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Leeds United are back in Premier League action today as they travel to Chelsea, a side they dismantled earlier in the season and one which is certainly there for the taking once again.

It marks Javi Gracia’s third game in charge, as he looks to maintain his unbeaten start to life in the league with another big result to move them further from the relegation zone. The Whites sit just one point away from 18th-place Everton, meaning that avoiding defeat against Graham Potter’s stumbling outfit could be imperative to them remaining out of the bottom three.

The Blues have won just one game in all competitions since the turn of the new year, and having recently handed three points to Southampton, who the Yorkshire outfit beat last weekend, there is cause to believe that they can now do the same.

To give themselves the best possible chance of disrupting the rhythm of the hosts, perhaps the Spaniard could look to employ a tactical twist in starting two strikers and reverting to the 4-4-2 system he had employed at Watford.

This would therefore allow the lively Georginio Rutter to retain his spot, and for Patrick Bamford to return to hopefully terrorise the opposition’s back line.

Will Patrick Bamford start vs Chelsea?

There could be an expectation that the 29-year-old will be recalled for this clash, given his experience and undeniable quality despite his struggles in front of goal this season.

Should he return to his “dangerous” best, for which he has been lauded in the past by Darren Bent, he could cause untold issues for Wesley Fofana who could replace the injured Thiago Silva.

The Frenchman has made just six league appearances this season due to injury, and Bamford could capitalise on the possible rustiness and inexperience he could bring to their defence.

Also, with their heights being essentially the same, the Englishman offers a fine physical presence to more than compete with the 22-year-old.

This will in turn allow Rutter additional space to utilise his trickery, of which he has only shown brief glimpses since his January move, in the final third.

Whilst it has been a while since the former Chelsea striker has been in hot scoring form, a good performance today could be the kickstart he needs to recapture his form from the 2020/21 campaign. Scoring 17 and assisting a further eight, the lethal marksman was branded a “Leeds legend” by journalist Jake Winderman.

Should the £70k-per-week finisher now step up to help them avoid the drop once again, he could further cement this statement as a general consensus around Elland Road.

For now, Bamford must recapture his best form, having already proven that he has the quality to be an excellent Premier League performer, and help the Whites to the win by dominating Fofana this afternoon.

A statistical review of the England-India ODI series

Mathew Varghese10-Sep-2007With the series decider at Lord’s ending in a no-contest, Paul Collingwood led England to their first ODI series win at home in three years by beating India 4-3. It was perhaps an apt result, since the closely-fought Test series went India’s way, ending England’s six-year unbeaten streak in Tests at home.India were powered by their batsmen throughout the series, especially their opening partnership of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. Their performances were indicative of how much the team relies on the senior batsmen, and their starts were crucial to India’s success. On the other hand, England banked on inexperienced players like Matt Prior, Alastair Cook and Luke Wright to play the new ball. Cook scored his maiden hundred in the first ODI and at Lord’s both Prior and Wright were dismissed for ducks. England’s openers often got off to starts but failed to capitalise.

Although England’s openers may have fallen short compared to India’s, Ian Bell more than made up for that by scoring 422 runs and winning the Man-of-the-Series award. Rahul Dravid gave youngsters Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir a chance at No 3, though many felt he himself should have batted at that vital position.

While the batsmen performed for India, it was the bowlers that let them down. The spinners managed to tie down the England batsmen at times but, on the whole, it was a disappointing effort in the field especially from the fast bowlers. India’s shoddy fielding didn’t help matters either.India dropped nine catches and missed one stumping opportunity during the seven matches. The England batsmen cashed in and a total estimate of how many runs they scored after being let off was around 237 runs. Bell was dropped four times in three matches. England, on the other hand, dropped only four catches, of which two were extremely difficult, and it cost them 114 runs.While Zaheer Khan was the best bowler during the Test series, James Anderson upstaged him in the ODIs. Anderson picked up 14 wickets, while Flintoff and Broad took 10 and nine respectively.

