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• Ja's Harbour View takes aim at Dom Rep's Cibao FC with Group B honours in sight

  Jamaica's Harbour View will be looking to complete their mission of a first-place finish in Group B of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup, when they visit Cibao FC of the Dominican Republic at the Estadio Cibao in Santiago de los Caballeros, on Thursday.

  Harbour View sit atop the group with seven points and have already clinched their spot in the semifinals, but they will need a victory at Cibao to assure themselves of group honours.

  The East Kingston-based club has been excellent in the competition, opening with a 1-0 win against fellow Jamaican side Dunbeholden, before a 1-1 draw against Atletico Pantoja of the Dominican Republic, and an exciting 3-2 win versus Suriname’s Robinhood.

  Cibao opened with a point in a 1-1 draw with Atletico Pantoja but have suffered back-to-back defeats since then. However, the opportunity is there to end on a high note.

  Facundo Guichon has shown that he can find the back of the net, having scored against Dunbeholden, while Jean Lopez has an assist and leads the team in ball recoveries (8) and passes (186).

  Harbour View will counter with the dynamic duo of Omar Thompson and Shaquiel Bradford. Thompson has scored in two successive games, while Bradford bagged a second half brace to spearhead Harbour View’s comeback win versus Robinhood.

• Scotland boss Steve Clarke: We will miss Kieran Tierney but the squad is strong

  Scotland manager Steve Clarke believes he has the depth and flexibility to cope with the loss of Kieran Tierney for next week’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Spain.

  Tierney suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Real Sociedad on Saturday and Clarke has added left-back Greg Taylor and centre-back Liam Cooper to his squad.

  Scotland will qualify for next summer’s finals in Germany if they get a point in Seville on October 12.

  “First and foremost it’s a shame for Kieran,” Clarke said. “He got a really good move on loan to Sociedad, started really well and obviously picked up what looks like quite a significant injury.

  “We will miss him but I know Kieran, he will work as hard as he can to get back as quickly as possible, and we will be there to support him, and hopefully we are waiting on the other side for him as well with some good news.

  “The squad is strong, I believe I have good options. It’s nice to be able to call on people like Greg Taylor, who has started the season well with Celtic. Liam Cooper has come back to the squad as well, which gives me another option.”

  Clarke devised his three-man central defence to fit Tierney inside wing-back Andy Robertson and does not have another central defender who can carry the ball forward like the Arsenal man.

  Scotland took seven points from three Nations League games in September 2022 while playing a back four in the absence of the injured Tierney, and Clarke is considering his options.

  “What you have to weigh up is whether you have time on the training pitch to change the team, to change the system,” said Clarke, whose team also face France in a friendly in Lille on October 17.

  “This one is a little bit more difficult because it’s a Thursday match, so the first match is difficult in terms of changing the system.

  “That’s not to say we won’t do it because we have done it before. If I feel it’s the right way to go, then we can change the system.

  “We still have games this week and at the weekend. You have to wait and see which squad actually turns up, hopefully no more injuries. Once I’ve got everybody in camp, we will make a decision on how we are going to go.

  “Then we will have two quite short training sessions to work on the tactical side of it, and we will make sure we get that right.

  “I think we could easily slot back into it because most of the players play with a back four with their club, so it’s not as if you are asking them to do something they can’t do.

  “They proved in that September week of the Nations League that they could adapt very quickly to a different system.

  “It’s a system that we quite often change to within games, if we have to get after the game and maybe chase it a little bit. So it’s a system we can use.”

  Clarke admitted he was “nowhere” with the possibility of Newcastle pair Harvey Barnes and Elliot Anderson being involved.

  Whitley Bay-born Anderson last week indicated he wanted more time to consider his international future, having left the last Scotland camp after two days following his first call-up to the full squad.

  England cap Barnes was recently reported to be considering a switch of allegiance but was last week ruled out for three months with a foot injury.

  Clarke said: “I haven’t spoken to Harvey for a long time, so nothing on that one.

  “Similar with Elliot, he left the last camp and I haven’t spoken to him since. I haven’t picked him for this camp and I move on and work with the players we have got.”

  Clarke would not rule out picking Anderson again “if he doesn’t choose England” but added: “Listen, Elliot is a young man making his way in the game. He has got a big decision to make, international-wise, so let’s just give the boy a little bit of time and space to make that decision.”

  The only other change sees Luton striker Jacob Brown replace Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland.

  Clarke said: “I had a chat with Lawrence, no problems. It was just a decision I wanted to make for this camp.

  “Obviously Lawrence was in the last camp but didn’t get any minutes on the pitch and I felt there could be a similar scenario this time.

  “I also wanted to have a look at Jacob because he has started quite well at Luton, playing week in, week out in the Premier League.”

• Martin Odegaard believes any team would miss injured Arsenal star Bukayo Saka

  Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard believes Bukayo Saka would be a miss for any team in the world as the England winger faces an anxious wait to see if he will be fit to face Manchester City.

  Saka limped out of Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League defeat in Lens, with manager Mikel Arteta admitting afterwards that it “didn’t look good” for the 22-year-old.

  It was the third game in a row that Saka had started and failed to finish having also been forced off against Tottenham and in Saturday’s 4-0 win at Bournemouth.

  He recovered from those two knocks to start at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, where he teed up Gabriel Jesus to put the visitors ahead early on.

  However, an error from David Raya led to Adrien Thomasson equalising before Saka’s night came to a premature end when he hobbled off with just 34 minutes on the clock.

  Elye Wahi went on to hit the winner for the home side, who were hosting their first Champions League game in over two decades.

  Meanwhile, Saka – who has featured in Arsenal’s last 87 Premier League games – now faces a race against time to be fit for the visit of reigning champions City on Sunday.

  “We still have some great players, but I think every team in the world would miss Bukayo,” Odegaard said in the aftermath of the surprise loss.

  “But we have to see what happens in the next few days. Hopefully it’s not too bad and he’s going to be ready.

  “It’s a big game coming up and everyone is excited for the game. It will be a good game to play in. We have to look forward, make sure we’re ready and show up on the Sunday.”

  This is Arsenal’s first season back in the Champions League in six years and – after thrashing PSV Eindhoven 4-0 in the opening Group B clash – their largely-inexperienced squad was given a reminder of how tough Europe’s top-tier club competition can be.

  Asked if having to juggle Premier League and Champions League football could become a challenge, Odegaard replied: “I don’t think it’s an issue.

  “Of course it’s tough to play in Europe. We played a good team, they were strong. They made it very difficult for us.

  “We have to look at ourselves, learn, move on. I’m sure we’re going to get better and better so we take the lessons and move on.

  “We want to win every game we play. Of course we’re disappointed now, but I think we got some good lessons today so we have to look at it in that way and make sure we learn.”