Pep Guardiola sounded out by Football Association for England job, Spaniard also considering one-year contract extension with Manchester City, Lee Carsley has been told he will not be appointed Three Lions boss permanently.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, 53, has been sounded out by the Football Association about becoming England’s next manager and is expected to decide on his future in the coming weeks. (Times), external

Spaniard Guardiola is also considering signing a one-year contract extension to stay at City. (Telegraph), external

Interim England boss Lee Carsley has been told he will not get the Three Lions job permanently. (Sun), external

Newcastle United are planning to accept an offer for Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron, 30, in January in an attempt to raise funds for reinvestment in their squad. (Football Insider), external

Liverpool are interested in defender Loic Bade as a replacement for their Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk, 33. However, Sevilla will not listen to offers below 20m euros for the 24-year-old Frenchman. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish), external

Manchester United have been closely monitoring Crystal Palace winger Eberechi Eze, 26, with the club’s scouting department keeping tabs on the England international throughout last season. (Football Transfers), external

United could re-sign Spain Under-21 left-back Alvaro Carreras, 21, who left Old Trafford for Benfica in the summer. (Mirror), external

Raufeon Stots expects his fight with Marcos Breno to serve as an appetizer for the PFL: Battle of the Giants main event.

Bantamweights Stots (20-2) and Breno (15-3) throw down in Saturday’s featured prelim at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with the main card on ESPN+/DAZN pay-per-view.

Having fought the likes of Patchy Mix, Danny Sabatello, and Juan Archuleta, Breno is a far less notable name for Stots. However, the 35-year-old is fully aware of the scenario that could play out, so he won’t underestimate him.

“I think he sees this as a big opportunity to make a name for himself right away and to erase that stink from his last performance off,” Stots told MMA Junkie Radio on Breno. “I think the trash talk kind of got the best of him this last fight, so I think he’s going to come in guns blazing. He’s got power in his hands. He’s a Brazilian (jiu-jitsu) black belt. He’s just a guy that hasn’t been around as long.”

Stots thinks his fight with Breno is the featured prelim for a reason. He plans on getting the fans excited for the main card, and give them a small preview of the night’s main event between Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira.

“If you look at the fight, the fight is kind of a Temu version of the main event fight with Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira,” Stots said. “I’m a veteran African like Francis, and he’s a young, powerhouse Brazilian.

“So I think that’s why they wanted me on that featured prelim. They wanted me to showcase and get the people interested and be like, ‘It’s going to be a big barnburner.’ They’re the big giants, we’re the little giants.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.

THE UFC is giving fight fans a double dose of pay-per-view action this month with a truly stacked card.

The worldwide leader in mixed martial arts makes its annual visit to Abu Dhabi later this month for UFC 308.

7

7

Advertisement

7

And the promotion has an incredibly stacked card in place for their return to the United Arab Emirates.

Topping the bill of their 12th pay-per-view card of what has been an incredible 2024 is a mouth-watering title fight between two fan favourites.

Ilia Topuria will make the maiden defence of his featherweight title against former champion Max Holloway.

Topuria claimed the 145lbs crown in February with a devastating second-round KO of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298.

Hawaiian hitman Holloway, meanwhile, will enter the fight on the back of a viral buzzer-beater KO of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April.

UFC 308’s co-main event of the evening will also have huge title implications.

Former middleweight king Robert Whittaker will bid to end the seemingly unstoppable steamtrain that is the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev.

UFC 308 is packed with incredible fights from top to bottom.

BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS

7

And SunSport is on hand with everything you need to know about the upcoming card.

When is UFC 308?

UFC 308 will take place on Saturday, October 26.

Where is UFC 308 taking place?

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena – the venue where Conor McGregor lost his rematch with Dustin Poirier in January 2021 – will host the incredible night of fights.

What channel is UFC 308 on?

The Fight Pass prelims and the ensuing preliminary bouts will be broadcast live on UFC Fight Pass and TNT Sports 1.

The main card will be available to watch live on TNT Sports Box Office for a fee of £19.99.

7

What time does the UFC 308 card start in the UK and US?

The stacked prelims are set to commence at 3:30pm BST time, meaning they’ll get underway at 10:30am and 7:30am on the east and west coasts of America.

UFC 308’s main card will commence at 7pm BST time in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The pay-per-view portion of the card will start at 2pm and 11am respectively on the USA‘s east and west coasts.

