The Atlanta Falcons will be without second-year tight end Kyle Pitts when they play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South lead on Sunday.  

The Falcons ruled Pitts out with a hamstring injury after he was held out of practice all week.  

Parker Hesse and Anthony Firkser could see more snaps at tight end, but neither option provides the vertical threat of Pitts, who was drafted fourth overall out of Florida in 2021.  

Pitts' absence is another blow for an Atlanta offense that is already missing starting running back Cordarrelle Patterson, who is out at least four games after undergoing a minor knee procedure.  

Pitts' role in the offense so far this season has been a point of contention for some Falcons fans. The 6ft 6in tight end has just 10 catches for 150 yards through four games, although he has been targeted 22 times.  

The Falcons dropped the first two games of the season but bounced back by beating the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns the past two weeks. The Buccaneers are also 2-2, coming off losses to the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs.  

 

There is "much more to come" from Jude Bellingham, according to Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic.

Bellingham captained the Bundesliga side during Wednesday's 4-1 win at Sevilla, where he became just the second teenager to score in the first three games of a Champions League campaign.

The only other player to achieve that feat is his former Dortmund team-mate Erling Haaland, who did so with Salzburg in the 2019-20 season.

Bellingham's tally of three Champions League goals this season is already a joint-high among English teenagers for a single campaign, along with Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, back in 2004-05.

The 19-year-old England international has been in good form for club and country, and Terzic believes he can get even better.

 

"[Bellingham] has been playing very consistently, getting more control and balance in his game," he said at a press conference ahead of Dortmund's Der Klassiker clash with Bayern Munich.

"We are very happy with the way he presents himself here every day. But this is not the end, there is much more to come."

Dortmund and Bayern head into Saturday's contest level on points in the Bundesliga, both two points behind surprise leaders Union Berlin and second-placed Freiburg.

Terzic is hopeful his team can produce a similar performance to the one in Seville, rather than their last league outing, where they lost 3-2 at Koln.

"We will not only need a good and disciplined tactical performance; we will need courage too," he said. "Courage to keep the ball, courage in one-on-ones and to get shots away.

"Not only against Bayern, but especially against Bayern."

The 39-year-old confirmed Marco Reus will not return for the game, having already been out with an ankle injury before illness halted his rehabilitation this week.

However, Mats Hummels could be back after his own illness, with a hopeful Terzic saying: "We would be very happy if he were an option. It's a case of seeing how he feels and how his body reacts to the workload." 

Novak Djokovic set up a semi-final meeting with Daniil Medvedev at the Astana Open on Friday, cruising past Karen Khachanov in the last eight.

Djokovic complemented a fine display of serving by converting three of his five break points in a 6-4 6-3 victory, recording his seventh consecutive win following his absence from the US Open.

The 21-time grand slam champion has now reached six semi-finals this year, but saw room for improvement in his performance after beating the world number 18.

"I didn't play as well from the baseline as I did in the first two matches, but still it was enough," Djokovic said. "I managed to produce some good tennis when it was most needed in both sets."

Looking ahead to his final-four match, the Serb added: "I always expect highs from myself. Hopefully I can elevate still the level of my game for tomorrow, because it's going to be needed." 

Djokovic will face an 11th tour-level meeting with Medvedev in the next round after his fellow former world number one recorded a dominant 6-1 6-1 win over Roberto Bautista Agut.

On the other side of the draw, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (10-8) 6-3, and will now face Andrey Rublev after he eased to a 6-1 6-2 win over Adrian Mannarino.

At the Japan Open, a knee injury forced Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios to withdraw from his meeting with Taylor Fritz, with the American set to take on Denis Shapovalov in the semi-finals.

Seventh seed Shapovalov saw off Borna Coric 6-4 6-3 to reach the final four, while fourth seed Frances Tiafoe advanced with a 6-0 6-4 win against Miomir Kecmanovic.

South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo claimed the final place in the semi-finals in Tokyo, beating Spain's Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-0

Arsenal are hugely impressed with William Saliba, but Mikel Arteta has stayed away from comparing the youngster to Virgil van Dijk.

