England have replaced Stuart Broad with James Anderson as they aim to clinch a fourth successive series victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka.
A seven-wicket win in Galle gave the tourists a 1-0 lead in the rearranged series, following on from an overseas triumph in South Africa a year ago, plus successes against West Indies and Pakistan on home soil.
Joe Root led from the front with a double-century last time out and, with the recalled Jonny Bairstow and debutant Dan Lawrence also contributing runs, the tourists have gone with the same batting line-up.
Anderson comes into the side as England make just the one change, with Broad given a rest, as Mark Wood retains his place and Olly Stone misses out along with Chris Woakes.
As for Sri Lanka, they will once again be without Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne as he continues to recover from a fractured thumb.
Kusal Mendis has been dropped after a poor run of form with the bat – he has managed just 27 runs in his last six Test innings – while seam duo Lahiru Kumara and Nuwan Pradeep, as well as wicketkeeper-batsman Minod Bhanuka, have been allowed to depart the bio-secure bubble.
The home side will be aiming to prevent their opponents from winning a fifth successive Test overseas, a feat England have not achieved since a run of seven in a row between 1911 and 1914.
Sri Lanka fought back well after being dismissed for only 135 in their first innings of the opening Test and captain Root knows England cannot expect to have things all their own way as they eye another triumph on tour.
He said: "They are a proud team and they have a great record at this ground. Not only that, they have some very talented players.
"We already saw that throughout the game with how it unfolded in the second innings. The way that they played with the bat in the second innings was very different to the first and showed that in those conditions, they are a very hard side to break down.
"We know that this isn't going to be an easy game for us."
LEACH IN SIGHT OF RECORD
Jack Leach was understandably a little rusty in the previous game, having only played in two first-class fixtures throughout 2020. However, the left-arm spinner improved as he clocked up the overs, claiming 5-122 in the second innings to leave England needing just 74 for victory.
His six in the match lifted his career Test tally in Sri Lanka to 24, just one behind Ashley Giles who sits top of the all-time list for England. Considering it is expected to be another spin-friendly surface in Galle, Leach will fancy his chances of taking top spot before the short tour concludes.
SRI LANKA AIM TO STOP THE ROT
Despite showing some defiance with both bat and ball in the opening Test, Sri Lanka have now lost three in a row. They have not suffered a longer losing run since a four-game span between December 2015 and May 2016.
Their first-innings total of 135 left them with too much ground to make up second time around, so the continued absence of opener Karunaratne is a blow.
KEY MATCH FACTS
- England will be looking to record a third successive Test series win against Sri Lanka for the first time.
- England have lost only one of their Tests since the start of 2020 (W7, D2) and are undefeated in their last six of that stretch (W4, D2) – the last time they went on a longer unbeaten run was a 13-Test span (W7, D6) from November 2012 to August 2013.
- Joe Root made 228 last time out, his maiden Test double-century in Asia. That innings included 74 runs from conventional sweep shots, almost twice the number of his previous high in a Test match (41 at Pallekele versus Sri Lanka in November 2018).
- Lahiru Thirimanne has scored 50 or more in two of his past three Test innings at Galle, after doing so only once in his previous 12 knocks at the venue.
- Jos Buttler held on to all five catching opportunities in the series opener; only once before in his Test career has he managed to claim more catches without dropping one (July 2014 v India – 6/6).
Olympiacos 2-0 Aston Villa (6-2 agg): Villans fall in last four as El Kaabi strikes again
Olympiacos will face Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final after an Ayoub El Kaabi double secured a 6-2 aggregate win over Aston Villa.
After a stunning 4-2 win at Villa Park last weekend to take the ascendancy in the semi-final tie, first-leg hat-trick hero El Kaabi struck early before netting again late on to stamp out any hopes of a Villa comeback.
After a strong start from the visitors, El Kaabi scored his fourth goal of the tie just 10 minutes into Thursday's second leg at Stadio Georgios Karaiskaki, getting on the end of Quini's low cross to turn home at the far post.
It looked an uphill battle for Villa, who dominated the possession throughout the contest in Greece but struggled to make a dent in the stubborn hosts.
Douglas Luiz saw a long-range effort saved by Kostas Tzolakis while the Olympiacos goalkeeper also denied Moussa Diaby. El Kaabi made sure late on, getting on the end of a long ball to fire past Martinez and secure Olympiacos' final berth.
The fairytale comeback never materialised for Villa, and it will be Olympiacos who take on Fiorentina at the Agia Sophia Stadium in the Greek capital of Athens on May 29, looking to utilise familiar surroundings to claim their first major European trophy.
Data debrief
El Kaabi was the hero again for Olympiacos as his two second-leg finishes took him to 10 Europa Conference League goals for the campaign, more than any other player, while his 13 strikes in major European competitions are also more than any other player when factoring in his three Europa League goals.
