Senior Test players have been rested for this two-Test series in Bulawayo, with Senokwane, Yusuf and Subrayen also in line for Test debuts

Firdose Moonda06-Jun-2025

Teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius has played for South Africa U-19 and scored 97 on his T20 franchise debut for Paarl Royals•Getty Images

Nineteen-year-old breakout batting star Lhuan-dre Pretorius headlines a South Africa squad with five uncapped players for a two-Test series in Zimbabwe starting later this month. Dewald Brevis, Lesego Senokwane, Codi Yusuf and Prenelan Subrayen are the four others in line to make their Test debuts.The Tests, to be played in Bulawayo, are not part of the World Test Championship (WTC) as Zimbabwe do not feature in that competition and offer coach Shukri Conrad an opportunity to build depth ahead of the 2025-2027 cycle. With that in mind, six players from South Africa’s World Test Championship squad – Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada – have been rested, while Dane Paterson could retire after Lord’s.Lhuan-dre has only played six first-class games to date but burst onto the scene with three hundreds in his first five games, including a century in the domestic red-ball final. He averages 65.57 in the format.Brevis, who was part of the Test squad to Bangladesh last year but did not play, has been rewarded for his consistency in domestic first-class competition. He was the second-leading run-scorer in the tournament with 573 runs in 12 innings, including two hundreds and two fifties and averaged 47.75 and is seen as fulfilling the potential he showed when he finished the 2022 Under-19 World Cup as its leading run-scorer.”Dewald deserves a lot of credit for how he has progressed over the past 12 months,” Conrad said in a statement. “He’s shown real growth and maturity in the longer format, and it’s encouraging to see him evolving into a more complete cricketer.”A mix of experience and youth: South Africa’s Test squad for Zimbabwe tour•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The other newcomers have also impressed domestically. Senokwane was the fourth-highest run-scorer in the first-class competition, Subrayen, a spin-bowling allrounder, was the second highest wicket-taker last season and seamer Yusuf was joint-fifth. “This tour provides the ideal platform to expose them to the demands of Test cricket and see how they respond. It’s also our first tour to Zimbabwe since 2014, so we’re really looking forward to heading over there later this month,” Conrad said.The series is a chance for batter Zubayr Hamza, who played eight Tests between 2019 and 2024, to make a comeback but three of South Africa’s quicks – Gerald Coetzee (groin injury), Nandre Burger (lower back stress fracture) and Lizaad Williams (knee surgery) – will have to wait their turn. Kwena Maphaka, who debuted at the Newlands Test against Pakistan earlier this year, will combine with Lungi Ngidi in the pace department.”Nandre has been given the all-clear by the medical team to play T20s. The plan is to ease him back into the game, starting with the shortest format, and then slowly work him up to the longer formats,” Conrad said. “We’ll be keeping a close eye on how he handles the workload as he builds toward playing Test cricket again.”With Gerald, it’s part of a bigger plan to help him better handle the physical demands of red-ball cricket. The idea is to give him the best chance to avoid a recurrence of the injuries that have kept him out of Test cricket since the tour against Sri Lanka. His recent performances in T20s have been really encouraging, but the focus is on his long-term growth and ensuring he stays fit across all formats.”Lizaad is progressing well and is currently in the final phase of his rehabilitation from his knee surgery.”Anrich Nortje, who was in line to play Tests last summer albeit that he turned down a central contract, and has not played international cricket since the 2024 T20 World Cup final was not in the Test squad. After battling with hip and back problems, he broke his toe last December and has only played two games, at the IPL, since. But Conrad confirmed at a press engagement that Nortje is likely to be named in the T20I squad that will play a tri-series in Zimbabwe after the Tests. New Zealand are the third side.South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma, David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Lesego Senokwane, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne, Codi Yusuf.

