Eldar Eldarov will be bidding for a second successive Royal Ascot success in next week’s Gold Cup following his narrow verdict in the Queen’s Vase 12 months ago.

Roger Varian’s four-year-old also claimed the St Leger in a fruitful season and returned to action in the Yorkshire Cup when narrowly failing to reel in Giavellotto, to whom he was conceding 5lb.

He will be running over a trip further than two miles for the first time in his career at Ascot, but that is the only question mark regarding a horse who has won on quick and slow ground and could potentially even improve for racing over further.

“He ran well at York and has done everything right since,” said Chris Wall, former trainer and now racing manager to owners KHK Racing.

“Obviously he is going into the unknown over that distance but he’s nothing but a competitor, he’s a tough horse, he likes the challenge and if he gets the trip I think he’s going to be a player.

“Roger is very happy with how everything is so it’s fingers crossed, really.

“Four-year-olds have a great record in the Gold Cup and while the trip is the unknown, he certainly gives the impression that he will stay those distances well.

“His work at home has been very satisfactory, he looks well, so we’ll just keep everything crossed that he puts up a good performance.

“We’re not too worried about the ground. I suppose like everybody we’d like a little bit of juice, so a few showers wouldn’t go amiss but he’s proved he’s effective on any ground, so we’re looking forward to it.”

The owners also hold leading claims in the Commonwealth Cup with Sakheer, the Mill Reef winner who finished seventh on soft ground in the 2000 Guineas.

“He must have a good chance. It was hard to tell whether he stayed a mile on that awful ground in the Guineas, but he acquitted himself well,” said Wall.

“He’s done nothing wrong in his preparation either, so we’ll go there and hope for the best and hope he goes and runs a good race.

“He’s going to have to prove himself exceptional if he’s going to beat Little Big Bear I think, but we’ll see how we go.”

Newcastle United are a "really big team" that deserve success, so says Georginio Wijnaldum.

The Magpies have had a transformative 20 months since they were taken over by a consortium backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) in late 2021.

Under Eddie Howe's tutelage, Newcastle went from bottom of the Premier League at the start of 2022, to qualifying for the Champions League in under 18 months.

Wijnaldum spent a season with Newcastle in 2015-16 before he moved to Liverpool, and the Netherlands international hopes for the best for his old club.

"Really happy because Newcastle's a really big team," the midfielder told reporters after the Netherlands' Nations League loss to Croatia.

"I think a lot of people underestimate how big the club is and how loyal their supporters are.

"When I was there, I saw how hard they were trying to get results and to finish as high as possible and also the fans, who were standing by the team were amazing.

"So I think they deserve it. How they managed it throughout the years. I think they deserve how it is going right now."

Switching focus to his own future, Wijnaldum – who spent the season on loan at Roma from Paris Saint-Germain, but suffered a tibia fracture at the start of the campaign – conceded he is unsure over his next move.

"I don't know [what will happen]. I think it will be a surprise for everyone and also for me," he said.

"I just see what's going to happen and what options I will get and then you're going to see what's going to happen."

Manchester City’s opening-day reunion with Vincent Kompany and Burnley forms part of a friendly-looking start to the Premier League season for the treble-winners.

The top-flight fixture schedule was released on Thursday morning, with Kompany’s side hosting City on August 11 in the opening match of the 2023-24 season.

While clubs will all play each other twice over the course of the campaign, the ordering of the matches can have a significant impact on their fortunes.

 To help unravel next season’s fixtures, the PA news agency has analysed the entire schedule using an aggregation of leading bookmakers’ odds and identified the most notable runs.

Soft start for City?

Using the aggregated odds to produce a projected league table, City – who top those standings ahead of Liverpool and then Arsenal – play only one of the projected top six in their first seven games.

Their first three games also include a second promoted side, Sheffield United, sandwiching a fixture against Newcastle – tipped to follow up their Champions League qualification by finishing fifth and facing City as part of a tricky first four games on paper.

Fulham, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Wolves follow, with only the Hammers projected to finish in the top half.

Those four sides recur in a similarly tame run-in, at least after April 20’s trip to Tottenham, and the festive period has also been kind. Teams are set to play seven games in December and City face Spurs, Aston Villa, Luton, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Everton and the Blades.

The one concerning stretch of City’s season comes in March, when successive games against Manchester United, Liverpool, Brighton and Arsenal coincide with Champions League commitments.

