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Fabian Schar says that he hopes to feature for Newcastle in the final games of the season after issuing a positive update on his recovery.

The 29-year-old was expected to be out for ‘several months’ after sustaining a torn knee ligament in the 3-2 win over Southampton in February (via nufc.co.uk).

A Sky Sports report at the time speculated that he’d played his last game for the club given that the Swiss international is out of contract at the end of the season.

However, it seems his recovery may have exceeded expectations – Schar initially aimed to return in time for the European Championships in June, but now hopes he can have a say in keeping Newcastle up.

Schar: ‘I will do everything’ to return before the end of the season

“I’m quite happy where I am after seven weeks since my surgery,” he said in a Q&A on Newcastle’s Twitter account.

“The last five or six weeks I was working hard in Switzerland. The only aim I had was to do as many hours for the rehab as possible.

“I think I am on the right way. Still there is a bit to do and it’s going to be tight for some games this season.

“It’s my aim to help the team at the end of the season and I will do everything to try and do that but I can’t exactly say if it is possible or not.”

Schar has made 13 Premier League appearances for the Toon this season. He has averaged 1.6 tackles, 3.1 clearances, 0.8 blocks and 3.6 accurate long balls per match (via WhoScored).

Transfer Tavern verdict

The injury outlook is finally getting brighter for Newcastle. Miguel Almiron returned at Brighton, and Allan Saint-Maximin made his comeback off the bench in the draw with Tottenham at the weekend.

Most importantly, top scorer Callum Wilson looks to be back in contention for a critical visit to Burnley on Sunday.

Schar’s return can’t come soon enough, given that Steve Bruce had to deploy Emil Krafth and Paul Dummett, full-backs by trade, in a back three at the weekend.

In other news, Alan Shearer picked out an ‘excellent’ Newcastle performer against Spurs. 

MatériaMais Notícias

O Brasil ganhou mais duas vagas na Libertadores. A mudança foi anunciada no último domingo. O que era G4 virou G6, e agora muitos clubes que antes lutavam apenas contra o rebaixamento também podem sonhar com uma vaga na competição continental.

Ainda há a possibilidade de se tornar um G7, caso o campeão da Copa do Brasil esteja no bolo.Faltando dez rodadas para o fim do Campeonato Brasileiro e 30 pontos em disputa, LANCE! mostra o que muda na luta dos clubes na competição.

RelacionadasLibertadoresBrasil ganha mais duas vagas na Libertadores: G4 vira G6Libertadores02/10/2016BrasileirãoMUDA, CALENDÁRIO: ‘Calendário é anacrônico, e acarreta malefícios’Brasileirão03/10/2016

انتقد خالد بيومي الناقد الرياضي ملعب دوالا الذي يحتضن مباراة الجزائر وغينيا الاستوائية في بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا 2021 بالكاميرون.

وتقام مباراة الجزائر وغينيا الاستوائية ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات بنهائيات الأمم الإفريقية.

طالع أيضًا.. مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة الجزائر وغينيا الاستوائية في كأس أمم إفريقيا

وقال خالد بيومي في تدوينة عبر حسابه على موقع “تويتر”: “ملعب مباراة الجزائر لا يصلح إلا لمرعى غنم مستحيل يكون ملعب كرة قدم”.

وسقط جمال بلعمري لاعب الجزائر على أرضية الملعب دون التحام مع أحد وأصيب ليتم استبداله في الدقيقة 54 والدفع بزميله مهدي تهرات. شاهد إصابة جمال بلعمري في مباراة الجزائر وغينيا الاستوائية

ملعب مباراة الجزائر لا يصلح الا لمرعي غنم مستحيل يكون ملعب كرة قدم 👎

— khaled bauomy 🇪🇬 (@khaledbauomy) January 16, 2022

Celtic are thought to be interested in a move for Peterborough United forward Siriki Dembele.

That’s according to an exclusive report from Give Me Sport, who claim that his impressive form in the current campaign has sparked intrigue from the Hoops.

Dembele’s impressive Peterborough form

The 24-year-old has netted seven times and provided 12 assists in English League One this season, helping the Posh to second place in the division ahead of the run-in.

