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PSV Eindhoven delivered a stunning performance in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, dismantling Napoli 6-2 at Philips Stadion with American forward Ricardo Pepi making a significant impact off the bench. The 22-year-old striker needed just two minutes after entering the match to find the net and later provided an assist as PSV secured their first Champions League win of the season.

Supersub

Both U.S. internationals Pepi and Sergino Dest entered the match in the 84th minute with PSV already leading 4-1 against 10-man Napoli. Their introduction proved immediately impactful as Napoli briefly reduced the deficit when Scott McTominay headed home in the 85th minute, only for Pepi to restore PSV's three-goal advantage just one minute later.

The former FC Dallas academy product showed his predatory instincts by tapping in from close range after fellow substitute Couhaib Driouech created the opportunity. Pepi then returned the favor two minutes later by feeding Driouech for PSV’s sixth and final goal of the night.

AdvertisementPepi's goalAFPDutch side overcomes early deficit

The comprehensive victory didn't come without early challenges for PSV. Napoli had taken the lead in the 31st minute through McTominay's headed goal from a Leonardo Spinazzola cross. However, PSV responded quickly with an Alessandro Buongiorno own goal in the 35th minute, leveling the score.

The Dutch side then seized control when Ismael Saibari put them ahead in the 38th minute with a clinical finish after a swift counter-attack. Dennis Man extended PSV's advantage in the 54th minute, tapping in at the near post from Mauro Junior's cutback, before Napoli's situation deteriorated further when Lorenzo Lucca received a straight red card in the 76th minute for dissent after pointing to his head following a foul decision.

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AFPGaining momentum

The impressive performances from both Pepi and Dest, albeit in limited minutes, will boost their confidence as PSV prepares for upcoming fixtures. Pepi's goal and assist in just six minutes of play could potentially earn him more substantial playing time as the Dutch side looks to build on this momentum in both the Champions League and Eredivisie. The Dutch side will face Feyenoord next in the Eredivisie on Oct. 25 before hosting Fortuna Sittard on Oct. 31.

The ongoing Test at Trent Bridge is Zimbabwe’s first in England since 2003

ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2025Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani has said the team’s ongoing Test against England is a “defining moment” that “underscores the importance of inclusive participation in the game’s most revered format.”The Trent Bridge Test is Zimbabwe’s first Test in England since 2003, and their first international game across formats in the country since 2004. After the four-day Test, Zimbabwe will also play a four-day game against South Africa in Arundel from June 3 to 6.”Zimbabwe’s return to Test cricket in England marks a proud and defining moment – not only for our team but for the global cricket community,” Mukuhlani said in a statement. “It reflects our continued growth as a cricketing nation and underscores the importance of inclusive participation in the game’s most revered format.Related

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“Test cricket remains the ultimate measure of skill, character and endurance. For it to thrive, all Test-playing nations – especially smaller teams like ours – must be afforded meaningful opportunities to compete regularly, including against top-tier opposition.”This match against England is more than just a contest – it is a celebration of Test cricket’s enduring power to inspire, challenge and unite. It reaffirms our conviction that the red-ball game must remain at the heart of cricket’s future, with teams like Zimbabwe playing a full and active role at its core.”After a tough first day, on which England scored 498 for 3 before declaring on 565 for 6 on the second morning, Zimbabwe responded positively with opener Brian Bennett scoring a hundred off 97 balls. It was the fastest Test hundred by a Zimbabwean and he is only their third batter to score one against England.Since making their Test comeback in 2011, Zimbabwe have played 40 matches in 14 years – an average of just under three Tests a year – but they have 11 Tests lined up in 2025.

Liverpool’s class of 2025 have earned an unfavourable comparison to the Paris Saint-Germain team that once boasted Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. The Reds have assembled a star-studded cast of their own at Anfield, splashing out £240 million ($320m) on deals for Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, but are still waiting for their fearsome attacking unit to click.

Getty/GOALEnd product: Salah also struggling for a spark

Mohamed Salah also falls into that category, with the Egyptian superstar seeing his remarkable standards dip at the start of the current campaign – leading to him being dropped to the bench by Arne Slot for important Champions League fixtures on the road.

Swedish striker Isak has just one Carabao Cup goal to his name, while German playmaker Wirtz is still waiting to open his account. Dutch forward Cody Gakpo has also missed some glaring chances, with Liverpool having relied on late goals early in the season to paper over the cracks that were beginning to form on Merseyside.

Time is still on their side when it comes to unlocking full potential, with Isak and Wirtz too talented not to come good, but questions are being asked of whether Slot has assembled a cohesive squad or a collection of individualist superstars – much like PSG once did.

AdvertisementLiverpool likened to PSG of Messi, Neymar & Mbappe

Former Premier League title winner Jeremie Aliadiere – who formed part of Arsenal’s fabled ‘Invincibles’ squad in 2003-04 – has told of the issues that Slot is facing: “I compare this Liverpool side to Paris Saint-Germain when they had Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. You buy all of these superstars which excite the fans, but does that mean they’re going to gel and work well together?

“The signings are also going to upset Salah. He’s the main guy at Liverpool and they’ve done everything they can to keep him. He’s broken various records and has been the best winger in the league for some time. Bringing in all these new players who want to score goals won’t align with what Salah wants. It was the same at PSG. The team sheet looked great, but it didn’t work. At the moment, whatever Liverpool are doing isn’t working and they’re struggling.

“Intelligent players and great players can work together and it’ll take time, but it’s time they don’t have right now. Arsenal and Manchester City are going to keep winning games and if Liverpool can’t get back on track, they’ll be out of the title race within the next five weeks. Slot must find a way to fix things and keep everyone happy.”

GOAL Should Ekitike be starting every game for Liverpool?

Aliadiere believes that one of his fellow Frenchmen should be shown more trust at Anfield, with Hugo Ekitike having outperformed the likes of Isak and Salah when netting six goals through 12 appearances.

Aliadiere, who also graced the English top-flight with West Ham and Middlesbrough in his playing days, added: “I feel for Arne Slot having two expensive strikers to keep happy up front, but at the end of the day, Hugo Ekitike deserves to start. He began the season so well, and then they went and spent £130m on Isak. Where does he fit? Isak has to get match fit so he has to get some gametime, he’s not going to just sit on the bench all season.

“Let’s not forget that aside from those two players, you’ve got the best player in the league from last season, Mohamed Salah. Slot can’t just start to play in a 4-4-2 formation and tell Salah he needs to play more defensive just to accommodate the two strikers. It’s a tough job to manage that.

“If I were Ekitike, who was the main guy at the start of the season with plenty of goals and contributions, I’d understand Isak needs some gametime, but I’d be annoyed to be stuck on the bench. He was winning them games early in the season. It’s hard to get the balance right, particularly with two big players like Ekitike and Isak. Slot must manage their egos as well.”

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Liverpool fixtures: Premier League return after Champions League win

Liverpool, on the back of four successive defeats, returned to winning ways last time out when recovering from going a goal down to crush Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in Champions League competition. Ekitike was on target in that contest, while Wirtz registered two assists.

The Reds, who captured the Premier League title last season, will be back in action on Saturday when taking in a trip to Brentford. Slot faces plenty of big selection calls heading into that fixture at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Everton have made a terrific start to the campaign and could now look to bring a talented La Masia graduate to Merseyside after his recent run of impressive performances.

Everton renew Jordan Pickford terms

Most people on the blue half of Merseyside wouldn’t disagree with the statement that Jordan Pickford has been Everton’s most influential player over the last few years, and he is now set to sign a new long-term contract that will likely see him end his career at the club.

Delivering details of his extension, Sky Sports reporter Phil Dorsett wrote on X: “Jordan Pickford will sign an improved four-year contract with EFC when he returns from #england duty. Brilliant servant for club and country. He surpassed Gordon Banks’ record of eight consecutive clean sheets for England in the 3-0 win over Wales.”

Currently Everton’s highest paid permanent player with a weekly wage of £125,000 per week, Pickford will be likely to earn a major increase on that salary and nobody can argue that it hasn’t been deserved.

Putting that to one side, the Toffees face a difficult challenge against an in-form Manchester City side this weekend at the Etihad Stdium, albeit David Moyes will fancy their chances of claiming something against Pep Guardiola’s men.

Ultimately, there is a steely resilience surrounding Everton that has been mixed with a unique blend of attacking talent, with Jack Grealish leading the charge on a weekly basis alongside the likes of Iliman Ndiaye.

Moyes can make Ndiaye unplayable by unleashing Everton ace in new position

Everton could make Iliman Ndiaye unplayable by unleashing this star in a new role.

ByDan Emery Oct 13, 2025

Nevertheless, you can never have too many good technicians within your ranks, and supporters of the Blues will be delighted to hear about their latest interest in a proven international.

Everton want to sign Ansu Fati

According to reports in Spain, Everton are keen on signing Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati, who is currently enjoying an encouraging start to his spell at AS Monaco.

Six goals in his first five games for the club, equating to an effort converted every 32 minutes, has brought about further interest in his services from the likes of Crystal Palace and Newcastle United.

Five similar players to Ansu Fati (FBRef)

Luis Diaz

Bayern Munich

Leroy Sane

Galatasaray

Oihan Sancet

Athletic Club

Jamal Musiala

Bayern Munich

Fermin Lopez

Barcelona

Intriguingly, Monaco have a chance to sign him permanently for just £9.5 million. Meanwhile, Barcelona can exercise a buyback clause for just over £24 million.

Keen to get ahead of the curve, Everton may be banking on the Ligue 1 outfit looking to trigger a quick sale for a profit amid his availability to Monaco for a low fee.

The player will likely have the deciding say on his future, and interest from Premier League clubs is something that could be weighed up as an alternative to a permanent move to his loan club or returning to Barcelona upon the conclusion of his spell at Stade Louis II.

Batting coach Thilina Kandamby said Sri Lanka had initially hoped to play three seamers, but changed their minds when they saw the pitch

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Jun-2025Pitches at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo tend to come in two varieties. There were the mega run-fest flatbeds of the late aughts. Since then, they have tended to be be big-turning dustbowls.But the track for the second Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is unusual, as Bangladesh batter Shadman Islam and Sri Lanka batting coach Thilina Kandamby agree. Shadman is playing his first Test at this venue. Kandamby played domestic cricket here for more than a decade. But they’ve both arrived at roughly the same conclusion: this pitch is unexpectedly difficult to bat on.”It’s a two-paced wicket, when it usually has even bounce here,” Kandamby said after the first day’s play. “This is an unusual wicket at SSC because I’ve been playing here for almost 15 years. This is a totally different wicket. With the uneven bounce, even we were surprised by it.”Related

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Shadman, who is currently top-scorer for Bangladesh with 46 off 93 balls, also said that run-scoring was not easy. At least four of Bangladesh’s top seven batters were out playing aggressive strokes, including Shadman himself.”I think the wicket was a little bit slow,” he said. “You cannot score runs without playing shots. We played shots [during the first Test] in Galle too where those ended in boundaries. But unfortunately, maybe it was not our day today.”Having batted longer than anyone on this track, Shadman felt that 270 or 280 would be a good first-innings score for Bangladesh, who ended day one at 220 for 8. He also said there was enough juice in this pitch for Bangladesh’s own bowlers to exploit during Sri Lanka’s innings.”It’s very different conditions to Galle,” Kandamby said. “It was more batting-friendly than previous Galle wickets, and Bangladesh batted brilliantly. But here, we planned a few things about how to get them out, and some of those plans worked. We’d actually been hoping to play three seamers, but decided not to after coming here and seeing the wicket. For me, it’s an unusual SSC track.”

The Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit, NWSL expansion sides debuting in 2026, will play their first home matches at iconic NFL venues, the teams announced. The legacy will play in the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium on March 14, and the Summit will open in the Denver Broncos’ Empower Field on March 28.

Getty Images SportBoston up first

The Legacy will play their first home game on NWSL's opening weekend at the Patriots' stadium, which seats 65,878, in Foxborough, Massachussets. The MLS's New England Revolution call the stadium home and this season drew an average of 24,477 per game. 

Boston will play their inaugural 2026 season at Gillette Stadium before a planned move to White Stadium in 2027. 

The NWSL attendance record is 40,091, set this year by Bay FC at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

AdvertisementDenver Summit 'An unforgettable moment'

The Summit will play their first home match in the Broncos' venue, which seats 76,125 fans. The Summit currently have 15,000 deposits for season tickets, and the club also factored in local interest in their decision.

“We’re excited to bring this football club into the most iconic venue in Denver, and that was a driver of our decision,” Summit FC president Jen Millet told Sports Business Journal. “The other piece for us is that we’ve seen so much excitement about this club, and the community that has really rallied around the club, so we want to make sure that we can welcome everybody in when we host our first match in March.” 

Another factor is the construction of their temporary ground, which will be adjacent to the team's permanent training ground in the Denver suburbs. SBJ reported that the team is hopeful the venue will be ready for its second home match, but is also preparing to play additional home matches elsewhere in the Denver metro area – including another at Empower Field or Dick's Sporting Goods Park (home of MLS side Colorado Rapids). 

“If we have more matches very early in the season, that could be challenging, but if it’s spread out a little bit, then we might not need to play anywhere else,” Millet said. “We’re awaiting more information on that.”

DENVER NWSLSanta Fe Yards next?

The team's ultimate goal is to play at a 14,500-seat venue in Santa Fe Yards for the 2028 NWSL season, a move approved by the city of Denver in May. The total cost is expected to be between $220 to $270 million and it would be the second stadium specifically built for an NWSL team. The team's training center and temporary ground are expected to cost $25 million. 

Boston, on the other hand, will be renovating White Stadium in partnership with the city of Boston. Boston Public Schools will be the primary day-to-day tenant of the 10,000-plus-seat arena. The stadium was originally supposed to open in early 2026, but was delayed partially due to local opposition.

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Getty Images SportRosters start to take shape

Boston and Denver have already made signings to their rosters ahead of next season. 

Ally Watt, Nahikari Garcia, and Lourdes Bosch have all joined Denver, while Barbara Olivieri, Laurel Ansbrow, Aleigh Gambone, Aïssata Traoré, Emerson Elgin and Alba Caño are among those on the Legacy's roster.

January 17th 2016 was the last time Liverpool lost a game of football at Anfield to their dear old rivals.

That day it was a Wayne Rooney strike that sealed the win for Manchester United over the Reds. How times have changed since then. Liverpool have won the league on two occasions; their friends across the way have not.

Ruben Amorim came into this clash with slim hopes. Yes, Liverpool were in a rough run of form but United’s own form has been troublesome ever since the Portuguese took over.

Yet, for the first time during his tenure, they were able to secure back-to-back league victories. Perhaps Amorim is the right man for the job?

Regardless of the feeling among the Red Devils, questions may now be emerging about Arne Slot’s position.

This 2-1 defeat was a really tough one to swallow. Liverpool hit the post on a few occasions and registered a higher xG (expected goals) tally but failed to take their opportunities.

Cody Gakpo equalised but a late Harry Maguire header condemned the hosts to a third straight league defeat.

They are now four points behind Arsenal in the race for the Premier League title. It’s worrying, certainly when you consider just how much they spent over the summer.

So, where did it all go wrong?

What went for Liverpool against Manchester United

Well, where to begin? When things aren’t going your way, curious things happen, and that was certainly the case for Slot’s charges on Sunday evening.

Before scoring from close range in the second half, Gakpo hit the woodwork a staggering three times, the most notable came in the opening 45 minutes when Liverpool surged forward on the counter-attack.

The Dutchman found plenty of room to surge towards the penalty area but bent his shot against the post.

Liverpool could and should have equalised sooner. On another day, they win the game, such are the slim margins of Premier League football.

It wasn’t just their lacklustre finishing that cost them, however. Last term, the Reds were resilient and rock solid at the back but they are really paying the price for not investing further in the centre-back pairing.

