The championship will represent Easterby's first time acting as a head coach since leaving the Scarlets in 2014.

While Farrell will return to post after the Lions Test series against the Wallabies, the former flanker is looking forward to his time at the top of the coaching ticket.

"I'm really excited," he said.

"It's something I've been around for a while. I've been involved in the team for 10 or 11 years.

"When I had the opportunity, when Faz had the opportunity to coach the Lions, I spoke to the Irish management around that and I was delighted to accept. I'm really lucky to have the opportunity."

Farrell was still in place for Ireland's November internationals, when the side won three out of four Tests, and Easterby says the pair have remained in contact since.

"We chat regularly," he added.

"He's got other things to think about at the moment, but we speak regularly.

"He's always on the other end of a phone call if we need him. I spoke prior to coming in and I'm sure we'll speak over the next few months."

England can confound their critics by landing a Grand Slam in the forthcoming Six Nations, says new captain Maro Itoje.

England have not finished higher than third since their most recent title in 2020 and won only five of their 12 Tests in 2024.

"If we play our stuff, if we are the team we believe we can be, we can win," Itoje told BBC Sport. "There is not a team in this tournament that we can't beat."

Itoje took over the role this week from Jamie George, who himself only became captain 12 months ago.

The 30-year-old will lead England in a testing Six Nations opener away to defending champions Ireland on 1 February.

England beat Ireland at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium last year and Itoje says that the scale of the occasion can bring the best from him and his team-mates again.

"We know Ireland are a great team and the Aviva is a great place to play," he said.

"It is a huge game to sink our teeth into and get excited about. I can't wait. These are the challenges that bring out the best out of myself and the team."

Itoje was part of an England team who memorably defeated defending champions and title favourites Ireland in Dublin on the opening weekend of the 2019 championship.

Eddie Jones, sacked as England coach in 2022, masterminded that victory.

The Australian, who will be a pundit for ITV Sport's coverage of this year's Six Nations, has previously doubted Itoje's leadership potential, claiming the second row was "very inward-looking" and did not "usually influence people off the field".

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid and the NHLPA will not appeal his three-game suspension for a cross-check to the head of Vancouver Canucks forward Conor Garland, an NHL source told ESPN on Tuesday.

There was buzz around the league Monday night that McDavid might appeal the ban to commissioner Gary Bettman, who would have the final ruling on any reduction of punishment.

Ultimately, McDavid's camp decided not to appeal, a source told ESPN, with the understanding that the timeline for appeal might not have prevented him from missing the next three games and that Bettman has very rarely adjusted a decision made by the NHL Department of Player Safety.

"I guess we don't overly care about having our best players in the league in the game," Oilers center Leon Draisaitl said Tuesday about McDavid's suspension. "I'll leave it at that."

McDavid, who is fourth in the NHL in scoring with 65 points in 43 games, will miss home games against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, against the Canucks on Thursday and against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. He will forfeit $195,312.51 in salary, which goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

"It's a game, you know. It's a passion, obviously. I don't think he meant to do that," Capitals star Alex Ovechkin told reporters when asked about McDavid missing Tuesday's game. "But sucks for him, good for us. He's not playing tonight, we'll take it."

With less than a minute left in regulation in Saturday night's game, McDavid and Garland toppled to the ice. As McDavid tried to get back to his skates, Garland held his arm, resulting in McDavid giving him a gloved punch to free himself. As McDavid attempted to return to the play, Garland wrapped his arms around the Edmonton captain to take him to the ice a second time. As Garland continued to obstruct McDavid when both reached their feet, McDavid delivered a stiff cross-check to Garland's head.

The Department of Player Safety noted that this was not a routine play by McDavid to box out an opponent or gain body position.

"Having just been involved physically with Garland, McDavid retaliates aggressively and intentionally, escalating the altercation by raising his stick significantly and making this contact: a high cross-check that makes direct contact with an opponent's head with sufficient force to warrant supplemental discipline," the department said in its suspension video.

