New Zealand remain on top after taking a 158-run lead

Hemant Brar31-Jul-2025The Zimbabwe bowlers put in a more disciplined performance on the second day of the first Test in Bulawayo, but Daryl Mitchell’s gritty 80 ensured New Zealand kept their advantage intact.New Zealand started the day on 92 for no loss and marched to 158 for 1 before losing five wickets for 42 runs. But Mitchell, with the help of the lower order, steered them to 307, ensuring a lead of 158. New Zealand then removed the Zimbabwe openers before stumps, still 127 ahead.In the morning, Blessing Muzarabani gave Zimbabwe a dream start, removing Will Young with the first ball of the day. It was a short delivery and Young fended it towards Nick Welch, who was slightly deeper than usual at short leg and completed the catch with a dive. Welch was not sure if he had taken it cleanly, but the TV umpire found no issues with it.Devon Conway was fluent at the other end. With Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga operating from around the wicket, he used the cover drive to good effect and picked up three boundaries with it in three successive overs. Muzarabani switched to over the wicket to deny Conway but by then he was into the last over of his spell.Henry Nicholls, playing his first Test since December 2023, came in at No. 3 and looked a little uncertain. The Zimbabwe seamers found his outside edge a couple of times but they did not carry to the slip cordon. Nicholls grew in confidence as he spent time in the middle. When Newman Nyamhuri missed his line or length, he pounced on it, taking 22 runs off just 24 balls from the left-arm seamer. During this, he also completed 3000 Test runs.Blessing Muzarabani celebrates Michael Bracewell’s dismissal•Zimbabwe Cricket

Conway and Nicholls took New Zealand into the lead before Muzarabani returned to end the 66-run stand for the second wicket. Seeing Nicholls back away, Muzarabani followed him. Two balls earlier, Nicholls had hit a boundary using the same ploy. But this time, he was cramped and ended up hitting the ball straight to Brian Bennett at gully.That triggered a collapse in which New Zealand lost five wickets for 42 runs.Rachin Ravindra was the next to fall, edging Sikandar Raza to slip, where Craig Ervine completed an otherwise regulation catch on the second attempt.After lunch, Chivanga got the reward for his hard work. His extra bounce had Conway, on 88, miscuing an uppercut to Bennett, who took his second catch at gully. In his next over, Chivanga used the short ball to get rid of Tom Blundell, who pulled one into the lap of deep square leg.Muzarabani, too, used the short ball to have Michael Bracewell top-edging a pull. For a moment, it looked like wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga had misjudged it but he put in a full-stretch dive in the end to complete the catch near fine leg. That left New Zealand at 200 for 6.Mitchell and Mitchell Santner added 33 for the seventh wicket to lend the innings some stability before Santner chipped one back to legspinner Vincent Masekesa. After that, Mitchell took the lead. In the company of Nathan Smith, he brought up his fifty and added 61 for the eighth wicket. Smith played his part by scoring 22 and resisting for 79 balls, of which he took two on the body. He had to eventually retire hurt.With Matt Henry falling soon after and Smith not coming back, Mitchell was forced to take risks. He moved across his stumps to scoop Nyamhuri but missed and lost his middle stump. By then, though, New Zealand had regained their advantage. They extended it when Henry had Ben Curran hooking one to fine leg and Will O’Rourke had Bennett edging one to the wicketkeeper before stumps.