Milos Kerkez has signed but is still struggling to get going in Liverpool colours with Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo – the scorer of United’s first goal – running rings around him.

Yet, skipper Virgil van Dijk is perhaps the most worrying of the lot, given his experience. Not for the first time in a game this term he was caught out and should have done better for the opening goal.

Mbeumo was allowed to ghost in behind the big Dutchman and he got on the end of Amad’s cute pass to fire home.

Whether Van Dijk has regressed is very much up for debate but perhaps a more pressing matter is the form of the Premier League’s most expensive signing.

Liverpool's biggest problem after Man United defeat

In the summer, Liverpool looked as though they had won the transfer window. £116m for Florian Wirtz? Don’t mind if we do. £125m for Alexander Isak? Yeah, go on then.

The Swede was at the centre of an almighty saga. He refused to go on Newcastle’s pre-season tour and then trained away from the Toon’s first-team squad for a few months before finally getting his move to Anfield.

However, since heading to Merseyside, he has scored just once, ultimately battling with fitness having not featured at all during pre-season.

Well, heading into the game with United, Slot declared that now was the time to judge him. “Fitness-wise he is close to the level he should be and we can judge him in a fair way from now on.”

Judge him is exactly what we shall do. Unfortunately, it was not a great showing from the Premier League’s record man.

For the sixth straight game, the centre forward failed to find the net and arguably, he should have done inside Anfield this weekend.

Isak had two shots and missed one OPTA-defined big chance, one of which he stuck straight at Senne Lammens’ right boot. It was unsurprising he left the game with a 4/10 match rating courtesy of GOAL, who rightfully suggested that the striker will be “hugely disappointed with his performance.”

Minutes played

72

Touches

19

Accurate passes

7/11 (64%)

Key passes

0

Shots

2

Shots on target

1

Expected goals

0.34

Big chances missed

1

Dribbles

0

Possession lost

8x

At Newcastle last season, when the goals were flowing, he’d definitely have scored, such is his ruthless nature. You can point to a lack of sharpness but as Slot says, he’s now ready to go.

It’s incredibly difficult to leave your biggest signing of all time on the bench but Isak’s lack of form has had consequences, notably for Hugo Ekitike, arguably Liverpool’s player of the season so far.

He bagged five goals in his first eight games of the season for the Reds and registered an assist as well.

The Frenchman was ruthless in the final third; he was everything Isak has been over the last few seasons and he looked the full package doing it.

It’s perhaps no coincidence that since Ekitike became less of a regular starter Liverpool’s form has dwindled. During Isak’s three Premier League starts, Slot’s side have lost all three. It’s time for Ekitike to get a run from the start instead in the Champions League on Wednesday in Frankfurt.

England have it all to do after Shubman Gill’s historic double-hundred gave India a mammoth 587

Matt Roller03-Jul-2025

Shubman Gill walks off to applause from the Edgbaston faithful•Getty Images

India’s new-ball bowlers picked off England’s top three with the same ease with which Shubman Gill ticked off records during his maiden Test double-hundred to take control of the second Test. This was a near-perfect day for India’s captain: Gill cruised to 269 before offering his first genuine chance, then snaffled a blinder at third slip to prompt England’s slump to 25 for 3.Gill made clear at the toss that he supported India’s decision to reinforce their lower-order batting after two collapses at Headingley, and it has paid off so far. He added 203 for the sixth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja, then 144 more for the seventh wicket with Washington Sundar, turning 211 for 5 into the highest total that England have conceded in the Stokes-McCullum era.Related

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Gill personified class and composure. He milked Shoaib Bashir for singles with the ease of a father teaching his son a lesson in the back garden, caressed back-to-back boundaries off Brydon Carse through wide mid-on and cover, and treated Harry Brook’s medium pace with utter disdain as he swept landmarks aside.He started England’s innings off the field after his 387-ball epic, and then took a spectacular catch four balls after walking back on. Akash Deep, India’s replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, cramped Ben Duckett for room from around the wicket and induced a thick outside edge; Gill flung himself acrobatically to his left and clung onto the chance, sending last week’s fourth-innings centurion crashing back to earth.Akash Deep struck again with his next ball, a full outswinger that Ollie Pope optimistically tried to whip leg side. His outside edge flew to KL Rahul at second slip, who parried the chance up to himself and grabbed it at the second attempt; Pope said after his first-innings century in Leeds that he was determined to avoid a familiar tail-off as the series wears on but has now failed twice since.India were rampant and soon had a third when Mohammed Siraj, who bowled a faultless opening spell, had Zak Crawley edging to first slip. It was a textbook Crawley dismissal, pushing with hard hands – and no foot movement – at a ball which left him, which left Brook and Joe Root to pick up the pieces: after 151 overs in the field, England were still 362 short of the follow-on mark.While Root was watchful, Brook sensed an opportunity to take the pressure off himself – and to get rid of some close catchers. After surviving an umpire’s call lbw shout – with Sharfuddoula consistent across both innings – Brook charged Siraj, flat-batting him through extra cover before launching him for six down the ground. He made it through to stumps, the deficit still 510.But a 52-run stand could not take the shine off Gill’s day. It is increasingly hard to fathom that he averaged barely 35 in Tests before this tour: he has led by example in his first series as captain and already looks ensconced in his new role at No. 4. Chief among his records were the highest score by an India men’s captain, and the highest score by any India batter in England.He was brilliantly supported by India’s two spin-bowling allrounders. Jadeja was the aggressor at the start of the day, slapping Ben Stokes through the off side for back-to-back boundaries. The pair exchanged words about Jadeja’s habit of taking two strides down the pitch before deciding whether to attempt a run or not, and both were warned off the danger area by umpires.1:39

Aaron: English bowlers were way off their mark

Jadeja fell shortly before lunch, gloving Josh Tongue’s short ball down the leg side for 89, and Washington struggled early against the bumper barrage. But he decided to take Tongue on after lunch, pulling him over long leg for six, and otherwise held up one end while Gill dominated the scoring.Stokes opted to preserve Chris Woakes’ body, and his own: neither man bowled an over after their initial bursts which started the day, with Bashir relied upon to hold up an end as Tongue, Brydon Carse and Brook rotated from the other. It took Root, curiously under-bowled, to break the partnership, ripping an offbreak past Washington’s outside edge and into middle stump.Gill fell shortly after tea, mistiming a pull straight to square leg: it was the first genuine chance he had offered, after a half-hearted lbw shout on the first evening and an outside edge past second slip in Woakes’ early burst on the second day. Bashir was handed the final two wickets on a platter: Akash Deep holed out to long-on and Siraj walked past a carrom ball to be stumped.India’s selection plan is halfway to working: Gill explained that Washington’s selection ahead of Kuldeep Yadav owed to the extra batting he provided, and he played a major role in helping India add a national-record 372 runs for the last five wickets. The second half relies upon them taking 20 England wickets with the resources available: after three early strikes, so far, so good.

The prop market is alive and well on the Sunday before the MLB All-Star break, and a few starting pitchers have caught my eye. 

I’m starting with San Francisco Giants lefty Blake Snell, who is making his second start since coming off the injured list, and I also think there’s some value on Seattle Mariners righty Logan Gilbert this afternoon. 

Let’s break down the best props before the MLB world takes a short break for the All-Star festivities. 

Best MLB Prop Bets for Sunday, July 14Blake Snell UNDER 5.5 Strikeouts (+105)Logan Gilbert UNDER 2.5 Earned Runs (-140)

Blake Snell UNDER 5.5 Strikeouts (+105)

Blake Snell returned for the San Francisco Giants on July 9, pitching five innings of shutout ball. 

He threw just 73 pitches, but the lefty also allowed just one hit, a sign that he’s starting to get back to himself after a very slow start to the 2024 season. 

Since Snell may be on a pitch count again in this game, I’m taking the UNDER on his strikeouts total. He has just two starts with more than 5.5 K’s, and the Minnesota Twins rank ninth in the league in strikeouts per game at 7.87 per game. 

