Leah Williamson was today recalled to the England squad for the upcoming friendlies with Austria and Italy.

The Lionesses captain has not played for her country since rupturing an ACL playing for Arsenal in April 2023, an injury that saw her miss last year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

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Jess Park is also included but Millie Bright is unavailable due to injury.

England face Austria on February 23 before taking on Italy four days later with the games, that will both be staged in Algeciras, Spain, forming part of a warm-weather training camp.

Coach Sandra Wiegman said: “This camp is where the road to Euro 2025 in Switzerland begins. Playing against strong teams like Austria and Italy is just the preparation we need before we kick off our qualifying campaign in April. I am really looking forward to getting back on the grass with the squad.

“It is the first time we will be back together as a group since last year. Travelling away for this camp will give us a great opportunity to connect again on and off the pitch and allow us to give minutes to many players.

Your @LIONESSES squad for February camp has been announced! 🦁

— England (@England) FEBRUARY 13, 2024

“Being in Spain with hopefully good weather and excellent facilities is the perfect setting for the work we need to do as a team to get us ready for another very important year ahead.”

The England squad is: Earps (Man United), Hampton (Chelsea), Keating (Man City); Bronze (Barcelona), Carter (Chelsea), Charles (Chelsea), Greenwood (Man City), Le Tissier (Man United), Morgan (Man City), Williamson (Arsenal), Wubben-Moy (Arsenal); Clinton (Tottenham, loan from Man United), Kirby (Chelsea), Park (Man City), Stanway (Bayern Munich), Toone (Man United), Walsh (Barcelona); Daly (Aston Villa), Hemp (Man City), James (Chelsea), Kelly (Man City), Mead (Arsenal) and Russo (Arsenal)

The State of Play

The five-match series could not be more delicately poised. England seized the early initiative in Hyderabad before India hit back in Visakhapatnam and the teams head to Rajkot locked at 1-1.

The feeling persists, however, that England will never have a better chance to achieve one of the hardest feats in cricket – a Test series victory in India. The home side are riddled with injuries whereas the tourists look relatively settled.

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Despite their selection problems, India showed their strength in depth by winning the second Test and they will again have to dip into their reserves to field a competitive line-up.

Rajkot is regarded as one of the more batter-friendly venues in India and a green surface could mean a re-think in terms of selection.

One man who is certain to play is England captain Ben Stokes, who will make his 100th Test appearance this week.

Team News

India’s injury worries deepened this week with KL Rahul ruled out of this Test due to a quadriceps injury. And with Virat Kohli out of the series as he attends to a personal matter, and Shreyas Iyer omitted due to poor form, India’s batting line-up will have an unfamiliar look.

Sarfaraz Khan is likely to make his Test debut while Dhruv Jurel is pushing KS Bharat for the wicketkeeping spot.

India’s bowling line-up will depend on the availability of spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the second Test having suffered a hamstring injury in Hyderabad. Mohammed Siraj will return at the expense of Mukesh Kumar

England have selected a second seamer given the green surface with Mark Wood stepping up to partner James Anderson.

Shoaib Bashir has made way despite performing well on debut in the last test. Jack Leach has been ruled out for the rest of the series.

Expected line-ups

India: Jaiswal, Sharma (c), Gill, Khan, Patidar, Jadeja, Jurel (wk), Ashwin, Yadav, Bumrah, Siraj

England (confirmed): Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes (c), Foakes (wk), Ahmed, Hartley, Wood, Anderson

🚨 NEWS 🚨: KL Rahul ruled out of third #INDVENG Test, Devdutt Padikkal named replacement. #TEAMINDIA | @IDFCFIRSTBANK

Details 🔽HTTPS://T.CO/KO8UBVK9UU

— BCCI (@BCCI) FEBRUARY 12, 2024

What they said

India coach Rahul Dravid on the pitch in Rajkot

“Curators make the pitches. We don’t ask for rank turners. Obviously tracks in India will spin, how much they’ll spin, how less they’ll spin, I’m not an expert, you know. Sometimes I get told they’ll turn on the third day, they turn on the first day. Sometimes I get told they turn on the second day and they don’t turn till day four. So, you know, I am sometimes as clueless as anybody else. We look at the wicket and we try to do the best we can with what we get and we’ll go to Rajkot, we’ll see what we get and play with whatever we get in front of us.”

England vice-captain Ollie Pope on Ben Stokes’ 100th Test appearance

“What a legend of the game. There are so many great memories from his career. It’s a credit to him. What he has put his body through – he gives 110 per cent to every Test he plays, plays every one like it is his last. You never know what you are going to get. He can do ridiculous things in the field, with the bat and with the ball. Long may that continue over the next few years.”

