OptiNews - Friday 09 to Thursday 15 June 2017

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Sourced from Mirror.co.uk article

West Ham ask Saints to switch their first home game of the season

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West Ham have asked Southampton to switch their first home game of the season as the London Stadium will not be ready to stage a Premier League match.

The World Athletics Championships are taking place in Stratford between August 4-13 and the Stadium operators need a period of time to covert it back to football mode.

The Premier League have already been made aware of the request and the Hammers are hopeful that Southampton will stage the game at St Mary’s Stadium on August 19.

If the Saints agree, Slaven Bilic will face the prospect of seeing his side play their first three games of the season away from home.

West Ham were not handed the best of starts with their first game of the season against Europa League champions Manchester United at Old Trafford on August 12.

The second game which was scheduled to be at home against Southampton is set to be switched so the Hammers face the journey down to the south coast.

And their third game of the season is the long trip up to Newcastle on August 26 so the Hammers will certainly be clocking up the miles in the early part of the campaign.

West Ham issued a statement which said: "Our opening fixtures in August will be played away from home as London Stadium welcomes the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships for a once-in-a-generation occasion.

“Supporters are therefore advised that our second fixture of the campaign, against Southampton, will be rescheduled, with further details to follow.”

West Ham fans will have to wait until Saturday September 9 before they finally play their first home game when newly promoted Huddersfield are the first visitors to London Stadium.

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Sourced from Daily Echo article

Saints already face fixture switch

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SAINTS’ match at West Ham on August 19 may well be switched to St Mary’s because of the World Athletics Championships at the London Stadium.

The Hammers face the possibility of having to play their first three matches of the season away from home.

The London side have confirmed their second fixture, scheduled to be at home to Saints, will have to be rearranged due to the World Athletics Championships being held at their home ground.

The event takes place between August 5 and 13, so the stadium will not be back in ‘football mode’ in time for the Saints game on August 19.

The fixture could be reversed, meaning it could take place at St Mary’s.

West Ham said: "Our opening fixtures in August will be played away from home as London Stadium welcomes the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships for a once-in-a-generation occasion.

“Supporters are therefore advised that our second fixture of the campaign, against Southampton, will be rescheduled, with further details to follow.”

West Ham’s first match, on Saturday August 12, is away to Manchester United and the third, on Saturday 26, is a trip to Newcastle.

Their first home fixture will therefore be the visit of newly-promoted Huddersfield on Saturday September 9.

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Sourced from Optimus trousers summary article summary

Summary of non-mainstream articles: 14/06/2017 14:02:44

| | Jamie Redknapp names the player he believes would be Liverpool’s perfect signingHEREISTHECITY |
| | Tadic refuses to rule out Liverpool switchREADSOUTHAMPTON |
| | Fixtures Put Pressure On Saints To Get Points On The Board Early. - Southampton NewsTHEUGLYINSIDE |
| | Fixtures 2017/18: Southampton Away On Opening DayVITALFOOTBALL |

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Sourced from Sky Sports article

Premier League 2017/18: Ten big games for your diary

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As the 2017/18 Premier League fixtures are announced, we pick out 10 mouth-watering games to pencil into your diary.

Newly-promoted Brighton will begin life in the Premier League at home to Manchester City on the opening day of the season. It is a thrilling prospect for the club’s fans, who have waited since 1982/83 to see their team back in the top flight. The Seagulls’ readiness will be immediately tested by City, with Pep Guardiola already midway through a summer spending spree.

In a repeat of last season’s FA Cup semi-final, Chelsea will be Tottenham’s first visitors to Wembley on the second weekend of the season. Mauricio Pochettino’s side will be desperate to make a positive start to life at their temporary home, but it won’t be easy against the reigning Premier League champions. This will be the first heavyweight clash of the campaign.

The first Premier League home game in Huddersfield’s history will come against newly-promoted rivals Newcastle United in the second week of the season. David Wagner’s side defied all expectations as they secured their spot in the top flight via the play-offs last season. The John Smith’s Stadium is sure to be rocking for its Premier League bow.

Will Chelsea claim swift revenge for last season’s FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal? The Gunners clinched an unexpected 2-1 win at Wembley to deny Antonio Conte’s side the Double in May, and the Blues will be eager to put those memories behind them when Arsene Wenger and his players make the trip to west London in September.

The first Premier League meeting between English football’s two most successful clubs will come at Anfield in October. As always, there will be a lot riding on it, with both Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho are under pressure to improve on last season’s fourth and sixth-placed Premier League finishes. Who will strike the first blow in this great rivalry?