Coming up

Kompany’s side back up the City clash by travelling to fellow promoted side Luton.

Villa, Spurs and Forest follow before consecutive games loom against Champions League challengers Manchester United, Newcastle and Chelsea.

Sheffield United open up against Palace and Forest before their own date with City, while Luton travel to Brighton and Chelsea either side of the Burnley clash.

The end-of-season run-in pits the Hatters against exclusively mid-table sides in the projected standings in Brentford, Wolves, Everton, West Ham and Fulham – perhaps preferable to facing teams fighting for their lives at that stage.

Burnley and the Blades meet at Bramall Lane in their 34th game before each facing Forest, Newcastle and Tottenham in their last four – United also take on Everton while Burnley play Manchester United.

Meet the new boss

London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham will go into the season under new management, with Mauricio Pochettino crossing the divide to take over at Stamford Bridge.

While his first assignment is at home to Liverpool, the Blues otherwise have a reasonably appealing start – West Ham follow before successive games against Luton, Forest and Bournemouth.

Spurs, under new boss Ange Postecoglou, open up at Brentford before hosting Manchester United. Bournemouth, Burnley and Sheffield United follow in succession before the Australian’s sternest early test with Arsenal and Liverpool back to back.

He will face a tricky run-in though, with the home derby against the Gunners sandwiched between Manchester City and Liverpool, and Newcastle before that run for good measure. Burnley and the Blades may provide some late respite.

Toney’s timing

City, Chelsea and Spurs have the easiest first six games on paper, with Brentford among the next group in a potentially important boost while star striker Ivan Toney serves a betting ban.

Spurs and Newcastle are the toughest tests as they also face Fulham, Palace, Bournemouth and Everton while adjusting to life without Toney. He will be eligible to return at Tottenham on January 30, just in time to also face City and Liverpool in a run of 11 games, nine of them against projected top-half finishers.

The toughest start on paper belongs to Bournemouth, who face West Ham, Liverpool, Tottenham, Brentford, Chelsea, Brighton and then Arsenal.

The Cherries are hardly paid back in the run-in, with their final six games against Manchester United, Aston Villa, Brighton, Arsenal, Brentford and Chelsea – Gary O’Neil may have his work cut out to repeat last season’s impressive survival act.

Golf’s controversial new partnership is in for an “uncomfortable ride” and may face lengthy and costly legal challenges in multiple jurisdictions, a competition lawyer has said.

The PGA Tour announced last week it was creating a new commercial entity with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), a move it said would “unify golf” and which brought an end to a legal dispute between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, a series backed by PIF.

Concerns have already been raised about whether the new deal may fall foul of competition law. The United States Senate has already opened an investigation into it, with Senator Richard Blumenthal writing to PGA Tour chief executive Jay Monahan to say that the PGA Tour’s “sudden and drastic reversal of position concerning LIV Golf” raised “serious questions”.

The PGA Tour insists this agreement is not a merger, and that the deal did not mean PIF now owned the PGA Tour. Instead, it says PIF will be investing in this new subsidiary of the PGA Tour, with the PGA Tour retaining majority ownership and control.

However, Andrew Evans, a partner at the law firm Irwin Mitchell, believes there are a number of hurdles for the new venture to overcome.

“Even though the structure for the PGA Tour/LIV merger is not known at present, competition law, or antitrust law as it is also known, tends to look at the economic impact of a merger regardless of the legal form it takes,” he told the PA news agency.

“So structuring the merger in a particular way, referring to it is a partnership etc will not hugely affect the analysis from a competition law perspective.”

In the United Kingdom mergers are the responsibility of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), while, in the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) are the bodies responsible.

However, Evans believes the global nature of golf at a commercial level means many more jurisdictions may take a look.

“For a worldwide business such as PGA Tour and LIV Golf there is lots of potential for regulators in many different jurisdictions to get involved and investigate the merger and, in a worst-case scenario, block the merger,” he said.

“Whilst there is little granular detail about how the merger will work and be implemented, hopefully the parties have already sought and obtained merger control advice.

“Even if they have, they may be in for an uncomfortable ride in some jurisdictions around the world before the merger, if cleared, is allowed to proceed.

“Merger investigations can also be very time-consuming and costly, with the full processes taking many months and potentially more than a year to conclude in some jurisdictions.”

