Jacob Bethell is set to bat at number three on his Test debut after replacing Jordan Cox as England open their series against New Zealand in Christchurch on Thursday.
The Warwickshire left-hander was called up after wicketkeeper Cox broke his right thumb in the nets during England’s warm-up game.
As such, England’s usual number three, Ollie Pope, will take the role of wicketkeeper and drop down the batting order to number six.
While Bethell has eight ODI caps and seven T20 caps for England, he was a shock choice for the Test squad, but one Joe Root is excited to see.
"The way his game sets up suits Test cricket. I'm really looking forward to watching him go out there and play. It's a really exciting time for him,” Root told BBC Sport.
"I've known him and his family for a long time. I saw him play when he was 11 or 12 years old and I could tell then he was already a very accomplished player.
“It's been really pleasing seeing him grow up, make his way at Warwickshire, then more recently in the white-ball stuff show everyone what a brilliant player he is.
"This is a great opportunity for him, a blank canvas in a position where he can really put influence on the game. He can just go play, enjoy it, and I expect him to do just that."
Root himself will become the fourth Englishman to reach 150 tests at fourth in the order, while Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will open the batting.
England will hope to overturn poor test form, having lost their last series 2-1 in Pakistan. They have been defeated in three of their previous four Tests.
England XI for first Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.
Trinidad & Tobago’s men’s team and Jamaica’s women’s team both claimed silver medals at the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens tournament, which concluded Sunday at the Larry Gomes Stadium in the Twin Island Republic.
In a dominant display, Canada cruised past Trinidad and Tobago in the men’s final with a commanding 38-0 victory. Despite the defeat and missing out on qualification for the 2025 World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series, Trinidad and Tobago found consolation in the fact that their junior team secured a spot in the 2025 Junior Pan Am Games’ Sevens competition.
Trinidad and Tobago's captain, Shakeel Dyte, and vice captain, Ruairi O'Farrel, made valiant efforts to breach Canada’s formidable defence, but the hosts struggled against the well-oiled Canadian unit.
Jamaica took third place in the men’s division, with Mexico finishing fourth. Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guyana, and Barbados rounded out the standings in fifth through eighth places, respectively.
In the women’s competition, heartbreak struck Jamaica in the final moments of their clash with Mexico. Leading for most of the match, Jamaica conceded two converted tries in the last 45 seconds, allowing Mexico to snatch a dramatic 19-12 victory and the gold medal.
Trinidad and Tobago’s women, however, ended on a high note, securing the bronze medal with a dominant 29-0 win over the Dominican Republic.
Both Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica would have wanted more but will take heart from the fact that they not only left the tournament with commendable performances but, more importantly, showcased their potential in regional rugby while setting the stage for further growth in the sport.
Jamie Carragher has criticised Mohamed Salah for being “selfish” after the Liverpool forward indicated he would more likely than not leave the club at the end of the season.
Salah suggested he was “probably more out than in” following his match-winning brace at Southampton that sent league leaders Liverpool eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
His second goal of the two was his 100th away from Anfield for Liverpool in all competitions, but with his contract up at the end of the season, Salah is yet to receive a new offer.
Carragher was disappointed in the Egyptian’s decision to cast doubt on his future with clashes against Real Madrid and Manchester City fast approaching.
"Right now, there's obviously a big difference in the valuation. What Salah and his agent value themselves at, whether that's financially or in terms of length of contract, to what Liverpool do,” Carragher explained on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
"So the reason Liverpool wouldn't have offered a contract yet is because Salah will turn it down, so they're still in talks. I'm desperate for them to meet in the middle, but I am very disappointed with Salah.
"Liverpool have got Real Madrid midweek and they've got Manchester City at the weekend, that's the story for Liverpool right now.
"We’re all quite aware, certainly the local reporters are in Liverpool, that in the seven years he's been at the football club he's stopped in the mixed zone twice, which is his right, which is absolutely fine.
