Tottenham face perhaps the biggest test of their season so far on Monday when Manchester City travel to Wembley looking to increase their unbeaten league run to ten games this season, and Mauricio Pochettino must risk starting Dele Alli on his return from injury.

Alli has been suffering with a hamstring injury and hasn’t played since scoring in the Carabao Cup win over Watford at Stadium MK, where he started his career before signing for Spurs in 2015.

Tottenham struggled in the week against Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, and Alli could be crucial to offering the Lilywhites the link between defence and attack against Pep Guardiola’s City.

The 22-year-old has played six times in all competitions for Spurs this season and contributed with two goals, and he will be keen to return to the starting line up as Tottenham push for a top four place.

So, Tottenham fans, should Pochettino take a risk and throw Alli in from the start? Have your say by voting in the poll below. 

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Middlesbrough defender Ryan Shotton is currently on the sidelines with a knee problem.

Shotton picked up the injury during Boro’s 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month, and has missed his team’s last two matches against Rotherham United and Derby County.

The 30-year-old’s form has been impressive this season, making 13 Championship appearances before picking up an injury.

Shotton is expected to be unavailable for the next couple of weeks, and there is no question that Boro will miss his presence.

The Championship club’s supporters have a high opinion of the 6ft 3in ace, and many have taken to social media to show their support.

Boro are currently third in the Championship table, two points off the leaders Sheffield United ahead of their trip to Stoke City this weekend.

That said, Tony Pulis’ side will also be in EFL Cup action at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Boro fans can be seen below:

According to The Mirror, Crystal Palace are being linked with a £10m January swoop for Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck. 

The 27-year-old has been linked away after struggling to make the Arsenal starting XI under Unai Emery this season, with the deadly attacking partnership of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

Crystal Palace have struggled for goals so far this season, with only three teams scoring fewer than them. Their travails when it comes to in-form strikers has continued, as no one at Selhurst Park looks capable of carrying the burden of being the club’s goalscorer.

Welbeck (valued at £13.5m on Transfermarkt.co.uk) may be seen as the man to drag Palace out of the goalless morass, but this is a transfer that The Eagles should avoid at all costs.

It seems bizarre for an England international and a widely respected striker to be described this way, but Welbeck doesn’t actually score a lot of goals. The most goals the striker has scored in one season in the Premier League, at either Man United or Arsenal, is nine. While some would argue that he may have been deployed from the bench primarily, that is still an alarmingly low number. In fact, in 205 Premier League appearances, the forward has only scored 42 goals at 0.2 goals per match.

The striker has struggled to find the back of the net whilst being a member of two of the most creative teams in the league, the chances of his conversion rate improving at Selhurst Park seems very slim.

Furthermore, he is quite an injury-prone player, which is the last thing Palace want with Christian Benteke already on the books.

It may look like a perfect deal for Palace, but this is one that could end in disaster.

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Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to a huge breaking story, as reports in the United States claim the club’s American owner is looking for buyers.

According to The New York Post (via The Liverpool Echo), John W. Henry is looking to sell Liverpool if he can get the right price.

The report claims the club is “quietly on the market”, with Henry believed to be “privately entertaining offers”.

Times reporter Paul Joyce has since claimed the club is not for sale, but plenty of fans are having their say on the rumours nonetheless.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”328975″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Fixture in Focus Manchester City vs Manchester United”]

Henry and Fenway Sports Group, who have also owned the Boston Red Sox since 2002, bought Liverpool in 2010.

They certainly took their time getting in fans’ good books, but the move to bring in Jurgen Klopp and their subsequent transfer business has got most fans on side.

There are still plenty who feel the club needs new investment to kick on to the next level though, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions to his huge story down below…

[ad_pod ]Mauricio Pochettino has made a career out of transforming young talent into world class players, so should Tottenham make a shock move for Jesse Lingard?England played some fabulous football in their 3-0 win over the USA on Thursday, and it was due in no small part to the wonderful link-up play between Dele Alli and the front three.Jadon Sancho grabbed an assist on his first start, and Manchester United’s Lingard curled a beautiful strike into the top corner to open the scoring.Alli provided the assist for Lingard’s sumptuous strike, and one Tottenham fan has recommended pairing them up again in North London.

While the Red Devils would no doubt want a hefty fee for the 25-year-old, is it really such a crazy idea?

Pochettino has proven time and time again he can get the best out of young English talent, and the Man Utd ace is just about to enter his prime.

