Tottenham Hotspur host Barcelona at Wembley in second round of the Champions League on Wednesday and the encounter is poised to be a cracking one. The Spanish club travel to London with a very good record at the England national stadium, having claimed some historic victories there over the years.

The History!

Barcelona won the European Cup at Wembley back in 1992 when they beat Italian side Sampdoria 1-0 in the final thanks to free-kick by former Southampton and Everton manager Ronald Koeman. Not only was it the Catalan giants’ first ever appearance at the iconic venue but it was also the first time they won the biggest prize in European club football.

Managed by Dutchman Johan Cruyff the Barcelona side also had Pep Guardiola in the team as a defensive midfielder, while former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini was the captain of the Sampdoria team that day.

Another impressive display by Barcelona at Wembley was in the 1999 Champions League group stage when they beat another North London club Arsenal 4-2 thanks to goals by Rivaldo, Luis Enrique, Luis Figo and Phillip Cocu who currently manages Turkish side Fenerbahce.

But in recent times their most notable performance at the venue came in 2011 when Guardiola led the side as manager into battle with Sir Alex Furgeson’s Manchester United in the Champions League final. Pedro, who at the time was still playing for Barcelona, opened the scoring before striker Wayne Rooney equalised before half-time.

The game was however turned on its head when Lionel Messi found the back of the net with a long range shot in the 54th minute and then David Villa made sure of the result when he curled a shot past Edwin van der Sar into the top right corner.

Coming back to Wembley!

Barcelona, now managed by Ernesto Valverde, will certainly be eyeing another memorable performance when they face Spurs on Wednesday with a capacity crowd expected. Lionel Messi, Sergio Besquests and Gerard Piqué are all three players that will have fond memories of Wembley as the only remaining players in the current side that played in that final back in 2011.

With Mauricio Pochettino’s side struggling with a lot of injuries, Barcelona will be favourites heading into the game but for Spurs to keep them out they will need to produce a similar performance as the one last year when they beat Real Madrid 3-0 at Wembley. The potential return of captain Hugo Lloris should give the side a vital boost but striker Harry Kane will need to be at his very best, with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli both missing out due to injury, if Spurs were to have any chance of getting points from the match.

Aston Villa fans were treated to a triple appointment on Wednesday night with Dean Smith being announced as their new manager, John Terry as his assistant and Jesus Garcia Pitarch as sporting director.

Smith, who is a lifelong Villa fan, leaves his role as Brentford manager with the Bees three points and eight places above his new side, and Terry returns to the club where he played last season.

Villa fans on Twitter were hugely excited with Terry’s new role, with many hoping he would be the man to organise their leaky defence. The former Chelsea legend announced his retirement from football on Sunday after he left Villa at the end of his one-year contract in the summer.

Although the Villans are sitting in 15th in the Championship table, things could have been far worse as after missing out on promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, the Birmingham-based club were plunged into financial difficulties and had to agree a payment plan with HMRC after failing to pay their taxes.

New owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris took control though and began pumping money back into the club, and they now have Terry back in a different role. Check out the best reactions from Villa fans to the new No.2’s appointment below.

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The absence of Seamus Coleman in the Everton line-up gave Jonjoe Kenny the chance to stake his case to be the club’s first choice at right-back.

Five games in a row, 450 minutes of football and no one in line to steal the spot sounds like the perfect audition, especially when your rival is entering into the latter years of his career whilst yours is really just beginning.

Going up against an established right-back in Coleman presents enough challenge for Kenny as it is -without injuries, opportunities to show what he has in the tank come thin and far between.

However, the chance did come for the 21-year-old and now Marco Silva has a decision on his hands with the Irish international expected to be fit again come the club’s next match, at home to Crystal Palace on October 21st.

Playing to the style of the manager is what established Seamus Coleman as not only Everton’s best choice for the right-back spot but one of the best in the Premier League.

The system brought in by Roberto Martinez utilised the full backs at Everton in a way that was still viewed as fairly unconventional, having them push high up the pitch and join the attack at every opportunity.

This style saw Everton improve on where they finished under David Moyes to being a Champions League contending team. Martinez had his flaws and the following season his Toffees team were found out by the opposition as they plummeted down the table, but the style he instilled on Coleman kept the full-back at the top of the class.