"But he decided to stop for the third time away at Southampton on the back of winning Liverpool the game and putting that out.”
Liverpool came back from behind to win 3-2 on the south coast with Salah sealing the three points from the spot seven minutes from time.
The right-winger has 16 goal contributions already this season (10 goals, six assists), leading Liverpool for goals and assists. He also boasts the best goalscoring rate in the squad, with a goal every 106 minutes.
His form has been invaluable to new boss Arne Slot, who has won 10 of his 12 Premier League games in charge of Liverpool (D1 L1), the joint-fastest any manager has reached double figures for wins from the start of their career in the competition.
It places the Merseyside team in a strong position to reclaim the league title.
"Now the most important thing for Liverpool this season is not the future of Mo Salah, it's not the future of Virgil van Dijk and it's not the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold,” added Carragher.
"The most important thing is Liverpool winning the Premier League. That is more important than any of those players, and if he continues to put comments out or his agent keeps putting cryptic tweets out, that's selfish, that's thinking about themselves and not the football club."
Arsenal need to be ruthless to secure a win against Sporting and snap their negative run of form away from home in the Champions League, manager Mikel Arteta said ahead of Tuesday's clash.
Winless in their last four European outings, Arsenal arrive in Portugal following a 1-0 defeat against Inter Milan at San Siro earlier this month.
Arteta's side currently sit 12th in the new Champions League 36-team format, where the top eight teams qualify automatically for the last 16, and the next 16 enter a two-legged playoff to join them.
The Spaniard acknowledged that improving their away form is key to his team's chances in Europe's top-tier club competition.
"It's certainly something we have to improve. We have the right steps, and looking back at the way we played against Inter, we dominated the game and should have won," Arteta told a news conference on Monday.
"But the reality is you have to make it happen, and we didn't. Those steps are what we need to take next - be ruthless and much more efficient in the opposition box.
"We wanted to be higher (in the standings), but it's the position we are in right now.
"We have to play in a way that's going to give us a chance to win the game and fight to do it as quickly as possible. Tomorrow we have a great opportunity to do that."
It will be the seventh meeting between Sporting and Arsenal in European competition. The Portuguese side are still looking for their first victory over the Gunners (D4 L2), though each of their last three meetings have ended level.
Sporting, who thrashed Manchester City 4-1 in their last outing, are enjoying an outstanding campaign, remaining unbeaten in second place with 10 points. However, they are now without former manager Ruben Amorim, who has departed to Manchester United.
Arteta acknowledged the Portuguese champions pose a major challenge for Arsenal but also offer an opportunity for a morale-boosting triumph.
"The run they are on is incredible, which tells you it's not only about their qualities but their ambition and the team energy they have. That's the great challenge we have," he said.
"To come here tomorrow, make a statement, and show that we are capable against this kind of opponent by being ourselves and winning the game."
Kristaps Porziņģis had 16 points in 23 minutes in a successful season debut as the Boston Celtics stayed hot with Monday's 126-94 blowout of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Porzingis' return from offseason ankle surgery helped turn this clash of teams that came in each owning five-game winning streaks into a laugher. Three-point shooting turned out to be the biggest factor, however, as the defending NBA champion Celtics hit 22 shots from beyond the arc while holding Los Angeles to a 7-of-26 effort (26.9 per cent) on such tries.
Payton Pritchard went 6 of 10 from 3-point range while scoring 20 points off the bench for Boston. Jayson Tatum also had 20 points to go along with nine rebounds, while Derrick White added 19 points and seven assists while going 5 of 9 on 3-point attempts.
Ivica Zubac led Los Angeles, which was coming off a win in Philadelphia on Sunday, with 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting as well as 10 rebounds. James Harden flirted with a triple-double in defeat by tallying 19 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
After taking a 27-20 lead after one quarter, the Celtics overwhelmed the Clippers from the perimeter in the second. Boston hit 12 shots from beyond the arc for the period and shot 70.8 per cent overall while outscoring Los Angeles by a 51-29 margin during the quarter.
