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Celtic are back in action at home to Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, with the Old Firm giants still seeking a first win in this season’s group stage campaign.

The Hoops’ latest loss in the competition to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig has ensured that the Scottish champions can no longer qualify for the knockout stages, although Ange Postecoglou’s side will still have something to play for with a place in the next round of the Europa League still on the line.

Heading into a clash at Parkhead which could potentially prove decisive in the race to finish third – with the Glasgow side simply having to win to have any chance of avoiding finishing rock-bottom in Group F – there will no doubt be a number of selection decisions for the Bhoys boss to make, with their no doubt intense competition for places at present.

One man who may well find himself out of the side is summer signing Alexandro Bernabei, with the young Argentine having endured a difficult afternoon in the thrilling victory over Hearts at the weekend.

The 22-year-old had gone into that clash at Tynecastle off the back of an impressive run of form for the Scottish Premiership, having shaken off early off-field issues to provide “fierce competition” for usual starter Greg Taylor, in the words of The Athletic’s Owen Brown.

The former Lanus man – who was snapped up on a £3.75m deal in the recent window – had registered two assists in his last two league games heading into the weekend win over Robbie Neilson’s side, although was unable to continue that eye-catching as he produced a frustrating display on the day.

The diminutive full-back seemingly ‘lost his individual battle with Hearts winger Josh Ginnelly’ – in the words of The Scotsman’s Matthew Elder – having notably failed to prevent the opposition forward from teeing up Lawrence Shankland for the striker’s second of the match just after the break.

That moment epitomised the defender’s limp showing as the 5-foot-7 menace also lost possession 14 times from his 57 touches, while winning just two of his four ground duels, having failed to record a single tackle, interception or clearance.

As it proved the new arrival was subsequently hooked just after the hour mark in favour of the aforementioned Taylor, with his match rating of 6.0, as per SofaScore, having been the worst among his teammates.

To make matters worse for Bernabei, his replacement would go on to net the winning goal off the bench after sliding in at the back post to become the unlikely hero, with it looking likely that it will be the Scotsman who takes his place in the side tomorrow night.

If it is the former Argentina youth international who is ditched, the promising talent can seemingly have few complaints.

Wolves look no closer to appointing a new manager after QPR boss Michael Beale became the latest man to turn the Old Gold down, but whoever does eventually arrive at Molineux must consider benching Diego Costa.

David Ornstein has suggested that the 42-year-old was Wolves’ number-one choice to take over from Bruno Lage after he was sacked earlier this month.

The Old Gold sit in 18th place in the Premier League after Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace and desperately need a new boss as they look to stave off relegation this season.

Beale would have arrived with very little first-team management experience, having only taken over as QPR manager during the summer with his previous roles all being as an assistant, with Sao Paulo, Rangers and Aston Villa.

However, his work with the Hoops has been extremely impressive thus far and perhaps fittingly, the Loftus Road outfit went top of the Championship following a 3-0 win over Cardiff City on Wednesday night. Perhaps it was that result which decided Beale’s future, with the 42-year-old reportedly turning down Wolves’ approach.

This leaves Wolves in a precarious situation ahead of this weekend’s game against Leicester City, as Steve Davis could be set for a fourth game in charge, in what has been a slightly shambolic period for the Old Gold as they look for a new leader.

However, there is one thing that should be for certain, and that is that Costa should be dropped by whoever does take over, as the 34-year-old has been hugely disappointing since signing, which suggests that it was another mistake by Lage to bring him in.

The Spain international was signed by Lage in what was a desperate attempt to bring in attacking reinforcements following the injuries suffered by Raul Jimenez and new signing Sasa Kaladjzic.

The former Chelsea man is clearly no longer the player he once was and has shown little to suggest that he will be the answer to Wolves’ goalscoring woes, which have seen them manage just five strikes in the top flight so far this term.

Costa’s four appearances in the Premier League so far have seen him average a shocking 6.1/10 rating from WhoScored – the worst of any player to start at least one game.

The 34-year-old has averaged just 7.8 passes per game in his four outings thus far, which emphasises that he isn’t involved at all, while his average of one shot per match shows that he no longer possesses that clinical edge in front of goal which he showed in spells at Chelsea and Atletico Madrid, where he scored a combined 142 goals.

This was clear to see on Tuesday night when Costa was fed beautifully by Daniel Podence inside the area, only for him to hesitate and fail to get a shot away, which proved crucial as Wolves ended up losing at Selhurst Park.

While Costa has been praised as “amazing” by Ruben Neves for his influence since joining and dubbed an “animal” for his previous exploits in England by Jose Mourinho, he is yet to show that on the pitch this campaign.

As a result, the new manager will have to make a tough decision for the benefit of the team by dropping the £50k-per-week veteran.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has enjoyed a terrific time in charge of the Hoops so far after winning the Premiership title in his first season at the helm.

