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Sunderland travel to Gillingham this Saturday on the back of a 2-2 draw with Rochdale, and Black Cats boss Phil Parkinson must consider changes to his starting line-up at Priestfield Stadium.

The Stadium of Light natives have fallen out of the League One Play-Off positions following Tuesday’s stalemate at the Crown Oil Arena, with Parkinson’s men now trailing Charlton Athletic by a point.

Sunderland had started the season in sublime fashion with an unbeaten run of six games, but allowing five goals to be scored in their last two fixtures has taken the wind out of the sails before visiting a side they have failed to beat in their last four meetings.

Gillingham, themselves, are struggling this season having lost five of their nine third-tier fixtures already, and boast one of the division’s worst defensive records with 13 goals shipped.

But Parkinson’s hope of taking a first Sunderland win at Gillingham since 2018 must come with changes to his starting line-up. So, with that in mind, here’s a predicted XI he could favour…

Parkinson has favoured a 3-5-1-1 formation in three of Sunderland’s last five League One fixtures, with the shape used against Charlton Athletic, Crewe Alexandra and Portsmouth before changing to a 3-4-3 at Rochdale for the first time since September’s 1-0 win over Peterborough.

The change in system did not return the Black Cats to winning ways, however, and the performances of certain players must see North East giants revert to more a successful formation.

Lee Burge will more likely than not retain his place in goal having started all eight of Sunderland’s third-tier fixtures to date, while making on average 1.8 saves per game accounting for 70% of all efforts struck, per SofaScore.

In defence, Parkinson will be expected to recall Luke O’Nien after he saw red late on for a second yellow against Portsmouth and sat out the Rochdale affair as a result, where the £3,600-per-week Tom Flanagan deputised but could only win two tackles and two interceptions, per WhoScored.

Dion Sanderson also featured against Rochdale and should retain his place on the right-hand of Parkinson’s backline amid concerns over Jordan Willis’ patella tendon injury, given the Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee’s eight clearances and 81% pass success rate at the Crown Oil Arena.

Sunderland’s midfield should be the focus of much of Parkinson’s tinkering this weekend, with the change in shape allowing for Josh Scowen to return to partner George Dobson and Max Power in the engine room after starting on the bench at Rochdale.

The 27-year-old has so far averaged 1.0 shots, 1.3 key balls, an 83% pass success rate, 1.3 tackles and 2.7 duels won a game in League One this term, per SofaScore.

Parkinson must also consider bringing Chris Maquire back into a central role in behind top-scorer Charlie Wyke, having struggled on the wing at Rochdale with no successful dribbles, shots on target or key passes.

Lynden Gooch also failed to impress on the left-flank against Rochdale and ought to be replaced by Aiden O’Brien, who Sunderland icon Kevin Phillips is excited to see in action following his summer arrival.

“I have made some enquiries because I know the people down at Millwall and they have given me some very good feedback about him,” Phillips told Football Insider. “I am excited to see this kid performs in League One.

“He has a bit of everything about him. He can play as a nine, a ten and he can play out wide. A player that gets himself in the box and can score a goal, I am very excited to see this lad play.”

AND in other news, Phil Parkinson has been urged to start a Sunderland star who “has a bit of everything”.

There have been plenty of ins and out at Glasgow Rangers during this transfer window.

The ‘Gers have made a number of signings, with Ianis Hagi, Jon McLaughlin, Calvin Bassey, Leon Balogun, Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe all coming in. There have also been some departures, with Jamie Murphy, Greg Docherty and Robbie McCrorie joining Hibernian, Hull and Aberdeen respectively.

There were also six players released, one of which was Andy Halliday. The 28-year-old become something of a cult hero at Ibrox due to his allegiance to the ‘Gers, and some were disappointed to see him depart when he was released.

It was confirmed on Monday that he has now made the move to Hearts, who are currently in the Scottish Championship. This attracted the attention of many ‘Gers fans who have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts. You can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

‘Gers fans, what do you make of Halliday signing for Hearts? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

A number of Liverpool fans have criticised Dejan Lovren for going to Anfield to join in the communal celebrations on the night that the Reds became Premier League champions in what one supporter branded an act of “pure stupidity”.

In an interview with Russian journalist Vladimir Kolos, which was shared on his Twitter profile @kolos_vladimir and latterly on @LFCTransferRoom, the former Reds defender admitted that he left the hotel where his team-mates were watching Chelsea’s win over Manchester City to drive to Anfield, where many supporters had assembled to celebrate Liverpool’s first league triumph in 30 years.

Despite being urged by Jurgen Klopp to remain at home if the title was secured, given the message of social distancing amid the global pandemic and with top-flight games being played at empty stadia, hundreds of Kopites gathered outside the club’s stadium that night, with Lovren revealing that he went along to savour the moment.

