Sport

The Morning Sports Briefing

Leicester City held by West Brom, Gordon D’Arcy says two Six Nations wins are imperative, Gordon Elliott prepares Cheltenham team and what to watch out for

Gordon Elliott’s Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Don Cossack. Photograph: Inpho
Wed Mar 02 2016 - 09:48

Leicester held by West Brom

Leicester City missed the chance to go five points clearat the top of the Premier League table after they were held to a 2-2 draw by West Bromwich Albion at the King Power Stadium last night.

Goals from Danny Drinkwater and Andy King had seen Claudio Ranieri’s side take the lead following Salomon Rondon’s opener, but a stunning Craig Gardner free-kick early in the second half was enough to earn the Baggies a share of the spoils.

Elsewhere Aston Villa remain rooted firmly to the bottom following a 3-1 loss to Everton at Villa Park, while Norwich City are still deep in the mire after losing 2-1 to Chelsea at Carrow Road. Sunderland are also in deep trouble after a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, while Bournemouth took a huge stride towards safety, beating Southampton 2-0 in a South Coast derby.

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Gordon D’Arcy column

In his column today Gordon D'Arcy reflects on Ireland's Six Nations defeat to England last weekend, and suggests there were a number of positives to take from Twickenham, he writes: "The three new caps also made this 21-10 defeat a valuable experience.

“Their performances when exposed to Test rugby give this touch campaign an unquantifiable value long into the future.”

However he also believes Ireland’s remaining fixtures are about victory and nothing else: “The remaining two matches shouldn’t be seen to be about development, they’re about reaching the base expectation; Ireland have set a tradition throughout this century where the absolute minimum return is two victories in the Six Nations.”

Elliott’s Cheltenham hopes

Gordon Elliott will be sending the second-strongest string of horses from Ireland to the Cheltenham Festival this year, behind the daunting team assembled by Willie Mullins, but the 38-year-old does boast the favourite for the Gold Cup.

And speaking to Brian O'Connor, Elliott is not happy to settle for second best, he said: "Willie sets the bar higher every week. That means having to try harder. If you don't keep driving on, you'll never get there."

What to watch out for:

Football

There are another five Premier League fixtures this evening, with Manchester United welcoming Watford to Old Trafford, Tottenham looking to go top of the table against West Ham, Manchester City travelling to play Liverpool (BT Sport 1, 8pm ko), Arsenal looking to bounce back against Swansea City and Stoke playing Newcastle.