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Son was sent off for the tackle – the red card has since been rescinded – and was left in tears after seeing the extent of the injury Gomes had sustained.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

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… 

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.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

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.

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…

As we find ourselves in the midst of an international break, what better time to reflect on the start of the campaign than now?

In this instance, we’re talking about transfers. Specifically Crystal Palace’s dealings in the market.

The Eagles completed four signings back in the summer when bringing Gary Cahill, James McCarthy, Jordan Ayew and Victor Camarasa to the club, but how have the quartet got on at Selhurst Park since?

Let’s take a look, and also attempt to rank the signings out of 10…

Gary Cahill 

At 33 years of age, you couldn’t have blamed Palace fans for possibly feeling like Cahill’s best days may have been behind him, but the England international has been brilliant for Palace.

He has helped the Eagles to four wins and a draw from his first six Premier League appearances and has also drawn praise from some supporters on Twitter for his performance against Manchester United.

Cahill has also helped the south Londoners to two clean sheets in those six league outings, with Palace conceding just eight goals in eight games as a whole.

Having arrived for free, there can be few complaints about Cahill’s start to life in SE25.

9/10

James McCarthy 

The Irishman has been in the Premier League for many years now with both Wigan and Everton, ensuring that he would most likely be a safe pair of hands for Palace when they signed him back in the summer.

McCarthy has started just one league game but did well against West Ham when doing so as we detailed here.

The former Hamilton man looks like he’ll fit in perfectly at Palace if the early signs are anything to go by, as his energy in midfield and vast Premier League experience suggests he will by no means be a passenger.

For a man who cost under £1m, the infancy of his Palace career suggests McCarthy will be an astute piece of business.

6/10

Jordan Ayew

It seems as if on-loan Jordan Ayew is a completely different player to permanently contracted Jordan Ayew.

Having scored just one league goal while on loan last term, Ayew has scored three in seven so far for Palace this season, including the winning goals against Aston Villa and West Ham.

He has led the line admirably while Christian Benteke continues to misfire and Connor Wickham’s polystyrene knees remain – in truth, he has been the only Palace striker who looks up for it this season.

The former Swansea man looks a man reborn in that No.9 shirt, and like Cahill, there can be few complaints about him.

9/10

Victor Camarasa 

This is a tough one to judge.

The Spaniard joined from Real Betis on a season-long loan, but his only start has come against Colchester in the Carabao Cup – apart from that, he has played just five Premier League minutes.

As a result, we simply can’t give him too high a rating.

In that game against Colchester however, while Palace did eventually lose on penalties, Camarasa was handed the WhoScored Man of the Match award, having taken two shots while also completing three key passes.

2/10

Australia international smites rapid fifty before taking key wickets to undermine Hampshire chase

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Jun-2025Grace Harris announced herself on the 2025 Vitality Blast with a blistering half-century and three wickets as Surrey made it two from two with a 32-run win over Hampshire at the Kia Oval.Hot off the plane the Australia international smashed 63 in 35 balls with four sixes and five fours. Harris shared half-century stands with Danni Wyatt-Hodge (62 from 41) and Paige Scholfield (49 from 18) – all this after Wyatt-Hodge and skipper Bryony Smith (33) posted 73 for the opening wicket.The fearsome onslaught carried Surrey to 213 for 4, Freya Davies taking 2 for 36 for the visitors, who rued four dropped catches and a bungled run-out attempt of Harris when she’d made just 1.Hampshire’s chase was heroic, led by Ella McCaughan’s classy 81, and supported by 29 from skipper Georgia Adams, but Harris (3-18) dismissed both in the space of three balls to cap a stunning debut as the Hawks finished on 181 for 8.After a sedate start, Smith blasted three sixes in quick succession, while Wyatt-Hodge, following a shaky series against West Indies for England, also cleared the ropes.Wyatt-Hodge was dropped twice on 30 and 35 before Smith holed out at midwicket off opposing skipper Adams. Harris should have gone soon afterwards when confusion left both batters at the same end, but a poor throw was fumbled by wicketkeeper Rhianna Southby and Harris was reprieved.She duly cashed in, raising Surrey’s hundred with six over mid-on, while Wyatt-Hodge was missed for a third time by Mary Taylor – a tough caught and bowled – before reaching 50 from 35 balls. The England opener eventually fell to a catch off Davies, but Harris forged on, two more maximums taking her to 50 from 27 balls.And while her innings ended tamely from a paddle to short fine leg, Schofield took up the baton with three sixes of her own, the last from the final ball of the innings to finish one short of 50.In-form Maia Bouchier began the chase with a straight six before holing out to a catch on the fence before the first over was done. Charlie Knott, too, flickered briefly and although she cut Tilly Corteen-Coleman into the hands of Wyatt-Hodge at cover, the visitors were 64 for 2 after six.Freya Kemp nicked one from Stonehouse through to wicketkeeper Kira Chathli and a maiden from Phoebe Franklin further cranked up the pressure. But McCaughan kept up the breathless chase, crisp driving and sweeping taking her to a polished fifty complete with 10 fours and Franklin spilt a skier to reprieve Adams as the tension mounted.With rain falling the 50-partnership came up in 33 balls and 85 were needed from the last seven.Smith failed to cling on to a tough chance at mid-off with McCaughan on 65, but Harris had her caught and bowled for 81 and when Adams perished two balls later to a stunning catch by Schofield, Hampshire were destined to fall short.

