Wales have been dealt a major injury blow with the 2019 World Cup's top try scorer Josh Adams being ruled out of the Six Nations by an ankle injury.

Adams suffered the problem in Wales' 27-23 defeat against France.

The Cardiff Blues wing, 24, is due to have surgery this week and could be sidelined for three months.

Wales have injury concerns on the wing with George North forced off with a head injury against France after a heavy challenge by Gael Fickou.

North is undergoing concussion return-to-play protocols.

Teenager Louis Rees-Zammit, Hallam Amos, Johnny McNicholl, Jonah Holmes and Liam Williams are the remaining wing options in the squad.

Centre Nick Tompkins finished the France defeat on the wing after switching from midfield.

McNicholl made his first start in the win against Italy followed by replacement appearances in the defeats against Ireland and France.

Gloucester's Rees-Zammit, 19, is yet to make a first Wales appearance while Amos was a late inclusion in the squad after replacing the injured Owen Lane.

Liam Williams is now available to play for Scarlets following his early release from Saracens, but has not played since injuring his ankle in training at the World Cup in Japan in October 2019.

He could be asked to prove his fitness for Scarlets in their Pro14 match against Munster in Limerick on 29 February.

Adams' absence is a major blow for Wayne Pivac as the wing has scored 14 tries in 23 Tests and crossed for seven tries in the World Cup in Japan last year.

Wales travel to face England at Twickenham on 7 March before hosting Scotland seven days later.

For the latest Welsh rugby union news follow @BBCScrumV on Twitter.

INDIANAPOLIS — A familiar look will appear on the No. 36 McLaren of Jarett Andretti this season as MI Windows and Doors extends their partnership with Andretti Autosport’s Pirelli GT4 Americas team.

The long-time partner of the third-generation driver will appear as the co-primary sponsor for the SprintX races in 2020 along with providing associate-level sponsorship for the Pirelli GT4 Sprint races.

MI Windows and Doors, based in Pennsylvania, manufactures their windows and doors in plants located across the United States. One of the Nation’s largest suppliers of high-quality vinyl and aluminum windows and patio doors for remodeling, replacement and new construction projects, MI Windows and Doors is a direct supplier to team partner and co-primary sponsor, Window World.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with Jarett Andretti and the Andretti Autosport team in 2020,” said Matt DeSoto, CEO, MI Windows and Doors.  “They have built a winning team, and we see it as a fantastic opportunity to continue building brand awareness and to broaden our relationship with Window World.  The Andretti brand exemplifies excellence and we strive for excellence in all of the products and services we offer as well as within our business partner relationships.  We are proud to continue our support of Jarett in his career as he exemplifies these same values of excellence.”

In 2019, Andretti wore the MI Windows and Doors branding when he claimed victory at both races of the doubleheader weekend season finale in Las Vegas.

“It was great to have MI Windows and Doors jump on board last year for the first time with us and it was great to have another member of the Window World Family involved in our program,” Andretti said. “With MI’s recent expansion we are looking forward to working alongside them for 2020.”

SOUTHLAKE, Texas – Last year’s three VROC series champions Willy T. Ribbs, Davy Jones and Wally Dallenbach are the first entries in Sportscar Vintage Racing Ass’n’s popular Vintage Race of Champions Charity Pro-Am at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on March 27-28.

The VROC series has expanded this year to four weekends, with Circuit of the Americas joining Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Virginia Int’l Raceway as host tracks. The Road Atlanta round kicks off the season.

“Our 2019 VROC series was an absolute success,” said SVRA President and CEO Tony Parella. “The competition was so intense that it produced a tie for Davy Jones and Wally Dallenbach in the BP class. We had two tiebreakers in place if the point standings were knotted up, but they came out even on those as well. Willy is our AP champ, and I’m happy for him that he finally got a great win at Indy.”

Ribbs’ life and career story has been captured in the film, “Uppity,” by Adam Carolla, who, with Nate Adams, has had tremendous success producing racing documentaries at Chassy Media. Uppity has proven tremendously popular, trending on Netflix. Ribbs is the first black driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. He did so twice, in 1991 and again in 1993.

He also tested for a Formula One seat, in 1986 with Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham team. He was Trans-Am’s most prolific winner from 1983 through 1985 when he scored 18 of his 19 victories. He was series rookie-of-the-year in 1983, winning five times and more than any other driver. After Trans-Am, he moved to Dan Gurney’s IMSA Toyota team for two years and picked up 10 race wins. Ribbs gained recognition as a rising talent when he won the Formula Ford championship in England in 1977. He was inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Dallenbach launched his professional racing career in the Trans-Am series in 1984. He was immediately successful, winning the Rookie-of-the-Year title. The following year he won the championship for Jack Roush’s Mercury Capri to make him, at 22, the series’ youngest champion. He repeated as champion again in 1986 for the Protofab Camaro team. These championships earned him an invitation to the elite IROC invitational series in 1987.

