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.
4
Decisions, decisions…Credit: Dream Team
Furthermore, Spurs are currently the top scorers in the Premier League, a fact that Dream Team managers should not take lightly.
Advertisement
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?
4
Advertisement
If goals are the priority then Johnson is the main manCredit: Alamy
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.
Advertisement
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.
4
Plenty of quality but Maddison’s minutes are a concernCredit: Reuters
However, gaffers who own the ex-Leicester playmaker will be concerned about minutes going forward.
Advertisement
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.
Score Predictor
Advertisement
Play Score Predictor with Dream Team this season!
FREE to play
£250 weekly prize
Predict scores of five selected Premier League fixtures and earn points for accuracy
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.
Advertisement
In fact, Kulusevski’s quality in central areas has contributed to Maddison’s declining minutes.
4
Kulusevski has rediscovered his best form this seasonCredit: Getty
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.
Advertisement
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.
*New cust only. 7 days to opt in by placing a £10 qualifying bet at 1/1 (2.0) odds or greater to receive 4x Free Bets: 1 x £10 horse racing, 1 x £10 Bet Builder, 1 x £10 Acca and 1 x £10 football. 7 day expiry. Exclusions apply. Stake not returned. 18+. T&Cs apply.
Advertisement
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. gambleaware.org
Former Nottingham Forest forward Robert Earnshaw joins The Football News Show to discuss why current Forest striker Chris Wood has started the season so strongly, why Taiwo Awoniyi is a capable understudy, and why losing Wood could upset the rhythm of the team.
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – UFC exec Dave Shaw revealed a roadblock stopping the UFC from returning to Ireland.
The UFC hasn’t hosted an event in Ireland since Conor McGregor knocked out Diego Brandao in July 2014 at UFC Fight Night 46 from 3Arena in Dublin. The attendance for that event was 9,500, and according to the 3Arena official website, the venue can host up to 13,000 fans.
UFC CEO Dana White attended Callum Walsh’s boxing match in September at 3Arena, but Shaw said the venue’s capacity isn’t sufficient for a UFC event.
“Great venue – but a small venue,” Shaw said after UFC Fight Night 246. “Could we take our show to that arena? It would be challenging. It’s not an insurmountable challenge – we’d be able to do it. But we’d be having a small event. It’s a small arena. It doesn’t have the space that we need necessarily.”
Advertisement
While Dublin could be a challenge, Shaw confirmed that the UFC plans on returning to the United Kingdom in 2025.
“Are there more plans? Yes,” Shaw said. “We’re going to be back in the U.K. next year. Whether that’s Dublin, (it’s) probably London for us next year, and then as we get through next year, which is the last year of our current media deal in the U.S., and we start to plan out what we want to do in 2026 and beyond in terms of the number of international events that we can have, the intention is to be able to go back to Europe more often.”
Check out Shaw’s full post-event news conference in the video above.
There was an unusual addition to the commentary team for TNT Sports’ coverage of Man City vs SportingCredit: PA
The pair were accompanied by Man City superfan and Oasis star Noel Gallagher.
Advertisement
Gallagher wasn’t only on the commentary team for TNT, but also down pitch-side ahead of kick off to discuss his beloved City’s form.
Supporters are used to seeing the Rock ‘N’ Roll Star in the crowd at City games, but his presence on the broadcast is Half the World Away from his usual Tuesday night.
Fans reacted to the unbelievable moment on social media.
One wrote: “So bizarre that Noel Gallagher is on co-commentary on TNT Sports tonight”.
Advertisement
While another added: “Noel Gallagher adding a lot to commentary tonight. So enthusiastic.”
A third posted: “Why is Noel Gallagher on punditry duty for TNT Sport?!”
And a fourth commented: “No way that’s Noel Gallagher on commentary. I thought it was just some random ex-City player”.
6
Advertisement
Oasis superstar Noel Gallagher joined TNT Sports in the gantry for commentary on the game
6
Gallagher joined the TNT Sports coverage pitch side tooCredit: Reuters
Gallagher will have been looking down on a familiar sight when watching on the game.
That’s because the City players were wearing his handwriting on the back of their shirts for the occasion.
