Kevin De Bruyne has asked to skip Belgium's remaining Nations League fixtures for 2024 in order to manage his workload, coach Domenico Tedesco has revealed.

On Friday, Tedesco named his 23-man squad for the Red Devils' upcoming games against Italy and France in Group A2, with De Bruyne the headline omission. 

De Bruyne played both of Belgium's games in the September international break, as they beat Israel 3-1 before losing 2-0 to France in Lyon.

After that latter match, he made headlines by questioning the mentality and fighting spirit of Tedesco's team, but he has reaffirmed his commitment to continuing on the international stage until at least the 2026 World Cup.

With Manchester City facing a gruelling schedule this term after qualifying for the first 32-team Club World Cup, the midfielder has taken steps to protect his fitness.

"I had a long phone conversation with Kevin. He has an injury, but he is very motivated to continue with the Red Devils and to play the World Cup in 2026," Tedesco said when announcing his latest squad.

"He has asked to skip this camp and also November, to take care of his body. The schedule has become even busier due to the Club World Cup. 

"That is why he is not there now and in November. But when it really counts – the World Cup – he will be there."

Tedesco was also asked if De Bruyne's comments last month had led to any negative repercussions in the squad, but he insisted the controversy surrounding them was unwarranted. 

"Kevin is a big player, but also a big personality," he added. "We talked after what happened in the last match. Of course he was emotional, he always wants to win. But he never mentioned names in the media. We just have to deal with it.

"In the media it has become a big item, just because it was Kevin who said it. But in the dressing room it is not a big topic."

Romelu Lukaku is the other big-name absentee from Belgium's latest squad, with the Red Devils' all-time leading scorer failing to win a recall after being dropped last month, despite recording four Serie A goal involvements for Napoli in a positive start to the season.

Belgium squad: Koen Casteels (Al Qadsiah), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig), Sebastiaan Bornauw (Wolfsburg), Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting Lisbon), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Koni De Winter (Genoa), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Matte Smets (Genk), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt), Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Arne Engels (Augsburg), Orel Mangala (Lyon), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Johan Bakayoko (PSV), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Malick Fofana (Lyon), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig) Cyril Ngonge (Napoli), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).

Karolina Muchova secured an upset at the China Open, snapping Aryna Sabalenka's 15-match winning streak to reach the semi-finals.

The Czech prevailed in two hours and 48 minutes with a 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-4 win over the number one seed on Friday.

Muchova started strong, forcing Sabalenka to defend three break points in the opening game, but they were evenly matched throughout.

Sabalenka almost took the first set, but Muchova held her nerve, successfully fighting back against two set points before taking the tie-break.

The Belarusian looked back to her free-flowing best in the second though, earning two breaks as she forced the decider in comfortable fashion.

Sabalenka took an early lead in the final set, but from 4-2 down, Muchova clawed her way back, going on a four-game winning streak at the end to book a meeting with Qinwen Zheng or Mirra Andreeva in the final four. 

Data Debrief: Czech mate

Given Sabalenka's recent hot streak, this does look like an upset, but it is actually pretty run-of-the-mill for Muchova.

She has now won her last three matches against Sabalenka in WTA events, defeating her at Cincinnati, Roland Garros 2023 and China Open 2024. 

Excluding the BJK Cup, only Iga Swiatek (85.3%) has a higher winning percentage than Muchova on hard-court in WTA events during 2024 (84.6%, 11-2), surpassing Sabalenka (82.5%, 33-7).

The 28-year-old has reached just her second career semi-final and is the player with the fewest WTA-1000 wins during the season before the start of the China Open (one) to reach this stage of the tournament.

Julius Randle says he is happy to be at the Minnesota Timberwolves where he "feels wanted" but admitted feeling shocked by the New York Knicks trade.

He was part of a blockbuster trade, joining the Timberwolves with Donte DiVincenzo, as Karl-Anthony Towns headed the other way in a deal that was completed earlier this week.

