Liverpool - Aston Villa

I think Liverpool are in uptrend. They look better on the pitch, Hodgson’s vision should finally be applied and they should start climbing on the table. Four consecutive home wins, three in Premier and Napoli in EL. Despite the defeat, they looked good at White Hart Lane. Lucas and Meireles are compensating Stevie G’s absence very well. Key players were rested from a trip to Romania and only change will be Kyrgiakos who should start instead Jamie Carragher.

Liverpool were one of my favourite clubs, until Houllier became a manager. The ugliest football I had ever seen. Kicking the long balls, Heskey tries to make a header to young Owen and his runs. And these three moves all the game. Simply, I started to be happy whenever Houllier lost the game with this degradation. However, I assume he’ll try to make from Villa something like that. Defensive formation with fast wingers and tall strikers. And that L’pool took bunch of trophies during his era. He’ll also miss his key man, Ashley Young. Agbonlahor and Carew are far shape from previous season. Defence line looks extremely shaky nowadays, since they lost three in a row and conceded at least twice in last five! Villa have the worst league record against top five clubs and have just one win at Anfield from last 17 encounters.

Even without Gerrard (I don’t think Carragher is so big loss), Liverpool should be enough for this Villa. With three points, home side would climb to 8th place and then could start thinking about chasing CL spot. No big philosophy, home win here is a pure logic for me.

Bet: Liverpool -1ah
Odd: 1.95 Betsson
Stake: 8/10

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l

Friday's gossip column

BREAKING GOSSIP

Chelsea's Joe Cole, 28, will seek a move away from the Premier League if he cannot agree a new deal with the club this summer - with Serie A giants AC Milan and Inter Milan both keen on the England midfielder.(goal.com) 
Denmark defender Simon Kjaer, who has been linked with Manchester United and Liverpool, is likely to move to Juventus if he chooses to leave Champions League chasing Palermo.(imscouting.com) 
Real Madrid officials have met with the representatives of Wolfsburg's Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko, 24, who has been watched by Manchester United and Chelsea.(imscouting.com) 

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Real Madrid are ready to make a £30m bid for Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard.(Daily Mirror)
England midfielder Joe Cole, 28, wants to join Champions League qualifiers Tottenham when his Chelsea contract ends this summer, despite interest from Manchester City and Liverpool.(the Sun) 
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will be given a £40m transfer kitty for the summer - and Manchester United's former Spurs midfielder Michael Carrick is on the wanted list along with Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy.(Daily Star) 
Fluminense hope to agree a deal with Chelsea midfielder Deco, 32, who wants to leave Stamford Bridge.(Daily Mail) 
Arsenal are eyeing Villarreal's Spanish goalkeeper Diego Lopez, 28, who cost £5m from Real Madrid.(the Sun) 
Sunderland have joined the chase for Estudiantes' Argentina striker Mauro Boselli, 24, with Wigan, Blackburn and Birmingham also monitoring the situation for the £8m-rated player.(Daily Mail) 
Blackburn and Aston Villa have joined Wigan in the race to sign Sporting Gijon defender Roberto Canella. (Daily Mail) 
Aston Villa want to sign Crystal Palace's 19-year-old defender Nathaniel Clyne to replace Luke Young who is eager to return to London. (Daily Mirror) 
Fulham have enquired about striker Frederic Piquionne, 31, who is on loan at Portsmouth from Lyon and will be available for £4m. (Daily Mail) 
Bolton are favourites to sign Ivory Coast forward Aruna Dindane from Portsmouth for £2.7m. (Daily Mirror) 
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez will offer Swansea £2.5m for midfielder Darren Pratley.(the Sun) 
And the Latics are also set to win the race for Hamilton midfielder James McArthur in a £1.2m deal.(Daily Mirror) 
Wolves could launch a £1m bid for Dundee United striker David Goodwillie. (the Sun)
Hull midfielder Dean Marney, 26, is poised to join Burnley in a £1m deal.(Daily Mail) 
Meanwhile, Hull are also ready to sell £2m-rated defender Kamil Zayatte to French side St Etienne. (Daily Mirror) 
 
OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester City will give boss Roberto Mancini the cash to launch another major assault on the top four after City's Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour backed the Italian to remain at Eastlands.(the Sun) 
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez will hold further talks with the club hierarchy to resolve his future after both parties exchanged "issues of concern" at a meeting on Thursday. (the Guardian) 
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is due to receive a seven-figure bonus and an improved contract after guiding the club into the top four in the Premier League. (the Guardian) 
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is set to axe eight players including George McCartney and David Healy in a summer clear-out. (Daily Mail) 
Hopes of a fans takeover at Manchester United have suffered a blow after it emerged the Glazer family rejected a £1.5bn Middle Eastern-takeover bid last year.(Daily Telegraph) 
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has denied suggestions he is prepared to leave Anfield and insisted he wants to see out his career with the club.(Daily Telegraph) 
Rangers defender David Weir has been named Scotland's player of the year four days before his 40th birthday - but says he does not know if he has a future at Ibrox.(the Times) 
Fifa has warned Brazil it is "not on the right path" with its preparations to host the 2014 World Cup.(Daily Telegraph) 

AND FINALLY

Frank Lampard will let Didier Drogba be Chelsea's penalty-taker against Wigan on Sunday in order to help the Ivory Coast striker win the Golden Boot ahead of Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. (the Sun)
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Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Chelsea have given up on signing Franck Ribery and will concentrate on signing his £25m-rated Bayern Munich team-mate Bastian Schweinsteiger in January instead.(The Sun) 
Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero expects to complete a £32m move to Chelsea next month.(The Sun) 
Chelsea are also considering a £20m swoop for Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko. (Daily Telegraph) 
Tottenham have made an £8m move for West Ham defender Matthew Upson but face competition for the England defender from Manchester City.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester City could also renew their attempts to sign Hammers midfielder Scott Parker, one of their transfer targets last January, and are also eyeing Barcelona duo Carlos Puyol and Eric Abidal. (The Independent) 
City boss Mark Hughes will also target Fulham defender Brede Hangeland and out-of-favour Tottenham winger David Bentley in January.(The Times) 
Crystal Palace forward Victor Moses has attracted attention from Barcelona and German side Hoffenheim but wants to stay in England, with Tottenham keen on the £5m-rated teenager.(The Sun) 
Burnley manager Owen Coyle asked Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger if he could sign teenage Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere on loan when they spoke just before kick-off at Turf Moor on Wednesday.(Daily Mirror) 
Nottingham Forest are set to make a £3m bid for Tottenham's Welsh defender Gareth Bale and will spend the same amount to turn Nicky Shorey's loan move from Aston Villa into a permananent move. (Daily Mirror) 
Wigan have opened talks with Argentine side Velez Sarsfield about signing Chilean defender Waldo Ponce.(Daily Mirror) 
Derby boss Nigel Clough has been told he will have to pay £800,000 for Bournemouth striker Brett Pitman. (The Sun)
Blackburn are leading the chase to sign 16-year-old Bosnian midfielder Marko Maletic from Dutch side De Graafschap, with Celtic also interested.(Daily Mirror) 
Ipswich hope to beat Wolves, Newcastle and Middlesbrough to the £2.5m signing of Derby striker Rob Hulse. (The Sun)
Charlton will take Livingston winger Andrew Halliday on trial in January with a view to signing him but face competition for the 18-year-old from Sunderland, Wigan, West Ham, Fulham, Rangers, Hearts and Hibs. (Daily Record) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes needs good results in his side's fixtures over the festive period - against Sunderland, Stoke and Wolves - to be sure of keeping his job.(The Guardian) 
City have already approached Guus Hiddink about replacing Hughes, according to the former Chelsea manager's agent.(Daily Telegraph) 
Manchester City want Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger as their next manager. (Daily Star) 
Dundee United boss Craig Levein says he won't become Scotland's new manager unless he is convinced he is the right man for the job.(Daily Record) 
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher turned down an invitation from England boss Fabio Capello to reconsider his decision to retire from international football. (The Times) 
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has warned his side that they need to rediscover their killer instinct if they are to hold off a title challenge from champions Manchester United. (Daily Mirror) 
Former England manager Steve McClaren, currently in charge of Dutch side FC Twente, does not want his next job to be in the Premier League and would prefer to work in another foreign country, preferably Spain, next. (Daily Mail) 
Liverpool have insisted they are willing to invest the estimated £15m needed to upgrade Anfield to a World Cup venue for 2018 or 2022, should the club's proposed new stadium fail to materialise.(The Independent) 
Former Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson is favourite to become Reading's next manager following the departure of Brendan Rodgers. (Daily Mail) 
Premier League clubs will face a pre-World Cup fixture backlog if the weather causes postponements in the next few weeks as there are few free midweek slots to fit in rearranged games and the end of the domestic season has already been brought forward.(The Guardian)

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AND FINALLY

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson served Christmas dinner to the club's youth team at their Christmas panto, which saw United's youngsters mock their superstar club-mates in the senior squad.(The Sun) 
Wayne Rooney's in-laws are being tormented by their pet parrot, who keeps squawking the name of Rooney's son after the Manchester United and England striker taught the African Grey to say "Kai Wayne Rooney" for a laugh.(The Sun)

