In the scouting report section of the site, Liquid Football hopes to bring you the best young talent from around the World. We started off at Barcelona, with Alfie Long’s report on Jean-Marie Dongou. Our next wonderkid is Alen Halilović who plays for Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.
Below is some footage of Dinamo Zagreb’s highly rated attacking midfielder Alen Halilović. Halilović is now 16-years-old. He has represented Croatia at youth level from U 14′s up, and recently became the youngest ever Dinamo Zagreb player making his debut at 16 years and 102 days old. 10 days later he became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the league.
Alen Halilović’s likes to play in the number 10 role but he can also play on the right wing. His slight frame and long blonde hair has seen him likened to fellow Croatian Lua Modric. Dinamo academy director Romea Jozaka said: “I watched Luka at the same age and it seems to me that Alen is a step, maybe two in front of him.” He went on to describe him as “an extraordinary talent. Incredibly powerful with the ball for his age. We know that he’s been mentioned throughout Europe as the best we’ll see in the next few years in his position.”
Both Manchester clubs have reportedly visited Zagreb to keep up to date with his progress, he also spent 4 days training with the Real Madrid youth team when he was 14. This is what a Real Madrid source had to say about him: “Everyone here knows he will be a sensation. When he as the ball he is reminiscent of Lionel Messi.” He is currently continuing his education in Zagreb, but he is destined to move to a top European club soon and if the praise he has received is anything to go by then he is certainly one to watch.
What we know about him… D.O.B – 18/06/96 (Age 16) Nationality – Croatian Height – 5ft 7″ Position – Attacking Midfielder (Playmaker – No. 10) – Likes to cut in from the right hand side onto his left foot. Preferred Foot – Left Written by Charlie Cook @charlie_cook09 Thoughts and comments welcome, all support appreciated!
I said it last week and I’ll say it again. Manchester City have yet to really hit their stride. I thought they would do that last week against Fulham, but they scraped a 2-1 win with a late Edin Dzeko goal. They were even more unconvincing, only just managing to nick a last minute equaliser at home to Borrussia Dortmund midweek. It says something about their performance, that Joe Hart was man of the match pulling of a number of outstanding saves to keep them in the game.
This has been a very good week for Chelsea. The win against Arsenal may not have been the cleanest of performances, but it was a fantastic result. The greatest sides find a way to win when they are not playing that well and Chelsea did exactly that. I am not suggesting they are a great side yet, but they have definitely added an attacking flare to the team in the summer. They followed the win over Arsenal with a 4-0 thumping of FC Nordsjælland in the Champions League too.
Swansea were a revelation at the start of the season, but they are in a bit of a rut now. They have failed to score in their last 3 Premier League games. This will be a huge game for Michael Laudrup’s Swansea to show that they weren’t just on a hot streak. Reading are the weakest of the promoted sides by the looks of it. They gave a spirited performance against Newcastle last week in drawing 2-2 with Newcastle, and if it wasn’t for the 
West Brom are the unsung heroes of the season so far. Not much has been said about them, but Steve Clarke’s side have made a great start. They have only lost once, and are sitting comfortably in 6th place. QPR on the other hand, are really struggling. Mark Hughes has had plenty of financial backing, and they should be picking up more points with the players they have. It won’t be long before he starts really feeling the pressure. West Brom have won all 3 of their home matches this season, and QPR have lost 9 of the last 10 away from home. This has home win written all over it.
What a start to the season for Everton. 2nd in the league behind Chelsea, they are playing very good football, and bar the loss of the monumental loss of Fellaini, finally look to have some real depth to their squad. I have been very impressed by the new signing Kevin Mirallas, very quick, can play on the wing or up front, he works hard and looks like he scores a few goals too. He is a very good foil for the brilliant Nikica Jelavic, who is a brilliant finisher.
Arsene Wenger has had many opponents during his time at Arsenal, but ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce may just be one of the toughest. His record in home matches against Arsenal is 5-3-4, which is unlikely to have been bettered by many. It is as much the style of football that his teams play, as opposed to tactical nous. Arsenal used to dread trips to The Reebok Stadium to meet ‘Big Sam’s’ Bolton and he has created a similar side at Upton Park. Marshalled by the consistently dangerous Kevin Nolan, West Ham provide threats in every supposed area of Arsenal weakness. The return of Andy Carroll will also worry Arsenal, he has caused them many problems in the past.
