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Derby County’s start to the season hasn’t exactly gone how they would have imagined it.After losing the playoff final last term, the Rams will have had their eyes on another promotion push this time round, but they have often looked a shadow of the team that dramatically knocked Leeds out of the playoffs last campaign.Watch Derby County Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The East Midlands club have won just two of their opening ten games, and they sit in the bottom half of the Championship table.

Fortunately, it seems as if their players have the right attitude to turn things around, as Curtis Davies sent out a rallying cry on Twitter after their draw with Barnsley.

Davies’ message was loud and clear – Derby need to stop dropping points in games they should be winning.

It’s hard to disagree with the centre-back’s view that Derby should have beaten Barnsley on Wednesday evening.

The Tykes had lost their last three games before they met Phillip Cocu’s side, and if it weren’t for a late equaliser, Derby would have taken all three points, so you can understand why Davies calls it ‘sickening’.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It’s nearly time for Barcelona’s second game of the Champions League group stage.

The Catalans will welcome Inter Milan at the Camp Nou and the key to overcoming them just might lie in the middle of the park.

On the chalkboard

It hasn’t really been a dream start for Barcelona in Europe this season.

Their opening clash against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park ended in a goalless draw but the Catalans surely wanted to claim more than just a point for their efforts.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Still, that was only the first game and seeing how Inter Milan also drew their game with Slavia Prague, Group F is very much open.

This particular clash, however, is huge for both teams and if Barca want to pick up all three points, Sergio Busquets will have to outshine Marcelo Brozovic.

Midfield generals

Busquets is very much the linchpin of Barcelona’s midfield.

In many ways, the experienced Spaniard is the Catalans’ general and everything starts and ends with him in the middle of the park. But Brozovic certainly looks like Busquets’ direct counterpart in Inter’s camp.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

The Croat is heavily involved in everything that’s happening on the pitch and most of it flows directly through him.

Just this season, in the six games he’s played in Serie A, Brozovic has registered a 91.5% passing accuracy with a total of 83.8 passes per game. This becomes even more impressive when we compare it to Busquets’ 90.6% passing accuracy and 76.8 passes per game.

Barcelona are very much known for their passing game, which only emphasises Brozovic’s importance to his team since he managed to edge out Busquets in both aforementioned categories.

But the Croat falls short only slightly in key passes as he tallied 1.2 as opposed to his rival’s 1.4 per game.

Both players are pretty active going the other way as well, often dominating the defensive phases of the game. Busquets registered 2.6 tackles and one interception per game in La Liga while Brozovic averaged 3.2 tackles and 1.8 interceptions under his belt in Serie A.

By all standards, this is looking likely to be an impressive battle of two highly skilled players – Barcelona’s midfield general vs Inter Milan’s engine.

The winner of this battle just might tip the scales in his team’s favour.

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Southampton came away from their clash against Sheffield United with a 1-0 win as Moussa Djenepo fired the Saints to victory.

The 21-year-old looked in fine form for the visitors as his goal on 66 minutes was enough to separate the two teams.

Playing at left wing-back, he completed six dribbles but also made two tackles, according to WhoScored.

However, to top it all off, he then gave his shirt to a fan after the match which provoked adulation from a host of Saints fans on Twitter.

The Malian was deemed a Saint for life after the gesture whilst another simply described the moment as adorable.

He was also hailed as class as one supporter said he had a really good attitude on him.

Djenepo has only started one game in the Premier League this term but already has two goals so more starts will surely be on the way.

The 5 foot 10 winger is a new signing at St Mary’s after arriving from Standard Liege in the summer.

Here’s the best of the reaction surrounding what he did at the full-time whistle.

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[ad_pod ]Some Tottenham fans have taken to Twitter to discuss a report suggesting that Serge Aurier could leave and make an incredible return to his former side Paris Saint-Germain.The Ivory Coast international – who signed for £23m back in 2017 – found game time hard to come by last season with Kieran Trippier ahead of him in the pecking order.

Aurier made just eight Premier League appearances in 2018/19, although the England international ahead of him has since departed the club.

However, it appears that Mauricio Pochettino has opted for Kyle Walker-Peters as his new right-back following Trippier’s exit, with the 22-year-old being selected to start the season opener against Aston Villa.

AC Milan are also showing an interest in the 26-year-old, although selling the Ivorian could leave Spurs in a worrying position.

After Trippier left for Atletico Madrid, Spurs didn’t sign another right-back, so Aurier and Walker-Peters are the only natural options for that role at the club.

If PSG – with all their financial might – decide to swoop in and take Aurier back to the French capital, Tottenham would be left with very few options at right-back.

Let’s see how the Spurs fans on Twitter reacted to the worrying transfer news…

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LSG’s issues are compounded by the absence of the suspended Digvesh Rathi

Abhimanyu Bose21-May-20253:08

Moody impressed by Sai Sudharsan’s range of strokes

Big picture: Untested middle order a concern for GT

Gujarat Titans have completed their first major objective of IPL 2025 – to qualify for the playoffs. But it’s still not yet job done in the league stage, as they are still not assured of finishing in the top two. When they reached the finals in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, they did so by topping the league. If they win both their remaining games, they are guaranteed to repeat that feat, and they would want to take the first step towards that goal in a home game against the beleaguered Lucknow Super Giants.GT will be wary of the challenge their opponents can pose, however, with one of their only three defeats this season coming against LSG.Related

• LSG's Rathi suspended for one game after Abhishek incident

That game had exposed one possible weakness in GT – what happens when Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler don’t go big? Gill and Sudharsan hit fifties in that game, but departed within the space of seven balls after taking GT to 120 for no loss in 12 overs, and Buttler couldn’t take off. The middle order was called into action for heavier lifting than usual, and they couldn’t build on the platform, and GT finished on just 180 for 6.GT might want to see their middle order tested more before the playoffs, when they will also be without the services of Buttler.

Form guide

Gujarat Titans WWWLW
Lucknow Super Giants LLLLW

In the spotlight – Sherfane Rutherford and Ravi Bishnoi

This has been Sherfane Rutherford‘s best IPL season yet. He has featured more consistently in his previous two stints, and has done well with an average of 38.16 and a strike rate of 159.02. With GT’s top order set to get lighter with Buttler’s departure, there will be more responsibility on him in the playoffs and he would want to gather momentum over the last two league games.Ravi Bishnoi enjoyed a meteoric rise after impressing in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup, and became a regular in India’s T20I side after making his debut in 2022. He has suffered a difficult season this time around in the IPL, however, with just nine wickets from 11 games. His average and economy rate of 44.55 and 10.83 respectively in IPL 2025 have comfortably been his worst in any year and he was even dropped in the defeat to Punjab Kings. With fellow legspinner Digvesh Rathi suspended for this game, it is a chance for Bishnoi to put out a reminder of his quality.1:27

‘Chance for LSG to try out some new combinations’

Team news and possible XIIs

GT are unlikely to tinker with the side that earned them a 10-wicket win in their last game. A case could be made to rest one of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, given they already have qualification in the bag and their two premier quicks have played every game of the season, but with a top-two finish still not guaranteed, they may delay that decision until their final league match against Chennai Super Kings.Gujarat Titans (probable XII): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 M Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Arshad Khan, 10 R Sai Kishore, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Prasidh Krishna.In a season marred by injuries, LSG will also have to deal with a suspension as they will play this match without Rathi – one of the few bright sparks of their campaign – after he breached the IPL’s Code of Conduct for a third time this season. Left-arm spinners Shahbaz Ahmed and M Siddharth are two potential replacements for the legspinner.Lucknow Super Giants (probable XII): 1 Mitchell Marsh, 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Ayush Badoni, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Shardul Thakur, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Akash Deep, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Shahbaz Ahmed/Manimaran Siddharth, 12 Will O’Rourke.

The big question

Pitch and conditions

This year, teams batting first have won four of the five matches at the Narendra Modi Stadium, with GT chasing 204 in the other game, against Delhi Capitals. Setting a total may be the way to go for whoever wins the toss. The pitch is also set to favour fast bowlers more, with the quicks taking a wicket every 20 balls at the venue this season as compared to spinners striking once every 23 deliveries.

Stats and trivia

• GT comfortably have the best top-order (Nos. 1-3) average in IPL 2025 (61.35), but their middle order (Nos. 4-7) averages the lowest in the league (21.39). But their strike rate (165.65) is better than that of any other middle order.
• Gill and Sai Sudharsan are only the fifth pair to cross 600 runs for the same team in an IPL season. Overall, GT are the third team to have two players score 600 or more runs in a season, after Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings
• Rishabh Pant’s struggles could continue as he comes up against Mohammed Siraj. Even though Pant strikes at 185.10 against Siraj in T20s, he has been out to him four times in nine innings.

Quotes

“The positive thing is the middle order, Sherfane [Rutherford] and Shahrukh [Khan], guys like that, [Rahul] Tewatia, they’ve had good impact in games when they’ve got the opportunity. They just haven’t got a lot of game time over the last few weeks, so we’re trying to give that to them as much as we can through training. It’s very hard to simulate a match but giving them opportunities to bat out on the B ground with no nets up and to feel like it’s a little bit more match intensity at training is something that we’ll try and do over the next week or so.”