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Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Chelsea are planning a January move for West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green as manager Carlo Ancelotti has lost patience with Petr Cech.(Daily Express) 
Tottenham winger David Bentley, who was left out of the squad that played Wolves at the weekend, wants Spurs to let him leave in the January transfer window.(The Mirror) 
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will try and exploit the uncertainty at West Ham by making a £6m bid for midfielder Scott Parker.(The Sun) 
Barcelona could make a shock £3.5m move for Crystal Palace forward Victor Moses in the new year. The 19-year-old has also attracted the interest of Sunderland, Wigan and Tottenham. (Daily Star) 
Arsenal and Manchester United have been warned off signing Standard Liege's £15m midfielder Steven Defour in January, although the player's agent says he would be interested in coming to England.(The Sun) 
Real Madrid want to sign Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho and could use striker Ruud van Nistelrooy as bait. (Daily Star) 
Manchester United have been linked with moves for AC Milan striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Cardiff defender Adam Matthews.(Daily Mail) 
Stoke manager Tony Pulis is preparing to make a £4m offer for Newcastle forward Andy Carroll.(Daily Mirror) 
Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce has told striker Benni McCarthy that he can leave Rovers in the new year. (Daily Telegraph)
And Allardyce has been given permission to sign Chelsea striker Franco di Santo on loan for the rest of the season. (Daily Mirror) 
Charlton midfielder Therry Racon is wanted by West Brom, Leicester and Nottingham Forest.(The Sun) 
Reading midfielder Brynjar Gunnarsson wants to leave the club in January.(The Independent) 
Coventry manager Chris Coleman is lining up a £1m move for Nottingham Forest midfielder Lewis McGuigan.(The Sun) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti will drop some of his star players for Wednesday's home game with Portsmouth following the 3-3 draw with Everton at the weekend. Defender Ricardo Carvalho and midfielder Michael Ballack are in the firing line.(The Sun) 
David Gold and David Sullivan have pledged a £25m January transfer kitty as part of their £50m takeover of West Ham.(Daily Mirror) 
However, the Icelandic bank that controls West Ham is set to reject the bid from the former Birmingham owners.(The Independent) 
The city of Liverpool could lose out in the race to host 2018 World Cup matches, with Milton Keynes a possible inclusion in England's final bid to Fifa.(The Times) 
Chelsea have turned down Portsmouth's request for more time to pay the £750,000 owed from Glen Johnson's move to Fratton Park.(The Sun) 
Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho has been accused of "physical and verbal aggression" towards a journalist after Sunday's 1-1 draw at Atalanta.(The Times) 
Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves is on the verge of making a comeback from two knee operations, but is struggling to overcome the psychological hurdle of playing again for the first team.(The Sun) 

AND FINALLY

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Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher admits his side need divine intervention to help their title ambitions following another defeat at the weekend. "We've got to get through it and, as I'm doing, pray to God that at the end of season there will be something worthwhile for what we've gone through," he said.(The Independent)

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Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano is a target for Juventus and the Italian club are preparing a £23m January transfer window bid for the Argentine.(The Sun) 
Portsmouth want to bring striker Amr Zaki, who was on loan at Wigan last season, back to the Premier League.(The Sun) 
Fulham are ready to make a £2m move for Legia Warsaw midfielder and Poland Under-21 international Ariel Borysiuk.(Daily Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP

England striker Wayne Rooney will be "not bothered" if former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo does not qualify for the 2010 World Cup with Portugal. (Daily Mirror) 
Former Portsmouth boss Tony Adams insists the return of Avram Grant as the south coast outfit's director of football is good for the club. (Daily Express) 
Marcel Desailly claims England are missing a star striker, but in his former AC Milan boss Fabio Capello have a manager capable of leading them to 2010 World Cup glory.(Daily Mirror) 
David Beckham will attend the 2010 World Cup draw in December to help improve England's bid to host the 2018 tournament.(The Sun) 
Saudi Arabian businessmen are targeting takeovers at up to 10 clubs in the Premier League and Championship.(Daily Mail) 
Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves claims he is over the knee injuries which have seen him out of action for more than a year.(Daily Mirror) 
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher admits he needs to improve after a start to the season which has seen some of his performances criticised.(Guardian) 
England centre-back Gary Cahill diplomatically said "everybody makes mistakes" referring to Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill's decision to offload him to Bolton for £5m in January 2008.(Independent) 

