Simon Tomlinson and Solesha Young successfully defended their national titles as the curtains came down on Jamaica’s national table tennis championships at the National Indoor Sports Centre last Thursday.
Tomlinson, who was winning his fifth national title, defeated Peter Moo-Young, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7, for a 4-1 victory. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Young defeated Tsenaye Lewis 11-7, 11-3, 1-12, 11-3, 11-5 for the Women’s title.
Young also won the U21 female title and the Women’s Rural Singles Open title.
“The Women's Open title is the one that means the most to me simply because it tells everyone that I am the number-one female in the country. Two-time national champion; that for me, is an awesome achievement at age 17,” said Young, who said preparing for the competition presented its own challenges.
“Overall, my performance was outstanding despite limited training, the Covid-19 pandemic and preparation for CSEC exams I had to use strategy and tactics to defend my title.”
She revealed that in some instances she was only able to train twice a month because access to training facilities was limited because of the pandemic.
Tomlinson, meanwhile, said he it was not an easy path to the title.
“I went into the finals trying to be as calm as possible. I had a major battle in the semi-finals with David Williams, a veteran player who is now based in England, and that result was 4-3 so I had a trying match in the semi-finals, so going into the final I had to calm myself and go in with a good match plan, a good strategy and outwit Peter,” Tomlinson said.
“He is a very intelligent, crafty player.”
Tomlinson said that primarily because of the pandemic, he didn’t get a chance to play that much, especially after he came up short on his bid to qualify for the Olympics in April. However, that experience helped him navigate the challenging rounds of the national championships.
“The Olympic qualification was the most preparation I had going into this tournament, granted that was three/four months ago but it was the only work I was able to put in given the restrictions that we have had in Jamaica because of Covid so I was heavily reliant on that preparation and the knowledge that I had gained heading into the Olympics and it definitely helped. It kept me calm, centred during the matches. At no point, did I overreact or lose my cool. I was able to stay focused and get the job done.”
Other categories winners were as follows:
U13 Girls: Karecea Peterkin, U15 Boys: Jadeen Ebanks, U15 Girls: Tsenaye Lewis, U19 Boys: Rasheed Clarke, U19 Girls: Naveah Scott, U21: Joel Butler, Rural Men: Rudolph Sinclair, Men’s 40: Rudolph.
Andrew Lue, President of the Jamaica Table Tennis Association and runner-up in the Men’s 40 competition, characterized the tournament as a success.
“For the first time, we had the men and women champion winning the same prize money. As a part of our thrust for gender equality we thought it very critical for that to take place for us to set the pace for other sports to follow,” he said.
“Another historic first was that we had our U13 Boys title being shared by Gari Whyte and Brian Blake as that final was unable to be played.”
Anna Nordqvist won the Women's Open to land her third major title after a dramatic twist on the famous 18th hole at Carnoustie.
The 34-year-old became the first Swedish golfer since Annika Sorenstam in 2003 to triumph at the tournament, and a par at the last was enough after playing partner and co-leader Nanna Koerstz Madsen finished with a double bogey.
Rather than coming unstuck as the latest victim of the Barry Burn, Madsen found a greenside bunker with her approach and shanked the escape, meaning the Dane was chipping onto the green with her fourth shot. Madsen finished with a double bogey, completing a miserable end to the tournament.
She had led at 13 under when teeing off at 15 but found sand there too and dropped a shot, before slipping from a share of the lead at the last to finish tied for fifth on 10 under, the anticipated play-off not required.
It meant Nordqvist's closing round of three-under-par 69, which took her to 12 under for the tournament, gave her the trophy glory and $870,000 top prize.
Second place on 11 under was shared by three players: Madelene Sagstrom (68), also of Sweden, American Lizette Salas (69) and Britain's Georgia Hall (67).
Sagstrom dropped a shot at 18 long before the drama unfolded with Madsen. Sagstrom was also at the centre of attention on the first hole when her tee shot was grabbed from the fairway and tossed around before being written off as inedible by the guilty party – a local bird.