Chamari Athapaththu has been named captain of the 15-member squad

Madushka Balasuriya10-Sep-2025Veteran left-arm seamer Udeshika Prabodhani has returned to the Sri Lanka squad for the upcoming Women’s World Cup after nearly a year-long injury layoff.Batter Imesha Dulani, who was dropped for the home tri-series against India and South Africa earlier this year, is also in the 15-member squad for the tournament in India and Sri Lanka beginning on September 30. Teenagers Rashmika Sewwandi and Manudi Nanayakkara, batter Hansima Karunaratne, and spinner Inoshi Fernando were not picked.Prabodhani, 39, last represented Sri Lanka during the Women’s T20 World Cup in October last year and hasn’t played an ODI since the tour of Ireland in August 2024. She was recovering from a persistent hamstring injury and her return will boost Sri Lanka’s seam attack, which includes 35-year-old Achini Kulasuriya and 24-year-old Malki Madara.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Dulani, 23, replaced 17-year-old Nanayakkara in the squad and will likely serve as back-up batter. The captain Chamari Athapaththu heads a settled batting unit that includes Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Piumi Wathsala and Anushka Sanjeewani.Even with the exclusion of Inoshi, Sri Lanka still have plenty of spin options in Dewmi Vihanga, Inoka Ranaweera and Sugandika Kumari, and also the allrounders Athapaththu and Dilhari.Sri Lanka begin their World Cup campaign against India in Guwahati on September 30 and then play their next four games in Colombo before travelling to Navi Mumbai to take on Bangladesh. They then return home for their final league game against Pakistan.

Sri Lanka squad for Women’s ODI World Cup 2025

Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Nilakshika Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Imesha Dulani, Hasini Perera, Achini Kulasuriya, Piumi Wathsala, Dewmi Vihanga, Malki Madara, Udeshika Prabodhani, Sugandika Kumari, Inoka Ranaweera.

Both players were off the field for large portions of the second innings against Sri Lanka

Shashank Kishore26-Sep-20252:05

Is captaincy affecting SKY’s form?

Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach, has allayed concerns around the fitness of Hardik Pandya and Abhishek Sharma leading into Sunday’s Asia Cup final against Pakistan in Dubai.Hardik held his left hamstring and walked off the field after bowling the first over of Sri Lanka’s innings on Friday, in which he dismissed Kusal Mendis for a first-ball duck. Hardik didn’t return to take the field for the remainder of the innings.”Hardik had cramps, he will be assessed tonight and tomorrow morning, we’ll then take a call on that,” Morkel said at the post-match press conference. India’s bowling coach was merely reiterating what India captain Suryakumar Yadav said at the post-match presentation.Meanwhile, Abhishek too spent the entire second half of Sri Lanka’s innings off the field. Abhishek showed signs of discomfort in the ninth over, when he clutched onto his right thigh while running. He eventually left the field in the 10th over, just before a Pathum Nissanka six was signalled dead ball because he hadn’t left the field before Varun Chakravarthy began to run in to bowl.Like Hardik, Abhishek too spent the rest of the innings being iced and treated with pickle juice to ease cramps. Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Jitesh Sharma came on as substitute fielders at different points. At one point, even Tilak Varma was briefly off the field, but he soon returned after a hydration break.With the Sri Lanka game stretching way beyond its scheduled close due to the Super Over finish, India are left with an even shorter turnaround time before they take the field on Sunday. Morkel stressed on the need for the players to recover, and stay away from training on Saturday.”The key for the boys is to rest,” he said. “They’re in an ice bath already. The recovery started straight after the match. The best way to recover is sleep and stay off your feet. Hopefully they can get a good night’s sleep.”There will be individual pool sessions for the guys organised. Then some massages before they get mentally ready for the big battle on Sunday. It’s a quick turnaround, and playing smart is going to be the key. There will certainly be no training.”

‘Arshdeep, Harshit are X-factors’

Morkel also touched upon the challenges players like Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana face when being called upon to deliver at a crucial stage in the competition. On Friday against Sri Lanka, the pair returned combined figures of 2 for 100 of eight overs in India’s defence of 202, before a nerveless Arshdeep delivered in the Super Over to seal victory.”In our environment we want to move away from an excuse culture,” he said. “The effort they put in at training, we expect them to go out there and deliver. Yes, sometimes lack of game time is a factor. You can bowl as many overs as you like in the nets, but nothing beats game time.”The quality of work we put in, we expect the guys to deliver. At the moment, things aren’t happening for them but the team is winning, they’re all X-factor players and real match winners.”