Other outstanding accomplishments include four class wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Dallenbach began an 11-year NASCAR Cup career in 1991; scoring 23 top-10 finishes – two coming in the Daytona 500 – in 226 races. In addition to the NASCAR Cup Series and Trans-Am, the versatile Dallenbach has competed in NASCAR Truck, Xfinity, IndyCar, IMSA Camel GT, and earned a win in the open wheel division at the Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb. He extended his career by becoming a motorsports commentator for TNT and NBC. Dallenbach has also served as a chief steward with the Trans-Am Series.

Chicago-born Jones first gained notice when he placed third in the 1983 British Formula Three championship behind Ayrton Senna. Bernie Ecclestone tested him for a Brabham Formula One seat the same year. Jones later competed in the New Zealand Formula Atlantic series, winning that country’s grand prix in 1984 and ’87. In 1986 he scored BMW McLaren’s only IMSA GTP victory at Watkins Glen.

A top-tier sports car driver, he brought home the overall win in both the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1990 24 Hours of Daytona. His return to Road Atlanta comes with terrific memories as in 1992 he dominated the IMSA GTP race from pole in his Jaguar XJR-14. His blistering pole speed remains a track record as the course has been modified since his winning performance. In an Indy car career spanning nine seasons, including six Indianapolis 500s, his best finish came at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in 1996 when he was second. He placed seventh there in 1989.

The Road Atlanta Charity Pro-Am will support Hope For The Warriors, a national nonprofit organization that provides assistance to combat-wounded service members, their families, and families of those killed in action.

The VROC Charity Pro-Am cars are primarily 1963 to 1972 vintage Corvettes, Camaros, and Mustangs of SVRA Group 6 A and B Production.  The professionals will be paired with amateur drivers. Amateurs will start the race and be required to drive a maximum of seven laps.

In addition to the Pro-Am, the Speed Tour Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta weekend is a festival of other activities, including professional Trans Am by Pirelli series races on Saturday and Sunday. The weekend also presents the Hagerty Insurance cars and caffeine car corral, and more than 300 vintage racers ranging more than 100 years of automotive history racing in SVRA Groups 1 through 12.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has said he "doesn't worry about or fear" facing Manchester City and Pep Guardiola in the club's Champions League clash.

Zidane and Guardiola will go head-to-head for the first time in a competitive match on Wednesday night in their Champions League round-of-16 first leg match at the Bernabeu.

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"It's just Madrid-Manchester City, it's not Zidane-Guardiola," the French coach said at his prematch news conference on Tuesday.

"People can talk, and have opinions, but it's a game of football, it's an attractive game. These are the games we want to play."

Zidane, who has never lost a Champions League knockout tie as coach, winning the competition three years running in 2016, 2017 and 2018, went to visit Guardiola in 2015 to study his methods when the Catalan coach was in charge of Bayern Munich.

"We're inspired by what he's done. That motivates us more," Zidane said. "We don't worry about it and we don't fear playing Guardiola and his teams. I was with him for a few days when he was at Bayern, talking about training and how he manages a team. He was very honest."

Real Madrid go into the Manchester City game having lost their place at the top of La Liga, losing 1-0 at Levante on Saturday to drop two points behind Barcelona ahead of El Clasico this weekend.

The Levante game also saw Eden Hazard, signed for €100 million from Chelsea last summer, suffer a fracture in his right fibula. The Belgium international was making just his second start after almost three months out with a micro-fracture in his ankle.

Hazard is expected to miss at least another two months, and there has been some criticism of Madrid's decision to choose a more conservative course of treatment for the initial injury, rather than opting for surgery.

"It's not for me to say if he should have had an operation or not," Zidane said.

"There are very qualified people who know about that. Eden is annoyed, he's not happy, he wanted to return and give what we know he can give, he hasn't been able to because he played two games and got injured again. It's a difficult moment for him for sure."

The Manchester City game is Real Madrid's first at the Bernabeu since a 2-2 draw with struggling La Liga side Celta Vigo earlier this month.

"The fans come to see you win and they're used to seeing Real Madrid win at home," captain Sergio Ramos said.

"When there's an uncomfortable game, maybe that unease is passed on to the players. We feel a debt to the fans, we want to send them home happy. Pressure is wearing this badge. It's what being a Real Madrid player is all about.