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

For large parts of the game on Wednesday evening, Leeds struggled against Brentford.

Faced with the wall of Pontus Jansson, returning to Elland Road for the first time since his summer departure, he threatened to be a major distraction.

And indeed he and the rest of the Brentford defence were resilient until the 81st minute of the match.

Leeds managed just eight key passes during the game, one of which came during that very moment as Helder Costa beat his man for pace and then found Eddie Nketiah.

However, it was a key tactical tweak after the Portuguese came on that helped inspire the Whites.

On the chalkboard

The favoured formation under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds has been a 4-1-4-1. It’s usually a standard back four but has a more attacking look to it, playing in essence with two number 10’s.

Alongside them are attacking wingers and a solitary striker. This term it’s been Patrick Bamford who has scored three in four matches but he struggled on Wednesday, registering only two shots.

That was largely down to the lack of creativity, something that wasn’t helped until a change in formation.

Costa had initially been brought on for Jack Harrison but after Gaetano Berardi and Nketiah’s introductions, things changed.

The Swiss centre-back coming on allowed Leeds to go with three defenders, as Costa and Ezgjan Alioski became wing-backs.

That position was an unfamiliar role for the former but he impressed, making two tackles and playing the assist for the goal.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It was a dynamic change from the Whites but proved Bielsa’s invaluable worth to Leeds.

Not often known for tweaking things, his degree of familiarity has even seen him disclose an entire team in one press conference.

But this was different and showed the unpredictability of Bielsa. It proved the Argentine’s tactical nous as he moved Bamford to the right, played Nketiah in the middle and had Mateusz Klich roaming from the left-hand side.

It was a different approach but by opening the play up with wing-backs, rather than packing the middle, it seemed to work a treat.

In games where Leeds are struggling, this could well be the way forward.

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Reiss Nelson believes that he is in with a “big, big shout” this year.

What did he say?

The 19-year-old spent last season out on loan at Hoffenheim, but has now returned to the fold at the Emirates Stadium. Unai Emery clearly sees him as part of his plans for the future as the forward has already started two of the first three games of the campaign.

Arsenal have brought in Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel Martinelli, both wingers, this summer. Although these two could be seen as threats to his place in the side, the England U21 international appears to be relishing the battle for spots. He told the Gunners’ official website:

“All the competition that’s here, all the new wingers Arsenal have signed… I think this could be my time.

“I need to just keep training hard and getting all the information from the coaches and the players. If I do that, I’m going to have a big, big shout this season.”

Check out fan reaction to Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal in the video below…

Good confidence, but maybe too soon?

You can’t knock the youngster’s confidence, that’s for sure. To be able to make it in the cut-throat world of professional football, belief in yourself and your abilities will only aid your development.

Nelson does have reasons to be optimistic, and the talent is there. He had a good spell at Hoffenheim, where he netted seven times and showed flashes of what he can do, whilst 17 goals and 11 assists in 38 Premier League 2 games is not to be sniffed at.

However, it could be too soon for the teenager to already be looking at a regular first team spot with the north London outfit. Whilst he did manage to score seven for the Bundesliga side last term, six came within the first 11 games. He started just five leagues matches throughout the campaign, and none after December. The capability to perform week-in week-out was obviously not there, but that’s exactly what Arsenal need.

His boss last term, Julian Naglesmann also reportedly dropped him in March this year as an “educational measure”. Another season away from the Emirates learning his craft would have done him the world of good, but it looks like he will be asked to contribute heavily to Emery’s side already.

It may just be a bit early for the starlet.

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The threat of rain prompted the team to find an unprecedented way of cutting their innings short and push for victory

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2025 • Updated on 11-May-2025In an unprecedented turn of events in a Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier game between UAE and Qatar in Bangkok, UAE retired out all ten batters at the score of 192 for 0 in 16 overs. It was the first instance of a team retiring out more than two batters in a men’s or women’s international match. UAE then went on to roll Qatar over for just 29 in an innings that featured seven ducks to seal a massive 163-run win in a match that lasted 27.1 overs.Since the UAE innings also had eight ducks, the game saw a record 15 ducks, easily the most in a women’s T20I.Opting to bat, UAE openers Esha Oza, also the captain, and Theertha Satish were cruising along in their century partnership, with Oza on 113 and Satish on 74. But then UAE decided to end the innings. Since a declaration is not allowed in limited-overs cricket, Oza, Satish, and eight other batters (without facing a ball) were retired out. As a result, UAE were all out for 192 in 16 overs.