Former NZ quick suggests caution since another injury in the same spot where Bumrah has already had back surgery “could be a career-ender”

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Mar-20251:54

Bond: Transition from IPL to Tests a danger period for Bumrah

Another back injury for Jasprit Bumrah in the same spot where he had surgery “could be a career-ender” according to former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond, whose career ended prematurely due to chronic back problems.Bumrah has not played since he walked off for scans on the second afternoon of the New Year’s Test in Sydney this year. What was reported as back spasms then turned to be a stress-related injury, which forced him to miss the Champions Trophy. Bumrah is currently at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru doing rehab and there is no clarity yet on when he will be fully fit or whether he will start for Mumbai Indians (MI) at IPL 2025.This is the first time Bumrah has suffered a back injury since he had surgery in March 2023. Bond, who has worked with Bumrah in the past – he was bowling coach with MI for several years – and is currently in India as bowling coach at Rajasthan Royals, said that Bumrah’s workloads need to be managed conservatively to avoid another relapse.Related

• Bumrah to miss Oval Test against England; Akash Deep likely to replace him

• Shane Bond: 'If you ask any injured player if they're okay to play, they'll say yes'

“When he went off for scans, it was at Sydney, there was some messaging coming up around that he had sprains and stuff like that,” Bond told ESPNcricinfo in a wide-ranging chat* during the Champions Trophy, when he was one of the experts on the analysis show Match Day. “I worried that it wasn’t going to be a sprain, it might be a bony injury around that area [the back]. I thought he may struggle to make the Champions Trophy if it was.”Bond was probably the first fast bowler, at least this century, to undergo back surgery, which he had at 29, the same age at which Bumrah had his surgery. Despite persistent injuries Bond continued to play until he was 34 before deciding to retire, first from Tests and then from all formats in less than six months. In a chat with ESPNcricinfo in 2010, Bond said, “I broke if I played few games on the bounce” in first-class cricket and he was sick and tired of doing rehab.The “danger” zone where fast bowlers suffer injuries, according to Bond, is when they quickly transition from T20 to Test cricket. And that, Bond highlighted, would be his primary concern for Bumrah too, considering India will travel to England to play five-Test series in June barely a month after the IPL ends on May 25.”Look, I think Booms will be fine, but it’s just that [workload] management [matters],” Bond said. “Looking at the tours and the schedule going forward, where are the opportunities to give him a break, but really where are the danger periods? And often it is that the [transition from] IPL to the Test championship will be a risk.Jasprit Bumrah poses with his ICC Awards for 2024•ICC/Getty Images

“Anywhere you transition from particularly T20 to a Test match, it’s challenging. If you are playing a one-day series, it’s generally not too bad. You will play three games a week, you will have a practice, you are sort of in around that 40 overs [range], that’s pretty close to a Test match week anyway. But in T20, particularly in the IPL, when you might be playing three games in a week, there’s two days of travel, you might get one training [session], you are sort of bowling 20 overs maybe if you’re lucky. That’s sort of half of a Test match load or even under a half of, which then is a big jump and you are not bowling back-to-back days. That’s a big jump when you transition out of that.”India’s schedule for the England tour is a tight one with five Tests between June 28 and August 3. Bond said that India cannot give Bumrah the kind of workload he carried during the 2024-25 Australia tour, which also comprised five Tests. Overall, Bumrah bowled 151.2 overs in nine innings including 52 in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, his most in a Test match.Going forward, Bond said, he would not want Bumrah to play more than two consecutive Tests at one go.”He’s too valuable for the next World Cup and stuff. So you’d be looking at five Tests in England, I wouldn’t want to be playing him in any more than two in a row. Coming out of the back end of the IPL into a Test match is going to be a huge risk. And so how do they manage that is going to be key.”They may say, look, it’s four Test matches in total. Or three. If we can get him through the English summer and he’s fit, we can probably then go with some confidence that we can carry him across the rest of the formats. So that’s hard because he is your best bowler, but if he has another injury in the same spot, that could be a career-ender, potentially, because I’m not sure you can have surgery on that spot again.”With the Indian domestic season over, the IPL is the only competitive series Bumrah can feature in before the England tour. While Bond felt the IPL “maybe touch and go” for Bumrah, he said “there will be an element of risk depending on the intensity that he’s bowling at by the time he gets back”.Bond said that it was also Bumrah’s responsibility to work in tandem with the decision-makers in Indian cricket to chart out a safe path that would help him extend his career. “So it’s going to take some good management and just some open conversations with the player and say, look, we are doing this with your best interest in your career. Any player who’s gone through that, and having myself [gone through it], you are desperate to play, but you also understand there are some risks at certain times and you have to make some compromises.”* The full interview will be published on ESPNcricinfo later this month.

