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West Brom will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the Championship table this afternoon as they host Charlton Athletic at the Hawthorns.

In midweek, the Baggies had to come from behind to salvage a point against the division’s basement boys, Barnsley, as the visitors went into half-time with a two-goal cushion thanks to a six-minute brace from striker Cauley Woodrow.

Slaven Bilic’s men fought back in the second half with Matheus Pereira proving to be the main influence – his inswinging corner was turned in by a Tykes player before he headed home the equaliser nine minutes from time.

The Croatian has plenty to think about going into this tie, surely he will make a couple of changes?

The 51-year-old’s half-time substitutions practically inspired Albion into making such a comeback – he made the bold call of replacing Nathan Ferguson with the rarely-seen Connor Townsend, and it paid dividends.

The 26-year-old had only played 19 minutes of Championship football before the off, but when called upon he was more than ready, providing the all-important assist for the equaliser.

He surely keeps his spot while on the right-hand side, Darnell Furlong has done little to warrant being dropped.

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Kyle Edwards started the game in Matt Phillips’ absence, but it is hoped their joint-top goalscorer is fit enough to play today.

In attack, Charlie Austin failed to score in yet another game, it’s just the one goal in nine appearances this season, which has led to fans blasting his contribution.

Bilic may well turn to Hal Robson-Kanu, who looked the livelier of the two after his introduction on Tuesday evening.

Ahmed Hegazi will have to continue to wait for his opportunity with the rest of the side remaining much the same.

In our Loan Watch feature, the Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a selection of players from a particular club are doing whilst they are away from their home and provide a brief update regarding their progress.

This week we take a look under the microscope of three players from Watford who are on loan at a selection of clubs. This week, Ken Sema, Jerome Sinclair and Ben Wilmot all featured for their respective clubs and have had a mixed bag in terms of performances – here is how they did below.

KEN SEMA

Ken Sema has been a consistent player for Udinese since joining the club, however, he didn’t have a stellar performance as his side got rolled over 7-1 by Atalanta in Bergamo.

The Swede played 90 minutes and received a 6.1/10 for his performance.

Playing at right wing-back, he had far from a cracker as his side conceded seven. In fairness to the 25-year-old, his match rating was better than a lot of others in his side, so it was hardly entirely his fault.

Defensively, his stats proved to be fairly decent. He won three aerials and made five tackles – more than anyone else in his squad.

He made less of an impact going forward, though, making two dribbles, being dispossessed four times and having a pretty woeful 60 per cent successful pass rate – the lowest in the squad.

JEROME SINCLAIR

Another week goes by and another week Jerome Sinclair has to wait before scoring a goal.

This week he played 12 minutes for VVV-Venlo in their 4-1 loss away to Fortuna Sittard – the club’s fifth loss in a row in the league.

Sinclair – previously dubbed a wonderkid by 90Min as an 18-year-old who was then Liverpool’s youngest ever debutant after playing against West Brom as a 16-year-old – is continuing to struggle at the age of 23.

Sinclair came on the right-wing and was able to make any sort of impact. He had just one shot which was blocked and was also dispossessed once.

Fortuna Sittard have now taken over VVV, as they slipped into the relegation zone in 17th position.

Ben Wilmot

It’s been a struggle for Ben Wilmot since joining Swansea as he just hasn’t had the opportunities. However, an injury (BBC) to Joe Rodon has meant that he was forced to play.

But this week for Wilmot, he got his first start – and it could not have been a bigger game. The South Wales derby versus the old rivals in Cardiff.

The game couldn’t have gone much better for the Watford loanee; he scored the only goal of the game and also kept a clean sheet as they won 1-0.

Aside from the goal, Wilmot registered two successful tackles, two interceptions and also managed a big five clearances – the highest out of the Swansea players (also per WhoScored).

One good, one bad and one okay, then.

Indeed, 19-year-old Wilmot is a promising talent so the club should be glad he showed such bottle in such an important match.

For Sema, it was an okay performance in their 7-1 loss – and starting every week in Serie A is only going to help his development.

While for Sinclair, his torrid time isn’t doing his future any good. Considering he is now 23 and has failed to score in 11 games for VVV-Venlo, it is hard to a future for him in the Premier League.