Shanto remains non-committal on batting position but is excited about his bowling variety and Ebadot’s return

Mohammad Isam12-Jun-2025Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is tight-lipped about his batting position even as curiosity is growing around their opening combination for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. Shanto opened in the two-day practice match in Dhaka prior to their departure for the two-match Test series, fueling speculation that he could do the same in the Galle Test from June 17. Shanto said that they will reveal their combination at the match, which will also kick off the World Test Championship’s fourth cycle.In the previous WTC cycle, however, Bangladesh’s openers struggled to put up runs. They have largely rotated between Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan and Mahmudul Hasan Joy, but the trio averaged second-lowest among teams in the WTC’s 2023-25 cycle. Shadman recovered somewhat with a century against Zimbabwe in April. He also added a century stand with Anamul Haque, their first in two years in the opening partnership. Joy and Zakir have now been dropped from the Bangladesh side.Shanto has opened in six innings for Bangladesh, falling for a duck in his last outing in the position against Ireland two years ago. He has just one half-century, while averaging 18.83 as an opener. Given his own drought of runs – Shanto has scored just two fifties in his last 20 innings – it is a big call for the captain to resurrect the top order.Related

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“I am happy with the Test squad,” Shanto said. “I got the players that I wanted. Regarding the lack of opening options, you will get an idea what we are thinking once we get into the first Test. You will understand the combination. We also have four fast bowlers and four spinners, so we have tried to balance the bowling attack too. We can go with different combinations. I am prepared to bat in any position. We have other top-order batters so we have options.”Shanto said that the lack of runs from the openers cost Bangladesh dearly in the 2023-25 WTC cycle, but Bangladesh’s middle order did not contribute regularly either. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was their top run-getter, but he mostly bats at No 7. Their bowling unit, though, offers variety. Taijul Islam and Mehidy are his main spin-bowling choices, although Nayeem Hasan has been a capable understudy, while uncapped left-arm spinner Hasan Murad comes with a good first-class record.”The first Test is in Galle where the ball spins,” Shanto said. “They can also have a good batting track there, so we are preparing ourselves accordingly. We saw that the ball spun a bit in their Tests against Australia (earlier this year). Murad is a performer in first-class cricket in the last few seasons. I think Murad is prepared to step up to the role if we need a second left-arm spinner in the XI. We will decide on it looking at the conditions. He is mentally ready for the opportunity.”Ebadot last played a Test in June 2023•AFP/Getty ImagesBangladesh have also welcomed back fast bowler Ebadot Hossain who hasn’t played international cricket for two years due to an ACL tear. He returned to domestic cricket in the 2024-25 season and looked in good form in this week’s two-day practice match too, bowling Mushfiqur Rahim among his wickets.”I think we have missed Ebadot for a long time. I think he got injured at the peak of his form at the time,” Shanto said. “We fell into a hard time despite having other bowlers around. I am happy to see him coming back into the squad. It is an additional strength for the team. He bowled well in the practice match. He looks fit, so he has to stay fit to contribute to the team.”Shanto also said Bangladesh want to improve from their seventh place finish in the 2023-25 cycle, in which they won four Tests out of 12. He said they will have the confidence of doing well overseas as they registered three of those four wins in Pakistan and the West Indies last year.”I think if we can raise our winning percentage to 55 or 60%, I will be happy as a captain. We are a more confident unit after winning four Tests in the last WTC cycle. We need that extra confidence against Sri Lanka who are a strong team. If we can play up to our capability, we can start well in this cycle,” he said. “We didn’t do well against Zimbabwe. We should have won that series. We have to do very well in this new cycle. We will be playing against strong sides in the 12 Tests in the 2025-27 cycle. We have to go through a lot of challenges. I think if we work hard together, we can get a better result.”Shanto also felt that being given the Test captaincy for another year will help him plan better. He was appointed captain of all three formats in May 2024 but quit the T20I captaincy in January this year. Shanto wanted to give more time to his batting which led him to the decision, but he was happy to lead in the other formats.”I informed the BCB that I didn’t want to continue the captaincy in T20Is. I wanted to give my batting a bit more time. We have a lot of T20s, so it was becoming hard to give my batting some time,” he said. “A longer term is always helpful for the captain. I got it previously and now I got the captaincy for another year. Planning becomes easy if a captain is appointed with a World Cup or a WTC cycle in mind. I am happy with my conversation with the cricket board. They are also on the same page about giving a captain a longer rope.Bangladesh will be off to Sri Lanka on Friday, four days before the start of the first Test. The second Test is in Colombo from June 25, followed by three ODIs and as many T20Is, with the tour concluding on July 16 in Colombo.

