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Manchester City have been drawn to face Schalke in the last 16 of the Champions League, having topped Group F, and the Bundesliga side should face Phil Foden if Pep Guardiola knows what’s right.

The Chalkboard

Foden is the future at Manchester City. Yet the 18-year-old, described by Guardiola as a “diamond” and promised plenty of game time, has so far featured for just 438 minutes, spread over 14 games – starting just four of those matches.

A rare call to start against Hoffenheim was the midfielder’s first taste of 90 minutes outside the Carabao Cup, and the first time he’d played more than 21 minutes in either the Premier League or Champions League, but back to the bench he went at the weekend.

Guardiola has regularly brought Foden on as a substitute in recent games, and, with a new five-year deal pocketed, he will be seen for a long time to come. Although, are these brief appearances enough for his talent to progress? His first half against Hoffenheim suggests not.

Admittedly, it is hard for anyone to force their way into a side featuring prolific talents like Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva, but when such a talent like Foden comes around, space needs to be made to accommodate him.

Which big 6 club needs to do the most business in January? Check out what the Playmaker FC squad think in the video below…

Schalke a great chance

Drawing Schalke in the Champions League will be perfect for Guardiola to hand Foden more minutes than he can get from the bench.

After 15 games in the Bundesliga, they have four wins to eight defeats. This is a side who came home second last year to Bayern Munch, having lost just seven times all year.

It will undoubtedly be more worthwhile than sending the teenager to stand by the touchline for another stoppage-time run out in an already won tie, only to send him back to the bench as the ball rolled around the pitch following a corner.

It raised even more questions when Guardiola came out after the Hoffenheim game claiming Foden was incredible and that “I would never have doubts about the quality of that guy”.

Jadon Sancho is showing minutes on the pitch counts

Borussia Dortmund’s superstar, and fellow Manchester City graduate, Jadon Sancho is certainly showing Guardiola that minutes on the pitch count for a young talent to develop.

After a period of time to settle in at the club, Lucien Favre placed his trust in the 18-year-old and he has been one of the stars of the season for an unbeaten side, even earning the league’s Player of the Month award for October.

Give Foden the same trust and game time and Guardiola would see the midfielder perform more like he was capable of in the second half against Hoffenheim than in the first.

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Barcelona youth product Rafinha has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, per The Express – who cite Football Whispers.

What’s the word?

The two-time Brazil international has struggled to hold down a place at the Camp Nou this season, as FC Barcelona look to clinch their 26th La Liga crown.

Eight appearances in all competitions has seen the 25-year-old linked with a possible departure, although a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee could rule the midfielder out of a January move.

The injury occurred in his side’s one-all draw away to Atletico Madrid on November 24, and Rafinha is yet to feature since.

Based on Football Whispers’ claim that he’d be a good financial and tactical fit for the North London club, The Express are suggesting the injury has not stopped Mauricio Pochettino from showing interest in the central midfielder.

They add that Barca will hold out for a fee in the region of £35million, more than double his TransferMarkt valuation.

CheekySport’s Joel claims Spurs badly need to invest in January after not having “the balls” to beat Arsenal. Check out his uncensored opinion in the video below…

Part of Pochettino’s long-term plans?

Tottenham have been linked heavily with moves for a variety of deep-lying midfielders of late, as the club prepares for a future without Mousa Dembele at its core. The Belgium international’s contract is due to expire at the end of the campaign.

But if Rafinha cannot feature until deep into the season, his arrival would unlikely be a part of Pochettino’s slim title hopes after admitting: “It’s impossible to guess if we are going to have a chance to fight for the title.”

Instead, Rafinha’s arrival would lean towards long-term ambitions of competing for silverware in the subsequent years.

The Barcelona man is a well-rounded midfielder and has the quality to contribute to both defensive and attacking phases of play, although his overall ability is underpinned by the typically strong technique that accompanies La Masia products.

AFC Bournemouth are a club building for the future under Eddie Howe, and should you step up to the touchline at the Vitality Stadium the board will want the same from you.

EA Sports have been kind to the Cherries on FIFA 19, so here’s everything in store for your career…

The board’s expectations

In your first season in charge, expectations are kept very low, with the south coast side happy to finish in the middle of the Premier League pack and reach the Round of 16 in the FA Cup.

Should you scout an under 20 with above-average potential, too, they’d be happy, but this is the lowest demand placed on you so ignoring it will have no negative effects on your record.