He said: “They told us, ‘Guys, don’t even go to the stadium because you will have problems. We cannot keep you safe’. The party [at the hotel] was already over and I said to myself, ‘It’s 12 o’clock, it’s too early to sleep. I will take the car and go to Anfield just to experience this’. I drove myself there.

“My God, tens of thousands of people celebrating…I just wanted to feel this emotion because we didn’t have a good celebration in the stadium, so I needed to do it. I was really happy that I did it. It was a good experience.”

The Croatian, who is now at Zenit St Petersburg, was frequently criticised for defensive errors in his time at Anfield and, even after leaving Merseyside, he has continued to draw the ire of some Liverpool fans over his “reckless” act on the historic night of 25 June.

Here is a flavour of the reaction on Twitter:

Liverpool fans, what did you make of Lovren driving to Anfield to take in the communal celebrations? Share your views in the comments section below!

West Bromwich Albion are back in the big time after a two-year absence, but if they are to remain, then Slaven Bilic must bolster his backline…

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic’s Steve Madeley, the Baggies have held discussions over a potential move Celtic centre-back Kristoffer Ajer.

It’s claimed that the 22-year-old is of interest to Bilic as an alternative to Brighton’s Shane Duffy but he may only be available at an eight-figure fee, so it remains to be seen if West Brom could afford the move.

The Scottish champions are also keen on the Seagulls’ man, meaning the door could perhaps open for the Norwegian colossus.

Colossal solution

It’s no secret that Albion’s biggest problem was defensively – Bilic’s men leaked nearly a goal a game in Championship with a total of 45 conceded.

Many of which were from set-pieces, where the Baggies ranked fourth-worst for goals conceded via a dead ball situation, so it’s no wonder that the boss is interested in adding a 6 foot 6 giant to his back four.

Semi Ajayi, Kyle Bartley and Ahmed Hegazi probably isn’t going to put much doubt into the minds of the opposition strikers this season.

In Ajer, they’d be getting an absolute animal whose also capable of playing in defensive midfield and at right-back, a position he was once described as “Cafu-like”.

The 22-year-old man-mountain has also been praised by Mark Wilson as the best centre-back in the SPFL as “he’s aggressive” whilst teammate Christopher Jullien echoed ex-Bhoys boss Brendan Rodgers’ comments and said: “Kris has a bright future and a good present. He’s a young player and everyone here knows his quality. He has good leadership skills.”

It’s believed, per Calciomercato, that Celtic’s asking price is around €25m (£22.5m) so if those at the Hawthorns can fork out the funds, then they’d bolster their chances of remaining in the top-flight.

Forget Duffy, this is the central defender Bilic needs to end his defensive nightmare.

AND in other news,ÂWest Brom should look to £15m sensation to replace Kenneth Zohore…

Manchester United are ready to face Tottenham Hotspur away on Friday as the Premier League is set to restart this week.

The Red Devils are currently fifth in the table, four points clear of Spurs, who are now managed by former Old Trafford boss Jose Mourinho.

United have won the last two games between the teams, which could give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side an advantage as both sides must win in order to boost their hopes of a top four finish. Marcus Rashford, who is the club’s top scorer this season, bagged a brace in December to condemn Mourinho to his first defeat as Spurs’ head coach.

Earlier this week, the Premier League announced that Jonathan Moss will take charge of the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Moss qualified as a referee in 1998 and has often been on the receiving end from the Old Trafford faithful over the years. Indeed, he endured the wrath of supporters for his decisions during the match against Burnley last season (SportBible).

It is worth pointing out the Red Devils have lost three of their past five games Moss has refereed. He also handed Rashford a red card in the 2-0 win over the Clarets back in September 2018.

Unsurprisingly, many United fans slammed the “atrocious” decision, with one fan tweeting “Spurs W incoming” and another adding “we’ve lost then”.

Scroll through some of the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, do you think the Red Devils will beat Spurs? Let us know in the comments section below!

You wouldn’t be wrong in saying that Tottenham need to add some quality to their team this summer after missing out on a Champions League spot for the first time since 2015.

Luckily, the London club have been linked to a number of new additions, but it would seem that they’re looking at strengthening in the wrong area.

Jose Mourinho’s side have been linked to both Willian and Demarai Gray in recent weeks, and while adding two players from teams competing for top-four spots seems like a good idea, it’s a hard sell to say that Tottenham need a winger.

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The Lilywhites already have a plethora of talent able to play out wide with the likes of Erik Lamela, Heung-min Son, Steven Bergwijn and Ryan Sessegnon more than capable of filling those roles.

Depth is never a bad thing, and with Gray reportedly available for cheap and Willian able to move on a free, these moves wouldn’t set the club back too much, but even with the prices not being that high, you’d still have to say that the wages would be better off used elsewhere.

