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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has cast doubt over the availability of two more defensive options for the Premier League meeting with Watford. 

The lowdown: Walker worry

The Sky Blues are currently in the midst of a gruelling fixture schedule and are likely to remain without Kyle Walker with an ankle injury after Ruben Dias also spent time on the sidelines recently.

As just a solitary point separates Guardiola’s side and the chasing Liverpool, every remaining league game has been billed as a must-win encounter by the Spanish boss.

Walker appear to roll his ankle in the win at Atletico Madrid and has since been spotted in a protective boot, raising plenty of doubts over his availability for the run-in.

However, it seems he’s not the only defensive issue for Pep to worry about…

The latest: Defensive duo doubtful

Speaking during the pre-match press conference, as relayed by the Manchester Evening News, Guardiola is unsure about the availability of John Stones and Nathan Ake.

When asked over fresh team news, he said: “A niggle [Stones]. Little problems, like Nathan today we make an assessment, tomorrow we decide.”

Regular England international Stones is believed to have felt tightness during the 3-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek whilst Ake had to be replaced at half time due to a twisted ankle.

The verdict: No risks required

In truth, the potential defensive absentees shouldn’t cause too many headaches for City in a game the hosts should dominate at the Etihad.

Albeit Roy Hodgson’s side will arrive with their Premier League status hanging in the balance, Watford have only mustered 30 goals in 32 matches this season and therefore Aymeric Laporte alongside a fit again Dias should be more than enough to cope with any threat posed by the visitors.

Allowing key players such as Stones, recently hailed as ‘phenomenal’ by Guardiola, time to recover ahead of crunch clashes still to come is vitally important as the Citizens still harbour ambitions of completing a historic double this season.

In other news, a journalist has shared a major City transfer breakthrough. Read more here.

Crystal Palace are enjoying a comfortable season in the Premier League, with Patrick Vieira guiding the side to a potential top-half finish in his first season in charge at Selhurst Park there could be a problem unfolding ahead of next season.

What’s the word?

According to journalist, Pete O’Rourke, Crystal Palace are unlikely to improve the current salary of Wilfried Zaha to extend his contract beyond the current 15 months that he has left at the club.

O’Rourke told GIVEMESPORT: “He’s on a pretty good deal at Palace as it stands right now. I think he’s probably the highest-paid player at the club, so I’m not sure if Palace will be willing to give him an improvement on that.”

Disaster for Palace

Wilfried Zaha has been back to his best this season and surely Palace will want to do everything they can to keep the striker at the club next season, but with rumoured interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal this summer, and the club unlikely to increase his wages, it could spell disaster for Vieira.

As per SofaScore, the 29-year-old hailed “phenomenal by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, has scored 11 goals and contributed one assist so far this season in the Premier League, with 1.4 key passes and 1.2 tackles per game as well as a pass accuracy of 81%, proving he has become a key component in the progress at Selhurst Park.

The £130k-per-week star has even admitted he would be open to a move in an interview with The Face, which will again only add to the problems the Palace board are faced with in keeping the forward at the club;

“I feel like I can have another shot at the top teams, because my dream is to win things,” he said. ​

“I’m good enough to go out there and compete with the best. If the opportunity came, I wouldn’t turn it down, because I feel like I deserve it.”

Crystal Palace have already made the Ivorian goal machine their highest paid player, so it will be interesting to see if they make any movement on his salary ahead of this summer to secure his future before other clubs begin to make offers, otherwise Vieira will need to prepare for the loss of Zaha’s output going into next season.

In other news: Vieira can unearth CPFC’s next Mitchell in rarely-seen 18 y/o who is “full of energy”

The Sher-e-Bangla National stadium in Mirpur is likely to operate at less-than-half capacity during the one-day series between Bangladesh and New Zealand in October due to ongoing renovation work

Cricinfo staff22-Sep-2010The Sher-e-Bangla National stadium in Mirpur is likely to operate at less than half its capacity during the one-day series between Bangladesh and New Zealand in October because of ongoing renovation work ahead of the 2011 World Cup.The official capacity of the stadium – which will host six World Cup matches, including two quarterfinals – is 26,000 but the BCB will issue a maximum of 10,000 tickets for each match of the New Zealand series. Of these, around 2000-3000 will be complimentary tickets, leaving only 7,000-8,000 seats for the general public.”For the greater interest, we have to accept some difficulties for the coming series,” Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the BCB’s director and tour organising secretary, told the . “Within a very short time we will get a guideline from the local organising committee about the capacity for the series. But the number will not be more than 10,000.”The first ODI between New Zealand and Bangladesh will be played on October 5.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s domestic inter-provincial tournaments have received a big boost from a Singapore-based company Somerset Entertainment Ventures Ltd, who have come forward to sponsor the three formats

Sa'adi Thawfeeq01-Aug-2010Sri Lanka Cricket’s domestic inter-provincial tournaments have received a big boost from a Singapore-based company, Somerset Entertainment Ventures Ltd, who have come forward to sponsor the three formats – the four-day league, limited-overs and Twenty20 for the next five years, beginning in 2011. The tournaments will come under one umbrella and have been re-branded the Sri Lanka Premier League.The sponsors will pay SLC a sum of $1.75 million a year to run the three tournaments, which is a tremendous boost for inter-provincial cricket.”We partnered Sri Lanka Cricket to revamp the cricket infrastructure played in the country. The new tournament will be called the new Sri Lankan Premier League,” Somerset Entertainment Ventures Ltd chairman CEO Sandeep Bhammer said at a press conference.”What we have recommended to SLC is to effectively take the three formats that are currently played under this tournament. Take the teams that represent the various provinces, allow for foreign players to come in at a very basic level and create a Sri Lankan Premier League tournament where the team that actually wins the Premier League is the team that actually accumulates the maximum number of points across all formats of the game and not just one format.”This has been actually been thought of with a lot of consideration because there has been a lot of focus to just one area of cricket which is essentially the T20 format. We believe that youngsters in Sri Lanka excel across all formats and to that extent the way we’ve designed the league is to effectively give maximum number of points to the four-day format, followed by the one-day format and the minimum number of points to the T20 format. In any case the team that wins the independent individual T20 format has to compensate itself by essentially going and playing in the Champions League. The idea is to create a robust cricket structure.”Bhammer stated the tournament would run in two different times of the year – the T20 and one-day tournament will be played at one point and the four-day tournament seperately.”The theme is three-fold to improve the quality of cricket played in Sri Lanka, ensure that the players in Sri Lanka are given a platform to show their skills across all the three formats and thirdly, to make sure that the clubs which are the feeders into the provincial cricket infrastructure also benefit.”

Steven Croft’s first 20-over half-century of the season set up Lancashire’sthumping 50-run Friends Provident t20 win over Durham Dynamos at Old Traffordthis evening

22-Jun-2010
Scorecard
Steven Croft’s first 20-over half-century of the season set up Lancashire’sthumping 50-run Friends Provident t20 win over Durham Dynamos at Old Traffordthis evening.The 25-year-old’s 68 off 45 balls, including seven fours and two sixes, was thefourth of his career in this format. The Lightning comfortably defended their imposing 187 for 8 which alsoincluded 36 off 26 from Australian overseas star Simon Katich and 32 not out off19 from New Zealand all-rounder Nathan McCullum.Left-arm spinner Stephen Parry claimed 4 for 28 from his four overs asDurham slumped to 137 all out in the 19th over. Liam Plunkett top scored with 31off 24.Steve Harmison claimed a career best 5 for 41 from his four overs for Durhamand became the first man to take five wickets in this season’s competition. Peter Moores re-jigged his batting order by promoting Stephen Moore (21 off 12) to open and Croft to bat at three.Lancashire lost Tom Smith, Moore and Paul Horton in the first six overs toSteve Harmison, Ben Harmison and Liam Plunkett but scored 55 runs.Croft and Katich shared a fourth wicket partnership of 67 in seven oversthrough the middle of the innings.Croft flicked Ben Harmison into the seats under the Point – opened to thepublic for the first time – before Katich swept Dale Benkenstein for anothermaximum over square leg and Croft did the same to Ian Blackwell overmid-wicket.Katich was bowled by Plunkett in the 14th over and Croft later edged Harmisonbehind to Phil Mustard to leave the hosts at 163 for five in the 18th. Harmison then bowled Gareth Cross and Glen Chapple and had Sajid Mahmood caught at mid on by his brother in the last over of the innings.But Durham’s response got off to a disastrous start because they lost Blackwelland destructive Kiwi batsman Ross Taylor within three overs. McCullum had Blackwell caught at backward point by Smith in the first and Taylor caught by Parry at short third man to leave the score at 13 for 2.Mustard hit 21 off 17 balls but was bowled by Mahmood in the sixth. Andalthough their run rate was reasonable they could not halt the flow of wickets. Parry had Ben Stokes and Benkenstein caught at long off and long on by Simon Kerrigan and Croft in successive balls to leave the score at 63 for 5in the eighth.Parry later had Gareth Breese lbw and Will Smith caught in the covers by Katichwith successive balls in the 12th. Plunkett and Ben Harmison (24) shared a consolatory ninth wicket partnership of 52 but Kerrigan and Chapple added further wickets.

According to Le10 Sport, there has been a West Ham United update on their bid to sign Reims striker Hugo Ekitike, with an improved offer apparently made.

The Lowdown: West Ham eye last minute striker swoops?

As reliable reported by ExWHUemployee, the Irons and David Moyes see the French market as a real pool of talent, with the club eager to potentially take advantage.

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This has led to links with the likes of Mohamed Bayo of Clermont Foot and Bamba Dieng of Marseille in this last week of the transfer window with recruitment chief Rob Newman fast running out of time to make moves.

In a fresh update, it appears that West Ham have set their sights on signing Ekitike before January 31 as news emerges of an offer.

The Latest: Hammers table bid for Ekitike…

According to Le10 Sport, the Hammers have tabled a €25m (£20.8m) bid, plus bonuses, to sign the 19-year-old wonderkid this month.

This is an improvement on their original offer of around €15m (£12.5m) to Reims, but despite their revised proposal, the Ligue 1 outfit have rebuffed West Ham’s newest approach.

It is believed that Reims think they can get even more money for Ekitike as the clock runs down on this transfer window.

The Verdict: Come back again?

As already confirmed by Reims’ sporting director Jean-Pierre Caillot, speaking to Le Quotidien du Sport (via Get French Football News), it could take a grand total of €40m (£33.3m) to actually sign Ekitike. The club chief told French media earlier this month that his club will demand ‘€30m (£25m) flat and €10m (£8.3m) achievable bonuses’ to sell the teenager before transfer deadline day.

Taking this into account, we believe that West Ham should move on, even despite Ekitike being called an ‘outstanding talent’ whilst drawing comparisons to Kylian Mbappe (Graeme Bailey via Twitter).

The teenager has no Premier League experience, and any fee over £30m for such a young prospect could prove to be a gamble.

In other news: ExWHUemployee: West Ham set for talks as they chase last minute agreement to sign ‘quality’ 25 y/o, find out more here.

Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka captain, has called for several changes to increase the popularity of five-day cricket, including paying Test players significantly more and not broadcasting the game in the city hosting the game until a large crowd turns up at the ground. Speaking on Cricinfo’s video show , Sangakkara also said every country should have an iconic series like the Ashes to draw spectators to the stadiums.There has been plenty of talk over the decline of Tests, but Sangakkara said it was premature to write the format’s obituary. “Everyone is talking about Test cricket dying. Maybe we are pre-empting its death and trying to kill it before its time,” he said. “When it comes to players, they value playing the five-day version a lot more than they do any other version.”With a lot more money on offer in lucrative Twenty20 leagues such as the IPL, he stated that salaries of Test specialists should be hiked substantially. “Paying a match fee for playing a Test match that is 10% more than for a Twenty20, or a one-day game or 50% more doesn’t cut it,” he said. “Test cricket should be given its premium position by paying a premium amount for players who play only Test cricket sometimes.”Test cricket is packing stadiums only in England and a handful of cities over the world, something which Sangakkara felt could change if there were changes in way television broadcasted the game. “Stop overkill of cricket on television. We can’t have 24-hour cricket channels and still expect people to come and watch it at the ground,” he said. “Not telecasting the match to a particular city until they have an acceptable crowd at the ground [as they do in Australia is the right thing to do].”The Ashes have been one series which have been extremely well attended, with many grounds being sold out in advance, which indicated the way forward for Tests, according to Sangakkara. “Have iconic Test series for every country, like the Ashes for England and Australia. Have one for India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – it draws the crowds to the grounds.”There have been plenty of exciting Test matches over the past few years, including the memorable South African victory in Australia, England hanging on to nail-biting draws in three Tests, and India retaining the No. 1 ranking after a win with nine deliveries to spare in Kolkata last month in the face of a Hashim Amla masterclass. Sangakkara said players must dish out exciting cricket to gets fans to show up. “We have to accept the fact that we play because we are watched, we are entertainers – we can call ourselves gladiators,” he said. “At the end of the day we entertain and we like to play in front of a crowd. To get the crowd we have to be responsible enough to play entertaining cricket.”He also spoke of his team’s ambitions to correct some of the blots in Sri Lanka’s Test record, such as their record against Australia and their performances on tours to India. “We want to win against Australia, we want to beat India in India. Those are the things we talk about as players, and these opportunities don’t come if we don’t play Test cricket,” he said. “If Test cricket is going to be relegated as the third format of the game, behind Twenty20 and one-day cricket, then I think it will be a very sad day for cricket.”

Bangladesh’s selectors have included the medium-pacer Nazmul Hossain for the squad for the final ODI against England

Cricinfo staff04-Mar-2010Bangladesh’s selectors have included the medium-pacer Nazmul Hossain in the squad for the final ODI against England. Nazmul joined the team in Chittagong on Wednesday and attended the practice session today morning.Nazmul, 22, has recovered from a right quadriceps muscle injury which had ruled him out of the tri-series at home in January. In 32 ODIs, he has taken 36 wickets at 33.16.Bangladesh have already handed over the three-match series 0-2 to England.

MatériaMais Notícias

Os gringos voltaram a comandar uma vitória do Santos. O técnico Elano investiu em Vecchio e Copete no time titular e bateu o Grêmio por 1 a 0 em casa após três derrotas consecutivas. Com assistência do argentino e gol do colombiano, o Peixe pulou para os 59 pontos e encostou no Palmeiras, terceiro colocado com 60, que pega o Avaí nesta segunda. O tricolor segue em segundo, com 61.

O cronômetro do árbitro Pericles Cortez já marcava 15 minutos, e o Santos ainda não tinha conseguido pressionar o time completamente reserva do Grêmio, que foca na final da Libertadores – nem Renato Gaúcho foi à Vila Belmiro. Os santistas iniciaram o primeiro tempo bem abaixo. Deixaram muito espaço, tiveram vários toques errados e lançamentos exagerados.

A partida era morna. Os gremistas buscavam espaço e encontravam na lateral direita. Não demorou para Vanderlei entrar em ação e salvar o peixe com duas lindas defesas.

Com direito a bola na trave, os suplentes do Tricolor dominavam a partida. O Alvinegro apenas deixava a bola no pé dos rivais para buscar o contra-ataque. Até que ele surtiu efeito em uma oportunidade rápida de Bruno Henrique, que encontrou Vecchio, substituto de Lucas Lima. Apostas de Elano, os gringos renasceram no Santos diante do Grêmio Imortal. O argentino correu para passar ao Copete, que finalizou para abrir o placar.

Na segunda etapa o meia voltou a brilhar. Considerado um atleta muito lento, porém técnico, nesta noite Vecchio estava ágil, fator que favoreceu e deu muitas chances para o Peixe ampliar. O colombiano caiu de rendimento, mas não prejudicou ou diminuiu seu feito.

O Peixe acertou os espaços e retornou mais compacto. Diferentemente do primeiro tempo, o Grêmio teve mais dificuldade para infiltrar na defesa rival, enquanto o Peixe, mais facilidade.

O Santos enfrentará o Flamengo no próximo domingo, às 19h, enquanto o Grêmio pega o Atlético-GO, no mesmo dia, em casa, às 17h.

FICHA TÉCNICA
SANTOS 1 X 0 GRÊMIO
Local: Vila Belmiro, Santos (SP)
Data-Hora: 19/11/2017 – 19h
Árbitro: Pericles Bassols Pegado Cortez – PE
Auxiliares: Cleberson do Nascimento Leite e Marcelino Castro de Nazare (ambos de PE)
Público/renda: 4.206/ R$ 120.160,00
Cartões amarelos: Alison, Lucas Veríssimo (Santos), Jael e Kaio (Grêmio)
Cartões vermelhos: –
Gol: Copete, aos 31’/1T (1-0)

SANTOS: Vanderlei, Victor Ferraz, Lucas Veríssimo, Luiz Felipe e Jean Mota; Alison, Renato e Vecchio (Daniel Guedes, aos 20’/2T); Copete (Arthur Gomes, aos 30’/2T), Bruno Henrique e Ricardo Oliveira (Ourinho, aos 37’/2T). Técnico: Elano.

GRÊMIO: Paulo Victor, Leonardo, Thyere, Bressan e Conrado; Machado, Cristian e Patrick (Batista, aos 38’/2T); Dionathã (Lucas Poleto, aos 35’/2T), Kaio (Pepe, aos 29’/2T) e Jael. Técnico: César Bueno.

RelacionadasBrasileirãoATUAÇÕES: Estrangeiros comandam vitória do Santos sobre o GrêmioBrasileirão19/11/2017BrasileirãoNúmeros da Bola: Estatísticas de Santos 1×0 GrêmioBrasileirão19/11/2017SantosLucas Veríssimo leva o terceiro amarelo e vai desfalcar o SantosSantos19/11/2017

Speaking to Football Insider, Noel Whelan has tipped Declan Rice as ‘ready’ to complete a move to Manchester United, following his ‘consistently good’ performances for West Ham.

The Lowdown: Man United handed boost in Rice pursuit

Following the Irons’ 3-2 win over Crystal Palace, Rice became the youngest ever player to make 150 Premier League appearances for West Ham. The vice-captain received huge praise for this achievement, having placed himself as an integral component of David Moyes’ seemingly ever-improving. Premier League legend Roy Keane has even claimed that the 22-year-old is ‘way ahead’ of where he was in his career at the same age.

However, with such consistent talent on display, this has led to interest from the Premier League giants – with Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City all interested in the midfielder.

According to The Star (via Eurosport), Ralf Rangnick is keen on signing a central midfielder in the summer and there is optimism at Old Trafford that they could secure the services of the 22-year-old if West Ham fail to qualify for the Champions League next season.

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The Latest: Rice an upgrade on Pogba

A West Ham source has told Football Insider that Rice is now valued at £90m following the player’s rejection of a new contract.

And speaking to FI following that news, former Leeds striker Whelan has claimed that the Hammers midfielder would be an upgrade on Man United’s Paul Pogba.

“They might be confident of getting him, but they certainly won’t be getting a discount – that’s for sure,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.

“A player of his calibre demands a huge amount of money. It’s as simple as that. Declan Rice is a superstar and ready to play for Man United, Man City – any team in the Premier League.

“He’s been consistently good for a number of seasons, captain for West Ham. He’d be perfect for a number of top sides.

“If it is Man United, they’ll get a lot more out of him than they have out of Pogba. That is guaranteed.

“West Ham won’t be willing to let him go for less even if they finish outside those European spots. It’s just not going to happen.”

The Verdict: Rice would be phenomenal for any PL side

According to SofaScore, Rice has been West Ham’s most valuable player this season, having averaged a 7.26 match rating. It could certainly be argued that the England international would be a no brainer signing for any Premier League team who can afford him, with even Pep Guardiola admitting that he is an ‘exceptional player’.

Current Champions League superstar and former Hammers teammate Sebastien Haller has also hailed Rice’s praises, claiming that he has the ‘potential to become world class’, as he ‘has everything’.

Therefore, it is clear that Rice would be a fantastic signing for this Red Devils side, who currently lack a strong presence in the midfield area. However, whether a move to Manchester would be right choice for Rice, is another story altogether.