Randle was a three-time All-Star with the Knicks as their starting power forward, a Most Improved Player winner and a two-time All-NBA selection.

Last season, he averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, though he did not play in the playoffs after dislocating his shoulder on January 27 and opted to undergo surgery in April after two months of rehab.

Although he had initially been looking forward to another shot at the playoffs with the Knicks, he is now invigorated about joining another championship contender.

"It was a lot of emotion," Randle said. "You spend a lot of time living in one place, you know, New York, going there five years ago... A lot of blood, sweat, and tears put into that organization and uniform. Initially, it's always going to be a shock.

"You want to be somewhere where you feel wanted. I feel wanted here. At this point in my career, I've accomplished a lot of great things on an individual level, but I want to win a championship. This is a perfect opportunity to do that.

"[The trade] was a breath of fresh air. I'm excited to bring everything I've learned here over the past five years and help these guys out. My only thing here is I just want to help.

"I want to help [Anthony Edwards]. I want to help Rudy [Gobert], Naz [Reid] - all those guys. I want to help win a championship, and that's the only thing that matters."

The Timberwolves start their season against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 22, with their preseason beginning against the same opponent on Friday.

Interim England boss Lee Carsley says he will not "copy and paste" his squads, with players to be rewarded for strong club form with Three Lions call-ups.

Carsley oversaw 2-0 Nations League victories over the Republic of Ireland and Finland last month, having taken the reins on a temporary basis after Gareth Southgate's resignation.

The former under-21 boss announced his latest 25-man squad for upcoming matches against Greece and Finland on Thursday, making four changes from last month's party.

Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke won his first call-up in seven years, with Eberechi Eze, Harry Maguire, Tino Livramento and Jarrod Bowen all left out.

Predecessor Southgate was often criticised for sticking with a trusted core of players during his eight-year spell with the Three Lions, but Carsley says nobody is guaranteed a place under him.

"In the back of my mind, I wanted to make sure it feels fresh," Carsley said.

"When you get that email or WhatsApp to say that you've been called up, it's an achievement because it shouldn't be something that is taken for granted.

"I thought it was important that it was not just a copy and paste. I want them to feel like they have earned their place in the squad."

Tottenham midfielder James Maddison and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford – both of whom were left out of Southgate's Euro 2024 squad – were among the players to be overlooked. 

Carsley said he had been left with several tough decisions to make but had prioritised those in form in order to build rhythm before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers start next year.

"The players I've left out, I could make a case for them being in, but ultimately I have to make those decisions," Carsley said.

"The reality is you want a player to be coming in in top form and fighting for a position in the team.

"Getting out of this Nations League is important for us in terms of setting up World Cup qualification. Whether I'm here or not, it's important we are in a favourable pattern and in a position to win the World Cup."

Erik ten Hag has insisted Marcus Rashford's half-time withdrawal during Manchester United's draw with Porto was down to a need for rotation, not a statement on his performance. 

United are still searching for their first Europa League win of the campaign, after Harry Maguire's late header salvaged a 3-3 draw in Porto on Thursday.

After the Red Devils went 2-0 up through early goals from Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund, a strike from Pepe and a brace from Samu Omorodion had put them on the brink of another humiliating defeat.

To cap United's frustrations, captain Bruno Fernandes was shown a red card for a second successive game after also being dismissed in Sunday's 3-0 loss to Tottenham, having never previously been sent off in any of his first 241 games for United.

It was the decision to substitute Rashford for Alejandro Garnacho, though, that dominated post-match talk, with no United player matching Rashford's eight touches in the Porto box or three successful dribbles all game, despite his early withdrawal.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the game, Ten Hag said: "We have to rotate. Garnacho, we didn't start him, but he had a great game not only Sunday but the whole season.

"We go quickly with a turnaround to Villa and they have had a day longer to recover and we have an away game."

