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Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for Formula 1’s 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, with Valtteri Bottas beating Max Verstappen to second place on the final run in Q3

The rivals meet on Saturday night looking to take a big step towards a world title shot

Thomson was bidding to become the first non-French winner of the around-the-world event.

Luka Garza will look for his second double-double in as many games when No. 5 Iowa hosts Southern on Friday afternoon. Garza, the reigning Big Ten Conference player of the year, scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Iowa (1-0) cruised to a 97-67 win over North Carolina Central in its season opener Wednesday. “Whenever it leaves his hand, you’re surprised when it doesn’t go in,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.

Kaori Sakamoto dominated the women’s short program Friday at the NHK Trophy, the final event of a figure skating Grand Prix series that has been shortened because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 2018 Four Continents champion opened her routine with a double axel and added a triple lutz and a triple flip-triple toe-loop combination for 75.60 points. Japanese skater Wakaba Higuchi, the 2018 world silver medalist, fell on her opening triple axel but landed all her remaining jumps to finish second with 69.71 points.

Formula 1 drivers will have their first proper taste of Pirelli’s 2021 tyres when they run them across both practice sessions in Bahrain today

Premier League defences have had few answers to Pep Guardiola’s impeccably orchestrated attacks since he moved to England in 2016, but this season Manchester City have struggled to land their punches. Guardiola’s team have scored just 10 goals in eight league games but have a presentable chance to add to that tally when they host Burnley on Saturday. After signing a new contract, can Guardiola revive his faltering attack? “It’s our fluidity to attack, to win more often and to create more chances. This is the target we have to improve,” the City manager said before their Champions League win over Olympiacos. Based on every key attacking output, City are at their lowest ebb under Guardiola. They are taking fewer shots per game, having fewer shots on target and their expected goals per game figure is their lowest in any league campaign since 2016-17. Although City scored more goals in their ‘Centurion’ title-winning season of 2017-18, last season was arguably their strongest offensive performance. They averaged a whopping 2.48 xG per game – these underlying numbers were a major reason why they started the season as bookmakers’ favourites to win the title in spite of Liverpool’s excellence. That number has dropped considerably to just 1.35 xG per game, almost identical to City’s 1.3 ‘real’ goals scored per game which suggests they cannot cry misfortune or lament a stack of missed chances.

Formula 1 drivers will have their first proper taste of Pirelli’s 2021 tyres when they run them across both practice sessions in Bahrain on Friday.