Pakistan have had a good build-up to the tournament, having won the recent tri-series involving Afghanistan and UAE

Danyal Rasool11-Sep-20253:12

Jaffer: Pakistan clearly taking a new T20 route

Big picture: Another Asia Cup mismatch?Pakistan could not have asked for a softer start than the one they will get at the Asia Cup – against tournament first-timers Oman. If the qualification event was held this year rather than 2024, Oman may not have made it to the UAE. The team that qualified 18 months ago bears little resemblance to the one that will line up against the two-time champions.Oman were embroiled in a messy pay dispute earlier this year after the cricket board failed to pay its players in time for the 2024 T20 World Cup. While those dues have been cleared, most of the established players from that team are no longer with Oman; more than half the names in the Asia Cup squad were not part of the 2024 T20 World Cup. They last played T20I cricket in February, when they lost three games to the USA. Any attempt to build this side up as a credible challenger to Pakistan, and later India, stretches optimism.Fresh off an impressive victory in the final of the tri-series, an otherwise imperfect tournament involving UAE and Afghanistan, Pakistan will treat this game as a useful warm-up against the stratospherically bigger challenge on Sunday against India. The defending champions put a marker down in a mauling of the UAE, taking just 106 deliveries to seal victory. The comparison with Pakistan is notable: while Salman Agha’s men did defeat the UAE comfortably each of the two times they played, those games were significantly more competitive.The game against Oman is also an opportunity for Pakistan to play in Dubai ahead of Sunday’s clash, and their bowling combination remains a point of interest. Having rotated their quick bowlers and opted for a solitary wristspinner in the league games of the tri-series, they changed tack in the final, going with both wristspinners Sufiyan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed. Surfaces in Dubai normally take plenty of turn, and Pakistan’s combination could be a dry run of their plans against India.Despite the heavy slant one way, Pakistan will not want to be stung again by an underdog. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, they lost to the USA before their game against India, where defeat knocked them out of the tournament. Despite the form Pakistan have shown coming into this Asia Cup, perhaps no team is more aware of the damage three hours of mayhem can do to three months of preparation.Related

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Form guidePakistan: WWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Oman: LLLLLIn the spotlight: Sahibzada Farhan and Jatinder SinghPakistan may have won the recent tri-series, but the inability of their top order to fire like it did against West Indies last month is a concern. Sahibzada Farhan stuck to the attacking game he has been given license for, but struggled to translate cameos into more meaningful scores – 21 in the tri-series opener was his highest score in five games. The contest against Oman is one last opportunity for him to play with that same kind of risk without the pressure that will build in games that follow, especially the one against India.In a side that has suffered much upheaval, Jatinder Singh is a stabilising presence. The captain and opener has been a titan of Oman cricket for a decade, and at 36 continues to be their talisman. He is their highest scorer and made half-centuries in two of the three games Oman played this year. His career strike rate may be on the lower end, but it’s ticked into the mid-120s in the past couple of years. In the slow conditions Dubai is expected to throw up, that might just about be fine if he can bat deep enough to post a competitive total.Yasim Murtaza and Jatinder Singh at the Asia Cup press conference•Asian Cricket Council

Team news: New-look OmanPakistan favoured rotation of their quick bowlers through the tri-series but may play their best XI before the contest against India.Pakistan (probable): 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Salman Ali Agha (capt), 5 Hasan Nawaz, 6 Mohammad Haris (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar AhmedThe recent pay dispute means much of this Oman side is new, which makes it tricky to determine a playing eleven.Oman (probable): 1 Aamir Kaleem, 2 Jatinder Singh (capt), 3 Hammad Mirza, 4 Mohammad Nadeem, 5 Ayaan Khan, 6 Aryan Bisht, 7 Vinayak Shukla (wk), 8 Shakeel Ahmad, 9 Ashish Odedra, 10 Hassnain Shah, 11 Zikria IslamPitch and conditions: Spin to win?The surface in Dubai is believed to offer more spin than the one in Abu Dhabi, the other venue in this tournament. The weather continues to be excessively hot, with temperatures in the mid-30s.Stats and triviaPakistan have lost four of their last five T20Is in Dubai, their only win coming against India – their opponents on Sunday – in the 2022 Asia Cup.UAE’s Haider Ali has picked up 22 wickets in 14 T20Is this year at an economy rate of 5.54. Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz (20 wickets in 11 games) is the highest wicket-taker among bowlers from the Full-Member nations in T20Is this year.