21-year-old Kenny must look to the way Coleman established himself and made the position his own if the Kirkdale lad has any true desire to be the Toffees’ number one right-back.

His outings in recent games have laid down another layer on the foundations set last term, but the former Wigan and Oxford loanee still leaves a lot to be desired.

Take Everton’s recent fixtures against West Ham and Leicester as two examples of the good and the bad the Englishman has to his game.

Against West Ham, Kenny was thrown into the team on the back of his teammate being ruled out through injury. In this match, he performed strongly by assisting Gylfi Sigurdsson’s effort to pull one back as their side trailed by two goals approaching half time. But come Leicester away, his weakness came to the fore.

Playing at right-back may mean getting forward more and more these days, but the role still requires a high level of defensive ability.

Against the Foxes, fellow full-back Ricardo Pereira made Kenny dance to his Portuguese beat as he cut inside and out to trick the defender four years his junior into committing to a block that simply opened the space for the ex-Porto star to score. More experience, like what Coleman could have brought to that moment, may have seen the situation unfold differently.

Only more minutes on the pitch will see Kenny build that football brain for scenarios like this, as training never amounts to the same intensity of a match. Therefore, keeping Kenny in the side for upcoming tests away at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge may bring out the best in the man in line for Coleman’s crown.

So, Everton fans, who do you see as the club’s first-choice right-back? Let us know by voting below…

Everton are on a good run of form heading into Sunday’s Premier League encounter against Manchester United.

Marco Silva has overseen his team earn back-to-back wins over Leicester City and Crystal Palace.

A trip to Old Trafford will be a very different test for the Toffees, but Jose Mourinho’s side are struggling for form, which could present an opportunity for Everton to strike.

Much has been spoken of Silva’s attacking options up front, but there are other elements of the pitch that the fans feel could do with some tweaking this weekend.

Theo Walcott has started all nine of Everton’s Premier League games this season, and in the first three he scored two goals and created an assist.

However, in his last six league outings the former Arsenal star has contributed only one assist, and now some fans feel that a change should be made.

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Ademola Lookman came under fire during the summer transfer window amid rumours of a proposed permanent move to RB Leipzig.

In the end, though, the attack-minded star stayed put but has only featured in three matches so far this season.

Interestingly, results from our poll indicate that plenty of Everton fans would prefer to see Lookman get the nod over Walcott this weekend.

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According to The Sun, PSG are keen on signing Alexis Sanchez, who is currently struggling to adapt to life at Manchester United.

The Red Devils made the Chilean the highest-paid player in the Premier League when they prised him away from Arsenal in January, however he has struggled for form since his arrival at Old Trafford. In recent weeks, the 29-year-old has failed to even make Jose Mourinho’s starting XI.

At this stage of his career and in his current slump, time is running out for United to recoup much of their significant investment in the attacker. Accepting a bid from PSG could be their last chance to get big money for Sanchez.

However, doing so would be an admission of having made a huge error in the transfer market and would reflect very poorly upon the club and manager. What’s more, Sanchez remains a talented player with the potential to light up the Premier League, giving up on him so soon could easily prove to be a mistake.

What do you think, United fans – should Sanchez be sold to PSG?

A few seasons ago Michail Antonio was one of West Ham United’s key players.

His versatility to play in various positions across the pitch made him a vital cog in the club’s machine, and he was rewarded with an England call-up.

However, in recent seasons the 28-year-old’s glimmer has started to dull and in the current campaign he has struggled to impress on the pitch.

Under new manager Manuel Pellegrini, Antonio has had to settle for a bit-part role as he has played in nine of the Hammers’ 10 Premier League matches but only as a substitute.

On Wednesday night, Antonio played the full 90 minutes of the Hammers’ 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup.

The former Nottingham Forest player was positioned on the left side of the attack, with Grady Diangana on the other flank and Javier Hernandez up front.

Antonio struggled to influence the game in any way and he also lost the ball numerous times.

His performance has led us to ask you if it is time for West Ham to part ways with the versatile player, who is valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt.

Let us know by voting below.

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Leeds United forward Patrick Bamford has posted an update on his recovery from a knee problem, and the Championship side’s fans have been reacting on social media.

