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LeBron James plays almost exclusively alongside teammates who grew up watching him dominate their game after two full decades in the NBA

It was a eulogy from Pep Guardiola about a midfielder. He reflected on the excellence he can show when in a deeper role and celebrated his goalscoring exploits. He said how keen he is to keep him and that the club hierarchy know that. He was hailing Ilkay Gundogan, understandably after a tour de force. Just as predictably, Kalvin Phillips was not the object of his affection. The German’s afternoon at Goodison Park brought two goals. The Englishman’s brought two minutes of football. One could be bound for Barcelona on a free transfer in a couple of months. The other still has five years left on his Manchester City contract. Perhaps, when Gundogan plays as majestically as he has against Leeds and Everton, it is unfair to compare anyone to him. Yet in effect, Guardiola had to when Rodri sat out the games against Sheffield United and Leeds; on each occasion, he opted for Gundogan to anchor the midfield. Phillips was supposed to be the specialist defensive midfielder. Instead, he is the specialist substitute. Rodri is the most overworked member of City’s squad, with 4104 minutes under his belt. It is in part because Phillips has been trusted with just 407. Some 55 games into City’s season, Phillips has started just two: against a Bristol City team in the Championship and a Southampton side bound for that division. Guardiola’s side lost at St Mary’s, in their worst performance of the season, in the Carabao Cup. A bit-part role is not explained purely by a shoulder injury in autumn. City have scored 92 league goals, but none with Phillips on the pitch; indeed, they have a negative goal difference during his outings. Leicester scored one, and came close to getting three, after Phillips’ introduction a month ago; the midfielder described his own performance as “a bit of a stinker”. Since then, votes of no confidence have come from Guardiola, with cameos that have begun so late that nothing could go wrong: he came on injury time against West Ham, with a three-goal lead, slightly earlier at Goodison, and with the same scoreline. Scan Phillips’ season and Guardiola often brings him on so late he is destined to be the no-impact substitute: he was also introduced in injury time against Borussia Dortmund. He got one minute against West Ham in August, three against Arsenal in February, four against Chelsea in January, nine at Southampton, 12 against Sevilla, 13 at Wolves. A total of 17 appearances feels deceptive; even then, 161 of his minutes have come in the FA Cup. He may be having the worst treble-winning season ever, remembered in part for Guardiola branding him overweight after the World Cup. And if many could envy the medal collection he may soon have, Phillips in a better state could be the endearing success story – the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ who was transformed by Guardiola’s hero Marcelo Bielsa, integral for England on their run to the final of Euro 2020. Now he seems an afterthought, City’s third-choice defensive midfielder – fourth-choice if John Stones’ reinvention puts him ahead of Phillips – getting token appearances and meaningless minutes. For a while, it was possible to take solace in history. Many a player has flourished in his second season under Guardiola, after belatedly adjusting to his complex demands. Yet, even without being automatic choices, they were not marginalised. Bernardo Silva’s maiden season brought 53 appearances; 35 of them were in the Premier League, where he played 1520 minutes. Thus far, Phillips has played 105. Riyad Mahrez’s debut campaign brought 1338 top-flight minutes, Jack Grealish’s 1917, Rodri’s 2488. Each kicked on thereafter but, seemed with the benefit of hindsight, it was apparent he had a part in the manager’s long-term plans. It seems less likely that Phillips does; 10 days ago, Guardiola refused to confirm he will be at the Etihad Stadium next season and said the £42m man had to earn his confidence. So far, he has not. All of which feels more damning given Guardiola’s playing days and his status as the godfather of the midfielder. Rejection should be more painful. It could provide City with more of a problem, too. With Gundogan likely to go to Barcelona, with the prospect of another summer of interest from the Nou Camp in Silva, Phillips may present an unwanted problem; likely to be pursued elsewhere in the Premier League but adding to City’s need for reinforcements. As players of the calibre of Ronaldinho, Deco and Zlatan Ibrahimovic can testify, Guardiola can be swift to exile even the most distinguished; as Joao Cancelo knows to his cost, he can still be ruthless. Phillips faces a different form of public humiliation, embarrassed by the brevity of his contributions. He could finish the season with more medals than starts but, in a strange way, it would be a sign of how his move has gone wrong. Read More Man City being driven to title by man of the moment – and it’s not Erling Haaland It’s not necessary what he does – Pep Guardiola hits out at Everton’s Yerry Mina Kevin De Bruyne is Man City’s man for the big occasion but has he met his match?

