With two games left in the Championship, the race for automatic promotion could not be much tighter.

Burnley, Middlesbrough and Brighton have pulled away from the rest of the league and sit on 87 points apiece. None of the three sides have lost in their last six games and it is purely goal difference separating the three sides.

Burnley, aiming to return to the Premier League the first time of asking, are top on +33, Middlesbrough, who have been away from the Premier League since 2009, are second on +32 and Brighton, who have never played Premier League football, have a goal difference of +30.

The last two games are vital including a huge clash between two of the three sides, and so, ahead of the fixtures this weekend and next, we at Football FanCast take a look at what lies ahead for the trio, as well as predicting who should be celebrating automatic promotion, and who will be left with a play-off place come May 7th.

Birmingham City v Middlesbrough 29/04/16

Boro travel to Birmingham tonight hoping a win will put pressure on their promotion rivals.

The Blues have had a much steadier campaign this season compared to the relegation scraps of recent years and, currently sitting in 9th, have shown brighter things could be on the horizon for the St. Andrews outfit. It could be a tricky tie for Boro, who could not beat the Midlands side at home earlier in the season – it finished 0-0 at the Riverside.

Whilst Birmingham have nothing to play for now this year, they’ll want to show they can compete for the play-offs next term, and this should make for a tightly contested game.

FFC Says: 1-1

Brighton v Derby County 02/05/16

Wind back to the start of the season, and for many Derby were the team to beat in the chase for promotion.

It hasn’t quite worked out for the Rams though, who have seen Paul Clement leave the club since the beginning of the campaign, while an acceptance that the only way to get promoted now is via the play-offs has crept in. Brighton are absolutely flying – they’re in the best form of the three title chasing sides having won their last five on the bounce – and will want to make a statement against the side so many backed at the beginning of the year.

Derby know momentum is key going into the play-offs, but it may not be enough to halt the Seagulls at the Amex.

FFC Says: 2-1

Burnley v QPR 02/05/16

Table topping Burnley are the last to play in this penultimate set of Championship fixtures, kicking off a couple of hours after Brighton’s fixture.

Whatever the result of Middlesbrough’s and Brighton’s games this weekend, the Clarets know only three points will do against a QPR side that have only won once in their last six.

It’s a fixture that highlights the contrasting fortunes of two of the sides that came down from the Premier League last season, as QPR have faltered all year whilst Burnley have got nearly everything right. This should be fairly comfortable.

FFC Says: 3-0

Charlton Athletic v Burnley 07/05/16

Burnley travel to already relegated Charlton on the final day in what should be a formality.

The Addicks have imploded this season and have far bigger issues to deal with than trying to beat the Clarets next weekend, having already been relegated to League One. With protests against the clubs owners, life at The Valley is far from plain sailing right now.

In a title race that could come down to goal difference, Burnley should go for the jugular against a team that has the second worse defensive record in the division.

FFC Says: 0-4

Middlesbrough v Brighton 07/05/16

What a game this is! All eyes will be on The Riverside as the winner of this game is likely to go up.

Middlesbrough will be hoping that home advantage proves decisive, though based on the result in the reverse this season, it could be anything but. Brighton lost at home to Boro 3-0 in December and will be keen to avenge that loss on the 7th.

Middlesbrough have lost just twice at home this season, but Brighton have lost just twice away and this game could come down to who deals with the pressure best.

FFC Says: 1-2

Who’s up?

Burnley and Brighton secure Premier League promotion with the Clarets taking the Championship title on goal difference.

Middlesbrough, however, will have to settle for the play-offs. Burnley’s favourable run in is what hands them the title. With a home game against mid table QPR and a final day excursion to League One bound Charlton, the men from Turf Moor should settle for nothing less than six points against the London clubs and a vital boost to their goal difference to see them oust Brighton. Burnley should end the season with 93 points and a goal difference of +40. Brighton also finish with 93 points but have to settle for second with a goal difference of +32 and finally Middlesbrough finish the campaign five points adrift with 88 and a goal difference of +31.

Will we be correct?

Just as it is easy to see the foundations being set into place for the new stadium, the foundations can be seen as firmly in place for a team and manager to have what could potentially be the most exciting and successful period Spurs have ever known.

After years of wasting money on ‘big name but no clue signings’, we now have a manager that has the confidence and boldness to promote talent from our fantastic youth academy, along with buying the right players to compliment the current team.

I believe that this coming season will not see many changes at White Hart Lane, but will see some additions that will bring the team forward that little bit further to challenge on both the domestic and European front without suffering the ‘hangovers’ we have become synonymous with.

There are two players that seem to be repeatedly linked on forums; one being Ousmane Dembele and the other being Michy Batshuayi.

Both players would be welcome additions and fit the Pochettino criteria of being hard-working, fast and young. I would go so far as to say Ousmane Dembele could have a similar impact to Dele Alli this season. Batshuayi has an advantage in that he has already had some schooling in the way Pochettino works as he was managed previously by Marcelo Bielsa – a man the Argentine regards as his mentor, and the man responsible somewhat for the way he trains his players.

The only issue I see going forward is keeping any additions to the squad happy because the current team are very much established now and Pochettino is a manager that prefers to play the same players each week, but I believe he will only sign players that he knows will buy into his philosophy, which can only be a good thing.

So my season’s verdict is this: yes Leicester are champions, but our team has performed far beyond the expectations we harboured at the start of the campaign, and it is looking like things can only get better.

Taking nothing away from Leicester, but where do they go from here? The party of all parties will be had in the next couple of weeks, but once the dust settles and the excitement of next season starts to ramp up, maybe one or two players such as N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez will be sold for massive profit, and Leicester will find next season a totally different kettle of fish with the Champions League to contend with – as Spurs are well aware sometimes the Champions League can make a club go backwards instead of forward.

Anyway, I can finally say with total confidence now that the future is bright and the future is Lilywhite.

This article was submitted via our new Write For Us feature. Think you can do better? Submit your own article via the link below, and make sure you follow @FFC_WFU on Twitter for #RealOpinions…

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He finally signed on the dotted line and Everton got their man.

Ronald Koeman signed a deal with the Toffees last week and has been touted as the man to turn their fortunes around after a stuttering season under Roberto Martinez last time out.

And one of the Dutchman’s priorities before he delves into the transfer market will be to sort out his existing squad to see who will make the grade as he stamps his own personality on a struggling squad.

So with that in mind, here’s FIVE players who will benefit from Ronald Koeman’s arrival…

Ross Barkley

Arguably one of the stars under Roberto Martinez, Barkley really dipped in form last season.

Whilst he bagged a career-high goal tally of 12 over the campaign, his potential seemed to slow up in what was an all-round poor season for the Toffees.

If he’s to rediscover his best form he needs to work hard to impress the new boss, and he’s a man that will be looking to show his intent from the get-go.

Arouna Kone

Kone is a player who needs stability, consistent playing time and an injury-free run of games, and he’ll hope Koeman will be able to give him that.

He struggled with long-term injury when he began his Everton career back in 2013 but he sprung back and played well when given the chance last season, making over 30 appearances for the first time since he joined the club from Wigan Athletic.

He could be a hidden gem that just needs a chance.

Gerard Deulofeu

Another man who lost a bit of form last season, Gerard Deulofeu will be looking to bounce back under new manager Ronald Koeman.

We know the Dutchman likes to play with pacey, attacking wingers, as we saw at Southampton, and that could be the Spaniard’s cue to show his worth once again.

He’s frighteningly quick and he could definitely benefit from Koeman’s arrival.

Oumar Niasse

Oumar Niasse brought a wealth of expectation to Goodison when he joined the club in January from Lokomotiv Moscow.

The £13million man failed to live up to the hype and struggled with injury for the entirety of his first six months with the club.

But with a new manager in the hot seat, it could be Niasse’s season to shine. He’s known for his pace and power and he bagged 13 goals in his final season at Locomotiv before signing for Everton.

Romelu Lukaku

It’s going to be a big season ahead for Romelu Lukaku and it’s not yet certain where he will be playing his football next season.

He made it extremely clear that he wanted to move on when Roberto Martinez was still at the club but with Koeman now taking the reigns, could the Belgian make a U-turn and stay with the club?

