Novak Djokovic said even his vivid imagination could not have dreamt up playing a 10th Australian Open final 15 years after winning his first at Melbourne Park.

The Serbian great has the chance to win a record-equalling 22nd grand slam for a male player after hammering Tommy Paul 7-5 6-1 6-2 – a scoreline that would have been even more commanding had Djokovic not endured a first-set blip from 5-1 up.

Djokovic is already a nine-time singles champion in Melbourne, with his first triumph coming back in 2008, and only Stefanos Tsitsipas stands in his way of a 10th.

"I have a pretty vivid and strong imagination, but even I don't think I imagined it would turn out this way," he said during his on-court interview on Rod Laver Arena.

"Super blessed and grateful, I'm trying to cherish and marvel in every moment. Without my family, without my team these things wouldn't be possible. 

"You're by yourself, all eyes are on you, you take responsibility, you take credit, but you have to give credit where it's due and that's to the team who live with me day by day in good and bad moments. This is as much their success as it is mine."

Only one other male player has won double-digit titles at a single slam, that being Rafael Nadal at the French Open.

Tsitsipas is a player Djokovic has faced in a major final before, defeating the Greek at the 2021 French Open showpiece in a match where he had to come from sets down.

"I won that match, so my recollections are very positive!" Djokovic added to a laugh.

"I came from two sets to love down, I think it was the first time I came down from two sets down in a slam final. It was his first slam final, a really physical and emotional battle. It always is with Stefanos. 

"I respect him a lot, he's one of the most interesting guys off the court, with his interests and hairstyle. But it's all business on Sunday, let the best player win."

Both players were involved in a slog at the start of the second set and when asked about his energy levels, Djokovic joked: "It's great, it's perfect, it's 110 per cent!"

He then added: "Look, of course you're not as fresh as at the beginning of the tournament that's for sure.

"We put a lot of effort in the off season weeks on our fitness, to be in good enough condition to play best-of-five sets."

Sunday's victor will also ascend to the top of the ATP rankings, something Djokovic concedes does add extra spice.

"Of course it does, winning grand slams and being number one are the two biggest peaks you can climb as a tennis player," he said. "Let's see what happens."

Novak Djokovic will play his 33rd grand slam final on Sunday, extending his men's Open Era record and edging closer to Chris Evert's leading mark across all singles players.

Djokovic beat Tommy Paul at the Australian Open on Friday to advance to a 10th Melbourne final, having won each of the prior nine.

The Serbian has also played nine title matches at the US Open, eight at Wimbledon and six at the French Open.

Even before this latest semi-final success, his tally of 32 major men's singles finals was unmatched in the Open Era.

But the 33rd saw Djokovic match Serena Williams in second place among both male and female players, with only Evert out ahead now on 34.

Djokovic will no doubt back himself to reach and perhaps pass that record before the year is out, with Roger Federer having retired and Rafael Nadal injured again – those two great rivals no longer keeping pace with the 21-time slam champion. A 22nd success on Sunday would equal Nadal's record.

With victory over Paul, Djokovic joined Federer and Nadal as the only male players in the Open Era to reach 10 or more finals at one major.

Federer went to 12 Wimbledon finals, while Nadal has played the title match at Roland Garros on 14 occasions.

Novak Djokovic limped into his 10th Australian Open final with a record-breaking 27th consecutive win in Melbourne against Tommy Paul on Friday.

Djokovic, who has never lost either a semi-final or a final at the first major of the season, came through 7-5 6-1 6-2 to eclipse the Andre Agassi win streak he had tied with a last-eight defeat of Andrey Rublev.

Despite a similar scoreline, however, this was not quite as straightforward as that prior match – particularly in a first set the nine-time champion threatened to throw away.

Djokovic also appeared to be suffering again with the hamstring injury that hampered his preparation for the tournament, but he now needs to come through just one more match, against Stefanos Tsitsipas, to add another title.

The semi ended as it started, with Djokovic in control, yet there was a blip when he looked to be coasting through the opener.

Having just passed up his first set point, Djokovic confronted the umpire when he was not allowed time to take a towel and appeared to lose his focus, allowing Paul to win the next seven points en route to consecutive breaks – the second clinched with a stunning 30-stroke rally.

Finally, with the set level, Djokovic regained some composure and soon enough took a long-awaited second set point before cupping his ear to the Melbourne crowd and being greeted with jeers in return.

