Rangers will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in the Premiership as Gio van Bronckhorst’s side return to action at Ibrox tonight.

The Gers bounced back from their 3-0 defeat to Celtic in the Old Firm with an emphatic 5-0 win over Hearts and now host Hibernian on Wednesday night.

Alfredo Morelos (two), Scott Arfield, Glen Kamara and Fashion Sakala scored the goals at the weekend, whilst Aaron Ramsey came off the bench to make his debut for the club.

How many changes will Gio make from that clash? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make three alterations to the side, with Borna Barisic, Glen Kamara and Fashion Sakala all coming in.

Whilst the Gers were sublime in their win over Hearts, van Bronckhorst may want to make a few changes to keep the team fresh whilst they are playing three games a week.

At left-back, Barisic could be offered the chance to show a reaction to losing his spot at the weekend. Calvin Bassey started ahead of him, with Leon Balogun moving into a central position next to Connor Goldson, and the £6.4k-per-week gem could now be axed from the side to accommodate that Croatian international.

In the Premiership this season, he has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.30. This shows that he has been excellent for the majority of the campaign and deserves the opportunity to come back in to show that he can get back to his best after a costly error against Celtic last week.

John Lundstram should keep his place in midfield alongside Scott Arfield, but there will be a change at the base of the team with Ryan Jack having been ruled out through injury. Kamara came off the bench to score at the weekend and he could slot straight into the number six role tonight.

Finally, Sakala could come in for Joe Aribo, who lost nine of his 11 ground duels and failed to register a goal or assist. This could open the door for his Zambian teammate to come in, with the 24-year-old having scored six goals from seven Premiership starts this season.

He has also created 1.1 chances per game as he has been able to offer a big threat in the final third since arriving in the summer. Van Bronckhorst may be tempted to hand him a start on the right wing, particularly after he came off the bench to score against Hearts.

We are predicting that the rest of the team will remain the same, with Allan McGregor, James Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Lundstram, Arfield, Ryan Kent and Morelos keeping their places.

AND in other news, Major blow: Rangers dealt late injury twist that’ll leave Ibrox fans fuming…

Manchester City appear to have won the race for long-term Aston Villa transfer target Julian Alvarez.

That’s according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, and a number of Villa fans have been giving their thoughts to the news on social media.

Villa have been linked with the River Plate attacker since the summer, with the player’s agent Fernando Hidalgo reportedly planning to speak to the Midlands club over a potential move. However, it is Pep Guardiola’s side who look set to announce an €18.5m (£15.43m) transfer for the 21-year-old, who scored 24 goals and registered 18 assists in 2021.

Romano revealed on Tuesday evening that an agreement has been reached with the Premier League champions, and Alvarez will pen a five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium before returning to River Plate on loan until the summer.

Villa fans react

Here is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply to Romano’s post regarding Alvarez, with many of them not exactly thrilled and some thinking it could be a mistake not landing him over the summer.

“Being violently sick right now.”

Credit: @AVFCFaithful_

“Nothing to be said, we bottled it. Now we must get Aaron Hickey in the summer before City do.”

Credit: @ZM_AVFC

“Made a big mistake signing others over him”

Credit: @Jamie_UTV

“I hope it’s because he was never going to sign for us. Otherwise, yeah. Nauseating.”

Credit: @nallivdam

“He won the Ballon D’or for us in my FIFA 21 Villa career. I thought it was a sign when we were linked to him.. clearly not”

Credit: @charliepowellm1

“We had a chance and bottled it.”

Credit: @MogarFinley

In other news: ‘Yessss’ – Many Villa fans buzzing as John Percy shares ‘amazing’ transfer news

Leeds have recently been linked with Nottingham Forest star Brennan Johnson, and his performance against Blackpool this weekend will certainly have caught Victor Orta’s eye.

This forms part of our Transfer Watch series, where we react to a performance from a current transfer target.

The Lowdown: Orta confirms talks

The Whites are keen on signing the Wales international in the summer, with Johnson in no rush to extend his current Forest contract. [Football Insider]

Leeds chief Orta confirmed in the week that he tried to bring Johnson to the club when he was just 16 years of age. He still appears to be on the club’s radar ahead of Jesse Marsch’s first full season in charge and once again starred for Steve Cooper on the weekend.

