Tottenham have offered their support to striker Richarlison, who was the subject of racist abuse while on international duty with Brazil.

A banana appeared to be thrown at Richarlison from the stands as he celebrated his goal in a 5-1 win over Tunisia at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.

The Spurs man responded on social media, warning "it will continue like this" until such incidents are punished.

Richarlison has received the backing of his Brazil team-mates, and Tottenham added a message of support on Wednesday.

"We are disgusted by the racist abuse of Richarlison at last night's game between Brazil and Tunisia," the Premier League club posted on Twitter.

"This has no place in football, or anywhere. We stand with you, Richy."

As in the NFL, if you don't have a win by Week 3 of the fantasy football season, it's probably time to be concerned.

Well as concerned as it's healthy to be about a game played for fun with no real-world consequences.

Still, should you still be staring at a goose egg in the win column, then it is clear you need to nail your lineup selections in Week 4. 

Thankfully, Stats Perform is here to help, using its advanced data to pick out four offensive players and a defense who are primed to deliver fantasy production this weekend.

Quarterback: Russell Wilson, Denver Broncos @ Las Vegas Raiders

Wilson managed to lead a game-winning drive on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers despite being throttled for much of the game by their outstanding defense.

The defense of the Raiders, despite the best efforts of impressive edge rusher Maxx Crosby, presents nowhere close to the same challenge, allowing 7.15 yards per pass play - the fourth-most in the NFL. The Raiders' nine touchdown drives allowed are tied for the fifth-most in the league.

In short, this is a game where Wilson can finally have hope of thriving in a Denver offense to which he has so far struggled to adapt. Have faith that Wilson will deliver in this AFC West clash.

Running Back: Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears @ New York Giants

With David Montgomery suffering a knee injury in the Bears' narrow win over the Houston Texans, Herbert stepped up, compiling 157 rushing yards at a rate of 7.85 yards per carry and scoring two touchdowns on the ground.

Herbert is taking advantage of the holes the Bears' offensive line is opening, averaging 4.76 yards before contact per attempt, the third-most among running backs with at least 20 carries, per Stats Perform data.

Bears quarterback Justin Fields has attempted just 45 passes through three games, with the Bears running the ball 57 per cent of the time. The usage will clearly be there for Herbert, assuming Montgomery cannot play, and that should translate to another impressive statistical day against a Giants defense allowing 5.3 yards per rush.

Wide Receiver: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions vs. Seattle Seahawks

St. Brown is enjoying one of the breakout years in the NFL through three weeks. He is fourth in the NFL in receptions with 23 and has 253 yards and three touchdowns to his name.

He has a huge opportunity to add to that against a dismal Seahawks defense.

Unsurprisingly, the Seahawks' performance in Week 1 against the Broncos, in which they consistently stood firm in the red zone, proved a mirage, with Seattle shredded by the 49ers and Atlanta Falcons in successive weeks.

The Seahawks are allowing 7.84 yards per pass play, only their division rivals the Arizona Cardinals have given up more. With such a favourable matchup at home, St. Brown is a bona fide fantasy WR1 this week.

Tight End: David Njoku, Cleveland Browns @ Atlanta Falcons

Njoku produced his best game of the season so far in the Browns' Week 3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, hauling in nine of his 10 targets for 89 yards and a touchdown.

He is excelling at creating separation, winning 12 of his 16 matchups with a defender so far this season, and this week gets to face a Falcons defense that has allowed a touchdown or field goal on 15 of the 30 offensive drives it has faced in 2022.

With Njoku second in the pecking order behind wide receiver Amari Cooper in terms of pass-catchers on this Browns offense, he is in a prime spot to enjoy another excellent game.

Defense/Special Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New York Jets

The Steelers might have struggled to stop Njoku and the Browns, but their defense should be salivating at the thought of facing the Jets.

Zach Wilson is set to return for the Jets, but he is unlikely to change their struggles holding on to the ball.

The Jets have already committed seven giveaways this season. Last year, Wilson threw 19 interceptable passes in 13 games. 

