Cristiano Ronaldo equalled the record for goals scored in World Cup qualifiers with his penalty in Portugal's 3-2 win over Hungary.
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West Ham United will host Arsenal in the Premier League this afternoon with the knowledge that failing to secure victory extends a winless run in all competitions to seven matches, but the squad are still in a good position.
Seventh in the Premier League and preparing for the last 16 in the Europa League, the Irons will be confident that they can cause an upset, having opened brightly against Manchester United last time out before being brushed aside after failing to convert chances.
Moreover, David Moyes' previous triumph was against the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium, and he will be eager to bag his third win of the season against his London rivals, sweeping into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a comprehensive 3-1 win back in November.
It would certainly hand Moyes some respite from the recent issues, stemming the stream of poor results that threaten United's hold on European contention – both Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United could leapfrog into seventh place, should results favour West Ham's rivals this weekend.
Against Arsenal, Moyes will be confident that his side can produce the performance that could serve as a launchpad for the closing stretch of the campaign, though he will have to do so without one of his most influential players.
Lucas Paqueta remains several weeks away from a return and is followed by the brooding cloud of a betting investigation that will reach its conclusion, whatever that may be, sooner rather than later.
In more positive news, veteran talisman Michail Antonio has returned to first-team training following a knee injury but will not be available for this weekend's contest.
Alphonse Areola was withdrawn at Old Trafford at half-time as a precaution but the Premier League's best stop-stopper this season should start between the sticks against Arsenal.
The majority of the team selection should be pretty straightforward, with an unchanged backline and Ben Johnson filling in at wide midfield to accommodate Mohammed Kudus' shift to the left flank, but one change that must be made is the return of Kalvin Phillips to the starting line-up.
West Ham signed the England international from Manchester City last month on a loan deal until the end of the season, having made just three starts in the top flight after signing for Pep Guardiola's side from Leeds United in a £45m deal in July 2022.
Phillips, aged 28, will be determined to ensure that this tough period does not define him but he certainly failed to hit the ground running in east London to turn the narrative on its head, making a couple of mistakes across the opening fixtures of his Irons career.
Nonetheless, Phillips is a proven Premier League star and has been hailed as a "monster" by former Crystal Palace winger Yannick Bolasie in the past.
The 5 foot 9 Phillips ranks among the top 2% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion and passes attempted and the top 16% for aerial duels won per 90, as per FBref, with his elite crispness in possession essential as West Ham look to transition into attacking sequences effectively.
Furthermore, the 5 foot 9 star must be introduced from the opening against Arsenal to ensure that West Ham find success in the key central battle, particularly nullifying the shining qualities of Declan Rice, who Moyes knows a thing or two about.
|
Declan Rice: Key Characteristics |
|
|---|---|
|
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
|
Passing |
(No significant weaknesses) |
|
Concentration |
|
|
Interceptions |
|
|
Ball retention |
|
|
Source: WhoScored |
|
Arsenal signed Rice from the London Stadium for £105m back in the summer and he has been the catalyst for Mikel Arteta's title-chasers this season, posting three goals and two assists over 23 Premier League matches, completing 91% of his passes, averaging 1.4 interceptions, 2.2 tackles, 5.1 ball recoveries and 4.3 successful duels per game.
The 25-year-old also ranks among the top 18% of midfielders for goals scored, the top 14% for pass completion and passes attempted, the top 9% for progressive passes, the top 20% for progressive carries and the top 10% for interceptions per 90.
He is absolutely sublime, but then West Ham supporters already know that, with the £240k-per-week phenom having completed 245 appearances for the club and winning the Europa Conference League before making the move to north London.
That said, he's not infallible and Phillips has the combative style to ensure that the Irons secure a galvanising victory to end this bleak spell that has seen an untimely exit from the FA Cup (by the hand of Championship team Bristol City) and has allowed the likes of Champions League-chasing Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur to create a gap in their own endeavours.
For example, Phillips was in scintillating form when Leeds returned to the Premier League in 2020/21, his mixture of ball-playing skills and industriousness in his defensive duties supercharging Marcelo Bielsa's system.
Indeed, as per Sofascore, the England international completed 85% of his passes in the Premier League during that campaign, averaging 1.3 key passes, 2.6 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 5.3 successful duels per game, also succeeding with 63% of his dribbles.
