Mikel Merino has been left out of the Real Sociedad squad for their opening La Liga match of the season, suggesting a move to Arsenal is almost done.
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Celtic turn their attention back to the Scottish Premiership this weekend as they prepare to host fourth-placed Kilmarnock at Parkhead this afternoon.
The Hoops had their lead at the top of the table cut down to just goal difference during the week as their rivals moved level on points with them, with the same number of games played.
There is no getting away from the fact that Brendan Rodgers' side are very much in a title race and that makes every single match vitally important in their bid to win the league.
The Bhoys ran out 2-0 winners against St Mirren last time out in the SFA Cup, to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the competition, thanks to goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda.
Away from the attack, Rodgers could improve his side by moving Stephen Welsh, who started that match, out of the way for Gustaf Lagerbielke to finally be unleashed from the start.
Stephen Welsh's form this season
The 24-year-old defender only featured in four Premiership matches under Ange Postecoglou throughout the 2022/23 campaign but has already played five under the Northern Irish boss this term.
He has been a fairly unimpressive performer at the heart of the Hoops defence with his inaction defensively and lack of strength in physical duels.
Appearances
Five
Tackles per game
0.0
Interceptions per game
0.2
Ground duel success rate
25%
Sofascore rating
6.74
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the Scottish defender has not stepped in to cut out many opposition attacks and has been dominated by attackers on the deck across his five league appearances for the club.
17 Celtic players have averaged more interceptions per game than Welsh, whilst 27 players within the squad have made at least one tackle for the team.
The 24-year-old enforcer started the club's last Premiership match against Hibernian and failed to impress. He lost five of his eight duels and did not make a single clearance, interception, block, or tackle throughout his 66 minutes on the pitch.
These statistics suggest that the academy graduate, who has made 66 competitive appearances for the first-team, did not do much to help his side out defensively, which is why Rodgers should be open to ditching him from the XI.
Why Lagerbielke should finally be unleashed
The Sweden international was signed from Elfsborg last summer on a permanent basis but has not been provided with many opportunities to showcase his quality this season.
Despite his lack of action on the pitch, the young defender's value on FootballTransfers has soared by 650% during his time at Parkhead and Rodgers could unearth a new star by bringing him into the side on a regular basis, particularly ahead of Welsh.
His last Premiership appearance came at the start of January and his last start in the division came against Motherwell back in September 2023.
The 23-year-old has made six appearances in the league, including four starts, for the Hoops this season and Celtic have not conceded a single goal in his 403 minutes on the pitch, with the only goal let in during those six games coming after he was substituted against Motherwell.
You could try to argue that this is a coincidence, given the limited number of matches, but his individual statistics suggest that he played a significant role in that defensive success in those six clashes.
Appearances
Six
Tackles per game
1.8
Interceptions per game
0.2
Ball recoveries per game
5.7
Clearances per game
3.3
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the 6 foot 4 titan was far more active defensively in his appearances for Celtic in the Premiership earlier this season than Welsh has been for the Hoops.
The Scottish defender has averaged 2.6 ball recoveries and 1.2 clearances per match to go along with his aforementioned 0.2 tackles and interceptions combined per outing.
This suggests that Lagerbielke has the ability to cut out and clear opposition attacks far more frequently each match on average than the Bhoys academy graduate.
The "hungry", as he was described by Rodgers, colossus has also won an outstanding 87% of his ground duels in the Premiership this season, which is a higher success rate than any other centre-back in the squad has managed this term.
It is also staggeringly better than Welsh's poor ground duel success rate of 25% and suggests that Lagerbielke would come in as a big upgrade on the 24-year-old dud, both in terms of his physical and defensive attributes.
This is why Rodgers must finally unleash him from the start for the first time in 2024 as he could offer more to the team than the Scottish lightweight has.
Liam Scales' emergence this season
Lagerbielke is a right-footed defender who could complement the left-foot of Scales in possession to ensure that Celtic are balanced when they play out from the back.
The Ireland international, who spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan with Aberdeen, has emerged as a regular starter for the Scottish giants this season, with 23 league starts to his name so far.
He has been a dominant figure at the heart of the Hoops defence with a duel success rate of 65% across those 23 matches – winning 70% of his ground battles and 63% of his aerial contests.
This shows that, like Lagerbielke, Scales has the positioning and the physicality to dominate opposition attackers on the deck and in the air, whereas Welsh has been dominated by forwards in ground duels.
The 25-year-old enforcer has also made 2.6 tackles and interceptions per match for Celtic in the Premiership this season, which is more than Welsh and Lagerbielke combined.
