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Everton star Richarlison will ‘hopefully’ be fit to face Leicester City in the Premier League this afternoon, according to Toffees manager Frank Lampard.

What’s the latest?

As quoted by the Liverpool Echo, the 43-year-old said: “Yeah, Richy’s got a bit of a sore ankle from the one he twisted at Liverpool. That’s sort of been around since then, but hopefully will be fine.”

The Brazilian scored the winning goal against Chelsea last weekend and has been a kingpin in preserving the Merseyside outfit’s survival push of late.

With five matches left and Everton still in the relegation zone, having the 24-year-old available for the remainder of the campaign is absolutely vital.

Lampard will be buzzing

Two points adrift of safety, the Toffees need as many players available as possible as they face a busy run-in to try and secure their top-flight status, thus avoiding a first Premier League relegation.

That particularly includes Richarlison, who has netted eight goals and registered four assists in the league this season, making the winger the Toffees’ top scorer in the current campaign.

To emphasise the 24-year-old’s importance to the cause, half of those goals have come in the last five matches for Everton.

With the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the most part this season, the Brazilian has stepped up during what has been a dismal campaign for the Merseyside outfit, and he will be a major catalyst if Everton secure survival.

Richarlison’s availability would also be a major boost given the Toffees’ wretched away form in 2021/22, as their chances of securing a result at the King Power Stadium would be seriously hindered without the winger, with Everton picking up just six points away from Goodison Park since August.

The Foxes will look to secure a top half finish after crashing out of Europe on Thursday night, which could provide a tough task for Lampard’s men.

However, the prospective availability of Richarlsion will undoubtedly have the Everton boss buzzing.

AND in other news: Lampard set for first big mistake as Everton boss, supporters would be fuming

England’s batting coach, Graham Gooch, believes that the leadership partnership of Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower has instilled in the squad a competitive edge that has been lacking on previous tours of Australia

