Rumors about Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s new home have fans impatient as the Bucks keep their dealings under wraps with only hours to go before the deadline.
On Thursday, the Bucks’ X account posted a single emoji on their timeline, a yawning emoji. The cryptic message may be a hint at Antetokounmpo’s decision to stay wiith the Bucks, who are valued at $4.3 billion by Forbes.
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The trade deadline closes at 3:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, and it appears Milwaukee has convinced the two-time MVP to stay with them for another ride. ESPN’s Shams Charania backed the speculation about Antetokounmpo staying in Milwaukee a few hours before the deadline.
“The Milwaukee Bucks believe they can build a contender around Giannis Antetokounmpo this Summer and get him on board with remaining with the team long term,” Charania said on NBA Today on Thursday.
However, Charania revealed that Antetokounmpo was convinced that he needs to leave to expand his legacy, which forced the Bucks to listen to offers. However, Milwaukee believes that they can build a roster good enough around their superstar to compete for another championship.
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The Bucks (20-29) are not good enough to compete for a championship this season. They are 12th in the Eastern Conference standings.
Giannis Antetokounmpo reaffirms his belief in the Milwaukee Bucks
Reports in the last few weeks have suggested that Giannis Antetokounmpo has lost confidence in the Bucks and wants to move to a new team. While they may be right about the two-time MVP’s aspirations, they forgot to cover the love he has for the city that drafted him.
On Wednesday, Eric Nehm of “The Athletic” published an article featuring an interview with the Bucks star, in which he expressed his desire to play for the Bucks forever.
“Brother, if you ask me deep down what I want today, I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career,” Antetokounmpo said. “I want to win here, another championship.”
“Let’s put the Bucks on the side for one second. Let’s talk about the city itself, the memories that I’ve created here. When you open my kids’ passports, it says Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best players in the world when he is healthy and in his groove. The Bucks superstar has proved in 2021 that he can lead a franchise to a championship if he has the right pieces to support him.
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The Bucks now have a last chance to show their superstar that they can help him get another championship. Antetokounmpo is averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game on 64.5% shooting.
In the words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend!”
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, co-hosts Johnny Wunder and Jake Morrow explored why the different OEMs all measure the length of golf clubs differently.
While the USGA officially measures length by placing the sole of the club on a 60-degree plane and then measuring from the intersection of the shaft and that plane to the end of the grip cap, not all OEMs do it this way.
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“I had this discussion today with a lot of the guys, and the general consensus is the reason for it is they all think that you should measure from a different spot, essentially,” Morrow said. “Some of them measure from the middle of the sole, some of them only measure length once you have bent the irons, because if you bend the iron flat, they get longer. Right, like it’s longer, shorter, so they only will measure them after you bend them. Some of them measure it before you bend them. Some of them are on a 60-degree ruler.”
Because of all these different measurement methods, OEM Tour Trucks actually have a marking on their rulers for what a 46-inch driver on a USGA ruler would be, so they can ensure all of their drivers are conforming.
While this doesn’t affect the general consumer too often, you see it show up when ordering irons because some companies, like Titleist, Callaway and TaylorMade, have a standard length of 37″ for a 7-iron while Cobra, Mizuno and Srixon list it at 37.25″. Yet, those clubs might all be the same length.
So why wouldn’t this just be standardized to the USGA method?
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“The reason why I think that there’s no urgency to get it done at an OEM level is because there is a little level of unpredictability from truck to truck and OEM to OEM,” Wunder suggested. “So it basically incentivizes them to go, no, we’re going to do it our way. We measure on this ruler.”
So they next time you go looking for a specific length, make sure you know which ruler that club is getting measured on, because the difference could mean something later on.
A stroke of fortune for England, Seb Atkinson’s ill-conceived crossfield kick half-blocked but landing in the hands of Bevan Rodd, ruled onside thanks to the Italian touch. But that’s fortune for Italy, the ball bouncing free at a ruck with England building momentum in the 22.