Villa had 73.9 per cent of the ball in the second leg, yet their 1.14 xG (expected goals) was still inferior to Olympiacos' 1.23 as the Greek Super League side's ruthlessness clinched their spot in the final.
IPL: Kohli shines as RCB maintain winning run against Kings
Virat Kohli's superb knock of 92 helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a fourth straight win in the Indian Premier League on Thursday as they kept their playoff hopes alive with a 60-run triumph over Punjab Kings.
Kohli smashed seven fours and six sixes in his 47 balls faced as the Challengers set the Kings a daunting target of 241, with Rajat Patidar also bringing up his half-century and Cameron Green (46 off 27) falling just short of doing so.
The Kings pulled off the biggest run chase in IPL history less than two weeks ago, but their hopes of another comeback were dealt a huge blow when Faf du Plessis took a wonderful over-the-shoulder catch to send Jonny Bairstow packing with Punjab at 71-1.
Kohli's contribution wasn't only limited to the bat, as he produced a stunning run out of Shashank Singh, haring onto the scene to send wickets flying with an underarm throw as Shashank failed to make it back by mere inches.
It was then up to Mohammed Siraj to polish off the Punjab tail, finishing with figures of 3-43 as the Kings fell to back-to-back defeats, keeping them ninth in the standings.
Data Debrief: Kohli leads the way
Having previously claimed the honour in 2016, Kohli leads the way in the race for the 2024 Orange Cap, another impressive innings taking him to 634 runs for the campaign.
Averaging 70.44 with a strike rate of 153.51, Kohli put further distance between himself and Chennai Super Kings' Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose 541 runs put him second in the standings.
Dyche demands 'maximum effort' as the minimum requirement from Everton
Sean Dyche is demanding maximum effort as the minimum requirement from Everton when they host already relegated Sheffield United this weekend.
Despite another nervy season at Goodison Park, during which they were deducted six points following a breach of Profitability and Sustainability Rules, the Toffees have secured their top-flight status for another year at least.
Everton are enjoying a strong end to the campaign with last weekend's 1-1 draw at Luton Town extending their unbeaten run to four matches, and Dyche is not expecting his players to rest on their laurels.
"I want us to perform and at least give everything, as we did at Luton," he said.
"You can’t always guarantee you are brilliant. But you can guarantee you give everything, and that was on show again this past weekend.
"The minimum requirement is maximum effort. It hasn’t changed, we want to take that into Goodison and hope we play a little bit better with the ball, and hopefully score some more goals."
Dyche also saluted the impact of the younger members of his squad, with eight players aged 25 or under appearing 10 or more times during a testing season.
"There are a lot of challenges for these players," he added. "But they are beginning to come together as a group, and we have seen that. It has rewarded us, of course, and the fans."
However, their opponents' focus is already on next season, with their immediate return to the Championship confirmed.
In an English top-flight campaign of 38 games or less, only Darwen (112 in 1891-92) and Leicester City (102 in 1908-09) have conceded more goals than the Blades (100).
Chris Wilder knows there is plenty of work to do in United's quest to bounce straight back into the Premier League, but believes the close season will allow him the opportunity to get them in the best shape possible.
"I'll have time to put my own stamp on it," he said. "I'll have time to sign players that I know are going to be good and have a strong enough mentality to do it.
“Defensively and from set-plays and everything else, there's an incredible amount of work to do. We can't do that at the moment because it's difficult, but we will do it, and we'll get it right in terms of those aspects of the game."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Everton – Jordan Pickford
The Everton goalkeeper has kept 12 clean sheets in the Premier League this season – including one in each of the Toffees’ last four home games – with only Arsenal’s David Raya recording more (15)
It is Pickford’s second-highest tally of shutouts in a single campaign after 2018-19 (14).
Sheffield United – Ben Brereton
Despite only joining the club in January, the Chile international has scored the most Premier League goals for the Blades this season (six).
Brereton’s rate of a goal every 158 in the second-best by a United player in a single campaign (minimum 500 minutes) after Nathan Blake in 1993-94 (a goal every 145 minutes).
MATCH PREDICTION: EVERTON
Everton have responded to their 6-0 defeat at Chelsea last month by embarking on a four-match unbeaten streak (winning three, drawing one).
By contrast, United have lost each of their last five games, and are only the second side in Premier League history to concede 100 or more goals during a single campaign after Swindon Town in 1993-94.
While the Toffees have lost their final home league match in just one of the last eight seasons (winning six, drawing one), the Blades have lost their final away game in each of their last four Premier League campaigns.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Everton: 54.1%
Sheffield United: 19.3%
Draw: 26.6%
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