Do any of these players have a future at Watford? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

If anything summed Arsenal up over the last decade or so it would be their start to the current Premier League campaign.

The only matches they’ve lost have come against Liverpool and Sheffield United. One is a bustling team full of attacking and defensively quality and the other is a well regimented and unified outfit.

Unai Emery’s side are neither of those, however, and it’s extremely difficult to work out where the Spaniard is heading with this crop of players.

His style is dull and lacks fluidity, there is no personality and they’ve distanced themselves so far from the distinct philosophies that Arsene Wenger ingrained in the club.

In fact, Emery has gone so far back that he could replicate George Graham. That isn’t in a good way, either.

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Graham is one of Arsenal’s most successful managers and in his nine-year tenure at Highbury helped take the club to eight honours. That included a European trophy and two First Division titles, as well as the FA Cup.

It also included some incredibly dry football and tough times, something we’re seeing to a similar degree in 2019 – over 23 years since Graham first walked through the doors.

As well as the Gunners did under him, they finished sixth, tenth and also 12th during his reign in north London.

That final placing was enough to see him walk out of Arsenal, eventually being replaced by Bruce Rioch. Wenger was his successor and the rest was history.

It’s been a topsy-turvy time in the life of a fan at the Emirates Stadium. Many were willing to give time to the new management – after all, things were never going to be sorted overnight.

But there have now been many nights since he entered London Colney and even if the former Sevilla manager still requires time to see where things go, the style needs to be improved. But is that time now running out?

The huge toxicity that surrounded him and Granit Xhaka during a draw with Crystal Palace says so.

Arsenal long for some more respected figures around the club, and how they could do with a duo that initially came together in the first year after Graham.

Ian Wright and Dennis Bergkamp are the two names in question and they recently spent some time together as some poignant words were shared.

The interview with the pair was fascinating as the flying Dutchman not only labelled his concerns about the current crop at the club, but gave an insight into what life was like when he first arrived. Rather remarkably, it’s something that can be linked back to the modern-day.

Despite Rioch arriving, they still couldn’t shake one of the most damning tags Graham’s sides had earned – ‘Boring Arsenal’.

Although it may have been enough to see them win the title as they ground out results, it wasn’t particularly pleasing on the eye.

However, if we cast our minds towards the present again, Arsenal are far from entertaining but they’re also failing to grind out good performances. That was evident against a bullish Sheffield United and Crystal Palace.

Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang was isolated and Alexandre Lacazette’s introduction failed to see the Gunners register a goal at Bramall Lane. Nicolas Pepe was also guilty of trying too much.

In the video below, we look at where it all went wrong for Arsenal’s former ‘saviour’, Mesut Ozil…

Funnily enough, what they’re missing is a Bergkamp. A number 10 capable of linking the midfield to the attack.

But what his words indicate, is that the scenario that played out when he first arrived in 1995 from Inter Milan, is being replicated now.

It almost feels as though those behind the front three are leaving it up to the forwards to do it all by themselves. With that comes a burden and considerable pressure.

Aubameyang has scored eight Premier League strikes this term but there is a lack of threat behind him. Lacazette and David Luiz have two but after him is a defensive trio on one for the season – Calum Chambers, Sokratis and Lucas Torreira. Pepe, meanwhile, is on the same tally.

It’s damning but it shows how dull the Gunners have been.

In Graham’s two title-winning seasons, Arsenal scored 73 and 74 goals respectively. In 2018/19, Emery’s team managed that first number but finished outside of the top four.

Football perhaps wasn’t as free-flowing back then as it is now and with the added quality and finances that Liverpool and Manchester City possess, it shows how far Arsenal have fallen behind and how the game has progressed.

If we reflect upon some of the dullest memories at N5 over 20 years ago, it was the 90s where it was particularly drab.

Via The Telegraph, they netted just 40 goals in 1992/93, a tally that stands at 1.86 per game. Incredibly, 15 of their games were 1-0 wins.

The season after that, they scored 53 times at a rate of 1.93 strikes per match. In Rioch and Bergkamp’s first season they hit the back of the net on just 49 occasions in the league.

In 11 top-flight matches this term, the Gunners have scored as few as 16 times. That’s at a record of 1.5 goals each outing.

