Aston Villa will have a tough task when they face third-placed Manchester City on Sunday.

Dean Smith’s side will have been boosted though after managing to come away from the King Power Stadium with a 1-1 draw against Leicester City in midweek.

They will be looking to replicate or better that result against last season’s champions, as they look to increase their gap from the relegation zone that stood at just a point going into the weekend’s action.

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With that in mind, FFC has predicted the lineup that Smith may utilise, which includes two changes from the Leicester match.

Orjan Nyland received plenty of praise for his performance against Leicester, which should be enough to keep him in the side with Tom Heaton out for the season.

Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause were solid against the Foxes, conceding just a solitary goal against a side boasting the league’s top scorer, Jamie Vardy. The opposition’s goal eventually came when Douglas Luiz was dispossessed, so the aforementioned backline should continue.

Frederic Guilbert will surely be chosen ahead of Ahmed Elmohamady after scoring the goal that secured the draw in Villa’s Carabao Cup semi-final.

Matt Targett is available after returning from a hamstring injury, as reported by BBC Sport, so he should come in for Neil Taylor who was particularly poor against Fulham in the FA Cup.

Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba were slated for their performances against Leicester but may keep their spots due to the nature of the side they will be playing against. City have scored the highest number of goals in the division so a protective screen will be needed in front of the defence.

Danny Drinkwater joins them in a midfield three to make his debut for the Villans, having joined on loan from Chelsea.

Villa don’t actually have any senior strikers available, with Jonathan Kodjia out because of illness and Keinan Davis still injured. This could see Jack Grealish and Anwar El Ghazi being used as an attacking duo – though this does offer an indication of how desperately Villa need new recruits in attacking areas this month.

Meanwhile, Villa’s proposed transfer move could act as a roadblock for the progression of their exciting youngster.

Charlton Athletic put in an impressive effort against West Bromwich Albion, as they managed to get a 2-2 draw against the Championship highflyers.

There were some big individual performances, with one of those coming from Josh Davison, who bagged his first Charlton goal.

It may not be expected when conceding twice, but another of those, arguably the biggest, came from Naby Sarr.

There was one moment in particular that stood out from the 26-year-old, when he swooped in to deny Conor Townsend what would have been a brilliant chance to win all three points for the Baggies.

Grady Diangana had played the ball in behind the Charlton defence, but Sarr was able to recover with a sliding challenge to deny the West Brom defender.

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Fans were full of appreciation for the moment of defensive brilliance, stating that he “saved us today”.

That was not his only contribution to the game though, as he also assisted Davison’s aforementioned goal with a towering header for the 20-year-old to flick on.

Outside of that, he won four aerial duels, made two clearances and one interception during the 90 minutes.

There were references to his assist from fans, while another congratulated him on a great game.

Meanwhile, ESI showed their commitment to Charlton with a recent decision.

Son Heung-Min is in a serious dip in form right now.

On the chalkboard

In his last three outings for Tottenham Hotspur, the South Korea international has been remarkably poor.

And that is a major problem for Spurs, with Harry Kane injured.

Indeed, since his goal against Burnley in a 5-0 win, he has been remarkably limited under Mourinho.

Per WhoScored, he has had an average rating of 5.95 across his last three outings, against Wolves, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Versus the Blues, of course, he was sent off and missed clashes with Brighton & Hove Albion, Norwich City and Southampton as a result of that suspension.

However, those last three outings have seen him fail to score a goal, register an assist or lay on a key pass.

He did complete six dribbles across the three games, but he was also unable to win a tackle, while he has been dribbled past on five occasions.

As a player who could fill the void left by Kane, he has shown few signs that he is ready to step up.

Against Liverpool, in particular, he did have four shots on goal but the majority of them were speculative efforts, while one effort saw him sky a shot from close-range despite being one-on-one with Alisson Becker.

Calmness needed

Son needs to get back to being an excellent finisher.

He has scored 10 goals this season in all competitions but, on many occasions, it has appeared that he prefers an instinctive finish over an effort where he has time to think.

No clues whatsoever: Which seasons do these iconic Spurs images belong to?

That was true against Liverpool, as he spurned a major chance, and he really needs to get back to his finishing training.

With Kane out until April, Spurs need players to step up and start scoring goals.

Son is the obvious candidate to do that but his recent form is a worry; he must improve in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans have hammered one man for his display against Liverpool. 

Ryan Sessegnon has been making a mark at Tottenham Hotspur this season, but how good are his statistics?