The Latest: Impressive display

Forest put in an impressive display at Bloomfield Road on Saturday lunchtime, with Johnson the star of the show, scoring twice and registering an assist in a 4-1 win.

He recorded a remarkable SofaScore match rating of 9.1/10 in his 66-minute display and also registered two key passes and completed two dribbles.

Johnson even contributed defensively by making a clearance and an interception as Forest continued their push for a Championship play-off place.

The Verdict: Sign

You’d expect that Johnson’s display would have caught Orta’s eye, and should Forest remain in the second tier, a move for the attacker this summer should be a no brainer.

Johnson has played all across the attacking line this season, contributing to 20 goals in all competitions. His versatility and breakthrough campaign at the City Ground has been impressive, and with Raphinha heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, Johnson could be the next gem signed by Orta.

Leeds’ squad could also do with bolstering even if Raphinha stays, so bringing in Johnson could be an extremely shrewd move, providing Forest fall short in their bid to reach the Premier League.

In other news: Leeds may now lose another star alongside Raphinha and Phillips; he stunned a club employee. 

أكد الغاني مايكل إيسيان نجم تشيلسي الإنجليزي السابق، أن محمد أبو تريكة لاعب الأهلي ومنتخب مصر الأسبق، كان أحد أساطير الكرة الإفريقية، مُشيرًا إلى أنه كان يُفضل أن يختتم مسيرته الكروية في الزمالك.

وقال إيسيان في تصريحات لبرنامج “اللعيب” على قناة “إم بي سي مصر”: “واجهت العديد من اللاعبين المصريين مثل ميدو وأبو تريكة، والأخير واحد من أعظم اللاعبين في تاريخ القارة الإفريقية، ومن الجيد دائمًا مواجهة لاعبين من هذا المستوى، لأنه يُعطي المباريات مذاقًا أفضل”.

وبسؤاله، بعد حصول محمد الشناوي حارس مرمى الأهلي على لقب جائزة أفضل لاعب في إفريقيا، هل لو كان يلعب في أوروبا كان من الممكن أن يحرس مرمى تشيلسي مثل ميندي؟، أجاب: “لا أستطيع قول ذلك، ولكن لو كان يلعب في الخارج الأمور كانت ستصب في صالحه، ولكنه يلعب هنا في واحد من أكبر الأندية بإفريقيا ويؤدي بشكل طيب ويستحق الجائزة التي حصل عليها”.

طالع أيضًا | إيسيان: محمد صلاح لم يتعرض للظلم في سباق الكرة الذهبية.. وهذا أفضل لاعب في تاريخ إفريقيا

وأضاف: “انظروا إلى أبوتريكة، إنه لم يحترف في الخارج ولكنه يبقى واحدًا من أفضل اللاعبين الأفارقة وأحد أساطير كرة القدم”.

وعن الفريق الذي كان من الممكن أن يختاره لإنهاء مسيرته فيه الأهلي أم الزمالك، أجاب نجم تشيلسي السابق: “كل فريق من الفريقين لعب أمام أندية غانية، ولو اخترت سأختار الزمالك، لأنه أول اسم يأتي إلى ذهني لأنني عندما كنت صغيرًا شاهدتهم يلعبون أمام فريق من أفضل فرق غانا”.

واختتم: “أتمنى أن تكون بطولة كأس العالم القادمة مشوقة، وأن تُحقق المنتخبات الإفريقية شيئًا أفضل من النسخ السابقة، وعلينا أن ندعمهم جيدًا، وأتمنى أن يذهب منتخب غانا بعيدًا في هذه البطولة”.

