English FA Cup Semi-final Draw

FA Cup holders Chelsea will play Aston Villa in the semi-finals and Portsmouth will face either Tottenham or Fulham.

FA Cup Quarter-final Results :
Chelsea 2-0 Stoke
Reading 2-4 Aston Villa
Portsmouth 2-0 Birmingham
Fulham 0-0 Tottenham

FA Cup Semi-Final Draw :
Aston Villa v Chelsea
Fulham/Tottenham v Portsmouth

(Ties to be played at Wembley Stadium on 10 & 11 April).

Stumble It!

FA Cup 6th round draw complete after replays.

FA Cup holders Chelsea will play Stoke City in the Quarter-finals after the Potters beat Manchester City 3-1 after extra-time in Wednesday nights replay.

Replay results :
Aston Villa 3-1 Crystal Palace
Stoke City 3-1 Manchester City (AET)
Tottenham 4-0 Bolton Wanderers
West Brom 2-3 Reading (AET)

The quarter-final ties will be played on the weekend of 6 and 7 March.

Chelsea v Stoke City
Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur
Reading v Aston Villa
Portsmouth v Birmingham City

Stumble It!

Chelsea short price to win EPL title after Manchester Utd stumble

UK bookmaker Betfred make Chelsea the 8/15 favourites to win this season's Premier League after moving four points clear of nearest challengers Manchester United.

Chelsea won 2-0 at struggling Wolves in their 3pm kick-off - taking full advantage of the Man United's lunchtime defeat at Everton.

United are now at 9/4 at BetFred to retain the title ahead of their home fixture against West Ham on Tuesday night.

Third-place Arsenal moved to 55 points - two points behind United - after a 2-0 win at home to Sunderland. With 11 games left to play the Gunners are now a 13/2 chance at BetFred to win their first league title in six years.

Stumble It!

Man United Ryan Giggs out for a month with fractured arm

Manchester United have been dealt an injury blow, with Ryan Giggs ruled out for four weeks with a fractured arm.

Although Sir Alex Ferguson sounded optimistic immediately after United's draw at Aston Villa, the way Giggs held his right arm after the second-half collision with Steve Sidwell and the fact he left for an X-ray with his arm in a sling suggested bad news was on its way.

On Thursday afternoon it was announced that Giggs will miss both legs of the Champions League encounter with AC Milan, the Carling Cup final against Villa at Wembley on February 28, plus a sequence of key Premier League matches.

The only good news is that a four-week absence suggests the damage is relatively minor and Giggs should be back before the crunch encounter with Liverpool at Old Trafford on March 31.

It provides Ferguson with a double headache in terms of his wide players because Nani must now serve a three-match ban following his dismissal for a reckless tackle on Stiliyan Petrov.

Stumble It!

Ashley Cole out for 3 months with fractured ankle

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole fractured his ankle in Wednesday night's 2-1 defeat at Everton and will be out for at least 3 months.

The England left-back is almost certainly out for the remainder of the domestic season and his place in Fabio Capello's squad for the World Cup finals in South Africa this summer will depend entirely on his rehabilitation programme.

Cole's injury will provide Wayne Bridge with the chance to become Capello's first-choice left-back. Bridge has been at the centre of a media storm involving his former Stamford Bridge team-mate John Terry in recent weeks.

Terry was stripped of the England captaincy by Capello after newspaper allegations he had an affair with Bridge's ex-girlfriend - one-time French lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel.

And recently Cheryl Cole was reported as worrying that her husband Ashley might want a piece of Ms Perroncel himself.

So, maybe it looks like the boot is on the other foot now, and while Ashley Cole is in rehab he'd better watch - John Terry might be round in a flash to "help out" Cheryl!

Stumble It!

30-31st Jan : Round-up of English Premier League weekend

Manchester United moved to within a point of Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea as they beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Burnley 1-2 Chelsea

John Terry grabbed a late winner for Chelsea to deny battling Burnley a point at Turf Moor, heading home home a corner from Florent Malouda in the 83rd minute.

It was a cruel blow for the hosts, who had drawn level through Steven Fletcher after Nicolas Anelka had opened the scoring.

Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United

Nani opened the scoring on 33 minutes when his chip across goal was palmed in by Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia, before in-form England striker Wayne Rooney swept home a second following a quick counter attack.

A third on the break from Ji-Sung Park at the start of the second half effectively ended the contest, although defender Thomas Vermaelen netted a consolation for the Gunners.

Birmingham City 1-1 Tottenham

Liam Ridgewell's last-minute strike denied Tottenham a precious victory at Birmingham and left Harry Redknapp's men clinging onto fourth place.

Ridgewell finished off a header across goal by Cameron Jerome to snatch a 1-1 draw for the home side after Spurs looked set to claim victory through Jermain Defoe's 69th-minute effort.

Liverpool 2-0 Bolton

Liverpool coasted to a 2-0 win over Owen Coyle's Bolton at Anfield.

Dirk Kuyt stabbed home the opener in the 37th minute and Liverpoolmade the game safe in the 70th minute when a shot from Emiliano Insua took a huge deflection off Kevin Davies and squirted past Jussi Jaaskelainen in the Bolton goal.

Fulham 0-2 Aston Villa

Villa also kept up the pace with a 2-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage thanks to two goals just before half-time from Gabriel Agbonlahor.

The striker opened the scoring when he headed home Stiliyan Petrov's 40th-minute cross, and four minutes later he turned Brede Hangeland in the box before firing the second past Mark Schwarzer.

Manchester City 2-0 Portsmouth

Manchester City closed to within a point of fourth-spot with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Portsmouth.

There was no joyous celebration as Adebayor rattled his 40th-minute goal past David James, instead he acknowledged the heavens in remembrance of his Togo team mates.

Vincent Kompany then powered home a header from Martin Petrov's corner to ensure the Blues moved to within a point of Tottenham.

English Premier League Top Ten Standings

Team      Pl  GD Pts 
 1 Chelsea     23 +38  54 
 2 Man Utd     24 +36  53 
 3 Arsenal     24 +32  49 
 4 Tottenham   24 +20  42 
 5 Liverpool   24 +16  41 
 6 Man City    22 +14  41 
 7 Aston Villa 23 +13  40 
 8 Birmingham  23  -1  34 
 9 Everton     23  -1  32 
10 Blackburn   24 -15  28

Stumble It!

Arsenal go top with win, Liverpool improve top four chances

Arsenal 4-2 Bolton
Arsenal stormed to the top of the Barclays Premier League as they came from behind to beat Bolton 4-2 at the Emirates Stadium.

Owen Coyle's men - beaten 2-0 by the Gunners on Sunday - took a shock lead after seven minutes through Gary Cahill and Matthew Taylor then doubled the advantage from the penalty spot.

However, Arsene Wenger's young side showed the character of champions to rally before half-time through Tomas Rosicky's strike.

And after Cesc Fabregas netted a controversial equaliser in the 52nd minute, goals from Thomas Vermaelen and Andrey Arshavin ensured the Gunners moved above Chelsea on goal difference.

Liverpool 2-0 Tottenham
Dirk Kuyt's double strike injected new life into Liverpool's stuttering Barclays Premier League campaign as it secured a 2-0 victory over Tottenham.

The Holland international fired home in the sixth minute from the edge of the area and then converted a twice-taken penalty in second-half injury time.

Victory lifted the Reds to within one point of fourth-placed Spurs and eased the pressure on manager Rafael Benitez after early exits from the Champions League and FA Cup.

TOP OF THE TABLE IN ENGLAND

Team        Pl GD  PTS 
1 Arsenal     22 +34  48 
2 Chelsea     21 +34  48 
3 Man Utd     22 +30  47 
4 Tottenham   22 +18  38 
5 Man City    21 +12  38 
6 Liverpool   22 +14  37 
7 Aston Villa 21 +11  36 
8 Birmingham  21  +2  33

Stumble It!

Fabregas is back to help Arsenal beat Bolton 2-0

Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Arsenal
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas produced an impressive display on his return from injury as the Gunners won 2-0 at Bolton.

The Spain midfielder, who missed three matches with a hamstring injury, scored his 10th league goal of the season in the 28th minute after a neat one-two with Eduardo.

His surging run then led to substitute Fran Merida scoring the second 12 minutes from time as former Wanderers' player Coyle's reign got off to a losing start

Aston Villa 0-0 West Ham
Aston Villa failed to cash in on slip-ups by the group challenging for the 4th Champions League spot drawing 0-0 with West Ham.

Manchester City - beaten at Everton - and Tottenham, held at home by Hull, both dropped points on Saturday.

But a combination of a below-par performance and some fine saves by Robert Green meant Aston Villa had to settle for their first goalless draw of the campaign in the top flight.

Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Fulham
Blackburn grabbed their first Premier League win since November as they beat Fulham 2-0 at Ewood Park.

Chris Samba's was in the right place to deflect home an attempted clearance by former Rover Damien Duff after Benni McCarthy's corner caused havoc in the visitors' box in the 24th minute.

Captain Ryan Nelsen headed a 54th-minute second while Fulham had few moments to savour - the best coming from Clint Dempsey with an overhead kick which struck the bar.

