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Leeds United have been dealt a huge setback ahead of their upcoming Premier League meeting with Arsenal on Sunday.

What’s the latest?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference (via Evening Standard), Gunners boss Mikel Arteta revealed that Ben White, who missed Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over West Ham United last weekend due to a hamstring injury, is now back in contention for the clash against Leeds tomorrow afternoon.

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Regarding the current condition of the centre-back, the Spaniard said: “Ben White is still in contention. He needs to train [on Saturday] to make sure that he is available to play.”

Marsch will be gutted

Considering how just how important it is for Jesse Marsch and his side to pick up a positive result from their trip to north London on Sunday, coupled with how impressive White has been for the Gunners this season, the news that the England international is in contention to feature against Leeds is sure to have left the American gutted.

Indeed, over his 31 Premier League appearances this term, the £36m-rated defender has been extremely solid in the heart of the Arsenal backline, helping his side to keep 13 clean sheets, along with making 1.4 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and 3.1 clearances and winning 4.4 duels (at a success rate of 59%) per game.

These returns have seen the £120k-per-week talent average a SofaScore match rating of 6.94, ranking him as Arteta’s joint 10th-best player in the top flight.

As such, it is clear  to see that the return of the former Leeds loanee would come as a huge blow to the Whites’ chances of leaving the Emirates Stadium will a decent result on Sunday afternoon – with a loss potentially seeing Marsch and his side fall into the relegation zone with just three matches left to play.

AND in other news: Leeds now plotting bid for “fabulous” £45k-p/w target, Orta should “take him all day”

Everton will travel the short distance across Stanley Park to visit their fierce rivals in the Merseyside Derby this afternoon, and Frank Lampard has revealed a huge setback in his squad ahead of the game.

What’s the latest?

The Toffees boss took to his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon to deliver an update on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s availability with speculated doubt about his inclusion in the side in the remaining Premier League games, following a quad injury.

When asked if the striker would return to action next week against Chelsea, Lampard told the press (via Liverpool Echo):

“We’ll see.”

“No one is a machine, this is a tough industry. There is an element of bad luck. Dominic has had a bad run.”

Lampard will be gutted

Despite only winning one of their last 22 Premier League fixtures against Liverpool, Everton have had a talisman in Calvert-Lewin when it comes to the derby so Lampard will surely be absolutely gutted to lose him for the occasion.

The 25-year-old goal machine has played in ten league games against their Merseyside rivals with a pretty decent record of results against them, losing four, drawing five and winning one in his time at Everton, delivering two assists and one goal.

With that being said, his presence on the pitch at Anfield this afternoon will be a huge miss and owing to the Toffee’s vulnerable position in their relegation fight right now Calvert-Lewin’s injury could not have come at a worse time.

Lampard will have to hope that Richarlison can fill his teammate’s boots in the centre-forward position today, the Brazilian has played in one less league derby than his strike partner, but has scored one more goal against the Kopites and delivered one assist, so he should be able to offer a similar force in the forward line this afternoon.

Everton could find themselves dropped into the bottom three in the Premier League table this afternoon before they even kick off if their relegation competitors Burnley beat Wolverhampton Wanderers this afternoon, and Lampard will need to make sure his team are motivated and focused despite the result.

AND in other news: Everton dealt fresh injury setback ahead of Liverpool, Lamps will be gutted

MatériaMais Notícias

Pressionado, sem vencer há três jogos, Dorival Júnior comandou o treino da manhã desta segunda-feira, no CT da Barra Funda, envolvendo os jogadores que não foram titulares no 0 a 0 diante da Ferroviária, nesse domingo, no Morumbi. E a atividade, que não contou com Nenê, em recuperação de pancada recebida na partida, teve quatro sustos.

Os trabalhos foram técnicos, e os problemas com dores dos atletas ocorreram quando os reservas foram divididos em dois times para duelo em campo reduzido. Os primeiros que precisaram de atendimento médico foram o lateral-esquerdo Reinaldo e o atacante Tréllez, que trombaram entre si.

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Na sequência, o lateral-esquerdo Júnior Tavares sofreu uma entrada por trás e foi mais um que precisou da entrada dos médicos no gramado. O último foi Brenner, caído no gramado já nos minutos finais dessa atividade. Mas todos se recuperaram em segundos e seguiram treinando sem problemas.

Quem nem apareceu no gramado foi Nenê, que recebeu uma “paulistinha” nesse domingo, ao entrar durante o segundo tempo, no lugar de Valdívia, uma das novidades da escalação diante da Ferroviária. O meia-atacante passou a manhã em tratamento no Reffis e deve ficar à disposição para o jogo de quarta-feira, contra o CRB, no Morumbi, pela Copa do Brasil.

Além do goleiro Sidão, que trabalhou normalmente, o único titular que pisou no campo do CT da Barra Funda foi Rodrigo Caio. Mas o zagueiro somente ficou assistindo à atividade, enquanto os outros titulares fizeram trabalho regenerativo para se recuperar do desgaste da partida de domingo.

O São Paulo vem de derrotas para Santos e Ituano e empatou diante da Ferroviária, mas segue líder do Grupo B do Campeonato Paulista, com 11 pontos. Na quarta-feira, às 19h30, faz o jogo de ida da terceira fase da Copa do Brasil contra o CRB, de Alagoas.

Rangers have kept their six point gap intact with their title rivals following a fantastic 4-0 win this afternoon, and with a big week of games coming up for the Ibrox side, Giovanni van Bronckhorst will surely be delighted with the result.

The Gers made their presence known on their tenth-placed hosts with 78% uninterrupted possession of the ball, eight shots on target, five big chances and four goals over the course of the game, in a phenomenal performance all over the pitch.

Van Bronckhorst’s team opened up their lead very early into the game with a goal from Kemar Roofe in the second minute, and despite their efforts St Mirren failed to hold off the 29-year-old striker, with another goal from Roofe in the first half and a third in the 50th minute.

Aribo returned to fine form, scoring for the first time in ten appearances by killing the game with the fourth strike in the 76th minute. It was a phenomenal attacking display from Rangers, however, it wasn’t just the attackers in the team who impressed and made a huge impact on the side this afternoon.

Borna Barisic put on a flawless display against St Mirren in the left-back role after being chosen to come back into the starting team for the clash having failed to play more than 45 minutes in his last four outings.

According to SofaScore, the defender who was hailed “magic” by Steven Gerrard, had 106 touches of the ball, making three tackles and one clearance, whilst winning six out of his eight duels and offering up a 90% pass accuracy against the hosts, proving to his boss that he deserves his place in the team ahead of the Europa League game on Thursday.

Rangers have a massive week of football that could be the difference in success or failure for the Glaswegian side this season, with a Europa League second leg against Braga at the Ibrox on Thursday, and then they will host Celtic in the Scottish semi-final next Sunday.

With the pressure mounting in the title race with their fierce rivals, Celtic, the Gers manager will be hoping that today’s victory will carry his team into confident performances and a run of good form over the remaining games of the camapign.

In other news: Forget Roofe: Rangers ace with 5 key passes showed GVB he’s no longer “useless”

Pundit Paddy Kenny believes that Celtic will complete a permanent move for Jota before tonight’s transfer deadline, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Rumours all month

Michael Nicholson has been extremely busy during his first transfer window as CEO at Parkhead, adding five players to Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

Three of those were announced on New Year’s Eve, with reports at the beginning of the month suggesting that the club were hoping to tie up full-time moves for Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers.

However, as we know, that is yet to materialise, with the Hoops having the option to make a move permanent in both loan deals for a combined £12.5m.

The Latest: Kenny’s comments

Reports previously suggested that Celtic will need to pay just over £5m for Jota due to a loan fee already being paid. Kenny was talking to Football Insider regarding Jota and the chances of a move going through on deadline day.

The former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper admitted that he was ‘surprised’ it hasn’t already gone through and believes that ‘fans will be worried’ if one isn’t announced on Monday, although he personally thinks it will get done, saying:

“I’m surprised, I thought this would have been sorted ages ago.

“I think it will get done this window. Otherwise, there is the risk of another club coming in.

“Celtic might be able to sign him whenever they want to but that just begs the question, why haven’t they?

“Maybe they want to get all of their other business done first. That’s the only reason I can think of.

“The fans will be worried if there is no news though, he’s been one of their best players this season.”

The Verdict: Not the end of the world

If Celtic don’t seal a permanent move for Jota earlier than excepted, it wouldn’t be a disaster. Of course, it would be nice if Nicholson could get a full-time transfer over the line today, but the Hoops will still have the option to get it done in the summer.

The 22-year-old has starred for the Hoops and is clearly all-in when it comes to his commitment, as his celebration with supporters on Saturday emphasised.

He has contributed to 15 goals in just 22 games, and if he helps the club to win back the Premiership from Rangers over the coming months, you’d expect that a permanent deal would be a formality.

In other news: Kieran Devlin drops ‘big’ Celtic deadline day claim on The Athletic

Celtic have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to secure Vasilis Barkas a move away from Parkhead this month.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Daily Mail (via the Daily Record), who claim that Sheffield United were in talks to sign the Celtic goalkeeper on a temporary basis this month, however, the Blades have now pulled out of the deal upon the Bhoys’ request for the Championship side to pay them a loan fee.

The report goes on to state that Celtic also attempted to place a £2.5m option to buy clause in the 27-year-old’s temporary contract, while United were looking to negotiate a lower fee.

It was also believed that the Hoops were demanding the second-tier side picked up the vast majority of the Greek international’s £20k-per-week wages.

Fans will be fuming

Considering just how poor Barkas has been since his £4.5m move to Celtic back in the summer of 2020, the news that Sheffield United’s move for the ‘keeper now appears to be dead in the water is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful gutted.

Indeed, over his 15 Premiership appearances last season, the £1.35m-rated shot-stopper failed to ever really stake his claim at becoming the Bhoys’ undisputed number one, making an average of just one save and conceding 0.7 goals per game.

These returns saw the 27-year-old earn an extremely disappointing seasonal SofaScore rating of just 6.79, ranking him as the Hoops’ joint ninth-worst performer in the top flight of Scottish football last time out.

Furthermore, since Ange Postecoglou’s arrival in Glasgow last summer, the Greek ‘keeper has featured just twice under the management of the 56-year-old, something which renders Barkas’ £20k-per-week wage as money well and truly wasted.

As such, the news that a team of Sheffield United’s stature were even interested in the shot-stopper will perhaps come as a surprise to many Celtic fans, while the fact that the deal now looks to have fallen through will undoubtedly come as a huge blow to Postecoglou – who could have easily spent the goalkeeper’s wages on a target of his own this month.

In other news: Ange must now axe “arrogant” £15k-p/w Celtic flop by landing “incredible” £5k-p/w gem

The Northern Echo reporter Scott Wilson has said that is ‘utterly unforgivable’ that Sunderland haven’t appointed a new manager ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Cheltenham.

The lowdown

It has been nine days since the Black Cats sacked Lee Johnson following a 6-0 defeat away to Bolton Wanderers, and they don’t appear to be on the verge of announcing his replacement just yet. According to The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, they are due to hold a second round of interviews this week.

Mike Dodds is set to remain in caretaker charge for the time being, having overseen a 2-1 defeat against bottom-of-the-table Doncaster Rovers at the weekend.

The latest

In a snippet of his The Northern Echo column that he posted on Twitter, Wilson wrote that it was already a ‘bad decision’ to go into the game against Doncaster without a manager in place.

Hearing that a ‘temporary managerial structure’ is still in place for Tuesday’s game at Whaddon Road, he has been left aghast.

He stated on Twitter: “Heading into Saturday’s game with Doncaster Rovers without a manager was a bad decision. Journeying to Cheltenham tomorrow with a temporary managerial structure still in place rather than a new boss would be utterly unforgiveable.”

The verdict

If Saturday’s shock defeat is anything to go by, Sunderland’s slide could continue as they weigh up their options. Back-to-back losses have seen them slip to fourth place, with their automatic promotion prospects now thrown in doubt.

Leaders Rotherham United are now eight points ahead of the Wearsiders, and although the gap to second-placed Wigan is only two points, it’s worth stressing that the Latics have a full four games in hand.

Sunderland’s hierarchy must find the balance between sufficient deliberation and the pressing need for stability, with the automatic promotion chase in danger of getting away from them.

In other news, Luke Edwards dropped a lunchtime update on Roy Keane’s chances of getting the manager’s job

Speaking to Football Insider, pundit Kevin Phillips of Sky Sports has shared an interesting Tottenham Hotspur claim as Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta’s extension talks hit a stumbling block.

The Lowdown: Azpi new deal talks reach impasse?