Willian is 32 next month, and while he’s a good player, scoring nine league goals this season, the fact that he wants a three-year deal is questionable to say the least, considering the fact that he’ll nearly be 35 by the time his contract is up.

Gray isn’t up to standard either, starting just three league games for Leicester this term, and it’s hard to see him getting much more of a game at Tottenham with Bergwijn and Son ahead of him on the left-wing pecking order while adding more competition for Sessegnon risks stifling his development even further, which is the last thing you want for a 20-year-old who signed for £25m just last summer.

Tottenham are right to be looking for additions, but wingers are the last thing they need right now.

For quite some time now, transfer rumours have been circulating the media about Tottenham Hotspur’s reported interest in Southampton’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

And now, according to Sky Sports, Spurs and the Saints have agreed deals in principle that would see the 25-year-old Dane move to London and Kyle Walker-Peters go the other way.

The midfielder would reportedly arrive for a fee in the region of £15m while the young full-back would garner a £12 price tag. Of course, the 23-year-old had already spent the second part of the 2019/20 campaign with the Saints and this would effectively make that loan permanent.

But even though the deals seem to be quite close, Sky Sports state all the bonuses and payment structures are yet to be fully negotiated so there’s still more work to be done.

The biggest hurdles, however, are already out of the way as both players are keen to move to their respective new clubs. Everything indicates towards Jose Mourinho getting his man sooner rather than later and this is despite some reported interest from rivals Everton.

It’s also interesting to note that Spurs have been on Hojbjerg’s tail ever since January so this scoop could represent a major victory on the market for the London side.

Hojbjerg is perfect for Mourinho

Hojbjerg is a player that has a rather interesting profile. A forward in his younger days, now he acts as a defensive midfielder, sitting just in front of the back four. Mourinho certainly likes his defensive contribution as the Dane is a prolific ball-winner in that middle third of the pitch.

There is certainly quality in there and seeing how he can also be deployed as a defender, virtually all across the backline, Hojbjerg could indeed be a big transfer for Spurs and their road towards redemption in 2020/21.

Liverpool are said to be interested in signing AS Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo.

The Italy international ruptured his cruciate ligament earlier this campaign but he is still one of the up-and-coming stars in Serie A. He has already made 60 appearances for the Giallorossi since signing from Internazionale and he has also scored twice in five caps for the Azzurri.

According to Il Sussidiario, the Reds are interested in the 20-year-old, for whom they may need to pay up to €60m (£53.9m). Also, it is reported that the Italian side would want Dejan Lovren in exchange in any deal to sign the youngster – they have been linked with the Croatia international in the past (Corriere di Roma via Calciomercato).

The former Southampton defender is far from a popular figure on Merseyside and many of the club’s supporters appear delighted with the suggestion that he may be offered in a deal for Zaniolo. They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below:

Liverpool fans, do you want to see Zaniolo arriving at Anfield with Lovren going the other way? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

This week Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with their first ‘swap deal’ ahead of a new landscape in the transfer market this summer.

It remains to be seen just how bad the pandemic has affected finances in football, but the Evening Standard reported that Spurs boss Jose Mourinho would be mainly limited to free transfers and deals that didn’t involve hefty fees.

According to TuttoMercatoWeb, the north Londoners could look to deal both Danny Rose and Serge Aurier to Serie A outfit Juventus in return for fellow full-backs Alex Sandro and Mattia De Sciglio.

This could well be a sign of things to come as strange as it seems now.

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Rose is currently out on loan to Newcastle United whilst Aurier has been a frequent presence under Mourinho this campaign, featuring 24 times since he took the reins in November.

Meanwhile, Sandro appears to be Mauricio Sarri’s first-choice left-back having played 22 league games this term – De Sciglio has barely featured at all this term, via WhoScored.

Here’s how the Spurs faithful have been reacting to the reported transfer plan…

AND in other news, Spurs fans react as Dennis Cirkin report emerges…

Tottenham Hotspur confirmed the appointment of Jose Mourinho as their new manager on Wednesday morning, with the Portuguese signing a contract until the end of the 2022/23 season.

Spurs sacked Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday night following a largely disastrous 2019/20 campaign to date which has seen them win just three of their 12 Premier League matches, as well as being thrashed 7-1 at home by Bayern Munich and being knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two side Colchester United.

His 56-year-old replacement has been out of work for almost a year himself having been sacked by Manchester United in December 2018, and he will be keen to make a name for himself in the Premier League again following a disappointing end to his spell at Old Trafford.

Mourinho arrives at Tottenham with three Premier League titles – all with Chelsea – under his belt, and Daniel Levy will surely be hoping that he has the quality and experience to deliver their first one during the duration of his stay.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

The former Real Madrid manager certainly seems ready to go, as you can see from his first words since being appointed below.

Speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “I am excited to be joining a Club with such a great heritage and such passionate supporters. The quality in both the squad and the academy excites me. Working with these players is what has attracted me.”