"Football is about results. This is the moment of truth, in the Champions League and El Clasico we have an ideal opportunity. We have to keep working and the results will come with that mentality."

On Saturday came a respite of sorts for Barcelona. After a month that included a spat between star Lionel Messi and the club's sporting director and a strange and awkward social media scandal, not to mention a loss to Valencia that gave the league lead to Real Madrid, the Blaugrana enjoyed an easy 5-0 romp over relegation-challenged Eibar.

Well, sort of. Eibar took the early initiative, nearly scored in the opening minutes (it was negated by an offside call) and frustrated the Barca attack. But before malaise could set in, Messi happened.

Twenty minutes later, after another bout of shakiness, Messi scored twice more -- first in another act of individual brilliance and then again, after a brief and unsuccessful act of benevolence. After a turnover deep in Eibar's end, he centered for Antoine Griezmann, who miscontrolled the ball so clumsily that a defender accidentally knocked it back to Messi, who said "fine then" and completed his first-half hat trick. Messi added a fourth in the second half, then Arthur a fifth, and Barca cruised to a win that, combined with Levante's upset of Real Madrid on Saturday evening, put them back in first place in La Liga.

Long minutes of unease interrupted reliably by moments of incomparable brilliance. It's been the Barcelona way for a while now. And after a particularly turbulent time both on and off the pitch, Barca lead their league and are again one of the betting favorites to win the Champions League. It's incredible, not least because Messi himself said last week that his team "are not at the level to fight" for Europe's top prize.

This definitely hasn't been Barca's finest season, though

The table on the right shows that Barcelona's style of play hasn't changed much through the years. This team hogs the ball like few others and generally scores in one of three ways: Messi doing something amazing, set pieces (potentially involving Messi doing something amazing), or the proverbial "pass the ball into the net" long possession. They attempt fewer crosses than anyone else in the league, they take the second-fewest headers as shots and they attempt the fewest aerials.

They might be one-dimensional, but it's a pretty good dimension.

Still, with four losses and four draws in 25 league matches, they're averaging just 2.2 points per match. That's on pace for 83-84 points overall, which would be their lowest total since 2007-08, their last season before Pep Guardiola took over as manager. It's also noteworthy that a team also hasn't won La Liga with less than 87 points since that same year -- neither Barca nor Real Madrid have hit on all cylinders this go-round.

So what's gone wrong? It starts with defense

Barca are allowing 1.16 goals per match. That's not horrible, but it's only seventh-best in the league this season. It's also a 44-goal pace for the entire campaign: they haven't allowed that many since giving up 47 in 2002-03.

In terms of expected goals, Barca's defense started showing some serious cracks a couple of years ago: their xG total allowed per match oscillated between 0.85 and 1.03 each season from 2010-11 to 2016-17, but it's been 1.15 or higher every year since. And this year has seen some very poor spells: eight goals allowed in an early four-match span, a 3-1 loss to Levante, and six goals over four recent matches.

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The team's overall save percentage is 65.9%, Barca's worst in seven years, but while that number can be pretty random at times, Barca's overall defensive actions are almost universally down: Compared to the last 10 seasons, their 8.9 interceptions per 90 minutes are by far their lowest total, and their 49.4 ball recoveries and 14.4 tackles are second-lowest. Barca's best defense has always been a ball-control offense, but the team has typically posted better numbers than this.

They also aren't creating quite as many dangerous touches

At their most dangerous, Barca were able to play keep-away for days but also move on to Plan B or C when necessary. They were adept at long passes when the short passing game wasn't getting it done, and they were at times a devastating crossing team with Messi, Neymar and an in-his-prime Luis Suarez up front.

Now they make it a bit easier on you. Even if you can't stop the short passing game, you can at least prepare for it. As the table shows, while Barca are enjoying as much possession as ever, they aren't necessarily doing a ton with it. Of course, they don't have Neymar anymore, while Suarez is past his prime and even out injured with a torn meniscus. This underscores the current state of Barca's roster: it got old quick, and it hasn't yet cycled through to a new generation.