The difference in the bowling performance is reflected in the average runs per wicket for both teams during the series.

India also lagged behind England in the run-rate during the Powerplays and even more so in the last ten overs, when the Indian bowlers and fielders were unable to prevent England from picking up easy runs.

India’s two main weaknesses – running between the wickets and fielding – also show up in the break-up of scoring shots. While India are ahead in the percentage of fours, they are behind as far as ones, twos and threes are concerned.

The series also had several records and milestones. The following are some of the highlights:

The Argentine superstar is almost certain to be the best player in American domestic soccer this year… but what if he isn't?!

We all know who the world will be watching in MLS this season. His name is Lionel Messi, and his resume speaks for itself. Few, if any, have ever done it better, and as he prepares for his first full season in MLS, expectations are high as can be.

Messi has conquered it all, for club and country, and everyone expects him to conquer MLS this season. He's simply too good not to, right? If Messi stays healthy, he'll undoubtedly put up numbers as he begins this first full season with Inter Miami.

The question is, though, if Messi can be the best. He's the MLS MVP favorite, for sure, but he's far from the only superstar in this league. None have his resume, fame or expectations, but there are plenty of players that could rival the Argentinian icon for the title of MLS' best in 2024.

With that said, GOAL takes a look at the other contenders for MLS MVP that will look to prevent Messi from claiming the throne…

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  10The newcomers

  More likely than not, there will be a first-year player in the mix. The question is which one?

  The Seattle Sounders are very good, and Pedro de la Vega could light it up in that team. Luis Muriel and Emil Forsberg are Europe-proven and are joining teams that are built for them to thrive in the New York Red Bulls and Orlando City, respectively. FC Dallas spent big money on Petar Musa, while the Chicago Fire did the same on Hugo Cuypers.

  Any of the above could be in the race, as all of the players mentioned could theoretically put up monster numbers. If there's one newcomer to bet on, though, it's likely a familiar face that's now in pink…

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  9Luis Suarez (Inter Miami)

  This is a longshot for several reasons, but it is worth discussing.

  First of all, we have no clue what to make of Suarez this season. He looked great in Brazil for Gremio, but we all know that his knees could go at any point. His fitness will need to be managed, which means he probably won't play or score enough to really be in the MVP conversation.

  Secondly, if anyone on Miami is going to win this award, it's probably Messi. If Suarez does score, more likely than not, it'll be from a Messi assist. As a result, it feels almost impossible for Suarez to beat his long-time friend to the prize.

  Still, there's a scenario where Suarez puts up a record-breaking amount of goals against MLS defenses that have no idea how to cope with him. Because of that, even if it's a longshot, he should be considered a contender.

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  8Hector Herrera (Houston Dynamo)

  You won't see too many central midfielders in the mix for MVP, but Herrera is more than good enough to break the mold.

  The Mexico international helped lift the Houston Dynamo to a U.S. Open Cup trophy last season, and it can be argued that no midfielder is more influential for their team. The Dynamo aren't the sexiest team and Herrera wouldn't be the sexiest MVP candidate, but there are few players in MLS more important to their team than Herrera.

  A recent injury could impact his candidacy, but if its not as bad as the Dynamo fear, he'll be key.

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  7Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC)

  No player contributes to a higher percentage of his team's goals than Nashville SC star Mukhtar. We'll have to see what type of numbers he can run up this season, though.

  The 2022 MLS MVP has 58 goals and 38 assists in just 113 appearances, a ridiculous number all things considered. He has some help arriving (finally) in former Premier League striker Sam Surridge, but it remains to be seen how that impacts Mukhtar's contributions in the long-term.

  Will Surridge eat away at some of Mukhtar's goal contributions, easing the pressure on him? Or will he be just another weapon in the attack for another massive season?

Phil Parkinson delivered a scathing “ridiculous” assessment of Wrexham’s defending after seeing them drop out of the top three in League Two.

