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Aaron Connolly scored twice on his first Premier League start as Brighton increased the pressure building on Mauricio Pochettino, thrashing Tottenham 3-0 at the Amex Stadium.
Tottenham came into the game low on confidence already following their 7-2 midweek mauling at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but their problems deepened in only the third minute when goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who was subsequently stretchered from the field after suffering a nasty arm injury , gifted Neil Maupay Brighton’s opener.

Pochettino’s side were second best throughout the first half and Brighton deservedly extended their lead in the 32nd minute thanks to Connolly’s close-range finish.
Spurs’ dreadful afternoon was complete when the impressive Connolly cut inside Toby Alderweireld before finding the far corner to extend Pochettino side’s winless run on the road to 10 Premier League matches, stretching back to January.

A second straight defeat in five days leaves Pochettino, who insisted he would not walk away from Tottenham before the game , facing further scrutiny with his side now seventh and 13 points behind league-leaders Liverpool heading into the international break.
However, the gloom has lifted at the Amex Stadium with Graham Potter, whose side are up to 13th, leading his side to just their second win of the season and a first win at home since March.

Pochettino would have wanted to see a strong opening from his side as they attempted to bounce back from their midweek humbling, but he got nothing of the sort as Spurs made a shocking start on the south coast.

Jurgen Klopp believes Brendan Rodgers will receive a warm welcome on his first return to Anfield as an opposition manager but is warning that Leicester will ensure it is “not a friendly game”.
Almost four years to the day since being sacked by Liverpool, the Northern Irishman will bring his high-flying Foxes to Merseyside for a top-of-the-table encounter.
“The reception will be good, from my side and from the supporters I think as well, but still it is not a friendly game and that’s what we want to make sure,” the Liverpool boss said at his pre-match conference on Friday.
“We are there to perform as well and hopefully that’s what we will do.”
Leicester head into the weekend after a 5-0 victory over Newcastle United at the King Power Stadium last Sunday.
Liverpool are top of the table with a perfect seven wins out of seven Premier League matches this season and are on a winning run of 16 consecutive league matches.
Klopp praised former Celtic boss Rodgers for the job he was doing at Leicester, who are third in the Premier League table, seven points behind Liverpool.
Asked whether the Foxes had the potential to challenge for a spot in the top four, Klopp replied: “It looks like, 100 per cent. It looks like. There is no difference to other top-six teams apart from maybe the name.”
“Of course, it is not forbidden to show up in the top four,” he added. “There are no reservations made and everyone who is ready for that will fight for it. And they will fight for it until the end.”
If Liverpool are to extend their winning run, Klopp knows nullifying the threat of Jamie Vardy could be key.
The striker has scored seven times in nine appearances against the Reds and already has five in the Premier League so far this season for Leicester.
“In general he is an incredible player, for years already, and if he gets the service he will be a proper threat and we have to make sure that will not happen that often. It works in the first place to avoid these passes,” said Klopp.
“We know about his speed obviously, but it is more about timing, so we need to be in the right place at the right moment to defend him. There is no alternative to that.”

Credit: super sports news

Saturday 5th October

Brighton 12:30 Tottenham
Burnley 15:00 Everton
Liverpool 15:00 Leicester
Norwich 15:00 A Villa
Watford 15:00 Sheff Utd
West Ham 17:30 C Palace

Sunday 6th October

Arsenal 14:00 B’mouth
Man City 14:00 Wolves
So’ton 14:00 Chelsea
Newcastle 16:30 Man Utd

Tammy Abraham has “really good attributes” and the Chelsea striker should target Harry Kane’s England starting berth as his “next step”, says Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
The in-form 22-year-old, who has scored seven goals in seven games for Frank Lampard’s side, was named in the England squad on Thursday for the European Qualifiers against Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
Abraham, whose call-up came almost two years after his first, is one goal behind Sergio Aguero in the top goalscorers in the Premier League so far this season and Hasselbaink says he must now look to replicate his domestic form on the international stage.
“As a young boy when you dream of being a footballer you want to play at the highest level and the highest level is England,” Hasselbaink told Sky Sports News .
He has to try to get [Harry] Kane’s position. It is not easy but that is going to be the next step.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink on Tammy Abaham
“He has been called up. He is going to get the chance and he has to compare himself with the best [striker] and that is Kane at the moment.
“He has to try to get Kane’s position. It is not easy but that is going to be the next step. He has been invited for the England national squad. Now can you make that place yours?
“The only way is to do well for Chelsea, keep on scoring and when you go with England show that you can do it on that level as well.”
Gareth Southgate praises Chelsea’s youth setup and explains why he’s called up Tammy Abraham
Academy product Abraham has had loans at Bristol City, Swansea and Aston Villa in the past three years but a transfer embargo during the summer and Lampard’s determination to trust the youth has benefited him.
Abraham, who scored his first Champions League goal in the club’s 2-1 win at Lille on Wednesday, will look to continue his rich vein of form in Chelsea’s final game before the latest international break against Southampton on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League

