Liverpool will have to take on Burnley this weekend – the kind of highly-organised team they often come unstuck against – without arguably their most important player, Sadio Mane.

Indeed, Liverpool didn’t manage to win a Premier League game without the Senegal international until April last season but he’s suspended for the next three matches after being controversially sent off for a high boot against Manchester City last weekend.

After having an appeal rejected, Jurgen Klopp has a decision to make over who takes Mane’s left-wing spot in the starting XI this weekend when the Clarets come to Anfield.

Philippe Coutinho is the obvious candidate having occupied the role last season, but after his infamous summer transfer saga, the 29-cap Brazilian has played just 14 minutes of football for the Reds this season and may not be fully match fit.

The alternative is summer signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who Transfermarkt value at £19.8million. He enjoyed a full pre-season with Arsenal and will be desperate to impress if handed his full Liverpool debut.

So, Reds fans, who do you think should start against Burnley? Let us know by voting below…

It was confirmed on Tuesday that ex-Newcastle United chairman Freddy Shepherd had passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 75, and Magpies fans were quick to pay tributes to their former supremo.

Shepherd was chairman at St James’ Park for 10 years between 1997 and 2007, but he was also a key figure in the deal to bring Alan Shearer to the club in 1996 in what was then a world-record £15m deal.

While he wasn’t always the most popular man at St James’ Park and received some criticism from fans and the late Sir Bobby Robson in his autobiography, there was no doubt that he always had the club’s best interests at heart.

Newcastle supporters were quick to give their reaction to the news via social media, and while some said Shepherd “loved the club and did his best”, others said he gave them “some of the best years supporting Newcastle”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

The transfer window may be closed, but that does not stop the rumour mill from churning.

A report in Don Balon has claimed that Real Madrid may be open to selling Gareth Bale next summer due to his regular injury woes.

The 28-year-old, who is currently out of action, has had eight calf problems during his four-year spell at the Bernabeu and he missed a large chunk of last season.

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The report adds that Bale’s former club Tottenham Hotspur, as well as Manchester United, could be in for him come the end of the season, but the emotional pull of the North London outfit could be too much for the player to turn down.

The attacker spent six years at Spurs, developing into the player that earned a then-world record £85m move to Madrid.

Since 2013, Bale has won 10 trophies, including three Champions League crowns, the most recent of which from last season.

As expected, Tottenham fans have been digesting the news and there have been mixed responses.

Newcastle United announced on their official website on Monday that Mike Dean will referee their Premier League clash against Burnley at Turf Moor next week, and Magpies fans are not impressed.

The 49-year-old was the fourth official for Rafa Benitez’s side’s 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at St James’ Park on Saturday, but he will take his position in the middle of the pitch in Lancashire.

In seven top flight matches as referee this term, Dean has shown 23 yellow cards and one red card, with 11 of those coming in the clash between Bournemouth and Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium in August.

However, he hasn’t taken charge of a Magpies match since the 2015/16 campaign, when he oversaw a 3-3 draw with Manchester United on Tyneside.

Newcastle supporters were quick to have their say on the decision via social media, and while some simply said “oh no”, others believe he will “make the game about himself”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

According to reports in the Daily Mail, Everton could more than double their money on summer addition Henry Onyekuru despite the fact that he is yet to kick a ball for the club.

The Toffees won the race to sign the Nigeria international in a £7m deal from KAS Eupen in June, but they immediately loaned him out to Belgian side Anderlecht as he didn’t qualify for a work permit to play in England.

However, the Daily Mail says that the 20-year-old is already rated at around the £15m mark following some impressive performances this term, with European giants Juventus and Atletico Madrid among the teams interested in the winger.

While Juve are keen having lost out to Monaco in the race to sign Keita Balde Diao in the summer, Atletico believe that the attacker could be the ideal long-term replacement for Fernando Torres.

The Daily Mail suggests the chance to take the money and reinvest elsewhere in the squad may be tempting for the Toffees, but it would be the wrong decision.

Here are three reasons Everton must keep hold of the in demand Onyekuru…

Goalscoring record

One of the reasons Everton wanted to snap the 20-year-old during the summer was because of his outstanding record with KAS Eupen – he ended the 2016/17 campaign with 24 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions, with the majority of those outings coming from the left wing.