It quickly became clear Paul had missed his chance as Djokovic cruised, his primary foe now that troublesome injury.

After stretching out his leg during the first-set collapse, the Serbian appeared in discomfort throughout a dominant second, asking for ice at 5-0 up ahead of Paul's sole hold in the set.

That ailment did not prove enough to derail Djokovic, though, as the third set followed a similar theme in an ultimately commanding semi success.

Data Slam: Djokovic closing on career-best streak

Now the sole owner of the longest Open Era winning streak in the main draw of the men's singles tournament at the Australian Open, Djokovic will match his best run at any grand slam if he beats Tsitsipas, having claimed 28 straight victories at Wimbledon.

Only Roger Federer (40 at the US Open and 40 at Wimbledon) and Bjorn Borg (41 at Wimbledon and 28 at the French Open) have previously had 27-match win sequences at two different majors.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Djokovic – 12/5
Paul – 4/0

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Djokovic – 31/39
Paul – 18/32

BREAK POINTS WON

Djokovic – 7/11
Paul – 2/9

Jurgen Klopp once again lamented Liverpool's fixture list and suggested FA Cup ties should not be played on weekend days.

Liverpool head to Brighton and Hove Albion in the fourth round on Sunday, eight days on from their most recent match – a 0-0 Premier League draw with Chelsea.

It has been a rare week off for Klopp's men, who won both the FA Cup and EFL Cup last season, but the German is still not entirely pleased with his side's schedule.

"We're not famous for going long in the cups, apart from last year," he said at Friday's pre-match press conference. "Cups are difficult when you have midweek games.

"Now we have full weeks to prepare, but in our schedule, I'm not sure the FA Cup should be at a weekend. But we deal with it. It's not a problem for now."

Liverpool are aiming to avoid successive losses against Brighton for the first time ever following their 3-0 league defeat at the Amex Stadium earlier this month.

Klopp described that performance at the time as the worst he has ever seen from one of his sides in a coaching career spanning 1,000 matches.

The Reds have since defeated Wolves 1-0 in the previous round of the FA Cup and played out a stalemate with Chelsea, which leaves them ninth in the league.

While his side have won just one of their five matches this calendar year, Klopp is glad they have kept back-to-back clean sheets for only the second time this season.

"Clean sheets are massive for us. Everyone waits for free-flowing performance but that takes time and it starts with clean sheets," Klopp said.

"That Brighton game is still the worst game I have ever seen of a team of mine. Thank god as we have played a few games since then.

"The first half against Chelsea we were very disciplined and we didn't give them a lot. We have to do that again against Brighton, of course."

Liverpool have progressed from three of their five FA Cup games against Brighton, most recently winning 6-1 in a last-16 tie in February 2012.

However, since the 1925-26 season, only Wolves (30), Sheffield United (28) and West Ham (27) have suffered more fourth-round exits than Liverpool (26).

The Reds make the trip to England's south coast with a number of players still injured, but Klopp confirmed some key men are closing in on a return.

"Diogo [Jota], Bobby [Roberto Firmino] and Virgil [van Dijk] are a couple of weeks from joining training," he said.

"Arthur [Melo] is running a lot, so maybe two or three weeks before he joins team training, but he is looking good. Fabio Carvalho is still out and is not ready for Sunday."

Stefanos Tsitsipas always felt he had the "ego" to be challenging for grand slams and the world number one ranking after booking his spot in the Australian Open final.

The Greek defeated Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena and will now face either nine-time Melbourne champion Novak Djokovic or Tommy Paul in Sunday's showpiece.

It marks Tsitsipas' second run to a slam final after he was beaten by Djokovic at the French Open in 2021, a match in which he surrendered a two-set lead.

Victory would not only see him win a maiden slam but take ownership of the men's world number one ranking, two ambitions Tsitsipas always believed he could achieve.

"I remember watching it on TV saying to myself, 'I want to be there one day myself. I want to recreate that feeling for me'," he said.

"I knew that's a very long journey to get there. There are certain steps you have to take to give yourself the chance to be competing for something like this.

"But I very much believed it. First of all, it's your ego that speaks. You either have it or not. As a kid, I was very confident. 

"Thank God I was good in my country. Starting from that, I knew if I'm able to get out of my country and compete in other countries, European leagues, European tours, I proved myself over and over again that I'm actually good. 

"I did finish as a junior number one. Now I want to do it in the men's side, in the men's professional tennis."