Compare the 2019-20 Barcelona squad to the 2014-15 iteration, the last Barca team to win the Champions League. The 2014-15 squad not only featured Messi, Suarez and Neymar. Sergio Busquets was 26 years old and entering his prime, as were fellow midfielder Ivan Rakitic (26), forward Pedro (27), and defenders Gerard Pique (28) and Jordi Alba (25). Plus, legendary midfielders Xavi (35) and Andres Iniesta (30) and defenders Dani Alves (31), Javier Mascherano (30) and Jeremy Mathieu (31) all had something left in the tank. Since then, Neymar left for another super club (Paris Saint-Germain), and Xavi, Iniesta, Alves, Pedro, Mascherano and Mathieu all either retired or moved on to smaller clubs/leagues. Meanwhile, Messi, Busquets, Pique, Alba, Suarez, and Rakitic all passed 30. Messi even grew a 32-year-old's dad beard, which... no judgment here.

Veteran additions like Griezmann (28) and midfielder Arturo Vidal (32) have been fine, and lord knows there's an ocean of younger talent finding its way -- forwards Ansu Fati (17) and Ousmane Dembele (22), midfielders Frenkie de Jong (22) and Arthur (23), defenders Junior Firpo (23) and Clement Lenglet (24), etc. But Barca are dealing with an issue that has at least temporarily dragged down just about every successful club at some point.

Cycling from one generation to another is hard.

Setien's solution: be even more Barca-like

It's impressive that Ernesto Valverde lasted as long as he did as Barca manager, while overseeing this transition period. He replaced Luis Enrique in the summer of 2017 and won two league titles and a Copa del Rey. But consecutive Champions League collapses -- to Roma in the quarterfinals in 2018 and, famously, to Liverpool in last year's semifinals -- made his job security tenuous, and he was finally sacked on Jan. 13. Former Real Betis manager Quique Setien took over from there.

Setien is as possession-hungry a manager as has existed outside of wherever Guardiola is living in a given year, and his influence has been in some ways predictable: Barca have become basically a concentrated version of themselves. They've gone from possessing the ball 64 percent of the time under Valverde to an almost unheard-of 73% with Setien and from 681 pass attempts to a ridiculous 790. Their tempo was already plodding and slow but it's become almost stand-still: they've gone from 87.2 possessions per match to 86 and from a direct speed of 1.3 to 0.9. (Direct speed is, as defined by Opta, the number of meters the ball travels upfield in a given sequence divided by the total time of the sequence. No one else in La Liga is below 1.4.)

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A lot of this shift has come in their own half: Barca have gone from averaging 271 passes in their defensive end to 361. Busquets and Barca's defensive personnel are taking on a lot of work playing keep-away: Busquets has gone from 87 passes per 90 minutes to 113 and from 67 passes received to 95, and the threesome of Piqué, Samuel Umtiti and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen have gone from averaging a combined 186 touches and 163 pass attempts per 90 to 257 and 228, respectively.

Is this fundamentally exciting? Not in the slightest! Worst yet, it could at some point make them vulnerable to a particularly effective pressing team (hello, Liverpool). But it should be noted that Eibar and Getafe rank second and third, respectively, in La Liga in possessions won in the attacking third, and Barcelona just outscored them by a combined 7-1.

This "keep-ball" style is helping to wear opponents down a bit, and some timely and effective pressing of their own doesn't hurt. They've gone from winning 4.5 possessions per match in the attacking third to 6.7, with Griezmann, Rakitic, de Jong and Fati all creating havoc in their opponents' half. The result: the ball is ending up at Messi's feet more frequently.

Under Setien, Messi is averaging 63.8 passes per 90 minutes (his highest rate since 2011-12), 7.5 shots (his most ever), 1.0 assists (he's never averaged more than 0.6 over an entire season), and 93 touches (his most since 2010-11). Are these rates sustainable? Possibly not. But nothing that's happening appears to be dramatically outside of anyone's skill set.

Now comes the real tests in Spain and in Europe

On Tuesday (after a coronavirus test, because it's always something), Barca will play at Napoli in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, then head to Madrid on Sunday to battle for first place in the league. From there, it's a visit from sixth-place Real Sociedad, a refresher against Mallorca and the return leg against Napoli. Setien's changes haven't been particularly thrilling, but we now find out whether they're as effective as they've been out of the gates.

FiveThirtyEight's club ratings think this key stretch will also be a happy one. It gives Barca an 83% chance of advancing past Napoli and an 11% chance of winning the entire tournament. (Napoli, by the way, probably aren't a team that can take advantage of Barca's theoretical vulnerability to pressing: they won only 3.3 possessions per match in the attacking third in Champions League group play.) Back in Spain, it gives the Blaugrana a 58% chance of winning La Liga.

Not bad for a down year that's seen Messi's scoring dropped, one manager change and a slew of big injuries, eh?

We're back, baby! After a long winter's hibernation, our MLS Power Rankings are fully awake and ready to shake off the rust. Major League Soccer's 25th season is nigh (stream games live on ESPN+) and it promises to be one of the most fascinating seasons in the league's existence.