Arne Slot's Liverpool are reportedly once again in pole position to land Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace in the January transfer window. The Reds narrowly missed out on the defender last summer but Palace are now considering a sale in the winter window to avoid losing the England international for free in summer 2026. Bayern Munich are also admirers, but the Reds are leading the race to finally land Guehi for a fee of around £35 million ($46m).

• Guehi to move in January?

  Palace have become "convinced" that Liverpool are the top contenders to sign Guehi and are now considering a winter sale, according to . Guehi will be able to talk to foreign clubs from the start of January, a situation that may push Palace into accepting an offer for their England international midway through the season. Bayern retain an interest in the centre-back but are said to be "less active" than Liverpool ahead of the reopening of the transfer window.

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  Slot talks January transfers

  Liverpool manager Slot has come under pressure after a dismal start to the Premier League season. Saturday's defeat to Nottingham Forest was Liverpool's sixth of the season and means the defending Premier League champions are now in the bottom half of the table. Slot was asked about potential winter transfers ahead of the game but hinted that defensive additions were not a priority.

  He told reporters: "This is one of the questions I didn’t expect. There are so many games before that. In the position that we are in, it’s the last thing on my mind. Maybe not for Richard [Hughes, sporting director], but it’s not a topic at all for me at the moment. We have three centre-backs, maybe Ryan [Gravenberch] and Wata [Endo] as well. Maybe you are not aware of it yet, but we have other positions that are maybe more of an issue.

  "Variation of form is not only with the new signings, it is also with the players we had. In a season, they are not always in the same form. But the biggest issue we have faced until now – and are still facing – is the match fitness of the players and the time they have missed in pre-season. Alex [Isak] now we were hoping he would play a bit more for Sweden, but unfortunately, he was one yellow away from being suspended, so for obvious reasons, they didn’t play him the second time.

  "For us, it would have been better if he had played more minutes. Conor [Bradley] and Florian [Wirtz] are out, Jeremie [Frimpong] is already out, Giovanni Leoni as well, so at the moment we have five natural defenders available for seven games in 21 days and I don’t see anyone coming back before that. We knew it was hard when you bring players in a little bit later, it’s harder to keep them fit and there is more emphasis on the ones who are fit."

• Glasner offers Guehi update

  Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has already confirmed that Guehi won't sign a new contract at Selhurst Park and offered another update on the situation ahead of Saturday's encounter with Wolves. He told reporters: "I don't know. Again, It will be the club's decision. Marc shows every week that he is 100% committed to Crystal Palace. I don't think about it – I think we have 15 games until 10 January, it is so busy and it makes no sense to have my thoughts in the transfer window. Of course we are always prepared, but I don't know what will happen."

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  What next? Liverpool told to buy a defender in January

  Liverpool spent heavily last summer on players including Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz but have been in dreadful form so far in 2025-26 and have looked vulnerable defensively. The situation may tempt the Reds into splashing out again in January, with Jamie Carragher adamant a defensive reinforcement is needed. He told Sky Sports: "Liverpool need to spend in January, they need to buy a centre-back, they should have bought a centre-back in the summer. Liverpool are probably one injury away at centre-back from really derailing the season, so they have to go to the market in January."

The match referee at the centre of the handshake row has been entrusted with the Super Fours game on Sunday

Shashank Kishore20-Sep-2025Andy Pycroft, who was at the centre of the handshake row when India and Pakistan met on September 14 at the Asia Cup, will be the match referee for the Super Fours fixture between the two teams in Dubai on Sunday as well.The PCB had sought Pycroft’s “immediate removal” after he had requested the captains Salman Agha and Suryakumar Yadav not to shake hands during the toss of the September 14 game. Pycroft stayed, and the row spilled over into Pakistan’s next game, against UAE. After they cancelled a pre-match press conference, Pakistan didn’t arrive on schedule for the match, which had to be pushed back by an hour, as they conducted backroom talks with the ICC.It wasn’t until a late meeting between Pycroft and the Pakistan team management just prior to toss – which snowballed into another controversy – that Pakistan agreed to take the field.Related

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It is in this backdrop that India and Pakistan square off again at the Dubai International Stadium, and Suryakumar made it clear that his team’s focus was on the game and nothing else.”I feel our preparations have been really good leading into the tournament. And we had three good games also,” Suryakumar said on Saturday. “So we are actually focusing on what we can do best. We want to follow all the good habits, which we’ve been doing in the last two-three games. And we’ll take it one game at a time.”But yeah, it doesn’t give us an edge because we played them once and we had a good game. Of course, it will be a good game. We’ll have to start well from scratch. And whoever plays well will win the game.”Having wrapped up their group fixture against Oman on Friday night and having travelled back to Dubai in the wee hours, India will have an optional training session on Saturday. Pakistan, meanwhile, are slated to have a full training session at the ICC Academy in the lead up to Sunday’s match.

