Bristol City - Cardiff City

Bristol City are in crisis of results as they won only once in last ten Championship games. But on the other hand, they’re also one of the best hosts in the second tier. This season lost just once (in 12 games) at Ashton Gate, previous 3 (in 23) and in season before also 3. Two defenders are out for this game. Jamie McCombe is injured, while Lewin Nyatanga serves a one-match ban. Good news is Robins will be stronger for Evander Sno and Gavin Williams (both midfielders) who are fit after injuries.

 

Cardiff have extended their own crisis with a Saturday’s home draw against Blackpool that ended with booing from the stands. Beside large amount of injuries, virus hit the squad leaving to manager Dave Jones small number of available players. Also, club has been accused for unpaid tax which surely hasn’t improved morale in the club. Also, that could lead to selling of some key players. Rumours are Jay Bothroyd is wanted by Villa, Ledley by Celtic. If Bothroyd play tonight will be cup tied for further cup games in new club. This also applies for Ledley in case of his departure to English club and it’s very possible both will be out of the squad. Jones intends to send some youngsters tonight and big doubt is how much tonight’s eleven will be competitive. Cardiff are winless in last five games at Ashton Gate.

 

This will be tight game, but clear advantage should be given to the hosts. They’re fully motivated and with almost full squad. I wouldn’t totally exclude a possibility of a draw and see dnb option as a good bet, while home win should be considered as a gamble.

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Saturday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

The true cost of taking Carlos Tevez to Manchester City from rivals United may have cost the Eastlands club an astonishing £47m. (The Times) 
But a spokesman for Kia Joorabchian, who fronts the company that effectively owned Tevez before his switch to Eastlands, insists that figure is "not true". (Independent) 
Cardiff midfielder Joe Ledley has rejected the club's first offer of a new contract.(Daily Mail) 
Mexico striker Guillermo Franco claims he has signed a one-year deal with West Ham, bringing to an end Gianfranco Zola's long search for a new forward.(Daily Mail) 
Chelsea intend to open new contract talks with Salomon Kalou to fend off an approach from former boss Jose Mourinho, the Inter Milan manager.(Daily Mail) 
Former Middlesbrough and Newcastle striker Mark Viduka is returning home to live in Australia, according to his agent.(The WorldGame.com.au) 
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson expects negotiations over a new contract for Arsenal and Everton target Brede Hangeland to speed up now the transfer window has closed.(Metro) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Goalkeeper Pepe Reina fears Liverpool's title assault may already be over after just four games. (The Sun) 
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has taken a swipe at Manchester City by insisting their money is not guaranteed to give them success.(Sun) 
Emmanuel Adebayor claims he wanted to stay at Arsenal but was forced to leave the club and join Manchester City because of financial reasons. (Times) 
Scotland manager George Burley has demanded showdown talks with the Scottish FA after learning that it's bosses will discuss his possible sacking next week and are considering Gordon Strachan and Craig Levein as replacements. (Daily Record) 
Former Rangers and Liverpool manager Graeme Souness says he does not want the job of Scotland's national coach at this stage in his career. (Daily Mail)
Celtic manager Tony Mowbray fears that midfielder Scott Brown might have to undergo another operation on his injured ankle. (The Sun) 
Celtic midfielder Scott Brown may need to rest his injured ankle and will visit a specialist later this month. (Various)
Henry McLeish, who is leading a wide-ranging review of Scottish football, says the government must provide money to improve facilities. (Daily Mail)
Emmanuel Adebayor claims he will not forgive Arsenal fans for the way they have treated him for as long as he lives.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has earmarked Owen Hargreaves for a return to action in early November.(Times) 

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AND FINALLY

Dimitar Berbatov has revealed chats with his grandad while helping with the gardening back in Bulgaria persuaded him to quit Spurs for Manchester United. "My grandfather is a very wise man and a great man to talk to. When I am home in the summer I will go to his allotment and help him dig. The allotment has been the place for some great chats and it was there where we talked about me moving to a club where I could win major trophies and I asked him what he thought about Manchester United," he said.(The Sun)
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Tuesday's gossip column

BREAKING GOSSIP

Valencia are in talks to sell David Villa to Barcelona but not for less than 50m Euros (£43m).(Marca in Spanish) 

