Sporting have won 14 of their past 15 games, only losing in the Portuguese Super Cup this season.

Both City and Sporting are on seven points from three Champions League games so far.

In 2022 City beat Sporting 5-0 on aggregate in the last 16 of the competition.

“I feel like I’m a better coach [now],” said Amorim. “Unfortunately what I feel is that Pep Guardiola has also become an even better coach, so the gap remains.

“[City have] the best team in the world and the best coach in the world.”

City’s Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva was a team-mate of Amorim’s at Benfica in 2013-14.

“He always showed he could read the game because he played different positions – as a defender, on the left, as a midfield player,” Silva said on Monday.

“When he arrived Sporting hadn’t been champions for 20 years. He changed the playing paradigm of Sporting. They are the best team in Portugal by far.

“He will be a rival but I am glad someone else from Portugal is in the best league in the world.

“When Ruben becomes coach of Man United, we will worry about that then. Right now we want three points to get to the top eight.”

Atkinson won the Bob Willis Trophy, given to the England men’s or women’s player of the year, after an impressive start to his Test career.

The 26-year-old picked up 12 wickets in his debut Test at Lord’s as England beat West Indies by an innings and 114 runs, before adding match figures of 6-95 in Anderson’s farewell Test.

Atkinson returned to Lord’s in August to score his maiden century against Sri Lanka and become the first England number eight to make a Test ton in 11 years.

“I was just hoping to make my England Test debut, and to have the summer that I’ve had, it’s a huge honour and to get this award at the end of it tops it off,” Atkinson said.

“My debut, taking 12 wickets was very special, and playing in Jimmy’s last Test was a big honour. Probably my favourite moment was that century against Sri Lanka.”

Women’s Cricket Award winner Ecclestone, 25, became the fastest woman to take 100 ODI wickets earlier this year.

Reaching the mark in 63 innings, the left-arm spinner bettered the record of Australia’s Cathryn Fitzpatrick, who took one innings more to achieve the feat.

Off-spinner Bashir joined a starry list including Sir Geoffrey Boycott, Sir Ian Botham and Nasser Hussain by winning the Young Player of the Year award.

At 20 years and 282 days, he became the youngest England bowler to take a five-wicket innings haul in a home Test with 5-41 against West Indies at Trent Bridge.

“It’s been really special. With a lot of hard work, I’m thankful to be playing for my country. Long may it continue,” Bashir said.

TOTTENHAM’S victory over Aston Villa on Sunday was their ninth win in their last eleven games in all competitions.

Much was made of the slip-ups against Brighton and Crystal Palace but there’s no denying the broader picture is an increasingly optimistic one for Ange Postecoglou’s side.

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Furthermore, Spurs are currently the top scorers in the Premier League, a fact that Dream Team managers should not take lightly.

At the time of writing, the North Londoners are the only club with three representatives inside the top 15 midfielders in terms of overall points.

Brennan Johnson (£3.8m) and James Maddison (£4.6m) are ranked sixth and seventh in their position respectively with Dejan Kulusevski (£3.1m) nestled in 13th.

Some Dream Team bosses will be more than happy to select a couple of Spurs midfielders but many will see that as overkill and so it begs the question: which of the three is the best option?

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Johnson has earned the most points (95) so far but Maddison is just two behind him at this stage.

The Wales international has been the most prominent goal threat; his close-range finish against Villa was his seventh of the season in all competitions.

Only Bryan Mbeumo (£4.6m) has scored more goals among midfield assets – Brentford’s talisman has eight to his name.

Maddison’s picture-perfect free-kick against Unai Emery’s mob was just his third goal of the campaign but he’s hot on Johnson’s heels because he’s a bonus point magnet.

Spurs’ No10 has earned 21 bonus points already – only Savinho (£4.1m) boasts a higher tally (22) – while Johnson is yet to muster a single one!

Maddison has also registered five assists to Johnson’s two.

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However, gaffers who own the ex-Leicester playmaker will be concerned about minutes going forward.

Maddison was hooked at half time against West Ham in Gameweek 8, replaced after an hour against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 9, and given just eight minutes against Villa at the weekend.

From a Dream Team perspective, his owners have largely escaped punishment as the 27-year-old has pocketed enough points from his limited minutes to satisfy but whether he’s able to maintain such a rate remains to be seen.

Maddison will probably start against Galatasaray in the Europa League on Thursday night but Postecoglou is leaning towards a more conservative midfield balance in league fixtures.

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Maddison is also the most expensive Spurs midfielder by a relatively wide margin.