He’s been a huge player for the Toffees for a number of years and there is little doubt Koeman will want to hang onto the former Chelsea striker.

Oh what it must be to be a professional footballer.

Getting paid ridiculous amounts of money to play the game you love and travel to some of the greatest cities on earth to do it… what a life. And, for reasons we cannot get our heads around, being young, physically fit and rich attracts beautiful women! A real brain buster, that one!

The wives, girlfriends and, occasionally, flings of the superstars are often referred to as WAGs, and this group of women, mainly composed of models, actresses and singers, attract as much, if not more, attention than the players they’re involved with.

Social media has broken down the boundaries between the average person on the street and the lives of these lovely ladies, with Instagram now one of the best ways to check them all out.

But who should you be following? Well, here are 80 of the hottest WAGs out there, and their accounts, to help!

Inna Yarmolenko – Andriy Yarmolenk

Follow her on Instagram – @yarmolkina10

Catherine Hummels – Mats Hummels

Follow her on Instagram – @catherinyyy

Alice Campello – Alvaro Morata

Candy Rae-Fleur – Daley Blind

Ruby Mae – Dele Alli

Sara Carbonero – Iker Casillas

Follow her on Instagram – @saracarbonero

Camille Sold – Morgan Schneiderlin

Follow her on Instagram – @camille_sold

Bruna Marquezine – Neymar

Follow her on Instagram – @brumarquezine

Lena Gercke – Julian Draxler

Follow her on Instagram – @lenagercke

Ana Montana – Karim Benzema

Follow her on Instagram – @ana_montana

Anna Lewandowska – Robert Lewandowski

Follow her on Instagram – @annalewandowskahpba

Sam Cooke – Chris Smalling

Follow her on Instagram – @samcookephotography

Daniella Semaan – Cesc Fabregas

Follow her on Instagram – @4ladyd

Alexandra Ivarsdottir – Gylfi Sigurdsson

Follow her on Instagram – @alexandrahelga

Lilary Blasi – Francesco Totti

Follow her on Instagram – @ilaryblasi_

Sophie Reade – Mario Balotelli

Danielle Lloyd – Jamie O’Hara

Follow her on Instagram – @missdlloyd

Sarah Jones – Jermaine Jones

Follow her on Instagram here – @sarahjoneslife

Elena Gomez – Javi Garcia

Carole Cabrino – Marquinhos

Charlotte Pirroni – Florian Thauvin

Follow her on Instagram – @charlottepirroni

Fanny Neguesha – Mario Balotelli

Follow her on Instagram – @fanny.neguesha

Malena Costa – Mario Suarez

Follow her on Instagram – @malenacosta7

Edurne Garcia – David De Gea

Follow her on Instagram – @edurnity

Marina Luczenko-Szczensa – Wojciech Szczesny

Follow her on Instagram – @marina_official

Yana Reid – Winston Reid

Follow her on Instagram – @yanareid

Helen Flanagan – Scott Sinclair

Lori Harvey – Memphis Depay

Follow her on Instagram – @lori_harvey_

Ludivine Sagna – Bacary Sagna

Follow her on Instagram – @ludivinesagna

Sylvie van der Vaart – Rafael van der Vaart

Follow her on Instagram – @1misssmeis

Ameri Ichinose – Shinji Kagawa

Mandy Capristo – Mesut Ozil

Michela Quattrociocche – Alberto Aquilani

Follow her on Instagram – @michelaquattrociocche

Evangelina Anderson – Martin Demichelis

Follow her on Instagram – @evangelinaanderson

Beatriz Espejel – Koke

Follow on Instagram – @beatrizespejel

Jessica Sterling – David Ospina

Georgina Dorsett – Tom Cleverly

Laia Grassi – Alexis Sanchez

Cheryl Fernandez-Versini – Ashley Cole

Ludovica Caramis – Mattia Destro

Anara Atanes – Samir Nasri

Follow her on Instagram – @anara_atanesworld

Viktoria Varga – Graziano Pelle

Follow her on Instagram – @vikyvarga

Ann Kathrin Brommel – Mario Gotze

Follow her on Instagram – @annkathrinvida

Kayla Cadorna – Connor Wickham

Follow her on Instagram – @kaylacadorna

