Kieran Offord magic can be just the tonic David Healy needs to put right Linfield's past Euro Play-Off pain in all-island duel
And with Kieran Offord in this devastating form, the Blues will believe they can replicate Larne's 2024 European fairytale.
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Scotsman
a few seconds ago
- Scotsman
Predicted Premier League table 25/26: Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea title odds assessed
Here's how the bookies predict the English Premier League will look in 25/26. Cr: Getty Images. | Getty Images Here's how the English Premier League table is predicted to look at the end of the 25/26 season - including Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea's title odds. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The return of the English Premier League is now just hours away, with supporters across the country getting ready for their team's opening game of the season this weekend. Liverpool enter the new campaign with their eyes firmly on retaining their title following last year's success, though Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea are all determined to knock them off their perch and return to the very top of the English game. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Newcastle United, Aston Villa, and Manchester United are all hoping to push for European positions to this season, with the trio all harbouring hopes of Champions League qualification, and maybe even more. Leeds United, Sunderland and Burnley will be hoping to keep their heads above water after winning promotion back to the top flight in May, while Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford and will be hoping for a new manager bounce following their summer appointments of Thomas Frank and Keith Andrews respectively. But how will each team fare come the end of the campaign? Here is where every team is predicted to finish in the Scottish Premiership table come May*.
The Sun
a few seconds ago
- The Sun
Itauma told ‘anything other than becoming world champion is a failure' with Brit ‘more impressive than Joshua and Fury'
DAVID HAYE is more impressed by the talent of Moses Itauma than he has been with any other heavyweight - including Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury. Itauma debuted at 18 and was already being dubbed Britain's answer to a prime Mike Tyson - who became the youngest heavyweight world champion ever at 20. 6 6 6 Slovakian-born and Kent-raised Itauma even wanted to break Iron Mike's record which has stood for nearly 40 years. He fell short but Haye - who reigned at cruiserweight and heavyweight - says it is only a matter of time until he has gold around his waist. The Hayemaker retired in 2018 when AJ and Fury were at their brilliant world championship best. But neither British legend has caught his eye as much as 20-year-old KO starlet Itauma. Haye told SunSport, courtesy of HighBet: "Way more impressed, way more impressed with him than any of the others. "He's the best guy coming through that I've seen. He looks as good as you're gonna get. He looks as good as I've ever seen. "I can't think of another fighter in that few heavyweight fights that has looked as devastating and hasn't shown any chink in the armour. "Everything looks on point, he's got the right mindset. You don't hear about him out partying and all that bulls***. 6 Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte - all the info One of the biggest fights of the year has arrived! The highly-touted Moses Itauma faces the biggest test of his fledgling career as he steps into the ring with Dillian Whyte on Saturday night. Itauma, 20, has great expectations on his shoulders - he has been compared to Mike Tyson and is expected by many to dominate boxing's heavyweight division over the next decade. But the Slovakian-born star - who sits at 12-0 (10KOs) is yet to face a test anywhere close to what Whyte can offer. The Body Snatcher is now 37 and has not looked great in his last couple of fights, but the former world title challenger knows an upset win would catapult him right back to the top table. Watch Itauma vs Whyte LIVE on DAZN Here's everything you need to know ahead of the fight... INFO Start time, TV channel and live stream - all the info How to watch Itauma vs Whyte for £19.99 Tickets - all the info for Itauma vs Whyte in Saudi Arabia What is Moses Itauma's real name and why did he change it? LATEST NEWS Itauma on critics who WANT him to get hit Anthony Yarde on first Itauma meeting when he was just 13 How Whyte could be stripped of greatest weapon in fight Body Snatcher shows off incredible body transformation Whyte happy to be the underdog against Itauma Whyte's trainer reveals he's NEVER watched Itauma fight "He was focused on becoming the youngest ever heavyweight champion and he wants to do some crazy stuff in a sport. "Anything other than becoming world heavyweight champion would be a complete failure. I love that. "I love the fact that he's not in it to be the British champion, the European champion. I'm sure just winning the world title wouldn't be enough. Itauma - who has 10 KO's in his 12 wins - steps up for his biggest test to date on Saturday in Riyadh against Dillian Whyte. And if he takes out ex-WBC title challenger Whyte in dominant fashion - Haye reckons Itauma could be the only man capable of mounting a real threat to Oleksandr Usyk's throne. He said: "You can't even think about Usyk because we don't know if he can beat Dillian. "But, if he smashes Dillian in a couple of rounds, we all got to have that conversation. We all wanna say, is it too soon or is it perfect? "Is he just ready right now? If he gets rid of Dillian in a few rounds, I'd say he's got a shot. He's got a better shot than most. "I'd say the only person who's got a better shot than him would be Derek Chisora because Derek Chisora's already done it once. He's the best guy coming through that I've seen. He looks as good as you're gonna get. He looks as good as I've ever seen. David Haye on Moses Itauma "He's already been in there and pushed the hardest out of any heavyweight. "So if he can get rid of Dillian in a few rounds and not have a life and death, then yeah, cool. Who else is there to beat Usyk?" Whyte comes into the bout as a huge underdog and inactive at the top level - with his most meaningful win coming in 2022 against Jermaine Franklin. He was due to rematch Joshua - who he lost to in 2015 - back in August 2023 but Whyte was pulled out amid a doping breach. He returned an "adverse finding" in his pre-fight drug test - which was later put down to a "contaminated" supplement meaning he served no ban. Whyte continued his career with underwhelming wins over Christian Hammer in Ireland and Ebenezer Tetteh in Gibraltar last year. So Haye - who used to spar Whyte - hailed the Brixton Body Snatcher for taking on red-hot favourite Itauma after a period in the cold. 