Aside from rear-guard performances at the Bernabeu, an away trip to Manchester City represents the biggest challenge Tottenham have faced so far this season. While Spurs will take confidence from back-to-back victories in the top flight, Saturday’s opponents have just set an English top flight record of 15 consecutive wins.

That doesn’t mean Manchester City are an unbeatable team though; achieving a result against them simply requires Mauricio Pochettino to find the right answers to these four crucial questions….

Should Spurs stick with 4-2-3-1?

Since a shock defeat to Leicester City, Pochettino has found himself reverting back to 4-2-3-1 – the tried and trusted formation the Tottenham boss used almost without fail during his first few seasons in English football. It’s clearly had the desired effect; across all competitions, the Lilywhites have won three of their last four, also drawing with an in-form Watford side.

But Manchester City are an incredibly different animal and considering how relentless they’ve been going forward this season, it might make more sense to get an extra defensive body on the pitch by setting up the side in the 5-3-2 system we’ve seen from Spurs at times this season. It’s a big call for Pochettino; some will argue managers shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken and that the Argentine has paid the price for too much tinkering at times this term.

That being said, it feels as if Tottenham need to be more proactive in counter-acting City if they’re to come away from the Etihad Stadium with a decent result this weekend.

Who starts on the defensive flanks?

Inherently linked to which formation Tottenham use, those lining up on the defensive flanks could well be the difference on Saturday – especially the right. Fabian Delph has performed a decent job on the most-part this season but his lack of defensive instincts could become prevalent if he’s truly tested by an opposite number like Serge Aurier, who has the pace and power to bring Spurs up the pitch on the counter-attack.

But Kieran Trippier has been the trusted option on the most part this season and it’s a similar case on the opposite side; Danny Rose offers the kind of dynamism that seems so important in such a big game, but Ben Davies has proved himself to be incredibly dependable. Aurier and Rose both started in midweek, suggesting Davies and Trippier will return at the weekend.

But that shouldn’t be an automatic assumption on Pochettino’s part – the wide men will set the emphasis of his entire side.

Should Dele Alli come back into the team?

Another selection dilemma inspired by the picks in the 2-0 win over Brighton. Dele Alli’s struggled for form this season and found himself benched on Wednesday night, which could well be the kick up the backside the England international needs to quickly turn his campaign around.

But there’s a real dilemma here – a question of risk versus reward. While Pochettino will want his best players on the pitch at the Etihad Stadium, Tottenham will need every player producing if they’re to return to north London with at least a point.

Passengers simply can’t be afforded and leaving out Alli again would make a real statement to the youngster, who appears to have fallen for his own hype this season.

What City weaknesses can Spurs exploit?

They may seem like a perfect side but Pep Guardiola’s team inevitably contains some weaknesses – it’s just a question of whether Tottenham can work out how to best exploit them.

Perhaps the most obvious is set pieces; City aren’t the tallest side and although few teams have won enough corners and free kicks to take advantage of that this season, the likes of Jan Vertonghen, Eric Dier and Harry Kane could have a huge impact if Christian Eriksen provides top-class deliveries from those situations.

Aside from that, it must be remembered how makeshift this City defence is at the moment – Eliaquim Mangala has returned from the abyss to fill in at centre-half while midfielder Fabian Delph has become the emergency left-back.

If Spurs can consistently test both players by using the pace of Heung-min Son in the right channel, they may find real joy on the counter-attack.

[ad_pod ]

According to a report from France Football, Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg has been linked with a move to French side Lille. The 35-year-old has been well down the pecking order at Goodison Park behind Jordan Pickford and Joel Robles, and while the arrival of new manager Marco Silva could change his fortunes, it seems unlikely that the Dutchman will command regular football at the Merseyside outfit.

But with Lille reportedly keen on a move for the 58-cap Netherlands international, and believing that £2 million may be enough to secure his signature, Everton should absolutely sanction his departure this summer.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, things haven’t worked out for Stekelenburg since his move to Goodison Park back in 2016, with the 35-year-old seeking regular first team football after a frustrating spell at Fulham, a stint which saw him go out on loan to Monaco and Southampton, where he also struggled for minutes.