I was really pleased for Southampton when they got their first win of the season against Aston Villa a couple of weeks ago, but it was back down to earth with a bump last week as Everton beat them 3-1 pretty comfortably. Gaston Ramirez scored first but it was all Everton for the rest of the game and they really could have scored more than 3 in the end. One thing that Southampton offer is goals, whether for against, I think this could be a high scoring game. Fulham have been a touch inconsistent, but they were unlucky not to get a point against Man City last weekend and Mladen Petric and Bryan Ruiz look to be forming a good partnership. Southampton will be hoping to get all 3 points at home especially as Fulham are still missing Dimitar Berbatov and I can see them doing that.
Spurs recorded their first win in 23 years at Old Trafford last week. Remarkably they only had 26% possession yet still came away with the points. They look very dangerous on the break, and they attack with a lot of pace. Aston Villa will be looking to not give Spurs as much space to play in, they will be sitting deeper and they may well find it harder to break a team down at White Hart Lane, as they have showed so far with disappointing draws at home to QPR and Norwich. I still think Tottenham will be too strong for Villa though and I think if they can break the deadlock early then they could run out comfortable winners.
This is going to be a cracking game. Man Utd have a glittering attack with Wayne Rooney back, joining Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa, but their defence looks very brittle. Nemanja Vidic is a huge loss and Rio Ferdinand looks to be on his last legs. He was very vulnerable when left defending against the pace of Gareth Bale, and Newcastle will be hoping that Hatem Ben Arfa will get a chance to run at him too. 
What a game to start off the weekend. In previous years this has been a battle of styles; the direct, powerful game of Chelsea up against the more technical, passing game of Arsenal but since their last meeting, Chelsea, with the likes of Hazard and Oscar have gone through a transformation under Roberto Di Matteo. Arsene Wenger has already mentioned this week that although Chelsea may miss Didier Drogba, Arsenal certainly won’t. This will hopefully be a more open, entertaining game than in the past.
I wrote a piece earlier in the week about David Moyes and what a fantastic job he has done. Everton have been the surprise package so far this season, currently sitting in 3rd place. Last week they were brilliant in dismantling Swansea 3-0. Southampton had a poor start with some very tricky fixtures, but they showed their true potential with a brilliant 4-1 win over Aston Villa last time out. Many pundits suggest that the key ingredient in survival for the promoted sides is having a goalscorer and Ricky Lambert looks like he is exactly that. They also have some very exciting players, and play attractive attacking football. They will trouble many sides this season and I believe they will stay up, but Everton will be too strong for them on Saturday. Everton are on a fantastic run, and I don’t expect that to let up at Goodison.
Martin Jol has done a great job at Fulham. They have lost two of their top performers in Dembele and Dempsey, but have arguably made one of the signings of the season by nabbing former Premier League top goalscorer Dimitar Berbatov. Fulham are a very difficult proposition at Craven Cottage and they have a good record there against the bigger sides. They have only lost 5 of the last 30 at home, but when they have lost it has been by a few goals. Manchester City have stuttered so far this season without reaching top form. I feel they are due a big win and with Dimitar Berbatov out for the next two weeks I think this could be a bit of a one sided encounter.
If the table is to be believed then this one could be classed as a relegaton 6 pointer. Neither side has registered a victory yet in the League, but Liverpool have already had to play both Manchester clubs and Arsenal as well as two tough away trips to Sunderland and West Brom. Since Norwich lost 5-0 away to Fulham on the opening day, they have made themselves difficult to beat without offering too much going forward. Snodgrass has been a real bright spark for them, but with Grant Holt misfiring they are really struggling. Liverpool have been very unlucky so far this season, but the signs from the League Cup win over West Brom midweek suggest they are going in the right direction. With memories of last years magnificent hat-trick still fresh in his mind, I am backing a Luis Suarez inspired change of luck for Liverpool. Just.
I said last week that Reading look like the weakest of the promoted sides, and they have done nothing to change my mind. Reading have managed one solitary point at home to Stoke, a game which in all fairness they should have won. Newcastle have been short of the form they displayed last season but they have still been picking up results. Last time out at Reading, they were soundly beaten by Spurs. You don’t want to give the two Newcastle forwards, Ba and Cisse too many chances, and I think they will be the difference between the sides. I can see Newcastle scoring a few goals.
