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Despite some nervy moments, Manchester United managed to hold on against Chelsea last weekend to win 2-1 at Old Trafford. The Red Devils secured the three points thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, despite a late Trevoh Chalobah header.

Despite playing against 10 men for much of the first half after Robert Sanchez’s early red card, Ruben Amorim’s side also had a man sent off. Casemiro was dismissed late in the first 45 minutes for a second bookable offence. It means that the experienced Brazilian will miss their Saturday lunchtime trip to the capital to face Brentford.

Amorim certainly has options as to who could replace Casemiro in the lineup, however.

The options to replace Casemiro?

Losing Casemiro in the centre of midfield is a huge blow for the Red Devils. However, it does give Amorim the chance to test the depth of his squad and allows another player to stake a claim and start more often.

It is incredibly puzzling that Kobbie Mainoo is unable to get into the starting lineup at Old Trafford. He burst onto the scene and is a sensational talent, but can’t get into the team under Amorim. Ex-United midfielder Owen Hargreaves said after the Manchester Derby loss, “I’ll never know” how he doesn’t get into United’s XI.

Mainoo is yet to start in the Premier League, and has played just 174 minutes across all competitions, despite performing strongly when given the chance.

Against City, he completed 100% of his passes, won 100% of both his duels and tackles, and created two chances.

If Amorim does choose to keep Mainoo out of the side, then Manuel Ugarte is another option. The Uruguay midfielder has struggled in that famous Red shirt of United, and has never managed to lock down a permanent starting spot under Amorim.

The former Paris Saint-Germain man perhaps lacks the on-ball quality needed in that pivot under Amorim. Last season in the Premier League, he averaged just 39 completed open play passes and lost the ball an average of 9.1 times per 90 minutes.

If Amorim continues to stubbornly overlook Mainoo, or deems Ugarte not the right profile for the trip to Brentford, there is another option he could go with.

United’s alternative to Casemiro

So, the obvious choice would surely be to pick Mainoo, or Ugarte if Amoirm decides against selecting the youngster again. But he does have another player in his squad who could be the ideal alternative to Casemiro.

Although he has operated as a number ten this season, Mason Mount could be ideal for the pivot next to Fernandes. Firstly, the pair played next to each other in that role earlier this season, away to Fulham.

Mount, with major injury issues now hopefully a thing of the past, has been a vital cog in the works for the Red Devils in 2025/26.

The 26-year-old has played five games across all competitions and has one assist in that time, against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.

In terms of what he can offer United, playing in a deeper role, he obviously brings lots of quality on the ball. This season, he’s created 2.3 chances on average per 90 minutes.

Off the ball, he’s also impressed, winning five duels and making 4.1 ball recoveries.

Mount – 25/26 PL so far

Stat

Per 90 mins

Total

Forward passes

8.6

19

Chances created

2.3

5

Through balls

1.4

3

Duels won

5

11

Ball recoveries

4.1

9

Stats from Squawka

Statman Dave said Mount is a “pressing monster”, and it is the out-of-possession energy the England star can bring that could mean Amorim selects him in the pivot. He’s no slouch on the ball either, with two of his four United goals to date having come against the Bees.

With Mount’s ability to press high from midfield and spring attacks from deep, it could be a shrewd selection from the Portuguese boss if he wants to add quality on the ball in midfield.

It would certainly be a bold call away to a physical Brentford team, but one that could be a good decision.

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Posts ByRobbie Walls Sep 23, 2025

Shubman Gill hailed Gujarat Titans’ bowling riches after the win over Sunrisers Hyderabad

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-20252:11

‘Prasidh is from the Hazlewood school of fast bowling’

With 19 wickets, Prasidh Krishna has already matched his best tally in an IPL season. This year, it’s taken him just ten matches to match his entire haul for 2022. No surprise that the Gujarat Titans (GT) fast bowler feels this is his best IPL campaign yet.”I think my control over the length has been good and all the work that we’ve been putting in as a team and everybody around has been supportive enough for me to get to where I am now. And yeah, I’m enjoying the way the ball is coming out of the hand,” Prasidh said on the broadcast after GT beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday to get to No. 2 on the IPL 2025 points table.Against SRH, Prasidh returned 2 for 19 from his four overs, while the best economy rate among other bowlers, who bowled two overs or more, was 8.25 [Mohammed Siraj]. He has, in fact, been economical all along, going at 7.48 so far, his best in a season.Related