Top 10 Standings in the English Premier League

Pl  GD Pts 
 1 Chelsea     21 +34  48 
 2 Man Utd     22 +30  47 
 3 Arsenal     21 +32  45 
 4 Tottenham   21 +20  38 
 5 Man City    21 +12  38 
 6 Aston Villa 21 +11  36 
 7 Liverpool   21 +12  34 
 8 Birmingham  21  +2  33 
 9 Fulham      21  +2  27 
10 Everton     21  -4  26 

Stumble It!

Chelsea and Man United win well, while Spurs, Man City and Liverpool stumble

Chelsea 7 Sunderland 2
Chelsea smashed seven goals past Sunderland to cement their lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League table.

Stoke 1 Liverpool 1
Under-pressure Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez was left to reflect upon what might have been as his side threw away a precious victory at Stoke.

The Reds were leading 1-0 with just seconds of normal time remaining when Germany international Robert Huth stabbed home an equaliser amid a late assault.

Man Utd 3 Burnley 0
Burnley held Manchester United at Old Trafford for 64 minutes before they finally succumbed to Dimitar Berbatov.

The Bulgaria international linked with Wayne Rooney before his shot was deflected past keeper Brian Jensen by defender Michael Duff, and further goals from Rooney and substitute Mame Biram Diouf - his first for the club - made sure of the points.

Everton 2 Man City 0
Everton were good value for their 2-0 victory over Manchester City and sealed the points in the first 45 minutes at Goodison Park.

Steven Pienaar made the breakthrough in the 36th minute and Louis Saha extended their lead with a disputed penalty in first half stoppage-time.

Tottenham 0 Hull 0
Fifth-placed Tottenham could not find a way past lowly Hull as Harry Redknapp's 500th Premier League game ended in stalemate with Tigers keeper Boaz Myhill turning in a fine individual display.

Wolves 0 Wigan 2
Wigan's James McCarthy scored on the hour, and doubled their lead through Charles N'Zogbia with 17 minutes remaining.

Stumble It!

Portsmouth v Birmingham City postponed due to waterlogged pitch

Portsmouth's Premier League match against Birmingham has been postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.

The club invited supporters to help clear the Fratton Park pitch of snow in midweek and were confident that the game would go ahead.

But heavy rain overnight and the forecast of more wet weather to come prompted referee Anthony Taylor to call it off after a 1000 GMT inspection.

Portsmouth are four points adrift at the bottom of the Premier League table.

Stumble It!

Liverpool report major injury blows with Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun out

Liverpool's hopes for the rest of this season have suffered a serious setback with key trio Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun all being sidelined.

The club confirmed the three players were all injured in the FA Cup loss to Reading, will be out for varying lengths of time up to six weeks.

Star striker Torres is the worst affected, ruled out until the end of February with a torn knee cartilage that will require surgery.

Inspirational captain Gerrard is out for a fortnight with a torn hamstring while Benayoun has fractured a rib and will not play again for around four weeks.

A club spokesman said: "Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres both underwent scans earlier today after coming off in the FA Cup tie against Reading.

"Steven has a hamstring strain and will be out for a fortnight, while Fernando has torn a cartilage in his right knee. The injury will require surgery and he is expected to be sidelined for six weeks.

"Yossi Benayoun also suffered a fractured rib in the game and will be unavailable for between three and four weeks."

Stumble It!

Reading dump Liverpool out of FA Cup - winning 2-1 at Anfield

An extra-time goal from Shane Long capped a stunning comeback for Championship strugglers Reading as they knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup.

Liverpool 1-2 Reading

Liverpool fortuitously took the lead when Ryan Bertrand deflected Steven Gerrard's cross into his own net on the stroke of halftime.

Reading pushed for an equaliser throughout the second half and were finally rewarded in injury time when Gylfi Sigurdsson levelled from the penalty spot after a foul on substitute Shane Long.

Long's extra-time header 10 minutes into extra-time proved the decisive blow to send Reading through.

Stumble It!

Midweek Cup fixtures for England - Birmingham City and Liverpool face replays

A look ahead at the midweek Cup fixtures scheduled for England, with "average" odds taken from a selection of bookmakers.

FA CUP

12 Jan 2010                     HOME  DRAW  AWAY
20:45 Birmingham - Nottingham   1.86  3.32  4.01  
20:45 Bristol City - Cardiff    2.50  3.22  2.65  
20:45 Coventry - Portsmouth     2.57  3.23  2.56  
20:45 Derby - Millwall          2.02  3.27  3.45  
20:45 Queens Park - Sheff Utd   2.25  3.25  3.05  
 
13 Jan 2010 
20:45 Liverpool - Reading       1.19  5.64  12.71   
20:45 Newcastle Utd - Plymouth  1.45  3.94  6.98

CARLING CUP

14 Jan 2010  
21:00 Blackburn - Aston Villa   2.76  3.23  2.44 

Stumble It!

Manchester City beat Blackburn 4-1 to move into fourth spot

Carlos Tevez grabbed a hat-trick to move Manchester City into fourth place in the Premier League following a commanding 4-1 victory over Blackburn.

Tevez put City in front from close range in the seventh minute before Micah Richards doubled the lead after a powerful 50-yard surge on 39 minutes.

Tevez extended the lead after the break with a stunning 20-yard finish.

Blackburn pulled a goal back through Morten Gamst Pedersen before Tevez added his third with a superb finish.

Premier League Top Six

Team          Pl  GD PTS 
1 Chelsea     20 +29  45 
2 Man Utd     21 +27  44 
3 Arsenal     20 +30  42 
4 Man City    20 +14  38 
5 Tottenham   20 +20  37 
6 Aston Villa 20 +11  35

Stumble It!

Fulham v Portsmouth Postponed

The big freeze is continuing to decimate this weekend's action in England and Scotland.

The Barclays Premier League game between Fulham and Portsmouth at Craven Cottage on Saturday has become the first to be postponed due to the adverse weather conditions.

The club felt that the conditions around Craven Cottage meant it was too dangerous for fans to get to the ground.

Sky Sports News is also reporting that Liverpool have informed the Premier League they believe Sunday's Anfield fixture with Tottenham should be postponed.

While the pitch at Anfield is believed to be playable, it is thought the surrounding area of the stadium is unsafe for supporters making their way into the ground.

Stumble It!

Portsmouth players still waiting for December wages

Troubled Premier League club Portsmouth have again failed to pay players their December wages, but hope to do so on Wednesday.

Portsmouth have lurched from one financial crisis to another in a troubled season, in which they lie bottom of the league.

Club officials had promised to clear the debt on Tuesday, but a further delay has arisen. The club have now secured a short-term bank loan to pay the players - but they are still completing the necessary paperwork to release the funds

It is the third time the players' wages have been delayed, although the club did pay non-playing staff their December wages on Monday.

On Monday, it was revealed that the Premier League is set to use Portsmouth's share of the latest television monies to pay off the club's debts to other top-flight sides. Chelsea, Tottenham and Watford are all owed money by Pompey and the Premier League will split £7m between them.

The action is allowed within league rules to protect clubs who are owed money from transfers.

And in another blow, the club have been told they will not be able to extend Jamie O'Hara's loan deal from Spurs. The midfielder is due to return to White Hart Lane on 15 January, and with an embargo in place, Pompey cannot re-register him with the Premier League.

Unless another sugar daddy owner appears on the horizon it appears that Portsmouth's stay in the Premier League will end in May, and that this season could have a severe long-term impact on the football club's finances.

Stumble It!

FA Cup : Fourth Round Draw made

The ties for the 4th round of the FA Cup were drawn on Sunday afternoon with Leeds United getting another high-profile game at a Premier LEague club.

Leeds United will now make the trip to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham Hotspur, while Arsenal wiill travel to the Britannia Stadium to face Stoke City.

FA Cup holders Chelsea will face more Championship opposition in the shape of Preston, who destroyed Colchester United 7-0 on Saturday.

If Liverpool can overcome Reading in a replay then they will take on Burnley in an all-Premier League tie.

Meanwhile, Manchester City will face Scunthorpe at Glanford Park - a team they beat 5-1 in the Carling Cup in October.

Ties to be played on weekend of January 23rd/24th
--------------------------------------------
Southampton v Ipswich Town
Reading or Liverpool v Burnley
Millwall or Derby County v Brentford or Doncaster Rovers
Bristol City or Cardiff City v Leicester City
Stoke City v Arsenal
Notts County or Forest Green Rovers v Wigan Athletic
Scunthorpe United v Manchester City
West Bromwich Albion v Plymouth Argyle or Newcastle United
Everton v Nottingham Forest or Birmingham City
Accrington Stanley or Gillingham v Fulham
Bolton Wanderers v Sheffield United or QPR
Portsmouth or Coventry City v Sunderland
Preston North End v Chelsea
Aston Villa v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolves v Crystal Palace
Tottenham Hotspur v Leeds United

Stumble It!

FA Cup 3rd Round :Leeds stun Man Utd with 1-0 win at Old Trafford

Leeds United grabbed a famous FA Cup victory over their fierce rivals Manchester United winning a thrilling tie at Old Trafford 1-0.

Forty-two league places separate League One based Leeds United following the Yorkshire club's dramatic fall from grace during the last decade but Simon Grayson's side showed the rate of their recent revival with a memorable triumph.

