OptiNews - Friday 24 to Thursday 30 November 2017

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Premier League predictions: Lawro v Tailenders co-host Felix White

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Can things get any worse for Everton? Former Toffees manager David Moyes must hope so.

Moyes goes back to Goodison Park on Wednesday having just picked up his first point in charge of West Ham, thanks to their draw against Leicester on Friday.

Everton, meanwhile, remain managerless and leaked more goals in their 4-1 defeat at Southampton on Sunday.

BBC Sport football expert Mark Lawrenson says: "It is hard to be positive about Everton at the moment because they have lost all of their vim and their vigour, and the worst thing is they are not even proving difficult to beat.

“So I am going to go for a Hammers win - which would be massive for Moyes in every way.”

Do you agree? You can make your own predictions now, take on Lawro and other fans, create your own league and try to make it to the top of the table by playing the new-look BBC Sport Predictor game.

Lawro scored 70 points in week 13, which meant he slipped to 2,659th place out of more than 275,000 users.

He will be making a prediction for all 380 top-flight games this season, against a variety of guests.

Lawro takes on musician, writer and cricket fanatic Felix White, for the games on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The former guitarist in The Maccabees is co-hosting the Tailenders Ashes podcast for BBC Radio 5 live with DJ Greg James and England bowler James Anderson. You can hear the next episode on Wednesday.

White told BBC Sport: “We will take a serious look back at what happened in the first Test - and talk a lot of nonsense about what might happen next too.”

White is a Fulham fan who is hoping to see them back in the Premier League soon but admits the club’s glory days, when they reached the 2010 Europa League final under Roy Hodgson, feel like they are getting “further and further away”.

“If you look at the Championship, there are lots of big clubs who have come down from the Premier League and not made it back up,” he told BBC Sport.

"When we went down [in 2014] I thought we could bounce straight back but it is a hard division to get out of, and it gets even harder after a couple of years when your parachute payments stop.

“It also makes it even more difficult when you are a team like Fulham are, with footballing principles. A lot of the teams are very physical and they just try to smash you.”

A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.

All kick-offs 19:45 GMT unless otherwise stated.

This is not a derby in the traditional sense - the clubs are 44 miles apart - but they are big rivals and there is sure to be a terrific atmosphere for their first meeting in the top flight since 1981.

Crystal Palace got the win they had been waiting for at the weekend, albeit they were a little fortunate to beat Stoke with an injury-time goal.

Brighton, in contrast, will feel they were unlucky to lose at Manchester United after playing very well.

I don’t remember a game this season when the Seagulls have not put in a performance. Their defeat at Arsenal in October is the only time they have been outclassed or really opened up.

I can see this game being very tight, and I think the points will end up being shared.

Felix’s prediction: Palace boss Roy Hodgson is a hero of mine and I am not surprised they have started improving since he took charge. 1-1

Tottenham slipped up again at Wembley with their draw against West Brom and, again, their performance was not convincing either.

Spurs have a better success rate on the road than at home this season - 12 points from six games, compared to 12 from seven.

Yes, they have lost at Old Trafford and Emirates Stadium, but generally they have played well and got positive results when they have gone away, and I am expecting that to continue against Leicester.

Leicester manager Claude Puel has only lost one of his first four games in charge, but I would back Spurs to bounce back with a win - as they did after losing at Manchester United and Arsenal.

What a result Watford got at the weekend with their victory against Newcastle at St James’ Park.

They just keep getting wins you would not expect them to, and they probably fancy their chances against Manchester United after beating them at Vicarage Road last season.

When I watched them beat West Ham earlier this month, everything about the Hornets looked good - they are a well-balanced team, and Marco Silva is an adaptable manager who can vary his tactics.

I think they will cause United some problems but I just feel Jose Mourinho’s side will have too much for them in the end.

United got over the line in their win against Brighton without playing well, and I am backing them to find a way of winning this game too.

Felix’s prediction: Watford are doing really well at the moment and I have a feeling we will see a bit of a shock here. 1-0

West Brom played very well at Wembley under caretaker manager Gary Megson, and it looks as though he will be in charge again for this game.

It feels like a good time to play Newcastle, who have lost four games in a row, because their confidence will be very low.