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• Red Dragons down to fourth in the table
• Questionable defending against Salford
• Challenge set by disappointed manager

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Red Dragons headed to Salford City looking to cement a standing inside the automatic places, but have now slipped to fourth in the table. They still boast games in hand on those around them, but have suffered three consecutive defeats in all competitions – with Newport County and Blackburn Rovers also putting them to the sword.

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  WHAT PARKINSON SAID

  Wrexham were two goals down inside 16 minutes against Salford, as the hosts scored from a couple of corners, and Parkinson said afterwards: “We gave two goals away from corners which are ridiculous. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb against a team who are on a good run. They are a physical, set-play team who get the ball into Matt Smith and make it a real scrap and if you give two goals away like that, it is very difficult. We got one back but the third goal, we weren't strong enough in our box again so it was very disappointing.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Wrexham, with Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney calling the shots, have become a big scalp for fourth tier rivals and Parkinson added on his side needing to do more in order to meet the many challenges that they face: “We have to find a way on our travels when the pitch isn't great, or the other team plays a certain way, to come through these games with points because we have come out second best against Salford in important areas in the game. But if we had defended those two set-plays properly, we would start getting a foothold in the game but we gave Salford a huge lift. We knew what type of game it was going to be and we worked on that but you can't legislate for two corners going in like they did. We got back in the game with a good goal from Sam [Dalby] but the third goal was a real blow for us because the conditions were in our favour second half and you fancied us with that goal to get back in the game.”

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Parkinson’s side will be back on home soil next weekend, when playing host to Bradford City, and have seven days in which to pick the bones out of a disappointing performance against fellow stars of a popular documentary series – with Gary Neville, David Beckham and Manchester United’s fabled ‘Class of ‘92’ filling the boardroom at Salford.

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Ireland clinched their first win of the tournament but in their last attempt of the group stage, when they beat Afghanistan by only four runs in Whangarei. Afghanistan needed 10 runs from the last two overs and only seven from the last but they had only two wickets in hand and were bowled out with four balls to spare. Max Neville started the last over with a no-ball and wide to reduce the equation to five required from six but he removed the last wicket of Qais Ahmad to steal a thrilling win.Chasing 226, Afghanistan could not get any big partnerships going. After losing two wickets for 47 runs by the 11th over, No. 3 Bahir Shah top-scored with 34 and took them close to 100 but handed a return catch to Varun Chopra. Offspinner Harry Tector troubled their middle order with the next three strikes, including the wicket of Tariq Stanikzai (33 off 24) that left Afghanistan on 155 for 6. Captain Naveen-ul-Haq scored 25 off 35 to rally the tail but his was the eighth wicket to fall, at 196. Afghanistan needed 30 from the last seven overs and the pair of Ahmad and Mujeeb took them close but could not finish things off.Earlier, Ireland were troubled by the duo of Wafadar and Ahmad as both took three-wicket hauls. Ireland started slow and were 69 for 2 before Ahmad’s legbreaks accounted for the next three wickets, including opener Jamie Grassi (32), Sam Murphy (2) and Neil Rock (35). Tector, the captain, scored a patient 36 before Wafadar sent the next three batsmen back to leave Ireland on 202 for 8. An unbeaten and quickfire 37 off 24 from Graham Kennedy led Ireland to 225 for 8, proving just about enough in the end.

