England - Switzerland

England’s problem is this game comes after a long and hard season for the players. Capello will have to find a way to motivate them. Also, there won’t be Rooney (Defoe, Carroll and Gerrard). On the other hand, England is topping the table just by goal difference. Win today should be out of question.

Swiss are 6 points behind, they desperately need a win to join a battle for top two places but I’m sure they’ll be absolutely satisfied with a point today. However, they have scoring problems on their trips and alongside with hard defending that Ottmar Hitzfeld is forcing, their last 6 games produced zero or one goal. Attacking duo, Frei (ex skipper) - Streller, was under the media fire after last game (0-0 Bulgaria) and both retired! I think Swiss target will be 0-0 scoreline.

My first idea was England -1, I’m pretty sure they’ll win. But with 2 goals margin? This should be a better call. Hosts will dominate in possession and most of the time ball will be on Swiss half, around penalty area. I’m going on corners market and 1st half since the English pressure on goal should be bigger.

Bet: number of corners 1st half, England -2 (ah)
Odd: 2.04 188bet
Stake: 7/10
pi
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Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP 

Barcelona have warned Chelsea and Manchester City that Argentine superstar Lionel Messi is not for sale at any price. (The Sun) 
The Spanish side are also hoping to fend off interest in Thierry Henry by offering the French striker a new three-year contract. (The Sun) 
AC Milan have reignited their interest in Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor after failing to land him last summer. (Daily Express) 
Liverpool are favourites to sign £20m-rated Spain midfielder David Silva after Valencia indicated they would prefer to sell him abroad. (Various) 
West Ham are prepared to break their transfer record by bidding more than £9m for Atalanta striker Sergio Floccari. (Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham have been told by Genoa to forget about signing their Argentine striker Diego Milito, saying £10m would not even buy his ear. (The Sun) 
Aston Villa have been alerted to the availability of Standard Liege midfielder Steven Defour. (Daily Mirror) 
David Beckham will stay at AC Milan rather than return to LA Galaxy when his loan spell ends in May, according to his Milan team-mate Paolo Maldini. (Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has insisted he "does not want to go anywhere at this point" despite him being linked with Chelsea. (Daily Express) 
Stoke want to sign Manchester City striker Benjani and will move for him at the end of the season. (Daily Mirror) 
Burnley striker Ade Akinbiyi is heading to the US to tie up a deal to play for MLS side Houston Dynamo next season. (Various) 
Doncaster striker Jason Price is set to join Millwall on loan for the rest of the season. (Daily Star) 
Brighton's top scorer Glenn Murray will snub a summer move to Cardiff and stay with the Seagulls, even if they are relegated to League Two. (Daily Star) 
Spanish outfit Sevilla are set to cast an eye over Celtic winger Aiden McGeady at Saturday's Republic of Ireland international against Bulgaria. (Daily Express) 
Rangers have targeted the twin brother of Manchester United's Brazilian sensation Rafael de Silva to solve their left midfield problem. (Various) 

OTHER GOSSIP 

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has stepped up his bid to sell his 50% stake in the club, instructing financial giants Merrill Lynch to find a buyer. (Daily Mirror) 
Sir Alex Ferguson will quit as manager of Manchester United next year, according to his son Darren. (Various) 
Manchester United are in advanced talks with Saudi Telecom to replace shirt sponsor AIG. (Daily Mail) 
David Beckham has warned England coach Fabio Capello that he will not be able to curb the temper of striker Wayne Rooney. (Various) 
Capello has told his England players not to treat Saturday's clash with Slovakia as just a friendly. (Daily Mirror) 
Arsenal are on a collision course with Togo, who have vowed to play Emmanuel Adebayor against Cameroon on Saturday. The striker has not played for his club for six weeks because of a hamstring injury . (Daily Mirror) 
Gunners striker Robin van Persie has revealed he almost joined Rangers before he switched from Feyenoord to the Londoners in 2002. "I sat by the phone, hoping it would ring and that it would happen," he said. (Daily Star) 
Japanese business tycoon Yasuaki Kagami is set to take control of Plymouth when his real-estate form raises its stake in the club past the 50% mark in a seven-figure deal. (The Sun) 
Former Hearts defender Christophe Berra looks set to start for Scotland against Holland on Saturday in Amsterdam (Various) 
Cash-strapped Livingston failed to pay their players' wages on time again on Thursday, sparking further fears about the club's financial stability. (Daily Record) 
Brian McLean reckons Motherwell will bag a European slot after going on a run of sparkling form recently. (Daily Record) 
Dundee's financial future looks secure after welcoming one of Scotland's richest men, Calum Melville, to their board of directors. (Daily Record) 
Meanwhile, East Stirling have welcomed local businessman Hugh Henderson to their board to represent fans. (Daily Record) 
Robbie Winters is set to sign for Clyde in a bid to help the club win their fight against relegation from the First Division. (Daily Record) 
Queen of the South star Stevie Tosh says Aberdeen fans should lay off Jimmy Calderwood after calling for the manager's head this week (Daily Record) 
St Mirren keeper Chris Smith could be out for a year with a cruciate ligament injury. (Various) 
Robin Van Persie claims he almost signed for Rangers when Dick Advocaat was manager in 2002. (Various) 
Hearts sporting director Anatoly Korobochka has returned from a whistle-stop tour of Europe hunting for a pre-season training camp. (Daily Express) 
Fifa has ordered the four home nations to come to an agreement over a Great Britain football team for the London Olympics in 2012. (The Scotsman) 

