Rodgers, who left Celtic to take charge at Leicester in February, has overseen a change in fortunes at the club who now sit second in the league with the best defensive record, having conceded only nine goals.
The former Liverpool boss was linked with the Arsenal job after they sacked Unai Emery last month and created a stir when he said there was a "release clause" in his contract.
He has since reiterated his desire to continue working at Leicester.
"When I made the decision to come to Leicester City, it was because I was excited about the direction the club was taking and how I could apply my experience to the journey," he said in a statement.
"I came here with a purpose to add something to that and to help the club build for the future.
"I've inherited an outstanding team of staff that are dedicated to progress and improvement and we have a group of players that are a joy to work with every day."
After starting the campaign with two draws, Leicester have since won 11 of their last 13 games -- including their last seven -- to leapfrog defending champions Manchester City and sit eight points behind Liverpool.
There is, of course, a big difference between a defensive manager and one who has good defences. Jose Mourinho has been the latter: in his two full seasons at Manchester United they conceded the second-fewest goals both times and in his full campaigns of his second spell at Chelsea they conceded the fewest. But whatever he does to tighten up those back lines isn't working yet at Tottenham, where they have conceded two goals in each of his four games in charge, winning three but losing to Manchester United on Wednesday in a game which -- Dele Alli's stunning goal notwithstanding -- recalled the most insipid performances of his worst recent days.
Of course he didn't exactly inherit a watertight defence, a team who have kept one Premier League clean sheet all season and shipped seven to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. But he nonetheless needs to correct the problem as quickly as possible, and while time is required he's also making some curious decisions like persisting with the 32-year-old Jan Vertonghen at left-back. In theory Burnley, scorers of 21 goals in 15 games, will not be the most fearsome opponents, but a clean sheet would nonetheless be extremely welcome.
What now for Freddie Ljungberg?
As auditions go, one point from two games against teams either in or near the relegation zone isn't the best. A constant hum in the background of all the talk about the Arsenal job is that Freddie Ljungberg is rated very highly in the Arsenal corridors of power and is thus a live candidate for the permanent job, but failure to beat both Norwich and Brighton hasn't exactly helped his chances.
His post-Brighton declaration that he had told his players "this is not Arsenal" does have a significant whiff of the Solskjaer approach, leaning heavily on some nebulous idea of the club's identity as a motivation tool. Perhaps it will work, but he now almost certainly knows he will need a win against West Ham on Monday to stand any chance of sticking around.
How high is Manchester City's confidence?
You can always read too much into these things, but it was pretty interesting that Rodri felt the need to comment on how emphatically Manchester City celebrated their win over Burnley on Tuesday. "After this victory we were really having a party in the dressing room," he said, "because we needed it to bring up the mentality and confidence of the team."
If nothing else it displays what a fragile thing confidence can be, if even this City team can lose it after a few adverse results. So the question then becomes whether that victory over Burnley was enough to raise it back to the required levels to win the Manchester derby: in theory City should pulverise United, but if the self-belief in their dressing room is shaky, we could see a surprise.
Man to watch
Fred (Manchester United)
It's taken the better part of 18 months, but Fred is finally looking a little bit like the player Manchester United thought they were paying £47 million for last summer. The Brazil international was terrific against Tottenham on Wednesday night alongside Scott McTominay, who Ole Gunnar Solskjaer described as "undroppable."
Getting the better of Spurs is one thing, given their struggles this season, but this weekend against Manchester City will be another matter entirely: against a team that wins games by controlling them from midfield, the roles of Fred and McTominay will be absolutely vital.
English football is littered with slightly unlikely rivalries, two teams that have no real business caring about each other excessively, but actually do. One of those is Norwich City vs. Sheffield United, an enmity that stems from a curious affair in the Championship a couple of years ago when the Canaries turned up late to a game at Bramall Lane, which made Daniel Farke late to a prematch meeting.
Then following some perceived time-wasting during the game, Chris Wilder sounded off quite emphatically, railing against the "disrespect" shown by Norwich and advising their bus driver to check the traffic reports more closely. Presumably his tantrum had a little to do with Norwich winning that game 1-0, but either way that episode lends this fixture a little extra edge.
play
1:35
Who's going to win the Manchester derby?
Julien Laurens and Ian Darke question if Manchester United can pull off an upset at the Etihad.
Stats of the weekend
Information courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information group.
- Manchester United's Marcus Rashford has scored 12 goals in his last 13 games with club and country, and has netted 16 goals from 34 Premier League matches under Ole Sunnar Solskjaer.
- All seven of Gabriel Jesus' goals for Manchester City this season have been scored away from home.
- Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has scored in all four of his Premier League appearances vs. Bournemouth, his only 100% record against a club.
- Liverpool's win over Everton saw them set a new club record of 32 league matches unbeaten, surpassing the mark set in 1988.
- Alli has scored four goals (and assisted one more) in his four appearances since Jose Mourinho took over, as many as he scored in his previous 30 matches for Spurs.
- With 11 goals in 14 Premier League games, Chelsea's Tammy Abraham is the only player aged 22 or younger in Europe' top five leagues to register a double-digit goal tally so far this term.
The team that needs a bit of luck
Crystal Palace
The stakes are not exactly the highest, given Crystal Palace face the rolling catastrophe that is Watford this weekend. But they may well have to do so with only one centre-back: Mamadou Sakho is suspended with Scott Dann and Gary Cahill injured, leaving James Tomkins to guide a stand-in through the game. They were fortunate in some respects to get away with it against Bournemouth, who played without much sense on Tuesday after Sakho's red, and even though they're playing the worst team in the division, they may need a little fortune to get through this one.
One thing that will definitely happen
Liverpool will concede a goal
For all their thrilling, division-straddling brilliance, it must be of slight concern to Jurgen Klopp that his Liverpool side have only kept two clean sheets all season. Watford have kept three. Even when they destroyed Everton 5-2 on Wednesday night, they still found time to let in two careless goals, cause exasperated cries in the crowd, Jurgen Klopp to rage on the touchline and Virgil van Dijk declare his dissatisfaction afterwards. They haven't lost a game yet and only two teams have conceded fewer goals, but this issue could come back to bite them at some stage.
Predictions
Everton 1-3 Chelsea
Tottenham 2-1 Burnley
Watford 1-2 Crystal Palace
Bournemouth 1-3 Liverpool
Manchester City 4-0 Manchester United
Newcastle United 1-0 Southampton
Norwich City 2-2 Sheffield United
Aston Villa 1-2 Leicester City
Brighton 0-1 Wolves
West Ham 2-2 Arsenal
England are set to announce their Test squad on Saturday, and are due to depart next week for a four-match series which begins with the first Test at Centurion on Boxing Day. Several potential members of England's party - including James Anderson, Mark Wood and Jonny Bairstow - are already in the country at a training camp in Potchefstroom.
However, the rest of the squad will be flying into a febrile atmosphere, amid an ongoing stand-off between Cricket South Africa and its players over image rights that could yet escalate into strike action - although not, according to SACA, the players' association, during the England series itself.
An ECB spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that the board was keeping a "watching brief" on developments in South Africa, but added that they were not concerned about the existing arrangements at this stage.
On Friday, Thabang Moroe, CSA's CEO, was suspended due to allegations of misconduct, while Standard Bank, whose association with cricket in South Africa dates back to 1998, announced it would not be renewing its title sponsorship of the national team due to "long-standing problems which have damaged Standard Bank's reputation".
Cricket South Africa have yet to appoint a director of cricket, with Graeme Smith, the former captain and favourite for the role, withdrawing his interest last month due to a "lack of confidence" in the administration. Earlier this week, five journalists had their accreditation temporarily revoked because the board was unhappy with the light in which it was being portrayed.
It is an uncomfortable backdrop for South Africa as they begin a high-profile home summer, and attempt to arrest a run of five Test defeats in a row - most recently a 3-0 series loss in India in October. That tour was the first outing for the new team director, Enoch Nkwe, whose role was created after Ottis Gibson stood down as head coach following the team's disappointing showing at this year's World Cup.
With South Africa facing a period of transition on the field too, following the retirements from Test cricket of Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla, the issue of selection is another bone of contention for South Africa. Last week the board faced further criticism for refusing to reveal the names of the "technical team" that will name the squad for the England series.
In response, SACA has called for a "clear and transparent structure" to be installed around the team as soon as possible, involving "experienced, credible and reputable cricket people".
"In the England series across three formats which starts in three weeks time, the Proteas will be facing one of the best teams in the world" said Tony Irish, SACA's chief executive. "We know that the players will give 110% for South Africa on the field but it is critical that a proper professional structure is in place around the team. The way in which CSA has dealt with this to date, and the fact that nothing is in place, is totally unacceptable. It is ludicrous to expect players to be selected by unknown selectors."
Industrial action, Irish added, should be seen as a "last resort", and acknowledged the critical financial importance of the England tour to a cash-strapped board. CSA is expected to lose between 654 million (USD 45 million approx) and 1 billion (USD 69 million approx) in the next four-year cycle, a figure that may now rise with the loss of revenue from the Standard Bank deal.
