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West Brom are back in action tonight with a Championship clash against Huddersfield Town at The Hawthorns.

Having picked up their first league win in eight games with a 2-0 victory over Hull City at the weekend, the Baggies will head into tonight’s match with renewed confidence.

However, the Terriers are currently 13 points and 10 places above Albion in the league table, having scored 12 more goals as well, so it will be a tough match for Steve Bruce’s side.

In his latest press conference, the former Newcastle United boss revealed that midfielder Alex Mowatt is a doubt for this evening’s clash with a slight muscle issue, while Daryl Dike recently returned to training after suffering a hamstring injury shortly after joining the club in January.

With that in mind, here’s how we feel the Baggies could line up tonight.

Having appeared in most of West Brom’s league games this season and played his part in keeping a clean sheet last weekend, it would be a surprise to not see Sam Johnstone take his place in goal once more.

At the back, we predict that Bruce will stick with the same trio which started against the Tigers. with Matt Clarke, Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi lining up in front of Johnstone. We think that the Baggies boss will also stick with the same wing-backs of Conor Townsend on the left and Darnell Furlong on the right.

Moving into midfield, given the doubt surrounding Mowatt, we can see Jayson Molumby coming in to replace the 27-year-old, lining up alongside club captain Jake Livermore and Taylor Gardner-Hickman.

Up front, it seems likely that Karlan Grant will keep his place in the side after scoring both goals in the win against Hull. However, with Callum Robinson failing to have much of an impact in that game, this could persuade Bruce to make a big change and drop the 27-year-old.

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Grady Diangana, who has been praised for his “magnificent” performances for the club in the past, could duly get the chance to prove himself rather than the manager taking the risk of putting Dike in so quickly.

In other news: Bruce can finally axe “stupid” £16k-p/w WBA dud with “fantastic” £11.7m-rated “talent”

After six trial matches, the Jamaica selectors have finalised a provisional 20-member squad for the Stanford 20/20 tournament, though without a few West Indies players.Chris Gayle, Brenton Parchment, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell and Marlon Samuels are scheduled to leave with the senior team for Zimbabwe later this week. West Indies are due to play their last game on the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa on February 3, three days before Jamaica’s opening match against Bahamas.The Jamaica Cricket Association, in their press release, indicated that changes could be made to the final squad, if the West Indies players returned home on time. Only 15 players will make the trip to Antigua for the tournament.Squad: Nikita Miller, Odean Brown, Wavell Hinds, Jermaine Lawson, Tamar Lambert, Andre Russell, Xavier Marshall, David Bernard Jr., Brendan Nash, Krishmar Santokie, Shawn Findlay, Carlton Baugh, Danza Hyatt, Keith Hibbert, Bevon Brown, Andre McCarthy, Damion Henry, Donovan Sinclair, Jowayne Robinson, Chadwick Walton

Brent Arnel rocked Auckland with 4 for 31 © Getty Images

Northern Districts were in a strong position after two days play against their neighbours as Auckland collapsed to 136 all out . Northern were 60 for 1, a lead of 230, with Hamish Marshall not out 17 and Bradley-John Watling 24. Earlier Brent Arnel played a leading role in ripping through a disappointing Auckland line up. Only captain Richard Jones (50) passed 20, although Rob Nicol was typically stonewall-ish, scoring his unbeaten 12 off 49 deliveries. Arnel took 4 for 31 off 12 overs.Michael Papps and Craig McMillan would be regretting the fact New Zealand’s test season is only two matches long after both posted centuries on day two of this match. Replying to Central Districts’ disappointing 264, Canterbury were in a strong position after Papps (121) and McMillan (117) laid the foundation for a massive total. Greg Hegglun with 3 for 68 was the best of the Central bowlers.Wellington’s stunning collapse was matched only by their equally dramatic fightback against Otago. At one point Wellington were 21 for 7 in their first innings. A late revival still took them some way short of respectability. Otago, despite having the benefit of time, decided to re-insert the visitors, a move they could live to regret. Matthew Bell (103 not out) notched his second century in as many matches, while Michael Parlane will start tomorrow on 85 not out. Bradley Scott with 4 for 13 off 10 overs was the main destroyer.

