For a place where pause pretty much seems to be the default setting, the thirst for Test cricket is still very much there

Firdose Moonda in Bulawayo26-Jul-2016When last have you been to Bulawayo?A friend asked me the question fans have been asking Test cricket since the last time either of us was there five years ago, in 2011. So long ago that we were warned that we would face the land that time forgot. Frankly, I couldn’t wait.Like any second city, Bulawayo has had to endure its fair share of shadow-occupancy to its bigger brother Harare, and it’s smaller but more beautiful sibling, Victoria Falls. It’s famous for being the birthplace of royalty – not just the kings the city is named after – but Charlene, Princess of Monaco, and its connections to other notables such as writers Doris Lessing and NoViolet Bulawayo, Olympic medalist Kirsty Coventry, footballers Peter Ndlovu and Benjani Mwaruwari, and cricketers Graeme Hick and Heath Streak. Apart from its people, Bulawayo is a sepia photograph filled with memories. For some, those memories include the last time big cricket came to town.Since Zimbabwe’s 2011 Test matches against New Zealand and Pakistan, Queens Sports Club has hosted 17 ODIs and four T20Is, which does not sound too bad. But in a place where pause seems to be the default setting, there’s a thirst for Test cricket. Finally, it has arrived, and everything from the airport to the Queens clubhouse seems to be quietly celebrating.Joshua Nkomo International Airport has an upgraded terminal to replace the tin shed that welcomed us five years ago. Then, there was one boarding gate, and rudimentary immigration and passport control services. Now, it gleams of newness and the queues to the counters snake around a small room.On Tuesday morning, it had to accommodate Makhaya Ntini, who was returning from CSA’s 25-years anniversary dinner, on the 10:40 flight from Johannesburg, along with several members of the television production company, who were only confirmed at the last minute, and umpire Michael Gough, who arrived in Johannesburg from Newcastle on Monday night. Gough will stand in his first (and second) Tests in Bulawayo, and might be quietly expecting it to be an easing in to officiating at the highest level.Two hours later, Ntini was in his kit at Queens Sports Club, throwing balls. Lance Klusener was already there. At some point, Klusener got into an unusually animated discussion with Ntini, gesturing several times towards the square. There, Fungai Shanganya, Zimbabwe Cricket’s head groundsman, who regularly prepares surfaces for international cricket in Harare, is in his hometown of Bulawayo to get not one, but two Test pitches ready. He’s done this before, in Harare in 2013, when back-to-back matches were played against Bangladesh, so he knows how to handle a quick turnaround.In the middle of the lush outfield, he is preparing the right-most surface from the main grandstand and one in the middle. No one is quite sure which one will be used first. “They’ll be exactly the same, so chances are we’ll just decide on the day,” someone joked.Far more important decisions await Zimbabwe, though, as they enter their first home Tests in almost two years, depleted of their most important bowling resources. Both Tinashe Panyangara and Tendai Chatara have been ruled out due to injuries.Brian Vitori, who returned from having his action declared illegal, remodeled and then cleared, in last week’s match against South Africa A, is hanging around. Vitori looks fitter and fresher than ever, but is unsure if he is ready to play at the highest level. “I am getting there, slowly, slowly, I am getting there” he says.If he isn’t quite there yet, Michael Chinouya might be. In all the years I have come across him, he still hasn’t learned to crack a smile, which is completely unlike John Nyumbu. Ever ready for a joke, Nyumbu greets the media with the reality that there will be, “no dancing this time,” when wickets fall because he is also not in the squad. Hamilton Masakadza, who comes to call the stragglers for a meeting, is unlikely to be persuaded to dance, but he is more than likely to stop for a chat and he does.A few meters away, in the president’s suite, two men are putting up a flatscreen television for the VIPs directly above the area where they will look out from. Behind them are an odd collection of trophies – one from an ODI between Zimbabwe and Pakistan in 1998, another from the 1991 Currie Cup – and a photograph of a cap-wearing Peter Pollock, jumping up to defend a ball delivered by Doug Walters at Newlands in 1970. Of all the places in the world to find a picture of that, Queens Sports Club would not have been my guess.To the left of that, in a corporate box, with a luxurious wooden bar top, the seats have not been upholstered in years and the foam from the head rests and seats is peeping through the peeling black covers. Downstairs, a man is washing the window sills, wiping away any dust that may have collected there. Another is watering the grass beneath the open stands. None of them needs do anything to the main embankment. It is as inviting as ever. The trees are the same height as they have always been. The dappled sunlight shines through them, creating golden drops on the grass. Maybe, it will be full at some point over the next two weeks. Maybe.But, maybe not. There are several posters advertising the tickets prices for the two Tests – US$3 for the grandstand and US$2 for anywhere else in the ground. With a severe cash shortage in the country, who knows if people have any to spare. The emptiness of the Queens Sports Bar suggests not. At around 5pm, there is only a small group of people seated inside. They are watching highlights of the recently completed England-Pakistan Test. Time may have forgotten this place, but cricket has not.

