Arsenal would probably have preferred an easier League Cup opponent than Premier League leaders Liverpool as they bid to regroup following captain Granit Xhaka's tantrum and a poor run of form.
However, that is the task that faces the Gunners on Wednesday heading to Anfield for their fourth round clash.
Unai Emery's players have won just twice in their last eight Premier League games as opposed to Jurgen Klopp's Champions League holders who have dropped just two points thus far this term.
Theirs is one of three all Premier League matches on Wednesday -- the rest of the games are on Tuesday -- with Chelsea hosting Manchester United and Aston Villa at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Liverpool's last domestic honour dates back to lifting this trophy in 2012 but despite a desire to end that run Klopp is likely to field a very different line-up to the one that beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Premier League at the weekend.
Mohamed Salah is one of the Liverpool stars who will be rested ...

Dominant Liverpool await crisis-hit Gunners in League Cup

PTI Automatic

Saina Nehwal and Lakshya Sen will look to put their best foot forward when they spearhead the Indian challenge at the Saarlorlux Open super tour 100 tournament beginning here on Tuesday.
London Olympic bronze medallist Saina, who had claimed the Indonesia Masters in January before going through a tough phase, will hope to grab another title to boost her confidence when she opens against Germany's Fabienne Deprez.
The 29-year-old Indian snapped a hat trick of first-round exits when she reached the quarters at the French Open last week and she will look to continue her run in the tournament, where she has been given the top billing.
Lakshya, meanwhile, will look to grab his third title of the season after having claimed crowns at the Belgian international and Dutch Open. He had also reached the finals of Polish Open.
The eighth seeded Indian received a bye in the opening round and will begin against the winner of the first round match between Eetu u Heino and Elias Bracke.
Among other ..

Saina, Lakshya eye title at Saarlorlux Open

Cristiano Ronaldo is in line to return from a brief rest on Wednesday as Serie A leaders Juventus host a Genoa side reinvigorated by the appointment as coach of former Italy midfielder Thiago Motta.
Ronaldo sat out Saturday's 1-1 draw at promoted Lecce with fatigue, although coach Maurizio Sarri refused to blame Ronaldo's absence for the dropped points.
Juve will face city rivals Torino this weekend before a trip to Lokomotiv Moscow in the Champions League on November 6, and defender Leonardo Bonucci urged his team-mates to swiftly move on from the Lecce disappointment.
"We have to roll up our sleeves and be even more determined - and learn quickly too, otherwise we can end up dropping important points," said Bonucci.
"That's what happened (Saturday). Luckily we have a chance to get straight back to winning ways on Wednesday." Motta's debut as Genoa coach ended in a 3-1 win over Brescia -- a match where all three of his team's substitutes scored, a first in Serie A history.
"The lads .

Ronaldo set for recall as Atalanta boss cools title talk

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Monday remained hopeful that Bangladesh will agree to play the first-ever Day/Night Test between the two countries, notwithstanding the neighbours' apprehension to pink ball.
The Test is scheduled to be held at the Eden Gardens from November 22-26.
The final outcome of Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) meeting with its senior players will be intimated to the BCCI president by late Monday evening or Tuesday morning.
"I spoke to the BCB president (Nazmul Hassan). They are agreeable, they wanted to speak to the players. I'm sure it will be a day/night match. They will also officially announce it soon. Hopefully, by 10-10:30 pm tonight, we will get a confirmation," Ganguly told PTI.
BCB's head of cricket operations and former skipper Akram Khan acknowledged that there are practical issues like lack of preparation as far as playing with the pink ball under lights is concerned.
"It's a great initiative but we need to take the players into confidence. If you ..

Day/Night Test: Ganguly hopeful, BCB set to take final call

Hector Bellerin has called for everyone at Arsenal to come together following club captain Granit Xhaka's tantrum on being substituted on Sunday during the 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
Bellerin, who is the Gunners third captain after Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, is sidelined through injury but he took to Twitter to urge understanding and the team to unite.
Manger Unai Emery has said he will talk to Xhaka before he decides whether to strip the Swiss international midfielder of the captaincy.
The 27-year-old -- who was made captain in the close season following a secret ballot of the players -- exploded with fury when he was replaced in the second half of the Palace game.
He trudged slowly to the touchline while petulantly gesticulating to the fans who had cheered his substitution and were angrily urging him to get off the pitch quicker.
Xhaka's meltdown climaxed when he ripped off his shirt, appeared to shout f**k off at supporters and stormed past Emery straight down the ...