What time will Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway start in the UK and US?

The octagon walks for the main event are expected to take place at approximately 9:30pm BST time (4:30pm ET/1:30pm PT).

7

UFC 308: Topuria vs Holloway fight card

• Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway (men’s featherweight title bout)
• Robert Whittaker vs Khamza Chimaev (middleweight bout)
• Lerone Murphy vs Dan Ige (men’s featherweight bout)
• Magomed Ankalaev vs Aleksandr Rakic (light-heavyweight bout)
• Sharabutdin Magomedov vs Armen Petrosyan (middleweight bout)

Prelims

• Geoff Neal vs Rafael dos Anjos (welterweight bout)
• Mateusz Rebecki vs Myktybek Orolbai (lightweight bout)
• Said Nurmagomedov vs Daniel Santos (men’s bantamweight bout)
• Abusupiyan Magomedov vs Brunno Ferreira (middleweight bout)
• Farid Basharat vs Victor Hugo (men’s bantamweight bout)

7

Fight Pass Prelims

• Ismail Naurdiev vs Bruno Silva (middleweight bout)
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs Nursulton Ruziboev (welterweight bout)
• Ibo Aslan vs Raffael Cerqueira (light-heavyweight bout)

THE HERD WITH COLIN COWHERD

Trending

NFL

NCAAFB

MLB

NASCAR

NBA

MLS

WNBA

EPL

PGA

UEFA Champions League

In a statement released on Monday, HMS gave the following explanation for their decision to accept the penalty: “Hendrick Motorsports will not appeal the disqualification of the No. 48 car following Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Roval. NASCAR allows a clear margin to account for the difference in pre- and post-race weight.

“After a thorough review by our team and the sanctioning body, we simply did not give ourselves enough margin to meet the post-race requirement. Although unintentional, the infraction was avoidable. We are extremely disappointed to lose a playoff spot under these circumstances and apologize to our fans and partners.”

Originally, all four Hendrick drivers had advanced into the Round of 8 after Kyle Larson’s victory on Sunday. But in post-race technical inspection, the No. 48 HMS Chevrolet failed to meet minimum weight requirements, which includes a tolerance around 17 pounds. Per Brad Moran, the managing series director for Cup, the car was weighed multiple times and the team was given the chance to both fuel up the car and add water.

Bowman was disqualified and the subsequent loss of points resulted in him being eliminated from the 2024 NASCAR Cup playoffs. Bowman’s misfortune put two-time NASCAR Cup champion and Team Penske driver Joey Logano back in. At the checkered flag, he was out by four points. This also changed the owner’s championship, as the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota was originally eliminated there, but is now back in as well.

The official Round of 8 points grid:

Richard Wigglesworth has been promoted to head coach Steve Borthwick’s number two in the latest change to England’s coaching set-up.

Former England scrum-half Wigglesworth, 41, remains in charge of the team’s attack, but now will collaborate with Borthwick on England’s overall gameplan and managing the rest of the coaching group.

“Richard’s deep knowledge of the game and his excellent tactical understanding means he has become a key figure in our coaching team,” said Borthwick.

“He shares our emotional commitment to English rugby, and I am certain he will play a crucial role in driving the standards of this England team.”

Wigglesworth said: “This is an exciting time for England rugby. Steve has created a coaching environment based on collaboration and hard work, and we are constantly evolving and growing and striving for success.”

Wigglesworth, who played 33 times for England, was brought into the England camp by Borthwick after the pair worked together when Leicester Tigers won the Premiership in 2022.

England hired Oyonnax’s Joe El-Abd as defence coach in September after Felix Jones resigned from the post after seven months.

Kevin Sinfield, who was set to leave earlier this year, has agreed to remain on reduced hours in a role overseeing skills, kicking and the mentoring of players.

Irishman Jones is working remotely to provide tactical analysis while being held to his 12-month notice period.

England take on New Zealand on 2 November before continuing their autumn campaign against Australia, South Africa and Japan.

England’s coaching staff:

Steve Borthwick – head coach

Richard Wigglesworth – senior assistant coach (attack)

Joe El-Abd – assistant coach (defence)

Tom Harrison – assistant coach (scrum)

Kevin Sinfield – assistant coach (skills & kicking)

Andrew Strawbridge – assistant coach & coaching advisor