Sofascore rating
7.9
Duels contested
Ten
Duels won
Eight
Clearances
Four
Blocks
Two
Stats via Sofascore
Scales, who has completed 88% of his attempted passes in the Premiership, was also outstanding against Hibernian last time out in the top-flight, as shown in the table above.
He won 80% of his duels and made six combined clearances and blocks to keep Hibs from troubling Joe Hart's goal prior to Adam Idah's stoppage time winner from the penalty spot.
Rodgers must now unleash Lagerbielke and Scales as a pairing against Kilmarnock this afternoon as they could form a dominant partnership moving forward based on their respective performances this season.
Paul Stirling, the Ireland top-order batsman, has joined Northamptonshire for part of the T20 Blast as an overseas player, despite the fact he is a British passport-holder and was born in Belfast.He will provide cover for Kieron Pollard, who will play eight games for Northants in the middle of their campaign, filling the club’s second overseas slot. Faheem Ashraf, the Pakistan allrounder, is the primary overseas player, and will be available until the end of the Blast’s group stages.ALSO READ: Stirling to leave Middlesex after committing to IrelandStirling has become the second Ireland player to sign a contract in county cricket as an overseas player, after Boyd Rankin’s brief stint at Derbyshire last season.An ECB rule change meant that Irishmen, who had previously qualified as local players in county cricket, would no longer be able to play as non-overseas players following Ireland’s ascent to Test status in 2017. Those who already held county deals were given a grace period which ran until the end of the 2019 season.Rankin’s deal last year was the first overseas contract signed by an Ireland international – he was a new registration, so did not fall under the grace period – while Stuart Poynter and Tim Murtagh have both ended their international careers in order to extend their stays at Durham and Middlesex respectively.But with a view to extending his international career, Stirling left Middlesex in September, telling the that he found his situation “baffling”, but that he had no intentions to challenge the ruling legally.”The powers that be have made the decision to change the regulations but I can see it is a strange scenario when you are born British and have entitlement to work as a local in your own country, so I can see why it could be challenged and it would be interesting to see how far it would go if someone did challenge it,” Stirling said.”It is an ECB rule and I can understand it. Cricket Ireland have Test status and if you want to play Test cricket for Ireland then why should the ECB let someone play in their local tournaments if they are not looking to play for England?”I get it from their point of view but it is slightly more complicated than that in our case. Middlesex has been my home for so long so it does feel baffling to have to go but hopefully I will be able to play in some capacity in the future.”David Ripley, Northants’ head coach, said: “Paul brings great experience, skill, and firepower to our line-up. He has a reputation as a great team man and we are looking forward to welcoming him into our dressing room.”He’ll dovetail with Pollard and be available down the road should we qualify for the quarters and beyond. A special thanks to Cricket Ireland for their assistance in allowing Paul to play a role for us.””I’m thrilled to be playing for the Steelbacks in this year’s Blast, “Stirling said. “It’s a good wicket and the boundaries are small so I’m excited to entertain the people of Northampton.”I know a few of the guys very well and in Rosso [Adam Rossington] and Cobby [Josh Cobb] they have good leaders as captains at the club. I would like to thank David Ripley for showing faith in me and I’m hoping we can win the trophy come September.”
Bayern Munich chief Uli Hoeness has admitted the club were priced out of a deal for Florian Wirtz after Liverpool sealed a £116 million ($157m) swoop for the Germany star. Hoeness claimed Der Rekordmeister would never pay such a fee for a player, insisting that the Reds’ spending spree showed a transfer market resembling 'Monopoly' this summer.
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Tensions boiled over during Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Ecuador as Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister clashed with new Arsenal signing Piero Hincapie. The pair exchanged heated words after a late incident in stoppage time, sparking headlines both in South America and the Premier League. After the fiery exchange, Mac Allister later sent a message to his rival.
Mac Allister clashed with Arsenal’s Hincapie in fiery duelEcuador beat Argentina for their first home win since 2009Mac Allister claps back at Hincapie with Instagram postFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The drama unfolded when McAllister confronted Hincapie after a heavy late challenge involving Franco Mastantuono. The Liverpool midfielder pushed the Ecuadorian defender, and the two exchanged words before being separated by teammates. Hincapie had the last laugh on the field, as Ecuador sealed a famous win over Argentina.
AdvertisementWHAT MAC ALLISTER SAID
Mac Allister later clapped back at Hincapie on Instagram as he posted an edit of him pushing the Arsenal star with the caption: "YOU ARE NOT LIKE THAT!"