Andrew Miller12-Oct-2010England’s batting coach, Graham Gooch, believes that the leadership partnership of Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower has instilled in the squad a competitive edge that has been lacking on previous tours of Australia, but says that their hopes of mounting a successful defence of the Ashes for the first time in 24 years will hinge on the intensity of their preparation in the three warm-up games leading into the first Test at Brisbane on November 25.”The experience of taking on Australia is always fantastic feeling for an England player,” he told ESPNcricinfo’s Switch Hit podcast. “They have been the No. 1 side for most of the past decade, and they have a competitive spirit that some would say is unmatched by many other sides, although I do believe that England at the moment are approaching that sort of standard. The way they have been playing of late, they go with a lot of confidence, knowing the challenge ahead but relishing at the same time.”Gooch, 57, is embarking on his sixth tour of Australia, four of which came as a player between 1978-79 and 1994-95, and one as manager in 1998-99. In 1990-91, he led from the front as captain with 426 runs in four Tests including a century at Adelaide, but found that, despite forging a close bond with the coach of the time, Micky Stewart, he was unable to transfer his own formidable work ethic to the squad at large.Twenty years on from that trip, however, Gooch is confident that every man in the current England squad understands the levels of professionalism expected of them on such an arduous tour, and credits Strauss and Flower for cultivating the necessary attitude. “The two individuals have very astute cricket brains,” he said. “They are disciples of the game, they both love the game, and they are both well respected, and that’s a vital starting point for any relationship and any leadership scenario.”Both men are very fair with the players, very balanced, and they can both communicate with the players,” he added. “They know how to get the best out of each individual, and Flower in particular is very meticulous, and doesn’t leave anything to chance. Everyone in that team knows that England are only going to Australia for one reason. They are not going for the weather, they are not going for the hospitality, they are going to win the Ashes, and that will be the focus.”After an arduous season that was made all the more mentally draining by the match-fixing allegations that overshadowed the ODI series against Pakistan, the majority of England’s cricketers are currently enjoying a well-deserved break. However, with the squad set to depart for Perth on October 29, the down-time is fast coming to an end.”The players are in as good condition as they can be,” said Gooch. “The guys who play all forms only finished on September 22, so they need a few weeks off, because you can’t work every minute of the day. But in my experience of touring Australia as a player, coach and manager, you’ve got to get up to speed quick, and in past tours, we’ve started to play cricket after the first Test, if you see what I mean. You’ve got to hit it at the first Test because that sets the tone.”In terms of his day-to-day role as England’s batting coach, Gooch believes that the mental side of the job will be every bit as important as the technical. “For guys at this level, you’re not trying to reinvent their game, you just want to give them tips and good advice, and shape them in a slight direction,” he said. “I think it’s very important to keep talking to players about their game whether their confidence is low or whether they are playing really well, so that you can reinforce what it is they are doing well.”That said, there are few men in the English game who relish the hands-on nature of coaching quite like Gooch, who spent the latter stages of the 2009 season helping his Essex protégé, Alastair Cook, remodel his technique, and also spent a week at Lord’s this summer working one-on-one with Kevin Pietersen. In recent months, he has added a new weapon to his coaching armoury, a plastic throwing arm called the Sidearm, which has been developed by a local entrepreneur in Essex, and with which Gooch spent many a happy hour beasting his charges in the nets.”It’s a bit like a dog-ball thrower,” he explained. “It’s just like giving normal throwdowns, except it imparts more pace and is more realistic for a net session. People say it saves your arm, and that is one aspect, but because the ball comes out quicker, and swings as well, it gives the net session more intensity. In the past, England have practised using Merlin [the spin bowling machine] and all that, but those are not exactly easy to carry around.”Nothing, however, will be more important to England’s preparations than the three warm-up games at Perth, Adelaide and Hobart, the first of which gets underway at the WACA on November 5. “Middle practice is invaluable,” said Gooch. “The England team’s work ethic and attitude to preparation has been first-class since I’ve been involved, but you only get confidence from scoring runs and taking wickets, and as a batsman, you need to get your feet moving, and see the ball going between fielders.”You need to play solid defensive shots, and leave the ball well,” he added. “Your judgment needs to be good, and you need to hone that in the middle, because that’s where your confidence comes from. As a batsman you don’t lose your ability, what you lose sometimes is your confidence in that ability, and confidence plays a big part in life, not just cricket. Do you feel good about yourself, and are you in the right frame of mind?”Pietersen is one notable batsman whose confidence has been down in recent months, and his Ashes preparations began this week with the first of two first-class fixtures for the Durban-based Dolphins in South Africa. In general terms, however, Gooch is convinced that the batsmen who has been chosen for the Ashes are ready for the challenge, despite a Test series against Pakistan in which ball dominated bat to an often dramatic degree.”I have a great belief in the collective skills of this batting unit,” he said. “The English conditions this summer were conducive to fast bowling in particular, and there were some low-scoring games, which often produce exciting Test matches. It’s fair to say they’ll need to be at their best to beat Australia in their own conditions, but those conditions will be slightly different. There will be more bounce and carry, but the wickets themselves will be flatter, and you’ve got to get runs on the board to be competing in each Test.”

Shane Watson says all of the Australian bowlers should be blamed for the side’s lack of penetration on the fourth day as England stormed back into the opening Test.

Peter English at the Gabba28-Nov-2010Shane Watson says all of the Australian bowlers should be blamed for the side’s lack of penetration on the fourth day as England stormed back into the opening Test. The locals started with a 202-run lead but by stumps were 88 behind after the visiting top three took advantage of an inconsistent attack to post 1 for 309.Mitchell Johnson struggled with his line and Ben Hilfenhaus was unthreatening for long periods, while Peter Siddle could not build on his impressive six-wicket return in the first innings. “I don’t think you can single out Mitchell today,” Watson said. “All of us, the bowlers, didn’t perform particularly well, me included.”Andrew Strauss (110) and Alastair Cook (132 not out) were regularly given balls to cut, pull and drive, and the wayward approach also allowed them constant singles. Jonathan Trott joined the fun after Strauss was out stumped to Marcus North, the only wicket to fall on an extremely difficult day for the hosts.”It came down to sustaining pressure and unfortunately we weren’t able to do that,” Watson said. “We did it for little periods but weren’t able to execute for long enough. The English guys batted well, particularly Strauss and Cook, but all of us as a bowling group weren’t able to consistently execute to build the pressure that was needed.”The problem has been a feature of Australia’s attack since the last Ashes series and is highlighted on flat pitches when the bowlers can’t make things happen. “That’s something we are continuing to work on as a group,” Watson said. “We know how important it is on flat wickets and there’s no doubt that there’s going to be a lot of flat wickets throughout this whole summer. We have to continue to improve, to make sure we get better at it.”This surface was supportive to the fast men for the first two days but has flattened out. There are a few cracks to aim for but England’s position is so strong that they may be in a position to push for victory over the second half of the final day. That depends on lifting their scoring rate in the morning, something Watson hopes they try to achieve.”It would be nice if they did,” he said. “It might give us a few more opportunities to be able to take some wickets.”Although England were reluctant to think too far ahead in the game, Australia’s former captain Ian Chappell said that a positive approach in the final stages of the game could have a major bearing on the momentum of the series, much as was the case when England snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat at Cardiff in 2009.”A draw has got to be the favourite, but England should at some point just start to push a little bit, and try to frighten Australia,” Chappell told ESPNcricinfo. “I don’t for a moment think they will bowl them out – if they do you’ll be talking about this one in the same terms as Headingley 1981, or India’s victory over Australia in Calcutta. But even if England can push Australia into a bit of a corner and get five of them out and put the frighteners on them, then they would go to Adelaide with a huge psychological boost.”Despite the swift momentum shift, Watson said Australia were still in the game. “But we do have to turn it around very quickly,” he said. “We still need to get nine wickets and that seems a long way away at the moment. But there’s definitely still quite a bit of hope for us.”