Even without star pass rusher T.J. Watt, the Steelers have the defensive talent to take advantage of the Jets' carelessness and make it a difficult 2022 debut for Wilson.

Neymar has hit out at Mallorca captain Antonio Raillo over controversial remarks directed towards Brazil team-mate Vinicius Jr.

The Real Madrid forward has been embroiled in a racism scandal after a Spanish agent told him to "stop playing the monkey" in reference to his dancing celebration.

Vinicius was then subject to a torrent of abuse from Atletico Madrid fans in Madrid's recent derby victory, celebrating Rodrygo's goal in his customary fashion after being urged to "keep on dancing" in a flood of support.

On Monday, Raillo cause further controversy when he accused Vinicius of using the "race card" when he is criticised.

"Vinicius should dance, but he shouldn't be foul, he shouldn't insult or belittle his fellow professionals; then when he is branded as provocative, he uses the race card," he told Diario de Mallorca.

Neymar has subsequently responded on social media, replying to a post from TNT Sport Brasil and asking: "Who is Raillo?" – accompanying his comment with a laughing face emoji.

Brazilian footballers have unfortunately been on the receiving end of recent abuse, with the incident on Vinicius followed by a banana being thrown at Richarlison after he scored for the national side in a 5-1 friendly victory against Tunisia on Tuesday.

Jamie Carragher believes Harry Maguire's England place may now be untenable and thinks the defender must leave Manchester United to recapture his best form.

Maguire started United's first two games of the Premier League season – defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford – but has been relegated to the bench amid a four-game winning run for Erik ten Hag's men.

Maguire's lack of game-time at Old Trafford led to criticism of Gareth Southgate's decision to select him for England's Nations League ties against Italy and Germany, and the defender did not help his case with two nervous performances.

Having started as the Three Lions were relegated from League A with a meek 1-0 loss in Milan last week, Maguire gave away a penalty in Monday's 3-3 draw with Germany.

On Wednesday, former Liverpool and England defender Carragher said criticism of Maguire's performances was justified, writing in the Telegraph: "Harry Maguire should be angry.

"He should be angry that he has gone from England's best defender at the 2018 World Cup and 2020 Euros, where he was named in the team of the tournament, to being presented as a laughing stock.

"He should be angry that he has gone from a player England fans saw as 'one of their own' when singing his name incessantly during internationals, to someone who some supporters think it justified to boo whenever his name is announced in the stadium.

"He should be angry that he finds himself fighting to justify his place in England's World Cup squad on the back of being left in limbo at Manchester United.

"And he should also be angry when looking at himself and asking; 'how have I allowed it to come to this', when not so long ago he would have been alongside Harry Kane as one of the first names on Gareth Southgate's team sheet.

"No-one deserves the kind of mockery coming Maguire's way. Some of the criticism towards him is that which you would expect directed at bad apples – poor characters who undermine their clubs or teams. 

"Maguire is not that. But strong reactions are inevitable when you become an £80million player. 

"Criticism of his performance against Germany is valid and justified and Southgate must assess if Maguire is mentally right for a World Cup, able to show he can put all the issues behind him. 

"In the past, it is something Maguire has struggled with. How can the manager make such a big call before the opening game against Iran unless Maguire is playing for his club?

"'We've got to pick our best and experienced players unless we're in a situation where it is almost untenable,' Southgate said on Monday night. Unfortunately for Maguire, we may already be at that stage."

With Ten Hag preferring Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez at the heart of a new-look United defence, Carragher thinks the time has come for Maguire to call time on his spell at Old Trafford.

"Too often, it looks as if the weight of the world is on his shoulders, like he is a startled bunny more than the authoritative centre-back he was," Carragher added.

"I think it is too late at club level. I wrote last year he was fighting for his Manchester United career.  He needs this to be his final season at Old Trafford and start afresh. Now it is England's problem.

"When I watched Maguire in the last two games, I felt sorry for him. But that is not a good look for any sports person. Sympathy will not get him back where he was two years ago."

