Nuri Sahin is confident that Borussia Dortmund's back-to-back victories will help improve spirits within their depleted squad ahead of facing Mainz in the Bundesliga. 

The likes of Gregor Kobel, Karim Adeyemi, Julien Duranville, Gio Reyna, Niklas Sule, Waldemar Anton, Julian Ryerson and Yan Couto are all notable absentees for BVB. 

However, Sahin's side followed up their impressive league win over RB Leipzig last week with a 1-0 win over Sturm Graz in the Champions League on Tuesday. 

The win saw Sahin become the first Dortmund boss since the Bundesliga was founded to win each of his first seven home matches in charge (all competitions).

However, their struggles, particularly in the Bundesliga, have come away from the Westfalenstadion this season. 

Dortmund have failed to win any of their four away matches in the league. Should they fail to win in Mainz, they would become the second side this century to have zero wins in their first five away games and five wins from their first five home games. 

Borussia Monchengladbach were the last team to go on a similar run in 2013-14, while the last time Dortmund experienced this stretch of form came in 1967-68. 

However, Sahin revealed that their recent victories have improved the mood in the dressing room, and is positive his players can stop the rot away from home. 

"We have not really trained as a team on the pitch yet (after the win over Graz)," Sahin told a press conference.

"But the atmosphere is obviously more relaxed. Victories always do well and especially the way we won." It is normal there's more laughter after wins than after defeats."

Dortmund currently sit fifth in the Bundesliga standings after nine games, seven points behind league leaders Bayern Munich. 

Sahin's side do, however, have the opportunity to close the gap at the summit ahead of the final international break of 2024. 

The BVB head coach welcomed the two-week break as an opportunity to nurse his injury-hit squad back to health, though asked his available players for one final push after a difficult few months. 

"It is never easy in Mainz. It will be uncomfortable," Sahin said. "We need to do it one more time before going into the international break."

"It needs to be clear to us that it is about the three points. It does not matter if it is home or away.

"We will try to get those important points to start again after the international break from a better position."

Edu will spend the next six months on gardening leave, while assistant sporting director Jason Ayto will take up his role during the search for a full-time replacement.

The news comes after the announcement earlier in the week that Edu was to leave Arsenal to work with Evangelos Marinakis' multi-club group, which includes Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners are giving themselves a long window to replace their sporting director and are prepared to wait for the right candidate.

Despite his abrupt departure partway through the season, the feeling towards Edu is of gratitude after installing a robust structure that the club can now work with.

The Brazilian is known to be a friend of Marinakis, who values the esteem in which Edu is held by his peers.

The salary offered to him for his move, as reported by Sky Sports News, would mean only Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery earn more than him among Premier League managers.

The role itself, meanwhile, will see Edu act as the CEO of the group.

Arne Slot believes Curtis Jones' upturn in form for Liverpool has coincided with the 23-year-old recently becoming a father for the first time. 

Jones has played a starring role for the Reds in recent weeks, which has earned him a call-up by Lee Carsley for England’s upcoming Nations League fixtures this month. 

The midfielder shone during Liverpool's 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, notching a sublime assist for Luis Diaz's 61st minute opener. 

Jones also created the joint-most chances (three) along with Ryan Gravenberch at Anfield, and is now pushing Dominik Szoboszlai for a starting spot in Liverpool's midfield. 

"With Curtis he became a fighter and I had nothing to do with that. Since the moment he became a father [last month], he started putting great performances in," Slot said. 

"He already did in the first few weeks of pre-season and I thought he was a quality player.

"His performances dropped a bit but from the moment he became a father he has been outstanding again.

"It might have a bit to do with that, but I think it is more to do with how the team plays. As a result of that, individual performances are good as well."

Jones has started four of the Reds' last six games in all competitions, notching four goal contributions (one goal, three assists) in those games. 

But the midfielder has had to bide his time under Slot, with the Liverpool boss challenging Jones to add consistency to his game in the coming weeks. 

"He has a lot of qualities on the ball, when he has it he's never afraid to do something special. Sometimes he is a bit too over-confident but confidence is important," Slot added.

"He also has an incredibly high work-rate and we can trust him defensively. You saw how he performed against Cole Palmer.

"If he wants to continue progressing he has to show every three days these performances."

Liverpool's fine start to the season continued with their midweek thrashing of Leverkusen, and they are now top of the Premier League and Champions League tables. 