Angelo Mathews had played more Test cricket than anyone else on the field in Galle, and even he thought the worst Bangladesh could do after making 495 in the first innings was end up with a draw.Sri Lanka did have a small window in which they could have pushed for victory. But having been 4 for 377 at one stage in the first innings, they were all out for 485, which meant they actually registered a ten-run deficit in the first dig. Najmul Hossain Shanto made twin centuries in this game, hitting 148 in the first innings, and 125 not out in the second.”Once you get 400 in the in the first innings, it’s really difficult to lose a game,” Mathews said. “After losing three early wickets, I thought Shanto batted beautifully in the first innings. But it was a tough wicket for the bowlers, to be honest.”Related

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Shanto agreed with Mathews about the state of the surface. Galle is generally a spin-bowlers’ paradise, but even with a lot of sunshine falling on this deck through the Test, it did not produce the kinds of batting collapses it usually does.”The wicket on day five wasn’t as we expected,” Shanto, the game’s top-scorer, said. “We were batting comfortably even on day four. We wanted to get into a position which allowed us more possibilities of winning, and take losing out of the equation.”Their victory push was weakened by rain. Showers came through soon after 11am on Saturday, and play could only resume at 2.10pm. That lost time would have been useful for Bangladesh.”Rain forced us to change our plans,” Shanto said. “I think we were always playing to win the Test. We took our time in the morning as we wanted to see how much the wicket would change. We were batting at three runs an over. If we could bat till lunch, the scenario would have been different. We needed at least 60 to 70 overs [to bowl at Sri Lanka] given the pitch conditions on the fifth day. I am still happy that we took four wickets in the limited time we had with the ball.”Thanks in part to the rain delay, Bangladesh only had 37 overs at Sri Lanka’s batters. The hosts survived, losing four wickets in 32 overs.

Manchester United flop Antony continues to star for Real Betis on the back of bringing his Old Trafford nightmare to a close. The Brazil international found the going tough in English football, but has rekindled a lost spark in Spain as he becomes a fan favourite in Andalusia. That standing was enhanced when scoring a stunning brace for Betis against Real Mallorca.

Transfer saga: Man Utd agreed to sell £85m flop Antony

Antony has become a talismanic presence for Betis having initially linked up with them on a short-term loan in January. He registered nine goals across that spell, while also gracing the Conference League final. The South American made it clear over the summer that his preference was to secure a long-term future at Estadio Benito Villamarin. A protracted saga dragged out across a full transfer window, with Premier League giants United only sanctioning a sale on deadline day. Antony finally got his wish and has settled quickly again in familiar surroundings.

AdvertisementWatch Antony score stunning brace for Betis vs MallorcaAntony has already matched sorry Man Utd goal return

Having mustered just 12 goals for the Red Devils through 96 appearances, Antony has already matched that return across 32 outings for Betis. He has five efforts to his name this season, with a brilliant brace being recorded against Mallorca.

There were less than 10 minutes on the clock when Antony opened the scoring in that contest. He was allowed to drift inside from the right wing, play a neat one-two on the edge of the box and crash a low drive into the bottom corner from 25 yards out.

Antony’s second, which arrived just past the half-hour mark, was even better. Once again, he was able to exchange passes with a team-mate outside the penalty area before getting a clear sight of the target. On this occasion, he curled a sublime strike into the opposite corner. Betis were able to add a third courtesy of Abde Ezzalzouli before half-time, with Antony turning provider, and went on to prevail 3-0.

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GettyAntony happy with form despite hat-trick disappointment

Antony was delighted with his contribution, even if he did miss out on a hat-trick. He told reporters afterwards: “Very happy with the result, it's very important. We knew how important today's match was because losing the three points at home against Atletico was very tough. Now, winning at home is very important for our confidence. We're moving on. I'm very happy with the two goals and the assist. It's a shame I didn't get the third, but that's part of the game.”

Betis have risen to fifth in La Liga, three points behind Atletico Madrid and the final Champions League qualification spot. Antony and Co. will be back in action on Thursday when playing host to French giants Lyon in their latest Europa League fixture.