There will also be a very different atmosphere at The Hawthorns compared to previous weeks because many Baggies supporters wanted Tony Pulis out.

This is their first home game since his departure so some of their fans will be celebrating that.

Arsenal pinched their win over Burnley, but I think they will find this game much easier.

Huddersfield gave Manchester City a bit of a fright on Sunday before losing to Raheem Sterling’s late goal, but that monumental effort will have taken a lot out of them.

It is going to be very difficult for the Terriers to get back up to speed and put in a similar defensive performance to keep the Gunners out - I don’t see it happening.

Bournemouth made a very poor start to the season but their draw against Swansea on Saturday continued their upward momentum and they have now lost only one of their past five league matches.

Burnley missed the chance to move into the top four with their last-gasp defeat by Arsenal but manager Sean Dyche was rightly pleased with their performance.

As good as the Clarets have been on the road this season, the Cherries have hit their stride of late and look a very different team compared to the way they were playing six weeks ago.

This should be a close game between two sides who are playing very well, and it is hard to pick a winner.

Swansea have scored fewer goals than any other Premier League side - seven in 13 matches.

Although they put in a better attacking performance against Bournemouth on Saturday, it is still hard to see where their goals are going to come from.

I thought Chelsea were very good in the first half of their draw with Liverpool - and Eden Hazard was great.

Swansea will try to keep it tight, as they have done in all of their away games so far this season, but there is only one outcome for me.

Felix’s prediction: I really worry for Swansea this season. 4-1

Everton capitulated again against Southampton on Sunday and it is difficult to see them getting a new manager in time for this game, even though it is more than five weeks since Ronald Koeman was sacked.

The Toffees are still struggling to score goals but it is at the back where they have the biggest problems. They are all over the place.

They have conceded at least two goals in each of their seven games under caretaker boss David Unsworth, and have shipped 11 goals in their past three matches. Even West Ham’s defence is not that bad.

Felix’s prediction: Moyes going back to Everton to get his first win as West Ham manager? It is as if it is meant to be. 0-1

Southampton finally found their shooting boots on Sunday - but it was only against Everton.

Things are obviously going to be a lot harder for them against Manchester City, who showed again against Southampton that they don’t just keep winning, they can win ugly too.

They did the same against Feyenoord in their previous match so it was the second time in the space of a week that Pep Guardiola’s side had battled hard to get a victory.

So, even if City don’t play well on Wednesday, I see them finding a way to beat Southampton.

Stoke lost in injury time against Crystal Palace at the weekend and remain just above the bottom three.

The Potters are not a team I am worried about in terms of relegation, but I think they will stay close to the relegation zone for another few days at least.

As the saying goes, this will be a tester on a cold, wet Wednesday night in Stoke, but I think Liverpool are up to it.

They will need to be better at the back, of course. At times I thought they were really good against Chelsea but it was still in many ways the same old Liverpool.

Never mind their defence, what they can’t do is manage the game.

It seems that when the opposition get a bit of possession, it is a real problem for Liverpool - and I think only the addition of some new personnel is going to change that.

From the last round of games, Lawro got four correct results, with one perfect score, from 10 matches, for a total of 70 points.

He beat comedian and rapper Michael Dapaah, aka Big Shaq, who got five correct results, but with no perfect scores, giving him 50 points.

*Foster and Cram both provided predictions on week one, but only Foster’s score contributes to the guest total.

**Anderson and Moeen both provided predictions on week nine, but only Anderson’s score contributes to the guest total.

Lawro’s worst score: 40 points (week four v Umenyiora and Bell, and week five v Non Stanford)

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We’re wishing a very happy 37th birthday to Stuart Taylor today! :tada: #saintsfc

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Happy 69th birthday to a #SaintsFC legend, @Mick_Channon_TV!

Is this the greatest team goal we’ve ever scored? :clap:

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Ahead of #SaintsFC’s next #PL meeting tomorrow, journalist @StuBrennanMEN gives us the lowdown on #MCFC: http://sfcne.ws/InsideTrackMCFC

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Pellegrino: Manchester City are not unbeatable

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MAURICIO Pellegrino is adamant unbeaten Premier League leaders Manchester City can be defeated.