This talent has not dissipated; it's just dormant. And should he call upon the strengths that served him so well at Elland Road, attracting Manchester City's attention and instigating the lucrative, if inauspicious, transfer, then he could be the star man on a massive afternoon for West Ham.
It's not been the best of starts but then Phillips has languished on the fringe for some time now and will only improve and rekindle his best traits with regular minutes.
He has to start, especially given the importance of negating Rice's command in the engine room.
So close has the series been that India could well have been 2-0 up. But they’ll want that closeness to show up in the scoreline
Karthik Krishnaswamy09-Dec-20224:18
What’s Axar Patel’s role for India? What’s ailing Bangladesh’s top order?
What more can you ask for from a three-match series, eh? A one-wicket win in the first match, a last-ball result with only one wicket remaining in the second, and every possible twist and turn on the way to those two finishes. It’s a pity that the same team won both games, and that the series finale will be a dead rubber, but do not rule out more excitement.For Bangladesh, this series has been more proof of how good an ODI side they are at home, and how good they have been for a number of years now. Since the start of 2015, they have a win-loss ratio of 3.30 against Full Members at home, which is bettered only by Pakistan who, of course, haven’t played all that much at home in this period, and New Zealand.Related
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You might argue that Zimbabwe, West Indies, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have been Bangladesh’s most frequent opponents in this period, but you can only beat who is in front of you. That Bangladesh have beaten India four times in five games in the same period – they’ve also pulled off series wins over Pakistan and South Africa – suggests they might do just as well against other high-profile teams that haven’t visited that often in recent years.If they win again on Saturday, Bangladesh will reinforce this idea emphatically.So close has this series been, of course, that India could well have been 2-0 up themselves. But they’ll want that closeness to show up somewhere in the scoreline. To make that happen, they might have to play their best game of the series at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, where they will be without their regular captain Rohit Sharma among numerous other injured absentees.It will be a test of their resource depth – they came into this series without first-choice reserves such as Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson – and this test will come against a hungry home side who are high on morale. The result won’t impact where the series trophy goes, but it could have other, potentially far-reaching ramifications.
Bangladesh WWWLW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
India LLLWW
Virat Kohli has a highest score of 18 in his last seven ODI innings. It’s hard to call it a run of form, because he has played these seven ODIs over a span of ten months, and he’s looked in excellent rhythm in other formats during this time. Even so, in Rohit Sharma’s absence, India will hope their best batter can get back among the runs as they push for a consolation win.Virat Kohli has an average of 18.90 in ten ODIs this year•AFP/Getty Images
Mustafizur Rahman has taken only one wicket in this series, but India have struggled to get him away. He conceded 14 runs in the final over of the second ODI, but despite that, he has only gone at 3.64 across his 17 overs so far. Can India break his stranglehold in potentially flatter conditions in Chattogram?
Bangladesh are unlikely to make a major change unless there is an injury concern.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Litton Das (capt), 2 Anamul Haque, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Nasum Ahmed, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Ebadot HossainIndia are in a genuine injury crisis; their squad page for this series now has as many as seven withdrawn players. In place of the absent Rohit, India will need to choose between Ishan Kishan and the uncapped pair of Rahul Tripathi and Rajat Patidar. Only three fast bowlers remain in the squad, so expect India to play a spin-heavy attack, with either Kuldeep Yadav – who was added to the squad on the eve of the match – or Shahbaz Ahmed joining Washington Sundar and Axar Patel.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (capt & wk), 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Shahbaz Ahmed/Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Umran Malik
Where Mirpur always has something in it for the bowlers, Chattogram has tended to be a batting-friendly venue in ODIs. In the last five years, ODIs here have produced the best batting average of the three ODI venues in Bangladesh – 37.49, a significant jump from Mirpur’s 25.91. Expect a flat pitch, therefore. The weather on Saturday is expected to be clear and sunny, with a maximum temperature of 28 degrees Celsius.
“We have a much better chance with him not playing. He is such a high-calibre player. I was a bit surprised that he didn’t come to bat earlier [in the second game]. He may have fallen a ball short.”
