this is bbc news, the top stories at 6:30pm. the prime minister says there will be greater flexibility on public sector pay, following yesterday's above 1% rise for police and prison staff. labour says all public workers should be guaranteed a pay rise in line with inflation. hundreds of private patients of the breast surgeon ian paterson, who were subjected to unnecessary operations, will share £37 million in compensation. paterson is serving 20 years injail. security arrangements at the school attended by prince george are under review, after a ao—year—old woman was arrested, on suspicion of attempted burglary. on the eve of the start of the grenfell tower inquiry, a bbc survey of half the uk's tower blocks, has found virtually none of them, have sprinkler systems. in a moment it will be time for sportsday but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. beyond 100 days is up at seven.

christopher ruddy will be on the programme, a close friend of donald trump and editor of the website newsmax media. afterjean—claude juncker‘s speech in the european parliament, we'll talk to iceand's foreign minister, about life outside the eu, and getting the view from greece and germany. and there are three first time authors on this year's booker prize short list, including one who still works in a book shop, who's now selling her own work. now it is time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'mjohn watson. coming up tonight. can tottenham get their champions league campaign off to a winning start, at wembley? liverpool take on sevilla — with want away forward phillipe with want away forward phillipe coutinho expected to feature. and we'll look ahead to the big fight in vegas at the weekend between two of boxing's best pound for pound fighters — canelo alvarez and gennady golovkin.

hello there and welcome to the programme — european football's top club competition dominates the sporting agenda again tonight with liverpool embarking on only their second champions league campaign in eight seasons. what an atmosphere it promises to be at anfield as they take on sevilla. manchester city are in the netherlands to play feyenoord — we'll be there shortly. but we start at wembley where spurs are again playing their home games in the competition. they take on german side borussia dortmund. our reporter chris slegg is there for us. let's talk about tottenham's format wembury. they only won one game in the group stage last season there. it doesn't feel like home just yet, does it? —— wembley. it doesn't feel like home just yet, does it? -- wembley. it really doesn't and it's a tough start to a

tough group, dortmunder runner—up here four seasons ago, they are not a strong as they were back then and also in the group real madrid who won the last two champions league titles. you expect tottenham and dortmund to be vying for second place, apoel nicosia are the makeweights of the group, their terrible format wembury, just one win in the last ten games, tottenham have lost their first two champions league matches here last season, they were effectively out of the competition before it began and harry kane admits they have to get off toa harry kane admits they have to get off to a much better start this time round. got off to a bad start, which didn't help us. i think we have to do better at home and thatis we have to do better at home and that is something we have learned for this year, make sure we win our home games because away in the champions league it will always be difficult no matter who you play. try and improve on our home form. we are ina try and improve on our home form. we are in a tough group but it's a good test for us, the players are excited to play against the best teams in europe and ourgroup

to play against the best teams in europe and our group proves that. we wa nt europe and our group proves that. we want to be known as one of the best teams in europe and like i said the only way to do that is to compete in the champions league. we have got to go out there and just play our game, we cannot think too much about them and what they will do. if we play to the best of our ability we will win the best of our ability we will win the game. harry kane has had it typically baron august at that behind him with two goals at the weekend. they will have to do without dele alli to magma banned for half the group stage, three—game suspension for being sent off against gent. dortmund have also is of injury problems and tottenham will take some comfort from that but they will be wary of the talented forward pierre—emerick aubameyang, who got three goals against them when dortmund won 5—1 on aggregate in the europa league a couple of seasons back. a really daunting start for tottenham. absolutely, chris slegg life at wembley, thank

you. dele alli will be a for spurs. the brazilian forward phillipe coutinho has been training this week having been named in liverpool's squad to take on sevilla tonight and could feature for his club side for the first time this season. the wantaway forward handed in a transfer request over the summer in a bid to push through a move to barcelona, butjurgen klopp says he's fit and healthy, having missed the start of the season with a back problem, and is expecting a tough contest against the side they lost to in the 2016 europa league final. they had a good start of the season, they changed the manager and found again really good one. an outstanding job from seville again in the last few years, lost their sports direct and the manager and they are still there around the top of the league. really strong side, it is really the champions league and we know who we will face. the brazilian goalkeeper ederson has been named in manchester city's squad for their match with feyenoord. he needed eight stitches in his face after being caught by sadio mane during the win over liverpool on saturday.

