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Christmas has come early in the Premier League as the top-flight serves up an exciting top-of-the-table clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at Anfield tonight.

Both teams will be looking to bounce back from a pair of underwhelming 1-1 draws. Spurs were punished for resting on their laurels at Crystal Palace whilst the defending champions had to come-from-behind to secure a point against relegation-threatened Fulham.

Jose Mourinho will surely have something up his sleeve to give the north Londoners a chance of picking up a result in Merseyside, whilst also having an eye on this weekend’s fixture with Leicester City – another mouthwatering encounter.

So, what sort of XI will we see from Spurs this evening?

We’re predicting there to be as many as three changes as Mourinho will probably be pleased with a point.

With that in mind, we might see a return for Ben Davies at full-back, replacing the attack-minded Sergio Reguilon who has struggled in recent games. Likewise on the other flank, where Matt Doherty could be handed his first Premier League start since a 1-0 win over West Brom in November.

It means £23m “liability” Serge Aurier is axed with Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld continuing to guard the club captain, Hugo Lloris between the sticks.

In midfield, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will surely remain as the engine room’s main powerhouse whilst we may even see Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele start together for the first time since a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea back in February.

Therefore the likes of Harry Winks and Dele Alli are snubbed with Moussa Sissoko the man to make way for the exciting duo.

The front three will probably write itself at the minute as Steven Bergwijn and Heung-min Son act as the support for talismanic striker Harry Kane.

Although this game may come too soon for Gareth Bale following a non-COVID related illness. Japhet Tanganga and Erik Lamela have also been ruled out, as per football.london.

AND in other news,  £64m-rated sensation has become Jose Mourinho’s “incredible” sacrificial lamb…

It seems that if you want to invest in a football club in the north-east, it will take a while to wrap up.Only last summer we saw Newcastle embroiled in takeover frustrations when they witnessed a deal with the Saudi Prince Investment fund fall flat on its face.Of course, there isn’t quite as much money involved at Sunderland, but because of the size of the club, a deal with willing investors is taking a long time to conclude.Last month, it was reported that Stewart Donald had agreed to sell Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus but William Storey insists that he’s in the running too.In fact, the Rich Energy CEO has been incredibly outspoken about his ploy to buy Sunderland, so much so that he’s already outlined what he wants to do if he walks through the door at the Stadium of Light.One such plan is investing in Premier League talent, utilising the loan market to bring in a handful of U23 players on low wages.But how would this be possible? Well, Storey revealed to The Chronicle that he has a rather large phone book.“What I can say is that I am extremely confident, in fact certain, that we would have an immediate injection of some real quality players and I’m very lucky to have some superb relationships in the Premier League, which is an asset that can be used for the benefit of Sunderland Football Club.”The Mackems have tried a number of strategies since being relegated from the top-flight and they haven’t particularly come off. Therefore, could the help of Storey be beneficial? Certainly, in terms of the mass contacts he has, it would be.The businessman has already taken on the might of Red Bull in Formula 1, engaging in a war of words and it’s clear he’s not afraid to upset the apple cart and put his name out there.Crucially, however, is his cut-throat nature. It’s hard to argue that Donald has been particularly aggressive in the north-east and coming from a non-league background at Eastleigh, he clearly wouldn’t have had too many eye-catching contacts.That’s different with Storey, someone who insists he knows people in high places. If he does know plenty in the Premier League then achieving promotion back to where they want to be surely becomes easier.If he secures a deal with Sunderland, Storey simply has to use this strategy. It could well ensure promotion.AND in other news, Sunderland must SWOOP for dynamo with 13 G/A this term, he plays like Foden…

Crystal Palace have been handed a huge boost after Roy Hodgson appeared to confirm that Christian Benteke’s injury isn’t too serious, despite the Belgian striker being withdraw at halftime against Sheffield United, where he was replaced by Jordan Ayew.

What’s the news?