Corey Collymore bagged six wickets as top-of-the-table Sussex sent Leicestershire crashing to defeat by an innings and 19 runs with a day and a half to spare in their County Championship Division Two clash at Grace Road

31-Jul-2010
ScorecardCorey Collymore bagged six wickets as top-of-the-table Sussex sent Leicestershire crashing to defeat by an innings and 19 runs with a day and a half to spare in their County Championship Division Two clash at Grace Road.After a delayed start because of rain Leicestershire lost their last six wickets for 97 runs in 32 overs with West Indian paceman Collymore claiming four of them for 27 runs in 9.1 overs after the lunch break.It gave him figures of 6 for 48, his best return since he joined Sussex in 2008. The only Leicestershire batsman to show any defiance was Jacques du Toit who struck 81 off 83 balls with 13 boundaries. Sussex wasted no time picking up their first wicket once play got underway with Leicestershire resuming on 59 for 4, trailing by 116 runs.Lewis Hatchett had two balls left of an unfinished over to bowl and with the first of them he produced a magnificent inswinger that shattered Tom New’s stumps. But that proved to be the only success of the morning for Sussex. Hatchett lost his line and length and Du Toit and Wayne White cashed in with a succession of boundaries. Du Toit reached 50 off 52 balls and at lunch the sixth wicket pair had put on 56 to take Leicestershire to 115 for 5.But the introduction of Collymore into the attack immediately after the interval slammed the door shut on the home side’s revival. Gaining movement through the air and off the pitch Collymore produced a superb spell of bowling and Leicestershire had no answer. He snapped up the wickets of Du Toit and Claude Henderson in the same over, both batsmen edging away swinging deliveries into the hands of Michael Yardy at first slip.Collymore then had Nadeem Malik dropped twice at slip in the same over before finally trapping him lbw. In between left-arm spinner Monty Panesar nipped in with a wicket as he beat White in the flight to give Ben Brown an easy stumping.The final wicket went to Collymore with Matthew Hoggard caught by Yardy to seal a comfortable victory. The victory earned them 23 points to consolidate their position at the top of the table.

Speaking live on Thursday during Sky Sports’ The Transfer Show, as transcribed by West Ham Zone, Kaveh Solhekol has made a claim involving the Irons and Sevilla defender Diego Carlos.

The Lowdown: West Ham in defender hunt?

Despite summer signing Kurt Zouma edging closer to a return from injury, manager David Moyes and recruitment chief Rob Newman have still been tipped to potentially sign a centre-back this month.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates/” title=”West Ham latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

At one point, it was seen as more of a major priority for the Irons due to Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna’s absences from the squad with names like Burnley’s James Tarkowski and Liverpool Nathaniel Phillips repeatedly linked.

As the January 31 deadline looms, West Ham’s search for a major mid-season signing goes on, with Solhekol now sharing what he knows after speculation arose that the Hammers may be the unnamed London side to match Newcastle United’s bid for Carlos.

The Latest: Solhekol makes live TV claim…

Making on air claim involving West Ham and the 28-year-old, Sky’s reporter has moved quickly to quash any rumours that Moyes’ men are the mystery club.

“I know for a fact it’s not West Ham United,” he said (via WHZ).

“That leaves Chelsea, Spurs, Crystal Palace and I’m not sure Crystal Palace are looking to sign a centre-back or spend £30million on a centre-back.”

The Verdict: No surprise…

The colossal Brazilian, if West Ham had tabled the bid, would arguably excite fans going by his reputation – but the player’s price tag could represent too much of a hurdle for GSB.

Lauded as a ‘beast’ and ‘revelation’ by Spanish football analyst Domagoj Kostanjšak, Carlos has averaged an impressive 3.6 clearances per 90 over his 20 Spanish top flight starts this campaign (WhoScored).

By comparison to West Ham’s current crop, only Zouma has managed more in that time (5.2) – perhaps indicating he would have been an complimentary partner in Moyes’ central defence.

Alas, with the Irons not in contention after all, it appears the Scotsman may have his sights set on other defensive targets, and perhaps ones with a cheaper price tag.

In other news: ExWHUemployee: West Ham agreement to sign ‘world class’ £17.10m striker ‘there to be done’, find out more here.

Taking to Twitter, Sportitalia TV reporter Rudy Galetti has shared his own update on Tottenham Hotspur’s bid to sign Adama Traore as manager Antonio Conte also requests another signing.