Getting ready in Rajkot 🏏 💪 🔴

🏟 Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium 📌

🇮🇳 #INDVENG 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | #ENGLANDCRICKET PIC.TWITTER.COM/ZHSRQS97CJ

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) FEBRUARY 13, 2024

When and how to watch

The third Test takes place in Rajkot, starting at 4am (UK time) on Thursday morning. You can watch it in the UK on TNT Sports or Discovery+ with the programme starting at 3.45am.

Prediction

India’s strength lies in their bowling and the battle between the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin and England’s batting line-up could well be key.

That said, England must fancy their chances of rolling over India’s batters and taking a 2-1 lead with just two games to play.

We’re taking England to win.

Reigning Formula One world champion Max Verstappen appeared to drive Red Bull’s new RB20 F1 challenger in a shake down at Silverstone on Tuesday – two days before the design was scheduled to be officially revealed.

Pictures and footage from the home of the British Grand Prix suggested that Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez were driving the RB20 across 33 laps on Pirelli’s demonstration tyres.

The RB20 will be used when pre-season testing begins in Bahrain on February 21, with Verstappen hinting during a livestream last week that the livery of the car will retain the look Red Bull have implemented since 2016.

Its predecessor, the RB19, led to Red Bull trouncing the field in 2023, winning 21 of the 22 races as Verstappen claimed a record 19 victories for his a third consecutive World Championship title.

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Perez, who contributed to a record total for the team of 860 points, will feature for a fourth successive season for Red Bull.

Red Bull RB20 F1 car ‘an evolution’

Speaking to Red Bull’s team podcast during the first week of February, chief technical officer Adrian Newey said he felt “trepidation” about the RB20.

“Last year took all of us – me, most of all – by complete surprise,” he added. “I really didn’t expect the domination that we had.

“This year, from what I understand, a lot of our rivals have taken a good look and I suspect there’ll be quite a few cars that look very similar to our car.

🔥 Max Verstappen, Red Bull RB20 ile piste çıktı!PİC.TWİTTER.COM/XİA1RGTJOQ

— Formula Türkiye 🇹🇷 (@FormulaTurkiye) FEBRUARY 13, 2024

“Our car will be very much a third evolution of the ’22 car. Last year’s car was an evolution of the ’22, the main points [of difference] being the normal winter development in terms of aerodynamics and some understanding on what we needed to do with suspension to try to improve the car… and getting weight out of it, because we never got down to the weight limit in ’22.

“What we don’t know is whether the third evolution is too conservative while others have done something different. You just don’t know.”

The 2024 World Championship will start in Bahrain on March 2 and take in a record 24 Grands Prix.

Verstappen, Perez and their rivals will return to Silverstone at the midway point on July 7, with the final race in Abu Dhabi on December 8.

Ollie Pope has hinted England will select a second seamer in the third Test against India, which gets underway on Thursday.

The tourists have gone with just one non-spin option in the first two games – the series is tied at 1-1 – with Mark Wood playing in Hyderabad and James Anderson in Visakhapatnam.

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But a covering of green grass on the pitch in Rajkot means England could be tempted into a change of tactic. Anderson bowled well in the second Test and is likely to retain his place with either Wood or Ollie Robinson coming into the side.

England vice-captain Pope told BBC Sport: “If it [the pitch] stays like that, there’s every chance two seamers will be played.

“I don’t want to give away too many secrets, but at the minute there’s a little bit more grass on it. It looks a pretty good pitch.

“We always like to make a decision here the day before the Test begins because conditions can change, especially with the heat on it all day.”

One of England’s trio of young spinners – Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir – would make way if England change tack.

Hartley’s exploits in the first Test mean he is likely to play, giving the selectors a difficult decision between Ahmed and Bashir.

The decision may have been taken out of their hands if an issue with Ahmed’s visa had lingered but the Leicestershire leggie was present at training on Tuesday and is available for selection.

An England statement said: “There was paperwork discrepancy with Rehan Ahmed’s visa. The local authorities at Rajkot Airport were supportive, enabling Rehan entry on a temporary visa. 

“The correct visa should be processed and issued in the coming days. He will continue to prepare with the rest of the squad ahead of the third Test.”

The State of Play

The UEFA Champions League is back, with the first of the competition’s last-16 ties kicking off on Tuesday.

All eyes will be on the holders Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola’s side heavy favourites to put one foot in the quarter-finals when they visit Denmark to face Copenhagen.

City made it 10 straight wins across all competitions on Saturday as Erling Haaland’s second-half brace handed them a 2-0 win over a stubborn Everton side in the Premier League.

With the likes of Kevin De Bruyne returning from injury to help City over the blip they endured in late 2023, Guardiola’s men have been in magnificent form lately, scoring 29 goals across those 10 straight wins as they gear up for a bid at the ‘double treble’.

