All posts by n8rngtd.top

Home side beaten in rain-affected match but can still qualify for quarter-finals

ECB Reporters Network30-Jun-2023Sussex 228 for 7 (Bopara 108) beat Kent 117 for 4 (Cox 37*) by 11 runs (DLS method)A superb century from Ravi Bopara helped the Sussex Sharks beat the Kent Spitfires by 11 runs in a rain-affected Vitality Blast match at Canterbury on Friday night.Bopara played a magnificent, almost chanceless, innings to record his highest-ever T20 score of 108 from 53 balls, with 18 fours and just one six, as Sussex posted a massive 228 for 7, Tom Clark getting their next-highest score with 47.Kent were 31 for one in reply after 3.2 overs when heavy rain began to fall and they were set a revised target of 129 from 10 overs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method. Needing to hit out as soon as play resumed, they lost wickets too regularly to seriously threaten Sussex and finished on 117 for 4, although they remain in the top four.There was another Friday night sell-out at the Spitfire Ground, but Kent’s decision to bowl first soon backfired as they struggled to cope with damp and blustery conditions.Jack Leaning bowled Harrison Ward for 5 with the fifth ball of the night and Oli Carter also went early, chipping Matt Quinn to Michael Hogan at mid-on for 3 but from 14 for 2 the Sharks launched a blistering counterattack. Bopara cover drove his first ball for four and took 14 from the over. Clark then took 18 from Leaning’s next over and it was 73 for 2 by the end of the powerplay, by which time persistent drizzle was falling.Clark looked in incendiary form, but when he tried to take a single off Joey Evison he was sent back by Bopara and run out by George Linde. Shadab Khan came in and hit Linde for successive sixes, but when he tried to repeat the feat he was caught by Jordan Cox on the boundary for 15.Michael Burgess hit 21 from 14, but after switch-hitting Linde for six he was caught behind off the next ball.Bopara responded by taking 19 from Grant Stewart’s 15th over and he reached three figures with an elegant cover drive off Hogan for two in the 19th. Hogan had Fynn Hudson-Prentice lbw for 16 and Bopara finally went for 108, perhaps unluckily, when he hit a waist-high full toss from Quinn to Alex Blake.Kent knew they’d have to eclipse their previous highest run chase of 207 to win a T20 match but just three came from the first over and Tawanda Muyeye then played on to Ari Karvelas and was bowled for 1.Blake went in at No. 3 for his first appearance of the season and immediately went on the charge. He hit the first ball of Tymal Mills’ fourth over for four and dumped the next into the Sainsbury’s next to the ground for six, but at this point the umpires decided the rain had become too heavy and when they returned Kent needed 98 from 40 balls.Daniel Bell-Drummond, having scored 480 runs across formats in the previous week, had to retire hurt on 7 and although Sam Billings was dropped by Clark off his first ball, before the over was out Blake holed out for a 12-ball 30.Linde hit 12 from three before he was run out chasing a second but Billings and Cox just about kept Kent in it. The former was run out chasing a non-existent single and after Mills went for just six in the 19th, Kent needed 26 from Nathan McAndrew’s final over. They could only manage 14 but results elsewhere mean they can still qualify if they win at Taunton on Sunday.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has produced some key big-match performances, including nearly taking Sri Lanka to the World T20 title in 2009, but has not got the credit he deserves

Bimalka Liyanarachchi03-Dec-2015Tillakaratne Dilshan was recently picked in the ICC ODI team of the year. I wondered what he had done to make this elite team. A quick check on Statsguru gives the answer: only Kane Williamson has scored more runs during the concerned period, and Dilshan turned 39 this October.If you ask a random Sri Lankan cricket fan to pick the greatest batsmen Sri Lanka have produced, chances are Dilshan wouldn’t even enter the discussion. So why is this man so underrated?Style of play cannot be the reason – he is an aggressive opening batsman as dangerous as anyone to play the game, especially the shorter formats. Is it the aesthetics? He probably did lag behind his more stylish and aesthetically pleasing team-mates, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. But he’s no Graeme Smith or Alastair Cook.In full flow, Dilshan is an attractive batsman to watch. Then, is it his performances in big matches? Dilshan has a top-class World Cup record and almost single-handedly won a World T20 title for his team in 2009. Only seven batsmen have scored more World Cup runs than Dilshan, and all of them are superstars – Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Brian Lara, AB de Villiers, Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis. Yet, you’ll struggle to find anyone who would put Dilshan in the same bracket as the players above.His Test record is good without reaching the highest echelons of batsmanship, but as a white-ball player, he surely is one of the very best to play the game. Not withstanding his outstanding record with the bat, he was also one of the elite fielders in the game for a long while. His offspin remains as underrated as any other aspect of his game. But his contribution has been invaluable for his side, especially in conditions that suited his type of bowling.Is it his maverick outlook to the game? Is it his weird and wonderful goatee patterns? Whatever it is, Dilshan surely does not get the credit he deserves. He might be skipped in a discussion on modern greats, but he surely should hold his own in a discussion on Sri Lankan greats.Perhaps, he will get the recognition when he eventually retires. But knowing how his career has gone, he will probably go out with little fanfare. But the day he goes, I will ll stand up from my seat and applaud the man. I hope I am not alone when I do so.Want to be featured on ‘Inbox’? Send your articles to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

Sam Smith and George Dobson were on target as Wrexham battled to a 2-2 draw at Cambridge United in League One.

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• Dobson handed Wrexham the lead
• Smith scored an equaliser in the second half
• Wrexham held Cambridge to a 2-2 draw

• TELL ME MORE

  Wrexham got off to a flying start as George Dobson opened the scoring in the fourth minute. The midfielder intercepted a clearance from a Cambridge defender and found the back of the net with a brilliant low shot from the edge of the box.

  The Red Dragons dominated proceedings after taking the early lead but failed to increase their tally in the first half. Just a few minutes before the half-time whistle, Liam Bennett scored the equaliser. The right-back's initial header was parried out by Arthur Okonkwo, but he eventually slotted the ball home as the Wrexham defenders were caught napping.

  The visitors conceded a penalty just a couple of minutes after the match result as Lewis Brunt brought down Ryan Loft inside the area. Josh Stokes took the resulting spot-kick and handed his side the lead for the first time in the game.

  Phil Parkinson's side were quick to react as they responded with an equaliser within 10 minutes. Ryan Longman kept an inch-perfect cross inside the Cambridge box from the right side Sam Smith found the back of the net with a clinical header.

  With Wycombe dropping points at Shrewsbury, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's side continue to push for direct qualification to the Championship and a third promotion on the trot.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE MVP

  Smith turned hero for his side as he rescued a crucial point with a clinical header just before the hour mark. His equaliser helped Wrexham maintain their three-point lead over their closest competitors Wycombe.

• THE BIG LOSER

  The Wrexham backline had a night to forget as they conceded two very poor goals. During the first goal, the defender took a long time to react after Okonkwo had saved Bennett's header. This allowed the player to score from the second ball. The equaliser completely disrupted the team's momentum that they had gained after going ahead early in the match.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT COMES NEXT?

  Parkinson's side will be back in action in League One this Saturday as they take on Burton at home.

Manchester United’s miserable form continues.

On Boxing Day, the Red Devils were beaten 2-0 by Wolves, meaning they are now down in 14th place, having lost eight of 18 Premier League fixtures thus far, spending Christmas Day in the bottom half for the first time in 35 years.

Rúben Amorim has also become the fastest Man United manager in history to taste four league defeats, doing so in just seven matches, an unwanted record for sure.

Defeat to Newcastle United on Monday night would see them suffer three successive Premier League losses for the first time since Boxing Day 2016, while, given that their first two matches of 2025 are Liverpool (A) on Sunday and then Arsenal (A) a week later, this miserable form is only likely to continue.

So, in a desperate attempt to salvage this season, could Man United dip into the January transfer market, in an attempt to repeat their Bruno Fernandes success?

Bruno Fernandes: Man United's best post-Sir Alex Ferguson signing

It’s common knowledge that doing deals in the January transfer window is difficult.

Pep Guardiola himself this week described the winter window as “not easy”, but Manchester United have proved in recent times that it is possible to snap-up game-changing talent.

Immediately after arriving from Sporting CP in January 2020, for a fee of £46.5m plus up to £21.2m in add-ons, Fernandes made abundantly clear straight-away that he would be an excellent edition.

In his first half-season, which featured a three-month interruption due to Covid-19, the Portuguese midfielder scored eight goals in 14 Premier League appearances, as well as bagging three in five Europa League outings.

Overall, in 260 matches for Man United to date, Fernandes has scored 85 goals and provided 76 assists, winning both the FA Cup and EFL Cup under Erik ten Hag, appointed club captain in July 2023.

James Westwood of Goal labels him as Man United’s best player of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, with Shamoon Hafez of BBC Sport adding Fernandes has “single-handedly changed the fortunes of the club”, claiming he is the best January signing in Premier League history.

So, if the Red Devils are going to attempt to strengthen this January, they’ll hope for a similar impact from their latest target.

Man Utd's January transfer news

As per reports in Spain, Manchester United, as well as Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, are interested in signing Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Matheus Cunha, claiming both are prepared to pay €80m (around £66.3m) for his services.

As recently as Boxing Day, Cunha was a key figure in condemning Man United to their freshest defeat, scoring an Olimpico directly from a corner, before teeing up Hwang Hee-chan for Wolves’ second in the 2-0 win at Molineux.

One would assume that there’s no way Wolves will sell their best player in January, considering they sit just two points and one place above the relegation zone.

However, as ownership group Fosun International have scaled back their investment in Wolves in recent seasons, the club’s best assets have been sold; Pedro Neto, Max Kilman, Rúben Neves, Nathan Collins and Matheus Nunes have departed for a combined £170m during the last three transfer windows.

Cunha, currently earning approximately £60k-per-week, would expect a massive pay rise, should he make the move, while the Brazilian has been outstanding this season, teammate Joao Gomes describing him as a “monster” earlier in the campaign.

But how does Cunha compare to the Premier League’s best centre-forwards?

Of the six highest-scoring strikers in the Premier League so far this season, Cunha compares favourably to all of them.

Most impressively, the Brazilian’s ten goals have come from an xG of only four, making him the most clinical player across the entire division.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

He’s also racked up the most shot-creating and goal-creating actions of all six players highlighted, doing so for a struggling side battling against relegation, scoring almost a third of Wolves’ goals thus far, making his form all the more noteworthy.

Given that Wolves paid £44m to sign Cunha from Atlético Madrid two years ago, he won’t come cheap, but he would certainly be an excellent addition, should Man United secure his services next month.

Having reaped the rewards of landing Fernandes in the winter window back in 2020, the Red Devils – who have seen January recruits such as Odion Ighalo and Wout Weghorst come and go in recent years – could repeat that trick with their latest marquee move.

Amorim must drop Man Utd ace who's simply "not good enough" for the PL

Manchester United will be looking to return to winning ways against Newcastle United this evening.

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By
Ethan Lamb

Dec 30, 2024

New Zealand seamer available for four-game block during June and July

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jun-2023Sussex have signed New Zealand fast bowler Henry Shipley to bolster their attack for the next block of County Championship games.Currently second in Division Two, Sussex have drawn five of their six matches – which included seeing Glamorgan rack up a record second-innings score of 737 at Hove last month – and Paul Farbrace, the head coach, had spoken of adding firepower for the club’s four fixtures in June and July.With Steven Smith having finished a three-game spell and Cheteshwar Pujara on duty with India for the World Test Championship final and a tour of the Caribbean, Sussex had an overseas spot to fill, enabling Shipley to gain his first taste of county cricket.”Henry is an exciting addition to our squad for the next four County Championship matches,” Farbrace said. “We are really looking forward to Henry adding his high level of skill to our bowling attack and helping us to take 20 wickets.”I’d also like to thank New Zealand Cricket who have been fantastic in their help and support to make this happen.”Shipley, 27, who has been capped in eight ODIs and five T20Is, will be available for Sussex’s home game against Worcestershire staring on Sunday, as well as fixtures against Glamorgan, Derbyshire and Yorkshire.A right-arm seamer who stands 1.96m tall, Shipley averages 27.59 with the ball and is also a useful batter, with six half-centuries to his name.Shipley said: “I am really glad to have signed on with Sussex, the team has been playing really well so far in the Championship and I am looking forward to getting there and contributing for the team.”

