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Roma Face Udinese Looking To Hold Onto Third Place

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Roma arrive in Udine with the table tightening in the way it always does at this point of the season: everyone in the hunt, nobody comfortable. On Monday night at Bluenergy Stadium, the job against Udinese is simple to describe and harder to deliver: show up, impose order, and leave with the points that keep Roma where they want to be. Coming off a draining 1–1 away draw at Panathinaikos in the UEFA Europa League that was played almost entirely with ten men, there’s no appetite for romance here. This is about bankable football, the kind you can stack without needing your best version of yourself every week.

The problem is that Roma’s “best version” is currently scattered across the treatment room. Gian Piero Gasperini is again asked to build a coherent attacking plan without Paulo Dybala, Artem Dovbyk, Evan Ferguson, Stephan El Shaarawy, and Manu Koné. Gasperini will almost certainly use a 3-4-2-1 formation built for control, with Bryan Cristante anchoring the middle, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Matías Soulé tasked with supplying ideas, and Donyell Malen asked to turn half-chances into goals like he did against Torino.

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Even given Roma’s status as a definitively superior side to Udinese, the club from Friuli won’t just hand the Giallorossi the win. Udinese is mid-table, and they’re comfortable living in the messy middle of games. That’s exactly why this fixture matters. Roma will need to keep their nerve when the match tries to become something smaller and uglier than their ambitions. They don’t need fireworks. They need a clean tempo, a serious first hour, and the maturity to treat a single goal as a perfectly acceptable way to leave Udine with three.

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What to Watch For

El Aynaoui’s Serie A Return

Neil El Aynaoui is back in the league picture, and Roma need him now more than ever. After returning from the Africa Cup of Nations (with a star certainly on the rise for the Moroccan National Team) and being eased back into training, he’s now in AS Roma’s matchday squad for Serie A for the first time in months. Thankfully, this is exactly the kind of fixture where a midfield body can raise the technical floor.

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In Gian Piero Gasperini’s likely 3-4-2-1, El Aynaoui is penciled in alongside Bryan Cristante as the second midfielder who can turn a reset touch into forward momentum and keep Roma from playing the whole match in front of a settled block. If the front line is thin, and it certainly is, the midfield has to create advantages by playing through pressure rather than around it, and by arriving late into the spaces the forward vacate.

The third layer is psychological, and it’s where Roma might quietly benefit. El Aynaoui didn’t just come back from AFCON; he came back with a new status as a hero of his national team and a target for some of the biggest clubs in the world. AFCON-watchers have framed him as one of the true revelations of the tournament, and the broader European noise inevitably followed, with Spanish-market chatter linking his name to Real Madrid and Barcelona on the back of his AFCON performances.

Players who return from an international run in the spotlight often re-enter league play with sharper decision-making and a calmer sense of authority. Players who prove themselves at the international level often make fewer panic touches, have more insistence on receiving under pressure, and show more willingness to dictate where the game is played. If Roma are going to win ugly in Udine, El Aynaoui’s composure might be the most valuable new tool in the squad.

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Will Vaz Make a Difference?

Roma’s new-look attacking hierarchy is coming into focus, and it starts with Donyell Malen. Then it gets interesting. With Roma short on bodies and long on minutes, Robinio Vaz is being asked to live in the most thankless role in football (behind backup goalie, at least): the bench-forward who has to enter cold, read the temperature instantly, and make the game feel different in ten touches or fewer in the dying minutes of the match. That’s just the reality of arriving midseason at 18, when you need to get a new league’s rhythm still in your legs and you’re working with a manager who demands tacticaly know-how from every position, and especially the striker.

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What Vaz can change in his cameo minutes is the texture of Roma’s final third. The scouting pitch for Vaz when Frederic Massara decided to take a swing on him was energy. Vaz is a forward who presses like he’s offended you, one who runs channels to drag center-backs into uncomfortable decisions, and who turns a stale possession into something that resembles momentum. That profile matters behind a starter like Malen because it gives Roma a different lever late in matches. It affords them more verticality, more chaos, more “defend facing your own goal” stress for tired legs.