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The spat adds intrigue to what could become one of the Premier League’s most interesting new rivalries. Hincapie has joined Arsenal from Bayer Leverkusen in a £45 million deal, while Mac Allister has been an important figure for Liverpool since his arrival. With both players central to their clubs’ midfield battles, this fiery international clash may carry over to England in the league title race.
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MAC ALLISTER AND HINCAPIE?
The pair will not be able to face off on the field in the Premier League until January, when Arsenal host Liverpool at the Emirates. In the meantime, Mac Allister will be back in action with Liverpool against Burnley on Sunday, while Arsenal face Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Newcastle United have seen their progress come to a crashing halt this season following an excellent campaign last time out. Finishing inside the Premier League's top four and qualifying for the Champions League in the process after also reaching the Carabao Cup final, the only way seemed up for the Magpies. At the halfway mark a season later, however, Eddie Howe's side sit 11 points adrift of the top four and have already crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage.
With that said, reports suggest that those at St James' Park have turned their attention towards the future, and one potential reinforcement could casue quite the stir in the North East.
Newcastle transfer news
Whilst much of the focus will be on the January transfer window and handing Howe some much-needed depth, it wouldn't come as a surprise if Dan Ashworth is already planning well ahead for the Magpies. He and others will be desperate to ensure that last season's top four finish was no one off and that Newcastle become a mainstay in the Champions League. To do that, PIF could yet weaken their rivals by signing a player who seems destined for success at the top.
According to The Daily Mail, Newcastle are eyeing a move to sign Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland. The Magpies reportedly held talks with the family of Bellingham prior to his Black Cats move in an attempt to add the midfielder to their youth ranks.
Keen for a guarantee of first-team football, however, the former Birmingham City man chose Wearside, and has thrived ever since. With his rise only continuing at The Stadium of Light though, Newcastle are still keeping tabs on the teenager ahead of the FA Cup clash this weekend.
"Incredible" Bellingham to star in FA Cup derby?
When hearing the name Bellingham, it's easy to instantly picture a Real Madrid number five with his arms outstretched and a packed Santiago Bernabeu chanting his name after yet another goal. However, Newcastle and others would be unwise to forget about the Bellingham making his way in the Championship, who will no doubt be crucial if the hosts are to get a positive result in the FA Cup clash on Saturday.
In England's second tier this season, Bellingham's stats show just how good he's been. And at just 18-years-old, the Sunderland man has been a better attacking threat than current Newcastle options Sean Longstaff and Joelinton this season, albeit in a weaker league.
Player
Goals
Assists
Progressive Carries
Progressive Passes
Key Passes
Jobe Bellingham
4
1
44
82
20
Joelinton
2
1
21
47
18
Sean Longstaff
2
2
8
70
12
Given the numbers, it's no surprise that former Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has been full of praise for Bellingham: "One of the great weaknesses we had at the Stadium of Light, in the early days, when the Kevin Phillips' of this world had moved on, when 49,000 people were turning up every week, loving the game, expecting success… players came in and weren't able to match those expectations.
"For a long period of time it was just too much for players to cope with up there. They found it very difficult to play in the Stadium of Light. And here we have, now, a whole new feel around the place. Players are stepping out and fans are delighted with their attitudes, and the type of football they're playing. And Bellingham leans into that brilliantly, you know? He's a breath of fresh air. To be like that, at his age, it's absolutely incredible."
