Top Deal of the day-

Robert Beric [Saint-Etienne – Chicago Fire] Undisclosed

Robert Beric moves to Chicago Fire – (C) Chicago Fire

Beric becomes the third current Slovenian born player to be playing in the MLS after becoming a designated player for the Chicago Fire. Beric scored 34 times in 104 appearances when playing in France for Saint-Etienne.

Saturday 18th January 2020 –

Top Deal of the day-

Claudio Beauvue [Celta Vigo – Deportivo La Coruña] Free

Claudio Beauvue joins his third Spanish Side – (C) Celta Vigo

Beauvue joins Deportivo La Coruña to try and fix his struggling form since arriving in Spain, the Frenchman has played for CD Leganés and Celta Vigo and only scored six times so far.

English Football League –

Jason McCarthy [Millwall – Wycombe] Loan

Tafari Moore [Plymouth – Colchester] Loan

Europe –

Samúel Fridjónsson [Vålerenga – Paderborn] £500k

Birkir Bjarnason [Al Arabi – Brescia] Free

Friday 17th January 2020 –

Top Deal of the day –

Duván Zapata [Sampdoria – Atalanta] £17.9m

Duván Zapata completes permanent switch to Atalanta after scoring 35 goals in 59 games – (C) Gianluca Di Marzio

Zapata has finally completed his permanent switch from Sampdoria to Atalanta. The Colombian had been on a two-season loan but boss Gian Piero Gasperini finally moved to make the deal happen.

He has been one of the key parts of the Serie A outfits interchangeable front-line with Luis Muriel, Josip Iličić, and Alejandro Gomez. Between the front four, they’ve scored 35 goals in all competitions.

English Football League –

Ousseynou Cisse [Gillingham – Leyton Orient] Loan

Diaguely Dabo [Epinal – Stevenage] Free

Brennan Dickenson [MK Dons – Exeter] Free

Brandon Fleming [Hull City – Bolton] Loan

Sam Hart [Blackburn – Shrewsbury] Loan

Connor Ronan [Wolves – Blackpool] Loan

Jordan Thompson [Blackpool – Stoke] Undisclosed

Harry Toffolo [Lincoln – Huddersfield] Undisclosed

Mallik Wilks [Barnsley – Hull] Loan

Ryan Woods [Stoke – Millwall] Loan

Europe –

Joris Kayembe [FC Nantes – Charleroi] Undisclosed

John Guidetti [Alavés – Hannover] Loan

Jorge de Frutos [Real Madrid – Rayo Vallecano] Loan

Liam Henderson [Verona – Empoli] Loan

Yunus Malli [Wolfsburg – Union Berlin] Loan

Tudor Baluta [Brighton – ADO Den Haag] Loan

Yun Il-lok [Yokohama – Montpellier] Free

Musa Barrow [Atalanta – Bologna] Loan

Ashley Young [Manchester United – Inter] £1.5m

Thursday 16th January 2020 –

Top Deal of the day –

Terence Kongolo [Huddersfield – Fulham] Loan

Terence Kongolo switches Huddersfield for Fulham – (C) Fulham

Kongolo has made the move from one Championship club to another as the defender aims on helping Fulham back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The versatile defender can play either left-back or centre-back and will add to the quality that the Cottagers have among their back-line.