Rashford now has 14 goals in the Europa League, moving him outright fourth in the all-time UEFA Cup/Europa League charts among English players, behind only Martin Chivers (22), Alan Shearer (21) and Jermain Defoe (19).

Asked about the substitution again in his post-match press conference, Ten Hag added: "Yeah, but Garnacho was my best player on Sunday by far and also in many other games.

"I think in the season, as I assess it so far, he is bringing us so far the offensive threat by creating chances, assists, also scoring.

"Garnacho we also have to play as well and we have two very good players over that side."

Pushed on whether the decision had anything to do with Rashford's role in Porto's first goal, which came down the England man's flank, Ten Hag said: "I have to watch it back and I think over the left side definitely we didn't defend well tonight.

"Marcus also played a part in this but, as I say, it had to do with Garnacho and nothing against Rashy."

Manchester United are in desperate need of a Premier League win when they take on Aston Villa on Sunday.

The pressure has piled on Erik ten Hag after last week's sorry 3-0 loss at Tottenham.

United have lost three of their six league fixtures this season, winning just twice - against Southampton and Fulham - while they have lost their last two home matches in the top flight by an aggregate score of 6-0.

Their tally of seven points is their joint-fewest after six games of any Premier League season (two wins, one draw, three losses), having made identical starts under David Moyes in 2013-14 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020-21.

They now face another of the league's top teams when they take on Villa, who are fresh from their Champions League triumph over Bayern Munich and unbeaten in four league matches.

United, meanwhile, were forced to settle for a 3-3 draw at Porto in the Europa League, with Harry Maguire's late leveller doing little to ease the pressure on Ten Hag.

Here, we crunch the numbers and dive into the Opta insights ahead of Sunday's clash.

What's expected?

As far as home defeats in the Manchester rain go, last week's capitulation against Spurs was as bad as they get.

Ten Hag looked on miserably as United, who were reduced to 10 men when Bruno Fernandes was sent off late in the first half (that red card has now been rescinded), were carved open time and time again.

Spurs generated a huge expected goals (xG) figure of 4.59 on Sunday – the third-highest United have allowed a Premier League opponent since such records began in 2009. Only versus Arsenal in December 2017 (a 3-1 win) and against Man City in October 2011 (a memorable 6-1 loss at Old Trafford), have United given up a greater quality of chances in a Premier League match.

United also saw their opponents have nine big chances – only in five previous games in Premier League history has a team had more big chances in one game (Man City v Watford 2019-20, Man Utd v Sunderland 2012-13, Arsenal v Fulham 2018-19, Arsenal v Stoke City 2015-16, Man City v Crystal Palace 2017-18 – all 10).

Villa, on the other hand, have won both of their Champions League games without conceding a goal, and though Ipswich Town fought back to draw 2-2 with them last weekend, Unai Emery's team have enjoyed a fine start to the campaign.

They have picked up 13 points in their opening six Premier League matches this season (four wins, one draw, one defeat), their best start to a season since 2008-09 under Martin O’Neill (also 13 points).

As such, it's no surprise to see Opta's supercomputer makes Villa the favourites with a 42% win probability, albeit the gap is perhaps not as big as one might expect. United came out on top in 33.2% of the model's simulations, while the threat of a draw is 24.8%.

And it is worth noting that United have a great record against the Villans.

United have won 40 Premier League games against Villa, with only the Red Devils themselves beating an opponent more often in the competition's history (41 vs Everton).

Villa have won just one of their last 25 Premier League home games against Manchester United (eight draws, 16 losses), with that victory coming in Emery's first game in charge of the club in November 2022 (3-1).

Duran's hungry like a wolf

Forgive the quite abysmal Duran Duran reference, but Villa's fans are surely going to be pulling out the 1980s hits this season if their super-sub forward Jhon Duran continues to thrive as he is right now.

Duran scored a brilliant lob to see off Bayern in midweek, taking his tally of goals for the season to five in all competitions - all of those have come from the bench. His four league strikes have come from just 2.1 xG.