Michael Hussey is a man of lists and routine but he was forced into an uncomfortable rush as Australia started the second Test by losing three wickets in 13 balls

Peter English at Adelaide03-Dec-2010Michael Hussey is a man of lists and routine but he was forced into an uncomfortable rush as Australia started the second Test by losing three wickets in 13 balls. Hussey, the No.5, walked to the wicket after 11 minutes, having barely had time to get ready before Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were knocked over.”I was just rushing to get my gear really,” Hussey said. “It was all happening very quickly. I couldn’t really believe it to be honest, it was just [a feeling] of shock. Before I blinked I was out there in the middle.”Hussey provided a very steady hand with a vital 93, but even his impressive effort could only get Australia to 245, a total about half of what is appropriate for Adelaide. But all the focus was on the first three overs, which started with Katich’s run-out without facing a ball.”I think that was the first time it’s happened in his career, so he was obviously a bit disappointed,” Hussey said. “We place a big focus on the first five overs of the day and trying to get the momentum going in our favour. Katto was just disappointed that we got off to such a poor start. He was in shock really, more than anything.” Almost two hours after his dismissal Katich was still sitting alone outside the dressing room.Ponting (0) and Clarke (2) both fell edging James Anderson to second slip and Hussey was suddenly required. “I was actually looking forward to having a nice relax for a few hours and watching the first session,” Hussey said. “I have a set routine. Once a wicket falls, I get my shoes and whites on. When two go down, I get my gear on pretty quick. I was upstairs watching, obviously not for very long.”Despite the brutal setbacks, Hussey was pleased with the extent of the recovery. “We probably would have taken 250 after being 3 for 2,” he said. “Obviously we’d have liked a fair few more. We’re a bit disappointed in the dressing room.”Hussey has moved from being terribly out of form to the side’s most productive batsman over the past week. He produced a career-saving 195 in the first Test and was closing on another century when he drove at Graeme Swann and edged to slip.”It’s only two innings,” he said of the turnaround. “It doesn’t really make a summer or win us the Ashes. I think you probably need a little bit of luck. It’s a very fine line with batting and even today I think I nicked one just short of Graeme Swann at second slip. I was also dropped by Jimmy Anderson.”While the score was Australia’s smallest first innings since 1992, Hussey said the team remained “pretty upbeat” and were encouraged by some balls staying low. “We know we’re going to have to bowl well but we can take a lot of heart that England were bowled out for 260 in the first Test up in Brisbane and came back very strongly,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we’ve lost the Test match whatsoever.”

George Dockrell, the Ireland left-arm spinner, has been named the ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2012George Dockrell, the Ireland left-arm spinner, has been named the ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year. He was chosen ahead of three of his team-mates Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien and Ed Joyce, and Afghanistan bowler Dawlat Zadran.Dockrell, 20, was the leading wicket-taker in the voting period – between 4 August 2011 and 6 August 2012 – taking 43 scalps in ODIs, T20Is and the Intercontinental Cup, the ICC’s four-day tournament for top Associate and Affiliate sides. Dockrell plays county cricket for Somerset, captained Ireland recently in the Under-19 World Cup, and took 14 wickets in T20 internationals, the most by any bowler in world cricket during the voting period.”It’s great to win such an award and especially to be following the footsteps of an esteemed group of players like William Porterfield and Ryan ten Doeschate, and only at the age of 20, I feel very honoured,” Dockrell said after receiving the award in Colombo. “It has been a great year of cricket with I-Cup, U-19s and WCL Championship, and now the WT20, and I’ve been learning a lot to take into this tournament.”It’s good to be setting high standards, and hopefully I will keep performing well for Ireland in the future.”Dockrell became the second Irishman to win the prize, after Porterfield in 2009.