Man Utd had not lost in the third round of the Cup during Sir Alex Ferguson's 23-year reign as manager, nor had they been knocked out of it by a lower-division side, but the Red Devils slumped to their biggest upset in this competition since they were dumped out by Bournemouth in 1984.

It was a fully merited win for Leeds too, who were full of endeavour coming forward before Beckford outpaced the Man Utd defence to score and, just as importantly, defended as if their lives depended on it afterwards.

Grayson's men came into the game unbeaten in 15 games and having lost only twice all season but they were still expected to be brushed aside by the Premier League champions, who themselves have found form since their defensive injury crisis abated.

Ferguson will have to look at his team selection, with seven changes to the side that thumped Wigan 5-0 earlier in the week, but he kept Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney together up front and Man Utd should have had far too much fire-power for the visitors to handle.

Instead, roared on by 9,000 fanatical supporters, Leeds set about by first frustrating the hosts and then taking the game to them.

Manchester Utd 0-1 Leeds United
Goal : Beckford 19

Stumble It!

Manchester United and Arsenal win to close in on Chelsea

Manchester United and Arsenal closed the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea with big victories over struggling sides Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth.

Defending champions United beat Wigan 5-0 at Old Trafford while Arsenal were never troubled by bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth and won 4-1 at Fratton Park.

Man United raced into a 3-0 lead by halftime with goals from Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Rafael before Dimitar Berbatov added the fourth soon after the break. Antonio Valencia scored United's fifth against his old club 15 minutes from time.

Arsenal also had the points wrapped up by the break thanks to goals from Eduardo, whose free-kick took a huge deflection off Younes Kaboul, and Samir Nasri.

Aaron Ramsey added a third while Alex Song Billong headed a superb fourth nine minutes from time, after Nadir Belhadj had netted a consolation for the home side.

Chelsea lead the table with 45 points from 20 matches, followed by United on 43 and Arsenal on 41 with a game in hand.

Stumble It!

Who's going to make the top four in England this season?

Manchester City are in the race for a top-four Premier League finish, according to bookmakers after a weekend of twists and turns in the chase for Champions League places.

Everton were the last team to dislodge the 'big four' of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, back in 2004/05

And while Chelsea (not backable), Man United (1.01) and Arsenal (1.17) are short prices for retaining their places the race is on for the fourth spot.

Liverpool are even-money, Manchester City are 6/5 shots after their thrilling 2-1 victory over Chelsea on Saturday, while Spurs, who currently occupy fourth place, are now out to 9/4 for one of those coveted top-four slots after drawing at Everton.

Current standings :

Chelsea --- Pl 15 Pts 36
Man Utd --- Pl 15 Pts 34
Arsenal --- Pl 14 Pts 28
Spurs ----- Pl 15 Pts 27
Villa ----- Pl 15 Pts 26
Man City -- Pl 14 Pts 25
Liverpool - Pl 15 Pts 24

Top Four Betting Odds at Paddy Power
--------------------------------------
Manchester United 1.01 @ Paddy Power
Arsenal 1.17 @ Paddy Power
Liverpool 2.00 @ Paddy Power
Manchester City 2.20 @ Paddy Power
Tottenham Hotspur 3.50 @ Paddy Power
Aston Villa 6.50 @ Paddy Power

Stumble It!

Sunday Football - Fulham beat Sunderland : Everton and Spurs share points

Fulham striker Bobby Zamora fired his club back into the top half of the table with a 1-0 win over Sunderland at Craven Cottage.

It means Fulham leapfrog over Sunderland into eighth, with their form reliant on home performances: they have not lost on their own turf since September.

---

Tottenham lost a two-goal lead and then missed an injury-time penalty to draw 2-2 at Everton.

Jermain Defoe opened the scoring just after the break and the points appeared safe when Michael Dawson doubled the lead on the hour.

But goals from Louis Saha and Tim Cahill levelled the scores before Defoe's weak spot-kick was saved by Tim Howard after Tony Hibbert had brought down Wilson Palacios.

Stumble It!

FIFA 2010 World Cup Final Draw for South Africa Completed

England have been drawn to face the United States, Algeria and Slovenia in the group stage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Five-time champions Brazil face Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea in arguably the strongest group.

Holders Italy were drawn with Slovakia, Paraguay and New Zealand and and three-time winners Germany will take on Serbia, Ghana and Australia.

FULL WORLD CUP 2010 GROUP STAGE DRAW

GROUP A
A1 SOUTH AFRICA
A2 MEXICO
A3 URUGUAY
A4 FRANCE

GROUP B
B1 ARGENTINA
B2 NIGERIA
B3 SOUTH KOREA
B4 GREECE

GROUP C
C1 ENGLAND
C2 USA
C3 ALGERIA
C4 SLOVENIA

GROUP D
D1 GERMANY
D2 AUSTRALIA
D3 SERBIA
D4 GHANA

GROUP E
E1 NETHERLANDS
E2 DENMARK
E3 JAPAN
E4 CAMEROON

GROUP F
F1 ITALY
F2 PARAGUAY
F3 NEW ZEALAND
F4 SLOVAKIA

GROUP G
G1 BRAZIL
G2 NORTH KOREA
G3 IVORY COAST
G4 PORTUGAL

GROUP H
H1 SPAIN
H2 SWITZERLAND
H3 HONDURAS
H4 CHILE

Stumble It!

Man City through to Carling Cup semi-final - and will face Manchester United

Manchester City deservedly sealed a place in the Carling Cup semi-final after beating a youthful Arsenal side 3-0 at Eastlands.

Over 46,000 fans turned out to see a strong Manchester City side take on Arsenal's young gunners, and while Arsenal dominated possession (61%-39%), the kids never looked like having the experience to open up City.

The game was still scoreless at the break, Carlos Tevez's spectacular strike five minutes after half-time put City on the path into the last four and a stunning angled drive from Shaun Wright-Phillips sealed the victory for Mark Hughes' side.

Substitute Vladimir Weiss wrapped up City's triumph a minute from time.

Arsenal side :
21 Fabianski
18 Silvestre
27 Eboue
30 Traore
37 Eastmond (Watt 68)
07 Rosicky
16 Ramsey
17 Song Billong
19 Wilshere
32 Merida
12 Vela

Substitutes
24 Mannone,
34 Bartley,
42 Gilbert,
35 Coquelin,
41 Frimpong,
48 Randall,
54 Watt

Carling Cup Quarter-Final Results :
Blackburn 3-3 Chelsea (Blackburn win 4-3 on pens)
Man City 3-0 Arsenal
Man United 2-0 Tottenham
Portsmouth 2-4 Aston Villa

Carling Cup Semi-final draw:
Manchester City v Manchester United
Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa

First legs to be played week commencing January 4 and second legs week commencing January 18.

Stumble It!

England FA Cup Third round draw

The draw for the third round of the FA Cup has been made with the games to be played on January 2nd and 3rd.

Three all-Premier League ties came out of the hat in the draw for the third round, they were :
West Ham United v Arsenal,
Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers
Wigan Athletic v Hull City.

The full draw (lower league teams indicated in brackets, ML = minor league) :
Tottenham v Peterborough United (II)
Brentford (III) v Doncaster Rovers (II)
Middlesbrough (II) v Manchester City
Stoke City v York City (ML)
Notts County (IV) v Forest Green Rovers (ML)
Huddersfield Town (III) v West Bromwich Albion (II)
Sheffield United (II) v Queen's Park Rangers (II)
Milton Keynes Dons (III) v Burnley
Chelsea v Watford (II)
Nottingham Forest (II) v Birmingham City
Preston North End (II) v Colchester United (III)
West Ham United v Arsenal
Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers
Portsmouth v Coventry City (II)
Wigan Athletic v Hull City
Everton v Carlisle United (III)
Sheffield Wednesday (II) v Crystal Palace (II)
Blackpool (II) v Ipswich Town (II)
Fulham v Swindon Town (III)
Scunthorpe United (II) v Barnsley (II)
Bristol City (II) v Cardiff City (II)
Reading (II) v Liverpool
Plymouth Argyle (II) v Newcastle United (II)
Leicester City (II) v Swansea City (II)
Bolton Wanderers v Lincoln City (IV)
Accrington Stanley (IV)/Barnet (IV) v Gillingham (III)
Manchester United v Kettering Town (ML)/Leeds United (III)
Staines Town (ML)/Millwall (III) v Derby County (II)
Southampton (III) v Rotherham United (IV)/Luton Town (ML)
Stockport County (III)/Torquay United (IV) v Brighton & Hove Albion (III)
Sunderland V Oxford United (ML)/Barrow (ML)
Tranmere Rovers (III)/Aldershot Town (IV) v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Stumble It!

Arsenal v Chelsea Team News

Venue : Emirates Stadium
Date : Sunday, 29 November
Kick-off : 1600 GMT

ARSENAL :
Arsenal will be without left-back Kieran Gibbs, who suffered a fractured metatarsal in the Champions League win over Standard Liege in midweek.

William Gallas is expected to be fit after suffering a blow to the head in the same match, while Theo Walcott is pushing for a starting berth.

Doubtful: Clichy (back), Diaby (calf), Fabianski (thigh)

Injured: Bendtner (groin), Djourou (knee), Gibbs (foot), Van Persie (ankle), Wilshere (ankle)

---

CHELSEA :
Chelsea hope to have Frank Lampard available following the midfielder's recovery from a torn thigh muscle.

