WHAT’S NEXT? CAN DOMINIC CALVERT-LEWIN FINALLY CONQUER THE GEORDIES AT ST JAMES’?
Micah Richards warns Newcastle as Dominic Calvert-Lewin heads to St James' Park. Can Malick Thiaw stop the Leeds striker's streak?
Leeds United are heading up to St. James’ Park on Wednesday for another Premier League showdown.
Micah Richards has his eyes on Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He thinks the Leeds striker is going to give Newcastle’s defence a real headache. Calvert-Lewin’s been on fire lately—seven goals in six matches over the holidays—before sitting out the Liverpool game for a breather. He jumped right back into the lineup for Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United and almost bagged another goal. Just missed, really. He got on the end of Anton Stach’s cross, headed it across the goal, and clipped the far post. After that, Leeds couldn’t create much for him, but he still gave United’s backline plenty to worry about.
Now Calvert-Lewin faces a Newcastle side feeling good after a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. That was their first clean sheet in the league since early October. You can bet the home crowd will be buzzing, but Richards is excited to see what Leeds’ main man does next.
“I can’t wait for that game,” Richards said on The Rest is Football podcast after Alan Shearer brought up the midweek clash. “I love the Geordies. But when Leeds is in town, I can’t wait. Calvert-Lewin will have you trembling in your boots, Alan.”
It won’t be easy for Calvert-Lewin at St. James’ Park. Newcastle’s defenders love a physical battle. Fabian Schar knows Calvert-Lewin well from their past meetings, and Malick Thiaw—who cost Newcastle £35 million in the summer—has slotted right in during his first Premier League season.
Shearer’s also keeping an eye on that head-to-head. He’s called out Newcastle’s shaky start to the season before, but three wins in their last five have pushed them up to ninth, and Eddie Howe’s side is starting to click. Shearer expects a real clash between Thiaw and Calvert-Lewin.
“Let’s see. It’ll be a good battle because Newcastle looked a bit more solid against Palace,” Shearer said. “Malick Thiaw’s been a great buy for Newcastle. He had a really good season, even when the team wasn’t playing well. So that’ll be a good battle between those two.”
Newcastle got a defensive boost last weekend with Tino Livramento, Sven Botman, and Kieran Trippier all back in the squad against Palace. Jacob Murphy’s a doubt after coming off with a hamstring issue, though.
Sean Longstaff, the former Magpies midfielder, could get back on the pitch after making the bench against Manchester United following a calf injury. Jayden Bogle missed Sunday’s game with a minor knock but might return soon, and club captain Ethan Ampadu is available again after serving his one-game suspension.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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