The Australian head coach currently has the Parkhead outfit sitting at the top of the Scottish top-flight and will be hoping to lift the trophy for the second successive year at the end of this campaign.

He has made the Bhoys an enjoyable team to watch on the pitch and his signings since joining Celtic have played a huge role in him building an exciting side.

The likes of Jota, Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi have played their part in getting supporters off their seats in the final third but great teams are built on solid foundations and one of Postecoglou’s best pieces of business has been the signing of Cameron Carter-Vickers.

He was one of the manager’s first acquisitions at Celtic as he joined on loan from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur on the 31st August 2021. At the time of the move, Transfermarkt valued the defender at just £1.8m after he had played 21 games on loan at Bournemouth in the Championship during the 2020/21 campaign.

Spurs did not deem him good enough for their squad and Postecoglou took advantage of that by bringing him to Celtic Park. This turned out to be a phenomenal decision as Carter-Vickers enjoyed a fantastic debut term with the Hoops, averaging a SofaScore rating of 7.33 across 33 Premiership outings – winning 68% of his individual duels.

Celtic then moved to sign him on a permanent deal and snapped him up on a four-year contract from Tottenham for a reported fee of £6m.

Postecoglou hailed the deal at the time, saying: “I am absolutely delighted that the club has completed the signing of Cameron on a permanent basis.

“This is a major acquisition for Celtic, really positive news for us and everyone at the club has worked so hard to make this happen.

“Cameron has given everything of himself to the club so far, demonstrating his real value to the team and to the way we play. He was vital to our success during the season, such a hard-working player of real quality and he was an absolute model of consistency.”

His incredible form in 2021/22 led to Transfermarkt updating his value to £6.3m, which is a staggering increase of 250% within the space of one season.

This shows that Postecoglou and Celtic played a masterclass by bringing the American, who has been dubbed “immense” by Chris Sutton, in on loan from Tottenham last year.

They acquired a promising young player before he fully burst onto the scene and have given him the platform to shine domestically and in Europe, which has led to his value skyrocketing.

The defensive stalwart still has plenty more left to give to the club at the age of 24, and his market valuation could continue to soar if he is able to remain consistent on the pitch for Celtic.

Everton have been handed a big injury boost as the World Cup approaches, as manager Frank Lampard detailed yesterday…

What’s the latest?

Speaking at his press conference prefacing the game against Leicester City, the 44-year-old noted a potential return for Yerry Mina. He said:

“Yerry Mina is at that last stage as well, he’s trained a few days together this week consecutively so, he’s very close to being able to play. We’re at a decent position with that.”

This marks a big boost after the Colombian was struck down in their opening-day defeat to Chelsea, having been unavailable since.

It’s huge for Lampard

Whilst it may not seem like huge news given the success of James Tarkowski and Conor Coady, it might allow Lampard some more tactical freedom with his return.

Although he seems settled in his 4-3-3 formation, there is a widespread belief that the English coach’s favoured formation is a 3-4-3.

When he first came into Goodison Park he opted for it, and the start of the season saw him try it once again before deciding that it was perhaps lacking the personnel.

Now that Mina seems poised to return, it could be the perfect combination to allow the current defence that has the third-best record in the Premier League to merge with the man who not too long ago bolstered the win percentage from 19% to 36%.

He has been an impressive defender for the Toffees, as shown by his record under ex-manager Carlo Ancelotti, where the 28-year-old managed to feature 24 times in the league.

The 6 foot 3 goliath averaged a 7.07 SofaScore rating, making 4.5 clearances per game. That actually outperforms Conor Coady’s current form, which is rated at 6.97.

Although Lampard has found success with the 4-3-3, at the very least Mina’s return gives the option for added flexibility across the park to potentially alter the tactical makeup of the team depending on the opposition.

The game against the Foxes may be a step too early for him, but hopefully, Evertonians can expect to see a cameo before the World Cup, where he can then really kick into his rehabilitation during the break.

Tottenham Hotspur head into Sunday afternoon’s Premier League meeting against Liverpool in a mixed run of form, with Antonio Conte’s side having won two, lost two and drawn one of their last five games in all competitions.

However, with both of Spurs’ recent victories having come from losing positions – being 2-0 down in the 3-2 victory over AFC Bournemouth and 1-0 behind in the 2-1 win over Marseille – there is an argument to be made that the club’s high standing in the league and progress in Europe are not accurate representations of the north London side’s performances.

It is true that the mid-table Reds are also enduring something of a turbulent start to their 2022/23 campaign, but should Tottenham start slowly once again today, Conte’s side will likely find it much more difficult to claw back a deficit against last season’s Champions League runners-up than they did against the Cherries and Marseille.

