Club América are among the top contenders to win the Apertura 2025 and reclaim their dominance in Mexican football after losing the Clausura final to Toluca – a result that denied them a historic fourth consecutive title. Brian Rodríguez sent a clear message ahead of the Liguilla: no team wants to cross paths with the most successful club in Mexico.
Already thinking about 2026 targets after a chaotic summer window, Newcastle United and PIF are now reportedly eyeing a move to sign a midfield star for Eddie Howe.
Newcastle's early 2026 targets
Now that they’ve solved their striker problem with the addition of Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa, Newcastle have the chance to focus on other areas of their side in 2026.
The Magpies have already felt the full effect of balancing Champions League football with domestic action, having drawn at Bournemouth just days after defeat against Barcelona, and Howe has already reiterated that the depth of his squad will play a key part throughout the campaign.
The Newcastle boss also believes that he has a “strong squad” at his disposal this time around compared to the last time that Newcastle played Champions League football. But, on paper, it’s clear that the Magpies could still do with strengthening when 2026 arrives.
On that front, adding to their midfield seems to be one of a number of targets. Whilst Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton provide an impressive foundation, there is a drop in quality beyond them that the likes of Conor Gallagher would solve.
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This Eddie Howe signing has been one of the best buys in many years at Newcastle.
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The Magpies are reportedly keeping tabs on the Atletico Madrid midfielder ahead of a potential move. But he’s not the only former Premier League star on their radar. Reports are now suggesting that PIF could swoop in for a player that they already know well.
Newcastle eyeing Ruben Neves swoop
According to The Boot Room’s Graeme Bailey, Newcastle are now eyeing a move to sign Ruben Neves, who is keen to leave Al-Hilal amid “unfinished” business in the Premier League.
Of course, PIF already know all about the former Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder, having welcomed him to the Saudi Pro League in 2023. Now, almost three years on, they could swoop in and welcome him back to English football. It almost goes without saying that Newcastle won’t be the only side interested, however.
Bailey told TBR: “I am told that Neves thinks there is ‘unfinished’ business in England – he had a wonderful time at Molineux and he is still highly respected.
“But it is not a given that he moves back to England. A return to Portugal would be considered whilst there is strong interest in Spain and Italy too – he is not going to be short of options.”
Dubbed “incredible” by former Wolves teammate Conor Coady, Neves is still a player capable of making an impressive impact at a Champions League club in the prime of his career. For the right price, Newcastle should go all in on the Portugal international.
Mikel Arteta has explained why Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is training with Arsenal. The former England international has become a surprise addition to the ranks in north London, with the 32-year-old being spotted working with the Gunners’ youth team. Oxlade-Chamberlain knows Arsenal and Arteta well and is looking to stay sharp after dropping into the free agent pool.
Former Arsenal team-mates reunited
Arteta is delighted to have a “top character” alongside him once more. Arsenal’s current boss moved to Emirates Stadium in the same summer as Oxlade-Chamberlain back in 2011. They struck up a bond when performing as midfield team-mates and have continued to keep an eye on how the other is faring.
While Arteta is now in management, Oxlade-Chamberlain is eager to prolong his playing career at 32 years of age. He does, however, find himself without a club after being released by Turkish side Besiktas in August. That has freed the Southampton academy graduate to head home.
AdvertisementGettyWhy is Oxlade-Chamberlain training with Arsenal?
He finds himself in familiar surroundings, with Arteta happy to give a confident character the opportunity to build his fitness and catch the eye of a new employer. Oxlade-Chamberlain is also considered to be a useful role model for those in the Gunners’ academy system.
Arteta said when asked why Oxlade-Chamberlain is back in north London: “Top. Top character. One of the best characters I’ve met in football.
“If we can help him and give him the space for him to get up to speed and have the capacity to find a club. It’s a joy, the boys will learn from it. I had the privilege to play with him and if he is around he will be a really good role model to have around the team.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain's career: Trophies & appearances
Oxlade-Chamberlain made 198 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 20 goals. He helped them to three FA Cup triumphs before joining Liverpool for £35 million ($46m) in 2017. He made a further 146 appearances for the Reds, claiming Premier League and Champions League winners’ medals along the way.
The 35-cap England international stepped out of his comfort zone when heading to Turkey in 2023. He savoured more success with Besiktas, winning the Turkish Cup, and figured in 50 matches before seeing his contract terminated.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is engaged to Little Mix popstar Perrie Edwards, is now mulling over his next move. It was suggested back in September that he could be offered another Premier League opportunity, or be added to an ambitious project at St Andrew’s being overseen by Tom Brady and Co. reported that: “There’s interest from clubs in the Premier League, Championship and across Europe as well, with Leeds and Birmingham among them.”
