The 16 clubs involved in this weekend’s FA Cup fifth round will hope to have their name in the hat when the draw for the quarter-finals takes place next week.
Amongst the teams eyeing a spot in the last eight are Arsenal and Manchester City, who are both still going strong in all four competitions this season.
Mikel Arteta’s men make the trip to take on League One outfit Mansfield Town, whilst Pep Guardiola’s side head to Newcastle for an all-Premier League showdown.
Chelsea face a potentially awkward-looking clash away at Wrexham, whilst Liverpool return to Molineux looking to avenge Tuesday night’s defeat in the Premier League.
Metro‘s Head of Sport James Goldman delivers punchy analysis, transfer talk and his take on the week’s biggest stories direct to your inbox every week.
Tottenham are searching for their third manager of the season after parting ways with Igor Tudor.
Spurs announced on Sunday that Tudor had left by mutual contest and the club plan to appoint a new head coach in the coming days, so someone is in place for when the players return from international duty next week.
That would give the new manager around 10 days to prepare for their next game away at Sunderland on April 12.
Spurs are deep in relegation trouble after their gamble on Tudor backfired and has resulted in just one point out of a possible 15 in the Premier League.
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Last weekend’s miserable 3-0 home defeat against Nottingham Forest, in what was billed as a relegation six-pointer, leaves Spurs just one point above the bottom three with seven games to play.
Sean Dyche
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De Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino are the most established names mentioned, but neither is expected to be interested or available before the end of the season.
One former Tottenham man who has confirmed his eagerness for the role is Harry Redknapp, but having been out of work for nine years, it would be a bold move to hand him the reins.
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Robbie Keane is also in the running. The former Spurs striker is currently manager of Hungarian club Ferencvaros.
Around five fire appliances from Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service were placed on standby
21:55, 29 Mar 2026Updated 22:02, 29 Mar 2026
A plane has been forced to make an emergency landing at Belfast City Airport tonight as strong gusts of wind caused major safety concerns.
Several flights were also forced into holding patterns for more than two hours as a precaution before landing as strong winds buffeted the harbour runway in East Belfast. Flights from Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool were all delayed due to the weather.
Gusts of 33mph were recorded in the area throughout Sunday.
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A statement from the Airport on Sunday March 29 said the emergency landing was carried out as a precautionary measure and all passengers and crew disembarked the plane safely.
Around five fire appliances from Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service were placed on standby.
Japan, meanwhile, left it late to beat Scotland at the weekend and have now won their last four international matches in a row.
Date, kick-off time and venue
England vs Japan is scheduled for a 7.45pm BST kick-off on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
The match will take place at Wembley Stadium.
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Where to watch England vs Japan
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live and free to air on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 7pm BST.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog, with expert analysis from Dom Smith at the ground.
England vs Japan team news
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Adam Wharton, Aaron Ramsdale, Fikayo Tomori and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have also dropped out, thus leaving Tuchel with a revised 27-man squad to choose from against Japan.
Jordan Pickford could return in goal. In front of him could be a defence that includes Dan Burn, Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa, though Tino Livramento is an option at right-back.
Captain Harry Kane and Elliot Anderson are among the players who have joined up with the squad and will play after missing Friday’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay, when an experimental side struggled at Wembley.
As for Japan, the key absentee is Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo who is in a race against the clock to be fit for the World Cup after undergoing surgery following the 1-0 win over Sunderland last month.
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Manager Hajime Moriyasu could opt to make changes to the side that started the win over Scotland which could mean a start for Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma.
Harry Kane is set to captain England against Japan
The FA via Getty Images
England vs Japan prediction
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It is fourth in the world against the team ranked 18th. This suggests a fairly close game is on the cards and even more so following the flurry of withdrawals that has hit the England squad.
With that said, a Three Lions that will be boosted by the returns of Kane, Anderson and Guehi, coming up against a Japan side that poses a genuine threat in attack spells one thing; goals.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
This will be the first meeting of the two nations since May 2010 when two own goals from Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Yuji Nakazawa helped England come from behind to beat Japan in a friendly in Austria.
(C)2026 MARK COLLINS PR – PICTURE SHOWS The launch of World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris, joining VIP guests for the star-studded inauguration of the newly reimagined Disney Adventure World in Marne-La-Vallée, France, on Saturday 28th March 2026. The new land, which opens to the public on 29th March 2026, invites guests into the Kingdom of Arendelle, featuring the Frozen Ever After attraction, Elsa’s Ice Palace atop the North Mountain, a vibrant village square and immersive live entertainment. Press contact: Mark Collins / [email protected]
Talya Honebeek Content Editor – Spare Time and Steffan Rhys Deputy Content Hub Director
21:30, 29 Mar 2026
Rice is so versatile, pairing well with everything from chicken, beef and fish to curries, stir-fried vegetables and a range of sauces. But, cooking it doesn’t always go perfectly.