When asked about Benteke’s fitness at the weekend, Hodgson told reporters, via football.london: “Well, we think Benteke got a kick in the first half, which was obviously concerning him at half-time – a sort of dead leg. Normally those dead legs, if you’re lucky, don’t produce long-term problems.”

Palace snapped Benteke up from Liverpool for £27m in a club record deal on a four-year contract in 2016.

The 30-year-old centre-forward has been in decent form this season, scoring three goals in 12 appearances in the Premier League so far, via Transfermarkt. Given the extent of his injury, it appears he could be back in action in a matter of days.

Likely impact?

In fact, we’d even go so far as to say that Benteke has been one of Palace’s best players since the start of the season.

Palace have been in desperate need of some quality upfront for some time now and the Belgian international has delivered with great aplomb, bagging a brace against West Bromwich Albion in his first start of the campaign.

The Eagles boss reserved special praise for Benteke after he scored his first goals of the season, saying: “He has been patient and never stopped working. He showed the type of player he was when Palace bought him from Liverpool and has now got to keep that going.”

Whilst the goals have started to dry up, with just one in his past five games, his influential presence at the top of the pitch cannot be ignored, as he came close to scoring after combining with Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Zaha in the first half before being replaced by Ayew.

It’s worth remembering he has still scored more goals than Ayew, Michy Batshuayi and Connor Wickham have between them, albeit the latter has spent nearly the entirety of the season so far on the sidelines.

With an FA Cup tie with Wolves next on the agenda, Benteke simply must be one of the first names on the team sheet if he is fully fit and firing on all cylinders.

AND in other news, Forget Eze: Crystal Palace left-back Tyrick Mitchell sent Hodgson a timely reminder…

Leeds United must seize a perfect chance to sign Derby County starlet Louie Sibley.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks had claimed that Marcelo Bielsa’s side had joined the chase to sign Sibley this month, along with the midfielder’s teammate Jason Knight.

It was suggested that whilst they were on the Whites’ radar for this January transfer window, a summer move may be considered more likely. However, The Daily Mail now claim that Derby are facing a bit of a financial crisis, and could be forced to raise some much-needed cash by selling young players who fetch the club some decent money.

It’s claimed the Rams are working on a contingency plan to accommodate for the prospect of their proposed takeover falling through, and that they are “losing patience with the proposed new owners and there is a growing feeling the deal is about to fall through”.

Forget Rodrigo De Paul

With reports claiming that Leeds face stiff competition for the signature of Udinese star Rodrigo De Paul, making a move for Sibley makes a lot more sense in this transfer window.

Big-money deals are difficult manoeuvres to pull off in January, with the mostly costlier transfers often taking place in the summer. So if Leeds want to reinforce their midfield area and give Bielsa another option as Leeds head into the second-half of their Premier League campaign, then pouncing on Derby’s financial woes could be very opportunistic and shrewd.

Wayne Rooney’s Championship side aren’t in the driving seat when it comes to Sibley’s future, and Leeds could make a ruthless move by coming in with a lower than expected offer. Wait until the summer, and Derby may be in a stronger position financially to demand a lot more for the 19-year-old.

So if Andrea Radrizzani is looking for Leeds to clinch a bargain, then this could be the perfect opportunity for them to strike. A low-risk, high-reward move that promises to ensure the Whites spend very little on a very exciting talent.

Meanwhile, Leeds must try and sell this Radrizzani disaster…

West Brom continue to be linked with a move for Jesse Lingard before the upcoming transfer deadline…

What’s the word?

According to ESPN correspondent Rob Dawson, the Baggies are among the sides keen on taking the out-of-favour Manchester United winger on loan in the coming days.

It’s claimed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has now given the green light over the 28-year-old leaving Old Trafford this window, and it is thought that the Englishman would like to remain in the Premier League.

Along with Albion, the likes of Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Sheffield United have all been mooted as potential destinations.

Bye-bye Grosicki?

With this mooted interest in Lingard, it may well push Kamil Grosicki closer to the exit door as it’s not really a position that needs strengthening more than say upfront – only one fit striker – or in defence – the backline leakiest in the division.