Evans said regulators will be concerned about the “downstream” and “upstream” impacts on competition that the deal might create.

“Downstream” impacts might include the impact on broadcasters seeking to buy television rights.

“Prior to the merger both PGA Tour and LIV Golf would be in competition with each other to sell their respective television rights, and therefore each imposes a constraint on the other in relation to the price that they can charge as there is an alternative that anyone seeking to buy television rights has,” Evans said.

“Once they are merged and under common control that constraint is removed or reduced, particularly in a case where there is no other comparable worldwide golf tour, so there is no alternative choice.

“That would allow the merged business to have greater market power and greater ability to dictate the price at which television rights would be sold.”

“Upstream” rights could include the impact on players’ earning potential, Evans said.

“Though professional golfers may not be a group most people would immediately think of as being worthy of protection, the impact the merger would have on them and the reduced choice as to which tour to join and on what terms, if both are controlled by the same operator, is another consideration,” he added.

John Buchanan, the last man to coach Australia to an Ashes victory on English soil in 2001, believes the tourists need to shelve their “team ego” if they are to end their long winless run this summer.

England’s red-ball revolution over the past 12 months, with the buccaneering pair of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum at the helm, has cast them as the most daring, dynamic team in the world game.

They have batted at a pace more associated with one-day cricket, bowled to endlessly attacking fields and made a series of bold declarations to push games forward, winning 11 Tests out of 13 along the way.

Buchanan oversaw a 4-1 victory 22 years ago to keep Australia’s era of dominance alive but was also in charge during the memorable summer of 2005 when Michael Vaughan’s men wrestled back the urn.

The Baggy Greens have since lost away series in 2009, 2013 and 2015 as well as drawing 2-2 four years ago, and Buchanan has identified a key issue if they wish to get back to winning ways.

He believes it is essential Australia are not suckered in to playing the game at their rivals’ preferred tempo and instead stick to their own more traditional methods.

“I think we are pointing to ego this summer, players’ ego, team ego. That will be the whole game,” he told the PA news agency.

“If there is one person in world cricket who has enough bravado, and the ability to back it up, it’s Ben Stokes.

“Australia need to know their response. The first way would be to just play a negative game, bowl one side of the wicket, bowl wide of the crease, set a leg-side field. But that feels like a backward step when this English team is really attracting interest to Test cricket.

“It doesn’t feel like a very Australian response either, it feels more like how the old England teams would respond.

“The other way is just to bat for long periods of time, and that’s where ego will play a part. England might well go at five an over, pile on 250 and be all out by tea on day five. But that leaves so much of the game left and Australia need to realise that going at three an over, or a little more, is enough to build a sizeable lead if they go long.

“To do that they need to not allow their ego to get in the road of their batting. I would expect the coach Andrew McDonald to be hammering that home, saying: “Bat long, bat lots”. That’s the game.”

Wales return to Euro 2024 qualifying action against Armenia in Cardiff on Friday.

Rob Page’s side began the campaign in March with a 1-1 draw in Croatia and a 1-0 home victory over Latvia.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the main talking points surrounding the Group D clash as Wales aim to build on that promising start.

Brooks is back

David Brooks would provide one of the most heart-warming stories of the season by returning to the international arena at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Brooks was diagnosed with stage-two Hodgkin lymphoma while on international duty in October 2021 and has rejoined the Wales squad for the first time since announcing he was cancer-free in May last year.

The 25-year-old attacker returned to action for Bournemouth in March and made his first start last month. Brooks has won 21 caps for Wales and played at Euro 2020 before his illness was diagnosed.

Same again, please

Duplicating March’s return of four points will do Wales just fine.

Taking a point from World Cup semi-finalists Croatia courtesy of Nathan Broadhead’s stoppage-time strike was a bonus that few – if anyone – predicted.

Beating Armenia and getting some reward against Turkey in Samsun on Monday would represent a huge step for Welsh ambitions of clinching a top-two spot and reaching the finals in Germany next summer.

Johnson boost

Wales’ March games were overshadowed by the absence of Brennan Johnson.

Boss Rob Page suggested Johnson’s club Nottingham Forest had not done enough to get the forward fit for international duty, a claim which Reds boss Steve Cooper subsequently denied.

Whatever the truth of that, Johnson had an impressive maiden top-flight campaign at the City Ground and his return to the Wales squad is a huge boost.