Having failed to win any of their last six matches, England are experiencing their longest winless run going into a major tournament, and their worst patch of form since another sequence of six games without victory in 1993.

Denis Shapovalov claimed a spot in the quarter-finals of the Korea Open by seeing off the challenge of Spain's Jaume Munar on Wednesday.

The 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist needed 109 minutes to claim a 7-5 6-4 win over Munar, assuming control by breaking in the seventh game of the opener before doing likewise early in the second set.

Canadian Shapovalov – who is seeded fourth for the event – had not featured since a dramatic loss to Andrey Rublev at the US Open earlier this month, but produced a consistent display in Seoul, not committing a single double fault during the match.

His reward for the victory is a last-eight tie with Radu Albot, who held his nerve in two tie-breaks to record a 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3) win over Steve Johnson.

In Wednesday's other match, Japan's Taro Daniel beat Ecuador's Emilio Gomez in straight sets in the duo's round-of-32 tie. 

Top seed Casper Ruud begins his campaign against Nicolas Jarry on Thursday.

Bruno Fernandes has defended Cristiano Ronaldo and believes there is "no need" for a "soap opera" around his Manchester United and Portugal team-mate following a 1-0 loss to Spain.

After an impressive 4-0 win against the Czech Republic put Portugal in pole position in Nations League Group A2, they were beaten by La Roja and missed out on a place in the Finals.

Ronaldo failed to score in a third consecutive game at international level, seeing two attempts saved by Unai Simon, and appeared extremely disappointed and frustrated at full-time.

But Fernandes came to his colleague's defence, saying: "There is no need to make great stories. Cristiano is here, he is here to help, and he will continue to help.

"Cristiano is a forward; he wants to score goals. Frustration is normal, but there was no one more frustrated than anyone else.

"We were all very frustrated – there is no need to make a soap opera around Cristiano."

Ronaldo has just one goal and one assist for club and country this season, but Fernandes added: "He has done what he has to do; the goals will appear.

"This is a phase. When the goals start to appear, he will have more capacity and tranquillity to continue scoring many goals for our national team. We cannot forget that he is the best scorer ever."

After two disappointing international tournaments, not progressing past the last 16 at either the 2018 World Cup or Euro 2020, Qatar provides an opportunity for Portugal to set things right. 

"[The Nations League] doesn't get in the way," Fernandes said. "The World Cup is a completely different competition.

"We knew what we had to do in this competition; unfortunately, we couldn't go all the way.

"The World Cup will soon be seen, so we have to focus, be at the best level in the clubs to represent the national team."

Lionel Scaloni is "excited and grateful" at the prospect of continuing as Argentina coach through to the 2026 World Cup.

Chiqui Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association, stated an agreement had been reached between both parties for Scaloni to remain in his post for the next four years.

A new deal would be a fine reward for Scaloni, who replaced Jorge Sampaoli after the 2018 World Cup, where Argentina were beaten by eventual champions France in the last 16.

Under Scaloni, Argentina won the Copa America last year to end a drought at major tournaments dating back to the 1993 Copa.

A routine 3-0 win over Jamaica on Tuesday, in which Lionel Messi scored twice off the bench, also saw Argentina stretch their unbeaten run to 35 matches.

Scaloni is now focused on continuing his work with the national team.

"I'm excited and grateful," Scaloni said about Tapia's announcement.

"I want to continue, who wouldn't want to do it with the Argentine national team?

"I have the best relationship with the president, we met today, everything is on track."

The fixture against Jamaica was Argentina's penultimate game before the World Cup with a friendly against the United Arab Emirates to come before the tournament in Qatar.

Earlier this year, Argentina's planned friendly against Brazil – scheduled to take place in Australia – was cancelled.

Scaloni spoke about a lack of preparation against the more elite sides of international football but is confident his team will be ready based on their performances in the build-up to the tournament.

"The result is positive, not for the results, but because the players gave themselves to the maximum," he added.

"Sometimes things don't go well but this team knows that sometimes you can suffer, the rival can be better, and you have to stay entrenched and work.