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Opponents Copenhagen, meanwhile, have not played competitive football since mid-December, owing to the Danish Superliga’s long winter break.

They are not here to merely make up the numbers, though, having progressed through their Champions League group in impressive fashion, finishing above both Manchester United and Galatasaray and even holding Bayern Munich to a goalless draw in Germany.

They are, though, third in the aforementioned Superliga, sitting below both Midtjylland and Brondby. It would be a major surprise if they give themselves something to defend in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Final preparations for Copenhagen! 💪 PIC.TWITTER.COM/3ZBBLPPJGN

— Manchester City (@ManCity) FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Team News

Nicolai Boilesen, Theo Sander, David Khocholava and Birger Meling are among those that could potentially be missing through injury for Copenhagen, while Lukas Lerager will definitely sit Tuesday’s game out due to suspension.

Guardiola and City, meanwhile, are blessed with a fully-fit squad following the returns of players including Haaland, De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and John Stones. The likes of Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker were rested on Saturday, so they are candidates to return to the lineup.

Expected Line-ups

Copenhagen: Grabara; Ankersen, McKenna, Diks, Jelert; Mattsson, Falk, Diogo Goncalves; Elyounoussi, Claesson, Achouri.

Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Rodri; Foden, De Bruyne, Silva; Haaland.

What they Said

In the aftermath of the last-16 draw, Copenhagen boss Jonas Neestrup described facing City as ‘the most difficult draw possible’, adding: ‘They are the best team in the world.’

At Monday’s pre-match press conference, meanwhile, Guardiola opened up on the challenge presented by the return of European football.

“My experience tells me this [the last-16 first leg] is always tricky,” Guardiola said. “The exception was Sporting CP two years ago when we won 5-0, but we scored five goals from six chances.

“But always I have huge respect for the first leg in the last 16, always.”

PEP 💬 I have huge respect [for FC Copenhagen]. I said to the players this morning you have to prepare mentally and be ready to suffer. It will be a tight, tight game 100% – I feel it – and normally my gut doesn’t lie to me! PIC.TWITTER.COM/B2VSXV8UFR

— Manchester City (@ManCity) FEBRUARY 12, 2024

When, where and how to watch

This match will take place at the Parken Stadium on Tuesday February 13th, kicking off at 20:00 UK time. It will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK and can also be streamed live via the TNT Sports app.

Prediction

As mentioned by Copenhagen coach Neestrup, this is the toughest draw the Danes could have received. They did, though, hold City to a goalless draw at home last season in the group stages and have also performed very well this season against Bayern, United and Galatasaray.

City are firm favourites and should make it 11 straight wins but they may have half an eye on Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Chelsea, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a low-scoring away win.

The @ERLINGHAALAND x @KEVINDEBRUYNE partnership is BACK! 💥 PIC.TWITTER.COM/VEIFGVQ41Z

— Manchester City (@ManCity) FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Pep Guardiola insists Erling Haaland is not under any pressure to replicate the feats of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, saying goals will always find the striker if he plays his natural game.

Haaland recently missed 10 games with a foot fracture, but he returned to the scoresheet with two goals as Manchester City beat Everton 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.

Before helping himself to his second-half brace, the Norwegian cut an irritable figure as a disciplined Everton side sat deep and denied him space.

On Monday, Guardiola shrugged off suggestions Haaland’s body language was a concern, saying the striker merely needs to remain patient when opponents attempt to nullify him.

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“Erling is young, playing in the most difficult position on the pitch surrounded by four or five players with minor space,” Guardiola said at a press conference to preview Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Copenhagen.

“In those moments, he has to be positive. It will come. When he scored a goal, he reacted but he doesn’t need to score because he helps us with many things, not just with goals.

“He is defined on goals but it’s not just that, in so many games it is how he is clapping, encouraging his team-mates and making the first intense press. This is what we need from Erling.

“We cannot forget he has been out for two months. Getting back to his dynamic is not easy and he’s a huge competitor who wants to score goals. I know that, we know that, so relax.”

The @ERLINGHAALAND x @KEVINDEBRUYNE partnership is BACK! 💥 PIC.TWITTER.COM/VEIFGVQ41Z

— Manchester City (@ManCity) FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Haaland scored 52 goals in all competitions as City won the treble last season, with 12 of those coming in 11 Champions League appearances as the Citizens claimed their first European crown.

The 23-year-old has 40 goals in just 35 career Champions League games, putting him 18^th in the competition’s all-time scoring charts. Messi required 61 games to reach 40 goals in Europe’s premier club competition, while Ronaldo needed 82.

However, Guardiola insists there is no pressure on Haaland to maintain that remarkable rate, saying: “With the contract he has, you don’t come for a few days, you come for three or four years.