The Blues captain has now entered the final six months of his contract at Stamford Bridge with no extension agreed or confirmed as of yet.

Azpilicueta, it is reported, is looking to secure a three-year agreement with Chelsea but this is proving to be one major aspect holding back a potential agreement (The Telegraph).

The west Londoners apparently have a policy of only offering one-year extensions for players over the age of 30, placing the Spaniard’s future in some doubt as the clock ticks on.

Reacting to this impasse in talks, Phillips has made a ‘shock’ Spurs transfer claim.

The Latest: Phillips makes Azpilicueta claim…

The former Sunderland striker, speaking to Football Insider, claims that the 32-year-old defender could make a ‘shock’ move across London to Spurs if he fails to reach an agreement with Chelsea.

“100 per cent, Conte will be interested,” Phillips explained when asked if Spurs could Azpilicueta as a free agent.

“I’m certain of it because Azpilicueta is a player whom he knows and a player who did well for him.

“He’s been so consistent since coming to the Premier League. You know what you are going to get from him.

“He’s a leader as well and that’s something Spurs perhaps lack. I think Conte would love to sign a player of his experience.

“If things don’t work out at Chelsea, I would not be surprised if Azpilicueta crossed London to join Spurs. It’d be a shock but I don’t think it’s impossible.”

The Verdict: Unlikely…

Given the full-back’s status as a long-serving Chelsea player with over 450 appearances, making his debut nearly 10 years ago, we highly doubt he would swap his beloved club for a rival in the capital.

This is especially true given Azpilicueta is also attracting interest from Barcelona, and while it is impossible to fully know a player’s mindset, there is reason to believe he’d favour a move to the Camp Nou in his homeland over N17.

The £150,000-per-week star, we believe, isn’t someone Spurs fans should expect through the door any time soon.

In other news: Club owner fuming with his £43.2m-rated star after he refused offer to join Tottenham, find out more here.

With 2021 almost over, let’s take a look back over what was a turbulent year for Everton and their fans.

Having started it with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm at Goodison Park, only for him to leave in the summer to be replaced by Rafa Benitez, this certainly caused waves at the Merseyside club.

While the end of the 2020/21 season may have ended in a rather flat manner, the first few weeks of the current season under Benitez saw the Toffees get off to a flyer by winning four of their opening six league games.

Things took a major dip for Everton through that saw them go through October and November without a win in the league, resulting in fan unrest towards Benitez and the club’s hierarchy.

All in all, the majority of Everton’s loyal supporters will undoubtedly be hoping that the rest of the season will pan out in a similar way to how it started and that the rest of 2022 will be very fruitful for the club.

How well do you remember Everton’s 2021? Test your knowledge with our Big Fat Everton quiz of the year to find out!

ScorecardAlex Blackwell took a strong catch to remove Sara McGlashan before steering her side’s successful chase•Getty Images

The captain Alex Blackwell followed her half-century in the opening game with an important 34 as Australia gained a 2-0 advantage over New Zealand on a disrupted day in Adelaide. Australia began chasing New Zealand’s subdued 142 but their assignment was cut to 110 from 32 overs by rain.The hosts resumed at 1 for 34 after the break, having lost Rachael Haynes a ball before the weather intervened, and Blackwell and Shelley Nitschke moved comfortably towards victory. However, there were some nervous moments during a mini-collapse, with Nitschke exiting for 38 and Amy Satterthwaite removing Sarah Elliott and Lisa Sthalekar in consecutive balls.Blackwell helped her side away from the discomfort of 4 for 79 and departed an over before the end when lbw to Sophie Devine. Alyssa Healy gave Satterthwaite a third wicket as the drizzle returned and the game was ended next ball with five wides. The teams head to Melbourne to conclude the five-match series and Australia can wrap up the trophy with another win on Sunday.New Zealand suffered regular losses after winning the toss and lasted only 37.3 overs in their second disappointing batting display following the 115-run defeat on Wednesday. Victoria Lind top scored with 33 from No. 3 but the wicketkeeper Katey Martin was the only other one to pass 20.Sarah Andrews started well by removing both openers in the first six overs while Ellyse Perry finished off the innings with two wickets at the end. The spinners Sthalekar and Nitschke also made life hard and had two victims each, with Nitschke giving away only a run an over in seven overs.