James Maddison has earned his place in England's World Cup squad by becoming "one of the best in the Premier League, his Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers believes.
Maddison was a surprise name in Gareth Southgate's 26-man squad announcement on Thursday, having made his first and only appearance for his country in November 2019.
His recent form for Leicester has won Southgate over though.
Since the start of last season, Maddison has been directly involved in 30 goals in the Premier League (18 goals, 12 assists), with only Harry Kane (38) recording more among English players.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Leicester boss Rodgers described the moment Maddison found out he was heading to the World Cup.
"He was delighted. He had a missed call from Gareth just before we went out to training," Rodgers revealed. "I said to him to go into my office to make the call privately. He obviously spoke to Gareth and came out with all the joy of the world, so it was great for him.
"It's wonderful news for James and his family and everyone here in Leicester. I'm delighted for Gareth from a coaching perspective to have that talent available at a great tournament. His level of consistency, work ethic and talent over these last few years has swung that decision.
"He's a fantastic player, one of the best in the Premier League. I'm really delighted for him."
Maddison was listed as a forward in England's squad along with Kane, Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling and Callum Wilson.
Rodgers believes his versatility will make him a valuable asset, outlining the skills he is likely to bring to Southgate's team if called upon during the tournament, which begins on November 20.
"Everyone talks about his favourite position, but James has played across the front line to a high level," he said. "He's plays for me on the right side. He still scores and creates goals. He makes runs like a top winger. One thing he can do above a lot of players is that he can see the forward pass. That's absolutely key.
"He plays forward quickly. A lot of midfield players can conserve the ball, but you need players to see the pass. He's a player whose view of the game is fantastic. England have players who have talent and James has a special talent that can unlock tight games and defences and he can score goals."
Martin hopes to take fighting spirit to Ipswich after Cup victory
Russell Martin was delighted with how Southampton bounced back in the EFL Cup and urged them to keep that fighting spirit in the Premier League against Ipswich Town.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure's opener for Everton in the EFL Cup third-round tie on Tuesday before they beat the Toffees on penalties to progress.
It was a much-needed victory for Southampton, who have failed to win all four of their Premier League games so far, with their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United last time out their 400th loss in the competition.
It is a huge game for both promoted sides, but Martin is keen to build on their win in midweek by providing the perfect Premier League response.
"I loved the togetherness and the spirit [against Everton]," Martin said. "We're going to need all of that on Saturday.
"We were so good for half an hour last weekend, but we didn't respond well enough to a setback. [On Tuesday] we did, and that's the biggest area of growth and learning.
"We are going to have setbacks as a team and a group and a club this season, we've spoken about that, but how we respond to them and how we bounce back is going to be the most important bit."
Meanwhile, Ipswich had a tough start to life back in the Premier League with defeats to Liverpool and reigning champions Manchester City, but they have since picked up points in draws with Fulham and Brighton.
Kieran McKenna's biggest challenge, though, has been integrating their 11 new signings into the squad, and he believes they are starting to see positive results from their transfer business.
"It's not going to happen overnight," said McKenna on the squad gelling together.
"We're in a process and I think we're going to get better week-by-week if we take the right approach.
"It's good that we've already been pretty competitive in our games. If we stick on the right path, then over the course of weeks and months we'll be in a much better place than we are now."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Southampton – Ben Brereton Diaz
Ben Brereton Diaz has played 18 Premier League matches across spells with Sheffield United and current side Southampton and is still yet to end on the winning side (D4 L14), an all-time Premier League record for games played without winning.
He is also yet to score since joining the Saints, giving up the opportunity to take a penalty last weekend, and he will be desperate to end both of those droughts.
Ipswich Town – Sammie Szmodics
Ipswich have had just nine shots in the first halves of their four Premier League games so far this season, the fewest of any side.
Away from home, the Tractor Boys have managed one first-half shot in two games – Sammie Szmodics' goal against Man City in August.
MATCH PREDICTION: SOUTHAMPTON WIN
Southampton lost 1-0 at home to Ipswich in the Championship last season but have not lost consecutive home league games against the Tractor Boys since April 1980.
The Saints are one of two teams yet to lead for a single minute in the Premier League this season, alongside Crystal Palace. Southampton have also spent more time in a losing position than anyone else in 2024-25 (208 minutes and 15 seconds, inc. injury time).
This is the latest two newly promoted teams are meeting in a Premier League season with both still winless since Fulham beat West Bromwich Albion on matchday seven of the 2020-21 campaign; only one of the six games between such sides last season was won by the home team (Burnley 5-0 Sheffield United).