One of the most trusted players Manchester City have had under Pep Guardiola over the years was Fernandinho. The Brazilian veteran, who is now 40 years of age, was a stalwart for City, playing 383 games for the club and winning five Premier League titles.

Of course, a lot of that success came under City’s legendary manager, Guardiola. The Brazilian played 244 games under his tutelage, skippering the side on multiple occasions and even chipping in with 12 goals and 17 assists.

Towards the end of his time at the Etihad Stadium, Fernandinho saw a drastic change in his position.

Fernandinho’s change of position at Man City

Of course, for much of his career, Fernandinho was a midfielder. In a City shirt, the former City captain tended to operate as a number six, although he did play in more advanced roles.

With that being said, 232 games came at the base of the midfield.

However, Guardiola did alter his role in the side, with the 53-cap Brazil star becoming a centre-back. That coincided with an injury for Aymeric Laporte, with City needing a dependable man at the back in his absence. In total, Fernandinho played 45 times there for City, becoming a trusted figure at the back.

Back in 2020, he spoke to Sky Sports about converting to a centre-back. He explained that “it was a little bit strange adapting” to his new role at first, due to the space in behind the back line, but eventually he “was able to do it.”

He gave a lot the credit to Guardiola for his impressive transition from midfield to defence.

He said the Spaniard “gives you the information you need about the opponent and of course about yourself,” which certainly assisted the move to defence.

Fernandinho is not the only City star who has benefited from Guardiola’s close man-management, especially when it comes to operating in a new position.

Pep’s modern-day Fernandinho

One of the real standout things about Guardiola as a manager is how adaptable he is. That could be flexibility during a game, switching up his system and showing great innovation, or asking a player to operate in a new position.

Well, someone who has reaped the benefit of that sort of adaptability is Matheus Nunes. The Portuguese international is a midfielder by trade, like Fernandinho. However, he has played plenty of times at right-back under Guardiola.

He has truly played everywhere in a City shirt, having just reached a century of games. In the 101 appearances he has made so far, 27 of those have come at right-back, more than anywhere else.

Nunes has been more productive there than in any other position on the pitch, too. He’s scored twice and assisted five from right-sided full-back. He offers a real threat, making runs into the penalty box, as this strike against Burnley earlier in the season showed.

The Portugal international, who has 16 caps for his nation, is a player whom Guardiola thinks highly of. Back in 2023, City’s manager described him as “one of the best players in the world,” which is huge praise indeed.

Well, the stats certainly show just how good a full-back Nunes has turned into. Last season, he was among the best attacking full-backs in the Premier League, for example, averaging 1.24 key passes per 90 minutes, which ranked him in the top 25% of Premier League full-backs.

Key passes

1.24

75th

Passes into penalty area

1.4

90th

Assists

0.32

99th

Progressive carries

3.39

94th

Long passes completion %

65.4%

93rd

This is surely a move that you can put down as a success. Guardiola has certainly reinvented Nunes’ career with the positional change, making him a formidable right-back who can offer another presence in midfield and a goal threat.

Guardiola has a knack for successfully converting players’ positions, be it in a time of need or for a tactical shift, just as he did with Fernandinho. Nunes is certainly the latest success story.

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Newcastle United have now discovered the extent of Tino Livramento’s injury and whether he suffered an ACL blow ahead of a spell on the sidelines.

Howe responds to Rummenigge's "idiot" claim

Nick Woltemade has enjoyed an excellent start to life in Tyneside and, as such, questions have arrived for Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga giants failed to secure the German’s signature in the summer, allowing Newcastle to swoop ahead and finally sign the striker they needed, but those in Bavaria have insisted that they wouldn’t have paid as much as £69m.

Ex-chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge even told reporters: “I can only congratulate those in Stuttgart for finding – I’ll use quotation marks here – an idiot who paid that much money. Because we certainly wouldn’t have done that in Munich!”

It’s strangely-timed criticism of a deal that is quite clearly working out for all parties so far and Eddie Howe reiterated that he’s pleased with Woltemade’s early goalscoring form.