Bellerin calls for Arsenal unity after Xhaka tantrum

Lewis Hamilton hopes to steer clear of Max Verstappen at next weekend's United States Grand Prix in Texas, where he aims to clinch his sixth drivers' world championship.
Like Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel who said he also concedes extra space to the Dutchman, Hamilton believes that when racing against the Red Bull driver there is a higher possibility of contact and an accident.
In the wake of his perfectly-executed strategic triumph for Mercedes in Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix, in which he made contact with Verstappen on the opening lap, Hamilton said he believed there was a higher risk of an accident while racing against him than others.
"Every driver is slightly different," said Hamilton, answering a question in the post-race news conference.
"Some are smarter and some are very smart aggressive. Some are silly with it..."
"Through those experiences with racing with people, you give some more space than others, but, yeah, (with) Max, it's very likely you'll come together with Max -- if ..

Hamilton hopes to avoid hit-man Verstappen in Texas showdown

Chelsea's Christian Pulisic says he felt a "sense of relief" after he netted a hat-trick against Burnley on Saturday after a difficult start to his time at the Premier League club.
The 21-year-old American international -- who cost the club ?58 million ($74 million) when they signed him from Borussia Dortmund last season -- became the youngest Chelsea player to score a hat-trick in the 4-2 win.
Pulisic has ostensibly been signed to replace outstanding playmaker Eden Hazard, who left for Real Madrid in the close season, but has taken time to settle in.
Saturday was just his second start since August -- the other being the League Cup clash with lower league Grimsby -- and his first goals for the club in nine appearances.
"Of course there is a sense of relief," he said.
"You could see that in my emotions after the first goal, that relief of getting my first goal and being able to help my team at this level.
"It's really good for me."
Pulisic, who in November 2018 in the friendly with ...

Pulisic relieved at finally making his mark for Chelsea

Defending champion Elina Svitolina continued her dominance over world number two Karolina Pliskova with a straight-sets victory at the WTA Finals in China on Monday.
Opening Purple Group, the eighth seed started her title defence impressively with a 7-6 (14/12), 6-4 win in one hour and 53 minutes at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre.  It was Svitolina's fourth straight victory over a misfiring Pliskova who had 42 unforced errors.
"I was trying to be ready for her big serve and then take on the second serve," Svitolina said after the match. "The surface is a little bit slow and I had more ti... it benefited my return."
It was a disappointing result for Pliskova who started well, mixing trademark hard-hitting blows from the baseline with softer touch -- including an exquisite drop shot to capture a break in the first game.
But Svitolina slowly clawed her way back into the match and broke in the fourth game as Pliskova's radar went awry.
It was a tense contest extending into a ...

Svitolina eases past Pliskova in WTA finals

Indian paddler Payas Jain teamed up with South Korea's Seongil Jang and Sora Matsushima of Japan to win the gold medal at the ITTF World Cadet Challenge played in Wladyslawowo, Poland on Monday.
The trio, representing Team Asia, was in great form and blanked the Hopes, which is a part of ITTF developmental programme, 3-0 to win the title.
Jang started the proceeding for Asia beating Yong Izaac Quek of Singapore 3-1, while Sora increased the lead further with an identical 3-1 win over Lulian Chirita of Romania.
With a 2-0 lead, it came down to Payas to deliver in the third rubber and bring an early end to the tie. The Indian did not fail to deliver and prevailed 3-1 over Daniel Berzosa of Spain to help Asia retain the crown.
Earlier, Asia recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory over Team Europe comprising of Darius Movileanu of Romania, Louis Laffinuer of Belgium and Simon Belik of Czech Republic.
In the girls team event, Yashaswani Ghorpade led the Asian challenge to help them earn a ...

Indian paddler Payas Jain bags team gold in ITTF tourney

Longtime teammates Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid will reconnect in Bengaluru on Wednesday as BCCI president and head of National Cricket Academy respectively to discuss the roadmap of Indian cricket's feeder line.
Dravid, who took charge as NCA chief in July, has already drawn a roadmap for the institution and Ganguly is expected to give his inputs when the two former captains meet.
"Yes I've plans to revive NCA and I'm going to Bengaluru on October 30," Ganguly told PTI.
The meeting will attended by all the newly elected BCCI office-bearers who took charge on October 23. NCA CEO Tufan Ghosh will also be part of discussions.
Ganguly and Dravid have been together at a few BCCI technical committee meetings, which the 'Prince of Kolkata' chaired and Dravid attended as India U-19 and A team head coach.
For the past few years, NCA, which was supposed to be the supply line of Indian cricket, has actually become a rehabilitation centre, which even Ganguly acknowledged after taking ...

Discussing Roadmap: Ganguly to meet NCA head Dravid

Jamshedpur FC will look to make it two wins in a row when they host a depleted Hyderabad FC in a Hero Indian Super League clash here on Tuesday.
The visitors, playing their debut season, come into the match on the back of a 0-5 drubbing at the hands of ATK.
On the other hand, Jamshedpur FC showed character and determination in a 2-1 win against Odisha FC, courtesy a late winner from Sergio Gastel, despite playing with 10 men for more than 50 minutes.
Head coach Antonio Iriondo had to adjust his tactics after Bikash Jairu's red card and wait for their opportunities. However, against Hyderabad FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, they will look to control proceedings from the opening whistle.
Piti, the experienced 38-year-old, will don the role of a playmaker and set the tempo for the team from the middle of the park. All eyes will be on Castel who has already made an impression in the opening game.
"The team is still under construction and we are still working on our style of play. The ..

Uphill task for Hyderabad in Jamshedpur

India's leading squash player Joshna Chinappa moved into the pre-quarterfinals of the CIB PSA Women's World Championship with a comfortable win over Hong Kong's Ho Tze-Lok here.
Joshna, ranked 12th in the world, is set to play second seed Nour El Sherbini of Egypt in the round of 16 late on Monday night.
The 12th seeded Indian had to be on the court for just 12 minutes before her second round opponent Tze-Lok conceded the tie because of injury. Joshna, who was leading 11-5, 11-4, was declared the winner.
In the men's Egyptian Open, being held simultaneously, Saurav Ghosal, who made it to the third round beating Tsz Fung Yip 11-9, 11-5, 11-4, fell to Egyptian Fares Dessouky in straight games. The unseeded Dessouky won 11-6, 11-5, 11-5.

Joshna enters pre-quarters of World Championship

Junior Asian Championship gold medallist Sharvan has received the second seeding in 65kg as he starts India's campaign at the UWW Under-23 World Championships here on Monday.
Sharvan, who remains one of India's key medal hopes, will take on the top seed Rifat Saibotalov of Kazakhstan for a place in the quarter-finals.
Besides him, Akash Antil is the only other Indian wrestler who starts in the pre-quarter-finals after having been seeded ninth in 97kg. For a last-eight berth, he will have to get the better of 10th seed Xu Li of China.
Three more Indians will be in action in the qualifiers on the first day of the championships. In 57kg, 15th seeded Naveen meets the 16th seeded Ahmet Duman of Turkey while his namesake in 70kg also seeded 15th, takes on Russia's 16th seed Chermen Valiev. Former World Junior World Championships bronze medallist Veer Dev Gulia, seeded 18th, has Hungary's 17th seed Botond Lukacs first up.
India will be looking to improve their performance from the last ...

Sharvan seeded second as India gear up for U-23 World Wrestling C'ship

A 13-member Indian racketlon squad, led by Ashutosh Pednekar, has been picked to compte in the World Championships, to be held in Leipzig, Germany.
Racketlon is a combination of four major racket sports -- badminton, table tennis, tennis and squash. Racketlon India Sports Association is headed by former national badminton champion K K Cheema.
The squad will have two teams, 1 and 2, competing in the event from November 20-24. Team 1 has two female players and team 2 has one.
Besides Pednekar, also part of the squad is Vikramaditya Chaufla, a badminton player who has represented India in the World University Championships, and Prashant Sen.

13-member India squad for 17th Racketlon World Championships

Taking up a sport that was at first ridiculed by his friends, Praveen Kumar's historic gold at the recent World Championship ended up bringing parents and kids closer to wushu.
Going off to sleep every night "with thoughts of winning only the gold" has paid off handsomely, for the feat in Shanghai, China last week is as much a recognition for the sport as it for the Haryana athlete himself.
"My parents were unaware of the sport and friends would make fun of the name wushu. I would show them the fight videos and they started finding it interesting. Fight dekhke bolte the ye to bahut accha game hai (after watching the fights, they found it interesting)," Praveen told Sports Authority of India (SAI).
"I set up my mind then that I have to do well in the Asian and the World meets," said the first Indian man to win a World Championship gold.
Since winning the gold, Praveen said he has been flooded by calls with parents enquiring about the sport.
"I am now getting a lot of calls from ...

Friends then made fun of wushu, parents now enquiring about it: world champion Praveen

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's relief at Manchester United securing their first Premier League away win in eight months over struggling Norwich has been tempered by the "hurt" he has felt over their results this season, he told the BBC.
The 46-year-old Norwegian has enjoyed a rare week of good results beginning with a draw against Premier League leaders Liverpool -- the first side to take points from the Champions League holders in the league this season.
They subsequently beat modest Serbian outfit Partizan Belgrade away in the Europa League and then rounded if off with the 3-1 victory over hapless Norwich on Sunday.
Victory saw them rise from a lowly 15th in the standings to seventh, albeit 15 points off Liverpool and nine adrift of city rivals and champions Manchester City, who are second.
Solskjaer made a bright start as caretaker manager when he replaced the sacked Jose Mourinho last December but since being given the job permanently has seen the results and performances fall ...

United's results have hurt, admits Solskjaer

Pep Guardiola says he hates the word "complain" and will never lash out at his Manchester City players after a defeat.
But he isn't afraid to let rip when the Premier League champions win, just as he did after their 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
The 48-year-old Spaniard -- whose side are six points off leaders Liverpool -- says he prefers to bite his tongue in the wake of a defeat.
However, he let loose over City's first-half performance at home to a Villa side that is just three points off the relegation places.
Goals by Raheem Sterling, David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan in the second-half secured the three points by Guardiola ws fuming about the first half.
"If we play like we did in the first half, we will be relegated or in the relegation positions," said Guardiola.
"One word I hate is the word 'complain', so normally when I say something not nice it's after a victory. I would never say it after a defeat.
"We were punished in some defeats and I shut my mouth, I didn't say ...

Complaining is not in my vocabulary, says Guardiola

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday hoped pollution will not affect the India-Bangladesh T20 in the city on November 3, emphasising that his government has been taking steps such as the odd-even scheme to improve the air quality.
Kejriwal said matches have been played in this season in the national capital and the cricket match, scheduled to be held at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, should be played.
The prevailing air pollution in Delhi has become a cause for concern. The air quality on Monday, a day after Diwali, plummeted to the "severe" category for the first time this season.
"I hope that pollution will not come in the way of cricket. To reduce pollution, we are also implementing the odd-even scheme from November 4," Kejriwal told reporters at the Delhi Secretariat.
"I have seen that in this season, matches have been played earlier as well. Match should be played in Delhi," he added.
In December 2017, the Sri Lankan cricket team was left gasping for breath during .

India-Bangladesh T20: Kejriwal hopes pollution won't affect game on Nov 3

The Italian Matteo Berrettini moved into the Top 10 for the first time in his career when the ATP rankings were released on Monday.
The 23-year-old, who reached the semi-finals in Vienna last week before losing to eventual winner Dominic Thiem, climbs two places to number nine.
Berrettini was ranked 53 a year ago but has climbed steadily in 2019, winning two ATP events in Budapest and Stuttgart and progressing to the semi-finals of the US Open where he lost to Rafael Nadal.
He is currently eighth in the Race to London and will secure his place at the year-ending ATP Finals if he reaches the final of this week's Paris Masters.
The Russian Karen Khachanov moves up one place to eight while Kei Nishikori, who has not played since the US Open and underwent surgery on his right elbow last week, slips out of the Top 10, down three places to 11.
Novak Djokovic stays at number one, the 275th week in his career that he holds the top spot, but is set to lose the position next week to Nadal.
On ..

Berrettini reaches Top 10 for the first time

The Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's best efforts went in vain as they lost to top seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia in the final of the French Open Super 750 here.
The duo suffered a 18-21 16-21 loss to Marcus and Kevin, who are enjoying their 121st week as world number one. Satwik and Chirag had come into the match with a 0-6 head-to-head record against the Indonesian pair and it has now become 0-7.
Satwik and Chirag, who had won their maiden Super 500 title at the Thailand Open in August, looked a bit nervy in the 35-minute final.
Despite the loss, the duo's effort is commendable as this is the first time an Indian men's doubles pair has reached a World Tour 750 final.
Partho Ganguli and Vikram Singh Bisht were the last all-Indian pair to win the French Open in 1983.
In singles, Kidambi Srikanth had won the men's title in 2017, while Saina Nehwal was the only other Indian to make it to the women's final in .

Satwik and Chirag finish runners-up in French Open

Charles Leclerc said he needed to improve his contribution to Ferrari's race strategy after finishing a disappointed fourth from pole position in Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix.
His Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel came home second behind triumphant Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes with Valtteri Bottas third in the second Silver Arrow.  Leclerc admitted that he and his team had not fulfilled their potential in Sunday's race.
"I think I need to do some more work in the race, especially on the strategy as it has not been that good.
"I need to come on the radio more and to help the team make the right decisions - like Seb did.
"The second stint was not particularly great for me and I didn't feel good on the medium compound. I don't know why. The first set of mediums felt better.
"We did our first stop earlier than we might have done to cover against (Alex) Albon and then we knew it would be a two-stop early on. But then everyone else did a one-stop." Vettel urged Ferrari to leave him out for a .

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