Rafael Benitez acknowledges that Liverpool's clash with Manchester City on Saturday is 'make or break' to their hopes of ensuring Champions League football next season.
The stakes are very high for boss Benitez, who has sent four players - Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera, Glen Johnson and Fabio Aurelio - to Belgrade this week for unorthodox placenta cell treatment on their injuries. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool clash with Manchester City this weekend and Rafael Benitez will be hoping the international break will have given his side the opportunity to turn their recent shoddy form around.
Roaming right-back Glen Johnson, according to Benitez, has received the experimental placenta massage that Arsenal striker Robin van Persie elected to try following the injury he sustained while representing Netherlands. Click to continue reading...

Nemanja Vidic looks almost certain to return to the Manchester United defence for Saturday's Premier League clash with Everton. The Serbian and Red Devils centre-half had been sidelined for the past three weeks with a calf injury. Vidic was recently seen playing for his country against South Korea in a World Cup warm-up match. Click to continue reading...

After an extended vacation, I am back writing the blog. The coming week could turn out to be the most important week for FC Barcelona this season. After achieving a historic treble, no team would like to be thrown out of UEFA Champions League in the group stage, but the chances are pretty high for that to happen. Click to continue reading...

Phil Neville may pull on a blue shirt when he steps out for Everton but the former United utility man is still a red at heart. Neville is currently back in training following nine weeks out with a knee injury but it looks unlikely he will recover in time for Everton's visit to Old Trafford this weekend.

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And here you thought Arsenal's Robin van Persie was the only one getting this special treatment. Ahead of Saturday's critical clash between Liverpool and Manchester City, Rafa Benitez is pulling out all the stops to make sure his squad is healthy enough to field a squad without the name Voronin inserted into the starting [. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre says their looming clash with Chelsea could be decisive for their own title ambitions.
The Gunners face Chelsea at the end of the month.
Silvestre said: "I think Chelsea is going to be a big test for us. It could be a decider for the league title this season. Click to continue reading...

The injury to young Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs is not as bad as initially feared the club has confirmed.
The England U21 international was thought to have broken a bone in his foot whilst on international duty on Tuesday but further assessment has revealed that he only sustained bruising and will most likely miss just this weekend's clash with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Click to continue reading...

It's time for a little overdue wrap up post with the correct answers to the recent quizzes.

One of These Players is not Like the Others

Answer: Didi Hamann. All other players were transfers from Karlsruhe to Bayern, while Hamann came through Bayern's youth system for a change.

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The arrival of the Selecção at Sarajevo yesterday was met with threats, insult and spitting.

The stage has been set for anything but an enjoyable soccer match. I genuinely fear for what might happen to our players and supporters should we (as everyone expects) qualify for the world cup. Human life is certainly so much more valuable then a qualification to the world-cup.

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The arrival of the Selecção at Sarajevo yesterday was met with threats, insult and spitting.

The stage has been set for anything but an enjoyable soccer match. I genuinely fear for what might happen to our players and supporters should we (as everyone expects) qualify for the world cup. Human life is certainly so much more valuable then a qualification to the world-cup.

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Arsenal striker Robin van Persie is likely to miss his rematch with Manchester City centre-forward Emmanuel Adebayor.
Van Persie's injury threatens to stop him lining up against former team-mate Adebayor in next month's Carling Cup quarter-final at Manchester City.
Van Persie was keen to play after a stormy Barclays Premier League clash in September in which Adebayor stamped on his face and provoked travelling fans after scoring in a 4-2 win for his side. Click to continue reading...

Ireland go into their World Cup play-off second-leg with France at full strength with no injuries to report.
It is do-or-die for Giovanni Trapattoni's men as they prepare to fly to Paris on Tuesday trailing 1-0 from the first-leg at Croke Park.
Ireland performed admirably on Saturday but still fell to a deflected 72nd minute Nicolas Anelka strike, handing the French the initiative ahead of the return match on Wednesday. Click to continue reading...

Rafa Benitez faces more battles between club and country if Liverpool fail to get their season back on track.
The World Cup will become an unwanted distraction for the Kop boss unless his side is competing for honours in the New Year.
Star players Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are putting their bodies on the line to help save the club's faltering season. Click to continue reading...

Portugal have defeated Bosnia at the Estadio da Luz today 1-0 to take the first leg as the teams now move to Bosnia for the second leg on Wednesday. Portugal was clearly the better team in this game but was also the lucky team as Bosnia hit two crossbars and a post in this clash.Portugal started the attack early when Raul Meireles shot wide a common shot for the Portuguese on this night, Click to continue reading...

Video goal highlights from the Republic of Ireland vs France first leg World Cup 2010 playoff game on November 14, 2009- Saturday. Game kicks off at Croke Park, Dublin- 20.00 GMT. Big, big game for the Irish- they need a good result here ahead of the second leg in Paris. Ireland vs France highlights and team [. Click to continue reading...

World Cup qualification is back on the agenda this weekend as 18 teams from around the globe battle it out for the remaining 9 places. With 23 nations already qualified for next summer's tournament, here's how things stack up in the final 16 matches on the road to South Africa:

What: European playoffs

How: 8 teams clash over two-legs with 4 teams advancing to Finals.