Swansea started the season brilliantly, but they have lost their last two without scoring a goal. I feel that Laudrup made a mistake leaving out Leon Britton last week, he is an underrated player. His ability to sit behind the Swans midfield and dictate the tempo of the game was sorely missed as Everton dominated. Even if Leon Britton is included I still think Stoke will be too good. It is hard to go to the Britannia and play good football as Stoke try to suffocate their opponents. Stoke will be too physical for Swansea and I expect them to win comfortably.
Sunderland have drawn their first four games of the season, but when you take into consideration trips to Arsenal, West Ham and Swansea I expect Martin O’Neil will be pretty pleased with how his side is shaping up. Steven Fletcher is in fantastic form. In only his second game at the Stadium of Light, he will want to impress again and he could cause havoc against Wigan’s leaky defence. Only two sides in the league have a worse defensive record and I think Sunderland will take advantage of this and score a few goals in a comfortable win.
Last time Spurs beat United in the league was in 2001 and Spurs havn’t even managed a point at Old Trafford since 2005. That will give you some idea of what a tall order this is for AVB. Having said that, they have now recorded two wins on the bounce as well as an encouraging 3-0 win midweek in the Capital One Cup. So they will go into the game with increasing confidence.
Most derby games are tense scrappy affairs and I expect that this game will be very tight. West Brom have had a very good start with 3 wins and a draw in their first 5 games. Aston Villa looked to be progressing well under Paul Lambert with a win over Swansea, but last weeks 4-1 loss to Southampton will have been very disappointing. The one positive will have been Darren Bent finding the back of the net. They will also have had a huge boost from beating Man City in the Capital One Cup midweek. There is never more than a goal between these two sides and I fancy it to be a draw.
Monday night football is back with a London derby. Both managers have a tendency to set their sides up as hard to beat and go from there, so I don’t expect it to be an open game. QPR need a win, as they are sitting second bottom with only 2 draws so far, West Ham on the other hand have started the season very positively. If you were to follow form, then West Ham would be favourites, but QPR are looking better each week. Esteban Granero is slowly acclimatising to the Premier League and his influence on the side will grow as he is a quality player. It will be a nervy game at Loftus Road, but I think QPR have the quality to nick their first win of the season.
In an era when having two managers in a single season is normal, it is remarkable that David Moyes has manged to spend 10 years at Everton. The chairman, Bill Kenwright’s faith in Moyes, and his undoubted ability are the key to Everton’s success so far this season and in the past decade. Moyes has never had much money to spend, in fact he has only had a net spend of £14 million pounds while at Everton. Despite that, he has transformed them from a team battling relegation to one currently sitting in 3rd place in the Premier League.
Liverpool’s bad luck continued on the weekend. Like the Arsenal and Manchester City games previously, they were the better side for much of the game, but on this occasion their inability to score goals was not the sole reason for their downfall. The key decisions of the game went against them. The referee Mark Halsey, in my opinion was very poor. There were two key decisions that changed the game. The first was the red card for Jonjo Shelvey. It is clear from the photo (above) that if Shelvey deserved a red card then Johnny Evans did too. If anything, Evans’ challenge looks worse, it could easily have gone the other way with Man Utd being reduced to 10 men had Shelvey been the one lying on the floor after the challenge. Even after Shelvey’s dismissal Liverpool looked dangerous, but Mark Halsey came to United’s rescue again awarding a very debatable penalty. Glen Johnson was stupid to put his arm across Valencia’s back, but the contact was minimal and not enough to warrant a penalty.
It seems that Arsenal have solved all the problems from last season. They looked shaky at the back, they lacked structure in the midfield and they were almost devoid of creativity. These are all overstatements that were toggled by the media and fans throughout the season. The one thing that everyone agreed on though, was that Arsenal had the best striker in the league.
Both sides have had similar starts to the season. Very impressive in the first two rounds, but have since slipped slightly. Swansea suffered their first loss away to Aston Villa last week and Everton were unlucky to draw 2-2 at home to Newcastle (let’s not mention goal-line technology again). Swansea have a number of injuries defensively: Ashley Williams could be out, Kyle Bartley is still missing and they are still adjusting to losing Neil Taylor for the season. Everton should have won last weekend, but in the second half their defence looked shaky against Newcastle. Everton are rightly favourites for this one with Swansea’s increasing injury list, but Everton’s poor performance away to West Brom makes me think Swansea will at least get a point. There may well be some goals in the contest too, should be entertaining.