The scoring barrage sent Boston into the break owning a commanding 78-49 advantage.
Los Angeles never seriously threatened in the second half, as the Celtics never held a lead smaller than 15 points over the final two quarters.
Nets overcome 18-point deficit to stun Warriors
Dennis Schröder scored 23 of his 31 points in the second half to spark the Brooklyn Nets to a surprising 128-120 comeback road win over the Golden State Warriors.
The Nets handed the Warriors a second straight loss after a 12-3 start to the season despite trailing by 18 points midway through the third quarter. Brooklyn was able to rally for its second win in as many nights behind big efforts from Schroder and Ziaire Williams, who had 13 of his 19 points after half-time and finished with 10 rebounds.
Cam Thomas added 23 points for Brooklyn, which was coming off a 108-103 road victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Golden State received 28 points and seven assists from Stephen Curry and 18 points from Andrew Wiggins, but failed to get late stops on defence while being outscored 41-28 in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors appeared to have the game in control after Curry tallied seven points during an 11-0 run that gave them an 86-68 lead with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Brooklyn answered with 11 straight points of its own, however, and later got to within 92-87 after Trendon Watford sank a 3-pointer to end the third quarter.
Schroder then scored the first eight points of the fourth, with his 3-ball with 9:43 to go breaking a 92-92 tie.
The Warriors were never able to get the lead back, with the Nets putting the game out of reach with a late 7-2 spurt that put them up 126-115 in the final minute.
Anunoby's 40 points leads Knicks' blowout of Nuggets
OG Anunoby racked up a career-high 40 points and the New York Knicks tied a franchise record with 45 assists to hand the scuffling Denver Nuggets a 145-118 loss.
Jalen Brunson also set a career best by dishing out 17 of New York's 45 assists, which matched a team single-game high set in 1979. The Knicks also shot a season-high 60.9 per cent from the field to win for the fifth time in six games, with Anunoby hitting 16 of 23 shots and Karl-Anthony Towns going 12 of 15 while adding 30 points and 15 rebounds.
New York held Nikola Jokić to a season-low seven rebounds as well as they dealt Denver a fourth defeat in six games. The reigning NBA MVP did manage 22 points and seven assists, while Russell Westbrook scored 27 points off the bench and Jamal Murray had 20 along with seven assists.
The Nuggets also received their second straight loss at home, where they're 5-4 so far this season after producing a 33-8 record at Ball Arena in 2023-24.
Brunson had nine of his 23 points during an 11-4 run to close out the first quarter that staked New York to a 36-24 lead after 12 minutes of play. Towns then put up 15 points in the second quarter as the Knicks stretched the margin to 23 points by half-time, as they entered the break with a 76-53 advantage.
The Knicks continued to pour it on in the second half, as their lead never got under 17 points and reached as high as 30 in the fourth quarter.
Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and John Harbaugh got the best of his brother once again as the Baltimore Ravens earned a 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday.
Baltimore (8-4) put an end to the Chargers' four-game winning streak and improved Harbaugh to 3-0 lifetime against his brother, Jim, in matchups between the sibling head coaches. The first two meetings came when Jim Harbaugh coached the San Francisco 49ers, including a 34–31 Ravens victory in Super Bowl 47 in 2013.
Jackson bounced back from a subpar performance in Baltimore's loss to the rival Pittsburgh Steelers last week to complete 16 of 22 passes for 177 yards with touchdown throws to Rashod Bateman and Mark Andrews.
The Ravens also dominated on the ground by piling up 212 rushing yards, including 140 from Derrick Henry on 24 attempts. Justice Hill added a 51-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help Baltimore close within a half-game of the first-place Steelers in the AFC North.
Los Angeles (7-4) lost for the first time since Oct. 21 despite taking a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter. The Chargers got a 5-yard touchdown run from quarterback Justin Herbert on the opening drive but largely sputtered thereafter, managing just 285 total yards.
