Rooney Jr: Wayne Rooney has revealed he will have a special companion by his side when he takes to the field at Old Trafford today – his eldest son Kai. Last November Kai and his younger brother Klay were mascots when their father won his 100th England cap against Slovenia at Wembley. And the striker revealed in a post on Instagram yesterday evening that five-year-old Kai will accompany him on to the pitch for the Spurs game in Manchester this weekend.
Aston Villa: Young Aston Villa striker Rushian Hepburn-Murphy joined an elite band of 16-year-olds to play in the Premier League when he came on as a late substitute in the 4-0 win at Sunderland yesterday. Hepburn-Murphy, aged 16 years and 176 days, replaced Christian Benteke for the last seven minutes as he became the fourth youngest player in the history of the competition. The youngest player in the Premier League era is Matthew Briggs who played for Fulham against Middlesbrough in 2007, aged 16 years and 65 days.
Barca: Barcelona ensured they will be at least a point clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga when they host their arch rivals in next weekend’s ‘Clasico’ after Lionel Messi struck twice in a 2-0 win at Eibar yesterday. Barca leapfrogged stuttering Real, who host Levante today, into first place last weekend and produced another dominant performance inspired by the talismanic Messi to move on to 65 points with 11 games left.
Orlando win: MLS newcomers Orlando City picked up their first league win after a 74th minute own goal from Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Tyler Deric gave them a 1-0 victory at BBVA Compass stadium on Friday. Orlando, who drew their first league game at home to New York City FC last week, deserved the win but it came via a dreadful error from the 26-year-old keeper. His attempted clearance was blocked by Brazilian substitute Pedro Ribeiro and as the pair chased the loose, goal-bound ball, Deric punched it away from the striker’s head but only managed to force it into the net.
Ramos: Real Madrid have centre back Sergio Ramos back in the squad for today’s La Liga game at home to Levante. Ramos has not played since damaging a hamstring in early February and his return is another boost for Real after midfielder Luka Modric featured for the first time in four months in Tuesday’s 4-3 CLeague loss to Schalke.