The Reds' victory over Brighton in the league saw Slot become just the fifth manager to win as many as eight of his first 10 Premier League games in charge, after John Gregory (1998), Guus Hiddink (2009), Carlo Ancelotti (2009) and Ange Postecoglou (2023).

Of the previous four, only Postecoglou failed to win his 11th match in the competition, though Slot faces a stern test this weekend when Aston Villa visit Merseyside. 

The Dutchman, however, insisted that his side's flying start to the season had not come as a surprise. 

"I don't think surprise is the right word to use because I knew the quality of our team. But quality is one thing and consistency is another," Slot concluded.

"I am not surprised because I saw the energy my players put in on a daily basis.

"Sometimes a bit of luck comes with us as well. Most of our results were deserved, but some have been a close call.

"In general, I'm not surprised because of the quality that was in the team and when I started working with them, I saw how much effort they put in to get these results."

Romelu Lukaku has been recalled to Belgium's 23-man squad for their upcoming Nations League fixtures against Italy and Israel. 

Lukaku, who is the Red Devils' all-time top scorer with 85 goals in 119 appearances, was left out of Belgium's opening four matches in the competition. 

But since a 3-1 win over Israel in their opening game of Group A2, Domenico Tedesco's side are without a victory in three games and sit third in the standings. 

Belgium know two triumphs are a must if they are to reach the quarter-finals of the Nations League, and see Napoli's Lukaku as the answer. 

“He had no hesitation to return. He is one of the best strikers in world football. He doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody any more," Tedesco said. 

"His qualities are key for us, and he’s also important off the pitch. He’s a natural leader and is very good at helping the young players.”

Lukaku has been in fine form for Serie A leaders Napoli, contributing eight goal involvements (four goals, four assists) in nine league appearances this term. 

Youri Tielemans, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Koni De Winter have all missed out on the squad through injuries.

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne is also an absentee after he had previously requested to be left out of the squad. 

There are, however, returns for Ameen Al-Dakhil and Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia, while Club Brugge's 19-year-old left-back Joaquin Seys has earned a first senior call-up. 

Belgium squad in full: 

Koen Casteels (Al Qadsiah), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig); Ameen Al-Dakhil (VfB Stuttgart), Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting Lisbon), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge), Matte Smets (Racing Genk), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt); Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Arne Engels (Celtic), Romeo Lavia (Chelsea), Orel Mangala (Everton), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa); Johan Bakayoko (PSV Eindhoven), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Malick Fofana (Olympique Lyonnais), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).

Vincent Kompany is confident that his free-scoring Bayern Munich side can continue their prolific form away from home when they face St. Pauli on Saturday. 

Bayern returned to winning ways in the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Benfica in midweek, but are now looking to remain at the Bundesliga summit. 

Kompany's team are the only unbeaten side away from home in the league this term, taking 13 points from their five games on the road. 

They have scored at least three goals in each of their last five Bundesliga away games to equal the league record set by themselves in 2019-20 under Hansi Flick.

In league history, no other side has ever scored as many goals in their first five away games of a campaign as Bayern’s current return (22).

Kompany, however, was unsure about why his team were so effective away from the Allianz Arena. 

"Good question. Honestly, I don't know why that is," Kompany told a press conference.

"I don't think we differentiate too much between away games and home games. Obviously, it is extra motivation to play in our Allianz Arena.

"But we have also played a lot of matches on the road. Our plan does not change whether we play against St Pauli away or at home.

"Maybe that is the reason we have scored so much. Maybe it is the opponents changing their plans.

"We have prepared for what we have seen, and we hope it will work on the day."

Bayern's victory over Benfica came after back-to-back defeats to Aston Villa and Barcelona in the Champions League, moving them up to 17th in the new 36-team standings. 

Though the scoreline suggested a closely contested affair, Kompany's side put on a dominant display that warranted a more handsome margin at full-time. 

Bayern ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.45 from their 22 shots, while restricting their opponents to just one shot. 

Despite the quick turnaround from Wednesday's triumph, Kompany insisted that his players will be well-prepared for their trip to the Millerntor-Stadion. 

"My players will be fresh on Saturday. I have the feeling the team is fresh mentally and physically even though we did not have a lot of time to recover," Kompany said. 

Haris Rauf’s second five wicket-haul and half-centuries by Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique led Pakistan to a nine-wicket victory over Australia in the second ODI on Friday. 

Pakistan's win also levelled the three-match series with their biggest ODI win over the world champions in Australia, setting up a decider in Perth on Sunday. 