Managing post-season break

It will be nearly three weeks since the Premier League finished when Wales walk out to take on Armenia.

The regular EFL season ended even earlier on May 8 and several members of Page’s squad have not played since.

Page organised a Cardiff camp for his non top-flight players last month before taking the entire squad to Portugal to prepare for Armenia and Turkey, but it remains to be seen how match-fit they are heading into the two qualifiers.

Painful memories

Armenia and Wales have only met twice, in 2002 World Cup qualifying.

Both games were drawn, with John Hartson scoring twice in a 2-2 draw at Yerevan’s Republican Stadium in March 2001 after Armenia had been reduced to 10 men.

The return game the following September was Wales’ 500th match. But Wales failed to mark the occasion with a win as their World Cup qualification hopes disappeared with a goalless draw at the Millennium Stadium.

Leeds have appointed former Celtic head of football operations Nick Hammond as “interim football advisor on a short-term contract”.

Hammond, 55, will help Leeds with their summer recruitment plans as they continue their search for a permanent director of football.

The club said: “Leeds United are pleased to confirm the appointment of Nick Hammond as the club’s interim football advisor on a short-term contract.

“Hammond will help support the club during the summer transfer window.

“The experienced 55-year-old, former director of football at Reading and head of football operations at Celtic, worked in a similar consultancy role at Newcastle United.

“The process for finding a new, permanent, director of football at Leeds United is under way and the club aim to complete this process by October, allowing the successful candidate to focus on the January transfer window.”

Former Swindon and Reading goalkeeper Hammond spent 13 years as Reading’s first director of football from 2003 and was West Brom’s technical director before becoming Celtic’s head of football operations in 2019.

Leeds parted company with former director of football Victor Orta by mutual consent last month, shortly before being relegated from the Premier League.

They are also in the hunt for a new head coach after Sam Allardyce, appointed with four games remaining, left Elland Road earlier this month.

Wesley Ward has saddled 12 Royal Ascot winners since the beginning of his American invasion. But it is No Nay Never whose legacy is still felt 10 years after the colt rocketed to Norfolk Stakes success.

The American first announced himself at the Royal meeting in 2009 when Strike A Tiger’s Windsor Castle triumph was quickly followed by Jealous Again romping to Queen Mary victory in the opening race of the following day.

Although then a regular bringing his string across the Atlantic to challenge, he had to wait four years for his next success when No Nay Never blitzed his way to Norfolk glory, attracting the attention of a very famous Ascot regular in the process.

“That was a great day,” said Ward.

“We were second in the Queen Mary the day before, it was a 28-runner field and we came second. My buddy Gatewood Bell, all his buddies and himself owned the filly. We had a big night out that night, a great dinner and a little bit too much wine, so when I came in the next day I was nice and relaxed and the first race of the day was the Norfolk.

“Shortly after that I was invited up to sit with the Queen for about half an hour and it was a great experience.”

Ward’s meeting with the late Queen gave the 55-year-old as much pleasure as No Nay Never’s victory itself and he was left amazed by her boundless knowledge of the sport he plied his trade.

He continued: “What was great about it was she did most of the chatting!

“When you first get up there you are nervous and she just starts firing questions at you and it puts you so at ease. She was just picking my brain and asking all these questions about how I train, how I came here and asking about all the success I had.

“It was unbelievable how much knowledge she had, not just of racing but myself – I couldn’t believe the Queen of England even knew who a trainer like myself from a different country like America was and what I had accomplished.

“You would think she would just be coming to the races and focussed on English racing and everything else she had going on in her life. She was just a wonderful person.”

No Nay Never would go on to give Ward his first European Group One when winning the Prix Morny at Deauville, a race in which he would wear the famous Magnier silks closely associated with the Coolmore operation.

“That was a great day as well,” added Ward. “John Magnier and the whole Coolmore team were there as well and we got the picture in the winner’s enclosure.

“The sales were going on so Mr Magnier was there with all his team and it was a great day along with my great friend Paul Shanahan and he is why I’ve been involved with them, so I can’t thank him enough for getting me in there and I’ve been fortunate enough to have some success for them.”

Following his on-track career, No Nay Never would prove just as proficient in the breeding sheds and the son of Scat Daddy’s progeny continue to keep his name in the spotlight at the season’s showpiece fixture.