Australia will hope to attack down the Headingley hill and keep things tight going up it as they continue their attempts to ‘win boring’
Daniel Brettig in Leeds21-Aug-2019″Take back control” has been a pretty loaded phrase in this part of the world ever since its co-option by Dominic Cummings and the Vote Leave campaign that successfully won Britain’s EU referendum in 2016.It is also a highly relevant one to Australia’s Ashes campaign, which began so brilliantly at Edgbaston but was stifled somewhat at Lord’s, not only by Jofra Archer and the concussion inflicted on Steven Smith, but also the inroads England made on the touring team’s clear plan to cut down the flow of runs, build pressure and reap wickets from a home batting lineup always eager to impose themselves.Pat Cummins will continue as the “ironman” in an attack that has otherwise required careful workload management•Getty Images
The Australian blueprint to maintain control over the scoring rates of the hosts, block off the boundaries and prosper through patience has been adhered to so rigorously as to rule out Mitchell Starc from selection so far. The coach Justin Langer’s words two days out from the Headingley Test, about not getting caught up into a bouncer war begun by Archer, seemed to strongly indicate that this pattern of selection would continue. “What we’re not going to do is get caught up in an emotional battle of who’s going to bowl the quickest bouncers,” Langer had said. “We’re here to win the Test match, not to see how many helmets we can hit.”ALSO READ: Here to win Ashes, not engage in bouncer war – LangerBut this plan, of course, has two sides to it. England were not only better able to find scoring avenues off the likes of Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon at Lord’s (both were taken for more than 3.5 runs per over), they also succeeded in keeping things exceedingly tight when Archer and Jack Leach had the ball. Where Australia’s batting at Edgbaston had taken on an air of freedom, at Lord’s it was always a slog, even without accounting for the short-pitched stuff from Archer that claimed most of the headlines.”You look back at that period before the second new ball, Jack Leach bowled 10 overs for 12 runs at the other end to Jofra,” England’s captain Joe Root said. “It’s important that you dovetail well as a bowling group and that you continue to keep applying pressure from one end if you’re attacking at the other. I thought we got the balance of that exceptionally well and right last week.”Lyon’s inability to put the clamp on England’s scoring made for quite a contrast. In fact, in all the 20 Ashes matches he has played, Lyon has never been more expensive than the 3.76 an over he conceded at Lord’s when bowling more than 25 overs in a Test. Root, certainly, was happy to see Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow find their ways into the series.”The most pleasing thing from my part was seeing Ben, Jos and Jonny sending good time at the crease,” Root said. “I feel like they really got themselves into the series in that Test match, and it’s a big engine room for us that middle order, they’re some high quality players who can go up and down the gears and really change the momentum of a game. To see them starting to hit some form at what seems like a really poignant time in the series is a really impressive thing for us and a huge confidence boost for the whole batting group.”Australia’s captain Tim Paine, too, acknowledged the shift. “I think Ben Stokes played a pretty good innings as well, I think you’ve got to give him credit there,” he said. “But Lord’s can be a fast scoring ground and so can this one and it just happened to be that the rain pushed the game forward really quickly and almost turned day five into a one-day game, and we know that England are the best in the world at that game, so we thought that really suited them.”We thought we could have handled things a little bit better, but at the same time we had them 6 for 130 in the first innings and 4 for 60 in the second so we still thought we had some opportunities there to break the game open. But as the game played out, we know when they’re in that sort of mood particularly Stokes, Buttler and Bairstow, they’re hard for anyone to stop. If we get in that situation again we’ll do some things slightly differently.”So what must Australia do to improve on their control of proceedings at Headingley? Precise lines and lengths are a given, but so too is awareness that the ground an allow for quick scoring if bowlers are too attack-minded. Darren Lehmann’s wildly successful stint as Yorkshire’s overseas professional in the late 1990s and early 2000s was epitomised by how he often turned favourable bowling conditions on their head by going after the opposition, taking advantage of the quick, short square boundaries not a million miles removed from his Adelaide Oval home.Nathan Lyon leaked more runs than usual at Lord’s•Getty Images
Additionally, the slope across the ground at Lord’s has now been replaced by a gradient from the Kirkstall Lane End down to the Rugby Stand End. Plenty of rapid-fire spells have been delivered down that hill, from Bob Willis in 1981 to Jason Gillespie in 1997. A serviceable, accurate and uncomplaining seam and swing merchant pushing up the hill can also enjoy success: Peter Siddle claimed 5 for 21 here on the first day in 2009 when the Australians set the game up by rolling England for just 102.”We’ve had a couple of days here now for the bowlers to come in and have a bit of a bowl,” Paine said. “Granted it’s not on the centre wicket, but out on the wicket block. You get guys playing in different conditions with different run ups and different surfaces all the time, that’s part and parcel of being a professional cricketer and whatever lineup we pick, we expect that guys will be able to handle it or adapt to it really quickly.”Most capable and flexible for the Australians is Pat Cummins, who can be expected to turn out for the second of back-to-back Tests as the “ironman” of a bowling attack that is otherwise rested and rotated carefully. There will be times during this Test where Cummins may be asked to do either job, attacking down the hill or pushing tightly up it, and it will be critical that the Austrlaians are able to prevent England’s middle order from getting as comfortable as they did at Lord’s.”He’s pretty good. No complaints from him so far,” Paine said. “I think in the last 12-18 months his body’s really matured and he can handle a really big workload and not only do you see a high level of skill from Pat all the time but he’s highly competitive as well. So he’s a great weapon for us, and someone we certainly need to look after, but at this stage he’s handling the workload really well, he’s a super professional in the way he prepares himself, the way he looks after his body. So at the moment he’s going really well.”As a county, by the way, Yorkshire voted to leave in 2016, though the city of Leeds was a remain hold-out, both by narrow margins. Taking back control has proven more complicated than the slogan suggested: Australia will hope their task at Headingley is a little more straightforward.
