As the start of the NBA regular season approaches, the ongoing process of figuring out how the league's games are going to be broadcast locally across its 28 markets continues to play out.

The bankruptcy proceedings and various legal battles involving Diamond Sports Group, which operates the Bally regional sports networks (RSNs) that televise 15 NBA teams, have resulted in significant uncertainty for the upcoming season. Warner Bros. Discovery, which operated the AT&T Sports networks, exited the RSN business entirely, adding more upheaval for a handful of teams.

Still, for fans of the vast majority of the league's teams, where you watch your favorite team's games hasn't changed -- yet. However, that's not to say everything is settled as the NBA season prepares to tip off. Here's a look at all aspects of the league's television situation as it stands at this moment.

What is the state of negotiations between Diamond and the NBA?

Diamond filed for an extension for its Sept. 30 deadline to present a plan to reorganize its business as it exits Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It had already received one extension from the summer to Sept. 30, and both the NBA and NHL were hoping to have clarity on their television situations before the start of their respective seasons. That clarity didn't come, as the NHL season began on Oct. 10 and the NBA season is tipping off on Oct. 24 (the first RSN broadcasts of the regular season will come on Oct. 25).

There has been no word as to whether the latest extension request has been granted, nor how long the next extension will last if there is one. Until the league has that information, it will be impossible to properly prepare for what's next.

There is a similar legal battle going on between Diamond and several MLB teams.

So ... what will ultimately happen when Diamond's plan is presented?

Likely something along the lines of what happened with Major League Baseball, with Diamond continuing to work with the teams that it has a profitable situation with and extricating itself from the ones with which it does not. In baseball, that meant the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks. It is unclear exactly how many NBA teams could be impacted at the moment, as much of this ultimately hinges on the outcome of this lawsuit.

In the meantime, teams are both figuring out if they'll have to receive a reduction in their fees -- and how much of one they might have to accept -- while also preparing for a local over-the-air alternative in case their RSN deal disappears.

Will people be unable to watch games?

No. The NBA insists that, like Major League Baseball did with San Diego and Arizona, it will make sure games remain on the air for fans to watch. Teams across the league are already beginning to plan for the possibility that they might need an alternative to their RSN deal, depending on how things play out with Bally's, in particular. One example of a potential alternative is Scripps Sports, which has signed deals in recent months with several teams, including the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes.

What is the NBA's long-term RSN plan?

While there are a lot of balls in the air on the RSN front for the NBA currently, the league's goal has clearly been to try to get through the next two seasons, and then give itself a chance to reset much of this landscape with a new national television deal beginning with the 2025-26 season. Baseball has been undergoing these same issues having only recently entered into its new national contract; basketball, on the other hand, can use these negotiations to take a wider look at the landscape and figure out the most holistic way to address it, which is how both the league and teams are already viewing the situation.

Which teams are still with Diamond/Bally?

Diamond currently has deals with 15 of the NBA's 30 teams: the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, LA Clippers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs.

What about the teams that have RSN deals that aren't with Diamond/Bally?

Of the remaining 15 teams, five of them -- the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Kings -- have broadcast deals with local NBC Sports affiliates.

Several other big-market teams are also ensconced in comfortable deals. The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets are broadcast on the MSG and YES Networks, respectively, two of the strongest RSNs in the country. The Los Angeles Lakers are in the middle of a 20-year, $3 billion deal with Spectrum SportsNet. The Toronto Raptors are shown on both TSN and SportsNet, the two main national sports networks across Canada.

The remaining six teams are in more interesting situations. The Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz are starting a new local broadcast model this season. Phoenix was with Diamond last season, while Utah was with AT&T SportsNet (more on both of them in a minute).

The Denver Nuggets have their games broadcast on Altitude Sports, the network owned by the Kroenke family, which owns the Nuggets. The distributor has been mired in a fight with several operators for years, however, making it difficult for fans to watch the team locally.

The Washington Wizards purchased their local NBC Sports affiliate and rebranded it Monumental Sports Network; it will be showing Wizards games this fall. They've also created a direct-to-consumer package for anyone who doesn't have the channel on a cable package to buy streaming rights for $20 a month, or $200 a year, to watch the Wizards, the NHL's Washington Capitals and the WNBA's Washington Mystics.

The Houston Rockets, like Utah, were with AT&T SportsNet last year, but when the company exited the RSN business, the Rockets partnered with MLB's Houston Astros and are now going to have their games shown on the rebranded Space City Home Network.

The Portland Trail Blazers, meanwhile, have their games shown on Root Sports, a Pacific Northwest RSN that is majority owned by MLB's Seattle Mariners and was in the news recently when Xfinity bumped the service to its premium tier just before the start of the NBA season.

How do Phoenix and Utah factor into this?

Both the Suns and Jazz are going from an RSN model that paid them tens of millions per season to a free, over-the-air local broadcast option that will dramatically increase their potential audience, while also pairing it with a subscription service fans can buy to give them a mobile option.

Why doesn't everyone do that?

Two reasons. One, teams still in contracts with RSNs can't just get out of them to do something else. And, two, there's a reason the RSN model has existed as long as it has: It's a much more profitable endeavor.

Take the Jazz, for example. Reports have pegged them as receiving roughly $20 million under their prior RSN deal that expired after last season with AT&T SportsNet. At the team's annual price point of $125 for a season-long subscription to Jazz+, its streaming service, it would need 160,000 people to sign up for it to match the previous revenue stream.

Still, the Jazz at least have a chance to get close to their old number, with team president Jim Olsen saying it could happen in the "medium term." Teams with a far bigger RSN number, though? It will be extremely difficult for them to ever come close to matching it.

"If you've got a team that's making $120 million from an RSN and they've got to go back their way into that, the market hasn't changed," Jazz owner Ryan Smith told ESPN in an interview last month. "So we feel super fortunate to be in a spot where we can make that jump."

Could this affect the salary cap in future years?

All of this can impact how much the salary cap potentially goes up, as its rise each year is tied to how much more money the league makes year-over-year. The latest collective bargaining agreement, however, eliminated the possibility the cap will decrease, and capped the annual increase at no more than 10%.

How does any of this impact the ongoing national television deal negotiations?

It doesn't -- at least, not directly. The two things are in totally separate buckets. However, it's not lost on anyone in the league that all of this is happening as the NBA is approaching its new national television rights negotiations, with the new agreement set to begin in the 2025-26 season and likely to include additional partners beyond the two current ones (Disney, ESPN's parent company, and Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns TNT).

At this point, it's certain many teams are going to be taking a financial hit on their local television deals between now and then. The widespread expectation is that the national deal is going to rise significantly, and thus will paper over any of the local losses being suffered.

But with the cable television industry in a serious state of flux, the NBA has notably shifted its tone on player participation in games, creating a new policy to get its star players on the court more, including fines for teams if they sit healthy players for rest. Joe Dumars, the league's head of basketball operations, said repeatedly on a call with reporters earlier this month that the NBA is going to stop the "slippage" in this area moving forward.

All of that is a sign of both the importance of showing what the national product will be moving forward, as well as shoring up any concerns that the new deal will come in at a lower number than the lofty expectations the league and its teams have had for it for some time.

Coach John Shepherd breaks down this vital part of your race with some valuable tips and advice

The start makes or breaks your race. The reaction but, more importantly, the first few steps clearing the blocks and the subsequent acceleration pattern used will determine the winner. So, what can you do to get a start in the style of Christian Coleman or Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce?

In the blocks 

If you are not correctly set up then you will fail to create the required forces, angles and positions to accelerate. 

What to do:  As a guide, the front knees angle should be 90 degrees and the rear 120. Top starters have their weight well over the start line.

Tip:  Push the front knee forward over the line when rising into set position. Feel almost as if toppling forward but keep pressure on block faces. Feel like a coiled spring in the set position.

Block clearance 

Angles, angles, angles. Its all about the right clearance angles after the gun goes and a great deal of strength and power. 

The body catapults out of the blocks and should be aligned (not folded at the hips a common fault). Often the lead arm is long and high this enables greater extension from the front block. 

The rear leg also pushes and then shoots forward to the front low and fast to clear the start-line. The rear foot is angled down and kept well behind the bodys centre of mass so it can facilitate a dynamic push on the first track contact. This is why many sprinters toe drag.

Shin angles are negative (angled back towards the blocks). The shallower the angle, the greater the propulsive force.

You need to be really strong to achieve a very low shin angle and angled body position from the blocks otherwise you will literally stumble and fall.

This is what 200m world champion Noah Lyles has been working on and explains in part why he has improved significantly recently over 60m and 100m. 

Tip:  Practice the start push by exerting as much force as possible to jump out of the block and then catch the landing to sprint one to three further steps

Acceleration 

After block clearance, its all about exerting power without rising into upright max velocity sprint posture too soon. 

The later the sprinter hits top speed, the greater likelihood they will win. The very best male sprinters reach 30m in around 3.80 and top speed around 50-60m.

Post block clearance the emphasis is on pushing and rear side mechanics but not exclusively. 

Contemporary sprint coaching practice talks about taking the feet away forwards and scissoring acceleration. 

If the sprinter drives one leg back as powerfully as possible into the track while simultaneously pulling the other forward then there will be more power.

The arms are also crucial they must work harmoniously with the legs to create a synchronised action.

For the very fastest of male sprinters the first 10m split will be near to 2.00, the second just above 1.00, the third around or just below 0.90 and thereafter significantly below 0.90 for the rest of the race.

Hammer blow

What you put into the track is what you get back. The harder the strike, the faster you will propel yourself forwards, provided your technique is up to it. Increasing rate of force production will therefore improve the sprint start, the ability to stabilise and to use those angles as referenced previously. 

Tip: Weight train, do plyometrics, sled pulling and pushing, resisted harness run and accelerated harness runs. All will help to improve the sprint start.

North of England and British Masters cross-country champs cancelled due to adverse weather and flooding that has hit parts of country

After the cancellation of the North of England Cross-Country Relay Championship at Graves Park in Sheffield last weekend, the British Masters Athletics Federation (BMAF) has cancelled its own cross-country relay championships on October 28 due to the severe weather sweeping much of Britain.

BMAF cross-country secretary Mel James said: It is with a heavy heart that I have to send out the news that the Long Eaton club have had to cancel next Saturdays BMAF Cross-Country Relay Championships. They have made the early decision to enable the participating clubs to inform their members in order to hopefully ease their committed travel arrangements etc.

Flooding from Storm Babet has caused travel chaos on the roads and rail networks around the UK with at least four people having died since the storm hit the country last week.

James continued: Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire are still bearing the brunt of Storm Babet, and West Park, the race venue, is currently being used as a reservoir for the river Trent by the Environment Agency to relieve the excessive flooding and is currently under 3ft of water. There is no indication of when this temporary reservoir will be reduced.

The BMAF wanted to make an early decision on the cancellation rather than having to gamble on making a hurried decision later in the week that would have more of an impact for the travelling arrangements of the teams.

The late decision on October 20 to cancel the Northern Athletics event on October 21 meant some officials and competitors were inconvenienced and the BMAF wanted to avoid a similar situation. 

Northern Athletics explained the decision: After a site visit and communication from Sheffield Council all events in Sheffield parks are cancelled this weekend (Oct 21-22). Although the forecast for tomorrow (Oct 21) was all right, the roads to and around Sheffield are dire. We apologise for the lateness.

English area cross-country relays at Wormwood Scrubs in London and Wolverhampton did manage to go ahead.

Great Britain have named an unchanged team for November's Davis Cup quarter-final against Serbia in Malaga.

Doubles specialist Neal Skupski also reappears alongside the quartet, who are all ranked inside the world's top 100 singles players.

