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We have a date.

After Nottingham Forest’s fixture against Reading was postponed over the weekend because of the rain that fell, the footballing authorities have decided that the game will now take place on Tuesday 21st January.

Let’s just say that the fans aren’t happy about it, each with their own different reasons.

For some it was because the game is going to take place in midweek, whilst others complained how long they have to wait for the game to be played, suggesting that this all could have been sorted out a lot sooner.

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Forest had been unbeaten for ten games before they subsequently lost two matches on the bounce. Rather than having the opportunity to correct it last weekend, they will now have gone two weeks without playing.

Whether or not that has a positive impact remains to be seen.

Here’s how they responded to the update of when the clash with Reading will actually be played.

And there was one fan who pointed out the two sides will be getting rather familiar with each other given the new dates.

Although they can’t complain too much, they’re the home team so it’s not as if they have to make new travel arrangements.

Whilst there was one fan who was hoping that all this rearranging would have to happen one more time, which judging by the general reaction of those above, probably wouldn’t go down too well with the rest of the Forest faithful.

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…

So, have fans managed to get over the high that was Friday night?

Have we all calmed down now, taken a step back and put things in a little bit more perspective?

The Southampton result will more than likely go down as one of the bigger talking points of the campaign, not just among the Foxes faithful, but the rest of the Premier League as well.

The one thing that was pleasing about the result and this was something that Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers touched on after the game speaking to Sky Sports, was the manner they dealt with the Saints going down to ten men.

The way that they were so ruthless and wanted to keep going even though the game was out of reach for the opposition was incredibly impressive and something that Rodgers and the team need to take a lot of credit for.

The fact that they decided to keep going now puts their goal difference better than the top side Liverpool’s and will give them a huge advantage as the season goes on.

Watch Leicester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, there has been a lot of talk coming out of the game that just needs to be calmed down somewhat.

Whilst the result was fantastic, bear in mind that it was against a team that was struggling in the league and down to ten men, they won’t get that lucky again this campaign, and now it seems like everybody’s expectations of what Leicester can achieve have skyrocketed.

Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have spoken about how Leicester can fight for the Champions League places (Sky Sports via Leicester Live) and you’ve even got the likes of Neville talking about how Brendan Rodgers should be considered to take over Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

Check out the best fan reaction from Southampton 0-9 Leicester in the video below…

It just seems like people are starting to get ahead of themselves.

Barring any disasters, Manchester City and Liverpool will fight it out for the title and take up two of the spots.

Chelsea are finally turning themselves around under Frank Lampard, sitting fourth, and could take another one of those top four spots, meaning there’s just one place left for them to fight for.

Whilst it looks like there may be a drop off from the rest of the ‘big teams’ like Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester United, as there was in 2015-16 which allowed Leicester to win the title, the quality of the players at the former two could eventually prevail and they will get themselves organised once again to fight for that spot.

It’s all well and good being among the big clubs now, but staying there is going to be an even bigger challenge.

It was a good weekend in the end for Manchester City, coming back from 1-0 down against a resolute Southampton to nick the game just a few minutes from added time, though now there’s some more bad injury news. 

The Sky Blues fell behind early in the first period when Ederson’s fumble resulted in James Ward-Prowse poaching the ball in from close range with a striker’s instinct.

From then on, City threw the kitchen sink, implementing wave after wave of attacks before finally getting the breakthrough when Kyle Walker set up Sergio Aguero to nutmeg keeper Alex McCarthy from close range.

With all the momentum heading into a nervy last third, Walker put those nerves to rest when he netted Angelino’s cross five minutes from added time – keeping crucial pressure on league leaders Liverpool.

However, it has now been revealed that City legend David Silva suffered a muscular injury in the first half of their Saints encounter – with Pep Guardiola throwing on Gabriel Jesus in place of the Spaniard – in what looked like a tactical substitution at the time.

The news, confirmed by Guardiola, comes as a hammer blow for the Sky Blues’ Anfield preparations, as they are set to be without a number of first team stars.

Here’s how the fans reacted to their ridiculously bad luck with player fitness.

Unfortunately, racism has made headlines in the beautiful game once again this week.

The treatment of England players during their game against Bulgaria on Monday evening has been all over the news, and that isn’t the only story regarding racism to have come out of the international break.

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Lazio are a club that have huge right-wing ties, and unfortunately, a number of their supporters are quite simply living in the wrong decade.

The Rome club have once again been punished for racial abuse, but the sanctions that they have been given are quite simply embarrassing.

Carlton Cole took to Instagram to talk about this issue, and he put it into perspective quite well.

The former West Ham striker compared Lazio’s €20,000 fine to the £200,000 fine that Leeds received for spygate and the £50,000 fine that Huddersfield received for their spoof kit earlier this year.