English Football League –

Nick Anderton [Blackpool – Carlisle] Undisclosed

Jordan Archer [Oxford – Fulham] Free

Josh Benson [Burnley – Grimsby] Loan

Jack Clarke [Tottenham – QPR] Loan

Josh Ginnelly [Preston – Bristol Rovers] Loan

Andy King [Leicester – Huddersfield] Loan

Gary Madine [Cardiff – Blackpool] Free

Luke McGee [Portsmouth – Bradford] Loan

Jack Nolan [Reading – Walsall] Undisclosed

Michael Nottingham [Blackpool – Crewe] Loan

Danny Rowe [AFC Fylde – Oldham] Undisclosed

Martin Samuelsen [West Ham – Hull] Undisclosed

Dejan Stojanovic [St Gallen – Middlesbrough] Undisclosed

Sammie Szmodics [Bristol City – Peterborough] Loan

Louis Thompson [Norwich – MK Dons] Loan

Europe –

Majeed Waris [FC Porto – Strasbourg] Loan

Felipe Vizeu [Udinese – Akhmat Grozny] Loan

Youssef En-Nesyri [Leganés – Sevilla] £17m

Leonardo Morosini [Brescia – Ascoli] Loan

Alejandro Pozo [Sevilla – Real Mallorca] Loan

Rest of the world –

Simon Cox [Southend – Western Sydney Wanderers] Free

Wednesday 15th January 2020-

Top Deal of the day –

Stanislav Lobotka [Celta Vigo – Napoli] £21.5m

Stanislav Lobotka became Gennaro Gattuso’s second signing since the boss came to Naples – (C) FoxSportsAsia

Lobotka has a gained a reputation for being a robust diminutive midfielder whilst playing for Celta Vigo in La Liga having made his switch over to the Serie A with Napoli, he becomes the 26th Slovakian to play in the league.

Having played 90 times for Celta Vigo the midfielder is the second January signing that new boss, Gennaro Gattuso has made after Diego Demme joined on the 11th.

Premier League –

Gedson Fernandes [Benfica – Tottenham] Loan

Darren Randolph [Middlesbrough – West Ham] £4m

English Football League –

Conor Gallagher [Chelsea – Swansea] Loan

James Tilley [Brighton – Grimsby Town] Undisclosed

Joshua Kayode [Rotherham – Carlisle] Loan

Christoffer Mafoumbi [Blackpool – Morecambe] Loan

Michael O’Connor [Lincoln – Salford] Undisclosed

Tyler Smith [Sheffield United – Rochdale] Loan

Europe –

Jeison Murillo [Sampdoria – Celta Vigo] Loan

Jean-Clair Todibo [Barcelona -Schalke 04] Loan

Robert Zulj [Hoffenheim – Bochum] £850k

Andrea Tabanelli [Lecce – Frosinone] £225k

Luismi [Real Valladolid – Real Oviedo] Loan

Marin Pongracic [Red Bull Salzburg – Wolfsburg] £9m

Andriy Lunin [Real Madrid – Real Oviedo] Loan

Jérôme Gondorf [Freiburg – Karlsruhe] Loan

Rest of the world –

Tuesday 14th January 2020 –

Top Deal of the day –

Ignacio Pussetto [Udinese – Watford] £7m

Pussetto switches from sister club to Watford – (C) Premierleague.com

Ignacio Pussetto becomes the latest player to switch between Udinese and Watford. The attacker played 50 times for the Italian outfit before being announced as the 14th permanent player to transfer between the two clubs.

English Football League –

Jake Cassidy [Maidenhead – Stevenage] Undisclosed

Joe Powell [West Ham United – Burton Albion] Undisclosed

Zak Dearnley [Unattached – Oldham]

Jordan Green [Barnsley – Newport] Loan

Europe –

Maciej Mas [AKS Lodz – Cagliari]  Undisclosed

Rafa Mir [Wolves – SD Huesca] Loan

Guido Rodríguez [Club América – Real Betis] £7.7m

Michael Esser [Hannover – Hoffenheim] Free

Jordan Beyer [Borussia Mönchengladbach – Hamburg] Loan

Fabio Borini [AC Milan – Hellas Verona] Free

Sabin Merino [Leganés – Deportivo La Coruña] £260k

Monday 13th January 2020 –

Top Deal of the day –

Pepe Reina [AC Milan – Aston Villa] Loan

Reina joins till the end of the season – (C) Skysports

Veteran goalkeeper Pepe Reina completed a shock loan move to Aston Villa as they aim struggle with their battle to stay in the Premier League. With Tom Heaton being ruled out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage, meaning had the Villans not acted they would have had three shot-stoppers in Jed Steer, Orjan Nyland and Lovre Kalinic that all have almost no top-flight experience.