Nordqvist's husband Kevin McAlpine is a caddie for Martin Laird on the PGA Tour and the couple's paths have rarely crossed in recent months, but he was on hand to witness his wife adding to her 2009 LPGA Championship and 2017 Evian Championship titles.
"I've been waiting for this for a while," said Nordqvist at the trophy presentation. "I haven't won in a couple of years. There have been a lot of downs, a lot of hard times. This makes it feel even sweeter.
"I definitely was wearing out my heartbeats there at the end. I think it's a great finish. The wind died down a little bit but it can play pretty brutal. I think it's been a key that I played those last four really well all week.
"I had my husband Kevin there for me every single year since Evian, since I won last time. I could only dream about winning the British Open.
"My husband's from 20 minutes away from here. I was supposed to get married 20 minutes away from here. So this place is truly special. I've never seen Carnoustie in this great of a shape. I love the fans being back, having an atmosphere, so thank you so much."
She said of her married life: "It's been a tough year for the both of us. We've been on different tours, so prior to Thursday I hadn't seen him for six and a half weeks due to my travel schedule.
"It was really nice to have him here. My caddie's Scottish too and they know a little about links golf so that's been a great experience to have."
The Smyth Salver for the leading amateur went to 21-year-old Louise Duncan, the Scot finishing on seven under after a level-par 72 to finish.
Hall went close to delivering a home champion and wrote on Twitter: "Gutted not to get the win but proud of how I played this week."
Atletico Madrid made it two wins from two to start their LaLiga title defence as they beat Elche 1-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday.
A stylish first-half finish from Angel Correa was all that separated the sides in a game of few clear-cut chances in the Spanish capital.
With temperatures still pushing 35 degrees Celcius in the second half, it was a relatively sedate contest, albeit one lit up by the display of new Atleti signing Rodrigo de Paul during the first hour.
It was the Argentina international's pass that led to the only goal via an error from Kiko Casilla and he could have had a second assist after the break had Yannick Carrasco been more clinical.
Atleti mustered little more than speculative efforts from Saul Niguez and Thomas Lemar in the opening half-hour, as the champions allowed Elche more of the ball but denied them any real openings.
The visitors ultimately gifted Atleti the lead 39 minutes in. Casilla raced off his line to clear De Paul's clever throughball and missed, allowing Correa to take his time before burying his fourth goal in three LaLiga games.
It was almost 2-0 a minute after half-time, Jose Gimenez's powerful header from a corner beaten away by Casilla, and Carrasco could not beat the Elche keeper after being picked out by De Paul.
Elche continued to have more of the ball, but Jan Oblak had largely hopeful shots from outside the box to deal with, while home substitute Luis Suarez could have done better from a Carrasco cut-back.
Suarez was booked for lashing the ball away after a tight offside call, but there was little to worry the home fans in the closing minutes.
What does it mean? Atleti keep up Elche expectations
Atletico have now won nine consecutive LaLiga games against Elche and kept clean sheets in six of them, while their unbeaten home run against Fran Escriba's side – already a club record – stands at 23 games in the top flight.
This was another controlled if not overly inspiring performance from the champions, who have started a season with back-to-back wins for the fourth time under Simeone.
For Elche, the wait for a first goal of the season goes on.
De Paul the pick of the bunch
This was a performance of real class from De Paul on his full debut in front of the Wanda Metropolitano crowd, showing what a good signing he could prove to be.
It was his outside-of-the-foot pass that led to Correa's opener, one of two chances created, while he led the way for opposition-half passes with 22 before being taken off 62 minutes in.
Suarez's welcome return
Atleti's title win in 2020-21 was built on the clinical form of Suarez in attack and the Uruguay striker was given a rapturous reception off the bench here.
Correa looks increasingly confident in attack, but Carrasco is not a long-term option as his strike partner. Keeping Suarez fit could be key to their season.
What's next?
Atleti are at home to Villarreal next Sunday, while next up for Elche is the visit of Sevilla in six days' time.
Julian Nagelsmann insists Bayern Munich have a lot of room for improvement after narrowly defeating Cologne 3-2 on Sunday.
