This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Whilst Wednesday night’s draw to Vitória represented yet another disappointing on-field performance from Arsenal in the 2019/20 campaign, manager Unai Emery must take a degree of responsibility for a considerable mistake on his part in the Europa League clash.

Shkodran Mustafi rose highest to meet Nicolas Pepe’s free-kick in the 80th minute, but the Gunners appeared devoid of confidence, with the German centre-back’s header their first shot on target of the whole game.

In a week where Emery had made the decision to strip Granit Xhaka of the Arsenal captaincy and hand it to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the fixture against Vitória represented the perfect opportunity for the Gabonese forward to take over the armband and lead his side to victory against seemingly inferior opposition.

Yet the decision from the Arsenal boss to fully rest the Gabonese forward and not even take him to Portugal points to a manager who seems out of touch with the intricacies of motivation and management; the opportunity to set a precedent for the era of Aubameyang’s captaincy from the outset missed by Emery. 

Given the testing league fixture that the north London side will encounter on Saturday, coming up against the high-flying Foxes under the management of Brendan Rodgers, victory seems unlikely in Aubameyang’s first league game as captain of the club; certainly on current form.

Yet had the former Borrusia Dortmund man travelled for the Europa League game, playing and captaining his side, this could have represented a shrewd move from Emery for reasons that stretch beyond the quality of Arsenal’s football: this was a chance to send a statement to both the club’s fanbase and its critics that the decision to remove Xhaka’s captaincy has galvanised the squad.

But a 1-1 draw and an underwhelming performance on foreign soil is likely to only further intensify calls for Emery to depart The Emirates, with Saturday’s league fixture holding the potential to make it just four wins in 12 league games for the Spaniard. 

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Aubameyang could emerge as an outstanding captaincy option with innate leadership qualities, but the striker’s task of picking back up a side who have experienced another deflating result will be a true test of his ability to energise this Arsenal side. After all, he’s their top scorer this season.

But there can be no doubting that Emery’s decision for the forward not to travel, and to hand the captaincy to Rob Holding, marks yet another mistake in missing an opportunity to build some much-needed momentum in the Gunners’ bid to salvage their 2019/20 campaign.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

Takefusa Kubo is one of the brightest young talents in the world of football.

The 18-year-old prodigy is a Real Madrid loanee currently plying his trade over at Mallorca, and gaining some valuable experience in La Liga before eventually making his big return to the Spanish capital.

And a lot has already been said about his potential to usher in a new era with the Galacticos and start that revolution Florentino Perez wants to see at his club.

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But sometimes it’s easy to forget that Kubo is still very young and these are his first steps with the big boys in Europe.

And just recently, in Mallorca’s home game against Villarreal, the young “Japanese Messi” finally showed signs of his brilliance and registered his best game in La Liga to date.

His team won 3-1 against a very tricky opponent and it was largely due to Kubo’s gigantic efforts.

The young 18-year-old starlet bagged one goal himself but also won one penalty on the night, giving his team a huge boost in the process.

He was taken off in the 67th minute but that was enough time for him to really make his mark both on the game and the league itself, announcing his arrival to the stage and undoubtedly turning a couple of heads along the way.

Apart from his involvement in the goals, Kubo also registered six crosses and two successful dribbles.

But the best part is that he was not only effective going forward and while attacking but also going the other way.

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The 18-year-old prodigy tallied two interceptions and a total of three tackles on the night, registering a truly complete performance by the young Mallorca ace.

Zinedine Zidane will undoubtedly be happy to hear his loanee is doing exceptionally well at his temporary home and is gaining the necessary pedigree for his eventual return in the future.

If he can continue improving, Real Madrid will definitely have a major talent on their hands once he comes back from Mallorca.

We’ll have to wait and see.

Newcastle United are set to be without their captain Jamaal Lascelles for the remainder of the year after the centre-back suffered a knee injury against Bournemouth on November 9.

The 26-year-old was forced off in the 20th minute of the clash at St James’ Park and is not expected to return to the field until 2020.

As a result Newcastle boss Steve Bruce will need to name a new captain for the clash with Aston Villa on November 25, and indeed in the weeks ahead.

A decent amount of Newcastle fans have been on social media offering their views on the situation, and it would be fair to say that there are mixed opinions on the topic.