This move allowed Bournemouth’s Asmir Begovic to move in the other direction and become AC Milan’s back-up keeper till the end of the season.

Premier League –

Jarrad Branthwaite [Carlisle – Everton] Undisclosed

Lukas Rupp [Hoffenheim – Norwich] Undisclosed

English Football League –

Bruno Andrade [Lincoln – Salford] Undisclosed

Ashley Baker [Sheffield Wednesday – Newport] Undisclosed

Josh Earl [Preston – Ipswich] Loan

Rarmani Edmonds-Green [Huddersfield – Swindon] Loan

Conor Shaughnessy [Leeds – Burton] Loan

Europe –

Asmir Begovic [Bournemouth – AC Milan] Loan

Víctor Camarasa [Real Betis – Alaves] Loan

Konstantinos Mavropanos [Arsenal – FC Nürnberg] Loan

Simon Kjær [Sevilla-Milan] Loan

Nathaniel Phillips [Liverpool – Stuttgart] Loan

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Last time Chelsea faced their bitter London rivals it ended in a 2-0 win for the South West London side as Pedro opened the scoring before they got a helping hand from former Tottenham defender Kieran Trippier as he put the ball in his own net to make it two.

Since the arrival of their Portuguese boss Spurs have only lost twice in seven games with those being a 2-1 loss to Manchester United and a 3-1 loss to German giants Bayern Munich. Wins include a 5-0 thrashing of Burnley and most recently beating Wolves 2-1.

For Chelsea they have endured a terrible run with one win in their last four Premier League matches, losing 1-0 to Bournemouth and West Ham while also failing losing 3-1 to Everton. A 2-1 win over Aston Villa and a result matching that in Europe have been the only wins recently for Lampard’s men.

This is the first time that Mourinho will face Lampard in the dug-out as the 56-year old will meet the man he once dubbed “best player in the world” – it will be interesting to see whether the former star can get one over his former boss.

Team News:

Tanguy Ndombele has an outside chance of making the matchday squad for Mourinho’s men after returning to training, the same goes for back-up keeper Michel Vorm; However, Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies and Erik Lamela are all ruled out of this London derby.

Chelsea will be without two of their stars with Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Calf) and Marco Van Ginkel (Knee) both being out for unspecified periods.

There is good news for the Bridge faithful as Fikayo Tomori, Olivier Giroud and Ross Barkley are all fit ahead of this crunch match.

Spurs boss Mourinho expressed his commitment to his new side:

“I am 100 per cent Tottenham, I’ve always been 100 per cent my club throughout my career.

“There’s no space at all for my previous clubs. I gave everything to all of them, I kept nothing back and I gave everything to them.”

Lampard speaks about whether this is the toughest part of his managing career:

“I had this last year. Every manager has it to a degree. Maybe not Jurgen Klopp for a long time. It’s the nature of what we’re in.

There have been some real positives, so don’t get caught up in the negatives of a few results. We’re qualified for the next stage of the Champions league, we’re fourth which not a lot people said we would be by Christmas. We know we can do better, but we need to be confident and keep moving forward.”

“We’ve worked on the training ground more than spoken too much. It’s been a busy week, commitments through the week, but we’ve focused on training and will have meetings before the game.”

Head to Head

Tottenham wins – 54

Draws – 40

Chelsea wins– 70

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The last time Spurs and the Cherries met was last season and it ended in a 1-0 win for latter with the three points being nicked in stoppage time thanks to a Nathan Ake header.

Despite having poor enough form to sack Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs have only lost one of their last six matches with that being a 2-1 loss to table-toppers Liverpool since then though they have drawn 1-1 with both Everton and Sheffield United while also beating Red Star Belgrade 4-0 in Serbia.

Since their new boss, Jose Mourinho has come in, they have won 3-2 away to West Ham and 4-2 when hosting Olympiacos in the Champions League.

Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth have lost their last two matches with those both ending in 2-1 losses to Wolves and Newcastle. But prior to that they did beat Manchester United 1-0.

Mourinho has never lost to Howe in the five matches they’ve competed in with the first being on 13th August 2016. Then manager of United, the Portuguese boss won 3-1 with there being only one occasion back in March 2017 that the Cherries boss has drawn with his counterpart.

Team News:

The same four that missed Spurs last game will be ruled out for this match, those being Hugo Lloris (arm); Erik Lamela (thigh); Michel Vorm (calf) and Ben Davies (ankle). This means that Mourinho will have the same squad that he had available for the Olympiacos match.

Travelling side Bournemouth have some good news. As many as three players could return to the fray for their trip to London- those being Andrew Surman, Lloyd Kelly and Dominic Solanke. not all news is good though for the south coast side after Simon Francis is suspended due to his two yellows last weekend against Wolves.

Midfielder Philip Billing is out of the trip to London due to picking up five yellows while this match will come too soon for Norway forward Joshua King (thigh) and midfielder David Brooks (ankle) with both still a match or two away. Both Charlie Daniels and Junior Stanislas remain ruled out with a knee injury.

Spurs boss Mourinho spoke about the club’s summer signings and whether they are in his plans:

“I know them very, very well. It is not like I don’t know them, I know the qualities I have, I know why the club bought them, I know what the club saw in them. I think good buys.

“I think good decisions and of course they will play with me. I always think that people who come from abroad, from different leagues need more time to adapt to the Premier League, but great potential and I am more than happy to have them.”

Cherries boss Howe hopes his side can be better than their last season’s trip to London:

“The away game at Spurs last year we started so well and should have scored.

“Whereas the home game we found it tough to break them down and the goal came late. “We need to step up to the plate on Saturday and perform. Now, we’re fighting to try and create new memories and that’s the message to my players.”

Head to Head

Tottenham wins – 6

Draws – 1

AFC Bournemouth wins– 2

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Both The Hornets and The Clarets met earlier on in the year on the 19th of January, but the game ended goalless.

Considering that Watford won their first match of the Premier League campaign against Norwich as they won 2-0 away from home they will feel that they can start a run going. Prior to the win, they’d lost 2-1 to Chelsea and been knocked out the Carabao Cup by Everton, not to mention two 0-0 draws when they played both Bournemouth and Sheffield United as well as drawing 1-1 with Tottenham.

Burnley have suffered an indifferent last six games as they destroyed West Ham at Turf Moor, winning 3-0 but that was after a 3-0 loss to Sheffield United; a 4-2 loss to Chelsea and a 2-1 loss to Leicester also occurred, so it depends what side of the Clarets turns up for this match.

The two bosses have met before on one occasion with that being back in September 2016 where Burnley boss Sean Dyche outdid his opponent winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Jeff Hendrick, Michael Keane.

Team News-

The Hornets could play both Troy Deeney and Ismaïla Sarr in the same team for the first time this weekend, with Deeney using the international break to get to full fitness. Winger Sarr was injured playing for Senegal against Congo but his knock has been assessed and it wasn’t as serious as first feared.

Currently out for the 18th placed side is Daniel Bachmann (hamstring), Danny Welbeck (hamstring), Domingos Quina (groin), Roberto Pereyra (hamstring), Sebastian Prödl (knee) and Tom Cleverley (heel) while Christian Kabasele is suspended.

Both Danny Drinkwater and Matej Vydra could return for The Clarets while Johann Berg Gudmundsson (thigh) will remain sidelined.

Quique Sanchez Flores expects a tough challenge when facing Dyche’s men:

“Burnley, is a really good team. The kind of team that is a good example for all of us because they have been working together for a long time, they have their philosophy, simple but really tough, really good and it’s a really uncomfortable opponent.

