Sports & Casinos UK

⚽ Premier League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off⚽ Live scores | Table | Read Football Daily | Mail TomUnai Emery has been speaking to Sky Sports pre-match:We are ready, we are focused. We are aware of how we must compete today. We need to be focussed tactically too, they [Wolves] have a very tactical coach in Rob Edwards.We are definitely expecting a competitive match. Wolves are playing fresh at the moment, despite being at the bottom of the table. They are playing tactically offensive and individually in defence also. They are a demanding team for their opponent. We are ready but we expect a difficult match.A lot of thought has to go into a takeaway order for the football. You don’t want something that is going to be a distraction to your viewing experience. So noodle dishes or similar are out as they require concentration. In fact you can rule out anything Asian as far as I’m concerned, it’s too fussy for this situation. I want to be able to shovel in while keeping my eyes up, which means I also swerve the chippy. Curry has a good short-distance range, but for me it’s pizza. Make sure it’s pre-cut and then it only requires a but of hand-eye to get it from box to mouth. Continue reading...

Ifab expected to adopt changes at meeting this weekendMLS added timed sub, off-field treatment rules in 2024New rules could make for faster play at the World CupFour years ago, MLS Next Pro implemented a pair of rules geared towards eliminating time-wasting. Now, just months ahead of the 2026 World Cup, MLS’s experimentation is set to be adopted globally. The International Football Association Board (Ifab), the sport’s rule-making body, is set to meet this weekend and is widely expected to adopt both changes.The first of the two, commonly referred to as the timed substitution rule, forces a team to play a man down for a minute if a player takes longer than 10 seconds to leave the pitch. The second of the guidelines, dubbed the off-field treatment rule, removes a player from the match for a minute if they spend more than 15 seconds on the ground after an injury. Continue reading...

Volatility and unusual structure at Stamford Bridge leave club’s young manager with a big test to rebuild like his rival has at ArsenalArsenal’s journey under Mikel Arteta has long been a reference point for Chelsea’s owners. It is part of the club’s shift towards youth and potential after the Roman Abramovich era. Chelsea have built with a long-term view and, seeing how Arteta has reversed Arsenal’s decline since his appointment as manager in December 2019, have been keen to find a young coach capable of becoming a similarly galvanising force at Stamford Bridge.It is not an easy task. Chelsea briefly thought they had their rising star when they hired Graham Potter in September 2022, only for his reign to end after seven months. Now there is hope that Liam Rosenior can become Chelsea’s answer to Arteta. Rosenior is young, confident, talented and a little unconventional in the way he presents himself. It is early days but the 41-year-old has made an encouraging start, winning eight of his first 12 games, and has transmitted enough authority to keep jibes about his inexperience at bay so far. Continue reading...

Super 8s: England, 161-6, bt New Zealand, 159-7, by 4 wktsLate flurry of runs from all-rounders proves crucialA game played on a turning wicket and dominated by spin was decided, appropriately, after a decisive, savage twist. Just as it looked as if England’s unconvincing progress through the World Cup was the one thing destined to remain on its predictable path Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks spun the game, and the group, in their team’s favour.England’s pursuit of a target of 160 was appearing increasingly forlorn until its 18th over, bowled by Glenn Phillips, which started with them needing an improbable 43 off 18 and ended, two sixes and a couple of fours later, with a manageable 21 required off 12. Ahmed started the next with another boundary to keep the momentum going and before the penultimate delivery the batters conferred. “I said: ‘I’ll get a single and you just have a free hit,’” Jacks said; he got his single and Ahmed deposited the final delivery into the stands. “That six pretty much won us the game,” said Jacks. Continue reading...

RFU council approves change from 2026-27 season‘The professional game must evolve if it is to thrive’English rugby has adopted a franchise system for the first time with promotion and relegation from the Prem scrapped from the end of this season.In the biggest change to the club game since the introduction of a formal league in 1987, the Rugby Football Union’s council voted overwhelmingly in favour of proposals to ringfence the existing 10-team Prem on Friday, with a view to expanding to 12 clubs in 2029-30. Continue reading...

Brighton’s yoga-mad, teetotal veteran on the secrets to his longevity after 24 seasons in the English top flightBeing teetotal, always asking questions and taking up yoga in his early 30s after a recommendation from Gareth Barry have played their part. But if one thing inspired James Milner to break the Premier League’s appearance mark then it is a trait honed during his formative years in Yorkshire: sheer bloody-mindedness.“Some things don’t change,” Milner says with a chuckle when asked whether his desire to prove people wrong was as strong as ever after his 40th birthday last month. “There’s people who are always going to doubt you but that’s always something that’s been at my forefront: to prove them wrong.” Continue reading...

Sales for this year’s event ahead of 2025 at same stage‘Overall we are moving in the right direction’Ticket sales for the 2026 festival meeting at Cheltenham are ahead of the levels at the same point 12 months ago and there is growing confidence at the track that attendance will be up at next month’s showpiece meeting after sharp declines over the past three seasons.This year’s festival, which opens on 10 March, will be the second since Guy Lavender took over as Cheltenham’s chief executive at the start of 2025, but the first at which it should be possible to assess the effect of a range of initiatives to improve the customer experience that have been introduced over the last 15 months. Continue reading...

Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reports Continue reading...

Arsenal and Liverpool will fancy their chance of making the quarter-finals, while Manchester City and Newcastle face tougher routesThe Club World Cup final victory over Paris Saint-Germain last summer was probably Enzo Maresca’s finest hour as Chelsea manager. He devised a gameplan, pinging balls over Nuno Mendes for Cole Palmer to chase, backed up by Malo Gusto, that tore the European champions apart in the first half. Liam Rosenior may try to exploit the same vulnerability, but this is a Chelsea that look weary, their exertions in the US perhaps having left them fatigued. Continue reading...

By refusing to fold in Germany, O’Neill’s side showed the resilience that would serve them well in Sunday’s derby at IbroxA European occasion that appeared ominous for Celtic instead provided evidence that it is never wise to write off Martin O’Neill. His side exited the Europa League in Stuttgart but the scale of spirit and togetherness visible during their 1-0, playoff second-leg victory emphasised that tales of their demise may be overstated.Celtic’s key attribute during a critical week, which begins at Ibrox on Sunday, is course and distance specialism. The shortcomings within, and patched-up nature of, O’Neill’s squad are blindingly obvious. This is, however, a club that has become accustomed to dominating Scottish football over more than a decade. Much earlier, O’Neill had demonstrated he could emerge successful from title scraps. Contrary to giddy analysis, there is nothing miraculous or remarkable about O’Neill’s work during his second short-term stint of the season. It is, though, immediately striking how a 73-year-old can achieve such buy-in from players. Faith in O’Neill within Celtic is absolute. Continue reading...