Alcohol Free is perhaps his biggest winner at Royal Ascot so far, with Andrew Balding’s star filly landing the Coronation Stakes on a wet afternoon in 2021, while he is beginning to become a force to be reckoned with for Coolmore, especially in the juvenile ranks.

Meditate and Little Big Bear both carried No Nay Never’s genes to two-year-old triumphs at Royal Ascot 12 months ago and both are likely to return 10 years on from one of their father’s finest hours, with Little Big Bear a red-hot favourite for the Commonwealth Cup.

“He’s gone on to be a great sire as well as a very good racehorse,” said Ward.

“He was always one of those horses you always thought would go on to be a sire when you have them in your barn.

“He had a great personality and he was very fast, but his mind was something that you know when you were around a horse like him – you could see how smart and intelligent he is.

“You would think with his ability and all of that combined, those are the ones that go on to be good sires.”

Northampton have announced the signing of England World Cup hopeful Tom Pearson.

Back-row forward Pearson was left without a club when London Irish went into administration last week after being suspended from all competitions by the Rugby Football Union.

The 23-year-old helped Irish to a fifth-place finish in the Gallagher Premiership, delivering numerous eye-catching performances.

He was named in England’s first World Cup training squad of the summer by head coach Steve Borthwick, while Pearson ended last term with Premiership and Rugby Players’ Association young player of the season honours.

“I will always be incredibly grateful to London Irish and treasure my time there,” he said.

“They gave me a shot two years ago coming out of university when I was an unknown and probably a bit of a risk.

“It’s tragic to not know the true potential of that team we had, but I want to thank all the players, staff, and the fans for everything they gave me over the last two years and for helping me create lifelong memories.

“From my very first conversation with (Northampton rugby director) Phil Dowson, he has been extremely honest and clear on the direction he wants Saints to go as a club.

“He really made me feel like I would fit in well in Northampton with the playing group and the style of rugby the team plays.

“He has also got clear ideas on where my game can improve, and I want to push on and develop as much as I can as a player.”

Two of Pearson’s England squad colleagues and former Irish team-mates – Henry Arundell and Will Joseph – have yet to confirm their club futures.

Arundell is thought to be a target for Bath and French club Racing 92, while Joseph has been strongly linked with Harlequins.

On recruiting Pearson, Dowson said: “Tom is an incredible athlete and is just going to get better the longer he is in the professional environment.

“He is very versatile, able to play across the back-row, and thanks to his physicality, movement and off-loading game he can make significant impacts all over the park.”

The Premier League fixtures announcement has thrown up some intriguing encounters in the opening round.

Vincent Kompany’s promoted Burnley will host his former club and treble winners Manchester City, while fellow new boys Luton visit Brighton and Chelsea welcome Liverpool.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the most memorable opening-round Premier League fixtures from previous years.

1992: Sheffield United 2 Manchester United 1

This game was not a classic like those below but it did feature the first Premier League goal. Brian Deane scored it, then won it for the hosts from the spot after Mark Hughes had levelled. Fortunes soon changed as Alex Ferguson’s side won the title and the Blades were relegated.

1994: Sheffield Wednesday 3 Tottenham 4

This launched what was meant to be a continental new era for Spurs, with Jurgen Klinsmann leading the line after a move from Monaco. He delivered too, scoring and then performing one of the Premier League’s most memorable celebrations – a dive to live up to his reputation.

1996: Middlesbrough 3 Liverpool 3

It was shirts-over-your-head time at the Riverside as Fabrizio Ravanelli marked his Boro debut with a hat-trick. The White Feather took on Liverpool’s Spice Boys and nearly came out on top but, at the end of the season, Boro went down despite the Italian’s 16 goals.

1996: Wimbledon 0 Manchester United 3

David Beckham’s majestic lob from his own half triggered one of the English game’s most celebrated and high-profile careers. Beckham was a well-established prospect before he caught Neil Sullivan napping – but this goal certainly helped him make a name for himself.

2016: Arsenal 3 Liverpool 4

The hosts took the lead through Theo Walcott, who recovered from seeing a penalty saved by Simon Mignolet to score just 69 seconds later. However, Jurgen Klopp’s side stormed back as Philippe Coutinho (2), Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane put them 4-1 ahead, before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers set up an exciting finish to a thrilling game.

