Man City defensive duo compared to Manchester United legends

Danielle Lloyd has called Rebekah Vardy a "rat" as seen in a chain of text messages amid the ongoing Wagatha Christie row.

Cheers erupt from the audience the moment she bursts into the opening lyrics of Someone Like You with a mezzo-soprano vocal range that also sounds hauntingly familiar.The hits keep coming – Easy On Me, Chasing Pavements, Rolling In The Deep and more – with most of the crowd on its feet demanding more by the end of her set.This may be Vegas but the star on stage is definitely not Adele and her audience is less than one-tenth the size of a full house at the 4,100-capacity Colosseum theatre in nearby Caesars Palace.We are actually a one-and-a-half mile stroll down the famous Vegas Strip at the Tropicana casino resort’s compact Legends in Concert Theatre, which holds a mere 356.Performing there six nights a week is 45-year-old New Yorker Janae Longo – an Adele impersonator who bears a striking resemblance to the Tottenham-born diva.Last week, Janae’s bosses at the Tropicana offered free entry, to any of her shows, to frustrated fans of the real Adele.Some had blown small fortunes flying to Sin City to hear their superstar kick-off her first Vegas residency, only for her to cancel the day before opening night on January 20.Scores have already taken advantage of the Tropicana deal.

Paola Diana, who successfully campaigned for a law in Italy that requires every company board to be at least 30 percent female, insisted women’s rights must not be eroded. Last week, Adele won the inaugural Artist Of The Year Brit award after female and male categories were eliminated.Taking to the stage, she said: “I understand why the name of this award has changed, but I really love being a woman and being a female artist.

straight to your inboxJohn Stones has revealed how he revamped every aspect of his game in a bid to resurrect his Manchester City career.And the England defender says that his exciting new partnership with Ruben Dias has been the other key factor in his spectacular return to form.Stones scored twice in the 4-0 win over Crystal Palace, but more importantly, the clean sheet made it one goal against that pair in their last ten games together.Talk of Stones and Dias being one of the great Premier League defensive partnerships is a little premature, but it is certainly promising.But Stones put part of his return from the City dead down to the impact the 23-year-old Portugal international has made – and partly to the way he has overhauled his own

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola praised his Manchester City defenders for toughening up and eradicating the errors that scuppered their Premier League title chances last season.The Blues moved into second in the table - their highest position of the campaign - with a 4-0 dismantling of Crystal Palace that leaves them two points behind neighbours United with a game in hand.Roy Hodgson declared afterwards that the team have all the qualities needed to win the Premier League, and while Guardiola won't countenance such talk himself he has been delighted with the tightening up that has enabled their improvement.

straight to your inboxJohn Stones has opened up about his Manchester City transformation - and revealed how Micah Richards helped him.Stones has come in from the cold to form a blossoming central defensive partnership with Ruben Dias in Pep Guardiola's side. The pair kept another clean sheet as City beat Crystal Palace 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday night.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has named a strong Manchester City side to face Crystal Palace, but Rodri has dropped to the bench.City can move up to third in the Premier League with a win, but Palace have taken four points from their last two league visits to the Etihad and will pose a threat this evening.Guardiola confirmed before the match that City's Covid-19 outbreak is clearing up, but Sergio Aguero is still unavailable as he is isolating after coming into contact with someone who tested positive. Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake are still injured, but Eric Garcia is back available.However, Garcia could not break up the in-form duo of John Stones and Ruben Dias, who started again in defence.

straight to your inboxManchester City will be hoping to continue their winning run in the Premier League this weekend, as they face Crystal Palace on Sunday.City have won their last four league games which has seen them move up into third, with Pep Guardiola's side also having a game in hand over both Liverpool and Manchester United at the top of the table.Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres are available once again for City this weekend, but Sergio Aguero, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake and Eric Garcia remain unavailable.Ruben Dias and John Stones are again expected to start Sunday, with the duo forming a formidable defensive partnership, with City now having conceded the fewest goals of any side in the Premier League this season.*Click here to

straight to your inboxManchester City will welcome Eric Garcia back into the squad ahead of Crystal Palace to give Pep Guardiola more options in defence. John Stones and Ruben Dias have emerged as an immovable partnership at centre-back with just one goal conceded in nine starts together, but they have also been required to play so often because of the absence of others in that position.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola may be refusing to look publicly beyond the next game but Manchester City are building a title challenge.A hard-fought 1-0 win over Brighton on Wednesday night was their fourth consecutive Premier League victory and lifted them into the top four for the first time this season; they sit a point behind Liverpool and four behind United but have a game in hand on the teams above them, who also play each other at the weekend.City's manager is insistent that the next game always takes full focus as he aims to get his team into the sort of winning rhythm that won them consecutive league titles in 2018 and 2019.And while the players are buying into that message, they are less cautious about speculating over the

straight to your inboxQuestions have been raised about Manchester City's winning goal against Brighton & Hove Albion.Phil Foden 's fine 44th-minute strike gave City a 1-0 victory over the Seagulls at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening. Raheem Sterling missed a late penalty but it did not prove costly in the end as Pep Guardiola's men saw the game out.

