Manchester City have once again made headlines in the Premier League by reportedly signing one of the most promising young players in the world, Edin Dzeko, from the German club Wolfsburg.

Like many of City's purchases, the Bosnian striker will not come cheap, with the transfer fee coming to a reported £27 million.

Former Hoffenheim boss Ralf Rangnick's agent has claimed he would love the opportunity to manage in England, though no offers have come his way so far.
The German, who had significant success in guiding his former club from obscurity into the Bundesliga, left on New Year's Day, and has been touted as a potential candidate for Roy Hodgson's Liverpool job.

Daniel Agger has given Roy Hodgson another headache by threatening to quit Liverpool if he is not handed a regular starting berth.
The two have not seen eye-to-eye since Hodgson took over at Anfield, with Agger criticizing the Reds' direct style of play earlier this season.
That row was defused when Agger was ruled out for three months with a damaged calf but, after returning to the team for the 2-1 win over Bolton, he has again taken issue with his boss.

Ahh, there is nothing like the FA Cup for a bit of spice is there?

Anyone expecting Leeds to just show up and enjoy the experience of the Emirates were having a laugh. I have seen a couple of Leeds' games this season and they are a more than decent unit (their unbeaten run was only stopped by Cardiff in midweek).

This time last year we were on a long unbeaten run and were beginning to hint at the possibility of a serious title challenge.

There was one glaring problem – we did not have a lead striker.

Robin van Persie was out on one of his trademark lengthy injury lay-offs and Nicklas Bendtner was filling the berth next to him in the treatment room.

Ipswich Town

Position: 19th (Championship), 8-4-12 (28 points, -6 goal differential)

Away Form: 5-1-6 (-1 goal differential)

Recent Form: LWDLL

Our first semifinal in a couple of years kicks off tomorrow as we travel to Portman Road to take on the Tractors.

Under pressure Avram Grant saw his West Ham side beat Birmingham City 2-1 in the first leg of their English League Cup semi-final.

West Ham took a deserved lead on 13 minutes when Mark Noble drove a ferocious shot through a throng of Birmingham bodies to make it one nil. West Ham continued to pile on the pressure but they could not get a second goal past Ben Foster as denied Spector, James Tomkins and, most impressively, Obinna all in the first half.

Under pressure Avram Grant saw his West Ham side beat Birmingham City 2-1 in the first leg of their English League Cup semi-final.

West Ham took a deserved lead on 13 minutes when Mark Noble drove a ferocious shot through a throng of Birmingham bodies to make it one nil. West Ham continued to pile on the pressure but they could not get a second goal past Ben Foster as denied Spector, James Tomkins and, most impressively, Obinna all in the first half.

DOHA, Qatar — Bahrain's Ismaeel Abdulatif scored a remarkable four goals as his side thrashed India 5-2 here on Friday to stay in contention for an Asian Cup last-eight berth and consign the Indians to elimination. The 24-year-old forward scored three times in just 19 minutes in a devastating first-half spell, after Faouzi Aaish's penalty [.

Cote D'Ivoire topped defending champion Gambia 4-1 and Congo defeated Mali 2-1 to reach the semifinals of the CAF U-17 Championship, and with that, a berth to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico.
The pair joins CAF tournament host Rwanda and Burkina Faso in both the continental championship and Mexico.

When you're chasing an improbable quadruple the last thing you want is a midweek trip to a bouncing Elland Road in an FA Cup replay. That's the task that stands in front of Arsenal after Cesc Fabregas' late penalty salvaged a tie that looked beyond them after Robert Snodgrass' 54th minute penalty.

The OFC Under-17 Championship final has been won by tournament hosts New Zealand for the fourth time in the nation's history following their 2-0 win against Tahiti. A 2-0 scoreline was also sufficient for the Solomon Islands to claim third place in their play-off against Vanuatu.

Both of the goals came in the first half for New Zealand who have won the last three tournaments all at the expense of today's opponents Tahiti.

DOHA, Qatar — Uzbekistan wrote a new chapter in their footballing history on Friday by making the Asian Cup semi-finals for the first time with a tense 2-1 win against Jordan. Both teams were gunning for a maiden last-four berth at the continent's premier football tournament and a brace from Ulugbek Bakaev earned his team [.

New Zealand became the most recent team to qualify for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, by virtue of a 2-0 win against Tahiti to claim the Oceania title.
Though the Oceania region has only one berth to Mexico, 10 teams competed in the regional championship for the first time - two years ago only four teams competed in the final round.

BERLIN, Italy — German Cup holders Bayern Munich booked their semi-final berth on Wednesday with a comfortable 4-0 win at second division Alemannia Aachen as the German giants began life without Mark van Bommel. After their Dutch captain's shock exit on Tuesday, when he signed for AC Milan until the end of the season, Germany [.

This weekend sees most teams getting a break from EPL action to turn their attention to the one Cup that still matters, The F.A. Cup. After seeing off Scunthorpe United in the third round, Everton were drawn at home against Chelsea for a fourth round tie this Saturday at 7:30am in the US, and 12:30 pm in England.

Two semifinals gone (one actually exciting, sorry Hammers fans for that tough extra time loss) and we're on to Wembley at the end of February with Birmingham City and Arsenal for the league cup. This one's been traditionally contested by mid-table teams since its seen as a mostly meaningless achievement, that is until they changed the format to reward the victor with a Europa League berth (previously winners would gain entry to the UEFA Cup tourney).

The Palau Reíal Major in Barcelona was the home for counts of Barcelona and later the Kings of Aragon.

Espanyol's surprising start has not only stretched to this juncture of the season but has also improved from a club that only garnered points at home to a team that can win the tough matches away from home.