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Jurgen Klopp has spoken about Crystal Palace’s performance against Bournemouth, as the Eagles face his side on Wednesday, and a lot of the Palace fan base are reacting to his comments.

The South London side won 2-0 against the Cherries and dominated the game. The victory meant they had won their last four in a row, and they had kept clean sheets in all of those games. This is a great feat and has seen them climb to ninth in the division, per BBC Sport.

Clearly this has been noted by Klopp, as he said, “I saw Crystal Palace yesterday, they look like a proper well oiled machine.”

The respect he has shown in his comments has seen a lot of Palace fans appreciate what he has said whilst also joking about his fear for the upcoming match as one said, ‘He’s scared’. It has built up their expectations for the match.

With Manchester City beating Burnley, it now means the Reds cannot win the Premier League in Wednesday’s match against Palace, but they can certainly move one step closer with three points.

Here is what fans have said following the complimentary comments from Klopp.

Palace fans, what are your thoughts on Klopp’s comments? Let us know down below!

Newcastle United could be in for a very interesting transfer window should their reported takeover come to fruition, but even though the Magpies’ new owners haven’t come in yet, they’re being linked to some top-quality talent.Interest in Wilfried Zaha was reported earlier in the week, and now the Chronicle are stating that the north-east outfit may go in for Aston Villa’s John McGinn should the Birmingham outfit be relegated at the end of the season.McGinn has been one of the bright sparks in Villa’s squad, earning an average WhoScored rating of 7.03 in the league this season, and you have to wonder if Dean Smith’s side would be in a better position had the Scot not missed three months of the campaign.The 25-year-old has been coveted by some of the biggest clubs in the country in the past, with Manchester United’s interest last summer heavily documented, and a move to Newcastle could prove to be a real coup for Steve Bruce’s side.A number of fans were certainly excited by the prospect of seeing McGinn at Villa Park.

However, as with any transfer story, you’ll always have your naysayers, and there are a number of United supporters who are turning their noses up at the prospect of signing a midfielder from a potentially relegated side.

Watch Newcastle United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Perhaps these supporters should remember the calibre of player who was at St James’ Park when they went down back in 2016, with Georginio Wijnaldum and Moussa Sissoko playing that season, and those two would go on to face off in the Champions League final in 2019.

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…

Even as he approaches the twilight of his career, Lionel Messi is showing no signs of slowing down.

The 32-year-old was on fire once again last term, scoring 51 goals in 50 matches as he helped Barcelona to another La Liga title. Not only that, he also contributed 22 assists as well. Those tremendous displays for his club earned him the Ballon d’Or, the sixth of his career. Whilst it may have been his smallest margin of victory to date – he pipped Virgil van Dijk to the trophy by just seven votes – it is hard to argue that he doesn’t deserve to take the individual accolade home once again after such an incredible year.

In regards to the rest of the placings, Liverpool were very well represented. No less than four players made it into the top seven of the final ranking, whilst a further three finished in the top 30. Of those, Sadio Mane was fourth on the list.

There were several people in the world of football who thought the 61-time Senegal international star should have won the trophy – including Messi himself. The Argentina forward, of course, voted for Mane in the FIFA The Best award, and he said after he received his accolade from France Football (Canal+ via Metro): “It’s a shame to see Mane finish in fourth place.”

It was an impressive year indeed for the 5 foot 9 former Southampton man. He scored 26 goals in all competitions for the Reds – which saw him win the Premier League Golden Boot – and he also got his hands on the Champions League as well. Not only that, he also contributed to his country’s run to the African Cup of Nations final, which they unfortunately lost to Algeria. Given his displays, there is a case to be made that he could have challenged for the golden ball.

Who the heck is that?! Can you name all 25 of these obscure Liverpool signings…

However, Messi’s words should be good enough for the 27-year-old. Here, we are talking about perhaps the best player to have ever walked the earth. And in his eyes, Mane was the star performer in the sport over the past 12 months.

Whilst it would certainly have been nice to have won the prestigious award, receiving such lofty praise is a more than good enough consolation prize. To be recognised by the very best in the sport surely has more value than the votes of those journalists who voted for the award – especially when you see the choices of the Sri Lankan representative, for example. If that isn’t good enough for Mane, then we aren’t quite sure what is.

In other news, one Liverpool youngster is a target for two Bundesliga outfits.

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…

When Ryan Bertrand didn’t make Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad for the 2-0 win away to Brighton back in August, eyebrows may have been raised.

This was an England international, a man who had started a Champions League final for Chelsea – surely summer signing Kevin Danso was merely stepping in as cover while Bertrand was injured, right?

Well, while that’s what most presumably would’ve thought, the Southampton boss almost immediately put any queries to bed.

The Daily Echo’s Adam Leitch reported that Hasenhuttl said he would’ve dropped Bertrand for Danso anyway, regardless of any knock, while the Austrian then went on to play Moussa Djenepo – a forward – and a right-back in Cedric at left-back in the weeks after that even when Bertrand was back fit and available.

Whatever caused Hasenhuttl to drop Bertrand for that trip to Brighton remains to be seen, although the 30-year-old has reacted superbly to the situation.

In contrast to the likes of Charlie Austin and Mario Lemina, who fell by the wayside at St Mary’s after being frozen out by Hasenhuttl, Bertrand has instead reinstated himself into the starting XI and has also been a key performer in recent weeks.

