SAINTS UP FOR SALE AT £250M
Smith warns Villa to expect an angry response from Leicester with both clubs going for broke
DEAN SMITH has told his Aston Villa players to expect an almighty backlash from brassed-off Leicester.
The Villa boss says the Foxes will be hell-bent on revenge after his men dashed their Wembley dream in January.
No one fancied Villa to come out on top in their two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final – but they snatched it with a dramatic stoppage-time goal.
Now the teams go head to head in the league with the stakes still high for both of them.
Leicester need to turn around a disappointing run of results – one win in their last seven league matches – which is threatening what looked like a certain Champions League spot.
Villa have lost their last three league games but know that victory tonight would see them spring above Watford, West Ham and Bournemouth with a game in hand. Smith says the Foxes will be stinging because some of their players felt they under-estimated Villa.
Smith (below) said: “Somebody told me that Marc Albrighton had said that they probably took us a bit lightly.
“They felt that they were going to progress so we’ve certainly got to be ready for that backlash,” he said.
But the Villa boss is confident his men are prepared for the challenge of trying to haul themselves out of trouble.
He added: “The two sides know each other very well. They beat us 4-1 in the league and we went there and had to put up a good defensive display to come away with a 1-1 draw in the cup and then beat them at the death at Villa Park.
“On our day we can more than match them but they are third in the league for a reason. Brendan Rodgers has done a fantastic job.
“But we have a great belief in ourselves. We can beat any of the last 11 teams we’ve got to play.
“You only have to look at the results from last weekend to know all teams are beatable.”
Smith believes that, though his players lost 2-1 to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final, they gained a lot from the experience.
He added: “I can see a lot more belief in them. We had a top-class side like City hanging on at the end, slicing balls out for corners or throw-ins.
“We pushed them all the way. It’s not all doom and gloom for me. It’s in our hands. We can do something about it and the players know that.”
SOUTHAMPTON have been put up for sale by owner Gao Jisheng, with an asking price of £250million.
Chinese businessman Gao, who took over at St Mary’s just three years ago, wants to offload his full 80 per cent stake in the club.
And he has contacted brokers in the City asking them to find a buyer.
Gao (above) paid £210 million for his stake in 2017, but former owner Katharina Liebherr, who still has the remaining 20 per cent, is understood not to be selling up.
Since Gao’s takeover, Saints have been repeatedly threatened by relegation from the top flight, finishing 17th in 2018, and 16th last season.
Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat by Newcastle left them seven points clear of the relegation zone, but probably needing just one more win from their remaining nine games to escape the drop.
The club declared a
SHEBELIEVES CUP JAPAN (0) 0 ENGLAND (0)
White 84 PREMIER LEAGUE CHELSEA (2) 4 EVERTON (0) Mount 14, Pedro 21
Willian 51, Giroud 54
MAN UTD (1) 2 MAN CITY (0) Martial 30 Att: 73,288 McTominay 90
SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP DERBY (2) 3 BLACKBURN (0) 0 Sibley 26 Att: 26,590 Martin 41, 85 (pen)
SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP ROSS CNTY (0) 0 RANGERS (0)
Kent 77
BBL CHAMPIONSHIP Cheshire 99 Manchester 88, Glasgow 91 Worcester 86 (OT), Sheffield 67 Newcastle 66.
WOMEN’S T20 WORLD CUP Final, Melbourne, Australia 184-4 (20 overs; B L Mooney 78no, A J Healy 75). India 99 (19.1 overs; M Schutt 4-18). Australia won by 85 runs. TOUR MATCH, Katunayake England 316 (85.3 overs, Buttler 79, Root 78) & 39-1 (8 overs); Sri Lanka Cricket XI 245 (80 overs).
PARIS-NICE, Stage 1: 1 M Schachmann (Ger) 3h 32m 19s.
UK OPEN, Minehead, Final:
M van Gerwen (Ned) bt G Price (Wal) 11-9.
ELITE LEAGUE CHALLENGE CUP FINAL
Sheffield 4 Cardiff 3.
ELITE LEAGUE
Coventry 3 Dundee 2. 1 0 0 1
QATAR MASTERS, Doha, Final Round (Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71): 271 J Campillo (Spa) 66 66 67 72 (Won at fifth play-off hole), D Drysdale 67 69 64 71, 272 J Winther (Den) 66 69 65 72, K Samooja (Fin) 70 67 66 69, N Lemke (Swe) 68 69 70 65 £28.6m profit last March, but those figures were boosted by Virgil van Dijk’s £75m sale to Liverpool.
Results this year are not expected to be anywhere near as good, though the club only spent £35m on transfers last summer.
Under Gao’s short reign, Ralph Hasenhuttl (below) is the third manager to have held the post, after Mauricio Pellegrino and Mark Hughes.
Gao’s Lander Sports Development company reported a loss in 2018, leading the 67-year-old to sell a large chunk of his stake in the business to the Chinese government.
Yet the real estate tycoon insisted last year there were “no problems” with his financial situation.
Saints, who saw midfielder Moussa Djenepo sent off on Saturday, have lost four of their last five games in the league, and face a crucial game at fellow strugglers Norwich on Saturday.
BETFRED SUPER LEAGUE WIGAN 30 HULL K R 16 Wigan—T: Hastings (2), Farrell, Powell, Marshall. G: Hardaker (5). Hull K R—T: Ryan, Minikin, Brierley. G: Brierley (2).
BETFRED CHAMPIONSHIP Bradford 28 Sheffield 0, Featherstone 35 Swinton 24, Leigh 34 Halifax 20, Oldham 6 Dewsbury 24, Widnes 40 Whitehaven 16, York 12 London Broncos 18.
LEAGUE 1
Barrow 50 Coventry 6, Doncaster 50 West Wales 10, Hunslet 29 North Wales Crusaders 6, Newcastle 30 Workington 22, Rochdale 29 Keighley 14.
GUINNESS SIX NATIONS SCOTLAND 28 FRANCE 17 Scotland—T: Maitland (2), McInally. C: Hastings (2). P: Hastings (3). France—T: Penaud, Ollivon. C: Jalibert (2). P: Jalibert.
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP BRISTOL 28 HARLEQUINS 15 Bristol—T: Morahan (2), Vui. C: Sheedy (2). P: Sheedy (3). Harlequins—T: Morris, Ibitoye. Smith. P: Herron.
P W D L B F A Pts Exeter 13 9 0 4 9 390 230 45 Sale 13 8 0 5 8 334 190 40 Bristol 13 8 1 4 4 289 264 38 North’pton 13 7 0 6 7 303 311 35 Wasps 13 6 0 7 9 339 328 33 Bath 13 7 0 6 2 241 293 30 Harlequins 13 5 1 7 6 285 337 28 Lon Irish 13 5 1 7 6 255 350 28 Gloucester 13 4 0 9 10 268 282 26 Worcester 13 4 0 9 6 202 301 22 Leicester 13 4 1 8 2 207 302 20 Saracens 13 9 0 4 6 338 263 -63 *Saracens deducted 105 points
C:
WTA OPEN 6 SENS, Lyon, Final: S Kenin (USA) bt A Friedsam (Ger) 6-2 4-6 6-4.
Premier League
Leicester v Aston Villa (8) Vanarama National North Gloucester v Farsley Celtic (7.45)
Superleague: London Pulse v Celtic Dragons (7pm).