Deco and Michael Ballack may feature after returning from injury in midweek.

Doubtful : Drogba (chest), Lampard (thigh)

Injured : Bosingwa (knee)

Stumble It!

Tottenham 9-1 Wigan ... yes that's NINE-ONE !!!

Jermain Defoe scored five second-half goals as Tottenham humiliated Wigan to record their highest top-flight win.

It is the first time a team has scored nine in a Premier League fixture since Manchester United thrashed Ipswich 9-0 at Old Trafford in 1995.

Tottenham, who move level on points with third-placed Arsenal after their biggest win in 32 years, led 1-0 at the break but the visiting Latics, playing in an orange away strip, were simply blown away in the second half.

Tottenham Goals
Crouch 9
Defoe 51
Defoe 54
Defoe 58
Lennon 64
Defoe 69
Defoe 87
Kirkland (og) 88
Kranjcar 90+4

TEAM          PL GD  Pts  
1 Chelsea     13 +25  33 
2 Man Utd     13 +14  28 
3 Arsenal     12 +21  25 
4 Tottenham   13 +14  25 
5 Aston Villa 13  +8  22 
6 Man City    12  +7  21 
7 Liverpool   13  +9  20 

Read a full match report at the BBC site

Stumble It!

Chelsea are now odds on to win English Premier League

Chelsea are odds-on to win the title for the first time this season - at a top price of 10/11 with Canbet - following their 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Sunday.

Manchester Utd and Arsenal are locked together as 10/3 joint second favourites while Manchester City are now fourth favourites following Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Birmingham City.

Liverpool are 5th favourites at a staggering 40/1 at Betfred, while Tottenham are in 6th spot, and loyal Spurs fans can get a best price of 149/1 at Victor Chandler if they REALLY want a bet on Spurs to win the title.

Chelsea 1.91 @ Canbet
Manchester United 4.33 @ Victor Chandler
Arsenal 4.33 @ Eurobet
Manchester City 34.00 @ Ladbrokes
Liverpool 41.00 @ Betfred
Tottenham Hotspur 151.00 @ Victor Chandler

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Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham - Gunners goals speak louder than Keane's empty words

Arsenal forward Robin van Persie struck twice to earn his side bragging rights in north London with a 3-0 victory over Tottenham in the early game.

Spurs have not won a league game against Arsenal since 1999, and they fell away after Van Persie opened the scoring at the Emirates Stadium and Cesc Fabregas added the second less than a minute later.

Van Persie tapped in the third after the break as Arsenal strolled to a comprehensive derby win.

GOALS :
42' [1 - 0] R.v. Persie
43' [2 - 0] C. Fabregas
60' [3 - 0] R.v. Persie

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Manchester Utd 2-0 Blackburn - United stay second with workman-like win

Goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney saw Manchester United overcome Blackburn 2-0 at Old Trafford.

Berbatov made the breakthrough with a neat volley in the 55th minute and Rooney sewed the points up two minutes from time.

United should have extended the scoreline but substitute Gabriel Obertan missed two sitters on his league debut.

GOALS :
55' [1 - 0] D. Berbatov
87' [2 - 0] W. Rooney

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Bolton 0-4 Chelsea - Blues stay top with comprehensive win

Chelsea remain two points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to a second 4-0 win of the week over Bolton.

Carlo Ancelotti's side did not have things all their own way this afternoon but they took a decisive lead just before half-time through Frank Lampard's penalty after Jlloyd Samuel saw red for his challenge on Didier Drogba.

Deco netted the second on the hour mark and Zat Knight scored an own goal before Drogba completed the scoring in injury time.

GOALS
45' [0 - 1] F. Lampard (pen.)
61' [0 - 2] Deco
83' [0 - 3] Z. Knight (o.g.)
90' [0 - 4] D. Drogba

RED CARDS :
45' J. Samuel

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Fulham 3-1 Liverpool - nine man Liverpool lose again

Under-pressure Rafael Benitez endured another day to forget as nine-man Liverpool crashed to a 3-1 defeat against Fulham.

Last week's win over Manchester United ended a run of five successive defeats but that became six from seven as goals from Bobby Zamora, Erik Nevland and Clint Dempsey earned Fulham the points.

Fernando Torres had equalised just before the break but he was substituted in the second half. Nevland restored Fulham's lead and Philipp Degen and Jamie Carragher both saw red within three minutes before Dempsey rubbed salt in the wound with the final goal.

GOALS :
24' [1 - 0] B. Zamora
42' [1 - 1] F. Torres
73' [2 - 1] E. Nevland
87' [3 - 1] C. Dempsey

RED CARDS :
79' P. Degen
82' J. Carragher

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Chelsea are Carling Cup favourites after a kind quarter-final draw

Chelsea will travel to Ewood Park to face Blackburn, who they thrashed 5-0 in the Premier League recently.

Chelsea are into 7/4 (3.75) at Bodog, which puts them ahead of Manchester United who are at 4/1 (5.00) at Betfred and Manchester City who are 5/1 (6.00) chances at Ladbrokes after receiving tougher home draws.

Holders Manchester United will take on Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in a repeat of last season's final which the Red Devils won on penalties, while Manchester City also face north London opposition in the shape of Arsenal.

Arsenal are priced at (6/1) 7.00 at Bet365, while Tottenham are out to 7/1 (8.00) at VCBet as both North London sides lengthened after drawn to away ties.

The remaining Carling Cup quarter-final tie in an all-Premier League draw sees Portsmouth host Aston Villa at Fratton Park and that has Villa priced at 10/1 (11.00) at Bodog and Portsmouth 25/1 (26.000 at VCBet.

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Wednesday Carling Cup Results : Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City progress

Teenager Fran Merida netted his first Arsenal goal as Arsene Wenger's young Gunners beat Liverpool 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.

Just back from the Under-20 World Cup with Spain, the 19-year-old former Barcelona trainee drilled in a fine goal in the 18th minute as Wenger's faith in youth was once again justified.

Emiliano Insua equalised for Liverpool in the 26th minute with another scorching shot in an open first half.

Nicklas Bendtner, now a regular in the side but coming back from an injury sustained in a car crash, produced a powerful finish after 50 minutes to put Arsenal into the last eight.


---

Chelsea cruised into the quarter-finals with an easy 4-0 fourth-round victory over Bolton at Stamford Bridge.

First-half goals from Salomon Kalou and Florent Malouda put the home side in command before Deco and substitute Didier Drogba finished off Gary Megson's side after the break.

Bolton wasted a couple of chances to reduce the arrears but Chelsea were always in control despite the loss of goalkeeper Hilario through injury in the first half.

The win maintained Chelsea's 100% home record under new coach Carlo Ancelotti and even without the likes of rested captain John Terry and his England team-mate Frank Lampard, the Blues continue to look very good at home.

---

Manchester City cruised into the Carling Cup quarter-finals, brushing aside an outclassed Scunthorpe 5-1.

The Championship side had tried their best at Eastlands in this fourth-round tie, and at one stage produced a fine first-half equaliser from Jonathan Forte after Stephen Ireland had given City an early lead.

But City were ahead by the break through Roque Santa Cruz, and second-half goals from Joleon Lescott, Carlos Tevez and Michael Johnson set the seal on a commanding performance.

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Manchester United defeat at Liverpool shakes up English title odds

Manchester United are out to 5/2 (3.50) with VC Bet for the Premier League title following their 2-0 defeat at Liverpool.

Liverpool produced a top performance to halt their worst run of defeats in the last 22 years. Fernando Torres scored the first before substitute David Ngog added the second in stoppage-time.

In the frantic final minutes, United had Nemanja Vidic sent off, with Liverpool having Javier Mascherano also red-carded.

Chelsea who hammered Blackburn 5-0 on Saturday evening, lead by two at the top from United are into 7/4 (2.75) at Bodog bookmaker.

Arsenal are 11/2 (6.50) third best at PinnacleSports after somehow letting a two-goal lead slip against West Ham as they drew 2-2 at Upton Park.

Liverpool are once again shortening in the betting, with the Reds general 10/1 chances, but as high as 12/1 (13.00) at Bodog after getting back to winning ways.

Manchester City were pegged back to 2-2 by Fulham and Mark Hughes' side are out to 14/1 (15.00) with Bet365.

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Are you a better football tipster than Viv Anderson?

Beat Viv is back this weekend with another free to enter competition at Victor Chandler!

The ex England, Nottingham Forest and Arsenal legend has made his predictions and is now challenging you to do the same. The top tipster prize this week is a signed shirt of one of the world's greatest footballers, Brazilian legend Kaka.

Alongside this great prize, Viv and VCBet will also throw in a £100 free bet if you manage to come out on top.

To be in with a chance to win this excellent first prize, select the correct score of the four fixtures below. If you are the overall tipster with the largest points return you will win the signed shirt and a £100 free bet. If you manage to Beat Viv's total return from his predictions you will receive a £5 free bet!

Viv's Predictions.

Aston Villa v Chelsea 1-1 - Great game to kick-off with this Saturday lunch time. Aston Villa are good at home and Chelsea will be well up for this one. I can't see past a score draw with both Agbonlahor and Drogba getting on the score sheet.