Common mistakes made when cooking rice include not rinsing the rice properly or not having the right water-to-rice ratio. This can result in undercooked, mushy or dry rice, none of which are particularly pleasant to eat. And even if you do get everything right, you can still end up with a flavourless side dish. Luckily, there’s an easy fix.
Writing on food blog The Kitchn, expert Emma Christensen shared her favourite ways to make “a boring pot of rice taste amazing”. Her first trick to “keep rice flavourful” is to toast the grains.
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“Toasting the dry rice grains in a little butter or olive oil before adding the water brings out their flavour and adds a fantastic nutty note in the finished dish,” she explained, recommending you try this with brown rice or whole grains like barley.
Her second tip involved adding just one extra ingredient to the pan during the cooking process: cook the rice with chicken or vegetable stock, which can either be in the form of leftover homemade stock or a stock cube.
She said: “I sometimes find that using 100 percent chicken broth can make the rice feel gummy or overly-starchy,” adding: “I usually go for a 50/50 mix of broth and water. This adds a layer of flavour and richness without going overboard.”
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Her final suggestion was to season the rice with whatever you’re already cooking, like the some of the same seasonings you’re using for the main dish.
The expert urged home cooks to use whole spices for subtle flavours and ground spices for a stand-out dish. She also explained she “almost always” adds a bay leave, regardless of what she’s cooking.
But don’t just take Emma’s word for it. There are plenty of home cooks who say cooking rice in stock instead of plain water is a game-changer. Home cook Sarah-Louise Kelly said she will “never go back” after making the change, which “made such a difference to the flavour”.
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Mimi Harrison, writing on the Beat The Budget blog, said “making this creamy rice with chicken broth is the best and easiest way to enjoy rice with the same amount of cooking time”. She said: “Cooking rice with chicken broth will transform the flavour and turn a flavorless side into the most versatile, delicious, well seasoned pairing for just about anything. It’s buttery, creamy and feels luxurious.”
Here are three applications that have been approved (or cleared) in and around the town between March 23 and 27.
Sheds set for demolition at Percy Road garage
CB Auto Electrical Services has been given the green light to demolish two storage sheds at its site on Percy Road. The sheds sit to the rear of the main unit and are due to be removed without the need for prior approval.
The application was submitted on February 23 and validated on March 2. The council issued its decision on March 26, confirming that “prior approval is not required” for the demolition, paving the way for the yard to be cleared and reorganised.
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New features approved for St Teresa’s Hospice
St Teresa’s Hospice on Woodland Road has secured approval for a series of upgrades to its entrance and a quiet reflection room. The plans include the installation of new fencing and a handrail along the main entrance ramp to improve accessibility and safety.
Inside, an existing window in the proposed reflection room is set to be replaced with a glazed door, brightening the space and making it easier to access. The application was validated on February 4 and approved with conditions on March 27, giving the hospice a clearer route to carry out the improvements.
Gladstone Street building to be split into two retail units
A building on Gladstone Street is set to be transformed into two separate retail units after the council signed off on a conversion plan. The approved scheme involves internal alterations, the addition of another entrance door, new roller shutters and revised openings to the ground‑floor frontage.
The application was first lodged on March 19, 2025, and validated at that time. It has now been approved with conditions on March 25, 2026, opening the door for a new shop layout and potentially fresh retail offerings on the street.
The Inspector of Burial, Cremation and Funeral Directors is currently investigating six cases following the suspension of staff at the NHS morgue.
A Glasgow super hospital is under external probe after its mortuary wrongly released six bodies and wrongly cremated one.
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Queen Elizabeth University Hospital’s mortuary department has released the body of the wrong person six times since the facility opened, and cremated the wrong person, leading to five complaints into NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGCC).
The SNP Government opened the £1bln super hospital in 2015 to ministers’ jubilation but has been hit with various issues that sparked a public inquiry after cancer patients contracted rare bugs while being treated there.
The Scottish Mail On Sunday revealed that mortuary staff were suspended last December pending an investigation after a corpse mix-up, which resulted in the family cremating someone who wasn’t their relative.
It was only discovered at the funeral taken place as another family had been left without their loved one’s remains, reports Scottish Daily Express.
