يستعد فريق مانشستر سيتي، بقيادة المدرب بيب جوارديولا، لخوض مباراة قوية عصر السبت ضد خصمه إيفرتون، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

تأتي تلك المباراة في خضم لقاءات الجولة الثامنة من الدوري الإنجليزي، موسم 2025/26، وذلك على ملعب “الاتحاد”.

ويحتل مانشستر سيتي حاليًا المركز الخامس برصيد 13 نقطة، في حين أن إيفرتون لديه 11 نقطة في المركز الثامن في جدول البطولة.

ويأمل مانشستر سيتي مواصلة نتائجه الإيجابية في الدوري الإنجليزي، حيث يسعى إلى تحقيق الفوز في مباراة اليوم من أجل الضغط على أصحاب المراكز الأربعة الأولى.

ولن يستطيع إيفرتون الاعتماد على خدمات النجم جاك جريليش في مباراة اليوم ضد مانشستر سيتي، ناديه الأصلي، بسبب لوائح الدوري (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا). موعد مباراة مانشستر سيتي وإيفرتون اليوم في الدوري الإنجليزي

تنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 5 عصرًا بتوقيت القاهرة والسعودية. القناة الناقلة لمباراة مانشستر سيتي وإيفرتون اليوم في الدوري الإنجليزي

تُذاع المباراة عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 2. معلق مباراة مانشستر سيتي وإيفرتون اليوم في الدوري الإنجليزي

سيعلق حفيظ دراجي على أحداث مباراة اليوم.

ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث مباريات اليوم لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنـــا

Georgia Voll was given six lives during her half-century but a record New Zealand partnership almost flipped the script

Andrew McGlashan26-Mar-2025Australia withstood a thrilling onslaught from Maddy Green to secure a 3-0 whitewash over T20I world champions New Zealand in Wellington with the home side left to rue a woeful fielding display in which they dropped Georgia Voll six times.When Sophie Devine fell in the ninth over, New Zealand were a long way adrift in their chase of 181 on 54 for 4 – which included Megan Schutt becoming the first women’s player to 150 T20I wickets – but Green turned the game on its head with a 29-ball fifty, her first in T20Is, and in all struck five sixes while adding a New Zealand-record 99 for the fifth wicket with Amelia Kerr.That brought the requirement down to 28 from 15 balls when Green fell to a brilliant piece of fielding by Georgia Wareham who produced a direct hit from deep midwicket the over after she had missed a return catch from Amelia Kerr on 55.Annabel Sutherland then claimed three wickets in four balls in the 19th over with Wareham again to the fore with an excellent catch to remove Jess Kerr and a simpler one to end Amelia Kerr’s innings. That all-but ensured Australia would get home with New Zealand needing 20 off the last and Brooke Halliday unable to bat due to an injury sustained in the field.The eventual narrow margin highlighted what could have been for New Zealand had they taken any of the chances offered by Voll as she made her second half-century of the series and she was honest enough to admit her fortune. “Think I’m going to head to the Lotto store and buy one after this game,” she told the broadcast at the change of innings.Brooke Halliday shells one of multiple chances New Zealand missed•Getty ImagesVoll added 64 for the first wicket with Beth Mooney and 54 for the second with Phoebe Litchfield. Australia’s innings was then given a strong finish by Ellyse Perry who made an unbeaten 32 off 19 deliveries and captain Tahlia McGrath with 14 from five balls. In all, 109 came from the second ten overs after Australia had been a steady if unspectacular 71 for 1 at the midway point.After the home side opted to bowl first, the tone for their horror catching display was set in the first over when Jess Kerr was unable to hold a firm return chance, high to her right, offered by Voll two balls after she had cleared deep square leg for six from the third ball of the contest.Two much simpler opportunities were shelled by Green at mid-on (when Voll was 13) and Rosemary Mair at long-off with the latter allowing Voll to bring up her fifty from 44 balls.Voll was never entirely fluent and at times appeared frustrated, particularly during the powerplay when Mair and Devine managed to build some pressure with dot balls. However, Mooney was able to keep the scoreboard moving as Australia finished the fielding restrictions on 43 without loss.Georgia Voll took advantage of numerous dropped catches•Getty ImagesAfter reaching fifty, Voll was starting to move through the gears, using the crease to good effect, while being given further lives on 62 and 63 before finally falling to Suzie Bates when she walked across her stumps.Amid all the dropped chances, Mair managed to cling onto a swirling chance to remove Sutherland but Australia produced a powerful finish with 15 off the last over when New Zealand were penalized for a slow over-rate and were forced to have an extra fielder inside the ring.New Zealand’s chase began in bizarre fashion when Schutt’s first delivery slipped out of her hand, bounced by her feet and bobbled up the pitch for a no-ball that brought some wry smiles. But it was soon normal service for Schutt when she removed Bates to join Tim Southee and Rashid Khan as the only players in the T20I 150-club.Schutt struck again in her second over to remove Georgia Plimmer and Bella James’ debut innings was ended with a spliced pull against Sutherland. Amelia Kerr started brightly but Devine couldn’t hit her stride and picked out deep midwicket against Wareham for 1 off 9 balls.At that point, New Zealand needed a daunting 127 off 71 balls. But Green cleared the rope for the first time from her 17th delivery, clubbing McGrath over the leg side, and then took four more sixes in the space of seven deliveries to suddenly give the home side belief before Australia, as so often, found a way to come out on top.