The focus will be on West Ham United’s Felipe Anderson and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on Monday night when the Hammers welcome the Reds to the London Stadium in an important league clash for both sides.

Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping his team can put in a more disciplined performance against the league leaders following a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers last week.

This will require a better showing from Pellegrini’s main players, like Anderson, who has been a standout performer for the East London club this campaign.

Three defeats in as many games have seen West Ham struggling for consistency and despite the commitment from Marko Arnautovic to remain at the club for the remainder of the season, at least, a player like Anderson has failed to take responsibility when the team has had its back against the wall.

But, the quality of the 25-year-old will have any team in the competition a bit worried and Liverpool will need to be at their defensive best to keep him quiet come kick-off.

Anderson could particularly be dangerous to the Liverpool defence who are currently without Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez and if Jurgen Klopp decides to play Jordan Henderson at right-back again, Anderson could really fancy himself on the left-wing to cause them trouble.

With Manchester City breathing down Liverpool’s neck, following their 3-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday,  Klopp will be ever reliant on the brilliance of Salah from now on to guide Liverpool through this challenging part of the season and maybe the Premier League crown.

Liverpool struggled to get going against Leicester City last week and will need the likes of Salah and Roberto Firmino to step-up and put West Ham to the sword.

However, it could be Anderson who has the last laugh.

There’s no doubt about it – throughout the course of the 2014/15 campaign, Chelsea’s John Terry ultimately proved one of the most reliable standout performers across the entire Premier League spectrum.

The 34-year-old Blues skipper not only maintain his own usually high standard of performance on a week-to-week basis last term, but he has proved willing and able to organise every defender in the Chelsea back-line, subsequently serving Jose Mourinho will the strongest defence operating in the English top flight in 2014/15.

However, even though much of Chelsea’s success last season depended on their resolute defending and determined organisation at the back, John Terry’s future in the first team plans at Stamford Bridge ultimately remains unconfirmed at this stage in the game…

Much has been made of Mourinho’s recent decision to substitute the long-term Blues captain midway through his side’s defeat to Manchester City last weekend.

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So then, does the former England skipper still deserve his seemingly guaranteed spot within Jose Mourinho’s starting XI this term, or is this now the beginning of the end for John Terry?

Despite previously helping his side lift numerous domestic titles throughout the years, managing to stay fit and healthy at the not so peak age of 34-years-old, and simply proving a vital asset for Chelsea since Roman Abramovich took the club to the next level with his masses of post-communist fall-out wealth – yes, John Terry should arguably be dropped in the near future at Stamford Bridge.

No stint within the ever competitive Premier League can last for ever after all. No matter how successful certain players have proved since first emerging amongst the English top-flight, their time ultimately comes and goes just like everybody else. The real question is, can the Premier League’s ageing stars bow out with a bit of dignity, or does every culmination of life at the top seemingly end in somewhat jaded circumstances?

