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Newcastle United’s search for their first Premier League win of the 2018-19 campaign will continue away to Crystal Palace this weekend.

There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a very disappointing start to the new season, with a total of one point leaving them in 19th position.

The Newcastle fans have been on social media to discussing the potential team selection, and it would be fair to say that they have differing opinions.

Kenedy has been heavily criticised by the club’s supporters this season, with the on-loan Chelsea attacker struggling to make his mark.

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Newcastle have also not scored more than once in a Premier League match this term, and currently have a centre-forward in fine form out on loan.

There is certainly pressure on the Magpies to pick up a positive result at Selhurst Park, and the Newcastle fans have been on social media advising head coach Rafael Benitez when it comes to team selection.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Everton’s big money acquisition of Richarlison grabbed many of the headlines this summer, whilst the Toffees also bagged a trio of stars from Barcelona. Of the three to arrive on Merseyside from the La Liga giants – Andre Gomes, Yerry Mina, Lucas Digne – it was the latter who probably generated the least excitement amongst many fans and media outlets alike.

Digne’s arrival, which cost the Toffees an initial £18 million, flew under the radar somewhat due to the other high profile signings being made by the club. However, by the end of the season, the left-back may go down as Everton’s smartest signing of the free-spending summer.

The France international is not the most explosive or aggressive kind of full-back, in the mould of Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy or Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso. However, his threat on the front foot should not be underestimated. The 25-year-old has forced his way into the first XI at Goodison Park and has already registered his first assist for his new club.

Against Arsenal last time out, despite being on the losing side, Digne completed three dribbles, made one key pass, delivered ten crosses into the Gunners’ box and was one of Everton’s most consistently effective attacking outlets.

Beyond his attacking impetus though, Digne is a very solid, reliable defender. At the Emirates Stadium, Digne made two tackles, three interceptions, three clearances, won three aerial duels and blocked one shot.

Arsenal themselves, whose own left-back options include the ageing Nacho Monreal and the unconvincing Sead Kolasinac, may regret not having made Digne their own this summer.

The former Barcelona defender has the capacity to become an asset for a club fighting for Champions League football and Everton may find themselves having to ward off suitors sooner rather than later.

If Everton are serious about getting into contention for European football themselves then Digne is the calibre of player they need to be recruiting on a regular basis. Considering that he only cost the Toffees a relatively modest fee of £18 million he has to be considered something of a bargain buy too.

Whilst other bigger names will likely get talked about and analysed far more this season, expect Digne to be consistently and quietly excellent in the left-back berth at Goodison.

Silva has pulled off a brilliant deal in signing the full-back to a five year contract but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were to be prised away by one of the ‘big six’ before long – that is certainly the level he is capable of reaching, with or without Everton.

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Liverpool and Manchester City’s scoreless draw on Sunday disappointed Premier League fans who expected fireworks at both ends of the pitch. But it was by no means a poor game and despite lacking goals there was a gripping tension throughout – a tension that probably affected both teams a little too much.

Nonetheless, there were still players who performed noticeably better than others in the pressure cooker Anfield became, so here’s a look at two Manchester City players Football FanCast thought disappointed most on the day, as well as the two who impressed us the most…

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The Best

John Stones – 7/10: The England international has steadily grown since the World Cup and Sunday’s performance was another measured display that required astute defending throughout as well as wise distribution. Stones won the most headers, made the most clearances, registered the most passes and had the highest passing accuracy of any player on the pitch.

Bernardo Silva – 6.5/10: By no means an exceptional performance from the Portuguese playmaker but he used the ball the best of any midfielder for either side, in a game that was incredibly tight in the middle of the park. Only Stones and Benjamin Mendy enjoyed more touches of the ball, and only those two completed more passes than Silva.

The Worst

David Silva – 5/10: Perhaps because he’s missed a few of City’s recent Premier League games, perhaps because he was asked to play in a more advanced No.10 role, the club legend just looked rusty at Anfield. In fact, the Spaniard cast an incredibly frustrated figure for much of the match, and the precision passes that have defined his City career were few and far between. An off day for a Premier League great.