He has also netted four league goals in his last four league appearances at Villa Park, all as a substitute.

The 20-year-old averages a goal every 43 minutes at Villa Park in the competition, the second-best ratio by a player at a single venue (250+ minutes played there), behind Luis Suarez at Carrow Road (a goal every 38 minutes).

Duran is averaging a goal every 39 minutes this season in the league - in comparison, 10-goal Erling Haaland averages one every 54 minutes.

The Colombian has had just 10 shots in the league this term, so he has a 40% shot-conversion rate, the best rate in the competition of any player to score more than three times.

With such a quality talent in reserve, Villa's attack will surely be licking their lips if they can get at United's defence in the same way Spurs did.

Since Emery's first Premier League game in charge, only Man City (85), Liverpool (84) and Arsenal (81) have picked up more home points than Villa (74).

Among Villa managers to take charge of five or more home top-flight matches, only European Cup-winning boss Tony Barton (70%, won 37/53) has a better home win percentage than Emery (66%, won 23/35).

Leaking like Old Trafford's roof

United have actually kept successive away clean sheets in the league, winning 3-0 against Southampton and drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace. They last kept three away clean sheets in a row in March 2021.

However, United have lost eight Premier League matches by a margin of three or more goals under Ten Hag. Since the start of 2022-23, the only current Premier League managers to suffer more 3+ goal defeats are Gary O'Neil and Sean Dyche (nine each).

United so often leave wide open spaces in midfield and huge gaps in defence, with defenders isolated in one-v-ones. 

Despite conceding only eight goals, United have an xG against of 11.04 so far in the league this season – that is the fifth-worst total in the league, lower than only the three promoted clubs and Brentford.

That is despite United allowing just 74 shots, which ranks ninth in the top flight. However, United’s average per-shot xGA is 0.14, which is the second-worst in the league, after Brighton (0.17).

Ten Hag has to find a defensive formula that works if United are to get something out of this game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Aston Villa - Ollie Watkins

While the limelight is on Duran, it is worth mentioning that Watkins has also scored four Premier League goals this term.

Watkins has been involved in 55 goals in 67 Premier League appearances under Emery for Aston Villa (36 goals, 19 assists), with only Erling Haaland (65) and Mohamed Salah (60) scoring or assisting more goals in that time. The former Brentford attacker is looking to score in four games in a row for the first time since April 2023.

Manchester United - Bruno Fernandes

United will be delighted Fernandes will be available for this game. He was set to miss just his eighth match for the club since his debut in February 2020, with the Red Devils winless in their last four (one draw, three losses) and failing to score in their last three without the Portuguese international in the team.

Fernandes has had 17 shots in the Premier League this season, but is yet to score.

That tally of shots is the most any player who is yet to score this season has had across the entirety of Europe's top five leagues this season.

Kirk Cousins passed for a career-high 509 yards and four touchdowns, the last of them a 45-yard scoring pass to KhaDarel Hodge in overtime that gave the Atlanta Falcons an improbable 36-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.

After a wild fourth quarter that featured a blocked field goal, a fumble and an interception, Cousins and the Falcons (3-2) got the ball back at their own 20 with 1:14 remaining in regulation and no timeouts, trailing 30-27.

Cousins completed five passes to push Atlanta to the Buccaneers 29, then hustled to the line to spike the ball with a single second on the clock. In all the confusion, the Falcons were called for delay of game as they lined up for a tying field goal, but it didn't cost them.

Younghoe Koo knocked it through from 52 yards to force overtime, one week after he made a 58-yarder with 2 seconds left to beat the New Orleans Saints.

The Falcons won the coin toss in overtime and made sure Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers (3-2) didn't get their hands on the ball again. Cousins connected with Drake London on a couple of passes before throwing one over the middle to Hodge, who split the secondary and raced untouched to the end zone to end the game.

