Swansea defender Mike van der Hoorn insists it’s not all doom and gloom at the Liberty Stadium despite seeing his side crash out of the EFL Cup against Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s City extended their 100 per cent start to the new season to nine games in all competitions and face Swansea next up in the Premier League this weekend; again at the Liberty.

Van der Hoorn felt despite facing City’s star-studded cast list, Swansea were not second best throughout the game and can take much heart out of their performance ahead of the repeat fixture this weekend.

The game was goalless at the break, but the visitors were in front four minutes after the restart as Gael Clichy’s effort deflected off Neil Taylor and left keeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt wrong footed.

They doubled their lead through Aleix Garcia, before Gylfi Sigurdsson guided Modou Barrow’s cross past Willy Caballero late on.

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And van der Hoorn, making his second appearance since his summer switch from Ajax, felt the Swans’ effort came just too late.

“We started a little nervously, but we gained more confidence after Borja went close to scoring,” said the Dutch centre-back.

“We did well in the first half, but it became more difficult when they scored the first goal – it was a bad time to concede.

“It was a dramatic finish. If we had scored a little earlier, it would have given us more time to get an equaliser. It was not enough in the end, though.

“We have to learn from this. We know how they play, and they know how we play.

“It’s a new game on Saturday, and we hope for a better result.”

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew says his hands were tied after he made eight changes to his team for last night’s 2-0 loss to Southampton at St Mary’s.

Eagles’ fans had voiced their irritation on social media about Pardew devaluing the EFL Cup by fielding a weakened side for the trip to the South Coast.

Pardew’s hopes of progressing in the competition were not helped by skipper Scott Dann limping off with an injury but the Crystal Palace manager revealed he would have changed little about his selection in hindsight.

According to Pardew, Palace were carrying a number of niggles following their Premier League game with Stoke City and many of the changes were enforced.

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Yohan Cabaye returned to the side after missing the last two matches with a groin injury, with Dann, Wilfried Zaha and Joel Ward the only survivors from the XI that started on Sunday against Stoke City.

“When you make changes, which Southampton did too, you’re never quite sure whether players are up to speed and I think we had one or two that looked a bit rusty,” he said.

“I can’t fault them as everyone gave their all, but we couldn’t create anything because we didn’t have enough imagination or find a route to their goal.

“We were forced to make three changes to the back four from Sunday when Dann went off, so we got a bit disjointed there and gave up more chances than any other team has had against us this year.

“We’ve been really solid and had only conceded one goal in open play until Southampton.”

AFTER a winless first four games of the season, Southampton boss Claude Puel is convinced his Saints have well and truly turned the corner in September and are now capable of competing on multiple fronts.

Southampton drew with Sunderland and Watford and lost against Arsenal and Manchester United as Puel’s men experienced a difficult start to the new Premier League season.

But after winning three straight games in September – they beat Sparta Prague in the Europa League, Swansea in the Premier League and Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup – Puel is optimistic of Southampton challenging for silverware this season.

(Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

The squad depth was questioned in the summer, with Southampton embarking on a gruelling European campaign on Thursday nights but Puel insists his new signings have now settled and is he expecting a strong season from his Saints.       

“We will see the future,” he said. “It’s important to continue and to play all these competitions.

“It’s very interesting for the players and this squad. If my players keep this very good attitude and spirit, and we can move the team around to keep our energy, this bodes very well for the future.

“Now we must focus and go to play West Ham, which is a very difficult game.”

Ander Herrera has been on the outside looking in this season but after his goal scoring exploits for Manchester United against Northampton last night, the midfielder is hoping for an upturn in fortune.

Manchester United’s midfield pairing of Marouane Fellaini and Paul Pogba have been heavily criticised during defeats against Manchester City, Watford and Feyenoord this month.

There has been a clamour for Herrera and Michael Carrick to be given game-time in the Premier League and both did their chances of starting this weekend’s fixture against Leicester no harm at all.

Like Herrera, Carrick scored for Manchester United during their 3-1 win against Northampton in the EFL Cup at Sixfields.

But rather than just concentrating on personal ambitions for the season ahead, Herrera insists a win against the Cobblers was the perfect tonic for an upturn in form and results at Old Trafford.

The Spaniard said: “I know my role and I know I am a midfielder, but when you want to make steps in your development then you have to score goals.

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“I tried to do that and I shot before but the post didn’t allow me to score. Finally I scored and I am happy, but overall after a terrible week we got the victory and now we can face Leicester in a better way.

“We had a terrible week and we want to be positive. Now we have to face Leicester at home and after this victory we feel good.

“We are more positive and more optimistic. We want to be at the top of the table and we have to win; we are Man United.

“Of course we are playing against the last Premier League winners, the champions, so we have to respect them but we have to try to win.”

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is confident the young talent at Tottenham will stand the club in good stead for the future, but is urging fans to be patient whilst they develop.

The Spurs manager made 11 changes ahead of their 5-0 victory over Gillingham, giving a full debut to Cameron Carter-Vickers and a first start for Harry Winks.

Josh Onomah scored his first goal in a Spurs shirt while Marcus Edwards and Anton Walkes made their debuts from the bench.