"Don't forget that our idea of the game could be different from what was seen today You have to know what to do in the game and this team knows it."

Asked about his team's chances in Qatar, Scaloni added: "I do not go to Qatar with an inflated chest, there are great teams and it is very difficult to say who can win the World Cup.

"Whatever it has to be in the World Cup [it will be], but we are going to leave every last drop of sweat [out there]."

Argentina's first group-stage match takes place on November 22nd against Saudi Arabia.

Fernando Santos had no concerns around his future as Portugal coach after his team lost 1-0 to Spain and missed out on a place at the Nations League Finals.

Spain's dramatic victory came courtesy of Alvaro Morata's goal in the 88th minute, sending La Roja to next year's tournament instead of Portugal.

Having only needed a draw to advance, the late winner was of great frustration to Santos, but he would not entertain talk around his status as coach.

Informed of criticism and asked whether poor results would affect his position, Santos shot back: "Well, that's fine. But what should I answer? It doesn't pinch [impact] me at all.

"Do you want to be more direct or is that your question?

"My contract goes until 2024. I can't be more direct than that."

On the match, Santos added: "We cannot concede a goal in the last minutes. If we have to defend, we should give everything for it.

"Anyway, the players worked hard, and we still had a good opportunity, but we didn't make the most of it." 

Spain had five shots on target to Portugal's four, but all of those came after the 71st minute, with Santos' side paying for their earlier profligacy.

"If I would like to simplify, I would say that we had several opportunities and Spain only had a few," the coach said. "So it would be a matter of efficiency: we didn't score.

"We must look at the whole game. We are all very sad. We were convinced that we would reach the Nations League Finals. We are not there, so we are obviously sad.

"We must move on and identify what needs to be improved. We must address it in order to be on top form at the World Cup."

Portugal were not helped by Cristiano Ronaldo's failure to contribute in attack.

He has now not scored in his past three appearances for Portugal, and there are questions around his ability to carry the national team without consistent game time at Manchester United.

"I am only interested in the team's performance," Santos said. "Ronaldo had three or four chances, two of them very good.

"He normally scores [in these situations], but he didn't. It's football. We normally expect him to score, but he didn't."

Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has backed Sadio Mane to shine, expressing his empathy after his recent struggles with the Bundesliga champions.

The Senegal international arrived from Liverpool for a reported €32million fee and initially started strong in his new surroundings, scoring three goals in his opening three Bundesliga appearances.

However, a dip in goalscoring form for Mane has seen the forward fail to score in his last four league matches and has coincided with poor results for Bayern, who are without a win in those games.

Indeed, Mane's only goal in his last seven Bayern appearances came in a routine 5-0 win against Viktoria Koln in the DBF-Pokal at the end of August.

Salihamidzic is not concerned, however, identifying the struggles he himself went through after leaving Bayern for Juventus and backing Mane to excel this season.

"Sadio still needs a bit of time. He has to get used to the Bundesliga, but he will. I know how it is to join a new team, in another city, another country with another football culture," he told BILD.

"I joined Juventus at 30 years old. I had won the Champions League, Bundesliga and Pokal with Bayern, but even as an experienced successful player, you need a while to get used to your new environment in order to fully focus on football and perform consistently.

"Sadio is still in this process. Everything will soon be more familiar to him and we'll soon see it on the pitch.

"I speak regularly with him, but I also give him space. He has to organise himself in a way that he feels at home in Munich - he's doing that. Sadio is one of the best players in the world. He'll bring very good performances. We'll still have a lot of joy with him.

"Sadio plays for the team. His teammates can see that. They all know that Sadio is an important member of the group. They will help him because, when in top form, he helps us achieve our goals."

Bayern resume their campaign after the international break on Friday against Bayer Leverkusen, which is followed by a home match against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League and Der Klassiker against Borussia Dortmund.

Newcastle United are reportedly prepared to launch a third bid for Leicester City midfielder James Maddison in the January window.

Maddison, 24, has had a strong start to the season despite Leicester sitting bottom of the table through seven games, with the midfielder registering three goals and an assist.

