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

Erik Lamela turned in a truly appalling performance as Tottenham Hotspur lost to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday.

On the chalkboard

The Argentine started the season like a house on fire, forcing Jack Grealish’s mistake that led to Spurs’ winning goal against Aston Villa and then scoring one and laying on an assist against Manchester City.

But, when faced with Steve Bruce’s side and their low block, Lamela wilted.

He had 49 touches of the ball, per WhoScored, but had just one shot on goal, along with just one successful dribble. He was dispossessed twice and was fouled twice, too, and this was a classic example of his frustrating attributes.

Indeed, Lamela tends to be something of an ad-hoc footballer, one who decides what he’s going to do just as he gets the ball and while it can bamboozle defenders, it can do the same to his team-mates.

Against Newcastle, he had next to no impact in the final third.

Bring Eriksen in

Christian Eriksen was on the bench against Newcastle, just as he was against Aston Villa, but the time has to come to bring him back into the fold.

Lamela is a terrific bench player, one capable of disrupting defences after his introduction as a substitute.

But starting him, particularly against a team like Newcastle, is always going to be a mistake, given that they sit so deep. He needs space in which to work.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

With a game against Arsenal looming, bringing Eriksen into the fold is a no-braineer, particularly at Lamela’s expense.

It would add a layer of creativity to their starting XI, and ensure that they are not left with a man down in midfield.

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Leeds United recorded their fourth straight win in all competitions on Saturday courtesy of a 3-0 victory at Stoke City in the Championship.

The Whites sit top of the table on 13 points, whilst they will be looking to make the third round of the EFL Cup when they host Stoke on Tuesday night.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side will then welcome Swansea City in the Championship next weekend before the September international break kicks in.

It would be fair to say that Kiko Casilla’s form for Leeds has not always been terrific since arriving from Real Madrid in the January transfer window.

However, the 32-year-old has now kept a clean sheet in each of his last four appearances for the Whites in all competitions.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And a number of the club’s supporters were keen to pay tribute to the experienced stopper in response to his social media post following the success at Stoke.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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[ad_pod ]Ah, the eternal question: is Marcus Rashford ready to lead the line for Manchester United?Ole Gunnar Solskjaer waved goodbye to his one and only out-and-out striker in Romelu Lukaku this summer, with the Belgian joining Inter Milan after a fairly lukewarm Old Trafford experience alongside fellow forward option Alexis Sanchez.It means the goalscoring burden now falls on Rashford, a man who has frequently been employed as a winger in recent years, and fellow line-hugging convert Anthony Martial. And while we admit the pair possess heaps of talent, recent results, and a lack of sting in United’s attack, would suggest that something is seriously amiss.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Rashford boasts an impressive-looking array of statistics on paper. He’d scored more goals before his 22nd birthday than Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling had by the same age and equalled Old Trafford legend, Cristiano Ronaldo.

But is this a true reflection of his ability? talkSPORT pundits Andy Goldstein and Darren Gough have had their say…

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Several fans were confused by this post, and they took to the comments section to ask about this injury.

Others asked reputable journalists on Twitter if he was injured.

Watch Nottingham Forest Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Unfortunately for the City Ground faithful, this post indicates that Mir won’t be fit for this weekend’s clash with table-topping Swansea City.

This leaves the Reds with a serious lack of depth up top, as Lewis Grabban is now the only fit first-team striker available for Sabri Lamouchi’s side.

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Liverpool have announced the squad that will travel to Italy for their first Champions League match against Napoli, and the inclusion of one player has pleased fans more than most.

Rhian Brewster has been selected by Jurgen Klopp in what will be only his second involvement in the matchday squad this season, although he has been part of the squad for big Champions League fixtures previously, including the 2018/19 final.

Perhaps the main reason for his inclusion is the injury to Divock Origi, which the Belgian picked up against Newcastle on Saturday. He was substituted in the first-half of the 3-1 win at Anfield.

Whether he plays or not, many fans are excited by the 19-year-old’s involvement and will hope that he gets a run out at some point, having started well for Liverpool Under-23s this term, with two goals in four matches.

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Here is some of the reaction from Reds fans who are pleased to see him get the call from Jurgen Klopp.

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Sheffield Wednesday have been through the motions already this season – and it is only the middle of September.

On the eve of pre-season, Steve Bruce ditched the club to replace Rafa Benitez at Newcastle then under caretaker boss Lee Bullen they started the campaign with back-to-back wins before slipping to three defeats in four games.

That led to the appointment of Garry Monk, and his first match in charge was a victory in a Yorkshire derby over Huddersfield.

One player that has started all seven of their league encounters is Kadeem Harris, a permanent arrival from Cardiff City this summer.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He’s scored two goals and picked up his first assist of the 2019/20 campaign on Sunday when he found Steven Fletcher with a cross for the opener.

The best part of Harris’ arrival was the fact that he didn’t cost a penny, which one supporter picked up on by questioning “how on earth did we get this guy for free?”

Another fan claimed the 26-year-old was in contention for the Player of the Year award already while one more labelled him a “quality player.”