McDavid was previously suspended once in his NHL career for an illegal check to the head of the New York Islanders' Nick Leddy in February 2019. He was also fined $5,000 in March 2021 for elbowing Jesperi Kotkaniemi of the Montreal Canadiens.

Oilers players on Tuesday said they disagreed with the suspension.

Defenseman Mattias Ekholm said the suspension was "way too high" and that it was "mind-blowing" that the NHL Department of Player Safety could arrive at that number.

Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers was also suspended three games for a cross-check to the head of Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard that occurred right after the McDavid incident.

"I think three games is a little too much for either side," Draisaitl said.

The NHL doesn't have an official source for starting goaltender announcements. There aren't any rules, aside from the immediate leadup to puck drop via lineup cards as to who will start.

That said, the evolution of the probable and confirmed starters on social media across the past 15 years has been impressive. Today, there exists an ecosystem in which the news oftentimes comes out well ahead of gametime. Some sites even archive this information with sources of the news.

That will be helpful as we wonder whether the announcement of a backup goaltender's appearance can move the lines.

Now, there are a lot of factors to consider in this question that, frankly, are nearly impossible to answer. Chief among them is whether lines move because of an internal sportsbook decision or because of how much action one side is getting or a combination of both. Beyond that, there are many other factors to consider when a backup goaltender gets the nod: Are they that much of a downgrade from the starter? Is the matchup tasty enough to not matter? How much lead time came with the confirmation? Does the opposition's goaltending choice also play a role?

It's quite a mess of factors, so this is a 15,000-foot view.

The Dallas Stars are likely going to confirm Jake Oettinger for Tuesday's matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes, as backup Casey DeSmith got the nod in a back-to-back set for the Stars on the weekend. But Dallas is one of the few teams for which this framing works, as the number of teams that have a clear starter and clear backup is dwindling with the reliance on tandems. Only eight teams (including the Stars) have a goaltender who starts more than 70% of their games, and another seven teams have one above 65%.

So how have the lines progressed in some of the 12 games DeSmith has started this season?

Let's follow his season. DeSmith's first game was Oct. 13 against the Seattle Kraken. The Stars opened as -200 favorites on ESPNBET. The confirmation tweet saved on LeftWingLock from a Dallas Morning News reporter on X occurred the day prior to the matchup, so bettors had almost 36 hours to contemplate the situation. The line slipped from -200 to close at -170 by puck drop.

However, DeSmith went out and posted a shutout against the Kraken, and then reeled off solid showings in his next three starts that settled the line movement on his appearances. In fact, when he was confirmed at noon on Nov. 18 for a start against the Anaheim Ducks, the line for the Stars moved from -400 to -450 by gametime.

But DeSmith struggled, allowing four goals to the Ducks and then six goals to the Blackhawks in his next game. That seemed to sour bettors by the time his next start rolled around. On Dec. 2, he was confirmed by the Dallas Stars staff writer in the middle of the afternoon. A Stars line that started at -140 in the morning, fell to -125 by puck drop.

DeSmith had a quality outing in that game, followed by four more quality outings to bring us to this past Saturday, when he started against the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars were the underdogs in this one from the start and DeSmith's presence wasn't announced until just a couple of hours until game time. The line moved positively, if only slightly from +115 to +105.

To put a bow on DeSmith's campaign thus far, he then allowed six goals to the Avs. Given the reaction for him in previous outings following a rough one, we should expect the Stars favor to fall on his confirmation for his next game.

But what about the results?

The moneyline for the Stars only hit on six of DeSmith's 12 starts and they beat the spread in only four of 12. Specifically, they are 5-5 on the moneyline as the favorite with DeSmith starting and 1-1 as the underdog. Given that, overall this season, the Stars are 27-13 as the favorite and 2-4 as underdogs, there is some evidence to avoid the Stars when DeSmith gets the nod.