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“My preparation would start firstly by getting control over what I want to do, get back into the practice, get back in the nets, do exactly what I would do against somebody that I’d be facing in a particular game and then from there, get on game day, look at what the pitch is like,” Prasidh said. “If you’re bowling second, make sure you watch every single ball of the 20 overs somebody else bowls, take all that you can from them.”And I have a lot of people around me that have played a tremendous amount of cricket. So just have a chat with them, try and make sure you hit the right areas and take it from there.”GT captain Shubman Gill said it was good to be spoilt for choice when it came to their bowling attack. They used seven bowlers on Friday, although R Sai Kishore only bowled because Ishant Sharma went off the field injured while bowling the 20th over, as GT registered a 38-run win.The match also saw Gerald Coetzee debut for the team after recovering from an injury, and he returned 1 for 36.”Everyone is chipping in be it Sai, Prasidh, Rashid [Khan], Siraj, Ishi [Ishant], even Coetzee in this game,” Gill said. “It’s always nice to have many options when you are bowling especially when you’re defending on these type of grounds.”

That total was built on the back of a blazing opening stand, while the rest of the batters ensured MI maintained their momentum through the innings

Karthik Krishnaswamy30-May-2025

Mumbai Indians have a 17-0 record while defending 200-plus totals in the IPL. They have set Gujarat Titans a target of 229 in the Eliminator, after posting the second-highest total in any IPL playoff game.That total was built on the back of a blazing stand of 84 between a new opening pair. Jonny Bairstow, replacing Ryan Rickelton who has left on international duty, smashed a 22-ball 47 on his debut for his third IPL team. Rohit Sharma, dropped twice in the first three overs of the match, went on to score 81 off 50 balls.The middle order built on these efforts with panache, with Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya hitting three sixes each to ensure MI maintained their momentum right through the innings. They hit 17 sixes in all, the joint third-most in any innings in IPL 2025.Related

Mumbai Indians' turnaround decoded: death overs tamed, middle overs mastered

No more second chances for Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans

MI chose to bat a day after Punjab Kings, sent in, had been bowled out for 101 at the same venue. This was a different pitch, however, with even bounce and none of the seam movement of Qualifier 1.GT, however, could have had MI in trouble early, only for Gerald Coetzee and Kusal Mendis to put Rohit down on 3 and 12. Within minutes GT were firmly on the back foot, with Bairstow tonking Prasidh Krishna for 26 runs – though two of his boundaries came off the edge – in the fourth over.Bairstow fell in the eighth over, but MI kept punching. Rohit’s use of the sweep against GT’s spinners was particularly noteworthy, bringing him 27 runs – the most he’s scored with variants of the sweep against spin in any IPL innings for which shot data is available – off just six balls.He slowed down after reaching his half-century, only scoring 31 off his last 22 balls, but the rest of MI’s batters ensured there would be no let up in the scoring rate, and Hardik finished things off with three sixes off Coetzee in the final over.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras segue investindo na manutenção de suas principais joias na base. Dessa vez o clube renovou o contrato com o centroavante Daniel, do sub-20. Aos 19 anos e bicampeão da Copinha pelo clube, ele assinou a ampliação de seu vínculo até julho de 2025.

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Anteriormente, o atacante tinha contrato até 2024, que era referente ao seu primeiro como profissional, firmado em 2021. Como o Alviverde aposta no desenvolvimento de seus atletas e vê perspectivas futuras com eles, decidiu prorrogar essa permanência.

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Daniel é um dos principais artilheiros da base palmeirense. Neste ano, por exemplo, sua média é de um gol a cada dois jogos (13 gols em 24 partidas). Em 2022, a média foi parecida, com nove bolas na rede em 22 duelos. Em 2021, porém, quando ainda atuava pelo sub-17, o índice foi maior: 22 gols em 26 jogos.

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Para completar, o centroavante acumula mais de dez convocações para seleções de base. Em 2019, ele foi campeão do Sul-Americano sub-15, quando ainda defendia o Desportivo Brasil, que o emprestou ao Alviverde. Sua aquisição em definitivo ocorreu em 2021.