Harry Latham-Coyle7 March 2026 18:22
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Italy 16-18 England, 71 minutes
Some pick-up from Elliot Daly, there, as if at second slip as he scoops off his bootlaces after Tom Roebuck’s tap back.
Harry Latham-Coyle7 March 2026 18:21
Italy 16-18 England, 69 minutes
It feels mightily tense in Rome – pressure on England after back-to-back defeats, pressure on Italy with an historic win in sight. Lorenzo Pani and Monty Ioane get in a mix up over a Jack van Poortvliet box kick, though there are enough Italian shirts there to pick up the pieces. Alessandro Fusco hooks a superb clearance away with his left boot beyond halfway.
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(AFP via Getty Images)
Harry Latham-Coyle7 March 2026 18:20
Italy 16-18 England, 67 minutes
England are still in the mire, particularly with Jamie George increasingly struggling. He takes his time before picking out his target right at the front of the lineout, clearing enough space for Jack van Poortvliet to clear.
Here comesOllie Chessum…and that’s superb impact from the lock, up like lightning at the front to steal an Italy lineout. Van Poortvliet is then tackled in the air, foolishly – penalty to England, and Sam Underhill returns. Luke Cowan-Dickie will soon be on to relieve George, too.
Harry Latham-Coyle7 March 2026 18:18
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Italy 16-18 England, 66 minutes
A vital defensive stand from England! Ben Earl, that is superb, almost single-handedly halting an Italian maul and then hauling it towards touch. With just six forwards to defend the drive, that’s some effort.
Gonzalo Quesada spreads his hands in disbelief – that’s four 22 entries for just one try so far for his side, a persisent problem throughout this competition.
Harry Latham-Coyle7 March 2026 18:16
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YELLOW CARD! Maro Itoje is sent to the sin bin! Italy 16-18 England, 65 minutes
And England are down to 13! Maro Itoje follows Sam Underhill to the sin bin, deemed to have cynically slapped the ball out of Alessandro Fusco’s hands at the back of a maul.
Wow. England are up the proverbial here, even with that narrow lead. Italy kick into the 22.
(Adam Davy/PA Wire)
Harry Latham-Coyle7 March 2026 18:14
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Sam Underhill’s sanction stays a yellow card! Italy 16-18 England, 64 minutes
Good news for England – Sam Underhill will be back once his 10 minutes in the sin bin have elapsed. A high degree of danger in the tackle but mitigation from the presence of Ellis Genge and a late change in direction.
Italy are back to 15 men – Tommaso Di Bartolomeo replaces Giacomo Nicotera.
Harry Latham-Coyle7 March 2026 18:13
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Italy 16-18 England, 62 minutes
Elliot Daly beats both Monty Ioane and Federico Ruzza in a phonebox, but ends up smashed through the glass by the next tackler. Into touch.
Harry Latham-Coyle7 March 2026 18:11
PENALTY! ITALY 16-18 England (Paolo Garbisi, 61 minutes)
A friendly peck off the post and Paolo Garbisi’s kick goes through. Pressure on England with Italy back within a couple of points.
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Harry Latham-Coyle7 March 2026 18:10
Italy 13-18 England, 59 minutes
Fin Smith looks to be cramping up – the fly half grasped at his right hamstring immediately after taking the restart. No sign of Marcus Smith just yet.
And Italy are beginning to surge. They snatch England;s lineout ball at the front and fling the ball away to the right. Louis Lynagh puts the ball in behind via his boot, and Italian support arrives to earn another breakdown penalty.
Nigeria’s two biggest stars in the Turkish Super Lig, Victor Osimhen and Wilfred Ndidi, will face each other on Saturday evening when Galatasaray take on Besiktas in the famous Istanbul derby.
The match will take place at Tupras Stadium and is one of the most intense fixtures in Turkish football. For Nigerian fans, the game is special as it will see two key Super Eagles players compete on opposite sides.
Both players were important for Nigeria during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Ndidi captained the team while Osimhen scored four goals as the Super Eagles finished third in the tournament.