Sergio Aguero – 4.5/10: Speaking of frustration, Aguero’s Anfield woes continued on Sunday as the Argentine once again left Liverpool’s ground without a shot to his name, while he also failed to create a chance and completed just 64% of his passes. Pep Guardiola tellingly subbed City’s record goalscorer off with an hour left to play and the visitors looked more dangerous without him leading the line.

City fans, who impressed you most and least in the scoreless draw with Liverpool? Let us know by taking part below and giving each player involved a performance rating out of ten…

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The Daily Star reports that Manchester United have identified a primary January target in Bournemouth’s £40m-rated star Nathan Ake.

What’s the story?

With the Red Devils’ defensive woes on full display against Newcastle at the weekend, they are in search of a centre-back and think they have found the ideal player in Ake.

Eddie Howe certainly won’t want to lose the Dutchman however, given he has played a key role to their rise to sixth in the Premier League standings heading into the latest international break.

Netherlands international Ake signed for the Cherries from Chelsea for £20m in 2017 following an impressive loan spell the season before, and he has been a somewhat unsung hero ever since.

However, his performances have not gone unnoticed by Jose Mourinho, who wants to bring him to Old Trafford to plug a leaky defence.

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Why must Howe keep hold of him?

Nathan Ake has been a rock at the back for Bournemouth so far, the Premier League calculates his tackling success at 80%, his best rate in the Premier League to date, and he was voted as the man of the match against Palace on October 1. He has also led the backline well and played with maturity, despite being one of the younger memners of the defence.

The fact he is still on the right side of 25 means that there’s plenty of scope for improvement and if south coast outfit can remain in the top half come the end of the season, there will be much higher expectations for them next season.

Having young players like Ake means that Howe and co can be confident of success in not just the short, but long term too.

Bournemouth’s strong spine of Steve Cook and Ake at the back, with Jefferson Lerma just in front, allows their flair players such as David Brooks to express themselves and counter effectively.

It’s been working almost flawlessly so far and even if United move for Ake, the Cherries must rebuff their advances.

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Loads of Celtic fans have been discussing their defensive woes, and a whopping 80 per cent of fans want to sign West Ham outcast Winston Reid.

Celtic have had an up and down start to the season, and while the departure of Moussa Dembele definitely hurt most of the downs have come courtesy of the defence.

Jack Hendry has yet to prove he is really good enough, Kristoffer Ajer is still learning his craft and Dedryck Boyata is yet to play himself back into the fans’ good books.

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A move for Reid makes perfect sense, as the West Ham defender will surely look for a move once he is fit again.

Reid has missed the start of the season through injury, but when he returns he will be behind Angelo Ogbonna, Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena in the Hammers’ pecking order.

The 30-year-old, who has racked up over 200 appearances in East London, could just be the commanding leader the Bhoys need at the back, and 80 per cent of fans are backing a move.

He could be the perfect partner to teach Ajer if Boyata does indeed get his move in January, and you can view the full poll results down below…

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According to our recent poll, a huge majority of Tottenham fans want Erik Lamela to come in to the starting XI to replace Moussa Sissoko against West Ham.

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Spurs have been hit by somewhat of an injury crisis in recent weeks and Mauricio Pochettino recently hinted in his press conference that players returning such as Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen would not be rushed back into the side.

If the Argentine boss goes with a 4-4-2 as he did in the 1-0 win over Cardiff then it could be between Lamela and Frenchman Sissoko for the starting spot. Sissoko started the game against the Welsh side but his time at Spurs has never taken off since his ill-fated £30m move from Newcastle in 2016.

91 per cent of those Spurs fans that answered our poll wanted Lamela to start. The 26-year-old has made four appearances in the Premier League so far this season, but all have come from the bench and he is yet to start a game. Check out the full results of the poll below.

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Arsenal are readying a move to sign Barcelona winger Malcom on loan in January, according to Sport.

What’s the word?

Unai Emery’s Arsenal have started the campaign in fine form, winning nine consecutive matches across all competitions at the time of writing, but there is still further room for improvement within the Gunners’ squad.

Emery is on the hunt for additions in January and Spanish outlet Sport says Arsenal have enquired to Barcelona about the possibility of taking Malcom on loan in January after his slow start to life in Catalonia has seen him on the fringes of Ernesto Valverde’s squad.