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No dia 7 de setembro, Daniel e seus companheiros de sub-20 do Palmeiras enfrentarão o Flamengo pela final do Brasileirão da categoria. A partida acontece no Estádio Raulino de Oliveira, em Volta Redonda, e tem mando carioca por ter a melhor campanha. O Verdão é o atual campeão do torneio nacional.

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Palmeiras

تتواصل المتعة الكروية اليوم الثلاثاء الموافق 28-10-2025 بعدد من المواجهات القوية على مختلف المستويات، حيث تُقام مباريات مثيرة في كأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين، إلى جانب مواجهات مرتقبة في الدوري الإيطالي وكأس كاراباو الإنجليزي.

في السعودية، يترقّب الجمهور مباريات دور الـ16 من كأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين، حيث يسعى الكبار إلى مواصلة مشوارهم نحو اللقب الغالي، وسط منافسات لا تخلو من المفاجآت بين فرق دوري روشن والأندية الصاعدة حديثًا.

أما في إيطاليا، فتتجه الأنظار نحو مواجهة مثيرة في الجولة التاسعة من الدوري الإيطالي، عندما يلتقي أتالانتا مع ميلان في صدام ناري بين الطموح والخبرة، بينما يحلّ نابولي ضيفًا ثقيلًا على ليتشي في محاولة لاستعادة نغمة الانتصارات.

وفي إنجلترا، تُقام مباريات دور الـ16 من كأس كاراباو التي تشهد ظهور عدد من أندية البريميرليج أمام خصوم من الدرجات الأدنى، حيث تسعى الفرق الكبرى لتفادي المفاجآت المعتادة في هذه البطولة التي لا تعترف بالأسماء.

وعلى مستوى منافسات كرة اليد، يستعد منتخب مصر للناشئين، لخوض مباراة قوية أمام منافسه المغرب، في كأس العالم، حيث يلعب الفراعنة الصغار في مجموعة تصم أيضًا البرازيل وأمريكا.

طالع أيضًا | بعد ابتسامة خجولة.. ميسي يكشف اللاعب الأعظم في تاريخ كرة القدم مواعيد مباريات اليوم الثلاثاء 28-10-2025 والقنوات الناقلةمواعيد مباريات كأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين اليوم

القادسية ضد الحزم، الساعة 5:35 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “ثمانية 1”.

الشباب ضد الزلفي، الساعة 5:50 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “ثمانية 1”.

الأخدود ضد الهلال، الساعة 6:10 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “ثمانية 1”.

النصر ضد الاتحاد، الساعة 9:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “ثمانية 1”. مواعيد مباريات الدوري الإيطالي اليوم

ليتشي ضد نابولي، الساعة 8:30 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر تطبيق “Starz Play”.

أتالانتا ضد ميلان، الساعة 10:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر تطبيق “Starz Play”. مواعيد مباريات كأس كاراباو (دور الـ16) اليوم

جريمسبي تاون ضد برينتفورد، الساعة 10:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “بي إن سبورت 2 HD”.

ويكمب واندرز ضد فولهام، الساعة 10:45 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “بي إن سبورت 3 HD”.

ريكسهام ضد كارديف سيتي، الساعة 11:00 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “بي إن سبورت 1 HD”. موعد مباراة مصر والمغرب في كأس العالم لكرة اليد اليوم تحت 17 عامًا اليوم

مصر ضد المغرب، الساعة 10:55 مساءً بتوقيت مصر والسعودية، وتُذاع عبر قناة “on sport 1”.

ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث مباريات اليوم لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنــــا

While they’ve made their fair share of dud signings over the years, Chelsea have now got a squad full of brilliant talents.

The likes of Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernández, Levi Colwill, and Joao Pedro could be key reasons the club go on to win the biggest honours in European football over the coming years.

However, while they have brought in some brilliant players in the last few years, the club does have a record of letting some genuinely world-class talents leave for next to nothing.

That is what they did with an incredibly dangerous forward who is currently on fire in Europe and even outscoring Pedro.

Superstars Chelsea let go too soon

When talking about the best players that Chelsea let leave far too early in their careers and for far too little money, it is impossible not to bring up a certain Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian international joined the Blues from FC Basel in January 2014, but after failing to impress in West London, he was sent out on loan to Fiorentina a year later. He then spent a year at AS Roma before joining the Italian side on a permanent deal the following summer.

