Are Aston Villa in title hunt - and should Arsenal start to worry?

Unai Emery continues to deny Aston Villa are in the title race, even as his old club Arsenal start to look vulnerable at the top of the Premier League. Villa's head coach is playing down his current side's chances at a time when their form has become impossible to ignore. A dramatic 2-1 win over Arsenal on Saturday moved Villa just three points behind the Gunners, with Manchester City joining both in the top three. Villa were in a strikingly similar position two years ago but finished fourth - 23 points behind champions City. With over a third of the Premier League season gone, there is a case to be made that Emery's team should be taken seriously in the title talk this time. They have beaten Arsenal and City at home and have now won nine of their past 10 in the league - seven straight in all competitions - so why would Villa not be in the mix? Former Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy points out one major factor that could count against them. "I don't see them as title contenders, only because of a lack of strength in depth. But their best XI can beat anybody," Murphy said. Defeat at Villa Park was Arsenal's first loss in 18 games - since going down 1-0 at Liverpool in August - and significantly weakens what had looked a commanding position at the top. With just two wins from their past five Premier League games, Arsenal fans could be starting to get nervous....

'A wonderful miracle' - how Messi & Beckham made Miami shine Guillem Balague column

When Sir David Beckham chose Miami as the location for the Major League Soccer team he intended to set up in 2013, no-one could have predicted what was to follow. After purchasing the US franchise for a discounted £15.6m from MLS - part of a financial package he negotiated when he joined LA Galaxy in 2007 as a player - the former England skipper officially launched the club in 2018, before they made their MLS debut in March 2020. Now, having signed arguably the world's greatest player Lionel Messi in 2023, Inter Miami have celebrated winning the league's greatest prize after beating Thomas Muller's Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup final on Saturday. "All the emotion came out in the final few moments of the game," Beckham said. "There was a lot of sleepless nights but I always believed in Miami. "I found the right partners and knew anything was possible. It says Freedom to Dream on our shirts and we promised our fans we would deliver. "Next year is a new year but tonight we celebrate." Success caps an exponential rise for 'Project Beckham' both on and off the field as Miami have provided a huge surge of interest in football across America. Chief business officer Xavi Asensi described the role of co-owner Beckham as "amazing". "Without David Beckham none of us would be sitting here. Everything ended up being possible," he said. "There aren't names as global as David Beckham and Leo Messi - they are combined here."...

England and Scotland find out World Cup kick-off times

England have been handed World Cup kick-off times which suit UK audiences - but Scotland fans face later finishes during next summer's tournament. England will play all three of their group games in the United States, with their first two matches against Croatia, on 17 June, and Ghana, on 23 June, kicking off at 21:00 BST. Their final group game against Panama on 27 June, at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium where the final will be played, begins at 22:00 BST. Scotland will play their Group C games in Boston and Miami, with their opener against Haiti on 14 June at Gillette Stadium kicking off at 02:00 BST. Steve Clarke's side's next two matches, against Morocco in Massachusetts on 19 June and five-time winners Brazil in Miami on 24 June, will both start at 23:00 BST. England's opening match in Dallas will be played under a closed roof, with air conditioning in the AT&T Stadium at 15:00 local time, because of the expected heat in Texas. Their matches in Dallas and Boston - where Scotland play twice - will be on a temporary grass surface, as they normally operate with artificial turf. England's match in Boston kicks off at 16:00 local time, while Scotland will play at 21:00 and 18:00 in their two matches at the Gillette Stadium. Miami, the location of Scotland's final group match against Brazil - which will kick off at 18:00 local time - is one location extreme heat and humidity might prove an issue during next summer's tournament. Should they qualify through two rounds of Uefa play-off matches in March, Wales or Northern Ireland would play all three group matches at 20:00 BST. They would face Canada in Toronto on 12 June, Switzerland in Los Angeles on 18 June, and Qatar in Seattle on 24 June. Pubs in England and Wales could stay open until 01:00 next summer if a home nation reaches the quarter-final stage, after the government launched a public consultation on extending pub licensing hours....

Lionesses impress - but did Wiegman learn much?