As such, the Italian must ensure that he gets his starting XI absolutely spot-on if he hopes to give his team the best possible chance of victory this afternoon, and it appears a wise move for the 53-year-old to finally unleash the club’s £20m summer signing Djed Spence.

So far this season, the 22-year-old has been limited to just three minutes of first-team football in north London, despite continued calls from Spurs supporters for the 53-year-old to start the England under-21 international ahead of Emerson Royal at right wing-back.

After a series of calamitous performances, including being sent off for a “stupid” challenge in the defeat against Arsenal and being mocked for playing a no-look pass which went out for a goal-kick in the dying stages of the 1-1 draw against Sporting Lisbon – a result which could have easily knocked Tottenham out of the Champions League – many fans have quite rightly had enough of the Brazilian.

However, despite the 23-year-old’s disastrous displays, Conte has continuously deployed him ahead of Spence, to the widespread bewilderment of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful.

Considering how impressive the “unbelievable” 22-year-old – in the words of Ian Wright – had been while on loan at Nottingham Forest last season, it is not difficult to understand why so many Spurs supporters are so desperate to see the youngster in action.

Indeed, over his 45 appearances in the Championship last term, the £19m-rated wing-back was in sensational attacking form, bagging two goals, providing five assists and creating six big chances for his team-mates, in addition to taking 0.6 shots, making one key pass and completing 1.8 dribbles per game.

The defender also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making 1.4 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 1.1 clearances and winning 5.8 duels per fixture.

As such, with attack very often being the best form of defence against a Liverpool side who deploy an extremely high defensive line and an intense press, Conte must finally let Spence loose against them today, as the £25k-per-week starlet could prove crucial to exploiting what is arguably the Reds’ biggest weakness.

West Ham United have been handed an injury blow after David Moyes confirmed that Emerson Palmieri is ‘touch-and-go’ for the Premier League clash against Leicester City on Saturday.

The Lowdown: Injury concerns

The Irons crashed out of the Carabao Cup following a dramatic penalty shootout loss to Blackburn Rovers in midweek, so they will be hoping to use today’s match at the London Stadium to sign off on a winning note prior to the mid-season break.

The Italy left-back was substituted in stoppage time on Wednesday after sustaining an unknown injury, although the West Ham manager has now lifted the lid on the 28-year-old’s problem, which is likely to see him ruled out of action for the team’s final outing before the World Cup.

The Latest: Emerson injury doubt

Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Moyes revealed that Emerson had broken his nose against Rovers and is therefore a major doubt for today, whilst also providing an update on Maxwel Cornet.

Quoted by the club’s official website, the 59-year-old said: “Emerson is touch-and-go because he broke his nose in the midweek game. He’s had it reset but I’m not sure how he’s going to be.

“Cornet is not available. He won’t come back until after the World Cup.”

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The Verdict: Don’t risk him

Whilst Moyes would benefit from having Emerson at his disposal, there’s no point risking him for one game, with the international break giving the left-back plenty of time to recover.

The Italian has two goal contributions in 13 appearances across all competitions this term and is currently averaging an 82.1% pass success rate in the top flight, showing that he is capable of making an impact when given the chance.

Securing three points against Brendan Rodgers’ visitors today could see West Ham move as high as 11th in the table by the end of today, although the likelihood is that it will have to be achieved without the Euro 2020 winner.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are about to embark on a new era under recently appointed manager Julen Lopetegui, with the sole aim to remain in the Premier League for next season.

The Old Gold are sitting bottom of the table following a disastrous run of just two wins from their opening 15 matches and the Spaniard could face his most difficult managerial challenge yet.

With the break for the World Cup coming at a perfect time for the club, the 56-year-old will be assessing his squad and looking ahead to the January transfer window to see what areas of his squad need strengthening.

Wolves have recently been linked with Alexis Vega and Lopetegui could land his dream first signing by bringing the Mexican to England, especially if he stars in Qatar.

Indeed, Pete O’Rourke spoke to Football FanCast regarding Wolves’ interest in the winger, saying: “Yeah, great opportunity in this World Cup to look at some players. Vega has been a target for Wolves for a while now.

“So they will be keeping a close eye to see how he can compete against the world’s elite at the World Cup as well. If he shines at the tournament, I’m sure Wolves will be desperate to try and tie up a deal as soon as possible.”

The Molineux outfit urgently requires some rejuvenation in their attacking department, with the club scoring just eight league goals so far this, the lowest total in the division.

Vega, who plays for Deportivo Guadalajara, has registered 47 goal contributions for his club – 24 goals and 23 assists – which suggests he may be the answer to Lopetegui’s prayers.

Not only that, but the 24-year-old also has pedigree at international level, scoring six times in 23 appearances for Mexico, and he certainly has the potential to shine in Qatar.