Arsenal v Birmingham 4-0 - My old team Arsenal have far too much going forward and are a joy to watch at the Emirates. Birmingham are hardworking but that won't be enough and I feel the Gunners will win this one comfortably.

Man Utd v Bolton 2-0 - Man Utd will miss Wayne Rooney and all his fire power up front but I can't see them slipping up like they did in their last home game against Sunderland. Easy 2-0 winners for me.

Sunderland v Liverpool 2-1 - Sunderland are looking good at the moment and Steve Bruce has got them playing as a team. I think Bent will continue his scoring form and Liverpool are sure to miss their best player in Steven Gerrard. Sunderland to bag the points in this one - 2-1.

So that's the predictions, it's now over to you to beat them at Victor Chandler.

Good luck to all

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World Cup : Watch Ukraine v England LIVE for FREE with Bet365

There's only one place that customers can watch Ukraine v England for free on Saturday 10th October - and that's at bet365 sports bookmaker!

To watch this World Cup qualifier, you simply need to make sure you have a funded bet365 account and you will be able to access the live pictures from Dnepropetrovsk where England will be looking to maintain their 100% record in Group Six when they face Ukraine.

If you haven't yet registered with bet365, hten now is the time to sign-up, with the leading bookmaker - as bet365 are offering all new customers up to £200 in free bets.

You will get a 100% match on your first deposit and you can place your free bets on any sporting market.

The coverage starts at 4.45pm on Saturday with the match kicking off at 5.15pm.

Click here to sign up with bet365 and watch Ukraine v England completely free.

(Note :
This offer is open to customers in the UK and Ireland only.)

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Chelsea still favourites to win English Premier League

Chelsea are the bookmakers title favourites after a late Florent Malouda winner pipped Stoke 2-1 to give the Blues five straight wins to start the season.

Manchester United are second favourites to win the Premier League title following their 3-1 come-from-behind win over Spurs. The Red Devils trailed to an early Jermain Defoe strike but eventually ran out comfortable winners thanks to goals from Ryan Giggs, Anderson and Wayne Rooney.

Liverpool, who saw off Burnley 4-0 at Anfield are third.

It is then Arsenal, Manchester City, and Spurs at a huge 50/1 rounding out the top six.

BEST PRICES TO WIN THE PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea 2.50 @ PinnacleSports
Manchester United 4.50 @ PinnacleSports
Liverpool 8.00 @ Eurobet
Arsenal 13.00 @ Ladbrokes
Manchester City 14.00 @ PinnacleSports
Tottenham Hotspur 51.00 @ Eurobet

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Liverpool's title hopes sinking already - according to the bookmakers

Liverpool are out to 8/1 with Betfred to win the Premier League title following their 3-1 home defeat to Aston Villa on Monday night.

That makes it two defeats in three games for Rafa Benitez's Reds and leaves them six points off the pace already.

Liverpool are now fourth-favourites for the title, having slipped below in-form Arsenal, 11/2 (6.50) at PinnacleSports.

Chelsea remain favourites following a 2-0 win at London rivals Fulham on Sunday while Manchester United strengthened after bouncing back from defeat at Burnley to beat Wigan 5-0.

Tottenham are on top the table after battling back to win 2-1 against West Ham on Sunday and Spurs are now as short as 25/1 in places while you can still get 45/1 (46.00) at PinnacleSports.

Best online prices to win the Premier League title are :
2.50 Chelsea at PinnacleSports
4.50 Manchester United at PinnacleSports
6.50 Arsenal at PinnacleSports
9.00 Liverpool at Betfred
15.00 Manchester City at Ladbrokes
46.00 Tottenham at PinnacleSports
201.00 Aston Villa at Bet365
501.00 Everton at Bet365

(compilied by BookieLabrat's Online Premier League Betting Odds)

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2009/10 English Premier League outright betting after round 1

Liverpool are out to 5/1 (6.00) for the Premier League title after their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday.

Liverpool only lost twice in Premier League last season but got off to a losing start to this term, Steven Gerrard's penalty not enough to take anything from White Hart Lane after goals from Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Sebastien Bassong.

Manchester United were not at their best but still recorded a 1-0 win over Birmingham earlier in the day and continue to fight for favouritism with Chelsea, who saw off Hull 2-1 thanks to Didier Drogba's injury-time fluke on Saturday.

Manchester City set down an early marker with a 2-0 success at Blackburn.

Arsenal also made a tremendous start with a 6-1 hammering of Everton and they are into 7/1 from 8/1 - Hills were even more impressed and they go 11/2 from 9/1.

BEST ODDS FOR YOUR TEAM TO WIN THE 2009/10 LEAGUE :
Chelsea 3.00 @ Ladbrokes
Manchester United 3.50 @ Pinnacle
Liverpool 5.50 @ Ladbrokes
Arsenal 9.50 @ Pinnacle
Manchester City 15.00 @ Ladbrokes
Tottenham Hotspur 101.00 @ Pinnacle
Everton 301.00 @ VCBet
Aston Villa 501.00 @ VCBet
West Ham United 751.00 @ Bet365

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Arsenal blast SIX past Everton

Arsenal scored six goals at Goodison Park on Saturday evening - surpassing my wildest hopes for the opening game of the season.

Even Andrei Arshavin got it wrong (predicting FIVE goals in ONE game here in this promo)


Arsene Wenger's young side produced a classy and clinical display to tear apart last season's FA Cup finalists - and make a statement on opening day.

Denilson started the avalanche with a superb strike on 26 minutes, and new boy Thomas Vermaelen was left unmarked to nod home the second from a free-kick 11 minutes later.

The game was over as a contest four minutes before half-time thanks to another header from a free-kick - this time from William Gallas.

Things didn't get any better for the Toffees after the break, with Cesc Fabregas taking centre stage to net on 48 and 69 minutes.

Eduardo added a sixth for Arsenal with two minutes remaining - his first Premier League goal since suffering that horrific injury at Birmingham back in 2008.

Louis Saha finally got Everton on the scoresheet with a tap-in in the closing seconds.

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NEWCASTLE UNITED SLUMP TO BIG PRE-SEASON LOSS

Newcastle's summer of misery continued as they lost 6-1 to League One side Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road.

Jimmy Smith opened the scoring for Orient after just four minutes when he headed home unmarked from Sean Thornton's free-kick. Former Sunderland man Thornton made it 2-0 after 23 minutes, converting the penalty after Habib Beye handled inside the area.

Joey Barton got a goal back for Newcastle from the penalty spot on the half hour but Orient restored their two-goal cushion after half-time when Scott McGleish scored a staggering overhead kick from the edge of the area. Tamika Mkandawire made it four before substitutes Ryan Jarvis and Harry Baker compounded Newcastle's humiliation with two late goals.

The defeat comes with the question of who will manage Newcastle in the Championship next season still up in the air with Alan Shearer still thought to have his eyes on the role.

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MANCHESTER CITY AGREE CARLOS TEVEZ DEAL

FOOTBALL: Manchester City have announced they have reached an agreement to sign Carlos Tevez

The 25-year-old, who left city rivals United at the end of last season, has agreed personal terms and is expected to pen a five-year deal at Eastlands.

City have confirmed the deal has been ratified by the Premier League and the Football Association, and Tevez is expected to have a medical shortly before meeting up with his new team-mates on their pre-season tour to South Africa.

With rumours swirling round Manchester that Emmanuel Adebayor is about to be offered a five-year contract to leave Arsenal and continuing speculation over the future of Chelsea skipper John Terry, it is clear City are a club with plenty of cash.

"This is yet another deal that shows the commitment of owner Sheikh Mansour to make this club the best it can possibly be," said manager Mark Hughes.

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CARLOS TEVEZ LEAVES MAN UNITED LIKELY TO JOIN CITY

Carlos Tevez is expected to join Manchester City after champions Manchester United confirmed the striker is to leave Old Trafford.

Manchester United issued a statement which read: "Following contact received from Carlos Tevez's advisors last night, in advance of the deadline the club set for concluding negotiations, Manchester United announces that Carlos will not be signing a new contract with the club.

"The club agreed to pay the option price of £25.5million and offered Carlos a five-year contract which would have made him one of its highest-paid players.

"Disappointingly however, his advisors informed the club that, despite the success he has enjoyed during one of the club's most successful periods, he does not wish to continue playing for Manchester United.

"The club would like to thank Carlos for his services over the last two seasons and wishes him good luck for the future."

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RONALDO DECIDED ON REAL MADRID MOVE LAST SUMMER

FOOTBALL: Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted he made up his mind to leave Manchester United last summer

Madrid conducted a long and public pursuit of Ronaldo last year but it proved ultimately unsuccessful as the 24-year-old remained at Old Trafford.

But despite staying in the Premier League, and helping United retain their title, Ronaldo claims he made up his mind to leave after the Champions League triumph over Chelsea a year ago.

"After we won the European Cup. I thought there is no more I can achieve here," the Portuguese player told the News of the World.

"And when you have done all you can, you know it is time for a new challenge. I stayed one more season and it was nice to make it three titles in a row but it was my dream to play for Madrid."

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BIRMINGHAM CITY VISIT MANCHESTER UNITED FIRST UP

FOOTBALL: Fixtures for the 2009-2010 Barclays Premier League season have been released.