“We know because they’re strong, they like contact. Their two strikers are very strong and very dangerous from crosses and they are defending like a team really well.”

Burnley boss Sean Dyche spoke on the British managers in the league:

“If you are good, you are good. I’ve never been overly-concerned in English or British managers versus foreign managers.

“I thought Brendan Rodgers did a very good job at Liverpool and what he’s doing at Leicester is a possible breakthrough. Frank Lampard is doing well albeit at a slightly greener end (of his career).

“As an English manager, we need those guys to do well, whoever it is. Eddie, myself included, Graham Potter.

“Mauricio Pochettino is a top manager. I don’t think he will be out the game for long if he chooses. You can’t not respect Jose Mourinho. A legend. He is never short of attention, for the right reasons.”

Head to Head-

Watford Wins- 13

Draws- 10

Burnley Wins- 19

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The host will want to look upwards rather than downwards following their Europa League fatigue at the start of the season.

Last time the two met was two matches ago as Villa knocked out their Premier League rivals. Anwar El Ghazi had scored the opener before Patrick Cutrone equalised. Ahmed Elmohamady did however scored the winner three minutes later with his side winning 2-1 while they dumped Wolves out.

Apart from the earlier mentioned loss to Villa, it has been an upwards trajectory for the hosts with them beating ŠK Slovan Bratislava (1-0 and 2-1) twice, they’ve also drawn with Arsenal, Newcastle and Southampton (1-1).

The Villans have lost to the top two teams in the Premier League as they hosted Liverpool (2-1) and went to the Etihad Stadium (3-0). Of course, they beat Wolves as well as beating Brighton (2-1) and Norwich (5-1) while also drawing with Burnley (2-2).

While Nuno Espirito Santo and Dean Smith have met in the aforementioned match they have faced off before with both coming in the 2017/2018 season. Both times it was when Wanderers met Brentford who Smith managed before, the first match ended in a 0-0 draw while the Bees won 3-0 at Molineux.

Wolves’ Santo knows his players are ready:

“We’re going to work and start thinking about Villa, it’s a big game, here at Molineux, a big derby. We are going to be ready for it.

“We’ve played them already this season – we know about it already. We are the same people, we know what it means.”

Villa boss Smith gave his opinion on Wolves:

“They’re very tough to beat, they’ve got great organisation and structure,” the Villa head coach said. “They’ve got players who can score goals having gone to Manchester City and won, gone to Arsenal and equalised to come away with a point… so they’ll feel they’re in a run of form.

“People look from the outside and think ‘is the amount of games they’re playing going to catch up with them?’ We’re hopeful that is does on Sunday.”

Head to Head-

Wolves Wins- 39

Draws- 32

Aston Villa Wins– 55

Team News

With Wily Boly (Ankle) out for Wolves, it could make space for Ryan Bennett to play in the league for the first time in almost a month, the defender came off the bench against Slovan Bratislava on Thursday night.

Morgan Gibbs-White’s fitness is a concern with the midfielder 50/50 on whether he’ll recover from his back problem for the derby.

Villa skipper Jack Grealish could miss his third match in a row (calf) though will be checked on the day to see if he can feature on Sunday. Frederic Guilbert picked up a dead leg but should make a full recovery and Jota has returned to training (hernia).

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The last time the two met was back in 2014 in the League Cup, Diafra Sakho had given West Ham the lead however Winston Reids own goal meant that the Blades were back in the game. The game ended as a 1-1 draw with it going to penalties and Sheffield United claimed the win as it ended 5-4 in the shoot-out.

The hosts have suffered an awful last four games with the London based side failing to win in the last four matches. United have lost 2-0 to Everton, 2-1 against Crystal Palace, then drew 2-2 with AFC Bournemouth and  were humiliated by League One side Oxford United. Before that, they’d beaten a weak Manchester United 2-0 and drew 0-0 with newly-promoted Aston Villa.