The Lowdown: Spurs in Traore talks…

Over these last two weeks, the Lilywhites and transfer chief Fabio Paratici have been in negotiations with Wolves over the transfer of the Spain winger and even attempted a loan deal at one stage (Matt Law).

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They have also had an opening bid of £15m rejected by the Molineux club, but there are strong rumours that an agreement for Traore is edging nearer and nearer.

Reliable reporter Fabrizio Romano claimed that Spurs are ‘increasingly confident’ of signing the 25-year-old, with a fresh bid being prepared after Friday talks (The Guardian).

Meanwhile, coming out with his own promising claim, football.london correspondent Alasdair Gold has said there is a feeling within both clubs that an agreement can be reached before deadline day.

In yet another update, Italian reporter Galetti has shared information from his own sources on social media.

The Latest: Conte ‘requests’ another signing…

According to the journalist on Twitter, Traore is indeed ‘close to Tottenham’ as super agent Jorge Mendes attempts to wrap up a deal ‘in the next hours’.

Amid this development, Galetti believes that Conte has also ‘requested’ another signing in the form of a midfielder before January 31.

The journalist tweeted: “Adama Traore is close to Tottenham for about £20m. Jorge Mendes is trying to close the deal in the next hours. Conte has requested also a midfielder: hot days in London.”

The Verdict: Exciting times…

As the winter window cut-off looms in just over a week’s time, Tottenham fans can be encouraged by this update alongside a plethora of other reliable reports.

It appears that Traore’s arrival at N17 is looking like a strong possibility, and Conte’s refusal to give up comes as another bit of good news.

In terms of the midfielder that he and Paratici could target, they remain heavily linked with a move for AC Milan star Franck Kessie, and it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that Spurs may go for him after wrapping up a deal for Traore.

The Ivory Coast international’s San Siro contract expires at the end of the season, putting pressure on the Rossoneri to sell for a cut-price fee this month or risk losing him for nothing later in 2022.

This could play right into Tottenham’s hands, so Paratici could be set for a busy end to the month.

In other news: Spurs reportedly ‘edging closer’ to signing ‘massive’ £15m defender, find out more here.

MatériaMais Notícias

Sem falar com a imprensa brasileira desde maio do ano passado, por ter ficado chateado com uma matéria da TV Globo que mostrou um erro de domínio, o atacante Romero quebrou o silêncio no Corinthians após a derrota por 1 a 0 para a Ponte Preta. Na acanhada zona mista do Pacaembu, o paraguaio disse que comentará depois sobre os motivos de ter se calado durante quase um ano e analisou o primeiro jogo oficial do Timão em 2018.

– Vou falar no momento indicado sobre isso. Quanto ao jogo, foi difícil e complicado, mas sabíamos que seria assim. Ainda não estamos 100%, e parabéns ao time da Ponte. Com dez jogadores, eles “fecharam a casinha” e fizeram o gol – disse Romero.

Antes de voltar a falar com a imprensa, Romero pediu conselhos a seu compatriota Balbuena, que disse achar “besteira” ficar calado. O zagueiro deixou o vestiário logo após o atacante passar e até brincou ao comentar a situação.

– Ele me perguntou o que eu achava, e eu falei: “vai de você, acho besteira não falar, não vejo a graça de não falar, mas é questão sua”. Também não me meti muito, é o pensamento, mas que bom para vocês que ele já está falando – brincou Balbuena.

Um dos xodós da torcida, Romero ficou marcado em 2017 pela comemoração com uma selfie após marcar contra o Palmeiras, na Arena Corinthians. A imagem viralizou nas redes sociais e estampou o pôster do LANCE! do título brasileiro. Agora, o paraguaio planeja outra comemoração marcante.

– Vamos ver, vamos ver, tem de ser um jogo especial como foi contra o Palmeiras. Vamos ver se vamos tentar fazer outra coisa – afirmou.

Romero ainda falou sobre a concorrência e o novo esquema utilizado neste início de temporada. Veja abaixo:

Mesmo com os reforços, você se mantém como titular. Como vê isso?
Tento fazer meu trabalho e meu melhor em cada jogo e treino, e quem decide é o Carille. Ano passado, graças a Deus, fui titular na maior parte, e agradeço a confiança. Mas agora é um ano diferente, todo mundo quer jogar e quem estiver melhor vai jogar.