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has revealed that he is sweating on the fitness of Ao Tanaka after the 5-0 defeat to Arsenal at The Emirates on Saturday.

Speaking after the game, the German head coach explained: “After a tackle in the first half, he had problems with his MCL.

“He kept going and I hope it’s not too bad. I hope the assessment is not too bad. There are a few concerns that it would be an injury but it’s normally positive that he could play further on. But we will have to assess him and we will see how long it takes to get him fit and back to full fitness.”

Farke says that he hopes that it is not a bad injury for Tanaka, and that feeling may be compounded by a similar injury to club captain Ethan Ampadu last week.

The Wales international is due to be out until after the international break, at least, with an MCL injury that was sustained against Everton on the opening day.

That injury to the skipper allowed Ilia Gruev to test himself at Premier League level against the Gunners on Saturday, but he was unable to impress with his showing in midfield.

Why Ilia Gruev may not be the answer for Leeds

Speaking ahead of the clash with Arsenal, Farke revealed that Sean Longstaff is more suited to playing as a number eight instead of as a replacement for Ampadu in the number six role, which is why Gruev was then selected against Arsenal.

Unfortunately, though, the Bulgaria international failed to show the defensive strength and quality that was needed to protect the back four, in what turned out to be a hammering by Mikel Arteta’s side.

The left-footed maestro only started 20 times in the Championship last season, per Sofascore, and won 52% of his duels in the second tier as Leeds largely dominated games with the ball.

Gruev’s lack of physicality meant that there was always going to be a question mark over his head going into the Premier League season, and his performances in the first two games have not changed that.

Ilia Gruev	Vs Everton	Vs Arsenal
Minutes	13	90
Pass accuracy	80%	92%
Key passes	0	0
Tackles	0	1
Interceptions	0	1
Duels won	0/1	1/3
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the former Werder Bremen star has only won one of his four duels in 103 minutes of action in the top-flight to date.

His lack of physicality was on display in the 5-0 defeat to Arsenal as he only won one duel in 90 minutes against a side that was constantly attacking his half of the pitch, which shows that he was not offering enough protection in front of the back four.

The Championship champions are now reportedly keen on bringing in another option in that area of the pitch who could come in as an upgrade on Gruev.

Leeds eyeing move for Bundesliga midfielder

According to Monday’s edition of Bild, as relayed by Sport Witness, Leeds United are one of the teams in the race to sign Borussia Monchengladbach defensive midfielder Julian Weigl.

The report claims that the Premier League side and Al-Shabab FC are both contenders to land a deal for the Germany international before the end of the summer transfer window.

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Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

It states that the Bundesliga outfit are set to allow him to move on before the deadline after the player requested to be allowed to explore a move elsewhere.

Sport Witness relay quotes from Gladbach director Roland Virkus explaining the situation: “The important thing was: He asked us to release him for talks. We are also in talks. That’s the way it is. That doesn’t mean he won’t return to the squad if they fail. That’s open. It was important for Julian to be able to hold talks with the clubs.”

It is said that Weigl is available for a fee of around £5m, amid interest from Leeds and Al-Shabab, and it is now down to the 49ers to get a deal done for the German star.

Why Leeds should sign Julian Weigl

Off the back of the injuries to Ampadu and Tanaka, securing a cut-price deal to sign Weigl from Gladbach as an upgrade on Gruev in the number six position could be a shrewd move by the club.

The 29-year-old star is a natural number six who could slot into that role at the base of the midfield when Ampadu is unavailable, or off the bench when needed.

Speaking about Weigl’s style of play, defender Marc Bartra once said: “He is very similar to Busquets. He dictates play from midfield and helps us a lot when we lose the ball, it looks like he always has everything under control. He really reminds me of Busquets a lot, even if there is obviously still some distance between the two of them.”