Serge Gnabry's brace, coupled with Robert Lewandowski's opener, ensured Bayern's new head coach his first Bundesliga win at the second time of asking.
The reigning German champions failed to win in their opener for the first time in 10 years, having drawn 1-1 with Borussia Monchengladbach, and Nagelsmann compared the two opening fixtures.
"The result is good," the 34-year-old told reporters. "It was a wild game that had parallels to the game against Gladbach.
"We still have a lot to do and improve. We lost the ball too often and we could have done better.
"Football is a sport of results, and in the end the result was good from our point of view today."
Gnabry's double was his fourth multiple-goal return against Cologne, while Lewandowski equalled his own record 12-game Bundesliga scoring run with a close-range finish.
However, Leroy Sane was hauled off at half-time amid first-half jeers from the crowd.
"We didn't play a good game in the first half as a whole team," Nagelsmann continued.
"I heard the whistles [from the crowd towards Sane]. The fans should support their own players – anything else does not help."
Sane's half-time replacement, Jamal Musiala impressed to create Lewandowski's tap-in and Nagelsmann hailed the Germany international's "outstanding game offensively" and lauded his one-on-one abilities to attack.
Asked whether Bayern would be active in the transfer window, having only spent money on Dayot Upamecano, Nagelsmann responded: "Transfers? We'll see what's possible. If there's something, then we will announce it. If not, then we will work with what we have."
Damiano Caruso became the first rider to win a mountain stage in two different grand tours in 2021 as he triumphed at the Vuelta a Espana on Sunday.
On the back of a second-place finish at the Giro d'Italia, Caruso took stage nine, holding off pressure from Enric Mas and general classification leader Primoz Roglic in the process.
Caruso, who won a mountain stage at the Giro, finished 65 seconds clear of two-time defending champion Roglic, with the Slovenian Olympic gold medallist outsprinting Mas to beat the Spaniard by a second.
Roglic's lead in the GC now stands at 28 seconds, with the race's first rest day coming up on Monday.
"We deserve it eh? It was a hard day, again super hot, and some big climbs. I survived it and I'm looking forward for tomorrow," Roglic said at the finish in Alto de Velefique.
"For sure our guys did a great job. INEOS [Grenadiers] put a hard pace on the long climb. It was hard and then here at the end it was quite fast with a big explosion. Luckily, I had OK legs so I could finish it.
"It's a beginning, now we have the rest day, and we just need to stay in one piece healthy with the whole team and then we'll be looking for the next stages."
Mas sits second in the GC standings, with his Movistar team-mate Miguel Angel Lopez almost a minute behind, ahead of Jack Haig.
Miguel Angel Lopez is one minute and 21 seconds behind Roglic in third, with Jack Haig one minute and 42 seconds back in fourth and Giro champion Egan Bernal in fifth.
STAGE RESULT
1. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 5:03:14
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +1:05
3. Enric Mas (Movistar) +1:06
4. Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) +1:44
5. Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar) +1:44
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 34:18:53
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +0:28
3. Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar) +1:21
Points Classification
1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) 180
2. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) 164
3. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 74
King of the Mountains
1. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 28
2. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) 22
3. Pavel Sivakov (INEOS Grenadiers) 16
What's next?
A rest day in Almeria comes on Monday, with the Vuelta kicking back into gear on Tuesday with a 189m route from Roquetas de Mar to Rincon de la Victoria. It is mostly flat, but a category two climb will separate the contenders before a descent to the finish line.
Surprise substitute Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a winner by VAR deep into stoppage time as Juventus drew 2-2 at Udinese following a pair of Wojciech Szczesny blunders.
Impressive early strikes from Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado looked to have paved the way for a season-opening Serie A success, and a first win of head coach Massimiliano Allegri's second spell in charge of Juventus.
But a mistake by goalkeeper Szczesny was punished from the penalty spot early in the second half, and a desperate clanger in the 83rd minute allowed Gerard Deulofeu to net a dramatic leveller.
In a ripsnorting finish, Udinese almost sneaked a winner, Mato Jajalo firing over in the 90th minute, before Ronaldo headed in a Federico Chiesa cross in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The celebrations were wild, and a euphoric Ronaldo was booked for removing his shirt, before he was left stunned to see the goal disallowed for offside.
