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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed in his Southampton pre-match press conference that Marcus Rashford will “probably start” on Saturday, and the news will leave Jannik Vestergaard sweating.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the England international picked up a knock against Liverpool last weekend but given they made three first-half substitutions against the Merseyside outfit, the 21-year-old still stayed on the pitch for the entirety.

He was unable to start against Crystal Palace in midweek but was in the 18-man squad and did feature from the bench for the final 13 minutes of the 3-1 win.

Ahead of the Red Devils’ clash with Saints at Old Trafford, Solskjaer says the explosive attacker is ready to take his place on the team-sheet.

The Norwegian told manutd.com: “Rashford is fully fit now. I’ll probably start him.”

Bad news for Vestergaard?

It certainly might be, as he would have been looking forward to potentially only having to deal with Romelu Lukaku, who he is perfectly suited to given his height and lack of pace.

While the Denmark international has improved significantly since manager Ralph Hasenhuttl arrived at St Mary’s in December, there is no doubt that his lack of speed and agility means he can suffer against players like Rashford.

In the reverse fixture in December which proved to be Mark Hughes’ final one at the helm, the 26-year-old struggled as the young forward ran rings around the south coast outfit’s defence, providing two assists as well as being clattered by the giant centre-back on the right-hand side in the 51st minute.

Given Romelu Lukaku scored twice in the 3-1 win against the Eagles the likelihood is that Rashford will either replace Diogo Dalot on the right of a 4-3-3 system with Alexis Sanchez on the left, or he will partner the Belgium international up top.

Whichever happens Vestergaard will be sweating to come up against an unpredictable and quick player he simply isn’t built to effectively defend against, and he will need help from the likes of left wing-back Ryan Bertrand.

أعلن أحمد سامي المدير الفني لنادي سموحة، تشكيل فريقه أمام الزمالك في مباراة اليوم الخميس، التي تقام ضمن مواجهات كأس مصر

ويستضيف سموحة نظيره الزمالك على أرضية استاد الإسماعيلية ضمن مواجهات دور الـ16 من المسابقة المحلية.

أقرأ ايضًا.. تشكيل الزمالك أمام سموحة في كأس مصر.. عودة طارق حامد تشكيل سموحة أمام الزمالك في كأس مصر

حراسة المرمى: الهاني سليمان.

خط الدفاع: أحمد جمال – رجب نبيل – محمد عبد المنعم – محمد الترهوني.

خط الوسط: محمود عبد الحليم – أحمد حمص – ديريك تسييمامبي – ناصر ماهر.

خط الهجوم: حسام حسن – صلاح محسن.

يُذكر أن مباراة سموحة والزمالك الماضية في الدوري انتهت بالتعادل الإيجابي 3-3.

West Ham put up a good fight at the Etihad yesterday as they only conceded the one goal against Manchester City, which will be sure to please Manuel Pellegrini.

David Gold and David Sullivan made a number of big moves back in the summer transfer window, and it appears as if they have their sights on another possible swoop at the end of the current campaign, as according to De Telegraaf (via Hammers.News), West Ham United are interested in signing Ajax’s Andre Onana.

Onana, who is valued at £25.2 million (by Transfermarkt), has established himself as one of the most promising goalkeepers in Europe this season. And, it’s understood (as per De Telegraaf, via HITC) that Ajax want £30 million for the Cameroon international.

Indeed, Gold and Sullivan can surprise everyone by securing the services of the shot-stopper in the summer transfer window as the likes of Barcelona, Spurs and Arsenal are also interested. Of course, the Hammers can make a big statement by pipping a number of big clubs to the signing, and the 22-year-old has the potential to become one of the world’s best goalkeepers, so West Ham would secure themselves a special player.

Lukasz Fabianski has turned out to be the signing of the summer for West Ham United but he turns 34 in April and Adrian is now 32, so it’s safe to say that the Hammers need to bring in a young goalkeeper with the future in mind.

What do you think West Ham United fans?