Chelsea have not won a game since their 4-2 win over Reading almost a month ago. They have lost 4-1 to Athletico Madrid in the Super Cup and drawn with QPR and Juventus. The Champion’s League draw against Juve would have been very disappointing after starting so brightly with two wonderful goals from Oscar. He looks to be an incredible talent, the second of goals is an early contender for UCL goal of the season. I have talked a lot about Stoke’s run of draws, 8 in a row now this season, but if Chelsea play anywhere near their best then Hazard and Mata will cause them too many problems. Stoke will try to sit deep and frustrate Chelsea, but if they concede an early goal then I can see Chelsea scoring a few here.
I wrote a piece earlier this week saying that Southampton were better than they looked, but after four games and no points they will be feeling the pressure. Nigel Adkins will see this as the perfect opportunity to open their account in the Premier League, but Villa got a good point away to Newcastle a couple of weeks ago and followed it up with a win against Swansea. I see Southampton nicking this one, but it will be very tight.
In my opinion, Reading look the weakest of the promoted sides. They were poor against Tottenham last weekend and were beaten comfortably. Reading impressed in their first away game of the season at Chelsea and were unlucky not to at least get a point. West Brom have been very good at home though, beating Liverpool 3-0 and Everton 2-0. I fancy Reading to put up a fight, but I can’t see anything other than a home win.
To stay in the league you have to make yourselves hard to beat at home, West Ham have had two games and two wins so far at Upton Park. Sam Allardyce couldn’t have asked for a better start. Carlton Cole is a doubt and with Andy Carroll already out, that could be a huge blow for the Hammers. Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland side are unbeaten so far with three draws out of three. They were impressive on the break against Swansea and if Adam Johnson is passed fit, then he and Sessegnon could once again cause havoc. Unfortunately for them, West Ham don’t give opposition teams much space to play in and they will try to sit deep and avoid letting Sunderland get the ball in to the increasingly impressive Steven Fletcher. This could be a very tight game and I think both side would be happy with a draw.
Wigan were beaten convincingly by Manchester United last weekend, they kept them at bay for the first half but capitulated in the second. Fulham have suffered with the loss of their two main players, Dembele and Dempsey, but Berbatov has added a real spark and looks like he could be a fantastic signing for Martin Jol. Wigan have not beaten Fulham since 2005 and five of the last six at The DW stadium have finished in a draw and I expect that to be the case on Saturday too.
This is a huge game for Liverpool. It’s the first at Anfield since the new Hillsborough verdict and they have only managed to pick up two points so far this season. Liverpool have a very good record against Manchester United at Anfield and Brendan Rodgers desperately needs a win, but I can’t see it coming this weekend. I don’t know whether the occasion will have a positive or negative affect on the Liverpool players, but either way I think Man Utd will be too good.
Newcastle were lucky to get a point against Everton last weekend and like their opponents they havn’t really got going yet this season. Norwich have started to look more solid. Since their 5-0 humbling on the opening day, they have picked up three draws on the run. Even so, they could really struggle this season. Newcastle were brilliant last season finishing just outside the Champion’ League places. It will be tough for them to replicate that, but I expect them to beat Norwich comfortably at St James’ Park.
This could well be the game of the round, both teams have some very exciting players and like to play free-flowing football. A lot has been made of Arsenal’s new-found defensive stability with Steve Bould garnering much of the credit, but they have not properly been tested yet. They certainly look stronger but Tevez and Aguero, if fit, will provide a clearer idea of where they are at. They way Arsenal are set up now, should make them a very dangerous proposition away from home. They are sitting deeper in defence and Podolski and Cazorla look very dangerous on the break. I think they could come away with a win at the Etihad. It is a bold call, but Man City havn’t quite clicked yet. Southampton ran them close and their trip to the Bernabeu will have taken a lot out of them.
Spurs got a very good win against Reading last week, and they are looking better with each game, I still don’t believe that they are as good as last season though. They have drawn their last two games at home conceding late goals to West Brom and Norwich but I think they will have too much for QPR. Jermain Defoe is in brilliant form and I fancy him to score another couple on Sunday. QPR got a good point against Chelsea last weekend and the more Granero gets to play the better they will get, but I feel this game will be a bit too early in their season for them to have an impact.
Before each set of Premier League fixtures, I have a look at ‘BBC football expert’, Mark Lawrenson’s predictions. Every week I have the same reaction. I reckon I could do better. Season after season I complain about his ‘woeful’ tipping. Now it’s time to put my proverbial money where my mouth is and try to beat Lawro.