Everton are set to step up their interest in Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee, with the Toffees’ interest in Arsenal front man Gabriel Jesus hitting a dead end.

The Toffees have shown plenty of signs of promise so far this season, albeit whilst remaining inconsistent. Their 2-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday represented their first Premier League win in three games and first clean sheet in eight games, but David Moyes reiterated that he wants everyone to “keep believing” at Everton.

The experienced manager told reporters: “Look, we’ve wanted to try to become a much better footballing team and the players we’ve brought in have helped us to do that.

“We don’t want to lose what we’ve had – desire, heart, commitment – but I think we had to try to find a way of getting a little bit better at certain things and I think we have to build. Look, I trust the owners will help us in all the windows as we go forward and we’ll try to make things better as we go along.

“We need to get people believing in Everton like we do, like the supporters here do, and what we want us to be in the future. To do that we need to keep picking up the wins and attracting top players like Kiernan and Jack Grealish and players of that ilk. We need to keep attracting that level of players to come to the Club.”

What was apparent against Fulham, however, was just how much Everton’s forwards are still struggling. Whether it’s been Beto or one of their most expensive signings, Thierno Barry, the Toffees just haven’t been able to get their strikers firing and something needs to change.

Friekdin are already reportedly looking at potential solutions and have now reportedly made their position on signing Zirkzee clear.

Everton make Joshua Zirkzee position clear ahead of January

As reported by Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett, Zirkzee is now “high up” on Everton’s shortlist and those in Merseyside could make their move if the Man United striker becomes available in January. Ivan Toney is the second name in contention, with Arsenal set to refuse offers for Jesus.

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The Dutchman has made just five appearances all season and is yet to start a single Premier League game. This follows the arrivals of Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha as well as his own disappointing debut campaign last time out.

But is Zirkzee the answer to Everton’s problem? They’ve already revived the best version of Jack Grealish on loan from Manchester City and now there’s a chance they could get the same opportunity with Zirkzee.

Praised as “amazing with his back to goal” by Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski last season, the Man United man is still just 24 years old and has plenty of time to find his feet elsewhere in the Premier League.

Everton hatch striker plan as Moyes moves for star with 18 goals this season

There was a scary moment early into Sunday evening's game between the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros after Padres infielder Luis Arraez collided with Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubon while running out a hit.

Dubon was covering first base while Christian Walker fielded the infield ground ball off the bat of Arraez. When Walker tossed the ball to first, Dubon and Arraez collided straight on, sending both players to the ground.

Arraez took the worse of the hit, as he wasn't able to get back to his feet and had to be placed on a stretcher and carted off the field. He gave a thumbs up to fans at Daikin Park, indicating he was O.K.

Shortly after the incident, which occurred during the top of the first inning, the Padres announced that Arraez had been transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

"Luis Arraez has been transported to Houston Methodist Hospital for further evaluation. He is currently stable, conscious, responsive, and able to move his extremities," the team stated.

Arraez, 28, is in his second season in San Diego. He's featured in 21 games this season and recorded a .287 batting average with three home runs and seven RBIs.

The Philadelphia Phillies continued their solid early-season play by downing the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon. Of all the 30,791 paying customers at Citizens Bank Park, one was more fired-up about the matinee experience than the rest and the youngster did his very best to get the team locked in from the very first inning.

Check out the moment when rightfielder Nick Castellanos reeled in a fly ball near the seats down the right-field line and subsequent celebration he and the fan shared.

Our guy here went in for the high-five and the fist bump. One gets the feeling that in the pre-pitch clock era these two would have been perfectly willing to work out their own secret handshake before Castellanos threw the ball back into the infield.

The Phillies outfielder spoke about the cool moment during a postgame interview, saying that the mission was accomplished and was full achieved.

Ibrahima Konate has probably received more flak than any other Liverpool player this season, and understandably so, but he’s hardly the only member of Arne Slot’s squad who has been flattering to deceive.

Mohamed Salah is horribly out of sorts on the right flank; record signings Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak have both yet to produce even a portion of the world-class quality FSG paid for; even the skipper, Virgil van Dijk, has lacked his usual indomitability, with his leadership being questioned too.

It’s all gone a bit wrong for Slot and his team this season, so fragile and brittle, so susceptible to the physical side of the game.