If they carry on in the same manner, Arsenal will somehow become even duller than Graham could ever manage. No wonder Lucas Torreira was emotionally distressed during their performance against Roy Hodgson’s men.

Tactical comparisons can easily be drawn between the two. Emery’s deep video analysis is well documented while Graham had a similar fascination. Journalist Amy Lawrence recently detailed:

“George Graham, being a student of tactics, he used to read books from America about sports psychology and specialist things. He developed this thirst for knowledge and tactics that was quite a bit ahead of his day.”

Fortunately for the now 74-year-old, he had trophies to boast about and rather crucially he was respected by his players. After all, we are talking about one of the best to manage in N5.

Emery might be replicating the boring brand of football, but he is far from cherished.

Rather ironically, there are suggestions from one of the greats of the Graham era, Alan Smith, that his playing staff don’t understand him and that’s indicative of the current mess surrounding the club.

In some ways, the two managers are bound together, but at the same time, they couldn’t be further apart.

Something surely has to give.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Son Heung-Min is likely to play for Tottenham Hotspur against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on Wednesday, Mauricio Pochettino has said, per The Independent.

What’s the word?

The South Korea international was at the centre of a grisly injury on Sunday, as his tackle led to Everton midfielder Andre Gomes sustaining a fracture-dislocation of his ankle during the 1-1 draw.

Son was sent off for the tackle – the red card has since been rescinded – and was left in tears after seeing the extent of the injury Gomes had sustained.

Reports had suggested that he could subsequently miss the European encounter but Pochettino has now confirmed that he is likely to play a part.

He said: “Son was devastated after the action.

“It was a mix of everything, it was a mix of the injury, a mix of the red card, the situation of the game it was an emotional moment for everyone.

“Now after a few days, everyone is available to play. He is in a very good way, he feels sorry like everyone, but he is in good form.”

Clinical

This is vital.

Son has been in clinical form in the Champions League thus far this season and has netted three goals in his first three appearances.

Those strikes include a brace against Red Star at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs ran out 5-0 winners over a fortnight ago.

Having him available, then, will be a major boost for Pochettino, who has started Son in every available game this season bar two, the draw with Olympiacos and the loss to Colchester United. Even there, he came on as a substitute.

Since his time at Spurs, Son has made 28 appearances in the Champions League, scoring 12 goals, while also registering one assist.

As a left winger who is there to supplement the form of the likes of Harry Kane, that is an impeccable record and one that will surely worry the Red Star defenders on Wednesday night.

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…

A lot of things can be considered when discussing the reasons for Southampton’s wretched campaign so far.

Things have been clouded in uncertainty at boardroom level, with Director of Football Ross Wilson leaving for Rangers a few weeks ago while Gao Jisheng’s reign at St Mary’s hasn’t yet had the desired effects.

The set-up hasn’t been ideal for Ralph Hasenhuttl, although the Southampton boss also hasn’t helped himself at times with some pretty strange decisions in terms of team selection.

Let’s take a look at three of the Austrian’s most peculiar decisions so far this term…

Starting Moussa Djenepo at left wing-back

After arriving from Standard Liege for £15m back in the summer, following a 2018/19 campaign in which he scored 11 goals and made six assists, Moussa Djenepo has proven to be an attacking starlet capable of a game-changing moment at just 21 years of age – his wonder-goal away to Brighton was evidence of that.

So, when Hasenhuttl stuck the attacker at left wing-back away to Sheffield United, and then again in the second half against Everton on Saturday, eyebrows may have been raised at to why the former RB Leipzig boss would put one of his most potent forwards as part of the backline.

Placing Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg at left-back 

Whilst putting Djenepo at left wing-back against Sheffield United was odd, playing a centre-midfielder in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at left-back – up against Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker – was arguably even stranger.

That’s exactly what Hasenhuttl did in the recent 2-1 defeat away to Manchester City, and while the end result was a fairly respectable one, it was nonetheless a baffling move from the Saints boss when he had Kevin Danso and Maya Yoshida on the bench.

Deploying Stuart Armstrong at right wing-back

Last time out against Everton, Hasenhuttl made yet another mind-boggling move when playing a midfielder, Stuart Armstrong, at right wing-back, when he had both Cedric Soares and Yan Valery fit and available.