Stephen Fleming has observed Daniel Vettori’s captaincy and believes it is important for New Zealand’s future © Getty Images

Stephen Fleming admits that it is healthy for him to be aware of Daniel Vettori, New Zealand’s recent stand-in captain, and his obvious capabilities at the helm of affairs.Vettori replaced an injured Fleming as captain for the recent Chappell-Hadlee Trophy against Australia, and led New Zealand in the first two matches against Sri Lanka this past week while Fleming was on paternity leave. He proved a more-than-capable replacement in these five matches, and eyebrows have been raised as to Fleming’s durability after an eight-year period in office.Maintaining that it was in New Zealand’s interest to have such talented leadership options available ahead of the World Cup in 2007, Fleming said he was keen to prove that he has much to offer. “It’s important to be pricked in the sense that a challenger like Dan will bring the best out of me,” Fleming said to the yesterday. “But I think we both captain the side in a similar way, simply because we’ve played so much of our cricket together. I don’t feel threatened, but I know that Dan’s development as a leader will be very important for New Zealand cricket’s future.”Returning to the captaincy for today’s match against Sri Lanka at Wellington, Fleming said that team-building and tactics remained his priorities. “We are looking at the development of the side,” he said. “That’s been one of the key themes since I’ve been away and now there’s an opportunity to tweak our tactics on the field, as a lot of people have been advocating. We don’t want to compromise our chances of winning, but we’ve got in our minds that this is a chance to continue the development of the team, and individuals within it.”Fleming also showed support for Chris Cairns who, despite picking up his 200th one-day international wicket at Christchurch, continued to prove one of New Zealand’s most expensive front-line bowlers recently. “He probably hasn’t bowled as well as he would have liked but I don’t think he’s far away from a three-for-30-type effort,” he said. “I’m not alarmed … I look forward to discussing that with him.”

The Twenty20 slogs started in England and will make their first international appearance at Auckland tomorrow© Getty Images

Australia’s current side is the country’s best-prepared unit, but Ricky Ponting’s planning for the first Twenty20 international against New Zealand tomorrow was a hasty affair. Rather than skimming airport novels or greyhound form guides, Ponting swotted rules and game plans on the flight to Auckland as Australia push for a trifecta of successful Test, one-day international and Twenty20 debuts.Ponting played one similar match for Somerset last year and the success of the game in England has guided third-generation cricket into the global arena. “I haven’t actually captained one yet, so I’m going to have to put my thinking cap on and work out what to do and work out what the field restrictions are,” Ponting said.On the flight Ponting would have learned bowlers are restricted to four overs, two close catchers are needed for the first six overs and new batsmen have 90 seconds between dismissals to reach the crease. No-balls in the 20-over innings are worth two runs and are further punished with a free hit from the next delivery.Ponting said the shorter game could help the 50-over format by producing even larger scores. “Everyone’s talking about the one-day game being a bit old and a bit boring,” he said. “The more Twenty20 cricket you play, your skills will get better and that will rub off in a 50-over game. If there are bigger scores being made in 50-over cricket then it will be attractive again.”Martin Crowe, who helped introduce third-generation cricket, believes a simple change to the fielding restrictions, which require a maximum of two players outside the inner circle for the first 15 overs, could bring the one-day game back to life. Crowe told NZPA the rule should be increased to 20 overs an innings, with the fielding captain choosing to apply them in four blocks of five overs. Under the plan there would be 10 overs of restrictions in each half of the innings.”That’s all one-day international cricket needs,” he said. “Everything else is fine. It’s just taking away the predictability of one-day cricket and bringing back that uncertainty, and giving it a bit more strategy and choice for the captain.” Crowe does not believe Twenty20 will threaten the mid-length game.Ponting does not expect players to pick up bad habits from the slog-fests and pointed to the 50-over game for examples. “If you have a look at what one-day cricket’s done for Test cricket, I think it’s been very positive,” he said. “Who would’ve thought you could score 400 runs in a day of Test cricket, going back even 10 years?”Australia won the first Test in 1877 at the MCG and the opening one-day international at the same ground in 1971, when an experimental match of 40 eight-ball overs was quickly scheduled as the third Australia v England Test was washed out.