The former Aston Villa left-back grabbed the assist for Danny Ings’ goal against Arsenal a few weeks ago, helping the Saints earn a point in a 2-2 draw, before notching his first league goal of the campaign against Norwich – a clever finish which eventually turned out to be the match-winning strike in a 2-1 win.

As a unit, there are understandably still question marks over Southampton’s defence as a whole – the Saints have conceded a league-high 35 goals after 16 games.

However, from an individualistic point of view, Bertrand deserves credit for getting his head down, working hard and grabbing his spot back with both hands to become a big contributor in Southampton’s fight for survival – it really does seem as if he’s now back in Hasenhuttl’s good books.

In other news, find out why Ajax star and Ballon d’Or nominee Dusan Tadic is grateful to Southampton…

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…

West Bromwich Albion are finally back in action this weekend as the Championship returns following the international break.

Slaven Bilic’s men host Sheffield Wednesday at the Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon as they look to extend their run at the top of the table.

The Baggies currently hold a two-point cushion over those in the chasing pack.

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Although, the Croatian chief is tasked with coping in the absence of his central midfield duo as captain Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers will be serving a one-match suspension.

Both players have started every single game in the league this campaign, while Sawyers has played 100% of the minutes available, so there hasn’t been much of an opportunity to test their depth in the role.

Many of the other options carry their doubts, whether that be down to injury, fitness, or a lack of game time, but the decision on Tuesday afternoon could offer serious insight into who will start this weekend.

Albion named a strong looking line up for their reserve fixture against Port Vale as Gareth Barry, Chris Brunt, Rekeem Harper, Kieran Gibbs, Jonathan Bond, and Chris Willock all featured.

They defeated the League Two outfit 4-0.

It was Barry’s first taste of match action since the start of March as injury very nearly threatened his career.

Of all the senior squad members to play a part, Brunt enjoyed the least amount of time on the pitch by playing just the first half.

This could well have signalled Bilic’s intentions to start him on Saturday afternoon.

The 34-year-old has only made three substitute appearances in the Championship while also playing the full 90 in their one Carabao Cup match.

He clearly needed a decent runout, but to make sure he doesn’t pick up an injury and is still fresh, he only played one half.

It remains to be seen if this is very much the case, it would certainly not be a surprise to see the long-serving veteran selected in one of the two spots up for grabs.

Jose Mourinho’s big return to Old Trafford did not really go as planned. Manchester United were the better the team and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s troops managed to snatch all three points.

Of course, this represented the Special One’s first defeat at the helm, and the fact it arrived at the hands of his former club is bound to sting.

But if there was one silver lining from the whole clash at Old Trafford, it was Dele Alli’s influence.

After all, the 23-year-old attacking midfielder was the one to bang in their only goal on the night and what an outrageous piece of skill that was.

Needless to say, the fans were loving him and his incredible move:

Some fans were stating that he is the best player they currently have in the squad and also raving about how he’s finally back. Of course, this was a reference to his unusually quiet season that he had in 2018/19 when he scored only seven goals across 38 games in all competitions.

Mourinho’s produced some incredible footballing stars – how much do you know about them?

And now, in the ongoing campaign, he already has six in 14 and even more importantly, four goals and one assist in four games under Mourinho, which could be a good sign for Spurs moving forward.

Even if the result didn’t go their way, at least the 23-year-old star is developing into an incredible player under the new coach.

Let’s see if he can continue the trend in the future as well.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s failure to secure a big summer signing could come back to haunt them…

A report from the Daily Mail has delved deeper into the role Kolo Toure is playing as first-team coach at Leicester City.

Adam Shergold’s story in the Daily Mail takes a closer look at the success Leicester are having this season, suggesting that they have a real chance of targeting a third-place spot.

When talking about Leicester’s defence, Shergold referenced Toure and the positive impact he is having on Caglar Soyuncu.

He said: “Soyuncu, 23, is one of the players who has benefited from the vast experience of Kolo Toure, the club’s de facto defensive coach who followed Rodgers from Celtic.

“Toure, the former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool defender who has managerial aspirations of his own, conducts one-on-one analysis sessions with each defender after every match, passing on his knowledge.

“It goes a long way to explaining why Leicester have the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League, conceding just eight times in their 10 matches so far.”

Whatever Kolo Toure is doing with those defenders, it seems to be working. The attacking talent and flair were there for all to see last Friday when they annihilated Southampton in their own backyard, but let’s not forget about the fact they have only conceded eight goals in the league this season – the joint-lowest in the division along with Liverpool and Sheffield United.

And at the heart of that defence is, of course, Soyuncu and Jonny Evans. Any doubts over Soyuncu stepping up at the beginning of the season with Harry Maguire gone seemed to have evaporated after 10 performances of the highest calibre. Soyuncu has played every minute of the league season and has a really impressive 7.14/10 average – hugely impressive given it’s his breakout season in the Premier League.

There is clearly great work going on from Brendan Rodgers and his staff, as Leicester look a very assured outfit at the moment – miles away from when Claude Puel was sacked back in late February.

And a big part of that is Kolo Toure. If Shergold’s statement is true about the one-on-one sessions, they are clearly having a positive effect, as the squad looks to have great morale and spirit, as well as being very assured of what they are doing and how they need to do it.