O’Rourke even dubbed the player “versatile” recently while discussing the 24-year-old with Football FanCast and this could be another advantage for the 56-year-old.

Indeed, the Wolves faithful will be keeping a close eye on the player at the World Cup and if he manages to carry his club form into the tournament, Lopetegui’s potential signing of the winger could represent a dream first signing for the Spaniard.

Arsenal have submitted an enquiry to sign Bayern Munich forward Leroy Sane, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Falling out of favour

The German still has three years remaining on his contract at the Allianz Arena but has recently fallen down the pecking order under Julian Nagelsmann, with the likes of Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala being chosen ahead of him.

The Gunners are yet to replace Nicolas Pepe out wide since he joined Nice on a season-long loan over the summer, though it appears that they are keen on bringing the 26-year-old back to the Premier League.

The Latest: Arsenal make Sane enquiry

According to 90min, Arsenal, alongside several unnamed clubs, ‘have asked’ about Sane’s situation, though Bayern made it clear in their response that they have ‘no intention’ of letting him go.

The Bundesliga giants have ‘shunned enquiries’, and whilst the winger is ‘considering his options’, Bayern remain confident that he has the manager’s trust so is therefore ‘unlikely’ to push for an exit.

The Verdict: Blow for Arteta

Arsenal missing out on Sane could come as a huge blow to Mikel Arteta who will know that he is a ‘world-class’ player, as hailed by Jacek Kulig.

The Essen native has made a remarkable 67 goal contributions in just 108 games for Bayern and is very flexible with the ability to operate on both flanks as well as in midfield (Transfermarkt).

With Sane currently at the World Cup and keeping his options open, if he isn’t given the game time he’s looking for between now and the end of the season, a move next summer could be on the cards making this one to watch.

Liverpool are reportedly concerned that the club’s current director of research Ian Graham could make a controversial move to bitter rivals Manchester United.

The Lowdown: Graham leaving Liverpool in May

It has recently been confirmed that Graham is currently seeing out a 12-month notice period at Anfield, having decided to leave his role at the club. That means he will depart next May after playing a crucial part in Liverpool’s much-heralded recruitment during the Jurgen Klopp era.

Given Graham’s reputation in his role, it is a clear blow for the Reds to lose him, and a recent report could potentially make the manner of his departure even worse.

The Latest: United move on the cards?

According to Football Insider, Liverpool ‘fear’ that Graham could now move to United, in what is described as a potentially ‘controversial’ development.

It is also noted that former Reds sporting director Michael Edwards has been eyed up by the Red Devils as they look to replicate their Merseyside rivals’ success of recent years.

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The Verdict: Wouldn’t go down well

While Graham’s possible move to United wouldn’t be comparable to the blow of a Liverpool player heading to Old Trafford, it is still unlikely to go down well at Anfield or among the Reds’ fan base.

The intensity of the rivalry is arguably unrivalled in the English game, and the idea of Graham strengthening United moving forward would surely not sit well with Kopites.

That being said, it is still his job and it is only natural that he could consider such a high-profile role – ultimately, his final decision could boil down to how much respect he has for Liverpool.

Leeds United clearly allowed Jesse Marsch to spearhead plenty of the summer recruitment, exemplified through their return to RB Salzburg on two occasions.

 The second was to bring Rasmus Kristensen to Elland Road, to finally offer an alternative to the disappointing Luke Ayling.

Although he has impressed at times this season, there have been notable flaws to his game that suggest he would struggle as a long-term option without any proper competition.

He has an average 6.97 Sofascore rating in the Premier League, but only boasts one assist in 12 games.

However, his displays at the World Cup will worry his American manager.

He featured heavily as part of a Denmark side that crashed out of the group stages, finishing rock bottom of a group they were expected to cruise through.

The 25-year-old has recorded an average rating of 6.67 across the three games, recording a miserable 0.3 key passes per game. It seems like his offensive game weakened even further on the international stage.

This will likely explain the interest in West Ham United youngster Harrison Ashby, who Marsch could look to mould in his perfect image.

As reported by ExWHUemployee, the Hammers seem to be preparing for life without the 21-year-old who has earned praise from a variety of journalists for his ability on the ball.

Sam Delaney and Roshane Thomas were two who labelled him “one to watch” on the U Irons Podcast before noting:

“He’s big as well. He’s like a big unit. He’s only young, but he’s like a giant. Usually, you’re used to seeing smaller players in those wing-back positions, but he looked big, strong, he was very fearless, decent on the ball.” 

Having flitted between the under-23s and senior squad this season, the Scotsman still boasts one assist in just five Premier League 2 games.

Despite having only featured seven times for the Irons’ first team, he still has enough clout around the London Stadium to note this as a big blow for their academy.

But for Leeds, they could have a replacement for a man who might have shown his true colours in Qatar this World Cup.