Usman Afzaal has been released by Nottinghamshire at the end of a season in which he played only seven Championship matches. He had one year of his contract remaining.Two years ago Afzaal was playing for England, and at the start of this season was quoted as saying that he was “awesome, dangerous and ready for an England recall”. But his form dipped and in 13 Championship innings he scored 264 runs at 20.30 with only one fifty. He did, however, score 161 not out against India A, and had an extended run in the National League where he scored 338 runs at 28.16.Afzaal’s departure was widely predicted as part of a general clear-out by Nottinghamshire following their relegation from Division One. Guy Welton and Stephen Randall were released earlier in the month and seam bowler David Lucas was yesterday told that he could leave if he could find another county.It is also expected that Kevin Pietersen will join the exodus. Although he has a year remaining on his contract – which Nottinghamshire have said they “expect him to fulfill” – he is thought to be wanted by Somerset and Northamptonshire and has made no secret of his desire to move on.Notts fight to keep Pietersen

Sri Lankan sports minister Johnston Fernando has reappointed the recentlyresigned interim committee to run the affairs of the cricket board untilfurther notice.Ten days ago the newly appointed sports minister had called for theresignation of all non-elected sports administrations, including cricket,athletics, gymnastics and Wushu.Having put on record his preference for democratic sporting bodies andjustified his call for resignations by arguing that the interim members werepolitical appointees, Fernando seemed likely to appoint a new look interimbody for a specified time until fresh elections.But after a week of intense lobbying, no date for the Annual General Meetinghas been set, and no significant change in the committee’s composition wasmade.Vijaya Malalsekera will remain as chairman, whilst former fast bowlerAshantha de Mel is the only member to have not been reappointed from the oldsix-member committee.Two new members have been added: leading lawyer Nalin Ladduwahetti andformer Athletic Association president and leading businessman AriyaKannangara.The previous members Michael Tissera (vice-chairman), Kushil Gunasekera(secretary), Sidath Wettimuny (member) and Mani Jayasinghe (member) retaintheir earlier responsibilities.Peoples Alliance (PA) sports minister Laksmann Kiriella had appointed theinterim committee eight months ago following the dissolution of the cricketboard, then headed by businessman Thilanga Sumathipala.

Divan Van Wyk continued his top form in the Costcutter U15 World Challenge 2000 with a superb innings to put South Africa in the driving seat in their semi-final against West Indies at Hove.When the rain returned with seven overs of the innings still remaining, left-hander Van Wyk, who has been South Africa’s top scorer in the competition, had made a mature and unbeaten 77 featuring eight boundaries and a touch of class.Umpires took the players off with the score 191 for five after the 43rd over produced two wickets, including Vaughn Van Jaarsveld, another left-hander who put on 105 with Van Wyk for the fourth wicket.Van Jaarsveld holed out to mid on while replacement batsman Peter Laing was leg before a couple of balls later, both wickets falling to West Indies skipper Tishan Maraj.With 7.1 overs left and the rain clouds still gathered above Eaton Road, the reserve day, put aside for tomorrow, could well be taken.Earlier, the rain delayed the start of play by more than an hour and South Africa, who qualified for the semi-final after finishing top of their group, decided to bat first despite the humid conditions.They struggled in the first ten overs of the innings to overcome the pace of the West Indies opening attack of Ravi Rampaul and Krishnar Santokie and in the sixth, Mpumelo Slwana, a 14 year-old from Port Elizabeth, was hit on the toe by a fiery Rampaul bowling down the hill.Physiotherapists attended to him for more than five minutes but the injury disrupted the young batsman’s concentration and he was bowled through the gate by Rampaul two balls later for eight, the first ball, which also bowled him, being ruled a no ball.South Africa were 11 for one and Graham Lewis from Kwazuku-Natal was settling in nicely when he was joined by Van Wyk. They scored quickly with both playing some fine shots both sides of the wicket as the West Indies bowlers lost their momentum.Lewis struck two consecutive square drives off Rampaul which finished up on he boundary and in 14 overs the 50 came up with both players laying the foundations for a decent 50 overs total.But two overs later, Lewis on 24 was run out in an exhibition of superb fielding by the West Indian side with a shy at the stumps from cover and South Africa had lost their second wicket for 70, the Lewis and Van Wyk partnership having put on 51.Van Wyk’s half century from 62 balls included seven boundaries and the youngster impressed with his composure and shot selection. His stand with Keagan Africa put on 12 runs before the aptly named Africa was run out for nine with the score 82 for three.

Crystal Palace face a difficult clash tonight at Selhurst Park with Premier League champions, Manchester City.