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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter in annoyance after Mohamed Salah spurned a number of glorious opportunities against Fulham, chances that would’ve eased the nerves in the away end at Craven Cottage after a slender win.

The victory against the Cottagers puts Liverpool back to being just a single point behind Manchester City, with the Citizens yet to play their league fixture having been in FA Cup action against Swansea.

Jurgen Klopp has gotten quite inventive with his excuses this season. FFC’s James Jones think he has no one but himself to blame for Liverpol’s poor form in the video below…

The Reds are keeping the pressure on, but a noticeable aspect of their play in recent weeks has been Mohamed Salah’s lack of goals.

Amazingly, the Egyptian hasn’t scored for seven games, and against the Cottagers, the 26-year-old was visibly desperate to get his name on the score-sheet.

However, his personal pursuit failed, and in doing so, he appeared greedy and selfish at times where his teammates were better placed, much to the annoyance of Liverpool fans – his next goal will be his 50th Premier League strike for Liverpool, and he appears desperate for it.

Let’s see what the Reds supporters on Twitter were saying about their talisman’s barren spell and consequential selfishness…

After some difficult spells at the club, Scott Sinclair has been in the goals of late, helping Celtic to extend their lead at the top of the SPL table and progress in the Scottish Cup.

The 29-year-old, who turns 30 this month, however, might not be able to build on that next season as a Celtic player with his future at Celtic Park far from certain.

The Breakdown

The Scottish Sun reports Sinclair could leave the SPL champions at the end of the campaign with chief executive Peter Lawwell yet to communicate whether the option for a further year in his contract will be invoked.

As already mentioned, Sinclair has had some rough patches at Celtic since his brilliant debut campaign back in 2016/17.

However, the English winger is slowly returning to his best again and remains a player who carries a lot of threat in this Celtic attack.

Sinclair is, of course, lightning quick, while in front of goal he can be absolutely devastating on his day with his calm and composed finishing.

It is perhaps something Celtic supporters have not always seen enough of during Sinclair’s time at Celtic Park. That being said, it is still hard to describe the former Aston Villa man as being anything other than a success who is worth retaining.

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Republic of Ireland youngster Ryan Burke has been offered a two-year contract by Birmingham City.

The news was confirmed on Wednesday, with Burke being one of the youngsters to be offered a professional deal by the Championship outfit.

Burke, 18, arrived at Birmingham from St. Pats in July 2017 and the club’s official website has called the defender ‘a mainstay of the Development Squad’.

Goalkeeper Zach Jeacock and midfielder Caolan Boyd-Munce are also amongst those to be offered professional deals by the Blues.

Burke took to social media on Wednesday to reveal his delight and that led to a number of the Birmingham supporters hailing the teenager.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

The first team might be going through a tough period, but the Blues are looking ahead and Burke will be hopeful of featuring for Garry Monk’s side over the next 12 months or so.

A selection of the Twitter reaction to the contract news can be seen below:

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Arsenal fans on Twitter have been raving about the performance of young utility man Ainsley Maitland-Niles in their club’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Unai Emery’s Gunners went ahead early on after David De Gea failed to keep out a relatively tame long-range effort from Granit Xhaka, before Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang sealed the deal in the second half from the penalty spot after Fred’s foul on Alexandre Lacazette.

And Maitland-Niles’ display played a huge part in Arsenal’s ninth successive home league win.

The 21-year-old was starting in a right wing-back role in the match and caught the eye with his pace, determination and excellent attacking and defensive contribution. Some of Maitland-Niles’ impressive individual stats included four successful tackles and over 75% pass success.

Supporters were delighted with the 5 foot 10 youngster’s showing, with some even rating his afternoon eleven-out-of-ten in response to a tweet from Arsenal’s official Twitter account.

Check out a list of some of the best reactive Tweets, below…

Neil Lennon learnt his first stark lesson after being back as Celtic manager.

A rare 0-0 draw at Celtic Park proved that the players are yet to properly move on from Brendan Rodgers’ departure and how certain ones were only signed to particularly suit his system.