The towering forward was once again at the top of his game against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League, opening the scoring for the Magpies with his third strike in six games before they went on to seal a comfortable 4-0 victory.

It’s a week that needed to include a positive note following Arsenal’s late victory at St James’ Park on Sunday and, ultimately, one that also delivered some fairly positive news on Livramento.

Livramento injury update

As reported by Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, Tino Livramento has avoided an ACL rupture and will now miss the next 6-8 weeks for Newcastle. After seeking a second opinion, the news will come as a huge relief for the Magpies, given that there were initial fears that the England international had suffered the second ACL injury of his career.

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Whilst this still means that Livramento will likely miss the next 10 Newcastle games, an ACL rupture would have ended his season altogether and all but ended his chances of returning to full fitness in time to make Thomas Tuchel’s 2026 England World Cup squad.

Games Livramento will miss	Competition
Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest	Premier League
Brighton vs Newcastle	Premier League
Newcastle vs Benfica	Champions League
Newcastle vs Fulham	Premier League
Newcastle vs Tottenham	EFL Cup
West Ham vs Newcastle	Premier League
Newcastle vs Athletic Club	Champions League
Brentford vs Newcastle	Premier League
Newcastle vs Man City	Premier League
Marseille vs Newcastle	Champions League

Missing three Champions League games and seven in the Premier League, Livramento is likely to return around the end of November when Newcastle travel to the Hill Dickinson for the first time to face Everton.

تحدث أشرف بن شرقي، لاعب النادي الأهلي، عن فوز فريقه بكأس السوبر المصري، أمام الزمالك، في المباراة النهائية التي أقيمت مساء الأحد.

وتوج النادي الأهلي ببطولة كأس السوبر المصري للمرة الخامسة على التوالي والـ16 في تاريخه، بعد الفوز على الزمالك في المباراة النهائية بنتيجة 2-0.

وقال بن شرقي خلال تصريحات عبر قناة “الأهلي”: “المكسب جيد، كلنا سعداء به، أهم شيء بالنسبة لي هو الفوز بالكأس ونسعد كل الجماهير التي تحب هذا النادي”.

طالع.. فيديو | بن شرقي وزيزو يقودان الأهلي لفوز مثير على الزمالك والتتويج بـ السوبر المصري للمرة الـ16

وأضاف: “لن نتوقف عند ذلك، يتبقى أمامنا مباريات كثيرة وسنكون في الموعد، ونسعى للفوز بجميع البطولات”.

وأكمل: “عندما تلعب أمام جماهير الأهلي الكبيرة هذا يعطينا حافزًا معنويًا كبيرًا وثقة، من أول لآخر دقيقة يشجعوننا ولم نخيب ظن أحد”.

وتابع: “ييس توروب مدرب كبير ويعطينا معلومات جيدة ويحفزنا، ولديه فكر جيد، مع اللاعبين المتواجدين سنسير لبعيد”.

وأتم: “الكرة المغربية تطورت بشكل كبير، منتخب المغرب تحت 20 سنة حصد كأس العالم، وإن شاء الله نحصد كأس أمم إفريقيا المقام في المغرب، أتمنى التواجد معهم لحصد اللقب، لكي لا يخرج الكأس من بلادنا”.

Liverpool are now reportedly ready to launch an offer worth over £35m to sign a key defensive addition instead of Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi in 2026.

Carragher admits it's "crisis time" at Liverpool

Liverpool look out on their feet. Mentally and physically, they have simply not competed in the last month. Defeat against Crystal Palace was a warning sign, before games to forget against Chelsea, Manchester United and now Brentford arrived to compile the Reds’ misery.

Off the back of four Premier League defeats in a row, the Premier League champions no longer look inevitable. They look like one of the most beatable sides in the top flight. It has been an inescapable disaster for Arne Slot in the last month, who couldn’t help but admit that even he’s not sure how to solve his side’s current problems after defeat at Brentford.

Meanwhile, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher went as far as to say that it’s “crisis time” for those at Anfield: “To see the champions lose 4 games in a row in the Premier League with the expenditure in the summer, I think we’re in crisis time for Liverpool right now.”

