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Giovani van Bronckhorst’s Glasgow Rangers side have the chance to secure a place in the final of the Scottish Cup this afternoon, with Celtic being the only thing standing between the Ibrox side and a spot in the last two.

The Gers head into today’s clash full of confidence after beating Braga 3-1 on Thursday at Ibrox to make it through to the semi-finals of the Europa League.

However, having played 120 minutes of football in order to do so, this could put Van Bronckhorst’s outfit at a disadvantage in terms of the fitness and freshness of his players, especially given how Celtic haven’t played since last weekend.

The Hoops’ previous outing saw them beat St. Johnstone 7-0 in the Scottish Premiership, meaning that they too will be heading into this afternoon’s clash full of confidence.

In terms of what the Dutchman’s starting XI could look like on this occasion, here’s how we feel Rangers could line up to take on their Old Firm rivals.

Predicted XI

In goal, having featured in all three of Rangers’ previous Scottish Cup games this season, we think Van Bronckhorst will stay loyal to Jon McLaughlin and keep him in the team to try and prevent Celtic from scoring.

For the back four, it seems likely that club captain James Tavernier will lead his team from the right-back position once again, with Connor Goldson next to him at centre-back.

Having admitted to suffering from cramp in midweek, rather than a serious injury, Borna Barisic is our pick to start at left-back.

Then, for the final centre-back spot, we predict that Van Bronckhorst will take out Calvin Bassey, who had been described as looking “exhausted” on international duty last month, while bringing in Rangers’ “superhuman” Leon Balogun – in the words of journalist Paul Kendrick – in his place.

Moving onto the midfield, we can see the Rangers boss making another big change, this time with Ryan Jack dropping out and being replaced by Glen Kamara, in order to give his side a bit more defensive solidity, while John Lundstram retains his starting berth.

Then, we think the trio of Aaron Ramsey, Joe Aribo and Ryan Kent will line up once again after starting in midweek.

Finally, with Alfredo Morelos out injured for the rest of the season, it seems likely that Kemar Roofe will again lead the line to try and fire the Gers to the Scottish Cup final.

Rangers team to face Celtic: McLaughlin (GK), Barisic (LB), Balogun (CB), Goldson (CB), Tavernier (RB), Lundstram (CM), Kamara (CM), Kent (LW), Aribo (CAM), Ramsey (RW), Roofe (CF)

AND in other news: Rangers handed huge boost as early Old Firm team news emerges, it’s great news for GvB 

Kent face an uphill battle on the final day of their County Championship clash with Lancashire at Canterbury

20-Aug-2010
ScorecardKent face an uphill battle on the final day of their County Championship clash with Lancashire at Canterbury. The hosts need a further 255 runs to record a victory, with eight second wickets standing, after closing today on 84 for 2.After finally dismissing Lancashire for 321 in their second innings, Kent set off after tea in pursuit of an unlikely target of 339 with four sessions of the game remaining. However, their victory hopes were hit by the loss of both opening batsmen in today’s final throws. With 38 on the board Joe Denly (12) was squared up and skittled by an excellent delivery from Glen Chapple. Then, having posted 30, home captain Rob Key dragged his back foot when pushing defensively at Gary Keedy and was stumped by Luke Sutton.The first two sessions of the third day had belonged pretty much exclusively to Lancashire’s overseas star and former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul whose 120 – the only century of the match – proved the difference between the sides. Fresh from a golden duck in the first innings, Chanderpaul reached a patient 50 from 113 balls and churned on for almost five hours before recording his first ever century against Kent.Resuming on their overnight score of 103 for 3, Lancashire’s only casualty of the morning session came after nine overs when Steven Croft (43) aimed an ambitious cut at Simon Cook and was caught behind. Kent skipper Key rang the bowling changes but with little success as Chanderpaul and Gareth Cross added 89 in 29 overs for the fifth wicket.The stand ended 10 overs after lunch when Cross, two deliveries after posting his 92-ball half-century, drove over a delivery from Matt Coles and lost middle and off stumps. Lancashire’s resistance crumbled thereafter as Coles had Sutton caught at third slip for nine, then Chapple ran past a James Tredwell ball and was stumped by Geraint Jones.Averaging 12.8 against the hosts coming into this game, Chanderpaul reached three figures by pulling a short ball from Coles to the ropes at deep midwicket – prompting Kent to take the second new ball.It paid dividends for them when Chanderpaul, pushing defensively inside the line of a Cook off-cutter, went leg before to end his 234-ball vigil. Three balls later Cook, who finished with impressive figures of four for 62, yorked Kyle Hogg for a duck, then last man Keedy holed out off a slog sweep against Tredwell to leave Kent facing a tough four-session pursuit.