Delhi Capitals have roped in former Surrey, Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire wicketkeeper-batter Jonathan Batty as their head coach for the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL).Former India international Hemlata Kala, and Lisa Keightley, the former Australia cricketer with vast coaching experience, have been named the team’s assistant coaches. And Biju George, who has previously worked with the India women’s team, has been named the fielding coach. He is also the fielding coach of the Capitals men’s side.Batty has extensive coaching experience when it comes to women’s cricket. He coached Oval Invincibles to the title at the women’s Hundred in 2021 and 2022, and has also been head coach at Melbourne Stars in the WBBL and the Surrey women’s side.Related

• From Mandhana to Kapp – five players who could fetch big money at the WPL auction

• WPL auction: 409 players to go under the hammer

• Women's Premier League to begin on March 4

• Keightley joins WBBL side Sydney Thunder as head coach

“It’s an incredible time to be involved in Women’s cricket and the WPL has the potential to transform the landscape of women’s professional sport globally,” Batty said in a statement.Kala played seven Tests, 78 ODIs and one T20I and has also been chief selector for women in the past. “I am looking forward to putting together our squad ahead of the inaugural edition of the tournament, which I am confident will be a gamechanger for women’s cricket,” she said of the player auction.Keightley, the current Sydney Thunder head coach, played nine Tests, 82 ODIs and one T20I in a decade-long career. She was at the helm of the England team when they made the final of the 2022 ODI World Cup, before stepping down in August last year. She has also been head coach of Perth Scorchers in the past.”I’m very excited to be involved with the Delhi Capitals and to be working with so many different players and staff from around the world,” she said. “WPL is a game changer for women’s sports around the world, and we have the opportunity to showcase cricket to a new audience.”The player auction ahead of the inaugural WPL will be held on February 13 in Mumbai, while the tournament will be played between March 4 and 26. All the matches will be held in Mumbai.

They gave away 61 runs and took no wickets in the powerplay in conditions that were offering swing