He’s absolutely right. Racism isn’t punished harshly enough in football, especially when you consider the types of punishments handed out for other things. Although Cole didn’t list this one himself, one that immediately springs to mind is Nicklas Bendtner’s £80,000 fine for wearing a pair of sponsored underpants.

Lazio will also have to play against Celtic in a partially closed stadium, but that still doesn’t seem like a strict enough punishment.

Cole is right to point out this discrepancy, and hopefully, this is an issue that is addressed sooner rather than later.

Rangers host Feyenoord tonight in the Europa League in what will be an emotional atmosphere following the passing of former Rangers skipper Fernando Ricksen after a long battle against Motor Neurone Disease. But how will the Gers line up at Ibrox?

Steven Gerrard has sprung selection surprises before – Jermain Defoe picked ahead of Alfredo Morelos for the Celtic clash being the most recent – and could well do so again against a Feyenoord team currently sitting a lowly seventh in the Dutch Eredivisie.

There are four areas where he is likely to make changes from the weekend – left-back, centre-half, midfield and in attack – but we anticipate these will be done through just three switches in personnel.

Borna Barisic could replace Andy Halliday at left-back. Halliday has been poor this season, no more so than against East Fife, and isn’t a natural defender by trade anyway – so it makes sense for Barisic to come back into the side.

Filip Helander could also beat Niko Katic to a place at centre-half. Football Insider reports that Katic is facing the axe after coming under fire from Connor Goldson against Livingston and considering Helander’s experience with 84 Serie A appearances under his belt, the summer signing could be a crucial asset on the European stage.

With Ryan Jack’s availability still unclear, we’re tipping Glen Kamara to join Steven Davis to protect the defence, pushing Scott Arfield into a more advanced position where he can support the front-line. He notched up 12 goals and seven assists for Rangers last season, albeit just one strike coming in the Europa League.

That also solves the issue of Ryan Kent’s injury, with Arfield essentially taking his spot as part of the Rangers attack.

Overall then, three personnel changes are anticipated for tonight’s game.

Loads of Tottenham Hotspur fans on Twitter have hailed Brighton and Hove Albion defender Lewis Dunk following his display against them at the weekend, with many suggesting the north London outfit should sign the 27-year-old.

It was another dreadful defensive display by Spurs at the Amex Stadium just days after they conceded seven at home to Bayern Munich, which certainly left question marks over their defence.

Of course, the contracts of the centre-backs that started against the Seagulls – Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen – both expire in the summer, and as of yet there has been no progress in terms of either committing their futures to the club, although The Daily Mail report that talks are taking place with the latter.

What has gone wrong at Tottenham Hotspur? Spurs fan George Achillea attempts to make sense of it all in the video below…

That said, they are apprehensive about offering the 32-year-old more than an extra 12 months, and should Spurs lose the Belgian duo they will likely need to strengthen their defensive options.

It appears supporters were impressed with what they saw from Dunk as he marshalled Harry Kane well in a 3-0 victory, and if Tottenham did sign him he could very well proive to be a reaplacement for Vertonghen or Alderweireld if they do go.

While one labelled him as “a leader”, another said the centre-back “would be a great signing for us”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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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… 

Marcelo Bielsa sprung a surprise in his Championship starting XI for the first time this term on Sunday.

The Argentine didn’t have Adam Forshaw in his team so instead of opting to bring Tyler Roberts back into the fold, Jamie Shackleton played in midfield.

The young Leeds man featured at right-back for vast amounts of last season but is capable in midfield too, showing his qualities in a slightly more attacking role during the Whites’ 2-0 win over Barnsley.

Forshaw has been astute this season and has a pass success rate of over 90%. Perhaps at times they did miss him, especially considering Shackleton was dispossessed twice.

However, if you consider his overall performance, the 19-year-old was far more dynamic as he not only made up for the former Middlesbrough man’s absence, but also proved why Roberts will have to wait longer to return to the starting XI.

He appeared for the U23s last Monday and was brought back into the first-team squad on Sunday following a procedure where he had fluid drained from his knee.

Considering Bielsa’s limited options, this will come as a welcome relief but after Shackleton’s display, they shouldn’t fast track him back.

Why? Because the teenager proved he can have a positive impact in attacking and defensive thirds.

Against Barnsley, it looked as though it might have been a repeat story of Swansea two weeks ago. Leeds had 21 shots and 66.6% of the possession as they dominated the play but failed to score until the final ten minutes.

Once again it was Eddie Nketiah who arrived late on the scene following his heroics against Brentford last month.

But one of the unsung heroes was Shackleton who was playing beside Mateusz Klich.

His effectiveness was particularly impressive, taking three shots on goal and performing three dribbles, according to WhoScored.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Although he didn’t score, there was a goal threat there that Roberts can bring to a game in a similar area. He contributed to eight strikes in the Championship last term but Shackleton proved highly efficient in a box-to-box role, creating three chances too.