Asked what had changed since losing to Djokovic in the final at Roland Garros almost two years ago, Tsitsipas said: "I'm playing great tennis. I'm enjoying myself. I just see no downside or negativity in what I'm trying to do out there. Even if it doesn't work, I'm very optimistic and positive about any outcome, any opponent that I have to face.

"This is something that has been sort of lacking in my game. I genuinely believe in what I'm able to produce. That is more than enough. I go about this way. I strive for it every single day. It might not go the way I want it to, but I put 110 per cent out there."

Khachanov has enjoyed back-to-back slam semi-finals having also made the last four at last year's US Open.

The 26-year-old retains belief that he can beyond the semis at future slams.

"Maybe in some situations I could do better. It's always like this. Tennis is always, like any other sport, there is no draw unfortunately in our sport. One guy has to win and to go through," he said.

"I would say I did it second time in a row, consecutive semi-finals. I would definitely go with my head high. Again, rest a couple of days, think with my team for next schedule, again to have a team meeting to discuss those particular situations and moments on what we need to work.

"Hopefully I keep believing that I can pass this step next time, if I am in this situation, hopefully. That's it."

The New York Knicks proved they "can beat anybody" by taking down the Boston Celtics on Thursday, but Julius Randle wants his "special" team to show the same focus every night.

The league-leading Celtics suffered their first home defeat in eight games as the Knicks snatched a 120-117 overtime win at TD Garden.

Randle, back in his All-Star form of the 2020-21 season, was the main man for New York in scoring 37 points, including five in OT.

Boston led by as many as five points in the extra session, only for Randle to respond with a 27-foot three-pointer. The Knicks forward soon put his team ahead for good with a pair of free throws.

Only the Celtics themselves (17-9) have a better road record this year than the Knicks (15-10), who have also celebrated impressive wins at the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets.

Randle and Co. are still only seventh in the East, however, and must show greater consistency.

"We can beat anybody; we can lose to anybody," said Randle. "That's the league.

"We can see how special we can be on a night-to-night basis if we come in with the right focus."

Randle's three biggest performances have come on the road, where he is averaging 26.6 points per game versus 23.0 at home.

Stefanos Tsitsipas will get a chance to play for his first grand slam title after advancing past Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 in Friday's semi-final.

Tsitsipas was at his aggressive best, compiling a massive 66 winners to go with his 18 aces. It was his highest winner tally of the tournament so far, eclipsing his 48 in five sets against Jannik Sinner, and his 46 in three sets against Quentin Halys.

Despite his high level of play, the first set was closely contested as both players secured a pair of breaks, but Tsitsipas was able to rattle off five consecutive points in the tiebreaker to run away with the opener.

The world number four did not allow Khachanov a single break-point opportunity in a stylish second set, and it was the same story in the third until Khachanov crucially took his one break-point chance as Tsitsipas was serving for the match.

Khachanov showed guts to fight off two match points and take the third in a tiebreaker, but he was just delaying the inevitable as Tsitsipas racked up 17 winners to five and made the fourth set the shortest of the match.

Tsitsipas will face the winner between Novak Djokovic and Tommy Paul in the final, with a chance to become Greece's first grand slam champion at the age of 24.

Data Slam: Tsitsipas conquers his demons down under

It was the fourth time Tsitsipas had reached the final four of the Australian Open, but after failures in 2019, 2021 and 2022, the Greek finally got over the line against his Russian challenger.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Tsitsipas – 18/5

Khachanov – 10/1

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Tsitsipas – 66/34

Khachanov – 46/32

BREAK POINTS WON

Tsitsipas – 5/12

Khachanov – 3/4

Real Madrid needed extra-time to seal a dramatic Copa del Rey comeback as they downed rivals Atletico Madrid with a 3-1 quarter-final victory on Thursday.

Los Blancos were heading out at the Santiago Bernabeu after their former striker Alvaro Morata had struck in the first half for Atletico.

But Rodrygo's fantastic solo effort forced an extra half-hour in the Spanish capital, before Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior completed the turnaround for the hosts.

Carlo Ancelotti's side join Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna in the semi-finals, but Diego Simeone's visitors will rue missing out on the last four.

Despite an early command of the game, it was the hosts who went behind in the 19th minute when Morata tapped in Nahuel Molina's square ball from close-range.

Madrid blew a big chance to level matters on the half-hour mark when Eder Militao was caught off-guard by a free-kick delivery and botched a simple header.