Serious questions have now been asked about Liverpool’s summer spending. They finally broke the bank, handing Slot the keys to the kingdom with a spending spree worth over £400m.

They broke records to sign Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz while also welcoming Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez, among others, all arrived. It was, barring Guehi’s collapsed move, the perfect summer.

Yet, months later, and only Ekitike has shown signs of real instant quality and the Reds have seemingly been forced back to the drawing board in need of defensive improvements.

Liverpool ready to launch Ordonez offer

As reported by South American outlet Bolavip and relayed by Sport Witness, Liverpool are now ready to launch an offer to sign Joel Ordonez ahead of Inter Milan worth over €40m (£35m) in 2026.

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The Club Brugge defender would act as an alternative to Guehi, who has interest from Anfield and elsewhere ahead of becoming a free agent next summer.

With Ibrahima Konate yet to sign a new deal and Virgil van Dijk approaching his final year, Liverpool desperately need to organize the future of their backline. If they are to miss out on Guehi, then they must go all out on an alternative like the Ecuador international.

League stats Per 90 25/26

Ordonez

Konate

Van Dijk

Minutes

532

742

810

Progressive Passes

4.83

4.51

6.22

Tackles Won

0.52

1.22

0.44

Successful Aerial Duels

2.41

4.27

5.11

Whilst there should be concerns about Ordonez’s aerial ability, his work in possession would at least help provide a solution for Liverpool, who have struggled to progress play without Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Described as “hyper aggressive” by analyst Ben Mattinson, the 21-year-old will be one to watch if Liverpool miss out on Guehi and Konate departs in 2026.

Crystal Palace beat Liverpool last weekend to extend their unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner to 18 matches. They have since won in Europe, making it 19 without defeat.

Now, Everton must down the Eagles at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. David Moyes’ side have come on leaps and bounds in 2025, but are three games without a win in the Premier League and have conceded a joint-divisional best three goals so far.

The Toffees will need to be better in the final third, with Beto flattering to deceive at number nine so far this year. The frontman needs to strike true, but he also needs those around him to bring their A-game.

Sadly, among the Everton stars won’t be Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who is suspended after picking up five yellow cards from his first six Premier League matches for the Merseysiders.

Dewsbury-Hall misses out for Everton

Everton signed Dewsbury-Hall from Chelsea for £25m this summer, adding to Moyes’ ranks a versatile midfielder with creative quality and an industrious approach.

Having played every minute of Everton’s Premier League campaign so far, Dewsbury-Hall has averaged 2.2 key passes and 5.3 successful duels per game, as per Sofascore, effective as the forward point of his side’s midfield triangle.

But now he will be absent. Perhaps a combative player, but Dewsbury-Hall has not committed five yellow-worthy offences this term. The 27-year-old has himself commented on the “mind-boggling” calls.

It is not controversial to suggest Dewsbury-Hall might have been hard done by with some of the decisions against him, and now he sits out for a crucial top-flight tie.

Who slots into the central berth? Some might call for Tyler Dibling to get the nod for the first time since joining from Southampton for £42m in the summer, but there’s another rising star who might be better suited to the task ahead. After all, Charly Alcaraz has starred against Glasner’s Palace before.

Moyes must unleash Charly Alcaraz

Alcaraz, 22, returned to the Premier League in January, signing for Everton on loan, having previously plied his youthful trade on the south coast with Southampton.

That loan move has since been sealed on a permanent basis, and Alcaraz brings a tenacious and dynamic package, offering shades of Dewsbury-Hall through his ball-carrying ability and tough-tackling defensive work rate.

However, he’s yet to nail down a starting berth in the Premier League. This season, the Argentine has featured four times and started one of those fixtures, equating to 32 minutes of action per appearance.

But there’s a lot to like, with his cleanness on the ball sure to see him play the role Dewsbury-Hall has performed so confidently over the past few months.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

1.0

100%

Charly Alcaraz

0.8

100%

Michael Keane

0.2

100%

Iliman Ndiaye

3.0

56%

Jack Grealish

1.5

41%

Moreover, he ranks among the top 12% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for dribblers challenged and the top 5% for aerial battles won per 90, as per FBref, speaking of a completeness that Dibling does not yet own.