England fans could not have hoped for a more entertaining evening at Wembley Stadium - but with Sarina Wiegman resisting the urge to be more experimental, how much did she actually learn from it? After winning Euro 2025, the Lionesses have played three of their four friendly matches which were designed as a "homecoming" celebration. Their latest, an 8-0 demolition of China on Saturday evening, was the pick of the bunch but it was not the test they perhaps hoped for. Wiegman was understandably pleased with the display, which included a Georgia Stanway hat-trick, but there was a real lack of competition from China. It was the tried and tested players who delivered on the scoresheet and England were in control of possession, dominating 70% of the ball as they cruised to victory. By half-time they were 5-0 up and the game was won, although Wiegman said she still learned something from the performance. "Yes, of course we always learn something from the game. What we really wanted to do was start well," said Wiegman. "They played in a little different shape to what we expected so that took a few minutes but after that, we started playing really well. "We had a little bit more time on the ball and then you saw how good we are. We connected well and I thought we scored some really good goals. "I also think that because we played so well and scored so early, that China were struggling even more." A missed opportunity to experiment more? As one BBC Sport live text reader, Brian, wrote: "What is the point of this match? It is a waste of England's time." It was a harsh assesment after such a dazzling display - which the 74,611 inside Wembley Stadium no doubt enjoyed - but could Wiegman have given more minutes to some of England's unfamiliar stars? Former England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley told BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra 2: "I think the opportunity may have been missed to start a few more debutants or give players more caps - maybe make some changes a bit sooner. "We knew it was going to be comfortable maybe a quarter of the way through the first half. "This felt more like an opportunity for the fans to come and see the players as opposed to anything they are really going to glean from a tactical point of view." Lucia Kendall impressed on her debut in a 3-0 win over Australia last month so to experience a sold-out Wembley from the start would have been invaluable. She did come on, but not until the 68th minute with England already leading 6-0. Forward Freya Godfrey, 20, was an unused substitute after earning her first call-up this week, while Taylor Hinds picked up her second cap, but only played 15 minutes. The one player who was handed a debut - goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse - had little chance to impress because of the dominance of her side. It was a very experienced midfield and frontline in the starting XI with Aggie Beever-Jones having to sit out for regular number nine Alessia Russo. An injury-hit defence did see changes, though Arsenal centre-back Lotte Wubben-Moy was still on the bench. Ian Wright said on ITV before kick-off: "At some stage, that has to happen [to see more youngsters]. We want to see more of those players. "I think with the World Cup in 2027, we need to know that there are players who can come through and make the step up." These friendlies are the opportunity to do that. Stiff competition lies ahead with World Cup qualification starting in March - and a double header against world champions Spain in 2026. It is rare that Wiegman does not have pressure on her shoulders and England, while an 8-0 win should be applauded, does not have much to gain when connections are being strengthened between players who may not feature in two years' time. Could Wiegman have changed things up even more when England's lead was so dominating, so early on? "We take every game seriously and when we substitute three players at half-time I think that's enough," she said. "We have a squad of 25 and there are many players that are knocking on the door. Everyone wants to play. "Some players are just coming into the squad and finding their feet. Other players have done a great job for us and are competing for starting positions. Changing one or two players, I didn't want to do that." 'Mead has always been a smart player' With the Chinese domestic league ending on 28 September, and the national team not playing together since July, it was an easier night than many expected. But it did not take away from England's impressive display. Aside from a series of set-pieces early on, China could barely lay a glove as England were ruthless, clinical and composed throughout. One of the standout performers was Arsenal's Beth Mead - the Euro 2022 top-scorer who has faced increased competition for her place in the side. It is easy to see why Wiegman so often turns to Mead in big games, however, when she links up so well with right-back Lucy Bronze and creates numerous opportunities from wide positions. She set up big chances for Russo and Lauren Hemp either side of her two goals and almost everything came down her side in a rampant first half. "Me, Georgia [Stanway] and Lucy [Bronze] have had the chance to play together for a lot of years now and I think that showed today," Mead told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We found the spaces, we rotated really well, we filled in for each other and we caused problems for their left side." Mead may have been the star of three years ago but she's clearly still contributing, so has she evolved? "I think she's improved. She's always been a smart player - picks up positions, is very calm in the final third and always keeps seeing pictures," said Wiegman. "That's what she did today too. What we've invited her to do even more is make more rotations and pick up more positions and feel the freedom to do that. "She's had more experiences in football and life, and keeps developing, but technically she's improved also."...

Flamengo became the first Brazilian team to lift the Copa Libertadores four times with victory over rivals Palmeiras.