The transfer kitty

Being a club of Bournemouth’s size, the transfer budget on offer is actually very respectable. The Cherries offer £41.6million with a £120,000 wage allocation, meaning solid additions are easily made.

One thing to consider though, is that the board would like you to reduce the weekly expenditure by £8k. Again, however, this is low-level criteria so feel free to prioritise signings over the budget if you desire.

Three players to buy

Ruben Dias

Take the south coast job and you will be gifted with a defensive ace in Nathan Ake, but partner the Dutchman with SL Benfica’s Ruben Dias and you will have a brick wall in front of the goal.

The 21-year-old is currently earning peanuts in his native Portugal – making £8.8k a week – and has mega stats for his age, with 81 heading accuracy, 80 stand tackle and 78 strength, met by a potential rating of 85.

Nordi Mukiele

Another defensive option to consider is RB Leipzig’s Nordi Mukiele. The French Under 21 international of DR Congolese descent is a future star in the making, with an initial rating of 77 and a potential rating of 86, and can slot in at right or central defence,

The 21-year-old has a £19.9million release clause, and would be a perfect addition to your side as Adam Smith’s eventual replacement. Keep in mind, however, his high attacking workrate should you use Mukiele as a centre-back.

Andre Onana

For a club of Bournemouth’s size, Asmir Begovic is a stunning goalkeeper to have. But the 31-year-old is nearing the stage of replacing so you should consider a move for Ajax’s shot-stopper Andre Onana.

The 22-year-old will cost around £20million, providing you negotiate from a respectable starting point, but can be a first team starter immediately despite his reasonable wage demands in the £20k region.

Three players to sell

Jermain Defoe

With all due respect for a player of Jermain Defoe’s stature, the 35-year-old is no longer a viable striker in the Premier League. His decreasing stats make his inclusion over the likes of Callum Wilson or Josh King questionable at the very least, so look to cash in on someone making £43,500-a-week and demands an important squad role.

Marc Pugh

Marc Pugh is one of the elder members of the Cherries’ squad at 31, and, like Defoe, would be better shipped off elsewhere so you can focus on younger players, especially in cup competitions – don’t forget that Bournemouth is a long-term project.

Simon Francis

A great deal of Bournemouth’s success in moving up the football pyramid can be placed at Simon Francis’ feet, with the 33-year-old a key member of Howe’s side since 2012.

He’s still a great player to have in your squad, too, if you think you can get away with his presence in defence at 33, but you are better off with Steve Cook partnering Ake and cashing in on his £2.4m valuation.

Three for the future

David Brooks

Despite a plethora of players aged 21 or under, only a handful of the Cherries’ youth ranks have fantastic potential and are worthy of your attention.

David Brooks is undoubtedly one of those who does as he’s already a first-team player, despite a rating of just 72. The 21-year-old midfielder can progress to an 85 overall, as either as a wide man or a central attacking midfielder, but you will want to renegotiate his contract early into the season as it holds a £13.9m release clause.

 Lewis Cook

Like Brooks, Lewis Cook stakes a claim for a starting spot in the first team while bearing great potential. Thankfully, he does not hold a release clause so you can rest easy that this young star can stick around for as long as you wish.

Aaron Ramsdale

Aaron Ramsdale is one of the few Cherries outside of the first-team to develop. He may never be the first name on the teamsheet, but with Artur Boruc 38, you will want to replace him as soon as possible, and Ramsdale is an adequate understudy for Begovic should you choose not to sign a new goalie.

Leeds United’s already paper thin squad has been weakened this month following Samu Saiz’s decision to return to Spain on a temporary loan deal, leaving Marcelo Bielsa with a dilemma this month.Â

The Argentine has maintained a stubborn stance on transfer policy throughout the season but Saiz’s unexpected departure will undoubtedly test his resolve.

Leeds are staring promotion in the face after starting the campaign in excellent form, but their January activity could make or break the foundations which they have built thus far.

According to a report from German media outlet Bild, Leeds have identified Hoffenheim’s Steven Zuber as a player they are interested in bringing to Elland Road this month, but the likelihood of a deal may well depend on the players willingness to take a step down in class.

And according to Goal journalist Ronan Murphy, Hoffenheim are willing to sell the rarely seen attacking midfielder but Zuber is unlikely to be willing to move to a Championship club.