Venkatesh Prasad will be involved with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in promoting cricket in the region

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2010Venkatesh Prasad, the former India fast bowler, will be involved with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in promoting cricket in the region. Based on a recommendation from the BCCI, Prasad will travel to lesser-known cricket-playing countries in Asia to identify and groom young talent.”I have to create proper infrastructure by guiding the local associations,” Prasad told the . “It means I have to spot talent and also ensure they have a proper coaching staff to carry on the grooming process.”Prasad, who started coaching after retiring in 2004, has coached the India Under-17 team, the Karnataka Ranji team and was the bowling coach of the national side for two years. He is currently the bowling coach with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Prasad said he would spend more time with the coaches in the region to ensure the programmes are run professionally.”I will study the training and coaching programmes and then make the necessary recommendations. I will be conducting coaching seminars and organising competitions.”Prasad, 41, was among the first Indian cricketers to secure a Level III coaching certificate from England. “It has helped me stay in touch with the game. I firmly believe in modern training methods but not at the cost of the basics. The basics remain the same, only your mindset changes.”Prasad played 33 Tests for India and took 96 wickets as well as 196 ODI wickets in 161 games. He will travel to Malaysia on December 1 to begin his ACC assignment.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Paul Brown has provided an update on the contract situation of West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek. 

The lowdown: Instant hit

Signed for £19.1million from Slavia Prague on an initial four-year deal following a successful loan spell at the London Stadium in 2020 (BBC), the powerful midfield general has already been earmarked for new and improved terms.

However, recently it emerged in a report from 90min that the Hammers had placed negotiations over a new contract with the 26-year-old on hold until the summer at the earliest.

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As the end of the season comes into view, speculation as to whether those talks are forthcoming has begun…

The latest: Brown provides fresh update

In conversation with GMS, Brown has shared what he knows from the feeling inside the east London club, claiming they are ‘very relaxed’ over the Czech Republic international’s future.

“The club are very relaxed about it. They don’t seem to think there’s any prospect of him refusing and trying to go elsewhere.

“There’s obviously the question marks still over Declan Rice and there’s no way West Ham could afford to let both first-choice midfielders to leave in the same window. Whether they actually get a decent offer for Rice or not, they feel they could accept his future is up in the air anyway.

“I think all parties are basically being sensible at the moment and just seeing where they end up before agreeing the figures. I don’t think it’s likely that he leaves.”

The verdict: Sign him up

Whilst many would point towards the long-term future of Declan Rice as the highest priority for GSB this summer, securing the services of Soucek must not be far behind.

Since becoming an Iron, the 48-cap towering midfielder has scored 19 times in 99 appearances for the club, also missing just one game through injury in that time, the type of availability any manager would kill for.

Combative, powerful and with a knack for scoring important goals, whilst forging a stellar partnership alongside Rice at the heart of David Moyes’ side, Soucek has already attracted reported interest from German giants Bayern Munich and should therefore be regarded as a key man to get signed on the dotted line.

In other news: The Times: West Ham weighing ‘monster’ player move alongside three more potential signings! Find out more here.

As per Sky Sports journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, writing on his personal website, there has been a transfer update out of Tottenham Hotspur involving Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.

The Lowdown: Tottenham enter Kulusevski talks…

The January transfer window deadline is nearing, and with just two more full days remaining, Tottenham are running out of time to back manager Antonio Conte with major signings.

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Transfer chief Fabio Paratici has already seen moves hijacked for winger Adama Traore and forward Luis Diaz with the Italian now turning to Juventus starlet Dejan Kulusevski.

Talks are underway to try and bring the Sweden international to north London but, according to Di Marzio, he isn’t the only Juve player who Spurs have made an offer for.

The Latest: Tottenham table ‘proposal’…

Sharing news on his website on Friday afternoon, citing what he heard ‘in the past few hours’, the Sky Sports reporter said Tottenham have also made a ‘proposal’ to sign Bentancur on loan.