'It's bordering disrespectful' He said: "Dillian has been massively overlooked here. I think some of the stuff I've heard, it's bordering disrespectful. "People seem to have a short memory about the Joseph Parker victory. "The Chisora victories in epic fights that everyone had a great night of entertainment and after strength of his last two performances, he didn't look that great. "He looked like his best days are behind him and at the start, I thought he was just gonna go through the motions and just assume he'll be good enough. "But seeing the shape he's coming, looking at his body, that looks like a prime Dillian Whyte. "That looks like Dillian Whyte that turned up to fight Chisora because he knew he was in for a battle. "He knew that wasn't going to be nice and he was mentally prepared for a tough, tough battle. "And Moses has all the potential but potentials don't win world titles performances do, proving it against world-class opposition. "So this is his first opportunity to fight a world-class heavyweight who is genuinely coming to win not turning up for a paycheck, he's coming to win. "And Moses, he may have felt that energy a little bit in his career, but he would never have felt it like it's gonna feel on Saturday." 6 6
BBC News
a few seconds ago
- BBC News
Holders enter fray & Ibrox debutants - things to watch in Premier Sports Cup
Knockout football veers into view this weekend with the second round of the Premier Sports host promoted Falkirk, while third-tier Alloa Athletic's reward for topping their group is a visit to Ibrox to take on Russell Martin's stumbling United visit Championship rivals Partick Thistle, Aberdeen are away to another Championship side in Greenock Morton, with relegated St Johnstone host top-flight the back of Thursday's European action, Dundee United and Hibernian visit Premiership opposition in the shape of Kilmarnock and promoted Livingston, what to look out for across the eight matches... Will Falkirk attack Celtic? The last time Falkirk went to Celtic Park, the then-Championship side flew out of the blocks and went at from Ross MacIver and Finn Yeats had John McGlynn's side 2-1 up at half-time, before a double apiece for Adam Idah and Nicolas Kuhn ensured Celtic avoided an it was notable how McGlynn's front-foot play was able to cause problems against Scotland's dominant club a straightforward group-stage campaign, it has been a more difficult return to the top flight for the Bairns, who drew against Dundee United before falling to a 3-1 defeat at bogey team those setbacks lead to tweaks from McGlynn or will he stick to his approach and take the game to a Celtic side who might have one eye on Wednesday's Champions League play-off home leg against Kairat Almaty?"For us, a reference was how well we did there last season," McGlynn said. "We've got to take a bit of confidence and belief from that."We're always going to create chances with the type of team we are. We want to come out of Celtic Park with our heads held high and who knows? Maybe in the quarter-finals." Can Hearts maintain perfect start under McInnes? Derek McInnes made it clear in his pre-match news conference on Wednesday that he is targeting silverware in his first season with Hearts, who haven't won this competition since don't have the best record in Paisley but can take heart from a gritty Scottish Cup win on penalties there last season. They also go into the match off six straight wins, having beaten two of last season's top-six Premiership teams have an opportunity to take a third scalp against the Buddies and McInnes was bullish when asked about his team's prospects in the cup competitions."I've said this to them a few times. There's not one player should have signed for Hearts without having that aspiration to win a trophy here," the former Kilmarnock and Aberdeen boss said."If we don't win the cup, it doesn't mean we were wrong to say it. I don't think you're setting yourself up for a fall. We do believe we're good enough to go the full way and there's no point believing otherwise."The head coach has talked the talk. His team now need to walk the walk. Rangers debuts for Moore & Aasgaard? Ridiculous amount of shots faced across games this ponderous build-up play, particularly against teams favouring a low block. One imagines that will be Alloa Athletic's gameplan at Ibrox on Martin said before Tuesday's defeat by Viktoria Plzen that summer signings Thelo Aasgaard and Mikey Moore could both be fit to make debuts this Russell Martin make sweeping changes and grant opportunities to fringe members of his squad or will he look to build understanding and favour continuity? How will United & Hibs cope after European travails? Both Dundee United and Hibernian were in Conference League qualifying action on Thursday evening, but with mixed Hibs progressed to the play-off round with a 4-3 aggregate win against Partizan after extra time, United endured the agony of defeat on penalties after being tied 4-4 with Rapid Vienna following 210 minutes of packed schedule that accompanies European football is a significant challenge for teams as they attempt to maintain domestic form while attempting to secure a group-stage spot and the riches that have taken one point from the two league matches that have immediately followed their European efforts this season, while Hibs have had more joy having claimed four both facing top-flight opposition on the road this weekend, their squad depth will be tested again. Can 'mature' Kirk down Motherwell? Tyrone Smith, BBC Sport ScotlandHaving completed his multi-million pound move from Motherwell to Udinese, the spotlight won't fall on Lennon Miller, when his former club travel to St Johnstone on perhaps it will fall on another talented youngster - 21-year-old Saints striker Makenzie Perth side may have been relegated from the Premiership last season, but Kirk caught the eye, netting 11 Johnstone boss Simo Valakari has confirmed there has, unsurprisingly, been transfer interest in the Northern Irish added: "These players are very rare and to have a player at his age who still has a lot of potential to fulfil - of course there will be interest."He is our player, we don't have the urgency or panic to sell. I would be more than happy if he is our player when this window closes."Despite being in and out of the Saints starting XI this season, he has still scored four goals."He has been top notch, pushing very hard every day - that tells me he is young in age but mature in his head," Valakari Kirk and his Finnish manager will hope that hard work pays off as the Perth side seek a quarter-final spot.
