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Swansea midfielder Bresant Celina woke up on Wednesday morning to a lot of praise after scoring against Blackburn Rovers.

The Swans fell behind in the first half when Charlie Mulgrew converted from the penalty spot, but the visitors left Wales empty handed at the full-time whistle.

Two goals in four minutes from Blackburn’s David Raya, who put the ball into his own net, and Swansea’s Connor Roberts flipped the game on its head, overturning a losing position for the home side before the Kosovo international cemented the result late on.

During the early stages when Blackburn dominated, the summer signing had played out on the left wing of Graham Potter’s side before a switch back to 4-2-3-1 brought a return to the number 10 slot he shone in.

The win moved Swansea up the table to eighth place, with their first win since the end of September putting them a point outside the Play-Off positions.

Next up at the weekend is another home match, with Reading this time the visitors who will be looking to secure their fourth win of the season but could find themselves in the bottom three before a ball is kicked.

Celina joined Swansea in the summer from Manchester City, having graduated from their academy back in 2014, and these Swans fans certainly want to see more of the Yugoslavia-born international against Reading, but more importantly from the centre of the field.

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Birmingham City started the season quite slowly as Garry Monk’s side struggled to pick up a win in the first few weeks of the season but after beating Leeds United, Monk’s side have put together a superb run of form and have since won their last four games in the league.

Thanks to that solid run of form, Birmingham have soared up the table and currently sit ninth in the table two points of the play-off positions. Monk’s side go up against a Derby team this weekend that has performed well but was held to a draw against Middlesbrough.

Following their comeback win over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, Marc Roberts praised Monk’s style of play and believes that if the players continue to play to his gameplan, then the club will reap the rewards.

The Breakdown

Roberts made a rare appearance at the weekend as Birmingham capped off a terrific week which also saw them beat Stoke City and Reading.

Central to Birmingham’s recent success has been the superb form of Lukas Jutkiewicz who scored yet again at the weekend to take his tally to eight goals this season. Fellow striker partner, Che Adams also chipped in with a goal at the weekend and it seems with those two up front, City are thriving.

Realistically, City don’t have enough in the squad to get into the automatic promotion spots but there’s no doubt that they’re good enough to take one of the last playoff places.

As we’ve seen before, once you’re in the playoffs, anything can happen.

Thoughts Birmingham fans? 

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Aston Villa will be without the services of Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, after the 20-year-old striker picked up yet another injury, per reports in the Birmingham Mail.

What’s happened now?

Hepburn-Murphy has had a torrid season injury-wise, after first picking up an ankle knock while away at the club’s pre-season training camp in Portugal. Once shaken off, a brief return to action under Steve Bruce followed but he was soon back on the medical bench with a hamstring injury.

The former Aston Manor pupil eventually made his return from injury against Reading last Sunday, when he netted for Villa’s U23s.

But the Birmingham Mail report that he was hauled off injured against Derby on Thursday night when he went down under a heavy challenge in the Premier League Cup encounter.

Uncertain first team future

Not only will Hepburn-Murphy now have an unclear future with the physio as the club continues to assess the injury, if it proves to be a lengthy absence his first team future could come into doubt.

Under Bruce, the 20-year-old was called on from the bench in five Championship games and started twice in the Carabao Cup, but mostly thanks to his hamstring injury he’s had little opportunity to show his worth to Dean Smith.

Instead, Smith has utilised Tammy Abraham and Jonathan Kodjia, but the duo are not producing many goals either as Villa overall have only scored 24 times in 16 Championship games, leading to the manager questioning what areas of the pitch he will improve in January.

Instead of focusing on strengthening the back line or giving the young forward a chance, Smith may now elect to bring in another proven strike option. In the long run, that will only affect Hepburn-Murphy’s chances of becoming a first-team regular.

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German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan made his long-awaited return for Manchester City on Wednesday night as a 73rd-minute substitute for David Silva, but here at Football FanCast we want to know whether you would throw him in from the start in the Manchester derby on Sunday.

City have steamrolled their last two games in all competitions, winning 6-1 in the Premier League against Southampton before again firing six past Shakhtar Donetsk without reply in the Champions League on Wednesday.

United though will be a far tougher test for Pep Guardiola’s side, and the Red Devils will surely look to use their physical superiority to bully the more technical City side.

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For this reason, we believe that Pep would be best starting Gundogan in his midfield three, as the 28-year-old would provide more defensive work-rate than Bernardo Silva in that position. Silva though has been in scintillating form this season so far and has to be considered undroppable at the moment.

This would mean then that Leroy Sane could drop to the bench from the team that started vs Southampton, with the versatile Portuguese ace moving into the left-wing role.

So, City fans, would you make this change and bring Gundogan in or does Sane simply have to start? Have your say by voting in the poll below.