The honest wrinkle is the one every young forward eventually meets: he can provide strong performances in every single match this season as a sub, but that strength will not always be rewarded with a goal (or at least a meaningful one). As of right now, Vaz is still looking for his first goal in a Roma shirt, and the early story is almost comically familiar from the Ongoing Evan Ferguson Experiment. He’s providing promising movement, good intent, and one debut moment against Torino where he nearly opened his account, only for the goalkeeper to deny him from close range. Still, nearly is good for such a young striker; it shows that he’s already getting himself into the right positions to score and win. Given what Roma emphasized when they announced the signing (his age, his rapid rise, and a track record of contributing at Olympique de Marseille), the club is betting on Vaz as a player who can grow and lift the Giallorossi alongside him.

If Vaz gets another appearance against Udinese, don’t be counting his goals and treat “zero” as a referendum. Instead, watch whether Vaz can compress the match in Roma’s favor. Does his first sprint go forward instead of sideways? Does he make Udinese’s center-backs turn and run? Does he gives Roma that one extra sequence where a tired defense starts clearing with its eyes closed. The best late subs add direction to everyone else’s effort. For a team that can sometimes get a little too polite around the box, Vaz’s value is that he’s not especially interested in being polite.

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If that first goal comes tomorrow for Vaz, it will almost certainly come through persistence. It’ll be off an ugly rebound, a deflection, a near-post touch that looks obvious only after it’s happened. Roma doesn’t need Vaz to be a finished product just yet. They need him to be a problem in the right areas: inside the width of the posts, on the last line, arriving like he believes the ball is going to fall for him. If he does that in Udine, then he’s making a difference, even if it takes a bit for the scoreboard to catch up.

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Report: 76ers trading Jared McCain to Thunder for first-round pick, three second-rounders

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The defending NBA Champions are adding to their roster.

McCain has experienced a sophomore slump in his second year in the NBA, after bursting onto the scene as a rookie in 2024-25.

The 21-year-old is averaging 6.6 points, two rebounds and 1.7 assists on 38.5 per cent shooting through 37 games this season.

Last campaign, he was a Rookie of the Year favourite before going down with a torn meniscus. McCain averaged 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 46 per cent shooting in 23 games in 2024-25.

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McCain became expendable in Philadelphia after the 76ers drafted VJ Edgecombe third overall in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The move also provides them with the flexibility to bring Quentin Grimes back in free agency and convert two-way guard Dominick Barlow, per Charania.

The Thunder sit first in the NBA at 40-11.

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'The rebuild of myself' – Wilder opens up on mental health struggles

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Former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder opens up about his mental health struggles, and says he’s now “at peace” before his fight against Derek Chisora on 4 April at London’s O2 Arena.

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Naoya Inoue called out by new US world champion: “I’ll be first to beat him”

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Naoya Inoue remains as one of boxing’s pound-for-pound superstars and the Japanese phenomenon may finally move up to featherweight this year. There, each of the 126lb champions are hoping to be selected as his opponent, but none more so than a newly crowned titleholder from the United States.

Inoue has ruled at light-flyweight, super-flyweight, bantamweight and super-bantamweight over the course of his 32-fight career, becoming undisputed at both 118lbs and 122lbs as one of just three multi-divisional undisputed champions in the four-belt era.

However, despite a legacy-defining showdown with Junto Nakatani on the horizon, many fans in the United States are keen to see Inoue fight on American soil and to do so in the featherweight division.

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Now, after registering a knockout of the year contender in a world title win in his hometown, WBC featherweight world champion Bruce Carrington informed Sean Zittel that he would accept a fight with ‘The Monster’ over possible title unifications.

“It [the fight with Inoue] is very realistic now and I am super excited for what is to come. These next two years are going to be really special, we are going to be making a lot of noise and I think that it is right there, it is on the cusp of happening.

“Everything is really falling into place for me, man. I really want to be the first guy to do it, to beat Inoue, and then we are going to be on that road, superstardom level.