Newcastle reportedly placed bids of £40million and £45m in the last window – which prompted manager Brendan Rodgers to say "that might just cover three-quarters of his left leg" – but January will mark 18 months remaining on his contract, with a voluntary extension looking extremely unlikely.

TOP STORY – MADDISON OPEN TO NEWCASTLE UNITED MOVE

Maddison is said to be more open to the idea of leaving Leicester after failing to break back into the England setup for the World Cup, with his only international cap coming as a substitute during a win against Montenegro in 2020.

With Newcastle players Nick Pope and Kieran Trippier both being involved with the Three Lions, it is viewed as a more favourable situation to capture the attention of Gareth Southgate.

The report from The Times indicates Leicester do have the option to extend Maddison's contract by one extra season, which could give them the freedom to see out the remainder of the campaign.

However, if Newcastle are willing to move into the £60m range, that kind of spending power could fund some significant moves to address the Foxes' problems, and there is no guarantee his value will remain this high if they delay.

ROUND-UP

– According to Spanish publication Beteve, Lionel Messi will refuse any contract extension and will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this season.

– Kicker is reporting Tottenham's Harry Kane remains Bayern Munich's top target, and with only one more season left on his deal after this campaign, Tottenham could be forced to cash-in if he indicates he is ready to leave.

– Juventus will not renew the contracts of Angel Di Maria, Juan Cuadrado and Adrien Rabiot in order to reduce their wage bill, per La Gazzetta dello Sport.

– Calciomercato is reporting Roma will join Bayern Munich and Manchester United with interest in €30m Ajax centre-back Jurrien Timber.

– According to Fabrizio Romano, Newcastle United are monitoring highly regarded Vasco da Gama 18-year-old Andrey Santos.

The Boston Red Sox emerged 13-9 victors in an action-packed game against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

It continued a high-scoring series after the Orioles won the opener on Monday 14-8, marking the first time either team have played in back-to-back games this season totaling 22 or more runs.

Despite the loss, it was a memorable game for Orioles left-fielder Anthony Santander as he finished three-for-five at the plate with two home runs. Incredibly, it is the third time in the past four games he has hit multiple home runs, rocketing him up to 12th in the majors with 33 this season.

The Red Sox only had one home run in the game – a two-run shot from rookie Triston Casas, who finished three-for-four at the plate – but they scored all 13 runs within the first four innings.

Lead-off hitter Tommy Pham led the way with three RBIs, while Casas, Rafael Devers and Connor Wong had two each.

Standout Orioles rookie Adley Rutschman also went deep for his 13th home run of the season, quickly becoming one of the best young catchers in the sport.

In a difficult start on the mound for Boston's Michael Wacha, his six earned runs in three-and-a-third innings raised his ERA for the season from 2.70 up to 3.06.

Blue Jays walk Judge four times in Yankees win

The Toronto Blue Jays made headlines when they intentionally walked New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge in extra innings on Monday, and they still wanted nothing to do with him in Tuesday's 5-2 loss.

Toronto only issued four walks in the whole game, and all four went to Judge. None were credited as intentional walks, with all four coming after he worked his way to a full-count.

With Judge not getting much of a chance to swing the bat, it was Gleyber Torres picking up the slack, going three-for-five at the plate with three RBIs, while Anthony Rizzo and Aaron Hicks also drove in one run each.

Jameson Taillon pitched a quality start for the Yankees, giving up two earned runs in seven-and-a-third innings.

With the win, the Yankees clinched the AL East for the 20th time – the second-most division titles for any team, trailing only the Atlanta Braves with 21.

Acuna delivers for the Braves

Ronald Acuna Jr hit home runs in back-to-back at-bats in the Atlanta Braves' 8-2 road win against the Washington Nationals.

Both of Acuna's home runs were solo shots, while Rookie of the Year hopefully Michael Harris II also collected a pair of RBIs as he finished two-for-five with a triple and an infield-single.

The Braves are tied with the New York Mets for the lead in the NL East, with a three-game series between the two sides still to come.