All eyes will be on Anfield at the end of October, when Klopp comes up against his old friend Wagner for the first time in the Premier League. Huddersfield boss Wagner managed Borussia Dortmund’s second team during Klopp’s time in charge at the Westfalenstadion, and the pair remain close friends to this day. Could the apprentice cause an upset against the master?

Tottenham finished above Arsenal for the first time in over two decades last season, but can they maintain their superiority in 2017/18? The first north London derby of the season will come at the Emirates Stadium in November, where the Gunners will be desperate to end a run of three consecutive 1-1 draws at home to their bitter rivals.

There will be a new rivalry in the Premier League this season after Brighton joined Crystal Palace in the top flight. Forty miles separate the two teams, but they have been bitter foes since the 1970s, when they vied for promotion from the old third division under former Tottenham team-mates Alan Mullery and Terry Venables. Much has changed since those days, but there is no love lost between the Seagulls and the Eagles. Expect a feisty encounter in November.

The weekend of December 9 looks like a mouth-watering prospect, with Manchester United hosting City in the first Manchester derby of the season while Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton go head to head at Anfield. The Old Trafford encounter will be a particularly significant one as City and United attempt to mount more convincing title challenges than last year.

One of the stand-out games of the run-in sees Manchester United host Arsenal at the end of April. Both sides will hope to still be involved in the title race with just three games of the season remaining, so this Old Trafford encounter could have big ramifications. Mourinho’s formidable record against Wenger is well-documented, but the Frenchman can take some confidence from last season’s 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.

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Sourced from Sky Sports article

Premier League fixtures: Which clubs will be hoping for a fast start?

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Premier League fixtures: Which clubs will be hoping for a fast start?

Following the 2017/18 Premier League fixtures announcement, we analyse the opening six fixtures for each club and see which title contenders will be hoping for a head-start.

We’ve ranked the starts for every club by using the average position of where their opening six opponents finished last season, with newly-promoted Newcastle, Brighton and Huddersfield taking 18th, 19th and 20th respectively.

As well as charting the opening encounters for last season’s top six - Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United - we reveal which club out of the 20 has the toughest start of them all.

Scroll down to the bottom for the overall table

Average position of first six opponents: 11.7

Pep Guardiola’s side just edge it in terms of the easiest start when based on their opponent’s placing last season. City will be the first Premier League opponents for newly-promoted Brighton, while they also face Watford and Crystal Palace, who finished the previous campaign 17th and 14th respectively. The sternest test for City in their opening six matches comes in the form of a home encounter against Liverpool on September 9.

Average position of first six opponents: 11.3

Though the average position suggests Tottenham have the second-easiest start, a Wembley date with champions Chelsea on August 19 will have caught the eye for many Spurs fans. Meanwhile, last season’s runners-up will hope to get the ball rolling with victory at Sky Bet Championship winners Newcastle on August 12. Trips to Everton and West Ham though are anything but certainties.

*Spurs confirmed their home match with Burnley on August 26 will need to be rescheduled with the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final set to take place at Wembley on the same day.

Average position of first six opponents: 11.2

Liverpool first travel to Watford - who finished 17th last season on August 12, the scene of Emre Can’s stunning overhead kick in May, which was voted Goal of the Season by Monday Night Football viewers. The Reds face two fellow top-six teams in their opening six games of the 2017/18 campaign - Jurgen Klopp will hope Liverpool’s title push can begin with wins over rivals Arsenal and Manchester City.

Average position of first six opponents: 11

Manchester United are the only club listed to not face another top-six team in their opening six fixtures. Jose Mourinho’s side face a host of clubs who finished in mid-table last season, with Everton (7th) finishing highest, and Swansea (15th) the lowest.

Average position of first six opponents: 9.2

Champions Chelsea have the second toughest start based on average league position, with Antonio Conte’s side facing both runners-up Tottenham and rivals Arsenal in their opening six fixtures of the season. The Blues begin at Stamford Bridge against Burnley, while they host Everton two weeks later. Facing Leicester and Stoke on their travels means Chelsea ultimately have a difficult start in a season where they will be aiming to become the first side to retain the title since Man United did so in 2008/09.

Average position of first six opponents: 8.2

The start of Arsene Wenger’s 21st full season in charge of Arsenal could prove to be one of his toughest. The Gunners face four opponents who finished in the top half last season, including a trip to champions Chelsea on September 16. Arsenal also travel to Stoke City, a ground where they have famously struggled in recent years (though they ended their six-game winless run with a 4-1 win in May), while they also take on Liverpool at Anfield on August 26.

