Gameweek 22 sees a double gameweek for Manchester United and Hull as their match was moved due to Cup commitments. That means this weeks fixtures are, on paper, a dream for Manchester United: home to both Burnley and Hull.
Whilst on first glance it may appear to be worth loading up on Man Utd players, be wary of getting caught short for the following gameweek.

A new decade, a new year, and 10 players I'll be keeping a watchful eye on for one reason or another in 2010. We all know Drogba, Rooney, Torres, Defoe and the lot will get their 20+ goals and single handily place their teammates on their shoulders and march onwards. But what about the role players that could make or break their clubs championship winning run, help their club break into the top 4, or save their club from relegation and a year in the Championship?

photo credit: bobbymond

Arsenal is crouched in the shadows just waiting to pounce...

... and is 4 points out of the top of the Premier League table and they've officially made it look like a 3-team race. Earlier it had seemed that Tottenham or Aston Villa would make mighty challengers for Chelsea and ManU but now it is evident that Arsenal intends to stand its ground and not budge out of the Top 3 in order to give last year's finalists a run for their money.

Raymond Loumeau es un artista gráfico que nos muestra su arte de manera muy agradable y plástica, por eso me encanto la imagen del niño Torres.

Sin duda Fernando ¨el niño¨Torres es otro de los jugadores menos apreciados por la prensa que se desvive por Ronaldo y Messi se olvidan de que este jugador pusieron en tela de duda su éxito en la Premier League inglesa .

Before the Christmas football period, Fernando Torres stood on the cusp of greatness. Scoring 49 goals in 69 games meant that he was on the verge of becoming the fastest Liverpool player ever to reach 50 goals in the least number of games. Though it did not come against Portsmouth or Wolves, it finally came against top four hopeful, Aston Villa.

Here are the highlights from the Aston Villa's 5-1 win over Blackburn Rovers in the 3rd round of the F.A. Cup. Brad Guzan played and saved a penalty, which you can watch on the highlights below.

Its a very busy time in English football as the Football Association (FA) Cup started its 3rd round this past weekend and there were a few midweek EPL fixtures. American goalkeeper Braz Guzan who has been a back-up to Brad Friedel got a start on Saturday as Aston Villa took on Blackburn Rovers. Other Americans in action were Tim Howard for Everton, Clint Dempsey for Fulham (in two matches), Jozy Altidore for Hull Cit and Jay DeMerit for Watford.

Worrying quotes from Anfield boss.

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Rafa Benitez has conceded for the first time Liverpool will consider bids for star duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

Playing fantasy football manager games means one thing: you're always after the next hot player. That could be Manchester United midfielder Antonio Valencia. The Ecuador-born player has been part of ManU for half a season now and has already broken his previous EPL-record with 5 goals scored and 6 assisted.

By FRANCO PANIZO

It has been hard for Carlos Bocanegra to see the field for Stade Rennes over the past two months, but the U.S. national team captain took another positive step towards reclaiming his left back spot this weekend.

Bocanegra started Rennes' round of 32 Coupe de France game against Saumar, and helped Rennes post a 4-0 victory over the fifth-division club.

The first of four half-term report cards for the Premier League features Arsenal, Aston Villa, Birmingham, Blackburn and Bolton:

ARSENAL (3rd, 41 points from 19 games)

With a fully fit squad, Wenger's young and exciting side have, at times, looked against the pre-season odds like real title contenders.

By Chris Wright

Here's the hottest transfer gossip to dribble off presses this morning...

Gerrard catches up on a little light Reading

Rumour No. 1: One of those 'sources close to/someone in our office reckons' stories has surfaced this morning as, according to The Daily Star, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has one eye on the exit door at Anfield.

With no winter break for the English Premier League, there were several midweek matches. On Monday December 28, 2009, Jonathon Spector played for West Ham United, Clint Dempsey started for Fulham, Tim Howard started for Everton, and Marcus Hahnemann started for Wolverhampton Wanderers. On Tuesday, December 29, 2009, Brad Friedel was in action for Aston Villa while Jozy Altidore was playing for Hull City.