Saliba has been fantastic for Arsenal this season, after finally getting his chance following loan spells at Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille.

The 21-year-old signed for Arsenal from Saint-Etienne back in 2019, but spent the next season back on loan at the French club.

However, Arteta did not call on the centre-back in the 2020-21 season, and Saliba subsequently left for Nice before spending last season on loan at Marseille.

This time around Arsenal kept hold of Saliba despite Marseille's interest and have been rewarded by some superb displays, with the France international starting all eight Premier League matches.

His form has seen him compared with Liverpool defender Van Dijk, though ahead of the meeting between the Gunners and the Reds, Arteta urged Saliba to "make his own career."

The Arsenal manager told reporters: "I think the way he has established himself, the composure and leadership that he's shown on the pitch – it's done in a very natural way without any flashlights, just being himself.

"Being very quiet but at the same time, very confident."

On the Van Dijk comparisons, Arteta said: "Wow, that's a big call. We're very happy with where he is at the moment.

"He's Saliba: he's no one else, and he needs to make his own career."

How do Saliba and Van Dijk stack up?

Arteta may have strayed away from comparing the players, but the data throws up some interesting head-to-head records.

While Van Dijk has struggled to hit his best form in an underperforming Liverpool team, Saliba has helped Arsenal keep three clean sheets this season, which ranks him joint-top in terms of defenders in the Premier League.

He has made 12 headed clearances, one more than Van Dijk, though both are way behind the league-leading defender in that regard (Joachim Andersen - 36). Saliba has also made 25 clearances to Van Dijk's 23.

Despite Van Dijk's struggles, he nevertheless boasts a better tackle success rate (60 per cent to 46.2) and duel success rate (72.1 to 56.3) than Saliba, while the Netherlands international has also won 25 of hs 32 aerial duels, compared to Saliba succeeding in eight of his 17.

Saliba's ability on the ball has also drawn comparisons to Van Dijk. He is able to find his team-mates with long passes, though Arteta's preferred style of play means Saliba has only attempted 32 long passes in the league.

An impressive 22 (69 per cent) of these have been successful, which betters the success rate managed by Van Dijk, who has landed 38 of his 69 long passes (55.1 per cent).

Standing as the only undefeated team across the NFL, the 4-0 Philadelphia Eagles will need to bring an end to a poor record in Arizona, having lost four consecutive matchups against the Cardinals.

The Eagles have not won in Arizona since Week 8 of the 2001 season, a 21-7 win highlighted by Brian Mitchell's 94-yard touchdown return of the opening kick-off, and will hope for similar magic on Sunday.

Miles Sanders enters the contest in fine form, setting a new career high in rushing yards last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars with 134 and scoring two rushing touchdowns for only the third time in his career (Week 5 & 14, 2020).

That saw him become the first Eagles player with 130+ rushing yards and two TDs in a single game since LeSean McCoy in Week 16, 2013, and only the sixth player to do so in the franchise's history.

This season, Sanders boasts 356 rushing yards to rank third among the league's rushing leaders behind only Saquon Barkley (463) and Nick Chubb (459) – the trio the only three players across the NFL to have 350+ rushing yards in the opening four games of the season.

However, the Cardinals have been strong against the rush this season with their opponents averaging just 87 yards per game, ranking fifth in the NFL, though only two teams have faced less rushing plays than Arizona (81).

For the Cardinals' offense, the onus will be firmly on Kyler Murray, who has attempted 173 passes this season, behind only Matt Ryan (195), whose 128 completions make him the sole quarterback to tally more than Murray (113, tied with Josh Allen).

However, a pass completion percentage of 65.3 is only enough to rank 14th in the NFL, with Murray's 991 yards leaving him 16th in the league and indicative of his bizarre lack of downfield threat. Murray's air yards per attempt average of 5.47 is the worst in the league among quarterbacks with at least 10 attempts.

The Eagles have allowed their opponents a gross passing yards total of 821, the seventh-lowest total in the NFL, so Murray will face a stern test if he is to lead the Cardinals to a fifth win in a row against their NFC rivals.

