There will be plenty at stake when Arsenal and Tottenham meet in the North London derby in the English Premier League.Arsenal will be hoping to keep the pressure on leaders Manchester United, while Spurs’ eyes will be on the Champions League when they go head to head at White Hart Lane on Wednesday.
The Gunners are six points behind United with six games to play and – with far too many points dropped by the Londoners in the second half of the season – they will need luck to have any chance of upsetting Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.
For Harry Redknapp’s men, the rest of the season is all about trying to secure a Champions League berth for 2011/12.
Spurs enjoyed a magical run in this season’s European tournament that included defeats of Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Dutch champions Twente and AC Milan before they were eventually eliminated in the quarter-finals by Real Madrid.
Redknapp’s men proved that they could compete among the region’s elite, but with three points between them and fourth-placed Manchester City – albeit with a game in hand – their time in Europe’s premier club competition could prove fleeting.
In their last league game, Spurs played a scintillating first half at home against Stoke on their way to a 3-2 win on April 9.
Arsenal were held to an extraordinary 1-1 draw at home against Liverpool on Sunday, which saw two second-half injury-time penalties converted.
The last time the two sides met, Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead at half-time to hand Spurs their first away win over the Gunners for 17 years, with second-half goals to Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart and Younes Kaboul lifting the visitors to a memorable victory.
Arsene Wenger boasts the healthier of the two squads, with only goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and defender Thomas Vermaelen certain to miss out, although the latter is back in full training after missing most of the season with Achilles tendon problems.
Right back Bacary Sagna could resume after recovering from a knee problem, while midfielder Denilson appears to have overcome a toe complaint.
Redknapp’s problems centre around his defence, with Alan Hutton, Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King all unavailable for selection with respective knee, calf and groin problems.
They could, however, welcome back speedy midfielder Steven Pienaar from a groin strain. Defensive midfielder Wilson Palacios is a chance to return from a knee injury.
Nigeria international midfielder Dickson Etuhu has signed a contract extension to keep him at Fulham until the summer of 2014.
The 28-year-old, who featured for the Super Eagles at the World Cup finals in South Africa earlier this year, has been with the Cottagers for just over two years, scoring four goals in 66 appearances since his arrival from Sunderland.
Etuhu, whose previous deal was set to run out at the end of the season, had previously enjoyed spells with Manchester City, Preston North End, Norwich City and the Black Cats.
He had recently told the Ealing Gazette:"I'm fairly laid back about it to be honest.
"It's a question of wait and see and I'm not the only one with only a year left on my contract.
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"There are at least another five of us and, of course, knowing what the future holds is a way of getting security for your family."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Jermain Defoe has admitted that he feels more pressure to perform due to Tottenham’s excellent 2011-12 campaign, and competing for the Premier League title is similar to representing England.
The diminutive marksman scored the only goal of the game on Tuesday night to give Spurs a hard fought 1-0 win over West Brom, and keep their ambitions of challenging the Manchester clubs for top spot alive.
Defoe is enjoying the added expectancy of the Tottenham fans, and wants to keep the good run of form going.
“I’m loving the pressure,” he admitted to Mirror Football.
“It’s like playing tournament football for England, when everyone is pinning their hopes on you to make the breakthrough.
“It means I have to make sure my preparation is right, that my attitude is right. Because I know how much it means to so many people.
“Everyone saw the tension at our place on Tuesday. The way that the fans, my team-mates and the manager and his staff celebrated when I got that goal and I enjoy being able to make that happen.
“That result on Tuesday shows that we are well and truly in the title race. The lads showed so much character to keep going when West Brom made it so hard for us.
“City and United know we are a threat, and with every game that we keep on winning we can put pressure on them to keep winning,” he concluded.
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Wigan earned their best away league result this season to claim a crucial victory over relegation rivals Blackpool.The visitors took the lead in the third minute when Hugo Rodallega broke clear and slotted the ball through the legs of Blackpool keeper Matthew Gilks.
Shortly after, Neal Eardley forced Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi to tip his
cross over the bar.
At the other end Gilks had to make a similar fisted clearance from a free kick, and a smart run from Charles N’Zogbia only resulted in a corner.
In added time at the end of the half, N’Zogbia showed some individual brilliance to double his side’s lead.
Collecting the ball midway inside the Blackpool half, he ran past two defenders before firing past Gilks.
Elliot Grandin should have pulled a Blackpool goal back before the interval whistle, but his header went straight at Ali Al-Habsi who held on.
