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Following their 1-0 Champions League defeat to Napoli last night at the Stadio San Paolo, Liverpool have failed to win any of their last three games.

Prior to their recent loss versus Napoli, the Reds were beaten and held to a draw by Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League. And while manager Jurgen Klopp was pleased with the performances of his side against the London club, the German boss was left far than impressed with the display in Italy.

Liverpool next take on Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, and a win could be significant in the title race.

However, even if Liverpool manage to come out on top in Sunday’s gigantic clash, the club have shown in their last few fixtures why their upcoming opponents are still probably most people’s favourites for the Premier League crown.

While Xherdan Shaqiri and Daniel Sturridge, in particular, have done their bit when called upon, the gap in quality between Liverpool’s starting XI and its squad options is humongous.

Klopp, quite simply, does not have any outstanding alternatives to Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, while an injury at the back to Virgil van Dijk would be catastrophic to the team’s chances of winning the league.

In contrast, Pep Guardiola has Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez who can easily come in for the likes of Raheem Sterling and David Silva without the quality of the starting XI dropping drastically.

The Spaniard is also blessed with a bunch of solid options in central defence withÂVincent Kompany,ÂNicolas Otamendi,ÂAymeric Laporte and John Stones all available for selection.

Compared to recent seasons, Liverpool’s squad depth looks much stronger, especially in midfield. But that may not be enough if they are to beat Manchester City to the Premier League title this campaign.

According to The Nottingham Post, Forest manager Aitor Karanka has urged his team to be motivated when they face struggling Millwall at The City Ground tonight. 

The Reds are on a five game unbeaten streak in all competitions after a poor start to the season, and now sit in 11th place in the Championship table. Meanwhile, Millwall sit in 23rd place with only one win this term.

While this may be seen as an easy win for Karanka’s men, he has been very wise to keep his team grounded, so that they do not look beyond The Lions tonight. It could be easy to look past their opponents, with one eye on Saturday’s journey to high-flyers Middlesbrough, but that would be lethal.

There is no point in targeting the match against Boro if they sacrifice points tonight. The Reds sit three points behind Tony Pulis’ men, and a win would mean that they can have the opportunity to close the gap on them tonight.

The luxury Karanka has is being able to rotate his squad to keep them fresh before Saturday’s fixture. The Reds’ squad depth allows them to do this without weakening their side too much. Middlesbrough do not have that option as much, and it may fall into Forest’s hands.

But if Nottingham Forest have any aspirations of making the play-offs this season, or better, they simply must win games like tonight’s, and Karanka is right to take them seriously. His job is making sure his players do too.

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West Ham embarked on a massive recruitment drive during the summer transfer window as Manuel Pellegrini spent in excess of £100m on new recruits.

Unfortunately, his expenditure is yet to pay off as the Hammers have suffered five defeats in their opening eight Premier League matches and it has become clear that further work needs to be done on the squad in January.

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While an attacking trio of Marko Arnautovic, Andriy Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson provides optimism, the Hammers are still shaky at the back and the left side of the defence has been a cause for concern with neither Arthur Masuaku or Aaron Cresswell excelling.

Reports now state that West Ham are considering a move for Everton veteran Leighton Baines to bolster their defensive ranks and a move could prove to be a masterstroke, potentially providing the same sort of boost that Pablo Zabaleta has on the opposite side.

Do you agree West Ham fans? Have your say in our poll below…

A few months ago, Luke Shaw’s tenure at Old Trafford looked to be over. Despite impressing whenever he was on the field, the Englishman was repeatedly in the bad books of Jose Mourinho for one reason or another. 

A few injury problems and a bit of a lack of form initially led to the bad blood between the pair, yet when the Englishman returned to fitness and form, he continued to find life tough.

Ashley Young was selected more often than not in his place, and it eventually cost Shaw a spot at the World Cup and it cost him his spot in the Man Utd team all year long.

However, that’s changed this season. Shaw has finally returned to the fore, and he appears to have won over Jose Mourinho. He’s now one of the Red Devils’ best and most important players.

The Englishman has now been rewarded for his fine form with a new contract at Man Utd, cementing what is undeniably one of the biggest turnarounds in recent Premier League memory.

It makes you think, then, if Shaw can turn it around – who else can enjoy such a swift turnaround. In thinking about that, it’s tough to see past Jose Mourinho ass a prime example.