Southampton have been virtually dormant when it comes to spending money on bringing new players to the club during the January transfer window.

With deadline day approaching, the Saints and their new owner Dragan Solak are risking the possibility of not strengthening Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad and giving the team the best chance of ending their latest season in the Premier League as high up the table as possible.

Taking this into account, one deal that the club could look to complete before the window shuts is one for Fulham’s attacking midfielder Fabio Carvalho, with whom the Saints have been linked in the past and continue to be linked in recent days.

As a product of Fulham’s youth system, the 19-year-old – who has been labelled a “very exciting talent” by Kevin Phillips – has racked up 106 appearances across their under-18, under-23 and senior teams across all competitions, scoring 41 goals and providing 22 assists along the way.

With 17 league appearances under his belt for Marco Silva’s team this season, the teenager has scored seven goals and provided three assists, with three goals and two assists in his three previous starts for the club. This highlights how important he is to the west Londoners and why they may be reluctant to sell him at this stage of the season.

The 19-year-old’s performances have also been rather eye-catching, with WhoScored listing him as Fulham’s fifth-highest rated player with an overall rating of 7.24/10. That would comfortably make him Southampton’s highest-rated player by the same metric.

Even though Fulham are looking very likely to win promotion back to the Premier League at the end of the season, Southampton could offer Carvalho a shortcut to the top flight this month to see if he’d be tempted to try his hand at a new club in no real danger of being relegated and where he might get regular game-time.

Also, with the £3.15m-rated youngster’s current contract at Craven Cottage set to expire in the summer, selling him this month for a fee could be a better option for Fulham from a financial point of view rather than risking him leaving as a free agent at the end of the season.

With deadline day in sight, Hasenhuttl would surely be delighted if Southampton were able to bring in a young and exciting attacking prospect such as Carvalho who could grow into a real star for the Saints and make them stronger going forward based on his evident talents in the final third.

In other news – Imagine him & Ward-Prowse: Saints can form scary duo by signing “phenomenal” £100k-p/w “freak”

Will Jefferson ended his five-year wait for a County Championship hundred to put Leicestershire firmly in control of their Division Two clash with Surrey at The Oval

04-Jun-2010
ScorecardWill Jefferson ended his five-year wait for a County Championship hundred to put Leicestershire firmly in control of their Division Two clash with Surrey at The Oval. The 6′ 10″ opener made 135 as Leicestershire took advantage of ideal batting conditions to reach 337 for 4 at stumps on day one in the battle of the division’s bottom two.Jefferson, 30, is in his first season with his third county. He made his last Championship hundred during his spell with Essex after which he had three fairly unproductive summers with Nottinghamshire before moving to Grace Road. Driving impressively and using his massive frame to get on top of any new-ball bounce, he struck 19 fours and two sixes, the first of which took him to his hundred. It was an impressive shot too as he swept offspinner Gareth Batty over midwicket and out of the ground.Jefferson had a reprieve on 128 when he was badly dropped by Arun Harinath at long leg off a top-edged hook and had added just seven more when he top-edged a cut at legspinner Chris Schofield and was taken at backward point, having faced 174 balls.Jade Dernbach had made the breakthrough in the fourth over when Matt Boyce fell lbw for a duck to a ball which nipped back off the seam but Jefferson and veteran Paul Nixon made serene progress either side of lunch in a stand of 105 from 33 overs for the second wicket. Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown bowled his spinners in tandem before lunch but there was precious little turn and the home attack spent most of the day trying to build pressure and wait for mistakes.Nixon had looked untroubled as he moved to 41 when he was bowled via an inside edge aiming to drive Chris Tremlett through the off side in the 37th over. Jefferson then joined forces with James Taylor in the most productive stand of the day as they added 118 in 21 overs with Taylor, who scored a double hundred on this ground last season, matching his partner stroke for stroke.After Jefferson’s dismissal, Taylor put on 40 with South African Jacques du Toit and had reached 63 from 80 balls, with six fours, when he was bowled playing back to Batty’s arm ball. But any hopes of further Surrey success were blunted by du Toit and wicketkeeper Tom New, who put on an unbroken 68 for the fifth wicket to strengthen their side’s position.Surrey waited eight overs before taking the second new ball and Tremlett thought he had broken through when du Toit, on 61, slashed outside off stump but Batty spilled a difficult chance diving high to his right at first slip. Du Toit, having already made three half-centuries this season, was on course for his first hundred of the summer by the close on 72 not out, having faced 124 balls so far with seven fours and a straight six off Batty.

Since Aston Villa’s current owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris took over the Midlands club back in 2018, they have not been reluctant in spending money on bringing new players to Villa Park that can help the team fulfil their ambitions of taking the club into the upper echelons of football.

With this in mind, Villa journalist Gregg Evans has dropped a clue regarding one player that has been mentioned with a move to the Midlands club in the past that could push them closer to being an elite club competing for European football.

What’s the news?

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Evans had this to say about Villa’s interest in Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

He said: “Yes they like him, there’s no denying that. Whether there’s even a one per cent chance of getting him is another matter.”

Break their transfer record

As a product of Leeds’ youth academy, Phillips has gone on to make a total of 226 appearances for the Yorkshire club, showing how important he is to the team and why they would presumably want to keep hold of him for as long as possible.

Having ended the previous Premier League season as one of Leeds’ highest-rated players according to WhoScored with an overall performance rating of 7.01/10, it would place him fourth among Villa’s highest-rated players.

Thus, it’s easy to see why the Midlands club have an admiration for the England international and why Villa fans would surely be overjoyed to see him at their club.

As well as being an important figure for Leeds, Phillips has made himself a significant player on the international stage as well. For instance, he was one of the five outfield players that started all seven of England’s Euro 2020 games last summer.

While the likelihood of Phillips eventually making the move to Villa Park is yet to be determined, the Villa fans should be excited by the fact that their club has an interest in Phillips and have a previous record of being very active in the transfer market, like they have been this month with the arrivals of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne.

Looking ahead to the future, with the £60m valued midfielder’s current contract at Elland Road not set to expire until the summer of 2024, it could be a challenge for Villa to secure his signature anytime soon.

It may also be very expensive, potentially causing them to breach their transfer record fee of £33m that they paid for Emi Buendia last summer. Villa haven’t been afraid to splash out of late with the likes of Digne, Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey and Danny Ings costing north of £25m.

With previous claims suggesting that Gerrard would want to sign a defensive midfielder this month, if they don’t manage to sign one this month, this could increase their need to make a move for Phillips next summer.

Considering his quality, they must do all they can to lure him to the Midlands, including smashing their transfer record.

In other news: Aston Villa reveal exciting transfer news, it’s another Lange masterclass – opinion

Paul Nixon and Australia allrounder Andrew McDonald helped Leicestershire to their first batting bonus points in four games against top-of-the-table Glamorgan in their County Championship Division Two clash at Grace Road