However, if the Toffees were worried that he may be a flash in the pan or a one-season wonder, the Nigeria international has certainly shown that isn’t the case with Anderlecht already this term.

Despite the fact that he is playing for a team that is competing in the Champions League with bigger expectations, the forward has netted seven goals in 15 appearances in total.

Pace/Width

One of Everton’s biggest problems this season and the reason they lie 18th in the Premier League table and have taken just one point from the nine available in the group stages of the Europa League is because they have largely been toothless in attack.

It certainly didn’t help thatRonald Koeman sometimes chose to play the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Davy Klaassen out wide when their preferred position is definitely through the middle, and the Toffees look to need all of the wide players they can get right now.

The fact that Onyekuru gave Paris Saint-Germain’s Dani Alves a torrid time with his pace and trickery in the recent Champions League clash between them and Anderlecht suggests that he is ready to make an impression in the English top flight.

Potential

When Steve Walsh left Leicester City to take up the position of director of football at Everton in 2016, one of his targets would have been to bring some of the best young talent across Europe to Goodison Park – beating off competition from other clubs in the process – and he did that with Onyekuru during the summer.

The 20-year-old looks to have huge potential and has many years to progress and develop before he reaches his peak, and it would be a huge mistake to cash in on him now and sell him one of European football’s heavyweights rather than giving him a chance in the first team – should he receive his work permit.

Do you agree, Toffees fans? Let us know below.

The January transfer window is rapidly approaching and it’s an important one for Celtic. On the brink of qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League, the upcoming window is a chance for them to make key additions to their squad that can help them compete at that level, while also bringing reinforcements to help out with what will be a heavy schedule.

One area that’s in need of a freshen up most is in the central defensive areas. It’s a position that the club failed to strengthen in the summer, which has arguably had an impact on some of their results in the early part of the season.

There is of course no point in simply adding cover that can’t challenge for first-team appearances, Celtic are in a constant search for improvement, so they need to find a player that can come in and hit the ground running in line with their ambitions.

One such player is £7.2m-rated Filip Benkovic, who has been linked with a move to the club in recent weeks.

Here are THREE reasons why the Hoops must make him a priority in the new year…

He has Champions League experience already

What Celtic need most of all is a defender that is capable of stepping up to the European scene seamlessly without the need for too much time in getting them up to speed.

Despite being just 20 years of age, Benkovic already has 15 appearances in UEFA competition to his name, including five group games from the 2015/16 Champions League. That’s experience that could be crucial for Celtic as they continue their quest under Brendan Rodgers to turn domestic dominance into form that makes them a force on the continent again.

His young age means he has the room into an even more accomplished defender and his European experience means that doesn’t come at the expense of having a player who knows what it takes to compete at the elite level.

Celtic’s defence badly needs reinforcements

The problems Celtic have had defensively this season have been numerous. Fitness issues have been at the fore and they’ve failed to build a consistent partnership between any of their defenders due to them picking up injuries at different times since the summer.

Dedryck Boyata was out for the first couple of months and when he return he only managed to make a few appearances with Jozo Simunovic before the latter picked up an injury of his own. With Erik Sviatchenko also missing for months, it’s meant that Brendan Rodgers has had to rely on midfielders like Nir Bitton to stand-in. The Israeli has made all of his appearances so far this term in defence.

Going ahead into the latter stages of the season would be potentially damaging to their trophy ambitions as they also focus on winning a seventh league title in a row. They badly need a quality option to bring in and start to build a classic centre-back partnership with one of the others.

He can be a strong partner to Jozo Simunovic

The contender to be a partner to Filip Benkovic would undoubtedly be Jozo Simunovic, who Celtic signed from Dinamo Zagreb at a similar age in 2015. Both Croatians by birth, they have youth international caps at U19 and U21 levels, although the older Simunovic has since switched allegiances to Bosnia and Herzegovina in search for senior international appearances.

Coming from a similar football backgrounds they could build the kind of partnership that Celtic are crying out for. It’s been a number of years since Celtic had centre-backs that when you think of one, you immediately think of the other too.

Both tall, strong, powerful and possessing the ability to pass well from the back, they both have the attributes the Hoops are looking for and could be a cornerstone of Brendan Rodgers team for years to come.

Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League for the first time in three years on Saturday, comfortably overcoming their arch-rivals in a 2-0 victory.