Manchester City have been fined £260,000 by the Football Association (FA) and warned about their future conduct after their supporters invaded the pitch following the title-clinching victory over Aston Villa on the final day of last season.

Pep Guardiola's side secured a fourth title in five seasons with a dramatic 3-2 comeback win against Villa at the Etihad Stadium on May 22.

Thousands of supporters made their way onto the field at the full-time whistle, with smoke flares let off, a goalpost broken and Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen allegedly attacked.

Greater Manchester Police charged two men over the disorder, while the FA formally charged City in August, with the English champions admitting to failing to control their supporters.

An FA statement on Friday read: "Manchester City FC have been fined £260,000 and warned about its future conduct for breaching FA Rule E20 after a Premier League game against Aston Villa.

"The club admitted that it failed to ensure its spectators – and all those purporting to be its supporters or followers – conducted themselves in an orderly fashion and refrained from using threatening and violent behaviour while encroaching onto the pitch after the final whistle.

"An Independent Regulatory Commission imposed these sanctions during a subsequent hearing and its written reasons for them will be published in due course."

Mikel Arteta hopes his Arsenal team can match Arsene Wenger's expectations for this season, as the Gunners great believes his former side have "a good chance" to win the Premier League title.

Arsenal are top after eight matches of the season, a point ahead of champions Manchester City.

Arteta's men may well have been removed from the summit by the time they play again, though, facing Liverpool on Sunday after City play Southampton on Saturday.

Despite City's own imperious form, three-time title-winning manager Wenger told Sky Sports he did not see "any super dominating team", prompting his optimism for Arsenal to claim a first championship since his last success in the 2003-04 campaign.

Responding to Wenger's thoughts ahead of the Liverpool game, Arteta, who played under the Frenchman, said: "Well, it's great obviously that the people who love the club so much and know the club very well have such an opinion about it.

"Now, unfortunately, we have to show it, but you have to do it on the pitch. And hopefully, he's right. He's been right on many occasions."

Arsenal certainly look in better shape than opponents Liverpool, who enter the weekend down in ninth, 11 points off the pace with a game in hand.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has suggested the Reds are a work in progress, but Arteta responded: "Our team is as well.

"I think you always want to get better. You always hear about the weaknesses that you want to improve. Liverpool are a magnificent team."

Indeed, even with Liverpool struggling, Arteta sees this match as a major challenge for his side.

"Every game is the same [opportunity to make a statement]," he said. "Obviously, it's a big match.

"It's a fixture that everybody's looking for, against an opponent that has shown in the last five or six years the level that they have.

"And we have to show those opponents again that we have reached the level and we are ready to compete against them."

Pep Guardiola is backing Xabi Alonso to make a success of his big break at Bayer Leverkusen.

Former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder Alonso was named head coach of the Bundesliga team on Wednesday.

It is the 40-year-old's most prominent role since retiring from playing in 2017, since when he has been building towards a top job, spending three years as coach of Real Sociedad B.

Like Guardiola, Alonso's playing career was spent largely as a deep-sitting central midfielder. Both men played for Spain, with Guardiola earning 47 caps and Alonso representing his country 114 times.

Alonso won a World Cup and two European Championships in Spain's golden era of success from 2008 to 2012, a period which coincided with Guardiola's reign as Barcelona boss.

He later played for Guardiola at Bayern Munich, where Alonso made a great impression on his compatriot and coach.

"He was an exceptional holding midfielder, and when you are an exceptional holding midfielder you have to understand the game," Guardiola said on Friday.

"He reads perfectly, and he's a lovely, lovely person."

Speaking at Manchester City's regular Friday press conference, Guardiola sent best wishes to Alonso, whose Leverkusen side face Schalke in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Leverkusen sit 17th in the 18-team league, winning one of eight games in the competition so far, form that saw Alonso's predecessor Gerardo Seoane sacked.

They have finished in the top six in each of the last five seasons, and 12 of the last 13 campaigns, so the club's standards are high.

Now Alonso steps in, and Guardiola said: "It's an incredible opportunity. He goes to the Bundesliga, a league that he knows quite well.

