Gäste Forum » Thursday is promisingly dry between two

Mousa Dembele says he still believes Tottenham can win the Premier League title, even though their chances are slim. Dembele has been a regular starter for Tottenham this season, making 35 appearances and scoring four goals in all competitions.Tottenham suffered a major setback to their title chances last week after drawing 1-1 with West Brom, with Mauricio Pochettinos side now eight points behind league leaders Leicester City with just three games remaining. Leicesters draw with Manchester United on Sunday means Tottenham must win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday Night Football to keep the title race alive.We have to believe in it still, Demebele, speaking before Leicester had played, told Sky Sports. Its not going to be easy and were in a different scenario now than we were [before last Monday night] to be honest. Jan Vertonghen (left) and Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham look dejected after Mondays draw with West Brom Last week was very disappointing and in the end we need to win the three games we have left. We dont have it in our own hands so its a bit different.Despite last Mondays draw, Dembele believes Tottenham are more than capable of mounting another title push next season.Everybody can feel like were making this step [forward]. Were playing well as a team and we can only do better next year, he added. Were playing well as a team and we can only do better next year. Mousa Dembele Next year, the top teams will be stronger but I think we will be stronger as well. You can see the vibe, theres a positive future for us.We were very disappointed about the last game so its difficult to swallow.We just need to win these three games, its not going to be easy. Theyre good teams who are going to play well. Chelsea away is difficult but were positive, were playing well and I think we can win this game.Watch Tottenham take on Chelsea live on Monday Night Football from 7pm on Sky Sports 1 HD. Also See: Punch ban ends Allis season Vault: Chelsea 4-3 Tottenham 1994 Roberts: Alli now a target Soldado: Rivals helped Spurs Cheap NHL Jerseys . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Cheap NBA Jerseys . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. https://www.cheapnfljerseysjustwholesale.com/ . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Authentic NFL Jerseys . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Cheap NFL Jerseys . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Match factsAugust 18, 2016 Start time 1045 local (0945GMT)Big PictureThere is not much time for Pakistan to bask in their Oval victory. They have since hopped on a plane to Dublin as they switch into one-day mode with a two-match series against Ireland.The contrast between their rise in Test cricket and struggles in the one-day game has been stark: they sit ninth in the ODI rankings, outside of the automatic qualification places for the 2019 World Cup.Since the 2015 World Cup they have been captained by Azhar Ali who suffered a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh before two series wins over Zimbabwe - although they lost a match to them in Harare - and one against Sri Lanka. They took the lead against England last year before being comfortably beaten 3-1 and were overturned 2-0 in New Zealand in January.There are three players in this current squad who will have memories of the first meeting between these sides on that famous day in Jamaica: Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Umar Gul were part of the three-wicket defeat. Six years later, Hafeez and Malik were also involved in a tie in Dublin.But, like Pakistan, Ireland are struggling in the one-day rankings, currently adrift of Afghanistan and Zimbabwe at the bottom. Their crown of leading Associate has been challenged; they shared their recent series against Afghanistan 2-2. There is a concerning reliance on Ed Joyce at the top of the order - against Afghanistan he was almost 200 runs ahead of Irelands next highest scorer - and they need much more from the likes of Paul Stirling and captain William Porterfield.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)Ireland WLWLL Pakistan LLLLLIn the spotlightAzhar Ali regained his form in the final two Tests against England, making a fine century at Edgbaston, a solid 49 after being promoted to open the batting and then finishing the series with a six. Now he has to switch his focus back to trying to find a winning formula in one-day cricket. And he needs to score runs as well. After being appointed captain he enjoyed an early bounce with two centuries in first five games, but has now gone 11 innings without a fifty. His strike-rate, too, has come under scrutiny with the pressure it can put on the rest of the top order.Barry McCarthy, who plays county cricket for Durham, has enjoyed an impressive start to his Ireland career with 14 wickets in six ODIs. He helped cover for the abbsence of Boyd Rankin against Afghanistan and will be asked to do the same again after Rankin was ruled out of the rest of the season with injury.dddddddddddd He can be expected to share the new ball with Tim Murtagh.Teams newsRankin has been ruled out with a stress fracture of the tibia which removes one of Irelands senior pace bowlers. But they have not called in a replacement with Craig Young now available after an elbow injury. The batting will be boosted by the return of Niall OBrien.Ireland (probable) 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Ed Joyce, 3 Niall OBrien, 4 Gary Wilson, 5 Kevin OBrien, 6 Paul Stirling, 7 Stuart Poynter (wk), 8 Andy McBrine, 9 Tim Murtagh, 10 Barry McCarthy, 11 Peter Chase/Craig YoungPakistan may need to strike a balance between giving some of new arrivals, and those who have been sidelined during the Tests, some cricket and ensuring they do not take a half-hearted approach to these matches. Sharjeel Khan has been called up after a successful A-tour of England, while Umar Gul has the opportunity to show he can still deliver his pinpoint yorkers.Pakistan (from) Azhar Ali (capt), Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Mohammad Hafeez, Baber Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Umar Gul, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Mohammad NawazPitch and conditionsThe forecast for Thursday is promisingly dry between two days of significant rain. Of the surface, Ed Joyce said: Were expecting two good pitches here as they normally are at Malahide.Stats and triviaWilliam Porterfield and Kevin OBrien are currently jostling to be Irelands leading ODI run-scorer: Porterfield sits on 2591 and OBrien has 2561Sharjeel Khan made 253 runs in four innings during the recent tri-series involving England Lions and Sri Lanka AThe overall head-to-head for these sides is 4-1 to Pakistan with one tie.QuotesIn the last few years we havent played very good cricket in one-dayers. Our performances are not as consistent as in Test cricket, and we need to really improve our skills.Azhar Ali takes a realistic approachThese guys are definitely favourites but weve got a good one-day team and are hopeful of giving them a few good games. Theres a lot of guys in good form in England which bodes well for us.Ed Joyce has a more optimistic approach ' ' '