Bamford has been on the sidelines since picking up a knee injury during an Under-23 fixture against Bristol City in early September.

However, the 25-year-old is seemingly on the right tracks when it comes to a recovery, having posted an image of himself using a leg machine in the gym.

Bamford joined Leeds from Middlesbrough during the summer, and showed plenty of positive signs in the early stages of the 2018-19 campaign.

The 6ft 1in centre-forward will be hoping that it is not too long before he can return to action, with Leeds currently top of the Championship and chasing a return to the Premier League.

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The Leeds fans have been on social media offering their views on Bamford’s progress, and a selection of their Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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West Brom boss Darren Moore should make a loan move for Liverpool starlet Curtis Jones to solve his midfield problem in January.

What’s the situation?

The Baggies have been impressive so far this season and sit fifth in the Championship table after their 4-1 thrashing of Leeds last weekend.

However, Moore’s side have too often relied on their front three of Jay Rodriguez, Harvey Barnes and Dwight Gayle, with the West Midlands side struggling without the latter in recent weeks.

One of the main problems for Moore has been his central midfield pairing, or specifically who to start alongside Jake Livermore in the middle of the park. Chris Brunt, Gareth Barry and James Morrison have all been tried in the position but all are well into their 30s and struggle to keep up with the pace of the frantic Championship, whilst 20-year-old academy graduate Sam Field is yet to be properly trusted in league games.

First-team football

Jones could be the perfect man for Moore to bring in then to inject some fresh legs into his side after what is sure to be a busy and competitive Christmas period, and he could prove to be the perfect Livermore partner.

The 17-year-old was hugely impressive on Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the United States in the summer, which led many to speculate whether the Scouser would be given a chance in the first team this year.

The wealth of talent at Anfield though means the creative central midfielder has been limited to appearances for the U23 side and in the UEFA Youth League, where he has scored twice in four matches, but a move to the Championship would allow him to experience competitive senior football at a high-level for the first time.

So, West Brom fans, would you like to see Moore make a move for Jones in the winter transfer window or should he start playing your own youth players? Have your say by voting in the poll below.

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According to our recent poll, the majority of Swansea City fans would support a move for Manchester United youngster Tahith Chong in January if Daniel James is lured away by Leeds.

According to a recent report from Football Insider, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa is keen on adding James to his squad in January. The initial report stated that the 21-year-old would be out of contract at the Liberty Stadium come the end of this season, but this has been rebuffed by WalesOnline, who revealed that the Welshman is actually under contract until the summer of 2020.

With four assists in 11 appearances for the Swans so far this season though it is clear to see why Leeds are interested.

Check out the harsh words the Playmaker FC squad had to say about Wayne Rooney’s England career in the video below

If boss Graham Potter does lose James though, Swansea fans are clearly keen on signing Chong as his temporary replacement until the end of the season.

The 18-year-old winger is yet to make his debut for the Red Devils, despite winning the young player of the year award at United last season and impressing on the pre-season tour of the USA. However, he has netted five goals and provided two assists in 12 games for the U23 side so far this season and could excel at the Liberty Stadium if given the chance.

Check out the full results of our recent poll below.

Although he kept them up last year, as soon as Mark Hughes was kept on as manager this year it was quite clear that Southampton would be fighting relegation this season. 

The former Stoke City manager, somehow managed to get the job at the south coast club despite having a huge hand in Stoke’s demise and if not for the poor form of Swansea and West Brom, Saints may have been playing in the Championship this season.

At the weekend, Southampton lost yet again, this time to fellow strugglers Fulham who have made already bit the bullet and replaced their manager.

Southampton haven’t won since their victory over Crystal Palace at the beginning of September and if Saints want to have any chance of staying in the league, they need to replace Hughes as soon as possible.

According to The Times, Saints are lining up a move for former Basel – with whom he won the title – and Fiorentina manager, Paolo Sousa.

The Breakdown

The Portuguese manager, has experience of managing in England as he had spells at Leicester City and also QPR.

While those spells weren’t exactly successful, Sousa had a much more fruitful period with Basel where he won the league and he could well be the man to be the long-term manager for Southampton.

He most recently left Chinese side, Tianjin Quanjian in October and although it might be a slight gamble, time is ticking for Southampton and they must make a move quickly to save their season.

Thoughts Southampton fans?