The midfield have been limp and toothless, and after two campaigns of undeniable brilliance, Alexis Mac Allister looks a shadow of his finest self, and fans are questioning why.

Why Mac Allister is struggling for Liverpool

Mac Allister is a seasoned part of this Liverpool team now. A leader and among Slot’s most trusted lieutenants, he was instrumental in last season’s title-winning success, the perfect counterpoint to Ryan Gravenberch in his deep-lying berth.

But the 26-year-old has fallen off a proverbial cliff since the summer, almost unrecognisable in the middle of the park. Mac Allister looks sapped, leggy. This dynamic, creative, though-tackling midfielder has been relegated to the realm of the mundane, with one content creator even suggesting the Argentine looks like “looks like Fabinho’s season”.

This isn’t good, of course, and Slot may need to start turning toward some left-field solutions. Repetition without results is the first sign of madness – right? – so the Dutch head coach surely needs to rewire his engine room if things do not change for the better over the coming weeks.

Matches (starts)

35 (30)

11 (10)

Goals

5

0

Assists

5

2

Touches*

55.8

47.2

Accurate passes*

35.5 (87%)

31.5 (86%)

Key passes*

1.3

0.9

Dribbles*

0.5

0.1

Ball recoveries*

4.2

2.9

Tackles + interceptions*

3.3

1.5

Clearances*

0.8

0.8

Duels (won)*

4.9 (48%)

2.5 (44%)

Liverpool wouldn’t want to part with the South American star, who has been so impressive since joining from Brighton in 2023, but Slot may find that he has a central midfielder tearing away from the academy who might actually come to take Mac Allister’s spot for him.

He’s even been likened to former Manchester United superstar Paul Pogba.

The Liverpool teen who could replace Mac Allister

Pogba, who made his long-anticipated return to competitive football with AS Monaco last weekend, was once one of the most famous faces in the Premier League, having re-joined Manchester United from Juventus for a world-record £89m fee in 2016.

The Frenchman’s career has been one of ups and downs, but he undoubtedly boasts obscene amounts of natural ability, and in this, Liverpool are beginning to get excited given the likeness shared with Trey Nyoni.

Nyoni is only 18, but already he has featured eight times for Liverpool’s first team, making the bench on five separate occasions in the Premier League this season.

His long, limber frame and ability to use his physicality to tussle with stockier opponents are reminiscent of Pogba back in his earlier days, and the surpassing technical quality that has seen him ascend from academy level to the major stage is further evidence that Liverpool have got a gem on their hands.

Praised for his “simply exceptional” range of passing by journalist Lewis Bower, Nyoni is raw and unpolished but boasts such a staggering reservoir of natural gifts that he will surely reach the top of the game with care and focus on raising his physicality.

Analyst Ben Mattinson remarked last year that there is “so much resemblance” between the Les Bleus superstar and Nyoni’s own physical profile, and this could see him cement a starting berth at Liverpool in the coming years.

Given that he would be jockeying with Mac Allister for a berth, sporting director Richard Hughes may shimmy a few cogs around so that Nyoni’s rise coincides with the potential bumper sale of Liverpool’s midfield general.

In any case, this is a youngster with the potential to succeed at Liverpool, perhaps adding a flavour of Pogba’s powerful brilliance to Slot’s team down the line.

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Liverpool have now joined the race to sign a defensive reinforcement alongside interest from rivals Chelsea and Manchester United.

Slot shaping Liverpool future without Salah?

Arne Slot simply had to make a big call last weekend. PSV Eindhoven’s 4-1 thrashing took Liverpool’s form from a blip into a full-blown crisis and something had to give. Unfortunately, that something against West Ham United was Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool’s Egyptian King was forced to watch on from the bench as the Reds finally put in a more controlled performance and Alexander Isak netted his first Premier League goal for the club. But as much as that victory came as a relief, it also raised a serious question about Salah’s place in Slot’s best side.

Ahead of Liverpool’s crucial clash against Sunderland on Wednesday evening, Slot revealed Salah’s reaction to being dropped – telling reporters: “It’s a normal reaction from a player that is good enough to play for us.

“He wasn’t the only who wasn’t happy he wasn’t starting. The way he behaved is the way you would expect of a professional. He handled himself really well. A top professional.”

Whether we’ll see Liverpool’s star make a return to action in midweek remains to be seen. After returning to winning ways, Slot may be asking himself whether he can afford to change things up.