Former Real Madrid, Man City and Juventus defender Danilo rose highest from a Giorgian de Arrascaeta corner to head into the bottom corner in the 67th minute as Filipe Luis' side emerged victorious. Victor Roque missed a golden opportunity to equalise for Palmeiras with two minutes of normal time remaining but blazed his shot over the bar from close range. Everton had a chance to seal the victory in stoppage time but his low driven free-kick was pushed on to the post by Palmeiras goalkeeper Carlos Miguel. In five of the past seven seasons, either Palmeiras or Flamengo has claimed the Libertadores. Luis became the ninth man to win the competition both as a player and as a coach, having claimed the trophy twice with Flamengo in 2019 and 2022. In a first half which produced no shots on target, Chilean midfielder Erick Pulgar was fortunate to avoid a straight red card in the 30th minute when he raked his studs down the leg of Bruno Fuchs. The sides met in the 2021 final which was won 2-1 by Palmeiras....

Abject failure is becoming the norm - where does Welsh rugby go from here?

Predicting when Welsh rugby has actually hit rock bottom has become quite difficult recently. Each time we think a new low has been reached in the past couple of years, yet another depth is plumbed. Saturday's 73-0 record home humiliation against world champions South Africa is Wales' latest low point. Sitting in the Principality Stadium in March listening to England performing their victory song after inflicting a record 68-14 home defeat on their hosts, one Welsh rugby expert asked "it can't get worse than this, can it?" It turns out it can. Eight months on from the England embarrassment, it was the Springboks squad belting out their celebration tune on an autumnal Saturday night in Cardiff. This 11-try demolition was the second worst defeat in Welsh rugby history after the 96-13 hammering dished out by the Springboks in Pretoria in 1998. So where can Welsh rugby go from here? Another annus horribilis for Welsh rugby Debating whether the England or South Africa loss was more degrading for Welsh rugby seems futile. The same applies when judging whether 2024 or 2025 was the more humbling year for the national men's side. Abject failure is becoming the norm. It is worth revisiting how low Welsh rugby has sunk since the World Cup quarter-final defeat by Argentina in Marseille in October 2023. Since that loss, Wales have been beaten in 20 out of 22 matches in the two calendar years that have followed. In 2024, Wales lost all 11 Test matches, while this year they have suffered nine defeats in 11 games, with the only two victories coming against Japan. While 2025 has actually seen some success of sorts, it is arguably worse than 2024. Wales have twice suffered record home defeats, shipped 50 points at home on four occasions against England, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa, and had three head coaches in Warren Gatland, Matt Sherratt and Steve Tandy. Wales started the year in January by being 'nilled' in their 43-0 Six Nations defeat by France in Paris. They ended 2025 with another pointless performance against the Springboks. A neat bookend to another traumatic 12 months in Welsh rugby's soap opera....

Man City 'bend rules' to deny Leeds - Farke

Daniel Farke accused Gianluigi Donnarumma of feigning injury to "bend the rules" as Manchester City denied his Leeds team a precious Premier League point on Saturday at Etihad Stadium. The visitors got off to the worse possible start with Phil Foden scoring inside the first minute, before Josko Gvardiol doubled the hosts' advantage before the break. However, Leeds rallied after the break after a change of tactics and formation, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring immediately after the restart. And with City visibly struggling to cope with the changes just before Lukas Nmecha levelled, home goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma went down to receive treatment, allowing boss Pep Guardiola to call his players to the touchline and issue fresh instructions in the two minutes play was stopped for. "Everyone knows why he went down," Farke said. "It is not the elephant in the room. Why he went down it was obvious. It is within the rules. It is smart. If I like it? If it's within the sense of fair play? If it should be like this I will keep to myself. It is up to the authorities to find a solution. "I ask the fourth official at this point if you want to do something. Our hands are tied. "If we don't educate our players in football what to do in terms of fair play and sportsmanship and whatever and if we just try to bend the rules and even do a fake injury in order to do an additional team talk, it is not what I like personally. But if it is within the rules I can't complain." Foden's stoppage-time winner condemned Leeds to a sixth defeat in seven Premier League fixtures to leave them 18th in the table, with only bottom club Wolves having scored fewer top-flight goals this term. However, Farke, who has been criticised for a lack of adventure particularly around substitutions, was almost rewarded for a bold decision at the interval that almost reversed their fortunes. Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Foden said that his team were only able to regroup after Guardiola's touchline conference with his players. "At half-time we were in control. Second half they came out, pressed us a lot higher, they put two up top and changed the formation a little bit," said Foden. "We really struggled to get hold of the game. We got together on the side of the pitch and changed a few things and it got better from there. That little break was crucial to get things right. "The manager changed the way we pressed and the way we played. You can see from the moment we had the chat things got a lot better. It was crucial for helping us going on and winning the game." Farke added: "It is for the authorities to find a solution. Is it in the sense of the game or fair play? I would have my doubts." After the game, Guardiola said he had believed Donnarumma's injury was genuine and that he instructed James Trafford to warm up in case the Italian goalkeeper needed replacing. "I didn't speak with Gigio," Guardiola said. "When it happened I looked back to the dugout and said 'James, warm up'. I don't know. Next press conference you can ask me and I will ask Gigio." Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy said the lawmakers can implement a small change to the rules that would have a big impact. "I think they can change it really quickly," Murphy said. "If a keeper goes down injured, instead of him having to go off, one of the outfield players should go off then its fair all round. It's a little change that makes a world of difference." ...