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Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa must make a January loan move for Manchester United wonderkid Tahith Chong to add depth to his small squad.

What’s the situation?

Leeds started this season in fantastic form under new boss Marcelo Bielsa, and although they still sit third in the Championship table things have slowed down slightly.

Last weekend for instance, the Whites were thumped 4-1 by fellow high-flyers West Brom, as Darren Moore’s side out-worked and out-pressed the West Yorkshire side. Bielsa is famed for preferring to work with small squads, but with the huge demands of the Championship he will surely need to add options in the winter transfer window.

One player whose position in the side could be at risk is Macedonian international Ezgjan Alioski, especially if Bielsa targets Chong from the Premier League giants.

Fresh legs

The 18-year-old right-winger is yet to make his debut for the Manchester giants, but he has netted five goals and provided two assists in 11 games for the U23 side. Despite his young years and the quality in the United squad, Chong has also been included on the bench for the first-team by Mourinho this season.

The Dutchman was signed from the Feyenoord academy on a free transfer in the summer of 2016 and has represented his country at every level between the U15 and U19 levels.

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There is little doubt that Bielsa’s squad will need a refresh after what is set to be a difficult and busy Christmas period, and Chong could add fresh legs and an injection of creativity in January.

Putting old rivalries aside, Leeds should convince United to send their youngster down a division to experience first-team football for the very first time.

So, Leeds fans, would you back Bielsa if he made a loan move for Chong in January? Have your say by voting in the poll below.

According to a recent report from ESPN, Everton youngster Nikola Vlasic is interesting some of Italy’s biggest clubs. The 21-year-old is currently on the books at Goodison Park but is actually playing his football in Russia with CSKA Moscow this term, where he has shone repeatedly in the early phase of the campaign to thus stimulate interest in his services.

And that’s because the likes of Inter Milan and Roma are reportedly keen on the £9 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt), with Everton manager Marco Silva’s decision to allow the winger to leave the club during the summer looking like a rare blunder in his otherwise exemplary start to life at Goodison Park.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, it was always likely that the 41-year-old would make some changes to the Toffees squad during the close season after their struggles under Sam Allardyce last season, with it clear that certain areas of the squad were in need of reinforcements if they were to move to the next level under the Portuguese.

Thus, Silva was busy bringing in players but also letting several leave, with 21-year-old Vlasic one of many attackers the Portuguese sanctioned for a loan move away from Goodison Park to give him the chance of game time he was highly unlikely to get on Merseyside.

And the Croatia international has taken his chance with both hands by excelling in the Russian capital so far this season, netting five goals and laying on two assists in just 15 appearances for the club, two goals of which coming in their Champions League group stage campaign.

And with two goals in his last four Russian Premier League matches, Vlasic is also making a big impact domestically as well to underline what a shrewd addition he is proving to be for CSKA Moscow, at the same time emphasising what a mistake it was by Silva to let him leave.

Yes, the signings of Richarlison and Bernard certainly pushed Vlasic further down the attackers’ pecking order at Goodison Park during the summer, and with the likes of Theo Walcott and Ademola Lookman still at the club as well, Vlasic’s first team prospects looked pretty slim.

But with Brazil international Richarlison playing more centrally now given the club’s striking woes, alongside Walcott’s recent struggles for form, and the fact that Silva doesn’t seem convinced by replacing him with Lookman, there’s every chance that Vlasic could presently be competing for a first team spot – in fact, there are few Everton players in better form than the Croat, it just so happens that he is not currently at the club.

Ultimately, Silva deserves huge credit for making a very promising start to life at Everton, what with the Toffees seemingly heading in the right direction and playing a brand of football that has brought the excitement back to Goodison Park.

But with Vlasic doing so well in Russia, thus provoking interest from Italian heavyweights Inter and Roma, letting the 21-year-old leave does appear to be a rare blunder in the Portuguese’s otherwise exemplary start on Merseyside.

Everton fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has tipped Rangers to sign Ashley Cole, so should Steven Gerrard move for his former England teammate?

Former Arsenal and Chelsea star Cole was released by LA Galaxy this week after his contract expired, but the 37-year-old is expected to continue playing.

Cole moved to the MLS in 2016, and has racked up nearly 100 appearances over there, scoring three times.

Parlour, speaking on Sky Sports’ nightly debate show, the Arsenal legend said Gerrard is a “great shout” to be the one to bring Cole back to Britain.

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“I’m sure there’ll be lots of clubs interested. Stevie G is a great shout at Rangers,” he said.

“I don’t know who their left back is at the moment but he would be great for the dressing room area.”

While the fact that Parlour doesn’t know who the Gers’ have at left back means he probably isn’t best placed to judge a possible move, the trophy-winning experience would definitely be a huge boost in the dressing room.