“To be honest, Bangladesh is a high-quality side, especially at home. Their record says so, because I think they’ve only lost one series [in recent years], against England. They’ve been very, very successful at home. We knew what to expect from them before we came here. Definitely, especially in the subcontinent, Bangladesh is a very, very good side. Even in the T20 World Cup they had a good run this year. They’ve been doing really well in the last few years, and I’m sure even they will fancy a good tournament going into the World Cup.”
Italy legend Andrea Pirlo praised Weston McKennie after the American established himself as a regular for the Serie A side
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With the January transfer window now fast approaching, Tottenham Hotspur are being linked with a number of possible targets. Among those rumoured to be interesting the Lilywhites are Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Larsson, Rayo Vallecano defender Andrei Ratiu, and Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers.
Real Madrid youngster Arda Guler has also been recently linked with a move to North London. The 19-year-old playmaker enjoyed a fine breakthrough season at the Santiago Bernabeu last year, scoring six goals in just 12 games, before going on to star for Turkey at the summer’s European Championships, helping them to an unlikely quarter-final run.
Guler has found minutes for Madrid hard to come by, however, since the arrival of Kylian Mbappe in the summer, and it is now believed Tottenham are prepared to offer the player a way out in January by way of a loan move. TNT Sports Commentator Ian Darke thinks Guler would be a “fantastic” signing for Ange Postecoglou.
“He’s a very good young player. He just can’t get in the Real Madrid side because they’ve got Rodrygo, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr. and Mbappe.”
Of all the players reportedly on the Spurs’ radar, perhaps the most exciting is AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders. The Dutchman has been one of Milan’s most outstanding players since moving to the San Siro from AZ Alkmaar last summer. Most recently, he put in a Man of the Match display as Milan thumped Real Madrid 3-1 in the Champions League, scoring his side’s third and final goal.
As a result of his good form, Reijnders has caught the eye of some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Real and Spurs.
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Understandably, however, Milan are keen to hold on to the 26-year-old, and, according to Calcio Mercato, are already working on preventative measures to keep him at the club. The publication reported this week that Milan are working on offering Reijnders a contract renewal that would double his annual wages from €1.7 million to €3.5 million until 2030, amid interest from Spurs and others.
Calcio Mercato claim that Milan have already started talking with Tijjani’s father, who is also his agent, and are confident that the deal will soon be finalised.
After Reijnders’ goalscoring display against Madrid, Milan and Netherlands legend Frank Rijkaard was full of praise for the midfielder.
“I hope Reijnders becomes one of the best midfielders in the world, I truly believe he’s on the right path. I really like his way of playing. He’s becoming more and more important for Milan as time goes by.
“He can cover all the roles in the middle of the pitch and he’s really generous too. He never stops running for the team and always gives everything his all. With the quality he has, he is really good at creating dangerous chances for his teammates and always starts the move well.”
The visitors say Ish Sodhi is tracking well after ankle injury but haven’t taken a call on his inclusion yet
Alagappan Muthu20-Jan-20233:38
Jaffer: Coming in around 30th over will suit Suryakumar Yadav
It finally feels like a World Cup year, doesn’t it? In an age of content saturation – organisers trying to horn in as many big events as possible and writers doing much the same to make you care about their own work – something pure happened on Wednesday night in Hyderabad. A game that needed no bigging up. A game that stood on its own. A game that will not soon be forgotten…And already, it’s time to top it, which is exactly why it feels amazing. Because this series – for all the spin put into it – was going to be just another notch in the bilateral cricket calendar. Instead, it’s become something that actually matters. it’s become something fun. There’s a buzz. There’s an expectation. There’s a thrill. As if we haven’t seen anything yet because imagine even half of what happened two days ago happening at the World Cup.Shubman Gill was so good. Like eerie good. Like, there’s over the top and then there’s this. A 23-year-old scoring a double-century in the 49th over of an ODI while single-handedly propping up the rest of his team – and we haven’t even mentioned the opposition. Somewhere in Nakatomi Plaza, John McClane is rolled up in a ball crying because he’s not the gold standard in doing the impossible anymore. Kids half his age are pulling his shtick.
You can watch the second ODI between India and New Zealand LIVE on ESPN Player in the UK and on ESPN+ in the USA.
