Due to bad weather, Storm Darragh’s adverse weather conditions, Liverpool’s Merseyside derby against Everton on Saturday was postponed.
Western regions of the United Kingdom have experienced widespread travel disruption as a result of strong winds and heavy rain.
Everton claimed the game had been postponed due to a meeting between the two clubs, local police, and Liverpool City Council, which was reported in a statement.
“Whilst we appreciate this will be deeply disappointing for supporters, the safety of fans, staff and players is of paramount importance”, Everton’s statement added.
The Merseyside derby will be Everton’s final league game at Goodison Park, which the club has owned since 1892, before moving to a new 53, 000-capacity stadium next year.
After 14 games of the 38-game season, Liverpool are now in command of the Premier League by seven points.
Manchester United stated that Nottingham Forest’s match against Manchester United at Old Trafford (1730GMT) is still scheduled to continue.
If anything changes, the club will continue to consult with relevant authorities throughout the day and keep supporters informed as soon as possible,” United said in a statement.
At 1500GMT, Manchester City’s trip to Crystal Palace is scheduled to start alongside three other Premier League games, including Manchester City’s.
Every Welsh football and rugby game has been postponed, along with Cardiff’s clash with Watford in the Championship.
In the second tier, Plymouth’s meeting with Oxford was also postponed.
After falling to Rivers Queens 38-17 in a South-South derby at the NIS Gymnasium inside the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, the Bendel Dynamos were relegated from the Ardova handball premier league.
With 19 points and an unimpressive -220 goal difference, the Bendel Dynamos are now at the bottom of the women’s table, which means they are now out of the elite division for the season.
After defeating former champions Plateau Peacocks 25-22, COAS Babes increased their chances of avoiding relegation.
The final day of the conflict on Sunday was won by Defenders Babes, who defeated Delta Queens 40-36.
Safety Babes defeating the Sokoto Rima Queens 27-22 to end their fourth straight title drought and record-breaking unbeaten streak.
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Safety Babes now have 52 games in which they have won the league.
Seasider Babes defeated Imo Grasshoppers 32-28 to finish third overall.
Governor Hope Uzodimma appointed their coach Akpulor as the Imo State Sports Commission’s Director.
After a 30-to-30 stalemate, Rima Strikers and Safety Shooters came out on top, Tojemarine Academy edged out Niger United 27-20 to move closer to claiming the title for the first time in their history.
In the other games, three-time champions, Kano Pillars stopped De Defenders 31-27.
The relegation match between the Sunshine Kings and the Adamawa Warriors ended with a scoreline of 34-34 as the Lagos Seasiders Kings defeated Benue Buffaloes 23-21.
Due to the impact the Belgian has had over the past ten years, Pep Guardiola believes it is nearly impossible for Manchester City to replace Kevin De Bruyne.
De Bruyne has won six Premier League titles among 13 major trophies since joining City in 2015, a year before Guardiola’s arrival.
The 33-year-old is leaving his contract at the end of the year, and he has previously suggested that the Saudi Pro League’s riches might make him attractive.
“I would like to have a 23-year-old Kevin and sign a contract for 10 more years”, Guardiola said on Friday.
“There are players who have an unwavering impact on this club’s legacy.”
” It’s not easy (to replace), but in the moment it’s going to happen we’ll see. “
De Bruyne’s 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, his first start in nearly three months, helped City end a seven-game winning streak.
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Guardiola has been careful with the playmaker’s minutes, but he acknowledged that he might be forced to make De Bruyne a second choice due to a possible injury issue for Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace.
” We don’t have many players so we’ll see, “added Guardiola.
” Important (to have him) back but after a long time. (Now we play) three days, three days, three days, we’ll see how does he react to this amount of games. “
Phil Foden is still out with an illness, and Nathan Ake is still sidelined by a late-game muscle injury against Forest.
Rodri, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic and Oscar Bobb are also missing for the English champions.
The NBA will play two pre-season games in Macau starting in October, according to its deputy commissioner, who announced it on Friday that it would make its first appearance since being frozen out for more than five years.
Since two pre-season games in 2019 when Daryl Morey, the then-Houston Rockets general manager, tweeted that he supported pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, there haven’t been any NBA games played in China.
Morey posted an image that featured a proverb that was used by demonstrators to urge people to “Stand with Hong Kong.”
After NBA executives defended Morey’s right to freedom of expression, China effectively cut ties with the league by later deleting the tweet and offering an apology.
Basketball is incredibly popular in China, but until 2022, the NBA lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of being canceled from Chinese television.
NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum stated in Macau, “It’s my pleasure to announce that the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns will play two pre-season games at Sands’ Venetian Arena on October 10 and 11 in 2025.”
Macau is a special administrative region under China’s “one country, two systems” framework and is known as the country’s Las Vegas, being the only city that allows gambling.
Tatum claimed that “some of the most devoted NBA fans” in the world resided in this area.
The Adelson family, who own the majority of the Dallas Mavericks, owns the Las Vegas Sands conglomerate, which includes the Venetian Arena.
According to unnamed sources, ESPN reported that NBA China’s relationship had improved since hiring 2020’s CEO Michael Ma.
According to the South China Morning Post, the games will be a part of a multimillion dollar deal that will allow Macau to host two NBA pre-season games every year for five years.