Gerrard brought 38-year-old Gareth McAuley to Ibrox this summer so he clearly wants some experience in his defence, and Cole must still be better than Andy Halliday.

The 107-cap England international would have to take a hefty pay cut, but what do you think Rangers fans? Should Gerrard make a move? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

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Crystal Palace took a huge stride in the right direction after scoring their first goals from open play at home this season in their 2-0 victory over a sub-par Burnley at the weekend. While Andros Townsend stole the show with a thunderbolt of a strike, Max Meyer was integral to his side’s creation and deservedly scooped the fan-voted man of the match award.

After choosing to run down his contract at Schalke and thus making a switch to the Premier League, the diminutive midfielder was surely regarded as one of the coups of the window and as the man to ease the pain induced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s return to Chelsea.

The German once linked with Arsenal had previously failed to live up to the hype that preceded his arrival in south London as Roy Hodgson elected to leave him on the bench until October 1, when he finally made his first Palace start in a 2-1 loss to Bournemouth.

Then, as the Eagles gritted their teeth through a November from hell as they were met by all of Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester United, the 23-year-old became a mainstay in the line-up but failed to have an impact worthy of discussion against any of the aforementioned giants.

That is until Sean Dyche’s Burnley visited Selhurst Park in a Saturday six-pointer – the number 7 looked threatening right from the first whistle as the 2013/2014 Championship play-off winners took the Clarets to the cleaners.

Registering two of his four shots early on as he brought the best of Joe Hart before curling just wide, the starlet seemed hungry to score his first competitive goal in red and blue and was unlucky not to as the former England number one showed the world that he’s still more than capable between the sticks.

Crucial to his side’s penetration, Meyer’s five key passes illustrated his ability to receive the ball with perfect control and pick his head up before finding a defence-splitting delivery, and this was unrivalled in the Palace ranks. This kind of vision and technical ability is what the Eagles so desperately needed to secure in the transfer window as Yohan Cabaye left for Saudi Arabia – right now the blonde-haired maestro looks fully capable of filling the Frenchman’s chaussures.

Much like Cabaye, the 5-foot-8 technician is far from afraid to put a foot in and do the dirty work – he completed two tackles and an interception as he regained possession for his team effectively and prevented Burnley from countering.

His two successful dribbles also show he is willing to run at and take on his man and it is this which can make him so endearing to the SE25 faithful who were thrilled all season long last year by Loftus-Cheek’s quick feet.

Palace’s midfield is full of steel and industry but there is no one in the squad that can connect the dots like Meyer can – this may be the boost the young midfielder needs to really take off.

Playmaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

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Joe Willock made his first senior appearance of the season – and of the Unai Emery era – on Thursday night as Arsenal eased to a 3-0 victory over Vorskla Poltava in a Europa League clash in Kiev.

The 19-year-old academy graduate was a calm, hard-working presence in the middle of the park for the Gunners, and was rewarded for his endeavours in the 41st minute of the match. Upon collecting the ball in the opponents’ final third, the teenager drove at the retreating Vorskla defence before coolly stroking the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to notch his first senior career goal.

With the likes of Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi, Aaron Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny ahead of him in the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium, Willock still has plenty to do to prove that his long-term future ought to be in north London. However, he did his chances of making it at Arsenal no harm on Thursday night.

Plenty of the Arsenal faithful were impressed by the England under-20 international, taking to Twitter to congratulate him on his fine display…

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Norwich should be looking to add serious competition to their current starting left-back Jamal Lewis, especially if they are to secure promotion to the Premier League and put up a serious battle in staying there.

What’s the word, then?

Current left-back Lewis, a 20-year-old who can also play on the left side of midfield, has been an eye-catching performer under Daniel Farke so far this season in his 19 Championship starts for the club.

He has one assist to his name and is a very impressive dribbler who finds himself involved at both ends of the pitch quite frequently, but behind him in the pecking order, nobody else really poses a huge threat to his position.

To further emphasise that point, should the Canaries secure promotion to the top-flight, which looks a real possibility at the moment as they sit top of the league, they should start putting the building blocks in place to add players who are capable of performing at that level but can also push the current crop to perform to their best.

Who could they get in?

One player who seemingly has bags of ability and potential at left-back in one of Europe’s top leagues at the moment is Hoffenheim star Joshua Brenet. The 24-year-old has only featured nine times for the German side this season as he attempts to nail down a first-team place, but his quality is there for all to see.

Notably, in just four Bundesliga starts, the full-back has two goals and an assist, emphasising his enjoyment at getting involved at the top end of the pitch – something that Farke demands of his full-backs.

Playmaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

The Norfolk-based side should take advantage of his inability to settle in Germany, as before that move, he was a standout name across Europe for PSV Eindhoven and earned invaluable experience in the Champions League.

Should Norwich sign Brenet? Have your say down below…