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At national team level, the two players work closely together. Ndidi protects the defence from midfield while Osimhen leads the attack. But on Saturday, they will try to stop each other.
Osimhen goes into the match as one of the top players in the Turkish league. The Galatasaray striker has enjoyed a strong season, scoring 10 league goals and adding seven more in the UEFA Champions League.
The Nigerian forward recently returned from injury and made an immediate impact by scoring and providing an assist in Galatasaray’s 3-1 win over Alanyaspor.
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Reports from the club say Osimhen has also been motivating his teammates during training.
“Osimhen is very motivated and continues to energise the team. He has also been encouraging his teammates strongly in training,” a club source said.
Galatasaray currently sit at the top of the Super Lig table with 58 points, four points ahead of rivals Fenerbahce. The team is also preparing for a Champions League round-of-16 match against Liverpool next week.
However, they must first overcome Besiktas in the derby.
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Ndidi will play a key role for Besiktas. The Nigerian midfielder joined the club last summer and has quickly become one of their most important players.
His defensive work, leadership and ability to win the ball have helped the team enjoy an impressive run of form.
Besiktas are currently unbeaten in their last 18 matches in all competitions and have gone 13 league games without defeat. The run has lifted them to fourth place on the table with 46 points.
Ndidi also delivered an excellent performance last weekend, scoring a ninth-minute header in Besiktas’ 4-0 victory over Goztepe.
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The midfielder has become the shield in front of the defence, stopping attacks and helping the team maintain balance.
Osimhen and Ndidi have faced each other before at club level. One of their most memorable meetings came when Napoli played Leicester City in European competition, with Osimhen scoring twice in a 2-2 draw.
Earlier this season, Galatasaray and Besiktas also played a 1-1 draw in the reverse league fixture.
With both players yet to record a win over the other, Saturday’s derby offers them another chance to settle the rivalry.
To understand Chloe Kelly’s year and the series of game-turning inventions that led to the historic successes in Lisbon and Basel, you have to go back to her bathroom floor in Liverpool and the toughest period of her life. Kelly could not get up from it, sick with anxiety and struggling with panic attacks, crushed by the feeling of not being in control of her own future. It was January 2025, a few months before the Euros, and Kelly was desperate to move away from Manchester City and to get more minutes on the pitch. Not just that, she needed to take charge again.
Even at her lowest, she knew the determination and talent were still there; what was missing was a sense of purpose and the joy she first felt dribbling a ball when growing up in the five-a-side street cages of west London. A journey that began by trekking across the city after school with Lotte Wubben-Moy to get to Arsenal’s academy, taking the underground, a train, a bus and finally a walk over the M25, was in danger of fizzling out as the hours ticked towards the transfer deadline. She felt as if the door to getting out was closing. At the age of 27, she was prepared to walk away and quit.
But, clearly, that was not Chloe Kelly’s year, not after a summer that was shaped by how both she and the Lionesses refused to bend or break but then rose above everything in their way.
To mark International Women’s Day, Kelly has been named top of The Independent’s influence list, in recognition of the role she played in England’s Euro 2025 triumph. The Lionesses successfully defended their European crown and became the first senior England side, men’s or women’s, to win a major tournament on foreign soil.
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Under the fiercest pressure, Kelly stayed calm and composed to score the winning penalty in the Euro 2025 final against Spain (Getty)
“It’s not the action, it’s the reaction,” Kelly said during the rollercoaster of England’s run. The match-winner in the transformative Euro 2022 final at Wembley three years before, Kelly was reborn from the resilience and strength she had shown when all had appeared lost. By the end, her growth and England’s survival in Switzerland came to mirror each other.
“My journey and taking control of my own destiny, writing your own script, was really important,” Kelly tells The Independent. Shehas a powerful sense of what her message is and what it represents: that speaking up when feeling down can be the first step towards turning a story around.