On the chalkboard

The former Fulham youngster has made six Premier League appearances, playing 90 minutes against Norwich City, twice, and Southampton.

He has played at left-back and on the left of midfield, playing in the former position against the Canaries on Wednesday evening.

Per WhoScored, this season he has averaged one tackle per game, 0.5 interceptions, 0.7 fouls and 1.7 clearances; offensively, he has averaged 0.2 shots per game, 0.3 key passes, 0.7 dribbles and a passing accuracy of 77.4%.

While he is still just 19, these numbers do not point to Sessegnon being able to properly impact the game in the final third or defend effectively.

Of course, it is still early in his Spurs career and one has to wonder if he has actually found his best position at the club.

Needs stability

Sessegnon needs to play in one position.

Thus far this season, he has been deployed both on the wing and at full-back and it is not really clear where he is best.

The big fat Tottenham quiz of 2019 – how much do you remember about the last year at Spurs?

However, manager Jose Mourinho needs to make that decision for him and allow him to play continuously in one position.

Consistently asking him to be something of a Swiss army knife does nobody any favours, least of all Sessegnon himself.

Playing him in one position has to be a priority.

Meanwhile, one image has to force Daniel Levy into the transfer market!

West Ham United have completed the loan signing of Slavia Prague centre-midfielder Tomas Soucek, with an option to buy in the summer, as confirmed by the club.

The 24-year-old could prove to be an invaluable signing if he helps to keep the Hammers in the Premier League past the current campaign.

There is an indication that he could be a very useful addition to the squad, having managed 10 goals in 23 appearances across the Czech league and Champions League before making the move to London Stadium.

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His efforts in his homeland’s top tier may be discredited by some, due to the fact that it is a lesser level, so his performances across the six Champions League appearances made may be the best indicator of what he could offer – as they saw him face Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Internazionale.

The Czech Republic international made 2.5 tackles per game, but did commit 2.2 fouls and was dribbled past 1.7 times per game.

In addition, he averaged 2.5 interceptions, 2.8 clearances and 0.5 blocks per game, indicating that he had a massive involvement in Slavia Prague’s defensive game.

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There was also quality shown on the ball, as the 24-year-old made 1 key pass, 0.5 dribbles and was fouled 1.5 times per game, while maintaining a pass success rate of 82.6%.

All of the above indicates that Soucek could prove to be the type of player who would be an effective partner for Declan Rice.

There are obvious bonuses to this, but one of the biggest of those is that Mark Noble would finally have some of the pressure that has been on his shoulders alleviated.

The West Ham cult hero struggled at times against Liverpool, giving the ball away in dangerous areas and looking off the pace – Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop were the only starters who worsened his 6.1 WhoScored rating.

However, there has been no scope for the key figure to be rested, as Carlos Sanchez cannot be trusted, which has been shown by the fact that he has played just 113 minutes of Premier League football this season and was hauled off at half time during the 1-0 FA Cup loss against West Bromwich Albion.

Having replaced the Colombian in that game, Noble told talkSPORT: “At a club at this level with the money we’ve spent, you can’t rely on me. You can’t rely on me to come on at half-time during an FA Cup game – that shouldn’t be like that.”

By recruiting Soucek, there is a chance West Ham have ensured that is no longer the case.

Meanwhile, West Ham’s three defensive targets reported by ExWHUemployee are analysed.

Rangers eased past their opponents Hamilton Academical on Saturday in the Scottish Cup.

The Gers won 4-1, with Scott Arfield – twice – Joe Aribo and Alfredo Morelos scoring the goals, meaning they are now safely through to the quarter-finals of the competition.

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Rangers fans, though, were quick to praise the performance of one other player – Ianis Hagi. The Romania international was making his second start for his new club since joining on loan during the January transfer window, and the supporters were clearly impressed.

The 21-year-old looks to have adapted already to Scottish football since joining from Genk. Steven Gerrard will be hoping he continues to perform in the coming months.

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Others fans, meanwhile, want him to take penalties in the future.

The youngster does have a decent record from the spot – he has scored 11 from 14 throughout his career – and after Arfield’s effort from 12 yards was saved today, you would not be surprised to see Hagi line-up and take the next one.

Meanwhile, this Rangers duo pay tribute to one former player.

According to The Independent, Liverpool’s recruitment team and indeed head coach Jurgen Klopp “are big admirers” of both Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.

However, the piece from Melissa Reddy claims that the Reds are not actively seeking moves for either attacker as their clubs would not be interested in selling to the European champions.

That has not stopped the Liverpool fans debating the pair, though, and many would be open to Son moving to Anfield.