He scored eight times and added five assists in the Premier League last season despite only starting 20 games, but he has barely had a look-in so far this campaign.

His ability to create something out of nothing would help Tottenham against deep, defensive teams and he would add yet another pacy, skilful weapon to Pochettino’s arsenal.

So, Tottenham fans, would you fancy a move for Lingard? Or is it a crazy idea? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

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Ben Chilwell produced a fine performance in England’s 2-1 triumph over Croatia in Sunday’s Nations League clash at Wembley Stadium. The left-back retained his place in the starting XI having previously featured in the friendly victory over the USA, and repaid Gareth Southgate’s faith with a wonderful display.

The Leicester City full-back delivered the late free-kick that Harry Kane latched onto to score the Three Lions’ all-important winning goal.

Check out the harsh words the Playmaker FC squad had to say about Wayne Rooney’s England career in the video below…

With his performance in this competitive clash, the 21-year-old went a long way towards establishing himself as England’s first-choice left-back, despite the availability of the in-form Luke Shaw.

His performances on the international stage have certainly attracted the interests of Arsenal fans. Many of the Emirates Stadium faithful feel that Unai Emery ought to be on the hunt for a new left-back with current options Nacho Monreal ageing, and Sead Kolasinac failing to impress.

After Chilwell’s exploits with England, plenty of Gunners fans took to Twitter to call on their club to sign the defender in January…

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Arsenal travel to the Vitality Stadium on Sunday to take on Eddie Howe’s in-form Bournemouth side in their latest Premier League clash.

However, the Gunners themselves will be arriving hoping to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 17 matches. The north London club will have to be at their best though to get a result against the Cherries, so manager Unai Emery has plenty of important decisions to make ahead of this weekend’s clash.

Playmaker FC’s Theo Ogden was at the Emirates to witness Arsenal’s qualification for the Europa League last 32. Check out his match diary in the video below…

Amongst those key decisions is who shall lead his side out on Sunday. Arsenal’s club captain, Laurent Koscielny, is still out with injury, so the armband has rotated between Petr Cech, Nacho Monreal, Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil so far this season.

Against Wolves, last time out, Ozil was appointed as the Gunners’ skipper by Emery. He may well have the honour again on Sunday. 

The 30-year-old former Germany international is certainly the club’s most high-profile player and has a talismanic role at the Emirates Stadium. However, his recently inconsistent form, and reported (although denied) falling out with Emery (Express), may have led some Arsenal fans to consider the playmaker an unsuitable candidate for the captaincy.

If Emery believes the responsibility of leadership can coax the best out of his No. 10 though, then giving Ozil the armband is an obvious decision.

Arsenal fans, how will you feel if Ozil is named captain against Bournemouth?

With all the focus falling on Tanguy Ndombele after Tuesday evening’s Champions League encounter between Lyon and Manchester City, Unai Emery should take the transfer initiative.

Indeed, he should be creative and make it clear to Arsenal that Nabil Fekir would be a better fit for the team than Ndombele.

The Lyon midfielders were superb against City that saw them keep Pep Guardiola’s men to a 2-2 draw with the 21-year-old Ndombele receiving a lot of praise from the City boss.

Ndombele appears to already be on the radar of Arsenal and the Citizens as both clubs look to strengthen their midfield’s defensive options.

But Fekir, who has also been linked with another possible move to the Premier League, would be of higher value to the Gunners and could be a very good long-term investment for the club.

Mesut Ozil’s omission from the first-team in Sunday’s win at Bournemouth has raised a few question marks over his future at the North London club and if he is part of Emery’s plans going forward.

Fekir has proven his capabilities as an attacking midfielder, but he’s just a bit more direct and clinical than Ozil, which is the type that Emery might fancy.

The French international made a huge impact in Lyon’s opening round Champions League match when they surprised City at the Etihad in a 2-1 win with Fekir assisting the first goal and scoring the second one himself.

With Aaron Ramsey also set to leave the Emirates at the end of the season, the 25-year-old could be viewed as a replacement for the Welshman as they both like to play high up the pitch.

One important task lying ahead for Emery is to make notable signings in next summer’s transfer window and the addition of someone like Fekir would be quite a statement and warning sign to Arsenal’s rivals.

His experience will also be crucial for Emery in his second season where the expectations of the club will rise to take the club back to a competitive position.

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Arsenal host Tottenham this Sunday in one of the most hotly-anticipated North London derbies for some time, not least because it’s Unai Emery’s first. The Spaniard will need to quickly get to grips with the sheer intensity of the occasion, although this game does mark the revival of one of his old regular La Liga battles, Mauricio Pochettino making his name at Espanyol before moving to the Premier League.