For Kelly, it was posting where she stood and where she was coming from. Her situation at City, she told her millions of followers on Instagram, was having “a huge impact on not only my career but my mental wellbeing” – it was not necessarily a cry for help, but a vow to not suffer in silence. “The world’s full of social media where you see great things all the time, but sometimes you have to see the realness,” she says. “I’m proud I did do that, because I don’t think I’d be in the position I am in without it.”
It led to her deadline day return to Arsenal, initially on loan, as well as a reframing of her season. At Arsenal, she told her new coach, Renee Slegers, that she wanted to enjoy her football again. At the Lionesses, Sarina Wiegman took the pressure off trying to make her Euros squad away by letting her know she had time. Outside of her close bubble of family and friends, there was understanding, too. “It’s important, especially for young girls, to see that not everything is bright and daisy, not everything is about winning,” Kelly says. “Sometimes it’s the dark moments that get you to those winning moments.”
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Not that it was immediately clear how dark those moments were. Kelly recently told Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast that her hair was falling out due to the stress of her situation at Manchester City, and that she was conscious of covering the patches during her first few games at Arsenal. But after settling back into a familiar environment, the smile returned, and Kelly started to put things together piece by piece. A starring role in Arsenal’s comeback against Real Madrid was followed by the full-circle moment of helping the Gunners become European champions again in Lisbon, following the example of her idols Kelly Smith and Rachel Yankey from 18 years before.
Kelly became a European champion at both club and country months after considering quitting the game (Getty)
‘Sometimes it’s the dark moments that get you to those winning moments’ (Getty)
And then there was the Euros – “the most chaotic tournament ever”, as Wiegman famously said. “Going down, it didn’t phase us,” adds the super-sub whose arrival off the bench would signal a shift in mentality from the Lionesses and bring a change-changing moment. There were two assists to rescue England against Sweden, and another crucial penalty in that quarter-final shoot-out. Coming on again against Italy, Kelly scored the winner at the end of extra time. Then, in the final and another shoot-out, the ball was again placed in Kelly’s hands. And yet it is in those moments, where time stands still, that Kelly thrives the most.
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But for confidence to be declared unbreakable, it needs to be tested. Kelly’s was. At the Euros, other moments would become just as iconic because of how she responded; to standing on the touchline until the 78th minute against Sweden, as England trailed in the quarter-finals; to putting a last-minute corner into the side-netting against Italy, as the Lionesses desperately chased an equaliser; to missing three penalties in training on the day before the Euros final, knowing she was still going to be given the fifth if it went to the shootout.
These were also the moments that made Kelly’s year, as they gave her the opportunity to show that what comes next is always what matters. “The action is always the one you think about, but the reaction is what makes the story even better. I think that does shape the whole of 2025 for me,” Kelly says. “You have to ride the wave at times, and speak out, and be proud of speaking out too. Hopefully, it inspired many women and young girls this year to achieve great things. For me, it’s just being real.”
Read The Independent’s influence list for International Women’s Day 2026 here.
Liverpool suffered a frustrating 2-1 defeat at Wolves on Tuesday, a result that felt depressingly familiar. After a flat first-half display, the Reds fought back from an early deficit only to concede an injury-time winner. For Arne Slot, the match epitomised a season of inconsistencies and underperformance, raising serious questions about the club’s position in the Premier League this year.
‘The same old story’
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Slot described the Wolves loss as “the same old story,” and his frustration was evident. From predictable lapses to late-game collapses, the pattern of disappointing performances has persisted all season. The team that once won the Premier League title now finds itself under real threat of finishing outside the top five, a dramatic fall just 12 months after reaching the summit.
Can Slot turn it around?
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The critical question is whether Slot can reverse this slump. Evidence so far suggests it may be unlikely. The argument for extending his tenure beyond the current campaign is weakening, as Liverpool’s recent form has undermined confidence in the Dutchman’s ability to maintain success.
Emotional Loyalty vs. Rational Decisions
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Many supporters are still hesitant to call for Slot’s dismissal, partly due to his historic achievement of winning the title in his debut season and partly because of the emotional connection with his leadership. Slot is one of only two managers to deliver a championship to Liverpool in the past 36 years. Fans’ loyalty is often rooted in gratitude for the joy of that victory rather than a rational assessment of current performance.