As someone who played alongside Busquets at Barcelona and Weigl at Borussia Dortmund, Barta is possibly the best-placed person to make such a connection, and it speaks to the profile of player that Leeds would be signing.

The German ace could be Farke’s own Busquets at the base of the midfield as an upgrade on Gruev who can offer more to the team out of possession in what is set to be a scrap to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

24/25 Bundesliga	Julian Weigl per 90	Percentile rank vs midfielders
Tackles + interceptions	3.16	Top 37%
Clearances	2.69	Top 20%
Shots blocked	0.84	Top 2%
Percentage of dribblers tackled	60.9%	Top 13%
Blocks	1.69	Top 28%
Challenges lost	0.56	Top 13%
Aerial duel success rate	67.2%	Top 2%
Stats via FBref

As you can see in the table above, Weigl ranked highly among his positional peers in the Bundesliga last season in a host of defensive metrics, including his success rate in duels on the deck and in the air.

These statistics show that he can be a dominant defensive force against opposition players at the top level, whilst Gruev was not outstanding physically in the Championship and has struggled with the physicality of the Premier League so far.

Weigl, who started 33 games in the Bundesliga last season, per Sofascore, is an experienced campaigner who has played for Farke in the past and has proven himself in one of Europe’s major leagues.

This is why he could come in as a fantastic bargain signing for £5m as an upgrade on Gruev due to the defensive and physical qualities that he can bring to the number six position as a Busquets-esque figure.

Gnonto upgrade: Leeds ready to pay £30m to sign "menacing" new star

Leeds United are reportedly willing to splash the cash to sign an upgrade on Wilfried Gnonto.

2

By
Dan Emery

Aug 25, 2025

This is why Farke should be pushing the club to get this deal done before the deadline because he could be an experienced alternative to Ampadu at the base of the midfield, as a strong and dependable option who can be relied upon as a defensive force.

Just like CSK, KKR are also in the bottom half of the points table with Narine and Russell yet to fire

Deivarayan Muthu10-Apr-20251:53

Can Dhoni the captain turn CSK’s fortunes around?

Big picture: After losing Gaikwad, CSK could lose control of ChepaukMurphy’s law has taken a special liking to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2025. After losing four games in a row, they have now lost their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad for the rest of the tournament to injury. CSK have sent out an SOS to MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain.The last time Dhoni batted at Chepauk, something strange happened: the crowd began to leave. Chepauk is usually a pulsing bowl of noise, but there was pin-drop silence when CSK’s chase petered out against Delhi Capitals (DC) with Dhoni at the crease last weekend. CSK are now on the verge of entering unfamiliar territory: if they go down to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday, it will be the first time that they will have lost three IPL games in a row at Chepauk.Related

Ashwin and Jadeja, an unhappy reunion

Rahane will discuss Eden pitch with IPL authorities

While the reunion of Rachin Ravindra with Devon Conway at the top has remedied some of CSK’s powerplay troubles, the dearth of firepower in the middle order continues to hurt them. Their middle-order batters (Nos. 4-7) have the lowest strike rate (126.04) this season. While KKR’s middle order has a higher strike rate of 147.18, it’s not on par with the top teams in the competition either.Like CSK, KKR are also currently in the bottom half of the points table. The two teams have also made public their discontent with the pitches being rolled out at home. What will Chepauk throw up on Friday?KKR’s Caribbean stalwarts Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are yet to fire, but they will be pleased with Varun Chakravarthy, who continues to be unhittable. The mystery spinner has fond memories of Chepauk, having won both the IPL and TNPL here last year.Form guideChennai Super Kings LLL
Kolkata Knight Riders LWLNew loyaltiesAjinkya Rahane, who enjoyed a T20 career revival at CSK, will lead KKR against his former franchise. Dwayne Bravo, who was a more familiar face at CSK as a player and bowling coach, will plot against CSK, along with Rahane, in his new role as KKR’s mentor.Team news and likely XIIsApart from Dhoni taking over as CSK captain, Rahul Tripathi could return to the team in place of Gaikwad.Chennai Super Kings (probable): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Rahul Tripathi, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Mukesh Choudhary, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Matheesha PathiranaMoeen Ali could be back for KKR if the conditions are conducive to spin•BCCI