Manchester United start at home to newly-promoted Birmingham on August 15, followed by a visit to Burnley where they take on the Coca-Cola Championship play off-winners.

Liverpool start their season with a tough away fixture at Tottenham on August 15, while Chelsea will be at home to Hull.

Over at Goodison Park Everton will host Arsenal while Championship winners Wolves are at home to West Ham on the opening day

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES for Saturday, 15 August 2009
Aston Villa v Wigan
Blackburn v Man City
Bolton v Sunderland
Chelsea v Hull
Everton v Arsenal
Man Utd v Birmingham
Portsmouth v Fulham
Stoke v Burnley
Tottenham v Liverpool
Wolverhampton v West Ham

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UNITED ACCEPT REAL MADRID'S £80M RONALDO BID

FOOTBALL: Manchester United have accepted an £80million bid for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

Manchester United have finally caved in to Real Madrid's repeated attempts to lure Cristiano Ronaldo away from Old Trafford.

United confirmed on Thursday morning they had accepted an £80million bid for the world player of the year, with a world-record deal expected to go through by June 30.

The news had been expected given that Real stated on Wednesday night talks were under way and now it is only a matter of finalising the player's personal terms before he completes a dream move to the Bernabeu.

A United statement read: "At the request of Cristiano - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player."

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ROBERTO MARTINEZ IS WIGAN ATHLETIC'S NEW MANAGER

FOOTBALL: Wigan Chairman Dave Whelan has confirmed Roberto Martinez will be Wigan's new manager.

An official announcement on Martinez's appointment is expected to be made in the next 24 hours, but Whelan has revealed to Sky Sports News that the deal is done.

The Spaniard, who has agreed a three-year contract, emerged as Wigan's top target soon after Steve Bruce left the Latics to take charge of Sunderland.

Martinez, who spent six years as a player with Wigan and is fondly remembered by the club's fans as one of the 'Three Amigos', is one of the most highly-rated young managers in the game.

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Early bookmaker odds for 2009/10 Premier League race

Manchester United ended the 2008/09 season as Premier League champions on 90 points after beating Hull 1-0, and they are 11/8 chances to retain their crown next season.

Liverpool finished four points behind United in second. The Reds are 100/30 to win the league next season.

Chelsea are 4/1, Arsenal are 10/1, Manchester City are 50/1 and it's 100/1 bar those five.

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Bet365 has Arsenal almost certain to finish in top four now

Arsenal's position in the top four was strengthened on Sunday as Aston Villa and Everton fought out a 3-3 draw in the Barclays Premier League.

Arsenal are now nine points ahead of Aston Villa and 10 points clear of Everton having played a game more than both clubs.

The Gunners are 1/16 with bet365 to finish once again with a top-four finish, with Everton 7/4 to finish above Aston Villa.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth said: "It was a hugely entertaining 3-3 draw, but a point hardly helps either side in their quest for a top four finish."

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Anelka injury re-opens Premier League golden boot race

The race for the English Premier League golden boot tightened on the weekend as Steven Gerrard grabbed a hat-trick and leading scorer Nicolas Anelka was ruled out for three weeks with injury.

Anelka (15 goals) leads by two from Cristiano Ronaldo (13) and Steven Gerrard (13) with Peter Crouch (11) and Robinho (11) further back in joint 4th spot.

The Frenchman continues to head the Golden Boot betting, but only just as Anelka looks likely to miss Chelsea's next game at Newcastle on April 4th.

LEADING TOP SCORER ODDS :
Anelka - 15 goals - 3.00 at Bet365
Ronaldo - 13 goals - 3.00 at Eurobet
Gerrard - 13 goals - 5.00 at Victor Chandler
Robinho - 11 goals - 21.00 at Betfred
Crouch - 11 goals - 50.00 at BetFair

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Manchester United odds drift in title race after 2nd straight loss

Manchester United have drifted from 1/9 to 2/7 to win the Barclays Premier League with bookmakers following their 2-0 defeat at Fulham on Saturday.

Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney were both sent off at Craven Cottage as a Danny Murphy penalty and late Zoltan Gera strike earned Fulham all three points.

It means Manchester United are now just four points clear of Liverpool, with both teams having played 29 games.

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Sunderland and Tottenham easing clear of relegation worries

The bookmakers reckoned Sunderland and Tottenham both eased their relegation worries with their 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland had taken the lead through Kieran Richardson's third-minute strike, and looked to have eased themselves seven points clear of the drop zone before Robbie Keane rescued Spurs with a last-gasp equaliser

Both clubs are now on 32 points, and are five points clear of the bottom three.

Sunderland are out to 11/1 (12.00) for the drop with Bet365 while Tottenham are 22/1 (23.00) at PaddyPower.

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Hiddink still favourite to be next Chelsea manager

Guus Hiddink is 8/11 favourite with UK bookmakers to be the Chelsea manager on the first day of the next campaign despite suggesting he will only stay with Chelsea until the last day of this season.

The Russia head coach was announced as Luiz Felipe Scolari's temporary successor at Stamford Bridge last week and he is currently preparing his charges for his first game in charge at Aston Villa on Saturday.

On his future, Hiddink said: "I will help out until the end of the season, and then it will stop. I am certain it will only be until the end of the season."

But the bookmakers don't beleive it making him a strong favourite.

8/11 Hiddink
3/1 Ancelotti
5/1 Rijkaard;
13/2 Zola;
10/1 Mancini;
10/1 Mourinho.

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Avram Grant favourite to take over at Portsmouth

Avram Grant is the 7/4 (from 3/1) favourite with bookmakers to be the next Portsmouth manager after support for the former Chelsea boss today.

Former favourite Sven-Goran Eriksson has eased to 5/2 with caretaker boss Paul Hart and Slaven Bilic both 3/1.

"The support for Eriksson has dried up in the last 24 hours, while Avram Grant has publicly stated that he would be willing to return to Fratton Park," said Eurobet spokesman David Stevens.

"Although another three points at Stoke this weekend could see Paul Hart take pole position."

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Bettingzone take Arsenal to beat Spurs

Tottenham v Arsenal

These two arch rivals meet for the 144th time on Sunday with not only the magnificent 4-4 draw still fresh in the memory from earlier in the season, we also have Robbie Keane and Andrei Arshavin on show after protracted transfer deals were finally thrashed out.

They are on offer at 12/5 and 10/3 respectively to find the target at some stage and I would suspect there will be a few takers come match time.

This is a fixture that has its fair share of goals and Keane and Arshavin aside, one player fancied to get in the thick of them again is Dutchman Robin van Persie.

He looks set to get the nod from Arsene Wenger to return to the starting line-up and has already banged in nine goals from 20 league appearances this season - including against this opposition at the Emirates back in October.

Sharp as a tack in the box, he looks a decent poke at 15/8 to get into double figures in the Premier League.

The total goals tally is set at 2.5 and recent history suggests these two may well blow that out of the water - but I just fancy the Gunners nicking this at 6/4 as the better option and spoil Keane's return to The Lane.

Verdict: Tottenham 1 Arsenal 2

Source : BettingZone

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Cudicini moves from Chelsea to Tottenham

Tottenham have signed Carlo Cudicini on a free transfer from London rivals Chelsea.

The Italian goalkeeper has set his sights on pushing Heurelho Gomes for the number one jersey at White Hart Lane.

Cudicini (35) spent a decade at Stamford Bridge and has no regrets about swapping Champions League football for a Premier League survival battle saying :

"At this moment the team is not in the best position but it doesn't matter - I'm here to bring some experience and try to push this club forward."

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Liverpool stumble and see odds lengthen on title

Liverpool are as big as 11/4 (3.75) to win the Barclays Premier League title after being held to a goalless draw by Stoke on Saturday.

Rafa Benitez's side are now four points clear at the top of the table but the two points dropped have negatively affected title chances the title. The Reds are 11/4 chances at BoyleSports.

Arsenal needed a late Nicklas Bendtner goal beat Bolton at the Emirates and were trimmed for the title after the 1-0 win. The Gunners are now 25/1 (26.00) at PaddyPower.

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Brazilian World Cup winner trials with Bolton Wanderers

Bolton have given Brazilian World Cup winner Denilson a trial.

Bolton boss Gary Megson will take a look at the 31-year-old, who is a free agent after being released by Brazilian club Palmeiras. Denilson became the world's most expensive player when he moved to Real Betis from Sao Paulo in 1998 for £21.5m.

Denilson spent seven seasons in Spain before spells at Bordeaux, followed by Al-Nasr and then FC Dallas.

He has won 68 caps for his country and was part of the Brazil squad that won the 2002 World Cup beating Germany 2-0 in the final.

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Manchester United to face Tottenham in FA Cup 4th Round

The fourth round draw for the FA Cup has thrown up a couple of high profile games and also a couple of "classic ties" invoking memories of previous years.

In the "Big Games" Liverpool will face Merseyside rivals Everton and
Manchester United will host Tottenham Hotspur in the pick of the ties.

For the giant killers there is the prospect of hosting Premier League opposition as non-league Kettering Town will meet Fulham and giant-killers Hartlepool entertain West Ham.

There is also an east Midlands derby with Nottingham Forest being rewarded for their emphatic 3-0 win over Manchester City with a trip to Derby County.