So, will Emery be overawed by this iconic Premier League clash, or could Tottenham fall short of expectations to leave the Emirates Stadium empty-handed? Our Match Preview covers everything you need to know ahead of the latest instalment of the North London Derby…

What History Tells Us

While Tottenham may well be favourites for Sunday’s encounter, they’ve traditionally been overshadowed by the Gunners in this fixture. Arsenal boast more wins, goals and clean sheets than the Lilywhites, although they’ve also picked up one more red card from the 52 meetings to date in the Premier League.

The most disturbing statistic, though, is undoubtedly Tottenham’s frankly pathetic win rate when visiting their North London rivals. From 26 Premier League trips to Arsenal’s manor, they’ve only ever won two – and one of those was during the competition’s first ever season, back in 1993.

Managerial Head-to-Head

This will be Emery and Pochettino’s first meeting since 2012 but back in their La Liga days, it was the former who usually got the upper hand, winning four of seven meetings compared to just two for the latter.

However, Pochettino’s Espanyol side ended up scoring more goals than Emery’s Valencia team in total, and that’s due to a rather curious quirk – during their first and last meetings, Pochettino’s team racked up seven of their eleven goals. The final encounter between these two managers was a 4-0 victory in the Tottenham gaffer’s favour and Emery went on to leave his club at the end of the season.

Referee Influence – Mike Dean

The appointment of Mike Dean has certainly created some controversy, Arsenal fans long-promoting a theory that the Wirral-born referee holds a secret allegiance to Tottenham Hotspur. There’s no real evidence of that; in fact, Arsenal have won their last three meetings with Spurs in which Dean has officiated and haven’t lost a game he’s refereed since September 2015.

However, it’s obvious from the statistics why Dean has a knack of winding fans and players up the wrong way. While he ranks in the bottom half of the 17 referees to work in the top flight this season for fouls per tackle and fouls per game, he’s in the top four for red cards and yellow cards by per-match metrics. That contrast between overall management of the game and the harsh dealing of cards is a key part of the frustration towards Dean, regardless of alleged bias.

Team News

After a brief experimentation with 3-4-3 last weekend, we’re expecting Emery to return to what is probably his strongest side for this game, or at the very least his most dangerous. That will see Alexandre Lacazette lead the attack after missing the Bournemouth clash through injury, and of course Mesut Ozil return to the midfield after his mysterious absence last Sunday. They should add both firepower and creativity to a Gunners team that struggled to beat the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium.

But the real concern for Arsenal is at the back. They’ve conceded more than one goal per game so far this season in the Premier League, and Shkodran Mustafi and Sead Kolasinac remain the most suspect. Sokratis and Ainsley Maitland-Niles represent potential alternatives.

With two huge wins in a row under their belts, Pochettino will be reluctant to make changes to a Tottenham team high in confidence at the moment. We’re expecting the Spurs gaffer to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation used against Inter Milan, rather than the diamond setup which worked so well against Chelsea last weekend, but four key changes in personnel are anticipated.

Christian Eriksen and Heung-min Son should return, flanking Dele Alli as the No.10, while Eric Dier may be asked to add some extra physicality and defensive awareness to the midfield at the expense of Harry Winks, despite an impressive Champions League performance in midweek. Elsewhere, simply because there is so much physical demand placed on the full-backs in Tottenham’s system, we’re predicting Danny Rose to come in for Ben Davies on the left.

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As reported by Football London, West Ham have seen their injury crisis somewhat eased by summer signing Jack Wilshere’s return to fitness after an ankle problem, which will no doubt give Manuel Pellegrini a selection headache in the middle of the park as the former Arsenal man is expected to be ready for the weekend’s action.

The pairing of Declan Rice and Mark Noble has been an effective one for the majority of the current campaign, notably helping the Hammers to three straight Premier League wins from the last three games.

However, this weekend’s opponents Fulham, who are currently propping up the Premier League, will be a different kettle of fish for the Irons.

Both Noble and Rice are rigid, defence-minded midfielders with little creativity between them, so against a side playing as poorly as the Cottagers are, Wilshere’s creativity and vision could be a more useful weapon than what the Hammers’ captain offers alongside Rice.

Who do you think should start in midfield alongside Rice against Claudio Ranieri’s men? Have your say down below and keep an eye out for the published results…