Natalie Suliman – Kieran Richardson

Kayleah Long – Shane Long

Follow her on Instagram – @kayleah_long

Misse Beqiri – Anders Lindegaard

Follow her on Instagram – @missebeqiri

Alice Goodwin – Jermaine Pennant

Lorena Bernal – Mikel Arteta

Follow her on Instagram – @lober99

Yolanthe Sneijder-Cabau – Wesley Sneijder

Follow her on Instagram – @yolanthesneijdercabau

Bara Skrtel – Martn Skrtel

Follow her on Instagram – @baraskrtel

Melissa Satta – Kevin-Prince Boateng

Follow her on Instagram – @melissasatta

Lena Gercke – Sami Khedira

Follow her on Instagram – @lenagercke

Paola Torres – Diego Antonio Reyes

Follow her on Instagram – @paolatorresoficial

Federica Nargi – Alessandro Matri

Follow her on Instagram – @fede_nargi

Rafaella Szabo – Axel Witsel

Coral Simanovich – Sergi Roberto

Alex Gerrard – Steven Gerrard

Follow her on Instagram – @alexgerrardxo

Elisa De Panicis – Cristiano Ronaldo

Follow her on Instagram – @elisadepanicis

Ludivine Payet – Dimitri Payet

Noemie Happart – Yannick Carrasco

Follow her on Instagram – @noemiehappart

LiLia Granadilla – Alberto Moreno

Follow her on Instagram – @liliagranadilla

Pilar Rubio – Sergio Ramos

Follow her on Instagram – @pilarrubio_oficial

Erin Borini – Fabio Borini

Follow her on Instagram – @erin_borini

Majda Sakho – Mamadou Sakho

Follow her on Instagram – @majdasakho

Marine Lloris – Hugo Lloris

Follow her on Instagram – @llorismarine_

Izabel Goulart – Kevin Trapp

Gabriella Lenzi – Neymar

Follow her on Instagram – @gabriellalenzi

Polly Parsons – Thomas Vermaelen

Follow her on Instagram – @pollyroseparsons

Ana Ivanovic – Bastian Schweinsteiger

Follow her on Instagram – @anaivanovic

Shakira – Gerard Pique

Follow her on Instagram – @shakira

Montana Yorke – Andre Schurrle

Follow her on Instagram – @montsxo

Rea Simone – James Chester

Jessica Pires – Robert Pires

Follow her on Instagram – @jessica_lemarie_pires

Winonah de Jong – Nigel de Jong

Follow her on Instagram – @winonahdejong

Elena Bonzanni – Valon Behrami

Follow her on Instagram – @elenabonzanni

Antonella Roccuzzo – Lionel Messi

Follow her on Instagram – @antoroccuzzo10

Abbey Clancy – Peter Crouch

Follow her on Instagram – @abbeyclancyofficial

Amra Silajdzic – Edin Dzeko

Follow her on Instagram – @amra_silajdzic

Claude Puel has endured a stuttering start to his Southampton reign this season.

Two draws at home to Watford and Sunderland respectively have been punctuated by a loss at Old Trafford to Manchester United, leaving the Saints without a win going into the international break.

Once again this year they’ve seen some of their best players leave – Victor Wanyama left for Spurs whilst Graziano Pelle decided a move to the Chinese Super League was what he wanted and as yet the South Coast club have yet to fully work out how to replace them.

Nevertheless, if there is one club who can solve this kind of problem, it’s Saints. High profile departures for the last few years have been negated by good acquisitions in the market and the new boss will hope this season is no different as they embark on Europa League football next month.

Puel may decide to dip his toes into the transfer market once more before it closes to ensure his squad is as strong as possible and here at Football FanCast we think this give from Serie A deserve a mention in his thoughts…

Faouzi Ghoulam

With Ryan Bertrand injured, Matt Targett has filled in at left and back and done well but with no European experience there’ll inevitably be question marks over his ability to play in the Europa League. If Claude Puel has the same doubts he should look at the Algerian Ghoulam who knows what it’s like to play in Europe as well as compete with the best given he plays for Napoli.