Fortunately, that does not look like it will be the case on Tuesday.

Featured game

Carolina Hurricanes at Dallas Stars

8 p.m., American Airlines Center

Watch live on ESPN+ and Hulu.

Stars (-1.5, +180), -130 money line
Hurricanes (+1.5, -235), +110 money line
Total 5.5: (Over -125, Under +105)

Latest odds as of publication. For latest odds movement, go to ESPN BET.

The Hurricanes blow into Dallas having just escaped the Windy City -- narrowly -- with a victory on Monday evening. Fredrik Andersen made his return to the crease for Carolina after months away, so we know we'll see Pyotr Kochetkov back in net. Roope Hintz comes in questionable for the Stars, while Mason Marchment is still expected out for the week, so Dallas has a tightened top six.

The Hurricanes have only been underdogs four times on the road this season, splitting both the moneyline and puck line 2-2 on those occasions. The Stars have commanded at home, 16-6 on the moneyline as favorites and 13-9 against the spread (which is very good considering the league average is 40.2% ATS).

The total might be something to attack here, as the Stars help drive a lot of unders this season. First off, they are 70.8% under at home (league average 54.1%), and secondly they are 68.0% under on 5.5 totals (league average is 48.4%). As seen above, this is a Stars home game with a 5.5 total. For their part, the Canes are right on the league averages for over/under on the road and at 5.5 totals.

Especially with the Hurricanes on the second leg of a road back-to-back, let's take the Stars spread at -1.5 (+180) and the under total at 5.5 (+105) for a tidy parlay.

For props, both teams limit shots on goal by forwards, ranking 28th (Dallas) and 29th (Carolina) for shots per game by forwards. Martin Necas under 2.5 shots (-190) or Logan Stankoven under 2.5 shots (-200) stand out as options.

Betting trends

Some of the other clear backup goaltenders have much stronger swings to the lines associated with their starts.

When it's not Juuse Saros in the Nashville Predators net, confidence sinks in the Predators side of the moneyline. Some examples include Oct. 26 (-270 opening to -195 by puck drop) and Nov. 7 (+160 to +180) back when Scott Wedgewood was the backup, but also more recently with Justus Annunen on Jan. 4 (opened as -120 favorites, closed as +110 dogs) and Jan. 14 (-105 to +115). The Preds are 5-5 on the moneyline for non-Saros games and 6-4 against the spread.

We might just see Annunen against the Sharks on Tuesday given the recent start trends for the Predators. It's worth watching to see if a confirmation comes for the backup whether the Predators -360 starts to sink as puck drop approaches. Certainly that low payout isn't going to game-change any parlays, but it's an example of the potential situation we are looking at here.

The Winnipeg Jets are another example, with Eric Comrie confirmed starts showing sinking confidence as the game approaches in virtually every case. Sure enough, the Jets are 3-8 on the moneyline for Comrie starts. The confidence also drops in the Boston Bruins when Joonas Korpisalo gets the nod.

But the backup's results as compared to the starter has an impact on this. Bettors' confidence in the Edmonton Oilers actually tends to improve in games when Calvin Pickard is in net. Since the team is 11-4 on the moneyline when he is in the crease, that confidence is warranted.

Some backups don't seem to impact the odds. When Jake Allen starts, there is no trend for line movement for the New Jersey Devils. That may change if the team continues to be 5-9 on the moneyline when he starts. About half of Joel Hofer's starts for the St. Louis Blues show confidence rising, and the other half show it dropping. The team is 10-5 on the moneyline with Hofer getting the nod. The Tampa Bay Lightning have little line movement when Jonas Johansson is the starter. They are 5-5 on the moneyline.

So what to make of all of this?

Well, some of the time, when a backup goaltender is a clear step down from the starter and when the confirmation is made early enough, there tends to be some line movement that shows decreased confidence (which is a better payout) for the team. But as we see from the results, a lot of that decreased confidence is very much warranted. The backups don't tend to have a great track record for victory, which is probably why they are the backup.