If the conditions are conducive to spin, KKR might bring Moeen Ali back in place of left-arm quick Spencer Johnson, who has gone at almost 12 runs an over.Kolkata Knight Riders (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 4 Venkatesh Iyer, 5 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Moeen Ali/Spencer Johnson, 10 Harshit Rana, 11 Vaibhav Arora, 12 Varun ChakravarthyThe big questionRussell hasn’t batted above No. 7 in four innings so far in IPL 2025. Against Mumbai Indians (MI), he came in at No. 8. Perhaps KKR could push him up the order unless they don’t want to expose him to R Ashwin. The offspinner has dismissed Russell twice in 17 balls while giving away just 16 runs in T20s. Against Ravindra Jadeja, Russell has fared much better, taking him for 69 runs off 38 balls while being dismissed twice. Russell has faced just seven balls from Noor Ahmad for 12 runs while being dismissed once.In the spotlight: Shivam Dube and Venkatesh IyerOn Wednesday, Punjab Kings (PBKS) denied Shivam Dube the spin of Yuzvendra Chahal or Glenn Maxwell. Instead, they served him the extra pace and bounce of Lockie Ferguson with a packed leg-side field. Dube scored 17 off 12 balls from Ferguson before being bowled. He could face a similar test against Russell on Saturday.After starting the season with a pair of low scores, Venkatesh Iyer has found his groove with scores of 60 and 45 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). If he gets cracking at Chepauk, he might keep Jadeja away from the attack. The last time Venkatesh played at this venue, he sealed KKR’s third IPL title with an unbeaten 52 off 26 balls.Venkatesh Iyer has found his groove with scores of 60 and 45•BCCI

Pitch and conditionsThe Chepauk surface continues to be a mystery, with CSK coach Stephen Fleming saying that they haven’t been able to come to grips with it in recent years. The weather is expected to be clear.Stats and trivia Watch out for Dhoni vs KKR’s spinners. Dhoni has faced 16 balls from Varun in the IPL for only 11 runs while being dismissed three times. His struggles against Narine are even starker: 39 runs off 74 balls at a strike rate of just 52.70, and one dismissal. CSK have hit 31 sixes in five innings, the least among nine teams who have played at least four games this season. In comparison, KKR have hit 42 sixes in five innings. Narine has dominated Ashwin with the bat, hitting him for 94 runs off 39 balls at a strike rate of over 240 while being dismissed once in the IPL. Vaibhav Arora will relish bowling to Conway and Ravindra in the powerplay. Since IPL 2024, against left-hand batters in the powerplay, Arora has picked up eight wickets in 11 innings at a strike rate of 7.00 and an economy rate of just over six.Quotes”It’s just that we struck a young man who had the night of his life, and we weren’t able to shut him down.”

“We rate them as a highly-skilled team, and we will look to go out there and play the game and win.”

Chelsea, once again, appear to be collecting all the wide-attackers they can get their hands on.

On deadline day, in a deal that had been in the pipeline for months, the Blues confirmed the signing of Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United for a reported fee of £40m.

This summer alone, the Blues had also already added Estêvão Willian, Jamie Gittens, João Pedro and Kendry Páez to their ranks, all players who like to be deployed just behind a centre-forward, either out-wide or centrally.

However, is this continued mass summer spending actually blocking the pathways for Cobham’s most talented youngsters, one in particular who is still at the club, despite very nearly leaving?

Will Alejandro Garnacho improve Chelsea?

Despite the fact this transfer had been on the cards since May, it remains unclear where Garnacho will fit in at Chelsea.

As already alluded to, they have an abundance of attacking options, particularly in Garnacho’s favoured left-wing position, with Gittens starting there on the opening day of the Premier League season against Crystal Palace, while Pedro Neto has got the nod for the two subsequent matches.

So, when extrapolating Garnacho’s Premier League statistics from last season and comparing them to Chelsea’s players, how does the Argentine international compare? Let’s find out.

Garnacho PL stats 2024/25
Statistics	Garnacho	Chelsea rank
Goals	6	5th
Assists	2	8th
Shots	84	2nd
Shots on target	29	4th
Shots on target %	34.5%	10th
Goals – xG	-1.3	20th
Shot-creating actions	83	5th
Goal-creating actions	6	8th
Progressive carries	141	2nd
All statistics courtesy of FBref.com

As the table outlines, among Chelsea players last season, only the now departed Noni Madueke registered more progressive carries than Garnacho, but the 21-year-old isn’t much of a clinical finisher, as underlined by his goals – xG figure, certainly more of a high volume shooter, but without much accuracy.

Thus, it remains to be seen whether or not Garnacho will actually improve Chelsea, so should Enzo Maresca prioritise giving minutes to a home-grown academy graduate?