But that doesn’t mean Allardyce shouldn’t look to add Lingard, he’d still be a decent upgrade on what he currently has, and of course, he also has bags of top-flight experience.

Having racked up 133 appearances in the Premier League and another 38 in European competitions, the £9m-rated attacker has fallen down the Red Devils’ pecking order, only playing in cup competitions this term.

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The 28-year-old is a player who, in the past, has been likened to Spanish great Andres Iniesta – former United coach Rene Meulensteen said, via talkSPORT:

“The difference with Jesse is that he was always the English version of Iniesta. He can play in the pockets, he’s very mobile and very agile. He can beat a man and he’s good in combination play. The last few seasons he started to score important goals as well.”

Indeed as a regular starter across the 2017/18 and 2018/19 campaigns, Lingard delivered 12 goals and seven assists, managing a high of 1.7 shots and 0.8 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

These are merely two figures that suggest he’s a creative influence from midfield as well as a goal threat, so those comparisons are true – to an extent.

By comparison, when Allardyce has turned to Grosicki this term, he’s truly yet to take the opportunity on – averaging only one shot per game, while he’s not been able to record a single dribble despite being a winger.

According to journalist Michal Pol (via Sport Witness), there is a chance that the Poland international returns to his home country before the February 1st deadline, something that should ultimately be sanctioned.

With Lingard seemingly free to leave United, it would be wise to finally offload the £50k-per-week flop.

The “unique” 24-time international would be a welcome addition to the wing department that has only contributed towards three goals aside from Matheus Pereira.

AND in other news, Why West Brom need to take a punt on this £120k-per-week dud…

Leeds will face another stern test on Sunday when they take on Leicester.

The Whites have won just once in 2021 so far while the Foxes are flying high in the top four of the Premier League. Therefore, Marcelo Bielsa should consider springing a surprise.

On the chalkboard

There wasn’t much to criticise from Leeds’ win over Newcastle in midweek. Though, if there was one area to be picky about it was at left-back.

Gjanni Alioski didn’t endure the best of outings and that was evident when he was hauled off with over half an hour left after receiving a yellow card.

The left-back was caught in possession and then to prevent a counter-attack, had to bring his man down. It was typically reckless from Alioski, someone who has proven to be a liability on more than one occasion this season.

He was torn apart by Dan James at Old Trafford last month and for every good performance the defender turns in, it seems to be followed by a succession of dismal outings.

The solution

There is one clear answer to Leeds’ problems here; drop Alioski. We’ve banged this drum before on FFC but if that happens it could give Bielsa a way to bring Mateusz Klich back into his starting XI.

The Pole sat out against Newcastle and thus missed just his second ever league game since Bielsa took charge of the Whites. Stuart Dallas started at his expense in the middle of the park but if Leeds drop Alioski, the Northern Irishman can slot in on the left instead.

As a result, Klich would be able to resume his place in the middle of the park. It would be surprising and incredibly rare for the manager to spring a tactical change like this. For starters, the Argentine doesn’t tinker or make changes unless he really has to, generally preferring to operate with the same starting XI’s. Secondly, his Polish enforcer has been a little out of form.

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Speaking about the Poland international last week, Noel Whelan told Football Insider: “He hasn’t been himself for over a month now. He’s not doing too much. He is drifting through games and that’s worrying.”

That came after Whelan admitted that new recruits needed to be signed this month: “I think a central midfield player because Klich has gone off the boil, he seems to be drifting through games at the minute and not having that stamp on the game that he normally has, so I think we need more backup there and quality.”

That being said, Klich has played so many successive games for Leeds because Bielsa loves him so much. He might be out of form but being dropped from the XI last time out should have acted as a wakeup call and a reality check.

At the end of the day, he’s one of their most creative players and in 2020/21, only Jack Harrison (1.9) has achieved more key passes per match than Klich (1.8).