Steven Gerrard’s final swansong at Anfield last season proves a perfect case in point. Although the recently established LA Galaxy midfielder simply won’t be forgotten by Reds fans any time soon for his achievements in a Liverpool shirt, Brendan Rodgers arguably would have been better served last term by dropping the former England international much earlier on in the league proceedings.

In failing to do so, though, the Reds ultimately witnessed a Steven Gerrard who looked well off the boil and far from his former self throughout the course of the 2014/15 season.

Chelsea must therefore learn from such a scenario in their dealings with John Terry this campaign. Yes, his well-documented substitution against Manchester City last weekend has been blown out of proportion somewhat recently – but it will nevertheless likely act as a firm reminder of things to come at Stamford Bridge.

However, whilst John Terry can arguably no longer be counted upon throughout the duration of the upcoming campaign, sourcing an adequate replacement for the Chelsea skipper may prove slightly trickier than most would have initially expected. The likes of Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic and Kurt Zouma simply don’t offer enough strength in depth at the back without the presence of their reliable captain in place.

Dipping into the ever problematic summer transfer window for a promising centre-back may also test the club’s resolve this season. Whilst someone likes John Stones could potentially fill in at the back for Chelsea this term, his rumoured £40million price tag would surely put the Blues off with all things considered. Stones is a good player no doubt, but he’ll simply never be that good at the end of the day.

Ultimately then, whilst Chelsea’s back-line somewhat won the title for their team across the duration of last season, such a difficult task just won’t prove so easy this time around it seems. John Terry can certainly still do a positive job for Jose Mourinho this term of course – but at the grand old age of 34-years-old – the long-term Chelsea captain’s days at the top are rapidly becoming numbered in the modern era.

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It’s been a tough 24 hours to be an Arsenal fan. As soon as the transfer window slammed (because it never merely closes) shut, rival supporters started rolling out the vines, memes, pictures and gifs stored up specifically for goading Gooners.

The reaction has, of course, been all brought on by a disappointing summer of transfer activity, in which the Gunners only signed Petr Cech, while rivals such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City all invested heavily to bring in talented stars both from at home and abroad.

The particularly galling ‘stat’ for Arsenal supporters as the clock ticked on Tuesday was that their club were the only outfit in any of Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A) to fail to bring in an outfield player during the ENTIRE window.

Alas, we still think there is plenty to positive about, and here are FIVE reasons ‘Deadline Day-gate’ is really not an issue in North London…

Their one signing is, arguably, one of the best of summer

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Why use a scattergun approach when a precision drill is needed? Arsenal have depth and options, but the goalkeeper dilemma was the biggest issue facing Wenger going into the summer. Not even the most stringent of Spurs fans can deny that Cech is a huge upgrade on Wojciech Szczesny, and it’s hard to argue against the Czech Republic international being among the top five, maybe even three, goalies in the Premier League.

Real depth

Okay, up front Arsenal are a little light in terms of options, but in basically every other department the Gunners have quality and plenty of depth. Starting from the very back, Petr Cech and David Ospina are two good goalies, at centre-back Gabriel is a decent back-up option for Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, while Calum Chambers can also fill in.

On both sides at full-back Wenger can call on plenty of players, while in central midfield Francis Coquelin and Mathieu Flamini offer defensive cover. In the attacking midfield three behind the main striker Arsenal have, perhaps, too many choices, although this ‘problem’ is a positive with the whole season ahead.

Did the Gunners really even need a deadline day signing? Probably not.

The Prem’s most experienced manager

With close to 19 years under his belt at the helm of Arsenal, Wenger personifies the club. Although there has been criticism of late for a lack of silverware, the Frenchman has moulded the Gunners into what they are now, which is one of English football’s top clubs, while operating on somewhat restricted budget.

To put Wenger’s longevity into perspective, his closest ‘rival’ in the hunt for the timescale crown is Leicester City’s Nigel Person, who is yet to crack the four-year mark.