“We never put pressure on him, saying, ‘you have to score a goal’. No. Be involved with what we have to do, and the rest will come naturally.

“You see his numbers; in the Champions League not even Messi or Cristiano had these numbers at his age. The numbers are unbelievable and that happens because he scored goals with us, Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund – he scored goals everywhere.

“He scores everywhere, all the time. That helps him have a special mentality as a football player and we are delighted to have him. We are delighted that he is back.

“Two months out is a long time, like Kevin De Bruyne being out for five months. Now they are back and we are really pleased.”

PEP 💬 He [Erling Haaland] adapted really well coming here – we have incredible players here who embrace the new ones… We don’t put pressure and say you have to score goals, no. We say get involved with what we do and the rest will come naturally. PIC.TWITTER.COM/JBEJOW9WLU

— Manchester City (@ManCity) FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Luke Littler hit a brilliant nine-darter en route to a triumphant PDC ProTour debut on Monday, winning his first Players Championship event in Wigan.

Littler has been credited with reviving mainstream interest in darts after enjoying a dream run to the final of the PDC World Championship over the festive season.

He was beaten by Luke Humphries in the showpiece game at Alexandra Palace, but he has gone from strength to strength since then, overcoming Michael van Gerwen to win the Bahrain Masters last month before making his Premier League Darts debut.

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On Monday, the 17-year-old beat Jim Williams 6-1 in the first round of the Players Championship event, teeing up a meeting with Michele Turetta in the last 32.

Littler raced into a 5-1 lead in that match before clinching victory in style with his second nine-darter of the season, having previously produced a perfect leg against Nathan Aspinall in Bahrain in January.

NINE-DARTER FOR THE NUKE! ☢️

Is there anything Luke Littler cannot do? 😂

The 17-year-old lands a nine-darter in his first ever Players Championship event, as he dispatches Michele Turetta 6-1 to move into the last 16!

📋 HTTPS://T.CO/HSOUOS5MXU#PC1 | R3 PIC.TWITTER.COM/MMNAKKMK09

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) FEBRUARY 12, 2024

The teenager almost repeated the trick in his subsequent last-16 clash with Cameron Menzies, missing double 12 for another perfect leg in a 6-2 success.

But Littler did make more headlines later that day, seeing off James Hurrell 6-3 in the quarter-finals before a final-leg decider saw him past Scotland’s Alan Soutar in the last four.

That victory teed up a final clash with Ryan Searle, and Littler posted an average of 110 as he took the showpiece match by an 8-7 scoreline in a deciding leg.

Littler moved up to 31st in the PDC’s world rankings as a result of his stunning run to the World Championship final, and his success in Wigan could help him climb further up the rankings as points are not awarded for the World Series and Premier League events he has featured in recently.

LUKE LITTLER WINS AT PC1! 🏆☢️

On his Players Championship debut, 17-year-old sensation Luke Littler, has WON THE TITLE! 🤯

With a 110 average and hitting seven 180s, he comes through a thriller of a final to defeat Ryan Searle in a deciding leg!

Generational talent 🌟 PIC.TWITTER.COM/EHD6RFBTST

— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) FEBRUARY 12, 2024

KL Rahul will miss this week’s third Test between India and England due to a knee injury, adding to the hosts’ selection issues after Virat Kohli withdraw from their squad.

After losing a dramatic opening Test in Hyderabad, India hit back to level the five-match series with a 106-run win in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.

They did so without Rahul after he sustained a quadricep injury. He was then included in the hosts’ squad for the final three matches of the series, but on Thursday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed a separate issue will keep him out of the third match.

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In a statement, the BCCI said Rahul had reached “90 per cent of match fitness” but would not be able to play any part when the third Test begins on Thursday.

Uncapped left-hander Devdutt Padikkal has been called up as a replacement, though India are hopeful of having Rahul available for the final two matches of the series.

🚨 NEWS 🚨: KL Rahul ruled out of third #INDVENG Test, Devdutt Padikkal named replacement. #TEAMINDIA | @IDFCFIRSTBANK

Details 🔽HTTPS://T.CO/KO8UBVK9UU

— BCCI (@BCCI) FEBRUARY 12, 2024

In the short term, Rahul’s absence comes as a major blow for the hosts, who saw former captain Kohli withdraw from their squad for the rest of the series due to personal reasons last week.

Fellow batter Shreyas Iyer was not selected in the 17-man squad picked for the remainder of the series, while Ravindra Jadeja is currently battling a hamstring injury.

Should Jadeja fail to prove his fitness, 23-year-old Padikkal and fellow uncapped batter Sarfaraz Khan could have key roles to play in Rajkot.

Padikkal started off as an opener before transitioning to a middle-order role, and he is set to team up with Rahul for the 2024 Indian Premier League season after his trade to Lucknow Super Giants.