Herbert finished 21 of 36 for 218 passing yards, while Ladd McConkey recorded six catches for 83 yards in the loss.
After going down 10-0 on Cameron Dicker's 42-yard field goal, the Ravens responded with a 7-play, 70-yard drive capped by Jackson's 10-yard touchdown on a designed run to get on the board midway through the second quarter.
Jackson later put Baltimore ahead with 24 seconds left before half-time with a deep pass that Bateman corraled in traffic for a 40-yard touchdown. The Ravens took a 14-13 lead into the break after Dicker hit a 52-yard field goal on the final play of the half to pull Los Angeles closer.
After both teams traded field goals in the third quarter, the Ravens pulled away in the fourth. Jackson engineered a 14-play, 70-yard series culminating in Andrews' 6-yard touchdown pass that staked Baltimore to a 23-16 lead with 12:32 remaining. John Harbaugh opted to try for a 2-point conversion, but Jackson's pass in the end zone was broken up.
Hill then put the game away by breaking free for a 51-yard touchdown with 7:24 left to play. The Chargers did get a touchdown in the final minute when former Raven Gus Edwards crossed the goal line on a 1-yard run.
Eddie Howe bemoaned some "strange decisions" and individual errors as Newcastle United lost 2-0 against West Ham at St James' Park.
Newcastle's three-match winning run in all competitions was halted as goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka earned West Ham victory in Monday's Premier League clash.
Soucek's 10th-minute opener came via a free header from a corner, while Wan-Bissaka had space inside the box to get a shot away for his goal early in the second half.
At the other end, Alexander Isak failed to find the target from any of his six shots, including one Opta-defined big opportunity at 1-0 down.
Reflecting on the defeat, Howe told Sky Sports: "It was a mixed night for us. In the first 60 minutes, although we were 2-0 down, we played some good football.
"But I was disappointed by the two goals we conceded and the last half-hour was really disappointing. We got our organisation wrong and made a couple of individual errors.
"If you leave a player with Tomas Soucek's aerial ability unmarked, you are going to pay the price. It's something we have to learn from.
"I was always confident we were in the game and there was a very good chance we could come back. But we missed some gilt-edged chances in the first half.
"I didn't feel we really got going in the second half. We made some strange decisions. I didn't like the end part of the game."
Newcastle have now lost two of their past three Premier League home games, as many losses as in their previous 20 outings at St James' Park.
The Magpies tasted defeat against West Ham in the Premier League for only the second time in 11 outings and dropped one place to 10th in the table, four points adrift of the top four.
"It's a really difficult one to take," Newcastle defender Lewis Hall told BBC Sport. "It was a massive game for us. We'd have been two points off second if we won.
"It was a frustrating game for us. We had a lot of the ball. When you are on top, you have to find a way to put the ball in the net, which we didn't do today."
Newcastle have failed to find the net in three of their past six league games and have just 13 goals for the season – only Everton, Crystal Palace (both 10) and Southampton (nine) have fewer.
"We know we can score goals," Hall added. "This season, we've defended better than we've attacked. But last season, we attacked better than we defended.
"It's about doing both. My message to the fans is to stick with us. Everyone works so hard throughout the week."
Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is set for a spell on the sidelines after fracturing his right ankle, the club have confirmed.
Vicario produced a couple of excellent saves to keep out Manchester City on Saturday, as Ange Postecoglou's Spurs claimed a stunning 4-0 victory over the champions at the Etihad Stadium.
However, the Italian needed treatment during the first half after colliding with Savinho, and it has now been revealed he played the final hour of the match with an ankle break.
The former Atalanta shot-stopper wrote on social media: "Sometimes football gives you its highs, and sometimes it challenges you in ways you don't expect.
"I played 60 minutes at the Etihad with a broken bone in my ankle, giving absolutely everything I had for the team.
"Unfortunately there was no way around this one. I needed surgery. I'm disappointed I won't be able to help the team for a while."