Chelsea's next Cobham superstar

On deadline day, it appeared as though Tyrique George would become the latest Chelsea academy graduate sacrificed to help the club comply with the Premier League’s Profitability & Sustainability Rules.

Fulham had agreed a £22m fee to sign the teenager, with George even completing a medical ahead of a move to Craven Cottage, only for them to pull the plug on the deal at the eleventh hour, signing Kevin from Shakhtar Donetsk and Samuel Chukwueze on loan from AC Milan instead.

Thus, George has returned to Chelsea, and this could turn out to be an absolute blessing.

Football analyst Ben Mattinson is certainly a fan, comparing him to a “young Callum Hudson-Odoi”, praising his “excellent ball manipulation” and outstanding “ball-striking” ability, asserting that he is “one of the very best in the world” in his age group.

It is easy to forget just how good Hudson-Odoi was when he first burst onto the scene, with the Blues famously rejecting a £70m bid from Bayern Munich for his services back in 2020, eventually selling him to Nottingham Forest for £3m three years later.

Well, George could be even better, after enjoying a breakout season last time round, accumulating 1,154 senior minutes, scoring his first-ever Premier League goal against Fulham on Easter Sunday, also netting against Legia Warszawa in the Conference League and during the 3-0 demolition of Espérance Sportive de Tunis at the Club World Cup.

Most of his minutes came in the Conference League, a key figure across the Blues’ 15 matches in the competition, with Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelling him one of England’s “most interesting” young talents, forecasting that he has a “big future ahead”.

Thus, especially given that they were prepared to sell him to Fulham, one has to be concerned about where George’s minutes will come from, but Maresca should prioritise giving him opportunities, given that he has a higher ceiling than Garnacho in particular.

Boehly ditched Chelsea's own Alexander Isak in "unbelievable" talent

The talented international could have an excellent season away from Chelsea.

1

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Sep 6, 2025

Russell Martin has had a rocky start to life as Rangers boss, with his team drawing their first four Scottish Premiership games and being dumped out of Champions League qualification by Club Brugge.

The transfer window saw £19.5 million worth of players join the squad, including the likes of Oliver Antman, Oscar Cortes and Joe Rothwell, but the squad does not seem to be clicking yet.

The Gers did manage to become the only team to stop Celtic’s winning run in the league following Sunday’s 0-0 draw. Coming off the back of the 6-0 defeat to Brugge, Martin was happy with his team’s improved performance.

However, the draw will only temporarily patch things over at the Ibrox, and the end of the transfer window saw an Italian club make a move for one of Martin’s frustrated players.

Rangers rejected late loan offer for out-of-favour Barron

Rangers rejected a late-deadline day loan inquiry for defensive midfielder Connor Barron from Bologna. Barron has struggled for minutes since Martin took over at Ibrox, and Bologna may have seen his absence from the team as a sign that the Gers would be willing to let him go for the season.

This would have been the third time that the Italian side has turned to Scotland for recruitment after previously signing Lewis Ferguson and Aaron Hickey. Barron’s first start under Martin came in Sunday’s clash with Celtic, indicating that he may yet be in the manager’s plans, and that may be why Rangers opted to keep hold of him.

After the Old Firm derby, Martin acknowledged Barron and other out-of-favour players’ frustration: “I said in the dressing-room, Dio, Tav and Connor Barron have every reason to be annoyed and disappointed with me because they’ve been out of the team. We always have honest chats about why.”

Barron's return could mark a change for Martin

Martin was clearly impressed with Barron’s performance as he praised him and the other returnees: “Today they proved how hard they’re willing to work and run – and showed why they should be in the team. That’s the best possible reaction you could ever have. I’m proud and grateful for the performances they put in.”

Barron’s reinstatement into the team may be the catalyst for Martin turning things around at Rangers. Despite only having brief cameos in the boss’ first few months in charge, Barron now seems to be in contention for a regular starting place.

He only played for just over 30 minutes against Brugge, but the Belgian side failed to score while he was on the pitch. Brugge had likely taken their foot off the gas, considering they were eight goals up, but considering how poorly the match was going, Rangers did improve when Barron came on, and he was solid once again on Sunday.

West Ham United chairman David Sullivan has held talks with a top candidate to replace Graham Potter, with the tactician seemingly making his demands crystal clear.

The managerial candidates to replace Graham Potter at West Ham

Potter has recorded the second-worst win percentage of any West Ham manager in Premier League history, behind only Avram Grant, with pressure mounting on the Englishman as he faces a stay of execution.

David Moyes, who guided West Ham to successive European campaigns and ended their 43-year wait for a major trophy during his time at the London Stadium, could even be the man to put one of the final nails in Potter’s coffin this weekend.