In terms of form, the Blades go into this game being unbeaten in the last two as they shocked Arsenal beating them 1-0 whilst also drawing 0-0 with bottom-placed Watford. Apart from a 2-0 win over Everton they’d struggled before this losing three at home, 1-0 to Liverpool; 1-0 to League One side Sunderland and 1-0 to Southampton.

Both sides going into this game sitting on 12 points from a possible 27, however, Sheffield United sit 9th because of their +1 goal difference, while West Ham are 11th with a -2 goal difference.

This game has the added history of the Carlos Tevez debacle where the former Argentine international played despite being ineligible during a Premier League match when the two last met in the top-flight during the 2006/2007. His goals helped the Hammers to safety whilst the Blades were relegated.

What the bosses had to say:

Pellegrini on his side’s recent run of form:

“First of all, we met Everton in a difficult moment. It was very similar to the game last season. They played every ball like a final, had more energy and won. They are a difficult team, I am more disappointed to lose to Palace. Two defeats in a row, we must stop it immediately.

“It’s hard for every team. Maybe beating Crystal Palace here at home when we had the option to do it, we should be six or seventh in the table. Every game you must play as you are playing the best teams, you must have that mentality.”

Chris Wilder on the hammers compared to Sheffield United:

“I think they are a very similar club to Sheffield United – a working-class club from the east end of London and the supporters want to see them play good football and work hard.

“We are just going to enjoy going to the London Stadium and seeing if we can keep intact our great away record that we are very proud of so far.”

Head to Head-

West Ham Wins- 30

Draws- 20

Sheffield United Wins- 37

Team News-

West Ham will be without Michail Antonio (Thigh) and Lukasz Fabianski (Thigh) as they still suffer from long-term injuries while Winston Reid (Knee) will feature for the Under-23 side next week. Aaron Cresswell should be available following making his return from a groin strain.

Sheffield United are the only side in the Premier League who currently have no players out injured. Wilder so far this season has named the same back five in every league match so it’s likely he will continue with that, though he is expected to make attacking changes.

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Last time the two met back in April this year, the Saints won 3-1 despite Willy Boly scoring an equaliser, as a double from Nathan Redmond and a goal from Shane Long ensured Southampton won.

Wolves have been impressive since losing to Braga at home on the 19th of September as they haven’t been beaten in the last five; with their last three matches being wins as they saw off Watford (2-0), Besiktas (1-0) and also beat Premier League holders Manchester City (2-0).

It’s been a very different fate for Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side as they haven’t won in the last three league games losing to Chelsea (4-1), Tottenham (2-1) and also AFC Bournemouth (3-1). They have however beaten bitter rivals Portsmouth (4-0) and Sheffield United (1-0) on their travels while also holding Manchester United to a point.

A win is desperately needed for both as they could both be involved in a relegation battle if they don’t start picking up points.

Nuno Espírito Santo gave his opinion on facing Southampton:

“We always try to build on our performances. Southampton is a totally different game from the City one.

“We have to find new solutions for the task we have. Of course, it gives you confidence but at the same time we have a responsibility to go again and do as well as possible.

“All of the games are tough. Southampton is a very good team with a very good manager. We’ve seen that, we’ve analysed them and tomorrow will be a tough challenge.”

Ralph Hasenhüttl paid tribute to the international break as it has given him time to work with his players:

“The good thing was we had a lot of players here and not too many away on international duty over the two weeks.

“That gave me the chance to work on a few weaknesses in our game that we have seen in our last two games.

“Against the big teams, they show you immediately the lack of quality you have in some situations of your game.

“The biggest issue we have had is after losing the ball, the transition to defence was not quick enough and not committed enough and that’s the reason why we conceded more goals than normal.”

Head to Head

Wolves Wins: 22

Draws: 16

Southampton Wins: 27

Team News

Only Pedro Neto will be out for the Molineux faithful as the winger hasn’t recovered from his heel injury, while Diogo Jota, Romain Saiss and Morgan Gibbs-White will face fitness tests to see whether they can make it back for this game following the international break.