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-20231:05

Bishop: Arshdeep will find his way again

Shikhar Dhawan, the Punjab Kings captain now left hoping for other results to go their way to make the playoffs of IPL 2023, rued the lack of execution from his bowlers as they were bested by Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala on Wednesday.In conditions that offered help for the quick bowlers, the Kings were unable to close out the powerplay properly. Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis were hit for seven fours and three sixes between the third and sixth overs. Capitals benefited from that period of profligacy, going from 11 for 0 to 61 for 0 in just 20 balls.”We didn’t bowl really well in the first six overs,” Dhawan said at the presentation. “We should’ve taken some wickets out there, the way the pitch was offering the swing.”Capitals posted 213 for 2 and won a tight game by 15 runs.Kings have had a particularly difficult time bowling in the first six overs this season. They have taken a mere 14 wickets in this phase of play – the second worst in the league behind Lucknow Super Giants – while also conceding 9.20 an over – again the second worst behind Kolkata Knight Riders.”Our bowlers didn’t pitch the ball up, whereas they should have been,” Dhawan said. “That was the plan. Unfortunately they couldn’t implement it. Whether we take wickets or not, that’s a different thing. But we should bowl in the right areas, which we have not been doing for quite a long time and that’s hurting us because in powerplay we are always giving 50-60 runs. And that’s fine but we should be taking wickets as well.”Dhawan’s concern over his quick bowlers’ performance forced him to take a big call at the death. He brought left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar into the attack in the 16th over and had him bowl the 18th and the 20th as well. This was a time when the Capitals had a well-set left-hander at the crease as well and with many of the balls spinning into him, Rilee Rossouw took full toll, especially in the final over, which yielded 23 runs and pushed Capitals’ total above 200.”Even my decision of bowling the spinner in the last over backfired,” Dhawan said. “I feel the momentum went there. Before that also, my fast bowler [Ellis] also got hit for 18 runs [in the 19th over]. Those two overs cost us the game.”Kings are only barely hanging on in the IPL. They have 12 points and a game in hand, which means they can get to a maximum of 14. But their rivals – Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians – are already on 14 points or more with a game in hand. And, Royal Challengers Bangalore have 12 points and two games in hand along with a healthy net run-rate. Dhawan’s men will need several results to go their way to make it to the final four.

يري عصام الحضري، حارس مرمى منتخب مصر السابق، أن أي لاعب في الدوري المصري لا يزيد سعر عن 15 مليون جنيه، نظرًا للمردود المقدم.

وقال الحضري خلال تصريحات عبر قناة “أون سبورت” لبرنامج “ملعب أون: “لا يوجد لاعب يساوى 10 ملايين جنيه، أنا لست ضد تفكير اللاعب في الأموال، لكن ما هو المردود المقدم لكي يحصل على أموال أعلى من ذلك؟”.

وأضاف: “عندما تلعب لا بد أن تحصد بطولات للفريق وللمنتخب، لا بد أن يكون هناك سقف للمطالب، لكن ما نسمعه عن لاعب يطلب 70 أو 80 مليونًا، لماذا!؟ هل من أجل الدوري والكأس وإفريقيا؟، نحن نتحدث عن المستوى الأعلى والمنافسات القوية مثل كأس العالم للأندية”.

طالع | عصام الحضري يكشف عن أفضل حارسين بالوطن العربي.. ويصرح: تصدي ياسين بونو يشبه ما فعلته مع الحاج ضيوف

وأكمل: “أغلى لاعب في مصر يساوي 15 مليون جنيه، محمد الشناوي لو سأعطيه راتبًا سيكون 10 ملايين، إمام عاشور سيكون 15 مليونًا، وزيزو وتريزيجيه مثل إمام”.

وأردف: “تريزيجيه كان يحصل على أموال كبيرة في الخارج قبل العودة إلي الأهلي، (هل أحد ضربه على يده من أجل العودة؟)”.

وأتم متحدثًا عن علاقته بالمغربي ياسين بونو حارس الهلال السعودي: “تربطني علاقة بـ ياسين بونو منذ 2018، والعلاقة توطدت كإخوة، دائمًا على تواصل وهنأته بعد مباراة مانشستر سيتي، بونو والشناوي أحسن حارسين في إفريقيا، وبونو من افضل 3 حراس في العالم”.

The Argentine lifted the club to new heights during his tenure in north London, and really should have been brought back in the summer of 2023

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Time is running out for Ange Postecoglou. If his Tottenham side fail to reach the Europa League semi-finals with victory at Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday, he will almost certainly not be in charge for the 2025-26 season. He may be lucky to even reach the end of this current campaign.

No party wanted it to end this way. After Postecoglou's first few months in the job, it seemed inconceivable we would reach this place. There was a time when 'Ange-mania' ruled the country and his Spurs side briefly resembled football's Harlem Globetrotters. Alas, that feels like a generation ago now.

Postecoglou previously outlined his confidence in bucking the trend of Tottenham's recent failures by declaring he always wins trophies in his second season. Yet he now stares down the same barrel that took out the likes of Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Mauricio Pochettino. Three of those names were carted out the back door and supporters were glad to see them go, but one stands out still to this day as the outlier.

Pochettino's sacking in November 2019, less than half a year after he guided Tottenham to their first-ever and only Champions League final – a phrase still mental to see, write, hear or say – is still contentious among fans and critics alike. There's no doubt the Argentine's message in the dressing room wasn't being received the same way and he appeared burnt out on some level, admitting before that defeat to Liverpool in Madrid that he would stand down from the job if Spurs were crowned champions of Europe, but it was the first sign of trouble the club had really run in to during the majority of his five-year stay.

What's more, Pochettino was open to returning in 2023 when they instead changed path and picked Postecoglou, while he has spoken lately of his desire to come back to Tottenham. Spurs thought they had closure of this chapter with the early success of the Australian, only to now find themselves in a more visceral crisis than ever. It feels as if the last two years have been wasted.

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWhy Postecoglou got the job

Conte's infamous tirade after what proved his final Spurs game, lashing out at his players, the board and the media, brought to the surface all of the club's underlying issues. The key takeaway was this was not an institution serious about winning, even if the main point of screaming and shouting was to deflect from the head coach's own shortcomings. Both things can be true, mind.

There was still more of the 2022-23 season for Tottenham to stumble through too. They actually sat fourth in the Premier League at the time of Conte's outburst, and though some of the sides below them had games in hand, they were still in a strong position to compete for another year of Champions League football. The club got it all wrong though, deciding to place Conte's trusted assistant Cristian Stellini in caretaker charge. A 6-1 humbling at top-four rivals Newcastle in which the hosts went five goals up in the first 25 minutes was the end of his reign, and so Ryan Mason stepped in for the final few weeks, navigating Spurs to eighth, just outside the European spots altogether.

The mood around the club was mutinous. Matchday protests against chairman Daniel Levy started to grow, while chants to bring back Pochettino grew louder with each passing game. When Spurs' pitch-side host Paul Coyte introduced their season highlights after their final home game, a 3-1 loss to Brentford, the poor man was loudly booed.

Levy and Co knew they had to get the next appointment right, they had to leave behind the idea of finding quick-fix solutions and focus on making Spurs a plucky team who were easy on the eye. They initially looked at Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique and Arne Slot, but couldn't strike deals for any of them. Pochettino, meanwhile, was at no point under serious consideration despite the public outcry.

Postecoglou, fresh off a successful two-year stint at Celtic where he brought trophies and entertainment in equal amount, was interested though, and in June 2023, he became the Premier League's first Australian manager.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportRise and fall of 'Ange-mania'

There was scepticism amongst the Tottenham fanbase even before Postecoglou signed on the dotted line. A short-lived '#NoToPostecoglou' movement on social media was quickly drowned out, though concerns did remain over his lack of experience having only managed clubs in Australia, Japan and Scotland.

Nevertheless, a Spurs fandom desperate for joy went away on a voyage of discovery and found plenty of material, both tactical and personal, to warm to Postecoglou. His footballing philosophy was interesting and unique, while his man-management seemed out of this world. Juxtaposed against the relentless bitterness of Conte and Mourinho, Postecoglou seemed like the everyman.

His first competitive match in charge of Tottenham was a battling 2-2 draw at Brentford, who Spurs finished only one point ahead of in the season prior. It was seen as a sign that they would not necessarily have to forfeit steeliness to play the Aussie's way. The travelling fans chanted Postecoglou's name throughout, even though the man himself was sheepish about it and felt he had to earn that right first: "It means a lot, but I'm not comfortable with it. You love what it means. For the most part it's blind faith. I haven't earned it yet. Hopefully when the day comes that we deliver something it will mean even more. I'm not dismissive of it and I'm very appreciative of it, but it reminds me of the responsibility that I have to repay that faith."

