Aston Villa will be hoping to put their debacle against Watford to the back of their minds as quickly as possible today.

Despite the loss against their fellow relegation zone occupants, Dean Smith’s side are still just one point behind West Ham United and a temporary escape from the drop zone.

Therefore, it is important that they are able to get something from Burnley, who currently sit 13th in the table.

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With this in mind, FFC has predicted the starting XI that Smith could opt to use, which includes five changes from the Watford game.

Tom Heaton is a natural starter, having played 19 Premier League games this season, so he should continue between the sticks here.

Ahmed Elmohamady played the full 90 minutes against both Norwich City and Watford, so considering that he is 32 years old, he could be rested to make way for Frederic Guilbert.

Kortney Hause is the only defender to keep his place from the Watford loss, as he has been impressive in Tyrone Mings’ absence, averaging 1.8 tackles, 0.5 interceptions, 9.8 clearances and 1.5 blocks per game.

James Chester was on the bench against Watford and could replace Ezri Konsa after his mistake for the first goal at Vicarage Road, especially after impressing in the Carabao Cup win over Liverpool.

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Matt Targett picked up a hamstring injury against the Hornets, meaning Neil Taylor will likely come in to fill the void left by his absence.

Conor Hourihane and Douglas Luiz both maintain their place at the base of Villa’s midfield, especially after Smith defended the Brazilian for his contribution to Watford’s penalty.

Jack Grealish was played on the left against Watford, but could be moved back into the middle, with Henri Lansbury coming out of the team, having not made a single dribble or key pass when facing the Hornets.

Jota also comes out of the team after only lasting until half time at Vicarage Road. This, alongside Lansbury’s omission, means that Trezeguet and Anwar El Ghazi will occupy the places on the wings.

He may not have got a goal or assist in his last 12 Premier League games, but Wesley is likely to start again, though fans have been calling for Jonathan Kodjia.

In other news, Villa fans were fuming with Smith for his decision before the Watford game.

Aston Villa completed their first signing of the January transfer window on Tuesday, bringing Danny Drinkwater in on loan for the rest of the season.

The midfielder, brought in from Chelsea, managed just one league start for Burnley during the first half of the season, adding another one in the Carabao Cup.

However, he does have 100 Premier League appearances to his name from the entirety of his career, indicating a change of transfer policy from Chief Executive Christian Purslow.

During last summer, Villa had not paid much attention to Premier League experience, as signified by the fact that nine of the 12 recruited had never played a single minute of football in England’s top tier, before moving to Villa Park.

Before all that began, Purslow noted: “On the recruitment side in particular, things have not been handled as I think they should be in the way our fans expect, which is for us to be a young exciting team and a team that over time establishes itself back in the Premier League.”

However, it now seems as though the club may have reverted to bringing in an experienced head in midfield, who knows the league and what playing in it can entail.

His past – which includes the league title win with Leicester City – will surely have played a part in this decision, considering the 29-year-old has managed a combined six starts and seven appearances off the bench in the league since the 2017/18 season’s start.

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This need for experience in England’s top-flight can also be indicated by links with Pepe Reina, as reported by Calciomercato.

The Spaniard may currently be playing in Serie A, but he has amassed 285 Premier League appearances throughout his career.

Changing the strategy to focus on those who have played in the league already, will likely be seen as providing an added layer of safety when the season comes to its culmination and crunchtime approaches.

Villa currently find themselves just one place and one point above the relegation zone, having temporarily fallen into it during December.

With the benefits to clubs’ finances and status being so greatly helped by a place in the Premier League being, it is seen as vital for teams that they are able to beat the drop.

Villa may be changing their transfer strategy from the summer to ensure that happens.

Meanwhile, Villa fans were impressed by a former fringe player’s performance against Leicester.

After what has seemed like months of speculation, Liverpool and Nike have finally confirmed their new multi-year partnership, which will see the US-based firm supply the Reds with their playing kit.

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The Anfield outfit have had their playing apparel made by New Balance since 2012, but this new deal with Nike from the start of the next campaign will see them earn considerably more than the £40m they received per year with their previous contract. In fact, they could rake in up to £70m every 12 months.

The announcement has, unsurprisingly, received plenty of interest from supporters on social media platform Twitter. And plenty of fans are happy with the news.

Nike are one of the biggest global brands in world sportswear. It is little surprise that some supporters are delighted that their logo will now adorn their kit.

Some are specifically ecstatic that this will mean no more New Balance-made kits.