2017: Arsenal 4 Leicester 3

The night started perfectly for Arsenal as new signing Alexandre Lacazette marked his league debut with a goal after just 94 seconds, only for Shinji Okazaki to level three minutes later. Jamie Vardy then capitalised on poor defending to twice put the Foxes ahead either side of Danny Welbeck’s equaliser. However Aaron Ramsey levelled, then fellow substitute Olivier Giroud’s 85th-minute goal settled a breathless encounter in Arsenal’s favour.

2017: Watford 3 Liverpool 3

Stefano Okaka gave Watford an eighth-minute lead, with Abdoulaye Doucoure re-establishing their one-goal advantage shortly after Mane equalised. Roberto Firmino levelled from the penalty spot after debutant Mohamed Salah was fouled, with the Egypt international then poking Liverpool ahead – only for Miguel Britos to equalise and give Marco Silva a positive first outing as Watford boss.

2020: Liverpool 4 Leeds 3

Champions Liverpool were given a scare by a fired-up Leeds side playing their first top-flight match in 16 years but ultimately a Salah hat-trick proved decisive. Three times the Reds were pegged back after taking the lead with a Salah penalty, a Virgil van Dijk header and another Salah strike, with equalisers coming from Jack Harrison, Patrick Bamford and Mateusz Klich. Salah finally settled the contest with a second spot-kick two minutes from time.

2021: Brentford 2 Arsenal 0

Brentford announced their arrival in the Premier League in style as goals from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard secured a memorable 2-0 win over Arsenal. The Bees finally came full circle as their last match in the top flight, in May 1947, was a 1-0 home defeat against Arsenal.

2022: Manchester United 1-2 Brighton

Erik ten Hag endured a chastening reminder of the size of the job he had taken on at Manchester United as his first game in charge ended in a 2-1 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford. Starting with Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, United were thoroughly outplayed in the first half as two Pascal Gross goals in the space of nine minutes gave the Seagulls a deserved lead. Ten Hag’s men did improve after the break once Ronaldo had come on, but only found the back of the net through an Alexis Mac Allister own goal and were unable to get a leveller.

Manchester City will begin their bid for a record fourth consecutive Premier League title away to Vincent Kompany’s Burnley.

The Treble winners will visit Turf Moor to face their former captain’s newly-promoted side on the evening of Friday, August 11 to raise the curtain on the 2023-24 campaign.

It will be the second time Kompany – who won the title on four occasions as City skipper – will have faced his old side as a manager, with City running out 6-0 winners at the Etihad in March’s FA Cup quarter-final.

Premier League debutants Luton will play their first top-flight fixture since 1992 away to Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton on Saturday, August 12, having to wait until the following weekend for their first home game when Kenilworth Road will become the smallest ground to host a fixture in the competition for the visit of Burnley.

The other promoted side Sheffield United kick off their season with a home game against Crystal Palace.

The outstanding fixture of the opening weekend will be at Stamford Bridge where Mauricio Pochettino begins life as Chelsea manager against Liverpool on Sunday, August 13, with both sides looking to bounce back after disappointing campaigns.

Arsenal, following an anticlimactic conclusion to last season’s title challenge, open at home to Nottingham Forest in Saturday’s lunchtime game, with fellow Champions League qualifiers Newcastle hosting Aston Villa that evening and Manchester United beginning against Wolves at Old Trafford on Monday, August 14.

Ange Postecoglou’s first game in charge of Tottenham will be away to Brentford at 2pm on Sunday, Bournemouth open at home to Europa Conference League winners West Ham, and Everton, looking to avoid a third straight relegation scrap, begin at home to Fulham.

The first north London derby of the campaign sees Spurs visit Arsenal on September 23 (with the return on April 27) while Man City travel to the Emirates on October 7 for a meeting of last season’s top two.

October 28 at Old Trafford will bring the first Manchester derby since City matched United’s Treble-winning feat of 1999 (United go to the Etihad on March 2), with the champions hosting Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool on November 25.

The first Merseyside derby of the campaign sees Everton go to Anfield on October 21, while Pochettino will take his new side to face his old one when Chelsea visit Tottenham on November 4.

Mikel Arteta is unlikely to be impressed with Arsenal’s schedule, with the club’s first two Champions League fixtures in six years coming immediately ahead of games against Tottenham and City.

Pochettino will receive an early test of his Chelsea rebuild when the Blues face Tottenham, Man City and Newcastle in consecutive games in November.