There are two situational takeaways here, even if the overall trends are fuzzy at best.

If you are confident in a team winning a certain game regardless of whether the backup starts, you could use this sinking confidence trend to wait to place the wager, thus improving your payout odds.

If you are on the fence about a game and see the backup confirmed, you should consider shying away from the bet.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has said he is "very, very proud" of becoming the first player in the club's history to score 50 goals in European competition following his strike in the 2-1 win over Lille.

Salah opened the scoring at Anfield on Tuesday night as Arne Slot's side guaranteed automatic qualification for the Champions League Round of 16.

Substitute Harvey Elliott made sure of the victory for Liverpool in the second half after Jonathan David had restored parity for Lille, who were reduced to 10 men after Aïssa Mandi was dismissed for a second yellow card offence.

"Of course it is something I'm very proud of and it comes with a win so that's great," Salah told TNT Sports after the game.

"It's something incredible. To be the first player to achieve that makes me proud. Very, very proud. I've worked so hard for that so I'm glad to achieve it."

Salah has scored 45 goals for Liverpool in the Champions League (including one in the qualifying rounds) and five in the Europa League. In total, he has scored 61 career goals in European competition across spells at FC Basel (7), Chelsea, Fiorentina (1), Roma (3) and on Merseyside.

Liverpool have now won all seven of their games in the Champions League this season and are also six points clear the top of the Premier League table .

Their form is such that Brentford boss Thomas Frank described Slot's side as the "best team in the world" following their 2-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium at the weekend, but Salah believes they still have work to do to earn that tag.

"I wouldn't say the best, I would say one of the best," he said.

"The way we play, the way we help each other. We have a very good gameplan but so far this is nothing because we are still in January so we need to carry on like this and we'll see at the end of the season."

After Salah's latest moment of brilliance this season, Slot piled more praise on his striker.

"Special, I think is the word that describes Mo's performance at this club the best - or maybe there are even better words to use, but he's been outstanding for this club for so many years," Slot said.

Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report

Match winner Raphinha said Benfica insults sparked a scuffle in the tunnel after his stoppage-time goal earned Barcelona a remarkable 5-4 comeback win at the Estádio da Luz in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Raphinha's 96th-minute strike was just one part of a sensational ending in the pouring Lisbon rain, with Benfica coach Bruno Lage then dressing his players down on the pitch at full time after they had led 3-1 and 4-2.

The drama continued as the players headed down the tunnel, with Raphinha at the center of the commotion as both teams clashed.

"I'm someone who respects everyone," Raphinha, who previously played for Benfica's rivals Sporting CP, told reporters after the game. "When I was leaving the pitch, people were insulting me. I returned the insults. I know I shouldn't. It got heated with the Benfica players ... they preferred to insult me.

"I'm someone who doesn't let anything lie. I respect them if they respect me, but I don't shut up if they insult me. It's normal after an ending like that to a match."

A barely believable night had preceded those events, with Raphinha saying he's in the best form of his career after scoring twice as Barça made it six successive wins in the Champions League to book their passage directly to the round of 16.

Raphinha's winner was his eighth in Europe this season -- only bettered by teammate Robert Lewandowski's nine -- and took his tally in all competitions for the campaign to a career-high 22.

"I think I am in the best moment of my career, yes," the Brazilian international added. "We knew it would be hard here, we knew how good they were, especially playing in front of their fans, their players individually and as a team, but what matters is that we knew to keep our focus during the entire game.

"We had the mindset that we could turn the game around after the break, scoring a second to get back into the game and we managed to do it in the end. We never gave up and grabbed a win."

Benfica had earlier taken advantage of several Barça mistakes to lead 3-1 at half-time courtesy of a hat trick from Vangelis Pavlidis.

The Greece international opened the scoring in the second minute and completed his treble inside half an hour after Lewandowski had briefly levelled from the penalty spot.