Last season's finalists Cardiff City will host Arsenal at Ninian Park, a replay of the 1927 final between the pair which the Welsh club won 1-0.

Full FA Cup fourth round draw :
Liverpool v Everton
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
Hull or Newcastle v Millwall or Crewe
Sunderland v Blyth or Blackburn
Hartlepool v West Ham
Leyton Orient or Sheffield United v Charlton or Norwich
Cardiff v Arsenal
Portsmouth or Bristol City v Histon or Swansea City
Chelsea or Southend v Ipswich Town
Cheltenham or Doncaster v Aston Villa
West Brom or Peterborough v QPR or Burnley
Torquay v Coventry City
Kettering Town v Fulham
Watford v Leicester or Crystal Palace
Derby County v Nottingham Forest
Birmingham City or Wolves v Middlesbrough

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Transfer window opens - what do the Premier League managers say?

The January transfer window opens on New Year's Day, giving clubs their first opportunity to buy or sell players since the end of August.

Most Premier League managers have already had their say over how they see the next month going:

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:
"Although we are not close to signing anyone at the moment, if we do buy I think what we need is maybe someone with a bit of experience. I need a creative midfielder and eventually another midfielder, because we are short.

"We already have many young players so, if we buy, it will be somebody who is ready to play straight away. A loan deal could also be a possibility. What we might need is someone who can create a little spark."

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill:
"We are definitely looking at trying to do something if it is at all possible."

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce:
"I'm also more focused on getting players in rather than players out. Certainly my focus over the last two days has been speaking to the chairman about that. We're both going to go out and try and improve our squad as quickly as possible."

Chelsea manager Luiz Filipe Scolari :
"I knew that it's a different time for Chelsea but, if we suffer more injuries, the board understand that I'll need one or two players to replace some [injured] players. They understand this. "

"If, on the other hand, the players are in good condition and there are no more injuries, I think it's maximum one player they'll replace because we need one more. Only one. A striker."

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez :
"It will be difficult to bring anyone in January because we have a good squad. To bring in anyone better than what we've got isn't easy and could be expensive."

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes:
"I think everyone understands there are certain areas of the squad which need strengthening and we will look to address those in the window."

"We are looking to bring good quality players to the club to help our situation and make sure that the club is moving forward in the future. There is no guarantee how many of those players we will be able to bring to the club. It is clear from everyone's point of view that we do need help."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson :
"I do not think there will be any January transfers, I am happy with what I have got.
"We are probably going to bring back a couple of young players who have been on loan. That may just give us extra protection. "

"We took 23 players to Japan (for the Club World Cup) and they are substantial players. I would be happy to play any one of them."

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp :
"If could find a wide-left player I would like to get one. That and a frontman would be the priority."

"I think Portsmouth have had a massive offer from somebody for Jermain Defoe, so good luck to them - I paid about £9m when I signed him. He is a good player but we're not going to pay over the top for anyone."

"I like Stewart Downing but I don't know whether Middlesbrough want to sell him."

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Manchester United are title favourites with bookmakers

Manchester United have been shortened from 6/4 to 11/8 favourites (PaddyPower) to win the Premier League title following their hard-fought 1-0 win over Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on Monday night.

United dominated for most of the game and missed a host of chances before Dimitar Berbatov blasted home the winner in the 69th minute. The result means Sir Alex Ferguson's men now trail Liverpool by seven points and Chelsea by four in the race for the title but have two games in hand.

Chelsea are 2/1 second favourites (VCBet)with Liverpool available at 9/4 (BetFred) despite being top. Arsenal are 33/1 (Bet365) shots with Aston Villa 66/1. (Bet365)

RELATED LINK :
Get the latest Premier League Live Odds Quotes at Bookie Lab Rat.

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BettingZone take Arsenal to win at Villa

Popular UK betting website BettingZone.co.uk have picked Arsenal to bat Aston Villa on Boxing Day - despite the loss of captain Cesc Fabregas ...

Villa gained a deserved win at The Emirates in mid-November and will be popular with punters at 13/8 to complete the double.

However, one of the themes of this Premier League season is that the top teams appear to prefer playing away from home where they have more space and can hit teams on the break.

Villa, with six away wins to just four at home, have been part of that trend while a win for Arsenal would mean they've taken just as many points on the road as they have at home.

Villa go into the game three points above the Gunners so Arsene Wenger would feel very anxious if that gap doubled to six as the prospect of Villa gatecrashing the top four would grown even stronger.

Yes, holes can be picked in the Arsenal line-up and the loss of Cesc Fabregas is a blow too. But they remain a talented bunch and it's foolish to write them off.

Arsenal have won four and drawn one of their last five trips to Villa Park and, given their record against the top teams this year, they're more than capable of nicking a victory.

Villa are no world-beaters yet so maybe the 2/1 about Arsenal is the best bet.

BettingZone Pick : Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 2

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Eduardo nearly ready to return for Arsenal

Arsene Wenger believes it will not be long before Arsenal see striker Eduardo back in action.

The Brazilian-born Croatia striker suffered an horrific broken leg following an X-rated challenge from Martin Taylor at Birmingham in February.

However, the 25-year-old is now closing in on a return to competitive action with the Gunners. Wenger confirmed: "As soon as possible, he will play now. He is joining in full training matches, but he needs games now."

He won't play against Wigan this weekend but the Gunners also face Middlesbrough and Liverpool between now and Christmas.

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Liverpool move into top spot after held to 0-0 by West Ham

Liverpool drew 0-0 with West Ham at Anfield on Monday night and it was enough to take the Reds into top spot in the Premier League.

But this was the second time in 10 days that Liverpool had been held to a goalless draw at home by a London club, seriously handicapping their chances in the title race.

West Ham claimed their first point at Anfield for nine years it it might have been more as West Ham's former Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy came closest to a goal when his 30-yard strike hit a post.

But that would have been tough on Liverpool who dominated the match with 25 shots to 7 and 67% ball possession.

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Sunderland drop into the bottom three after being thumped by Bolton

Sunderland are now 11/4 (3.75) to be relegated from the Barclays Premier League after Saturday's 1-4 home defeat by Bolton.


The loss sent Sunderland catapulting into the bottom three and Boyle Sports offer 3.75 about them still being there at the end of the season.

West Brom are still favourites for the drop at just 1/4 (1.25) at VCBet with Stoke City also odds on at 4/6 (1.67) at Bet365.

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Gallas dropped from Arsenal squad and loses captaincy.

William Gallas has been dropped and stripped of the Arsenal captaincy, according to reports.

France Football claim that the outspoken defender has paid the price for his verbal attack on his Arsenal team-mates and will not appear in Saturday's trip to Manchester City and will be forced to relinquish the armband to either Gael Clichy or Manuel Almunia.

The reports have not been confirmed by the Gunners, but it would not come as a surprise if Arsene Wenger had run out of patience with the 31-year-old after a series of incidents have brought Gallas' leadership qualities into question.

Gallas has recently publically criticised his Arsenal team mates, and followed that on Friday with a fierce critique of his international team-mates in his autobiography.

In October Gallas reacted angrily when Arsenal surrendered a 4-2 lead with just two minutes remaining in the north London derby and drew the game 4-4.

His antics were reminiscent of his behaviour at the end of last season's away game at Birmingham City when striker Eduardo broke his leg and the Gunners conceded a late penalty to draw 2-2.

Simply, William Gallas is a fine player, but one who is rapidly losing his touch, and is unable to display the leadership qualities required of a captain.

This move is the correct one by Mr Wenger

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Chelsea bundled out of Carling Cup - United new favourites

There was a Cup shock at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night as Burnley knocked out favourites Chelsea on penalties and that caused a re-order of the betting favourtism.

Burnley held their Premier League rivals 1-1 after extra time and then won a dramatic shootout - and the Clarets can be backed at 40/1 at Centrebet to lift the trophy ahead of the quarter-final draw.

Holders Tottenham marched into the next round of the Carling Cup after defeating Liverpool 4-2 and are now 7/2 chances with Centrebet to hold onto the Cup.

The favourites currently are Manchester United at 2/1 (3.00) at BoyleSports with Arsenal as second favourites at 3.75 at Paddy Power despite their stated intention to keep on "playing the kids".

Blackburn are 8/1 (9.00) at Bet365 after they defeated Sunderland 2-1 while the rest of the market sees Stoke at 20/1 with Derby and Watford at 40s.

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Bet365 asks whether Carling Cup side will start in the League?

How Many Wenger Boys Will Face Wigan In The Premier League?

Arsene Wenger's young guns tore apart Wigan on Tuesday and bet365 are betting on how many of his Carling Cup kids will start when Steve Bruce re-visits The Emirates on December 6th.

bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth says : "It could have been a cricket score if it wasn't for Chris Kirkland and Wenger could be tempted to blood a few youngsters in the Premier League after the way they dismantled Wigan in the Carling Cup."

Arsenal v Wigan - Premier League - 6th December
How Many Of Carling Cup Starting XI v Wigan Will Start?
0 ------ 6/4 (2.50)
1 ------ 7/4 (2.75)
2 ------ 7/2 (4.50)
3 ------ 8/1
4+ ----- 16

Check the markets out at bet365

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Chelsea favourites to win Premier League

Chelsea are the clear favourites to win the Premier League after they reclaimed top spot with a 2-0 victory over Blackburn on Sunday.