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Tottenham want to sign former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira and have opened talks with the Inter Milan player. Spurs could capture the Frenchman on a free transfer and pay-as-you-play deal. (Daily Mail) 
Manchester City are on the brink of signing Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor for £25m and wages of £130,000 per week. (The Sun) 
Or, the fee will be £30m and the Togo striker will pick up wages of £170,000 a week. (Daily Star) 
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger could use the cash from the sale of Adebayor to sign Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh. (The Sun) 
Chelsea captain John Terry wants the club to make him the highest-paid player at Stamford Bridge if he turns his back on Manchester City. Terry has been offered £250,000 a week by the Eastlands outfit. (Daily Star) 
Arsenal are set to poach 17-year-old Chelsea winger Frank Nouble after he turned down professional forms with the Blues. (Daily Mirror) 
West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola wants to sign Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen on a season-long loan deal. (Daily Star) 
Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has told Reds boss Rafael Benitez that he wants to join Real Madrid - but stopped short of handing in a transfer request. (Daily Star) 
Aston Villa are aiming to complete a £24m double move for Tottenham striker Darren Bent and Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing this week. (Daily Star) 
Villa are also set to bid £7m to land Leeds midfielder Fabian Delph, who is also wanted by Everton. (Daily Mirror) 
Hull are set to make a £10m raid on Cardiff to sign winger Joe Ledley and striker Ross McCormack. (The Sun) 
Sunderland have launched a £5m raid for West Ham centre-back James Collins. (Daily Mail) 
Marseille midfielder Lorik Cana says he will move to Everton and back out of a deal to join Hamburg if the Toffees make a last-minute £6m bid for him. (Daily Mail)
Fulham are on the verge of signing West Brom midfielder Jonathan Greening in a deal that will see them hand the Baggies £2.5m, plus winger Hameur Bouazza.(The Sun) 
Tottenham have offered £11m to sign Sheffield United full-backs Kyle Walker and Kyle Naughton.(Daily Mirror) 
Sheffield United are keen to capture Manchester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.(Daily Mirror) 
Everton boss David Moyes wants to take Port Vale teenager James Lawrie on trial. (Daily Star)
West Ham winger Julien Faubert is wanted by Bayer Leverkusen. (Daily Mirror) 
Fulham are also weighing up a move for South African midfielder Kagiso Dkigacoi, who currently plays for Golden Arrows. (Daily Star)
Everton have been offered Benfica midfielder Hassan Yebda for £3m. (Daily Mirror) 
Stoke are lining up a £750,000 bid for Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana in an attempt to beat Wolves to his signature. (Daily Star) 
Burnley are set to sign right-back Richard Eckersley after he turned down a new deal at Manchester United. (Daily Mirror) 
Leicester are closing in on £1.5m-rated Gillingham striker Simeon Jackson. (The Sun)
Newcastle defender Habib Beye has insisted he must leave the club in order to save his career - Blackburn are believed to be among those interested in signing him. (The Sun) 
Preston are ready to sign Norwich midfielder Darel Russell in a deal that could result in North End winger Simon Whaley going the other way. (Daily Star)
Burnley are set to tie up a deal for Hamilton full-back Brian Easton for an initial fee of about £400,000. (The Sun) 
Yeovil are giving a trial to striker Dean Bowditch, who has been released by Ipswich. (Daily Star)
Striker Lee Hughes is set for talks with Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster after leaving Oldham. (Daily Star) 
Norwich have taken former Sunderland and Leeds striker Michael Bridges and ex-Rangers forward Chris Craig on trial. (Daily Star)
Bristol City are set to sign Derby defender Lewin Nyatanga in a deal worth about £500,000. (Daily Star) 
Stockport have handed former Manchester United midfielder Floribert N'Galula a trial as he looks for a move from Sparta Rotterdam. (Daily Star)

OTHER GOSSIP

Arabian billionaire Sulaiman Al Fahim is close to completing a takeover at Portsmouth after all the relevant checks were made. (Daily Star)
Stiliyan Petrov is the dressing room favourite to become Aston Villa skipper. Boss Martin O'Neill needs to choose a new captain following the sale of Gareth Barry and the retirement of Martin Laursen. (Daily Mirror)
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