After all, he’s in a similar situation right now. Seemingly in the bad books of everyone and looking like a ticking time bomb, Mourinho’s future looks bleak – but perhaps she can look towards Shaw for inspiration. The left-back took a step back, got his head down, and took criticism on the chin, and Mourinho needs to do the same.

Instead of coming out in press conferences and making wild accusations, or slamming his own players in post-match interviews, perhaps he should change tact. If he calms down, works as he so often has in the past, there’s no reason why things can’t improve.

Grudges don’t stick in football, and if Mourinho leads his team to a few wins, as Shaw has, nobody will remember the poor spell they’ve had this season.

Maan Utd fans – thoughts?

Let us know below!

Crystal Palace’s struggles in front of goal stretch back to over a year ago with first-choice striker Christian Benteke managing to only hit the back of the net on just three occasions in the Premier League over the entire course of last season.

The Belgium international, who is currently out injured, has also failed to score a single goal so far this campaign and manager Roy Hodgson may now be on the lookout for a new centre-forward ahead of the January transfer window, which could be good news for talisman Wilfried Zaha.

The Breakdown

According to UOL (via Sport Witness), the Eagles could be about to move for Brazilian Gabriel Barbosa and any potential arrival at Selhurst Park would be an absolute coup.

Barbosa is currently on loan at Santos from Inter Milan following a torrid spell in Serie A with the Italian giants.

However, even taking into account his struggles in Italy, Barbosa still has the sort of ability that could allow him to set the Premier League alight and help Zaha become even more of a threat.

With his technical skill, Barbosa would inject some fresh impetus into Crystal Palace’s attack and allow Zaha to flourish further as opposition defenders would no longer be in a position where they are able to solely focus on neutralising the Ivory Coast international’s threat.

Quick, able to dribble past defenders and create his own chances, Barbosa is exactly the kind of forward Zaha and Crystal Palace need going forward.

Barbosa, of course, is not your traditional giant of a centre-forward the team can lump the ball to, which may be of concern to Hodgson. But he is still a player who can offer much and one the club must pursue if the opportunity arises.

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Watford’s remarkably strong start to the new Premier League campaign – which sees them currently in 7th place with 19 points on the board – has surprised many. After a full pre-season with his squad, Javi Gracia has constructed a hard working, dogged side who can also play with real incision and flair in the final third.

A big part of the Hornets’ attacking play has been inspired by the form of Roberto Pereyra. Following the big money sale of Richarlison in the summer, it was imperative that someone stood forward and took attacking responsibility at Vicarage Road and the 11-cap Argentina international has done just that. In fact, his club form has been so impressive this season that he has added to his national team appearances for the first time since 2015.

Compared to last season, Pereyra’s output on the pitch has improved across a range of key areas. His upturn in form is helping to drive his team forward and his end product is winning valuable points for his side with regularity.

In terms of end product, the attacking midfielder has already matched his Premier League goals total of last season in this campaign. Last time out, the 27-year-old notched five league strikes in 32 appearances – a rate of 0.15 goals per game. This time around he has already tallied up five goals in just ten outings – a strike rate of 0.5 finishes per match. That’s a tremendous upswing of 0.4 goals per game.

It’s no surprise to see the Argentine finding the back of the net with greater regularity this season as he is taking far more shots. Last season, he averaged one shot on goal per match. This season, that figure has increased by 0.9.

It’s not just in front of goal that Pereyra’s game has improved either. The confidence that his good form has given him is obvious as he is clearly fearless in possession and always eager to take on his opponents when he gets on the ball. This season he has been averaging 1.6 dribbles per game, an increase of 0.6 from last term’s average figure of 1 dribble per match. 

On top of that, he is also creating more chances for his teammates too. Now he is producing 1.1 key passes each game – a rise of 0.3 up from last year.

Remarkably, the former Juventus man has even upped his game defensively. He has improved his contribution of interceptions from 0.3 per match to 0.9 and is making 0.5 tackles per game this season, compared to 0.3 last time out.

If Pereyra can keep these performance levels up then Watford will find that they have no reason to miss Richarlison at all.

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Celtic suffered a major injury setback this week as they lost both Daniel Arzani and Eboue Kouassi to knee injuries, and they should atone for this by moving for Manchester City wonderkid Brahim Diaz.

What’s the word?

Celtic fans were ecstatic when they secured a loan deal for Man City’s Arzani, but the Australian’s move to Glasgow has not gone to plan.

After making just one league appearance for the Bhoys, Arzani suffered a cruciate knee injury this week, and he is expected to miss the entirety of this season.

Diaz meanwhile made just his second appearance of the season for the Premier League champions on Thursday, scoring twice in a 2-0 League Cup win over Fulham.

Diaz, like Arzani, is not going to get any consistent playing time in Manchester, and a loan move could be absolutely perfect for all parties.

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The perfect Rogic understudy?

While the loan move for Arzani has turned into a total nightmare for both the player and the clubs, Diaz could forge a different path with his superb mixture of technique, vision and work rate.

The 19-year-old scored two relatively simple goals for the Cityzens on Thursday, but it was all down to his intelligence and movement, something that very few players of his age have to this degree.

The Spaniard can play pretty much anywhere across the attack, but might be best for Celtic in a central position. Tom Rogic has been superb since returning to the Celtic side this season, and Diaz could learn a lot from the crowd favourite Australian.

He has scored 11 times and added 10 assists for Man City’s Under-23 side, and the slightly slower pace of Scottish football would allow him to flourish before returning to the Etihad ready to challenge for a first team place.

So, Celtic fans, would you back a January loan move for Diaz? Could he be what Arzani was supposed to be? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

Many Manchester United supporters are rapidly losing patience with the performances of forward Marcus Rashford after watching him in action against Manchester City on Sunday.

It was a match that United really needed to win to have any chance of entering themselves into a title race, but sadly for fans of the Red Devils it was as underwhelming a performance as they’ve seen all season, resulting in a 3-1 defeat.

Poor from back to front, there was no real stand-out for United with many receiving criticism for lacklustre displays.

Rashford though was considered one of the poorest on the pitch, failing to make an impact in the final third nor combine with his teammates effectively.

With just two goals to his name this season, many are questioning his readiness to start in attack for massive matches such as Sunday’s, with some even calling for him to be shipped out on loan.

These fans took to Twitter to share their dismay with his performance…

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Dominic Solanke made 27 appearances in his debut season with Liverpool last time out, earning his first England cap in the process. However, the 21-year-old is yet to even make the bench for the Reds in the Premier League this term.

What’s the word?

Solanke’s career has stalled to the point that he hasn’t set foot on the pitch for the Liverpool senior team at all during the current campaign. A change of scene would likely be the best thing for the striker now.

He is a talented youngster who Jurgen Klopp is unlikely to want to give up on completely, but with Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi all ahead of him in the pecking order, game time will remain scarce if he stays at Anfield.

Given that he is clearly currently surplus to requirements, Liverpool would likely allow Solanke to leave the club on loan in January. 

Rangers would be wise to take advantage of this situation to secure the services of the out-of-favour striker until the end of the season.

Getting back on track

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard remains a legend at Liverpool and could likely use his relationship with the club to negotiate a deal for Solanke. 

The former midfielder has also spoken recently of his desire to see more goalscorers in his Rangers team, as reported by The Express. The arrival of Solanke would certainly inject some extra firepower into Gerrard’s ranks at the Ibrox Stadium.

The opportunity for regular football with the Gers would also give the once-capped young England man an opportunity to get his career back on track. 

What do you think, Rangers fans – would a loan deal for Solanke be a wise winter move?

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Christian Eriksen has not started a Premier League match for Tottenham Hotspur since the end of September.

Indeed, a stomach injury forced him to miss the matches with Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City, and he only played 41 minutes in the following three games against West Ham United, Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ahead of the international break, Eriksen did not come off the bench in Tottenham’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

There is obviously an issue with the 26-year-old, and therefore it was a surprise when he started Denmark’s international game against Republic of Ireland on Monday.

Eriksen appeared for 45 minutes against Republic of Ireland, and actually also played the full 90 minutes against Wales on Friday night.

The Tottenham fans are confused why one of their key players is fit enough to start for Denmark but not for his club, and they have every right to feel aggrieved.

The Playmaker FC squad decided to wind-up some unsuspecting Brazil fans at the Emirates on Saturday night. Watch the hilarious results in the video below…

One thing is for certain, it will be very interesting to see whether Eriksen is in the Tottenham XI against Chelsea this weekend.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below: