Tottenham Hotspur will need to weather the storm in the coming weeks after losing a raft of first-teamers to injury and suspension in a chaotic Premier League defeat against Chelsea.

Ange Postecoglou's side have been fantastic this year and still remain in an excellent position, but are indeed a little light in the ranks following that frenzied fixture, and Spurs will now need to make good use of the winter transfer window.

Tottenham transfer targets

According to 90min, Tottenham will prioritise the signing of a centre-back in January, with concerns over the squad's depth in that department before Micky van de Ven's injury against Chelsea several days ago, with the £43m summer signing unlikely to play again in 2023.

Bournemouth's Lloyd Kelly is on the radar and is out of contract and the end of the season, while Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah and Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo are also of interest.

The report also suggests that Spurs could move for Uruguayan defender Sebastian Caceres, and given that his Mexican outfit America are resigned to losing him in January – with Sevilla also suitors – Postecoglou might find the perfect player to bolster the ranks.

Most recently, journalist Jonaton Pena has confirmed that while Caceres' team will acquiesce to his departure, he will cost $8m (£7m), an unbudgeable figure.

Sebastian Caceres' style of play

Caceres, aged 24, has completed 111 appearances for his Mexican outfit and has impressed this term despite absences, having been entrusted with a role in Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay team and earned seven caps.

The £10k-per-week titan might not be the most prominent of defenders to have entered Tottenham's transfer discourse this year, but he is undoubtedly talented and looks to have the quality and dynamism to succeed on English shores.

Yielding remarkable versatility, Caceres would be the perfect addition in January to combat the loss of Van de Ven, who tweaked his hamstring and will be out for the foreseeable future.

On that note, the Evening Standard's Dan Kilpatrick did provide an update recently and confirmed that the Dutchman does not require surgery, though that does not mean that a lengthy layoff doesn't await.

As per FBref, Caceres ranks among the top 18% of central defenders across divisions similar to Liga MX for assists and the top 27% for successful take-ons per 90, with America currently topping the league table after 16 matches and boasting the best defensive record (shipping 14 just goals).

Earning praise after starring against Brazil in a 2-0 victory last month, completing 90% of his passes and making three important clearances, Caceres is as robust as they come and could emulate Spurs' South American star Cristian Romero down at N17.

The Argentinian Romero might've been left hot under the collar after receiving a red card against Chelsea this week, but he has earned a reputation as one of the most tenacious and tough-tackling in the Premier League, ranking among the top 6% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for tackles per 90.

Like the 5 foot 10 Caceres, he is also the creative sort, ranking among the top 20% for shot-creating actions per 90, having been hailed for his “incredible” displays by football.london's Alasdair Gold.

Caceres is clearly an attractive prospect for some top European outfits, and while he is not the biggest name in the game, it could prove to be a masterfully shrewd acquisition to maintain the Postecoglou revolution.

Everton's academy has produced some unbelievable talent over the years, some of which have gone on to reach their potential elsewhere, and others who have plummeted under the weight of their price tag.

Wayne Rooney is the most successful academy graduate in the club's history and it's highly unlikely they will ever produce someone who will eclipse what he achieved across his career.

Aside from scooping every trophy available at Manchester United, he also overtook Sir Bobby Charlton as the club's all-time top scorer with 253 goals and did the same with England, until Harry Kane blitzed past his record of 53 goals in 120 matches.

Whilst the likes of Rooney surpassed all expectations after departing Goodison Park, others have failed to live up to the potential that their formative years promised, and Jack Rodwell is a prime example of that.

Jack Rodwell's transfer value at Everton

Regarded as the next big thing when he broke into the Everton team aged just 16, Rodwell was one of several English talents who were overhyped in the early stages of their career.

It's common knowledge that any player who makes their Premier League debut at such a tender age is going to have the world watching them and that was the case with Rodwell, who accumulated 109 appearances for the Toffees before turning 21.

After garnering an impressive CV at Goodison, which included that goal against Manchester United in a 3-1 victory, he would soon earn a lucrative move to Manchester City for £15m in 2012.

During this period, the Cityzens needed to fill their quota of homegrown players and considering Rodwell was one of the hottest English prospects at the time, it seemed fitting that the 21-year-old joined the champions.

A box-to-box midfielder, who possessed an ability to drive forward with his strength and power, the Englishman was expected to utilise those attributes in Manchester but found his game time limited as world-class talents Yaya Toure and David Silva kept him out of the team.

Despite showing so much promise, Rodwell's move to Man City ended up being premature, ill-advised and disrupted by injuries as he made just 25 appearances at the club before accepting a £10m transfer to Sunderland in 2014.

Rodwell's transfer value at Sunderland

After joining Sunderland in search of regular game time, he struggled to impress at the Stadium of Light.

Between 2013 and 2017, he went 39 league matches without a win – a record streak of 1370 days.

With the North East giants plummeting into League One in 2018 as a result of their financial carnage, Rodwell was the poster boy for that mismanagement in the transfer window.

He was depicted as a villain during this period as the Netflix Sunderland till I die documentary showcased the repeated attempts made by hapless executives to offload him and his £70,000-per-week salary.

Jack Rodwell rinsed Sunderland dry

Jack Rodwell will go down as arguably the worst signing in Sunderland’s history, for how he drained the club.

Rodwell was eventually released in June 2018 and after making just 76 appearances for the club across four years, saw his expected transfer value (xTV) plummet to €1m (£868k), as per Football Transfers, which is a whopping £9m decrease from what the Black Cats initially signed him for.

Rodwell's transfer value now

It isn't uncommon to see footballers resurrect their careers after seeing them fall to the wayside, but Rodwell continued to fall in value and stature after leaving the Stadium of Light.

Following a spell with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship, he was a free agent again and had unsuccessful trials with New England Revolution and, rather surprisingly, Paulo Fonseca's Roma.

Despite making such a rapid crash, Chris Wilder took a chance on Rodwell in 2019 at Sheffield United, believing the Englishman – who was 28 at the time – could still fulfil his potential as a physically strong, athletic, tough-tackling midfielder.

However, after totalling just 73 minutes of football across 18 months at Bramall Lane, it became clear that taking a gamble on him was never going to pay off.

After being released by the Blades in June 2021, the former Everton starlet has since moved to Australia; first plying his trade for A-League Western Sydney Wanderers and now Sydney FC.

These days, a 32-year-old Rodwell is most likely enjoying a lavished lifestyle down under rather than his football and it's no surprise to see his xTV nosedive to €200k (£173k).

In hindsight, Everton made the right decision to cash in on the 6 foot 2 flop for £15m but Rodwell's career will always be the curious case of what could have been.

1:06

I perform better under pressure – Harmanpreet

Sixteen months after blitzing an unbeaten 171 against Australia in the 50-over World Cup semi-final in Derby last year, Harmanpreet Kaur unleashed another brutal hundred – the first by an Indian woman in T20Is – to raze New Zealand in the World T20 opener at Providence.After she tip-toed to 5 off 13 balls, Harmanpreet switched on the Harmonster mode and charged to a fifty off 33 balls. When she glanced Sophie Devine off her pads for a couple in the last over of India’s innings, she raised a hundred off 49 balls. Her monster sixes – she smashed eight in total – vaulted India to 194 for 5 for their second highest total in T20Is.New Zealand opener Suzie Bates briefly threatened to do a Harmanpreet and became the top scorer in Women’s World T20s, but the rapidly rising asking rate was too much to overcome.Harmanpreet walked out to bat when India were wobbling at 40 for 3 inside the Powerplay. Fast bowler Lea Tahuhu struck with her first ball to burst through the defences of new opener Taniya Bhatia, and in her next over, she had Smriti Mandhana holing out to deep midwicket, where Hayley Jensen leapt to her left and pulled off a blinding catch – an early contender for the highlights reel of this tournament. When debutant D Hemalatha jumped across off and swept weakly to short fine leg for 15 off 7 balls, questions were raised about players batting out of positions. Why was Bhatia bumped to the top after impressing in the middle order in Sri Lanka? Where would Mithali Raj bat?Harmanpreet Kaur blasted seven fours and eight sixes during her 103•Getty Images

Ultimately, India didn’t need Mithali at all. It was 18-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues, who made the early running in a 134-run partnership with Harmanpreet – the highest for any wicket for India in women’s T20Is. She crunched Tahuhu through extra-cover, swatted Jensen over midwicket, and even left umpire Gregory Brathwaite in the firing line with a fierce drive. After a poke here and a prod there in the early exchanges, Harmanpreet exploded when she ventured down the track and swatted offspinner Jess Watkin over the midwicket boundary. She owned the arc between long-on and midwicket, nailing five sixes and two fours. She was particularly severe on Watkin, taking her for 27 off 7 balls.And just like that, Harmanpreet outscored Rodrigues and raised her fifty in the 15th over. While Rodrigues’s strokeplay was easy on the eye, Harmanpreet’s power-hitting was extraordinary. Although she regularly stepped across the stumps or down the track, she maintained a stable base and launched the bowlers into oblivion.Rodrigues was dismissed in the 19th over by Watkin, but by then India had passed 170. Harmanpreet then nicked behind off the penultimate ball of the innings, but she had armed her side with a mighty total.It did not appear as mighty, though, when Bates jumped across off and mowed the ball into the leg-side boundaries. Bates ran up a 38-ball half-century, but India’s spinners kept striking at the other end. Legspinner Poonam Yadav removed Sophie Devine and Watkin off successive balls with donkey drops that turned and gripped, but it was offspinner Hemalatha, the debutant, who claimed the key wicket of captain Amy Satterthwaite, when she had her skying a sweep to square leg. When seamer Arundhati Reddy removed Bates in the 14th over, New Zealand slipped to 98 for 5. There would be no way back for them.

Former Serie A star Radja Nainggolan has slammed Matteo Guendouzi due to his underwhelming performances at Lazio.

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• Guendouzi has replaced Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
• Struggling to fill his shoes
• Nainggolan takes savage swipe

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Guendouzi joined Lazio on loan from Marseille in the summer, with the Serie A club holding the option to buy him outright in the summer. The deal came about after the Italian side sold Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Al-Hilal for €40m (£34m/$44m), and the ex-Arsenal ace has struggled to fill his sizeable shoes. Before his exit, the Serbia international scored 69 goals and registered 59 assists in 341 games.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Guendouzi has made 28 appearances for Lazio this season in Serie A, scoring twice and laying on three assists, and was also sent off earlier this term, in their 1-0 defeat to AC Milan. Nainggolan, who made 367 appearances in Serie A but now plays in Poland for Bhayangkara, does not believe he is stacking up to Milinkovic-Savic.

• WHAT NAINGGOLAN SAID

  Speaking on Twitch, he said: “Guendouzi only knows how to run. For me, he sucks. I say it like that. Do you start someone like Milinkovic-Savic and replace him with someone like that? He's not doing well, Lazio is doing badly. Tell me one quality about him. He's not fast and those who do athletics must have resistance. For me he is not for Lazio, between him and (Alfred) Duncan, I'd take the Fiorentina midfielder for life. He's not strong, period. He's a normal player."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Lazio are currently eighth in Serie A, and have lost three of their last five games. They are next in action on Friday, against Salernitana.

Leeds United kept up their unbelievable home record in the Championship this season with a dramatic 3-2 win over Middlesbrough on Saturday, Elland Road's reputation as a fortress stronger than ever with Daniel Farke's Whites still unbeaten on their own patch.

The 3-2 victory was Leeds' seventh win at home from ten games played in familiar West Yorkshire, a record only bettered by Kieran McKenna's mightily impressive Ipswich Town.

1. Ipswich Town – W9 D0 L1

27

2. Leeds United – W7 D3 L0

24

3. Leicester City – W7 D0 L2

21

4. West Brom – W6 D2 L2

20

Sourced by Soccerstats.com

Crysencio Summerville stepped up to the mark once more for Farke's promotion chasers in the game against Michael Carrick's challengers, uncharacteristically scoring with his head to make it 2-1 after only seven minutes of high-intensity action.