The second half was similar to the first, with very few chances being created by both teams.
The best early opportunity came when Gilks unconvincingly parried away an N’Zogbia cross, however no Wigan player was following in for the loose ball.
The game was put beyond Ian Holloway’s men in the 66th minute when Mohammed Diame’s shot from outside the box took a wicked deflection off Eardley, sending the ball into the corner of the helpless Gilks’ goal.
DJ Campbell managed to reduce the deficit for the home side in the 83rd minute but it was too little too late from a disappointing Blackpool side.
Wigan climb out of the bottom three as a result of the win while Blackpool slip into the drop zone for the first time this season.
Birmingham City have boosted their strikeforce with the signing of former Blackburn Rovers frontman Matt Derbyshire on a season-long loan from Olympiacos.
The 24-year-old former England Under-21 international moved to Greece in January 2009 and helped his club win the Greek Cup final at the end of the season.
However, last term he struggled to make an impact and has been allowed to return to England, with an option for a permanent deal also in place.
Derbyshire scored 20 goals in 86 appearances before leaving Rovers and has also been loaned out to Plymouth Argyle and Wrexham.
Meanwhile, Blues boss Alex McLeish is confident that another new signing, Nikola Zigic, will improve as time goes on, following a debut as a substitute in the 2-2 draw at Sunderland.
McLeish commented:"He was a presence and he will cause problems, but I'll be expecting a lot more from not only Zigic, but everybody.
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"He's got an international pedigree but it's a new league for him. Playing in England is completely different to La Liga.
"The longer ball from the back in English football is something a little bit new for him and I'm going to have to do a wee bit of work on the training ground to help him improve in that respect."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Bolton manager Owen Coyle has admitted that Gary Cahill will most likely leave the club in the next 12 months, despite constant attempts by the Reebok Stadium outfit to keep their star man.
The England international is in the last year of his contract at The Trotters, and will become available on a free transfer come the summer.
Due to the fact that Bolton will not want to lose the central defender on a free transfer, a January sale looks likely as Coyle’s men look to reclaim some financial reward from the centre half.
“If something comes in, I think for Gary, for everybody, it’s probably better sooner than later,” Coyle told The Daily Mail.
“We all accept that if something is going to happen, it is best it isn’t dragged out. There will always be speculation about top players and Gary is certainly in that category.
“You can have a gut feeling about whether he will stay or go, but you could be totally wrong. I would imagine that if he is performing out of his skin, there will be a clamour of clubs for him, because of his contract situation,” he stated.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are all interested in Cahill, with a bidding war set to start come the new year.
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Wales have suffered a major blow with the news that Gareth Bale will miss Saturday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against England.Bale, 21, has been forced to withdraw from the squad for the Group G match at the Millennium Stadium due to a hamstring problem.
The left-sided winger is believed to have been carrying the issue since playing for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur against West Ham United last Saturday.
It was his first full 90 minutes since returning from a back injury suffered in January.
“Due to a hamstring problem, Gareth Bale has had to withdraw from the Wales squad to face England on Saturday,” the Football Association of Wales said in a statement.
“He felt tight last week during training with his club. After playing 90 minutes on Saturday he felt some muscle tightness.”
“Initially, this was expected to be muscle soreness after playing his first game.”
“On joining up with the Welsh squad he was kept off his feet in training for two days to recover.”
“As he still felt tight in the warm-up on Tuesday, Gareth was pulled out of the session. He did not train at all on Wednesday and was sent for a scan. The scan revealed that Gareth Bale picked up his injury last week.”
The loss of Bale will be keenly felt by Gary Speed’s young team.
Wales are bottom of the group after suffering three losses from three matches played so far in their qualification campaign.
Bale has returned to Tottenham for further assessment.
He is expected to be fit for Spurs’ next match away to Wigan Athletic on April 2, as well as the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid three days later.
UEFA president Michel Platini has been released from hospital after fainting in a Johannesburg restaurant on Friday evening.
Platini has been suffering with flu during a hectic World Cup schedule and a series of medical tests revealed no serious problems with the health of the 55-year-old former France international.
Initial reports had speculated that Platini had suffered a heart attack.
However, UEFA and FIFA have released a statement in which they claim he will definitely be in attendance at Sunday's World Cup final between Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City.
"All the medical tests conducted were normal and Mr Platini is looking forward to attending the final," it read.
Earlier in the evening, UEFA spokesman William Gaillard had allayed fears of a serious problem with Platini, who became president of the association in 2007.