The 21-time capped Switzerland international has experience playing in both the World Cup and the Champions League, so it’s easy to sympathise with his view that perhaps he can attract interest from a top-flight club.

The influence of Bielsa and Leeds’ obvious promotion credentials will be giving Zuber plenty to ponder over as he weighs up his future, and a lack of alternative options may well allow the Whites to pull off an ambitious swoop towards the end of the month.

Murphy’s admission has served to pour cold water on reports for the time being but Leeds supporters shouldn’t give up hope on clinching Zuber’s signature just yet.

Either way it seems clear that Leeds are in the market for new talent, regardless of Bielsa’s standpoint, with Saiz’s departure leaving a creative void which may well need filling if the club want to realise their promotion dream.

Leeds fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Loads of Everton fans have been giving their verdict on Saturday’s FA Cup win over Lincoln City, and they’re absolutely crucifying Tom Davies.

When Davies dominated Manchester City during the Toffees’ 4-0 win over the Champions back in January 2017, fans felt they had a genuine Scouse superstar on their hands.

Unfortunately, Davies hasn’t just plateaued, the 20 year-old has actually regressed since his breakout season, and the hopes that Marco Silva could reignite his fire are slowly dwindling.

Who has the loudest fans in Europe? PSG certainly state their claim in the video below…

After an awful season under Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce, the youngster has been completely ineffectual for Silva too, often getting carried through games by the likes of Andre Gomes and Idrissa Gueye.

He was poor again in the 2-1 win over Lincoln, as the visitors at Goodison were actually the better side for large parts of the match.

Fans are desperate for some January reinforcements to help add consistency to Silva’s up and down start at the club, and it looks like any new midfield signing could spell the end for Davies.

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

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Despite having already confirmed the arrival of winger Oliver Burke on a loan deal from West Brom until the end of the season, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers may be keen to bolster his attacking contingent with further arrivals this month.

The likes of Leigh Griffiths and Scott Sinclair have struggled to find their best form so far this season, so Rodgers may take once again to the market in order to reinvigorate his side’s forward line.

Check out Neymar’s controversial new haircut for 2019 and Xherdan Shaqiri as you’ve never seen him before in the video below…

If the Bhoys are to hold off the title challenge of Steven Gerrard’s Rangers, and bring an eighth consecutive Scottish Premiership title to Celtic Park this season, then they could do with some added creativity in the final third.

To provide this injection of invention, Rodgers ought to launch a bid for Sunderland No. 10 George Honeyman.

The 24-year-old deserves to be playing at a higher level than League One, and Celtic could give him that chance.

Hoops fans, however, appear torn on the idea of making a move for the Sunderland academy product. Of those who took part in our poll, only 47% voted in favour of signing the playmaker. See the full results below.

Liverpool and Crystal Palace played out an exciting 4-3 Premier League encounter at Anfield over the weekend with Jurgen Klopp’s men running out as the eventual winners despite going a goal down and not performing at their usual level.

All things considered, it was a game where the visitors probably deserved something and might have gotten just that on another day, a day without goalkeeper Julian Speroni being between the sticks to make a host of costly mistakes.

In the end, it was still a good performance by Crystal Palace, though Wilfried Zaha still had some strong words for his team-mates after the game.

The Breakdown

“You can’t come to Anfield and score three goals but still lose,” Zaha told Crystal Palace’s official club website following the defeat.

“We need to tighten up because some of the goals we conceded today are just not good enough so it’s not a case of we performed well but were unlucky, we just need to be better, a lot better.”

While Liverpool are a team capable of scoring four goals at Anfield against most teams, Zaha is right to air his frustration with the manner in which his side conceded, rightly describing it as being “not good enough”.

Looking at the season as a whole, though, defensively, Crystal Palace have been good, especially at home and compared to a lot of the teams around them.

But if they are an outfit who do want to go to that next level and not get caught up in a relegation battle every season, then they need to take Zaha’s words on board.

[ad_pod ]Liverpool attacker Sadio Mane has told LiverpoolFC.com that the team aren’t putting any pressure on themselves in the Premier League title race, and Reds fans have been quick to react to his comments on Twitter.

The Merseyside outfit recovered from the minor blip of losing consecutive fixtures against Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers – in the top flight and FA Cup respectively – at the beginning of 2019 to record successive victories against Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace.