Southampton will still be without their two injured players in Moussa Djenepo (Thigh) and Cédric (Calf) as both still are not 100% for their trip to the West Midlands.

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This has meant that many fans and pundits have been calling for Toffees boss Marco Silva’s head with the boss only having a 37.5% win percentage since joining the club on 31st May 2018.

Last time West Ham faced off against Silva’s men was in March last season, it took goals from on-loan Kurt Zouma and winger Bernard for Everton to win 2-0 to the London Stadium.

The hosts have only won once in their last five league games and that was five matches ago as they beat a then-struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers side and beat them 3-2. Since then, they have lost 3-1 away to AFC Bournemouth; 2-0 when Sheffield United came to Goodison Park; 3-1 when they hosted Manchester City and then most recently lost 1-0 away to Burnley.

Manuel Pellegrini’s Hammers have struggled since losing to Oxford United in the Carabao Cup 4-0. Since then they were held to AFC Bournemouth and lost via a VAR decision to allow Jordan Ayew’s goal as Crystal Palace win 2-1 at the London Stadium. Before that, they’d beaten Manchester United and Norwich City 2-0 while also drawing 0-0 with Aston Villa.

Marco Silva admitted his side are in a “tough moment but remains in confident mood ahead of the clash against West Ham:

“The first thing [for my team] is to give everything. In the tough moments, react and put in more hard work and 100 per cent commitment. We have to be demanding of ourselves every single day.

“When you have tough moments as a football team – and this is a tough moment for us as a club and our fans – we have to do even more and then we will see [results] on the matchday.

“As a team we have to show more, that strong character and personality that will have us playing to our best level again – and achieving what we want in every single match.

“There are more points to win and we have to be really strong to win the next match – then the confidence will come again.

“In the tough moments, you can see the strong character… the strong personality. And how we can be strong as a team.”

Manuel Pellegrini gave an honest assessment of the Hammers season so far:

“We don’t need an international break to assess the season so far, we always do that. We have played eight games and we need to continue having the ambition and winning mentality.

We know there are difficult teams in the Premier League but we must trust that we are able to find the answers.

“I think we are where we deserve to be and we are clear in what we need to improve.”

Head to Head

Everton Wins: 70

Draws: 30

West Ham Wins: 40

Team News

During the international break, Everton lost midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin to a thigh injury which means that he will be out for give or take three months which is a huge blow for the Toffees. Given that Seamus Coleman will also miss the game due to him receiving two yellows in their loss to Burnley.

That will mean that AS Monaco loanee Djibril Sidibe will deputise in his absence, it will also be his first start if he does get named in starting 11. Midfielder Fabian Delph could make his way into the team if he makes it back in time from a hamstring strain.

For the Hammers, they will be without Lukasz Fabianski, who is expected to return in the new year. Michail Antonio and Winston Reid also are set to continue their recovery.

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When the Saints last played against the Blues it ended in a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge back in January. Chelsea failed to win this one despite holding most of the possession and having the better chances.

Since Southampton got promoted from the Championship back in the 2011-2012 season, no team has been able to get more points at the St Mary’s Stadium compared to their London opponents. The Stamford Bridge faithful have gained 16 points out of 21 points.

With the last time, Southampton won at home to Chelsea being they’re first home match against the London outfit since promotion, that match ended 2-1 after saints legend Rickie Lambert scored the winning goal, two minutes after John Terry’s equaliser.

Despite a disappointing start to the season for the south coast side, they’ve only lost two of their last six with those coming in a 2-1 loss to a demoralised Tottenham and a 3-1 defeat to a high flying Bournemouth side.

All their wins have come away from home this season, smashing rivals Portsmouth 4-0 while also beating Fulham and Sheffield United. The other result was a 1-1 draw with Manchester United after coming from behind and having a player sent off.

After beating Wolves 5-2, Chelsea would have likely expected to continue as they went on, however, home losses to Valencia (1-0) and Liverpool (2-1) stopped the club in their tracks a little.