In a real piece of irony, Moyes’ Everton side, who are faring much better than West Ham right now, may have a big say in whether Sullivan, Karren Brady and the Hammers board elect to hand Potter a P45.

9. Sam Allardyce

30.7%

10. Julen Lopetegui

30%

11. Gianfranco Zola

27.8%

12 Graham Potter

26.1%

13. Avram Grant

18.9%

via StatMuse

It is hard to see Potter remaining in the West Ham hot seat if they suffer a humbling defeat at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with club insider ExWHUemployee previously reporting that, if he does survive past that point, the ex-Chelsea boss is likely to be sacked after their trip to Arsenal.

West Ham are deep into their contingency plans to replace Potter, and there are a number of very interesting names under consideration.

Sullivan, as ever, is dipping into the free agent market.

Former West Ham midfielder Gary O’Neil is a favourite for the potential job, according to Miguel Delaney, with another ex-Hammer in Slaven Bilic — who was in charge between 2015 and 2017 — also in the frame.

Bilic is even said to be making plans for his West Ham backroom, in the event he is chosen as a short-term option until the end of the season, and Sullivan is believed to be personally in favour of bringing the Croatian back to East London (Pete O’Rourke).

Managers who are already in work haven’t been definitively ruled out, either. West Ham have internally discussed the possibility of appointing Scott Parker, following his rise to the Premier League with Burnley, but one man stands out above all the aforementioned names.

Nuno Espírito Santo's demand after holding West Ham talks with Sullivan

Former Tottenham, Wolves and Nottingham Forest boss, Nuno Espírito Santo, is believed to be the favourite to succeed Potter as things stand.

As per the reliable ExWHUemployee, Nuno has already held talks with Sullivan over a potential move to West Ham if Potter leaves, and the Portuguese’s stock is at an all-time high after making history at Forest last season.

However, according to Sports Boom, West Ham face another roadblock in pursuit of Nuno, following some reports that ‘legal issues’ are delaying his arrival too (Pete O’Rourke).

The outlet reports that Nuno’s big wage demands are a hindrance to West Ham and could prove to be a real obstacle, with Bilic ready to join the Irons as an alternative.

Why West Ham must not give up on Nuno

Nuno guided Forest back to Europe for the first time since 1995, and if it wasn’t for a public fallout with Evangelos Marinakis, he’d still be at the City Ground now.

The appeal for West Ham is obvious. Nuno steered Forest away from the drop zone in his first season, transforming them into a robust, hard-to-break-down outfit with a clear counter-attacking identity.

He also helped to fix Forest’s glaring set-piece weakness, something which has really plagued West Ham this season, having conceded 7 of their 13 Premier League goals so far directly from corners.

Managing to get the best out of his players, Forest ended up being last season’s major surprise package thanks to Nuno’s work, and the 51-year-old’s availability as a free agent makes this potential appointment an arguable no-brainer.

Shanto hopes hosts can remedy their recent record at home, while Ervine looks forward to Zimbabwe bumper year in Test cricket

Mohammad Isam19-Apr-2025While Bangladesh are gearing up for their first Test in 2025 and preparing for life without most of their stalwarts, Zimbabwe will be playing a rare series in the subcontinent. The first Test in Sylhet from Sunday will mark a fresh start for both teams.Bangladesh ended their 2023-2025World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with four wins, including beating West Indies in a thrilling finish in Kingston in December 2024. Their captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is hoping to build on that success.”As a captain, I think that we need to play every match to win,” Shanto said. “We don’t have that intention to play selfish cricket. As I said, we would start something new and that would start from tomorrow. I also hope that the management will also help us in this regard too. I think our Test cricket has become stagnant for the last 20-22 years. So, we need to change something. We are thinking about that. I hope this will work in our favour.”Related

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Williams, Ervine return to Zimbabwe squad for Bangladesh Tests

Williamson backs international windows and WTC 'tweaks'