Average position of first six opponents: 5.7

In between home matches against Stoke and Bournemouth, Everton take on four of last season’s top-six teams. The Toffees travel to Manchester City on August 19 before heading to Chelsea a week later. Ronald Koeman’s side will then host Tottenham before making the trip to Old Trafford to play Manchester United. It could hardly get any tougher for Everton, though if they’re able to come through this tricky period with just a couple bruises, it will undoubtedly aid their tilt for the top six.

From toughest to easiest, we’ve ranked each club’s opening six fixtures based on last season’s average position of their respective opponents…

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Sourced from Daily Star article

Liverpool News: Redknapp thinks Van Dijk could sign, £4.5m Wisdom bid, Benzema interest

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Liverpool could still snap up Virgil van Dijk, according to Jamie Redknapp.

The Reds pulled out of the race to sign Van Dijk last week after Southampton reported the Reds for tapping up their star defender.

But Redknapp says a deal could still happen.

“I don’t think that one’s necessarily over,” said Redknapp.

“I think they apologised for making an enquiry after it became public.

“If Van Dijk is up for sale and he wants to go to Liverpool, and Liverpool have the money to buy him, the chances are he’ll go there.

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Sourced from Daily Echo article

Tadic refuses to rule out Saints exit

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DUSAN Tadic has refused to rule out a move away from Saints this summer.

The Serbian has been heavily linked with a switch to Liverpool and West Ham.

Some news outlets are reporting that the playmaker has a £13m release clause in his contract, which runs for another three years.

Those claims are unsubstantiated, but now the 28-year-old, who joined Saints in the summer of 2014, has spoken about his future.

“I don’t comment on these things," Tadic is reported to have said, referring to the release clause.

“I have an agent and I have correct things with the club.”

Tadic has 14 goals and 24 assists in 98 Premier League outings for the club, but wouldn’t rule out ending his spell on the south coast.

"We will see. You never know in football,” he said.

“In every club, sometimes players leave. It is not easy, but this is football.”

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Sourced from Optimus trousers summary article summary

Summary of non-mainstream articles: 14/06/2017 15:02:57

| | Liverpool news and transfer updates - LIVEGOLIVERPOOL |
|

| Liverpool transfer for Tadic is not a sexy move but a smart oneFANSIDEDPLAYINGFOR90 |
| | Dusan Tadic sparks Liverpool rumours: 'In every club, sometimes players leave’EMPIREOFTHEKOP |
| | Liverpool target Tadic refuses to rule out moveREADLIVERPOOL |
| | Liverpool reportedly readying a move for attacker with £13million release clause | FutnSoccerFUTNSOCCER |
|

| McCarthy: "This was an easy decision."BARNSLEYFC |

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Sourced from talkSPORT article

Premier League 2017/18: Super Computer predicts table after five games of new season

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The Premier League fixtures for 2017/18 have been announced and fans cannot wait to get the season started.

Kick-off may still be around two months away, but it does not stop supporters from dreaming.

READ MORE: Premier League 2017-18 fixtures in full: Every team, every game

The first game you look for is usually the season opener, followed by the final match, as well as the derby clashes home and away, plus meetings with the newly-promoted sides.

Another thing is the first month or so of fixtures - how your side’s start could determine the way the whole season pans out, whether it could see them pushing for the title, a battle for places in the middle or scraping for points and playing catch up near the bottom.

Well, no fear - talkSPORT has done the hard work for you.

We have fed the data into the super computer, assessing the opening five rounds of Premier League fixtures, with predicted rankings.

Bear in mind plenty can change between now and the start of the season, as the transfer window opens and managers sort out squads.

The standings above have been collated just for fun – it’s interesting to speculate, but as we all know, football has a funny way of turning expectations on their head.

Click the right arrow, above, to see how the Premier League table might look after five games and comment with your predictions below…

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Sourced from Sky Sports article

VOTE: What was Southampton’s greatest Premier League game?

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To celebrate the release of the 2017/18 Premier League fixtures, we’re looking back at the greatest games involving each club that has played in the competition.

There have been 25 seasons since the Premier League was formed in 1992/93 - but what was the best match for YOUR club in that time?

A Sky Sports panel has drawn up a shortlist of five classic fixtures - and we want YOU to vote and tell us which is your favourite.

So which of these was the greatest Premier League game for Southampton?

October 1996: Southampton 6-3 Manchester United - Egil Ostenstad nets a hat-trick to help the Saints thrash United.

May 2001: Southampton 3-2 Arsenal - Le Tissier scores a late winner in the final game at The Dell.