The first edition of the Rankings in 2020 are based on several critically important criteria: Results from 2019 (25 percent), off-season acquisitions (25 percent) and gut instinct (50 percent). The gut knows.

Let's get into it -- and remember, the Rankings are never, ever wrong.

1. Seattle Sounders

Last season's ranking: 5

Next MLS match: March 1, vs. Chicago, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)

The champions open the season in the top spot ... because they're the champions. With a somewhat quiet off-season and a team full of veterans led by Nicolas Lodeiro, Raul Ruidiaz and Jordan Morris, the MLS Cup holders are somehow entering 2020 under the radar. That probably means we're being set up for another Sounders title. See you in November!

2. LAFC

Last season ranking: 1

Next MLS match: March 1, vs. Inter Miami, 5.30 p.m. ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)

Bob Bradley's boys stumbled badly in Leon in the CONCACAF Champions League, but led by reigning MVP Carlos Vela, they'll be favorites to win plenty this season no matter what happens in the second leg. If we have questions, they mostly relate to the decision to trade centre-back Walker Zimmerman on the eve of the season. Seems like an odd choice.

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3. Atlanta United

Last season ranking: 3

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, at Nashville SC, 8 p.m. ET

If you think you know how this season is going to go for the Five Stripes, you are either: clairvoyant (in which case you should be doing more important things) or delusional. After last year's wild ride and the off-season remaking of United, it seems equally likely that Atlanta will win a title and Frank de Boer will get axed by mid-season. Buckle up.

4. Toronto FC

Last season ranking: 4

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, at San Jose, 5.30 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Heading into 2020, Toronto FC looks exceedingly fragile. Greg Vanney's club is already without Michael Bradley for the first few months, and injuries are a constant threat to the attacking area of the field. That said, they have the talent and savvy to return to the top of the East if luck is on their side.

5. New York City FC

Last season ranking: 2

Next MLS match: March 1, at Columbus, 12.30 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Same cast, different director. Ronny Deila inherits one of the best shows going in MLS. Can he improve upon the excellent reviews earned by his predecessor? What will the reviews read? "It's Death for Deila as NYCFC Misses Playoffs"? Or "Deila Delights in Delivering MLS Cup"? We'll keep working on these.

6. LA Galaxy

Last season ranking: 14

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, at Houston, 3.30 p.m. ET

Is Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez equal to Zlatan Ibrahimovic? No, but that doesn't mean that the Galaxy's big move for the Mexican forward isn't exactly the right one for the club. Making splashy moves for famous players just feels right for L.A.'s original club, and even if Hernandez can't outdo Zlatan, there will be lots of attention on Carson.

7. New England Revolution

Last season ranking: 9

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, at Montreal, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+

The Bruce-a-lution of 2019 brought real optimism to Foxborough for the first time in years (for the soccer team, we mean), and expectations are high heading into 2020. Arena is excellent at getting his players to buy in and with Carles Gil, Gustavo Bou and newcomer Adam Buksa leading the attack, there's no reason to think the Revs won't be one of the toughest teams to play against this season.

8. Columbus Crew

Last season ranking: 16

Next MLS match: March 1, vs. NYCFC, 12.30 p.m. ET, ESPN+

No one in the league, outside of the two expansion clubs, can claim that last year's results are less relevant to this year's than the Crew. The 2019 season was purgatorial for Caleb Porter's team. Now there's a multimillion-dollar playmaker, Darlington Nagbe, and big expectations for the Black & Gold in 2020.

9. Philadelphia Union

Week 1 ranking: 6

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, at Dallas, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+

The Union took a big step forward in 2019 -- they won a playoff game. Can Jim Curtin's team make the giant leap into the upper echelon of MLS this season? Philadelphia's proverbial ceiling will need raising if a budget-minded team is going to challenge for silverware.

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10. D.C. United

Last season ranking: 8

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, vs. Colorado, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+

United pulled off a club-record transfer for Edison Flores, traded for Julian Gressel, locked up Bill Hamid and looked primed for a big season in 2020. Then Paul Arriola tore his ACL and now black clouds are rolling into the District. Ben Olsen has to pull his team out of that emotional nosedive and make sure they don't miss Wayne Rooney too much.

11. FC Dallas

Last season ranking: 12

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, vs. Philadelphia, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+

There's really no good reason why we haven't started calling FC Dallas "Kids Inc." at this point. Outside of the individual players' fortunes, the story will be the same in Frisco this season: Can a young, talented group of academy graduates led by Paxton Pomykal, Reggie Cannon and Jesus Ferreira lead FC Dallas to the playoffs?