É mais desgastante esse novo esquema?
É normal que a gente iria sentir no primeiro jogo. O Carille falou que nessa posição fica muito desgastado no segundo tempo, é normal. Vamos ficar no melhor momento, porque ainda não estamos fisicamente bem. Vamos buscar fazer o trabalho do ano passado, voltar na marcação e ajudar o time a fazer gol também.

Já fez a função de “falso 9”. Pode fazer novamente?
Acho que o Carille está me vendo mais como um jogador de ponte. Já joguei aqui como centroavante, mas acho que o Carille me vê mais na ponta. Vou disputar a vaga com Clayson, Marquinhos e Lucca, que jogam nas beiradas. Vou fazer meu trabalho e espero que seja como no ano passado ou melhor.

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Tudo sobre

CorinthiansRomero

Pakistan fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has said he is ready to meet the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt to “clear things out” with regard to the one-year ban slapped on him by the board. Naved-ul-Hasan’s appeal hearing was postponed until June 26 and in the meantime he was asked to approach the PCB and request it to reconsider his punishment.”I am ready to meet the PCB chief to clear things out,” Naved told “I will respond to the PCB call immediately but so far I haven’t received any word since my hearing was adjourned on Saturday.”Naved-ul-Hasan, along with several of his team-mates, was punished by the PCB following the tour of Australia in 2009-10. He was banned for one year and slapped with a Rs 2 million fine. All the punished players, barring Naved-ul-Hasan, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, met the PCB and had their bans revoked, and fines lifted or reduced. Yousuf did not file an appeal against his ban because he had retired from international cricket.Younis’ situation, however, is unclear. His ban was reversed by the PCB but he was not selected in the Twenty20 or Test squads for the tour to England, which begins later this month. “As per order by Irfan Qadir [the arbitrator], we will send another showcause notice to Younus in a couple of days,” PCB lawyer Talib Rizvi said.Over the last couple of weeks the sense has emerged that the board will not let Younis back in unless he apologises for what they deem to be his mistakes, as the other returnees have done. Butt said last week that Younis’s return would require clearance from the board, an issue that wasn’t deemed to be an issue at all with Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers.

Arshad Ali’s fourth first-class century cemented United Arab Emirate’s dominant position on the second day in Hamilton, his 126 taking allowing captain Khurram Khan to declare at 356 for 6

Cricinfo staff07-Jul-2010
Scorecard
Bermuda put up a far better effort in their second innings but still went down to a nine-wicket defeat against UAE with a day to spare as the visitors jumped to the top of the Intercontinental Shield table. David Hemp, the former Glamorgan and Warwickshire batsman, top-scored with 84 to lift his team to 332 but there was never going to be anyway back for the home side after their earlier demise for 56.Chris Foggo (60) and Steve Outerbridge (62) resumed their overnight stand at 107 for 1 and both reached their half centuries in a partnership that spanned 44 overs. However, neither could covert into the big score Bermuda really needed; first Foggo fell to Qasim Zubair then Outerbridge departed after 155 balls.However, at least Bermuda didn’t fold in a heap. Hemp added 98 for the fourth wicket with Irving Romaine (48) to eat into UAE’s lead. Romaine twice cleared the boundary during his innings, but fell short of his fifty when he was stumped off Ahmed Raza, the left-arm spinner, who toiled through 35.3 overs for impressive figures of 4 for 55.Once the stand had been broken the innings fell away against Raza and Khurram Khan. When Hemp was seventh out it was clear UAE wouldn’t face much of a run chase and in the end they needed 33. Despite Abdul Rehman’s run out they cruised home in under nine overs and Bermuda remain pointless in the competition.

United Arab Emirates 3 2 0 0 1 0 37 1.514 1642/42 1446/56 Uganda 2 1 0 0 1 0 29 1.052 682/29 872/39 Namibia 2 1 1 0 0 0 26 1.520 1189/28 1006/36 Bermuda 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0.393 1015/60 1204/28