straight to your inboxJoao Cancelo is preferred to Kyle Walker for Manchester City vs Brighton, while Pep Guardiola has once again opted to play without a striker.City take on Brighton on the back of three impressive wins since New Year without a recognised striker, with Gabriel Jesus returning but on the wing at the weekend. Against Brighton, though, Jesus drops to the bench, with a front three seemingly of Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden.Ederson is back in goal as expected after three games out through isolation and then for the FA Cup.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola was able to rest some of Manchester City's key players against Birmingham, and his second half substitutions could indicate who is in line to start against Brighton on Wednesday.Raheem Sterling, Ilkay Gundogan and Oleks Zinchenko were rested completely, while Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne all played 45 minutes in City's straightforward FA Cup win at the weekend. Ederson, back from a period of isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, will reclaim his place in goal for the visit of Brighton, after three games between the sticks for Zack Steffen.

straight to your inboxManchester City didn't exactly stumble upon Ruben Dias this summer, but neither was he their top target to fill the centre back vacancy that had become a recurring problem for Pep Guardiola.There were other names in contention to be City's marquee signing of the summer, with Kalidou Koulibaly dominating much of the discussion, before an interest in Sevilla's Jules Kounde.For a variety of reasons, City ended up moving for Dias. Benfica's early exit from the Champions League might have helped smooth a deal, as did Nicolas Otamendi's move in the opposite direction.But given their time again this summer it's fair to say City would go straight to Dias, without a second glance at Koulibaly or Kounde.

straight to your inboxWhen Manchester City's renaissance over the past month is analysed there are many factors to consider, but perhaps the most important is a player who often goes under the radar outside of the Etihad, but is invaluable to his manager and teammates.In the story of a month that has reasserted City as favourites for the Premier League title and the best footballing team in the country, the continued brilliance of Kevin De Bruyne has taken headlines, while Ruben Dias and John Stones haven't just become the best centre back partnership in the Premier League, but the finest bromance as well.The contribution of Ilkay Gundogan cannot be underplayed, however.

Former Premier League midfielder Trevor Sinclair thinks the prospect of Lionel Messi joining Manchester City may be the reason behind the failed attempts to get Kevin de Bruyne to sign a new deal.

Manchester United duo Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were blamed for the defeat to Manchester City after 'costly' mistakes.

straight to your inboxHard work is the key to Manchester City's newest defensive partnership, John Stones says.Stones has struck up a surprising partnership with summer signing Ruben Dias, establishing himself as first choice in Pep Guardiola's defence ahead of Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake and Fernandinho. The pair were superb in City's Carabao Cup semi-final win at Manchester United on Wednesday, with Stones scoring the first goal in a 2-0 win and Dias earning the Man of the Match award.

Gary Lineker agreed with Gary Neville's verdict on John Stones after the Manchester City defender's resurgence continued against Manchester United.

straight to your inbox every day for freeOle Gunnar Solskjaer admitted Manchester United missed Edinson Cavani's 'havoc' in their Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City.Cavani served the second of his three-match suspension for an Instagram post deemed offensive in some contexts in the 2-0 loss that marked United's fourth successive semi-final defeat.John Stones pounced to put City ahead in the 50th minute but Solskjaer did not make a substitution until Mason Greenwood was introduced for Scott McTominay in the 75th minute.

Manchester United are targeting a striker in recent transfer windows, and that should continue following another semi-final defeat.The Red Devils were beaten by Manchester City in the last four of the League Cup following three semi defeats last season.Anthony Martial was the focal point in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s line-up at Old Trafford though got very little change from City defenders Ruben Dias and John Stones.The United boss was probably cursing Edinson Cavani’s three-match ban with very little sticking up top for the hosts.And while Cavani has impressed this season, Solskjaer should still target a new striker - one that can shine at United for years to come rather than months.At 33, Cavani’s best years are probably behind him and he