12. Portland Timbers

Last season ranking: 11

Next MLS match: March 1, vs. Minnesota, 7.30 p.m. ET

Diego Valeri's acrimonious contract saga is a distant memory and Merritt Paulson put down some cash to secure a few new additions, including new DP Yimmi Chara. The Timbers are more talented, but there are still questions about how it all comes together.

13. Minnesota United

Last season ranking: 7

Next MLS match: March 1, at Portland, 7.30 p.m. ET

The problem with having a three-year plan is that it only lasts three years. Minnesota United proved the skeptics wrong by securing a playoff berth last year, but there is a new bar for Adrian Heath and the Loons going into Year 4. The defense is good, but these birds lack some teeth up top after losing attackers Darwin Quintero, Angelo Rodriguez and youngster Abu Danladi.

14. New York Red Bulls

Last season ranking: 15

Next MLS match: March 1, vs. Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Nobody is talking about the Red Bulls except Red Bulls fans (and most of what they're saying isn't complimentary.) Once a marquee club, New York is almost boring these days. While the rest of MLS is increasing spending, the Red Bulls stood pat and could be in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

15. Sporting Kansas City

Last season ranking: 22

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, at Vancouver, 10.30 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Midwesterners of the Kansas City region are known for hardy constitutions and the magical ability to slow-cook meat. The latter won't help Sporting much this season, but the former should. Conventional wisdom said all SKC needed was a goal-scoring centre-forward and they would contend. With Alan Pulido now in tow, we're about to find out if that's true.

16. Real Salt Lake

Last season ranking: 10

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, at Orlando, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+

If it weren't for FC Cincinnati, no team in MLS would be carrying more baggage into 2020 than RSL. Freddy Juarez did yeoman's work last year and also deserved a shot to see what he could do from the start of the season. It's not an ideal scenario in Utah, but neither is it a disaster. Jefferson Savarino is a big loss but with Damir Kreilach, Albert Rusnak and Corey Baird, staying put, this team will be in contention for a playoff spot.

17. Colorado Rapids

Last season ranking: 13

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, at DC United, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Robin Fraser is finally getting a deserved second chance as a head coach seven years after his dismissal from (doomed) Chivas USA. The Rapids aren't flashy or chock-full of homegrown talent, but there are few interesting players in the mix (Keegan Rosenberry, Jonathan Lewis, Younes Namli, etc.), and Colorado has every chance to be a surprise team this season.

18. Houston Dynamo

Last season ranking: 19

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, vs. LA Galaxy, 3.30 p.m. ET

An American soccer legend is on the scene in Houston. Tab Ramos' first head-coaching job at a club comes with a high degree of difficulty, but his arrival is renewing hope for a once-proud franchise. The Dynamo's big guns run, and with Colombian dynamo Darwin Quintero now in the fold, they are even more of a must-watch team from an attacking perspective.

19. Montreal Impact

Last season ranking: 23

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, vs. New England, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Best-of-their-generation players don't always make great coaches. Thierry Henry is trying to prove himself after a disastrous run at Monaco by taking on one of the trickier assignments in MLS. With Ignacio Piatti gone, the spotlight is squarely on the notoriously demanding Frenchman.

20. San Jose Earthquakes

Last season ranking: 21

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, vs. Toronto, 5.30 p.m. ET, ESPN+

The problem with trying to wield chaos as a weapon on the field is that it can easily slip from your grip and wreak havoc. Matias Almeyda's team lost control at the end of 2019 and paid for it. Now he'll try again, lining up almost the same team (with Chris Wondolowski in his final season), and it promises to be anything but boring.

21. Orlando City

Last season ranking: 20

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, vs. Real Salt Lake, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+

There's an adult in charge in Orlando. Oscar Pareja's arrival in Central Florida immediately changed the narrative around a club still looking for its first MLS Cup playoff berth. The man they call "Papi" knows how to win in MLS, and if he can find the goals they need from Dom Dwyer, Nani and Co., the Lions will be formidable this season.

22. Vancouver Whitecaps

Last season ranking: 18

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, vs. Sporting KC, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+

The Caps are going full Canadian in 2020 after signing Lucas Cavallini to score the goals. Canadian head coach Marc Dos Santos got a free pass in Year 1 in British Columbia, but there's real pressure to improve upon a last place finish.

23. Chicago Fire

Last season ranking: 27

Next MLS match: March 1, at Seattle, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN Deportes

You know how sometimes your computer starts running really slow and nothing you do seems to fix it, so you decide to take the nuclear option and format the hard drive? That's the Chicago Fire in 2020. How long will it take to install a new operating system?

