OptiNews - Friday 13 to Thursday 19 January 2017

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@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

:tickets:

Tickets for #SaintsFC’s #EmiratesFACup replay with #NCFC are now on general sale: http://sfcne.ws/NCFC180117

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 13/01/2017 11:05:19

| | Brilliant incentive for Norwich City – but would an FA Cup run cause problems?EVENINGNEWS24 |
| | 4-2-3-1: This Southampton XI will demolish Burnley on Saturday and ease Puel’s pressure | | Where football transfer …THETRANSFERTAVERN |

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The Ugly Inside News for Southampton

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| The Ugly Inside Video Channel ! Opposition Preview With Burnley’s No Nay Never ! | Saints don’t have a great record at Burnley of late so what do the opposition think of our chances this time around. 13-01-2017 |
| Is The Wait For Wembley Over Or Will Saints Rue Missed Chances Against Liverpool ? | That is the question that Saints fans will be pondering between now and the second leg of the League Cup Semi Final … 13-01-2017 |

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| Claude Puel Looks To Reunite With French Strikera day ago |
| A Rough Guide To Burnleya day ago |
| The Ugly Inside Video Channel ! Liverpool Game Fans Reaction ! Spot On !!!a day ago |
| Saints V Liverpool The Verdicta day ago |
| Southampton 1-0 Liverpool - Player Ratings and Reports2 days ago |
| Saints V Liverpool The Preview2 days ago |
| Time For Saints Supporters To Put Grievances To One Side And Unite Behind The Team2 days ago |
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| The Ugly Inside Video Channel ! Liverpool Preview3 days ago |
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@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

#SaintsFC youngsters Will Smallbone and Michael Obafemi have been invited to @FAIreland Under-17s’ training camp: http://sfcne.ws/WSMOIrelandU17

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Puel looks for momentum

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Saints delivered an assured performance, with desire in abundance in the 1-0 victory to return to winnings ways.

And as they prepare to face the Clarets, who have amassed 22 of their 23 points on home soil this season, Puel is hoping the side can maintain the same levels.

Puel said: “I hope we can play this game with the same levels, the same attitude and concentration.

“We can see a good game, a strong game together in defence and now it’s important to keep this regularity.

“All the good things against Liverpool, it’s now important to stay with a good focus about our game against Burnley of course.”

“I think it was important to play this good game for the confidence and to see our potential also.

“Now, we will see for the second leg against Liverpool but it’s important to come back in the Premier League with the same intentions.”

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Sourced from The Telegraph article

Premier League transfer news and rumours: ‘Chelsea to make shock £40 million Dimitri Payet move’

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Chelsea are to make a shock move for West Ham star Dimitri Payet in the January window, reveals The Sun.

Payet has stunned everyone by going on strike in a bid to force a move away from West Ham, with Marseille openly hopeful of luring the midfielder back to France.

However, The Sun suggests Antonio Conte will bid for the 29-year-old after missing out on Bayern Munich’s Arturo Vidal.

Hammers boss Slaven Bilic yesterday revealed that Payet is refusing to pull on a West Ham shirt ever again after a £20 million bid from Marseille was rejected, but they are under no pressure to sell after handing the Frenchman a lucrative £125,000-a-week deal until 2021 less than a year ago.

Conte is sitting on a substantial war chest following the sale of Oscar to China and will, we are told, offer £40 million.

Crystal Palace are close to signing Patrice Evra from Juventus, according to Sky Italia.

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The Ugly Inside News for Southampton

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| Away Goals Do Count Double For Anfield Showdown ! | Saints shutting out Liverpool at St Mary’s could be an advantage come the end of the game at Anfield in a couple of … 13-01-2017 |

Older content…

| The Ugly Inside Video Channel ! Opposition Preview With Burnley’s No Nay Never !12 hours ago |
| Is The Wait For Wembley Over Or Will Saints Rue Missed Chances Against Liverpool ?12 hours ago |
| Claude Puel Looks To Reunite With French Striker2 days ago |
| A Rough Guide To Burnley2 days ago |
| The Ugly Inside Video Channel ! Liverpool Game Fans Reaction ! Spot On !!!2 days ago |
| Saints V Liverpool The Verdict2 days ago |
| Southampton 1-0 Liverpool - Player Ratings and Reports2 days ago |
| Saints V Liverpool The Preview2 days ago |
| Time For Saints Supporters To Put Grievances To One Side And Unite Behind The Team2 days ago |
| 20th Minute Tribute At Liverpool Game Planned For Tragic Saints Fan2 days ago |