If we’re going by general assists, the latter tops the charts for Leeds this term. No player has created more goals (5) for his teammates than the Pole.

Thus, if Leeds are to have any chance of breaking down a tough Leicester defence, they need Klich, and they need him at his creative and effervescent best.

AND in other news, Leeds should unleash “very tricky” rarely-seen gem, Whelan thinks he’s “like Raphinha”…

According to The Daily Mail, Southampton could move to sign free agent Ahmed Musa as West Bromwich Albion struggle to get a deal over the line.

Saints eye Musa

It seemed the 28-year-old was on the verge of completing a move to The Hawthorns – he was said to have even had a medical (Football Insider) – but it now seems the Midlands outfit do not have the funds to get the deal done.

As the Baggies flounder, Ralph Hasenhuttl and co are said to be interested in signing the Nigeria international just a number of days after bringing in Liverpool’s Takumi Minamino on loan.

Interesting option

With Danny Ings and Che Adams to rely on up front, you would think that Hasenhuttl would be happy with his forward options. However, the arrival of Minamino indicates that the Austrian wants to improve things in the final third, and Musa could be an astute bargain signing.

While he had a disappointing spell with Leicester City, Musa has 88 career goals to his name (Transfermarkt) and has netted four times across two World Cups. Capable of playing on either wing as well as centre-forward, he would provide Southampton with some versatility that could be welcome as they look to kick on again after defeats to Manchester United and Newcastle.

Should the deal to take Musa to West Brom fall apart completely, the Saints should be waiting to pick up the pieces.

In other news, Southampton fans slammed this man against Newcastle.

Manchester City reportedly have a big summer ahead of them, as it has been suggested that Pep Guardiola will be given a huge transfer budget to add to his squad, with a world-class striker seemingly top of the list.

The Citizens have won 16 games in a row in all competitions and are comfortable at the top of the Premier League, which is even more impressive when you consider they have done this without a prolific striker.

Sergio Aguero has missed much of the season through injury and the current viral outbreak, having made just five appearances in the top-flight this season, scoring no goals.

Gabriel Jesus meanwhile, has managed just four goals in 15 top-flight appearances this season, and has been guilty of missing chances in front of goal on a number of occasions.

Therefore, it is no surprise that the likes of Erling Haaland and Harry Kane have been linked with a switch to the Etihad in recent weeks, as adding a natural goalscorer to this City side could put them on another level.

Another striker who has been touted as a potential option for Guardiola’s side recently is PSG forward Kylian Mbappe.

According to journalist Dean Jones on the Touchline Talk podcast, City are hoping to try and at least talk to him this summer, should the chance arrive.

Mbappe’s contract with PSG is set to expire at the end of next season and whilst domestic success is all but guaranteed with Les Parisiens, the 22-year-old is no doubt keen to add a Champions League medal to his collection, something PSG have struggled to achieve despite their plethora of attacking talent.

The £162 million-rated forward has established himself as one of, if not the best, youngster in world football in recent years, having contributed 108 goals and 59 assists in 151 appearances since joining from Monaco.

He also starred at the 2018 World Cup and helped France lift the trophy, so there is no doubt that he would be a success with Man City should he make the move to the Premier League this summer.

Mbappe’s teammate Neymar described him as a “phenomenon” in 2018 and the French striker has certainly lived up to that hype, with 16 goals and six assists in 21 Ligue 1 appearances earning him a 7.66 average rating – the best of any player in the league.

Therefore, whilst City might be tempted by someone like Kane, Mbappe still has another 10 years at least at the top level and would perhaps better suit City’s style of play, as his unbelievable pace means he could often be on the end of slick passing moves and through balls, whereas Kane is playing as more of a target man and creator at Spurs – he’s already bagged 14 assists this season.

City already have technicians and pass masters like Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan et al. Having a proven number nine who could change the game with his pace and movement through the number nine role could open up the game a lot more for Guardiola’s chief creators.