Indeed, a number of players have been offered up as potential candidates to wear the armband, and it will be fascinating to see what Bruce decides in the build-up to the Villa game.

A selection of the Twitter reaction is available to view below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Sunderland have struggled of late but they stand a good chance of winning tonight if Phil Parkinson gets a key tactic right and exploits Burton accordingly.

On the chalkboard

The Black cats have weak aspects to their game themselves, but since those issues mainly lie in attack they should be able to deal with the threat posed by the visitors tonight, particularly as they have only scored 18 goals in 15 league games.

Another point of weakness of Nigel Clough’s side is their ability on the ball. The Brewers have averaged a pass accuracy of just 70%, which shows they can be got at when in possession.

Phil Parkinson has to make his players aware of that fact, and instruct them to close down their opponents with greater intensity, especially the defenders.

Such pressure could cause a mistake which leads to a Sunderland goal, but failing that it should at least rush Burton in their decision making, and lead them to concede possession easily, which will lead to the home side dominating the ball – making it more likely for them to find a breakthrough.

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Change in personnel?

If Parkinson is to adopt a high-press strategy for this clash he may be best suited to making a few changes to his starting lineup.

Players with more pace like Duncan Watmore and Benji Kimpioka could be drafted into the side with good effect, replacing the maligned Chris Maguire or Aiden McGeady.

That would allow the Black Cats to defend from the front, and perhaps ensure that the majority of the game is played in the opponent’s half, which would keep them pinned down and allow Sunderland to pile on the pressure.

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With that in mind, it may also be useful to recall Marc McNulty to the side. He has built up a reputation over the years as a hard-working forward, and such work rate and desire could prove very useful in shutting down defenders.

All but one Burton defender has a pass accuracy lower than 70%. If Parkinson doesn’t attempt to exploit that it would be a missed opportunity, and Sunderland could once again find themselves in a position where they’re struggling to break a team down, as the visitors have only conceded 16 league goals this season.

Meanwhile, Parkinson has also been going wrong by repeating this simple failure throughout his tenure so far.

Aston Villa will be looking to book a place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup when they take on Liverpool at Villa Park, but the West Midlands side may be without a number of supporters who have been voicing their concerns over the pricing of the fixture and the quality of opposition that may be on show. 

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Due to the Club World Cup commitments of Jurgen Klopp’s side, the Merseyside outfit will be playing two games in less than 24 hours; fielding two separate teams.

This is despite a request from the club to consider an alternative arrangement for the scheduling, and consequently, some of the Villa fans feel that they may be paying a premium ticket price to see a ‘reserve match’, while other simply aren’t happy about the cost.

Although a League Cup quarter-final should be a great experience for the newly-promoted side, these fans have been venting their frustration. Here are some of the best reactions following a tweet from the club.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Newcastle earned a brilliant draw with Manchester City on Saturday with a few players stepping up and showing their quality when it was needed.

Steve Bruce set his team up in the same way he had against Aston Villa, but there was more energy and determination to their play.

Another who improved dramatically was Miguel Almiron, who stuttered once again last time out, yet put those disappointments behind him to act as a key player in the Magpies picking up a point.

His energy and direct running throughout meant he was a thorn in City’s side. It allowed him to pick up clever pockets of space which he could run into once the ball was played into him, and from there he displayed his effectiveness more often than not.

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Alongside Allan Saint-Maximin, who was his usual tricky self with seven successful dribbles, Almiron was able to weave through at times, and managed three dribbles himself, as per WhoScored.

The most noticeable difference to his play was his awareness, however. When he first joined his decision-making was found to be lacking at times, but against the Citizens, he did brilliantly to find Willems, who subsequently slotted the ball in for Newcastle’s first equaliser.

It was also a first Magpies’ assist for the Paraguay international, and that achievement should do him the world of good, both in lifting huge pressure off his shoulders and in proving to himself that he does have to quality to succeed at this level.

To do so against such a good side should be even more of a boost for the 25-year-old, and if he can take up similar positions and find his teammates in the box more often then the goals and assists should flow.

The £18m-rated Paraguayan works so hard for the team and can be effective in a number of other areas, but it is still a credit to Bruce that he trusted the winger and stuck by him when he easily could have been dropped.

