Sport

NIK SIMON: Dylan Hartley will not be stripped of the England captaincy after escaping with a six-week ban that leaves him free to play in the RBS Six Nations opener against France.

The former England international was ready to talk to BBC Radio Manchester listeners during City's clash with Watford until bosses took him off duty at 11am on Wednesday night.

Eric Bailly has had an injury-hit time since joining United in the summer for a fee of £30million. The 22-year-old only made his return to action from an injury against Tottenham Hotspur.

MATT LAWTON: Cardiff City are pursuing a High Court claim for almost £10million in damages against Malky Mackay, Iain Moody and three of the most powerful agents in the game.

MAN CITY 2-0 WATFORD - CHRIS WHEELER AT THE ETIHAD STADIUM: Pablo Zabaleta scored his first Manchester City goal in two years as Pep Guardiola's side eased past Watford.

WEST HAM 1-0 BURNLEY - SAM CUNNINGHAM AT THE LONDON STADIUM: West Ham sealed their first win in the Premier League since October 22 after Mark Noble scored off the rebound of his missed penalty in the first half.

STOKE 0-0 SOUTHAMPTON - MIKE KEEGAN AT THE BET365 STADIUM: Stoke and Southampton showed exactly why there was just one point splitting them prior to the game.

Jose Mourinho's team overcame Crystal Palace 2-1 after goals from Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with an equaliser from James McArthur sandwiched in between the two goals.

Manchester United turned up for their league clash with Crystal Palace on Wednesday night only an hour before kick-off, the third time they have arrived late for a London game in eight months.

Everton are in talks with United over a possible £24million move for Morgan Schneiderlin after Jose Mourinho said he would not stand in the way of the French midfielder moving in January.

CHARLES SALE - SPORTS AGENDA: The formidable Morris is in conflict with the Football League after being denied access to the details of TV deals he claims could be a lot better.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1-1 PRESTON - JANINE SELF AT THE CITY GROUND: The Americans are coming and the word is that Forest coach Philippe Montanier is safe ‘for now’. It has been one step forward, two back.

QPR 0-1 DERBY - ADAM SHERGOLD AT LOFTUS ROAD: Tom Ince’s sixth goal in six matches was enough to return the Rams to the Championship play-off places. It was a sickening blow for Ian Holloway and Rangers.

KIERAN GILL AT WHITE HART LANE: At several points in this tie, it seemed as if Tottenham Hotspur's supporters were aiming their songs at Paris Saint-Germain, telling them to stay away.

Gianfranco Zola has been appointed as the next manager of Birmingham City. Zola joins on a two-and-a-half year deal just hours after Gary Rowett was sacked by the Championship club.

JEFF POWELL: If Anthony Joshua loses his stratospheric world title fight in front of a 90,000 crowd at Wembley Stadium he will have not only himself but his heavyweight compatriot Tyson Fury to blame.

The Argentine is training again with his boyhood club Estudiantes after promising to return for the 2017 Copa Libertadores if fans bought 65 per cent of boxes at the club's new stadium.

Sportsmail understands that the Anfield side had been targeted by Chinese investors with state backing. China Everbright are keen to do business with Fenway Sports Group for the £800m-valued club.

You may not know much about Shanghai SIPG, but the chances are when Oscar joins them from Chelsea this summer their squad will be worth more than the team you support.

Cristiano Ronaldo believes he would have won more Ballon d'Or than Lionel Messi if they played on the same side. The Real Madrid star was named the player of the year for the fourth time.

KIERAN GILL: It’s safe to say some supporters weren’t impressed by Arsenal’s best-paid player after the 2-1 loss at Everton, and they queued up to criticise.

Lawyers for Jess Varnish have written to British Cycling demanding the release of all emails and text messages which refer to her during the 13 years she spent on their programmes.

EXCLUSIVE: Scotland's reigning PDC World Champion Gary Anderson has an answer to that age-old debate in darts, the one about whether it is a sport or not.

Everton defender Ashley Williams admits the players had to do a lot of soul-searching as they looked for a solution to their slump in form.

Julian Draxler finds himself at the centre of a media storm after his efforts to leave Wolfsburg in January. But will the £30m-rated star find a new club that is big enough for him?

Chelsea are set to pursue their interest in Hoffenheim defender Niklas Sule when the transfer market opens next month. The Blues had a bid rejected for the German youngster back in August.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN CHENNAI: Ben Stokes has called for consistency from the ICC officials, reflecting a feeling in the England dressing-room that India's players have been given more leeway.

CHARLES SALE: The difficulty of keeping 20 Premier League clubs united behind a collective TV agreement, despite the £8.3bn value of the current deal, became apparent at the last summit.

The Rugby Football Union has announced games against Argentina on November 11, Australia seven days later, and then Samoa on November 25.

The club are optimistic of keeping star midfielder Ozil, who recently bought a house in London. They expect to tie the German midfielder to a five-year contract worth £200,000 a week.

Ajax 15-year-old Daishawn Redan has arrived at Manchester United's training ground today ahead of his proposed move.

Paco Alcacer got a chance to impress in Tuesday's friendly clash with Qatari club Al Ahli in Doha, though, and he took it as he nodded in a header at the near post during a 5-3 victory.

The Royals' playing style has been likened to that of Catalan giants 'Barcelona' since Stam took over in the summer and now they have outdone the Spanish club. But not in the way they might have liked.

SHEFF WED 2-0 BARNSLEY: Sheffield Wednesday rode their luck to take the spoils in this South Yorkshire derby against 10-man Barnsley. The Owls took the lead through an own goal.

BURTON ALBION 0-1 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN: Nahki Wells emerged as Huddersfield’s match-winner for the second time in three days to give the Terriers' promotion challenge momentum.

White, 54, continued his encouraging recent form with a 4-0 victory over Ryan Day, while O'Sullivan defeated Polish amateur Adam Stefanow 4-1.

EXCLUSIVE - SAM PETERS and NIK SIMON: Richard Cockerill's future as Leicester director of rugby is 'hanging by a thread' after his side's 38-0 European Champions Cup defeat by Munster.

The 27-year-old, who burst onto the scene at this year's Open Championship, has accepted an unusual triathlon after the challenge was laid down by a fellow tour pro.