Ten games into the 2023-24 Premier League campaign, there was reason to believe. Tottenham were top of the table and unbeaten, all the while playing the most attractive football in the land. That, though, proved to be the apex of Postecoglou's stint. Up next were Pochettino's Chelsea, who were already veering towards crisis amid the Argentine's flirtations with his former club. Nevertheless, the Blues ran out 4-1 winners on a night where key players James Maddison and Micky van de Ven sustained long-term injuries, while Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were both sent off. The match was also famed for Postecoglou playing the highest defensive line possible with only nine men in order to squeeze the game, leading to his proud "it's just who we are, mate," quote.

In Postecoglou's first 10 league games, he amassed an impressive 26 points. The following 60 have yielded only 77, meaning a quarter of all his total gained came in that whirlwind haze at the beginning of his reign. Teams have also figured out how to play and beat Spurs with relative ease, too – you'll always be able to swarm them, there'll always be space at the back post, there'll always be attackers hiding behind players on the edge of the pitch. What was once an evolution of tiki-taka has become a completely redundant style which forces Tottenham's square stars into round holes.

Spurs had hoped Postecoglou would work out as a long-term solution having handed him a four-year deal, while the 59-year-old admitted he would like to settle down with his family somewhere having travelled all over the world during the last decade. You can dress it up as a gamble worth taking given a club in their position – technically part of the traditional 'Big Six' even if they don't spend or act like it – but they have failed to heed past warnings.

Getty Images SportPochettino's 'sliding doors'

Let's rewind and delve into why Pochettino was not considered a contender for the Spurs job when he was out of work and they needed a manager in 2023. Both he and Levy maintain they still enjoy a good relationship which even borders on friendship. The Argentine was about a year into a sabbatical following his exit from Paris Saint-Germain, where he learnt punching down isn't always as fun as punching up. If you changed his 'Tottenham' experience on his CV to a club of similar standing in another country, say a Borussia Dortmund or a Roma, he would certainly have been an option worth thinking about.

Perhaps Levy was aware that the context was too overpowering, which is admittedly a fair assumption to have made. To go back to Pochettino would have been an easy decision and one that would have widely been viewed as out of emotion and caving to fan pressure. It's the job of the board to remove such sentiment and look at situations more rationally. GOAL understands Pochettino was interested in the job immediately after Conte's sacking, but after several weeks of silence when it appeared the club were looking elsewhere, he tempered down that feeling as well.

Instead, Pochettino, desperate to work in England again and reinvigorated from a year out of the game, took the Chelsea gig to the annoyance of fans from both clubs. Despite a rocky start (as is the case with every team he's managed), he steered the Blues to a Carabao Cup final and a respectable sixth-placed finish in the Premier League. He restored his reputation as one of the best coaches for developing young players, with Cole Palmer his most notable success, and his side ended up only three points behind Spurs despite the vast difference of optics. Days after the season ended, however, Pochettino mutually agreed to leave Chelsea.

That Pochettino, despite fan unrest against himself and Chelsea's relatively new owners, managed to navigate an inexperienced team thrown together haphazardly through such turmoil was a sure enough sign he wouldn't have been overwhelmed by a return to Tottenham, who had consciously refreshed the playing squad and lowered the average age considerably. By the end of 2023-24, the only players on the books at Spurs who Pochettino worked with prior were Son Heung-min, Ben Davies, Giovani Lo Celso, Japhet Tanganga and Oliver Skipp. A new cast of front-end stars had been acquired in the half-decade he had been gone, most of them ideal for his brand of football.

Tottenham were on the hunt for a manager of Pochettino's calibre and trajectory when he arrived in 2014, yet maybe the one with all these scars and bruises may have been better after all. Whatever would have happened if he took the role again, it couldn't have gone any worse than it has under Postecoglou.

AFPNever-ending flirtation

Throughout his Chelsea reign, Pochettino played down his emotional connection with the Blues, yet played up that of rivals Tottenham. It made for one of the season's stranger subplots.