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@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

Tickets for #SaintsFC’s trip to #BFC are now off sale. You’ll be able to purchase tickets from the Ticket Office at… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/819876660229115906

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 13/01/2017 12:06:19

| | 11 Premier League youngsters bracing themselves for a massive 2017FOURFOURTWO |
| | Who Is This 20-Year-Old Argentine Sensation That Tottenham Are Monitoring? Everything You Need To KnowSOCCERSOULS |
| | Van Dijk to Everton? The bookies fear so…GOLIVERPOOL |
|

| Burnley v Southampton previewSPLIFE |

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Read Southampton

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| Last time out - Burnley vs Southampton | Southampton will be taking the trip to Burnley tomorrow at Turf Moor in the search of their first win on the road … 13-01-2017 |

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| Southampton linked with Alassane Plea2 days ago |
| Quickfire Takeaways - Southampton 1-0 Liverpool2 days ago |
| Saints make £4m bid for Oliveira2 days ago |
| Hebei China Fortune eyeing Maya Yoshida2 days ago |
| Southampton 1-0 Liverpool - Match Ratings2 days ago |
| Mark Uth confirms Saints interest2 days ago |
| Leicester and Watford join Saints in Gabbiadini hunt2 days ago |
| Saints reignite interest in Germain2 days ago |
| Our man of the match: Liverpool (CUP)2 days ago |

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Sourced from The Telegraph article

Premier League Bingo: How many points can you accumulate from the weekend’s fixtures?

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The Premier League is very exciting, but you can make it even more fun by playing Premier League Bingo during the weekend’s 10 fixtures.

Go on! Have a blast. We begin on Saturday lunchtime:

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Video: Puel previews Burnley test

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Sourced from A tweet by SouthamptonFC tweet

@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

We’ve been to #SaintsFC’s @OficialCedric ahead of tomorrow’s trip to #BFC: https://grabyo.com/g/v/3nfiIXiQjot

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@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

We caught up with @OficialCedric ahead of #SaintsFC’s trip to #BFC: https://grabyo.com/g/v/3nfiIXiQjot

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Sourced from ESPN FC article

Manchester United’s showdown with Liverpool at Old Trafford

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Manchester meets Merseyside this weekend, headlined by Manchester United vs. Liverpool.

Prior to Sunday’s huge clash at Old Trafford, Manchester City travel to Everton looking to keep the heat on leaders Chelsea, who will be hoping to bounce back after a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham ended their winning run.

Antonio Conte’s side travel to champions Leicester on Saturday evening and elsewhere, Arsenal are at Swansea and there’s a big game at the bottom as Sam Allardyce takes Crystal Palace to former club West Ham.

Predict the outcome of all the matches in our match polls.

MAN UNITED: If United beat Liverpool they’ll have won 10 games in a row, which shows the huge turnaround from a few months ago when they couldn’t stop drawing. More importantly, people could begin to talk about them being part of the title race, something that hasn’t happened since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Liverpool know if they win, they not only cement their title hopes but more or less end United’s. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return after his week off, hoping to be more clinical than he was at Anfield earlier this season. Dejan Lovren will have his hands full.

Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool – Scott Patterson

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s current form is patchy while Manchester United’s has been excellent. It takes a brave or foolish man to predict an away win but Jurgen Klopp’s record against the biggest teams has been excellent so far. The visitors may well relish the role of being underdogs.

EVERTON: Finishing as high as possible in the league is all that remains for Everton after elimination from both domestic cups. New signings could provide a timely boost as the Blues chase three points against a Manchester City team that is unbeaten in the last seven meetings between the two sides.

MAN CITY: Pep Guardiola’s men should be feeling confident ahead of their trip to Goodison Park. Five wins in their last six matches equals a resurgence, though City must be wary of an Everton team that’s been hit-and-miss in recent weeks. City often struggle on Merseyside, so it’ll need a good display for them to take maximum points.