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WhoScored gave him a rating of 7.5 for his Man City display, the fourth-highest score of anyone on the pitch, which means that if he replicates that display on a regular basis he will soon be the key man for Toon.

Demonstrating that attacking prowess is just what Newcastle need given their struggles to score at times, and if Almiron can find Joelinton in the box more often then both should be able to fire their team up the table, and really kickstart their careers in the north-east.

Don’t miss out on MASSIVE savings with Fan Deal Drops – shop now for the latest deals (USING LINK HERE) on TVs, laptops, football shirts & much more.

Wednesday night’s only 8:15pm kick-off and the blockbuster fixture of Amazon Prime Video’s first-ever live round of Premier League matches is undoubtedly Liverpool vs Everton.

The modern era has seen teams of similar abilities go up against each other in the Merseyside Derby, however, the last couple of seasons have witnessed the sides put real distance between each other in the table.

16 positions sit between the Reds and the Toffees ahead of the 285th version of one of the most eagerly-anticipated and hotly-contested derbies in world football.

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Jurgen Klopp’s hosts are sailing to their first-ever Premier League title, unbeaten domestically in 2019/2020, eight points clear at the top and more importantly, 11 points ahead of Manchester City.

Less than a mile across Stanley Park, things couldn’t be more different as under-pressure Marco Silva’s side are teetering on the brink of the relegation zone and face a devilishly difficult run of fixtures over the festive period.

Furthermore, you have to go all the way back to September 1999 to find the last time the Royal Blues beat their neighbours at Anfield and October 2010 for the last time they triumphed in any Merseyside Derby.

Everton will be encouraged though by the fact that Alisson is suspended after his red card in the Brighton & Hove Albion victory at the weekend and Joel Matip and Fabinho remain sidelined for the home side.

For themselves, Fabian Delph and Theo Walcott could be back in action which would be a welcomed boost after a frustrating injury-time defeat at Leicester City on Sunday evening.

Historically, it’s no surprise to see that Liverpool have dominated this fixture over the years with 119 wins to their arch rivals’ 82, sharing the points with them on 83 occasions.

Three points would mean so much to both teams, but will the Kopites get the job done or have the Blue Half of Merseyside got a shock up their sleeves?

Amazon have purchased the rights to all of the Premiership games for this period and that of Boxing Day and the 27th December and if you’re in the UK, you can watch any of them absolutely free with Amazon Prime.

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If you’re not already a member of Amazon Prime you can join immediately here on a 30 day free trial. Not only will you be able to watch any of the 20 fixtures they have the rights to but you’ll be able to get access to their one day delivery service which is very handy with Christmas coming up, plus any of their Prime output such as “Back of the Net” with Peter Crouch, the hit series “Vikings” and Series 2 of “Jack Ryan” amongst many others.

You don’t have long though if you want to get the first set of fixtures your side are playing in so be sure to sign up to your Amazon Prime here so you don’t miss out or click the below schedule to take you directly to the Amazon Prime Premiership page!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

At times it looked like it would be a difficult night for Liverpool, but in the end, they got the job done.

In a match in which they needed at least a draw, they beat RB Salzburg 2-0. By picking up all three points, they put themselves top of the group, meaning that they will be amongst the top seeds going into the next round. After the break, in particular, the Reds were able to limit the attacking threat of their opponents following a first 45 minutes during which they faced six shots on target.

The goals were scored by Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah. Both have now bagged in the last two matches, but the latter should have had an awful lot more.

A lot about the Egypt international’s play was positive. He made two key passes, for example, whilst he also won three out of the six duels he took part in. On top of that, he lost possession of the ball on just seven occasions, which was actually the least of any Liverpool starter.

In front of goal for most of the 90 minutes, though, he struggled. All in all, he had nine efforts at goal – three on target, five off and one blocked. It started off with an attempt from inside the box which was well saved by Cican Stankovic in the Salzburg goal. He then had another effort from the same sort of area, but he somehow contrived to put it well past the target. A blazed free-kick followed that, whilst another shot went well over the bar.

Many players would have been scared to continue striking at goal, but not the 27-year-old. Within 100 seconds of Keita’s opener, £135m-valued Salah – as per Transfermarkt – scored from what seemed an impossible angle, scarcely believable considering the far easier chances he had missed previously. In this case, his perseverance paid off.