24-May-2010
ScorecardPaul Nixon and Australia allrounder Andrew McDonald helped Leicestershire to their first batting bonus points in four games against top-of-the-table Glamorgan in their County Championship Division Two clash at Grace Road.Veteran Nixon, opening the batting because of an injury to Will Jefferson, made 90, while McDonald scored his first half-century since joining the Foxes as their overseas player a month ago. McDonald was unbeaten on 86 as Leicestershire closed the first day on 263 for 8. Young seamer James Harris was Glamorgan’s most successful bowler, taking three for 62 in 24 overs.Having won the toss, Leicestershire made steady progress in the morning session, with Matt Boyce and Nixon putting on 81 by lunch. Boyce rode his luck at times, edging just short of slip and then being dropped by James Allenby off Will Owen when he was on 33.Nixon looked the more solid of the opening pair, picking up two boundaries with trademark clips off his legs through midwicket. But the partnership was broken soon after lunch with Boyce (40) caught behind as he tried to force David Harrison away off the back foot.His departure triggered a mini-collapse as the impressive Harris snapped up two wickets in two overs, trapping both Tom New and James Taylor lbw to leave Leicestershire at 104 for 3. Nixon, however, found some much-needed support from McDonald and the fourth-wicket pair steadied the ship with a stand of 57.Then Nixon, who was looking set for a century, was out in the 90s for the second time this season. Pushing forward to left-arm spinner Dean Cosker, Nixon edged to Jamie Dalrymple, who held onto a juggling catch at slip.Nixon, who fell seven runs short of his century against Sussex four weeks ago, this time made 90 off 178 balls, with 13 fours. It was then left to McDonald to take up the battle for the home side. After an uncertain start, he grew in confidence and produced some glorious shots through midwicket as he reached his first 50 for the county off 111 balls, with six boundaries.But Josh Cobb, Jigar Naik, Claude Henderson and Nathan Buck all fell cheaply as Glamorgan’s attack fought back hard. However, McDonald secured a second batting point with two glorious shots through the on-side off Harris and, at the close, had struck eight boundaries in his 163-ball innings.

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United side went into Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Burnley knowing that three points would considerably increase their chances of remaining a top-flight side come the end of the current campaign – with the Whites sitting just five points above the Clarets in 18th place prior to kick-off.

And, thanks to a fortunate first-half strike by Jack Harrison, a second-half stunner from Stuart Dallas and a 92nd-minute header by Daniel James, Leeds would go on to secure the much-needed win against Sean Dyche’s side – with the match ending 3-1.

However, despite the positive result, there were nevertheless a couple of Bielsa’s players who will be hoping to put the fixture behind them as quickly as possible, with Raphinha and Tyler Roberts being two of the more notable disappointments on Sunday afternoon.

Although, it will undoubtedly be the latter of this duo who will be most frustrated with his display against Burnley, as the 22-year-old forward was incredibly ineffective over his 58 minutes on the pitch at Elland Road.

Roberts should’ve played his last game

Indeed, the £7.2m-rated man was once again fielded as Bielsa’s lone striker against Burnley, and the Wales international offered very little in the role, hitting the target with just one of his six shots and the opposition goal, completing a mere 11 passes and missing his one big chance – somehow steering a free header wide of the far post in the first half.

The £22k-per-week forward also lost both of his two duels – a failure rate of 100% – lost possession of the ball on four separate occasions and committed one foul – for which he was booked – before picking up an injury midway through the second half and being withdrawn by the Argentine coach.

These returns saw the 22-year-old receive an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.6, ranking him as Leeds’ joint-worst performer against the Clarets.

As such, with it being reported that Roberts could be on his way out of Elland Road in the January transfer window, albeit on a temporary basis, the Welshman’s display on Sunday – coupled with his poor performances over his 18 further Premier League appearances so far this season – lead us to believe that Bielsa should instead look to make the attacker’s move away from the club a permanent one this month.

It is looking more and more as if the youngster is simply not of the standard required for the Whites.

In other news: LUFC must avoid disaster on £22k-p/w gem who “transmits security”, MB would be furious

Michael Clarke’s increasing seniority within the Test team is set to continue with his likely promotion to No. 4 during the series against Pakistan