And while he played 25 times for the Toffees in his first season at the club in 2016/17, 17 of which coming in the Premier League, he has slowly but surely fallen out of favour at Goodison Park, to the point that he mustered just three senior appearances last season.

And while second-choice Everton shot-stopper Robles has made the move to Real Betis this summer, and thus Stekelenburg is set to move up the goalkeeping pecking order, he is still highly unlikely to dispose Pickford, whose World Cup exploits are only likely to further raise his stock.

How far will England get in Russia? Tell us now

Thus, it’s clear that the Dutchman is not what is required at Goodison Park, and while his departure would leave Silva short of goalkeeping options ahead of the 2018/19 season, recouping £2 million would be a mighty fine result.

And given he is very much entering the twilight of his career, Stekelenburg himself is unlikely going to be happy sat around on the bench in the final year of his Everton contract, so not only does a deal make sense for the club, but it also makes sense for the player himself.

As such, for £2 million, Everton should absolutely let the 35-year-old leave Goodison Park this summer.

Everton fans… what do you think? Let us know!

According to Het Nieuwsblad, Everton are in talks with Real Sociedad over a potential deal for Belgium attacker Adnan Januzaj in this summer’s transfer window.

What’s the story?

Everton are yet to bring any new players to Goodison Park this summer, but the Toffees are expected to be very busy over the next couple of weeks.

According to Het Nieuwsblad, one deal in the offing is a move for Januzaj, who currently turns out for Sociedad in Spain’s top flight.

The 23-year-old scored three times and registered five assists in his 28 La Liga appearances for Sociedad last term, having joined the Spanish outfit from Manchester United.

Januzaj burst into the scene at United, but never followed through with the promise that he showed during the 2013-14 campaign.

The 6ft 1in attacker made 63 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils, but left last summer following loan spells at Borussia Dortmund and Sunderland.

Should Everton have a punt?

It would be fair to say that Januzaj has failed to fulfil his early potential, but there is absolutely no question that the attacker is a wonderful talent.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255857″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Everton’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]

He scored a fine goal against England at the 2018 World Cup, and demonstrated last season at Sociedad that he can still be a star in the European game.

Januzaj will not turn 24 until next February, meaning that there is plenty of time for the Belgian to develop as a player, and he will surely have a point to prove following his time at United and Sunderland.

Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun both impressed at Everton in the second half of last season, and Januzaj could be given the chance to from part of an exciting front three.

Walcott’s pace, Tosun’s finishing ability and Januzaj’s trickery could cause plenty of defenders problems, and there is no question that Everton should take a punt on the hugely talented attacker if the price is right.

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for Manchester United’s Anthony Martial this summer, but the London club should instead be looking to sign Eintracht Frankfurt attacker Ante Rebic ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

What’s the story?

The Express reported last month that Tottenham wanted to accelerate talks with United over a potential deal for Martial in this transfer window.

Earlier this summer, Martial – via his agent – revealed that he wanted to leave the Red Devils in search of first-team football having struggled under Jose Mourinho last term.

Spurs will find it extremely difficult to sign the Frenchman this summer due to his asking price, however, and the London club would be better off looking at alternative targets.

Whilst Martial could be an absolute superstar alongside Harry Kane, the deal is simply not realistic when considering the finances that would be involved.

Instead, Maurico Pochettino’s side should be looking at a deal for Croatia attacker Rebic, who is being widely tipped to leave Frankfurt in this summer’s transfer window.

Why Rebic, what would he bring?

The 24-year-old, who is valued at £27m by Transfermarkt, still has three years left to run on his contract with Frankfurt.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”271323″ player=”12034″ title=”Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus on Football Manager”]

The attacker scored nine times and registered three assists in 28 appearances for his club last term, before helping Croatia reach the final of the 2018 World Cup.

Manchester United have also been credited with an interest in the attacker, who is capable of playing on both wings.

Rebic was excellent in the semi-finals against England, and had a very strong tournament overall, which has led to a host of speculation surrounding his future.

Far from a light-footed winger, Rebic has the frame and build to play in the Premier League, and could thrive alongside Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen next season.

Tottenham would surely face competition for the Croatian this summer, but they must pursue a deal for the 6ft 1in ace ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

Rangers fans are all saying the same thing about the latest exit links, after Lee Hodson was linked with a move to St Mirren.