The Scotland international’s ability to play at right wing-back is not recognised by Transfermarkt as one of his natural positions, nor was it one that he took to like a duck to water as Richarlison’s winner came on Armstrong’s side of the pitch.

If he had any sense about him, Hasenhuttl wouldn’t do this again.

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…

It was a vitriolic return for Raheem Sterling, who is now valued at £126m by Transfermarkt, to Anfield last Sunday as his Manchester City side faced the Reds in the Premier League.

Every time the 24-year-old picked up the ball, he was booed and jeered by the club’s supporters, and at times it appeared to get to him. It is not the first time he has been on the end of such a backlash from the Anfield outfit’s fans when he has faced them, and it is unlikely to be the last.

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It has been a difficult week for the England international. After the Citizens’ 3-1 defeat in that huge clash, he was dropped from the Three Lions squad for the fixture against Montenegro on Thursday following an incident with Joe Gomez.

Danny Rose, his national side teammate, has suggested that the abuse he received in Liverpool may have played a role in his frustration with the 22-year-old defender.

Ever since Sterling departed for the Etihad for an initial £44m, he has been on the receiving end of the Liverpool fans’ wrath. The winger refused to travel on the team’s pre-season tour before he made the move, hence the animosity.

However, the time is right for the fans to let it go, and the reason is, they do not need to worry themselves with such petty anger towards a former player.

As it stands, the Reds are in the best position they could possibly be. They are the current champions of Europe, whilst they also lead the Premier League by a full eight points. The match on Sunday showed the current contrast between the two sides. As the table shows, Liverpool are in a league of their own right now.

With this now looking like their best chance in the last 30 years to win the title, the Kop faithful should be concentrating on their own players and their performances rather than berating an opposition player, especially one who’s been hugely successful since leaving. Perhaps there’s an ounce of jealousy in the fact he’s won the title and they haven’t?

They can’t argue that Sterling’s move hasn’t been a success – he has won seven trophies compared to Liverpool’s two since his departure – and now the Reds are in a healthy position from their own point of view. With that in mind, it is time to let bygones be bygones and move on.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking to Centro Suono Sport (via Calcio Mercato), Moise Kean’s father has admitted his son’s move to Everton was a “mistake”.

What did he say?

The Italy international joined from Serie A giants Juventus in a high-profile move earlier in the summer, but has struggled to settle into life on Merseyside. The 19-year-old has made 11 appearances for Marco Silva’s side this season, but has failed to open his goal-scoring account.

His previous three games in the Premier League have not even seen him take the pitch, with reports in recent days suggesting that he missed the match-day squad against Southampton due to disciplinary measures for being late to a team meeting. Now, Kean’s father has expressed his regret at seeing him move to England at such a young age, and urged for him to make his return back to his native Italy.

He said (as translated by Sky Sports): “Sending my son to England was a mistake, because he’s still too young, he’s not feeling good at Everton, I didn’t like this transfer. I hope he can come back to Italy as soon as possible, I hope he goes to Rome, but the important thing is that he comes back here.

“At Everton, where he is playing now, he is not settling in well. I think he was supposed to wait a few more years before he had an experience abroad. If there is a possibility for him to come back to Italy, I hope he can do that, so as not to ruin him.”

Regret

When Everton managed to sign Kean in the summer – a teenage starlet who had shown he could score goals for a big side like Juventus by netting six in 13 games in Serie A last season – it was seen as a major coup. A highly-talented prospect who still has the peak years ahead of him, coming to the blue half of Merseyside to tear things up.

Instead, his first few months at the club have been nothing short of a disaster. The £36m-rated ace’s failure to score a single goal, and then the recent news of him being dropped from the match-day squad, have painted a picture of a young forward who is experiencing some serious struggles adapting to life in a new country and environment.

So whilst Everton were understandably right to pursue a move for someone as talented as Kean, perhaps they should really take into consideration in the future about the kind of character, age and profile of the player they are signing.

Juventus are a higher calibre of club in a league with limited similarities to the English top flight; life at Goodison is a completely different kettle of fish and Kean has failed to transition effectively.