Matters went from bad to worse for Ancelotti's side too after they were forced into a substitution before the break thanks to an injury to Ferland Mendy.

Los Blancos were forced to wait for much of the game to find their response, but their patience paid off in the 79th minute when Rodrygo skipped past four Atletico players before prodding past Jan Oblak at his near post.

Tempers started to fray between both rivals in extra-time, with Stefan Savic dismissed in the 99th minute after two yellow cards in quick succession.

Gifted a man advantage, Madrid seized the chance with Benzema able to guide Vinicius' rushed effort in past Oblak, before the Brazilian signed off the game with a finish of his own, tucked away after a fine run in off the left wing.

Jofra Archer is poised to return to international cricket with England on Friday as Jos Buttler's team tackle South Africa in the first of three ODIs.

The 27-year-old fast bowler has been building up form and fitness by playing for MI Cape Town in the SA20 series, having played no international cricket since March 2021 due to injury.

Major elbow and back problems put Archer's blossoming career on hold, but he is back now.

Although Archer is only around 80 per cent of the way through his recovery, by his own estimation, all that is lacking is "fine-tuning", he said this week.

This is music to the ears of captain Jos Buttler, who said on Thursday: "It's great to have Jofra back, fit and playing cricket again. He's such an exciting guy to have back on the field. As an England captain, to have him back in your squad and in your team is brilliant.

"He's only just coming back to competitive cricket, this will be his first international game for a long time, so there's always going to be a level of expectation on Jofra because we all know what he's capable of. But I'm sure he's just going to get better and better as he comes back and gets back to performing at such a high level."

Buttler says Archer may need "a little bit of time" to fully return to where he was before injuries began to take their toll.

But at the start of a World Cup year, with England preparing to defend their 50-over title in India in October and November, Buttler said: "It's just fantastic to see him fit and back playing again."

Ahead of the opening match in Bloemfontein, England know a 3-0 series win would see them jump back above India to the top of the ODI rankings.

Former skipper Kevin Pietersen made an appearance at the team's training session on Thursday, with England looking to get back to winning ways after failing to win any of their last three ODI series, losing to Australia and India and drawing at home against South Africa.

The Proteas continue to be led by Temba Bavuma, and this series could be a key one in terms of his future as white-ball captain.

A shock defeat to the Netherlands knocked South Africa out of the T20 World Cup in November, with Bavuma signalling he will concur with whatever decision is made about the team's future leadership.

Rob Walter is due to take over as coach of the ODI side from the start of February, with Shukri Conrad overseeing this series.

"If the team wants to go in a different direction with a different leader, I am happy to step away," Bavuma said. "Ultimately it's up to the coach. We have got a new coach now and might be a new coaching staff.

"The coach will have his vision and he will need someone to drive that vision. At the moment the coach has entrusted me with that role, so I will continue doing my best. I'm fortunate I have got a bunch of guys that support me. For me, it's business as usual for now."

Milestone in sight for Roy

England batter Jason Roy is seven away from reaching 4,000 runs in ODIs. If he reaches the milestone in his first match of this series, his 105th innings, it would make him the second-fastest player to achieve it for England, Joe Root got there quicker than anyone, in just 91 innings.

Parnell on brink of century

Wayne Parnell, set to win a 70th ODI cap, will be hoping to complete 100 scalps in the 50-over international game during this series. He is on 97 at present and can become the 13th player to reach 100 wickets in the format for the Proteas. He has taken three or more wickets in three ODIs against England, including his career-best figures of 3-48, all the way back in November 2009.

Hardik Pandya warned India must be at the peak of their powers to secure a T20l series win over New Zealand after a dominant ODI clean sweep.

India head into the first of three T20Is at JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Friday on the back of a 3-0 whitewash of the Black Caps in the 50-over format.

New Zealand have won just one of their past 11 completed against India in the short format, with that victory coming in the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.

The tourists are yet to win a multi-game T20I bilateral series in India and they will be without the likes of Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Tom Latham, with Mitchell Santner taking over as captain.

Pandya will lead India in the absence of Rohit Sharma, while Virat Kohli will not feature and Ruturaj Gaikwad misses out with a wrist injury.

All-rounder Pandya said: "We will try to win obviously. New Zealand is a good team both in T20Is and ODIs.

"They always challenge you. We will have to be at their best to beat them."

Shubman Gill comes into the series in the form of his life, scoring a sublime 208 in the first ODI and a century in the third match.