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There has been no movement there, with squads being completed for the first-half of the 2025-26 campaign. It has, however, been suggested that Oxlade-Chamberlain could be approached by another familiar face.
Ex-Arsenal and England star Jack Wilshere is now calling the shots as manager of League One outfit Luton. Former Premier League title winner Tim Sherwood believes that Oxlade-Chamberlain would be a useful short-term addition there.
He has told : "It depends what level he wants to play at, but if I'm Jack Wilshere – and I know it's League One – I am absolutely ringing his phone off the hook for him to come and play for his old mate, and help out that group at Luton. But he might have his sights a lot higher – and he probably has.”
For now, Oxlade-Chamberlain will continue to make use of the facilities at Arsenal. He could look to put Arteta’s network of contacts to good use, with there clearly still plenty of football left in him.
He has not made a competitive appearance since May 11, 2025, but has vast experience to call upon and will not take long to get back up to speed. If the hard-working midfielder is prepared to bide his time, then it could be that a Premier League team comes calling as managers looking to add more energy to their engine room take a calculated gamble on a man that made his senior debut for Southampton at just 16 years of age.
da esport bet： Celtic supporters may not have been very pleased with how the summer transfer window ended, but there was plenty of promising work done by the club up to when they signed Kelechi Iheanacho.
da dobrowin： Some fans decided to boycott the opening 12 minutes of the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock last weekend. Podcaster John Dykes claimed that it was partly down to the lack of quality recruitment work and the club’s failure to qualify for the league phase of the Champions League.
Despite the concerns of the fanbase, Celtic were still able to muster up three points in their Scottish Premiership clash, thanks to a 96th-minute penalty from one of their new signings, Iheanacho.
The Nigeria international, who joined on a free transfer the day after the summer window officially slammed shut, was the 11th first-team signing made after the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Brendan Rodgers and the recruitment team will be hoping that supporters will look at the window a little more favourably by the end of the season, if the players brought in kick on and deliver high-quality performances.
The concern, though, will be if they fail to really kick on and prove their worth on a consistent basis, as has been the case for winger Hyun-jun Yang.
Why Hyun-jun Yang is in an awkward position at Celtic
The South Korea international was signed from Gangwon FC for a fee of £2m in the summer of 2023 to bolster Rodgers’ options on both flanks in his first season back in Scotland.
Unfortunately, Yang has been unable to establish himself as a regular starter for the Scottish giants on the wing. He currently finds himself in an awkward position where he does not seem to be fully trusted by the manager.
In fact, the forward was reportedly close to a move to English Championship side Birmingham City on deadline day, only for the Blues to pull out of a deal because they were unwilling to wait for Celtic to finalise their own move for Sebastian Tounekti.
The Hoops, of course, signed Tounekti from Hammarby late on deadline day, but the timing of that move meant that they brought the Tunisia international in and Yang had to remain at Parkhead.
This has left the 23-year-old winger in a position where he knows that the club and Rodgers were willing to let him move on in the summer, yet he now has to stay until at least January.
25/26 Premiership
Hyun-jun Yang
Appearances
3
Starts
2
Unused substitute
2
Goals
0
Key passes per game
0.3
Big chances created
1
Assists
0
Dribbles completed per game
0.3
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Yang has already been an unused substitute in two of the opening five Premiership matches, failing to provide a goal or an assist in the three games he has featured in.
Ultimately, the South Korean attacker has never shown real consistency in his end product in the final third, with seven goals and nine assists in 71 appearances in all competitions, per Transfermarkt.
Yang has shown signs of improvement during his time at the club, progressing from one league goal in the 2023/24 campaign to five league goals last season. However, it has not been enough for him to establish himself as a star in Glasgow.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
It is incredibly early on in his Parkhead career, but summer signing Michel-Ange Balikwisha needs to ensure that he does not end up becoming the next Yang for Celtic on the wing.
Why Balikwisha could be the next Yang for Celtic
The Hoops swooped to sign the Belgian forward from Royal Antwerp for a fee of £5m during the summer transfer window to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch.
Balikwisha, like Yang, is a versatile winger who can play on the left or the right flank. He also showed some promise in the final third with his performances for his former club.