Ahead of Saints’ trip to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, the Argentine boss says he’s going to set his team up to test Pep Guardiola’s irrepressible side, who are cruising at the summit right now.

City are undefeated after 13 games and eight points clear at the top of the Prem, having netted an impressive 42 goals along the way.

But Saints are bouncing after their 4-1 defeat of Everton at St Mary’s and, with City only narrowly beating Huddersfield 2-1 on Sunday, Pellegrino has urged his side to give it a go and “be at the top of our game”.

“Nobody is unbeatable. Every single team have problems. Yesterday, Huddersfield were really close to getting something,” he said.

“It’s going to be tough for us. We need another good game because we play against one of the best sides in the Premier League.

“We need to be 100 per cent with our performance, our attitude. We have to be at the top of our game.”

Pellegrino is relishing the challenge at the Etihad and has a clean bill of health, with no new injury problems ahead of this one.

Defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu is back available after serving a one-game suspension against Everton, while Mario Lemina should be fit enough to start after a substitute appearance against the Toffees.

“It’s incredible how they can sustain their performance in every single game in Champions League, playing most of them with the same players,” said Pellegrino about City.

“Okay, to be a top team, the first thing you need is to create a mentality to do and that’s something that is not easy, but they are now in an amazing moment.

“Our challenge is to now play against this side and play better than we were against Liverpool.

“Against, these teams they don’t need too many chances to score goals.

“We will try. It’s another opportunity and I think my players are much better than before. Hopefully it’ll be a nice day for us.”

The 46-year-old manager is hoping that the 4-1 victory last time out will give the players the confidence to go and give a good account of themselves at City.

“I don’t know any manager who doesn’t want to score goals. But sometimes in football you have something amazing and you score four goals,” he said. “But we couldn’t score many in the past but hopefully this game can help us to play with more confidence, especially the games at home when I think we deserve more.”

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Did they play for #SaintsFC, #MCFC, both or neither? Test your knowledge and let us know your score below: http://sfcne.ws/QuizMCFCa

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On the Road: Manchester City

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Travelling up to see Saints take on Manchester City? Here’s everything you need to know about Wednesday’s venue, the Etihad Stadium…

Address: Etihad Stadium, Ashton New Road, Manchester, M11 3FF

Telephone: 0161 444 1894

Capacity: 55,097

Website: www.mancity.com

Nickname: The Citizens

Colours: Blue and white

Away Supporters

Saints fans will be housed in the South stand at the Etihad Stadium, spread across the lower and middle tiers. Tickets remain available and will be on sale at the ground.

Getting There By Car

Take the M6 up to Junction 19 before turning off to take the A556 and then the M56 going towards Stockport.

Pass Stockport on the M60 before leaving it at Junction 23 to take the A635 towards Manchester.

Head off on A662 towards Droylsden and Manchester and in around three miles the stadiums should become visible on your right.

Car Parking

Parking at the Etihad Stadium itself costs £10, while minibuses and motorcycles are free of charge.

The closest parking to the away entrance is the East car park.

Unofficial car parks and street parking is available around the ground but please be aware that there are ‘residents only’ parking schemes in place around the stadium.

Getting There By Train

Etihad Stadium has its own Metrolink stop on the East Manchester line, called Etihad Campus that is served by Manchester Victoria and Piccadilly stations.

This is around five minutes’ walk from the away end and trams are frequent on matchdays.

Alternatively, the closest railway station to the Etihad is Ashburys, which is a five-minute train ride from Manchester Piccadilly station.

The station is a 15-minute walk away from the stadium.

Coach Travel

Coach Travel provided by Princess Coaches can be purchased for this game, priced at £28 per person. Coaches will depart St. Mary’s Stadium at 12:00, Eastleigh at 12:15, Winchester at 12:30 and Chieveley at 13:00.

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Southampton boss Mauricio Pellegrino: Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are beatable

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Mauricio Pellegrino is confident Southampton can get a result against Man City

Pep Guardiola’s team have been sensational so far this season and have so far won 12 and drawn one of their Premier League games to open up an eight point lead at the top of the standings.

City, however, needed a lucky late winner from Raheem Sterling to scrape past Huddersfield on Sunday and Pellegrino believes that game shows it is possible to take points off them.