Vote now in the poll below…

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Off-season pitch renovation at St Mary’s

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With the pitch torn up shortly after the conclusion of the Premier League campaign, Wright explains the process of turning the now beach-looking surface back into luscious green turf.

“The first process is the same as every year,” he starts.

“That is to remove all vegetation from the surface with a machine called the Koro Field Top Maker. There was a bit of debris left over from our first pass with that, so we just knocked it about with a rake to break it all.

“We then did a second pass just to make sure that the surface was completely clean. Following that we applied 90 tonnes of Root Zone Sand Soil on to the surface to top the levels back up.

“Now we are working in that new material with the Pro Core, which is a machine that penetrates the surface approximately 4-5 inches. We will then seed in four different directions and the use the Verti-Drain to spike the pitch around eight inches deep.

“Once that is all done we will cover the whole surface with germination sheets and leave it for approximately ten days before then removing them.”

The process is a long, arduous and physically demanding one, yet Wright’s in-house team complete the majority of the work themselves.

It’s only a small team, but they are determined to complete the work perfectly.

“There’s currently four of us here doing the work,” he continued.

“We had a contractor in to strip the pitch but everything else apart from that has been done, and will continue be done, in-house.

“Once this work is all completed it will be back to just the two of us maintaining the pitch on a daily basis throughout the rest of the season.

“It’s pretty critical that we get everything spot on now during this renovation period. You only get one shot at it for the season so it has to be done correctly, for our sake and the players’ sake.”

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Sourced from Optimus trousers summary article summary

Summary of non-mainstream articles: 14/06/2017 16:03:11

| | Dusan Tadic discusses chances of making Liverpool switchTEAMTALK |
| | Ex Gillingham youth and Man City target does Gills proudKENTLIVE |
| | Redknapp: Liverpool could still sign Virgil Van DijkREADLIVERPOOL |

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The Ugly Inside News for Southampton

New content from (- The Ugly Inside News for Southampton)

| Football Supporters Federation Responds To Premier League TV Proposals | A working group set up under the auspices of the Football Supporters’ Federation has been meeting the broadcasters … 14-06-2017 |

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| Saints To Unveil Their New Kit For Next Season On Thursday16 hours ago |
| Fixtures Put Pressure On Saints To Get Points On The Board Early.16 hours ago |
| First Away Game To Be Re - Scheduled16 hours ago |
| At Last The Saints Fixtures Are Out16 hours ago |
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| The Ugly Inside TV ! End Of Season Review Shane Long3 days ago |
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| The Ugly Inside TV ! End Of Season Review Manolo Gabbiadini4 days ago |

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Sourced from A tweet by SouthamptonFC tweet

@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

Did you miss the 2017/18 #PLFixtures?

Don’t worry, Sammy Saint has got you covered with some key #SaintsFC dates:

Retweets: 3

Favourites: 11

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Sourced from talkSPORT article

Which Premier League stadium provided best value for money entertainment in 2016/17? All 20 revealed and ranked

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Considering the cost of Premier League tickets, fans often get very annoyed when their club fails to play entertaining football.

People go to games to see goals, goals and more goals - but not every side can provide them on a consistent basis.

But which stadium offers the best and worst value for money in terms of goals scored?

Using data from the 2016/17 Premier League season, Voucherbox have ranked all 20 top flight grounds based on the cost per goal netted there.

The figure is calculated using every club’s average season ticket price and the total number of goals scored at each stadium - from both the home team and the away team.

You can see the 20 stadiums ranked, from worst value for money to best, by clicking the right arrow, above…

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Video: Pitch update from St Mary’s

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 14/06/2017 17:03:29

| | Redknapp still tips Liverpool to land Van DijkGOLIVERPOOL |
| | Twitter Reacts: Southampton’s 2017/18 fixture releaseREADSOUTHAMPTON |
| | West Ham set to reverse fixtures | ClaretandhughCLARETHUGH |
| | Southampton linked with exciting 21-year-old as summer plans continue to be touted | | Where football transfer …THETRANSFERTAVERN |
| | Saints To Unveil Their New Kit For Next Season On Thursday - Southampton NewsTHEUGLYINSIDE |

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 14/06/2017 18:03:43

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| Southampton midfielder Dusan Tadic tight-lipped on future amid Liverpool transfer linksIBTIMES |

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Sourced from A tweet by SouthamptonFC tweet

@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

The #PL season may well have finished, but the #SaintsFC ground staff are still working hard! Here’s the latest… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/875051652075663364

Retweets: 3

Favourites: 7

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 14/06/2017 19:03:57

| | Liverpool deal for Virgil van Dijk not dead yet, says Jamie RedknappIBTIMES |

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