24. SC Nashville

Last season ranking: N/A

Next MLS match: Feb. 29, vs. Atlanta, 8 p.m. ET.

SC Nashville fans are probably too busy learning the lyrics to the club's new anthem, "Never Give Up on You," to be too concerned about the makeup of the roster. Or is that just us?

25. Inter Miami FC

Last season ranking: N/A

Next MLS match: March 1, at LAFC, 5.30 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN Deportes

Inter Miami is hitting all the notes you'd expect a brand-new club based in one of the most glamorous cities in America to hit: splashy signings (Rodolfo Pizarro, Lewis Morgan, Wil Trapp) high expectations and David Beckham looking dashing. Of course, all of it is happening in Fort Lauderdale and not actually Miami.

26. FC Cincinnati

Last season ranking: 24

Next MLS match: March 1, at New York Red Bulls, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+

We don't have time to hit on all of the problems in Cincinnati-- coach Ron Jans' dismissal, Darren Mattocks' felony charges, etc. -- as the club's second season gets underway, so let's just say that things can only get better on the banks of the Ohio River. We think... although FCC has proven us wrong before.

England Lions 428 (Lawrence 125, Sibley 116) and 20 for 1 (Crawley 10*) beat Australia A 176 (Wildermuth 50*, Carse 3-50, Robinson 3-66) and 271 (Patterson 94*, Maddinson 52, Overton 4-67, Robinson 4-81) by nine wickets

Ollie Robinson and Craig Overton bowled England Lions to their maiden victory over Australia A, a nine-wicket win in their four-day match at the MCG.

Early rain threatened to derail the Lions' march to victory, with the hosts trailing England's first-innings total by 72 overnight with five wickets in hand. Kurtis Patterson and Jack Wildermuth resumed, moving their partnership to 67 before Wildermuth fell to Overton for 37.

Patterson batted through with the tail, adding 44 more to the total to ensure the Lions needed to bat again and finishing unbeaten on 94 when the final wicket fell - that of Mitchell Swepson for three - with the Lions needing 20 runs to win.

Robinson and Overton finished with four wickets apiece for the innings, giving Robinson seven for the match and Overton six.

The English side's chase wasn't straightforward. They lost first-innings centurion Dom Sibley to Jackson Bird in the third over for three, but Zak Crawley and Keaton Jennings sealed victory five overs later.

Lions Head Coach Richard Dawson was impressed by his side's competitiveness throughout every session. "Once we got ahead of the game and posted that first-innings total, we held the ascendancy," Dawson said. "We kept it really basic, breaking things down to keep it simple and the effort within the squad was high class.

"The fast bowlers were made to work really hard, having asked the Aussies to follow on, but they've put in the work on their fitness to be able to achieve that."

It is the first time an England Lions or England 'A' team has beaten Australia A either home or away, with four losses, two draws and an abandonment in the seven previous encounters between the two sides.

The Lions will look to finish their tour of Australia unbeaten, with their final four-day match against a New South Wales XI starting on March 2. With Sibley, Crawley, Jennings and Dom Bess departing to join the England team for a two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, the match in Wollongong will give several players in the squad the chance to gain match experience.

Big picture

Whatever the outcome in this, the sixth and final match of South Africa's T20I fortnight, you can be sure they will emerge battle-hardened for the experience of taking on two of the toughest white-ball opponents in the world, if not entirely the wiser as to their own direction of travel in the final countdown to October's T20 World Cup.

There is, after all, a series to be won in Cape Town on Wednesday - as indeed there was against England at Centurion last Sunday. But on this occasion, South Africa may be somewhat baffled to still be in contention, given the magnitude of their shellacking in Friday's first fixture against Australia at the Wanderers.

So they bounced back with commendable vigour after being bowled out for 89 in that opening match to lose by a record 107 runs, and in so doing brought the Aussies' own run of eight consecutive T20I wins to an abrupt halt. But much as had been the case in their win against England at East London, South Africa owed plenty to their visitors' untimely malfunction, as Australia squandered a requirement of 35 off 28 balls with eight wickets standing, and a Forecaster prediction of 91 percent, to lose by 12 runs.

Of course, that reading of the result underplays a fine display of death bowling from Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada, who had looked a touch rusty when his three overs were being carted for 45 at Johannesburg, but now seems to have settled back into a rhythm since his new-year down-time. And given that Ngidi was instrumental in England's failure to score seven runs from their final seven balls at Buffalo Park, it's clear that he's developing into a key pillar of the side that will travel to the World Cup.