Dries Mertens

Southampton currently lack width, even with the signing of Sofiane Boufal, especially with Puel preferring to play a diamond in midfield and two up front. Sadio Mane was another that left the club this season and he gave the Saints pace allowing them to stretch teams so they need to replace that as soon as possible. Dries Mertens would be suitable with his direct playing style whilst he also has experience of playing in Europe.

Giacomo Bonaventura

For many, Bonaventura was the stand out performer in AC Milan’s campaign last season as they tried desperately to rediscover what made them once one of the most feared sides in Europe. He can play as an attacking midfielder or down the right and that would give the Saints the much needed ability to mix things up. The South Coast club are quite predictable at the moment so something needs to change.

Josip Ilicic

The Slovenian international scored 13 goals in 30 games for Fiorentina last season and that was from midfield. Every side needs good goal-scoring midfielders in order to compete at the highest level so signing Ilicic would allow the Saints to do so. He also scored twice in the Florence team’s Europa League games and so could bring that to the table, too.

Mattia Destro

Southampton have gone with Nathan Redmond up top along with either Shane Long or Charlie Austin and whilst Redmond has done okay, he’s going to need time to morph into a proper striker. Meanwhile, Austin has fitness concerns so the club should be looking at someone like Destro as another option. He’s off the mark this season for Bologna and boasts experience from AS Roma and AC Milan so he certainly has pedigree.

The country is reacting to the news this morning that England manager Sam Allardyce has been caught in a sting by The Telegraph appearing to negotiate a £400,000 deal and offering advice to business men on how to get past FA rules on the transfers of players and third party ownership.

The business men were actually reporters from The Telegraph unbeknownst to the former Sunderland boss and believed them to be in fact representing a company from the Far East looking to make some money from the Premier League in this country.

Where this leaves Allardyce and his future as the manager of the national team remains to be seen with him likely to have to explain his actions to the FA in the very near future.

‘Big Sam’ has managed the Three Lions just the once so far in his short tenure – a win against Slovakia – and it could transpire that that turns out to be his only game in charge.

Naturally, a story like this has created plenty of interest on Twitter and here are some of the best reaction to this revelation…

Since Leicester City’s title win last season, and Jamie Vardy’s infamous party, the Foxes have been suffering something of a hangover.

On their way to the title, the champions lost just three league games all season. This time around they’ve already lost four. Each defeat, however has come away from home, as Claudio Ranieri’s side have not yet lost on their home turf. The only time this season they’ve been turned over at the King Power stadium came in the EFL Cup, and even then it was in extra time.

It may be that Leicester have found their level in the league after their unlikely triumph last season. Or it may be that Ranieri has been keeping his powder dry for the European adventure his team find themselves on. The truth is probably somewhere in between: they were never going to be able to repeat last season’s heroics, whilst player rotation and extra games probably haven’t helped their cause.

Last weekend, however the good home form returned. Beating Crystal Palace 3-1 doesn’t necessarily prove much, of course – the Premier League champions should probably be expected to produce such a result – but the manner of the victory was encouraging. The performance matters.

And it was the Foxes’ best league performance of the season, by all accounts. Data from FanDuel shows that it was probably their best by quite some distance, in fact. FanDuel will match your first deposit all the way up to £400, so if you think that Tottenham will beat the champions this weekend, it might be time to set up a team.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer, and Leicester have been solid at home without being spectacular, but this does feel just that little bit different: having all but ensured their passage through to the next round of the Champions League, it’s surely time for Ranieri to start focusing on league form, and the performances from multiple players in the Palace game suggest that might be the case.

The next game, though, is a trip to white hart lane to face a Tottenham side who are genuine title contenders and whom the Foxes beat to the trophy last season. You don’t really expect much from Leicester in this game, not with another European game on the horizon.

So have Leicester turned a corner, the answer is probably not yet. But after the Tottenham game, and if they can get the result they need for champions league knockout round qualification on Wednesday night, then that then they probably will.

It may not mean much just yet, but the palace performance shows Leicester can turn it on when they want to.

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Scotland’s capitulation to a bang average England team at Wembley has opened up various cans of worms – some have even questioned the role of SFA chief executive Stewart Regan.

For Scotland fans it is no longer near misses, it’s a long downward spiral that shows no sign of bottoming out. A look at the U21 results will confirm exactly what is in the ‘pipeline’.