Brydon Coverdale01-Apr-2010Michael Clarke’s increasing seniority within the Test team is set to continue with his likely promotion to No. 4 during the series against Pakistan in England. As the vice-captain, Clarke is being groomed to take over the leadership whenever Ricky Ponting retires and over the past year he has shouldered that responsibility by being Australia’s leading run scorer with 1171 at 65.05.While Clarke’s form has been outstanding at No. 5, the No. 4 Michael Hussey had a tougher year, although he lifted his output during the home summer. The Australians are already looking towards next season’s Ashes series and after beating New Zealand 2-0, Ponting said he had been pondering whether the in-form Clark would be more valuable up the order.”It’s something I’ve been thinking about this week, to tell you the truth,” Ponting said. “He’s handled a lot of situations particularly well the last couple of years and in most conditions. There are a few other little things we think about as well as far as the placements in the batting order is concerned but Michael is doing everything right to get up the order, certainly one more spot, anyway.”Clarke was one of Australia’s best during the Ashes tour last year and they will be reluctant to shuffle the order during their battle to regain the urn. The only Tests remaining before the Gabba opener against England are two against Pakistan in July, and Ponting said that would be the best time to trial Clarke at No. 4.”We’ll see what happens in England and certainly leading into the Ashes series,” Ponting said. “He probably has been our best and most consistent player with Simon Katich so we’ll definitely have a look into that. The next games we play are against Pakistan and we obviously don’t want to be making moves like that on the eve of the Ashes so if we do it, that would be a good time to do it.”Clarke showed his focus with a career-best 168 in Wellington after flying home to deal with his relationship with Lara Bingle. He finished the tour second only to Katich on the run tally, with 259 at 86.33, and in a month will be heading to the Caribbean to captain Australia in the World Twenty20.

Aston Villa revealed on Tuesday that additional tickets for the home game against Manchester United next month are now on sale, and a number of Villa fans were quick to give their thoughts to the news on social media.

Villa’s clash with Burnley on Saturday was postponed just a couple of hours before the scheduled kick-off time due to an ongoing viral outbreak at Bodymoor Heath. The Premier League are set to continue playing through the festive period, though, after deciding against a circuit breaker on Monday.

Fans watching matches live at the stadium now need to provide NHS certification of either a double vaccination or a negative test prior to attending.

Villa shared details of tickets for the match against Manchester United on January 15, which comes just a few days after the clubs’ FA Cup third round clash at Old Trafford. Prices start at £29.50 for adults and go up to £55, with all the information available to view here.

Villa fans react

Here is what these Villa fans had to say in reply to the club’s official Twitter post regarding the ticket arrangements, with one labelling the prices as ‘absurd’ and others questioning why they are advertising it given the distinct possibility of the match being either postponed or playing behind closed doors.

“This is brave”

Credit: @DaleAC93

“Those prices are absurd”

Credit: @_Whittall

“Why? Someone explain, I’m confused lol”

Credit: @JoesVillaArmy

“Announcement on playing Boxing Day yet or not?? Some of us have lives to organise rather than getting cancelled 2 hours before due to depleted squad..”

Credit: @JohnGallett

“Why do this when it’s probably going to be behind closed doors?”

Credit: @k2_villa

“Lockdown by then”

Credit: @TSJ671

In other news: ‘Is he really’ – Many Villa fans erupt as journalist says £27k-p/w ‘carthorse’ may join Gerrard

Leeds United are keen on signing Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Brereton Diaz, according to reliable journalist Alan Nixon.

The Lowdown: Summer links

The Whites spent just over £50m over the summer, with Jack Harrison, Junior Firpo, Kristoffer Klaesson and Daniel James all making permanent moves to Elland Road.

Victor Orta didn’t add to the club’s central attacking ranks, though, which has hit them hard with Patrick Bamford already missing 10 Premier League games through injury.

Leeds were thought to be weighing up a move for Brereton Diaz over the summer, with the Blackburn striker going on to score 17 Championship goals in 22 appearances during the current campaign.

The Latest: January move on the cards?

Nixon shared a story on Saturday evening for The Sun, claiming that Leeds are eyeing a move for the 22-year-old.

The Whites are thought to be ‘desperate’ for an attacking addition in the New Year following Bamford’s injury, with Brighton and Sevilla also name-checked with an interest.

The Verdict: Time to spend?

Leeds may need to bolster their injury-hit squad in the winter window to prevent being dragged in to a relegation battle during the second half of the season.

Brereton Diaz, who Tony Mowbray said is ‘like a beast’ last year, could be the perfect attacking addition as he can play anywhere across the front three. The 22-year-old’s versatility could appeal to Marcelo Bielsa, and he appears to be in the prime of his career considering his red-hot form in front of goal this season.

A £25m fee has been mooted, which could make him the club’s third most expensive signing of all time, but it may well be a shrewd move both in the short- and long-term.

In other news: Sky Sports think ‘brilliant’ Leeds beast suffered fresh injury on Saturday