Costa: Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has overlooked striker Diego Costa and recalled midfielder Thiago Alcantara for the holders’ final two Euro 2016 Group C qualifiers against Luxembourg and Ukraine this month. Chelsea’s Costa is suspended for the match against Luxembourg in Logrono in a week’s time but would have been available for the game in Kiev three days later.

De Jong: Injured striker Luuk de Jong was among five players dropped as a beleaguered Netherlands named a 23-member squad for this month’s Euro 2016 qualifiers against Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic. De Jong, joint top scorer in the Dutch league this season, was injured last weekend. The Netherlands are in dire straits in fourth place in Group A, effectively needing to win both matches and, at the same time, hoping Turkey drop points if they are to stand any chance of finishing third.

Sheridan: Newport have appointed John Sheridan as their new manager following the departure of Terry Butcher. Sheridan, 51, unveiled as boss a day after Butcher left the club on Thursday, will take charge of this weekend’s game against Exeter. The former Oldham, Chesterfield and Plymouth boss is yet to confirm his backroom staff and will be assisted by Byron Anthony and Michael Flynn today.

Fiorentina: Serie A leaders Fiorentina will have a new official partner to design their kits after striking a deal with Italian menswear company Luigi Bianchi Mantova – LBM 1911. The deal, which will see the fashion company design Fiorentina’s kits for the next two seasons, was announced by the club with an official statement on their site and on Twitter yesterday.

Buckley: Leeds have completed the formalities of Will Buckley’s loan move from Sunderland. Buckley, 25, who has been training with Leeds this week, has finalised an emergency loan deal that will keep him at Elland Road until January 2 and could make his debut in the home game against Birmingham today.

The Championship: Rotherham vs Burnley 1-2.

BOV Division Two: Mġarr United vs Marsa 0-2.

In Gozo: Division One – Victoria Hotspurs vs Għajnsielem 0-6. Division Two – Xagħra United vs Nadur Youngsters 1-1.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.