His London Road deal expires at the end of June, meaning the Hoops could strike a pre-contract agreement over the coming months.

Transfer Tavern take

Dembele appears to fit one of the club’s two transfer policies of being a UK-based talent with high upside potential available on a pre-contract.

He has lined out on the left and right, at centre-forward and as an attacking midfielder during his career, so his versatility could be welcomed at Parkhead.

Dembele is also the older brother to Hoops teenager Karamoko. Reports have suggested that the 18-year-old is set to leave Celtic in the summer, but could the possibility of his brother moving to Glasgow change his mind?

In other news: Celtic readying summer move for player Nick Hammond watched live two months ago, find out more here. 

Leeds United struggled and ended up losing against high-flying West Ham on Monday night, and popular Whites journalist Phil Hay has highlighted what he thinks needs to be rectified.

Phil Hay highlights clear problem

Speaking in The Athletic’s discussion thread after the match, Hay said (via Give Me Sport): “A much bigger issue is why Leeds cannot get it together when they’re defending set-pieces. It’s a clear problem which hasn’t been resolved.

“There’s a variety of reasons. Firstly, Leeds are not a strong side aerially. If you look at the stats, you can see that. Secondly, man-marking runs the risk that if someone loses their man, he’s free to score with no-one available to step in. To put it bluntly, it’s a bit of a shambles.

“Without getting into the zonal vs man-marking debate, the basic problem is that Leeds lose their men too often. And when you do in a man-marking system, no-one else is going to pick them up.”

Fine margins

Set-pieces are a crucial part of the game, and despite Leeds converting six of them this term, it is the amount they concede which makes corners and free-kicks such a worry for the club.

Bielsa’s side have conceded 14 of their 46 goals in the top division from set-pieces. This is the most in the division (WhoScored), so it is understandable to see Hay so worried about them.

If they had not conceded these goals, they would have only let in 32 and this would rank them with the joint-sixth fewest goals conceded in the division (SofaScore). If they get stronger at defending such moments in a game, then instead of battling for a top-half finish, they could be battling for a European spot.

In other news, Paul Robinson discussed crucial Leeds transfer issue!

MatériaMais Notícias

A presença de Fred no Fla-Flu é a grande dúvida que ronda as Laranjeiras. O atacante mostrou disposição no treino desta sexta-feira, marcou um golaço de cavadinha, mas deixou o campo no fim da primeira parte do coletivo. Questionado sobre o camisa 9, que recupera-se de um edema na coxa esquerda, o técnico Levir Culpi não decretou o destino do jogador no domingo.

– É possível (que jogue), mas ainda não tem uma palavra final. Ele está em observação, tem feito exercícios. Ele tem que receber o sinal verde. Se possível, ele vai entrar para jogar – limitou-se a dizer o treinador.

Além do retorno de Fred, Levir promoveu outras modificações na equipe titular. O lateral Jonathan, o zagueiro Gum e o meia Gerson ganharam a oportunidade no começo dos trabalhos. Além disso, Henrique, que volta de suspensão, integrou os 11 iniciais, e Wellington Silva foi deslocado para a lateral esquerda, levando Giovanni ao banco. Osvaldo entrou no lugar de Fred, quando o atacante deixou o treinamento. O treinador justificou os testes.

– Alguns jogadores precisam jogar, eu quero vê-los jogando… Alguns têm uma rodagem… Acho que o grupo do Fluminense neste momento, o elenco está desequilibrado. Então, temos umas carências em algumas posições. Se eu perguntar ao torcedor do Fluminense a escalação, eles vão falar uns cinco ou seis nomes. Mas é até o pessoal entender a nossa maneira de trabalhar – explicou.

Levir não confirmou o time que levará a campo no clássico deste domingo, no Pacaembu, em São Paulo, contra o Flamengo. Porém, a tendência é que o Tricolor esteja escalado com: Diego Cavalieri, Jonathan, Gum, Henrique e Wellington Silva; Pierre, Cícero, Gerson (Marcos Junior), Diego Souza e Gustavo Scarpa; Fred.