Crysencio Summerville's game in numbers vs Boro

Leeds' star Dutch winger was integral to how his side ventured forward throughout the game, minus just his early header finding the back of the opposing goal.

Summerville was a thorn in the side for the visitors all afternoon, relentless with his ascents forward that frequently unnerved and unsettled a Boro backline that just couldn't keep Leeds' dynamic number ten under wraps.

Amassing five key passes in the game as per Sofascore, on top of three successful dribble attempts bamboozling a shaky backline time after time, the breakthrough gem of this second-tier season to date for Leeds was excellent once again.

Summerville also rolled up his sleeves when his team needed him to be more switched on late into the back-and-forth contest, winning seven ground duels in the game whilst also launching himself into three tackles from the wing.

The Leeds supporters watching on would also have been enthralled by the display of Ethan Ampadu in defensive midfield, the former Chelsea man a calm orchestrator of attacking moves against Boro alongside winning his fair share of duels.

Ethan Ampadu's game in numbers vs Boro

Ampadu barely put a foot wrong all match against the visitors from Teesside.

The Welshman was accurate with 58 of his 60 passes at Elland Road, a 97% success rate, Ampadu clearly full of confidence for his new employers.

Given the nature of the match, the ex-Chelsea youth product could well have offered more protection in this high-octane setting but it finally looks as though he's found a fixed home in Leeds – settled in west Yorkshire after various loans away from the Blues saw him become a fringe figure at Stamford Bridge.

Now, he's one of the first names on the team sheet at Leeds under Farke's management. Managing two key passes in the contest, Ampadu just couldn't quite add another assist to his season tally with a defensive-splitting ball never quite catching Carrick's men napping.

Ampadu was also resilient in defence in the second 45 minutes, ensuring that a susceptible Leeds defence wasn't breached again – winning five of his eight duels on the day, with the lofty midfielder 100% successful when it came to the aerial battles.

Ever present under Farke this season – not missing a single minute of action in all competitions under his new German boss – Leeds' £7m signing will just keep plugging away in midfield for his side this campaign and hope that his contributions are worthy of helping the Whites return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Tottenham are said to be targeting a "massive" centre-back this January as Spurs chiefs scour the market for new options.

Postecoglou's absentee issues at Spurs

Ange Postecoglou was absolutely loving life at his new club before their 4-1 defeat to Chelsea just over a week ago. Before facing off against Mauricio Pochettino's side in north London, Spurs were on a very impressive 10-game unbeaten league run; winning the vast majority of them and even climbing to the top of the Premier League table at one point.

However, injuries to star players Micky van de Ven and James Maddison against Chelsea have seemingly brought Postecoglou right back down to Earth.

The Australian isn't helped by suspensions for Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie either. In the quartet's absence, Spurs have lost two games on the bounce with their latest 2-1 defeat to Wolves coming in very dramatic circumstances.

Spurs were clinging on to a 1-0 lead before last-gasp strikes from Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina thwarted what would've been an excellent result away from home, and with a severely depleted squad.

Spurs draw up transfer shortlist

The north Londoners are now reportedly prioritising the addition of a new left-footed central defender to ease the burden on van de Ven and Romero when they return. Both are pivotal to Postecoglou's high defensive line, so when they're unavailable, Spurs suffer as a result.

Tottenham are targeting Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly as a pacey option for the high line, while Everton's Ben Godfrey is another candidate to shore up Spurs' defensive depth.

Uruguay defender Sebastian Caceres has been linked with a move to Tottenham too, with some reports suggesting that an offer has even already gone in for the South American.

Now, as per journalist Ryan Taylor of The Daily Express, it is believed Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi may be "another name" on sporting director Johan Lange's list.

Guehi among "leading" Spurs centre-back targets

According to Taylor, speaking on the Spurs Chat podcast, Guehi is a "leading" Tottenham centre-back target. The Englishman, who's been called "massive" for his physically imposing figure by Club Brugge keeper Josef Bursik, finds himself among Spurs' top defensive targets heading into the January window. However, it is believed that Palace, unsurprisingly, will demand an "excessive" marquee figure for their star defender.

"Another name that you haven’t mentioned is Marc Guehi. From what I understand he is one of the leading centre-back targets," said Taylor.

“It’s pretty obvious that Palace are not going to give him up without demanding an excessive fee, however, he’s really appreciated by Spurs. Obviously, Johan Lange has just come in now, but I think Guehi’s a player that’s been tracked by Tottenham for some time now.

“He was really appreciated by Paratici, who is of course still involved with the club on a consultancy basis I believe. So, a lot of their targets are being carried over from previous windows, particularly in the summer when Ange wanted to bring in a second centre-back.”

The 23-year-old has started 11 league matches under Roy Hodgson; standing out as an imperious figurehead at the back yet again.

West Ham United secured a scrappy 1-0 win over TSC in the Europa League in midweek, and it sets them up nicely for their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace this afternoon.

Indeed, a win over the Eagles would mean five successive victories for David Moyes and his team, while he has an ideal chance to secure three points against a Jekyll and Hyde Palace team.

He will surely make a few chances for the clash, especially as the Scot will be keen on keeping his starting XI fresh ahead of a hectic festive season when the fixtures come thick and fast.

Related Latest West Ham United injury news, return dates and suspensions

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Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes May 10, 2024

Despite the European win, not every member of the starting XI shone and there was one player who should be benched for the game today – Said Benrahma.

Said Benrahma’s game vs TSC in numbers

The Algerian started on the left-hand side of a three-man attack, yet he failed to really showcase his true abilities throughout the tie.

He failed with all three of his dribble attempts, while having just one shot on target and delivering zero successful crosses, indicating how poor a display it was on the wing.

Benrahma even lost possession 19 times during his 67 minutes on the field and managed to win just three of his ten ground duels in what was a forgetful performance and Moyes was right to hook him.

He was even given a rating of just 4/10 by the Standard, and they stated that he ‘regularly squandered decent positions’ and it was a poor way to mark his 150th appearance for the club.

Moyes should now ditch him. The question is, who will be his replacement?

Lucas Paqueta could replace Said Benrahma

Lucas Paqueta favours a more central attacking midfield role, yet there have been times during the current season in which Moyes has deployed him out wide.

Across nine appearances on the left side of the midfield, the Brazilian has managed to score just once, yet he has found the back of the net on five occasions in total this term.

With Moyes looking like he will revert to a 4-2-3-1 against Palace today, Paqueta will move from a midfield role to a more attacking position on the left-hand side, and he could certainly offer more of a threat than Benrahma.

In the Premier League, the former Lyon starlet has created four big chances, averages 1.3 key passes per game and has succeeded with 1.8 dribbles per game – a success rate of 72% – and this is clear evidence that points to him being unleashed once again this weekend.

A win would set West Ham up nicely for what promises to be a hectic December, as they play their final group stage match in the Europa League, along with an EFL Cup quarter-final tie against Liverpool.

Moyes will now have a hunger for trophies, having won the Conference League last year, and the Irons might just upset the apple cart again this term.

The one-time Everton boss will wish to put out his strongest team to face Palace and this means Benrahma will drop to the bench, with Paqueta moving to a more advanced role in the process.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are going through a transitional process at the moment. Having reached the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals in the 2019/20 season, the Old Gold are now battling it out in the bottom half of the Premier League.

There are very few remnants remaining from Wolves' first campaign back in the top flight under Nuno Espirito Santo, having lost the likes of Willy Boly, Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez and Leander Dendoncker in recent transfer windows.

However, alongside head coach Gary O'Neil, the board are looking to rebuild the team to one that can compete once more for the European places and have already identified a player that could potentially protect the posts for years to come.

Wolves transfer news – Rome Jayden Owusu-Oduro

According to a report from The Express and Star earlier this week, the Midlands club are exploring a deal to bring AZ Alkmaar teenager Rome Jayden Owusu-Oduro to the club in January for a fee said to be worth £2m.