In case it gets the all-clear to resume IPL 2025 in May, the BCCI has shortlisted three cities to host the 16 remaining matches

Nagraj Gollapudi10-May-2025Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad have been shortlisted to host the 16 remaining IPL 2025 matches if the tournament resumes in May after being suspended on Friday. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the IPL chose the three southern Indian cities as part of a likely plan in case it gets the nod from the Indian government to resume the tournament.On Friday, the BCCI suspended the IPL for a week because of the cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan over the past few days. It could not be confirmed if the BCCI has decided on a cut-off date to decide whether to resume the IPL if it were to take place in May.Despite the proactive step in keeping the three venues ready, the BCCI officials acknowledged the difficulty of resuming the IPL quickly in the current environment. Franchise officials were informally informed of this on Friday, and several team officials ESPNcricinfo spoke to indicated that the remainder of the season could be played later in the year.Among the most significant challenges for the BCCI when it comes to a May resumption is to get the overseas players to return. Immediately after the suspension was announced, teams started disbanding, and players started to get on the next available flights to their respective destinations. A majority of the overseas players are expected to leave India by the end of Saturday.The PBKS vs DC game in Dharamsala was called off after only 10.1 overs•Associated Press

While the franchises remain optimistic that most overseas players would return if the tournament were to resume later in May, they admitted there would be no guarantees if the window extended beyond May 25, when the IPL 2025 final was scheduled to be played in Kolkata. That’s because of the bilateral commitments for several players, as well as the World Test Championship (WTC) final between Australia and South Africa, starting on June 11 at Lord’s.A total of 57 matches had been completed in IPL 2025, and the 58th was underway on May 8 between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) in Dharamsala, which was called off after 10.1 overs of play. The IPL has not yet taken a call on whether that match would be replayed.There are 12 league matches remaining, and then the four playoffs. Originally, Hyderabad was meant to host the first qualifier and the eliminator, with Kolkata hosting the second qualifier and the final.

Tottenham’s Champions League campaign didn’t quite get off to the start they wanted, as the London club drew with Olympiakos in their opening game.Mauricio Pochettino’s men have an opportunity to put that right this week though, as they host Bayern Munich on Tuesday evening.Check out the controversial concept kit every Tottenham fan will want in the video below…There is a great sense of anticipation ahead of the match, and one man who is looking forward to the challenge is Jan Vertonghen.

The Belgian centre-back made it clear that he’s looking forward to taking on the German champions.

It will be a tough test for the former Ajax man, as he will have to keep tabs on the red-hot Robert Lewandowski. The Polish attacker has already netted ten league goals this term in just six appearances.

The fact that Vertonghen is relishing the challenge should be music to the ears of many Spurs supporters, as after a turbulent few weeks for the club, the players’ mentalities will be just as important on Tuesday night as their abilities.