But it was midfielder Winks, who has been part of the Tottenham academy setup since 2012, who drew special praise from the Argentine manager.

“From the beginning of pre-season he has showed us that he can play and there is more trust and he is more mature, that’s always important,” Pochettino said.

(Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

“We always need to be patient with young players. It’s important to be calm and to know when to give them the opportunity to play and show their qualities.

“We’ve spent a long time working with them and we know their qualities well – Cameron, Josh, Harry Winks, Marcus, Anton – all young players who were involved in pre-season in Australia.

“We have to wait, to be patient and when they get the opportunity to play they have to show their quality. In the future, they will be great players for us.”

Manager Mark Hughes sees no reason why Stoke City can’t end their winless run this Saturday.

An injury-time Markus Henriksen goal saw the Potters fall to a 2-1 defeat at the bet365 Stadium on Wednesday night, leaving the Potters four games without a victory.

Pressure is mounting on manager Hughes with Stoke stuck to the foot of the Premier League with a single point and having conceded ten goals in their last three games.

But Hughes saw positives despite the defeat and is confident his squad can turn their current dip in form around starting this weekend when they face West Brom at home.

“The longer this run goes on without our first win then the more significant each game becomes for us, so we will attempt to get that first win at the weekend – and there is absolutely no reason why we can’t do that,” he said.

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“There are positives to take from this because there were plenty of positive elements to our play, and we will look to do the same on Saturday.

“We have to pick ourselves up now and go again at the weekend, because we have a big game, a huge game actually, in front of us.”

Southampton defender Cedric Soares expects the club’s strong team unity to play a key role as the fixtures come thick and fast at St Mary’s.

In a month packed with Premier League, Europa League and domestic cup action, there has been no let up as Claude Puel continues to rotate his squad.

Puel made seven changes for the Saints’ Europa League victory against Sparta Prague last week and a further six before taking on Swansea City in the Premier League last weekend.

Victory against the Welsh side was Southampton’s first league win of the season after two home draws and two defeats on the road.

And Soares is confident that no matter which XI take to the field for the Saints, the mentality and desire will remain the same.

“I think our mentality here in Southampton is a winning mentality,” he said.

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“You have to do everything you can to win. You have to fight as one. We have one goal: to win the game no matter how.

“There are a lot of games with the cup and the Europa League but we always want to achieve the best level and win in every game.

“When you know what winning is, you don’t want to lose. You feel so much support from everyone.”

After taking four points from the opening two games, Middlesbrough have crashed back down to Earth in recent weeks but even back-to-back defeats cannot wipe the smile off manager Aitor Karanka’s face.

A home reverse at the hands of Crystal Palace followed by a fruitless trip to Everton leave Boro in the bottom half of the table with unbeaten Tottenham Hotspur their next opponents.

That fixture is followed by a trip to the top-flight’s newest ground to take on West Ham United in front of a crowd in excess of 50,000.

But, having battled so hard for their place in the Premier League, Karanka insists he will not be put off by a couple of adverse results.

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“It’s the Premier League, it’s the place we wanted to be,” said Karanka, who took charge at the Riverside Stadium in November 2013.

“We’ve been working hard for two-and-a-half years to be here. For me and the club, it’s amazing to come to Goodison Park, to face Tottenham next weekend, to go the following week to the Olympic Stadium.

“We’ve been working a lot to live in these moments, but we know how difficult it will be.”

The last two years of Vincent Kompany’s career may have been tarnished by injury, but Manchester City finally believe their talismanic captain is fully fit and over his problems.

The Belgium international played in just 14 league games last season as muscle injuries took hold, and he has not featured at all since rupturing his thigh against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.

New boss Pep Guardiola had reportedly considered letting Kompany go in the summer, but has given him one more chance to prove his fitness.

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The Spaniard expects the 30-year-old to return to the fold soon, and is excited about having him available alongside the likes of John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi.

“The last two years were so frustrating for him and the club because of his injuries,” said Guardiola.

“Now think we know the reason why it happened. It’s much better. He trained a lot, he will be ready.

“He will be part of the group and compete with the group and other central defenders to win his position. We have a lot of games, so of course, we need him. I am so happy.”

Tensions are running high at Swansea City after their latest Premier League defeat, but experienced midfielder Leon Britton insists the players need to calm down and prove their worth to boss Francesco Guidolin.

Ki Sung-yeung reacted angrily when he was taken off in the defeat to Southampton on Sunday just a week after Neil Taylor did the same against Chelsea.

Swansea have not won in the league since the opening day of the season against Burnley, and the 1-0 defeat to Southampton leaves them 16^th in the Premier League table.

Britton knows they need to sort their form out soon, but believes it needs to start on the training ground.

“The manager has got the respect of all players in the squad,” said Britton.

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“There’s been no-one disrespect him in training or behind closed doors. He might not be a big name but you have to respect the manager and staff.

“The players speak in the changing room and on the training ground. On Sunday, everyone was frustrated with the way we played, and I think Ki will be disappointed.

“We are professional, we have to respect the manager and respect the group of players we’ve got.

“If there is a problem, like always in football, you deal with it in the changing room.”