The Stoke boss is happy that goalkeeper Jack Butland has signed a new contract, and believes the club are strong between the sticks.

"Jack Butland is one of the top young keepers in the country, and we are delighted that he is staying here with us.

"It's not his ambition to sit here and be an understudy - he wants to get in the team and he is continuing to get better.

"We are fortunate to have a top level group of keepers. Asmir Begovic is one of the best in the league and at the moment is ahead of Jack. They all push each other though, Thomas Sorensen included, and as a player you need that. Competition is good in any area of the side."

Mark Hughes is expecting a positive response from his side after last weekend's 1-0 defeat to West Brom.

"More often than not, when the guys perform below their standards they bounce back in style. We want the same response and we expect that," said Hughes.

On his opposing manager on Saturday, he said: "Alan Pardew has done a superb job. He seems happier now, and I think that projects itself on to his team. They are a good side.

"They are arguably more dangerous away from home because of the pace and the threats that they have."

Image source, Getty Images

Stoke City boss Mark Hughes is next up to hold court. He has plenty of injury worries with four or five players fighting to be fit to face Crystal Palace.

"Victor Moses is our main doubt. He is still struggling and hasn't trained a great deal this week. We will see how he is tomorrow morning.

"Jon Walters has had an operation and has a mask to protect him. The decision in terms of how he feels will be with Jon.

"If he is ready then that will be good news, but he is honest enough to tell us if he is struggling."

Tom Ince may have no desire to play for England Under-21s but West Brom striker Saido Berahino is happy to be in Gareth Southgate's squad.

Berahino tweeted:, external "Always honoured to get picked for England U21, can't wait to meet up with the lads on Sunday."

Alan Hutton will return to the Aston Villa squad for the visit of Swansea after completing his ban but Tim Sherwood remains without skipper Ron Vlaar.

The captain remains sidelined with a calf problem and is out along with Philippe Senderos and Kieran Richardson (both calf), Nathan Baker (knee) and Aly Cissokho (groin).

Libor Kozak is training with the first team after recovering from a broken leg but is not match fit although Jack Grealish is back from suspension.

Provisional squad: Guzan, Given, Hutton, Lowton, Bacuna, Okore, Clark, Kinsella, Delph, Westwood, Sanchez, Grealish, Gil, Sinclair, Cleverley, Benteke, Agbonlahor, Weimann, Hepburn-Murphy.

David J Calleja:, external Australia's John Aloisi scoring the winning penalty against Uruguay to put the Socceroos in the 2006 World Cup.

Neil Addington:, external Europe coming from behind to beat the USA in their own back yard!! #MiracleatMedinah!!

Dan Green: Seeing club captain @GraemeMurty scoring a penalty in 2005-06 giving Reading the title & record 106pts.

Odoma Thompson Michael:, external Has to be Nigeria winning football gold medal at the Atlanta '96 Olympics defeating Argentina 3-2.

Everton manager Roberto Martinez is now facing the media.

There must be virtually no positives to take from Thursday's night 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League but he can at least report that no fresh injuries were sustained in Ukraine.

Bryan Oviedo, Steven Pienaar and Tony Hibbert remain out, while Gareth Barry misses out at Loftus Road through suspension.

Then proceed in an orderly fashion to here.

Adam Johnson "can be picked" against West Ham this weekend, according to new Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat.

The Dutchman, 67, said that "every player who trains has an opportunity to start against West Ham".

Image source, Getty Images

Johnson was suspended by the club after he was arrested on suspicion of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl.

Defender John O'Shea (knock) and Sebastian Larsson (ankle) are doubts, while fellow midfielder Lee Cattermole completes a two-match ban.

Provisional squad: Pantilimon, Mannone, Reveillere, Van Aanholt, Jones, O'Shea, Brown, Vergini, Coates, Bridcutt, Rodwell, Johnson, Larsson, Alvarez, Gomez, Agnew, Honeyman, Fletcher, Defoe, Wickham, Graham.

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said the impasse over Raheem Sterling's contract negotiations will not be solved anytime soon.

"It has been made clear by Raheem's representative he wants to concentrate on his football and see what can be resolved in the summer," said Rodgers.

"I am sure it will be resolved and the concentration for Raheem is now on his football and it is clear the terms of when those talks will begin again."