Katie Taylor has been on a long, glorious and hard road to the ring on Saturday night in Dublin. Taylor has been worshipped and adored in Ireland long before she won her Olympic medal in 2012 and long before she won the first of her world titles in 2017. On Saturday, against a backdrop of joy, she returns and fights in Ireland for the first time since 2016 when she fought at a beauty spa in Tralee. She could have taken an easy fight, gone back over old ground, boxed the ears off a woman from Argentina or made one of the other champions jump up in weight for a shot at her four lightweight belts. That would have been the easy plan, the safe route. However, a rematch with Amanda Serrano collapsed and Chantelle Cameron was found. It might just be one of the boldest pieces of match-making that I have ever known. Taylor is now unbeaten in 22 fights as a professional, she is on a run of 16 consecutive world title fights, she holds all four of the lightweight belts, she briefly held the WBO light-welterweight belt. She is the most recognised face in the world of female boxing. She is the true pioneer of the modern version of the sport, not the mad, topless, chaotic, abusive side of the business from the Eighties and Nineties. Taylor is women’s boxing, and this Saturday is her grand moment. Last year, at Madison Square Garden, she made history with Serrano in front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 20,000 and collected a payday of more than $1million dollars. This Saturday was meant to be the rematch, there was talk of 70,000 at Croke Park, but that outdoor fantasy has been pushed back to September; Serrano is injured, and Cameron was found for the 3Arena on Saturday. It is, trust me, a far harder fight. All of the greatest fighters in history have taken risks, refused easy fights and put their records on the line to prove their greatness. Taylor can join that list. Cameron lost to Taylor over four rounds in Poland back in 2011 when they were both amateur boxers. They were circuit queens, popping up at tournaments in Rio, Tashkent, Bridgetown and Ankara. They both wanted this fight for a long, long time. It has been mentioned, but Cameron has been fighting at the weight above Taylor. The five pounds looked like it was the critical barrier. And, by the way, a sensible barrier. Last November, in Abu Dhabi, Cameron unified the four belts at light-welter. She is also unbeaten; she has talked about big fights she wanted and never dreamed that Taylor would move up in weight, never dreamed that Taylor would agree to fight her. She thought that the chance was gone forever and then the news trickled through. It seems Taylor had the same dream: “It’s not just Cameron that wanted this fight – Katie has wanted this fight for a long time,” insisted Ross Enamait, Taylor’s trainer. The fight was made in the blink of an eye. So, on Saturday there will be two unbeaten boxers, both hold four versions of the world title, and one of them is a homecoming hero. The venue sold out in seconds; the city will come to a stop. It is one of the purest fights in recent years, both a thoroughly old-fashioned fight and a totally modern edition. The bookies are stuck, the punters will back with their hearts and Taylor and Cameron might just be the calmest pair in the city this week. In the other boxing world, we wait for the Saudi throne to find $400m to deliver Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk (unbeaten in a total of 54 fights and holding all four heavyweight titles) and in cloud cuckoo land, the six-year wait for Errol Spence and Terence Crawford (unbeaten in a total of 67 fights and holders of all four belts at welterweight) continues with no end in sight. Taylor and Cameron have shamed the other top fighters and all the people on the safe side of the ropes who have failed to get the men in the ring with each other. Taylor has taken the type of risk that, if she wins, will elevate her to the very highest position in boxing history. She will be walking, fighting and talking with true boxing gods. It’s that big, but Cameron is the most severe risk to both Taylor’s ambitions and her status. It is a great fight. Enjoy it, and remember that Taylor did not have to accept Cameron as an opponent. She did what the bravest and the best in boxing have always done. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Frustrated Canelo Alvarez must take valuable homecoming lesson from gutsy John Ryder The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings Who is KSI? From ‘endearing’ class clown to YouTuber who has changed the face of boxing Katie Taylor relishing her homecoming fight in Dublin Joe Fournier reacts to ‘disgusting’ KSI knockout KSI vs Fournier last night: Latest fight updates and results after knockout

Kevin Sinfield, a legendary figure in the sport of rugby league, carried his friend and former teammate Rob Burrow across the finish line of the Leeds Marathon

Leicester are fighting desperately against relegation from the Premier League as they welcome Liverpool to the King Power Stadium. A 5-3 defeat to Fulham, coupled with Everton’s surprise win at Brighton, has left Dean Smith’s side third from bottom with only three games left. With another tough fixture at Newcastle to follow this encounter, a positive result may be a must if Leicester are to avoid dropping out of the top tier. Liverpool will be seeking points, too - their winning run has brought them back into contention for a Champions League qualification place. Here’s everything you need to know. When is Leicester vs Liverpool? Leicester vs Liverpool is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Monday 15 May at the King Power Stadium in Leicester. How can I watch it? Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the game live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage on the channels from 6.30pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via the Sky Go app. Team news Kelechi Iheanacho is expected to again be absent for Leicester, though the forward could return from his groin issue for the club’s final two fixtures against Newcastle and West Ham. Jannik Vestergaard, Ryan Bertrand and James Justin will not feature again this season, but both Jonny Evans and Ricardo Pereira were fit to make the bench against Fulham and could press to start. Jurgen Klopp suggested that this game will come slightly too soon for Roberto Firmino, though the Brazilian is moving closer to a return as he prepares to bid farewell to Liverpool this summer. Klopp was more pessimistic on Naby Keita, who could finish his injury-hit time at Anfield on the sidelines. Predicted line-ups Leicester XI: Iversen; Ricardo Pereira, Faes, Soyuncu, Castagne; Soumare, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall; Maddison, Vardy, Barnes. Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gakpo, Fabinho, Jones; Salah, Jota, Nunez. Odds Leicester win 9/2 Draw 15/4 Liverpool win 3/5 Prediction Leicester nick a point to keep their surival hopes alive. Leicester 2-2 Liverpool Read More Jordan Henderson optimistic over Liverpool’s long-term prospects Surprise favourite emerges in race to be Liverpool’s new sporting director England’s World Cup squad: Who’s on the plane, and who’s got work to do? The sporting weekend in pictures Chelsea close in on appointing Mauricio Pochettino as club’s new manager Dean Smith adamant Youri Tielemans is committed to Leicester’s survival fight

Jonathan Marchessault scored three goals for his second career postseason hat trick as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 in Game 6 of their second-round series to advance to the Western Conference final

Few would have imagined Inter Milan would be on the brink of its first European final in more than a decade when it began its Champions League campaign last September with a loss at home to Bayern Munich

The Seattle Kraken are already playing their second Game 7 on the road in their first NHL postseason

Fanatics Inc. has acquired the US operations of PointsBet, helping accelerate the team apparel company’s push into the

Doyle Brunson died Sunday, according to his agent, Brian Balsbaugh

Nolan Arenado and Andrew Knizner each hit a two-run homer, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Boston Red Sox 9-1 to complete a three-game sweep

Colorado pitcher Ryan Feltner has a skull fracture and concussion after getting hit by a line drive off the bat of Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos