Manchester City fly out to Spain today ahead of tomorrow night’s Champions League round of 16 first leg vs Real Madrid

Manchester City have confirmed their 23-man travelling squad to take on Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 first leg. Erling Haaland, who missed the FA Cup fifth round victory over Newcastle United, has been included after training with his teammates in Manchester on Tuesday morning.

Pep Guardiola’s decision not to select Haaland last weekend sparked concerns he could be miss the last-16 clash. But, the City boss confirmed after the match his absence was to allow him to rest. “I didn’t think to let him play and I prefer him training to [clicks fingers] make a rhythm,” Guardiola said on Saturday. After injury when he drops he always struggles to have that real pace.”

There are also spots on the plane for Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi. The duo who signed from Bournemouth and Crystal Palace respectively in January, were ineligible to play the final league phase fixtures against Bodo/Glimt and Galatasaray.

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However, when the registration window reopened, both men were added to City’s squad for the knockout stages and could make their Champions League debuts at the Bernabeu. Mateo Kovacic was spotted in training on Tuesday but has not been deemed fit enough to travel to Madrid.

The Croatia international has been missing since October after sustaining an ankle injury. Guardiola confirmed the midfielder would play a part in the final stages of the season and his return to the first-team is edging closer, even if this game has come too soon for him.

City head into the knockout tie as favourites considering their home advantage in the second leg. The Blues were also victorious earlier this season when the two teams met in the league phase. Nico O’Reilly and Haaland scored in a 2-1 win.

City’s travelling squad to face Real Madrid

Goalkeepers – Gianluigi Donnarumma, James Trafford, Marcus Bettinelli

Defenders – Max Alleyne, Marc Guehi, Abdukodir Khusanov, Matheus Nunes, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Rayan Ait-Nouri

Midfielders – Nico O’Reilly, Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders, Nico Gonzalez, Bernardo Silva, Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden

Forwards – Antoine Semenyo, Savinho, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush

While profit and sustainability rules (PSR) were about a club’s balance sheet of all revenues over a three-year period, SCR is just about team costs on a seasonal basis.

The new rules will operate a dual system, with clubs in European competition having to adhere to Uefa’s SCR limit of 70% – so a club could be sanctioned by Uefa but be compliant in the Premier League.

The higher limit is intended to protect the Premier League’s competitive balance, given the increased income that will be received by those clubs competing in Europe.

Chelsea and Aston Villa were both given heavy fines by Uefa for breaches in the 2024-25 campaign, and that is when the limit in Europe was 80%.

The Premier League has added some wriggle room, too, with a multi-year rolling allowance of 30% that permits clubs to spend beyond the limit. It allows clubs to invest ahead of revenue and variance or sporting underperformance.

An assessment is made each March, and the allowance is crucial to determine possible sporting sanctions applied in the same season.

The 85% marker is known as the Green Threshold. Spend above that and you get a financial penalty, although this will be far less punitive than Uefa.

The Red Threshold is 85% plus the allowance. Go beyond that, and it is a fixed six-point deduction which increases by one point for every £6.5m spent over the Red Threshold.

Think of it this way – every club will start next season on 85% + 30% allowance, so effectively 115%.

Any clubs that spend above 85% will face a fine, but they would need to be in excess of 115% to lose points.

But those percentages will change for 2027-28.

If a club spends 105% on their squad next season, it means they have used 20% of their allowance, and for 2027-28 their maximum spend before potential sporting sanction is 95%.

If a club spend less that 85%, they can increase the allowance again to the maximum of 30%.

The 26-year-old has denied the charge and will now stand trial

Gallagher PREM side Bristol Bears have suspended hooker Will Capon after the former England U20s player was charged with rape.

The 26-year-old appeared in court on Friday, having been accused of the assault in Exeter in September 2021. Capon, who has spent 12 years at Bristol after joining the club’s academy in 2014, denied the charge when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court last week and he will now stand trial at the same court in September next year after being granted unconditional bail.

Bristol have confirmed that the front rower was suspended from “all club activities” after being charged.