Pavlidis rolled his second goal into an empty net after goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny had taken out his own defender, Alejandro Balde, when coming for the ball.

He then completed his hat trick with a penalty after Szczęsny fouled Kerem Aktürkoğlu.

"It was a crazy game," Barça coach Hansi Flick said in a news conference. "Benfica did really well, especially in the first half, but we made a lot of mistakes. We didn't defend very good.

"It's important we speak about this. The next opponents will look at this match and we have to make it better. We will do that.

"At half-time we said we wanted to change something; we need better positioning. And we said we want to come back."

Another goalkeeping error gave Barça a route back into the game, with Anatoliy Trubin's drilled pass ricocheting off Raphinha's head 20 yards out and rebounding back into the goal.

A Ronald Araújo own goal looked to have sealed the points for Benfica, but a second Lewandowski penalty and an Eric García header inside the final 12 minutes set up a grandstand finish as both sides went all out for the win.

Szczęsny made a super save from Ángel Di María and minutes later, as Benfica appealed for a penalty, Raphinha was sent through at the other end to seal the win.

"The best thing is the mentality of the team in the second half, they always believe in themselves," Flick added. "It's unbelievable. I was happy with one point, but with three it's much better. It was a great finish. We invest a lot in the second half, we create more chances and we deserved it."

The victory means Barça have booked their place in the round of 16 with a game to spare, at home to Italian side Atalanta next week.

Therefore, they dodge two extra fixtures in February, when teams that finish between 9th and 24th will take place in a two-legged knockout tie for a place in the round of 16.

"Reaching directly the final 16, this will help us a lot for the rest of the season, I am 100% sure about that," Flick said. "The most important thing is we need time to train. This is very important. You can see in the match we are making mistakes, but there is no opportunity to train things in the two days or one day we have.

"It's all about recovery, getting back the energy and to be fit for match day. For the players it's really tough."

Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said he has given little importance to Lionel Messi's provocative celebration following his goal against Club América on Saturday, before claiming that Liga MX teams have always been "hostile" against Argentinians.

Messi incited the Club América fan base attending the friendly at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas after scoring in the 34th minute and making a "3-0" hand gesture in reference to Argentina's three World Cup victories against Mexico's zero.

"No, the truth is that I have not spoken to Leo, so I have not given it more importance," Mascherano said on Tuesday.

"I think that we have more important issues to deal with, yes and logically I have had to play against Mexican teams and against the Mexican national team, we know that they are usually hostile towards us Argentines and well I think that also after the World Cup that wound is still open."

Mexico lost to Argentina 2-0 at the 2022 World Cup as El Tri were eliminated from the tournament at the group stage.

Club América head coach Andre Jardine and the team has not publicly commented on the situation, but instead were seen hugging with members of Inter Miami following the match. Miami won the match 3-2 on penalties.

"We obviously faced a rival who is the three-time champion of Mexico, a rival who has been playing the same way for years, who has a very clear style and that is why they have achieved the successes they have in Mexico. And the truth is, it's a very good feeling, I think defensively, how we worked in that middle block of waiting positions in which we had planned the game," Mascherano said.

"Perhaps, obviously, if there is some aspect we are going to focus on is having the ball more, we weren't able to, especially at the beginning of the game, to have a clean start and that perhaps did not allow us to have the possession that at least we as a coaching staff like.

Inter Miami will now prepare to embark on the South and Central portion of their preseason, traveling to Peru to face Universitario at the Estadio Monumental "U." Mascherano expects to have a full squad with no injuries.

"We resume training today because we arrived on Sunday very, very late and we prefer to rest both Sunday and Monday so from what I understand, the doctors told me they are all available to be able to train -- even Facundo Farías. He's going to be part of the training; he had a problem last week, but everything is fine."

Inter Miami will also travel to Panama to play against Sporting San Miguelito and Honduras to face Olimpia before concluding the preseason on Feb. 14 in Tampa vs Orlando City.