Time and time again Wenger has proven himself in North London, and he’s sure to come through again.

Proven record

Arsenal have had 17 consecutive seasons of Champions League football, underlining their consistent presence at the top end of the Premier League. With Wenger having been present through this period, it’s clear that his influence has been considerable, and his efforts in more recent seasons have been, perhaps, the most impressive with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United having been able to spend heavily.

Wenger has pulled through in tougher circumstances than he looks to be facing now, which bodes well.

Rivals are slipping

Although Arsenal’s opening game ended in a loss, seven points from the subsequent three matches is respectable, and the fact that Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Spurs have all stuttered is encouraging.

Manchester City are very much the team to beat, but the door remains wide, wide open in the hunt for top four football, which is, ultimately, the aim for Arsenal.

Ahead of their titanic Champions League clash it’s appropriate to make comparisons between these two giants of European football. On the pitch the Gunners are massive underdogs against the German champions – Bayern have won their first nine league games this season, a Bundesliga record.

This has prompted their Chilean midfielder, Arturo Vidal, to declare Bayern Munich as the new invincibles, an honour that is normally reserved for Arsenal’s unbeaten champions of 2004.

Back then Bayern Munich were in Arsenal’s shadow, and German football was in disarray, after the national team’s early exit from EURO 2004. In recent years things have been very different for Bayern Munich and Germany, both teams have reached the pinnacle of the game, and they don’t look like relinquishing their powers anytime soon.

Arsenal in comparison have not won a league title since 2004, and are still yet to win the Champions League, leaving the Gunners well behind Bayern Munich in footballing terms.

Why then, with all of this in mind, does a Bayern Munich season ticket cost £104, compared with Arsenal’s season ticket charge of between £1000 and £2000? The disparity is ridiculous, and it brings into question the priorities of Arsenal football club, a club that is renowned for being tight spenders in the transfer window.

The Gunners are in danger of pricing out their loyal fans, and alienating the supporters of the club. Why should an Arsenal fan pay 10 times more than a Bayern fan to watch a team with fewer star players play in a team that is not as good as Bayern’s?

Once again BBC Sport’s The Price of Football has shown the true colours of Arsenal football club. A single match day ticket at Bayern Munich will cost you from £11. An Arsenal ticket will cost you from £27, reaching up to £97.

Regardless of the score in the upcoming Champions League encounter, the Gunners have a lot to learn from their German opponents, both on and off the pitch. Bayern could quite easily charge more for their tickets, although they believe in the integrity of their fans far more than an extra million pounds or two in profit.

The embarrassing thing is Arsenal charge so much more far an experience that is far inferior to what Bayern can offer it’s supporters. Let’s just hope that Arsenal can put in a good performance against Bayern to go some way to paying back the Arsenal fans loyal support.

If not then there will be more reasons than one to criticise Arsenal’s woeful European form.

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Two things keeping reoccurring: Arsenal flirt with the idea of mounting a title change, before reverting to type; while Manchester City try and court Pep Guardiola as the Spaniard flutters his eyelashes at United. So perhaps it’s time Arsenal fixed their problem by offering the Bayern Munich boss a home in London.

Until Pep Guardiola signs a new contract in Germany, speculation will continue as to where his next managerial role will be. The whole saga could be his way of getting the best deal from Bayern. However, he is a man that has spoken of his desire to continue his travels through the footballing world.

Bayern Munich themselves aren’t daunted by the prospect of their manager leaving. Their CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was reported by ESPN saying: “There is no person in this world who can’t be replaced at some point. That’s the state of things. Players come, players go, and the same applies to coaches. They come and they go at one point.”

Guardiola’s detractors (yes, there are plenty) highlight that he inherited good squads at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich. There’s often a sense it was harder to fail in his last two roles than it was to find success.