AND FINALLY 

The Premier League's biggest clubs unveiled early designs for new kits for next season to negative reactions from supporters. Manchester United's shirt was described as "vulgar" and a "disgrace", Chelsea fans said their club's new kit would make them look like "muppets" and an Arsenal fan said his side's new shirt would be "one of the most unpopular ever". (Daily Star)

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Thursday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP 

Manchester City are setting their sights high, with Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery, Barcelona striker Thierry Henry, Chelsea skipper John Terry and Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz all transfer targets. (The Times) 
Liverpool may make a £9m bid for Valencia centre-back Raul Albiol if Daniel Agger refuses to sign a new deal to keep him at Anfield. (Various) 
Real Madrid's Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart says he would like to join Chelsea, if his compatriot Guus Hiddink stays on as manager. (The Sun) 
Hiddink, meanwhile, has urged Chelsea to bid for Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko. (Various) 
AC Milan are lining up a £15m summer bid for Arsenal left-back Gael Clichy. (Various) 
Everton defender Joseph Yobo will be offered a new £6m contract in the hope of fending off interest from Arsenal and Chelsea. (Daily Mirror) 
Wigan are interested in signing Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton and will move for him at the end of the season. (The Sun) 
Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone has alerted Aston Villa, Newcastle and Everton by admitting he has concerns about his future at White Hart Lane. (Daily Mail) 
Jeremie Aliadiere will quit Middlesbrough if they are relegated and the striker could make a shock return to Arsenal. (Daily Mirror) 
Boro defender Emanuel Pogatetz also says he will leave the club if they are relegated. (The Sun) 
Blackburn defender Andre Ooijer has confirmed he will return to PSV Eindhoven next season. (Various) 
Birmingham striker Kevin Phillips is wanted by Australian side Perth Glory. (Daily Star) 
Arsenal's highly-rated young midfielder Mark Randall is wanted on loan by Blackpool. (Daily Mirror) 
Ipswich and Watford are keeping tabs on Barnet striker John O'Flynn. (Daily Star) 
Bristol City striker Dele Adebola is a target for Sheffield United. (Daily Mirror) 
Celtic are weighing up a £2m summer swoop for highly-rated 23-year-old Espanyol midfielder Jordi Gomez who is currently on loan at Swansea City. (Various) 

OTHER GOSSIP 

England boss Fabio Capello has branded striker Wayne Rooney a "crazy man" after the striker's red card in Manchester United's defeat by Fulham. (Various) 
Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is considering an application for a British passport that would allow the Spaniard to play for England. (Various) 
Tottenham left-back Gareth Bale has revealed he is having extra coaching in how to become a better defender. (Various) 
Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon is set to for showdown talks with manager Ricky Sbragia over his future. (Daily Star) 
Uefa says it will bring match fixing charges against a European club within days. (Various) 
Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun is set to anger his employers by risking his fitness to play for Israel on Saturday. (Daily Star) 
Former Portsmouth boss Tony Adams is hoping to rebuild his managerial career by landing the top job at Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam. (The Sun) 
Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has vowed to stay as manager of Inter Milan for the next four or five years, quashing speculation he wants to return to the Premier League. (The Telegraph) 
Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn believes up to a dozen cash-strapped clubs will go into administration in the next year. (The Sun) 
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has admitted he will be sacked as Mexico boss if they lose to Costa Rica on Saturday. (Daily Mirror) 
 