LEICESTER: The champions aren’t likely to beat Chelsea, but the same was said before the home fixture with Manchester City. Without Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani the Foxes could lack firepower, but Ahmed Musa – who scored both goals in the 2-1 FA Cup victory over Everton – may get a rare start and could cause the visitors problems. The truth, though, is that if Chelsea turn up the Foxes will be well beaten. There’s no shame in that given the Blues’ current form.

Prediction: Leicester 1-3 Chelsea – Ben Jacobs

CHELSEA: N’Golo Kante has starred for Chelsea since signing from Leicester City last summer. The dynamic midfielder returns to the King Power for the first time keen to prove he made the right decision to leave the Premier League champions. Leicester may have only lost two top-flight games in their last 25 at home, but with Kante in their ranks Chelsea will have the edge in a tight game.

SWANSEA: Swansea have always done well against Arsenal, and with the Bob Bradley era in the rearview mirror, they have a chance to rediscover their identity under the more astute Paul Clement. Season form so far suggests a rout for Arsenal, but Clement’s appointment should help stop the bleeding.

Prediction: Swansea 2-2 Arsenal – Max Hicks

ARSENAL: Swansea will doubtless be up for Clement’s first league match, but it’s probably unrealistic to expect too dramatic a turnaround at a club in freefall for much of the season. Olivier Giroud is in fine form and with Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny back in tandem, the defence should look a little more secure too.

TOTTENHAM: After a poor start to the season, West Brom have improved greatly in the past few months and currently lie in eighth place in the Premier League, so though Tottenham can expect to win this game they cannot take it for granted. Spurs must take the same passion and intensity into this fixture as they showed in their 2-0 victory over Chelsea. If they can do that, there should be no slip ups.

Prediction: Tottenham 2-0 West Brom – John Crace

WEST BROM: West Brom will be looking to extend their unbeaten run at White Hart Lane to five games when they face Tottenham in their first away fixture of 2017. Jonny Evans has been outstanding against the top sides and he’ll need to be in that form again for Tony Pulis’ men to keep Spurs at bay.

Prediction: Tottenham 2-1 West Brom – Matthew Evans

WEST HAM: It’s hard to think of a better time for Allardyce to return to his old club and hope to take all three points. Palace will be safe with Allardyce in charge so expect the south London outfit to put further pressure on the ebbing confidence of the shot-shy Hammers, still reeling from Dimitri Payet’s revelation he wants out.

Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace – Peter Thorne

CRYSTAL PALACE: With Allardyce having more than just a few days to work on his team’s shape and approach, Palace might just find some of that resilience that has been missing for so long. The inclusion of Loic Remy should give the side more cutting edge, too.

SUNDERLAND: Saturday’s clash is winnable, but few Sunderland games from now until May are likely to be easy. If Stoke have blown hot and cold all season, they have been hot often enough for David Moyes to need a fired-up team display, with Jermain Defoe at his sharpest, to secure three priceless points.

Prediction: Sunderland 2-1 Stoke – Colin Randall

STOKE: Peter Crouch will be looking to score the two goals needed for him to join the illustrious “100 club,” with the big man set to continue up front for the Potters’ trip north to struggling Sunderland. Their lowly hosts’ sole threat would appear to be Defoe, but Stoke will need to improve upon recent performances if they’re to take advantage and claim all three points.

Prediction: Sunderland 0-1 Stoke-- James Whittaker

HULL CITY: Given that Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are next on the agenda, the visit of Bournemouth is as close to a must-win fixture as Hull City will ever get in January. The obvious concern is the lengthy injury list handicapping Marco Silva during his first days as manager. Bournemouth will be fresher and have the attacking talent to deny City the win they so desperately need.

Prediction: Hull 1-1 Bournemouth – Phil Buckingham

BOURNEMOUTH: This is the ideal fixture for a recovering Bournemouth side. Eddie Howe will be desperate for a confidence-booster after their embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Millwall in the FA Cup on Jan. 7 and there’s no side they would have preferred to face next than the one they thrashed 6-1 back in October. Another easy win.

BURNLEY: Southampton have lacked firepower all season and without injured former Claret Charlie Austin, they do not have an obvious source of goals. But a close battle feels likely with Claude Puel’s men expected to be tight at the back and the visitors could deny Burnley an eighth home win in the Premier League.