Meanwhile, Ipswich have won more Premier League games against Southampton than they have vs any other opponent (five). However, they lost the last such meeting between the sides 3-1 at Portman Road in March 2002.
Ipswich have failed to win any of their opening four Premier League games this season (D2 L2). It is the Tractor Boys' longest winless start to a top-flight season since 1984-85 (first five games).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Southampton – 43.4%
Draw – 25.7%
Ipswich Town – 30.9%
O'Neil looking to flip the script against Villa after tough start to season
Gary O'Neil admitted that Wolves may be second favourite in every game, but he is hoping they can flip the script against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday.
Wolves have endured a difficult start to the season with one draw and three losses, including a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United last weekend after they failed to hold onto their lead.
They sit 18th in the Premier League table and go into the weekend having also been knocked out of the EFL Cup after suffering a 3-2 defeat to Brighton on Wednesday.
O'Neil did not shy away from their run of poor form and is hopeful they can start to get results that match their performances.
"Of course, should haves and could haves aren't going to help us, but moving forward you can still see that we're giving ourselves good opportunities to win football matches against tough teams," O'Neil told BBC Radio WM.
"Unfortunately, at this moment in time, we haven't managed to turn one [result] our way. The lads are still taking a lot of heart from [the Brighton game].
"So far, my guess would be that we have been second-favourite in every game. I think we will be for the next few as well so, we're having to fight against the odds at the minute.
"We are doing enough to get results, but we are falling a bit short."
Meanwhile, Villa have lost just one of their four Premier League outings so far and came from 2-0 down to beat Everton 3-2 in their last such match.
The Villans are returning to Premier League action on a high after opening their Champions League campaign with a dominant 3-0 victory over Young Boys.
Youri Tielemans was delighted with their showing in Europe but already has his focus back on the top-flight.
"For our first match, it was amazing," Tielemans said. "We can enjoy this and focus on the next game now.
"It was a good performance from myself, from the team, so we can move forward."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aston Villa – Jhon Duran
Jhon Duran has scored the winning goal in all three of Villa's Premier League victories this season, with all three coming as a substitute.
No player has scored four winning goals from the bench in a single campaign in Premier League history.
Wolves – Andre
Andre completed all of his 40 passes for Wolves against Newcastle United before being withdrawn (100%).
He also won five of his nine duels and won possession four times in his first start for Wolves.
MATCH PREDICTION: ASTON VILLA WIN
Villa beat Wolves 2-0 in their last league meeting in March last season – only in their first two such encounters in 2003-04 have they won consecutive Premier League games against them.
The Villans have won three of their four Premier League games this season, losing the other against Arsenal. Only in 1998-99, 2009-10 and 2020-21 have they won as many as four of their first five in a single campaign in the competition.
However, between March and Christmas 2023, Villa conceded just eight goals in 16 Premier League home games (0.5 per game), and never more than once in a match in that time. Since then, they have conceded 26 goals in 12 games at Villa Park (2.2 per game), conceding at least twice in 10 of those (including each of the last four).
Meanwhile, Wolves have only lost one of their last five away league games against Aston Villa (D2 L2), though it was in this exact fixture last season (0-2).
Wolves have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games (D3 L10) and are winless in seven (D1 L6) since a 2-1 win over Luton in April. It is their longest run without a victory since a run of 12 between April and August 2022.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Aston Villa – 57.6%
Draw – 21.4%
Wolves – 21%
Postecoglou warns 'no easy or quick fix' for Spurs after Coventry scare
Ange Postecoglou acknowledged "there is no easy or quick fix" for Tottenham following their EFL Cup scare against Coventry City.
Spurs scraped through to the fourth round by the skin of their teeth, having been second-best against their Championship opponents for large periods of the tie at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Ben Davies had cleared off the line from Haji Wright minutes before Coventry took a deserved 63rd-minute lead through Brandon Thomas-Asante.
The Sky Blues looked set to book their place in the last-16 draw, but Djed Spence rounded off a neat move to equalise in the 88th minute then, deep into stoppage time, Brennan Johnson completed the turnaround to snatch victory from under Coventry's noses.
Postecoglou has been the subject of criticism this week after stating he "always" wins silverware in his second season at a club.
The Spurs boss knows his side still have a long way to go, but was pleased by the character demonstrated by his players in testing circumstances.
"We had to just hang in there somehow, and we did," he told Sky Sports. "We weren't fluent or cohesive.
"I have consistently said there is no easy or quick fix to where we want to get to and one result doesn't change that.
"Tonight, we showed what we have been missing the first four games. A little bit of spirit to fight our way and find a way to win a game of football."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