"It's a really good team in the Bundesliga, prestigious, still playing Champions League, I wish him the best, and hopefully he can do the job."

Leverkusen have failed to win any of their first four home games of a Bundesliga season (D1, L3) for the first time ever. The Schalke game comes at the BayArena, giving Alonso the chance to immediately halt that dismal run.

It happens that Leverkusen have only had more Bundesliga wins against Stuttgart (39) than they have achieved against Schalke (34), with Alonso's new team unbeaten in their past six league clashes with Die Konigsblauen (W4, D2).

Tottenham are capable of winning the Premier League, according to Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi.

The Italian faces compatriot Antonio Conte's side on Saturday in his first home game since taking over from Graham Potter at the Amex Stadium.

Brighton could leapfrog Spurs into third with a win, with the Seagulls currently sitting fourth in the Premier League table, three points and three goals behind the north London club having played a game fewer.

After losing at rivals Arsenal last Sunday, Spurs are four points off the Gunners at the summit, but speaking at a press conference on Friday, De Zerbi thinks Conte's men can still challenge.

"I think Tottenham are in the right condition to win the Premier League," he said. "It's not easy, because there's [Manchester] City, Liverpool, Chelsea, but in the transfer market they bought very good players and after one year to work with Antonio, I think they are able to win the Premier League.

"The squad is better than one or two years ago. If he doesn't play [Dejan] Kulusevski, he plays Richarlison, if he doesn't play [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg or [Rodrigo] Bentancur, he can play [former Brighton midfielder, Yves] Bissouma.

"Tottenham are a good team, not only the first 11 – but 20 or 22 players."

De Zerbi's reign at Brighton got underway with an impressive 3-3 draw at Liverpool last Saturday, with Leandro Trossard scoring a hat-trick at Anfield.

"I never speak about the result, but my teams always play with courage and braveness," De Zerbi said. "I want my team playing to make the game with personality and the right mentality to build the right condition to win the game."

The former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach also said it could take time for his influence on the team to be seen, but conceded he does not intend to change much from Potter's successful time at the club before the Englishman left for Chelsea.

"It is a difficult moment for a lot of things, for the language, for the new staff, the new team, for the new ideas," he said. "I would like to put more ideas in... I don't want to change that much, but of course I want to put my hand [on the squad].

"If [owner] Tony Bloom and [chief executive] Paul Barber have chosen me, it means they want to see the team playing with my idea of football.

"At the same time you have to deal with not changing too much, but also how to put my ideas on top."

Tributes will be paid at Saturday's game to Tottenham's fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, who died earlier this week at the age of 61 after being diagnosed with leukaemia.

"We are very sad for this loss," De Zerbi said. "Some of my assistant staff knew Gian Piero. We are sorry for him, for Antonio and his staff and for the family.

"It was very bad news for Tottenham, but also for people who work in our football world."

Pep Guardiola is ready to freeze Ilkay Gundogan out of his Manchester City plans – until the captain brings his wife to eat at the manager's top table.

Sara Gundogan this week complained about the cuisine on offer in Manchester, saying there was "horrible food everywhere".

She even claimed it was a struggle to find anything fresh, suggesting restaurants were using frozen food and had an obsession with making money from selling high-priced drinks.

The comments on Instagram made the front page of a major tabloid newspaper and did not go down well among Manchester's restaurateurs.

Guardiola owns an eatery in the city himself, a Spanish tapas spot.

When asked about the remarks from the City midfielder's wife, Guardiola initially appeared to agree with her stance, saying: "It is right."

Amused by the topic, he quickly changed tack to jokingly add: "I'm disappointed she still didn't [try] my restaurant. That is what is annoying me. Gundo's not going to play one more minute...

"I'm going to invite her, and Gundo as well, to go to Tast. Of course they're going to eat properly."

Lionel Messi will sit out of Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 trip to Reims after suffering from discomfort in his calf, Christophe Galtier has confirmed. 

Messi opened the scoring in spectacular fashion as PSG drew 1-1 at Benfica on Wednesday, becoming the first player to score against 40 different teams in Champions League history.