Novak Djokovic is set to feature for Serbia in the tie on 23 November.

"We will go to Malaga with confidence and belief that we can be successful," said captain Leon Smith, whose side are ranked two places higher than their last-eight opponents.

"The quarter-final versus Serbia will of course be a big challenge with a team led by world number one Novak Djokovic but we have to believe we can win."

Evans and world doubles number four Skupski remain captain Leon Smith's preferred doubles partnership.

The winners of the tie will advance to the semi-final on Saturday, 25 November.

GB last lifted the Davis Cup in 2015, when Murray was part of the team which secured victory over Belgium in the final.

Former Premiership side Wasps are aiming to move to Kent and build a new stadium in the county.

It would be a fourth home for Wasps, who spent most of their existence in London before moves to High Wycombe in 2002 and Coventry in 2014.

The club are "actively engaged with Sevenoaks District Council to identify a suitable location".

A statement by the two-time European champions and six-time Premiership winners - who had 95m worth of debts when the club went into administration - said: "This move signifies a new chapter in the club's journey, reaffirming its commitment to professional rugby.

"Having faced significant challenges with regulation and funding, the club has persisted with its determination to revive Wasps at the highest possible level."

A Sevenoaks District Council spokesman said Wasps were considering building a multi-use stadium, training facilities and a hotel on the outskirts of Swanley.

The spokesman said members of the public would be able to have their say on the proposals when the council began its latest consultation on its local plan next month.

"As a former top-tier club, with an international profile, we firmly believe this is a once-in-a- generation opportunity," the spokesman added.

"Wasps would bring unparalleled economic, sports development, health, education, and skills benefits to the district and we are keen to explore how that could be achieved."

Worcester option for Wasps

While Wasps' plans for a new ground go through the planning process, they said they were "actively exploring temporary facilities to underpin its operations in Kent", but could use the home of another former Premiership side that went bust last year - Worcester Warriors - in the short term.

Wasps owner Chris Holland is now the majority shareholder of Worcester after his firm Loxwood Holdings bought the stake of former owners Atlas.

"Whilst determined to establish a base in the south east of England, the club has also agreed an option of utilising Worcester Warriors' Sixways ground for both training and playing purposes, without in any way replacing Worcester Warriors RFC and indeed committed to assisting their return to competitive rugby," the club statement said.

"Our determination to secure a new, sustainable future for the club has never been stronger.

"By working with Sevenoaks District Council, we hope to build a long-lasting legacy that acknowledges our storied past and charts an ambitious future."

At what level might Wasps return?

The level of competition Wasps would play at if they returned to action is unclear.

Last week Holland said he wanted the two-time European champions to return to the "highest level possible", but may need to wait until the 2025-26 season to do so.

In May, the Rugby Football Union said the club would have to return to the bottom of the English league pyramid after they failed to meet a deadline to allow them to return to the Championship this season.

But with a new Professional Game Agreement due to come into force next summer there has been talk of a revamped second tier from the summer of 2025.

It could see Wasps, Worcester and London Irish - the other Premiership shareholders who went bust last season - be given the chance to restart life in what has been dubbed 'Premiership Two'.

Should Wasps have to start at a level below the nationwide third tier, it would make playing games in Worcester difficult as leagues are regionalised - Kent-based sides feed up into National League Two East while teams in the Midlands feed up to National League Two West.

If they are forced to play at the bottom of the rugby pyramid in Kent, it would mean starting in the 11th-tier Counties 5 Kent division.

Both New Zealand and South Africa are bidding to become the first nation to win the Rugby World Cup for a fourth time when they meet in the final on Saturday.

The two countries have a long and storied rugby history and rivalry, to which another chapter is about to be written.

"We're frontier-type societies; one is a tiny bunch of islands on the other side of the world, one is a little spot on the end of Africa," former South Africa international Bobby Skinstad told the Rugby Union Daily podcast.

"One of the colonial influences was this game they gave to us that we've embraced and been able to beat the colonial powers at their own game."

The 1995 final

South Africa's first involvement in a Rugby World Cup was as hosts in 1995, following a sporting ban which prevented them from participating in the first two editions.

New Zealand cruised into the final thanks to four tries by Jonah Lomu in their semi-final victory over England and, with Lomu in seemingly unstoppable form, were favourites.

No tries were scored in the final, with Stransky and Andrew Mehrtens exchanging three penalties and a drop-goal each before the full-time whistle sounded.

The game went to extra time and a Stransky drop-goal won the Webb Ellis Cup.

Mehrtens was one of several New Zealand players to be struck down by illness in the build-up to the final, but said the squad was fully fit by the time the match started and he refuses to blame a disrupted preparation for their defeat.

"The determining factor for us not winning that final was South Africa tackled us where other teams hadn't," he said.

"They delighted in getting up on Jonah. There was the famous tackle from Joost van der Westhuizen when Jonah had broken through off a line-out.

"They knocked us over where other teams hadn't. We couldn't play the game that had been so successful for us throughout the tournament."

Nelson Mandela, the former political prisoner turned unifying president of a nation, handed over the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar while wearing a South Africa rugby shirt bearing the Springbok badge - a symbol previously reviled by non-whites in the country because it was so strongly associated with the apartheid era.

"It was only afterwards that you started seeing [how big it was for South Africa]," Mehrtens added. "We'd met Mandela before the match, which was a huge moment.

"I remember having conflicting thoughts in my head; I thought this was something I'd remember for the rest of my life, having met an iconic, historical figure who is so revered around the world, but at the same time in two minutes' time I've got to do a kick-off that I've got to make sure goes 10 metres."

Twickenham match

More recently, the All Blacks were on the wrong end of the heaviest defeat in their history at the hands of South Africa, losing 35-7 at Twickenham in their final warm-up game before the World Cup.

The All Blacks' previous record loss was by 21 points, while their defeat in August also ended an 11-match unbeaten run.

In 105 previous meetings, New Zealand have won 62, the Springboks 39 and there have been four draws.

At Rugby World Cups, the All Blacks have the edge with three wins to South Africa's two.

World Cup final wins

Following their 1995 triumph, South Africa had to wait 12 years for a second World Cup win when they beat England 15-6 in Paris.

There was another 12-year gap before Siya Kolisi lifted the trophy after a dominant 32-12 win over England in Japan.

New Zealand co-hosted and won the first World Cup in 1987, beating France 29-9 in the final.

But they would have a 24-year wait for a second triumph, again as tournament hosts, with an 8-7 victory over France in 2011 at Eden Park.

Four years later, they repeated the trick with a convincing 34-17 win over Australia at Twickenham.

In doing so, New Zealand became the first nation to win successive Rugby World Cups - something South Africa are hoping to emulate on Saturday.

"I know the rivalry runs deep, these two countries that love and hate each other so much around this beautiful game," said Skinstad.

"Our country looks at New Zealand and it irritates us that they've been able to go back-to-back in World Cups."

Routes to the 2023 final

South Africa have faced every other team in the top six of the current world rankings on route to this year's final.

The Springboks beat Scotland in their opener but finished second in Pool B after losing narrowly to Ireland, before one-point victories over France and England in the knockout stage.

The All Blacks lost the opening game of the competition to France but scored 96 points in dismantling Italy before winning knockout games over number one ranked side Ireland and Argentina to reach the final.

Potential records

The NHL has launched a new advanced stats section on its website that brings data from the league's puck- and player-tracking technology to fans for the first time.

NHL EDGE, the league's puck- and player-tracking system, has been operational for every team since the 2021-22 season. That season is where the data begins on the league's new advanced stats section on NHL.com (NHL.com/EDGE). Previously, the only public display of these stats was during NHL broadcasts.

"Today's launch marks a new and important phase in the evolution of NHL EDGE, as through our collaboration with Sportradar, fans can now access a new set of stats for their favorite teams and players in an interactive and comparative way," said Stephen McArdle, NHL senior executive vice president for digital media and strategic planning.

The NHL's puck- and player-tracking technology utilizes 14 infrared cameras above each rink, positioned to cover all points on the ice. They track movement using sensors embedded inside the puck and players' jerseys. The system can generate nearly one million three-dimensional coordinates and data points in a regulation game.

Russ Levine, NHL group vice president of stats and info, said that because of the massive amount of data and computations, the NHL EDGE site will be updated the morning after games rather than immediately after they end.

"The challenge with this work is taking all that just raw positional data and translating it into something digestible and meaningful. Something that is interesting for fans and hopefully teaches them about the game," Levine told ESPN. "And we're really, I think, at the tip of the iceberg here."

Among the stats the site will publish:

Maximum skating speed. The maximum sustained skating speed a player has achieved during a game this season. Bursts from 18 to 20 mph, 20 to 22 mph and over 22 mph are tabulated.

Skating distance. How far a player skates in a game and for the season. As of Friday, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid had the highest single-game distance this season with 4.42 miles.

Shot speed. The maximum speed achieved on any recorded shot attempt -- whether the shot was on goal or not. Shots are tallied in four different categories, including 100-plus mph.

Shot/save location. The offensive zone is split into 16 regions based on shot volume and accuracy -- some of them "high danger" regions near the net. Locations can be shown by shots on goal, goals or shooting percentage. Goalies' "save locations" show shots against, saves, goal against as well as save percentage.

Puck zone time. Puck possession remains one of the most sought-after metrics in the NHL. While the technology has yet to produce "puck on stick" player possession numbers for public consumption, NHL Edge does show how much time the puck spends in each zone while an individual player is on the ice. It also shows how long teams have the puck in individual zones.

These stats can be filtered by forwards and defensemen, as well as game situation (even strength, special teams). Most of the stats are also divided into all three zones -- offensive, neutral and defensive. For example, McDavid's 4.42-mile performance saw him skate 44.8% of that distance (2.33 miles) in the offensive zone.

For some stats, the zones are shaded to indicate whether the player's performance is above or below NHL average for that season.

NHL EDGE data can also be generated into visualizations that give a full picture of a player's performance or can be overlayed onto each other for comparison.

The site includes a comparison feature so fans can view any two players or teams side-by-side in several statistical categories. That includes the ability to compare one season to another for a player. One example the NHL demoed was comparing goalie Sergei Bobrovsky's regular-season performance to his "Playoff Bob" mode for the Florida Panthers last season.

There are innovations the NHL would like to add. Levine said that individual puck possession is top of the list. Only a few stats have 'per game' and 'per 60 minutes at 5-on-5' filters, which is available on other sites that track advanced stats. The NHL wants to add passing metrics, which would allow for the inclusion of stats like zone entries and zone exits. Additional advanced goalie stats are also a priority.

"The next phase of this for me is helping people understand what makes Player A more effective than Player B in ways that aren't obvious from traditional statistics," Levine said.

He said the NHL will continue to tweak the stats now on the site.

"That algorithm for shot speed today will probably continue to get tweaked to make it more accurate. Are we measuring shot speed in the most effective way? Taking the appropriate measurement of the number of pings, smoothing out a potential hiccup in the data to make sure we don't have outliers, that sort of thing," he said.

Levine said that "as we tweak these things, we'd have the ability to go back" to make previously published stats from earlier seasons more accurate.

"I think that the reason we haven't done this until now is not because we weren't comfortable, it's because it's really complicated and time-consuming work to roll up things and make sure they're accurate," Levine said. "We're going to continue to improve that."

SEATTLE -- Seattle Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky is expected to miss six to eight weeks after being injured in the game over the weekend against the New York Rangers.

The team announced Monday that Burakovsky underwent an unspecified procedure to repair an upper-body injury.

Early in the second period Saturday, Burakovsky was hit by Rangers captain Jacob Trouba and crashed into the boards right shoulder first. He got up reaching for his right collarbone, left the ice and did not return. Trouba was penalized for roughing.

Burakovsky, 28, was finally healthy after sitting out significant time last season because of a groin injury and subsequent setback that limited him to 49 games and caused him to miss Seattle's playoff run. He had two points in the first five games this season.

He is in his second season with the Kraken after signing a $27.5 million, five-year contract in the summer of 2022. That deal came after he helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup, his second NHL championship after being part of the 2018 Washington Capitals.

Burakovsky was a first-round pick of the Capitals in 2013. He has recorded 363 points in 667 regular-season and playoff games since making his debut in 2014.

Losing Burakovsky is another blow for the Kraken, who have lost five of their first six games coming off the franchise's first playoff appearance.

Manchester United have to beat FC Copenhagen if they want to qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds, according to manager Erik ten Hag.

United sit bottom of Group A after losing their first two games against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.

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FC Copenhagen, champions of Denmark, visit Old Trafford on Tuesday and Ten Hag has said his team must win.

"If you lose the first two games, you have to win," Ten Hag told a news conference on Monday.

Ten Hag is expecting an emotional atmosphere at Old Trafford in United's first home game since the announcement of Sir Bobby Charlton's death, aged 86, on Saturday.

"It is always special, every night at Old Trafford, the fans are always so behind us," Ten Hag added. "Remember the last home game against Brentford, even when the game is not going in our direction, they stayed behind us in difficult moments.

"In moments of adversity the fans are still with us and fighting. Definitely tomorrow, the passing of Sir Bobby Charlton -- their hero, the legend -- it will be more emotional.

"He is in front of Old Trafford with Denis Law and George Best. He is always with us and they are always a huge inspiration for us every day in every game."

After losing six of their first 10 games of the season, United have won back-to-back matches with narrow victories over Brentford and Sheffield United.

Ten Hag's team are looking to win three games in a row for the first time since May and full-back Diogo Dalot is hopeful their mini revival can be a springboard to help turn their campaign around.

"Every game for us is an opportunity to show we want to build confidence, build momentum," said Dalot, who scored the winner against Sheffield United on Saturday.

"When you win games it's easier to get that confidence and we've shown in these games when you don't play the way you'd like to play you have to find a way to win. We've shown that quality, we have fantastic players who can show up and turn up and win games. We have to use these wins to build confidence and momentum."

Manchester City have said they will ban any fans found to have engaged in offensive chanting about the death of Sir Bobby Charlton during their Premier League game with Brighton.

The Manchester United legend died on Saturday. He was 86. The news was announced at halftime of City's 2-1 win over Brighton and City said "a small number" of fans were heard chanting in the concourses at the Etihad Stadium.

A City statement read: "Manchester City FC are extremely disappointed to have learned of reports of offensive chanting from a small number of individuals about Sir Bobby Charlton in some of the concourses of Etihad Stadium during half time of yesterday's Premier League fixture against Brighton and Hove Albion.

"The club condemns these chants in the strongest terms, and apologises unreservedly to the family and friends of Sir Bobby, and to all those at Manchester United. On this day of all days, when the stadium stood to pay tribute to our own legend in Francis Lee, Manchester City supporters should understand and appreciate as keenly as anyone the need for respect in our game.

"Our security team are studying CCTV footage of the concourse areas. We are thankful to those who have already come forward to report this matter, and we continue to appeal for any information that can help us identify the individuals involved, so that we can take the appropriate action to issue banning orders."

United and City are set to meet in the Manchester derby on Sunday. Ahead of the game, a number of City fans paid their respects to Charlton by leaving scarfs at Old Trafford over the weekend.

Following City's statement about their investigation into the chanting at the Etihad, the Premier League said they will support any action taken by the club.

A statement issued by the Premier League read: "The Premier League is appalled to hear reports of chanting related to Sir Bobby Charlton at the game at the Etihad Stadium.

"We welcome Manchester City seeking information on those responsible and will support any subsequent action."