The opener smashed 129 off 60 balls after which Mohit took 5 for 10 to knock out Mumbai

Hemant Brar26-May-20231:24

Manjrekar: Gill a once-in-a-generation player

Shubman Gill’s majestic 129 off 60 balls powered Gujarat Titans into the final of IPL 2023 with a 62-run win over Mumbai Indians in Ahmedabad. Titans will face Chennai Super Kings at this very ground on Sunday in a bid to defend their title.Earlier, rain delayed the match by 30 minutes. With the weather around, Rohit Sharma opted to chase after winning the toss. Titans didn’t have a great start, but Gill’s knock lifted them to a mammoth 233 for 3. This was Gill’s third hundred in four matches; only Virat Kohli and Jos Buttler (four each) have scored more in a single edition of the IPL. The knock took Gill’s run tally to 851. Once again, only Kohli (973 in 2016) and Buttler (863 in 2022) have had more productive seasons.No team had chased down this many in the IPL. And then Mumbai lost two early wickets. But they didn’t go down without a fight. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma took them to 72 in six overs before Rashid Khan castled the latter. From there on, Suryakumar kept them in the contest almost singlehandedly with his 61 off 38. But Mohit Sharma uprooted his leg stump when the batter missed a scoop. In the next over, Rashid trapped Tim David lbw to end Mumbai’s hopes.Mohit, who hadn’t bowled till the 14th over, used his slower balls to good effect and finished with figures of 2.2-0-10-5.Shubman Gill earned praise from everybody, including the opposition captain Rohit Sharma•BCCI

Unstoppable Gill

Despite scoring at least one four in every over from the second to fifth, Titans reached only 38 for no loss after five. Gill then latched onto Chris Jordan in the last over of the powerplay. The second legal delivery of the over was too short and sat up on this sticky pitch. Gill waited for it and pulled it with disdain over deep square leg. The next one was slightly short outside off. Gill once again showed no mercy and cut it ferociously to the cover boundary.Luck too was on Gill’s side. In the same Jordan over, he punched one uppishly to the right of mid-on where Tim David dived, got both hands to the ball but couldn’t hold on to it. He was on 30 at that point.Titans finished the powerplay on 50 for no loss but Wriddhiman Saha was struggling for timing. In the fourth over of the innings, Akash Madhwal had hit him on the helmet with a skiddy bouncer, and soon after Piyush Chawla had him stumped with a leg-side wide. It was the sixth time in 16 innings this season that Chawla struck in his first over of the match.Gill brought up his fifty off 32 balls. And then he cut loose. In a space of nine balls, he hit five sixes and a four off Madhwal and Chawla. He didn’t slow down even in the 90s; his second fifty took just 17 balls. Immediately after reaching his hundred, he smashed Cameron Green for 6, 4 and 6. By the time Gill holed out to deep midwicket, off Madhwal, Titans had reached 192 in the 17th over.

Titans retire out Sudharsan

All this happened while Sai Sudharsan was playing second fiddle to Gill. But with nine wickets in hand, Titans needed both batters to attack. The 18th and 19th overs combined went for just 16, after which Titans retired out Sudharsan who scored 43 off 31. Rashid replaced him in the middle and hit his first ball for four. Hardik Pandya then applied the finishing touch, hitting the last two balls of the innings for four and six.Suryakumar Yadav lost his leg stump to Mohit Sharma•BCCI

Shami strikes twice in powerplay

Coming into this game, Mohammed Shami had represented Titans three times against Mumbai. On all three occasions, he went wicketless. Tonight, though, he struck twice inside the powerplay to put Mumbai on the back foot. Nehal Wadhera, who came in as Impact Player for Madhwal, was caught behind in the first over of the chase, and Rohit top-edged a pull in the third.In between those two dismissals, Hardik hit Green on the left forearm with a short ball, forcing the batter to retire hurt. During the first innings, Ishan Kishan had walked off the field after Jordan’s elbow hit him in the eye when the two were crossing each other. So when Rohit departed, leaving Mumbai 21 for 2, it felt like they were effectively 21 for 4. But Green came out to resume his innings later, and Kishan’s injury had seemingly resulted in a concussion, so Mumbai replaced him with Vishnu Vinod.

Rashid, Mohit trump mighty Mumbai

Varma started by hitting two sixes in his first four balls, and then smashed Shami for four fours and a six in a 24-run over. He had moved to 43 off just 13 with 100% control over his shots. Hardik turned to Rashid in an attempt to put the brakes on the scoring rate. The spinner duly obliged his captain by bowling Varma when the batter tried to sweep him.At the fall of Varma’s wicket, Green came out once again, and was looking dangerous. He and Suryakumar added 52 in 5.2 overs before Josh Little pinged his leg stump with a delivery that seamed in from good length.Suryakumar, though, was still battling in the middle. He reached his fifty, off 33 balls, with a scoop-pull over the wicketkeeper’s head. He brought down the equation to 79 needed from 34 balls before Mohit sent him packing. Two balls later, the seamer had Vinod caught at extra cover.David was Mumbai’s last hope. Hardik, as always, had saved Rashid’s one over and brought him on in the 16th. With his third ball, Rashid trapped David lbw. The batter reviewed the decision but he couldn’t have been more out. From the other end, Mohit cleaned up the tail to pick up his maiden five-for in T20 cricket.

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2015Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews then added 87 runs to guide Sri Lanka out of a tricky position•AFPR Ashwin sent the crowd into silence when Sangakkara’s edge found a diving Ajinkya Rahane who took a one-handed catch•AFPMathews was then dismissed by Amit Mishra in the next over before Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal steadied things, adding 125 for the sixth wicket. Ashwin and Rahane combined again to get rid of Thirimanne for 44•AFPJehan Mubarak brought up his highest Test score – 49 – striking four fours and two sixes before edging Harbhajan Singh to Rahane at slip, as Sri Lanka took the lead past 100•AFPChandimal on the other side was proving to be the thorn in India’s flesh, racing to his fourth Test hundred at run-a-ball•AFPChandimal eventually finished on 162* not before helping Sri Lanka turn the tables and setting India a target of 176•AFPR Ashwin capped off his six-for from the first innings with four wickets in the second and ended with match figures of 10 for 160•AFPRangana Herath trapped KL Rahul lbw for 5 as Shikhar Dhawan and nightwatchman Ishant Sharma helped India finish on 23 for 1 at stumps on day three•Associated Press

More points. Yet more points have gone begging in what is turning out to be a rather trying Premier League campaign for Arsenal so far.

A couple of weeks ago it looked like the Gunners had their mojo back, putting 12 goals past Nottingham Forest, Sporting and West Ham.

However, since then, they’ve not had things all their own way. Arsenal drew with Fulham a week ago and were left to rue more dropped points, this time against relegation-threatened Everton.

You won’t find many games that Mikel Arteta’s men fail to get going but this was a real abject performance at home.

In truth, nothing seemed to click and when Bukayo Saka had a goalbound effort phenomenally denied by Jordan Pickford at the near post in the second half, you perhaps knew it wasn’t going to be the hosts’ afternoon.

So, where did all go wrong on Saturday afternoon?

Why Arsenal drew with Everton

Arsenal have not found it difficult holding onto the ball in recent weeks. Against Everton this weekend, they left the field having had 77% of possession but ultimately, they only ever created one big chance.

That really told the story of a lacklustre attack that only really saw Saka generate much of note in red and white.

That’s a familiar tale, really. Give the ball to Saka and hope. If something isn’t created by him then they’ll probably have to rely on a corner. Neither worked on this occasion.

You could put a lot of the blame on a dysfunctioning left-hand side again. What Raheem Sterling or even Gabriel Jesus have to do to potentially start on that left-hand side remains to be seen.

It appears as though the issue stems from the day Granit Xhaka left the club. Let’s cast our minds back to the 2022/23 season. Arsenal may have finished the season five points behind Manchester City but it was some of the best football we’ve witnessed at the Emirates in years.

That was helped by a flexible structure across the pitch and one that wasn’t solely reliant on things happening from one side of the pitch.

There is no doubt that the combination of Saka and Martin Odegaard has worked a treat on the right but since Xhaka left, they’ve not had the same combination play on the left.

During that aforementioned season, Xhaka was involved in 16 goals while Gabriel Martinelli, who seemed to love playing on that left flank, had a hand in 21 goals.

Arsenal looked to have semi-fixed that in midweek with Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly featuring on the left with Trossard in behind.

In fact, it was a combination on the left that led to the opening goal, scored by Saka. Lewis-Skelly retained the ball brilliantly before feeding not Trossard, but Jesus, who swept a cross towards the back post.

There was no such luck this time with a “dull and inspiring” Martinelli – in the words of European football expert Zach Lowy – not at the races once more.

Performance in Numbers

Want data and stats? Football FanCast's Performance in Numbers series provides you with the latest match analysis from across Europe.

Gabriel Martinelli's performance in numbers

Martinelli starts one game. Trossard starts the next one. And repeat. That’s been the story of Arsenal’s season as far as their left flank is concerned and it’s now becoming quite the problem that neither of them can find much form.

Trossard did score in back-to-back games against Sporting and West Ham but his performance a week ago against Fulham didn’t amount to much, producing just a solitary key pass.

Martinelli replaced him late on and looked to have produced the game-winning moment, crossing to Saka at the back stick only for the Brazilian to be deemed offside in the build-up.

That painful moment didn’t impact Arteta’s judgement too much as the former Ituano winger has now started the last two matches.

His lack of impact, though, was alarming, particularly when you consider he was up against 39-year-old Ashley Young. In total, he attempted four dribbles but didn’t complete a single one. As it happens, Young wasn’t dribbled past once and won seven of his nine duels. Martinelli’s numbers in comparison were damning, winning just one of his eight duels.

To make matters worse, the 23-year-old gave away the ball 14 times and produced just two key passes, while having a solitary effort on target.

Handed a 5/10 match rating by Football.London’s Kaya Kaynak, the reporter noted that the attacker’s ‘end product remains an issue’. Indeed, the Brazil star has only scored three times in the league this term and assisted two goals.

Contrast that with the right-hand side where Saka has contributed five league goals and ten assists and the difference is stark.

In all honesty, if Arsenal are going to win a Premier League title anytime soon, they need a high-functioning left-hand side. That feels unlikely until they sign another winger with end product.

Arsenal want to sign "blistering" £57m star who's like a right-footed Saka

The incredible forward would be the perfect addition to Arsenal’s attack.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Dec 10, 2024

Erling Haaland has been spotted out of his protective boot mere days after the Manchester City star suffered an ankle injury.

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• Haaland suffers ankle injury
• Enjoys break in Marbella
• Spotted without protective boot

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Norwegian was forced off during City's FA Cup quarter-final win over Bournemouth last weekend, with the 24-year-old later spotted in a protective boot. Days on from that blow, the striker has been pictured with girlfriend Isabell Haugseng and their young son in Marbella, Spain, this week. While Haaland used a crutch, he was wearing his regular shoes this time out.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Despite City's struggles in 2024/25, Haaland has still scored 30 goals for them. If Pep Guardiola's men want to qualify for next season's Champions League and win the FA Cup, it will be an awful lot harder to do without the big forward.

• Getty
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Guardiola said earlier this week that Haaland would be sidelined for between five to seven weeks. If it is the latter, the ex-Borussia Dortmund star may miss the rest of the regular season.

• WHAT NEXT?

  While Haaland – who has vowed to come back soon – continues his rehab, City take on bitter rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Injuries to Georgia Stanway, Ruby Mace and Laura Blindkilde Brown mean the European champions might need to assess new options ahead of the summer

With little over three months until their European title defence begins, England's midfield is not in a good place. The Lionesses have lacked depth in that area for a while now, especially in the deeper roles that have long been held down by Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway. It has been far from ideal, then, to be hit hard by injuries in the middle of the park since the turn of the year.

Stanway underwent knee surgery in late January, throwing her ability to participate in this summer's tournament into doubt. Bayern Munich said the midfielder will be out for 'several months' and while Sarina Wiegman is "hopeful" that the 26-year-old can be back fit in time for the Euros, it's unclear just how much she'll be able to play beforehand, if that is indeed the case.