Just a year and a campaign in which he racked up 33 goal involvements in 41 games later, Liverpool swooped in and since then, the 33 has played 410 games for the Reds, in which he’s scored 248 goals, provided 116 assists and won practically all there is to win in the club game.

Another blunder that was arguably just as bad involves another serial winner, Kevin De Bruyne.

The midfield maestro joined the club from Genk in January 2012, but remained with the Belgian outfit for the rest of the campaign, and was then sent to Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen the following season.

The Drongen-born legend finally made his competitive debut for the Blues at the start of the 13/14 campaign, but with game time limited, he was eventually sold to VfL Wolfsburg in January.

It was with the German side that the 34-year-old really started to show people what he could do, and after producing a staggering 44 goal involvements in 51 appearances in the 14/15 season, he moved to Manchester City.

During his time at the Etihad, the legendary midfielder made 422 appearances, scored 108 goals, provided 177 assists, won six Premier Leagues, one Champions League and a mountain of other cups.

In all, it would be fair to say Chelsea got it very wrong selling Salah and De Bruyne, and while the pair are the worst example of the club moving on players too soon, there is now another former Blue who is looking incredible this season.

The former Chelsea player outscoring Pedro

While everyone brings up Salah and De Bruyne as examples of Chelsea getting rid of players too soon, few say the same about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.

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After all, the former Arsenal captain was pretty awful the season he spent at Stamford Bridge, scoring just three goals and providing one assist in 21 appearances before leaving to join Marseille for free with a year still left on his Blues contract.

However, while his reputation in West London isn’t great, the Gabonese goalscorer rediscovered his form as soon as he left.

For example, in a single campaign in the South of France, the 36-year-old star scored 30 goals and provided 11 assists in 51 appearances, but instead of staying on, he made a big-money move to the Saudi Pro League.

Unsurprisingly, the “world-class” striker, as dubbed by Behdad Eghbali, continued to be a lethal goal threat in the Middle Eastern state, racking up an impressive tally of 24 goal involvements in 36 games for Al-Qadsiah.

However, he once again left after just a single campaign, once again returning to the Stade Vélodrome this summer.

Impressively, the veteran forward still seems to be as deadly in front of the goal as he ever has been, and in just seven appearances, has already scored four goals and provided three assists – more than justifying the claim from Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley that he is “one of the best finishers of the last 15 years.”

Aubameyang vs Pedro in 25/26

Season

Aubameyang

Pedro

Appearances

7

8

Minutes

427′

631′

Goals

4

2

Assists

3

3

Goal Involvements per Match

1

0.62

Minutes per Goal Involvement

61′

126.2

All Stats via Transfermarkt

For comparison’s sake, Maresca’s new forward, Pedro, has also had a bright start to the season, but has only scored two goals and provided three assists in eight appearances.

Ultimately, hindsight is 20-20, but perhaps Chelsea should have persevered with Aubameyang and kept him on for another year as, since leaving the club, he’s been scoring for fun.

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Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 3, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

O São Paulo demonstrou interesse por mais um jogador do Flamengo. Desta vez, Thiago Maia entrou na mira do Tricolor. O Lance! apurou que existiu uma sondagem e um contato com os empresários do jogador.

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Entretanto, ainda não houve apresentação de proposta. Um dos pontos que explica o interesse são-paulino é a boa relação do volante com Dorival Júnior. Além do treinador gostar muito do atleta, Thiago Maia era titular absoluto quando o técnico tricolor comandava o Rubro-Negro.

+ Garanta a sua vaga no curso que formou craques como Pet, Dante e Léo Moura! Cupom: LANCE1000

Thiago Maia seria mais uma opção para o meio-campo do time, posição “inchada” no elenco do Tricolor. O setor conta com fortes nomes, como Rodrigo Nestor, Pablo Maia, Alisson e Gabriel Neves, além de Luan e Jhegson Méndez.

NÃO É O PRIMEIRO

Desde a conquista da Copa do Brasil contra o Rubro-Negro, o São Paulo demonstrou interesse em mais dois jogadores do rival: Bruno Henrique e Everton Ribeiro.

+ É CAMPEÃO! Compre agora a camisa que entrou para a história do Tricolor com o cupom LANCEFUT.