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By
Angus Sinclair

Dec 2, 2025

Of course, it’s worth noting that a large part of the Dutchman’s backline simply can’t be changed. Whilst Conor Bradley is back in training, he won’t be ready to face Sunderland, which leaves Joe Gomez as the only other more recognisable right-back unless Dominik Szoboszlai drops in again.

Meanwhile, Slot still has just two centre-backs available in Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, which is a problem that the Reds could solve by signing Castello Lukeba in January.

Liverpool join January race to sign Lukeba

As reported by Caught Offside, Liverpool have now joined the race to sign Lukaba alongside Man United, Chelsea and Newcastle United in the January transfer window.

The RB Leipzig defender no longer has a release clause worth €90m (£79m) and will be available for just €60m (£52m) in the winter window. As concerns continue to grow that Liverpool could still miss out on Marc Guehi, Lukeba has suddenly emerged as an ideal option.

Compared to Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol by the Bundesliga’s official website, the Frenchman could yet make a similar impact on England’s top flight next year, ranking in the 99th percentile against other centre-backs in the top five leagues for successful take-ons.

League stats 25/26	Lukeba	Gvardiol
Minutes	990	789
Progressive Passes	46	55
Tackles Won	6	8
Ball Recoveries	63	28

It’s easy to see where the comparisons with Gvardiol have come from. Lukeba is an excellent central defender who’s great on the ball, capable of carrying or passing it forward and destined for a big move.

Dubbed “unique” by Como scout Ben Mattinson last year, the Leipzig star is also still just 22 years old and yet to reach the peak of his powers. Even if Konate does sign a new contract at Anfield, Lukeba could arrive and take his place in Liverpool’s strongest side in 2026.

Better move than Semenyo: Liverpool set to table bid to sign £53m "machine"

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is set to demand north of £53 million for one of Sean Dyche’s star players as Barcelona eye up a move, according to a new report.

Nottingham Forest turn corner under Sean Dyche

It’s been 42 days since Ange Postecoglou became the shortest reigning manager in Premier League history after a nightmare stint at the City Ground, with Forest since appointing Dyche to steady the ship.

Arsenal 3-0 Forest

Premier League

Swansea 3-2 Forest

Carabao Cup

Burnley 1-1 Forest

Premier League

Real Betis 2-2 Forest

Europa League

Forest 0-1 Sunderland

Premier League

Forest 2-3 FC Midtjylland

Europa League

Newcastle 2-0 Forest

Premier League

Forest 0-3 Chelsea

Premier League

The Englishman arrived at Forest with skepticism surrounding his controversial appointment, but so far, Dyche has seriously impressed.

His debut in the dugout saw Forest secure a 2-0 Europa League victory over FC Porto, their first in Europe, establishing early momentum before Forest defeated fellow strugglers Leeds United 3-1 at the City Ground — ending a nine-match winless domestic streak that went all the way back to the opening weekend under Nuno Espírito Santo.

Ibrahim Sangare’s first Forest goal kickstarted the comeback after Lukas Nmecha’s early strike, before Morgan Gibbs-White’s header and Elliot Anderson’s stoppage-time penalty completed the turnaround.

Even more impressive came Forest’s stunning 3-0 triumph over Liverpool at Anfield.

Murillo, Nicolo Savona, and Gibbs-White scored as Dyche put on a tactical masterclass against the Merseysiders, who are in catastrophic form right now amid reports that Arne Slot could lose his job.

The Tricky Trees have also shut up shop, conceding just once in their last four games across all competitions, and that is testament to the performances of Murillo, who also put in a Man of the Match display against Liverpool last weekend.

The Brazilian is attracting serious interest from elite clubs, including Arsenal, and we can now add the La Liga champions to his growing list of admirers.

Barcelona identify top target Murillo as Nottingham Forest demand £53 million

According to reports from Spain, Murillo has now ‘become Barcelona’s top target’ to reinforce Hansi Flick’s defence.

Forest are clear, they want north of £53 million for the centre-back and are in a very strong position to demand good money considering he’s contracted until 2029.

Good news for Dyche is that Barça are currently unable to meet this price tag due to their constraints around the La Liga salary cap and well-documented financial difficulties.

The prospect of Murillo leaving in January is unlikely at best as well, despite the admiration from top clubs, with journalist Pete O’Rourke telling Football Insider that Forest will block any winter move.

The 23-year-old finished last campaign as Forest’s best performer by average match rating, according to WhoScored, in what was a fairytale campaign where they nearly qualified for the Champions League under Nuno.

Forest have scope to demand even more money for their prized asset, and we could even see a potential bidding war next summer.

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