AND FINALLY 

Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand insists footballers do not have a flash lifestyle, despite their huge salaries. "Our lives are quite boring", he insists. "I spend a lot of time watching Coronation Street and Eastenders." (Daily Star) 
Chelsea and Russia boss Guus Hiddink showed that managing two sides simultaneously can be confusing when he referred to Arsenal's Andrey Arshavin as a Chelsea player. Hiddink only has the midfielder under his charge with the international team. (The Sun)
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Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City have made an approach for Atletico Madrid's former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan but have been told they must pay £30m for the 29-year-old Uruguayan. (Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is reportedly interested in signing Genoa striker Diego Milito, 29, after flying out to Italy to watch the Argentine. (Daily Express) 
Rangers' Cyprus Under-21 international Georgios Efrem, who has impressed on loan at Dundee, is wanted by Fulham, Bolton, Middlesbrough and Reading. (Daily Star) 
Burnley striker Ade Akinbiyi is being targeted by Major League Soccer side Houston Dynamo. (Daily Mirror) 
Watford manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed he is interested in signing Ipswich midfielder Veliche Shumulikosi, 27. (Daily Star) 
Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has confirmed that Bayern Munich are leading the £9m hunt for Celtic winger Aiden McGeady to replace Franck Ribery who it is believed is interesting Barcelona and Manchester City. (The Sun) 
Former Rangers manager Dick Advocaat says he is ready to bring Ibrox skipper Barry Ferguson to Zenit St Petersburg to replace the outgoing Anatoliy Tymoschuk who is bound for Bayern Munich. (Daily Mail) 
Dundee United manager Craig Levein is being patient as he looks for a goalkeeper to replace the Celtic-bound Lukasz Zaluska in the summer. (The Herald)

OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester United fear Cristiano Ronaldo could quit English football because of a lack of protection from referees. (Daily Mail) 
Newcastle's players believe the current caretaker management duo of Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood is not good enough to keep the club in the Premier League and want former England boss Terry Venables brought in as an emergency manager. (The Sun) 
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has blasted Fabio Capello's decision to call-up Ledley King to the England squad as he can barely train with the Spurs squad due to a persistent knee injury. (Various) 
King himself has pleaded with Capello not to pick him and said he may retire from international football in order to save his career. (Daily Star) 
Manager Rafael Benitez's former assistant and chief scout at Liverpool, Paco Herrera, has revealed the secrets behind his Anfield success. He claims the Spaniard has 70 scouts, a players' database of more than 14,000 professionals, that it was his idea to build a hotel at the club's Melwood training ground and he has access to DVDs from all the top leagues in the world. (The Sun) 
Hundreds of players in the Championship, League One and League Two are in danger of being out of work this summer as up to 10 clubs could go bust because of the economic crisis. (Daily Mirror) 
Liverpool co-owner George Gillett could strengthen his position at the club if he decides to sell his ice hockey team, the Montreal Canadiens. (Various) 
Or, Gillett is edging towards the Anfield exit door after instructing a finance company to look at his assets. (Various) 
Former Arsenal favourite Freddie Ljungberg has warned that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger may leave the club if he is offered a bigger budget to work with elsewhere. (Daily Mirror) 
Chelsea and Russia manager Guus Hiddink will hold talks with the Russian Football Federation to clarify that he has no intention of staying at Stamford Bridge beyond the summer. (The Sun) 
Even though Hiddink may not be at Chelsea next season, Blues owner Roman Abramovich has asked the Dutchman to draw up a list of summer targets amounting to £100m. (Daily Express) 
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will not face any further punishment over his reaction after being sent off against Fulham on Saturday. (Various) 
Barcelona and former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry believes England can win next year's World Cup in South Africa. (The Sun) 
Liverpool stars Jamie Carragher and Albert Riera believe Manchester United are starting to feel the pressure after the Reds closed the gap to one point at the top of the table. (Various) 
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is so concerned about his side's recent slump that he has refused an offer from Sky to bring the Premier League match with Aston Villa on Sunday, 5 April forward 24 hours to give the Red Devils more preparation time for their Champions League quarter-final with Porto on 7 April. (The Guardian) 
Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock wants to ban James Scowcroft from training after the striker refused to go out on loan. (Daily Mirror) 
Barry Ferguson and David Weir are set to join Stephen McManus on the Scotland sidelines for this weekend's World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands. (Daily Record) 
Kenny Miller is also out of Saturday's match after reporting to the team headquarters with a hamstring injury. (The Herald) 
Dutch star Arjen Robben has warned Scotland his Real Madrid and international team-mate Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is in the form of his life. (Daily Express) 
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy says his club's defender Christophe Berra can replace the injured Stephen McManus, Kirk Broadfoot or David Weir should they not make the big game in Amsterdam. (Daily Mail)

AND FINALLY

Scientists have come up with a formula for taking penalties that, if followed correctly, has a 100% success rate. The shot should be 65mph, you need a run-up of five to six paces from the edge of the area, approach the ball at an angle of 20 to 30 degrees and the ball must cross the goal-line at exactly 0.5m below the crossbar and the same distance inside the post. (The Sun)
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