Former captain Michael Vaughan believes England need a "cricket manager" and says he is "always open to a conversation" about taking charge in the future.

Vaughan was answering Twitter questions from BBC Sport users via #askvaughan.

The ex-Yorkshire batsman, who captained England from 2003-2008, discusses the current England management set-up, the ongoing Kevin Pietersen debate and Yorkshire's greatest opening batsman.

Watch the Q&A here.

Midfielder Chris Brunt is banned for West Brom after accepting a Football Association charge for verbally abusing a match official.

Claudio Yacob is also suspended as he serves the final game of a ban following his red card in the FA Cup defeat at Aston Villa.

Ben Foster is out for at least a month with a knee injury suffered in the 1-0 win against Stoke last week, Brown Ideye and Saido Berahino continue to carry knocks but Victor Anichebe could return from a groin injury.

Provisional squad: Myhill, Rose, Pocognoli, Wisdom, Gamboa, Lescott, McAuley, Dawson, Olsson, Baird, Gardner, Sessegnon, Fletcher, Morrison, Mulumbu, Berahino, Ideye, Anichebe.

England Test captain Alastair Cook will benefit from batting for the MCC in the county season curtain-raiser, according to Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie.

Cook was left out of England's squad for the Cricket World Cup, but will lead the team in the forthcoming Test series in the West Indies.

"It's win-win for everyone. Our bowlers get to bowl at one of the best in the world and he gets meaningful practice," Gillespie told BBC Radio Leeds.

"He's got massive challenges ahead and there's a lot of Test cricket to be played, so the more preparation he can get then the better for himself and the England team."

Record signing Abel Hernandez is set to return to Hull's starting line-up for Sunday's Premier League clash with Chelsea after the Tigers lost Nikica Jelavic for six weeks.

Mohamed Diame, Liam Rosenior, James Chester and Robbie Brady are all unlikely to be risked despite returning to training.

Tom Huddlestone is suspended after his sending-off against Leicester last week.

Provisional squad: McGregor, Harper, Davies, Dawson, McShane, Robertson, Bruce, Elmohamady, Livermore, Meyler, Quinn, Hernandez, Aluko, Ramirez, N'Doye.

England play France this weekend with both teams in the hunt to win the Six Nations title on the final weekend.

England coach Graham Rowntree has been chatting about the French pack, describing it as "always a challenge".

Image source, Getty Images

He added: "They're huge men. They're always a real test. You don't get many tougher tests as a forward than playing against a French pack.

"Last weekend they used their size to their advantage against Italy. They scrummed well against Italy and drove well."

Image source, Getty Images

After the last round of World Cup host announcements went so swimmingly, Fifa has marked our cards for the next round of fun and games.

The hosts for 2026 will be chosen by the Fifa congress in May 2017, secretary general Jerome Valcke said on Friday.

So, that's something to look forward to...

Belgium coach Marc Wilmots has dropped Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj for the forthcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers against Cyprus and Israel.

The 20-year old had featured in every squad, including for last year's World Cup, since deciding to play international football for Belgium last April.

"I have no doubts at all about his quality, it's just that there's little chance to see him, for him to show that quality," Wilmots said.

Gus Poyet has broken his silence four days after being relieved of his duties as Sunderland head coach.

The 47-year-old was sacked on Monday in the wake of a 4-0 home defeat by Aston Villa.

On the day his successor Dick Advocaat met the media for the first time, Poyet said in a statement: "Certainly I am very disappointed to have left Sunderland, but I am extremely honoured to have served this special club as their manager."

Ben Smith
BBC Sport

"Johnny McKinstry, the 29-year-old Northern Irishman, has been appointed manager of Rwanda.

"McKinstry previously led Sierra Leone into the top 50 of the Fifa world rankings as the youngest manager in international football.

"His new appointment will see him take charge of not only the Rwanda national Team, but also the U23 and U20 teams; with qualification games this year for AFCON 2017, the 2018 World Cup, as well as the 2016 Olympics."

Image source, Getty Images

Goalkeeper Jack Butland has signed a contract extension with Stoke.

The 22-year-old's new deal runs until the summer of 2019.

Chief executive Tony Scholes told the club's website: "I'm delighted that Jack has decided to extend his contract with us. He's a player that Mark Hughes holds in very high regard."