The club’s tradition of backing managers through hard times also plays a role, in line with Liverpool’s ethos of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” However, past achievements cannot mask the present reality: Liverpool’s current struggles put Champions League qualification, and the club’s financial stability following a record-breaking £450 million investment in players and wages, at risk.
Contextual challenges
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Slot deserves credit for several mitigating circumstances. He navigated the tragic loss of Diogo Jota, managed injuries to key players including Alexander Isak, and handled tensions with star forward Mohamed Salah. Additionally, his tactical adjustments transformed a squad that had finished third under Jurgen Klopp into Premier League champions.
Yet even with these considerations, Liverpool’s current form is unacceptable for a team of their calibre. Sitting fifth, 16 points behind an average Arsenal side, is a stark indicator of regression.
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Poor results and underwhelming performances
Slot’s future may depend not only on results but also on the quality of performances. Unfortunately for the manager, the Reds’ displays have matched their disappointing outcomes. Between late November and mid-January, Liverpool went 10 league games undefeated but only secured four wins, posting underwhelming performances against newly promoted sides like Sunderland, Leeds, and Burnley.
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Even during a short three-game winning streak, the results were misleading. Victories at Sunderland and West Ham were aided by late goals or set-piece situations, while the win at Nottingham Forest relied on a 97th-minute strike by Alexis Mac Allister. Underneath the surface, Liverpool’s performances have lacked consistency, creativity, and dominance, highlighting deeper issues in both mentality and execution.
Liverpool’s season has been a stark contrast to their title-winning campaign. While Arne Slot has earned respect for his achievements and handling of exceptional challenges, his ability to maintain elite performance is under scrutiny. With the top-five finish under threat and Champions League qualification in jeopardy, the club faces a critical period in evaluating whether past loyalty can outweigh present underperformance.
“Last night around midnight I received several very disturbing messages on WhatsApp from an unknown number on my personal phone. The person told me that if I didn’t lose my match today, they would harm members of my family,” Udvardy posted on Instagram, along with screenshots of the messages, regarding her match against Anhelina Kalinina at the Megasaray Hotels Open, which she lost in two sets.
Lucrezia Stefanini and Panna Udvardy both received threatening messages, ordering them to lose recent tennis matches.(Flaviu Buboi, Robert Prangevia Getty Images)
“They said they knew where my family lives, what cars they drive and that they had their phone numbers. They even sent photos of my family members and a picture of a gun.”
The message Udvardy received said the culprit or culprits “know everything about your family and you” and were “ready for war if necessary, and we won’t hesitate to send them to your mother’s house to kidnap her until she returns the money we would lose because of your disobedience.”
Udvardy said she contacted the Women’s Tennis Association, and three additional police officers were sent to her match “which I’m extremely grateful for.” Police also went to her parents and grandmother’s homes, she added.
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Panna Udvardy of Hungary in action against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the Women’s Singles first round match on Day 2 of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 27, 2024, in Paris, France. (Robert Prange/Getty Images)
The message Stefanini received was eerily similar.
“I received a WhatsApp message in which I was threatened over winning yesterday’s match. They threatened me and my family and named my parents, the place where I was born, and they sent me a photo of a gun,” Stefanini said in an Instagram post of her own.
Stefanini, too, told the WTA about the situation, and she also received boosted security.
“I’m making this video and explaining what happened because I don’t think it’s right to put me under this pressure and unease before a match,” Stefanini said.
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Lucrezia Stefanini of Italy in action during day one of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2024 on Jan. 28, 2024, in Linz, Austria.(Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images for MatchMaker)
“Even as athletes or public figures, it’s not acceptable to receive threats against our families, especially not on our private phone numbers and alongside disturbing images. We should not normalize abuse like this in sport.”
Stefanini lost her Indian Wells qualifying match in three sets.