Palace are well-oiled and in full command of their tactical identity. They defend as a unit, and they attack as a hive. Dewsbury-Hall is needed, but Moyes does not have his services to draw upon, and so Alcaraz must be unleashed.

The “special” talent, as he was called by youth scout Antonio Mango back in 2023, also scored on his full Premier League debut in an Everton shirt, and that was at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace.

It was the conclusive goal in a 2-1 win, and Alcaraz created two big chances besides and made three clearances, producing the kind of performance that will be needed on Sunday afternoon.

With Dewsbury-Hall sidelined until after the international break, Moyes must showcase his side’s strength in depth and allow Alcaraz the chance to prove his worth in a team looking to make headway in the Premier League.

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Arsenal scored four in just 14 minutes as Mikel Arteta’s side put Atlético Madrid to the sword, extending their 100 per cent record in the Champions League, with summer signing Viktor Gyokeres also ending his goal drought.

Viktor Gyokeres bags Arsenal brace in 4-0 win over Atlético Madrid

Diego Simeone’s Atlético set up shop right from the get-go and were determined to make life very difficult for Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Bar a few promising flashes of play, with both sides hitting the crossbar, Atlético thwarted Arteta’s men in the first half. The Gunners largely struggled to create a clear-cut opening, but past 57 minutes, the floodgates opened for Arsenal.

Gabriel Magalhaes headed home the first of Arsenal’s quartet in a scintillating second period. His compatriot, Gabriel Martinelli, thanks to some great work from Myles Lewis-Skelly, then added a second with 64 minutes gone before Gyokeres landed a quickfire double in the 67th and 70th minutes to leave Simeone’s side shell-shocked.

Atlético had scored seven goals in their opening two Champions League matches but rarely looked like threatening Arsenal’s back line as Arteta’s men recorded a third clean sheet in as many games in Europe and a fourth in a row in all competitions.

Eberechi Eze could’ve got himself on the scoresheet too, having watched a strike loop off David Hancko’s ankle and over goalkeeper Jan Oblak, before the summer signing was denied a first Champions League goal by the bar.

The headlines will belong to Gyokeres, who ended his seven-game run without a goal in all competitions thanks to some expert poaching inside the area.

The Swede, who’s been criticised for his lack of goal involvement lately, breathed a huge sigh of relief after bundling home his first from close range, before feeding off Gabriel’s headed assist to score a second.

The ex-Sporting CP star can now kick on and put his dry spell behind him, but he has serious competition for the crown of Arsenal’s best player against Atlético.

Paul Merson praises "outstanding" Bukayo Saka in Arsenal win

Alongside Gyokeres, £195,000-per-week winger Bukayo Saka also made his mark — particularly in the first 45.

The England international linked well with Jurrien Timber down Arsenal’s right-hand side and proved a constant menace for David Hancko, Koke and Nico Gonzalez to deal with.

While Saka wasn’t rewarded with a goal or assist to show for his efforts, the 24-year-old, who’s held talks over a new deal at N5, was lavished with praise for his attacking display by club legend Paul Merson.

Bukayo Saka

5

Gabriel Magalhaes

3

Viktor Gyokeres

3

Julian Alvarez

3

Eberechi Eze

2

via WhoScored

Merson was overseeing the Arsenal clash on Sky Sports News, providing commentary on each of the goals, and he was thrilled with a delightful piece of interplay which threatened to expose Atlético in the first-half.

Saka was at the heart of it, with Merson calling Saka “outstanding” and “by far the best player on the pitch”, adding that the Hale End sensation had Koke “on toast” [20:28].

As per usual, Saka played his part massively, and Arteta will be thrilled that the player’s hamstring injury woes are well and truly behind him.

The forward also captained Arsenal on a night to remember for the north Londoners, who reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, only to be knocked out by eventual winners PSG.

Watching Arsenal sweep aside their European opposition thus far, it’s very fair to suggest they could reach that stage again, or even go one further.

Arsenal join PSG and last season’s beaten finalists Inter Milan on nine points from the nine available, with Arteta seriously on course for the knockout rounds.