Prediction: Burnley 1-0 Southampton – Jamie Smith

SOUTHAMPTON: Southampton will take a lot of confidence out of Wednesday’s EFL Cup semifinal victory over Liverpool, but that game will also have sapped their energy levels as they spent a lot of time chasing the ball. Burnley’s impressive home record means a point would be a good result

WATFORD: Watford’s poor recent league form means this fixture has taken on added significance but Valon Behrami, Daryl Janmaat and Stefano Okaka could all return for the Hornets. A porous home defence will have to be wary of new Boro signing Rudy Gestede, but this game should provide Watford with the ideal platform to get their campaign back on track.

MIDDLESBROUGH: Last time out for these sides, Watford edged Middlesbrough without really needing to pull their weight at the Riverside. Boro will find it tough to play away at their lower-table peers but should be buoyed after a convincing 3-0 cup win last weekend and the rich form of returning players such as Grant Leadbitter.

Prediction: Watford 2-1 Middlesbrough – Catherine Wilson

Can United keep up their winning run? Will Morgan Schneiderlin play in Everton’s clash with Manchester City and could he make the difference? What about West Ham – where do they go from here, with news Payet wants to leave?

It’s another big weekend in the Premier League. Predict the outcomes in our match polls and have your say in the comments below.

Follow @ESPNFC on Twitter to keep up with the latest football updates.

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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 13/01/2017 13:06:57

| | Vital Preview - Premier League, 14th-15th Jan 2017VITALFOOTBALL |
| | PL stats: Lallana flying, Giroud on fire, Alli and Spurs lethal - TEAMtalk | Latest Football News & Transfer RumoursTEAMTALK |
|

| Pundit makes prediction about Virgil van Dijk amid Chelsea link | FootballSPORTREVIEWCOM |

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

International calls for Smallbone and Obafemi

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Southampton youngsters Will Smallbone and Michael Obafemi have been called up by Republic of Ireland Under-17s.

The Saints duo will link up with the junior national side for their UK-based training camp between the 15th-18th January.

The four-day camp will be based at Wolves’ Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground and will involve a friendly fixture against the Championship side’s Academy.

This is both Obafemi and Smallbone’s first involvement with the Ireland international set-up.

“It’ll be great to get a taste of international football,” commented Smallbone.

"Michael and I both won’t know many of the lads there, so going together will definitely help us settle in.

“But I am looking forward to meeting all the boys there and hopefully I can have a good couple of years with them.”

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Sourced from Daily Star article

The Prem table would look very different if every shot that hit the woodwork went in

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THE top of the Premier League table would look very different if every shot that hit the woodwork had gone in this season.

If strikes that hit the post or crossbar had been just a touch more accurate, the entire title race would be a lot closer.

Manchester United have been the unluckiest side in the Premier League this season - hitting the woodwork 14 times.

And the Mirror have worked out how the table would look if they’d had just a little bit more luck.

So where would they place if those shots had gone in?

Click through the gallery above to find out.

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Sourced from Southampton FC - Official Site article

Opposition View: Burnley

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Saints recorded a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday, with Dyche an interested observer ahead of this weekend’s clash.

“I thought the Southampton performance was good. They’ve had a tricky spell in the league but not on that showing,” Dyche reflected.

“There was good energy, they’ve got quality and they countered really well on Wednesday night as well as defending well.

“We know they’re a good side, there’s no two ways about it and I say it every week but every side in the Premier League have earned the right to be there.

“They’re all good sides but we know that there are some who are more powerful than others, whether it’s from strength of depth or just the players they’ve got.

“I think Southampton are certainly in the mix of that. They’ve got some good players so we’ve got to be on top of our performance levels without a shadow of a doubt.”

Dyche’s side have continue their fine home form in the current campaign, with 22 points from their 23 coming in East Lancashire.

He added: “I don’t think they have gone better than we could have hoped, because you plan for things to go well.

“There’s work to be done away from home but the home form has been very strong. It has been for a while now but obviously a lot more is made of it in the Premier League.

“We’ve given a solid account of ourselves on most occasions. More recently, we’ve been pretty consistent and got some good points on the board.

“It’s an ongoing story for us. We don’t think we’re the done deal, we just thinking we’re improving.”

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@SouthamptonFC - Southampton FC

Get the view from the opposition camp, as #BFC boss Sean Dyche previews #SaintsFC’s #PL clash at Turf Moor: http://sfcne.ws/DychePreBFCa

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