Tottenham did not put a timescale on Vicario's recovery in a statement of their own, saying: "We can confirm that Guglielmo Vicario has undergone surgery for a fracture of his right ankle.
"Guglielmo will be assessed by our medical staff to determine when he can return to training. We're all behind you, Vic."
Jarrod Bowen praised the manner of West Ham's victory at Newcastle United and believes it will act as "a really big turning point" in his side's campaign.
West Ham won 2-0 at St James' Park in Monday's Premier League contest thanks to goals from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The victory is just the Hammers' fourth in 12 league matches under Julen Lopetegui, who has seen his job as head coach called into question early in his tenure.
Bowen, who assisted Wan-Bissaka's goal, believes things are now starting to turn for his side after a slow start to the campaign.
Asked by Sky Sports if it could be a big win for Lopetegui, Bowen replied: "I think it is for everyone associated with the club. We've been disappointed with our start.
"We have to take responsibility and do our work. We haven't done that to a high enough ability this year. It was a real big moment and this is a really big turning point in our season.
"[Lopetegui] has come in with different ideas and playing from the back but also mixing it up as well.
"That's up to us to adapt too, and he has come in with fresh good ideas, especially for us attacking players. We are getting there."
Bowen overtook Paolo Di Canio with his 79th Premier League goal involvement for West Ham and is now behind only Michail Antonio (101) and Mark Noble (82).
Wan-Bissaka's strike early in the second half added to Soucek's 10th-minute opener, with that his fourth Premier League goal against Newcastle – against no team does he have a better record.
West Ham remain 14th in the league but are now just three points off the top-half places, with a home match against Arsenal next up on Saturday.
Lopetegui, who replaced David Moyes ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, was pleased with the win but believes there is more to come from his side.
"We are happy. I think that we played well," he told Sky Sports. "We played with one identity and we were able to overcome a very good team.
"They started well and it is always good to have more confidence. They had two chances and I think in the second half we did well and deserved to win.
"I am happy for the players, for the team and for the fans. They will have to drive a lot of miles so we are happy for them. We look forward to the next challenge. We are happy but we have a lot of work to do.
"We have to build as a team if we are to work and know what we want to do. I think about their play. That is the thing that we try to do.
"We have a lot of matches that we need to do and I believe in the future this team is going to be able to show the style as a team.
"The players believe and they are able to put in the focus every day. Each match is one incredible challenge in the Premier League."
West Indies are on the brink of a 2-0 win in their Test series at home to Bangladesh, needing just three wickets on day five with the tourists requiring 225 runs.
Having reached 269-9 by stumps on Sunday, Bangladesh surprisingly declared overnight while 181 runs behind, leaving Taskin Ahmed to start the day with the ball in hand, rather than the bat.
That decision gave West Indies the chance to rack up another commanding total after they declared at 450 in their first innings, but they could only tag on another 152.
Taskin scalped six in the best bowling display of his red-ball career, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz trapped the hosts' top scorer Alick Athanaze (42) lbw as the Bangladesh bowlers gave their batters a chance.
However, they were not repaid as Miraz's declaration soon started to look ill-advised. Just five balls of Bangladesh's second innings were required for Kemar Roach – who ended the day with figures of 3-20 – to make the breakthrough for West Indies, getting an inside edge off Zakir Hasan (1).
Bangladesh struggled to build any momentum and Roach got two more wickets to leave the tourists 23-4, and while Miraz tried to get things going with 45 off 46 deliveries, he saw a thick edge snapped up by wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva for another crucial wicket.
Jayden Seales joined Roach in scalping three, and though Bangladesh made it to stumps with three wickets intact, they have an almighty task awaiting them on the final day.
Data Debrief: Taskin's efforts in vain?
When Taskin produced his brilliant six-wicket haul, it seemed for a fleeting moment as though Bangladesh's overnight declaration may have been a stroke of inspiration.