Luton have been handed a seemingly kind start to life in the Premier League, their only meeting with any of the ‘big six’ in their first seven games coming away at Chelsea on August 26.

The final weekend sees all three promoted sides play at home, with Burnley welcoming Forest, Sheffield United hosting Spurs and Luton playing Fulham.

Ex-England rugby player Shaunagh Brown has called out sport governing bodies she feels treat female athletes like “small men” to the detriment of their health and performance.

The 33-year-old retired from the Red Roses in December after earning 30 caps for her country, and also represented England in the hammer at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

While the former prop has witnessed some positive change, she remains adamant that not enough consideration is directed to the unique needs of women, from the impact of menstrual cycles to a higher risk of certain injuries – including the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) issues that ended the World Cup dreams of England footballers Beth Mead and Leah Williamson.

“(It needs to) be based in the research why we’re rehabbing this way, why we’re asked to do this activity, why we’re using this training programme, because what you’ll find is a lot of it has come from men,” Brown told a Parliamentary Women and Equalities Committee session.

“Whether that’s concussion protocols, for me it just doesn’t sound right that male and female concussion protocols are exactly the same.

“It’s just because so often we are treated as small men as opposed to completely different needs as women. Where it’s all come from, there is no base at the moment. It’s changing slowly, more people are looking into it.

“I’d say there’s more looking after people of a different age and potentially different weight categories than there is of a gender category. I’m heavy for a woman, I’m 16 stone, and I’d be expected to basically just train like a 16-stone man.

“But if I was a lot lighter, I’d probably have a different training programme. If I was weaker or stronger, I’d have a different training programme.”

Next month, England will begin their quest for a maiden football World Cup without several of the most recognisable names from their Euro 2022 triumph.

Two of the injured – captain Williamson and forward Mead – are ruled out with ACL injuries, an issue that disproportionately affects women, who according to the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) have three-to-six times higher risk than males.

Williamson and Mead are among a worrying number of female footballers, including their Arsenal team-mates Vivianne Miedema and Laura Wienroither, to have suffered the same injury this season.

A BOA report released on Tuesday read: “One anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in your squad is unfortunate. A second is really bad luck. By the time you’re at your fourth, including both the current Lioness captain and the reigning BBC Sports Personality of the Year, there’s clearly an intrinsic problem that needs to be addressed.

“What is happening this season at the elite level is just the tip of the iceberg.”

The report, co-authored by surgeons Morgan Bailey and Nathanael Ahearn, revealed that of groups of young athletes the biggest rise in ACL injuries was observed by their organisation in teenage girls, who have taken up football in significant numbers following the Lionesses’ victory.

The doctors cautioned against writing off the discrepancy as simply due to biological differences, including hormonal influences and limb alignment, instead agreeing with Brown that “the gendered environment has a greater part to play.”

Contributing factors include a lack of equipment designed for women and a difference in quality when it comes to both pitches and coaching – with preventative training critical in reducing ACL injuries.

Like Brown, the BOA report authors warned efforts to make things simply the same for men and women are misguided.

They concluded: “As more women and young girls take up football, the seemingly most straightforward method for development is to mirror that of the boys and men before them, but it is equity, rather than equivalence, that we should be striving for.

“This means rather than simply encouraging more women to take up these sports in line with men, we should be creating the appropriate environment to do so, that accounts for both sex and gender based differences.”

The 2023 Ashes is set to be one of the most exciting in history, with a resurgent England taking on Test champions Australia.

Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have led England to 11 victories in 13 matches since their appointments as captain and coach last summer, while Australia cemented their status as the best five-day team in the world by thrashing India by 209 runs in the World Test Championship final.

Here, the PA news agency picks out five key stats ahead of the five-match series.

Travball

Freed up by Stokes’ and McCullum’s ultra-positive mindset, England’s batters account for seven of the eight fastest strike rates among players with more than 500 runs to their name since the New Zealander was installed as coach on May 12, 2022.

Australia batter Travis Head is the only non-Englishman in the list, with his strike rate of 83.75 runs per 100 balls ranking fourth behind Harry Brook, Ben Duckett and Jonny Bairstow.

Stokes described Head as “so hard to bowl to” in the previous Ashes in Australia, in which he scored 357 runs – the most by anyone on either side – from just 415 balls faced.