Wrexham and Chelsea are meeting for the first time since the 1981-82 season. That season, Wrexham and Chelsea played an FA Cup fourth-round tie that required two additional replays.
Wrexham are into the fifth round for the first time since the 1996-97 season. They reached the quarter-finals that season, one of three times they have reached that stage after 973-74 and 1977-78.
Jamie Braidwood7 March 2026 17:15
Wrexham’s ‘everything to gain, nothing to lose’ mindset
After consecutive promotions, Wrexham are the in-form team in the Championship, up into the play-off places and on a run of three straight wins. The Premier League may be the ultimate goal, but Phil Parkinson says the FA Cup is not a distraction.
“When we beat Ipswich (in the fourth round) we spoke to the lads about putting the Chelsea game on the backburner, concentrate on the league form,” Parkinson said. “We go into this weekend with an ‘everything to gain, nothing to lose’ mindset, but also in a strong position in the league.
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“This is the next stage for us against a team of Chelsea’s quality. The main thing on the night is to bring our best performance, but also for ourselves, to see where we are individually and collectively against a team of this standing.”
Jamie Braidwood7 March 2026 17:08
Hollywood in the house
Co-owner Ryan Reynolds is in attendance this afternoon and the Deadpool star has been glad-handing pre-match
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(Getty Images)
(Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
(AFP via Getty Images)
Jamie Braidwood7 March 2026 16:56
Wrexham team news
And here’s how Wrexham line up. Central midfielder George Dobson was an injury doubt as he recovers from wrist surgery but he’s fit to start.
However, Issy Kabore isn’t in the squad after suffering hamstring tightness and Nathan Broadhead is only on the bench after a knock last time out.
Sam Smith leads the line with Lewis O’Brien and Ollie Rathbone among the other attacking threats.
The teams are out and here’s how Chelsea will line up. Nine changes from their last match – will that rotation give Wrexham a chance…?
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Rory Delap will lead the line, with Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho providing the other creative attacking heft.
It looks potentially like three at the back with Tosin, Benoit Badiashile and Mamadou Sarr as that trio and then Josh Acheampong and Jorrel Hato as the wing-backs.
Chelsea’s impressive record against lower-league opposition
Speaking of, the last time Chelsea lost to a team from a lower division in the FA Cup was that 4-2 defeat to Phil Parkinson’s Bradford in 2015, with the Blues winning their last 24 ties.
Among top-flight teams, only Arsenal (28 from January 1998 to January 2013) and Man Utd (30 from January 1985 to February 2009) have had a longer run of eliminating lower league teams.
Jamie Braidwood7 March 2026 16:30
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Wrexham boss has special memories of facing Chelsea in FA Cup
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson is already responsible for one famous FA Cup upset against Chelsea.
He was in charge of Bradford when they came from 2-0 down to beat Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge in a fourth-round clash in 2015.
“I was thinking about it this week leading into the game,” Parkinson said. “The build-up to that, the preparations and the principles we took into the game.
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“We were two down but playing well in the game. We didn’t let it knock us, we kept believing and stuck to the game plan and got the goal back before half-time. Obviously it was a memorable second half!
“We mentioned that to the players, on Saturday everything is possible.”
(Nick Potts/PA Wire)
Jamie Braidwood7 March 2026 16:15
Liam Rosenior ‘delighted’ to have Romeo Lavia available from start
After spending three and a half months out, Romeo Lavia played 15 minutes in each of the team’s last two games, last Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal and the 4-1 win over Aston Villa in midweek, and Liam Rosenior was optimistic of the midfielder playing a significant role in the coming months, starting with Saturday’s fifth-round tie.
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“I’m delighted for him,” he said. “Romeo will definitely play a part. He’ll play a huge part for the rest of the season.
“We know his attributes. He’s been itching to play. We’ve tried to build him in the best possible way. He’s definitely going to play in these next few games.”
(Getty)
Jamie Braidwood7 March 2026 16:00
What is the Chelsea team news?