The hosts started poorly with the bat, losing Jake Fraser-McGurk (13) and Matt Short (19) inside the first seven overs, with Shaheen Afridi claiming both early wickets. 

Steve Smith top scored with 35 but was bowled out by Mohammad Hasnain (1-27), before Rauf ripped through Australia's middle order for the second consecutive game.

On his way to figures of 5-29, the 31-year-old claimed the wickets of Inglis (18), Marcus Labuschagne (six), Aaron Hardie (14), Glenn Maxwell (16) and Pat Cummins (13). 

Shaheen Afridi secured the final wicket of Adam Zampa (18), with Pakistan handed a target of 164 runs to take the series to a decider. 

And the tourists made light work of their run chase, with Ayub (83) and Abdullah Shafique (64) combining brilliantly to produce an opening stand of 137. 

Zampa eventually made the breakthrough with the wicket of Ayub, but the damage had already been done. Babar Azam sealed the win with a six, with Pakistan reaching their target in just 26.3 overs. 

Data Debrief: Shaheens stars play their part

Pakistan have not won an ODI series in Australia since 2002, but their showing on Friday will give them confidence of claiming a historic win. 

They registered their biggest ODI win against the world champions in Australia in terms of both balls (141 balls) and wickets (nine) remaining. Previously, Pakistan's biggest ODI triumph over Australia in their own backyard had come in Sydney in 1981, winning by six wickets.

But the victory was inspired by Ayub and Shafique's 137-run stand for the first wicket, which was Pakistan’s second-best opening stand in an ODI against Australia, only behind Mohsin Khan and Mudassar Nazar (141) in 1985. 

Mohammad Rizwan also played his part. His tally of six catches is the joint-most for any wicket-keeper in an ODI for Pakistan, going level with Sarfaraz Ahmed against South Africa in 2015. 

England interim manager Lee Carsley has said he has not spoken to permanent head coach-to-be Thomas Tuchel in person since it was announced he would take over last month,

Carsley is scheduled to take England's Nations League games against Greece and Republic of Ireland before he returns to the Under-21s and Tuchel takes the job in January.

He said they had only exchanged text messages up to now, but was unconcerned that they were yet to see each other in the flesh.

“I think it’s quite clear in terms of the starting date,” Carsley told a press conference

“It was more of a text message to him, which was ‘congratulations’ and he said ‘good luck for the window and look forward to meeting up’.

“He is fully respectful that I am in charge at the moment, that is the priority. I do not feel hard done by or shunned.

“If anything I look forward to hopefully create a situation where we can hand over a healthy squad of players to the new coach and his squad.”

Carsley had raised eyebrows in the previous international break by struggling to give a straight answer when asked if he wanted the job permanently.

Tuchel had signed the contract two days before England were beaten by Greece at Wembley, but Carsley said that he was unaware of that at the time.

“My focus was massively on the games, on the camp. In terms of my position, I’m really comfortable with the way that it was handled," he said

“I didn’t feel undermined or anything like that. If anything I felt really well supported.

“So in terms of the Greece performance there is definitely not an excuse or that I knew something or I didn’t. In respect to the performance it was down to me.”

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick stormed out of a press conference on Wednesday night, frustrated with reporters' line of questioning.

The Lakers were beaten 131-114 by the Memphis Grizzlies, bringing their record to 4-4, and Redick had been asked about his team's lack of energy on the night.

Having previously called for his team to match the commitment shown by LeBron James, he grew frustrated with being pressed by reporters on the subject.

Clearly frustrated about the Lakers' early-season form, when asked about his approach to getting the team to play like James, Redick replied: "I just did." He then put the microphone down, got up and left the press conference.

"He played hard," Redick had said earlier in the press conference, when talking about James.

"Almost 40 years old, played the hardest on our team. Says a lot about him." When asked if he was pleased with the effort from the rest of the team, he said: "No one is."

This comes at a time when the Lakers have assigned rookie Bronny James, LeBron's son, to their G League affiliate South Bay.

But James will be on the Lakers' roster for Friday's games against the Philadelphia 76ers, with the plan for him to only play G League home games as he goes between the Lakers and South Boy.

Redick confirmed last month that the "plan for Bronny to move between the Lakers and South Bay has always been the plan since day one."

Ruud van Nistelrooy has challenged Manchester United to be ruthless, with the interim boss saying Old Trafford has less of a fear factor after their recent results.

Van Nistelrooy led the Red Devils to a 2-0 win against PAOK in the Europa League on Thursday and remains unbeaten in his time as Erik ten Hag’s temporary successor before Ruben Amorim’s arrival next week.