it's city's seventh consecutive champions league campaign. and our commentator conor mcnamara has been assesing their chances ahead of kick—off. there is great expectancy around here from feyenoord fans, notjust in the city of rotterdam, they are very popular all across the netherlands and it's 15 years since they've been involved in the group stages of the champions league, having won the dutch title last year and gotten off to a good start this new season as and gotten off to a good start this new season as well, four wins from fourfor manager new season as well, four wins from four for manager giovanni van bronckhorst in the dutch league and there is hope feyenoord can cause problems for manchester city this evening. for the city manager pep guardiola, he will want to improve on last year's showing, city knocked out in the last 16 stage by monica but he knows from his time at barcelona and bayern munich that this is a competition that is never easy. it is a dream to be here again ata easy. it is a dream to be here again at a club like manchester city. we

have fought a lot to qualify to be there because the gap was so close between us, between arsenal, between liverpool and between manchester united. and we have fought a lot to be here. we start our road, and from my experience in barcelona and bayern munich we know how difficult qualifying for the next steps, semifinals, quarterfinals, but always a way it was so tough. pep guardiola's big decision in terms of tea m guardiola's big decision in terms of team selection is whether to include the goalkeeper ederson, the brazilian received eight stitches to his face in the collision with liverpool's sadio mane on saturday but has been training with the rugby style scru m but has been training with the rugby style scrum cap over the last 48 hours, and he will look like better check if he takes to the pitch this evening. they are hopeful he will start. manchester city look to build on what has been a promising beginning from english clubs in the champions league this season following the wins for manchester united and chelsea last night. conor mcnamara reporting. he's back in management. at 70, the oldest permanent appointment in premier league history.

and roy hodgson has set his sights on keeping crystal palace in the premier league. he was named as frank de boer‘s successor yesterday. and has fond memories of time spent at selhurst park as a young boy. certainly when i was on the terraces i had dreams of playing for the team i suppose when i became a coach later on coaching the team, a lot has happened between times. in some ways it's very rewarding to find myself here now, at a difficult time, of course, but at a club i've a lwa ys time, of course, but at a club i've always loved and admired and a club i think has huge potential and represents so many people. huge potential but he has a big job on his hands, hasn't he? the international olympic committee has been criticised by member dick pound for its failure to tackle the corruption crisis gripping the organisation. last week, police raided the home of carlos nuzman, the head of the brazilian olympic committee — as they investigate "strong evidence" of vote—buying to secure rio's 2016 bid. we have taken a severe hit in terms

of credibility. that hasn't got any better. every time another ioc is implicated in something potentially nefarious, we lose more credibility and that is concerning to me, and i think to a lot of my colleagues. what are we doing? we are just sitting there taking all of these hits and doing nothing about it. time to round up some of the day's other sports stories. england will end a four—year wait to face double world champions new zealand, after announcing they will host the all blacks in next year's autumn internationals. england last beat new zealand in 2012, before losing four times to them in 2014 — they will face them in the second match of the series at twickenham which also sees them take on south africa, japan and australia. england missed out on a first series win against new zealand, after losing 62—55 defeat in the third and final test in hamilton. they were leading 30—26 at half

time, but the silver ferns pulled away in the third quarter to secure a 2—1 series win. valtteri bottas has signed a new contract with mercedes to race for the world champions in 2018. the finn is currently third in the formula one drivers‘ standings in his debut season for the team. britain's four—time paralympic swimming champion bethany firth will miss this month's world para swimming championships in mexico with an ankle injury. firth won three of her golds at last summer's games in rio and one at london while competing for ireland. and essex are edging closer to a first county championship title since 1992. they declared on 369—9 on the second day of their match against warwickshire. 0pener varun chopra made 98. warwickshire finished on 7—0 in their second innings — still 161 behind. england captainjoe root admits that his place in the batting order