Ronaldo and Dybala have contracts that run to the end of this season, and there seems scant prospect of both staying in Turin. Dybala is seemingly keen to remain, Ronaldo less so, and his omission from the starting XI here sparked fresh speculation about his future.
Juventus took just two minutes and three seconds to surge ahead, their earliest goal in a season opener during the three-points-for-a-win era, which began in 1994-95.
Giorgio Chiellini was on the bench so Dybala captained the team, and it was the Argentine forward who produced a special finish to catch the hosts cold. Rodrigo Bentancur slid in a low ball from the right and Dybala cleverly flicked the ball across goal into the left corner.
Dybala then played a key role in the second Juventus goal, which came in the 23rd minute, looping a long pass to Cuadrado, who took his first touch just a couple of strides outside the Udinese penalty area. The Colombian shuffled skilfully past flummoxed Udinese captain Bram Nuytinck and lashed a low shot into the same corner that Dybala had earlier found.
Juventus looked practically home and hosed at the break, but conceded a penalty in the 50th minute when Szczesny made a poor parry of Tolgay Arslan's shot before bringing down the Udinese man as he chased down the rebound.
Former Juve man Roberto Pereyra fired the spot-kick into the right corner, before Alvaro Morata headed against the left post at the other end a couple of minutes later, from a chance he would expect to tuck away.
Allegri saw the game potentially slipping away and sent on Ronaldo, Chiellini and Dejan Kulusevski on the hour mark, Morata among those to make way. Ronaldo soon teed up Bentancur to smash a shot against the right post, and then came the late drama, Juventus left smarting on day one of the new campaign.
Julian Nagelsmann picked up his first Bundesliga win with Bayern Munich on Sunday as they edged past Cologne 3-2 courtesy of a Serge Gnabry brace.
Robert Lewandowski broke the deadlock in the 50th minute, scoring in his 12th consecutive Bundesliga appearance, and Gnabry inflicted further damage eight minutes later.
Cologne refused to surrender, though, Anthony Modeste heading home before Mark Uth equalised to cap off three goals in four chaotic second-half minutes.
Gnabry, however, netted his second to restore Bayern's advantage, arrowing into the roof of the net and sealing three points for the hosts.
Thomas Muller spurned the first chance of the game, poking a sliding finish wide after a driving run by Lewandowski down the right.
Niklas Sule then enjoyed a rare foray forward, twisting and turning inwards before firing towards goal, where Timo Horn reacted acrobatically to tip over.
The hosts failed to make their 62 per cent of first-half possession pay but a double half-time change proved vital, Jamal Musiala – introduced for Leroy Sane – creating the opener.
The substitute roamed forwards before pulling back for Lewandowski to tap-in, the finish equalling his personal record of 12 consecutive Bundesliga appearances with a goal, previously achieved with Borussia Dortmund in 2012-13.
Gnabry made matters worse for the visitors, collecting his 10th goal in eight appearances against Sunday's opponents by arriving at the back post to convert Josip Stanisic's low cross.
However, Cologne pulled a goal back with their first shot on target, Modeste redirecting a header past Manuel Neuer from Jonas Hector's delivery.
Uth shocked the home crowd with his 62nd-minute equaliser, diving to prod low past Neuer after Kingsley Ehizibue's curler from the right.
The visitors remained level for only eight minutes, though, Gnabry firing powerfully past Horn before Lewandowski almost added a fourth, only to be denied by the crossbar.
What does it mean? Nagelsmann on the board as control over Cologne continues
Nagelsmann became the first Bayern boss in 10 years not to win on the opening day of a new Bundesliga season with a 1-1 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach.
However, the former RB Leipzig coach picked up the DFL-Supercup with a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in midweek and now has his first Bundesliga win with his new side.
The hosts have now won each of their past eight games against Cologne and are undefeated in 15 such Bundesliga fixtures, too – their longest winning streak and the longest unbeaten run against any current team in the top flight.
Lewandowski marches on
Lewandowski's opener means he has now scored a goal in every one of his past 12 Bundesliga games.