The last time Faiz Fazal played a tournament final, he scored a century, took the Man-of-the-Match trophy and finished on the winning team when he represented India A in the Deodhar Trophy last year. With hardly any experience of playing finals until then, Fazal put his hand up at the crucial juncture, much like how his team Vidarbha has done in the Ranji Trophy this season.Vidarbha were the underdogs when they qualified for the quarter-finals, they were the underdogs against heavyweights Karnataka in the semi-finals, and now, eight matches later, they are still unbeaten after six wins this season. Are they the underdogs heading into the final against Delhi?”I don’t know actually,” captain Faiz Fazal said on the eve of the match. “We have six-seven outright wins so … but we don’t mind. In our minds we have to think that we don’t care even if we are called the underdogs. We don’t mind anything because ultimately winning this game is important for us.”Vidarbha’s spirit, courage and attitude have shown that they may not be the underdogs anymore. They are up against Delhi who last played a Ranji final in 2007-08, under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy. Delhi hardly have an edge because they have only one player left from that Ranji win 10 years ago. If Delhi won three of their six league matches, Vidarbha earned four wins and topped their group. If Delhi won the quarter-final by beating Madhya Pradesh by seven wickets and the semi-final by an innings and 26 runs against Bengal, Vidarbha hammered Kerala by 412 runs – the biggest margin by runs in Ranji history – and beat all odds to edge out Karnataka in a thriller in the semi-finals.Fazal believes apart from veteran Wasim Jaffer’s wisdom and acumen in the dressing room and new coach Chandrakant Pandit’s philosophy, it is the discipline in the team that brought the best out of them.”The way we played the semi-final as a whole unit, it showed our character,” Fazal said. “We all believed we could win this game and we always thought that this is our game, we can’t lose this game. Even when they needed nine runs and we needed two wickets, we never thought that we are going to lose the game. We were really positive and focused because we needed only two good balls to get them out.PTI

“The discipline in the team, the way the routines and preparations we had before coming into the Ranji Trophy,” Fazal said in response to what changed their fortunes this season. “Except the nets, the match simulations we did, and one more thing is that we are a really happy unit. We all are really happy and we are enjoying our cricket very much. We always used to enjoy but I don’t know why we all believe that this season the trophy is ours. As I mentioned earlier, after quarter-final or the semi-final, that I want to have the feel of the trophy in my hands. I want to have that bite of success so let’s see.”Fazal exudes conviction and clarity when he talks. Unlike the 20-year-old Delhi captain Rishabh Pant, who was succinct and not too revealing in the pre-match press conference, Fazal was at ease, with the experience of 14 years of domestic cricket behind him.When asked about Vidarbha’s memorable season, Fazal went all the way back to their first match – against Punjab in Mohali, where the hosts were bundled out for 161. Vidarbha kicked off their season with an innings win and carried that form and confidence into the subsequent matches, to beat Services, Bengal and Goa in the group stage.It spilled over in the knockouts too, when they had already taken a first-innings lead against Kerala and were placed on a solid 431 for 6 in their second innings, with a massive lead of 501, with a day left in the game. Instead of batting on and on, they declared on the last day and then rolled over Kerala in just over 52 overs, led by left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate’s 6 for 41, to take home another six points.”The way we won against Punjab, they had all the stars in the team and we got seven points in that game,” Fazal said. “That start was really important for us. The way we’ve been playing the whole season, we always want to win the game, not only take the first-innings lead…like we played in the quarter-finals.”We could have batted the whole day and we could have just walked away. But we thought that let’s make a game out of this. We already had plans to declare after lunch and then give two sessions to them and the way we played then for the outright win, this is the way we’ve been planning to play this season and hopefully we’ll continue like this.”Starting on Friday, Fazal will now hope the team’s dream streak stretches for one more match, the players don’t buckle under the pressure of the big occasion and the law of averages doesn’t catch up with them so that he can actually taste success like never before.

West Ham United have been handed a boost in their efforts to sign Jonathan Tah this summer, with Kicker, via TeamTalk reporting that the defender wants to leave Bayer Leverkusen this summer.

What is the latest West Ham transfer news?

The Hammers may be heading into this season off the back of a Europa Conference League success, but with more European football looming and other Premier League outfits recruiting, they may need to act fast to add some more fresh faces to their squad. They are actually yet to make a single addition to their team over the course of the transfer window thus far, although that hasn't stopped them from being linked with a host of different names.

For starters, it looks like a deal is edging closer to send Scott McTominay to the club from Manchester United. The midfielder has himself been linked with a number of different sides this summer, but it appears that the Hammers are currently in the driving seat to land the Scot.