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However, he has not played since May last year, having undergone surgery on a knee injury suffered during the Bears’ pre-season training camp in Portugal ahead of the current campaign.

Capon made his senior debut for Bristol in 2018 as they secured promotion to the Gallagher PREM, and made 13 appearances for them last season, scoring four tries.

He was also part of the England squad at the World Rugby U20s Championship in 2019, while he was called up by Eddie Jones to train with the senior side two years later.

In a statement issued to The Telegraph, Bristol said: “Bristol Bears can confirm that Will Capon is suspended from all club activities pending the outcome of an ongoing legal matter.

“The club will not be making any further comment while legal proceedings are active.”

A brief statement from the Crown Prosecution Service read: “Will Capon is charged with one count of rape.

“Next hearing is a case management hearing scheduled for 26 July, 2027 at Exeter Crown Court.”

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It looked a pretty sobering weekend for McLaren to be so far off the pace after being the best car the last couple of years. Is it realistic to hope they can compete this year or is being best of the rest, as Lando Norris was in Melbourne, the best they will be able to do? – Tom

The fastest McLaren in Australia qualified more than 0.8 seconds slower than George Russell’s pole time, and Norris finished the race 51 seconds behind Russell.

McLaren – world champions for the past two years – admitted their car was not quite on the level of the Mercedes. As team principal Andrea Stella put it: “When we look at the GPS overlays, we see that Mercedes is faster in some of the corners.”

But the vast majority of McLaren’s deficit was down to usage of the power unit and the energy recovery system.

It’s clear the works team has more knowledge of how to get the most out of the engine, and it’s equally clear that, with software systems so complex, more information and knowledge translates into a significant advantage on track.

In Melbourne, the Mercedes cars were able to deploy a significant amount more energy on the long run from Turn Six to Turn Nine, where much of the lap time was being lost by McLaren.

F1 rules dictate that manufacturers must supply engines of exactly the same specification to all their teams – works or customer. However, they don’t say they have to share all the information about how to exploit them fully.

After the race, Stella came quite close to expressing frustration with the lack of information McLaren had from Mercedes and their engine company HPP.

“We remain a little puzzled by the difference we see in the data between the speed of our car and the speed of other cars using the same power unit,” Stella said.

“The discussion with HPP about having more information has been going on for weeks because even in testing, we were pretty much going on track, run the car, look at the data, ‘oh, that’s what we have’, good, now we react to what we have.

“That’s not how you work in Formula 1. In F1, what happens on track, you simulate [beforehand]. You know what is happening. You know what you are programming. You know how the car is going to behave.

“You also have your plans as to how you evolve it that you have figured out before because you know what you are expecting from the car.

“This is the first time since we have been a customer team that we feel we are on the back foot even when it comes to the ability to predict how the car will behave and to anticipate how we can improve the car.”

Mercedes’ argument would be that, as a customer, McLaren can’t expect as close a relationship with the engine department as the works team has.

McLaren would probably counter that they accept that, but they feel they should be a lot better informed than they are.

The McLaren car is believed to be a little overweight, so there is lap time to be gained there – even without aerodynamic upgrades, which are in the pipeline.

In theory, the knowledge of how to exploit the engine will come.

The key questions are how long it will take to learn it, and whether starting with extra knowledge is an advantage that keeps on giving.

The systems in the cars keep learning and improving. It’s yet to be seen whether this is a virtuous circle that never stops, or whether Mercedes will reach diminishing returns and McLaren can catch up.

Dietmar Hamann has described Nick Woltemade’s struggles at Newcastle United as ‘remarkable’ and says it has presented Eddie Howe with a ‘really tricky situation’.

Newcastle completed a £69m move for Germany international Woltemade after begrudgingly selling Alexander Isak to Liverpool for over £120m.

Woltemade had a decent record for his former club Wolfsburg – scoring 18 goals in 36 games – but it was suggested in Germany that Newcastle had overpaid for the striker.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a bright start to his St James’ Park career, however, scoring six goals before the start of November and impressing with his all-round play.

