BBC Sport’s chief football writer Simon Stone:

Pep Guardiola has never made any secret of his belief Rodri is irreplaceable as a single midfield anchor in his Manchester City side.

Kalvin Phillips is the nearest thing to a sitting midfielder in the City squad but Guardiola has long since decided the former Leeds man is not good enough and he is currently on loan at Ipswich and unable to be recalled until January.

That means Guardiola is likely to tinker with his formation and play with two holding midfielders.

Former Chelsea star Mateo Kovacic can fill that role but he is not the only option.

Centre-back John Stones has rarely played as a lone defensive midfielder during his time at Etihad, but has been inverted into the deep-lying role at times from central defence and right-back.

Ilkay Gundogan was used in that position on numerous occasions before he left for Barcelona in 2023. Bernardo Silva has also played there, as has currently sidelined Kevin de Bruyne at times.

And then there is 19-year-old Rico Lewis, who someone Guardiola said only last week could fill a number of positions, such is his flexibility.

Losing Rodri for any length of time would be a hammer blow for City, but if anyone can come up with a plan to deal with it, Guardiola can.

The January transfer window is only a few months away as well.

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton told Radio 5 live’s Monday Night Club: “I don’t think anybody can fill that role like Rodri, but Kovacic is as able a replacement out there. We’ve seen in the past they will find a way of coping, they always do.”

Sean O’Malley continues to troll Merab Dvalishvili.

At UFC 306, Dvalishvili earned a unanimous decision win over O’Malley, claiming the bantamweight title. In the immediate aftermath, O’Malley said he had “no excuses” however, “Suga” quickly changed his tune, later arguing that he should have won three rounds of the fight and arguing he was still the bantamweight champion. In response, Dvalishvili fired back at O’Malley with a video mocking the former champion as his “son.”

And now O’Malley has responded.

On Monday, O’Malley dropped another video on his social media, mocking Dvalishvili and their fight, saying he was working on things he learned in his last fight, before holding a heavy bag and lightly kneeing it, then feigning getting hurt to the body and head afterward.

“What’s up guys. I’ve got surgery on Oct. 3, [but that] doesn’t mean I’m not going to continue to improve and take away things I learned from my last fight and start implementing now.”

O’Malley is scheduled for surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip on Oct. 3, suffered before UFC 306, and hopes to return to action next summer. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili is likely to face Umar Nurmagomedov in the first defense of his bantamweight title.

No public money will be spent on Manchester United’s plans for revamping their Old Trafford home for the time being, the mayor of Greater Manchester has confirmed.

Andy Burnham has outlined ambitions to redevelop the stadium alongside a “mixed use” neighbourhood featuring apartment blocks, shopping centres and new public transport stations.

The club’s owners are currently considering whether to pursue a £2bn plan for a brand new 100,000-seat stadium or redevelop the existing ground.

However, a freight rail terminal situated behind the stadium needs to be moved to free up land to make room for any expansion and Mr Burnham suggested some taxpayers’ cash could go into infrastructure needed to move it to Merseyside.

Old Trafford, which currently has a capacity of 74,310, has been Manchester United’s home since 1910.

While it will be up to the club to fund any new stadium or refurbishment, the mayor said it was possible some taxpayer cash could go into infrastructure for the new neighbourhood in the future, to help build transport links.

Mr Burnham has now called on the government to fund plans to connect the under-construction Parkside freight terminal on the St Helens-Wigan border to the West Coast Main Line, which could cost in the region of hundreds of millions of pounds.

“What you have here is the huge potential to fix the rail system of the north west of England,” he said at the Labour conference in Liverpool.

Mr Burnham added taking the freight to Parkside and out of Manchester city centre “fixes things for passengers”.

“They won’t have to have the freight disruption,” he said. “What that then does is free up the space around Old Trafford so the club is able to have all of its options looked at and has the biggest possible footprint to use so it can bring forward the most ambitious regeneration.

“We hope it’s the best football stadium in the world, which brings benefits to residents around it.”

The mayor was joined by ex-Manchester United and England star Gary Neville, who sits on a taskforce created by the club to evaluate the best options for the future of Old Trafford.

Neville said he was “not bothered if it’s either” a new stadium, or the existing one being refurbished.

“The most important thing is Manchester United end up with a world-class stadium,” he added.

“I’m more interested in the overall masterplan in the surrounding area. We have seen what happens when you put football at the heart of that regeneration.”

Nadal missed the US Open because he said he would not “be able to give my 100% at this time”.

He then pulled out of the Laver Cup earlier in September, saying he believed there are “other players who can help the team deliver the win”.

Nadal also missed the Australian Open in January through injury and decided not to play Wimbledon to focus on the Olympics.

He previously hinted at retirement later this year, but said before the French Open he was not “100%” certain that would be the last time he played at Roland Garros.

The Davis Cup quarter-finals take place 19-21 November, with the semi-finals following on consecutive days before the final on Sunday, 24 November.

Reigning world number one Jannik Sinner is set to lead defending champions Italy, who will seek to become the first team to retain the title since 2013.

John Wood thinks Alex Pereira will resort to wrestling Khalil Rountree at some point during UFC 307.

Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) challenges light heavyweight champion Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in the Oct. 5 main event from Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Rountree vowed not to wrestle the former two-division Glory Kickboxing champion to find success. His head coach Wood doubled down on that promise, and went as far as saying it’ll be Pereira needing to change up his game plan.

“I believe, honestly, my gut, I think Pereira shoots on Khalil,” Wood told ESPN. “I think he’s the one that breaks game first and shoots on Khalil to try to get that takedown, because that’s actually something he’s done. I mean, we ain’t shooting over here, I can tell you that.

“Khalil can – it’s not like we don’t train MMA, wrestling, wrestling defense, all these things. … I think Alex shoots first, but yes, I would be shocked if this fight goes five rounds. Someone is going out on their shield. It’s going to happen, and obviously I think I know who it is.”

According to DraftKings, Rountree is a +350 underdog against Pereira, who’s a -455 favorite to retain his title. Pereira is coming off knockouts of Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka in the past six months. Rountree made it five straight wins when he knocked out former title challenger Anthony Smith in his most recent appearance in December 2023.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Nigel French/PA Wire

‘Enhanced atmosphere’