The 24-year-old flanker scored four goals and created seven ‘big chances’ in 12 starts in the Pro League for Royal Antwerp in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, which shows that he offered quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals in Belgium.
This is why Balikwisha, as Yang was when he arrived from Gangwon, is an exciting addition to the squad. However, he has yet to show any real drive at the top end of the pitch after two flat performances in the Premiership.
The right-footed winger has been thrown in at the deep end with starts against Rangers and Kilmarnock, playing on the left wing in the former and on the right in the latter, but failed to impress in either outing.
Michel-Ange Balikwisha
Vs Rangers
Vs Kilmarnock
Minutes
65
58
Shots
0
0
Key passes
0
1
Big chances created
0
0
Dribbles completed
0/0
0/1
Crosses completed
0/1
1/2
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Balikwisha did not register a single shot on goal and only attempted one dribble, which he failed to complete, in over two hours of football in his first two appearances for the Scottish giants.
Motherwell midfielder Andy Halliday has been unimpressed with the winger. The experienced Premiership player said: “I think Balikwisha has started really, really slowly. I’ve never seen a winger turn down one versus one opportunities so much.
“It was exactly what I seen against Rangers and I thought it was the exact same at Kilmarnock at the weekend. I think he’s too passive in terms of getting the ball in one v one situations, turning and passing it back.”
You could put it down to the fact that he is settling into life at Celtic and may have been nervous to really attack those two games, but fellow new signing Tounekti stepped in for his debut against Kilmarnock and delivered four chances created and five dribbles completed, per Sofascore.
As Halliday put it, Balikwisha was too passive in both games and that is a worrying sign because that has been one of Yang’s biggest problems during his time at Celtic, averaging just 0.7 completed dribbles and 0.4 shots on target per game in the Premiership last season, per Sofascore.
The South Korea international’s Parkhead career reached a point where the club were willing to let him join Birmingham, in part because he has failed to asert himself on the pitch to be a consistent performer in the final third.
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Hopefully, Balikwisha’s first two appearances for the Hoops are not a sign of things to come, because he will need to offer far more at the top end of the pitch week-in-week-out to avoid becoming the next Yang in Glasgow.
UEFA have been presented with a final proposal for the Super League project that would include dramatic evolution of the current Champions League format. According to Mundo Deportivo, the project has been under tight wraps for the past eight months, with UEFA, Super League backers A22 Sports Management, and key powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid conducting secret negotiations to hammer out a deal that could end football’s civil war.
Russell Martin has had a mixed set of opening results as the new Glasgow Rangers boss. In Europe they have knocked out Panathinaikos and, bar a complete capitulation, look set to do the same to Viktoria Plzeň.
Qualification for, and progression in, the Champions League would go along way for the club financially and may allow them to further reinforce the squad in January.
Domestically however, they already find themselves four points adrift of rivals Celtic and have set themselves up for a challenge if they want to push for the Scottish Premiership title.
Martin has already brought in a number of players from England this summer including EFL veteran Joe Rothwell, but he’s now turned his attention to a new target between the sticks.
Rangers learn price tag to sign Pierce Charles
Alan Nixon, via Glasgow World, has confirmed that Martin wants to bring Sheffield Wednesday’s 20-year-old goalkeeper Pierce Charles to Ibrox, but he won’t come cheap.
This would not only make him the most expensive keeper Rangers have ever signed, but their third most expensive player ever. From Wednesday’s perspective, £8 million would make Charles their most expensive ever departure, a testament to how much they value him.
Rangers aren’t the only club interested in signing Charles, and it looked like they would face Premier League opposition from West Ham. However, Graham Potter’s side have announced the signing of Mads Hermansen from Leicester City for £20 million. Based on this, it would be surprising if the Hammers went for another keeper this window.
Charles is superior to Butland
Bringing in Charles as the 3rd most expensive player in the club’s history won’t be a decision that is taken lightly, but there are a few key reasons why it might actually be a sensible move.
2024/25 League Performances
Butland
Charles
Games Played
28
10
Xg Faced
28.79
12.91
Goals Conceded
31
10
Goals Prevented vs Xg Faced
-2.21
+2.91
Total Pass Accuracy
77.4%
76.3%
Long Ball Accuracy
39.4%
52.5%
Data via FotMob
While Butland played more games last season, Charles played his games in a higher level league with a report from May ranking the Championship as the 10th best league in the world, whereas the SPL didn’t crack the top 20. With that in mind, the data can be split into two main categories: shot stopping and ball-playing ability.
