Nathaniel Clyne’s biggest chance to influence the title race & Marko Grujic meets Klopp’s old club

March 1, 2019
Jack Lusby

Nathaniel Clyne left Liverpool on loan in January, but could still have a big role to play in the title race as he makes his eighth start for Bournemouth.

The Reds are in action on Sunday, as they take on Everton in the second Merseyside derby of the season at Goodison Park looking to maintain their place at the top of the Premier League.

Elsewhere, though, 14 loanees could also be in action in leagues in England, across Europe and even in South America, with Fluminense’s Allan Rodrigues the first up on Friday evening.

The biggest story of the weekend comes at Dean Court on Saturday, as Bournemouth take on Man City aiming for a swift response to their midweek thrashing at the hands of Arsenal.

Eddie Howe’s side have lost their last 10 on the road, but are in much better shape at home where they are unbeaten in their last three, including a 4-0 win over Chelsea in January.

Clyne has played the full 90 minutes in every game since joining the Cherries bar their meeting with Liverpool, providing Howe with a reliable option at right-back.

He remains a Reds player, though, and speaking to Sky Sports in the week backed them to win the title—and victory for Bournemouth this weekend could aid his parent club significantly.

Dom Solanke will miss the game through injury, but Jordon Ibe is likely to be involved.

Herbie Kane is expected to shake off a groin injury that kept him out of Doncaster’s 2-0 loss to Shrewsbury in midweek in time for Saturday’s home clash with Charlton.

Rovers manager Grant McCann will be eager to call upon his midfield stalwart again in a game that could have major implications in the push for the promotion playoffs.

Doncaster head into the weekend sixth in the table, five points behind fifth-placed Charlton but with a game in hand, and taking three points from the Addicks at the Keepmoat would give them a big advantage.

Tuesday’s defeat to Shrewsbury was only the fourth league game of the campaign that Kane has missed for the Dons, starting all of the other 29, and having him back in the fold would be a boost.

Kane has scored seven and assisted nine in 38 outings for Doncaster so far this season, with only three players netting more and only veteran James Coppinger creating more (13).

Finally, in the Bundesliga, Marko Grujic is anticipating a big challenge for himself and his fellow Hertha Berlin midfielders as they host Mainz on Saturday.

Wednesday marked 18 years since Jurgen Klopp was appointed manager of Mainz, and while the 51-year-old has come a long way since, so too have the 05ers, who are now a staple of the German top flight.

Speaking to herthabsc.de ahead of the game, Grujic stressed that keeping possession would be key against a side just one place and two points behind Hertha in the table.

“It will be a matter of gaining possession of the ball, and then we want to make the difference in midfield and give the team an advantage by playing good balls to our team-mates and putting them in position,” he explained.

“If we succeed, we as a team have enough quality to win the game.”

Hertha stand a good chance of dominating possession, with only Freiburg (45.8%) seeing less of the ball on average this season than Mainz (46%), though Grujic’s side are not much further ahead (47%).