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Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: “At a time when families are grieving, these shocking blunders cause significant distress. One incident is too many. Six is scandalous. Police Scotland should investigate this matter.”
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “This is a concerning revelation, and it will no doubt worry families who have lost loved ones at the QEUH.
“The release of a body in error would undoubtedly be distressing, and my sympathies extend to all those who have been affected.
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“This is not the first time this has happened, and urgent steps must be taken by the hospital and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to ensure it does not happen again.”
NHSGCC confirmed six people have been incorrectly released after their deaths following five complaints being submitted since 2015.
It added that the health board has launched an internal prove into the mistake that resulted in the wrong person being cremated last year while it is also being probed by the Inspector of Burial, Cremation and Funeral Directors.
A health board spokesman said: “NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde offers a sincere apology to the affected families. We recognise the additional distress this has caused and are committed to learning from these incidents to strengthen our processes.”
In last week’s “supplementary note,” lawyers to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry said ministers did not become aware of water and ventilation system issues at the QEUH until 2018 or 2019.
They said any pressure from the Government on NHSGGC to open the facility on time and on budget in 2015 had therefore been made in ignorance of these issues.
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But the note questioned the steps taken by the Government to ensure the hospital was built in compliance with Scottish Health Technical Memoranda (SHTM), which set out best practice in the design of healthcare facilities.
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“I saw one come in from my synagogue, and it was talking not about the great services we put on, the outreach to local communities, the wonderful art and charity that we do, but about a series of kits we’ve just received that will help the community if there’s an attack to stem the flow of blood, or if there’s a chemical attack, that is the situation we’re facing.”
Amy Jones, 27, from Liverpool is searching for the man who refused to let two strangers take her to an unknown house
Megan Banner Reporter and Alex Hickey Head of North Wales Live
20:48, 29 Mar 2026
A woman who claims she was spiked during a night out with friends in a city centre is appealing for help in tracking down the taxi driver who came to her aid. Amy Jones, 27, had been at a club in Liverpool on March 14 when she began feeling unwell during the early hours of Sunday, March 15.
Amy departed the nightclub on Stanley Street and headed to get a kebab on Dale Street. While inside the takeaway, her vision failed her, she felt nauseous and knew something was wrong. The Liverpool John Moores University student rang her friend to say she was heading home, but has no recollection of what happened afterwards.
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She said: “My friends didn’t want to leave me but I insisted I would be fine, I wanted to meet a girl at the club and told them to go home. I went to meet her at Superstar Boudoir.
“[Inside the nightclub] I told the girl I was going to the bar to get a drink and when I came back everyone had gone. I decided to go home because I was on my own and that’s when I went to get a kebab. I phoned my friend to tell her I was getting some food and coming home, it was around 2.45am.”
While inside the restaurant, Amy said she “started to feel strange”. She added: “I was paranoid I could hear people saying my name. I remember saying in the kebab shop ‘I think I’ve been spiked, can you help me.’” Amy, distressed and frightened, decided to walk home when she claims she was approached by a man on Dale Street who offered to help her. She said: “I was scared, I told him to leave me alone but he told me he wanted to get me home and seemed genuine.”, reports the Liverpool Echo.
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“He waved a black cab down and asked for the taxi driver to take me home. But then he and another guy got in the taxi. They gave the taxi driver an address that wasn’t mine. I don’t really remember the taxi drive, my vision of everything outside the window was blurry, I couldn’t see anything but it felt like we were gone for a while.
“I remember I felt sick and I could hear them chattering about how f***** I looked. They started making out to the taxi driver like they knew me. He asked if I was ok and they said something like ‘no she’s always like this, she’s just drunk’.
“They got out when the taxi stopped and tried to get me to go inside a house with them. I had no idea where we were, the taxi driver refused to let me go inside and demanded to take me home. I have no idea what would have happened if I’d gone inside that house.”
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Amy says the taxi driver allowed her to charge her phone and it was after 4am. She has no recollection of what occurred during that period from calling her friend and is urging the taxi driver to come forward and help her. She said: “I don’t know how to find him. All I remember seeing was ‘cab 66’ but I don’t know what that means. If it wasn’t for that taxi driver I don’t know what might have happened, I want to find him so I can ask him details of that night.”
Amy reported the incident to Merseyside Police. A spokesperson for the force stated: “We can confirm that we received a report of an alleged spiking in the early hours of Sunday, 15 March, although at this stage there is nothing to corroborate that any criminal offence has taken place.”
Are you the taxi driver who helped Amy? Email: megan.banner@reachplc.com.
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