However, Patrick Vieira will be hoping that confidence is high in his squad following their most recent victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Eagles will have the extra boost of confidence playing in front of their home fans against Pep Guardiola’s side, and have already beaten the top of the table team this season at the Etihad, so there is nothing stopping Palace from causing a title race upset for the Manchester club who cannot afford to drop points.

A win for Vieira and his team this evening would put them in the position to leapfrog Southampton into the top half of the table, and the French manager will be working hard to climb the Premier League table to prove his worth in his first season in charge at the club.

Though, the Eagles have been delivered an injury blow as key midfielder, James McArthur, is still out injured with a knock ahead of the Manchester City clash. Football.London journalist Mark Wyatt relayed the update following Vieira’s press conference last Thursday afternoon.

The 34-year-old missed the 2-0 victory over Wolves and will now miss out on a chance to be part of the team tonight, and will be a big loss considering he played an integral part in the victory at the Etihad Stadium back in October.

McArthur gained a 7.2 rating against Manchester City according to SofaScore, and made a huge impact on the defensive approaches to the game with four clearances, two blocked shots, three tackles, and a pass accuracy of 92%, proving further that his presence in midfield could be a big miss for the Eagles this evening in the tough game.

The Palace manager will be hoping he will be able to rely on his other midfielders to provide a similar performance to secure their eighth win of the season and continue their run of good form ahead of the final months of the season.

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A win over Pep’s flawless side could inspire even more confidence in the team in their pursuit for a comfortable top-half finish.

In other news: Vieira should start Will Hughes vs Man City

Group A

Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) beat Multan by an innings and 34 runs at the Multan Cricket Stadium, and with 18 points from two appearances, they now occupy the second spot behind Habib Bank. Overnight at 71 for 6, Multan could manage only 208. Seamers Sarfraz Ahmed (3 for 29) and Azharullah with 3 for 80, were the most effective bowlers for WAPDA.Faisalabad gained an eight-wicket win over Pakistan Customs in Sargodha.Pakistan Customs had done well on Saturday afternoon, making 178 for 1 in their second innings. However, they collapsed losing their last nine wickets for the addition of only 73 runs. As they fell for 279, Faisalabad required just 42 to win. Opener Hasnain Abbas missed his maiden first-class ton by two runs. His 98 came off 182 balls with 12 fours and three sixes.After a 77-run opening stand with Rehan Rafiq (37), Hasnain added 129 for the second-wicket partnership with Asif Iqbal (55). Faisalabad’s 19-year-old seamer Mohammad Talha, who played for Pakistan in the Afro-Asia Under-19 Cup in India two years ago, had career-best figures of 5 for 57 in 22 overs.National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) defeated Lahore Ravi by seven wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Having earlier surrendered a 135 runs first-innings lead, Lahore Ravi made 289 in their second innings. They were lifted from a precarious 133 for 7 through a 101-run eighth-wicket stand between Saad Nasim and captain Junaid Zia.The 17-year-old Saad, who had scored 95 on his first-class debut against Karachi Whites recently, made a splendid 94 yesterday, off 125 balls with 16 fours. Junaid smashed 67 off 75 balls with 11 fours and a six. Chasing 155, NBP’s second-wicket stand then produced 115 between Rashid Riaz (63*) and Naumanullah (58) as they won by seven wickets.

Group B

Islamabad stayed ahead of all other teams in the Group B table, as they defeated Rawalpindi by six wickets, on the final day at the Diamond Cricket Club Ground in Islamabad. Rawalpindi fell for 203 in their second innings after being 190 for 8 overnight. Islamabad, who now have the full 27 points from three matches, reached the target of 144 thanks to opener Raheel Majeed’s unbeaten 67. Left-arm seamer Saad Altaf, with match figures of 10 for 118, has now taken 29 wickets for Islamabad at 14.86 apiece in three matches.At the Sheikhupura Stadium, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) beat Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) comfortably by eight wickets. For ZTBL, captain Abdul Razzaq top-scored with 51 off 65 balls his side’s total of 173. PIA coasted home, polishing off the target of 42.Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) added another feather to their cap as they defeated Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) by 53 runs at the KRL Stadium. Needing 240 to win, KRL were dismissed for 186. Seamer Asad Ali (5-51) rounded off a memorable match, finishing with figures of 10 for 108.