Sporting director Txiki Begiristain should therefore do everything he can to bring Mbappe to the Etihad this summer if they are presented with the chance to sign him.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Fernandinho: Txiki should swoop for £36m-rated beast this summer

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Bradford City striker Dean Windass has said that a number nine will be on Jurgen Klopp’s shopping list this summer, amid a report from The Athletic’s James Pearce saying they need a new one.

Despite romping to the Premier League title and Champions League in each of the previous two seasons, the Reds’ only recognised striker in their squad is Roberto Firmino.

The Brazilian has done an outstanding job of leading the line since arriving from Hoffenheim, but his goal record is less than impressive.

Firmino has only scored more than 20 goals once in his five years on Merseyside, whilst the Reds striker has found the net just 15 times in the Premier League since the start of last season, which is 10 fewer than Sadio Mane and 21 less than Mohammed Salah.

And whilst Windass praised Firmino’s footballing ability, he told FFC that Klopp needs a proven goalscorer. He said:

“He’s a link lad. I’d call him a link man, he’s not a number nine. He plays as a number nine because he plays alongside Salah and Mane, but he’s not a left winger, he’s not a right winger. He’s not got the pace to play in the wide areas, he plays in the number 10/number nine role.

“Quality footballer, but he doesn’t get enough goals. What a top drawer footballer and football intelligence, great first touch and great awareness, but he just doesn’t score enough goals, and I don’t think last season he scored many goals at Anfield.

“I don’t think he’ll leave, but I’m sure that a number nine will be on their list.”

This is going to be a tricky decision for Klopp, but going out and signing a striker is a smart move.

Firmino has been an great servant for Liverpool, but the Reds have fallen worryingly far behind Manchester City this season and therefore must go out and make a statement signing.

It wouldn’t necessarily spell the end of Firmino’s career on Merseyside, but if Liverpool are going to become challengers once again, another striker would be the first step in the right direction.

Arsenal could sign their own Virgil van Dijk in RB Leipzig’s Ibrahima Konate.

What’s the story?

According to The Evening Standard, Mikel Arteta’s side are one of a number of clubs tracking the 21-year-old ahead of a potential move for him in the summer transfer window.

The reports claims that Konate is being scouted by sides all across Europe in the hope that he could be made available for a transfer, with the Gunners one of those teams as they consider bringing in another centre-back.

It is added however that “they would be expected to face competition from several of Europe’s top sides”.

Arsenal’s own Van Dijk

For all of Liverpool’s attacking success in recent seasons with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, the real cornerstone for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side has of course been Virgil van Dijk.

The towering Dutchman arrived in a big-money deal from Southampton, and has helped them to both a Premier League and Champions League title.

Much like Van Dijk, Konate is also a powerful centre-back, coming in at an imposing 6 foot 4.

And, Bundesliga.com themselves have made that comparison between Konate and Van Dijk, saying he plays a bit like the Dutchman. They added: “Likening Konate to one of the best centre-backs in recent times may seem like a premature comparison. It’s not. There are few in the position who excel at so many aspects of the game as the young Frenchman.

“Whether it be in terms of positioning, sticking tight to the striker, intercepting passes, tackling or building from the back, Konate cannot just do it all, he makes it look easy. He has the pace to match the quickest of attackers and the physique to bully – rather than be bullied by – muscular strikers much more experienced than he is.”

Ralf Rangnick spoke glowingly about Konate’s ability and potential, saying: “We’ve been watching Ibrahima Konate for some time. He’s a young, highly-gifted player who’ll strengthen our defence. We’re very happy to have been able to bring in this top talent and that Ibrahima can take the next step in his career here.”

If the Gunners can land Konate, who looks as physically dominant and gifted with the ball like Van Dijk, they could well have their own powerhouse in the middle of defence next season. It would truly be an Edu masterclass, especially given that they are reported to face competition for him.

If he goes on to have an impact anywhere close to what Van Dijk has at Anfield, he’ll be an unbelievably good signing for the Gunners.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano claims Arsenal are interested in this Premier League starlet…