In shot-stopping terms, Charles clearly leads Butland. Based on Xg, Butland is conceding more goals than he should be and Charles is doing the exact opposite. This isn’t an outlier for Butland either, as, since 2020 he has conceded more league goals than his Xg suggests he should have in each campaign.
In terms of ball-playing ability, Butland slightly edges Charles in overall passing accuracy, but Charles is 13.1% more accurate with long balls. Martin’s style of play is possession-based, and he often likes to play short passes out from the back and in this department there is a near negligible difference. However, in those scenarios where the keeper has to go long, then Rangers would likely be successful more often with Charles in goal.
However, the biggest factor between the two is age. Butland, at 32, is unlikely to get better, whereas Charles, at 20, will be able to develop. £8 million may seem like a lot for now, but when invested with his future talent in mind it could be a steal.
The two opening batsmen have more in common than just their placid demeanours and astronomical strike rates
Aakash Chopra17-May-2011A poll on a social-networking site recently declared Chris Gayle a far more destructive batsman than Virender Sehwag. When Gayle arrived in the Royal Challengers Bangalore camp last month, their two-year purple patch in the IPL had been crushed and the team were preparing for a premature exit. When Sehwag joined a depleted Delhi Daredevils, little did he know that he would have to single-handedly steer his team through his time in this IPL.But while Gayle’s first-game heroics battered the Kolkata Knight Riders, Sehwag’s ferocious intent couldn’t do much to change Delhi’s kismet. Unlike Gayle, who had Virat Kohli and AB de Villers to back his explosive style, Sehwag didn’t have a strong batting line-up supporting him. Delhi won each time Sehwag clicked but it didn’t happen often enough.Though Gayle and Sehwag are both big-hitters, match-winners, and brutal on all bowling attacks, you wouldn’t quite think their batting styles are comparable. Let’s give it a shot, though.Footwork
Most batsmen have a trigger movement before the bowler delivers the ball. It could be a slight shuffle across, a small press or something else that helps you get moving before the ball is delivered, which in turn helps you get into position quickly. But both Gayle and Sehwag stay completely still till as late as possible before a delivery.The quicker the bowler, the more crucial these movements, for you don’t want to be late for the ball. But these movements can also give away a batsman’s preferences in terms of strokes and scoring areas. For instance, if he goes back and across, chances are he’s looking for a full ball and transferring his weight on to the back leg. The only movement from that position will be a forward press. Likewise, if he plants his foot in front, he prefers short-pitched deliveries.But these apply only to lesser mortals; great batsmen can do without. Both Gayle and Sehwag move only when the ball leaves the hand of the bowler, and hence give nothing away. In fact, even when they do move, their movements are restricted to the minimum.The lack of foot movement may have its pitfalls but their quick hands make up. When you can’t reach the delivery with your feet, the chances of missing it increase, but both these batsmen have mastered the art of throwing their arms at the ball. And the minimal movement ensures they rarely find themselves in awkward positions that might lead to their playing off-position shots.Sharp eyes
Gayle’s and Sehwag’s batting seems to be based on the simple technique of see ball, hit ball. This approach can only be effective if you do the first part right. While most good players pick the line and length quickly, what separates these two from the rest is their ability to pick slower balls and other variations with ease. Love Ablish, the Kings XI Punjab medium-pacer, changes his pace and disguises his deliveries well, but he couldn’t fox Gayle who delayed his downswing a fraction to send the ball over the ropes.Ashish Nehra once told me that there are only two batsmen in the Indian team, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, who, when countering sudden changes in pace, don’t turn their aggressive stroke into a defensive prod. Instead they wait a fraction longer and at times even convert a defensive prod into a lofted drive. Most batsmen would be too early on the shot while facing a well-disguised slower one, but not these two.
What makes Gayle and Sehwag even more dangerous is that they don’t need to go down the track or generate momentum to send a spinner for six
Hitting from the crease
What makes Gayle and Sehwag even more dangerous is that they don’t need to go down the track or generate bbody momentum to send a spinner for six. While Gayle prefers to give the fast bowlers the charge every now and then, like Sehwag he stays put in the crease when facing spinners. Both trust the downswing in their back-lifts to generate enough power, and it rarely ever fails them.Astute brains
Since their batting looks simple and uncomplicated, most people discount the tactical shrewdness of these two. If the ball moves prodigiously at the start, they are happy to bide time. Even in Twenty20 games, like they did against Punjab and Deccan Chargers respectively, where they allowed the early swing to fade away before exploding.Gayle and Sehwag always target certain bowlers in the opposition and play strokes that may look ambitious but are percentage shots. They also trick bowlers by wildly heaving at and missing deliveries intentionally. Once, in a domestic game on a poor surface, Sehwag stepped down the track and played a rather ambitious shot, only to miss the ball by a mile. It looked suicidal but he had a plan in mind. He charged the bowler because he wanted to force him to shorten his length, which he did the following ball, to be dispatched to the fence. Gayle does the same against many quick bowlers only to sit deep inside the crease on the following ball. There are astute cricket brains working behind those rather calm facades.Both Gayle and Sehwag may have two Test triple-centuries to their names, but their recent performances in Twenty20 have been just as pleasurable to watch. Unless, of course, you are the hapless prey in their sights.