For Chelsea, Romeo Lavia will feature but this match will likely come too soon for Dario Essugo and Estevao and Jamie Gittens is also sidelined until later this month. The main decisions for Rosenior will concern who to start, considering the club have a Champions League tie against PSG coming up, as well as who to pick in goal, after dropping Robert Sanchez for the win at Aston Villa.
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Possible Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; Gusto, Tosin, Sarr, Hato; Santos, Lavia; Palmer, Fernandez, Garnacho; Delap.
Jamie Braidwood7 March 2026 15:45
What is the Wrexham team news?
The hosts could be missing a key trio in the form of George Dobson, Issy Kabore and Nathan Broadhead, who are all doubts. Dobson required surgery on his wrist, while Broadhead took a knock last time out and Kabore has supposed tightness in his hamstring.
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Ben Sheaf, Liberato Cacace and Matty James are also doubts, while Lewis Brunt and Aaron James are both sidelined.
Eberechi Eze blasted Arsenal into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup on Saturday and kept alive the club’s hunt for a quadruple of trophies this season.
Eze stepped off the bench and fired a thunderous effort into the top corner to see off the challenge of third-division Mansfield, sealing a 2-1 win at Field Mill.
Premier League leader Arsenal is also into the Champions League round of 16 and the English League Cup final. But it was given a stern test by a Mansfield team that is in the bottom half of League One and leveled the game in the second half through Will Evans.
“We wanted to make it a proper cup tie and a tough game for Arsenal and I thought we did that,” Mansfield manager Nigel Clough told TNT Sports.
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Noni Madueke had given Arsenal the lead with first-time curling effort into the top corner after 41 minutes. But substitute Evans seized on a loose pass by Marli Salmon five minutes into the second half and fired low past Kepa Arrizabalaga to send the home crowd wild.
“I was gutted to not start the game. I thought if I got any chance today I’ve got to prove a point — not just to the team, but to myself as well,” Evans said.
Eze had only been on the field for four minutes when he struck his 66th-minute winner and fired Arsenal into the quarterfinals for the first time since last lifting the Cup in 2020.
“It was a proper FA Cup game and credit to Mansfield, the stadium, the atmosphere that the fans created,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who named two 16-year-olds in his starting lineup — Salmon and Max Dowman.
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Wrexham hosts Chelsea in the Cup later Saturday and Manchester City travels to Newcastle.
Lakshya Sen delivered a gritty performance to book his place in the final of the All England Open Badminton Championships, becoming only the second Indian shuttler to reach the title clash twice after defeating Canada’s Victor Lai in a demanding semifinal on Saturday. The 24 year old, who had previously reached the final in 2022, battled both a determined opponent and painful blisters on his right toe to seal a 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 victory in a contest that lasted one hour and 37 minutes. Sen’s achievement puts him in rare company alongside his mentor Prakash Padukone. The legendary Indian had reached the final in 1980 and 1981, famously winning the title in his first appearance in the championship match. Saturday’s semifinal turned into a test of stamina and resilience for both players. Sen and Lai were involved in several exhausting rallies, some stretching beyond 50 shots, as neither competitor was willing to give ground. The opening game remained closely contested until the score stood at 17-16 in Sen’s favour. The Indian then shifted gears, reeling off four consecutive points to take the first game. Lai responded strongly in the second game. The Canadian, who holds the distinction of being the first player from Canada to win a medal at the BWF World Championships, moved ahead 11-7 at the mid game interval and maintained his advantage despite Sen drawing level at 16-16 while dealing with blisters. Lai eventually forced the match into a deciding game. In the final game, Sen’s experience began to show. Mixing patience with calculated attacking shots, he built a healthy 15-9 lead. Lai continued to fight back and reduced the deficit to 17-15, but Sen finished strongly, claiming four points in a row to seal his place in the final. In the championship match, Sen will face Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei. The left handed shuttler, who recently won the India Open, advanced to the final after defeating Thailand’s second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-14, 18-21, 21-16 in a semifinal that lasted one hour and 18 minutes.