After leaving Chelsea, Pochettino agreed to take charge of the United States ahead of the 2026 World Cup on home soil, giving him another break from the vigorous demands of the club game. Back in March, he agreed to a roundtable interview with the English press, during which he confirmed his ambition to manage Spurs in the future.

"In the bottom of my heart I still feel the same," he said. "I would like one day to come back. Not because of my ego, it's because my feeling is I would like one day to win with Tottenham. We were so close. The problem was this type of journey creates a lot of friction for different reasons. Also, I made mistakes, you know? But the good thing is when you are clever you learn from your mistakes. It's like when a relationship finishes, I feel empty, I feel so disappointed, with everyone, but also with myself because I didn't manage well and when that happens it's partly my responsibility.

"I think now Tottenham is a club with an expectation to win because if you see the facilities, the training ground or stadium, now you can see it is about winning trophies. That is why I would like one day to come back, but if that doesn't happen, it doesn’t happen. [There are] all the possibilities again to build something special. That is my feeling and it didn't change."

There were suggestions Pochettino deliberately planted this story amid pressure on Postecoglou, but as explained by ' Tom Allnutt on 'The Tottenham Way' podcast, the topic of Spurs only came up at the very end of the roundtable, with most of the focus on the U.S. and Chelsea. It was nevertheless claimed Pochettino was happy and comfortable to delve into Tottenham, that he was ready to say his piece.

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2016Dhananjaya de Silva got three boundaries away, but he could not kick on; he was out for 25, caught off Graeme Cremer•Associated PressAsela Gunaratne, batting on Test debut, hung around longer•AFPHe managed to mark his maiden Test innings with a fifty•Associated PressTharanga, holding firm at the other end, got to a second Test hundred just after tea•AFPCarl Mumba dismissed Rangana Herath with a short ball for his maiden Test wicket•AFPEventually, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 537 in the final session. The Captain Cremer topped the bowling figures for Zimbabwe, taking 4 for 142•Associated PressIn reply, Zimbabwe lost opener Brian Chari early but Tino Mawoyo and Hamilton Masakadza went to stumps unscathed as the hosts ended at 88 for 1•AFP

Glenn Maxwell is in line to make his return to first-class cricket after a gap of more than three years if he passes one more fitness test following his recovery from a broken leg.He has been included in Victoria’s 13-player Sheffield Shield squad to face South Australia but will need to come through an outing for his club side Fitzroy-Doncaster in Victorian Premier Cricket on Saturday and will then have one more fitness test before being confirmed in Victoria’s XI.Maxwell last played the Sheffield Shield in October 2019 and has been sidelined from all cricket since November when he suffered a badly broken leg when slipping at a friend’s birthday party.Related

• 'It was snapped in half' – Maxwell explains how he broke his leg

• Warwickshire hail 'amazing signing' as Glenn Maxwell joins for T20 Blast

The injury ruled Maxwell out of being included for the Test tour of India, although there may remain the slimmest of chances of a late call-up depending on how he goes against South Australia. At the very least, though, he hopes to be available for the ODIs which conclude the tour in March.Maxwell was very close to a Test recall in Sri Lanka last year when there were injury doubts over Travis Head and the second season of documentary revealed out distraught he was at missing out. The last of his seven Tests came against Bangladesh at Chattogram in 2017.”To bring a player of Glenn’s calibre into the squad is exciting, he has a fantastic record in Shield cricket and it’s a shame he hasn’t been able to play more of it,” Cricket Victoria’s Head of Male Cricket, David Hussey said.

After withdrawing from the England squad last week, the ex-Manchester United striker is a doubt for the Gunners' clash with the French giants

When Arsenal welcomed Real Madrid to the Emirates Stadium last month, trailing 2-0 from a disappointing first leg in Spain, they were bidding to become the first team in seven years to prevail in a Women's Champions League knockout tie despite going into the second leg with a two-goal deficit. Thanks to an almighty performance, and a 3-0 win, the Gunners did exactly that – and Alessia Russo was right at the heart of it all.

