LAND vs. CHELSEAProtecting a three-point lead, Chelsea will be looking for a 10th straight win in the match between first and la

Chris Waller will let the dust settle on Who Shot Thebarmans performance in the Zipping Classic before deciding whether he returns to New Zealand to try to win a second Auckland Cup.The durable stayer finished fifth the Melbourne Cup and fillied the same position in his attempted defence of Saturdays Group Two 2400m-race at Sandown won by Beautiful Romance.Who Shot Thebarman won the 2014 Auckland Cup for trainer Mark Oulaghan and is among nominations for 2017 with the 3200m-race on March 11, four weeks before the Sydney Cup.Waller took over Who Shot Thebarmans training in the autumn of 2014 and the gelding finished third in the Melbourne Cup later in the year behind Protectionist and Red Cadeaux.Second in the 2015 Sydney Cup won by stablemate Grand Marshal, Who Shot Thebarmans owners still live in New Zealand and Waller is also keen to take a horse back to his homeland for a Group One race.Ive never had a Group One winner in New Zeland. I dont think Ive ever had a placing, Waller said.Theve changed the conditions of the Auckland Cup to set weights and penalties which means a horse like Who Shot Thebarman gets in well.It is certainly tempting.Waller has won more than 60 Group One races in Australia including the past two Cox Plates with Winx.He will have another New Zealander in his stable with Shillelagh to remain in Australia following a mixed five-start spring campaign.The mare won a benchmark race at Caulfield, finished second in a Group Three race at Flemington and fourth in Saturdays Summoned Stakes at Sandown. Custom Rays Jersey China . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Cheap Rays Jerseys .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. http://www.customraysjersey.com/custom-evan-longoria-jersey-large-72v.html . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Custom Rays Jerseys . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Custom Rays T-shirts . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. MANCHESTER, England -- During Manchester Citys offseason of heavy spending, Pep Guardiola prioritized improving his midfield and wide areas rather than upgrading the teams defensive unit.John Stones, an upcoming center back with lots of potential but still much to learn, was the only defender to arrive at Etihad Stadium ahead of the new season despite Citys aging collection of full backs and the worrying state of his central defense.Guardiola might be regretting it now.Undermined by a porous back line that has kept only two clean sheets in 15 games, City is stuttering as it tries to keep pace with Chelsea near the halfway stage of the Premier League campaign.City is in fourth place -- seven points behind Chelsea -- after winning three of its last nine league games, and four of its last 14 games in all competitions. On Saturday, Guardiolas team conceded two goals in the first four minutes and was beaten 4-2 by previously out-of-form Leicester.The 10-match winning run to open the season seems a distant memory now for City. But even during that period, when Guardiola was being widely hailed for his apparently seamless transition to the English game, concerns were being raised about the teams defense and what the coach was asking of it.Bacary Sagna, Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov are Citys full backs. They are all in their 30s and have been given new tasks under Guardiola, such as playing as center backs in a back three or tucking into central midfield when City attacks to free up space for wingers and be in good positions for an opposition counterattack.Meanwhile, center backs Stones, Nicolas Otamendi and -- when fit -- Vincent Kompany are being asked to bring the ball out from the back and start attacks. They are playing in front of a ball-playing goalkeeper, Claudio Bravo, who rarely kicks it long and often takes risks with his passing and build-up play.It seems like Guardiola hasnt got the defenders to carry out what he wants. The defense is looking exposed and error-prone, and City is conceding sloppy goals that are overshadowing the teams attractive passing game. Guardiola frequently changes from a four-man defense to three at the baack, which doesnt appear to be helping, either.ddddddddddddAlways I try to control the games so that we concede few goals, Guardiola said in reference to his time in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who mostly had strong defensive records. Here I cannot do that and I have to analyze why.After the loss to Leicester, Guardiola appeared to dismiss the importance of tackling -- Whats tackles? he said, ... we are not going to win or lose for the tackles -- and suggested he would continue playing the same style.Of course here in the Premier League, there are some special things but the pitch is the same, its 11 vs. 11, so I have to control the little differences between the other leagues. But (my) idea, I think, is good; it will be good.Not helping Citys defense is the fact that when its breached, Bravo isnt proving as able a shot-stopper as the goalkeeper he replaced, Joe Hart. Bravo doesnt have an imposing presence when strikers bear down on goal and was easily beaten by low shots in the 3-1 loss to Chelsea and the loss to Leicester.Next up for City is Watford at home on Wednesday, part of a full round of midweek matches in the Premier League. Who knows what the make-up of Citys defense will be, and whether Guardiola will play with three defenders or four? At least he has Otamendi back from suspension.---SUNDERLAND vs. CHELSEAProtecting a three-point lead, Chelsea will be looking for a 10th straight win in the match between first and last in the league.Its the fifth time that Chelsea has won at least nine straight Premier League games. Five more wins and the leaders will match the Premier League record of consecutive wins, held by Arsenal from 2002.---CRYSTAL PALACE vs. MANCHESTER UNITEDJust when Henrikh Mkhitaryan was looking like a sure starter at United after a slow start at Old Trafford, the playmaker got injured and will have to fight for his place again.Mkhitaryan scored in Uniteds 1-0 win at Tottenham, but hurt his ankle late in the match and was carried off on a stretcher. He is expected to be out for about two weeks. ' ' '