Sobre Bruno Henrique, o Tricolor está com o atleta no radar. O jogador também trabalhou com Dorival Júnior durante a passagem do técnico na equipe carioca, mas não existem propostas oficiais por enquanto. O atacante deve retomar em breve as conversas de renovação com o Flamengo, que haviam sido paralisadas pelas finais da Copa do Brasil.

Quanto a Everton Ribeiro, a situação é parecida. Ele também está sendo monitorado, mas até então não recebeu propostas. Seu contrato, assim como do companheiro, se encerra no final do ano. Thiago Maia, por sua vez, tem contrato até 2026.

IZABELLA GIANNOLA* colaborou sobre o supervisão de Rafael Oliva

يستعد منتخب الإمارات تحت 17 عامًا، لمواجهة كرواتيا اليوم الخميس، ضمن منافسات كأس العالم للناشئين المقام في قطر.

ويلتقي منتخب الإمارات مع نظيره كرواتيا، في مجمع أسباير بمدينة الريان، على الملعب رقم 4 “ملعب خالد سلمان” ضمن الجولة الثانية من منافسات المجموعة الثالثة في كأس العالم تحت 17 سنة قطر 2025.

وكان منتخب الإمارات قد بدأ مشواره في البطولة بالتعادل الإيجابي 1-1 أمام كوستاريكا في الجولة الأولى.

طالع.. ترتيب مجموعة السعودية في كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا بعد الخسارة أمام النمسا

وفي الجولة ذاتها، تعادل منتخب كرواتيا مع السنغال بدون أهداف، ليحتل منتخب الإمارات مع كوستاريكا صدارة ترتيب المجموعة برصيد نقطة لكل منهما، وبفارق الأهداف عن كرواتيا والسنغال.

ويأمل منتخب الإمارات في تحقيق الفوز الأول له في البطولة لتعزيز حظوظه في التأهل إلى دور الـ16، مستندًا إلى جاهزية لاعبيه الفنية. موعد مباراة الإمارات وكرواتيا في كأس العالم للناشئين

وتقام مباراة الإمارات وكرواتيا في كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا في تمام الخامسة والربع مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة والسابعة والربع مساءً بتوقيت الإمارات العربية المتحدة. القناة الناقلة لمباراة الإمارات وكرواتيا في كأس العالم للناشئين

ومن المقرر أن تنقل قنوات بي إن سبورتس المفتوحة المباراة.

ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث مباريات اليوم لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنـــا

“You can’t win a Test match without taking 20 wickets, no matter how many runs you have scored, so that has been one of our key discussion points”

Sidharth Monga19-Jun-20253:18

Gill: ‘Can’t win a Test without taking 20 wickets’

Expect India to stop hedging bets as they did in Australia. India’s new captain Shubman Gill said on the eve of the start of the series at Headingley that he was prepared to play even four tailenders in pursuit of 20 wickets as quickly as possible.”Yes, definitely.” Gill said in response to the question. “You can’t win a Test match without taking 20 wickets, no matter how many runs you have scored. So, that has been one of our key discussion points, you know, how we’re gonna take 20 wickets. And there might be a case, you know, where we could only be going with some pure batters and you could see a bowling allrounder and three to four premier fast bowlers or proper bowlers.”The series in Australia was a departure from India’s philosophy of playing Test cricket in recent times. They played with only three full-time quicks through the series. The pitches negated the spinner, and the fifth bowler was either Nitish Kumar Reddy or his combination with Washington Sundar. In the absence of Shardul Thakur, who might be the bowling allrounder Gill spoke of, India seemed worried about the depth in their batting.Related