However, the Poland forward's link-up play was also excellent – making a game-high two key passes and competing for the joint-most duels (17) as he embroiled himself in a battle with Jorge Mere and Rafael Czichos.
Nagelsmann's star attacker now has four goals across all competitions for the season and he will be hoping he can fire his team to their 10th straight Bundesliga title.
Lost Ljubicic
Dejan Ljubicic set the tone for a poor performance with a needless booking in the first half for not retreating to block Bayern's quick free-kick.
The midfielder completed just 61.5 per cent of his 26 attempted passes, while also touching the ball just 37 times as he struggled against Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in the middle of the park.
What's next?
Bayern travel to Bremer on Wednesday in the DFB-Pokal before hosting Hertha Berlin on Saturday. Meanwhile, Cologne return to RheinEnergieSTADION to face Bochum on the same day.
Cristiano Ronaldo will stay at Juventus and his selection as a substitute for Sunday's season opener at Udinese was a mutual decision, according to Pavel Nedved.
Former Juve midfielder Nedved is now a vice-president at the club and was asked about Ronaldo being surprisingly left out of the starting XI in Udine.
Nedved said, according to Sky Sport Italia: "We must not look for sensations where there are none. It was a choice shared with the player.
"At the beginning of the season it is normal that the conditions are not top and the coach tries to field the most competitive team tonight."
Asked whether Ronaldo would remain a Juventus player this season, the last on his contract, Nedved said: "Absolutely yes."
There was nevertheless speculation that Ronaldo had requested to be selected on the bench, with Sky Sport Italia claiming the forward was looking to leave the club before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
Head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisted this week that last season's Serie A 29-goal top scorer had told him he wanted to stay in Turin, and the Portuguese superstar has condemned what he described as "frivolous" rumours around his future.
Ronaldo has been linked with a return to Real Madrid or Manchester United, while Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have also been credited with interest.
However, any of those clubs would likely have to generate funds before mounting a move for the 36-year-old five-time Ballon d'Or winner, and City are expected to move for Harry Kane rather than Ronaldo.
With Ronaldo watching on from the sidelines, Juventus snatched a third-minute lead at Udinese through Paulo Dybala.
Jamaica had a medal-filled final day of the 2021 World Under20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya on Sunday capped by a gold-medal run in world-record time by the Women 4x100m team. Jamaica won seven medals on the final day and 11 medals overall that included two gold medals.
The team of Serena Cole, Tia Clayton, Kerrica Hill and Tina Clayton, clocked a world-record 42.94 to win by about 10m over a fast-finishing Namibian team that ran 43.76 for the silver medal. Interestingly, Namibia’s anchor Christine Mboma clocked an astonishing 9.86s on the anchor leg.
Nigeria ran a season-best 43.90 for the bronze medal.
Jamaica’s winning time broke the previous world record of 43.27 set by Germany in 2017. The time also erased the championship record of 43.40 set by Sherone Simpson, Kerron Stewart, Aneisha McLaughlin and Simone Facey when the championships were held in Kingston in 2002.
It was Jamaica’s third gold medal of the championships following those won by Tina Clayton in the 100m and Ackera Nugent in the 100m hurdles.
Earlier, Jaydon Hibbert jumped a personal best 16.05m to win the silver medal in the triple jump competition won by Sweden’s Gabriel Wallmark with a mark of 16.43m, a Swedish national U20 record.
Frenchman Simon Gore jumped a personal best 15.85m for the bronze medal.
Jamaica also won a silver medal in the discus in the form of Ralford Mullings who threw a personal best 66.68m to finish behind the now two-time champion Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania who won with a new championship record of 69.81m.
Raman Khartanovich threw a personal best 62.19m for the bronze medal.
Devontie Archer was an unexpected medalist in the 400m hurdles after he finished fourth in a new personal best of 49.78. However, Sweden’s Oskar Edlund, who crossed the finish line first was disqualified which meant that Archer was promoted to third and a medal.
Neutral athlete Denis Novoseletsen won the silver after he too ran a personal best of 49.62 with the gold going to Turkey’s Berke Akcam whose winning time of 49.38 was a national U20 record.