From a defensive point of view, he made four tackles as the midfielder’s ability to break up the play proved crucial to stopping attacks.

The teenager hasn’t always had a set role in the side but perhaps this is where he can now thrive, thus putting off Roberts’ return to the starting XI.

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So the Roy Keane and Sir Alex Ferguson feud continues to rumble on. The duo have had a seemingly toxic relationship since the Irishman’s explosive exit from Manchester United more than a decade ago.

The former Red Devils captain has slammed Ferguson numerous times over the years, and it appears from his latest comments that he still holds a grudge against the Scot.

In a conversation with Off the Ball, Keane dismissed the icon’s man-management skills and questioned whether he really had the interests of the club at heart.

He said: “People talk about Ferguson’s man-management. Don’t be kidded on by all of it. (He) said he always did what was best by Manchester United. Nonsense.”

After hearing their former midfielder’s comments, United fans flooded to Twitter to share their thoughts about the ongoing situation between two of the club’s biggest legends.

Many supporters of the Manchester side slammed Keane for being “bitter” and suggested he should “focus on his own management career instead of bashing Fergie”.

Others however threw their backing behind the former skipper and suggested he simply “spoke the truth”.

Check out some of the divided reaction of United fans below:

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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…

Denmark had a great opportunity to take control of Group D and improve their chances of qualifying for Euro 2020 – of which one of the host cities is Copenhagen – with a win over Georgia on Sunday, but they failed to deliver.

Their opponents had won one and lost three of their four fixtures before the visit of the Danes, but they ended up securing a goalless draw to keep alive their own hopes – albeit slim – of qualifying themselves.

It quickly became clear in the early stages that it was going to be a scrappy, well-matched affair, and it is at that point you look to the special players on the pitch to make a difference.

There is no question that Tottenham Hotspur star Christian Eriksen is the main one for Denmark given his exploits for club and country – he has 29 goals in 90 caps for his nation – during his career.

However, he failed to turn up despite the fact he should have had confidence from scoring two and assisting a further two in the comprehensive 6-0 win away at Gibraltar just a few days earlier.

According to SofaScore, the 27-year-old lost possession a remarkable 29 times against Georgia as he looked to make a difference, while he won just three of the seven on-ground duels he faced without having a shot on target.

The Spurs man, into the final year of his contract with the north London outfit, did show some glimpses of quality having made three key passes, but it wasn’t enough on a day when he looked to have the opportunity to take control of what was ultimately a poor encounter.

It is an all too familiar story with Eriksen too, who despite the clear quality and ability he has in his locker, does have a tendency to go missing on occasions – no Premier League goals until December 15 last term and no goals and one assist in a five-match winless top flight run in February and March of this year is testament to that.

In addition, his set-pieces – particular corners – were once again a disappointment on a day where they could have made all of the difference.

On viewings like this, you wonder whether Eriksen really would be that big of a loss for Tottenham if he does leave in January or next summer.

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It is being reported that Mesut Ozil will not be leaving Arsenal before the end of the summer transfer window. Whilst he may not be the player he once was, it would be silly for the Gunners to let him leave at this point.

What’s the story?

The former Germany international is yet to feature this campaign. Initially, he was stopped from playing for security reasons after an incident on June 25th, but he was available for this past weekend’s match against Liverpool at Anfield, yet he was not even selected in the squad.

As such, there had been an indication that his Gunners future was in the balance. However, the 30-year-old’s agent Dr Erkut Sogut has revealed to Turkish-Football that he will be staying at the Emirates Stadium this summer.

Check out fan reaction to Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal in the video below…

Positive news, but sell next summer

It is fair to say that Ozil is not the player he once was. Last season’s record of just two assists and an average WhoScored rating of 6.74 in the Premier League is not what you would expect from a man who was once the club’s record signing.

However, it wasn’t always like that. In the 2015/16 season, he created a staggering 19 goals for his teammates and averaged a huge 7.66. That just goes to show that he has those kind of big performances in his locker.

Looking at Unai Emery’s squad, there is a lack of creative players in midfield. Other than Ozil, only Dani Ceballos can be described as somewhat of a playmaker. Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi are all better known for their industriousness.

The on-loan Real Madrid man’s starting debut against Burnley, in which he provided both goals in a 2-1 victory, indicates that he is best placed to take up a playmaking role at the moment, but there will be times when he is either not fit or having an off day.In these situations, the former Schalke man would be the ready-made replacement, especially against defensive teams that need unlocking.

Ceballos will likely be returning to Spain next summer, and Ozil will be 31 by then as well. That would be the perfect time to let him go and bring in a long-term successor. For now though, they would be naive to let him leave, which is why this report is good news for the Gunners.

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