MatériaMais Notícias
da dobrowin： A nova diretoria do Botafogo não tenta fazer mudanças com assuntos envolvendo as quatro linhas – como a contratação de Eduardo Freeland -, mas também com pautas fora dos gramados. O Alvinegro, nas últimas semanas, está estudando e em negociação para remodelar, a partir da contratação de uma empresa terceirizada, as redes sociais e o serviço do programa de sócio-torcedor.
Atualmente, o “SouBotafogo”, programa de ST do Alvinegro, é alvo de críticas por parte da torcida. Seja por um atendimento deficitário ou pouca atividade nas redes sociais – o perfil do programa no Twitter, atualmente, tem 28 mil seguidores -, a diretoria busca mudanças.
Por isto, o departamento de marketing do clube teve reuniões com, pelo menos, duas empresas que se mostraram interessadas em cuidar das redes sociais do SouBotafogo. Os responsáveis do Glorioso estudam os números apresentados pelas companhias e deve apresentar uma resposta em breve.
Durcesio Mello, novo presidente do clube, entende que é preciso haver uma mudança na comunicação do sócio-torcedor. A conclusão interna é de que uma rede social mais forte e com mais interação gerará, consequentemente, mais adesões ao programa.
O Botafogo encontra-se na marca de 26 mil sócios-torcedores até o momento de publicação desta matéria.
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Kyle Abbott has signed a new three-year deal with Hampshire, a week after recording the best first-class figures since 1956, and effectively ended any chance of an international comeback.Abbott, 32, signed a Kolpak deal with the club in 2017, and has repeatedly maintained that he has no regrets about the decision to put a premature end to his international career.He has taken 182 County Championship wickets in the past three seasons, and has the most wickets of any seamer in the country this year. He took 39 wickets at 22.71 in his 11 Tests for South Africa, but said that he had “never felt far away from being dropped” throughout his international career.”I’m delighted to have signed a new three-year contract with Hampshire,” said Abbott. “We have a great bunch of players and coaching staff all striving to achieve success for the club and I look forward to contributing to winning trophies in the coming years.”Asked by ESPNcricinfo last week if he had any regrets about giving up international cricket, Abbott said: “No, absolutely not. I haven’t from the day I walked away.”All I want to do is play cricket and enjoy it. Hampshire have brilliant in giving me a home since that day in early 2017. I love playing here, I love the club, my team-mates, and I couldn’t be happier.”There remains uncertainty over whether Kolpak deals will be honoured after the UK leaves the European Union.The ECB sent an email to counties earlier in the year explaining that in the event the UK leaves without a deal before the end of 2019, new applications for Kolpak/EU registrations would become void, although those with existing contracts would be permitted to continue under existing terms until the end of the 2020 season.That said, the Daily Mail has reported that the ECB is considering an increase in the number of overseas players permitted in the County Championship from one to two, and that several contracts contain clauses that would trigger a switch to overseas status after Brexit.Hampshire’s press release made no mention of Abbott’s Kolpak status, nor the possibility that the final two years of his new contract could theoretically be rendered void if no such clause exists.Rilee Rossouw, who signed for Hampshire at the same time as Abbott, will not play red-ball cricket for the club next year. He returned to South Africa after the culmination of the Vitality Blast group stages, and is expected to return to play in the Blast in 2020, though it remains unconfirmed whether he will do so as an overseas or a local player.It is unclear whether Rossouw intends to resurrect his international career – which may prove tricky after the circumstances of his departure – or instead to continue plying his trade on the global T20 circuit.The club’s director of cricket, Giles White, said he couldn’t “speak highly enough” of Abbott.”He has once again shown what a valuable asset he is to the team,” White said. “He continually puts in match winning contributions, he is a great role model for the younger players and he shows a great passion for playing for the club.”For all these reasons we are delighted he will be with us for the long-term.”
В Epic Games Store началась бесплатная раздача двух новых проектов — Mordhau и Second Extinction. Акция продлится до 20 апреля 18:00 МСК.
Mordhau — это средневековый онлайн-боевик в духе Chivalry. Игроков ждут масштабные кровопролитные сражения до 64 человек, реалистичная боевая система и огромный арсенал оружия. Рейтинг в Steam составляет 81% на основе 86 тысяч отзывов.
Second Extinction представляет собой кооперативный шутер от авторов недавней Ravenbound. Игроки возьмут на себя роль солдат будущего, которые попытаются отвоевать Землю у вернувшихся динозавров.
Следующими бесплатными играми станут Never Alone и Beyond Blue.
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🤝 Список того, на что Netflix получит права после приобретения Warner Bros:
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