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Crystal Palace reporter Mark Wyatt has predicted that Patrick Vieira will drop Luka Milivojevic for the Premier League clash with Aston Villa today. 

The lowdown

Palace will welcome Steven Gerrard’s Villans to Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon and will seek a return to winning ways after twice surrendering leads in their 3-3 draw with Burnley last time out.

Eagles skipper Milivojevic missed the start of the campaign for personal reasons but has started five of Palace’s last seven matches. The ‘excellent’ 30-year-old, as dubbed by his former boss Roy Hodgson, ranks in Palace’s top eight earners with his £55,000-per-week pay cheque.

The latest

Football London journalist Wyatt reckons that Vieira will make two changes from the draw at Burnley.

The first would see Milivojevic dropped and Jeffrey Schlupp come into the midfield in his place.  Kouyate would duly drop back into the holding role. It’s said to be ‘unlikely’ that the manager turns to Will Hughes or Eberechi Eze from the off given that they have yet to feature in the Premier League this season.

The other alteration would see Jordan Ayew make way for Odsonne Edouard, who is ‘fit enough to start from the beginning’.

The verdict

The statistics suggest that Milivojevic actually had a strong game against Burnley last week, completing 94% of his passes, creating two chances and winning three of his four ground duels. That earned him a SofaScore rating of 7.0/10.

What those figures perhaps don’t reflect, though, is the porous nature of the Palace midfield. The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam wrote that the pairing of Kouyate and Milivojevic didn’t quite work at Turf Moor because it ‘ended up being too attacking’.

‘There wasn’t much midfield defensively’ according to Woosnam, and that’s why Vieira might be tempted to make the change, as Wyatt has suggested.

In other news, many Palace fans reacted to this important pre-Villa update

وجه المهاجم الدولي مروان حمدي، رسالة لجماهير نادي الزمالك بعد اتمام انتقاله إلى صفوف فريق المصري البورسعيدي.

وكان نادي المصري قد أعلن عن التعاقد مع مروان حمدي بعد انتهاء فترة إعارته مع فريق سموحة السكندري.

رسميًا.. المصري يُعلن التعاقد مع مروان حمدي من الزمالك

وكتب مروان تصريح مقتضب عبر حسابه الشخصي بموقع التواصل الاجتماعي “فيس بوك”: ” شكرًا لنادي الزمالك و جمهوره العظيم علي الفترة اللي اتشرفت اني ابقي جزء منهم و هتفضل دايمًا في ذاكرتي, شكرًا جدًا”.

يذكر، أن مروان حمدي قد نجح في لفت الأنظار خلال فترة تواجده مع سموحة، إذ شارك في جميع مباريات الفريق ببطولة الدوري، كما ساهم في 18 هدفًا، بتسجيل 15 وصناعة ثلاثة.

Rangers could potentially look to sign Heerenveen midfielder Joey Veerman after Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s arrival, according to journalist Stuart Hodge.

The Lowdown: Van Bronckhorst takes charge

A new era at Ibrox is now in full swing, with Van Bronckhorst replacing Steven Gerrard as Gers manager following the latter’s switch to Aston Villa.

The Dutchman won his first Premiership match in charge on Sunday, with his side picking up a 3-1 victory away to Livingston.

It is a promising start to life as Rangers boss for Van Bronckhorst, who will be hoping to achieve similar success to his playing career at Ibrox, when he won two league titles.

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The Latest: Veerman linked with Rangers move

He will be no doubt be eyeing up a few signings in order to further stamp his blueprint on the team and one player who could move to Rangers is Veerman, who has been linked with the Scottish champions in recent months.

That’s according to Hodge, who told GIVEMESPORT that he could see a transfer materialising. He said: “That one, yeah, potentially. But I think more so, that’s a market that van Bronckhorst will know well, that’s a market that’s affordable for Scottish clubs.”

The Verdict: Strong creative addition

Veerman is a midfielder with great potential, with Dutch coach Robert Molenaar once hailing him for having ‘extremely good’ technical ability.

Still only 23, he has already registered six assists in just 13 Eredivisie starts this season, highlighting the creativity he could bring to Van Bronckhorst’s team. Only James Tavernier (13) has accrued a higher assists tally for the Gers in 2021/22 across all competitions, with Ryan Kent (five) the next closest.

Veerman’s average of 2.4 key passes per game is also only bettered by Tavernier (3.9) at Rangers, so he is someone who could be an exciting and productive signing.

In other news, some Rangers fans have blasted one player after an incident against Livingston. Read more here.

Crystal Palace are keen on signing Real Madrid striker Borja Mayoral in January, offering him an ‘escape route’ from his loan spell at Roma.

The Lowdown: Palace linked with Mayoral move

The 24-year-old is currently on a temporary spell at the Stadio Olimpico, where he has been based since 2020, having been deemed surplus to requirements by Real Madrid.

After scoring 10 times in 18 Serie A starts last season, he has found himself completely out of favour under Jose Mourinho, making just three late substitute appearances this term.

Mayoral is sure to be looking at alternatives to Roma and it appears as though Palace could provide one, with one report emerging on Saturday regarding a potential move.

The Latest: Fresh report emerges

According to Mundo Deportivo journalist Pablo Planas [via Sport Witness], an ‘escape route has been opened’ at Roma and Mayoral is ‘ready to take it’.

Palace and Fiorentina are claimed to be the two clubs in the running to snap up the Spaniard, who has scored seven times in 33 matches for Real Madrid and is ‘close’ to parting ways with the Serie A club where is currently on loan.

The Verdict: Interest seems genuine

The fact that two quickfire reports have emerged suggests that Palace genuinely see Mayoral as a possible January acquisition, which should be exciting for Eagles fans.

While the striker may not have been a revelation for Real Madrid or Roma, he has still scored goals at two prestigious European clubs, which shows his pedigree.

Patrick Vieira may be well-stocked in attack, with Odsonne Edouard, Jordan Ayew and Christian Benteke all options at centre-forward, but Mayoral could just be a step up from all of them.

In other news, some Crystal Palace fans have reacted to an injury update. Read more here.

Ricky Ponting has given his youngest team-mate Phillip Hughes a masterclass in handling short-pitched bowling after he was twice out to bouncers in the tour match against England Lions. The first Test begins on Wednesday and Ponting expects Hughes to face a bouncer barrage following Steve Harmison’s success with the tactic.”We’ve been in the nets working on little things I felt I could pass on to help him cope with that sort of stuff,” Ponting told the . “They would have seen [Harmison’s success] and spoken to Harmison about the way he bowled at him. They’ll be coming at him with something similar to try and exploit that.”We worked on some stuff about making his mind up whether he was going to play or avoid it as early as he can. What it’s going to be all about for him and what worked so well in South Africa is to put it back on the bowlers.”During his debut Test series in South Africa, Hughes was repeatedly tested by bumpers from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel but they discovered that it is a risky tactic and runs can flow quickly if the short stuff does not remove Hughes. Another good sign for Hughes is that Harmison, his chief tormentor over the past week, is not in England’s Test squad.Simon Katich has confidence in the ability of his opening partner Hughes to handle whatever is thrown at him, while he has also won strong support from his predecessor Justin Langer. The former opener Michael Slater also has no doubt Hughes can do the job and said: “If you go hard at him he’ll dig in and make you pay, and that’s a great quality.”

With their 5-0 thrashing of Manchester United now behind them, Liverpool are on the road again this evening with a Carabao Cup clash against Championship side Preston North End.

Ahead of the match, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders revealed that there are a number of injury concerns at the Merseyside club at the moment, especially in midfield with the likes of Naby Keita, James Milner, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara and Harvey Elliott all expected to miss the match at Deepdale.

On the chalkboard

Taking this into account, one senior midfield option that Klopp should turn to tonight to help his side get through to the next stage of the competition is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

In Liverpool’s previous Carabao Cup match that saw them beat fellow Premier League side Norwich City 3-0, Oxlade-Chamberlain started and played the full 90 minutes of the game and managed to grab one assist, make two key passes, block two shots, complete two successful dribbles, make one interception and one tackle in the process.

This season as a whole has seen the Englishman make eight appearances for the Reds across all competitions, starting just two of them, making him somewhat of an outcast at the moment.

His latest appearance saw Oxlade-Chamberlain come on as a substitute in the second half of the match at Old Trafford at the weekend in which he managed to complete 90% of his passes, complete 100% of the long balls he attempted, win both of the ground duels he was involved in, have one shot at goal and make one interception and two tackles, ultimately earning himself a very good overall match rating of 7.1/10 according to SofaScore.

The Merseyside club signed Oxlade-Chamberlain back in the 2017 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Arsenal in a deal worth a reported fee of £35m.

Since then, the midfielder, who is currently valued at £16.2m according to Transfermarkt, has made 112 appearances for Liverpool across all competitions in which he has managed to score 14 goals and provide 12 assists along the way.

Looking ahead to the Preston game, given the number of injury issues Liverpool currently have in midfield at the moment and the fact that it has been reported that Oxlade-Chamberlain is apparently concerned about his lack of game time at the Merseyside club, he could be what the team needs right now and that this is a great time for him to play another 90 minutes to show Klopp what he has to offer the side.

In other news: Klopp could save LFC millions by unleashing 21 y/o “leader”, he’s VVD’s heir apparent – opinion

Ali Brown’s first hundred for Nottinghamshire has left Hampshire with a mountain to climb

Jeremy James at The Rose Bowl13-Jun-2009
ScorecardAli Brown, who must count as one of the most fit and sprightly 39-year-olds ever to play first-class cricket, struck his first century for Nottinghamshire against a depleted Hampshire attack. That and a partnership of 186 with Chris Read ensured his adopted county recovered impressively in their second innings after teetering on 47 for 4 and gave them every chance of winning on the final day, for there will be continued assistance for Samit Patel’s left-arm spin. A fine, unbeaten century by Read enabled the first division leaders to leave Hampshire 412 to win.Brown came to Trent Bridge in the close season after 17 years with Surrey – and with a marked determination to prove that there was plenty of cricket still in him. Quite evidently there is. After James Tomlinson took three early wickets, including Patel caught for a duck off a skier, Brown gave invaluable support to Adam Voges in a fifth-wicket partnership of 110. They benefited from Sean Ervine being off the field with a pulled hamstring and Tomlinson hobbling off in the middle of an over.Tomlinson had found Brown an altogether different kind of batsman to contend with than those at the top of the order. The fielding, as with the bowling, became lax: Brown went to 99 with a four that long leg – Chris Tremlett was on as 12th man – should comfortably have stopped, and thence reached his century in the same over off 133 balls with 15 fours. This was the 45th in first-class cricket of a career in which he has primarily been regarded, unfairly or not, as a one-day hitter.There was entertaining support, now, from Read, who hit eight fours in his half century and took runs with ease off the likes of Michael Carberry and James Vince, who is making his debut as a batsman in this match. What with two bowlers off the field and Dominic Cork lacking in pace and, inevitably these days, puff, run-making was a simplistic task in the post-tea period. Brown finally departed two runs short of his 150, slashing Michael Carberry straight to another substitute fielder, Liam Dawson, at point.At best, Read is fourth in the pecking order of England wicketkeepers, and will no doubt slip further down when Craig Kieswetter, of Somerset, becomes qualified. This was not the most taxing bowling he will have faced, but it was nonetheless a chanceless and highly aggressive innings. He drove Imran Tahir for six into the pavilion and struck 15 fours in what was his second century of the season, scored off 125 balls. He hit two further fours before the declaration was made, one which left Hampshire with three overs batting. They did not survive this brief passage of play intact, losing Jimmy Adams, century maker in the first innings, caught down the leg side by Read off Darren Pattinson.At the start of the day, Hampshire had lost their final wicket when Cork was leg-before to Mark Ealham. Not long afterwards they would have been thinking in terms of defeating the first division leaders in three days; now, they will do markedly well not to be beaten. Much will depend on the degree of turn Patel, who took five wickets in Hampshire’s first innings, achieves on a worn surface.

Nuwan Kulasekara, the Sri Lanka medium-pacer, has moved to the top of the ICC ODI bowler rankings, ahead of Australia’s Nathan Bracken and New Zealand’s Kyle Mills

Cricinfo staff16-Mar-2009
Nuwan Kulasekara is the No. 1 ODI bowler © AFP
Nuwan Kulasekara, the Sri Lanka medium-pacer, has moved to the top of the ICC ODI bowler rankings, ahead of Australia’s Nathan Bracken and New Zealand’s Kyle Mills.Kulasekara has risen steadily up the rankings during the past 12 months after an impressive run of performances since his return to the team in April 2008. In that period, he has taken 47 wickets at 20.97 in 29 matches, with a strike-rate of 28.00 and an economy rate of 4.45.”It was great to hear about the ranking, as I have worked really hard this year, but I am just 26, I know I still have plenty to learn and I am determined to become a much better bowler,” said Kulasekara.Kulasekera also impressed with the bat at No. 8 for Sri Lanka, averaging 20.36 during the past 12 months. “I am working really hard on my batting as we need to have consistent contributions from the lower order,” he said. “My immediate target is pushing my ODI average over 25 by giving the team consistent runs.””Nuwan full deserves his No. 1 ranking after an outstanding year for us,” said Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara. “Since cementing his place in the side he has been extremely consistent and reliable for us, taking wickets with the new ball and keeping things tight.”Daniel Vettori, who previously occupied the top spot, has fallen to No. 5 after taking just two wickets at 53.50 in four ODIs against India. His team-mate Kyle Mills, who broke in to the top five in the bowler rankings after taking six wickets at 10.83 against Bangladesh last year, occupies the third spot behind Bracken. Mills took four wickets at 57.25 against India.Bracken was voted Australia’s ODI Player of the Year this year after taking 22 wickets at 24.50, with an economy rate of 4.09, from 16 games during the voting period. Jerome Taylor breaks into the top ten, displacing Australia’s Mitchell Johnson.

