Champions League & Europa League build-up

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Giovanni van Bronckhorst says there will "definitely" be some changes to the Rangers team as he takes charge for the first time against Sparta Prague.

The Dutchman watched from the stand as Rangers lost to Hibernian in Sunday's Scottish League Cup semi-final.

Victory by a margin of two goals or more on Thursday would secure the Ibrox side a place in the Europa League knockout rounds.

"We were not happy with the result or the goals conceded," said the manager.

"We have to be much more focused and compact in the defensive side of the match. It is important in Europe to be solid at the back.

"You will see a team in a system I like to play and how I feel is best to play against Prague. You will definitely see some changes."

• Club Bruges v RB Leipzig
• Manchester City v Paris St-Germain
• Atletico Madrid v AC Milan
• Liverpool v Porto
• Besiktas v Ajax (17:45)
• Sporting Lisbon v Borussia Dortmund
• Inter Milan v Shakhtar Donetsk (17:45)
• Sheriff Tiraspol v Real Madrid

We didn't see much of it on Tuesday as Barcelona drew 0-0 with Benfica in the Champions League but the guys have been chatting about Xavi's plan to turn around Barca on the latest episode of The Football News Show, which is now available on BBC iPlayer.

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SMS Message: Man Utd should move heaven and earth to get Mauricio Pochettino now. A small country's entire budget gets spent on players over the course of a few years so it should be an easy decision to spend £20m or whatever on buying Poch out of his contract now. This season he then has a chance to settle in and start to impose his style ready to make a challenge of sorts next year. But definitely he is the manager they want. The biggest thing for Poch wouldn't even be the war chest he would get but the time he would get to be successful, which isn't always a given at other clubs. from Alex, Yatton

Man Utd should move heaven and earth to get Mauricio Pochettino now. A small country's entire budget gets spent on players over the course of a few years so it should be an easy decision to spend £20m or whatever on buying Poch out of his contract now. This season he then has a chance to settle in and start to impose his style ready to make a challenge of sorts next year. But definitely he is the manager they want. The biggest thing for Poch wouldn't even be the war chest he would get but the time he would get to be successful, which isn't always a given at other clubs.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that Ricardo Pereira (hamstring) won’t be available for a few weeks and Youri Tielemans (calf) will remain out for a few more weeks.

Rodgers will be picking from the same squad that played Chelsea as the Foxes host a Legia Warsaw side which is one point above them in second in the group but have lost eight out of nine since winning 1-0 at home to Leicester in September.

"It’s a really, really important game for both teams," said Rodgers. "Sometimes what you need to turn around form, a change of competition and venue can do that. Hopefully we can get the result to take us above Legia.

"It might be similar to the Spartak Moscow game [1-1 at home earlier this month] where they’ll be compact and will look to break away. Whatever game Legia bring we have to focus on ourselves and our ideas. We’re at home, so we have to take the burden and that’s when we’re at our best.

"We’re looking to find our edge in our game, that always starts with our pressing and duels as a team. While we’ve not had long [since the Chelsea defeat], I’ve been really pleased with the work that we’ve done. Hopefully we’ll see that on the field."

SMS Message: In response to Nick (12.54). You are correct re the players but Jotalotagoals was bang on. Man United would have been buried by a good side long before their goals. It makes me chuckle when one result in United's favour turns the tide of criticism from the press, pundits and supporters. Look out on Sunday after the Chelsea game. from Duncan, Cheshire

In response to Nick (12.54). You are correct re the players but Jotalotagoals was bang on. Man United would have been buried by a good side long before their goals. It makes me chuckle when one result in United's favour turns the tide of criticism from the press, pundits and supporters. Look out on Sunday after the Chelsea game.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers on speculation linking him to the Manchester United manager's job:

"My commitment is to this club and this team. It’s about the development of the players we have. The speculation doesn’t cross my mind. I respect you [journalists] have questions to ask. It doesn’t include me."

Brendan Rodgers on Leicester being booed during Saturday's 3-0 home defeat by Chelsea: "The supporters have been great here in my time here, both home and away. For me it’s about encouraging the team. We have to be together."

He added: "The King Power is a very difficult place to come for opposing teams. When the team are suffering with inconsistency, we need them more than ever, then that support will help. Bring that incredible passion, we will need that in the game to make that jump in the group. We need the fans for us, rather than against us."

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Now then, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers is now chatting with the media and has been asked about his side's inconsistent form:

"There's no magic formula, it's hard work. The consistency in the main has been good, and we have talented players - not at that top end but we've had a collective mentality to be challenging. We need to be able to do that.

"I have total belief in the players. It's getting back to working hard and that sacrifice to suffer a little bit and that personal commitment to be the best you can be. Confidence isn't quite there, but we have to work at the highest level. It will return."