"We also wish to reassure cricket fans, and other cricket stakeholders, that SACA will not embark on industrial action with the players during the upcoming England series," said Irish. "We are very aware of the importance of this series to the Proteas and to England, to the many fans from both countries and to the media and commercial partners."
Pakistan's dismal tour of Australia has hurt the "pride of the nation" according to Test captain Azhar Ali. The Tests ended in innings defeats; the T20Is were not any better even though the perception was Pakistan, ranked No. 1 in the format, would compete better.
"We are a proud cricketing nation and definitely our pride has been hurt," Azhar said upon the team's return home. "We did prepare to the best of our abilities, we went there with positive intent but unfortunately sometimes results don't come as per your expectations."
The team management picked a young bowling attack with two rookies in 16-year old Naseem Shah and 19-year old Muhammad Musa. They were so excited that they even played Naseem at the Gabba ahead of the experienced Mohammad Abbas. The bowling fortunes didn't change.
They failed to pick up wickets, watched David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne make runs for fun and the resulting pressure was too much for their batting to take. This amounts to their 14th straight loss in Australia, a streak dating back to 1995.
Amidst the gloom, they had some positives too. Babar Azam made a second-innings ton in Brisbane and a quality 97 in Adelaide. Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed's replacement, held his own in two innings. Yasir Shah showed signs of improvement as a batsman, scoring a century in the Pink-ball Test, much to the delight of his team-mates.
"When you play in Australia and don't avail your opportunities, it's never easy to make a comeback," Azhar said. "The bowling attack was young and couldn't perform as expected, but still the world is talking about them today. They have pace and with little bit more experience they will be great for Pakistan in the future."
Pakistan next play Sri Lanka at home. The tour marks the return of Test cricket to the country for the first time since the 2009 terror attacks in Lahore. The series is important on a number of other counts too.
Firstly, Pakistan will be up against a team coached by Mickey Arthur, a man who they had recently let go. Secondly, the series is part of the Test championship, and Pakistan are yet to open their account. And thirdly, Pakistan lost 2-0 the last time these two sides played each other in Test cricket.
"The next series is against Sri Lanka which is a momentous occasion for all of us, all players will be playing their first test match in Pakistan," Azhar said. "Sri Lanka is bringing their full strength side and we have to play very good cricket to beat them.
"We will try our best and whatever time we have in between we have to freshen up our minds and look forward to play good cricket and get back on track. It is very important for us and we have to play this series very good."
Azhar also brushed aside talks of his poor form. In Australia, he managed scores of 39, 5, 9 and 9 in four innings. He has averaged 24.08 over the last two years. He has also suffered knee injuries.
"As far as I am concerned, it's not that ball is not coming onto my bat or when I am at the crease my footwork is not working," Azhar said. "Unfortunately it's not working. I know I need runs whether captain or any other player nobody can play without giving performance."
"It's true that after knee injury my form is not the same, but I passed all the fitness test, I do all the sprinting and it's not the only reason (injury). Lots of players go through surgeries and play and if there's a fitness issue, the PCB staff do tell it. I realise, I do have to score, I am working hard, I am feeling good in nets unfortunately runs are not coming but I know when runs do come it will be in bulk."
Caroline Wozniacki, formerly the top-ranked player in the world, will play the 2020 Australian Open as her final tournament, she told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday.
Wozniacki, the 2018 Australian Open winner, also announced her decision in a post on Instagram.
Wozniacki, 29, battled injuries in 2019, playing only 35 matches. It was the first year since 2007 that the Danish star failed to win a singles title. She lost in the round of 32 in three majors and the first round of the French Open last season.
In 2018, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and battled autoimmune disease prior to the US Open. She had slipped to 37th in the latest world rankings after finishing 2018 in the top five for the fifth time in her career.
Wozniacki married former NBA All-Star David Lee in June. She last played in the China Open in October, losing in the semifinals to Naomi Osaka in straight sets.
Wozniacki turned professional in 2005 and won 630 career singles matches and 30 career titles. She was the world No. 1 in 2010 and 2011. She earned more than $35 million in career prize money during her career.
When Andy Ruiz Jr. knocked out Anthony Joshua in the seventh round to take his three heavyweight world title belts in a massive upset on June 1 in New York, few had given him a chance because of his chubby physique compared to the muscled Joshua.
Ruiz, never a body beautiful kind of fighter, weighed a fleshy 268 pounds for that bout, which he had taken on a month's notice.
Throughout the build-up to the rematch, Ruiz and his trainer, Manny Robles, have been peppered with questions about how heavy Ruiz would be this time around. Robles wanted him to come in weighing in the 250s since they had a three-month training camp to prepare, but he eventually relented and said as late as a media teleconference with American reporters on Thursday that Ruiz likely would be 268 pounds once again.
Instead Ruiz, the first fighter of Mexican descent to win a heavyweight world title and the underdog once again, was nowhere close at Friday's weigh-in, which took place outdoors at the fight hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a little more than 24 hours before he and Joshua meet in an immediate rematch in one of the year's biggest fights.
Granted he was wearing a shirt and sombrero on the scale, but Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs), 30, of Imperial, California, weighed a staggering 283.7 pounds -- the heaviest of his 10-year career since he was in the mid-290s for his first two professional fights.
In comparison to the generously listed 6-foot-2 Ruiz, the 6-6 Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs) weighed in at a rock-solid 237 pounds. The 30-year-old from England, who is always in fine condition, was trimmed down from the first fight (247.75) but was still ripped.
It is the lightest Joshua has weighed since he was 236.5 for a fight in 2014.
The rematch will take place on Saturday (DAZN, 12 p.m. ET, main event at approximately 3:45 p.m. ET) on the outskirts of Riyadh in Diriyah at a temporary 15,000-seat open-air stadium constructed over the past six weeks specifically for the first heavyweight world title fight to take place in the Middle East.
In other fights on the main card:
Russian heavyweight Alexander Povetkin (35-2, 24 KOs), a 2004 Olympic gold medallist, weighed 229.3 pounds and 2012 U.S. Olympian Michael Hunter (18-1, 12 KOs), of Las Vegas, weighed 226.8 pounds for their world title elimination bout.
British heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte (26-1, 18 KOs), allowed to fight despite a recent failed drug test that has not been fully addressed, was a flabby and career-heavy 271 pounds. His opponent, former world title challenger Mariusz Wach (35-5, 19 KOs), of Poland, weighed 270 pounds.
Fast-rising heavyweight prospect Filip Hrgovic (9-0, 7 KOs), a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist from Croatia, weighed 241 pounds, while former two-time world title challenger Eric Molina (27-5, 19 KOs), of Raymondville, Texas, was 248 pounds.
Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon were key components in the Washington Nationals winning the franchise's first World Series title this year, but Mark Lerner, the team's principal owner, is already preparing to say goodbye to at least one of them in free agency.
"We really can only afford to have one of those two guys," Lerner told NBC Sports Washington in a interview excerpt published Thursday. "They're huge numbers. We already have a really large payroll to begin with."
The Nationals ended the 2019 season with a total payroll of nearly $228,000, according to Spotrac.
Lerner said the team has made offers to both players but is making backup plans in case either or both players leave.
"It's not up to us," Lerner said. "We can give them a great offer, which we've done to both of those players. They're great people. We'd be delighted if they stay. But it's not up to us; it's up to them. That's why they call it free agency."
Strasburg, 31, became a free agent after winning the World Series MVP and opting out of the final four years of his contract. He had a career-high 18 wins and led the National League with 209 innings pitched in 2019.
The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams also expected to be pursuing Strasburg, who is expected to receive a deal worth at least $180 million.
Rendon, 29, is considered the top offensive free agent after having a career season in which he hit .319 with 34 home runs and 126 RBIs while finishing third in National League MVP voting.
He has already met with the Dodgers and Texas Rangers. Some high-ranking club executives told ESPN's Buster Olney earlier this week that Rendon would be the first of the mega-dollar free agents to come off the board.
This isn't the first time Lerner has prepared Nationals fans to see one of their stars leave. He used a similar tactic with Bryce Harper last offseason, saying the Nationals had maxed out their offer for the outfielder, who ultimately signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.
NBC Sports Washington's full interview with Lerner is set to air Dec. 17.
Selecting Xavier Dixon, David Powell and Kane Townsend, in their opening fixture in the men’s event, a 3-0 win was posted against the Fiji combination of Vicky Wu, Wu Zhicong and Joshua Yee; a successful start, the impressive form continued.
Heming Hu and Yan Xin preferred to Xavier Dixon and David Powell, the same margin of victory was recorded against the Papua New Guinea trio comprising David Loi, Geoffrey Loi and Gasika Sepa; one engagement later, the Tokyo place was secured by overcoming tradition southern hemisphere rivals, New Zealand.
Similarly, with no changes to the line-up, the New Zealanders had posted 3-0 wins against both Papua New Guinea and Fiji; the latter replacing Vicky Wu with Jai Chauhan in their selection.
Different scenario
Facing the Australians was a totally different scenario, taking no risks, the host nation fielded Heming Hu, Kane Townsend and Yan Xin; a 3-0 win was the outcome but there was a close call.
After Kane Townsend and Yan Xin had beaten Lui Tengteng and Nathan Xu (11-8, 11-8, 13-11), followed by Heming Hu accounting for Dean Shu (13-11, 11-5, 11-9), Yan Xin needed the full five games to overcome Nathan Xu (9-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-3, 11-9).
Even more imposing
Imposing from the Australian men, it was even more imposing from their female counterparts.
In the one match required, selecting Michelle Bromley, Jian Fang Lay and Melissa Tapper, a 3-0 win was recorded in opposition to the Fiji combination of Carolyn Li, Grace Rosi Yee and Sally Yee.
Ever present
Thus tradition was maintained; ever since the team events were introduced in the Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing, Australia has always been the Oceania representative.
Furthermore, Jian Fang Lay has always been the pivotal player for the women. In Beijing she lined up alongside Miao Miao and Stephanie Sang Xu, the latter the fourth member of the team in Mornington; in London, Vivian Tan replaced Stephanie Sang Xu; in Rio de Janeiro, Melissa Tapper and Ziyu Zhang completed the selection.
Rio three present in Mornington
Meanwhile, for the men, no player remains from Beijing or London.
In Beijing and London William Henzell led the team; in the former partnering Kyle Davis and David Zalcberg, in the latter alongside Justin Han and Robbie Frank. In Rio de Janeiro, also on duty today in Mornington, Heming Hu, David Powell and Yan Xin (often referred to as Chris Xan) formed the selection.
Once again for the supporters it was Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, advance Australia fair.
Jacob Stockdale will play at full-back as Ulster seek their third win in this season's Heineken Champions Cup against Harlequins on Saturday.
Louis Ludik returns to the right wing with Luke Marshall partnering Stuart McCloskey in midfield.
England's Kyle Sinckler returns to Harlequins' front row in what will be his first game since the World Cup final.
Tevita Cavubati and Semi Kunatani are also brought into Quins' pack.
Sinckler, who was forced off with injury after just two minutes of the World Cup final against South Africa, returns as Harlequins seek to build on their win over Bath in the last round of European matches.
There are no changes to the English Premiership side's backline with Danny Care again partnering 20-year-old Marcus Smith in the half-backs.
For Ulster, Will Addison's suspension means Stockdale is shifted from his usual berth on the left wing, where Craig Gilroy is preferred to Robert Baloucoune.
Marshall returns at outside centre in place of Matt Faddes who scored two tries in Ulster's 29-5 win over Scarlets last Friday.
Two changes to the pack see Ireland duo Iain Henderson and Jordi Murphy named to start with Kieran Treadwell and Sean Reidy dropping out.
The northern province currently sit top of Pool Three having won their opening two fixtures.
A win over Harlequins would leave them well placed at the halfway stage, with Clermont and Bath meeting in the other Pool Three fixture on Friday night.
Reigning European champions Saracens will be without much of their current England contingent for Saturday's trip to Thomond Park.
Owen Farrell, Mako and Billy Vunipola and Elliot Daly are among nine players to drop out of the side for the meeting with Munster.
Meanwhile the Irish province make 14 changes from the side that was defeated by Edinburgh last weekend.
Prop Stephen Archer is the only player to retain his place.
Last weekend Sarries trio Farrell, Billy Vunipola and Maro Itoje made their first appearances since returning from the World Cup in Japan for their side's 25-12 win over Bath.
However Itoje is the only member of England's starting World Cup final side to be named in Sarries' side for their trip to Limerick, with the forward moving to lock having operated at flanker last weekend.
Manu Vunipola and Ben Spencer form the half-back partnership with Brad Barritt captaining the side on his 250th appearance.
Last season's European champions currently sit bottom of the English Premiership on -18 points following their 35 point deduction.
A heavy defeat by Clermont in their Champions Cup opener means that another loss would likely signal an end to their hopes of reaching the knockout stage of this season's competition.
Munster fell to their first home defeat in nearly two years last weekend when head coach Johann van Graan fielded a largely inexperienced outfit against Edinburgh.
Unsurprisingly van Graan reverts back to his strongest available side, with Archer keeping his spot at tight-head prop as John Ryan is named among the replacements.
Tadhg Beirne is named at flanker as opposed to the second row, where he has operated for the majority of his time at the province.
Munster: Haley; Conway, Farrell, R Scannell, Earls; Hanrahan, Murray; Cronin, N Scannell, S Archer; Kleyn, Holland; Beirne, O'Mahony, Stander.
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