English Premier League

English Premier League

Crystal Palace have signed Evann Guessand on loan from Aston Villa. Guessand makes the move to Selhurst Park until the end of the season, with the Eagles having the option to sign him on a permanent deal thereafter. The Ivory Coast international joined Villa from Nice in August on a five-year deal. However, he made just 13 starts, with his tally of two goals in 21 appearances marking a disappointing start to his career in the Premier League.

These are the rules. Hopefully the Premier League next season instead of 18 outfield players they will do 20. I beg them from here, [have it] like it is in the Champions League, because it's much better to manage the squad, to maintain the value of the players, to maintain the mental health of the players as nobody wants to get out of the squad.

Christmas is long gone and the scramble of the transfer window is about to come to an end so it feels like we really are now at the business end of the season with teams' goals, be they promotion, survival or building for next year, programmed for the run-in. In the Championship Middlesbrough might have quite fancied facing Norwich a month ago but the Canaries are a different proposition these days, while Portsmouth against West Brom has 'relegation scrap' written all over it.

The two which perform best across the three European competitions this season will be handed European Performance Spots (EPS). That means fifth place in the Premier League table could go from being a Europa League place to a ticket into the Champions League - Newcastle benefited this way last season. But will an English club get that reward again? To work out who are the successful nations, Uefa takes into consideration the overall performance of clubs in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.

A crazy night of Champions League action on Wednesday concluded the league phase for another season. All six Premier League sides have progressed, with only Newcastle having to play in next month's play-off round. Holders Paris St Germain and Real Madrid both failed to seal automatic spots. PSG could only draw 1-1 at home to Newcastle United, a result that left both sides facing a playoff despite starting the final night in the automatic places.

Chelsea are now interested in signing the Hoffenheim striker Fisnik Asllani. The London club is looking to improve the attacking unit despite spending on two strikers at the start of the season. Liam Delap and Joao Pedro have not been prolific enough, and Chelsea are looking at alternatives. The 23-year-old has done quite well in the Bundesliga, and he could prove to be an excellent addition for Chelsea, as per Fichajes.

Matz Sels and John Victor have shared goalkeeping duties at the City Ground this season but Forest are exploring a move for Sa, who has emerged as Wolves head coach Rob Edwards' first choice. Whether Forest can successfully negotiate a deal for Sa, 33, is set to have an impact on the Portuguese's Wolves colleague Sam Johnstone, who has attracted loan interest from Tottenham Hotspur.

Some housekeeping to begin with: Lucas Paquetá ( West Ham), Oscar Bobb ( Manchester City) and Oleksandr Zinchenko ( Arsenal) also need a move, but they're not included in this list as they all look well on their way to getting it. Paquetá is expected to return to Brazil with Flamengo, Bobb looks set to join Fulham, and Zinchenko is on his way to Ajax.

Recording a first League One victory since opening the New Year on Saturday, the Terriers are still sat in the play-off places and they will be looking to widen their buffer over the chasing pack here. Extending on their EFL Trophy adventure earlier in the month as they secured a routine 3-0 win against Rotherham, new boss Liam Manning will be looking to make a real statement here.

Frank Lampard's side did go ahead before the break through Roman Esse, but second-half goals from Anis Ben Slimane and Ali Ahmed helped the Canaries turn things around, reducing Coventry's lead at the summit to just three points. It was a strong start from the hosts, with Ben Slimane testing Carl Rushworth in the Coventry goal before Jose Cordoba struck the woodwork as the leaders found themselves under pressure early on.