Given the lack of natural options behind Stanway in the No.8 role, her absence already made midfield a problematic area for England in their last camp. Ahead of their April fixtures, though, things are worse. Ruby Mace, the promising young holding midfielder who made her senior Lionesses debut in December, suffered a knee ligament injury earlier this month that doesn't require surgery, but will sideline her for a while. Then, on Sunday, it was confirmed that Laura Blindkilde Brown, another youngster who debuted in December, will miss the rest of the season due to an ankle problem.

None of these players are certain to be back ahead of the Euros, meaning it's imperative for Wiegman to look at other options in midfield ahead of the tournament. She's already starting to do that, as evidenced by Maisie Symonds' maiden call-up earlier this week. Who else could get an opportunity to impress before the Lionesses head to Switzerland? GOAL picks out six names who could potentially be looked at…

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  Maisie Symonds

  There are some really exciting young players coming through the England set-up, but it can sometimes be detrimental to a prospect's development to thrust them into such a demanding environment, like the Lionesses' one, so soon – unless they have the right character and experience. Wiegman clearly believes Symonds is ready for an opportunity, having called her up for the first time this week.

  There are plenty of reasons to believe she is ready. The 22-year-old has been part of the first team at Brighton for four years now, racking up over 50 Women's Super League appearances already, and she is a player Wiegman and her staff know a lot about because of her regular involvement in the England youth teams.

  As the Lionesses continue to turn to the Under-23s for the next player up, it makes total sense for Symonds to get the sort of opportunity that has also been granted to the likes of Mace, Blindkilde Brown, Jess Park and Aggie Beever-Jones recently. If she can take it, she could be on the plane to Switzerland this summer.

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  Lexi Potter

  Another potential gem in the England youth set-up is Lexi Potter, who looks to have an increasingly bright future. The 18-year-old has regularly caught the eye as a goal-scoring midfielder in the U17s and U19s and her ability to thrive in that box-to-box role is something that the Lionesses will certainly hope continues, as it is a position they desperately need to build depth in.

  Potter is one of several midfielders in the youth teams who have shown promise but what sets her apart is the regular game time she is getting this season in the WSL. On loan at Crystal Palace from Chelsea, Potter was one of the Eagles' top performers when they won promotion last season and, despite being thrust into a very different situation in her second year at the club, in the form of a relegation battle, she has adapted to continue to catch the eye.

  Wiegman may be tentative to bring her into the senior team so early, considering she doesn't turn 19 until August, but as the saying goes, if you're good enough, you're old enough. Potter has been showing that for the last couple of seasons.

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  Katie Zelem

  While Symonds and Potter represent the readier of the young prospects Wiegman could turn to, many of her other options are experienced heads who she knows well. One of those is Katie Zelem. The 29-year-old has 12 caps for her country and was part of the squad that reached the 2023 Women's World Cup final, deputising nicely for Walsh in the group stage game against China after England's star holding midfielder picked up an injury.

  Zelem hasn't been called up since December 2023 and Wiegman's most recent comments about the midfielder, who swapped Manchester for Los Angeles last summer when she moved from Man Utd to Angel City, were that she was not in her plans at the moment.

  However, right now, England do not have anyone to back Walsh up in the holding midfield role, owing to Mace's injury, and Stanway's absence takes away major experience in the middle. If neither is back for this summer, it wouldn't be a surprise if Wiegman considered a recall for a player who knows the environment well and has played at a major tournament.

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  Jordan Nobbs

  For very similar reasons, Jordan Nobbs may also be someone Wiegman thinks about bringing back into the picture. She, too, was part of the 2023 Women's World Cup squad and, with some 71 caps to her name, is a player who would bring plenty of experience to the table. Capable of playing as a holding midfielder, in a box-to-box role or as a No.10, she offers plenty of versatility as well.

  Like Zelem, though, she has not been in consideration for well over a year. Nobbs' last call-up came in September 2023, after she had failed to make an appearance at that summer's World Cup just a few weeks prior. The Aston Villa star was in great form back then, too, and still couldn't get a look-in.

  In truth, then, her chances of a return seem a little more unlikely than Zelem's. But, again, she would offer not only an option in a thin position, but also a lot of experience and versatility if players do not return to fitness in time to make the squad for Switzerland.