However, The Old Lady outright rejected their approach for a temporary transfer as they did not ‘appreciate’ those conditions.

Spurs, according to Di Marzio, are still working on an agreement for Kulusevski despite this development, and it is not clear if they will try again for Bentancur.

The Verdict: Blow for Conte?

The South American ace, looking like a star at international level, has already amassed near-half a century of caps for his native Uruguay and played in every match of their 2018 World Cup campaign.

Bentancur even notched an assist from midfield during the tournament with the midfield maestro possessing lots of big stage experience at just 24-years-old.

It’s little wonder Juve aren’t willing to sanction a loan and reportedly want €30 million (£25m) if they’re to green-light his exit before January 31.

In other news: Spurs now preparing last gasp marquee bid to sign ‘special’ forward for Conte, find out more here.

Donny van de Beek is undergoing a medical at Everton ahead of his loan move from Manchester United, Sky Sports News have revealed.

The lowdown

It emerged on Sunday that Van de Beek had opted to join The Toffees for the remainder of the 2021/22 season.

Crystal Palace were also interested in the Dutchman, but he’ll instead take up the opportunity to work under Frank Lampard on Merseyside.

Everton have agreed to foot the entirety of his £120,000-per-week salary for the duration of the loan period.

The £22.5million-rated midfielder has only played 380 minutes in all competitions this season and is yet to start a Premier League game.

The latest

Referring to Sky Sports’ ‘State of Play’ transfer tacker, presenter Tom White said Van de Beek’s move was now a step closer to completion.

“Everton are close to signing him on loan after agreeing a deal with Manchester United,” he said.

“It [the transfer tacker] says ‘in talks’. In the last few seconds, that has changed because [he’s having a] medical now.

“That has just come into us in the last few seconds, a fresh update to us.”

The verdict

Completing the signing of Van de Beek would make it a very solid January for Everton.

They’ve found a long-term successor for Seamus Coleman in the form of Nathan Patterson, and also moved quickly to replace Lucas Digne with the signing of another youngster, Vitaliy Mykolenko.

Anwar El-Ghazi, on loan from Aston Villa, adds depth to the squad, and Van de Beek, billed ‘close to perfect’ by BT Sport’s Owen Hargreaves, should inject real quality.

In other news, fans were buzzing over this news on a defender. 

Jurgen Klopp says it would be the “biggest joke in the history of football” to write Manchester City out of the 2023-24 Premier League title race.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Reigning champions are dropping pointsArsenal lead the way, with Reds just behindBattle for crown expected to go to the wireWHAT HAPPENED?

The reigning champions have gone four games without a win in the English top-flight, dropping them to fourth in the table. Liverpool – following a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane – are now the closest challengers to leaders Arsenal, with just two points separating them from the summit. City are only six points adrift, though, and have dominated the domestic scene under Pep Guardiola.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT KLOPP SAID

With that in mind, and with City having dashed Liverpool’s title dreams on a couple of occasions with remarkable winning runs, Klopp told reporters when asked if the Blues are drifting out of the picture: “If somebody would write City off that would be the biggest joke in the history of football. Arsenal are fighting and had a similar experience we had [late win vs Fulham]. It feels really good but anyway you have to start the next game from 0-0. Aston Villa is incredible. United is there, don't play yet maybe exactly the football whoever wants – the media or whatever – but they have points like crazy. Chelsea, I'm not sure if they're coming. The league is incredibly strong, you need to be lucky to get through difficult moments, with injuries especially. So I have no clue [who will win the title]. Probably [there are more challengers]. It was the last years, always two. I'm not interested in that, so long as we're around there. But it's so difficult and intense. Ask me again in April.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai got the goals for Liverpool against Sheffield United, with Klopp adding on a professional performance that saw the Reds take maximum points from the division’s bottom club: “Let me say it like this: I am really pleased with the result and I am really pleased with a lot of aspects of the game. I would call it a mature performance besides a few moments when we gave the ball away in areas where we should not do it. That was when the crowd got excited. Besides that if you didn't see the game, you could have heard it because we calmed an atmosphere down that was really ready to go and that was super important. And besides that I don't want to be overly critical, I know we can play better football but this time of the year you play and hopefully win and play again. That is it.”

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(C)Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

Liverpool have a busy run through to the end of the calendar year, with there still six more games for them to take in across three competitions – with there Premier League meetings with the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal to be factored into an equation that also includes a final Europa League group stage outing and a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with West Ham.