The CSK captain is also not worried about Pathirana as he has more death-bowling options to choose from
Alagappan Muthu22-Mar-20252:05
Cricinformed: MS Dhoni, CSK’s 43-year-old six machine
MS Dhoni arrived in Chennai in February to prepare for IPL 2025. He doesn’t play any cricket in between. He’s 43 years old. And he remains as important to Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) chances of success as he has ever been, performing the same role that he used to play – the finisher – but in a reduced capacity: batting for a couple of overs, trying to hit everything out of the ground.”I think his training is very much limited to whatever he tries to achieve,” Ruturaj Gaikwad, the CSK captain, said on the eve of their game against Mumbai Indians. “Or whatever his role would be in the IPL. So, it is pretty much very simple, focused on trying to hit as much as sixes as possible and trying to get the right swing, trying to be in the best shape.”That is what I think initially he was trying to do. And then I never thought he was out of shape even on the first day. So, I think obviously he is special – he’s done it for so many years.Related
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“So, definitely that always will be there. If you see now even Sachin Tendulkar is batting as great as he is right even now at the age of 50 [51]. So, I think still many years to go.”Dhoni recently spoke about his cricket career, which began way back in 2005, and how he sees himself playing for a few years yet.”I want to enjoy it,” he said at the launch of one of his apps last month, “how I did as a child when I was in school. When I lived in a colony, 4 o’clock (in the afternoon) was sports time, so we’ll go and play cricket more often than not. But if the weather doesn’t permit, we used to play football. I want to play with the same kind of innocence (but it is) easier said than done.”MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja tune up for IPL 2025•PTI
CSK are enjoying the benefits of that. “I mean everyday we get to see him,” Gaikwad said. “Obviously, it inspires [us] a lot. A lot of new players have joined the team and sometimes they, as professional cricketers, struggle to strike the ball as good as he is striking it right now.”So, definitely it inspires a lot of us including myself, including everyone from the group. So, whatever he is doing at the age of 43, I think it is remarkable. It is really commendable.”And definitely, he will be looking to contribute in the best way he can. But I mean we have certain strengths that we have been following since last two years. So, I think nothing much really changes and hopefully he will continue to deliver those crucial knocks for us.”CSK are known to stick to a set formula, especially when playing at home, and now their XI is likely to include three high quality spinners.
“When you have someone like [R] Ashwin and [Ravindra] Jadeja and we have Noor [Ahmed]. I think we always wanted someone in our bowling department who can be an aggressive bowler, who can come in and take wickets at regular intervals. And there were very few in the auction pool. So, we wanted to get the best whoever is available, and I think Noor is right up there. So, hopefully if conditions suit us, definitely he will be a great threat for opposition.”Chepauk has a history of assisting spinners, but that wasn’t the case last season. It’s resulted in them relying on their fast bowlers in recent seasons. Death-overs specialist Matheesha Pathirana is their second-highest wicket-taker since making his debut in 2022. Pathirana appears to have made a change to his bowling action, where his arm is a little higher than it used to be on release. CSK lost him to injury towards the back end of last season, when they were unable to make the playoffs.”He [Pathirana] is definitely in a good shape and we had a good look at him in the practice game that we had,” Gaikwad said. “But what this year we have done in the options as well, I think we have got very good fast bowlers as back-ups.”We have Mukesh [Choudhary] who is bowling really well. We have Khaleel [Ahmed] as well, who is right up there in the Indian team. Anshul Kamboj has done really well in the domestic circuit. Gurjapneet [Singh] is there. [Kamlesh] Nagarkoti is there, who really impressed me in the pre-season. So, we have a good set of fast bowlers this year. We have [Nathan] Ellis as well. So, I think I am not really worried about that back-up option. But it is always good to have Pathirana in the team. But as I said, I am not really worried about if he is there or not.”