“[I would rather] a fight with him [than unifications], because with the unifications, I feel like I could still do that regardless, after [fighting Inoue]. I think that the fight with him is something that I want more, because it would just put me on that level.

“Me beating him would put me on a certain level, over the unification fights, honestly.”

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Carrington then went on to explain why he believes that the interest in that bout should not be one-sided, declaring that Inoue should be seeking events across the pond in order to improve on his star power.

“He should have some interest in fighting in America as well, that will make him into an even bigger fighter if he becomes more successful with more fights here and builds his name.”

Should Inoue wish to debut at featherweight in the U.S. then Carrington sticks out as the obvious candidate and with his New York roots, a clash at Madison Square Garden makes sense for both men, providing Inoue comes through his meeting with Nakatani unscathed.

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Deontay Wilder storms out of interview over Tyson Fury questions: ‘I’m not gonna talk about him!’

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Deontay Wilder stormed out of an interview on Wednesday after taking issue with a line of questioning about Tyson Fury, one of his biggest rivals, ahead of a press conference with upcoming opponent Derek Chisora.

On 4 April, Wilder will box Chisora in a heavyweight main event at London’s O2 Arena, in what is expected to be Chisora’s final fight as a professional.

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At 42, Britain’s Chisora is a seasoned veteran, while former world champion Wilder is similarly experienced at 40. But while Chisora has been enjoying a resurgence recently, winning his last three bouts, Wilder is in must-win territory after going 2-4 in his last six contests.

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The American, seen as arguably the most-devastating puncher of his generation, was on a frightening run of unanswered victories until 2018, when he secured a controversial draw with Fury. In 2020, Fury stopped Wilder to take the WBC title from the “Bronze Bomber”, before replicating that result in a third clash in 2021. Since then, Wilder has stopped Robert Helenius and Tyrrell Anthony Herndon but lost to Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker.

But his past with Fury cropped up again this week, when Wilder accused the Briton of having cheated during their rivalry. This was put to Wilder before Wednesday’s press conference with Chisora, as the American was questioned by TalkSport host Simon Jordan.

“I don’t want to talk about him,” Wilder told Jordan, who replied. “No, you’re going to.”

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“We’re here about Derek Chisora,” Wilder pushed back. “We’re not gonna talk about him [Fury] at all. I’m not gonna talk about him at all. Understand that.”

“No, fair enough,” Jordan said, in a bid to cool an intensifying atmosphere, with Wilder responding: “Alright then, so let’s move on. It’s all about Derek Chisora, that’s it. I’m back, baby! You all understand that? 4 April, it’s going down at the O2, you better be there or you’ll be a square.”

Deontay Wilder (right) takes on Britain's Derek Chisora on April 4th (Getty Images)

Deontay Wilder (right) takes on Britain’s Derek Chisora on April 4th (Getty Images)

“I understand that, I understand that,” said Jordan. “Fabulous. The only reason I mentioned it is because it’s part of the shtick that goes with you, and I missed you the first time around, when you came in here three years ago – when you were in your pomp four years ago, doing ‘Bomb Squad!’ and all that sort of stuff.

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“And I have always wanted to have a conversation with you, because you’ve made observations about Fury. I have my views on Fury, and you’ve called him a cheat.”

“The biggest in boxing!” Wilder exclaimed, before making accusations against Fury, who is due to emerge from his fifth retirement when he boxes Arslanbek Makhmudov on 11 April. Fury has always denied any accusations against him.

“But it leads me to a conclusion,” Jordan followed up. “I want to put something to you about you, and Fury just happens to be the hook for it. You talked about being cheated in that fight, you talked about water being spiked.”

“Facts,” said Wilder, before Jordan added: “You talked about your [ring walk] outfit being too heavy for you.”

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Deontay Wilder accused Tyson Fury of cheating during their trilogy fights between 2018-2021 (Getty Images)

Deontay Wilder accused Tyson Fury of cheating during their trilogy fights between 2018-2021 (Getty Images)

“I didn’t say that,” Wilder claimed. Jordan went on: “You talked about a long count [by the referee in the first fight with Fury].”