is up for discussion as england try to build a winning team for the ashes. root batted at four this summer, his preferred place in the order, but england have struggled to fill the number three spot. root says the key to england's success this winter will be building collective strength. iamjust i am just happy to score runs and it was nice this summer being able to make sure i got, sort of took the time out on occasions to make sure that i could do bothjobs to time out on occasions to make sure that i could do both jobs to the best of my ability. if that changes in the future and i feel more co mforta ble, in the future and i feel more comfortable, so be it. ultimately, we have got to look at how is the best way to win. it would be silly to think of the two series that i feel like i've got the job down. it's going to take time to. it's going to be a consistent learning process for me. to start as well as we have and to play in the manner we

have won as well has been pleasing. it bodes well for the winter to come. incredible to think it's been more than a year since britain's most successful gymnast max whitlock made history to win britain's first well, becoming in britain's first 0lympic well, becoming in britain's first olympic champion in gymnastics. since then he's taken a break from the sport to get married, which means next month's world championships in montreal will be his first major tournament since rio. he's told our sports correspondent natalie pirks just why he's making his gold winning routines even harder. what has this last year been like for you? britain's first 0lympic champion in gymnastics, and a 11 at that. it was a whirlwind to be honest at first, it was a crazy feeling and even now it feels surreal. but now i feel it's brilliant it feels so surreal because i'm not done in the sport i wa nt to because i'm not done in the sport i want to keep going and doing as much asi want to keep going and doing as much as i can and my target is to go on for another two cycles if i can,

seven or eight years, if i can go to another two 0lympics that would be my dream. you had a party on the anniversary, what was it like? everyone came around in the gb kit and we have flags everywhere and they made cakes with my face on it and we watched the final back which was crazy, because i've only actually see my routines that i done there, i haven't seen it much at all, so that was the first time watching the whole thing back. i watched the other gymnasts, what they done, and it was brilliant to watch, it really was, and it made me nervous and i was watching it like i didn't know the end result. it was weird. i think it's because i was watching that and it was as i was in the middle of the build—up for the world championships. it got me really motivated and pumped up because i'm coming back to compete in my first competition since my first major. i can't wait to get back on the world stage. 0bviously retaining titles is the massive motivation, because i've always

going to competition is trying to think about medals. i'm still trying to do the same for this one, i try not to think about results, i've upgraded my routines, thinking about new routines, thinking about going through clean and the potential, that's what i hope for at the weekend. at the back of my mind i'm looking at the greats in sport in general and look at the people who have got the gold medal and reached the pinnacle of their career and they go and do it again and they go and do it again. they are the legends of the sport and that is what i aspire to be like. tell us about the upgrades, what will they be like? the floor is a big change and challenge for me, i've got five tumbles in my routine, and i've upgraded four of them. the pommel horse, i've upgraded two skills in that which has put my start screw up a couple of attempts. they are all big things. it's hard to put even one new skill in so i'm doing a big jump one new skill in so i'm doing a big jump but it's what i want to do, that's the level i want to go to. do

you get recognised a lot more now? is it selfie tastic down the street? the recognition has gone up, which is great not just the recognition has gone up, which is great notjust for the individuals but for the sport as well and the pressure has gone up as well. i try and spin that as a positive as well because there are so many more people watching gymnastics now and i spin that as there are so many more people supporting us and so many more people watching and wanting us to do well and do well for our country. what more can we ask for? he certainly put on a spectacle, didn't he? we have another big spectacle in las vegas this weekend. three weeks on from the mayweather mcgregor fight, we have another big show in las vegas this weekend. the eyes of the boxing world will be on these two, arguably two of the greatest current pound—for—pound fighters. canelo alvarez and gennady golovkin meet in what is the most significant fight since floyd mayweather defeated manny pacquiao in 2015. 0ur reporter ade adedoyin is live in las vegas for us.

i guess not quite the hype we saw ahead of the mcgregor — mayweather fight, but certainly two hugely respected fighters and this is a fight many have wanted to see, isn't it? yes, welcome to vegas, in the auditorium where the final head—to—head conference will take place shortly. you mentioned there has not been the same hype and hysteria as the mayweather— mcgregor fight but you are right, this is the one the fight fans have been waiting forfor a one the fight fans have been waiting for for a number of years. one the fight fans have been waiting forfor a number of years. you mentioned mayweather, and likened the fight to the fight with manny pacquiao and that's correct because it was a matchup for all two of the best pound for pound fighters at the time and this is a similar situation because both men are outstanding fighters and the best around at the moment. gennady golovkin is undefeated in his professional career, of 37 wins 33 have come by knockout and gennady golovkin is a huge star in his own right, do timewatch champion, lost once in 51

bouts to floyd mayweather in vegas backin bouts to floyd mayweather in vegas back in 2013 command no disgrace in losing to a man who will go down in history as one of the all—time greats. in regards to the mayweather— mcgregor fight, i greats. in regards to the mayweather— mcgregorfight, i was here and oscar de la hoya promoting this bout says as far as pure boxing is concerned there is no comparison between the two contests. a couple of weeks ago we had that spectacle to take place, now this is a real fight. these are the two best middleweights in the division. i would call it 8—9 rounds of hell for both guys. this is not going to be a walk in the park for anybody. i think golovkin is a machine, monster, kennewell is a knockout artist, they don't know how to take artist, they don't know how to take a step going backwards, they are the most skilled boxes on the planet now mayweather has retired. —— canelo. if you want to see a real fight tune in on saturday. that is what we want to see but there are some questions over the timing of alvarez taking on this

fight because obviously it's been a long time coming. why have there been? is over what he's decided to ta ke been? is over what he's decided to take it now? yes, i think when it comes to the big fights it takes a number of yea rs big fights it takes a number of years to get these matchups done. the critics of saul alvarez say he has been avoiding golovkin, his promoter 0scar has been avoiding golovkin, his promoter oscar de la hoya who i spoke to yesterday at the grand arrival ceremony, it wasn't a case of avoiding golovkin, they were just waiting for alvarez to mature into the middleweight division to become a bigger and stronger opponent. you get a sense of how big an occasion this is because at the grand arrival ceremony yesterday there were lots of fa ns ceremony yesterday there were lots of fans waving mexican flags, lots of fans waving mexican flags, lots of people with banners with canelo emblazoned on it and he is a huge star in mexico, mexican idol. vegas has a huge hispanic community here. there is also the other occasion that this fight is happening on mexico's independence day weekend so you get the sense of a huge occasion. as far as the contest is concerned, they are talking about this is going down as one of the

greatest middleweight fights of all time and with mayweather retired and manny pacquiao at the end of his career boxing needs another superstar. there is a lot riding on saturday's fight, not just the superstar. there is a lot riding on saturday's fight, notjust the belt but their position in the sport. ade adedoyin, thank you. adedoyin, thank you. ade adedoyin live in las vegas head of that big fight to come this weekend. we like to bring something on sportsday that is different when we can. this will take some topping. this is swiss freestyle skier andri ragettli who as part of his training has set up what can only be described as a kind of assault course — with various balance ropes. he posted it online as he prepares to compete at the 2018 winter olympics. seeing is believing, and watched in its entirety. i'll be back with sportsday at 10:30pm. for now though, enjoy. we will leave you with those

pictures and i will have plenty more for you on sportsday at 10:30pm. there he is, another little treat for you. it is fantastic to see, isn't it? if only i could produce something similar that really would be something. great way to round it off with that somersault. i will be back at 10:30pm with the latest as far as the champions league is concerned, tottenham, manchester city and liverpool are all featuring. for now, goodbye. you're watching bbc news.