Can Scotland shun heartbreak & beat strong Pumas?

Autumn international: Scotland v Argentina Venue: Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh Date: Sunday, 16 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT Coverage: Listen on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Scotland & BBC Radio 5 live and follow live updates on the BBC Sport website & app Darcy Graham, set for his 50th cap on Sunday, is beloved by Scottish rugby fans for his brilliance, but also his honesty. Honesty shown by his work-rate and willingness to put his body in places many would not, despite his diminutive frame, and honesty in what he says. "I'm going to have nightmares about that disallowed try for the rest of my life," he admitted of his spurned score against New Zealand, when he spilled the ball in sight of the line under pressure from Cameron Roigard. Graham epitomises everything good about Scottish rugby. Punching above one's weight, dazzling attacking ability, and bags of heart. But in that moment, in the 56th minute against the All Blacks, Scotland's most lethal finisher was not so lethal anymore. It was only one moment, but reflecting on it Graham said something interesting. As he prepares to mark a half century of appearances against Argentina he was asked if it will be an emotional experience for him at Murrayfield. "I don't think I'll be emotional this weekend - last weekend I was really emotional before the game," he said. "I looked up at the stands at the anthem and saw my whole family there. "It brought back a lot of memories. Sometimes I'm not sure if it's a good thing. You can let it get to you too much. "This weekend my mind is on the game. It's just another game - go out there and do what I do." Graham was only speaking for himself, but it was a reminder what a rare game against New Zealand means. And, more broadly, did Scotland's sheer desperation to be the side to topple the All Blacks for the first time overcome them in key moments? Did the charged atmosphere cloud their composure? These are questions which will linger. But as Graham said - Scotland must park them and get back to business against Argentina....

Wales coach Tandy labels Adams red card as 'harsh'

Autumn Nations Series: Wales v New Zealand Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Saturday, 22 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT Coverage: Commentary on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and live text on BBC Sport online. Wales head coach Steve Tandy says Josh Adams' 20-minute red card against Japan was harsh. Wing Adams was penalised for a dangerous clearout on Japan wing Kippei Ishida on the stroke of half-time. English referee Matthew Carley initially gave a yellow card and sent the decision for a bunker review with the decision upgraded to a 20-minute red card by foul play review process officer (FRPO) Quinton Immelman. Wales managed to hang on for a 24-23 win thanks to Jarrod Evans' last-gasp penalty but Tandy does not think Adams deserved his punishment. "I think it's a harsh red," said Tandy. "If you put yourself in a position like that, you're in the hands of the gods. We have to be better and not bring TMOs [television match official] into play. Those are the things we can control." ...

Makhachev dominates Della Maddalena in UFC win

Islam Makhachev joined the elite list of two-weight champions by beating Jack Della Maddalena to become the new UFC welterweight title holder. Former lightweight champion Makhachev becomes only the 11th fighter to win titles across two divisions in the UFC following a dominant victory at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Russian was awarded a unanimous points victory from the five-round contest at UFC 322, with all three scorecards having him 50-45 up as his grappling skills proved decisive. "I feel amazing," Makhachev told the UFC website. "I try to control my emotions but I am so happy. "Jack is one of the best in this game. We trained hard to prepare for him. It's why we made this easy, it's because we trained so hard for him." Makhachev, who is coached by UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov and has not lost a fight since 2015, improved his record to 28 wins and one loss. Australian Della Maddalena lost for the first time since May 2016 and has three defeats and 18 wins from 21 fights. Makhachev wants to fight at the UFC's White House event next summer and added: "I am ready to fight with the biggest names in this sport." Shevchenko sees off Weili challenge Valentina Shevchenko beat Zhang Weili in defence of her UFC flyweight belt and joined Amanda Nunes on 11 at the top of the list of women with the most UFC title fight wins. Shevchenko, who is top of the women's pound-for-pound rankings, overwhelmed her opponent from China to emerge a 50-45, 50-45, 50-45 winner. The 37-year-old's victory also means she is only the second woman to become a two-division UFC champion after Nunes, although she is the first to do it at strawweight and flyweight. "It was an amazing fight," said Shevchenko, who has a record of 26 wins, four defeats and a draw. "I was trying to show the dominant positions in every aspect and don't have any questions that this fight is mine. Weili, who vacated her strawweight belt in February, moved up in weight for the fight and was beaten for the first time since November 2021. ...

Italy fighting to avoid another 'apocalyptic' World Cup failure

Four-time winners Italy are one of the most successful nations in World Cup history - but are in danger of missing the finals for the third successive time. After failing to qualify for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, Italy are second in their group, three points behind leaders Norway, who play the Azzurri in Milan in the decider on Sunday. But Italy need to win by a nine-goal margin at the San Siro to automatically qualify because Norway's goal difference is far superior. Therefore Italy will likely be dropping into the play-offs, which have been a source of recent heartbreak and embarrassment. They lost 1-0 on aggregate to Sweden to miss out on the 2018 World Cup, then four years later suffered one of their most humiliating defeats, beaten 1-0 at home by North Macedonia to end their hopes of qualifying for the 2022 tournament. For the first time, the 2026 World Cup, which will be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States next June and July, will feature 48 nations. Italian football journalist James Horncastle, speaking on the Euro Leagues podcast, said: "Even with an expanded World Cup, that is going to be bigger than ever, for Italy to miss out - it was called apocalyptic the first time they missed out in 2017, I don't know what stage of the apocalypse we are in now." Nightmare start put Italy under pressure Italy won the European Championship in 2021, but have not played at a World Cup finals since 2014 when they beat England but lost to Costa Rica and Uruguay and failed to make it beyond the group phase. Their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign could not have got off to a worse start. A tame 3-0 loss in their opener against Norway, with Manchester City's Erling Haaland scoring one of the goals, led to manager Luciano Spalletti publicly announcing his own sacking two days later, though he still took charge of the following 2-0 home win over Moldova. From then on, Italy have been playing catch-up, with flawless Norway winning their opening seven qualifiers, scoring 33 goals in the process, including 14 for Haaland. Italy turned to Gennaro Gattuso, a former combative midfielder who helped AC Milan twice win the Champions League and Italy secure their last World Cup trophy in 2006. Despite managing AC Milan and then winning the Coppa Italia with Napoli, a 23-day spell at Fiorentina saw him leave without taking charge of a game, before he only lasted seven months at Valencia and five months at Marseille. His most recent appointment had been with Croatian club Hajduk Split, and many felt him becoming Italy manager was a mistake. "When I heard Gattuso was in line it just seemed to demonstrate the giant collapse of Italy," Italian football journalist Mina Rzouki told the Euro Leagues podcast. "There were so many clips going around on social media about that Italy team just before they won the World Cup and you are talking about Paolo Maldini, [Fabio] Cannavaro, [Alessandro] Nesta, [Francesco] Totti, [Alessandro] Del Piero and it was just an embarrassment of riches. "Now when you look at Italy over the last few seasons, even though they won the Euros, there was just a fall - but the one thing you could rely on was that Italy created these great coaches. Yet none of these great coaches were called up or have succeeded. Spalletti did not succeed." Horncastle added: "The players have had their backs against the wall after losing to Norway in June and now the approach that is being imposed on Italy by the Italian media is 'you have to win all your remaining games and have to score lots and lots of goals'. "Italy had a great coach in Luciano Spalletti, although, for whatever reason, it didn't work out. Gattuso is a more famous manager for his press conferences than the football he has put on the pitch."...