AND FINALLY

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand and keeper Edwin van der Sar will join chef Marco Pierre White in a special episode of Hell's Kitchen, helping cook a three-course meal for guests.(The Sun) 
Coach Fabio Capello has invited striker Michael Owen - and every other player selected by him during his time in charge of England - to Wembley for the World Cup qualifier against Belarus next Wednesday.(Guardian)
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Tottenham 2 - 1 Liverpool

Liverpool's quest to end a 20-year wait to win the title started with the disappointment of an opening-day defeat against Spurs at White Hart Lane.
Rafael Benitez can have few complaints as Liverpool - heavily tipped to end Manchester United's run of three successive Premier League titles - delivered a lame display which lacked attacking invention and genuine quality. 
Spurs, in contrast, showed the greater ambition and the scenes of delight at the final whistle reflected the renewed optimism felt by Harry Redknapp and his players at claiming one of the top flight's prized scalps. 
Former Liverpool striker Robbie Keane wasted three glorious openings before Benoit Assou-Ekotto's thunderous drive gave Spurs a deserved lead a minute before the interval. 
Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes' rush of blood threw Liverpool a lifeline they barely merited after 56 minutes when he dashed from goal and brought down Glen Johnson, allowing Steven Gerrard to level from the spot.
But Spurs were swiftly back in front when defender Sebastien Bassong marked a hugely promising debut following his £8m switch from Newcastle by heading Luka Modric's free-kick past Pepe Reina. 
Liverpool finally sparked into life and were infuriated when referee Phil Dowd dismissed late claims for a penalty after substitute Andriy Voronin tumbled under a challenge from Assou-Ekotto. 
It capped Liverpool's intense frustration and assistant manager Sammy Lee was sent from the dug-out after an exchange with the fourth official. 
Liverpool also have an injury worry over defender Martin Skrtel, who struggled throughout with a jaw injury after a clash of heads with Jamie Carragher. 
Benitez 's side failed to make a serious attacking impact on Spurs, with Fernando Torres well-shackled by Bassong and Ledley King, and their midfield lacking cohesion without the departed Xabi Alonso. 
Spurs were comfortably the more accomplished side, with Wilson Palacios and the gifted Modric dovetailing well in midfield and their reshaped defence looking assured throughout. 
White Hart Lane proved a bogey ground for Liverpool last season, with one of only two Premier League defeats at Spurs - and boss Benitez will be hoping this represents little more than a false start. 

Redknapp gave Keane the nod ahead of new boy Peter Crouch in attack - and he was not short of opportunities in a first half that started slowly but ended with Spurs in command.

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Saturday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Barcelona have switched their attentions from competing to sign Franck Ribery to preparing a £25m bid for Aston Villa winger Ashley Young(on photo). (Daily Star) 
The Catalan club are also getting ready to submit a £35m offer for Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano, which could be made up of £20m and forward Bojan Krkic. (Daily Mail) 
Manchester City are confident they will beat local rivals Manchester United as well as Chelsea and Liverpool to the signing of striker Carlos Tevez. (Independent)
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti will target £12m-rated Roma centre-back Philippe Mexes as a replacement for Inter Milan-bound Ricardo Carvalho. (The Sun) 
Meanwhile, the Blues have bid more than Real Madrid for Valencia striker David Villa and his club want him to move to Stamford Bridge but he prefers a switch to the Bernabeu. (Daily Star) 
Arsenal's signing of centre-back Thomas Vermaelen has paved the way for Manchester City to sign Kolo Toure from the Gunners for £12m. (Times) 
Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill could offer £8m to prise England Under-21 centre-back David Wheater away from Championship side Middlesbrough. (Daily Star) 
West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola is still trying to sign Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli on loan. (Daily Mirror) 
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is trying to sign winger Jermaine Pennant, who will be available on a free transfer as his deal with Liverpool is up this summer. (The Sun) 
Bolton have beaten Blackburn to the signing of Pompey midfielder Sean Davis and have now set their sights on West Brom left-back Paul Robinson. (The Sun) 
Tottenham may be able to offload Mexican winger Giovani Dos Santos to Atletico Madrid for £4m. (The Sun) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Serbia and Manchester United midfielder Zoran Tosic says Cristiano Ronaldo told his Old Trafford team-mates he was leaving before the Champions League final. (The Sun) 
Liverpool centre-back Jamie Carragher has urged midfielder Xabi Alonso to resist a move to Real Madrid and stay at the club. And, with midfielder Javier Mascherano and defender Alvaro Arbeloa also linked with moves, Carragher insists he is hoping no-one leaves Anfield. (Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

West Ham midfielder Scott Parker's rehabilitation from a groin injury saw him take a club physio on holiday with him. (The Sun)
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