“Nobody is unbeatable in football and in sport,” Pellegrino said ahead of Wednesday evening’s clash at the Etihad Stadium.

"Every single team has got problems, because yesterday Huddersfield were really close to getting something.

"We have to be on the top if we want to have any chance.

“Hopefully it could be a nice day for us.”

Saints travel to the north west on the back of Sunday’s morale-boosting 4-1 victory over struggling Everton.

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Inside Track: Manchester City

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Manchester Evening News’s Manchester City correspondent Stuart Brennan gives us the lowdown on the Premier League leaders, ahead of Southampton’s trip to the Etihad Stadium.

It’s been a record-breaking start to a Premier League season, how impressed have you been by City so far this season?

Enormously impressed. I’ve been covering football for nearly 30 years and City have been playing some of the best stuff I have seen.

The midfield three of Fernandinho, De Bruyne and Silva have been outstanding, and the way the goals have been shared around (Sterling 12, Aguero 11, Jesus 10, Sane 8) says a lot about the way the attack has been playing.

What have been the key differences from last season under Pep Guardiola?

Two things - the defence has improved hugely, and the strikers, and others, are making more chances and finishing better. The arrival of Ederson, Walker and Mendy helped the back four, while Stones has matured brilliantly and Otamendi has also improved. City were pretty good going forward last season, but the players have now fully grasped Guardiola’s principles and are implementing them beautifully.

What sort of game are you expecting on Wednesday when Southampton visit?

Like last year, which ended in a draw, another difficult encounter. Saints went ahead through a terrible Stones error last time, if I remember correctly, so that won’t be happening this time. But Huddersfield have shown other teams how to frustrate City, even if ultimately their plan didn’t work!

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Pre-match quiz: Saints, City, both or neither?

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Did they play for Saints, Manchester City, both or neither? Test your knowledge with our pre-match quiz, ahead of Southampton’s trip to the Etihad.

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 28/11/2017 13:42:02

|

| Match Preview - Slovakia v Northern IrelandIRISHFOOTBALLASSOCIATION |
| | Pellegrino - Manchester City Can Be BeatenVITALFOOTBALL |
| | Will Saints Have A New Third Kit For The Trip To Bournemouth ? - Southampton NewsTHEUGLYINSIDE |
| | Man City vs Southampton predictions: Match preview & football betting tips101GREATGOALS |
| | A Rough Guide To Manchester City - Southampton NewsTHEUGLYINSIDE |
| | Man City Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Southampton | Goal.comGOALDOTCOM |
| | Sane Out, Jesus To Start On The Left – Predicted 4-3-3 Manchester City Line-up To Face Southampton – SoccerSoulsSOCCERSOULS |

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Austin’s belief never waned but his Saints future was on his mind

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CHARLIE Austin admitted his belief that he could be an asset to Saints never waned during a frustrating first few months of the season in which he questioned whether his future was at St Mary’s.

The 28-year-old striker had been a frustrated impact substitute before netting a brace on his first start of the Premier League season in the 4-1 win over Everton.

But Austin insists that he’s been working hard to keep himself in Mauricio Pellegrino’s thoughts and knew “what would happen” if he got a chance to impress.

“It is hard but the belief is there,” he said, when asked if it was hard to keep faith while he was out the starting team.

"I’ve no doubt I’ll score goals for anybody, whether it be at Southampton or somewhere else; because that’s the way I was thinking.

“Moving forward now we’ll just see what happens. We’ve got a big six weeks now coming up for the football club.”

He added: "I had to bide my time, see what happened. I didn’t know whether it (his chance) was going to come but fortunately it did and I’m delighted to score two.

“I believe in myself and I knew if I got my chance that what would happen.”

Austin is now Saints’ joint top-scorer on three goals with Manolo Gabbiadini, having netted his first strikes from open play in 364 days in the Toffees thrashing.

The former QPR man, who joined Saints for £4m in January 2016, admits he’d never been in a situation during his career where he had to battle to get into the starting eleven.

He said: "It’s not been easy. It’s the first time in my career that I’ve had to hold back, sit and watch - bide my time.

“I had to work hard, get my head down and luckily enough I’ve reaped the rewards.”

When asked if the January transfer window had crossed his mind, he added: "You just have to bide your time and assess the situation.