Gill is set to open the batting with Ishan Kishan, so Prithvi Shaw will have to bide his time.

Pandya said: "Shubman has done well and will start the series. The way he is batting and he was already in the team."

India and New Zealand were beaten semi-finalists in last year's T20 World Cup in Australia, although many of the players involved in the tournament will not be featuring this time around.

Suryakumar on top of the world

Suryakumar Yadav is another player New Zealand will be eager to see the back of before he gets set.

He was named the ICC Men's T20I Player of the Year for 2022 this week and is the top-ranked T20I batter in the world.

Suryakumar made a decisive 112 in his last T20I innings against Sri Lanka, his third century in six months in this format.

Baptism of fire for uncapped New Zealand bowlers

Uncapped duo Ben Lister and Henry Shipley are poised to make their debuts against a formidable batting line-up.

Lister will provide an alternative left-arm seam option with no Trent Boult for Santner to call upon.

Paceman Shipley will also be looking to make his mark on the T20I stage after making his ODI debut against Pakistan and facing India twice.

Mikel Arteta would have been an ideal replacement for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

That is according to Guardiola himself, who had Arteta as part of his coaching staff at the Etihad Stadium from 2016 up until Arsenal hired their former midfielder as Unai Emery's replacement just over three years later.

Arteta has needed time at Arsenal, but this year they are not only title contenders, but hold a healthy five-point lead over City at the summit of the Premier League.

Ahead of the FA Cup fourth-round tie the teams, their first meeting in any competition this season, if Arteta could have replaced him at City, Guardiola told reporters: "I'm pretty sure that if I'd have left before, and he would be here, then he would be the best [replacement], absolutely.

"But I accepted [a new] contract, I'm sorry, and he couldn't wait, so it could not happen, but definitely."

Guardiola might think Arteta would have been the perfect fit, but does the data back that up?

Certainly, Arteta's Arsenal have aimed to emulate Guardiola's City in many aspects.

For example, the inverted full-backs that Guardiola has used on and off over his six-and-a-half years in Manchester are now commonplace at Emirates Stadium, too. 

Indeed, in Sunday's 3-2 win over Manchester United, Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko – signed, of course, from City – finished with a touchmap resembling an attacking midfielder, not that of a full-back.

But it is certainly not a case of City Mk. II. No, Arteta has built a team on his own merits.

It has taken time, and an element of risk. Arsenal have made 16 errors leading to goals in the Premier League since he took charge in December 2019, as the Gunners have adapted to the Spaniard's preferred style of play.

Yet that is only four more than City. This approach comes with risk, but the rewards are clear to see.

Arsenal have scored 193 top-flight goals under Arteta, with 45 coming this season from just 19 games. They are well on track to smash the high watermark of 61, set last term. In that same time, City have netted 290 times, but it's fair to say they have had better players than Arteta has had to call on.

Defensively, the difference is not as great, with Arsenal conceding 124 to City's 94, though the Gunners boast a better defensive record this season than City.

Indeed, Arteta has overseen steady improvement in the attack. Arsenal's expected goals (xG) went from 52.2 in his first full campaign to 69.6 last season, while the development of Martin Odegaard, Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli has demonstrated the 40-year-old's ability to help youngsters thrive.

Given his work with those players, it is hard to imagine Arteta would have failed to get a tune out of Phil Foden or City's other emerging talents.

Defensively, Arsenal were tighter in the 2020-21 season than in 2021-22 (an xGA of 43.3 compared to 51.8), but their 17.2 xGA this season tells the story of a well-drilled defensive unit.

While Arteta values possession, an average of 53.5 over his 116 league games in charge is not quite at the level of City's 66.2 in the same timeframe. 

The similarities are clear, though Arsenal – at least this season – have slightly more dynamism. The fitness of Thomas Partey has been crucial to that, as has the reemergence of Granit Xhaka as an excellent box-to-box midfielder.

The data suggests Arteta could well have taken over from Guardiola in the north west, and perhaps he still might one day.

For now, he will be looking to get one over on his old mentor in the cup, and then complete the job in the league.

Aryna Sabalenka's dream start to 2023 continued as she reached her first grand slam final at Magda Linette's expense after Elena Rybakina took out another major winner at the Australian Open.

Sabalenka dispatched unseeded Pole Linette 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena to stand a win away from her maiden grand slam title.