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"He is fine," he said. "He had been suffering from a cold and a bit of flu and he fainted before eating in a restaurant."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
As per reports in the Manchester Evening News, Manchester United target Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will make a decision on his future this weekend.
Milinkovic-Savic, valued at £63million by Transfermarkt, currently plays for Lazio in Seria A.
The 23-year-old and his agent, former Chelsea player and fellow Serb Mateja Kezman, have been tight lipped about possible transfer destinations. But that is set to change.
This weekend the Serbian international will play his final club game of the season as Lazio take on Inter in a crucial game that could secure Champions League football for Lazio next season.
Kezman explained that no transfer decision will be made until after that big game.
“The interest in Sergei is enormous,” Kezman said.
“But on Sunday Lazio will have to play the most important game of all and it makes no sense to talk about a transfer. Until the end of the season it is concentrated exclusively on Lazio”.
However reports in the Italian press have suggested that United are the frontrunners for the Serbian and supporters have been quick to react.
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Here are some of the best reactions to the news that the playmaker could be on his way to Old Trafford:
The Third Round of the FA Cup can’t get much better than a Merseyside Derby; one of the most prestigious and historic rivalries in English football kicking off one of our country’s greatest sporting traditions.
Indeed, Liverpool and Everton meet at 7.55pm at Anfield this evening to bring in the Third Round and judging by their most recent clash – a 1-1 draw in December – it looks set to be another tight-knit encounter between the two local rivals. This week’s expert, Liverpool-loving Sam McGuire from Football Whispers, shares his thoughts and predictions ahead of the FA Cup edition of the Merseyside derby…
Having not lost in any competition since October, Liverpool have quietly but surely solidified their top-four credentials over the last few months. They now boast a three-point margin over fourth-place Tottenham and are the same distance behind second-place Manchester United.
But pencilled in to host perennial pace-setters Manchester City when the Premier League returns in a week’s time, it’s inevitably a question of priorities for the Merseysiders.
Should Jurgen Klopp focus his resources on the FA Cup or achieving Champions League qualification?
“If this was your normal FA Cup third round clash then it would make sense for Klopp to rest his key players ahead of City’s visit to Anfield. But this isn’t a normal tie. It’s the Merseyside derby and we owe them for the smash-and-grab last month. There’s enough of a gap between the two matches to field a strong XI in both matches.”
While many argue it degrades the integrity of the competition, there are some positives to the Third Round of the FA Cup becoming the primary occasion in which Premier League managers give chances to young players – something that will particularly resonate at Liverpool, a club famed for their academy products, and with Klopp who owes much of his success to developing young talent.
Are there any Liverpool youngsters you’d like to see make their first appearance or start for the club on Friday?
“Rhian Brewster is probably the obvious one. He’s scoring goals for fun in the academy and he impressed for England. Dominic Solanke isn’t having much luck in front of goal so Brewster could be a bit of a wildcard, something you need in a derby match from time to time. I wouldn’t start him but him coming off the bench could be an intriguing prospect.”
The last time these two sides met in December, Liverpool dominated in terms of possession and efforts on goal, but Everton stole a point at Anfield as Wayne Rooney netted a penalty after a rare breakaway from the underdog visitors.
What lessons need to be learned from that game to ensure Liverpool get the win this time around?
“Liverpool dominated the ball but Everton dominated the space. It looked as though we controlled the game but in reality we created very little and needed a moment of magic from Mohamed Salah to break the deadlock. This time around we need to be more aggressive in our approach.
“Everton will no doubt look to sit deep in compact lines. Liverpool need to probe and stretch the Everton backline instead of opting to play an easier pass and playing the game in front of their defensive lines.”
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Liverpool have scored twice as many Premier League goals as Everton this season and the Toffees have netted just once in their last four games, but the Reds would be wrong to underestimate the visitors’ attacking threat.
Which Everton player is capable of causing Liverpool the most damage?
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“You’d have to say Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He impressed during the derby in December and he earned the penalty. He’s got bundles of energy and he’s the sort of striker to never give the centre-backs a moment’s peace. While Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan have looked assured over recent weeks there are still question marks over them when they’re up against aggressive attackers. We’ve seen it many times before.”
And finally Sam, let’s hear your score prediction…
“I hate doing predictions. Liverpool are without Philippe Coutinho and Salah so that obviously weakens them in the attacking third.
However, I do think they’ll have enough to win. An early goal opens the game up and Everton will have to attack. I’m going with a 3-0 home win.”