Unless Snell goes significantly deeper into this matchup, I can’t see him clearing this strikeout total. 

Logan Gilbert UNDER 2.5 Earned Runs (-140)

This is a prime matchup for Logan Gilbert, who has a 2.94 ERA on the season and has allowed four or fewer earned runs in every single start this season. 

Gilbert has hit the OVER on this prop in back-to-back games, but now he faces a Los Angeles Angels team that is just 22nd in OPS in 2024. 

The Seattle Mariners righty has 10 starts with two or fewer earned runs this season, and I think this is a great spot for him to return to form after a couple of shakier outings to open July.

Celtic’s miserable season continues. On Sunday, Brendan Rodgers’ side suffered their first Premiership defeat of the campaign, losing 2-0 at Dens Park against Dundee, both goals coming in the first half, the second of which was an unfortunate Cameron Carter-Vickers own goal.

This was the Hoops’ first defeat at Dens since 1988, leaving them five points adrift league leaders Hearts, who they face at Tynecastle in a mouthwatering contest next Sunday.

Before then, the Celts are under pressure to get off the mark in the Europa League too, having yielded just one point from their first two matches, welcoming Austrian champions Sturm Graz to Parkhead on Thursday.

Ahead of these two massive fixtures, which Celtic summer signing should be concerned about losing his place in the starting lineup? Well, Yang is certainly one of them.

Why Yang was hooked at half time at Dundee

Among many players who offered very little on Sunday was Yang Hyun-Jun.

With Daizen Maeda sidelined due to a hamstring injury, Yang came into attack, chosen over James Forrest and summer signing Michel-Ange Balikwisha.

Well, the Korea Republic international touched the ball 25 times in the first half, attempting zero dribbles, so Chris Sutton, speaking during Sky Sports’ coverage at half time, asserted “just get him off”, adding that he’d offered absolutely nothing.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Well, Rodgers must’ve been listening, because Forrest replaced Yang during the interval, bringing to an end his first Premiership start since 23 August.

Meantime, at the other end of the pitch, Liam Scales endured a nightmare afternoon, turned inside and out by Dundee forwards Simon Murray, Cameron Congreve and Joe Westley, who caused the Celtic back-line problems all afternoon.

However, it is neither Scales nor Yang who should be most worried about their starting spot following this catastrophic defeat to Steven Pressley’s side who, lest we forget, were pre-season favourites for relegation.

Celtic star Rodgers must drop

As has been well documented, at the moment the transfer window slammed shut, Celtic did not have a senior centre-forward in their squad, following the sale of Adam Idah to Swansea City.

Thus, Kelechi Iheanacho arrived as a free agent, making a decent start to life in Glasgow in fairness to him, converting penalties against both Kilmarnock and Motherwell, as well as netting against Crvena zvezda in the Europa League.

However, as the table below documents, the Nigerian was completely anonymous in Dundee on Sunday.

Shots on target

1

1st

Shots off target

3

1st

Big chances missed

1

1st

Hit woodwork

1

1st

Big chances created

1

4th

Key passes

1

8th

Duels won

1

25th

Touches

20

23rd

Iheanacho did rank highly for shots, mustering four in total, the most of any player, but this didn’t yield anything, thwacking the woodwork once as well as missing one Opta-defined big chance.

He also won only 50% of his duels while, most concerningly, he touched the ball just 20 times, the same number as Balikwisha, who was introduced in the 64th minute and 15 fewer than ‘keeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Considering Iheanacho played only around 1,300 minutes last season for Middlesbrough and Sevilla, he was always going to need time to get up to speed, and that was certainly apparent at the weekend.

Had Maeda been fit, he would surely have dropped out of the team on Thursday, although youngster Johnny Kenny, who came on at half-time, is talented enough to displace Iheanacho, so may feel he deserves an opportunity.

Thus, with huge games against Sturm Graz, Hearts, Midtjylland and Rangers to come in the next fortnight, the Celts’ may stand a better chance of winning these matches with the Nigerian left in reserve, utilised as an option off the bench.

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