The 24-year-old from Belarus arrived at Melbourne Park on a high from winning the Adelaide International without dropping a set.

Sabalenka has gone from strength to strength, with the victory over Linette ensuring she has won all 20 sets she has played in 2023.

The fifth seed is the third female player this century to win her first 10 matches of the season without dropping a set after Anna Smashnova in 2002 and Agnieszka Radwanska in 2013. 

Rybakina got the better of Victoria Azarenka in the first semi-final on Rod Laver Arena, prevailing 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.

The Wimbledon champion has seen off three grand slam champions to reach her second major final, the first of those being world number one Iga Swiatek before she got past Jelena Ostapenko and two-time Australian Open winner Azarenka.

Kazakh Rybakina is the first player to beat a trio of major champions en route to the final of the Australian Open since American Jennifer Capriati back in 2001.

Capriati climbed the title when she achieved that feat 22 years ago.

Erik ten Hag is talking an excellent game, even when his Manchester United team perhaps let their standards slip.

It is a manager's duly to keep the confidence high, so when Ten Hag said United's defending was "unacceptable" after Sunday's 3-2 loss to Arsenal, he sought to qualify those comments the next time he spoke in public.

Ten Hag returned to the theme in a press conference before United's midweek EFL Cup semi-final win at Nottingham Forest, and this time his message was overwhelmingly positive.

"In general, Arsenal we defended very well," Ten Hag said. "I don't think they had clean shots. There was only one time, it was from a free-kick.

"For the rest it was only shots, cutbacks, shots from distance where a lot of defenders from us were in between the ball and the goal and that's what I meant after, all the goals were avoidable."

This is all about the power of positive thinking, with the Dutchman finding a way to infuse critical feedback with praise, but Opta's Arsenal game data firmly debunks the idea the Gunners rarely got close to the United goal.

Across the Premier League season to date, only once has a team had more shots inside the penalty area than the 20 that Arsenal had against United.

Manchester City, with 21 shots inside the area in a 3-1 victory at Leeds United in December, topped that, but for Ten Hag to suggest Arsenal rarely got close to the United goal is on the face of it misleading.

United's expected goals against (xGA) tally of 3.25 against Arsenal was the seventh-highest incurred by a Premier League team this season.

United also have number six on that list – with a 3.3 xGA total in the 6-3 thrashing by Manchester City in October.

These are the games where they have leaked chances in bulk, and good chances to boot.

It is worth saying such games stand out as being atypical of United this season.

Overall, United have done well in limiting chances in the Premier League, with their next two highest xGA totals being the 1.61 and 1.5 they conceded to Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion in their opening two games of the campaign.

Last season, United conceded xGA of above 2.00 in 12 Premier League games, so there are clear signs of major improvement.

The Brentford and Brighton games both resulted in defeats, but United have been a team transformed since August. In 10 of their 20 Premier League games this term, they have conceded under 1.00 xGA, majorly limiting the opposition's opportunities.

They went under that 1.00 mark for five consecutive league games before the Arsenal defeat.

Perhaps Ten Hag is working on the principle that if you say something firmly and assuredly enough, it will become a reality.

Against Forest in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, United were far more like their usual selves.

Forest had nine goal attempts from inside the United penalty area, but the xGA was a mere 0.65.

United's win at the City Ground has put them on the brink of the final, ahead of the Old Trafford second leg, with Ten Hag looking to guide the Red Devils to a first major trophy since the 2016-17 EFL Cup and Europa League triumphs under Jose Mourinho.

Among United's rivals for Champions League places, Manchester City and Newcastle United have built around defensive sturdiness this season.

There have been eight occasions when teams have faced three or fewer shots (including blocks) in Premier League games this season, and Newcastle have had three of those and City four. Brighton had the other, against Forest in October.

There have also been 11 occasions when a team have not faced a single shot on target, which can be put down to a mix of good defending and poor finishing.

Newcastle have had the most such games, with four of their opponents not managing to hit the target.

The fewest shots on target Manchester United have faced, curiously, is the one that Manchester City managed in January's derby. United also faced just five shots in total in that game - their fewest this term, again, and a sign Ten Hag is turning his team into a well-drilled unit, even if there continues to be the odd aberration.

Aryna Sabalenka reached uncharted territory in her career by fending off Magda Linette to set up an Australian Open final showdown with Elena Rybakina.

Only a year ago, Sabalenka's game was in crisis as she struggled horrendously with serving yips, but now a first grand slam singles title match awaits the Belarusian.