Taskin's figures of 6-64 surpassed his previous best red-ball inning figures of 4-37 versus Afghanistan last year, while he has now taken eight wickets altogether in the Antigua Test.
However, when Bangladesh slumped to 23-4 within 13 overs, Miraz was surely regretting his decision not to attempt to bat out Monday's morning session and bring the possibility of a draw into play.
Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca has urged his players not to underestimate the challenge posed by Slovan Bratislava in Tuesday's Champions League match, even though the Slovakian side are bottom of the standings after losing four straight games.
Slovan Bratislava have yet to earn a point and have a minus-13 goal difference, while Milan are 20th with six points and within the play-off section.
"Am I at risk of underestimating tomorrow’s match? I expect that won’t happen. Today we talked about the importance of winning tomorrow. We mustn’t look at their history," Fonseca told a press conference on Monday.
"We must think that tomorrow we are playing at their home. It will be important to have the right attitude."
Fonseca added that his side often perform better against teams that on paper appear stronger than them, such as their 3-1 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the previous Champions League matchweek.
"What I know is that against the big teams we have done well and that [we have] done less well against the small teams," Fonseca said.
"We work to be a team with the attitude and ambitions shown against the big teams. We work to always be the same team.
"The Champions League is the Champions League. Everyone likes to be in these games, the motivation is greater. I expect them to be able to play the Champions League tomorrow with this motivation."
Milan faced criticism following their dull 0-0 draw with Juventus at the weekend, with Fonseca admitting his side fell short of their best.
"We are aware of what we did well and what we did less well. We did several things less well," Fonseca said.
"The problem is that the dimension of things in Milan seems different to me: a draw with Juve for us is a defeat, for others a victory."
Antigua and Barbuda’s Kimberly Percival added another accolade to her extraordinary season by winning the Bikini Fitness Category at the Mr Universe Chile IFBB Competition over the November 23-24 weekend. Percival’s victory came just a week after her triumph in the same category in Cancun, Mexico, solidifying her status as one of the sport’s elite athletes in 2024.
Competing in a field of 10, Percival topped a highly competitive lineup that included Franziska Lohberger of Germany, who finished as the runner-up, and Flavia Carneiro Mendes of Brazil, who placed third. Rounding out the top five were Anna Wozniakowska of Poland and Yissel Leon of Mexico, with Jamaica’s Deidre Lewis placing sixth.
Percival spoke passionately about the level of competition in Chile, noting that it was more challenging than Cancun due to the strength of the South American athletes.
“Chile, as expected, was definitely more competitive than Cancun. The South American countries tend to have a very standout lineup and a solid athlete pose,” she explained. “We had eight IFBB pros registered to participate, with two additional athletes earning their pro cards earlier in the day and joining the lineup. It was definitely a competitive pool, and I would say more competitive than Cancun.”
Percival highlighted the rigorous nature of the judging process, which involved multiple comparisons and rotations among the athletes.
Kimberly Percival triumphs in Chile.
“They definitely worked us, they turned us, they rotated us, they compared us, and I think everybody had to bring their best,” she said. “For me, my advantage would have been my aesthetic—being tall and the level of development that I carry, my shape, and general bikini aesthetic. But I still had to work hard, ensuring I showcased and represented my muscularity, development, and elegance as is expected in Bikini.”
The win in Chile marked the end of an incredible season for Percival, who competed in five shows this fall, earning four first-place finishes and one second place. Among her highlights was a victory at the Arnold Classic in October and a win at the Grand Gala St. Vincent in Italy.
“The plan was to come into both of these shows with the intent of adding two more feathers to my cap, rounding out my year on a high note,” Percival said. “I was over the moon that I was able to follow through on that intention and walk away with those two wins, Chile being the last one.”
Percival’s success has been consistent across different countries and judging panels, something she takes immense pride in.
“Different countries, different judging panels, and still consistently being able to have this success is really gratifying and very fulfilling,” she reflected.