Along the way of the great fall in the Scotland national team it has become obvious that the international game is vastly inferior to the club variety.

Twenty years ago international managers could pick the best players from various clubs. These days it’s a case of looking around the fringes of bloated squads to find players who might be able to do a turn for the national side.

Next week Celtic host Barcelona with an outsiders chance of success, the performances against Manchester City and away to Borussia Monchengladbach suggest that there is a chance.

But what hope would you give Scotland if they were playing Barcelona at Hampden next week?

Once upon a time there would be an argument for which Celtic players would get into the Scotland team.

Today it would be role reversal, so which Scotland players would get into Brendan Rodgers side?

DAVID MARSHALL v CRAIG GORDON

Of all the changes to the team at Wembley, dropping Marshall seemed the strangest – although perhaps not to the Hull City keeper.

Without particularly being at fault in Celtic’s 5-0 loss at Artmedia or 4-4 draw at Motherwell, Marshall found himself dropped by Strachan for the return match with Artmedia and the legend of Artur Boruc began.

Marshall has carved out a great career in England, it was an erratic decision to drop him for a keeper of very similar ability. Score draw.

CALUM PATERSON/ IKECHI ANYA v MIKAEL LUSTIG

No contest here, a converted Hearts striker or Watford winger against a tried and tested international full-back.

Lustig has played in two European Championships and been part of an international side consistently more successful than Scotland.

I don’t think that Paterson would get a game ahead of Tony Ralston in the Celtic Development team – no contest here, Lustig every day of the week with Cristian Gamboa as back-up. Celtic win.

LEE WALLACE v KIERAN TIERNEY

Not even close, not a contest. Scotland’s third choice left-back had his best days at Tynecastle and showed his ambitions by sticking around at Ibrox for a four year journey against lower tier opposition.

Waldo may be passable at charging forward in the SPFL but his crossing is as weak as his defending.

Exposed to top tier quality every week his game has been shown up, on the other hand Tierney is improving every week and has shown that he can live with it in the Champions League. Celtic win.

CHRISTOPHE BERRA v ERIK SVIATCHENKO

Berra never really impressed at Hearts and has taken that form south into stints with Wolves and Ipswich that haven’t resulted in interest from anywhere else. He displays little of the qualities required in a central defender.

In contrast Sviatchenko likes to get in and about strikers, knows when to play it safe and shows increasing signs of leadership qualities.

Berra’s career has plateaued at Championship level, Sviatchenko is developing towards Champions League standards. Celtic win.

GRANT HANLEY v JOZO SIMUNOVIC

It is almost an act of cruelty putting Hanley into international football. An honest performer but woefully short at both ends, his defending leaves a lot to be desired while his first half header in front of goal would be cringe worthy at any level of the game.

Simunovic has still to be tested at the highest levels but is starting to deliver on the billing that he arrived from Croatia with.

Whether it’s a bread and butter SPFL match or Champions League tie I’d rather have Jozo in my team than Hanley.

JAMES MCARTHUR v SCOTT BROWN

McArthur is a rare example of a Scot who has gone down to England and developed his career in the right direction but isn’t on the same level as the 2016/17 version of Scott Brown.

The Crystal Palace man would certainly be in and around Brendan Rodgers’ first choice XI but it would take someone pretty special to take the place of the club captain. Celtic win.

DARREN FLETCHER v STUART ARMSTRONG/NIR BITTON

The West Brom midfielder remains a class act, maybe one day we will get around to watching him on a weekly basis in a green and white shirt.

After more than a decade around the international scene he is assured of his place with only injury interrupting his cap count.

Neither Bitton or Armstrong has got close to the levels Fletcher plays at, for Armstrong that may develop, with Bitton his game seems to have stagnated just when it should have been kicking on. Scotland win.

MATT RITCHIE v JAMES FORREST/PATRICK ROBERTS

Ritchie appears to be one of those Englishmen that hits a little bit of form, earns a few Scotland caps then returns to the level he’s played most of his career at.

Switching from Bournemouth to Newcastle suggested that he is ambitious, although it did involve a step down a division.

Forrest and Roberts have shown real signs of quality this season and have their best years ahead. Celtic win.