But elsewhere there are still too many questions for South Africa. What happens when Quinton de Kock's hot run of form goes cold? (He had a rare failure at Wanderers and look how that turned out.) Does Dwaine Pretorius offer enough in either or both of his roles? Can Dale Steyn's hard-fought comeback really withstand the frustrating ravages of time? Do they have any idea how to accommodate Faf du Plessis in his post-captaincy era, let alone another potential comeback for AB de Villiers. Time is running out to find answers to all of the above, and more.

Australia, self-evidently, have few such concerns. With the injured Glenn Maxwell still to come, they've hit upon a ruthlessly balanced XI, spearheaded by a white-ball goat in Mitchell Starc and featuring an enviable balance of pace, spin and all-sorts options. And given the recent success of host nations in global events, October's T20 World Cup can't come quickly enough for them.

And yet … Australia lost the other day, by a pretty emphatic margin, and another systems failure on Wednesday could yet hand South Africa their first series win in four attempts this home season. Which just goes to show that, in this short and wild format, it's best not to take anything for granted. It can all still be alright on the night, on any given night.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)

South Africa WLLLW
Australia LWWWW

In the spotlight

In a team of mixed experience, particularly in the batting department, David Miller is a man who perhaps needs to be offering more to his side. He's had a passable time of late, with an important half-century in the ODI win against England, and a brisk 35 not out from 20 to post a daunting (though not ultimately matchwinning) 222 for 6 in the T20I at Centurion. But in his floating role in South Africa's middle order, he's made 13 from 15 balls against Australia so far in this series, a far cry from the dominance of which he's capable. At the age of 30, with a decade of experience to fall back on, and with twin T20I World Cups in the offing, this ought to be his time to shine.

As red-inkers go, David Warner's 67 at Port Elizabeth was a curious affair. When he reached his fifty from 38 balls in the 13th over, Australia were cruising, but from that moment on, his scoring seized up - just 16 more runs from his final 18 balls, as a succession of new batsmen came and went without making much of an impact. He presumably believed that Australia would win if he stayed to the bitter end - and his running between the wickets certainly helped to keep their partnerships ticking. But you suspect that he might be inclined to take a more direct course of action if faced with a similar situation in the decider.

Team news

Temba Bavuma will undergo another fitness test after missing the last match with a hamstring injury, while Heinrich Klassen is a similar doubt after injuring his hip before the Wanderers match. Dale Steyn, whose workload is being managed on his return to the team, is back in contention after sitting out at Port Elizabeth. Jon-Jon Smuts could return in the middle order to offer a second spin option.

South Africa: (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (capt, wk), 2 Temba Bavuma, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Jon-Jon Smuts, 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Lungi Ngidi

Despite their set-back in the last contest, Australia's T20I outfit is a well-oiled machine at present, and the likelihood is that the side that squandered their first shot at a series win will be backed to get it right this time.

Australia: (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Matt Wade, 5 Mitchell Marsh, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Kane Richardson

Pitch and conditions

It's looking set to be a scorcher at Newlands. It was 33 degrees on the eve of the match, with not a breath of wind. The pitch, according to assistant coach Enoch Nkwe, could be similar in character to the Port Elizabeth strip, where 158 for 4 proved sufficient. Keshav Maharaj claimed 4 for 24 on the same surface in a recent domestic 50-over game, so spin could be a factor.

Stats and trivia

• This time last year South Africa racked up a hefty 192 for 6 at Newlands, to win a thriller against Pakistan by six runs.

• Aaron Finch is 66 runs away from becoming the second Australian after David Warner to reach 2,000 T20I runs.

• Dale Steyn needs one more wicket to take 700 international wickets.

Quotes

"We always think about every game we play but we also understand that in this process it's important that we master the fundamentals and we get the right type of formula. It's a professional sport, we want to win but if it doesn't happen and we've played in the way we want to play, then it's a win. We've got a lot of new players and we have created a platform for them to try and find the right formula. It's ideal to win series but the big picture is more important."
Enoch Nkwe, South Africa's assistant coach, will be seeking the positives, no matter what the outcome may be

"We're definitely on track. If you look back 18 months or even further back than that, people were talking about us as not like a top-five-ranked team. It's very difficult with the schedule to play and put your best teams on the park all the time. Over the last 18 to 24 months, we have established a very strong squad and we've put our best teams on the park every time we've played. We don't rely on one or two players. We've got 11 match winners and that's the exciting thing."
David Warner feels Australia's World Cup plans are coming together very nicely