The latest thrilling 4-3 win against the Eagles left them four points clear of City at the summit, while they are also nine above third-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the standings ahead of the final 15 fixtures of the season.

Speaking to LiverpoolFC.com, Mane highlighted the professional mentality in the dressing room:

“We have experience now.

“Of course we are confident if we’re winning – but not too much, we know what can happen. We are still professional footballers and we’re still going to try to take it game by game.

“The season is long and we have many games. Making pressure for ourselves doesn’t help. Why not just try to win games until the end of the season?”

The FA Cup exit to Wolves means Jurgen Klopp’s men have an 11-day gap to prepare for their next Premier League fixture against Leicester City at Anfield on Wednesday, where they will hope to pick up their 20th top flight win of what has been a brilliant campaign to date.

Liverpool supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on their 26-year-old attacker’s defiant message, and while one said he’d “better tell Lovren and Lallana that”, another said the Senegal international has an “elite mentality”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Are the media letting Jurgen Klopp off lightly for his lack of silverware? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

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Arsenal visit Manchester City this weekend and will be hoping to pile more misery on the reigning Premier League champions while subsequently reducing the gap on London rivals Spurs – the Gunners, though, are thin in defence due to a number of injuries but this may be a blessing in disguise.

On the chalkboard

Unai Emery will surely be scratching his head over how he can approach Saturday’s clash with City; Sokratis Papasthathopolous, Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding are completely out of the picture, while Laurent Koscielny is being assessed (per Arsenal’s official club website).

The former Sevilla boss has chopped and changed frequently in a bid to find the right blend in his Arsenal side, but the lengthy list of wounded means his options are limited.

However, the lack of defenders may mean Emery is forced into a three-at-the-back approach, particularly due to the lack of pace now that Bellerin is sidelined. If the Gunners’ honchos tuned in for City’s defeat to Newcastle on Wednesday night, they would see that this is the key to besting Pep Guardiola’s men.

Flood the midfield

City have lost four Premier League games this season, three of which have come against teams in the bottom half. Crystal Palace got the better of the Etihad Stadium outfit before Christmas and the Magpies ran out 2-1 winners on Wednesday night – Palace played with five men in midfield while Newcastle’s wing-backs offered their men in the middle plenty of support, which is crucial to thwarting the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva.

Nacho Monreal’s lack of pace would surely leave him exposed on the counter by Raheem Sterling or Riyad Mahrez and so tucking the Spaniard into a back-three might be the best option, with Sead Kolasinac providing cover at left-wing-back. At the same time, the Bosnian and (most likely) Ainsley Maitland-Niles on the opposite flank can push up to support the engine room and help congest the middle of the park.

With Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up top, the Gunners still possess plenty of attacking talent to upset the Cityzens – playing with three-at-the-back enables both to start and Emery to play the five-man midfield which is becoming City’s kryptonite.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Theo Ogden was at the Emirates on Friday to see Alexis Sanchez come back to haunt Arsenal. Check out Gunners’ fans reactions in the video above…

Norwich City made it well and truly clear to Leeds United on Saturday evening that they will push them to the very end of the season to claim the Championship title and secure automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men were put to the sword by the Canaries at Elland Road, suffering a 3-1 defeat that saw Norwich move top of the league table with a better goal-difference than Leeds.

But, while the big defeat was probably a big wake-up call to the Whites that they still have a long way to go if they were to play top-flight football next season, the loss presents a good opportunity for the manager to push his players even further.

Leeds travel to Teesside this coming Saturday to tackle Middlesbrough in what could be another tough encounter.

Middlesbrough are currently fifth in the league and are more than capable of delivering a good performance against Bielsa’s team.

But, the manager should use the pressure to his team’s advantage and get Leeds to raise their game for the match and the rest of the campaign.

Leeds have shown the tremendous talent and desire they have in their squad and Bielsa has done a brilliant job at getting his players to deliver at just the right times this season.

The loss on Saturday was only their third one at home this campaign and would’ve been somewhat of a shock to the club, given how easily and poorly the conceded the three goals.

This should also motivate this current set of Leeds players to make sure such a result doesn’t occur again this season, while the defeat should also not see the club revert into a state of panic, because they now sit second on the table.

Leeds have proven on more than a few occasions this season that they know how to bounce back from a setback and this trip to Middlesbrough presents them with the perfect opportunity to show once again how committed and determined they are to play in the Premier League next season.