Inter Milan and Tottenham are also expressing interest in the 21-year-old Brazilian who moved to the Camp Nou in the summer from Bordeaux after attracting attention from a host of clubs across Europe, including that of the Gunners back in January.

Worth pursuing?

Arsenal are short of options in the wide positions of the squad, with only Alex Iwobi standing as a senior recognised winger amongst Emery’s ranks, but signing such an expensive addition on loan would be a questionable move.

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Despite his lack of opportunities this season, Barcelona would not be willing to conclude a loan deal unless it was financially appealing to the club and Arsenal, who have limited funds available as it is, would be better to prioritise a permanent addition.

Boca Juniors ace Cristian Pavon, who continues to be widely linked with the Gunners, would be a solid recruit for Arsenal and would bolster the side for the long-term, rather than the temporary bonus that Malcom would provide.

West Ham could be on the lookout for a playmaker during the January transfer window.

Manuel Pellegrini’s creative department has been depleted with injuries to both Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko. Lanzini was sidelined in pre-season and is expected to miss the majority of the campaign. On the other hand, Yarmolenko could lose as much as six months after being forced off the field against Everton; a bitter blow to Pellegrini following his decent start to life at the London Stadium.

With the Hammers struggling for goals, the former Manchester City boss should be searching for a playmaker to bring the best out of their forwards. One man the Chilean should be keeping tabs on is Genk maestro – Alejandro Pozuelo.

Valued at just £6.3m by Transfermarkt, the former Swansea man has developed into a crucial player for the Belgian side after leaving Rayo Vallecano on a free transfer back in 2015. Pozuelo ended last season with six goals and 11 assists, as Genk could only manage to finish in a Europa League spot. The Spaniard has been in excellent form during the new campaign, netting four goals and registering 13 assists already with Genk currently sitting top of the Belgium Pro League.

The 27-year-old is a nimble playmaker with a low centre of gravity similar to Lanzini. With close control and expert dribbling ability, Pozuelo would be a welcome addition to the West Ham midfield. Averaging an impressive 3.3 key passes per game this season (WhoScored), his arrival could help Marko Arnautovic score even more goals and bring the best out of Javier Hernandez.

Bringing the midfielder back to England in January could prove to be an astute piece of business by the Hammers.

West Ham fans, thoughts?

Manchester United’s sluggish start to the season descended into full blown crisis on Sunday after a demoralising defeat away to local rivals Manchester City in the English Premier League.

A win would have put Jose Mourinho’s right back in the mix towards the top of the table, but any title aspirations they may have held now look almost certainly to be over after goals from David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Ilkay Gundogan cancelled out Anthony Martial’s penalty in a 3-1 victory for City.

Fingers are being pointed at many players in Mourinho’s team, but one player received more criticism than most after that match – Nemanja Matic.

The Serbian international failed to protect his defensive line from a rampant home side, with many left questioning the purpose of his selection given that he offers little going forward too.

Many are now calling for Mourinho to drop him for upcoming matches.

These fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his Sunday display…

Manchester United are expected to target a new forward in the January transfer window.

After failing to land a number of targets in the summer window, Jose Mourinho is expected to be backed significantly in the New Year. According to reports, the Portuguese will target a new striker to bolster his forward line. With Romelu Lukaku the only recognised forward at the club, Mourinho wants to add competition for the Belgian whose form has waned as the season has progressed.

With targets like Mauro Icardi and Antoine Griezmann out of reach, United should make a move for Fiorentina hotshot – Giovanni Simeone.

Valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the son of Atletico Madrid manager, Diego Simeone, joined the club last summer and enjoyed a terrific debut season in Italy. Simeone ended the campaign with 14 league goals, earning him recognition as one of the finest forwards in the country. The Argentine has netted two goals in nine appearances so far this season.

The 23-year-old’s form has not gone unnoticed with the forward earning a call-up to the Argentina national team for the first time. Simeone is still improving and developing, placing him in a squad of United’s quality could do wonders for his development. With intelligent movement and fantastic finishing ability, Simeone is perfectly suited for life in the Premier League.

Mourinho is desperate to add competition for Lukaku and Simeone arrival would push the Belgium international to the next level. With plenty of years remaining at the highest level, United’s attack would be complete for the next decade by securing his services in January.

Manchester United fans, thoughts?