But Woltemade’s contributions began to fall away over the winter period and the German has now scored just once in his last 20 appearances in all competitions.

The towering forward has even been used slightly deeper by an increasingly desperate Howe but Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has dismissed the notion he can play in midfield.

Hamann insists his compatriot’s drop-off is ‘very strange’ and has raised the possibility that Woltemade will now be sold after just one season.

‘I couldn’t believe the developments in the last few weeks and months regarding Nick Woltemade,’ Hamann told BoyleSports.

‘There was a story in one of the German papers that he hasn’t settled in the North-east, which I personally think is a paradise for a footballer, because if you’ve got a bit of success, they treat you as a hero. 

‘He had a great start and was adored by the faithful, adored by the fans. It’s obviously a very strange situation because if you had told me this after six or eight weeks, where he scored a few goals, I would have said he’s going places and he’ll be one who might be there for a few years, who is loved and adored by the people.

‘To have the turnaround now in a short space of time is really remarkable. What you hear and what you see probably makes me think that there might be a summer exit, which is obviously not a good situation for the club because they paid an awful lot of money.

‘Do you force him to stay here? Is that a good solution? And who’s going to pay the money for him now?

‘So, yeah, I think it’s a really tricky situation for both of them, for both parties, but especially for the club.’

If Newcastle do end up selling Woltemade, Hamann believes former Manchester United and Chelsea transfer target Victor Osimhen would be the ‘perfect’ replacement.

Osimhen has scored an impressive 55 goals in 67 games since joining Galatasaray in 2024 and helped Napoli win the Serie A title before his move to Turkey.

‘I think Victor Osimhen is one of the top five centre forwards in Europe,’ ex-Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich midfielder Hamann added.

‘I couldn’t believe that he ended up in Turkey. Obviously, Napoli paid an awful lot of money for him, but I’m very surprised that none of the English teams signed him, because they all struggled for centre forwards in the summer.

‘They tried for players like Benjamin Sesko, and other players who have come in are only just starting to adapt now because they obviously needed some time.

‘I think he’s an outstanding player and I think he’s probably the reason why Galatasaray is doing well in the league and also in the Champions League.

‘I love watching him and I think, if he were to play in the Premier League, there are teams he would make much better.

‘Obviously, Liverpool have got two players there now, so he won’t end up there, but he’s an outstanding player. He’s got pace, he’s got power, he can finish, a wonderful player.

‘If Newcastle do sell Nick Woltemade, he could be the perfect fit.’

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Despite millennials’ reputation for avoiding phone calls and opting for texts instead, new research has found there is one conversation they are always willing to have – with their mum.

Half of Brits (53%) call their mum more often than they did 10 years ago – with the average call lasting over an hour, new research has found.

Brits in their early 30s speak to their mum five times a week, with two-fifths calling at least once a day according to Three UK, while data also showed that 10am was the preferred time for “calling home”.

And the calls are very welcome, with four in five mums saying they would rather receive a phone call or coffee catch-up than an expensive gift ahead of Mother’s Day.

While the national average call lasts just over an hour, where you live can make a dramatic difference. In Wolverhampton, conversations last just 34 minutes on average, while in Middlesbrough they stretch to the length of a feature film – at 101 minutes.

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In honour of the maternal figures in our lives, Three has unveiled some special Mother’s Day treats on the Three+ rewards app, including cards, cakes, flowers and beauty bundles.

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Death Valley in California – the hottest place on Earth and the driest place in North America – is currently carpeted in wildflowers in what is shaping up to be the best bloom in a decade.

The National Park Service (NPS) officially categorised this as an above-average bloom year on 22 February, with low-elevation flowers blooming throughout the park.

It is the best event the site has seen since 2016, with swathes of the desert transformed and covered in golden and violet flora.

He will join the funniest doctor in medicine, Dr Kevin Jones, for the annual Bury Hospice Comedy Festival.