It’s a unique time to be a Zimbabwe cricketer. They are scheduled to play eleven Tests this year, the most since 2001. They haven’t played as many in the last four years combined. Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine is looking forward to see how his team fares in different conditions. After the Test series in Bangladesh, Zimbabwe will face England at Trent Bridge in May before returning home to play South Africa and New Zealand later this year.”We want to bring a no-fear attitude,” Ervine said. “The guys are not familiar with Bangladesh conditions, but long preparations give you the confidence to go out and express yourself. I understand we haven’t had a great run in Test cricket. I think this is the first year in which we have a lot of Test cricket lined up for us.”The type of opponents in the next few months is really exciting too. We don’t have a lot of experience in Bangladesh, but I think the young group needs to play in different conditions to mature as cricketers.”Sean Williams and Craig Ervine will continue to lead Zimbabwe’s batting line-up•Zimbabwe CricketAmong Zimbabwe’s batters, only Ervine and Sean Williams have Test experience in the subcontinent. The likes of Ben Curran, Wessly Madhevere and Brian Bennett have shown promise, and have been picking the brains of the seniors.”They are trying to find out the little key pointers to play in the subcontinent,” Ervine said. “Sean Williams has done very well in Bangladesh. They are picking those brains. [They are asking] what have you done, what works for you – preparation wise and mental wise. So that they can put that into practice. Our process started with the week preparation back home. When we got here, it is a continuation of that, and slight adjustment to the conditions.”Bangladesh are hoping to become a more consistent team and there is considerable focus on their captain’s shaky form and their cricketing culture. Shanto has scored just one fifty in his last ten Test innings and his last hundred was back in November 2023.”It is disappointing to talk about our Test culture despite being in the arena for more than two decades,” Shanto said. “We had a good 2024, winning four Tests against good oppositions.”We have been talking about building a team culture, figuring out how we want to play. The new coach [Phil Simmons] has also shared his philosophy about how he wants to take the team forward. We are supposed to play five or six Tests this year so I am hopeful that we can show something new in 2025.”Shanto’s domestic form is more encouraging. He scored back-to-back fifties for Abhani Ltd in the Dhaka Premier League earlier this month. His Test form is part of Bangladesh’s wider top-order problem: their openers haven’t scored a Test ton in two-and-a-half years.”Obviously everyone needs to be consistent,” Shanto said. “If I’m talking about myself, in the last year, in many innings I got out after getting set like scoring 30-40 runs. This is not acceptable in this format, because I was getting out after going through the tough periods. I have worked on that. I will try more.”Of course, the top order isn’t performing. But they are trying. And I think with the resources we have got, we have to give them enough chances to be ready. As you said, we don’t face that challenge in domestic cricket. So, if we give them opportunities in international cricket, they will start to perform.”Shanto has another challenge to deal with. Bangladesh have lost their last five home Tests, including Sri Lanka trampling them in Sylhet last year.”We didn’t play well at home last year,” Shanto said. “We couldn’t execute the plans we had. I think it will be important to bring the results at home. Getting the results away is difficult. As we were able to do that, I would hope that we would do better at home too.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras contou com o retorno do ídolo Dudu para vencer o Atlético-MG por 1 a 0 nessa quarta-feira (2), em jogo válido pelo confronto de ida das oitavas de final da Libertadores.

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+ Veja tabela e classificação do Brasileirão-2023 clicando aqui

Na terça-feira (1), o atacante chegou em Belo Horizonte com uma proteção na perna direita e atuou por um pouco mais de 60 minutos antes de ser substituído por Jhon Jhon.

Apesar da tímida atuação diante do seu amigo Felipão, o retorno de Dudu foi importante para o jogador voltar a adquirir ritmo de jogo, principalmente pensando no segundo e decisivo duelo, no Allianz Parque, nesta quarta (9).

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Pensando exatamente nesta recuperação física, que Dudu pode ser titular diante do Fluminense, neste sábado (5), no Maracanã, pela penúltima rodada do primeiro turno do Brasileirão.

Enquanto Dudu busca retomar sua forma física ideal, Abel Ferreira vai ganhando o ‘reforço’ de alguns titulares que fizeram dois grandes jogos diante do América-MG e do Galo, como Murilo, Mayke, Zé Rafael e Raphael Veiga.

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+ ANÁLISE: Palmeiras ativa ‘modo competição’ e dá passo gigante para classificação na Libertadores

Nos últimos dois duelos diante do Fluminense fora de casa pelo Brasileirão, Dudu brilhou com um golaço em 2021 e uma assistência para a bike de Rony na temporada passada.

Abel Ferreira deve definir o time titular do Palmeiras nesta sexta-feira (4), em atividade na Academia de Futebol.

Se o Palmeiras pode poupar o time pensando no duelo de volta diante do Atlético-MG, o Fluminense também vive situação parecida, uma vez que o Tricolor carioca encara o Argentinos Jrs, também pelas oitavas da Libertadores.

Both teams have five wins each from nine games but they seem to be heading in opposite directions

Hemant Brar26-Apr-20252:08

Is Mumbai’s second-half charge underway?