STEVEN NAISMITH v TOM ROGIC

Naismith has been very fortunate to carve out a career in the richest league in the world – thanks to his refusal to sign for Rangers in 2012.

The striking skills that he showed earlier in his career have been replaced by a willingness to rush around chasing lost causes, which earns international brownie points.

In contrast, Rogic is more attack minded, has great ball skills and an obvious eye for goal from any range. Celtic win.

ROBERT SNODGRASS v SCOTT SINCLAIR

Snodgrass has bounced back brilliantly from serious injury and has shown the attitude to succeed throughout his career.

He is enjoying a productive spell with Scotland but has still to perform consistently in the Premier League with just one season, when Norwich were relegated, under his belt.

The same arguments could be used against Sinclair but there is an extra level of skill to his game, with his transfer to Celtic proof that he still has the ambition to improve. A narrow Celtic win.

STEVEN FLETCHER v MOUSSA DEMBELE

Fletcher has created a lucrative career playing for struggling teams, which seems to suit his style of play down to the ground.

Other than against Gibraltar he has looked out of his depth at international level, battling it out with Chris Martin for a Scotland shirt.

Dembele’s Champions League performances have laid down a firm marker, there is lots more to come from for the young French striker at a far higher level that Fletcher has ever known.

Usually the Euro Roundup spends Monday mornings looking forward to the Champions League or else just thinking about how terrible the midweek life without football really is.And so when the Champions League groups stages came to their conclusion last week, and the draw was made on Monday morning, it was a real relief to realise there was so much football on this midweek from all over Europe.France has its Coupe de la Ligue last 16, and both Italy and Spain are seeing some massive games, and some midweek nights even have two live games! Bonanza!This week’s Euro Roundup is shopping for edible goodies to see it through a week of intense football watching.

Germany

It finally happened. The cliches can come out now. It’s not about the defeat, it’s about how you respond to it. The floodgates will open now. The cream is rising to the top. Money can’t buy you everything. Yes, RB Leipzig have finally lost a top flight game.

In fact, you’d imagine that the next few decades will see this pub quiz question fly around quite a bit: who were the first side ever to beat RB Leipzig in a top flight football match?

The answer: Ingolstadt. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s old team, ironically. Funny old game.

And, as always, when the little old plucky underdog (sort of) falls for the first time, who should be on hand to thump Wolfsburg 5-0? Why, Bayern Munich, of course. Carlo Ancelotti’s side are now top of the Bundesliga on goal difference thanks to two goals from Robert Lewandowski. And a goal, too, for Thomas Muller: breaking his duck after 999 goalless minutes.

Indeed, it was a perfect storm of a weekend for Bayern. Defeats for Leipzig and Hertha Berlin coupled with draws for Dortmund, Cologne, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim mean that Bayern and Leipzig are now both six points clear of all the other chasers, and are fighting each other in their own little mini league. After Bayern, the next highest-placed team to record a victory this weekend was eighth placed Bayer Leverkusen, who beat Schalke thanks to a Stefan Kiessling goal.

He loves a Sunday afternoon.

France

It was a big weekend in Ligue 1 as league leaders Nice took on the behemoth that is Paris Saint-Germain. Two of the top three battling it out for mid-season supremacy was always going to make for a fascinating clash, but it also provided one of the Euro Roundup’s favourite quirks about football: Alassane Plea could make the score 2-0 in the 48th minute, before Edinson Cavani made it 2-1 in the 46th minute. Just think about that one for a moment.

The match lived up to the billing. An incredible 2-0 half time lead for Nice was thanks to that Plea goal right in first half stoppage time, and a sumptuous free kick from Wylan Cyprien. But that lead was wiped out thanks to two goals from Cavani. The fact that Cavani rescued the champions will be the story, but the Uruguayan did still manage to fluff his lines on occasion. That’s just what Cavani does. But scoring seems to be what he does, too.

But that wasn’t the case for another South American striker at the top of the Ligue 1 table this season. Radamel Falcao scored a hat trick to take him up to 10 goals for the season as Monaco thumped Bordeaux 4-0 at the Matmut Atlantique in Bordeaux on Saturday.