Percival celebrates her win in Cancun, Mexico last week.
Beyond her achievements, Percival is driven by the legacy she is building for herself, her country, and the sport of bodybuilding.
“A big part of what pushes me is the consideration of the legacy that I am creating for myself, my name, my country, and my sport,” she said. “Bodybuilding is a little niche, so bringing that notoriety and fanfare to the sport and to a small island is really fulfilling. I am really happy to represent that the way I intended to.”
Percival’s latest victory and the exceptional season she has had underscore her passion, dedication, and drive, making her a true ambassador for bodybuilding and a source of pride for Antigua and Barbuda. As she continues to carve out her legacy, her success serves as an inspiration for aspiring athletes across the Caribbean and beyond.
Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored as West Ham defeated Newcastle United 2-0 at St James' Park on Monday to ease the pressure on boss Julen Lopetegui.
Newcastle entered the game on a three-match winning run, including back-to-back victories in the Premier League, but it was a previously out-of-form West Ham side who came out on top.
Soucek profited from some poor Newcastle defending to head West Ham into a 10th-minute lead, coming after Alexander Isak had a goal rightly disallowed for offside.
Isak missed a good chance and Anthony Gordon was denied by Lukasz Fabianski, before Wan-Bissaka fired in his first goal for the Hammers eight minutes into the second half after being played in by Jarrod Bowen.
Fabianski had next to nothing to do from that point on as West Ham saw out a win that keeps them 14th but now within three points of Newcastle, who are 10th and still four points adrift of the top four.
Data Debrief: Happy Mondays for West Ham
West Ham have now won eight of their past nine Premier League games on a Monday, with the only exception in that run being a 3-1 loss at Arsenal on Boxing Day 2022.
Soucek's goal was his fourth against Newcastle in the Premier League – against no side does he have more – with each of those giving West Ham the lead.
Three of Wan-Bissaka's four goals in the competition have come against today's opponents, meanwhile, this latest one being assisted by Bowen.
The England forward has now been involved in 79 Premier League goals for West Ham – one more than Paolo Di Canio, and now behind only Michail Antonio (101) and Mark Noble (82).
The Champions League's new format is more difficult than its predecessor was, Diego Simeone said ahead of Atletico Madrid's trip to Sparta Prague.
Each of the 36 teams in Europe's premier club competition must play eight group-phase games, with the top eight sides qualifying for the last 16 and the next 16 in the standings taking part in playoffs to decide who joins them.
At the halfway point in the first phase, Atleti are a lowly 23rd with six points, two points and three places above Tuesday's opponents.
The likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain also find themselves 17th or lower, while surprise packages Sporting CP, Monaco, Brest and Aston Villa are flying high in the top eight.
Simeone believes the change in format has had a major effect this season, with the Opta supercomputer now giving his team a 55% chance of reaching the last 16 and just a 1% probability of lifting the trophy.
"From what the results are showing us, and what happens in the games, I understand that this format invites everyone to pay even more attention," Simeone said on Monday.
"Once we move forward and this first experience is over, we will have a clearer idea of what we really think.
"They always put pressure on you to win. That happened before too, but now it is a league where everyone plays against everyone, and it is not easy for anyone."
Atletico boosted their hopes of avoiding elimination as they came from behind to win 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain on matchday four, courtesy of a last-gasp goal from Angel Correa.
"The Champions League demands the most from you. It forces you to win," said Simeone, who celebrated his 700th game as Atletico head coach last weekend.
Sparta, currently fourth in the Czech First League, have failed to win in six of their last seven matches in all competitions, but Simeone does not expect a routine outing.
"They're tough opponents. At home they have a fast pace," Simeone added. "I can't imagine any other situation than taking this game to where we think we can do some damage.
"It often happens that all teams, at home and at the start of games, show intensity and strength.
"It's logical as they are with their fans. You have to adapt to the pace of that start. We're away from home and the opponent will push very hard."
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