Considering that their soon-to-be former kit supplier stayed with the European champions during the harder times at the start of the previous decade, perhaps fans should be more grateful.

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Others, meanwhile, are sure this can mean only one thing: the arrival of Kylian Mbappe from PSG.

Liverpool have been linked with the 2018 World Cup winner, and there is a feeling amongst some that this could now mean he completes a move to Anfield. Jurgen Klopp, though, has previously said that such a deal will not happen.

Not everyone is delighted with the new partnership though.

You can’t keep everyone happy, we suppose.

Expect even more reaction and discussion in the future when next season’s kits are revealed.

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Another weekend of action has come and gone, and Leeds’ automatic promotion spot is once again looking a little more precarious than it once was.

The Whites’ lead over third place is now down to just six points, and that’s certainly not a safe position to be in when you consider the club’s tendency to flop at the back-end of seasons.

Something needs to change in order to avoid another capitulation, and while it’s going to take more than one switch to sort out these problems, there’s quite an obvious area where Marcelo Bielsa can start.

Casilla’s woes

Despite conceding just ten goals in their first 19 games, Leeds no longer have the best defensive record in the Championship.

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The Whites have conceded 13 goals in their last eight league matches, and that’s at least partially down to the poor form of Kiko Casilla.

The Spaniard has often been praised this term by fans, but his performances have certainly dropped off in recent weeks.

His mistake led to Sheffield Wednesday’s opener on Saturday, and the Owls scored twice despite only having two shots on target.

Unfortunately, that’s a familiar story as Birmingham City bagged four goals from just four shots on goal last month.

To put it bluntly, Casilla just isn’t making saves anymore, and that really isn’t a good trait for a goalkeeper.

Change needed

Bielsa has started Casilla in every single league game so far this term, but it may be time for that particular streak to come to an end.

The Spaniard has been a liability in recent weeks, and Leeds have an understudy ready and waiting.

He may have only played one game for the club, but Illan Meslier was mightily impressive against Arsenal in the FA Cup, drawing praise from both sets of supporters as he made four saves.

Bielsa should put Meslier in ahead of Casilla for numerous reasons.

For a start, it could give Casilla the shot in the arm he needs to rediscover his early-season form.

Another point is that the former Real Madrid man is facing a potential ban in the near future and giving Meslier a chance to pick up some experience ahead of being thrust into the number one spot wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Finally, Meslier may genuinely be the better option at the moment. He impressed both Leeds and Arsenal fans with his performance at the Emirates, and with Casilla faltering he may be an improvement on the three-time Champions League winner.

In other news, Danny Pugh has shown excitement about one of Angus Kinnear’s big plans for Leeds United.

The Athletic journalist Gregg Evans has revealed that Mbwana Samatta will not be making his Aston Villa debut against Watford on Tuesday night.

Villa announced on Monday that they had completed the signing of the Tanzania international from Genk on a four-and-a-half-year deal.

The 27-year-old leaves Genk having found the back of the net on 76 occasions in 191 appearances in all competitions.

Samatta has managed 10 goals in 28 outings this season, meanwhile, including three in the group stages of the Champions League.

Villa will be looking to win in the Premier League for the first time since New Year’s Day when they welcome Watford to Villa Park on Tuesday night.

However, Evans has revealed that the striker will ‘be in the stands’ for his new club having not been signed in time to feature against the Hornets.

Jack Grealish could therefore play in an attacking spot once again as Wesley is out for the season with a knee injury and Jonathan Kodjia has now departed.

Evans’ tweet on the subject can be seen below:

Meanwhile, Villa continue to be linked with a move for this former Premier League midfielder before the January transfer window closes for business.

Aston Villa may have already signed Mbwana Samatta this January transfer window, but they are still on the lookout for another striker before the deadline.

The feeling that another recruit is needed comes after Jonathan Kodjia’s exit this month and Wesley’s season-ending injury.

It has been reported by Fanatik [via Sport Witness], that they are now offering €5m (£4.2m) for Trabzonspor striker Daniel Sturridge.

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There are some fans who seem to be content with the signing, even if it might be because there aren’t better options, with one saying “beggars can’t be choosers”.

While there are those who have become genuinely excited about the potential signing, with one feeling he is “quality” and another claiming he could turn out to be a “bargain”.

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Sturridge has been impressing in Turkey this campaign and across eight starts and three substitute appearances in the league and cup, the Englishman has recorded seven goals and four assists.

However, not everyone is thrilled with the idea of signing the 30-year-old, with one exclaiming that they “want Giroud”.