Dr Jones, recently retired as a consultant physician at the Royal Bolton Hospital, and still lives in Bolton, will compere the festival, which over the years has attracted some big name comedians, including Mick Miller, Scott Bennett, Nina Gilligan and Justin Moorhouse.

Dr Kevin Jones Image: Dr Kevin Jones

And this year is no exception. Performing on both nights are Big Lou (Lewis Jones) and Rod Woodward.

Big Lou is a local lad from Prestwich who is a great favourite in the area with a comedy style which is a mixture of Les Dawson and Jimmy Carr.

Rod Woodward is from Cardiff and has the almost unique distinction of being invited not once but twice to entertain in front of royalty at the Royal Variety Performance.

On Friday night, Martin Gold will appear who was voted Comedian of the Year for two years running by the Variety Club of Great Britain.

Paul Sinha is also known as The Sinnerman on The Chase Image: ITV

On Saturday, the Sinnerman from the Chase is headlining.

Dr Jones is a Trustee at Bury Hospice and has been dubbed Britain’s funniest doctor.

He said: “ I am delighted to be able to help with the Comedy Festival. I have worked with all the comedians previously and was very keen to get them to come to Bury to perform. The comedians at the previous shows have all loved the experience and so have the crowds. There is a wonderful atmosphere and of course it is all for a very important cause.”

The festival will take place Festival will take place at the Polish Social Centre in Back East Street BL9 0RU Friday, March 20th and Saturday, March 21st.

It is being sponsored by JD Sports.

Tickets for the shows can be bought from the Bury Hospice website

www.buryhospice.org.uk/events/comedy-festival

Neil Simpson and his guide Rob Poth won Great Britain’s first medal of the Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics with silver in the alpine combined.

It is a third Paralympic medal overall for the visually impaired skier, who had recorded two fourth-place finishes earlier in these Games.

In the alpine combined, skiers complete a run of both the super G and slalom, with their factored times combined to determine the final standings.

Simpson and Poth had sat in fourth after the morning’s super G, 0.57 seconds short of third place.

But in the slalom, they recorded the fastest time of the day to move up two places as Canada’s Kalle Ericsson and his guide Sierra Smith fell out of contention.

Italy’s Giacomo Bertagnolli and guide Andrea Ravelli won gold, finishing 0.65 seconds ahead of Simpson and Poth overall, while Austria’s Johannes Aigner and Nico Haberl won bronze.

“I’m really chuffed with the performance, some good skiing on the second run and we carried out the plan we had,” said Simpson, 23.

“The visually impaired men’s [category] is really strong, there are lots of really quick guys in there so I’m pleased to get on the podium.”

Four years ago, Simpson, guided by his brother Andrew, won GB’s only gold of the Beijing Games with victory in the super G, a win that cemented him as the first British man to win gold at a Winter Paralympics.

His medal at Milan-Cortina adds to the bronze he won in the alpine combined at the last Games, while it improves on the fourth-place finishes he recorded in both the downhill with his brother and super G with Poth in recent days.

For Poth, 28, it is a first Paralympic medal at his maiden Games.

“I’m buzzing. For me it was a little bit of a relief, but our slalom is in a great place,” he said.

Simpson and Poth have two further chances of medals at these Games, in Friday’s giant slalom and Sunday’s slalom.

That they set the fastest time in the slalom run of the alpine combined, crossing the line in 42.52 seconds, one-tenth of a second quicker than the next fastest run, bodes well for both events.

“With the giant slalom, we feel pretty ready for that, and for the slalom, we’re feeling really good and hopefully we can do well,” said Simpson.

Poth added: “Run by run, we are building up the confidence, that has definitely taken it up a notch and we’re getting closer to that top step.

“We’re on a high and hopefully we can continue on that trajectory.”

Alternatively, if there were still high gas and oil costs from the war, he stressed: “If in May, we are still in this position and it looks like the October, so the winter price cap, is going to stay high and there are no cheap fixes because wholesale rates haven’t come down, that is where we start to get talking about intervention points when it comes to energy bills.”