RelacionadasFluminenseEm treino com várias mudanças, Fred marca golaço, mas deixa atividadeFluminense18/03/2016Futebol NacionalDUELO! Flamengo x Fluminense: Vote nas camisas mais bonitas!Futebol Nacional18/03/2016Futebol NacionalÁrbitros de vídeo: Treinamento terá 44 vídeos como baseFutebol Nacional18/03/2016

Marcel Brands must urge Carlo Ancelotti to unleash Joshua King far more than he ever fielded Cenk Tosun, after Everton signed the AFC Bournemouth striker on Deadline Day.

What’s the word?

According to talkSPORT presenter Alex Crook, King’s last-ditch move to Merseyside saw the Toffees agree to sign the Cherries forward on an initial six-month contract.

Everton will have an option to extend the Norwegian’s time at Goodison Park at the end of the season, with the transfer potentially worth up to £5m.

The Blues paid Bournemouth a nominal sum to finalise a deal in the final hours of Deadline Day, after the Vitality Stadium outfit sought to secure a fee for a striker who was set to be out of contract when his £45,000-per-week deal expired in the summer.

King will provide Ancelotti with vital cover for Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Everton after Tosun was allowed to re-join Besiktas on loan until the end of the season, having failed to secure a regular starting berth under a succession of managers.

Reports by Norwegian television channel TV2 had claimed King decided to join Everton over Fulham after Bournemouth accepted offers from both Premier League sides, but the Blues first had to offload Tosun and his wages to afford the £10m-rated beast.

King is yet to score a league goal in a heavily disrupted campaign for the 29-year-old, having sustained a thigh injury in pre-season before later testing positive for coronavirus and missing almost two months.

Ancelotti must trust King

King found his eye for the goal in the FA Cup with a brace against Oldham Athletic and a solo strike in the fourth round against Crawley Town last month, while providing assists in each tie. Showing that he has not lost his edge in front of the net, which saw the Manchester United product score 48 Premier League goals with Bournemouth over five seasons.

Everton’s Director of Football Brands must now urge Ancelotti to place his backing in the 51-cap Norway international, having seen the Italian only field Tosun for 43 minutes in the top-flight this term.

Brands has put his faith into King offering Ancelotti a greater attacking threat than Tosun could ever bring to the table, with the Turkey international only scoring nine Premier League goals since January 2018.

The Dutchman has also struck what could prove to be a masterstroke by including clauses that will allow Everton to sign King to a long-term contract in the summer, without having to pay the £15m Bournemouth were allegedly wanting for the versatile forward who their former head coach Eddie Howe lauded as the “complete package”.

But that will prove worthless if King does not feature, despite having the potential to offer the goals form the bench that could secure the Toffees European football, which Ancelotti did not previously have.

Everton have not seen a substitute score a single goal in the Premier League all season, an unwanted stat which only goal-shy duo Burnley and West Bromwich Albion can also lay claim to.

If 11-goal striker Calvert-Lewin has not found the net, the Toffees also struggle, with the Blues only scoring seven in their last seven games, running back to when the 23-year-old last scored.

King does not have to do much to offer more of a threat than Tosun but if he’s to get the goals the Merseyside outfit have been lacking, Ancelotti will have to back him.

AND in other news, the exit of a £28k-p/w dud is great news for a “gifted” Everton outcast…

Wolves’ season has turned into a peculiar state of affairs.

For the first time in Nuno Santo’s tenure at Molineux, he switched from a three-back to a four-man defence a few weeks ago.

It initially paid off with Wolves drawing with Southampton and then beating Arsenal.

However, combined with the injury to Raul Jimenez, Nuno’s defence is suddenly being breached on a regular basis. They have conceded five goals in their last two matches so clearly some degree of change is required.

In fact, we’re tipping Nuno to make as many as three alterations to his starting XI to face Chelsea on Tuesday evening.

We think that with Wolves on a poor run of form that the manager will shift back to his tried and tested three-man defence.

As a result, Wily Boly comes back into the side and we’re also tipping Nuno to remove Marcal from the squad and bring in summer signing Rayan Ait-Nouri.