These are the days all football fans crave. Aston Villa haven't played Birmingham in the FA Cup since 1901. Newcastle and Sunderland have waited since 1956. Sheffield Wednesday played Sheffield United in 1993. Arsenal took on Spurs in 2001. Chelsea played Fulham in 2002. You have to wait years for these games.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp has backed Liverpool to finish fourth in the Premier League this season and claim an all important Champions League spot.
The Merseysiders currently lie seventh in the table, four points behind Tottenham after a disappointing first half of the season.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is set to launch a surprise move for Aston Villa centre-forward John Carew, according to a report from the Daily Star Sunday.
Ready cash is in short supply at Anfield, but the powerful Norwegian could be prised away from Villa Park for £3 million. His current contract expires in 18 months' time, and there has not yet been any indication that manager Martin O'Neill is to offer him a new one.

As far as articles on the top clubs in the world this week, there's not that much to report. The only matches that had any affect on the rankings over the past few weeks came out of France, which shut down later than most, Spain, which started back earlier than most, and England and Scotland, which neither shut down nor started back.

Brad Guzan did it again, stopping a penalty kick by David Dunn in Aston Villa's 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers in the third round of the English FA Cup on Saturday.
Guzan's stop in the 31st minute kept Villa head and followed five penalty saves, including four in the shootout, against Sunderland in the League Cup earlier in the season.

That's the question that is being asked by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
Despite seeing his Premier League counterparts lose, Wenger believes that a victory for the Red Devils would have proven beneficial to the Gunners in the grand scheme of things.
"I'd have preferred United to have won," the Frenchman said, according to The Sun.

Carling Cup on Setanta: Blackburn - Aston Villa at 3pm. Copa del Rey on ESPN Deportes: Barcelona - Sevilla at 4pm. Premier League on Setanta: Stoke City - Fulham at 5pm. All Times Eastern

Liverpool have joined the race to sign Girondins de Bordeaux's highly-rated striker Marouane Chamakh, according to a report from The Times.
The Moroccan international has frequently been identified in the media as a long-term target for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, and was said to have been the subject of an offer from the Gunners last summer.

Freddy Adu and Eddie Johnson are two Americans who have had trouble finding regular playing time with their current clubs (Benfica and Fulham). Adu has been on a few loan deals since his time at Benfica and yet to earn regular playing time in any of them. Johnson, has only played a limited number of matches for Fulham and on his loan to Cardiff City last season.

Fired-up, focused and fully fit – Fernando Torres is ready to ignite Liverpool's push for the top four by repeating his Aston Villa heroics in another must win game this weekend.
Having spent much of the last three months being the centre of constant medical bulletins, normal service has been resumed for Liverpool's number nine following his last-gasp strike at Villa Park eight days ago.

Tevez is a stud, not a dud
That break seemed like it lasted forever. Boxing Day fixtures, the New Year, then a bit of FA Cup action, some snow mixed in between, and now we're back to the Premier League this weekend...
I. Tottenham @ Liverpool: One of these two teams most certainly will not make the Top 4.

EPL on ESPN2: Hull City - Chelsea at 7:30am. On Fox Soccer Channel: Wigan -Aston Villa at 10am, Birmingham City - Manchester United at 12:30pm. Championship on Setanta: Crystal Palace - Bristol at 10am. La Liga on ESPN Deportes: Valladolid - Atletico Madrid at noon. On GolTV: Sevilla - Racing Santander at 2pm.

Gunmen opened fire on the coach carrying Togo's national football squad to African Cup of Nations in Angola, killing the driver and wounding nine others, including two players.