His injury record will also not help him, as the Englishman has already picked up seven minor injuries since arriving in Turkey, which have seen him sit out a total of 17 games.

To make things even worse, they could have signed him for free during the summer if they had got in ahead of the Turkish outfit.

Meanwhile, a Villa man would be seriously foolish if they accept a proposed move away from the club.

The agent of Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud is attempting to take his client to Tottenham Hotspur before the January transfer window closes for business, according to journalist Graeme Bailey.

There has been no mention of any actual interest from Spurs, although Bailey has claimed that Giroud’s agent is attempting to “engineer a move” to Jose Mourinho’s side in the lead-up to Friday night’s deadline.

And a number of Tottenham fans have been on social media offering their views on the 6 foot 4 ace.

Some of the supporters are open to the idea of the 33-year-old joining the club.

However, it would also be fair to say that a number of Tottenham fans are simply not interested in the 2018 World Cup winner potentially arriving at the club.

Giroud might have only made five Premier League appearances for Chelsea this season but his overall record in England’s top flight is 78 goals in 225 outings, which is far from disastrous.

The fact that Harry Kane is on the sidelines until at least April following hamstring surgery means that Spurs are short in attack, and it would not be a surprise to see them move for a new striker before Friday’s deadline.

Meanwhile, Tottenham are still in talks over a double deal late in the transfer window, according to an Italian journalist.

West Ham United’s first-team may have disappointed once again, throwing away a 3-1 lead to draw against Brighton & Hove Albion, but the U23s have provided more reason for optimism.

Xande Silva was on the young Hammers’ bench, coming off it to score in an impressive turnaround, that saw them beat Sunderland 4-2.

The fact that the 22-year-old was able to get himself on the scoresheet was a source of pride and excitement for many Hammers fans.

The Portuguese forward suffered from a bowel obstruction during the summer, which saw him hospitalised.

It has been a long process for him to get ready for action, with this being his first competitive game back for the U23s.

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Therefore fans were over the moon to see him mark the occasion with a goal that helped secure a win for the youngsters.

This has also led to the suggestion that David Moyes should reinstate him into the first-team setup now that he is back.

One fan said he “scores for fun in the U23s”, which is backed up by last season’s numbers, when he scored seven goals in eight Premier League 2 games, adding an assist.

The 22-year-old has made two first-team appearances to date, and if Hammers fans get their wish, he will be adding to that soon.

Meanwhile, Roshane Thomas absolutely slated one West Ham player after the Brighton draw.

It was a big day for Trent Alexander-Arnold on Monday – the 21-year-old reached one million followers on Twitter.Clearly, being a talented footballer can get your quite far in terms of your social media standing, and the England international fits the bill. He has been the Reds’ creative force over the last 18 months – no-one has as many as his 28 assists in all competitions for Jurgen Klopp’s side during that time.

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To mark the occasion, Liverpool’s number 66 gave an impromptu Q&A session on his Twitter page, with his followers asking a variety of questions, such as whether he likes pineapple on his pizza or who his footballing idol is.

One fan asked him who his toughest opponent has been, and his answer was pretty emphatic: Lionel Messi.

You can’t blame him. Alexander-Arnold has only played against the Argentina international twice, and although the Reds won 4-0 against Barcelona in the latest of those two clashes, that came after the 32-year-old had given them the runaround the first time. In the Champions League semi-final first leg, he bagged twice in a 3-0, which included one stunning free-kick.

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With 622 goals in 713 games and six Ballon d’Ors to his name, it a choice that you just can’t argue with.

Elsewhere, Liverpool fans react to reported interest in one of their star players.

On Tuesday afternoon, West Bromwich Albion’s official Twitter account paid tribute to Hal Robson-Kanu for putting in ‘some tremendous shifts’ in recent weeks.

The 30-year-old has a record of nine goals in 28 appearances for the Baggies this season, with seven of those strikes coming in 27 Championship outings.

The Wales international has not scored in any of his last six league appearances, though, whilst he has just one in his last 13 in England’s second tier.

According to WhoScored, Robson-Kanu boasted five successful dribbles and an 85% pass success rate against Nottingham Forest last time out, though.

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And a number of the West Brom fans agreed with their club’s tweet.

Not all of the supporters feel the same way, though, with some referencing the fact that the attacker, who arrived at the club from Reading in 2016, has struggled to find the back of the net in recent weeks.

West Brom are currently top of the Championship table, four points clear of second-placed Leeds United, ahead of their trip to Bristol City on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a number of the club’s supporters were delighted with the performance of one individual in particular against Forest.