All three of his games in charge have come at the Theatre of Dreams, which culminates with another home fixture against Leicester City in the Premier League, a side he has already beaten in the EFL Cup at the end of last month.

United have picked up just seven points from their five home league games this season, with only seven teams winning less, something Van Nistelrooy says must improve.

"That's something that is important to change," he told TNT Sports. "Home games at Old Trafford were basically hardly won [by the visitors].

"As I said, the reason why I'm here is to get United back to that point. It's hard work, it needs to be done, but, of course, it is a chance to get a home win after a long time."

"I don't know. I think less because of the results that more teams got at Old Trafford, that means something. How teams are coming and playing here, so again that's something you have to build again.”

Leicester, meanwhile, come into the encounter at Old Trafford after snatching a point late on against 10-man Ipswich Town, with Jordan Ayew netting in the second half stoppage time.

The Foxes are without a win in three games in all competitions since back-to-back victories against Bournemouth and Southampton in the Premier League in October.

While head coach Steve Cooper was happy his side were able to add another point to their league total, he said he left Portman Road with mixed feelings after reflecting on the encounter.

“A point away from home in the Premier League is never anything to be too despondent about. It will feel like a win scoring late, but I think we'll feel better about the result than what Ipswich will,” Cooper said.

“It's miles a better result than it is for Ipswich, but we think of ourselves, we think internally we shouldn't be satisfied with just the point. There should be some disappointment and frustration there, but we also know that we worked really hard in the end to get something out of the game.

“We started really strong, finished really strong, but bits in between were a little bit too up and down for my liking, so it’s mixed feelings, but we keep ticking over, and we move on now.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester United – Bruno Fernandes

Fernandes has been involved in eight goals in seven starts against Leicester in all competitions (four goals, four assists), netting twice against the Foxes in last month’s EFL Cup meeting.

He has also created more chances (15) than any of his United team-mates in the Premier League this term, with his creative edge needed to unlock the Leicester defence.

Leicester City – Jordan Ayew

Only Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran (four) has scored more goals as a substitute in the Premier League this season than Ayew (two).

Both of the Ghanaian’s strikes have come in his last two away games, and both in second half stoppage time (winner against Southampton, equaliser against Ipswich).

MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER UNITED WIN

United have lost just two of their last 17 Premier League games against Leicester (W10 D5), with those defeats coming consecutively in May and October 2021.

The Red Devils have also scored in each of their last 28 top-flight games against Leicester, since a 1-0 loss in January 1998. In their Premier League history, only against Arsenal have they ever had a longer scoring streak (30 between 1953 and 1968).

United have won 16 of their last 18 Premier League games against promoted sides (D2), since a 1-4 loss to Watford in November 2021, and will be hopeful of continuing to get their season back on track.

Their 12 points this season is the club’s lowest return after 10 top-flight games in a season since 1986-87 (eight), while their nine goals scored is their lowest at this stage since 1973-74 (also nine).

Leicester, meanwhile, have won just one of their last 14 Premier League away games against United (D3 L10), picking up a 2-1 victory in May 2021.

But the Foxes are one of two teams – along with Man City – to have scored in all 10 of their Premier League games so far this season. Only in 2018-19 (first 11) and their 2015-16 title winning campaign (17) have they had a longer streak from the start of a season in the competition.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Manchester United – 65.1%

Draw – 18.8%

Leicester City – 16.1%

Lamar Jackson threw for three fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the Baltimore Ravens denied Cincinnati on a 2-point conversion with 38 seconds remaining to hold off the Bengals 35-34 on Thursday night.

The Ravens (7-3) rallied from a 21-7 third-quarter deficit, overcoming a huge game from Cincinnati receiver Ja'Marr Chase. He finished with 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns, including a 5-yarder in the final minute to bring the Bengals (4-6) within one. Cincinnati - which lost to Baltimore in overtime last month - decided to go for 2 and the lead, and Joe Burrow's pass for Tanner Hudson sailed high.

Cincinnati had a chance to take control when it was up 14 with the ball in the third, but a fumble by Chase Brown gave the Ravens a short field, and a nifty scramble along the sideline by Jackson set up Derrick Henry’s 1-yard touchdown run.

In the fourth, Tylan Wallace turned a short pass into an 84-yard TD, barely staying inbounds as a couple of Cincinnati defenders failed to stop him. Justin Tucker missed the extra point, but the Ravens were within one.