Pete Alonso delivered a clutch, three-run homer off closer Devin Williams in the ninth inning and the New York Mets rallied for a wild 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night to win their NL Wild Card Series.

The Mets' comeback victory in the decisive Game 3 gave them their first playoff series win since claiming the NL pennant in 2015. They advance to a Division Series beginning Saturday at rival Philadelphia against the NL East champion Phillies.

The Brewers, making their sixth playoff appearance in the last seven years, still haven't won a postseason series since reaching Game 7 of the NL Championship Series in 2018.

Milwaukee appeared to have the victory in hand after Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick broke a scoreless tie by opening the seventh inning with back-to-back homers off José Buttó. Tobias Myers and three relievers had combined on a two-hit shutout through the first eight innings.

Twelve straight Mets had been retired when they opened the ninth against Williams, a two-time NL reliever of the year who had earned the save Wednesday in Milwaukee’s Game 2 victory.

But Francisco Lindor opened the ninth by walking on a 3-2 pitch. After Mark Vientos struck out, Brandon Nimmo singled to put runners at the corners.

That brought up Alonso, who has 226 career homers in six seasons but hadn’t gone deep since Sept. 19.

After getting ahead 3-1 in the count, Alonso sent a 3-1 changeup over the wall in right field to give the Mets the lead.

Edwin Díaz pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win and David Peterson, making his first relief appearance of the season, worked the ninth for his first major league save.

Erik ten Hag does not believe Manchester United should be judged too harshly despite their tough start to the season, after snatching a last-gasp draw with Porto.

Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund gave the Red Devils a quickfire lead in Portugal, before Pepe and a double from Samu Omorodion looked to have sealed a turnaround.

Bruno Fernandes was then sent off for the second game in a row, but Harry Maguire came off the bench to ensure United left with a point in the Europa League after a 3-3 draw.

It was their second consecutive draw in the competition, having given up a lead in both, leaving them 21st in the league table.

In fact, United are winless in their last five matches in European competitions (D3 L2) despite leading by 2+ goals in three of them. 

Ten Hag continues to come under pressure, with his team now winless in four in all competitions, but he believes the squad have what it takes to turn things around.

"We will get there," he told TNT Sports. "Don't judge us in this moment, judge us at the end of the season.

"We are in the process, we will improve. We have had two seasons where we have reached finals, we will continue and fight.

"You see the spirit and the connection between the staff and the team. The players are together, they have a strong spirit, and they want to achieve. We have a good mentality but in some defending parts we have to step up."

Maguire came on as a 78th-minute substitute and scored his first goal of the season, nodding in from Christian Eriksen's corner in the 91st minute.

The former United captain backed the manager to cope with the added noise surrounding his job once again.

"I've played for this club for six years; I know how it works. When you go on a bad spell players come under pressure and also the manager does," Maguire said.

"He's experienced enough and been at this club long enough, so I'm sure he knows how to deal with it. It's part of the privilege you have playing for this club."

Malick Fofana and Alexandre Lacazette each scored twice as Lyon outclassed Rangers 4-1 in the Europa League at Ibrox on Thursday.

Former Arsenal striker Lacazette scored twice before the break after Tom Lawrence had earlier cancelled out Fofana's opener in Glasgow, with the latter also netting again in the second half.

Vaclav Cerny was punished for woefully blazing over the bar when Fofana bent home on the rebound from the hugely impressive Rayan Cherki's shot after 10 minutes.

Lawrence quickly prodded home the equaliser when Cyriel Dessers was denied, but an awful error from Connor Barron led to Fofana laying on a simple finish for Lacazette.

The Frenchman then made it 3-1 with a whipped 25-yard stunner before the break and Fofana poked home Cherki's low cross at the back post to add more gloss shortly after the restart.

Duje Caleta-Car saw a header thunder off the crossbar and Corentin Tolisso had a shot cleared off the line, while substitute Said Benrahma was also denied as Lyon pushed to really emphasise their dominance of proceedings.