It’s a morale-boosting win for the Gunners, who have now moved to within a point of Spurs in the table despite some significant problems in the opening stages of the season.

For Spurs, it’s another stumble away from home in a match against one of the big teams in England, against Arsenal alone they’ve won just one match at the Emirates in 12 attempts.

With fitness issues plaguing the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli, their attacking performance was well below par.

However, match fitness wasn’t enough to excuse Alli in the eyes of supporters and he’s been receiving massive criticism for his ineffectual display. After an outstanding season in 2016/17, so far this term he’s failed to reach his potential, scoring just three goals and providing one assist in 11 matches.

Fans are are growing impatient waiting for him to get back to his best and took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

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Nowadays, matches between Premier League heavyweights struggle to live up to their billing, but the contest between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates on Saturday lived up to the hype.

The match ended in a 3-1 victory for Jose Mourinho’s team, but the game was not as one-sided as the scoreline suggests.

The Gunners created a whopping 33 shots compared to United’s eight, but they were unable to build on the goal scored by Alexandre Lacazette.

That was largely down to goalkeeper David de Gea, who made 14 saves to prevent the North London outfit from getting anything out of the game.

The majority of Arsenal fans were pleased with their team’s efforts, but one player came under fire.

Granit Xhaka has started all 15 of the Gunners’ Premier League games, but he has struggled to win over every supporter in the stands.

The Switzerland international, who moved to the Emirates from Borussia Monchengladbach last year, was criticised on Twitter for his performance against United.

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Southampton defender Wesley Hoedt has hinted that he could be set for a recall to the starting line-up for the match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in his latest Twitter post, and Saints fans were quick to respond.

The Netherlands international has struggled to hold down a regular spot in the side following his summer move from Lazio, and he was at fault for Bournemouth’s goal in the 1-1 draw against the Cherries earlier this month.

The 23-year-old was relegated to the substitutes’ bench for the match against Arsenal last Sunday, while he was left out of the 18 altogether against Leicester on Wednesday, with manager Mauricio Pellegrino saying the decision was down to “tactical reasons”.

However, Hoedt’s social media activity suggested that it could be something deeper than that, after he removed his bio of being a Southampton player on both his Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Southampton supporters were quick to react to the Dutchman’s latest post, and while one said “all we ask is that you give 100%”, another asked “put your dummy back in now?”

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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According to a report from The Newcastle Chronicle, Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez is targeting a right back in this summer’s transfer window. The Spaniard oversaw a fine effort from his team to finish tenth upon their return to the Premier League last season, although reinforcements will be needed during the close season if the Magpies are to push on and perhaps return to their former glories.

And with many of our resident Newcastle fans in the Tavern in agreement with Benitez that the right back department needs strengthening, alongside recent reports that Manchester United are struggling to offload Matteo Darmian, the Magpies should look no further than the £9 million-rated star (as per Transfermarkt) in pursuit of a key signing this summer.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, while DeAndre Yedlin deserves great credit for his efforts at right back for Newcastle last term, many feel that an upgrade is needed in that department to help move the Magpies to the next level this time round.

Yes, the United States international is solid and reasonably dependable in that position, but Benitez may want more from his full backs next term if Newcastle are to improve upon their tenth place effort – Darmian could be that man.

Generally, one does not earn a move to Man United if one is not a talented player, with the 28-year-old doing just that back in 2015 after impressing in Italy with Torino.

And with 85 appearances for the Red Devils in the last few years, it’s not as if he has been a complete surplus to requirements – in fact, the full back appeared 17 times in all competitions for Jose Mourinho’s men last season, including in three of their last five Premier League games.

But with Antonio Valencia continuing to prove his worth at right back, and Ashley Young doing the same down the other side, Darmian simply isn’t likely to command regular football at Old Trafford, which is why it’s hardly surprising that he is available for transfer this summer.

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And Newcastle should be ready to pounce as the 28-year-old has shown glimpses of quality during his three-year spell at Old Trafford, while his ability to play at right back and indeed left back must be of interest to Benitez, given he is somewhat short in both positions.

Thus, with the Spaniard reportedly seeking a right back, and United reportedly struggling to get rid of Darmian, Benitez should look no further than the 28-year-old in a bid to make a key addition to his Newcastle squad.

Newcastle fans… what do you think? Let us know!