L'Equipe said the wounded players were Serge Akakpo, who plays for Romanian first division side Vaslui, and reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale, who is with French fourth division team Pontivy.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez wants to snap up Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones in a swap deal involving outof-favour Ryan Babel. But he can only afford the £11million-rated Trinidad & Tobago target man if Babel goes to Steve Bruce's club.
The Kop manager has limited funds and cannot match Birmingham and Stoke if it comes to a straight cash auction for 25-year-old Jones.

Liverpool have reportedly joined Premier League rivals Birmingham City, Stoke City, Aston Villa and Tottenham in the race for Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones.
The Sunday People claim Rafa Benitez is proposing a swap deal involving Ryan Babel and Jones trading clubs in this transfer window.

Fox Soccer Channel will announce Tuesday that it'll launch it's second all-soccer network named Fox Soccer Plus on March 1, 2010, according to the Associated Press.

The news comes almost one week after EPL Talk broke the story that Fox had acquired the trademark and domain name to Fox Soccer Plus and that Fox was involved in negotiations to acquire Setanta Sports US.

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres believes the Reds must win the Europa League and secure a top four finish if they are to salvage their season – and has challenged the club's owners to splash the cash or get left behind.
A shock defeat to Championship strugglers Reading in the FA Cup on Wednesday added to a succession of disappointments this term for the Anfield outfit, who have already been eliminated from both the League Cup and Champions League and lie 12 points adrift of Premier League leaders Chelsea.

By Chris Wright

Rumoursville is a little quiet this morning, here's the round up...

Kenwyne just laughed off the rumours

Rumour No. 1: Liverpool have had a loan approach for Kenwyne Jones rebuffed this morning as Sunderland have again insisted that the striker is not for sale.

Rankings fans, this is going to be an abbreviated rankings. I'm sitting on a boat on the Nile river just outside of Luxor and the only internet access I have is what I'm pirating from the boat next door. If I get an opportunity later in the week, I'll add some commentary, but for the time being, I want to make sure that I publish the Top 25 Clubs of the Week for the sake of continuity.

By Ollie Irish

Rafa Benitez has promised on more than one occasion that Liverpool will finish in the top four this season. Last night's impressive 2-0 win over Spurs adds weight to the Spaniard's bold promise.

By Chris Wright

When winter's drawing in, try a gentleman's all-in-one body stocking!

Breaking news from the Aston Villa camp this afternoon is that Glasgow Rangers striker Kris Boyd has held talks with the club over a possible move south of the border.

Bradley Edwin Guzan – that's Brad Guzan to the rest of us – is making his mark for Aston Villa this season and last night helped his team book a trip to Wembley in a thrilling League Cup semi-final second-leg encounter.

Wayne Rooney hammered in 4 goals to destroy Hull City at Old Trafford today.
Karma for Hull City after bringing in Amr Zaki?
Or just some brilliance from Wayne - who will look to hit top form prior to the World Cup...
With Drogba in Africa with the Ivory Coast, it looks like Rooney can wrap up the Golden Boot over the next few weeks with a few further performances like this one.

Wolverhampton Wanderers play host to Liverpool in the Premier League this week, with both sides needing points for very different reasons.
Only goal difference separates Wolves from the relegation zone, as they have failed to pick up a win in any of their last five games in all competitions.

Wayne Routledge has just signed for Newcastle from North London club, Queen's Park Rangers on a 3.5 year contract for an undisclosed fee. Routledge, a 25 year old winger who can also play as a second striker was only signed to Queen's Park Rangers in 2009, and the player has played previously for Aston Villa, Tottenham [.

A lot of news ahead of the midweek matches. Lets go around the league... Gerrard set for Reds return Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is in contention for Tuesday's trip to Wolves after returning ahead of schedule from injury... "He was training on Saturday and then a full training session on Sunday, and Monday was the same," said manager Rafael Benitez.

A Tight Affair

On a night when Wenger could have entered the history books by registering his 300′th league win as a manager, Arsenal flattered to decieve & left the gaffer wondering what could have been. With proceedings tighter than ever at the summit, nothing less than a victory was what the doctor ordered.