According to reports last week, St Mirren want so sign Rangers’ Hodson and Celtic’s Mikey Johnston.

The report says Steven Gerrard has told the full back he is “surplus to requirements”, and will allow him to leave for a nominal fee.

Gerrard had quite a lot of work to do transforming the squad when he arrived this summer, and the Liverpool legend has certainly been busy.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255857″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Everton’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]

Plenty of fans feel he still has some work to do, especially up front where the Gers are lacking a truly clinical goalscorer, but they’re delighted with this update.

Hodson made the switch from MK Dons in 2016, and has scored once in 17 league appearances for the Gers.

The 26 year-old is simply not up to the required standard if Gerrard wants to compete for trophies, and fans are over the moon he’ll be leaving.

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

Celtic have begun their Champions League qualification in fine fashion, showing that once again they mean business this season regardless of Steven Gerrard’s progress with Rangers. 

Having lost the services of Stuart Armstrong and Patrick Roberts though, despite their early impressive performances, Celtic are more depleted in attack and that has to be solved over the course of the transfer window. Celtic again wish to target domestic success but this season are desperate to push into European competitions and show that they’re capable of challenging the biggest teams in world football.

A top winger who could help provide that ability is Arsenal’s Joel Campbell, a player valued at £2.7 million on Transfermarkt.

The 26-year-old has spent season after season out on-loan and if Arsenal are planning to ship him away once more, Celtic should barge themselves to the front of the cue in order to bag a talented, pacey winger.

Last season, the Costa Rican forwards time was spent on-loan with Real Betis but injury prohibited his progression with the team as he ended the season having made just 8 appearances. His two starts though did allow Campbell to conjure up two goals and an assist, showing the La Liga side that if it wasn’t for injury, Campbell would have been a very helpful player for their team indeed.

He was his countries star of the World Cup in 2014, which prompted Arsenal to buy him but since then his career has quite gone in the direction many thought it would so a move to Celtic could do him the world of good, firstly to get into playing regular football again and also to start banging in the goals once more.

Would this be a good move for Campbell and Celtic… Let us know!

The concerns of the Newcastle United supporters were intensified on Wednesday night after their side suffered a 4-0 pre-season defeat against Braga – a result which emphasised their need to bring in new players before the season gets underway. 

Although it would be foolish to read too much into any pre-season result, the 4-0 defeat is certainly a cause for concern for Newcastle ahead of the new season. Naturally, the defensive aspect of the result is the most alarming to ponder over, but the Magpies have enough strength at the back to suggest that the result is not a sign of things to come.

However, their lack of cutting edge in attack was a standout feature of the previous Premier League campaign, so Benitez should be in the market for new talent in the final week of the window.

With that in mind, Newcastle should be on high alert after The Times journalist Paul Joyce confirmed that Kevin Mirallas is one of four Everton players who have been told to train separately from the first-team.

The news is hardly surprising following a season in which Mirallas was frozen out of the first-team squad at Goodison Park, so he will certainly be looking to force a move away from the club before the window slams shut.

And Newcastle could be the perfect destination for the 60-cap Belgium international to resurrect his career, as a lack of competition for places should enable him to cement a starting berth.

Although he is typically a left-winger who tends to drift inside onto his favoured right-foot, Mirallas is also an excellent number ten player and a competent right-winger.

His versatility and fluidity of movement in the final-third will certainly enable him to inter-change with the likes of Kenedy and Ayoze Perez in midfield, creating a fresh dynamic at St James’ Park which should enable them to improve on their modest record of just 39 goals in the top-flight last season.

Joyce’s latest update strongly suggests that Mirallas is finished at Everton and, considering he should be available on a cut-price deal, Mike Ashley cannot have any excuses with regards to a potential deal for a wing-wizard of genuine quality.

Newcastle fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

After months of intense hype and a flurry of transfer activity in the Scottish capital, Rangers finally kicked off their Scottish Premiership campaign on Sunday afternoon against Aberdeen with a 1-1 draw despite playing with 10 men for the majority of proceedings. 

Indeed, Alfredo Morelos was dismissed just 12 minutes into the new campaign under hugely controversial circumstances for what the referee perceived as a dangerous off the ball challenge. Although there’s no doubt that Morelos kicked out at his opposite number, he was incredibly unfortunate to receive his marching orders for the incident.

However, the Colombian’s petulance will certainly concern Gerrard for the season ahead, so the addition of a clinical striker with a better disciplinary record should be his primary focus during the final weeks of the transfer window.

With that being said, Rangers should look no further than Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham…

With the likes of Alvaro Morata, Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi ahead of him in the pecking order there’s almost no chance that Abraham will be afforded an opportunity to prove himself next season, especially after struggling at Swansea during the 2017/18 campaign.

Abraham’s failure to impress with the Swans was rather surprising given the success he enjoyed at Bristol City in the 2016/17 season in which he notched 23 goals from just 41 appearances in the Championship.

The fact he only collected 3 yellow cards during the same period of time and was never shown a red card suggests that he possesses the temperament to deal with the rugged approach which plenty of SPFL defenders implement to get under the skin of strikers, such as Morelos.

At this stage it’s likely that Chelsea will be eager to sell Abraham rather than allow him to leave on loan again next season, but the 20-year-old’s failure to find the net on a regular basis at Swansea will almost certainly force them to sanction another loan before they can expect to receive a fair offer for his services.

Taking Rangers’, Chelsea’s and Abraham’s circumstances into consideration, it appears that a loan deal, although audacious from Gerrard’s perspective, is in the best interest of all parties concerned, so Rangers would be wise to propose a season-long loan deal before a Premier League club swoops in to secure his signature.

Rangers fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Celtic completed successive trebles last season, as they remained the dominant force in Scottish football.

In a side with so many stand out players, it is hard for some to make an impact. There are several stars at Celtic who form a crucial part of the side. Indeed, players such as Scott Brown, Tom Rogic, Scott Sinclair and Mikael Lustig are the standard of player expected in this modern Celtic side.

After being so dominant domestically, Rodgers will be plotting how to improve his side in Europe this summer. The club crashed out of both the Champions League and Europa League last season, despite the fact they dominated in their native Scotland.

One player who will be desperate to prove his worth is Jonny Hayes. The 31-year-old played a starring role for Aberdeen for many seasons before his move to Celtic. Hayes signed for Celtic for an undisclosed fee from Aberdeen in 2017. However, things have so far not gone to plan for Hayes, who has made just six Scottish Premiership appearances for the Hoops.

In December 2017, Hayes suffered a broken leg whilst playing Dundeee in the SPL. This put him out for the season, meaning he has not been able to showcase his talents at Celtic Park. Jonny Hayes is valued at £720,000 by Transfermarkt.

At 31-years-old, time is against Hayes to show what he can do whilst still at the top of his game. This is the season he could have a crucial impact and show his worth for Celtic, and he needs to seize this opportunity. If it doesn’t work out for this season, surely a Celtic Park exit looms for the Irishman.

Newcastle had a very frustrating transfer window this year as Mike Ashley failed to bring in enough quality for Rafa Benitez to replicate the club’s 10th place finish last season.

Under a relatively tight budget, Newcastle spent £31.14 million on transfers this summer, the most expensive being Yoshinori Muto for £9.63 million from Mainz.

Benitez had voiced his concerns over the club’s lack of transfer activity and urged the board to bring in some more quality in order to compete for a top half position this season.

In typical Mike Ashley fashion, however, the Magpies failed to really make a big mark on the transfer window and have only really filled the holes left by players rather than building on the squad.

With the loss of Mikel Merino, Newcastle did bring in Ki but aside from that, no other midfielder came through the doors.

The club had been linked with then free agent, Milan Badelj according to the Mirror but failed to bring in the former Fiorentina man who joined Lazio instead.

The Breakdown

A solid defensive midfielder who had an impressive World Cup, Badelj was available on a free transfer and could’ve proved to be a steal for the Magpies.

Valued at £13.5 million by Transfermarkt, the defensive midfielder would’ve been an ideal solution to Newcastle’s midfield.

As it stands, Benitez only has Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden, Ki and Mohamed Diame to play at the base of midfield.

While Ki is a great signing, Ashley should’ve followed that up with another free transfer for a player who’s good with the ball and is very reliable.

What do you think Newcastle fans?