In this sense Manchester City appear the best fit. They have a squad brimming with potential that Pellegrini’s best efforts have failed to make the dominant force in the Premier League, let alone the Champions League. Combine this with the presence of Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain at the Etihad, two men Guardiola has worked with at Barcelona, and it should be a foregone conclusion.

But Pep prefers Manchester United. This hasn’t gone unnoticed by fans of the Citizens who aren’t exactly waiting with expectant open arms for the Spaniard’s arrival to these shores. After managing two of the classic big names in European football, United offer him the chance to tick-off arguably the biggest name in England.

The problem is they aren’t in the best position right now. He may view the post with suspicion. Since Moyes left, Louis van Gaal has failed to ignite the Old Trafford side. Guardiola would fear being yet another interim manager, trying to reshape a side and inner workings of the club. The looming shadow of Alex Ferguson over a new manager’s achievements could deter him. Unless van Gaal wins the league this year and retires.

These doubts leave the door open for Arsenal to make an offer to Pep. They may lack the perceived stature of United and the spending ability of City, but genetically the team is closer to his style. The Gunners always play beautiful football and each season they feel close to becoming genuine title contenders.

The annual summary is they are only one or two big signings away from breaking the cycle. Arsene Wenger will always be thanked for the success he has brought over the years and his sound financial management as the club coped with the cost of a new stadium. But he has hit a ceiling of his own making and is now stuck in his ways.

Guardiola can bring a few new signings and a fresh approach to the Emirates. He won’t need to reinvent the wheel there. It’s a perfect blueprint for his ideology and taking a team from the capital to Champions League glory would further cement his place as an all-time great.

Wenger should be graceful and allow the man that wanted to come to Arsenal as a player, lead them forward as the manager.

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We’ve been privy to a heavyweight clash almost every weekend in the Premier League so far this season and the coming one is no different, albeit under rather unexpected circumstances.

Many tipped second-place Manchester United to be near the top of the table after 13 games, but few predicted they’d be kept out of pole position by Leicester City, who boast a whopping 28 points, the most wins and the least defeats of any Premier League side.

Indeed, despite the disparity of finance and resources between the two sides, Saturday’s 5.30pm kick-off at the King Power Stadium is essentially a title clash, even if the Midlands outfit are unlikely to still be involved in the race for the English crown come May-time.

Manchester United may boast a superior quality of player but with form, confidence and fate seemingly on their side, the Foxes will fancy another scalp against a team they beat 5-3 in unforgettable fashion last season.

With that in mind, this match could come down to who dominates the key battles. Here are FIVE Football Fancast believe will decide the outcome on Saturday.

THE UNSTOPPABLE FORCE VS THE IMMOVABLE OBJECT

It’s an old adage used frequently in sport but certainly rings true with Saturday’s clash at the King Power stadium.

Leicester City haven’t failed to score in a single Premier League game this season – in no small part due to the efforts of Jamie Vardy – whilst Manchester United boast the best goals conceded record (8) and the most clean sheets (8) throughout the division.

Paradoxically, however, both sides have earned such statuses in rather counter-intuitive ways. The assumption would be that Leicester are an offensive side and that United are a defensive one, but it’s actually the Red Devils who like to dictate the flow and tempo of the match through possession, whilst the Foxes create most of their chances on the break. They’ve actually scored the most counter-attacking goals of any Premier League side this season (3).

So Saturday’s game is shaping up to be a classic battle of the unstoppable force and the immovable object quite like no other. You get the feeling that could play more into Leicester’s hands. They’ve averaged the third-lowest possession of any Premier League side this season – just 45% – and will have no qualms about soaking up pressure to create room for Vardy on the counter.

JAMIE VARDY VS CHRIS SMALLING

The human embodiment of the aforementioned battle between the unstoppable force and the immovable object.

Jamie Vardy has been unquestionably the best striker in the Premier League this season, leading the scoring charts with 13 goals in 13 appearances, whilst Chris Smalling has been amongst its best defenders, featuring in every minute of Manchester United’s league campaign thus far.

