Guess who's back, back again

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Arsenal won a penalty shootout against FC Porto last night to go through to the Champions League quarter-final for the first time in 14 years. Six teams in the last eight years have reached the Champions League final after knocking out Porto.

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Head Start

FOOTBALL

Guess who’s back, back again

Liverpool will be losing Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season, but the return of Michael Edwards will help soften the blow. The Red’s owners FSG have appointed Edwards, who was previously Liverpool’s sporting director between 2016-22, has now been appointed as the company’s chief executive of football.

Edwards is widely considered one of the main actors behind Liverpool’s success in recent years. He helped identify Klopp as manager and brought in Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Allison, and Virgil van Dijk. He earned a reputation as a shrewd negotiator - holding a record fee of £142 million when Philippe Coutinho was sold to Barcelona, among others. He is also regarded as the person who introduced a data-led approach to scouting at Liverpool and led the way in FSG’s self-sustaining business model.

As well as helping to manage the post-Klopp era, Edwards’ return will help identify and subsequently manage a second club owned by FSG.

TENNIS

Saudi’s $2 billion offer

Saudi Arabia has made a move for tennis, according to Telegraph Sport. The offer is a $2 billion take-it-or-leave-it offer to merge the men’s and women’s tours, with a 90-day expiration period if it is not accepted.

The Saudi offer does not include the Grand Slam tournaments, which themselves are under the spotlight for a major revamp into a “Premium Tour” model. Under the Premium Tour model, a new circuit would unite men’s and women’s tennis, offering equal pay to both genders.

So, the sport faces a dilemma, and the deal could cause tension between the two tours and the four slams. The tournaments and players who make up the tours now have two different models to choose from. The Saudi deal offers a much-needed cash injection, while the Premium Tour model requires stakeholders to believe that a streamlined, slam-led calendar would be more profitable than the status quo.

Further, in February, it was announced that Saudi Arabia will host an elite tennis exhibition featuring Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal this October. At the same time, women’s tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post which argued the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia would be a “step backwards” for women’s tennis.

Across The Field

MORE FOOTBALL NEWS: Manchester United net debt reaches £1billion for the first time (More) | UEFA to computerise the Champions League draw from next season due to the complexity of the format (More)

ALSO IN THE NEWS: Novak Djokovic suffers shock defeat at Indian Wells and was not happy with a breakpoint decision (More) | Australian sport runs financial and legal risks due to climate inaction, new report warns (More) | Emma Raducanu knocked out of Indian Wells by world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets (More) |Immanuel Feyi-Waboso out of England’s Six Nations finale against France (More)

BUSINESS: The global sports industry revenues are set to reach $260 billion by 2033, with reports suggesting the industry currently generates $159 billion (More)

Your Home Advantage

 HEALTH

Online search data could screen for cancer, study finds

New research led by Imperial and UCL suggests that analysing patient’s search engine data could lead to earlier detection of gynaecological cancers, notably ovarian cancer.

Using Google data, researchers observed search patterns up to 360 days before GP referrals which showed the potential for diagnosis predictions around 60 days beforehand. With no current screening programme for early detection, the study's findings offer hope for improving diagnoses.

The study underscores the potential of internet data in disease screening. Larger studies are anticipated to validate these findings and pave the way for early detection tools.

A previous study led by Imperial researchers shows that loyalty card data could be used to identify ovarian cancer cases earlier. But the new study which uses data from internet search engines used a much larger proportion of the UK.

Extra Time

Dana White explains why Conor McGregor is too rich to fight again.

Tim Sherwood’s question to Cole Palmer wasn’t received well by fans.

Ever wondered what a heavy-weight champion’s food shop looks like? Here’s Tyson Fury’s.

Matt Rempe is suspended after elbowing an opponent in the face.

Kate Abdo, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards debate who’s the fastest.

Darts player Adam Smith-Neale was suspended after punching his opponent in a pub match.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Champions League RO16: Atletico Madrid v Inter (20:00 GMT, TNT Sports 1)

Champions League RO16: Borussia Dortmund v PSV (20:00 GMT, TNT Sports 2)

League 1: Peterborough United v Stevenage (20:00 GMT, Sky Sports)

CONCACAF Champions League: Inter Miami CF v Nashville SC (00:15 GMT, Youtube)

GOLF

PGA: The Players Championship (13:00 GMT, Sky Sports Golf)

SNOOKER

Championship League: Multiple Matches (11:00 and 16:30 GMT, Matchroom)

TENNIS

Indian Wells: Multiple Matches (22:30 GMT, Sky Sports)

BASKETBALL

NBA: Miami Heat v Denver Nuggets (23:30 GMT, TNT Sports 1)

HOCKEY

NHL: Multiple Matches (23:00 GMT, Viaplay)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

“I think they’ll win by at least one goal.”

-Kenny Sansom