Nottingham Forest are weighing up a swap deal for Sevilla’s Jose Angel Carmona, with Sevilla showing interest in David Carmo.
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The series would serve as an appetiser for the hosts to the bonanza of the upcoming PSL
Danyal Rasool10-Feb-2021
After an entertaining Test series where the 2-0 scoreline belied the competitiveness of the cricket, Pakistan and South Africa move on to the shortest format. This is a series both sides will cherish for very different reasons. For Pakistan, it serves as an appetiser to a five-week-long bonanza of T20 cricket in the shape of the PSL which starts later this month, and will mark, for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the presence of crowds for a cricket match. The visitors, on the other hand, can put their heart and soul into these three matches, not knowing when they play next, following Cricket Australia’s controversial decision to call off their tour to South Africa citing Covid-19 concerns.Pakistan have to be the clear favourites simply because of the youthful, inexperienced side South Africa line up with. Initially selected because they wanted to keep their senior players rested for the now-cancelled Australia tour, South Africa opted to stick with that fresh-faced side, a far cry from the team that ended Pakistan’s record-breaking 11 T20I series-winning streak two years ago.Related
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Pakistan will look to put an indifferent performance in the T20I series against New Zealand behind them, while hoping to replicate the spirit of the Napier T20I, where they pulled off a victory from a deeply unfavourable position. At home, meanwhile, they have been solid in T20I cricket since a disastrous 3-0 reverse against a severely depleted Sri Lanka side 18 months ago. However, the wins since then have only come against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and South Africa represent the biggest threat to that recent uptick in T20I form, no matter the absences.South Africa’s most experienced player David Miller admitted they would come under heavy pressure, and recent form indicates that. The visitors have not won any of their last five T20I series, last triumphing against Sri Lanka nearly two years ago. Heinrich Klaasen captains them on this tour, but with little obvious firepower either with bat or ball, his side will have to produce a level they have struggled to attain of late to seriously test a well-drilled Pakistan side that knows the Lahore conditions inside out.
(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WLLWW
South Africa LLLLW
Haider Ali misfiring in New Zealand meant Pakistan were left a bit short on firepower in the powerplay, and a return to form would give the home side an invaluable boost. With Fakhar Zaman’s form declining and Mohammad Rizwan, despite his Napier heroics, not quite explosive enough to hold down a permanent opening spot, Haider’s emergence has been perfectly timed. Alongside Babar Azam, who is set to return after his absence in New Zealand, Pakistan have the perfect mix of quality and power at the top. Haider demonstrated the sort of impact he could have on a game on debut against England and at home versus Zimbabwe, and with the PSL – where he shot to prominence – right around the corner, he likes this time of year.Janneman Malan will be high on confidence following scores of 67, 95 and 69* in his last four List A matches•Associated Press
In a fairly inexperienced touring party, Janneman Malan stands out for his pedigree and quality. Arguably one of the players who might have earned a call-up in a full-strength side, Malan’s recent form makes him one of South Africa’s trump cards this series. It might have come in the 50-over format, but 67, 95 and 69* in his last List A matches – coupled with a match-winning 129 not out against Australia last year – means confidence isn’t something the 24-year old will be short of. A strike rate in excess of 135 in T20 cricket is indicative of Malan’s potential in the shortest format, and there’s little reason this couldn’t be his breakout series.
Azam’s availability means Rizwan will likely drop lower down the order despite his heroics in New Zealand. Asif Ali and Hasan Ali are likely starters, while Shaheen Afridi may get a rest.Pakistan: 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Haider Ali, 3 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 4 Khushdil Shah, 5 Asif Ali, 6 Hussain Talat, 7 Faheem Ashraf/Iftikhar Ahmed, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Usman QadirGlenton Stuurman and Pite van Biljon may start for South Africa, while a spin-heavy strategy could see George Linde, Jon-Jon Smuts and Tabraiz Shamsi all feature.South Africa: 1 Janneman Malan, 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Jon-Jon Smuts, 4 David Miller, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (capt &wk), 6 Pite van Biljon, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 George Linde, 9 Lutho Sipamla 10 Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Glenton Stuurman
Dry, sunny weather of late in Lahore means that true to form, the Gaddafi surface should be a belter for run-scoring. There’s no inclement weather about either, and a full game should play out.
“We are here to win. We are here to represent the Proteas in the best possible light, regardless if you’ve played your first game or your 100th game.”