Chelsea's superior goal difference sees them ahead of Liverpool, who had a comfortable 3-0 triumph over West Brom.

Chelsea are available at a best priced 4/5 (1.80) at VCBet, while Liverpool are 3rd favourites at 5.00 at Betfred.

Manchester United are eight points behind Liverpool, but are still second favourites and can be backed at 10/3 (4.33) also at Betfred

Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-1 on Saturday, and that's had the bookmakers cut the price on the Gunners from 20s down to 13.00 - again at Betfred.

RELATED LINKS :
Live betting odds for English Premier League at Bookielabrat.com.
Bet365 Bookmakers
Betfred Bookmakers
VCBet
Ladbrokes

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Wolves and Reading take over favouritism in Championship race

Birmingham City suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Coventry on Monday night and have lost their position as favourites for the Coca-Cola Championship title.

Clinton Morrison struck for the Sky Blues against his former club, heading home from a corner eight minutes after the half-time break.

But Coventry's man of the match was undoubtedly goalkeeper Keiren Westwood who made several superb saves in the second half to deny Birmingham and leave them four points behind league leaders Wolves.

So now it is Wolves and Reading who now share favouritism for the title at 11/4 (3.75) with bet365, with Birmingham eased to 3/1 by Ladbrokes and Sheffield United at 14/1 at BoyleSports.

The bookies then have teams like Cardiff City, and QPR at 22/1 and 25/1 respectively.

RELATED LINK :
Live betting odds on the English Championship

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Stoke City still favoured for relegation

The relegation market has drastically seen a shake-up after the weeeknd with Tottenham the big movers now at 14/1 to go down with Boylesports, who offered 11/4 (3.75) just one week ago.

Tottenham are now the same price as Portsmouth to go down, as Harry Redknapp's former club suffered a 1-2 loss at home to Wigan.

Stoke are still favourites for the drop, but after beating Arsenal 2-1 at home they are now 8/15 following their 4th home of the season.

RELATED LINK :
Live betting odds for relegation from the English Premier League.

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Chelsea Favourites Again after Liverpool Lose

Chelsea are odds-on favourites for the Barclays Premier League title following Liverpool's 2-1 loss at Spurs on the weekend.

The Blues beat Sunderland 5-0 earlier, but it took Liverpool's 1-2 defeat to Spurs at White Hart Lane to send Chelsea under even money for the title.

Rafa Benitez's side went 1-0 up inside three minutes through Dirk Kuyt and controlled the majority of the game for the next 70 minutes, hitting the bar three times but couldn't find the killer second goal.

And Harry "houdini" Redknapp's charmed life as Spurs new boss continued as a late Jamie Carragher own goal was followed by an injury-time winner from Roman Pavlyuchenko to leave Benitez's side second in the table on goal difference.

Liverpool are now 9/2 for the title, with Manchester United 15/8 second favourites following their narrow 4-3 win over Hull City.

Arsenal are out to 20/1 for the league title after they lost 2-1 at Stoke City.

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Newcastle draw 2-2 with Man City

Newcastle United might have only picked up a point in their entertaining 2-2 draw with Man City on Monday night, but the betting public saw enough to think that the Geordies will not be going down.

The Magpies got off to the worst possible start at St James' Park, going a goal and a man down after just 14 minutes with Habib Beye adjudged to have brought down Robinho when clean through on goal.

Beye was shown a straight red card before Robinho got back to his feet and dispatched the spot kick past Shay Given in the home goal.

But Newcastle fought back and a Shola Ameobi strike and a Richard Dunne own goal gave the home side a 2-1 lead - but they could not hold it and Stephen Ireland to leveled matters for City with just four minutes remaining.

Still, Newcastle were 7/2 but have been moved out to a best-price of 4/1 for the drop with VC Bet.

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Injury problems for Premier League clubs?

Manchester City will be anxious to check on Robinho's fitness after the star forward was substituted with an injury during Brazil's World Cup qualifier against Colombia.

Robinho was replaced by AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato in the 63rd minute as his country were held to a goalless draw at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

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Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has suffered a suspected broken nose while playing for Spain.

The 21-year-old managed to finish his country's 2-1 victory in Belgium, but medical staff confirmed the injury after the game. Fabregas will now report back to Arsenal for further treatment, though it will be hoped he can play on regardless.

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Liverpool have injury worries up front ahead of Saturday's match at home to Wigan after both Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel limped off while on international duty.

Torres, the Barclays Premier League joint-top scorer with five goals, lasted less than 16 minutes of Spain's World Cup qualifier against Belgium on Wednesday before being replaced by Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

The former Atletico striker reportedly felt a tweak in the muscle in the back of his left leg and was taken off as a precaution.

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England beat Kazakhstan - now the world?

Patriotic punters are always a little strange but the rush to back England to win the 2010 World Cup after the 5-1 thrashing of "mighty" Kazakhstan seems hard to believe.

England are now as short as 8/1 to win the World Cup after they moved a step closer to qualification with the 5-1 victory over Kazakhstan at Wembley on Saturday, after being held to 0-0 at halftime.

A Rio Ferdinand header and an Alexandr Kuchma own goal put England in control. Zhambyl Kukeyev reduced the arrears, before Rooney's double blast and a late effort from Jermain Defoe gave a flattering look to the scoreline.

England range from 8/1 to a best price 10/1 (at bet365) to triumph in South Africa in 2010, with only three sides ahead of them in the betting.

South American giants Brazil and Argentina are the 5/1 joint favourites with Boylesports, with Euro 2008 winners Spain next best at 8/1 with Bet365.

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Spurs defeat shortens relegation odds

Spurs are now as short as 5/1 for relegation after their latest defeat - a 1-0 home loss to Hull - left them rooted to the foot of the Premier League.

Spurs have made their worst start to a season in 96 years and have just two points from the opening seven games.

And although the bookies still rate Stoke (1/5), Hull (13/8), West Brom (7/4), Bolton (9/4), Fulham (3/1) and Newcastle (7/2) as more likely candidates for the drop, it's still an surprising price crash for the White Hart Lane side, who were quoted at 1000/1 to go down by totesport before the season started.

VC Bet, and BoyleSports are the firms going 5/1 about Spurs dropping to the Championship.

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Carling Cup : Arsenal beat Sheffield United and other results

Arsenal's kids gave a display of wonderful talent in a 6-0 home win over Sheffield United, with Carlos Vela the star of the show.

Established first-teamer Nicklas Bendtner (31, 42) finished off clever assists from Vela and Aaron Ramsey to put the Gunners two up before Vela made it three (44) with a lovely curling effort.

The Mexican then grabbed his second by leaving Paddy Kenny on his backside before calmly slotting in his second (50) and 16-year-old Jack Wilshere got in on the act with the fifth (57).

Fittingly, Vela had the last word by completing his hat-trick three minutes from time.

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Manchester United and progressed safely - Sir Alex Ferguson's side beating Middlesbrough 3-1.

Cristiano Ronaldo marked his first start of the season with the opener at Old Trafford when he headed in Ryan Giggs' corner (25).

Brad Jones kept Boro in contention with some fine saves before Adam Johnson shocked the home crowd by drawing the visitors level with a shot from the edge of the box (56).

But they found themselves a man down when Emanuel Pogatetz was shown a straight red card for a bad foul on Rodrigo Possebon, who was carried off the pitch with what looked a bad injury.

Chris Riggott's mistake then let in Giggs to put United back in front (79) and Nani made sure of victory in injury time.

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Liverpool also progressed after beating Crewe 2-1 at Anfield.

Daniel Agger opened the scoring at Anfield when he fired in a free-kick after 15 minutes.

But Crewe showed they would be no pushovers by equalising through Michael O'Connor (25) after debutant keeper Diego Cavalieri had parried Calvin Zola's header.

There was to be no fairytale victory for the League One side, however, as Lucas headed in Jermaine Pennant's cross (58) for what proved the winner.

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UPSETS :

West Ham were knocked out of the cup by Watford at Vicarage Road as goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka missed a cross and the ball went in off Hayden Mullins for an own goal (70) as the Hornets triumphed 1-0.

It was the same scoreline at Turf Moor as a goal from substitute Jay Rodriguez two minutes from the end of the game handed Burnley victory over Fulham.

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Arsenal will stick with "the kids" for the Carling Cup

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will give nearly all of his first team a well-deserved rest on Tuesday night when Coca-Cola Championship side Sheffield United are the visitors to Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal have traditionally played "the kids" in the Carling Cup and the youngsters reached the Carling Cup semi-finals last season, before they lost over two legs to Tottenham.

The Gunners boss confirmed he would adopt the same approach once more - which means the likes of Wales Under-21 midfielder Aaron Ramsey, 16-year-old Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, reserve-team captain Gavin Hoyte and even first-year scholar Emmanuel Frimpong will get their chance.

Wenger is quoted on the the Arsenal website as saying :
"We have to keep our policy because we lost players in this competition that harmed our chances in the Champions League and the Premier League."

"No matter how far we go, we will keep our policy. Even in a stricter way than before."

"We have great experiences in this Carling Cup and there is always a great excitement for the young players to play."

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