The Lionesses star was unlucky not to leave with a match ball, having scored two huge goals and then had another couple disallowed for marginal offsides. She was brilliant with her finishing in high-pressure moments and exceptional in so many other areas of her game, too, particularly her pressing. There were a lot of stand out performers in red that night, with Chloe Kelly and Mariona Caldentey others who really stepped up, but it was hard to disagree with Russo being named Player of the Match.

Thinking back to how pivotal the forward was in that massive game, it would be cruel if she was to miss the fixture that it set-up: a Champions League semi-final against eight-time winners Lyon. After withdrawing from the England squad midway through last week's international break, Russo is a doubt as the French champions visit London for the first leg on Saturday. It would not just be a blow to her as an individual, either. Indeed, of all the players that Arsenal could lose for this tie, she might be the most crucial in what is a testament to her growth as a player this season in particular.

AFPHitting new heights

It's been a career-best goal-scoring season for Russo, and there is still plenty of football left to play, too. The 26-year-old is on track for her most prolific return in the Women's Super League, just one strike off last season's tally of 12, and has scored seven times in the Champions League. Only Barcelona's Claudia Pina has netted more times in the competition proper so far this term, with the England star also just one behind Manchester City's Khadija Shaw in the race for the WSL Golden Boot.

In the league, she is out-performing her expected goals (xG) statistic by 2.12, having under-performed by 0.41 last term; her big chance conversion rate has soared to a career-best 57 percent, having stood just below 43% last year; and her shot conversion rate has also improved from 15.2% to 17.7%.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesMore than a goal-scorer

But it's not just the goals Russo scores that make her crucial to Arsenal. "She does so many other things for the team as well that are so important," Gunners boss Renee Slegers said after that win over Real Madrid. "You saw our press for example, today. She put so much work into it, like the others.

"It's always good for forwards and the players who get into those positions to finish attacks and get the ball into the net. It's important for them because that's something they need to bring to the team in games. Of course, it's good for Less. But you can see she's so consistent, stable, as a person, that she doesn't get swayed by if she scores or not, or what exactly her contribution to the result is. She just works really hard for the team and she keeps on going."

Be it her hard work off the ball, her ability to link play or how she creates for others, Russo is a vital cog in an Arsenal team that has been seriously impressive since Slegers took charge back in October.

Getty Images SportValuable back-up…

So, what do the Gunners do if they are without Russo on Saturday? They do have another top-level striker in their squad, in Stina Blackstenius. With over 100 caps for Sweden and experience playing in major finals for club and country, she is no stranger to the pressure that a big game like this one against Lyon brings.

She's also got an impressive list of huge moments in Arsenal colours. In last year's League Cup final, it was Blackstenius who delivered the match-winning moment in extra-time to defeat Chelsea 1-0, while the Gunners' run to the Champions League semi-finals in the 2022-23 season saw the Swede score in three successive knockout games, with her strike in the second leg of the quarter-final against Bayern Munich sealing Arsenal's place in the last four.

Getty ImagesBut a very different one

However, Blackstenius is a completely different player to Russo. As far as centre-forwards go, the two almost could not be less alike. If the Swede was to start instead, Arsenal would have to at least slightly change the way they set-up for this tie, as Blackstenius will not hold the ball up in the same way as her English team-mate, she won't be as involved in linking play and building attacks, and she'll naturally look to get in behind with her great movement and electric pace, which will require a different type of service when compared to that Russo typically demands.

It all serves to highlight just how important the England star is to what Arsenal do. At times in the past, she has come in for criticism because her strengths have been in things aside from the goal-scoring, with her certainly not a typical No.9. But the work Russo has done to improve in front of goal deserves a lot of credit and it has seen her deliver plenty of important strikes while remaining so central to the Gunners' all-round principles.

Aston Villa and Tottenham are looking to battle Liverpool to the signing of Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes, a report claims.