But John, listen. It’s okay. It happens. This sport that you’ve probably never even heard of does this kinda thing all the time. Like, just about an hour later, with New Zealand at 131 for 6 in a chase of 350, this guy called Michael Bracewell was about to shatter everything we thought was sacred. The coming of age of a golden boy of Indian cricket almost always includes the humbling of the opposition. Sunil Gavaskar took down Garry Sobers. Sachin Tendulkar took down Adbul Qadir. Virat Kohli took down Lasith Malinga. Gill took down Lockie Ferguson. After that, he was supposed to ride all the way off into the sunset but he was made to wait. He was made to sweat.So here we are, still feeling the tremors of that game, and an excitement for what’s to come. Because India vs New Zealand is a battle of titans and equals.
India WWWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
New Zealand LWWLW
Once upon a time, Hardik Pandya would walk into a cricket field and start hitting boundaries. He’d come to press conferences, stop just short of Marlon Samuelsing it, and say with a perfectly straight face that “I could hit a six anytime I wanted to.” Now, five years later, a father and a future leader, some of that fire has been tempered. Two of his four slowest ODI innings (min 30 balls faced) have come in the last week. Both on tough pitches and in winning causes. India will hope their point of difference allrounder is adding to his game, and not necessarily compromising it because the Hardik of old used to put fear in the opposition – which is awesome enough – but he’d also one-up it by feeding off that fear until nothing seemed beyond his reach.Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell are two big hitters in the New Zealand side•Associated Press
We’ve all noticed there’s a bit of Steven Smith about Glenn Phillips, right? In his stance. In his backlift. In the way he refuses a run. There’s a chance that he’s copied one of the most un-outable batters of our times just to maximise the one thing he has that Smith doesn’t. Pure, beautiful power. The guy claims to do 800 press-ups a day in order to sustain the thing sets him apart. Six-hitting. West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have all seen just how destructive he can be – even from dire situations. At some point in this series, India could to see it too.
The middle overs didn’t go India’s way with the ball in Hyderabad. Would that tempt them to bring in Umran Malik? The upside is his pace. The downside is their batting depth takes a big hit if he comes in for Shardul Thakur.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ishan Kishan (wk), 5 Suryakumar Yadav, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed SirajIsh Sodhi, currently out with an ankle injury, is tracking well according to New Zealand batting coach Luke Ronchi. A call on his inclusion will be made later.New Zealand (probable): 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Henry Nicholls, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (capt & wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Ish Sodhi/Henry Shipley, 10 Doug Bracewell, 11 Lockie Ferguson
A sellout crowd of over 50,000 is expected in Raipur to mark the occasion of its first ever ODI. The city is also in the running to host Women’s IPL matches in March. Seems good things happen to not just to people who wait but stadiums as well. No one’s really sure how the pitch will behave, although Mitchell Santner suspects it has more bounce than Hyderabad. Dew will once again play a role on a day where the temperature will go up to 31C in the afternoon and then down to 21C in the evening. No rain is expected.
Liverpool fans will be longing for the return of Premier League football after the international break, with Arne Slot’s Reds currently top of the pile in the tough division by five points.
It should be a relatively straightforward transition back to the bread and butter of the top flight too, as a trip to St. Mary’s to take on basement club Southampton awaits.
Of course, nothing can be taken for granted, but it’s very much a winnable fixture on paper for Slot and Co.
Away from the return to league action, the international break has been kind to a certain Ben Doak, with the promising Reds youngster terrorising Croatia again for Scotland.
Doak will be banging down the door for more opportunities on Merseyside when his Middlesbrough loan deal has expired, based on his continued electric showings on the international stage for his nation.
The 19-year-old would again give Josko Gvardiol a constant headache in his attempts to keep him under control, with the slick Scotsman more than playing his part in Steve Clarke’s men picking up an impressive 1-0 win in the Nations League.
|
Doak’s numbers vs Croatia |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Doak |
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Goals scored |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
|
Touches |
42 |
|
Shots |
1 |
|
Accurate passes |
27/30 (90%) |
|
Key passes |
2 |
|
Successful dribbles |
2/4 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
|
Looking at the table above, Doak excelled against the Croats when darting forward with pace and energy with two successful dribbles managed coming up against the might of Gvardiol, in what was another fearless showing from the teenager.
His enthralling performance would see The Herald dish out an 8/10 match rating to him after the contest, with journalist Ewan Paton simply stating that Doak is going to be ‘some player.’
Unfortunately, football doesn’t always play out like that, with this once highly praised winger – who played with the same level of flair and trickery as Doak – going on to be known as a huge transfer misfire at Anfield.
Away from the scrutinising pressure of Reds fans who will instantly want you to be a star in the top-flight, thankfully for the Reds winger, he has been given time away from the club to grow and develop with Middlesbrough this season.
Lazar Markovic is the poor soul, who unfortunately had that pressure on his back from minute one when arriving in England. He cost a substantial £20m to pick up from Benfica as a 20-year-old, with European football writer Andy Brassell stating at the time that the Serbian had “enormous” potential.
Known as an explosive and unpredictable winger playing in his native Serbia for Partizan – just like Doak is now – Markovic registered seven strikes and seven assists during the final season of his first stint at the club.
Then moving to Portugal, it was in Lisbon where Markovic took to his new surroundings well with a further seven strikes and five assists, yet the gigantic leap up to the Premier League proved too much for the expensive purchase to handle.
Speaking of his wild aspirations to win the top flight upon his arrival in 2014, Markovic would get nowhere near as his paltry return of three goals and one assist from 34 contests in all competitions saw his new employers finish in an unsatisfactory sixth position, leading to Jurgen Klopp’s appointment after the campaign was up.
After this poor first year, the Serbian was routinely loaned out time after time to the likes of Hull City and Anderlecht to name a few, before Fulham snapped him up on a free transfer in 2019.
In truth, it was a risky buy that never paid off for the Reds, with many perhaps surprised that Liverpool went out to get Doak in from Celtic when they did.
But, unlike this whole saga with Markovic, that looks to be an ingenious decision rather than a haphazard one, with the Scottish attacker tipped for big things at Anfield as his career goes on.
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1
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Karim Benzema starred with a goal as reigning champions Al-Ittihad reached the quarter-final of the Saudi King's Cup of Champions after edging out Pro League leaders Al-Nassr 2-1 on Tuesday. Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and Joao Felix had a night to forget as they failed to deliver in front of the goal despite dominating proceedings for the majority of the game with an extra player on the pitch.
Crystal Palace have now entered the race to hijack a move for a “fabulous” midfielder, who appeared to be set to join another Premier League club.
Ahead of this evening’s trip to Fredrikstad in the second leg of Palace’s Europa Conference League play-off match, Oliver Glasner has been keen to make sure his side do not get too carried away.
Glasner said: “It would be arrogant to think when you play a competition for the first time to talk about winning it. It’s the first time Palace plays outside England a competitive game, so it’s important to stay humble and this is what we are doing as a team. We are going step by step.”
Should the Eagles secure qualification against the Norwegian side, Selhurst Park should remain an attractive destination for new signings in the final days of the summer transfer window, with a deal for Villarreal’s Yeremy Pino seemingly edging towards completion.
Pino is said to have been targeted as a direct replacement for Eberechi Eze, but another versatile attacker could join alongside the Spaniard, with Crystal Palace one of the clubs to “enter the scene” to sign Getafe’s Christantus Uche.
That is according to reporter Eduardo Burgos on X, who states Uche’s move to Wolverhampton Wanderers has now “stalled”, which could allow Palace to swoop in, although there is set to be competition for his signature.
AC Milan, OGC Nice and Leeds United are all “evaluating the situation”, with the Nigerian’s agents currently “blocking the move” to Molineux.
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Dominic Lund
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The Getafe star has gotten off to a fantastic start to the new La Liga campaign, picking up two goal contributions in his first two games, and he was almost as prolific as Pino during the 2024-25 season.
|
Target |
Yeremy Pino |
Christantus Uche |
|
Appearances |
34 |
33 |
|
Goals |
4 |
4 |
|
Assists |
8 |
6 |
Not only that, but there are signs the Nigeria international could be more of a like-for-like replacement for Eze, having often featured in the number 10 role throughout his career to date, although he is also capable of playing at striker and in a more defensive role.
Manager Jose Bordalas clearly holds the 22-year-old in high regard too, with the Spaniard also suggesting he could develop even further, saying: “He’s a fabulous kid, a boy who has a huge commitment. We have great affection for him.”
“I have a special affection for him. He was a risky bet, and we’re very happy. We think he has room for improvement; he’s very young.”
As such, Uche could be an exciting addition to Glasner’s squad, and a deal would not break the bank at around £17m.