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England's preparations for their friendly clash with Brazil suffered another setback on Thursday when Frank Lampard flew home after suffering a thigh strain in the squad's first training session in Qatar. The loss of the Chelsea midfielder further depletes a squad already missing more than half of the line-up that head . Click to continue reading...

Due to December's Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, the Torneo Apertura eighteenth round match between Central and Estudiantes de La Plata was moved forward to last night in order to avoid a fixture clash later in the year for the South American champions. Taking their eye off the ball, Estudiantes played dreadfully [. Click to continue reading...

SPAIN lost 1-3 to host NIGERIA in the semi-final clash of the U/17WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. The local team was just too strong & tooquick, as they took advantage of Spain's weakness on the flanks toenter & score their goals. Spain missed their chances & they reactedtoo late. Nigeria are worthy & deserved winners. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere was of course bitterly disappointed to miss the Gunners' last Carling Cup game at home against Liverpool but is all fired up for the December 2nd clash away at Manchester City, ... Click to continue reading...

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere was of course bitterly disappointed to miss the Gunners' last Carling Cup game at home against Liverpool but is all fired up for the December 2nd clash away at Manchester City, ...

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Glen Johnson believes Liverpool must stick together to bring an 'awful' sequence of results to an end.
The Reds had to come from 2-1 down to hold Birmingham to a draw on Monday night in a match at Anfield they were firm favourites to win.
Rafa Benitez's men have picked up just one victory in their last nine matches in all competitions, while they remain 11 points adrift of Premier League leaders Chelsea and are in danger of being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League. Click to continue reading...

Denmark's Footballer of The Year

I have always believed that everyone has their advantages and flaws in certain areas that is different from one another. Some can paint, some can sing, some can dance, while others are just plain stupid. Case in point, Darren Fletcher. After the Chelsea game, he was quoted to say that

I think we are starting to see Mr Wenger's comments starting to influence referees which is a shame really.

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Who ever said that 'footballers have no sense of humour'? I don't know either. I just made it up.
If that quote did exist though then Darren Fletcher would be exempt. He believes, wait for it, that comments made by Arsene Wenger earlier in the season have resulted in him being singled out by referees. Click to continue reading...

Chelsea scored the only goal of the match as they defeated former Champions Manchester United in a much awaited clash of the Premier League last night. John Terry was the scorer as he connected Frank Lampard's free kick in the second half to win 1-0. With this win, Chelsea have strengthened their reign at the top [. Click to continue reading...

Manchester United go into tomorrow's big Premier League clash against Chelsea with many pundits expecting a hammering for the champions, there's no surprise there given what happened at Old Trafford in the summer with the loss of two world-class strikers and the quality of the replacements that followed. Click to continue reading...

Fabio Aurelio is winning his battle to be fit to return to action on Monday – and to take his place in the Brazil squad for the first time.
Aurelio, who is in the last year of his current contract, has missed Liverpool's last two games against Fulham and Lyon with a calf problem.
His form before that, though, had been good enough to catch the eye of Brazil coach Dunga, who will take Aurelio and Reds midfielder Lucas to Qatar for next Saturday's friendly with England. Click to continue reading...

Rafa Benitez has urged the Spanish and English Football Associations to exercise commonsense when naming their squads for their international friendlies next week.
Spain will play Argentina at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium next Saturday, while on the same evening England face Brazil in a glamour friendly in Qatar. Click to continue reading...

Fireworks are expected on Sunday when Premier League leaders Chelsea host second-placed Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Elsewhere, Phil Brown is under pressure for his Hull City side to pick up a positive result against Stoke City, in-form Arsenal travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City welcome North West rivals Burnley to Eastlands while Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland clash at White Hart Lane. Click to continue reading...

Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal looks ahead to the key clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in La Liga on Saturday night... Click to continue reading...

by CARL ELDRIDGE Arsenal face Manchester City in the quarter final of the Carling Cup next month and Gooners everywhere are praying Arsene Wenger's Young Guns can overcome Mark Hughes' side, complete with Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure. � Robin van Persie has already stated he'd love to play against City and his reasons no doubt refer to the incident in the 4-2 Premier League defeat in which Adebayor kicked RVP in the face. Click to continue reading...

*Even ardent Italophobes sometimes have to doff their cap to La Dolce Vita. The Stadio Olimpico was so sparsely attended for tonight's Roma v Fulham clash, that despite being a veggie, I thought about eating Saltimbocca alla Romana in honour of the stayaway fans.When they consider a game meaningless, Italian tifosi vote with their feet. Click to continue reading...

Rafael Benitez insists he does not fear for his job even though Liverpool now need a miracle to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Liverpool boss had seen victory snatched from his team by Lyon, who equalised through Lisandro Lopez in the dying seconds of their Group E clash at the Stade Gerland on Wednesday night. Click to continue reading...

Hotshot striker pleased to hear about potential interest from Stamford Bridge outfit.

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Atletico Madrid star Sergio Aguero has admitted he is flattered to be linked with a move to Chelsea.

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