In contrast, Kulusevski is currently available for just £3.1m and has to be considered one of the best value-for-money selections in Dream Team this season.

The Sweden international is 20 points behind Maddison (and 22 shy of Johnson) but many Spurs fans will tell you he’s been the best of the lot.

Previously a right winger, the ex-Juventus man has been reinvented as a No10 where his creative powers have come to the fore.

Kulusevski has provided six assists – only Bukayo Saka (£6.7m) has more among midfielders – and he’s created twice as many big chances as Maddison.

In fact, Kulusevski’s quality in central areas has contributed to Maddison’s declining minutes.

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In conclusion, Johnson is the best option for gaffers who simply want the biggest goal threat but Kulusevski is the smart, value-for-money option.

The latter is also the most in-form of the trio having taken more points from the last three games.

And Maddison, for all his quality, has to be considered a potential trap door given his high price and dwindling playing time.

18th-placed Ipswich are set to visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday so it’s a good time for gaffers to make sure they’re backing the right Spurs assets.

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Alexandr Romanov’s UFC future is up in the air despite coming off of a win in his most recent fight.

At this past Saturday’s UFC Edmonton event, Romanov scored a unanimous decision win over Rodrigo Nascimento. The bout was the last of the heavyweight veteran’s UFC contract and, as of now, he has not re-signed with the promotion. His departure from the active roster was first reported by UFC Roster Tracker.

MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin confirmed with officials that Romanov is no longer signed to the UFC. This news does not preclude Romanov returning to the promotion with a new contract, but as of now he is free to sign with any promotion.

Romanov (18-3) has competed 10 times for the UFC, compiling a 7-3 record during that stretch. The 33-year-old Moldovan surged up the rankings with a 5-0 start to his octagon career, which included finishes in four of those fights. He holds notable wins over Blagoy Ivanov, Juan Espino, and Marcos Rogerio de Lima, but is just 2-3 in his past five fights.

Johnny Herbert has insisted he is entitled to his opinions on reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen as a response to criticism from the Dutchman’s father, Jos.

The two former F1 drivers are at loggerheads after Herbert initially remarked that the time penalties dished out to the Red Bull driver during the Mexico Grand Prix “would not stop [him] from pushing Lando Norris off the track in the future”.

Jos was livid that Herbert, who was acting as an FIA race steward at the Mexican Grand Prix, was airing his views in public having administered the penalties, insisting that “a steward shouldn’t talk to the press at all and just deliver work all the time”.

The bitterness continued at the Brazilian Grand Prix when Max Verstappen, who was also heavily criticised by Sky F1’s Damon Hill for his manoeuvres on Norris, claimed: “I’ve got the wrong passport for this paddock”.

However, Herbert – who was again an FIA race steward in Brazil last weekend – has insisted he is not biased.

And in a barb aimed at Jos, he questioned his position to be critical of Red Bull’s operations, having been outspoken against his son’s team on a number of occasions this year.

“I am Johnny Herbert the steward and the professional during a race weekend and Johnny Herbert a pundit at other times, who expresses what he thinks,” Herbert told SafestBettingSites.co.uk.

“When I am a steward, I do not express any opinions.

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“Everyone has an opinion. [Sky Sports F1’s] Martin Brundle has an opinion. Why can’t I when I am not at the race track? The race track has been my world for 50 years. If I don’t quite agree with what I see on the race track I will say so. It is not just Max. I’ll criticise anyone if I feel it is warranted.

“I understand it from Jos’s point of view because it is his son. Is there any bias? No, of course not. I wasn’t the only one to think that Max was over the top in Mexico. Lando Norris and [McLaren boss] Zak Brown thought so too.

“When I do speak to people on a Monday or Tuesday that is outside my stewarding responsibilities.

“Jos has always been very outspoken about what is happening at Red Bull. Is that his position to be? It is all very similar. If you have an opinion and you want to make it, then you can.”

Meanwhile, Herbert says that Norris, who trails Verstappen by 62 points in the drivers’ championship with just 86 available in the final three races, will learn from his title fight.

“McLaren and Lando missed out on seven points in Hungary because they let Piastri win and it’s those things they need to be conscious of going into next season,” added the three-time F1 race winner.

“Will they lose the championship this year? No, because they were always on catch-up. They could have got more points, but that is racing. Max had the clear lead and then didn’t win after June.

“McLaren will learn for next year and have a stronger mindset. Lando will go into 2025 knowing he can beat Max.”

Quotes credit: SafestBettingSites.co.uk