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After Wilder said “facts” once more, Jordan continued: “It sounds to me, given the character you are, that’s a little bit flaky. You lost those fights, and those fights were lost, and you saying someone like Fury cheated you in those fights is kind of disappointing to me.”

“Because I know the truth!” shouted Wilder. “I have the facts. Understand that […] Because when the documentary and everything starts to come out, I’m gonna show everything.” Earlier in the week, Wilder had similarly referenced a documentary he is apparently working on.

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“I’m not a Fury fan,” Jordan said, as Wilder stood up from his chair and walked towards the host, with security holding back the boxer.

“I don’t give a f*** about that!” Wilder shouted. “I don’t give a f*** about it! I said we didn’t want to bring him up in the first place. It ain’t got s*** to do with him!”

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Wilder’s last fight was his stoppage of Herndon in the seventh round in June, while Chisora’s was his decision win over Otto Wallin in February 2025.

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Chisora vs Wilder will mark each man’s 50th fight as a professional.

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3 mistakes Tony Khan must avoid on this week’s AEW Dynamite

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Tony Khan will present tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite from Las Vegas this week. The show will take place at the Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort, and fans have high expectations for it. AEW has announced a stacked lineup of stars for the show, including some big-time matches featuring top AEW names.

As of now, Tony Khan has announced four big showdowns for the event. Hangman Page will take on Mark Davis in a singles clash. Apart from that, Andrade and Kenny Omega will also square off in a big matchup. Moreover, MJF will take on Brody King in an AEW World Title Eliminator Match. Additionally, Jack Perry and Ricochet will also clash over the AEW National Title. There are several other top stars like Kris Statlander and Jon Moxley expected to appear on the show.

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In this article, let’s take a look at 3 mistakes Tony Khan must avoid on this week’s AEW Dynamite:

#3. A clear decision for the Andrade and Kenny Omega match

Andrade will face Kenny Omega tonight on AEW Dynamite. It is a much-anticipated showdown between the two stars following El Idolo’s attack on The Cleaner on Dynamite’s 6th Anniversary last year. However, both stars are brimming with momentum as of late in the Jacksonville-based promotion. Besides, Andrade and Omega are top contenders for the AEW World Championship.

Therefore, Tony Khan can create a solid storyline involving the two stars down the line. However, a defeat to any one of them could destroy their momentum. Hence, instead of giving this match a clear closure, there should be a screwed ending for this showdown. It would help Khan to keep this feud open without affecting anyone’s credibility and momentum in the company.

#2. No follow-up on Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford’s title quest

Last week, on AEW Dynamite, Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford came down the aisle to give a staredown to the AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander and the AEW World Women’s Tag Team Champions Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron. That moment alone shone a massive spotlight on Bayne and Ford, sparking interest from a lot of fans in their work down the line.

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However, if Tony Khan did not give any follow-up to that intense staredown, it would make last week’s segment meaningless. Instead, the AEW President should book Bayne and Ford in some sort of confrontation with The Babes of Wrath and Kris Statlander. Besides, fans have been clamoring to see Megan chase the AEW Women’s World Title. Therefore, it sets up a golden opportunity for AEW to build Megan Bayne to the top.

#1. Another loss to Jack Perry on AEW Dynamite

Jack Perry will challenge the champion Ricochet for the AEW National Championship tonight on AEW Dynamite. It is a rematch between the two stars after their last title match on 31 December 2025, AEW Dynamite. Perry made his return to AEW last year following a prolonged hiatus. However, he has not achieved anything big since then in the company.

He has already faced a defeat against Ricochet on Dynamite, and another loss could heavily impact his credibility. Therefore, Tony Khan should crown Perry a new National Champion tonight. The Lightskin Kingpin has already managed to have a decent run with the title. The Scapegoat has the potential to heavily elevate the prestige of the championship down the line.