Australian opener extends strong run of form as Bohannon, Hurst provide support

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay02-May-2025Marcus Harris made his second century of the season to help Lancashire dominate the opening day of their Rothesay County Championship match against Gloucestershire.The former Australia opener also became the first batter to pass fifty five times in his first seven innings in first-class cricket for the county and finished on 165 not out with Lancashire on 342 for five after opting to bat first on what now appears an easy-paced pitch.Such an outcome looked unlikely after the impressive Ajeet Singh Dale had taken two wickets in his first ten balls to leave the home side on 23 for two but Harris shared partnerships of 98 with Josh Bohannon and 212 with Matty Hurst, who was caught behind by James Bracey off Zaman Akhter for 78 three overs before the close.Nevertheless, Lancashire are well placed in this match between two teams who have yet to win a match this season. During his innings, Harris became the leading run-scorer in the country in either division and will go into the second day’s play with a total of 559 runs against his name this season.Yet Gloucestershire’s bowlers had dominated the first hour of the day and Singh Dale reinforced his growing reputation by bowling George Bell via body, pad and boot for 10 with his second delivery and having Keaton Jennings caught by Cameron Bancroft at second slip for four in his next overThat left Lancashire on 23 for two but after some early uncertainty Bohannon and Harris played with growing fluency and took their side to 79 for two at lunch after 28 overs, 50 of those runs having been scored in the second hour of the session.On the resumption Bohannon cruised smoothly to his half-century in 96 balls with seven fours but he was then leg before wicket to Ollie Price for 56 when he misjudged the length of an off-spinner he attempted to pull.Although that wicket ended a productive 98-run third-wicket stand, Hurst played himself in with little fuss as the wicket eased. He gave Harris excellent support and Lancashire reached tea on 189 for three with Harris unbeaten on 90 after a session in which the Gloucestershire captain, Cameron Bancroft, had rotated his bowlers frequently, albeit to limited effect.Having reached his half-century off 106 balls, Harris hit three fours off the next six deliveries and that set the tone for his second fifty. He reached his century shortly after tea with a single off Tom Price after facing 176 balls and hitting 11 fours and the six over long-on off Ollie Price that took him to 99.The evening session served merely to underline Lancashire’s dominance. Hurst reached his fifty off 98 balls and Harris took only 47 deliveries to get from 100 to 150, a picked-up six over square leg off Josh Shaw epitomising his dominance.At that point, Shaw might well have looked back with some feeling to the 14th over of the day when Harris had tried to let the ball go but only succeeded in involuntarily inside-edging it to the fine leg boundary.Singh Dale was the pick of the Gloucestershire attack but this was a day on which loose shots either didn’t find the edge or go to hand and Bancroft will hope that his batsmen can reply in kind on the second and third days of this game.First, though, he must try to prevent Lancashire collecting four batting points for the first time this season and Akhter’s late success in claiming Hurst’s wicket when the batsman appeared to pull out of a hook was a considerable fillip, especially as it was followed four balls later by a delicious yorker which castled nightwatchman Saqib Mahmood for four.Akhter’s late strikes left him with figures of two for 68 while Singh Dale finished with two for 36 from 15 tight overs.

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After four games of the season, Arsenal boss Unai Emery can be moderately pleased with his team’s work so far, although he will be well aware plenty of improvement can be made.

The Gunners won their first two fixtures, against Newcastle and Burnley, but then lost to Liverpool 3-1 at Anfield. That was followed by a thrilling 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in a pulsating north London derby.

Following the international break, the former Sevilla boss will be hoping his side can kick on as they stake their claim for a top-four finish, as well as hoping to be successful in the cup competitions.

In their next six games, they face Watford, Aston Villa and Manchester United in the Premier League, Eintracht Frankfurt and Standard Liege in the Europa League, and Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup.

How do football vloggers afford to watch their team week in, week out? Find out in the video below…

Gunners supporters are confident, to say the least, and there is a strong consensus, at least from parts of their fanbase, that they can pick up six consecutive victories.

They have been responding to AFTV’s tweet asking for their thoughts on the run, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

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