The South Korea international has again been in impressive form for his London club this season, scoring 13 times and registering nine assists in 30 appearances.

Meanwhile, some of the Liverpool supporters have been discussing Rashford, who is currently on the sidelines with a back issue.

Call yourself a Liverpool expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

The England international had been in fine form for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side before picking up the injury, though, scoring 19 times in 31 appearances.

Another of the club’s fans, meanwhile, has insisted that both Son and Rashford would “come running” if Klopp expressed an interest.

Meanwhile, Liverpool could reportedly face a battle to keep hold of one of their key players this summer amid talk of interest from this European powerhouse.

Jeffrey Schlupp has sent a two-word message to Cenk Tosun on Instagram.

The Crystal Palace striker – who recently joined on loan from Everton until the end of the season – has been holidaying in Dubai during the winter break, where he was presented with a sand-based portrait of himself upon arriving at his hotel.

After the former Besiktas marksman posted a photo of himself outside the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, Schlupp sent a two-word message in response to his new teammate’s upload.

The Crystal Palace No.15 – who has not played since a 0-0 draw against Watford at the beginning of December due to injury – said ‘The King’ in response to Tosun’s post, alongside a crown emoji.

Then, the Turkey international responded with: “There is only one king JS” while also adding an smiling emoji with sunglasses to his reply.

You can see the Crystal Palace pair’s exchange on Instagram below:

In other news, Christian Benteke has revealed what he’s been up to during the winter break…

Burnley produced a disciplined display to come away with a 2-1 win at St Mary’s as Southampton slipped to their third defeat in four league games.

Matej Vydra provided a rare moment of pure quality to separate the two sides after Danny Ings had drawn the Saints level inside the first half.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men were full of running in difficult conditions but there was a distinct lack of quality on display in the final third.

Sofiane Boufal was beginning to influence the game just before he was forced off with an injury, and his replacement Moussa Djenepo failed to inject any kind of meaningful spark into the game.

And plenty of disgruntled Southampton fans made their feelings clear on social media, unleashing a barrage of criticism in the Mali international’s direction.

One fan suggested he never should have been signed in the first place due to Southampton’s need for a right winger rather than a left one.

Djenepo does appear far more comfortable cutting inside onto his right foot from the left wing, and with Nathan Redmond now expected to be sidelined for 1-2 months Hasenhuttl was may rue the decision to recruit a left sided player.

Finally, one fan alluded to the 21-year-old’s early season form to highlight just how poor he;s been of late.

Djenepo evoked plenty of excitement amongst the supporters when he scored stunning goals against both Brighton and Sheffield United, but his early season promise has faded and left fans pondering how good he actually is.

The Athletic’s Liverpool correspondent Simon Hughes has compared forward Mohamed Salah to former striker Luis Suarez, per The Red Agenda podcast (February 26, 48:23).

What’s he said?

The Reds battled to a 3-2 win over West Ham United on Monday evening, extending their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 22 points.

Salah scored his side’s second goal, equalising after Issa Diop and Pablo Fornals had given David Moyes’ men a shock lead at Anfield.

And Hughes has subsequently compared the Egypt international with Barcelona’s Suarez, who scored 82 goals in 133 games for the club between 2011 and 2014.

He said: “He’s a fighter isn’t he, Salah?

“I mean, there’s elements last night when it wasn’t going Liverpool’s way throughout the whole of the game and it did remind me a little bit of Suarez where he was obviously, he wasn’t getting frustrated, he was getting angry that Liverpool weren’t winning and that was firing him up.”

He added: “He seems to be getting a bit nastier.”

Call yourself a Liverpool expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

Exactly what’s needed

Salah is exactly the type of player that a club needs if they are to win the Premier League title.

The former Chelsea and Roma attacker has become one of the best forwards in world football since his move to Anfield, scoring a staggering 90 goals in 140 games for the club.

Both players, Suarez and Salah, subsequently have a goals-per-game ratio of 0.6, meaning that the comparison holds up.

Salah has 15 Premier League goals to his name this season and his ability to take games by the scruff of the neck will surely see the Reds take a few more points between now and the end of the season.

The main difference between him and Suarez, though, is that he has Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino alongside him in Jurgen Klopp’s team.

Mane has 13 goals and eight assists to his name this season, while Firmino has eight goals and seven assists.

The three combined have scored 33 goals this season. They will surely end the season with Premier League winners’ medals around their necks.

Meanwhile, Liverpool fans have drooled over one man!