She scored a 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 victory over unseeded Polish player Linette on Rod Laver Arena, recovering from going an early break down in the first set before taking command of the contest.

Trailing 2-0 and 30-all on serve, Sabalenka ripped a brilliant forehand winner on the run and yelled "Come on!", looking to gee herself up. It did the trick as she won the game to gain a foothold, then came from 40-0 behind in Linette's next service game to break back.

Neither player had a further break point before the tie-break, which fifth seed Sabalenka dominated, before racing 4-1 ahead in the second set.

The 24-year-old, facing an opponent six years her senior, gave Linette precious little hope of a comeback. Linette admirably staved off three match points at 5-1 down, holding serve to keeping Sabalenka waiting, but the deepest grand slam run of her career is over.

Now opportunity knocks for Sabalenka in the biggest match of her life at the weekend, her 20th WTA-level singles final, with Wimbledon champion Rybakina standing in her way.

Data slam: Taking a straight line to glory

Sabalenka has won 10 out of 10 matches in 2023 so far, landing a title in Adelaide before embarking on this run in Melbourne. More impressive than that is all the wins have come in straight sets. She had lost three slam singles semi-finals leading up to this Linette clash, but now that hurdle has been cleared.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Sabalenka – 6/2
Linette – 1/1

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Sabalenka – 33/25
Linette – 9/16

BREAK POINTS WON

Sabalenka – 3/7
Linette – 1/4

Last Sunday had the potential to change everything in the Premier League title race. Instead, it changed nothing.

Arsenal ended the weekend as they started it: five points clear of Manchester City with a game in hand.

Mikel Arteta's men took seven points from consecutive matches against third-placed Newcastle United, fifth-placed Tottenham and fourth-placed Manchester United.

They have passed the various tests left before them and maintained a healthy lead over City.

But they still have not played City themselves this season. That will change on Friday – just not in the Premier League.

The FA Cup fourth-round draw paired England's best two teams, providing a warm-up at the Etihad Stadium for their Emirates Stadium league clash in February.

These coming encounters are likely to bring more pressure for Arteta and Arsenal, who are without a title since 2004 and unfamiliar with such high-stakes matches of late.

The manager perhaps has a decision to make then on how to approach this cup tie – both in terms of his personnel and their approach.

When Arsenal exited the EFL Cup at home to Brighton and Hove Albion in early November, they did so with a team showing 10 changes to the line-up from their prior league win at Chelsea.

But does Arteta want to shuffle the pack again here and give the upper hand to City ahead of a far more important game in three weeks' time?

Speaking on Wednesday, Arteta weighed up the merits of cup progress – "that gives you more momentum, more confidence and prepares you better for the next match," he said – but he was also certain the league and cup matches would be "two very, very different games".

That was the case in Arsenal's double-winning campaign of 2001-02, when the Gunners beat eventual Premier League runners-up Liverpool at this stage of the FA Cup. That blood-and-thunder cup tie followed a fortnight after a tepid league draw.

Arsene Wenger praised the "outstanding" mental fortitude of his side, who were second at that point but did not lose another domestic match all season.

It was one of 16 examples – across 13 ties – in the Premier League era of the teams who finished first and second meeting in the FA Cup, EFL Cup or Champions League in the same season.

Although Arsenal's win against Liverpool was one of only seven victories for the league champions in those 16 attempts, another was the Gunners' round five win against Chelsea two years later, which was followed in their very next match by three points at Stamford Bridge that took them seven clear at the top.

Some consolation saw the Blues eliminate Arsenal from the Champions League later that season – a two-legged quarter-final tie around which Wenger's men stuttered in the league but clung to their unbeaten record.

In those cases, it appeared Arsenal benefited from getting a good look at their rivals in the first game before winning the second, precisely as Arteta suggested.

Meanwhile, the fear of losing momentum is understandable. Arsenal have played twice more against top-two rivals in the FA Cup and lost twice to Manchester United, who went on to take the title in both 1998-99 and 2002-03.

Such is the feel-good factor at Emirates Stadium right now, it is difficult to imagine defeat away to City with a much-changed team would dent Arsenal's confidence too significantly.

But heading home with a win on Friday would surely only increase belief in this side further.

Given the eight-day gap before the next Premier League match, Arteta – whose only major silverware to date was the FA Cup in 2019-20 – might be wise to consider this a helpful test rather than an unwanted distraction.