Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he has "lots of reasons" for optimism despite the crushing disappointment of missing out...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are winning almost in spite of their offense

The National Basketball Association on Saturday unveiled the format and groups for its in-season tournament set to debut next season.

David Montgomery's go-ahead 1-yard touchdown run with 29 seconds left against his former team lifted the Detroit Lions to a 31-26 comeback victory over Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears

Watchalongs are having a moment.

John McGinn’s last-gasp winner saved Aston Villa from embarrassment as they laboured to an uninspiring 1-0 victory against Zrinjski Mostar. The captain netted in the fourth minute of added time to break battling Mostar hearts. It looks like Villa’s Europa Conference League campaign would continue to stutter until then after the hosts were left frustrated by their organised and combative opponents, who refused to buckle until stoppage time. Despite dominating, Villa struggled to break Mostar down and had a penalty call reversed in the second half. Referee Urs Schnyder changed his decision to award a spot-kick for handball after replays showed Ollie Watkins’ header hit Slobodan Jakovljevic in the face. Nemanja Bilbija wasted the visitors’ best opening in the first half as the Bosnian champions fell just short in the Group E clash. Ezri Konsa, unfortunate to be left out of the latest England squad, confessed to having never heard of the visitors. He would not have been the only one. Boss Krunoslav Rendulic called it the biggest game in the visitors’ history and the club which gave a 17-year-old Luka Modric his professional debut were a nuisance from the start. Antonio Ivancic briefly threatened first, lobbing the ball over Emi Martinez only to lack support, before the goalkeeper needed to parry Bilbija’s shot after Marijo Cuze’s low cross. In between, Nicolo Zaniolo twice threatened but it was a chance Mostar should have taken. They had, at least, sapped the energy from Villa Park in the opening 20 minutes and the hosts’ frustrations were underlined when McGinn was booked for an obvious dive. As a team Villa are still learning to adapt to European football and the opening 3-2 defeat at Legia Warsaw did little to justify their favourites tag in the competition. In the first half at Villa Park, there were even fewer hints. Mostar fought back from 3-0 down to beat AZ Alkmaar 4-3 last month and were comfortable, Zaniolo’s overhead kick allowing goalkeeper Marko Maric to offer a save for the cameras but there was little else to trouble them. Unai Emery had seen enough and summoned Watkins, Douglas Luiz and Matty Cash from the bench and their arrival lifted Villa. Watkins conjured a chance for Diego Carlos, only for the defender to get his header all wrong and the striker thought he had earned a penalty eight minutes into the second half. Cash’s cross was met by Watkins, whose header cannoned into the face of Jakovljevic – with official Schnyder giving a spot-kick for handball. It was clear, though, the ball hit the defender in the face and once Schnyder had checked his monitor he correctly overturned the decision. It did finally light a fire under Villa and Maric saved Diego Costa’s header asthe hosts camped in Mostar’s half for the rest of the game. Youri Tielemans and Zaniolo went close before McGinn rescued the hosts in stoppage time. Cash got free on the right and crossed for the midfielder to nod in from six yards. Read More Ryan Gravenberch scores first goal for club as Liverpool labour to victory Steven Davis remains confident in Rangers squad despite defeat to Limassol ‘Maverick’ Lucas Paqueta impresses David Moyes in West Ham’s Europa League win Roberto De Zerbi hails ‘incredible’ Brighton reaction to salvage Marseille draw Warren Gatland highlights hard work as Wales aim to continue progress Geoge Ford believes partnership with Owen Farrell is ready to deliver

Oleksandr Usyk defends his unified world titles against Daniel Dubois this weekend, as the heavyweights clash in Poland. Usyk, 36, is making his second defence of the belts, having retained them against Anthony Joshua one year ago – and one year after taking them from “AJ” with another decision win. The unbeaten Ukrainian, formerly undisputed at cruiserweight, was hoping to fight Tyson Fury next, but talks collapsed and left Usyk with this bout: against mandatory challenger Dubois. The Briton, 25, has achieved 18 of his 19 wins via knockout and will hope his power is enough against southpaw Usyk, but Dubois must also beware his own vulnerabilities. They were on display in a stoppage loss to Joe Joyce in 2020, when Dubois suffered a fractured eye socket, and in his most recent win as he hit the canvas three times – partly due to a knee injury. Here’s all you need to know about Usyk vs Dubois. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. When is the fight? Usyk vs Dubois is set to take place at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw, Poland, on Saturday 26 August. The main card is expected to begin at 7pm BST (11am PT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET), with ring walks for the main event likely to follow at 10pm BST (2pm PT, 4pm CT, 5pm ET). How can I watch it? In the UK, the fight and undercard will air live on TNT Sports pay-per-view (formerly BT Sport). The event will cost £19.95 and is not exclusive to TNT subscribers. It will also stream live on the broadcaster’s website and app. No US broadcaster has been confirmed at the time of writing. If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the event, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help: Get great deals on the best VPNs in the market. Odds Usyk to win – 1/10; Usyk via KO, TKO or DQ – 4/11 Dubois to win – 15/2; Dubois via KO, TKO or DQ – 9/1 Draw – 22/1 Via Betway. • Get all the latest boxing betting sites’ offers. Full card (subject to change) Oleksandr Usyk (C) vs Daniel Dubois (WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles) Denys Berinchyk vs Anthony Yigit (lightweight) Dmytro Mytrofanov vs Hamzah Sheeraz (middleweight) Daniel Lapin vs Aro Schwartz (light-heavyweight) Fiodor Czerkaszyn vs Anauel Ngamissengue (middleweight) Rafal Wolczecki vs Roberto Arriaza (middleweight) Vasile Cebotari vs Joel Julio (welterweight) Nursultan Amanzholov vs Lazizbek Mullojonov (heavyweight) Oleksandr Solomennikov vs Piotr Gudel (featherweight) Aadam Hamed vs TBA (super-welterweight) Ziyad Almaayouf vs Janos Penzes (super-lightweight) Bryce Mills vs Damian Tymosz (super-lightweight) Yaroslav Khartsyz vs Konrad Czajkowski (lightweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Anthony Joshua has the blueprint to beat Deontay Wilder – is he brave enough to use it? Conor McGregor on UFC return: ‘They’re not going to let me fight’ Sean O’Malley becomes newest UFC superstar with dazzling KO of Aljamain Sterling Who is fighting on Usyk vs Dubois undercard this weekend? Hamzah Sheeraz relishing chance to beat Dmytro Mytrofanov ‘in his backyard’ How to watch Usyk vs Dubois online and on TV this weekend

Drew Allar threw for four touchdowns and Penn State’s defense forced four turnovers to lead the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions past No. 24 Iowa 31-0 on Saturday

How the Premier League table looked after teams returned from the 2022 World Cup.

NFL legend Dan Marino once battled his way back from a torn Achilles. Now, he's offering words of wisdom to New York Jets star Aaron Rodgers.

Lionel Messi confirmed his desire to become a sporting director after he retires from professional football.

The 2023 NBA Draft Lottery takes place on Tuesday night, and it’s one of the more intriguing events in all of sports, especially with the prospect at the top of the draft this season.The winner of this year's lottery will have the right to draft French phenom Victor Wembanyama, who is...