Harris played 13 times in the Premier League last season for the Bluebirds, and he will surely be hoping that his contribution at Hillsborough can help fire Wednesday back to the big time.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

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

Leeds vs Derby has become a fierce rivalry. The Rams were the subject of spy gate, an incident detailed only too well last season, but after Marcelo Bielsa owned up to the judgement call it didn’t stop there.

Their battle was renewed in the playoffs as Frank Lampard’s men came out on top.

Now managed by Phillip Cocu, they are a significantly different outfit and have had a pretty dismal start to the season.

As Leeds sit top, rejuvenated after their failings last term, their opponents this coming weekend are 19th with just one win under their belt.

However, as they get set to face off again, there could be an intriguing battle on the cards.

On the chalkboard

Liam Cooper was a stalwart for the vast majority of last season, being named in the PFA Team of the Year towards the end of the season.

The central defender has started this term in a similar way by ensuring that after seven games, his team have only conceded three times.

He is a titan in the backline having won 5.3 aerial duels per match this term but he was one of the players who cost them at Elland Road last May, facing a difficult test against Jack Marriott.

Cooper was run ragged by him and the rest of the Derby attack as Mason Mount, Harry Wilson and Marriott all found the back of the net in a 4-2 win.

Leeds’ dreams were crushed as the 28-year-old struggled throughout. A lack of communication with Kiko Casilla meant the Derby striker was able to take advantage of an error from both goalkeeper and defender to fire home their opening goal of the night.

Cooper was then at fault by giving away a penalty too. It was a torrid afternoon for the newly capped Scot who will need to be far better this time around.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He’ll have the advantage in the air considering Marriott has only won 0.7 aerial duels per game but the Derby man averages 1.8 shots each match – a healthy return.

He was brought on after 44 minutes against Leeds earlier this year, scoring just a minute later after a lapse from Cooper.

Derby are lacking firepower under Cocu, scoring just seven, but the Leeds skipper shouldn’t take notice of that after his performance against the same opposition in 2018/19.

If Marriott starts up top, Cooper needs to be wary.

White didn’t take this chance to post about his own achievements or to lavish praise upon himself.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He simply posted a picture with the trophy and used a low-key hashtag.

The 21-year-old Brighton loanee seems to be the unassuming type, and after years of seeing the brash Pontus Jansson at the back, Leeds fans may be happy to see such a quiet and modest player stepping into that role.

No more attitude issues or bans for ranting about the referee – just a young, talented defender going about his business for the good of 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… 

Liverpool will face a high-flying Leicester side on Saturday with the Foxes’ English stars bang in form, but Ricardo Pereira is a major threat who the Reds must keep in check.

When you think of Leicester’s danger men under Brendan Rodgers, you think of Jamie Vardy and James Maddison.

The former has scored five league goals already this campaign and has Sadio Mane gushing over his quality, while the latter has one goal and two assists in top-flight action, averaging a superb Whoscored rating of 7.42.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

That said, the Foxes’ last two fixtures have seen a new threat emerge, as Pereira has found the back of the next in each of his last two games.

The Portugal international has enjoyed a fantastic start to the campaign under Rodgers, so good in fact that it may actually alter the way Mane plays on Saturday.

Indeed, not only is Pereira fulfilling his defensive duties with a whopping 4.7 tackles per game, he is proving to be quite the attacking outlet for his side, racking up over 60 passes per game.

He is completing those passes at a rate of 80%, making 0.7 chances per game, but even more impressively is terrifying his opposite number with 2.1 dribbles per game.

To put that into perspective, Andy Robertson completes 1.3 dribbles each match, while Trent Alexander-Arnold musters a measly 0.3. Even Mane himself doesn’t top Pereira with just 1.3 dribbles per Premier League outing this season.

The 25 year-old loves romping forward and pinning his opposing winger and full-back into their own half, and his battle with Liverpool’s left flank could well decide the game.

If Pereira uses his nearly 5 tackles per game to halt Mane and his excellent bursting runs forward to get in behind the constantly overlapping Robertson, the Foxes could well be the first side in England to take something off the Reds this season.

It is something Jurgen Klopp will have to consider, and it may even force a slightly more cautious approach from the usually unstoppable duo of Robertson and Mane.

Some Southampton fans have taken to Twitter to deliver their verdicts on Angus Gunn, after a concerning stat about the goalkeeper was brought to light.

The England Under-21 international has conceded the second-most goals out of any glovesman in the Premier League so far this season, allowing 15 strikes to go beyond him – the only keeper to concede more is Watford’s Ben Foster, who was in between the sticks for Watford when Manchester City beat the Hornets 8-0.

Gunn – who we recently identified as one of two players who needs to step up – has made a mistake in each of the Saints’ last three games.

The 23-year-old came charging out of his goal for no reason against Bournemouth, allowing Callum Wilson to nip in and score, before letting Tanguy Ndombele’s shot to go straight past him in Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Southampton.

Gunn then came rushing off his line again against Chelsea, allowing Tammy Abraham to lob him and open the scoring for Chelsea in the 4-1 rout over Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men.

As a result of his poor form, some Southampton fans on Twitter have shared their thoughts on the former Norwich man…