Giroud has been a bit-part player at Chelsea this season and has not played a minute of Premier League football since the end of August.
He also remained an unused substitute in Chelsea’s win over Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday night and is down the pecking order under Frank Lampard.
There are suggestions if his situation does not improve, the striker is likely to consider the option of escaping Chelsea in the January transfer window.
And according to Italian outlet Calciomercato.it , he could have suitors in Italy in the form of Serie A giants AC Milan once the window opens in January.
The Rossoneri are in the market for a striker and are keeping tabs on a number of players ahead of the winter window.
The club are yet to take any concrete measures, but Giroud has been suggested as a player they could look to sign in January.
And if he continues to warm the bench at Chelsea, the striker could welcome the chance to move elsewhere in the new year.

Police in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo said on Tuesday they had indicted the woman who accused soccer star Neymar of rape, charging her with fraud, extortion and slander, in what could be a major relief for the Paris Saint Germain striker.
The former Brazil captain was accused of raping Najila Trindade in a Paris hotel room in May, but he alleged the encounter was consensual and prosecutors said in August they were dropping the case against him due to a lack of evidence.
Sao Paulo state police also said in a statement on Tuesday they were indicting Trindade’s former husband, Estivens Alves, on fraud charges.
The BBC reported Trindade’s lawyer as saying the indictment had taken him by surprise and that his client rejected the accusations.
The case received worldwide attention and posed sponsorship headaches for Neymar, as well as hurting his international career.
The former Barcelona and Santos forward always denied the accusations against him and released private chats and lurid photos he had exchanged with Trindade.

Credit: Euronews.com

Manchester United’s lean goalscoring form continued in a turgid 0-0 draw away to Dutch club AZ Alkmaar in their second Group L match in the Europa League on Thursday.
United never looked like scoring for most of the evening on the plastic surface of the Kyocera Stadium in The Hague and failed to produce one effort on target.
The hosts were playing 70 miles away from home because of a roof collapse at their AFAS Stadium last month, but their fans still produced a raucous atmosphere.
There was not too much to get excited about, however, with defences on top on the slick surface.
United will be happier with the point which puts them on four points from two games, level with Partizan Belgrade who won 2-1 in Astana in an earlier kickoff.
“The conditions were tough but I thought we did very well. It puts us in a good position,” Solskjaer, who had criticised the state of the artificial pitch in the build-up, said.
While United defended well, the paucity of their attacking options was again in evidence as their run without an away win in all competitions stretched to 10.
Solskjaer’s side have now failed to score more than one goal in a game since they began the season with a 4-0 thumping of Chelsea in the Premier League.
If any team looked like scoring it was Alkmaar for whom the lively Oussama Idrissi was the best attacking player on view.
Alkmaar striker Myron Boadu had a first-half goal ruled out for offside before Idrissi forced David de Gea into a sharp save. Idrissi skimmed an effort wide after the break and tested De Gea again with a powerful shot the keeper punched away.
United’s ambition was limited but they brought on Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Scott McTominay in the final quarter of the game to try and force a winner.
Rashford was denied what looked a blatant penalty 10 minutes from time when he appeared to be clipped by a sliding Stijn Wuytens after a sharp turn in the area.
Lingard, left out of the England squad earlier on Thursday, had United’s best effort with a dipping shot just wide soon after but worryingly for Solskjaer he limped off before the end.
One of the positives for United was an assured performance by Brandon Williams who made his first start at left back.

Credit: Super sports

Leicester City Football Club are delighted to confirm Yabo Sports as its official Club partner.

• LCFC confirm Yabo Sports as official Club partner
• Yabo Sports are one of Asia’s largest gaming companies
• The company’s brand will be displayed on the Club’s matchday LED advertising and interview backdrops
  Yabo Sports – one of Asia’s largest gaming companies – will see their brand displayed on the Club’s matchday LED advertising and interview backdrops as they seek to benefit from the global coverage of LCFC and the Premier League.
  Founded in 2015, Yabo Sports are a comprehensive platform for sport data and entertainment, with their mission being to create a full-scale entertainment experience by delivering exciting content and diversified pan-entertainment projects for its ever-growing millions of users.
  Dean Hawkes, CEO of Yabo Sports, said: “We are extremely proud to partner with Leicester City, a club who have an exciting style of football and proud history which has given them a strong and loyal global fanbase.
  “The Premier League is the most popular and watched football league in the world and a league that enjoys an ever-growing global reach. We see this partnership with the Club forming a key part of our expanding sponsorship portfolio as we continue to grow our brand profile in key regional territories.”
  Harj Hir, Head of Partnerships at Leicester City, said: “The moment we met Yabo Sports we were impressed by their enthusiasm and keenness to work with the Football Club.
  “They have partnered with some of the major football clubs in Europe and sporting events across the world, which demonstrates their strong profile within a competitive industry.

Credit: Lcfc.com

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