Since those defeats though they’ve been unstoppable, winning the last three, beating Grimsby (7-1); Brighton (2-0) and most recently won a tricky away game as they beat Lille (2-1)

What the managers have had to say:

Ralph Hasenhüttl outlined how he wants his side to perform against Chelsea:

“We have not won at home so far, but we have not had an easy schedule with Liverpool, Manchester United and Bournemouth. The Bournemouth game was really the one we maybe had the biggest chance to take something, but every game is difficult in the Premier League.

“On Sunday, we have a very strong opponent, but we have shown strong performances against strong teams, and this is what I demand from my guys this week; we need a very good spirit and good mentality to fight from the first minute.

“The first half will be intense, it sometimes can be a little bit wild, sometimes a little bit unorganised, but this is what I expect. You have to be there, strong and aggressive.”

Chelsea boss Lampard was delighted that Fikayo Tomori had been called up for England:

“I am delighted for Tomori. Mason and Tammy have taken headlines, but Tomori, having seen him turn up at Derby, to see him play the full season last year and then to come here and some people might doubt him. He has shown great qualities and he has been a dream day in and day out.”

Head to Head

Southampton Win- 30

Draws- 29

Chelsea Win- 45

Team News

Ralph Hasenhüttl has ruled Moussa Djenepo (Thigh) out of their match against the Blues this weekend but believes Cedric Soares (Calf) could return but is more likely to be back during the international break. Keeper Alex McCarthy also is a doubt for the south coast side.

The Blues have no fresh injury concerns as Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Calf); Emerson (Thigh); Marco Van Ginkel (Knee) and Antonio Rudiger (Hip) are all still out however the news during the week that both N’Golo Kante and Kurt Zouma played the full 90 minutes will be an added bonus to the team.

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When the two last played against each other back in 2011, both sides were in the Championship the Hornets were the side who cruised to the victory at Vicarage Road, though beating the Blades 3-0 with the away side having two players sent off by the 34th minute.

Watford have made a horrific start to their 2019/20 season, which has seen Javi Gracia pay with his job after four league games. Since new boss Sánchez Flores has taken over he has already achieved the same amount of points drawing 2-2 with London rivals Arsenal.

However, since that match, they have been beaten by Wolves (2-0) and been torn apart by Manchester City with the current Premier League champions beating them 8-0. The only silver lining in this start to the season for Watford is that they beat Swansea 2-1 in the Carabao Cup.

Sheffield United have made a good start after being one of the sides who got promoted from the Championship, they sit 12th in the league and up until recently they’d been doing really well, with a blunder against Liverpool costing them as they lost 1-0 at home to the current table toppers.

The same result has come against League One side Sunderland in the Carabao Cup and again to Southampton so a break away to Watford could be welcomed considering the last time they were away from Brammall Lane they won 2-0 at Goodison Park beating Everton.

What the managers are saying:

Watford boss Sánchez Flores has called his next upcoming matches like finals:

“We are no longer preparing matches; we are preparing finals, It is like this, but I am really happy with the response of the players at the training ground.

“It is two different things, we are training with them and the tactics are one thing, their mental health is another thing. We need to prepare about the brain, prepare to train this muscle because it’s the main muscle right now.”

Chris Wilder spoke about the blades expectations for this season:

“We’ve always raised the bar. We don’t want to just finish fourth from the bottom, I know the players better than anybody. I know who to push and who not to.

“We’re not settling for being ‘okay’. We want to raise the bar and keep pushing individually, that’s been the theme running through. There’s clarity in that. They know I’m tough with them but they accept it.”

Head to Head

Watford Win- 13

Draws- 11

Sheffield United Win- 19

Team News

Will Hughes will have to be assessed for the home side, though both Isaac Success and Troy Deeney will be missing when Sheffield United come to town.

The only player that has an injury concern for the Blades is David McGoldrick who could recover in time to play his part in his six Premier League match of the season.

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