He has also been involved in seven goals in his last five Ligue 1 matches (two goals, five assists), but a medical update issued by the club revealed Messi would miss Saturday's match despite undergoing "reassuring examinations" on a calf injury.

"There will be changes," Galtier subsequently told Friday's pre-match news conference.

"Leo Messi will not be fit for Reims but will resume training on Sunday morning. Kylian Mbappe has angina but will be travelling to Reims."

Meanwhile, Galtier praised Gianluigi Donnarumma for his response to criticism of his early season performances, after the Italy goalkeeper made six saves at Benfica.

"He works well, nobody is airtight against remarks - sometimes it becomes criticism and nobody is insensitive," Galtier said.

"What I could notice in this period is that he remained focused on his work, by trying to eliminate his little flaws and keep his strengths. 

"I saw nothing different in his preparation for the Benfica match. Obviously, he and the whole team, we were all satisfied with his performance in Lisbon. 

"I always pointed out his few little mistakes, whether it was a lack of concentration or other issues. He was told after Benfica that he must continue to always be efficient."

Should PSG win at Reims, they will have taken 28 points from their first 10 matches of the Ligue 1 campaign.

In the 21st century, only two teams have reached at least 28 points at that stage of a Ligue 1 season, with both going on to finish as champions (Lyon – 28 in 2006-07, and PSG – 30 in 2018-19).

Erik ten Hag has warned it will take "months" to consistently produce the intensity Manchester United need to become a force again.

There was an air of optimism at Old Trafford following four consecutive Premier League wins, but that came to a juddering halt when the Red Devils suffered a chastening 6-3 derby defeat at Manchester City last Sunday.

The champions tore United apart, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scoring hat-tricks in a rout at the Etihad Stadium.

Ten Hag's side came from behind to win 3-2 at Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday and return to top-flight action with a trip to Everton on Sunday.

Dutchman Ten Hag, who left Ajax to take the United hot seat at the end of last season, says it will take time for his side to reach the sort of levels he expects.

"It's more - it's physical, it's mental, it's also sustainability," he said.

"It's like a routine, a way of life and you have to bring it to every training in your system, as a squad and an individual player.

"When you have had a lack of it in the last years, it's not something that you build or progress in a week or a month.

"Now it's a system that has to be [in place]. It is a demand nowadays top football and it's quite clear City is the standard in that. There are more teams, but I think we can deliver that.

"We have seen it against Liverpool and we have seen it against Arsenal, but now we have to do it on a consistent basis, that is what we have to work for now.

"It will not come overnight, it will also take more than weeks - it will take months."

Ten Hag also expects United to be more disciplined and streetwise.

He added: "I know nasty, I know what it is. In that manner we can progress but sometimes also play a little bit smarter. 

"Like we have too many bookings and some players at the start of Premier League, they play tough.

"But I wonder [why] we collect so many bookings and I don't understand, like the first booking [for Diogo Dalot at City] on Sunday, I really don't understand. 

"We want to play tough, we want to keep the game going and then in the second minute already it's a booking for Diogo.

"Also, I saw many other bookings where I think, 'Is that necessary?' I have to keep the reminder to the players to play smart, but they have to play nasty as well."

Raphael Varane could return from an ankle injury at Goodison Park, but Harry Maguire remains sidelined along with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Donny van de Beek.

Pep Guardiola will never get sick of talking about Erling Haaland, but he insists comparisons to Lionel Messi are unwelcome.

The Manchester City boss has promised striker Haaland a holiday during the World Cup, because Norway have not qualified, and he may need a break in any case after a breathless start to his career in England.

Haaland has a staggering 14 goals from eight Premier League games already, and Mohamed Salah's record of 32 goals in a 38-game season already looks under serious threat. Kevin De Bruyne was City's top league scorer last season with 15.

Former Borussia Dortmund striker Haaland has stayed healthy and the goals have flowed, just as City's title rivals feared they would.

At this rate, Haaland could finish the season with the sort of haul Messi often brought in for Barcelona during his prime years, regularly scoring more than 50 across all competitions.

