Tv Rights: The English Premier League has sold its television rights in China to streaming service PPTV for around $700 million, a source familiar with the matter said, several times the size of past deals as it cashes in on a growing enthusiasm for soccer. The three-year deal with PPTV, part of retail group Suning, is one of the Premier League’s largest ever deals abroad and will kick in from the 2019/20 season.

Cattermole: Sunderland skipper Lee Cattermole will be out of action for four months after undergoing surgery in America to address a long-standing hip problem. The 28-year-old midfielder, who has made just three appearances to date this season, had a procedure to repair a torn cartilage in his hip on Monday and now faces a long haul back to fitness. The news came as a significant blow to Moyes, who has been without one of the club’s most consistent performers in recent seasons for much of his reign on Wearside.

Saints: Fraser Forster and Dusan Tadic have been passed fit to start for Southampton at home to Liverpool this afternoon after suffering injuries while on international duty. Tadic could yet require a protective mask to protect his nose injury, but of greater concern to manager Claude Puel will be the late fitness tests Ryan Bertrand, Cedric Soares, James Ward-Prowse and Shane Long are to undergo.

Ban Reduced: Rochdale striker Calvin Andrew has had his 12-game ban for violent conduct reduced to nine matches, the League One club have announced. The 29-year-old was initially handed one of the longest suspensions in English football history following a sickening elbow on Oldham defender Peter Clarke last month. The clash, which occurred on October 29, was missed by the referee before a FA independent regulatory commission delivered the 12-game ban.