Data Debrief: Lyon forwards tormentors in chief

Rangers, who won impressively at Malmo on MD1, just had no answer for the dynamism of a Lyon side who are now two from two and second in the table.

Lacazette was playing his 50th game in the Europa League and scored his 23rd and 24th goals in the competition. Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (34) and Aritz Aduriz (26) have scored more since his first appearance in September 2012.

Cherki set up both of Fofana's goals in an excellent display and has six goal involvements in only five Europa League starts (three goals, three assists), while Fofana scored and assisted in the same game for the first time for Lyon.

Rangers have a night to forget and this represented only the first time in the Europa League/UEFA Cup they have conceded four goals at home, and only the third time overall.

Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid told the media Thursday the team was waiting for swelling to go down on Rashee Rice's knee before performing additional tests.

Three hours later, the Chiefs had enough information to know he'll be side-lined for at least one month.

The Chiefs placed Rice on injured reserve later Thursday, meaning he will out for a minimum of four weeks.

Rice was injured in last Sunday's 17-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and it was reported he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

There has been no update on the extent of the injury, but a torn ACL would side-line him for the rest of the season.

The second-year receiver was injured on a bizarre play when he collided with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who inadvertently dove into Rice's knee as the two team-mates were attempting to tackle Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton on an interception return.

Rice was carted off to the locker room shortly after leaving the field and eventually ruled out of the game.

His injury is the latest blow to a Kansas City team that is already without leading rusher Isiah Pacheco, who is recovering from a fractured fibula he sustained in Week 2.

It also leaves Mahomes without his top target, as Rice led the NFL with 24 receptions through this season's first three weeks.

No other Kansas City player had double-digit receptions entering Week 4, though Travis Kelce finally took on a larger role in the offence.

The veteran tight end had seven receptions for 89 yards against the Chargers after catching eight passes for 69 yards in the first three games.

Despite losing two of their top play-makers, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are 4-0 heading into their Week 5 Monday night game against the New Orleans Saints.

Harry Maguire's late goal spared Manchester United's blushes as they drew 3-3 with Porto despite Bruno Fernandes' red card in the Europa League.

Samu Omorodion's double looked like it had secured Porto the win, but Maguire came off the bench to score in the 91st minute. 

Galeno tested Andre Onana with a powerful first-time shot two minutes in, but Marcus Rashford would open the scoring five minutes later at the other end, cutting inside from the left to drill his low shot under Diogo Costa's leg.

He then set up Rasmus Hojlund for their second in the 20th minute, and Costa again should have done better as the shot went through his hand.

Porto showed their fight soon after, though. Onana sprung brilliantly to keep out Noussair Mazraoui's inadvertent header, but Pepe was alert, stooping to nod home from close range.

Samu got his first in the 34th minute, taking advantage of some slack defending as he leapt high to thump his header over the goalkeeper, and got his second after the break, rifling a powerful shot into the top corner.

It looked like United's hopes of a result were over in the 81st minute as Fernandes received a red card for the second consecutive match. He got his first booking in the first half, receiving his marching orders in the 81st for a high boot in the box.

However, the Red Devils kept pushing for an equaliser, and it came from a corner, with Maguire guiding Christian Eriksen's cross into the top-left corner.

Data Debrief: Ten Hag gets lucky

It was a game that summed up United's season in some ways. They started the game on the front foot, getting two quickfire goals to put themselves in control only to drop their concentration.

Since Erik ten Hag joined the club in 2022, no Premier League club has conceded three or more goals in a match more times in all competitions than United (24).

In fact, they are winless in their last five matches in European competition (D3 L2) despite leading by 2+ goals in three of them. 

Fernandes' red card against Tottenham may have been overturned, but this one will stand. Having not received a single red card in any of his first 241 appearances for United in all competitions, he has now received two in his last two.