Real Reds will get full marks: Take the ultimate Liverpool quiz below…

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There has been talk about Liverpool’s mentality monsters, and Salah’s display was another example of that. It takes a strong team and incredible self-belief to carry on when things haven’t gone your way, just like the former Chelsea man did here. Whilst Jurgen Klopp will be hoping that his winger is more clinical in future matches, he will be pleased with the way he performed here.

In other news, this 34-year-old has said he almost signed for Liverpool before moving to Manchester United.

Everton caretaker manager Duncan Ferguson will look to go out with a bang in what could be his final match in charge when the Toffees host Leicester City in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

The Scot has overseen a victory and a draw against Chelsea and Manchester United respectively in his two matches at the helm following the sacking of Marco Silva, although a report in The Telegraph suggests Carlo Ancelotti could be appointed and in place for the visit of Arsenal to Merseyside at the weekend.

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First up is the visit of the Foxes to Goodison Park though, and it is another tough opponent for the Scot given they currently lie second in the Premier League standings.

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This is the starting XI we think the 47-year-old should pick vs Brendan Rodgers’ men…

Even when Lucas Digne went off injured at Old Trafford on Sunday, the Everton back five – including Leighton Baines who replaced the Frenchman in the first half – were committed and stood up and were counted at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’.

That quintet certainly deserves to start against Leicester on Wednesday, and of course they will need to watch out for the Premier League’s top goalscorer in Jamie Vardy, who is in sensational form right now with 16 goals in 18 appearances in 2019/20.

Ahead of them, Tom Davies and Mason Holgate should keep their spots in central midfield, with the latter particularly impressing the fans against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side despite being a defender by trade. Ferguson may not have too many options there either, considering Andre Gomes, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Morgan Schneiderlin and Fabian Delph were all unavailable at the weekend.

On the wings we have Richarlison – who drops back from his centre-forward role – on the left and Alex Iwobi on the right, and they will be tasked with making a difference in the final third as well as providing defensive support for Baines and Coleman as Bernard drops out.

How much do you really know about the Farhad Moshiri era? Answer 25 simple questions below…

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Sticking with the 4-4-2 formation that has served Ferguson so well thus far, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a shoo-in for a spot right now following his impressive displays. The big Scot should also make the right call by starting Moise Kean alongside him.

The 47-year-old of course humiliated the Italian by taking him off 18 minutes after he was introduced at Old Trafford, and rather than letting the situation drag on he should provide him with an instant chance to prove a point in a partnership rather than playing in a lone role.

In other Everton news, Guillem Balague has made an extraordinary claim about what the Toffees have offered Carlo Ancelotti…

West Bromwich Albion’s chances of clinching Jarrod Bowen in January may have just taken a crushing blow, at least in the eyes of The Sun journalist Alan Nixon.

What’s he said?

The Baggies are currently flying high at the top of the Championship, holding a 12-point gap to those outside of the automatic playoff positions.

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Slaven Bilic has steered his side to a massive 49 points from 22 matches, losing just once and becoming the league’s highest scorers by quite some margin with 45 goals to their name.

But the club have been linked to several additions next month, including the Hull City talisman.

The Athletic ruled Leeds United out of the running as they reported that they were after a fee of £20m, and it appears the same could be likely for West Brom too.

When asked on Twitter about the possibility of Albion clinching him, Nixon said:

Over an hour later, he was then asked about Newcastle United’s chances, to which he added:

Big blow

This comes as a potentially devastating piece of news as the presence of a player that has scored 16 goals and assisted three in the Championship this season would undoubtedly prepare West Brom for life in the top-flight.

Bowen can play on the right-hand side of midfield or as a number ten, so he would offer valuable depth with Matty Phillips and Matheus Pereira being the Baggies’ key protagonists.

Albion were ruled out of sealing a return for Dwight Gayle in the summer due to his high wage demands, thus, splashing out a total of £20m in January has always seemed a little far-fetched.

Whose Line Is It Anyway: Michael Owen, Garth Crooks or Mark Lawrenson?

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They simply can’t break the bank for him in case their promotion push takes a turn for the worst, even if that seems rather unlikely at the minute.

Peterborough’s Marcus Maddison would offer a cheaper alternative as outlined by us just a few days ago.

And in other Baggies news, Slaven Bilic faces one huge team selection dilemma this weekend…