Leeds United are on a roll as they aim to put together a tilt at promotion from the Sky Bet Championship and their good mood is spreading throughout the squad, as latest developments now indicate at Elland Road.

What's the latest news involving Leeds United?

The Whites have gone on a six-match unbeaten streak in the Sky Bet Championship and sit sixth in the league standings, representing a solid start to proceedings for Daniel Farke since taking charge at Elland Road.

As per Sky Sports via Leeds Live, pundit Don Goodman has claimed that Leeds United trio Joel Piroe, Wilfried Gnonto and Georginio Rutter are too good for the Sky Bet Championship.

Goodman stated: "In those forward areas, we’re starting to see genuine Championship quality. Quality that’s probably too good for the Championship in Joel Piroe. I’m glad that Georginio Rutter has found his feet and found his confidence, throw into the mix (Wilfried) Gnonto and more behind that as well, their options are brilliant. Look, it was a really, really unsettled pre-season with all the comings and goings, contract clauses, and who was going to be there when the transfer window shut."

Piroe in particular has impressed for the Whites since joining from divisional rivals Swansea City in the summer transfer window, racking up six goals in his opening nine appearances across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

Meanwhile, journalist Phil Hay has indicated that the 49ers could look to pay up the remainder of out-of-favour star Helder Costa's contract at Elland Road after a move to new surroundings failed to materialise for the Angola international during the summer transfer window.

Next up for Leeds United is a trip to St Mary's Stadium to face an out-of-sorts Southampton, with Russell Martin's men coming off the back of four straight defeats in the English second-tier.

What have Ethan Ampadu and Luke Ayling said?

Taking to Instagram, Leeds United forward Georginio Rutter posted a compilation of his best moments from their 3-0 win over Watford last weekend, in which he claimed a stunning late assist to set up Jaidon Anthony for the Whites' crowning third goal.

In reply, Leeds United right-back Luke Ayling replied with a comment which read: "Love that happy face of yours!!" Further down, Wales international Ethan Ampadu also chimed in with a simple one-word response that said "Wow" in reference to the France Under-21 gem's exploits in the victory.

Looking like a man full of confidence all of a sudden, Rutter has managed to appear eight times in all competitions for Leeds United, registering two goals and two assists, as per Transfermarkt. Acting as a foil for Piroe in attack against Watford, Rutter managed to complete seven of his nine dribbles attempted during the clash and also laid on three key passes against the Hornets, according to Sofascore.

Leeds United boss Farke said that the 21-year-old was "top-class" across proceedings last weekend and he now slowly looks to be paying back the club-record £35 million fee shelled out for his services in January, as per talkSPORT.

Ayling and Ampadu have clearly caught a buzz off of his recent performances and everyone connected with the club will hope he can play a key part in their push for promotion over the coming months.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has enjoyed a number of huge successes in the transfer market over the years throughout his time at Anfield.

The likes of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Alisson were all signed by the German head coach and went on to become influential players for the club, with some of them remaining key figures to date.

Who are Klopp's most expensive Liverpool signings?

Klopp has not been afraid to splash the cash when provided the chance to do so by FSG and has struck gold a number of times since his move to the club in 2015.

Virgil van Dijk

£73.8m

Darwin Nunez

£69.7m

Dominik Szoboszlai

£61m

Alisson

£54.5m

Naby Keita

£52.3m

Whilst it is easy to focus on the big-money signings who caught the eye and became stars for the club, Klopp also played a blinder with the bargain signing and then sale of winger Xherdan Shaqiri.

He was a solid and reliable performer for the Reds during his spell at Anfield and the German boss went on to sell him at the perfect time before his market value plummeted.

How much did Liverpool pay for Shaqiri?

The Reds reportedly splashed out a fee of £13.5m to sign the Switzerland international from Stoke City in the summer of 2018 after they activated a relegation clause in his contract with the Potters, who dropped down to the Championship that year.

Klopp described it as a "perfect" move and a no-brainer for the club as the talented forward had already proven his quality at Premier League level. Coincidentally, he'd also proven himself to be a little like one former Red. After scoring at Euro 2018, just a month before his move, one football writer Andrew Beasley said: "That Shaqiri goal reeks of Suárez against Everton at the Kop end in 2014."

The Swiss joined Stoke from Italian giants Inter in the summer of 2015 and enjoyed an impressive few years at the club with 15 goals and 15 assists in 92 appearances in all competitions.

His most productive season in a Potters shirt came during the 2017/18 campaign as he contributed with eight goals and seven assists in 36 Premier League starts.

The Switzerland forward averaged a phenomenal Sofascore rating of 7.24 which happened to be the highest score within the squad, ahead of second-placed Kurt Zouma's 7.07.

Shaqiri was unfortunate to end the season with only seven assists as the left-footed winger created a whopping 14 'big chances' for his teammates and provided 2.1 key passes per game, as per Sofascore, 1.2 more per match than any other Stoke player with more than one league appearance.

That sublime form came after the ex-Bayern Munich prospect produced four goals and two assists in 21 Premier League starts during the 2016/17 campaign. In that time, he created five 'big chances' and delivered two key passes per outing.

These statistics show that Liverpool were bringing in a player who had already proven himself to be an effective forward in the top-flight of English football for a relatively low fee.

How many goals did Shaqiri score for Liverpool?

The Switzerland star racked up eight goals in 63 appearances in all competitions for the Reds in three seasons with the club before his exit in 2021.

Shaqiri, who joined as a back-up to the likes of Mane and Salah, caught the eye when called upon by the ex-Dortmund head coach throughout his first season on Merseyside.

The talented attacker scored six goals and provided three assists in 11 Premier League starts for the Reds, which worked out as an average of one goal contribution every 1.2 starts. Evidently, he was a reliable option for Liverpool to bring in when one of the frontline options needed a rest or missed a game through injury or suspension.

Only Roberto Firmino, Mane, and Salah scored more league goals for Liverpool than Shaqiri during the 2018/18 campaign, illustrating how impactful he was in spite of his limited game time on the pitch.

He also provided two assists in two Champions League starts for the club that season as Klopp's side went on to win the competition with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the final.

However, Shaqiri then struggled even more for minutes on the pitch over the next two years as he managed seven Premier League starts in his final two campaigns at Anfield, in which time he chipped in with one goal and two assists.

Where is Xherdan Shaqiri now?

Liverpool ended up playing a blinder with the Swiss gem as they opted to sell him to Lyon in the summer of 2021 after his lack of game time. Since then, his value has plummeted, suggesting a sale was made at precisely the right time.

Football Transfers rated his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at €11.2m (£9.8m) in December of 2021, shortly after his move to France.

Shaqiri only played 16 matches for the Ligue 1 outfit and contributed with two goals and three assists before a move to MLS side Chicago Fire in 2022.

He has racked up 12 goals and 11 assists in 59 appearances for the American team to date and has scored three goals and produced three assists in 26 MLS outings in 2023 so far.

At the time of writing (25/09/2023), FootballTransfers has his xTV at €2.9m (£2.5m), meaning that his market value has dropped by a staggering 74% in just two years since his move from Liverpool.

Klopp clearly made a terrific decision to cash in on Shaqiri when he did as the 31-year-old has struggled to get back to his best and currently finds himself playing outside of Europe's major leagues with a decreasing market value.

Liverpool picked him up for a fairly cheap price and enjoyed his talents throughout the 2018/19 season and, although they may be disappointed with how the next two years went, have now been able to watch on as he has struggled since moving on from Anfield.

ScorecardIf Kent were under any illusions about the difficulty of their run chase at Bristol, they were shattered within nine balls. Joe Denly, regularly acclaimed with five hundreds bagged across all formats this season, pushed forward to the left-arm spinner Graeme van Buuren, the ball gripped and turned to hit off stump. Their target of 185 seemed a speck on the horizon.To trim that target to six to win from the last ball was a redoubtable effort in an excellent game, but it was to no avail. Kent’s No. 10 Mitch Claydon swung wildly enough for the bat to escape his grasp, but the ball passed by harmlessly and Gloucestershire claimed a five-run win. Kent are fancied in the South Group, Gloucestershire are not, but both counties now have two wins in three.You have to hand it to Gloucestershire. Benny Howell, their great innovator, has a hamstring injury, and Andrew Tye, who was the leading wicket-taker in the IPL, has been held back a while by Cricket Australia for workload reasons, and was limited to talking on the boundary edge about how a secret new delivery was in production.Such talk was once limited to Shane Warne, the great legspinner, who was so full of bluff about his repertoire that he might easily have claimed a new variation that detoured twice through the burger fan while playing the tune of Advance Australia Fair. Now, in T20, quick bowlers claim the same.