Name

Country

Rating

1K.M.D.N KulasekaraSL7242N.W. BrackenAUS7003K.D. MillsNZ6974M. MuralidaranSL6965D.L. VettoriNZ6946 Shakib Al HasanBAN6877S.C.J. BroadENG6738 Mashrafe MortazaBAN6719A. FlintoffENG66210J.E. TaylorWIN660Top 100

In a game marred by a bad injury to Harvey Elliott, Leeds United endured yet another disappointing afternoon in the Premier League as they lost 3-0 at home to Liverpool.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side went two goals behind before Pascal Struijk was sent off for his challenge on Elliott, and Sadio Mane would later rub salt into the wounds in the dying embers of the game.

While Struijk’s tackle and whether it was deserving of a red card will no doubt the main talking point – Gary Neville on co-commentary for Sky Sports insisted that the severity of the injury swayed the decision – it was Jack Harrison’s performance that let Bielsa down the most.

The winger has endured a frustrating campaign thus far, failing to score or assist in the Premier League at all, and was once again well below-par at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon.

As per Sofascore, he lost four of the five duels that he was involved in, made just 15 passes (less than Illan Meslier) and conceded possession on ten separate occasions – only three others lost the ball more, but they all played the full 90 minutes.

Harrison also had no shots on goal and saw only one of his four crosses meet its intended target, and perhaps much more frustratingly, seemed to leave left-back Junior Firpo high and dry on many occasions.

Whether it was a ploy from Bielsa to have him stay upfield to try and keep Trent Alexander-Arnold back or not, it back-fired spectacularly, with Harrison failing to come back and help out his left-back – he made no tackles or interceptions as Firpo was left to deal with Liverpool’s rampaging right-hand side, and he didn’t really lay a glove on the excellent Mohamed Salah.

It was no surprise then that he was eventually hooked mid-way through the second-half – the second time he has gone off this season – with Dan James coming on, and with the former Manchester United now in the building, Harrison has a real job on his hands to keep his place in the starting XI.

And, writing in his post-match player ratings for Leeds Live, Beren Cross gave him a five, saying: “Did not give Alexander-Arnold a headache going in either direction throughout the game. Had the odd half-opening in the final third, but never found the delivery or final act to turn it into something dangerous.”

So while Struijk’s red card might open him up to some criticism, it was Harrison’s woeful performance on the left that arguably made him Leeds’ real villain on the day.

Meanwhile, Leeds are plotting a January transfer swoop for this star…

Kevin Phillips has offered his thoughts on the reports of Aiden O’Brien’s failed move from Sunderland to Doncaster.

What’s the talk?

Former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips has admitted that he was surprised by the reports that the club were willing to loan Aiden O’Brien out this summer.

A deadline day move to fellow League One outfit Doncaster was on the cards until a paperwork error caused it to break down, with Phillips now suggesting that the Black Cats may try to ship him out again in the January transfer window.

He told Football Insider:

“I am surprised to hear that, to be honest.

“This season you want people in your squad who know where the back of the net is.

“There will be times where Ross Stewart is suspended or injured this season and in O’Brien you have a player who knows League One.

“He scored a great hat-trick in the cup and he knows where the back of the net is. That’s why I’m surprised they would consider allowing him to leave on loan. He has that experience.

“Luckily it has not happened but perhaps there will be some movement in January. We will have to watch this space.”

Howler

Sunderland chief Kristjaan Speakman must avoid having a howler of a January transfer window and instead, he must keep O’Brien at the club. He must not allow the attacker to depart from the Stadium of Light, on loan or permanently, as he could be an important member of the squad this season.

There is a fair way to go until the January window, of course, but as it stands, it does not appear to be a smart decision to allow him to leave.

As Phillips said, Sunderland need depth in the forward areas as they could be left light if Stewart picks up an injury and misses five or six games. Nathan Broadhead is also in the building, but he is yet to show what he is capable of after two cameo appearances in League One since arriving from Everton on loan.

O’Brien, meanwhile, has already shown that he can score goals this season. The £6.5k-per-week dynamo has scored four goals in two League Cup matches for the Black Cats, with one against Port Vale and a hat-trick against Championship side Blackpool. This suggests that he has the quality needed to step in and score goals in the third tier should Stewart get injured.

Therefore, allowing him to leave would be a disaster for Sunderland and Speakman as it would rid Lee Johnson of key attacking depth. This is why the Black Cats chief must ensure that O’Brien remains in the squad for the rest of the campaign to help with the promotion push.

AND in other news, Forget Stewart: Sunderland dynamo with 11 chances created stole the show in August…