Arsenal will be heavy favourites after their good win at Anfield and I expect them to back that up with their first home win of the season. It won’t be as easy as many expect though. Sothampton were 5 minutes away from an upset win over Manchester United last round, and were leading 2-1 at Manchester City with not too long to go either. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Giroud open his account for the gunners and Southampton score a goal to end Arsenal’s run of 3 games without conceding.
Villa need a win, and they need some goals. Swansea have lost Chico to suspension plus Neil Taylor and new recruit Kyle Bartley to injury, so there is no better time to do it than against an ailing defence. Swansea have undoubtedly been the surprise of the season so far. Many, including myself, expected them to struggle with the loss of Brendan Rodgers, but Michael Laudrup has brought in some fantastic players and they have really kicked on. There is a long way to go, but they are a very exciting team. I think this one could end in a draw.
There hasn’t been an away win in fixtures between these two sides for over 10 years. Fulham started the season with a bang, but have since faltered. The loss of Moussa Dembele is huge. Dimitar Berbatov will be a boost, but the energy and quality that Dembele brought to the midfield cannot be replaced. He was the best player on the pitch when they went to Old Trafford. West Brom have started very brightly under Steve Clarke with wins over the two Mersyside clubs at home and a very good point away to Spurs. I think their success may continue in London, but it will only be a point.
I think Wigan could get a bit of a pasting here. United are due a big win. There were concerns over the fitness of Robin van Persie and Kagawa midweek, but they are both fit. I thought they were excellent at home to Fulham a few weeks ago, and could have scored many more than 3 in the first half. The inclusion of Darren Fletcher in the squad will be a massive boost to them too. Wigan have conceded 24 goals in their last 7 games at Old Trafford and I don’t expect that stat to get much better.
Leading up to this game their has been more talk about the handhsake than the contest. I predict their to be handshake, or a snub of a handshake or whatever. Who actually cares whether they shake hands. The FA should just scrap them altogether as they have cause more problems than they are worth. Evra v Suarez, John Terry v everyone enough’s enough. Get rid of them. In terms of the game, I think it could be very tight. Chelsea are top of the league, and QPR are second bottom, but I think QPR will get better as the season progresses. Granero is a magnificent signing from Real Madrid and I think they could just grab a cheeky point at Loftus Road.
Stoke fans will be excited about the signing f Michael Owen, but this game could come a bit early for him. Stoke set themselves up to be very hard to beat and then go from there. The news that Sergio Aguero is close to a return is a big boost for City, other than Carlos Tevez who has been outstanding, they havn’t been all too convincing at the start of this season. Stoke have drawn their last 8 games in all competitions. They have also drawn their last 3 at home to Man City. No surprises that I think this one is going to be a draw too.
This is not an easy trip for Liverpool, and it gets worse next week with Manchester United travelling to Anfield. Sunderland are improving under Martin O’Neill. They got a good point away to Arsenal and were close to beating Swansea at Liberty Stadium. Steven Fletcher and Adam Johnson, have looked very sharp and this is Sunderland’s first home game of the season so they will be looking to impress their new fans. Liverpool were brilliant against Manchester City, but gifted a sloppy equaliser to Tevez late on. They were very good in the first half against Arsenal too, but had no cutting edge in attack. They need to find goals very soon, as their only goals have come from set plays so far this season. I think Sunderland are starting to look like a very good side and I expect them to take all the points.
Reading were unlucky not to at least get a point away from home to Chelsea, and they would have won at home to Stoke if it wasn’t for a goalkeeping howler. Tottenham are still looking for their first win under AVB. They are struggling to cope with the loss of Modric and Van der Vaart, but with Moussa Dembele, Adebayor and Clint Dempsey all fit and able to start I think they will be too strong for Reading.
Newcastle started off brightly with a win against Spurs, but were pretty ordinary against Chelsea and Villa. They will need to improve significantly to get anything at Goodison. Everton are another team that were very impressive early on, with wins against Man U and Villa. Fellaini’s comments about this season being his last at Goodison during the week will have been a shock though, he has been outstanding. It will be interesting to see if that will have any effect on the dressing room. He has been somewhat of a talisman for them. His performance against Man U was probably the best we’ve seen so far this season. With Krul, Tiote and Colocinni out for Newcastle, I think Everton will be comfortable winners.