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The Border-Gavaskar Trophy was also a series with two different captains, and consequently perhaps no clear direction. Now Gill takes over as full-time captain, and at least in the press conference, he has spelled out a philosophy consistent with the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri and Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid teams.There are two stages that this philosophy can get tested in. The first one will arrive as early as the toss when India name the XI. They are going to take a final call on the morning of the match to decide the final one or two places. The main fast bowlers didn’t bowl in the nets on the eve of the Test. Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav were the only bowlers that turned up while most of the batters got one final hit in.The second stage that the philosophy will get tested is if they lose a Test. That is when it will be important to keep backing the method that has tended to put them in the most competitive space in the last seven years or so in England, Australia and South Africa. If, say, India play Shardul as the fourth quick and it doesn’t work either because England take him down or because India add few runs down the order, the response will be telling.Gill, of course, will be gunning to make it work. It will mean extra responsibility on the batters, but it also indirectly means that they have put up or chase fewer runs. Runs is the other thing that Gill will want as soon as possible in his captaincy stint. He has got the selectors’ backing, he has had time to have chats about Test captaincy with both Kohli and Rohit during the IPL, but there might be a little pressure on him given he hasn’t replicated overseas the kind of efficiency he displayed in his debut series in Australia in 2020-21.Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur are all smiles during a training session•PA Images via Getty Images

That is something Gill wants to set right in this series. And his goals are not modest. “Honestly, when I want to go out there and bat, I just want to play as a batsman, not really want to think that I’m the captain of the team because I think that sometimes puts too much pressure on you,” Gill said. “Whenever I’m going out there, I want to play as a batsman and want to want to dominate the opposition and be the best batsman in the series, and that’s what I’m trying to look at.”Being a captain does bring more attention on you from the opposition. You become the No. 1 target. Gill is not fazed by that. “I mean, whenever I’m playing, I always think the opposition is trying to challenge me,” Gill said. “I mean all the players, you know, that they think are key. So I don’t think it’s going to be any different.”Gill has captained India in Under-19 cricket and his IPL side, but Test cricket is the “biggest honour”. The answer is no surprise but Gill summed up the importance of doing well in Test cricket when asked if winning the IPL, which he has actually done once, is bigger or wining a five-Test series in England is.”Definitely the Test series, in my opinion,” Gill said. “You don’t get many opportunities as a captain to be able to come to England, maybe two; if you are the best of your generation, maybe three. And IPL comes every year, and you get to have a crack at it every year. So in my opinion, winning a Test series in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa is bigger.”

Celtic and Brendan Rodgers have been made to sweat over two injury concerns midway through the October international break.

Chris Sutton accuses Celtic stars of "hiding"

Despite their Champions League failure, it looked as though Celtic were still likely to be in full control of their title ambitions in the early stages of the campaign. As of late, however, that has not proved to be the case. As Rodgers’ future continues to come into question, the Bhoys’ form has dropped, and they now sit two points behind shock leaders Hearts.

It’s not been the start that those at Celtic Park were anticipating and former striker Chris Sutton has now taken aim.

Speaking in his column for Daily Record, the ex-Celtic star said: “As far as I am concerned, McGregor is struggling a wee bit because of what’s going on around him. He’s simply on a different level to any other player in the current Celtic team.

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“It’s just I think there are players in the team currently who are hiding, and that kills the flow. I look at the likes of Reo Hatate. He’s been a shadow of the player we’ve seen at Celtic in recent years.

“Everyone goes through peaks and troughs and Hatate has always been one who could throw in the occasional poor game. But right now he just looks miles off it. We’re not seeing the runs into the box down the left channel, the moments of magic have been few and far between.”

Sutton didn’t hold back and the task that Celtic and Hatate now have is proving him wrong after the international break. It’s then that Rodgers’ side could also be forced to find form without two stars, however, following the latest injury news.

Maeda & Tounekti hand Celtic fresh injury concerns

As relayed by BBC Sport, both Daizen Maeda and Sebastian Tounekti have handed Celtic fresh injury concerns. The former was missing from Japan’s 2-2 draw against Paraguay whilst Tounekti missed Tunisia’s 6-0 victory over Sao Tome, but both have been assessed and are expected to be available after the international break.

Maeda’s suspected foot injury has not been deemed serious, and he could feature in Japan’s game against Brazil on Monday. The same can also be said for Tounekti, whose thigh issue should not rule him out of his country’s clash against Nambia next week.

The latest news will come as a major relief for Celtic, who could especially do with Maeda’s full availability as he looks to get back to full form. The winger has so far scored just three goals in 13 games in all competitions after netting as many as 33 in the last campaign. It’s been a major drop-off and a large part of Celtic’s disappointing form.

Ensuring that he gets back fully fit from international duty should be seen as a priority for all parties. The 27-year-old remains one of the most talented players at Celtic Park and must now get back to that level.