“You can only control the controllables - that’s the thing. I don’t pick the team, I can only keep putting thoughts in his head and that’s the last few weeks I have.

"[Pellegrino] told me I wasn’t going to play against Liverpool and I was disappointed but I understood his reasons that it was for the team.

"[Against Everton] I was just lucky to get the start.”

Austin is now relishing more opportunities at Saints and pushing up further into the top-half of the Premier League.

He said: "It puts us in the top half of the table now. We’ve closed that gap. It was a five-point gap up to Watford and if we can close that off that would be great.

"We’ve got a big game Wednesday night against Manchester City. It’s a bit of a free hit for us I think because we won it takes the pressure off a little bit.

“Then we’ve got a big derby coming up on Sunday.”

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Southampton’s Pellegrino surprised by Guardiola’s success

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Mauricio Pellegrino has admitted he did not expect former team-mate Pep Guardiola to be so successful as a manager.

The pair, who won the LaLiga title playing alongside each other at Barcelona during the 1998/99 season, will be in opposing dugouts on Wednesday evening when Pellegrino’s Southampton attempt to end the unbeaten record of Guardiola’s Premier League leaders Manchester City.

While Pellegrino has yet to lift silverware as a coach, Guardiola has an extensive medal collection, picking up three Spanish league titles, three Bundesliga titles and two Champions League trophies during prosperous spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

“I never imagined that he can achieve something like he did,” said Pellegrino, who joined Barca on a season-long loan from Argentinian club Velez Sarsfield.

"But obviously as soon as I arrived, Pep was one of these type of players always looking for new ideas, asking how we were training in Argentina, in different places.

“And also he had a good reading on the pitch and it’s something that after (he finished playing) he translated much better outside the pitch.”

For Pellegrino it was his introduction to European football and he went on to enjoy a productive six-year stay at Valencia, winning two league titles and the 2004 UEFA Cup, as well as playing in two Champions League finals.

“We were team-mates and I think we had a beautiful moment together,” Pellegrino added.

“We won the league, for me this experience in Barcelona was really good because I discovered a lot of things in European football.”

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Mauricio Pellegrino ‘never imagined’ former teammate Pep Guardiola would be such a success in management

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Mauricio Pellegrino has admitted he did not expect former team-mate Pep Guardiola to be so successful as a manager.

The pair, who won the LaLiga title playing alongside each other at Barcelona during the 1998/99 season, will be in opposing dugouts on Wednesday evening when Pellegrino’s Southampton attempt to end the unbeaten record of Guardiola’s Premier League leaders Manchester City.

While Pellegrino has yet to lift silverware as a coach, Guardiola has an extensive medal collection, picking up three Spanish league titles, three Bundesliga titles and two Champions League trophies during prosperous spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

“I never imagined that he can achieve something like he did,” said Pellegrino, who joined Barca on a season-long loan from Argentinian club Velez Sarsfield.

"But obviously as soon as I arrived, Pep was one of these type of players always looking for new ideas, asking how we were training in Argentina, in different places.

“And also he had a good reading on the pitch and it’s something that after (he finished playing) he translated much better outside the pitch.”

Barca’s 1999 title success proved to be the final of Guardiola’s six LaLiga wins as a player with the Catalan club before he moved on to Italian sides Brescia and Roma before eventually hanging up his boots following brief spells in Qatar and Mexico.

For Pellegrino it was his introduction to European football and he went on to enjoy a productive six-year stay at Valencia, winning two league titles and the 2004 UEFA Cup, as well as playing in two Champions League finals.

The 46-year-old former centre-back retains fond memories of his single campaign playing with Guardiola at the Nou Camp under manager Louis van Gaal.

“We were team-mates and I think we had a beautiful moment together,” Pellegrino added.

"We won the league, for me this experience in Barcelona was really good because I discovered a lot of things in European football

“My career in Europe started in Barcelona, I’ve always got nice memories of this moment.”

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 28/11/2017 14:48:43

| | Mauricio Pellegrino surprised by Pep Guardiola’s success as managerBELFASTTELE |
| | FANTASYLEAGUE |
| | Mauricio Pellegrino surprised by Pep Guardiola’s success as managerBELFASTTELE |

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