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Aston Villa return to Europa Conference League action as they try to get their qualification hopes back on track against Bosnian champions Zrinjski Mostar. Playing European football for the first time in 13 years and having successfully negotiated Hibernian in the play-off round, Villa’s group stage started in disappointing fashion as they twice came from behind to equalise through Jhon Duran and Lucas Digne away to Legia Warsaw but eventually went down 3-2 in the Polish capital. That means victory over eight-time Bosnian title winners Zrinjski, who have climbed back to the top of the domestic game since Krunoslav Rendulic took over as manager last November, is a must and Unai Emery’s men are in good form since that defeat in Warsaw. They have beaten Chelsea and Brighton in the Premier League – the latter in a shock 6-1 thumping at the weekend – and will be heavy favourites to triumph on home turf, although Zrinjski are currently top of Group E after stunningly coming from 3-0 down at half-time to beat AZ Alkmaar 4-3 in their Europa Conference League opener. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the fixture; see all the latest Europa League odds and tips for tonight here. When is Aston Villa vs Zrinjski Mostar? The match kicks off at 8pm BST on Thursday 5 October at Villa Park in Aston, Birmingham. How can I watch it? Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on TNT Sports 2, with coverage on the channel from 7:45pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via discovery+, which is also available via Amazon Prime. If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help: get great deals on the best VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider. What is the team news? Villa were hit by the news that Boubacar Kamara, Moussa Diaby and Jacob Ramsey would all miss the match earlier this week, while Alex Moreno is out until after the international break and both Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia are long-term absentees. Leon Bailey should be back in contention after a thigh strain, however. Krunoslav Rendulic normally favours a 4-3-3 formation with Tomislav Kis and Nemanja Bilbija in contention to lead the line and Zvonimir Kozulj pushing for a start after scoring twice in Zrinjski’s remarkable comeback against AZ last month. Predicted line-ups Aston Villa: Olsen; Cash, Konsa, Lenglet, Digne; Luiz, Tielemans; Traore, McGinn, Zaniolo; Duran Zrinjski Mostar: Maric; Corluka, Jakovljevic, Radic, Memija; Ivancic, Balic, Kozulj; Cuze, Kis, Ticinovic Odds Aston Villa win 1/10 Draw 10/1 Zrinjski Mostar win 30/1 Get the latest football odds here Prediction Villa to build on their impressive Premier League form and get their qualification hopes back on track. Aston Villa 4-1 Zrinjski Mostar Read More Unai Emery urges Aston Villa to adapt quickly to demands of European football Ollie Watkins scores hat-trick as rampant Aston Villa hit Brighton for six Unai Emery savours ‘special’ Villa Park atmosphere in rout of Brighton England boss Gareth Southgate hoping for positive news over Bukayo Saka fitness Arsenal renew Pedro Neto interest but face competition from two Premier League rivals Consistency the key for Vincent Kompany as he bids to lift Burnley

Arsenal spent 248 days at the top of the Premier League last season and still ended up empty-handed

In late September, scientists at NASA and around the world eagerly awaited the arrival of the OSIRIS-REx capsule containing a sample of the asteroid Bennu. The capsule safely landed on Earth on Sunday 24 September in a Utah desert containing a sample of the asteroid Bennu – categorised as one of the two “most hazardous known asteroids”. When the capsule was first opened, it sparked audible gasps from scientists. Since its arrival, NASA has kept its cards fairly close to its chest but a new blog post from the space agency suggests that progress is going slowly for the “best reason” as there is more sample material than they had anticipated. They explained: “The abundance of material found when the science canister lid was removed earlier this week has meant that the process of disassembling the TAGSAM (Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) head – which holds the bulk of material from the asteroid – is off to a methodical start.” The OSIRIS-REx’s mission took 7 years to complete, with the sample currently being analysed by NASA taken three years ago before making its way down to Earth. Imagery from the moment the sample was taken confirmed to scientists that there would be asteroid material where they found it, but the quantity of dark particles were far more than they had anticipated. “The very best ‘problem’ to have is that there is so much material, it’s taking longer than we expected to collect it,” said deputy OSIRIS-REx curation lead Christopher Snead of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “There’s a lot of abundant material outside the TAGSAM head that’s interesting in its own right. It’s really spectacular to have all that material there.” In the coming weeks, experts will continue to work through the particles and begin the complex process of carefully disassembling the TAGSAM to reach the bulk of the Bennu sample inside. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The man who set off a smoke bomb and opened fire on a crowded New York City subway train last year, shooting 10 people, is expected to learn his sentence Thursday.