Townsend eyes All Blacks upset after Scots rout US

Scotland's players now believe they can beat New Zealand for the first time ever, says head coach Gregor Townsend, after his side started their autumn campaign with a record win over the United States. Darcy Graham and Jamie Dobie both scored hat-tricks as the Scots ran in 13 tries to blow away the Americans 85-0 in what was their biggest ever win in 100 years of playing at Murrayfield. Now attention turns to Saturday's showdown with the All Blacks in Edinburgh, with Scotland aiming to record a first victory in the fixture at the 33rd attempt. The Scots lost by eight points in 2022, five in 2017, and eight again three years before that. "It's a huge match. This game has been sold out for a while. Everyone loves watching the All Blacks," Townsend told BBC Scotland. "We've had two cracking matches against them [in recent years], but not delivered that winning performance. All these experiences, today included, have to be put into an 80-minute performance. "The players can take confidence from how well they've trained this week. We have to build that cohesion pretty quickly. There's no reason why we can't. The guys will be up for it and have the belief they can do it." With the USA match falling outside the designated Test window, Scotland were without key players such as Finn Russell, Blair Kinghorn and Ben White, but were ruthless in the fashion they dismantled their opponents. Darcy Graham and Jamie Dobie both scored hat-tricks and Duhan Van der Merwe helped himself to two tries on his 50th cap. Dylan Richardson, Kyle Rowe, Stafford McDowall, George Horne, and Ollie Smith also scored. "Straight away, the players were very cohesive, which is hard to achieve in a week's training," Townsend said. "We asked for effort and physicality and we got that for most of the game. We were aggressive and disciplined in the main and the players worked hard for each other. "We know next week will be a much bigger challenge and the team will be much-changed too."...

England win thriller to clinch Wheelchair Ashes

Wheelchair Rugby League Ashes, second Test Australia (30) 42 Tries: Karim, McKenna 2, Tannock, Anstey 2, Schumacher. Goals: McKenna 7. England (18) 48 Tries: Hawkins 2, O'Neill, Brown 2, King 3, Coyd. Goals: Collins 5, Hawkins. Joe Coyd scored a try two minutes from time as England produced a stunning second-half fightback to beat Australia in the final Test and win the Wheelchair Rugby League Ashes. Australia led 30-18 at half-time, but England scored six tries after the break to clinch the series 2-0 at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre in Queensland. England also came from behind to win the first Test 56-28 on Thursday. Diab Karim opened the scoring for Australia with a try after two minutes of the second Test. Two tries from England's Rob Hawkins, who scored a hat-trick in the opening Test, and one from Finlay O'Neill were cancelled out by two Bayley McKenna scores, and Adam Tannock and Dan Anstey tries. Jack Brown instigated England's fightback in the second half, scoring twice and setting up two tries for captain Lewis King, who ended with a hat-trick. Tries from Zac Schumacher and Anstey brought Australia level at 42-42 before England substitute Mason Billington's cool final pass sent Coyd over for the winner. Australia host the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup in 2026. England and France have dominated the tournament since its inception in 2008, but the 'Wheelaroos' showed their development in this series....

Will Old Firm raise bar of mayhem another notch at Hampden?

So, a stock take since the last time Rangers and Celtic met in the goalless snoozeathon at Ibrox on the final day of August... A game in which Celtic required 71 minutes to get a shot on target, and a stalemate that confirmed Rangers had made their worst start to a league season since 1983. Martin (Russell) is out at Rangers and Martin (O'Neill) is in at Celtic. Danilo, the £6m Rangers striker, has scored in back-to-back games for the first time in almost a year. Youssef Chermiti, the £8m Rangers striker, has finally scored after two-and-a-half years without a goal. On Wednesday, Johnny Kenny became the first Celtic striker to score twice in a game since Adam Idah in April. In the match against an admittedly obliging Falkirk, Celtic scored four times in 90 minutes having scored only 12 in the 810 league minutes that went before. On Sunday at Hampden, when the teams go head-to-head in the League Cup semi-final, there will be a new/old Celtic manager and a rookie Rangers head coach, a 73-year-old in one dugout and a 36-year-old in the other. O'Neill has managed in 27 Old Firm games, the first of them when his Sunday counterpart, Danny Rohl, was just 11. After Martin, Barry Ferguson and Philippe Clement, Rohl will become the fourth manager to lead Rangers into an Old Firm game this year. O'Neill, who since his return has been going around calling everybody "young man", is basking in the adulation of the Celtic fans. He got off to a good start with that 4-0 win against Falkirk. Celtic have now won 53% of all games this season. Desperately poor, but at least O'Neill improved matters a tad. Rangers have won 33% of their games. Hopeless, but getting better under Rohl, who has tweaked his formation, going three at the back with more tempo in the team. The German, who logic says should be eaten alive by the horrible rigors of his job at Ibrox, also looks like he's revelling in the gig. He's now won two league games in a row, something that was beyond his predecessor. Rangers also kept a clean sheet on the road on Wednesday, having failed on that front for 25 games on the bounce dating back to December. They had a late Jack Butland penalty save against Hibs to thank for that, of course. All season long, these clubs have been basket cases, full of internal strife and external noise. It's been ugly. ...

'I'm free' - £1m Smith provides Arsenal spark