Monaco will face Manchester City in the Champions League, which is their reward for topping their group: not an easy draw for City as the Monegasques have scored the most goals in Europe this season. Even Falcao can score….

Elsewhere, a win for Lyon over Rennes saw OL overtake the Breton side to move into fourth, whilst wins for St Etienne and Marseille brought both clubs within striking distance of the European places.

Italy

The Turin derby always makes for a huge game, and huge games turn on huge moments. So when Gonzalo Higuain’s sixth touch of the ball made it 2-1 to Juventus inside the final 10 minutes, you can count that as a step towards the title in what ended up as a 3-1 win over their city rivals.

But that wasn’t the biggest game of the weekend – not the biggest in stature, not the biggest in terms of the league, and not even the biggest because of its impact on Juventus’s title hopes.

Thanks to victories for Juventus and Napoli, Monday night’s game between second placed Roma and third placed AC Milan has become huge. For the leaders Juventus, their best case scenario – a draw – would leave them six points ahead of both. A win for either side would mean Juve remain four points clear.

Not only is it massive for the title, but it’s huge for the top three, too. Italy only has three Champions League spots at the moment, and Napoli and Lazio are both only a point behind the two playing on Monday night. It is the biggest game of the campaign so far, and potentially the biggest of the entire season.

Spain

There was a time only a few weeks ago when the table in Spain was so tight at the top that it looked like there was a possibility of seeing a break in the El Clasico duopoly of the league. And not just in the form of the street-fighting efficiency of Atletico Madrid, either.

We had Sevilla and Villarreal towards the top of the table, both playing fast-paced football, and an Atletico side who were scoring goals this season. And conceding them: Simeone’s side don’t even have the best defensive record in the league so far this season. Weird.

Looking at the results from Spain, it looks like a case of business as usual, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and the other table-toppers all winning. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Real Madrid needed another late headed goal from their goalscoring, jailbreaking talisman Sergio Ramos to seal a comeback, 3-2 victory over Deportivo La Coruna.

Real have now gone on a club-record 35 games unbeaten.

That kept Real six points clear of Barcelona at the top of a table that makes hard reading for the Catalans, who beat Osasuna 3-0. Luis Enrique’s side are back to goalscoring ways, it seems, but spurned numerous glorious chances in a goalless first half, before putting three past the Basque side.

They may be two wins back, but remember Barcelona’s collapse at the end of last season. They still managed to win the league, but they went from being shoo-ins to scraping the victory by a point. The moral of the story is, there’s a long way to go yet!

Elsewhere, Sevilla maintained their third spot, just one point behind Barcelona with a 3-0 win over Celta Vigo, thanks to Vicente Iborra – giving rise to the stat of the weekend:

As reported by The Sun this morning, Slaven Bilic is eager to go all out in West Ham’s search for a goalscorer, casting his eye on Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge.

What’s the story?

Struggling to find regular first-team football at Liverpool, Daniel Sturridge may be given an escape route from Anfield with West Ham keen to add him to their squad.

The Sun report that Sturridge is Bilic’s top target in the upcoming transfer window and is willing to do anything to get him playing for the Hammers.

Klopp is less keen though and wants to keep the England international as cover with some key Liverpool personnel missing over the next couple of months.

Sadio Mane is due to head to the African Cup of Nations in January while both Danny Ings and Philippe Coutinho are facingÂlong fights to recover from injuries.

Is his time at Liverpool really up?

Sturridge has yet to score a Premier League goal this season, with all four of his tally coming in the EFL Cup. He hasn’t been given much of a chance, though, starting just five league games so far.

A free-scoring sensation in his first two seasons with the club, the goals have dried up at Anfield in recent campaigns – he scored more in 2013/14 than his combined tally in 14/15 and 15/16.

A move to another Premier League club where he is guaranteed first-teamÂfootball could be the making of him and see a return to the form that made him a Liverpool favourite.

West Ham’s strikers have scored one goal between this season in the league and with the Hammers worried about being drawing into a relegation battle, need all the firepower they can get.

There’s no surprise managers like Bilic are looking at the player given the superb form he’s shown in the past, it remains to be seen whether Klopp has as much faith in him or is willing to let him leave Anfield.

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