Las Vegas Sands was “excited… (to be) announcing a multi-year collaboration with one of the most powerful and iconic global sports brands in history”, chief executive Patrick Dumont told a Macau press conference.
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 , ‘Only Macau’ ,
On December 6, 2024, a large basketball ball announcing NBA games coming to China 2025 is pictured outside the Macau Hotel. (Photo by Eduardo Leal / AFP)
Basketball fans in Beijing welcomed the announcement.
Zhou Dacheng, a 32-year-old fan, told AFP outside an outdoor court in central Beijing that the return of NBA games would be very beneficial for amateur basketball fans because they have been absent from China for a while.
“As a Guangdong native, I often visit Macau since it’s very close. I definitely plan to go watch these games”, Zhou added.
Some social media users, however, were pessimistic that NBA games would ever come back to the mainland.
“Can only go to Macau… this relationship (between China and the NBA) has not been repaired at all”, a Beijing-based user said.
At a sports management conference in October, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver predicted that the organization would “bring back games to China at some point.”
“We had a well-known incident there pre-pandemic with a tweet and China’s government took us off the air for a period of time”, Silver said.
“We accepted that. We stood by our values”.
The NBA has looked to grow globally, including playing recent pre-season games in Abu Dhabi.
Emirates Airlines sponsors the NBA Cup, the league’s in-season tournament.
China is home to a huge basketball fanbase and from 2004 to 2019, 17 teams played a total of 28 pre-season games there.
Macau’s multibillion-dollar gambling industry has remained its economic lifeline and main attraction for visitors, although Chinese leader Xi Jinping has urged the city to diversify its portfolio.
Vinicius Junior will return from injury sooner than anticipated, according to Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who is currently on the verge of a Champions League match with Atalanta on Tuesday.
The Brazilian winger was expected to miss the Intercontinental Cup final on December 18 due to a hamstring injury from November.
Vinicius was able to train on Friday, but Ancelotti announced that he would return next week after missing Saturday’s La Liga game against Girona.
Vini is recovering from an injury well, and he will play in the Champions League’s upcoming game, according to Ancelotti, who spoke on Friday at a press conference.
With only five defeats in their first five European games, Vinicius’ return strengthens the Madrid side, which sits 24th in the group stage of the Champions League.
After suffering a long-term knee injury, the coach said defender David Alaba, who also trained with the team, is returning to fitness and might play again in January.
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With Vinicius out, Kylian Mbappe’s performance since his summer arrival from Paris Saint-Germain has received even more attention.
The French forward struggled to find his best form, scoring 10 goals in his first 20 games across all competitions, after being defeated by Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao in recent weeks.
Mbappe declared on Instagram that he would “change this situation” and that he would wear his true colors.
Ancelotti said, “He is conscious of it, and the post he put out after the game is that of a player who knows what he is doing and what he can do as well as what he can do,” and that he is aware of it.
There are many players who are not at their best levels and don’t realize it, but he does know it. “We’re with him, he’s not at his best level,” he says.
Mbappe’s recent La Liga appearances against Getafe and Athletic, according to Ancelotti, gave him encouragement.
“In the last couple of games in terms of intensity he improved a lot”, said the coach, citing Mbappe’s sprinting statistics.
However, Ancelotti acknowledged that the 25-year-old might eventually be able to restrain him.
“We must support him, but supporting him does not imply that he must play every game.” A day of rest might be beneficial for him at times.
The coach felt he himself was also being attacked too much over Madrid’s recent form, although admitted he had “to accept” some criticism.
“Like stress, criticism is fuel to try and do better”, added Ancelotti.
For the final Merseyside derby in the Premier League against Liverpool on Saturday, Arsenal will only anticipate a hostile environment and will only relish a victory.
Despite failing to win for just the third time in Slot’s 21 matches in charge in a 3-3 draw at Newcastle on Wednesday, Liverpool enjoy a seven-point lead at the top of the table.
Everton, by contrast, are focused on survival to begin life in their new 53, 000 capacity stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock next season in the top flight.
The Toffees would love to deny their local rivals’ title hopes, but they defeated Wolves 4-0 in midweek to move five points clear of the relegation zone.
Goodison, which has been Everton’s home since 1892, was one of the venues where Liverpool’s challenge unravelled last season towards the end of Jurgen Klopp’s time in charge.
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Everton won a Merseyside derby at home for the first time since 2010 with a 2-0 defeat over the Reds in April.
At his pre-game press conference on Friday, Slot stated, “I think it’s going to be special for everyone — for all the fans that are in it, for all the players that are in it, as well as for the managers.
“To play this game is already special, and playing it at Goodison Park probably makes it even more special.” However, if the outcome is positive, it’s only a positive experience.
Slot is aware of the gimmick his team will likely face, but he wants to take away from Liverpool’s historic defeat when the two teams last met.
The Dutchman remarked, “You need to be aggressive if you go there because they will also be aggressive, but you also need to be aggressive in a smart way.”
“We were very aggressive when we went there last year because I watched the game back there yesterday, but after half an hour I was surprised because Liverpool’s players made 10 fouls and only one from an Everton player.
Therefore, we must be aggressive but also smart, especially since they pose a significant threat to set pieces, so it’s not smart to give away an unnecessary free kick.
Liverpool will be without suspended midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, while Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota, Ibrahima Konate, Conor Bradley and Federico Chiesa remain out injured.
