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Liverpool: We’ll kick off with some bad news for Liverpool fans, ahead of their side’s match against West Ham tomorrow. Arne Slot has opened his pre-match presser by telling reporters that Florian Wirtz will not be fit for the game and there’s no confirmed time frame on the German’s return. Wirtz missed Liverpool’s somewhat fortuitous win against Nottingham Forest last weekend after being forced to pull out during the warm-up.
“I don’t expect Florian to be available,” he says. “It’s a disappointment. Every time a player is not available is a disappointment, it’s something that I didn’t expect after last week. At this moment time, I don’t know [when he will return]. Usually when I say that, I do know and I don’t want to share. But this time, I honestly don’t know.
Continue reading...Salah's Goal Drought Not Concerning to Slot
Despite Mohamed Salah failing to score in his last nine Premier League appearances - his longest goal drought at Liverpool - manager Arne Slot has expressed no concern about the Egyptian forward's form.
Slot's confidence comes as Liverpool prepare to face West Ham, with the Reds boss insisting Salah will soon return to his goal-scoring best and that the team's overall performance remains strong regardless of their star striker's current drought.
‘We want to show fear to the opposition’: Tilak Varma’s bold message after India’s do-or-die triumph
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Coming in at number six in a high-pressure encounter, Tilak smashed an unbeaten 44 off just 16 balls, striking at a staggering 275.00. The knock, laced with three fours and four sixes, helped India post their highest total of this T20 World Cup — 256/4 — and kept their semifinal hopes alive.
Designated as India’s number three for much of the tournament, Tilak had endured a lean patch. With a strike rate hovering around 118 in his previous five innings and visible struggles against spin on sluggish surfaces, questions had begun to surface over his role. But at Chepauk, he flipped the narrative in style.
“I always say that whatever team needs, I am up for it,” Tilak said at the post-match press conference. “I have done the same role for the last four years in IPL for Mumbai Indians, switching between stabiliser and hitter. I have done it in a few games for India as well. According to the situation, I can adjust.”
He added, “As I said before, I was just waiting for one innings. I am really grateful to God for that. I am pretty confident now that, going forward, I can win games for the team.”
India’s aggressive template was evident from the start. “Sanju started brilliantly this evening,” Tilak noted, praising the openers for setting the tone. “We discussed that whatever the situation is — even if we lose three or four wickets in the powerplay — we will bat with the same rhythm. We want to show the fear to the opposition that these guys are ready to hit each and every ball.”
Tilak admitted the team closely followed South Africa’s dominant win over West Indies in Ahmedabad, knowing net run rate scenarios could come into play. “We were all watching the match. But as individuals and as a team, we felt it was important for us to win,” he said.
“If you play good cricket, the run rate will automatically improve. We needed our cricket to be good. If our cricket is good, then God will help us in the tournament.”
Liverpool boss Slot backs Salah to come through goal drought
Arne Slot has backed Mohamed Salah to come through his recent goal drought for Liverpool.
Salah has failed to score for Liverpool in nine Premier League games, his longest run without a goal since joining the Reds in 2017.
The Egyptian’s performances have been heavily scrutinised this season, following a decline from last season’s PFA Player of the Year standards.
Ahead of facing West Ham this weekend, Slot said Salah is a victim of his own standards and insisted he is not the only Liverpool forward struggling for goals at present.
“He has set his own standards and they are so, so, so high that the moment he doesn’t score for a few games, people are immediately surprised, so that is the big compliment he can get,” the Dutchman told the media on Friday.
“For me it was only three games ago he had an assist and a goal against a Premier League side, Brighton, a very good team, in the FA Cup. So that is the reality. You can change data and say it’s no goal in nine league games and that is the standard he set.
“We are used to [Salah] scoring a lot of goals – I think that’s the biggest difference in his performances right now.
“But we also know, even in my time, it has happened. I’ve had questions about Mo not scoring for three or four games but I know he always scores again in the end. That’s the challenge he and we have at the moment.
“He is not our only attacker who doesn’t score as much as we are used to. It is not that the focus should be all on him, Hugo [Ekitike] and Cody [Gakpo] haven’t scored that many goals recently as well, so it is a team thing. But we keep clean sheets, so we don’t need to score as many.”
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Orlando Pirates receive massive boost ahead of Soweto derby
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Pirates boosted for derby
Photo: Orlando Pirates @ Facebook
Orlando Pirates have received a massive injury boost as two key figures will be available for selection against Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
The Buccaneers will be eager to return to winning ways and keep their title hopes alive after suffering a defeat to defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns in their last league outing.
Pirates are level on 38 points with the table-topping Masandawana, while Chiefs sit fourth with 30 points picked up from 16 games following a loss against Stellenbosch FC on Tuesday.
With the much-awaited spectacle on the horizon, Bucs mentor Abdeslam Ouaddou confirmed striker Evidence Makgopa and midfielder Thalente Mbatha, have returned from their respective injuries.
“About Makgopa, he's been out for nearly three weeks but we are very happy, the group is very happy to welcome him back. He's back in training and he's feeling very well, so it's one more player to add in our group,” he said.
"And Mbatha as well, I'm very happy that he's joined the group because there's a lot of questions around him but he was injured as well and I'm happy to have him as well in the group.
Pirates have completed back-to-back league doubles over Chiefs in the previous two campaigns, with Amakhosi's last league win dating back to February 2023.