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Porto winger Luis Diaz comes from a neglected corner of Colombia where malnutrition is a major problem, yet he is emerging as one of European football's brightest prospects.

The 24-year-old was unstoppable during this summer's Copa America, finding the net against the likes of Brazil and Argentina, and finishing the tournament as joint top scorer alongside Lionel Messi. He has followed that with 11 goals in 17 appearances for Porto this season.

Two of those goals came against AC Milan, in each of the Champions League games against them, and he is quickly becoming the next big thing in Portuguese football.

A Premier League move is looking increasingly likely too, having been linked with Everton, Newcastle and Liverpool. so he'll be one to keep an eye on at Anfield later. Click here to read more on Diaz's journey so far.

Manager Ange Postecoglou wants his Celtic side to use Thursday's Europa League game at Bayer Leverkusen "to measure ourselves".

The German side beat Celtic 4-0 in Glasgow on matchday two and lead Group G by three points from Real Betis, who host Ferencvaros on Thursday. Celtic are a point further back and host the Spanish side in the final round of games.

"The level of the opposition, the consequences of the result, being away from home - it's going to be a good challenge, although you can use other adjectives to describe it," said Postecoglou, whose side are on a three-match winning run.

"We want to go there and not miss the opportunity to measure ourselves. We want to be playing at this level consistently. We want to be qualifying for these tournaments and for the knockout stages and we've got to measure ourselves against the best."

Before we hear from Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers, there's two pieces of Football League manager news today, with Simon Grayson having left League One Fleetwood after 10 months in charge while Keith Curle has left League Two Oldham after eight months.

Mohamed Suleman, South Africa: Man Utd should break the bank and get Pep from City, if they’re serious. Imagine the double victory.

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And finally from Leicester forward Ayoze Perez, on rumours linking manager Brendan Rodgers to the Manchester United manager's job:

"We are not thinking about that. He has shown us how focused he is on us, and working here. We need to focus on getting better."

Leicester forward Ayoze Perez on fans booing during Saturday's 3-0 home defeat by Chelsea:

"To be honest, it's not a good feeling, but they're there to say what they feel.

"We always try our best, sometimes it doesn't go the way we want it to. Then we want to be supported more than when we're winning. We need that boost."

On Thursday's game, Perez added: "The main message is trying to make sure we get back to basics as well as we can. We are not far from getting results. The main thing is the mentality, that's what we're missing, the resilience. We are ready for this game. It's a must-win game if we want to top the group in the pool stage.

"They have to come to our stadium, which will be tough. We want them to know the 90 minutes are going to be long and tough. We are ready."

Fifa have organised a global summit for 20 December to outline their proposals around the international match calendar.

Arsene Wenger will keep working on his plans until that date and Fifa feel it is a sign of his willingness to adapt that he is incorporating two international windows rather than one. However, he does need support.

"The future of the game depends on the quality of the competitions," he said.

"We have to make as many people happy as we can in the end. The football world will decide."

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Leicester City forward Ayoze Perez is speaking to the media before manager Brendan Rodgers and commented on the club's run of four Premier League and Europa League games without a win.

"Since I signed for Leicester [2019], we've won a few things. We’ve overachieved," he said.

"Now we're in a different position. We're struggling in terms of results, but I know we are not far from getting back. When we get positive results, the confidence will come back and we can start building that momentum, which will get us to better results and better places.

"The conversations have been more than difficult. They've been very open, very honest. We are focused on what we can change to get the results we want. We are working on what we can improve, and what we as individuals can do better."

Arsene Wenger has been banging the drum for a biennial World Cup again at Fifa's Professional Football Conference.

Wenger is trying to gain support for his proposals from across the game, although many - including the Premier League - do not believe it is a good idea.

Wenger wants to cut down the number of international breaks in a season but has now accepted his preference for one long one, in October, will not get enough support.

Now there is the potential for a break in October including six international games, and a shorter one in March, for just two, with a tournament in the summer.

He also wants an annual youth World Cup, involving 48 countries, at either Under-17 level or Under-16s and Under-18s.

SMS Message: Think Merv (12:11) has a short-term memory. Poch had Tottenham in two title races in 2015/16 and 16/17, Tuchel actually cost PSG the title as he left them quite a few points off the top when he was sacked, not to mention he got Southampton in the top six with the 2nd best defence in the league and got Spurs to the Champions League final. from Ben, Tottenham

Think Merv (12:11) has a short-term memory. Poch had Tottenham in two title races in 2015/16 and 16/17, Tuchel actually cost PSG the title as he left them quite a few points off the top when he was sacked, not to mention he got Southampton in the top six with the 2nd best defence in the league and got Spurs to the Champions League final.