Big picture: Same, same but differentIt’s not important where you are right now; what matters is the direction you are headed in. This aphorism applies to all walks of life, including IPL 2025. Just past the halfway stage, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) find themselves at the same junction but heading in opposite directions.Both teams are in the middle of the points table with five wins each from nine games. In those five wins, five different players from each team have won the Player-of-the-Match award. For MI, it has been Ashwani Kumar, Karn Sharma, Will Jacks, Rohit Sharma and Trent Boult. For LSG, Shardul Thakur, Digvesh Rathi, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram and Avesh Khan.Let’s talk about the differences now. MI had a typical slow start to their campaign, losing four of their first five games. But with four successive wins since then, things are looking up for them. Rohit has returned to form with two successive 70s, Boult is living up to the expectations at the death, and Jasprit Bumrah, after missing the first four games, is back to his usual business.Related

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A dash of Boult to a slice of Bumrah leads MI's turnaround

Pant goes the other way – what's the rationale?

“I’ve always felt that once everyone starts clicking in this team, it is going to be complete domination,” their captain Hardik Pandya said after the win against Sunrisers Hyderabad. With that confidence, and momentum, they enter Sunday afternoon’s game.LSG, on the other hand, have faced two defeats in their last three games. They did win three in a row after a shaky start but things are not looking good for them at the moment. Rishabh Pant and David Miller are yet to fire, making their middle order one of the weakest in the league. After a blistering start to the season, Pooran has had scores of 8, 11 and 9 in his last three innings, which has exposed their middle order further.What’s in LSG’s favour is their 6-1 head-to-head record against MI. It includes their win from earlier this season, when MI retired out Tilak Varma in their unsuccessful chase of 204. But this time MI will be playing at home, where they have three wins in four outings so far.Form guideMumbai Indians WWWL (last five matches, most recent first)
Lucknow Super Giants LWLWWMayank Yadav is yet to play this season•BCCI

Team news and likely XIIs: Where is Mayank Yadav?It’s unlikely that MI will tinker with their winning combination.Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Naman Dhir, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12 Vignesh PuthurIn their last two games, LSG brought in Ayush Badoni as Impact Player in the first innings of the match itself, which meant Mayank Yadav stayed on the bench. One also wonders if Mayank’s fitness has something to do with his not being named in the XI in the first place.Lucknow Super Giants (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 David Miller, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Digvesh Rathi, 11 Avesh Khan, 12 Prince YadavIn the spotlight: Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh PantBefore this IPL started, there were whispers about Suryakumar Yadav’s form. In February, against England, he had managed only 28 runs in five T20Is at a strike rate of 116.66. Since then, he has played nine innings in the IPL and has scored at least 25 in each of them. Overall, he is the leading run-getter for MI with 373 at a strike rate of 166.51. The only thing missing is his trademark, jaw-dropping knock.2:49

Pant coming in at No. 7 was ‘bizarre and horrendous’

This being the last IPL before the 2026 T20 World Cup makes it an audition for the global tournament, and Rishabh Pant seems to have flunked it. He has just 106 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 96.36. Five times he has been dismissed in singles-figures. His coming in at No. 7 against Delhi Capitals after an animated chat with team mentor Zaheer Khan did not paint a good picture either.The big questionWith Pant struggling and Miller not getting enough balls to face at times, should LSG have Miller at No. 4 and Pant down the order?Key stats: Bumrah vs Pant and Pooran Bumrah has a favourable match-up against Pant in the IPL: 46 balls, 55 runs, seven dismissals. He has also dismissed Pooran twice in 18 balls while conceding only 13 runs. Mitchell Santner is one of the rare left-arm spinners to have some success against Pooran in T20 cricket. He has dismissed him twice in 20 balls while giving away just 25 runs. Hardik has fallen to Avesh three times in 37 balls while scoring only 32 runs in this tournament. Rohit scored 76 not out and 70 in his last two innings. This is the first time since 2016 that he has scored back-to-back fifties in the IPL. Among those who have bowled at least five overs in the death, Rathi (7.66) has the best economy, followed by Bumrah (7.75). Hardik is at the bottom of the list with 16.20.Pitch and conditionsThe Wankhede Stadium has hosted four games so far this season, all night games. MI won the toss every time and opted to field. They won three of them, when they restricted the opposition to a below-par total. Sunday’s match, though, will be played in the hot and humid afternoon and could force a change in strategy.Quotes”It’s an afternoon game, we think bowlers will get some help as well. It’s all batters’ game as you’ve seen. So hope that bowlers also get something in tomorrow’s afternoon game, maybe it will be a little dry or something like that.”