Jamie Ritchie has been passed fit and will captain Scotland in their must-win Rugby World Cup Pool B match with the world's number one...

The military says "terrorist" drones targeted a graduation ceremony attended by cadets' families.

NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 5, 2023--

Here are the latest MLB rumors regarding the chaotic Toronto Blue Jays, the perpetual mess that are the New York Mets and the latest on Max Fried's health ahead of the Atlanta Braves' NLDS matchup with the division rival Philadelphia Phillies.

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 5, 2023--

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has urged his young hopefuls to learn from veteran James McClean after he announced his impending retirement from international football. The 34-year-old Wrexham midfielder revealed his intention to end his time with Ireland after 102 caps, 11 goals and two European Championship campaigns following next month’s friendly against New Zealand on Thursday morning. Hours later, international boss Kenny, who first managed the player as a youngster at Derry City, paid tribute to both his quality and intensity after naming a 24-man squad which did not include him for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Greece and Gibraltar. Kenny said: “He’s had a terrific career, James. Young Irish players can learn a lot from him, how he approached his career. Ireland was always at the forefront of his thoughts, it was always the pinnacle for him and it was always the most important thing, to play for his country. You had to respect that. “From my point of view as a manager – obviously I managed him as a teenager, gave him his debut and then sold him to Sunderland. But people change in that period and obviously he’s a different personality then when I managed the Irish team (Derry) because he’s in his 30s by the time I take up the Ireland team, so he’s a different personality. “But if there are any grey areas about who might play in the team sometimes and decisions are not made and depending on who’s available, he’s so forceful in his training performances, sometimes he gets himself in the team by just his sheer intensity in his training in the sessions. “It’s hard to ignore him then, when someone trains like that, in the games.” Derry-born former Sunderland, Wigan, West Brom and Stoke man McClean, who has repeatedly found himself at the centre of controversy over his decision not to wear a Remembrance Day poppy on his club shirt, had earlier spoken of his pride at representing his country over 11 years. He said in a statement issued on social media: “It has the meant the absolute world and more to be able to pull on the green jersey with honour, step out onto a football pitch – especially at the Aviva Stadium – to represent our great country, standing singing Amhran na bhFiann ready to go out into battle with your fellow countrymen. “Nothing has ever come close. I gave absolutely everything I had of myself to ensure that I did the jersey, the fans and the country proud, and know that I never took it for granted each time. I hope that showed. “It will be heartbreaking not to be involved beyond this year, but I feel now is the right time to step aside without any regrets. “I lived my own and every young Irish footballer’s dream – and represented this country with pride.” McClean’s absence from the squad was not the only one of note, with Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher also missing after suffering a gash to his knee in training which required 12 stitches, while Sheffield United defender John Egan and Cardiff winger Callum O’Dowda are also unavailable because of injury. However, Celtic winger Mikey Johnston and Cardiff forward Callum Robinson were included for the games against Greece in Dublin on Friday, October 13 and Gibraltar in Faro three days later. Ireland’s hopes of qualification are all but over after Group B defeats by France and the Netherlands last month left them with just three points from a possible 15. Squad: Gavin Bazunu (Southampton), Mark Travers (Stoke, on loan from Bournemouth), Max O’Leary (Bristol City), Matt Doherty (Wolves), Festy Ebosele (Udinese), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Shane Duffy (Norwich), Dara O’Shea (Burnley), Andrew Omobamidele (Nottingham Forest), Liam Scales (Celtic), Ryan Manning (Southampton), Josh Cullen (Burnley), Jayson Molumby (West Brom), Alan Browne (Preston), Will Smallbone (Southampton), Jason Knight (Bristol City), Jamie McGrath (Aberdeen), Mark Sykes (Bristol City), Evan Ferguson (Brighton), Adam Idah (Norwich), Aaron Connolly (Hull), Chiedozie Ogbene (Luton), Callum Robinson (Cardiff), Mikey Johnston (Celtic). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Aaron Ramsey to miss Wales’ November Euro 2024 qualifiers, says Cardiff manager Joe Root leads England to 282 for nine in World Cup opener against New Zealand Alan Shearer leads tributes after Newcastle’s Champions League demolition job