He has maintained that form ever since, most recently in a trademark counter-attacking innings of 163 from 174 deliveries against India.

Head’s performances have seen him climb to third spot in the Test batting rankings, behind countrymen Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.

Joe Root is the highest-ranked England batter in sixth.

The last time three batters from the same team were first, second and third in the Test rankings was in December 1984, when Gordon Greenidge, Clive Lloyd, and Larry Gomes from West Indies were at the top.

All out attack

While England’s cavalier batting under Stokes and McCullum has attracted lots of attention, their bowlers have been equally destructive by dismissing the opposition in 25 consecutive innings.

This is their longest run since 1978 and 1979, when England bowled out 26 successive opponents in a sequence that brought series wins against Pakistan and New Zealand, plus a 5-1 Ashes success in Australia.

The wickets have been shared among 14 players during the current run, with veteran seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad – as well as the injured Jack Leach – leading the way on 45 apiece.

Anderson has the best overall figures having claimed his scalps at an average of 17.62, ahead of Ollie Robinson who has 27 wickets at 21.25.

Matthew Potts has chipped in with 23 victims, ahead of captain and Durham team-mate Stokes on 20.

Then comes a bit of a gap to Root on nine wickets and Mark Wood – who has only played two Tests under Stokes and McCullum – on eight.

The overlooked Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks took seven and six wickets in Pakistan respectively, while Josh Tongue claimed a five-for on debut against Ireland at Lord’s.

Jamie Overton (two), Brook (one) and Matt Parkinson (one) have also contributed, while there have been five run-outs and one retirement through injury.

Stokes fitness worries

Stokes’ bowling capability remains somewhat shrouded in mystery ahead of the first Test.

England’s captain has been recovering from a troublesome left knee and – despite insisting he is ready to bowl – has sent down only nine overs in six Test innings so far in 2023.

He also bowled only one over for Chennai Super Kings in this year’s Indian Premier League and was described by coach Stephen Fleming as “batting cover” during the second half of the tournament.

Stokes’ all-round abilities are key to the balance of England’s side, particularly given his preference for fast, flat pitches which could result in bowlers having to get through lots of overs.

Meanwhile, Australia all-rounder Cameron Green – who is playing in an Ashes in England for the first time – has enjoyed a promising start to his Test career.

He has lost only three of the 21 matches he has played in.

Indomitable Lyon

Nathan Lyon has played a remarkable 98 consecutive Tests for Australia, the joint-sixth longest run in history.

The 35-year-old off-spinner – who took four for 41 to help dismiss India in their second innings and clinch the World Test Championship – has not missed a single game since sitting out the opening two Tests of the 2013 Ashes in England.

While Lyon is unlikely to break the record held by former England captain Sir Alastair Cook (159), he is already out on his own among bowlers.

All-rounders Garry Sobers (85), Kapil Dev (66) and Ian Botham (65) have been surpassed, although India’s Dev can consider himself unlucky not to hold the bowlers’ record having missed only one Test in his 131-match career.

Lyon’s omnipresence is in stark contrast with his opposite number Moeen Ali, who is returning to red-ball cricket after nearly two years away as an emergency replacement for the injured Leach.

Moeen admitted this week that he has “never been able to hold an end up” and the stats back this up – his economy rate of 3.61 runs per over is far worse than Lyon’s 2.92.

However, he has a better strike rate than his Australian counterpart, taking a wicket every 60.7 deliveries compared with Lyon’s 63.7.

Absent friend

This will be the first Ashes series since Shane Warne’s sudden death in March 2022.

Warne will be forever synonymous with the urn, having taken more wickets against England than any other player in Test history (195).

The Australian introduced himself to Ashes cricket in 1993 by dismissing Mike Gatting with his very first ball. The delivery – which pitched outside leg and clipped the top of off – was subsequently dubbed the “ball of the century”.

Warne went on to claim 129 Ashes wickets in England at an average of 21.94, compared with 66 scalps at 25.81 in his native Australia.

He won 24 of the 36 Ashes Tests he played in, losing seven and drawing five.

Two of those defeats came in 2005, which was arguably Warne’s greatest Ashes performance despite him finishing on the losing side.

The leg-spinner claimed 40 wickets at an average of 19.92, including six in both innings in the fifth Test at the Oval as Australia tried unsuccessfully to prevent an England series victory.