A notable change comes in midfield where Joao Moutinho is suspended. Consequently, Ruben Neves is back in the side after a run of one start in the last three games.

The final alteration is in attack where Fabio Silva drops out of the side. Despite being the club-record signing, he’s not enjoyed the greatest of starts to his career at Molineux and thus, Daniel Podence leads the line again as he did against Liverpool a few weeks ago.

The Portuguese didn’t score on that occasion but has been lively in 2020/21, providing two goals and registering two assists.

With Jimenez out with a fractured skull, Nuno desperately needs to find a solution to his woes.

In other news, Forget Silva: Wolves can strike gold with swoop for “swashbuckling” 9-goal bully…

Aston Villa striker Wesley Moraes is reportedly eying a return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury in the New Year but faces a mammoth struggle to prove himself all over again.

Supporters have not seen Wesley step foot on the pitch since New Year’s Day when carted off on a stretcher against Burnley, having appeared to twist his ankle in the follow-through of a robust challenge from Ben Mee.

Wesley had just begun to establish himself at Villa Park following a £22million transfer that summer, with the former Club Brugge hitman netting his fifth goal of the Premier League campaign at Turf Moor to open the scoring.

Aston Villa went on to win 2-1 against Burnley but were soon dealt the news that Wesley’s season was over alongside goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who similarly sustained a serious knee injury at Turf Moor.

But while 34-year-old shot-stopper Heaton returned to feature for the Villa Park natives’ Under 23s last month, Wesley continues his wait and is targeting his first taste of action in March – more than a year on from being carried off the field – according to BirminghamLive.

Barring any changes to Smith’s squad in the January window, Wesley’s return will be a huge boost to the Villans boss who has relied on summer signing Ollie Watkins to carry the burden in attack this season.

Watkins moved to the Birmingham-based outfit from Brentford for a club-record £33m in the off-season and has lit up the top-flight since with six goals in nine games, including a hat-trick over Liverpool and a brace at Arsenal in Man of the Match displays.

Smith is yet to hand starts to any other player at centre-forward this term, but will expect Wesley to challenge the 24-year-old once fit and prove himself to be worth the £35,000-per-week contract Villa are not currently benefiting from.

Though Wesley has a mountain to climb if he is to dethrone Watkins as all of his credit is spent, and he will return in March as if he is a new signing who must prove himself all over again.

Smith is already benefiting more from Watkins than he could with Wesley and in fewer games, too, as the Villans’ star of the season so far is averaging more shots (2.1) than the Brazilian achieved in 2019/20 (1.3), contributing more key passes (1.3 to 0.5), winning more aerial duels (4.1 to 3.3), taking more touches (37.9 to 29.5), winning more ground duels (3.4 to 2.0) and playing a higher number of accurate passes (15.1 to 12.5) per game in the Premier League, per SofaScore.

It will be up to Wesley to take the challenge to Watkins, but it will be Smith who decides if the Brazilian has a future at Villa Park beyond the season.

AND in other news, Dean Smith must demand more from his “erratic” £75,000-per-week Aston Villa favourite.

Lots of Newcastle United fans have been slamming the decision from Steve Bruce to not play Isaac Hayden versus Southampton in the Premier League.

Indeed, the former England U21 international was left on the bench for the game and was not brought on by Bruce during the match either.

The St. James’ Park faithful ended up losing the game 2-0 at St. Mary’s Stadium thanks to goals from Che Adams very early on in the first half and Stuart Armstrong late on in the second.

Saints ended up having 60% possession of the ball, with 15 shots and 561 passes recorded (Sofascore), and if Hayden would have played Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team may not have been as dominant in the middle third especially.

The defensive midfield player has won 5.2 of his duels per appearance in the top flight so far in the 2020/21 term, as well as averaging 1.8 tackles, 1.3 clearances and 1.3 interceptions a game (Sofascore).

Newcastle fan reaction to Bruce’s decision on Hayden

These members of the Toon Army blasted the decision by Bruce not to play Hayden on Twitter:

In other news, find out which Magpies star was slammed for his display here!