Guardiola has been fortunate to coach them both, and he was asked whether the attention foisted on Haaland was the most he has known since having Messi under his wing at Barcelona.

"The people who compare Erling with Leo, I think we don't help," Guardiola said. "How many 'new Messis' appeared in the world of football since I started? Ten, 15?

"Always you fail. Erling has to do his own career, his own job. He's a different player."

Guardiola pointed to the number of times he is asked about Haaland. He also suggested that within other teams, such focus on a big-time player might cause unrest.

"For me, it's OK," Guardiola said. "We're fortunate that the guys who are here accept it perfectly. At other clubs, other people, would not like it.

"Here they are delighted. We have Kevin [De Bruyne] who is an exceptional person and is happy to have him, because both know they can be better playing alongside [each other].

"The same for all of them. We don't have incredible players who say, 'Why do they always talk about just him?'.

"This is why it's a joy to train this type of players."

Guardiola said he would rather Haaland was playing at the World Cup.

"But he's young, and he'll have an opportunity in four years," added the City boss. "Fans want to see the best players possible and Erling is one of them." 

With three hat-tricks in his last three Premier League home games, capped by last week's treble against Manchester United, Haaland is on a special streak.

Southampton visit the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and while they held City to home and away draws last season, that was before Haaland arrived.

City are the only unbeaten team in the Premier League, following Tottenham's defeat to Arsenal last week, and have won their last eight home games in the competition, scoring three or more goals each time.

Aston Villa were the last team to have a longer run of top-flight home wins while scoring three-plus goals in each game, putting a run of 13 together between December 1930 and September 1931.

Perhaps City will threaten that mark, if Haaland stays fit and in form. Guardiola is bewitched by his striker's movement and how he reads play.

"It's just the fact there's a deflection, and he's there. Why does the ball finish where he is?" said the Spaniard.

"What can I teach? It's complete instincts, it's natural. He did it in Norway, in Austria, in Germany, and he's doing it here."

And yet Guardiola still feels Haaland can improve.

"Every player knows, 'I can do better'," said Guardiola. "In our life we have a chance to always improve until we die, and he's not an exception."

Guardiola is not blind to the potential for Haaland to break records this season.

"It would be good," Guardiola said. "If he continues this rhythm, then you don't have to be a clever person to realise it, but who knows.

"After the Community Shield some people had a lot of doubts; now they have a lot of certainties.

"At the end of the season we'll see, okay, he's scored how many goals, how many chances have we had to win the titles?"

Bryson DeChambeau says it is "crazy" that LIV Golf players have been denied the opportunity to earn world ranking points.

Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) on Thursday announced that no points will be up for grabs at the events in Bangkok this week or Jeddah next week despite a new alliance between LIV Golf and the MENA Tour being formed on Wednesday.

Players on the Dubai-based MENA Tour have been able to earn points since 2016, but OWGR refused to award points for the two remaining LIV Golf events this year as they stated that insufficient notice had been given for a customary necessary review of the changes to be carried out.

That has not gone down well with 2020 U.S. Open DeChambeau, who was among the big names to turn their back on the PGA Tour and join the Saudi-backed breakaway series.

"They're delaying the inevitable," the American said after his first round in Bangkok on Friday. "We've hit every mark in their criteria, so for us not to get points is kind of crazy with having the top - at least I believe we have the top players in the world.

"Not all of them, but we certainly believe that there's enough that are in the top 50 and we deserve to be getting world ranking points.

"When they [OWGR] keep holding it back, they're going to just keep playing a waiting game where we're going to keep dropping down in the rankings to where our points won't even matter.

"That's what they're trying to accomplish, and I hope that people can see right through that rather than believe the lies that they've been told. From my perspective, I think we deserve points."

Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka accused OWGR of "sitting on the fence".

"I don't think it [the OWGR statement] really was much of a response," Koepka said. "I just hate when you sit on the fence. Just pick a side. If it's yes or no, just pick one. I'm not a big fan of that.

"Yeah, not to say something to where it's not really an answer and we'll think about it. Just pick a side. If it's yes, if it's no, it's fine, we'll figure it out from there."

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