The outlet are claiming that Wolves have made an enquiry for the goalkeeper but face competition from several other clubs, including Belgian giants Anderlecht who are sitting second in the Jupiler Pro League.

The 19-year-old has yet to make his debut for the club despite being in the squad 28 times since the beginning of last season. Former Arsenal and Brighton and Hove Albion shot-stopper Mathew Ryan is currently keeping Owusu-Oduro back from making his first-team debut, although The Express and Star also reported that the Dutch outfit were hoping to extend his deal which reportedly will come true, with the teenager set to sign a new contract until 2028.

Wolves are keen to lure the youngster over to Molineux and Owusu-Oduru could be the perfect long-term replacement for first-choice goalkeeper Jose Sa.

Rome Jayden Owusu-Oduru's stats this season

Sa was brought to the club in 2021 for £6.8m to replace the outgoing Rui Patricio who joined Roma in the same transfer window. The Portuguese had never played in a top-five league before moving to England but quickly became one of the best in his position in the Premier League.

The former Porto man had an excellent debut campaign in the Midlands and had the best save percentage of any other goalkeeper in the top flight with a whopping 80.6%. Data showed that by April 2022, Sa had conceded one fewer goal than expected every two games, according to Opta.

Wolves: Bruno Lage got a "bargain" with Jose Sa

Jose Sa has been a standout performer for Wolves since his arrival in 2021…

ByRosie Tudball May 5, 2023

However, the £40k-per-week asset hasn't quite reached the heights of his first season with the club and has had a drop in his performances this term compared to the 2021/22 campaign.

Save %

80.6

72.7

Goals Against

1.1

1.77

Shots On Target Against

4.38

5.08

Clean Sheets

0.3

0.08

Crosses Stopped

1.18

2

Long Passes Completion %

40.7

38.7

Errors

0.14

0.23

Stats via FBref

As a result of his declining performances with the Old Gold, Wolves are keen to take Owusu-Oduru off AZ's hands. The UEFA Youth League-winning goalkeeper has played 63 times for Jong AZ since the beginning of the 2019/20 campaign and has managed to keep 24 clean sheets which is one clean sheet every 3.8 games on average.

The 6 foot 2 academy product also saved the final penalty against Sporting CP to send AZ to the Youth League final, a game which they won 5-0 against Hajduk Split to lift the prestigious crown. After the semi-final shootout, journalist Antonio Mango described Owusu-Oduru as an "outstanding" talent.

The Dutchman may not be ready for first-team football immediately but looks like an excellent player for the future and Wolves will do well to secure his signature before anyone else, with Sa – who has been touted for a move to Saudi Arabia – now on the wrong side of 30.

Erik ten Hag has stated he 'can't be bothered' about criticism ahead of Manchester United's FA Cup clash against Coventry City.

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• United set to face Coventry
• Ten Hag 'can't be bothered' for criticism
• Winner will face Man City in final

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ten Hag, 54, has outlined how he must remain focused on the task in hand ahead of United's FA Cup semi-final against Coventry on Sunday afternoon. The United boss is aware of the pressure to secure trophies at Old Trafford and increase 'economic value' but reiterated how he cannot focus on comments from outside the dressing room ahead of the game.

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  WHAT TEN HAG SAID

  "I don't put energy into this, if I'm judged fairly or not," Ten Hag said. "I know what we are doing here, why I'm here, to bring trophies, to also create economic value, so we are working on those and in a process you have setbacks. I look at this and can see it realistically, so I see the nuance, some comments miss that, but I can't be bothered about it, can't go into emotions."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The FA Cup marks the final opportunity for the Red Devils to secure silverware during the 2023-24 campaign, after already crashing out of the Carabao Cup, Champions League and Premier League title race. If United are able to beat Championship side Coventry, they will face their rivals Manchester City in the final after they secured a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR UNITED?

  Following the clash at Wembley this weekend, United will face a quick turnaround before facing relegation strugglers Sheffield United on Wednesday evening. Following this clash, they will face another side who could drop into the Championship next season, as Burnley travel to Old Trafford on April 27.