Pep Guardiola reveals ‘incredible’ Noel Gallagher sends him text message before and after Man City games
Their cup font has been designed by Gallagher with the 57-year-old writing out every player name and number to create the unique look.
The kit, dubbed ‘Definitely City’, will be worn for select European fixtures this season, and was donned by players in City’s Champions League opener against Inter Milan earlier in the campaign.
6
The font on the back of Man City’s shirts is Gallagher’s handwritingCredit: Reuters
6
Advertisement
Gallagher helped design an Oasis themed kit for Man City this season tooCredit: Manchester City
6
The superstar posed with Pep Guardiola for the ad campaignCredit: Manchester City
On Tueday, Miura’s family released a statement on social media revealing that the former WEC welterweight title challenger passed away on Oct. 26 following a battle with acute leukemia.
“Hiromitsu Miura passed away suddenly on October 26, 2024 at the age of 43 after fighting acute leukemia since mid-September.
“We should have informed you of his death earlier, but we sincerely apologize for the delay in notifying you.
“The funeral was attended only by his immediate family.
Advertisement
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the kindness you extended to the deceased during his lifetime.
“Sincerely, Miura Family.
Born in Ukiha, Fukuoka, Japan, Miura made his MMA debut in 2004 at 22 years old, competing as a middleweight. After going 7-3 to start his career, Miura signed with the WEC where he would eventually drop down to welterweight. Miura is best-known in MMA for his four-round war with Carlos Condit for the WEC welterweight title at WEC 35, that Condit won by stoppage.
After his time in WEC, Miura left MMA to pursue boxing where he won his first nine fights before challenging for the OPFB super middleweight title against Yuzo Kiyota. Miura lost that fight by TKO and then returned to MMA a few years later, spending the final years of his career competing in Pancrase where he won the welterweight title by beating Akihiro Murayama in 2016.
In Tuesday’s earlier match, Wimbledon champion Krejcikova faced little challenge from a below-par Pegula, who last year reached the tournament’s final.
In a performance devoid of any positive energy, Pegula struggled to cope with the Czech’s huge serves, including 11 aces, and hit just four winners in a match lasting little more than an hour.
US Open finalist Pegula, 30, had got off to the perfect start with a love hold in her first service game, amid a catalogue of Krejcikova unforced errors.
But after Krejcikova got the initial break midway through the first set, sixth seed Pegula’s body language began to sour and she gifted her opponent the opener with a sloppy return tapped into the net from close range.
Advertisement
Form did not improve for Pegula at the start of the second set as Krejcikova broke her serve at the first opportunity, though there was a brief reprieve for the American as she cancelled that out in the next game.
But any glimmer of hope for a Pegula comeback was extinguished as she double-faulted to give her opponent the break back, after which Krejcikova – whose performance was far from polished – coasted to a straightforward victory with a solitary break point her only hurdle.
“I’m really pleased with the way I played today. I felt I had to play my best tennis,” said eighth seed Krejcikova, who is ranked 13th in the world but qualified for the WTA Finals on account of being a 2024 Grand Slam champion.
“I had some very high parts of the season, especially winning the Wimbledon title. It was something that is really indescribable, and to be here right now is a huge privilege to be playing in the final eight.”
Advertisement
The WTA Finals are being held in Saudi Arabia for the first time – a move which has been criticised by some because of the country’s human rights record.
This year’s tournament has record prize money, with the singles champion set to collect about £4m.
In Wednesday’s final Purple Group round-robin matches, Sabalenka will take on Rybakina before Jasmine Paolini and Zheng Qinwen go head-to-head for a place in the semi-finals.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the change Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
It’s unclear why Dalby (23-5-1 MMA, 7-4-1 UFC) withdrew from the bout.
Advertisement
Dos Santos (28-4-1 MMA, 10-4-1 UFC) looks to get in the win column for the first time in three appearances. After a draw vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov in November 2023, dos Santos lost by unanimous decision to Randy Brown in June.
Scroggin (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is the Fighting Alliance Championship (FAC) welterweight champion. In seven pro fights, he has seven wins and five finishes.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login