Gareth Southgate says it will be “brilliant for everybody” if the UK and Ireland’s bid to host the Euro 2028 gets the green light as expected. Turkey’s withdrawal to focus on a joint submission with Italy for Euro 2032 means the five-nation bid is now the only option on the table for the finals in five years’ time. UEFA will formally announce the hosts for the two tournaments following a meeting of its executive committee in Switzerland next week. All the nations are fantastic football nations, huge pride Gareth Southgate “Well, it’s clearly a joint bid with all the other home nations so brilliant for everybody if that opportunity arises,” England manager Southgate said. “There’s still a little bit to do, I think. “But I think you know, all the nations are fantastic football nations, huge pride. “They’ll have huge pride in hosting and if the teams get qualified as well then there’s obviously some home advantage to hosting as well.” The news came on the same day that it emerged Spain, Portugal and Morocco are set to co-host the 2030 men’s World Cup, with three South American nations. Montevideo in Uruguay – the city which hosted the first World Cup finals match in 1930 – is poised to stage the opening contest, with games in Argentina and Paraguay to follow. The rest of the 48-team tournament will then move to north Africa and Europe, under a proposal from UEFA, the Confederation of African Football and South American confederation CONMEBOL which was accepted by the FIFA council at a meeting on Wednesday. The hosting arrangement is now subject to formal approval by FIFA’s congress. Asked about the impact of these plans on player welfare, Southgate said: “I’m not sure what they’ve got in mind for that, really! “I should enjoy a invite to Buenos Aires as a TV pundit if that’s the plan.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Scrum-half Ali Price given surprise start for Scotland’s World Cup shootout Aaron Ramsey to miss Wales’ November Euro 2024 qualifiers, says Cardiff manager Young Irish players can learn a lot from James McClean – Stephen Kenny

Elon Musk has stopped X, formerly Twitter, from showing information about links posted to the site. Until the last day, when someone posted a link on X, it showed as an image and the article’s headline, allowing people to see what they would be reading when they clicked. Now, however, that description has been removed. Instead, the article shows up as a normal picture, with the name of the website showing up small in the corner to show that it is a link. The update prompted confusion from many readers, who said that it was unclear whether a post included a link and what that might be a link to. Many news organisations publicly complained that it had forced them to change their strategy for posting on the site, given they could previously depend on Twitter to show the headline of posts. Many tweets that had included links and were posted before the change instantly became incomprehensible, since they had been written to respond to the headline that had pulled through from the article. Mr Musk has said that he ordered the change to improve the site. When the update was first rumoured, in a Forbes report in August, he responded by saying that it was “coming from me directly” and that it will “greatly improve the esthetics”. But it may also be an attempt to encourage users to stay on the site for longer, rather than clicking away to links. Since Mr Musk took over Twitter around a year ago, he has often focused on increasing the amount of time that users spend in its feed. “Our algorithm tries to optimize time spent on X, so links don’t get as much attention, because there is less time spent if people click away,” Mr Musk wrote in a recent tweet. “Best thing is to post content in long form on this platform.” It is also one of a range of recent decisions that looks to put Mr Musk in conflict with news sites. Earlier this year, for instance, X appeared to have added a delay when users clicked on some news sites and other rivals such as Instagram and Blue Sky. Users found that pages would not load for five seconds. Read More Musk confirms he is cutting election integrity staff from X/Twitter ahead of 2024 Reddit will start paying people to post X is shutting down feature to send posts to select people after privacy concern