Matz Sels, Nottingham Forest, keeper, £4.6m – home to West Ham

The Belgian is on a nice run of form – with a surprise assist and a clean sheet in his past two games.

Forest are still top five in most defensive stats and have conceded just seven goals – the second-lowest total in the league.

At home and with clean sheets in general at a premium, Sels makes sense.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool, defender, £7m – home to Brighton

Last week, just three of 20 teams kept a clean sheet. The week before it was five – thanks in part to a 0-0 draw between Aston Villa and Manchester United.

In that context, picking the most attacking defensive asset in a home game is a simple choice, despite Brighton posing a decent forward threat.

Alexander-Arnold is still miles ahead of any other defender in expected assists (3.05) and has just one. If you believe in those figures regressing to the mean – and I do – then “he’s due”.

Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolves, defender, £4.6m – home to Crystal Palace

A very popular FPL pick at the moment and one flagged as a player to watch in this column three weeks ago.

Super attacking and budget friendly, Ait-Nouri has scored with three of his five shots on target and now has a run of fixtures where he could muster up a clean sheet to go with everything else.

Leif Davis, Ipswich, defender, £4.5m – home to Leicester City

Looking at this week’s fixtures, it is hard to predict a clean sheet. So in comes another attacking full-back at home.

We’ve talked about Davis’ attacking stats before – he had a superb season in the Championship in 2023-24 and has a couple of assists already this time around.

Ipswich should be on the front foot, at home against relegation rivals, so expect plenty of attacking positions from Davis.

When the World Series started, it was hard to figure what Freddie Freeman would be able to provide for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He left no doubt about the MVP winner.

Freeman broke records by homering in the first four games and matched a Fall Classic mark with 12 RBIs to power the Dodgers past the New York Yankees for their second championship in five years.

“That means there was a lot of my teammates on base,” Freeman said after being presented with the World Series MVP award, named in honor of Willie Mays. “I’m glad I was able to get hot at the right time.”

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

The popular slugger delivered yet again Wednesday night with a two-run single off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in a five-run fifth inning that helped rally Los Angeles to a clinching 7-6 victory in Game 5. 

New York Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson also drove in 12 runs in 1960 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the championship that year on Bill Mazeroski’s famous homer that ended Game 7.

Freeman compiled his total in just five games against the Yankees, setting several World Series standards along the way.

The 35-year-old first baseman homered in each of the first four games, becoming the first player to accomplish that feat. The streak began when he launched the first gamne-ending grand slam in World Series history to win a dramatic opener in Los Angeles.

Freeman’s two-run drive in the first inning Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium made him the only player to go deep in six consecutive Series games, dating to the 2021 title he won with Atlanta.

He was robbed of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning of Game 5 when Aaron Judge made a sensational catch of his long drive while crashing hard into the fence.

The MVP award puts a joyous cap on a difficult season for the Freeman family. Freeman missed eight games in July and August after 3-year-old son Max fell ill while watching his father at the All-Star Game festivities in Texas.

When the family returned home, Max was hospitalized and put on a ventilator after he experienced partial paralysis and breathing difficulty. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré, the rare neurological condition that affects the immune system, nerves and muscles.

Max’s condition gradually improved, and Freeman returned to work Aug. 5. He was welcomed back by a huge ovation from Dodgers fans that prompted tears from Freeman.

Freeman batted .282 this season with 22 homers and 89 RBIs. An eight-time All-Star and the 2020 NL MVP with Atlanta, he is a .300 career hitter with 343 homers, 1,232 RBIs and an .899 OPS in 15 major league seasons. He has hit .300 or better eight times.

Freeman sprained his right ankle on Sept. 26 against San Diego while trying to avoid a tag at first base by Luis Arráez and missed the Dodgers’ last three regular-season games. He didn’t have any RBIs in the NL Division Series against the Padres and only one in the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets.

Freeman missed three games during the NL playoffs because of his ailing ankle. He didn’t play in the NLCS finale against the Mets and had six days off entering the World Series, allowing time for the ankle to feel better.

It certainly showed at the plate, and now Freeman will have a second World Series ring and the MVP prize that goes with it to help him cherish an unforgettable October.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

Uefa has promised to commit 1bn euros (£830m) to women’s football over the next six years in a bid to make it the most played team sport by women in Europe.

The European governing body will use money from “competition revenues and Uefa investment” to distribute to national team competitions, club competitions and national associations.

Uefa wants to make Europe “the home of the world’s top players” with six fully professional leagues and 5,000 fully professional players across the continent.

“European women’s football has never been in a better place,” Nadine Kessler, Uefa managing director of women’s football, said.

“It has become a sport for the masses, attracting an ever-growing and diverse fan base, and partners that wholeheartedly contribute to its growth.”

The new six-year strategy, called ‘Unstoppable’, has been announced as women’s football becomes more financially powerful.

In June, analysts reported that the Women’s Super League had generated record revenue in the 2022-23 season.

The 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which was won by Spain, generated revenue of £440m.

“We cannot just focus on the countries that are already advanced in their development,” Kessler told the BBC World Service earlier this month.

“This strategy will bring much more tailor-made support for those countries that need special help.”

As part of the investment, Uefa plans to introduce a second women’s European club competition to sit beneath the Champions League.

The competition would be a straight knockout format, with teams competing against clubs knocked out in the early rounds of the Champions League.

Euro 2025, organised by Uefa, will be staged in Switzerland.

Philippe Clement says Rangers “started well” at Aberdeen. He says they were “the team pushing for the win all second half”. And that they “deserved a point” after “one of the better performances from this new squad”.

“On a really lucky night we could have won,” added the Belgian, who repeated his regular refrain about young players learning lessons.

But what do you think after the 2-1 defeat at Pittodrie, Rangers fans?

Former Ibrox striker Billy Dodds suggested supporters are “on the edge of anarchy” after their side slipped nine points adrift of Celtic and Aberdeen after 10 matches of the Scottish Premiership season.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst was sacked with Rangers nine points behind their city rivals. Michael Beale’s side were seven adrift when the Englishman was removed from his post last year.

In that context, how safe is Clement’s position? And might beating Motherwell on Sunday to reach the League Cup final change any perceptions?

Let us know what you think here, external