The batsman is expecting slow scoring but the opportunity for runs to be made by batsmen diligent enough to play within their lanes

Daniel Brettig in Melbourne23-Dec-20182:33

What are Australia’s plans for Kohli at the MCG?

No-one has spent more time batting on the MCG’s hotly-debated pitches this season than Marcus Harris, and he has counselled his team-mates not to judge the surface by the expected preponderance of green grass geared towards ensuring a result after last year’s bore draw during the Ashes series.Harris got the fright of his life when he saw the pitch for the Sheffield Shield match, admitting now that he expected the game between Victoria and New South Wales to be over in “a day and a half”, before proceeding to sculpt a monumental 250 not out that played a major role in vaulting him into the Test team.As a result, Harris is expecting slow scoring but the opportunity for runs to be made by batsmen diligent enough to play within their lanes. “Pre-match when I saw the wicket I was really freaked out and I thought ‘this game’s going to be over in a day and a half and we’ve got blokes trying to vie for Test spots’, so I went into the game with no expectations on myself and the wicket actually played pretty well,” Harris told ESPNcricinfo. “It was relatively slow and stayed together.”I saw this morning the wicket will probably be more similar to the South Australia game, where it had a bit more green grass on it, nipped around a bit but it was one of those wickets where if you play well you can make runs but if you bowl well you can take wickets.”I think it’ll be the same old thing of patience, the MCG is never a really quick scoring ground anyway, so that’ll be the key, just realising things will take a while to evolve. Not sure the wicket will break up too much, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Fortunately we’ve probably got the best bowling attack in the world so that looks after itself a little bit, but I think as batters a patience game will be the key and run rates won’t be as quick as what you’d like, but that’s the way it will be.”Like Harris, the MCG curator Matt Page is a former West Australian transplanted to the other side of the continent, now charged with ensuring the storied stadium has pitches to match its overall reputation. “We want to provide an opportunity for everyone,” Page said. “Whether it’s the spinners, it’s the pace bowlers, or the batters. Providing them opportunities to be able to produce their world-class [skills] throughout a game, whether that’s quickies at the front, batters in the middle, spinners towards the end. It’s producing a pitch that everyone can show what they can do.”I think this one will be very similar to the South Australian game which we were probably happy with the most. We were unlucky not to get a result through rain, but there seemed to be a bit there for everyone; a bit there for the quicks, a couple of guys scored hundreds and the feedback we got from that game was really positive. I know we are still three days out but are looking at a wicket that will be similar to that.”Both the NSW and SA fixtures benefited from plenty of early life, meaning the game could evolve at the requisite pace needed to ensure a result after it dried. Another Shield match, when Victoria hosted Western Australia, was not as lively as attempts to prepare a drier, harder surface resulted in a similar result to the soporific strip on which the Ashes Test was drawn. “We went in to that game and we tried to get a little bit harder and a little bit drier and didn’t get the result we wanted,” Page said. “We learned from that and we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”Mitchell Starc, for one, is hopeful of something a little more equitable this time around. With typical bluntness, he assessed last summer’s Test pitch (“shocking”) and the ICC’s average rating for the Perth Stadium flier (“harsh”) that featured some of the characteristics Page is hoping to engender at the MCG over time.”There hasn’t been any discussion in the team but there has been plenty of traction in the public from past players at their disappointment of that rating,” Starc said. “You had a fantastic Test match over five days, a fantastic battle between ball and bat which is what you want. I think that was a bit harsh, I’d say, and the fact it was such an exciting Test match that’s what you want to promote. You want to see wickets like that in the future.”Test cricket isn’t meant to be comfortable, I know it’s a batters’ game, but that’s what makes the game exciting. If you look at the match here last year where the wicket did nothing, it was a pretty boring Test match. If wickets are closer to what we saw in Perth it will create more exiting Test matches and you’ll get more people watching.”It sounds like it will be similar to one of the Shield games few weeks ago so the likelihood is it will do more than last year, which is great because last year was shocking – I didn’t play, fortunately – but the early signs are there could be a bit of grass on it.”