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The slow, grippy wicket was succour for Gloucestershire’s unsung medium-pacers against a highly-rated batting line-up. Heino Kuhn held the innings together for 44 from 33 balls until he chipped back Noema-Barnett’s knuckle ball – the first delivery he had bowled, at a man well set. Ryan Higgins cut his pace to 60mph and was obligingly slapped to deep cover; Higgins struck again when Alex Blake chipped weakly to short extra.Carlos Brathwaite, the man who once struck Ben Stokes for three successive sixes in the last over to win a World Twenty20 title, managed two in five balls, bowled as he pushed forward to Matt Taylor with great sobriety.The angriest exit, though, came from Sam Billings, as he seeks to make the transition from dressing room attendant to exhilarating cricketer. He looked attuned to the task, his first 10 balls bringing 24, including three imperious sixes, then Tom Smith, another left-arm spinner, held one back, Billings swung and missed and stalked from the field, swinging his fist in self-admonishment. Kent lacked the decisive innings.Gloucestershire’s victory was just about secured when Higgins – with 30 needed from 14 balls – stopped Sean Dickson’s return drive, swivelled and throw the stumps down at the non-striker’s end. Nineteen were needed off the last over, but Higgins began with a wide then conceded two leg-side boundaries to Adam Milne. Dickson was run out by Jack Taylor’s throw from long on from the penultimate ball, meaning that Claydon – not Dickson, was charged with attempting the last-ball six.Tension for the last ball? Not when half the country had been ridiculously nervous all day over the approaching World Cup semi-final in Moscow. More the sort of day for someone to tell Higgins: “Look, it’s not penalties, mate. Get it won.” And so he did.On an old, ugly surface, Gloucestershire had batted ugly to good effect. Kieran Noema-Barnett (31 from 15 balls) and Jack Taylor (42 not out from 23) are hardly the most stylish batsman in the land, but Noema-Barnett slugged it down the ground, Taylor hauled through midwicket and an innings that might have faltered from 82 for 4 at midway instead came to rest with a challenging total on the board.Denly’s leg spin has also found unparalleled success this season – two more victims as Michael Klinger confidently deposited him to long-on and Ian Cockbain was bowled pulling – but surprisingly Imran Qayyum’s slow left arm was seen for only one over. Kent got a bonus wicket when Gareth Roderick was lbw to Calum Haggett, trying to switch hit a yorker, not the greatest shot selection admittedly, but the ball struck him well outside the line.It was a strange afternoon, the Blast at its least atmospheric (watch out for its detractors using this one as anti-marketing video). It had been brought forward to a 3pm start because of England’s presence in the World Cup semi-final at 7pm and the crowd was sparse at the Brightside Ground – appropriately named for the Gloucestershire treasurer because looking on the bright side was necessary on a day like this.Joe Root, England’s Test captain, had said that he was more nervous about the football than playing cricket, knowing that an entire nation would nod wisely rather than berate him for not concentrating on the task in hand. Gloucestershire’s win was all done and dusted in slightly less than three hours, leaving time not just for the match but the build-up. These days it can take IPL nearer to four. Perhaps the best thing India can do to remember how to quicken their T20 overrate is to improve their football?

Sixteen years after he steered India to the historic tri-series final win at Lord’s, the former India batsman called time on his playing career

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2018Mohammad Kaif, 37, retired from all forms of cricket on Friday, 16 years after he steered India to one of their most memorable victories in ODI history – beating England by chasing down 325 at Lord’s in the NatWest Series final.Kaif ended a two-decade long first-class career that began in 1997-98. He played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs in an international career that spanned six years (2000-2006), his last game for India coming more than 12 years ago, during the tour of South Africa in 2006. He also captained India to their first Under-19 World Cup win, in 2000.”I am retiring today as it’s been 16 years since the historic Natwest Trophy win in which I was glad to play my part, and I’d like to remember that as I bow out,” he wrote in a letter to the BCCI. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have worn the India cap, and to have gone on to play 125 ODIs and 13 Tests for India, and for several other moments.”A domestic stalwart who played for three sides, Kaif’s association with his home state Uttar Pradesh was the most prominent, having led them to a maiden Ranji Trophy title by beating Bengal in 2005-06. Renowned for being a gritty batsman and an excellent fielder, Kaif finished with 10,229 runs in 186 first-class matches at an average of 38.60.Kaif quit Uttar Pradesh in 2014-15 and moved to Andhra as a professional for two seasons. In 2016-17, he led new entrants Chhattisgarh in their maiden Ranji Trophy season. He continued to play a key role as a member of their support staff the following season, even though his appearances as a player were sporadic.Post-retirement, Kaif hoped to be involved in a coaching or mentoring role. He was assistant coach of the now erstwhile Gujarat Lions in the IPL and wants to play a similar role in domestic cricket. Apart from short-term coaching assignments, Kaif is also keen to pursue media interests and hindi cricket commentary.

Fakhar Zaman and KL Rahul became the new No. 2 and No. 3 respectively, while Babar Azam, Colin Munro and Glenn Maxwell slipped to occupy the spots right below the top three

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2018Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch has jumped three places to vault to the top of ICC T20I rankings for batsmen, while Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman and India’s KL Rahul rose to the No. 2 and No. 3 spots respectively. Finch also became the first player ever to break the 900-point barrier in the T20I rankings but ended the series with a final tally of 891 points.The new top three in the ICC rankings for T20 batsmen•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Babar Azam, Colin Munro and Glenn Maxwell all slipped, occupying the three spots below Finch, Zaman and Rahul.Finch had a prolific run in the tri-series against Pakistan and hosts Zimbabwe, piling on 306 runs in five games at a strike rate of over 200, which included a world record 172 off 76 balls.Zaman moved up 44 places on the table and reached 842 points following his own incredible form in Zimbabwe, which featured a career-best 91 off 46 balls in the final that helped Pakistan seal a record chase against Australia in Harare.Rahul touched a career-high 854 points following the first match of the T20I series in England – which the visitors won 2-1 – where he scored a match-winning 101, but a dip in the next two games saw him finish with 812 points.D’Arcy Short, Finch’s opening partner, entered the top 10 rankings for the first time. He made 165 runs at an average of 41.25 in the tri-series, including a 53-ball 76 in the final. The others who garnered career-best rankings following the two series were Jason Roy (No. 15 with 641 points), Jos Buttler (No. 17 with 614 points) and Zimbabwe’s Solomon Mire, who rose a staggering 202 spots to 25th place on the table.Among the bowlers, legspinners Rashid Khan and Shadab Khan retained the top two positions but there were movements down the table. Andrew Tye rose 41 places to seventh spot and Adil Rashid moved up four places to ninth.

Liverpool are still smarting from what happened away to Tottenham over the weekend, and a fresh injury blow has sent the Reds' weekend from bad to worse.

What happened to Liverpool with VAR?

The Reds suffered one of the cruelest defeats in Premier League history on Saturday evening, in what was a crunch clash with a similarly in-form Spurs side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Liverpool ended up playing with nine men for a chunk of proceedings, following a somewhat harsh red card for Curtis Jones and a soft sending-off for Diogo Jota, and it was Joel Matip's last-gasp own goal that consigned his side to a 2-1 defeat in north London.

The worst part of the entire match was Luis Diaz's disallowed goal during the first half, however, with the Colombian finding the net but being adjudged to have been in an offside position. It turns out that he was in fact onside, but those in charge of VAR inexplicably failed to tell referee Simon Hooper that that was the case.

It was an incident that has left anyone of a Liverpool persuasion fuming, and on Sunday night, the club released an official statement, saying: "That such failings have already been categorised as 'significant human error' is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency."

Away from the VAR farce, the Reds have now also been handed an injury blow, following a new update that has emerged.

Which Liverpool player is now injured?

Taking to X, Dutch journalist Rik Elfrink claimed that Cody Gakpo could now be missing for Liverpool for "several weeks", having limped off after scoring the equaliser against Spurs:

"Cody Gakpo is expected to be out for several weeks at Liverpool. If all goes well, a few weeks. The Dutch matches in October do not seem feasible for the former PSV player at the moment."

Gakpo took his goal at Spurs brilliantly on Saturday, but as soon as he looked in pain after finding the net, it was clear that he was in serious discomfort, having been down injured shortly before scoring as well.

In truth, the fact that the Dutchman was seen in a knee brace after the game means that several weeks on the sidelines could actually be deemed semi-good news for Jurgen Klopp, considering there is the risk that he could be out for months of action instead. However, there is no question that Gakpo will be a big miss, with his manager saying he is someone who "eats football", in terms of his dedication and intelligence as a player.

The 24-year-old has often been trusted as Liverpool's first-choice option down the middle of the attack, linking with others in Roberto Firmino-esque fashion, and that ability to knit things together will make him a big loss in the coming weeks, even though the likes of Darwin Nunez and Jota bring different attributes to the team.

Hopefully, Gakpo is only out of action until the October international break has finished later this month, but that could be wishful thinking, following this latest update on his fitness.

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly been told by their manager, Ange Postecoglou, to sign one country's "fundamental" defender.

Latest Spurs news

On the field, Spurs have gone from strength-to-strength under their new boss; winning five out of their opening seven Premier League games while displaying an exciting brand of attacking football on display. Tottenham continued their impressive streak with a controversial 2-1 win over Liverpool in north London on Saturday, with Joel Matip's own-goal deep into added time gifting the home side all three points. Speaking after the 90 minutes, Postecoglou said the dramatic late win could help to build up the spirit and belief in his group of players.

“It wasn’t an easy game for us, we knew it wouldn’t be, and even in the circumstances, we had some unique challenges," explained the Australian.

"For some of these guys, this will be the first time they’ve faced that type of scenario, and for the most part, we handled it okay. Again, getting that late winner helps build the belief and spirit in the group. The thing about Liverpool, even with 10 men, they are equally as dangerous because the game plan is the same, they play on mistakes, they have world-class players up front who can hurt you. I thought the second half was better because we stayed a bit calmer, maintained our pressure in the wide areas and got our reward.”

The result keeps Postecoglou's in second place and just one point behind last season's treble-winners Man City, having scored just as many goals as Pep Guardiola's blues. It's certainly a promising time to be a Spurs supporter as the arrival of Antonio Conte's replacement seemingly hands them a new lease of life. Off the pitch, chairman Daniel Levy and Chief Football Officer Scott Munn will be slowly preparing for the January transfer window.

Latest Spurs transfer news

You could argue that Postecoglou's squad lacks depth beneath the first team, especially when it comes to central defence. If either summer signing Micky van de Ven or Cristian Romero – the current star pairing – become unavailable, there are few world-class options to cover them.

This has lead to reports that Spurs could go in for a second centre-back signing after van de Ven this winter, with the likes of Bournemouth's Lloyd Kelly and Juventus star Gleison Bremer linked recently. Another to have come out as an option is previous summer target Edmond Tapsoba, with an update coming to light on the Burkina Faso international.

According to a report out of Spain, the 6 foot 4 Bayer Leverkusen star is an "express request" from Postecoglou – who has seemingly asked his club make the signing. It's added that the incorporation of Tapsoba to Spurs would be an "ambitious move" by Levy and co, but Tottenham are "determined" to shore up their defence in the coming months.

Called one of Leverkusen's best defenders under manager Xabi Alonso, the 24-year-old has also been branded "fundamental" for his country at international level by members of the press.

ScorecardAfter they were dismissed for 88 and 85 in their previous championship game at Hove, Glamorgan’s batting woes continued at Sophia Gardens on the opening day of their game against Durham. They were dismissed for 154 from 49 .1 overs with tail ender Rory Smith top scoring with 36.Durham had no problems when they batted, with Alex Lees, who has left Yorkshire and signed a three year contract with his adopted county, leading the way to a chanceless half century. The visitors were 75 for 0 at the close, and trailing by 79 with all their wickets intact.Glamorgan were undone by the visitors’ pace attack, with Chris Rushworth and new signing Matt Salisbury sharing six wickets, as the batsmen struggled in overcast conditions.Nineteen overs were lost at the start of the day due to a persistent drizzle, and after Paul Collingwood had no hesitation in bowling first after an uncontested toss, Glamorgan were soon losing wickets against an accurate visitors pace attack.Jack Murphy was the first to go when, after scoring the opening 17 runs of the innings he was well caught low down at third slip off Rushworth, and after Connor Brown and Nick Selman- who had laboured for 26 balls and 46 minutes over his two runs- were out, Glamorgan were 26 for 3 at lunch.Salisbury, who was initially on a loan deal with Durham before signing a contract until 2020, has also played for Essex and Hampshire, and was the pick of the seamers, ending with 3 for 34 from 13 accurate overs.Kiran Carlson and David Lloyd resisted for 16 overs as they shared a partnership of 51 for the fourth wicket, before Carlson, shouldering arms to Salisbury, was bowled off stump. After Chris Cooke went for a duck, also deceived by Salisbury, much depended on Lloyd , but when Collingwood appeared with his cutters, the former England all rounder induced Lloyd to give him a return catch.Smith played an useful knock towards the end, but after Rushworth had dismissed him , Durham’s latest overseas signing, the Indian spinner Axar Patel, ended the innings by taking the final two wickets in nineteen balls.Durham had 28 overs left to bat, and although conditions might have eased, Cameron Steel and Alex Lees set off purposefully, and were seldom in any trouble against the Glamorgan pace attack. Lees was the dominant partner, driving elegantly through the offside and racing ahead of his partner.Lees reached his half century from 53 balls out of 59, which included a large proportion of boundaries -eleven-, but shortly afterwards the light deteriorated and play was called off for the day with eight overs remaining.

Aston Villa are back in action in Europe tonight, as Unai Emery’s side hope to kickstart their progression in Group E of the UEFA Europa Conference League against Zrinjski.

Despite cruising through the qualifiers with an 8-0 aggregate win over Hibernian in an all-British tie, the Villans were dragged back to reality in the opening group game as they faced defeat to Legia Warsaw in Poland.

Emery’s side were hit with a footballing lesson against Legia, losing the game 3-2 in what was an overall disappointing performance by the Midlands club who were well poised to top the group at first glance.

What is the latest Aston Villa team news?

Just as Villa learnt in their opening game of the tournament, no side should be underestimated, which is a lesson that must be carried over to tonight’s contest as Zrinjski were victorious in their opening fixture against AZ Alkmaar.

Villa got back into their groove last weekend by seeing off Brighton & Hove Albion 6-1 at Villa Park, however the match saw two integral members of Emery’s squad sustain knocks forcing them to withdraw from the contest.

The Spaniard confirmed in his pre-match press conference that he will be without Moussa Diaby and Boubacar Kamara for the showdown at Villa Park, with both players having not trained following their withdrawal against Brighton.

Another unfortunate blow is Jacob Ramsey, who scored his first goal of the season against the Seagulls after missing the start of the campaign due to a broken metatarsal injury, with Emery confirming that the Englishman is also unavailable.

In the Conference League opener against Legia, a host of players were far below par, leaving questions over whether Emery will continue to rotate his side to accommodate those that were incapable of fighting for the win in Poland last time out.

Should Douglas Luiz start against Zrinjski over Leander Dendoncker?

Away from the Conference League, the manager opted to rotate his squad against Everton in the Carabao Cup, seeing Leander Dendoncker come into midfield to hand Kamara a rest.

Now that the Frenchman is out of contention, the Spaniard should avoid rotating the former Wolves dud back into the side, after his woeful performance against the Toffees that saw him earn a 6.4 Sofascore match rating.

Instead, Luiz should partner Youri Tielemans, who despite being another poor performer on the night, has shown glimpses of what he can offer to the side when at the top of his game.

Once lauded as a “warrior” by journalist Jack Grimse, Luiz has been the glue to Villa’s transformation in the middle of the park, and while the Brazilian would be the natural target of rotation due to his importance, tonight’s fixture poses little room for error.