Jamaica mined three additional silver medals in the relays as the 4x100m team of Alexavier Monfries, Bryan Levell, Andrew Gillips and Sandrey Davison clocked an area record 38.61 behind South Africa World U20 record of 38.51.
Poland was third in 38.90, which is a new area record as well.
The final two medals came in the 4x400m relays in which the teams delivered strong performances. The girls ran 3:36.57 to claim silver behind Nigeria’s winning time of 3:31.46. Italy was the other team on the podium clocking 3:37.18.
The boys clocked 3:05.76 in a valiant effort to finish second to Botswana, who took the gold medal in 3:05.22. Kenya clocked 3:05.94 for the bronze medal.
Overall, Jamaica finished fifth on the medal table with three gold, six silver and two bronze medals at the championships.
Rafael Nadal was "practically lame" before he called an early end to his season and has been "stumbling all year round", coach Carlos Moya has revealed.
Former world number one and 20-time grand slam winner Nadal will miss the upcoming US Open but hopes to return in 2022, yet Moya says there are question marks over what the best course of treatment will be for the 35-year-old's foot problem.
In announcing his withdrawal from the rest of the campaign, Nadal declared a foot issue that he has been bothered by since 2005 was behind his decision.
The Spaniard took a break after losing a French Open semi-final to Novak Djokovic, skipping Wimbledon and the Olympic Games.
He attempted to make a return for the hard-court season but lost his second match in Washington to South African Lloyd Harris.
Moya, who was also briefly a world number one, said Nadal had managed to prolong a career that was in doubt 16 years ago, thanks to insoles and treatment.
"But this year the story has changed in many training sessions," Moya said. "He could not finish them and we had to change and ease intensity for the foot, thinking about the tournaments.
"He has been in pain for months and there comes a time when he cannot take it anymore. In the last match he played practically lame.
"The best thing was to stop, rest the foot and refresh the head."
Speaking to Spanish broadcaster Onda Cero's El Transistor show, Moya said: "It is not known where this injury comes from. There is a diagnosis but it is not clear which is the best treatment.
"Rafa's main objective is to regain sensations in his feet and in his head, because stumbling all year round has not helped him."
Cristiano Ronaldo was named only as a substitute for Juventus' opening Serie A match against Udinese amid renewed speculation he wants to leave the club.
Speaking ahead of his side's opening league game of 2021-22, head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisted Ronaldo had told him he wanted to stay in Turin.
Those comments came after the Portugal star posted to social media to hit out at what he described as "frivolous" rumours around his future.
However, on Sunday, Allegri selected Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata as a strike partnership, with Ronaldo on the bench.
Sky Sport Italia then reported that Ronaldo had requested to be left out of the first XI as he is attempting to secure a transfer before the window closes.
Ronaldo has been linked with a return to Real Madrid or Manchester United, while Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have also been credited with interest.
However, any move would appear problematic. Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has already said the 36-year-old will not be returning and Los Blancos are said to be trying to build funds for an attempt to sign Kylian Mbappe.
Selling the France star would likely be the only means for PSG to sign Ronaldo given the huge increase to their wage bill following the free transfer of Lionel Messi, while United must sell before buying again after spending upwards of £105million on Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.
City, meanwhile, broke the Premier League transfer record by signing Jack Grealish for £100m and are expected to make another push to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham in the next week.
Record signing Romelu Lukaku returns for his second Chelsea debut against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Having last appeared for the Blues during the 2013-14 campaign, Thomas Tuchel hands Lukaku his first start since he rejoined the club and leaves Timo Werner on the bench for the Premier League clash.
The Belgium forward, who netted 24 goals in 36 Serie A appearances to fire Inter to the Scudetto last term, will be joined by Mason Mount and Kai Havertz for support up top.
Christian Pulisic misses out due to COVID-19 with Havertz taking his place, while Reece James replaces Trevoh Chalobah, meaning Cesar Azpilicueta moves back to centre-back.