Not everyone is being able to cope with Lennon’s change of tactics that well, especially some of the attackers. While he’s not made too many changes to a relatively dominant unit, he’s made slight changes which didn’t really work in the weekend. He and Celtic fans were left frustrated in what was meant to be his big return to Parkhead, only to be spoilt with disappointing work upfront.

Oliver Burke was left an isolated figure in attack, being unable to get behind Aberdeen’s defenders and position himself in promising positions. Even Timothy Weah in his late cameo couldn’t produce any inspired moments. With both leaving next season, Celtic will be desperate to sign up some quality strikers next summer.

Rather than loaning in promising youngsters, they should instead buy experienced candidates who can actually help them take things up a notch. Celtic will remain a dominant force in the Scottish Premiership regardless of whoever they sign, but if they aspire to do well in Europe, they need someone clinical to inspire the unit.

A striker who can score 15+ goals is what they need next summer. Unless they get an experienced goal-getter who can trouble top teams, frustrating results will continue on for Celtic next season.

Celtic fans, do you think better strikers are needed for a bigger push next season? Join the discussion by commenting below…

2001 proved to be a pivotal year in the history of Leeds United.

The Whites’ progression to the Champions League semi-final saw them move within two games of their first major European final in 26 years, creating an ultimatum for manager David O’Leary. With his side fighting for a top three position in the Premier League, he had to make a decision on what to prioritise towards the end of the season.

Whereas Leeds had already won three top-flight titles in England, they had never triumphed on a continental level in arguably the biggest knock-out competition for clubs in the world. Therefore, O’Leary understandably made the Champions League the Whites’ preference with La Liga side Valencia standing between them and a showdown with Bayern Munich.

A moment in time – Leeds United vs Valencia, 2001

The first leg between the two sides ended as a stalemate at Elland Road, leaving it all to play for at the Mestalla. Leeds’ preparation for the tie was hampered by a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League, a result which would have significant consequences at the end of the season.

Despite this domestic setback, the Whites would have been quietly confident of producing a famous performance in Valencia considering the fact they boasted a side that included the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Alan Smith and Mark Viduka. However, it turned out to be a disastrous 90 minutes which led to heartbreak for the club’s supporters.

Second best in all areas to their Spanish opponents on the night, Leeds fell behind after just 15 minutes in controversial circumstances as Juan Sanchez appeared to deliberately bundle the ball past Nigel Martyn using his arm. The forward then doubled his side’s lead with a superb strike from 25 yards before Gaizka Mendieta added a third to secure Valencia’s progress to what was their second consecutive Champions League final.

O’Leary’s side’s disappointing end to the season was compounded by a failure to qualify for the competition as Liverpool pipped them to a third-placed finish on the final day of the season. In hindsight, it could be argued that by losing to Valencia, Leeds missed out on becoming a powerhouse in English football.

Financial ruin instead followed for the Whites which culminated in the club being relegated from the Premier League in 2004 and to League One three years later. Although Marcelo Bielsa could be on the verge of bringing them back to the top flight this season, it would require a miracle for Leeds to get back to the position they found themselves in 2001 – on the verge of European glory.

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Loads of Newcastle fans have been reacting to the latest transfer rumour, and they’re completely split on the possibility of signing Huddersfield ace Aaron Mooy.

Mooy should leave Huddersfield if they get relegated, and Newcastle would be a good landing place, claims Australian football pundit Simon Hill.

The Terriers are a whopping 13 points off Premier League safety with just nine games left to play, and they are showing no signs of escaping the drop.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

Mooy is perhaps the one player in their squad that has shown glimpses of genuine Premier League quality, and his compatriot Hill wants to see him stay in the top flight.

Speaking on a Fox Sports podcast, he said: “Maybe somewhere like a Newcastle. Let’s be honest, he’s not going to go to Man United or Man City or Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea etc. but I think that next tier down of club is a possibility.”

As reported by Chronicle Live, the Yorkshire outfit would expect around £20m for the 39-cap Australia international, which is perhaps what is causing many Newcastle fans to turn their noses up at the suggested deal.

Either way, you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…