighton 

Crystal Palace secured their first win under new manager Patrick Vieira last time out, seeing off Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 after putting in an impressive performance at Selhurst Park.

The Eagles will be hoping to pull off back-to-back upsets when they take on Liverpool over the weekend, and some added reinforcement in the centre of the pitch could improve their chances of doing just that.

A midfield comprising Conor Gallagher, James McArthur and Cheikhou Kouyate started against Spurs, but all three of the Eagles’ goals came after Luka Milivojevic entered the fray in place of Kouyate.

It was the 30-year-old’s first taste of action this season due to personal reasons, and it didn’t take long for the club captain to make his mark on proceedings.

His impact will have come as little surprise to Palace supporters who have seen the £7.2m-rated beast become a pivotal part of the club’s engine room since his arrival at Selhurst Park back in January 2017.

Milivojevic’s instant impact earned praise from former Eagles manager Roy Hodgson, who lauded his reliability and consistency after joining from Greek giants Olympiacos.

“From the moment I stepped through the door here he’s been absolutely excellent in every respect – outstanding,” said Hodgson (as relayed by the Daily Mail).

“Reliability and consistency of performance are two factors in a football player that I praise unbelievably highly. The reader might say ‘Shouldn’t all players be like that? Shouldn’t they all be consistent and have the ability to recover from injury and get out on the field again?’ But they can’t all do that. Luka can.”

His underlying numbers from last season perfectly illustrate his importance to the Palace midfield. As per WhoScored, the Serbian averaged 2.1 tackles, 1.1 tackles and 0.7 key passes per league game. Of all the other central midfielders on the Eagles’ books, only McArthur put up better figures.

Milivojevic did manage to pick out a teammate on more occasions than his Scottish colleague, though, recording a passing accuracy of 83% to McArthur’s 81.7%.

The return of Palace’s leader and key holding midfielder couldn’t have come at a better time for Vieira as he prepares to take his side to Anfield. The 45-year-old must unleash him at Anfield, providing the attack-minded Gallagher with cover and a solid foundation behind him, allowing the youngster the freedom to roam forward.

In other news… Sold for £26m, now worth £1.35m: Parish sealed a Crystal Palace masterclass with 32 y/o dud