With just 33 touches and a failure to impose himself defensively in midfield against the Toffees, Dendoncker was hooked at halftime, with Birmingham Live's John Townley writing that the 28-year-old was 'slow in possession and didn’t progress the ball particularly well'.

Considering Villa’s growing injury problems, Emery will be short on his options in midfield after losing both Kamara and Ramsey, however he should opt against risking another Dendoncker disasterclass.

After the defeat to Legia, Villa must begin to make waves in the group, which they could start tonight with a win over Zrinjski, which they will have to be at their best to ensure with Luiz often possessing the keys to the squad’s success.

The win against India A gave them a bonus point, but their chance of making the final was wiped out by Australia A’s victory over India B

The Report by Sruthi Ravindranath in Bengaluru27-Aug-2018On a cloudy day and a greenish pitch, South Africa A’s pacers ran through India A, consigning them to a four-wicket defeat and knocking them out of contention for a place in the quadrangular series final. The win gave South Africa a bonus-point, but their own chance of making the final was wiped out by Australia A’s victory over India B.Dane Paterson was the destructor-in-chief as he scythed through the hosts’ line-up, picking up his best bowling figures in a limited-overs game. The South Africa batsmen, in their chase, survived an equally-disciplined India bowling effort on a pitch that never looked easy to bat on.”Funnily enough, that was a South African wicket put out today,” Paterson said after the match, following his figures of 5 for 19. The new-ball duo of Paterson and Robert Frylinck found movement off the pitch, quickly drew parallels with the ones back home, and made no mistake in applying them. While keeping the scoring quiet with probing lines outside off, they accounted for the top-four batsmen within the first ten overs to leave India A reeling at 31 for 4.Dane Paterson on being called a T20 specialist

“It’s a dream to play Test cricket, so I’m working on that, aspiring to be there. It’s funny because at the beginning of my career, I used to have a lot of success with the red ball and suddenly now once I’ve got older, my white-ball game has taken off.

“I feel relieved, it’s been a long time since I took a five-for, it was my first with the white ball, so quite happy about today’s performance.”

At that point, Krunal Pandya joined Nitish Rana at the crease, following which India saw a brief flash of recovery. The two motored on for about six overs, rotating strike and seeing off the new-ball pair, but then Pandya edged one to the keeper, contributing just five to the overall score. While Rana pushed India’s score past 50, his struggle against the short ball was exposed, and soon he lost his wicket to a Malusi Siboto bouncer after making a 45-ball 19.The onus was on Sanju Samson to resurrect India’s innings, but Deepak Chahar did his bit to hold up South A too. He batted freely even as South Africa captain Khaya Zondo set an aggressive field. While Samson at the other end played watchfully, Chahar hit three sixes and as many fours to make a 42-ball 38, ending as India’s top scorer of the day.From 76 for 6, the duo pulled India to 140 before the South Africa pacers struck again. The promising 64-run stand was ended by a sharp catch by Pieter Malan at backward point to send Chahar back, and the fielder duly received a loud appreciation from the 50-odd spectators at the stadium. Following that, Paterson and Sisanda Magala did not take much time to wrap up the innings.For South Africa, Malan opened with Gihahn Cloete and the pair was treated to tidy bowling by Chahar, Shivam Mavi and Khaleel Ahmed. Khaleel provided the breakthrough for India, sending an edgy Cloete back, but Malan stuck around at the other end, making an 86-ball 47 before Khaleel came back to dismiss him. Paterson was sent in at No. 5 with the intention of collecting quick runs, but his brief stay at the crease was terminated by a Khaleel full toss that found its way to deep point to leave South Africa 111 for 5.With spin pressing from both ends, South Africa’s scoring slowed down in the middle. Mayank Markande and Krunal Pandya stifled the flow of runs with tight lengths – and also picked up three wickets between them in all – but India needed more runs on the board. South Africa took the relatively small chase to the 38th over but got home they did, Farhaan Behardien and Frylinck finishing the job. The bonus point they got for doing it in under 40 overs took them over Australia A in the points table, but only till the latter registered a win themselves later in the day in Alur.