Discussions have reportedly been held over a transfer and how much he could potentially cost, with the Red Devils wanting "big bids" to even consider a sale. The same applies to Harry Maguire, another member of that United squad who has been on the wishlist of West Ham.

Are West Ham signing Jonathan Tah?

Maguire isn't the only defender the Hammers have been tailing either. They've also kept a close eye on Tah at Bayer Leverkusen, with the Premier League outfit asking about his availability earlier on in the window. Having made that initial contact towards the beginning of the summer – and been quoted his release clause of 18 million Euros (£15m) – there is now an update on the defender's situation in Germany.

According to Kicker, via TeamTalk, Tah has admitted he is "open" to a potential deal away and wants out of his club this summer, although he is also "aware" and content enough with his current situation in Leverkusen.

However, he could not hide his interest in perhaps securing a switch to England and the Premier League, as he also added that it has "always been his goal" to play in the top flight. With the Hammers having expressed this previous interest in his services then, they would provide a pathway for the centre-back to make his dream move into the division – and it might give them a bit of a boost in terms of luring him to club this transfer window.

If the Hammers did manage to sign him, then they would be getting a player who has often proved a reliable presence at the back and someone that has a lot of experience under his belt to boot. Tah, lauded as "excellent" by journalist Josh Bunting, has ten seasons of Bundesliga action to draw upon, having featured in a whopping 243 league games in total in that division.

However, he has never played away from Germany over the course of his career – and this summer could be the time he finally branches out and heads to England with West Ham.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the only footballer ahead of Kohli, No. 7 on the Forbes list of most valuable brands among sportspersons

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2017

It has got nothing to do with the celebrity football match he recently played or the football team he owns, but Virat Kohli is now a more valuable brand than Argentina and FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo is the only footballer ahead of Kohli, who is No. 7 on the Forbes list of most valuable brands among sportspersons.Forbes list of 10 most valuable athletes in 2017

1. Roger Federer: $37.2m

2. LeBron James: $33.4m

3. Usain Bolt: $27m

4. Cristiano Ronaldo: $21.5m

5. Phil Mickelson: $19.6m

6. Tiger Woods: $16.6m

7. Virat Kohli: $14.5m

8. Rory McIlroy: $13.6m

9. Lionel Messi: $13.5m

10. Steph Curry: $13.4m

Forbes calculates the brand value of an athlete by subtracting the average income of the top 10 athletes in the same sport from the total earnings of that athlete, excluding salary and bonus from their sport and all investment income. Forbes calculates Kohli’s brand value at US $14.5 million, a million dollars more than the No. 9 Messi, and $22.7m short of the biggest brand among athletes in sport, Roger Federer. In other words, Kohli’s endorsements earn him $14.5m more than the average endorsement income of the top 10 cricketers. Despite a major dip in their brand value over the last year, golfers Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were in the top six.Kohli, however, is neither the first Indian nor the first cricketer in the top 10 of the Forbes list. MS Dhoni, Kohli’s predecessor as India captain, was the fifth-most valuable sports brand among athletes in 2014, with his brand value calculated at $20m, a million lower than it had been in 2013. Even after he gave up Test cricket and captaincy, Dhoni was the tenth-biggest brand in 2016. His brand value, though, did take a big hit that year, coming down from $21m in 2015 to $11m in 2016. Now India’s captain in all formats, Kohli has made the big move up, which might be an indicator of how valuable the India captaincy is.The IPL, however, failed to make it to the 10 biggest brands among sport and sport-entertainment events. Led by Super Bowl, the list has the two Olympics and the football World Cup featuring at No. 2 and 3.

Everton have been provided an update on their chances of landing Scott McTominay this summer, with The Guardian reporting that a "considerable" offer would be accepted.

What is the latest Everton transfer news?

The Toffees had a torrid time of it in the Premier League last season, only narrowly avoiding a humiliating drop down to the Championship. With the club able to fight in the top flight for another day and a new campaign, they will now be looking to do enough transfer business this summer to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

And it appears as though they are busy behind the scenes when you consider who they have been linked to so far this window, despite limited spending money. The club will want to improve their backline and it appears as though they could be trying to do that by bringing in Taylor Harwood-Bellis from Man City. It's unclear whether or not that would be a permanent deal or simply a short-term one, but it looks as though they are one of a number of sides all weighing up offers for the centre-back.

Another name rumoured to be on the club's wanted list is Sam Johnstone, with Everton facing the prospect of potentially losing their own number one in Jordan Pickford. If that was to happen, it looks like they could turn to the current Crystal Palace shot-stopper as his replacement.

Scott McTominay is one of the other names that could be available for the Toffees to buy this summer. The midfielder, who has 39 caps for his country Scotland, is wanted by the Goodison Park outfit this transfer window, but he's also being chased by other Premier League outfits. As of yet, nobody has tabled a formal bid for the Man United man.

Are Everton signing Scott McTominay?

Now, according to a report from The Guardian, there has been an update over whether he could be available on a deal this summer. Man United boss Erik Ten Hag likes the player and sees him as "a valuable squad member", but that doesn't mean he won't be sold.

The report claims that they will accept transfer offers for the Scotland international this window – but only if a fee is a "considerable" amount. If nobody is able or willing to pay the amount the Red Devils want, Ten Hag is happy to keep him around.

Whilst a deal might cost a fairly large amount then, McTominay could be worth it for a Blues side in urgent need of some fight and muscle through the middle. He's been praised highly for his work in the centre of the field for Man United by pundits and former players alike, with Danny Murphy saying he would be a "nightmare to play against" and adding that he can "destroy and stop the opposition scoring".

It highlights how fondly he is looked upon by those in the game and as Everton try to push on next season, they could use someone like the Scotland international in their ranks to buff up their spine, especially if Amadou Onana leaves the club.

A lightning start from Lauren James helped Chelsea on their way to a 5-2 victory against Leicester in the Women's Super League on Sunday.

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• Chelsea picked up another WSL win
• James continues her excellent form
• Blues unbeaten at the top of the table

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  TELL ME MORE

  The Blues were 2-0 up within five minutes thanks to some stellar work from James. The Chelsea star capitalised on a mistake from Leicester and ran on to finish low into the net after two minutes. Almost immediately afterwards, Fran Kirby knocked the ball into James' path and she raced on and found the net thanks to it bouncing off of defender Courtney Nevin.

  Leicester managed to pull a goal back after 26 minutes when Lena Petermann's pass found Jutta Rantala in space and she smashed it into the net. Chelsea restored their two-goal lead in the 40th minute, however, when Sam Kerr ran in to meet Niamh Charles' low cross and knock it in.

  The game did not die down there, though, as Ann-Katrin Berger pulled off a strong save to deny a Leicester free-kick but could not stop the visitors from scoring on the rebound. Chelsea managed once again to give themselves a comfortable lead with a lovely chip from James that went over Janina Leitzig and into the net before Agnes Beever-Jones headed in a fifth late on.

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  THE MVP

  It was yet another excellent performance from James, who scored a hat-trick in last week's demolition of Liverpool. Thanks to the 22-year-old, Chelsea were off to an awesome start and essentially had the three points sealed after five minutes. She now has five WSL goals to her name after just seven appearances.

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  THE BIG LOSER

  Leicester midfielder Sam Tierney will feel she put a severe dent in her team's chances of getting a positive result against the reigning WSL champions. It was her awful pass that sent the ball into the path of James and gave her the golden chance to open the scoring early on. Leicester managed to put the home team under pressure later in the half and Tierney got their second goal, but there was no coming back against Emma Hayes' relentless side.

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• WHAT COMES NEXT?

  Chelsea have a much tougher test coming up next as they face Arsenal in a London derby on December 10. The Gunners are second in the WSL and three points behind Emma Hayes' team, who remain unbeaten after eight matches.