Both are overtly physical players, the Leicester City frontman famed for his industrious power-running and the United centre-half’s awkwardly gangly frame reminiscent of a young Martin Keown, and this battle could well come down to who asserts their athletic attributes best.

That being said, Vardy’s finishing has improved immeasurably since the start of the season. If he can find a yard of space and a slither of goal against Smalling, the 28-year-old is likely to find the net – provided the pressure of the occasion, with Ruud van Nistelrooy’s goalscoring record in mind, doesn’t get the better of him.

RIYAD MAHREZ VS MARCOS ROJO/DALEY BLIND

Jamie Vardy may be grabbing all the headlines but the performances of Riyad Mahrez have been arguably more instrumental to Leicester City’s miraculous table-topping rise this season, finding seven goals and six assists in eleven starts whilst averaging the most dribbles per match (3.7) and the eighth most created chances per match (2.4) of any Premier League player.

The Algerian international has proved equally influential on both wings and as a No.10 this season but is most likely to feature in his most common role of right midfield this Saturday, which could spell huge trouble for the Red Devils.

To call United’s left-back situation a crisis would be a tad hyperbolic to say the least. But they’re without a specialist in the absence of Luke Shaw and Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian and Ashley Young have all played at No.3 since his injury in September – which shows how unconvinced Louis van Gaal is by his current back-up options.

The likelihood is that either Blind or Rojo will be selected after starting against Watford and PSV respectively, with the other slotting in at centre-back instead amid the absence of Phil Jones.

But either way, the fact neither are left-backs by trade could cause massive problems upon facing the most potent winger in the Premier League.

JUAN MATA VS CHRISTIAN FUCHS

Essentially a reverse of the aforementioned battle between Riyad Mahrez and Marcos Rojo or Daley Blind.

Juan Mata was dropped by Louis van Gaal in midweek, but it would be incredibly surprising if the Spain international wasn’t reinstated for the visit to the King Power stadium, having provided the most goals (4), most assists (3) and created the most chances per match (1.8) of any Manchester United player this season.

The 27-year-old has proved a useful entity on the right of midfield and will likely start there against the Foxes, which will see him go toe-to-toe with summer arrival Christian Fuchs.

Jeffrey Schlupp has missed just one Premier League fixture for Leicester so far this season but something tells me Claudio Ranieri will elect Fuchs’ experience over the 22-year-old’s youthful physicality on Saturday.

The 28-year-old has impressed when in the starting Xi this season, averaging 2.7 tackles, 3 interceptions and 1 created chance per match, and certainly won’t be overawed by the occasion. He’s claimed 72 caps for Austria and made 29 appearances in European competitions for ex-employers Schalke.

That experience could prove far more effective in stopping a winger who relies on guile and intelligence more than pace or power.

WAYNE ROONEY VS N’GOLO KANTE

Wayne Rooney endured yet another tough 90 minutes against PSV in midweek, failing to create a single chance and producing just one effort at goal despite starting in his seemingly preferred No.10 role.

But in the absence of Ander Herrera, the Red Devils skipper seems set to continue in the attacking midfield berth for Saturday’s game, which puts him directly up against Leicester City’s shrewdest signing of the summer – defensive midfielder N’Golo Kante.

The unsung hero behind Leicester City’s impressive form, the Frenchman has averaged the most interceptions (4.2) and the fourth-most tackles (4) of any Premier League player this season, injecting a new element of steel in the Leicester engine room since his summer arrival from Caen.

Rooney’s struggled for room to breathe this season and could endure similar troubles against the 24-year-old, a particularly physical and feisty midfielder.

That being said, you can never rule out England’s all-time leading goalscorer and at some point Rooney will surely turn his wayward form around. With the reward of moving to the top of the Premier League table on the line, we could finally see some improvement from the United captain.