Behind the visitors' three-man defence, Edouard Mendy retains his place - the former Rennes goalkeeper keeping the most clean sheets in the Premier League (10) since Tuchel's appointment in January.
Chelsea are looking for their fifth consecutive away London derby league victory, last achieving such a feat under Jose Mourinho between January 2005 and January 2006.
However, Mikel Arteta's men were victorious in both fixtures last term, though they have not won three in a row in the competition since February 2004.
Arsenal are without Ben White, who misses out through COVID-19, so Rob Holding comes in at centre-back.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who tested positive for coronavirus prior to the defeat to Brentford last weekend, returns and is listed among the substitutes, but Alexandre Lacazette and Willian are both out after their positive tests.
New addition Martin Odegaard is not in the squad, but Arteta's other midweek signing Aaron Ramsdale makes the bench.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is poised to give Milan a huge early-season lift by roaring back into action.
The extroverted striker is just weeks away from returning to full team training after the knee injury that forced him to miss Sweden's Euro 2020 campaign.
Head coach Stefano Pioli knows a fit Ibrahimovic can transform his team, as was proven when he scored 15 goals in his first 15 Serie A games of last season.
He netted at one goal every 79.47 minutes during that run, and even though his scoring then dried up, the veteran remains a talisman with the Rossoneri.
Asked about Ibrahimovic's condition, Pioli said in a news conference on Sunday: "Physically, he is certainly looking better, even though he's not begun full training with the team and he's forcing things a little bit.
"Next week will be very important for him because he needs to start ball work and that's what he's been missing.
"So we'll see next week whether he's able to actually train with us, and during the international break he might be able to be fit and available.
"I think his role is always the same: Zlatan is a charismatic leader in terms of his character. He's a leader on the pitch as well, he really is the benchmark for everyone.
"He's a significant figure. He's very motivated."
Ibrahimovic stands eighth on the list of top scorers across all competitions over the past 10 seasons, among players competing in Europe's top five leagues.
That is all the more impressive given his goals across two seasons with LA Galaxy are not counted in his total of 247 strikes, and Pioli will know Milan carried a unique threat when Ibrahimovic was on hand last term.
They won 66.7 per cent of games where he started (12 of 18) and that dipped slightly to 60 per cent when Ibrahimovic was not in Pioli's XI.
Milan begin their 2021-22 season against Sampdoria on Monday, then face Cagliari next weekend, and those may be the only games Ibrahimovic has to miss, if Pioli's fitness forecast proves accurate.
"He's fit and firing mentally," Pioli said of the player who turns 40 in October.
"He's a player that can still be a matchwinner for the team, for himself. So he's very motivated and can't wait to get back into full training with his team-mates.
"The same goes for me: I can't wait to get him back on the training ground."
Pedri has belatedly been given a break from Barcelona duty after featuring in their first two matches of the 2021-22 season.
The Spain midfielder posted a picture from his aeroplane to social media as he headed back to his home in Tenerife.
Barca shared the image with the caption, "deserved vacation".
Pedri will not play for the Blaugrana against Getafe next Sunday, while it remains to be seen if he will be called up by Luis Enrique for the subsequent international break.
The 18-year-old would return to Catalonia in time for Barca's LaLiga clash with Sevilla on September 12.
Pedri had played only a single season with Las Palmas before linking up with Ronald Koeman's Barca at the start of the 2020-21 campaign, but he quickly became a key man.
Since his debut last September, only Bruno Fernandes and Manu Trigueros (both 56) have appeared in more club games across all competitions than Pedri (54, tied with Marcus Rashford) among players in Europe's top five leagues.
But Pedri has also turned out 10 times for the senior Spain team in that period, including in all six matches in their run to the Euro 2020 semi-finals.
And there were a further six appearances at the Tokyo Olympics as the teenager helped Spain take silver.
Having started his 2020-21 season in the Spain Under-21 team on September 3, 2020 – with four games at that level – Pedri has played 74 matches for club and country in less than a year.
Koeman was asked about Pedri's impending departure following Saturday's 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao, in which he was substituted after 62 minutes.
"It's better to give him a break now, so as not to have problems in the month of November," the coach explained.
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