Cincinnati drove into Baltimore territory, but on both third-and-2 and fourth-and-2, Burrow threw incomplete deep. Jackson gave the Ravens the lead with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Mark Andrews, and then the two-time MVP-winning quarterback ran himself for a 2-point conversion.

Baltimore had 231 of its 389 total yards in the fourth quarter. Jackson threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns and Burrow passed for 428 yards and four TDs.

Damian Lillard scored 34 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 16 rebounds in his return after a one-game absence and the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a six-game skid, beating the Utah Jazz 123-100 on Thursday night.

Antetokounmpo was back in action after missing a 116-114 loss at Cleveland on Monday night because of a right adductor strain.

The Bucks hadn’t lost six straight games since March 2015. They avoided their first seven-game skid since March 2014, when they dropped eight in a row.

Jordan Clarkson had 18 off the bench to lead the Jazz.

Utah led 71-70 before the Bucks took command with a 17-1 run late in the third quarter. Lillard and Antetokounmpo combined to score Milwaukee’s first 15 points in that spurt.

Antetokounmpo had six offensive rebounds to increase his career total to 1,469 and become Milwaukee's career leader. Marques Johnson, now part of the Bucks' television broadcast team, had 1,468 offensive rebounds with the Bucks from 1977-84.

Edwards’ all-around game powers Wolves

Anthony Edwards had 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Chicago Bulls 135-119.

Julius Randle had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Rudy Gobert tallied 21 with nine boards for the Wolves, who rallied from a 13-point deficit for their second straight win.

It was Chicago's fourth consecutive loss. Nikola Vucevic scored 25 points for the Bulls on 11-for-15 shooting and Coby White had 24 points and eight assists.

Chicago led 95-90 after three quarters, but Minnesota controlled the action in the fourth. Randle's driving layup lifted the Timberwolves to a 107-106 lead with 6:47 left.

Trailing 106-101 in the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves rattled off a 12-0 run to take the lead for the first time since the game’s opening minutes. Two 3s by Edwards gave the Wolves a 113-106 advantage and forced the Bulls to call a timeout.

Minnesota shot 70.8% from the field in the fourth, including 6 for 11 from 3.

Spurs run past Trail Blazers

Keldon Johnson and Malaki Branham each had 17 points and the San Antonio Spurs handled the Portland 118-105 in their fourth game without coach Gregg Popovich.

Popovich has been out since having a medical episode Saturday before a home game against Minnesota. Prior to the game Thursday, Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson said the team is unsure when Popovich will return.

Zach Collins and Julian Champagnie added 14 points apiece to help the Spurs snap a two-game skid. Branham exited two minutes into the fourth quarter after rolling his right ankle.

Deandre Ayton had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Portland, while Jerami Grant added 21 points and Anfernee Simons contributed 19.

With Portland trailing 64-62, San Antonio was able to extend the lead to four points on a 3-pointer by Branham and off-the-ball foul on Grant that Victor Wembanyama converted into a free throw. The play gave the Spurs a 68-62 lead.

San Antonio reserves Branham, Johnson, Collins and Blake Wesley combined for 58 points.

San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey will finally make his season debut.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed Thursday that McCaffrey is expected to play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after missing the first eight games of the season.

Last season’s Offensive Player of the Year has been on injured reserve since the start of the season with what was initially called a calf injury. The injury was later revealed to be Achilles tendonitis in both legs, and McCaffrey met with specialists in Germany in late September.

McCaffrey returned to football activities while the 49ers were on a Week 9 bye and has resumed normal practice this week.

“He's been awesome these last two days,” Shanahan said on a San Francisco radio station on Thursday. “You never know [about] a setback or anything, but these two days have been great, and I expect to see him out there.”

McCaffrey’s return, barring a setback, comes at a key time for 4-4 San Francisco and has apparently boosted team morale. 

“It's been awesome,” quarterback Brock Purdy told reporters. “Just what he brings to the table and really just firing everybody else up around. All of us coming off the bye week and feeling good and fresh and then you get 2-3 next to you in the backfield, it's been awesome.

“Looks great moving around and he's trending in the right direction. So, we're excited to see what happens.”

Jordan Mason was off to a tremendous start this season while filling in for McCaffrey and is third in the NFL in rushing yards.

Mason, however, has been limited in recent weeks due to an ongoing shoulder injury, leaving rookie Isaac Guerendo to take on a larger role.

Shanahan also indicated that wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings also benefited from the bye week and are on track to return against the Buccaneers.