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…

There haven’t been too many of Wolves’ young players to make the grade at Molineux in recent years.

Coupled with a promotion-winning campaign and a first season back in the Premier League, the philosophy has been about performance and simply sustaining themselves in the top-flight.

That, however, now looks as though it could change. Kevin Thelwell detailed this week that Wolves’ plan is on succession, something that will continue to see the Midlands outfit opt for younger long-term investments in the transfer market.

The acquisitions of Pedro Neto and Meritan Shabani showed as much last summer, but one thing that can further both Thelwell and Fosun’s ambitions of building for the future is Chem Campbell.

The 16-year-old appears to be a generational talent, being named in The Guardian’s 20 best young players from Premier League clubs in 2019.

Born just a few days short of 2003, he’s begun making waves this season and has already earned his first-team debut. It’s no surprise that a team such as Borussia Dortmund are reportedly swooping around him.

Campbell has one Carabao Cup appearance to his name this campaign while he’s also netted twice in the U18 Premier League.

But it was a performance against PSG this week that will have made people stand up and take notice, especially those at Dortmund.

It was a sparkling display from the teenager as he demonstrated his canny dribbling ability on more than one occasion in the PL International Trophy.

Wolves drew 1-1 but Campbell was in the thick of the action. He was denied by a brilliant save when one-on-one but a moment of pure brilliance just after the break showed why the youngster’s stock will only continue to rise.

He waltzed past a number of defenders and then placed an effort just wide of the target. If he can be guilty of anything, it was a lack of composure. But that shouldn’t distract from the sheer confidence he possesses.

Towards the start of this month, it was reported that Wolves were looking to tie him down to a new deal and hand him professional terms once he finally turns 17 at the end of December.

Given this performance, it’s now become a huge necessity. Turning up and delivering against an elite European academy shows how good Campbell is and why they must get new terms sorted before bigger outfits such as Dortmund try to lure him away.

Newcastle put in a lacklustre display as they lost 2-0 to Aston Villa and one man who has drawn the ire of supporters is Joelinton.

Big things were expected of the Brazilian after the Magpies spent a club-record £40m to take him from Hoffenheim, yet he has contributed just one goal in 13 league games.

The striker struggled throughout, with wayward finishing and a tendency to lose the ball – making just 11 accurate passes. It meant that his side were never likely to get on the scoresheet, and now fans are beginning to grow impatient.

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Some think he isn’t even an upgrade on Joselu, while others have been critical over his contribution, suggesting he lacks quality and therefore the millions spent on him have been a waste of money.

He was hooked with 20 minutes to go but unfortunately for Newcastle, Dwight Gayle nor Andy Carroll made a particularly big impression either, and that means the attacking department is an issue.

As for Joelinton, he already has a lot to do to prove his doubters wrong, but there is little sign currently that he has what it takes to turn his form around.

Here are some of the reactions to his performance against Villa.

While Joelinton has unimpressed, it is not all of his own making. Read here about how Steve Bruce is failing to get the best out of the 23-year-old.

Loads of Tottenham Hotspur fans have been reacting on Twitter following an honest admission by Juan Foyth on his future in an interview with TNT Sports, as relayed by Ricky Sacks on the popular social media platform.

The 5 foot 10 defender said about his future at the north London outfit: “If they won’t count on me, the best thing will be to find another club. I would like to stay in Europe, all leagues have a high level. My aim is to just play football.”

Hilariously obscure Premier League players – Can you name them all?

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While the 22-year-old has suffered from injury issues during the 2019/20 season, he has featured for just 262 minutes in all competitions in total, and has struggled to even make the matchday squad on occasions under Jose Mourinho.

As things stand, it appears as though the South American has fallen behind the likes of Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga in centre-back pecking order, and that isn’t great if he wants more game-time if and when the campaign restarts, or even next term.

It is no surprise then that he is talking about a potential exit, but supporters seem pretty positive on the Argentine’s future.

There are those who would like to see him stay and be given a proper opportunity, while others feel he could benefit from a loan move away.

Check out a selection of the reaction below…

In other Tottenham news, one journalist’s fresh transfer claim on Friday suggests Pochettino favourite could be on his way out of Spurs…