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• Gomes signed new Wolves deal this week
• Premier League sides still want to sign him
• Liverpool, Spurs & Villa all eyeing midfielder

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The midfielder signed a new contract with Wolves on Tuesday, tying him to the Premier League team until 2030. Nevertheless, reports that a few Premier League teams are still determined to lure him away from Molineux Stadium in the summer.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The report says that Gomes has no release clause in his new contract, giving Wolves the power to demand a large fee for his services, with Spurs, Villa and Liverpool all said to be eager to snap him up.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The 24-year-old joined Wolves from Brazilian side Flamengo in January 2023 and quickly established himself as a first-team regular. He is aiming for a starting spot in Brazil's starting XI at the World Cup in 2026. He has 10 caps to his name, last starting for the Selecao in July last year.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  With Wolves lingering near the bottom of the Premier League, Gomes could feel he would benefit from a step up in the near future, especially with the World Cup on the way.

Saturday in the Premier League sees a crucial clash as two of the bottom three go head-to-head, with Wolverhampton Wanderers taking on Ipswich Town at Molineux.

Wolves are undefeated in seven league meetings with the Tractor Boys, beaten during only one of their 16 encounters in the Black County since 1991, but could really do with a victory in this one, considering both sides kick off four points from safety.

Following Monday night’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham, the Old Gold have won only three of their last 25 Premier League matches, dating back to early-March, pressure is really starting to mount on Gary O’Neil, desperately requiring a victory either here or at Leicester next Sunday, or potentially from both, if he’s to remain in charge this Christmas.

So, ahead of this huge relegation six-pointer, we assess the biggest selection dilemma O’Neil is facing.

João Gomes' suspension

Having collected his fifth yellow card of the campaign at the London Stadium on Monday, João Gomes will sit out Saturday’s crucial clash with Ipswich suspended.

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He had been carefully treading this tightrope for six matches beforehand, but was cautioned by referee John Brooks shortly after the hour mark during the defeat at West Ham.

This is a big blow considering Gomes has racked up 1,273 minutes in the Premier League this season, the second-most of any Wolves player, a mere ten minutes fewer than Rayan Aït-Nouri, starting all 15 fixtures and scoring two goals, finding the net against both Crystal Palace and Fulham.

So, could Wolves’ forgotten man fill Gomes’ void this weekend?

The perfect Wolves replacement for Gomes

When Hwang Hee-chan arrived from RB Leipzig in 2021, initially on loan with a £14m option to make the deal permanent, which was taken up, he did so to much excitement.

Nubaid Haroon described him as “exciting” and, given that the South Korean international had scored 45 times for RB Salzburg, 11 of these goals coming in UEFA competitions, it was easy to understand why.

The highlight of Hwang’s time in the Black County to date remains the winner he scored against Manchester City last season, coming days after Pep Guardiola, rather patronisingly and dismissively, named Wolves’ front three as “Neto, Cunha and the Korean Guy”.

Overall,the 28-year-old has scored 22 goals for Wolverhampton Wanderers to date, yet to get off the mark this season, following by some considerable margin his best campaign in an Old Gold shirt last time round.

As outlined in the table above, 2023/24 was by far Hwang’s most productive campaign at Wolves, ending the season as their joint-top scorer in the Premier League, alongside Cunha.

However, this season, he’s yet to score, register an assist or even take a shot in just 300 minutes on the field.

Since suffering an ankle ligament injury during Korea Republic’s World Cup qualifying victory over Jordan in Amman back in October, Hwang has made just three cameo appearances off the bench, the longest of which was a 33-minute appearance at Goodison earlier this month, remaining amongst the substitutes on Monday night, despite the urgent need for an equaliser.

This weekend though, in Gomes’ absence, now is surely the time for O’Neil to unleash Hwang, starting him alongside the aforementioned Cunha, as well as Jørgen Strand Larsen, both of whom have been impressive this season, when Ipswich visit on Saturday.

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