Accrington Stanley - Port Vale

Stanley’s recent shape looks like they’ve already finished the season. For the weekend, they played a goalless draw against bottom side Darlington and before that five consecutive defeats. On all of those five, they conceded at least two goals. They surely wouldn’t like to lose all six games till the official end,but it looks their motivation is near zero. Hosts will be without defender Leam Richardson and midfielder Alan Burton.

.


Port Vale are a decent side that are chasing a play-off spot with four points less than 7th Morecambe. They’re playing very well lately, noticing 7 points of last three games and having three wins and a draw in last four on the road. They fight for every ball on the pitch and oppositely from the hosts, their motivation is on very high level. Striker Sean Rigg should start the game after coming off the bench to score against Aldershot on Saturday.

I’m little surprised with such high odds for Port Vale. Stanley have a bad pitch and it should be the only advantage for the hosts. I wouldn’t exclude I don’t know something that bookies do, but for me visitors are favorites here. Stanley have only one home draw of 19 games and instead DNB, I’ll go on clear away win. Best price is at Pinnacle , 2.62.
.
Available free bets, bonus offers and promotions:
Expekt - First deposit bonus up to €35 / £25 for all new customers
Make your first deposit at expekt.com and we will immediately double your money up to max €35 / £25. Take these 3 easy steps to start profiting from sports betting: 1.Register an account with expekt.com here. 2.Deposit a minimum of €10 into your expekt.com account. 3.Send an email to 35eurbonus@expekt.com with your customer number and deposit amount included. The bonus amount up to €35/£25 will be added to your account within 48 h

Yeovil – Milwall

Yeovil are 14th, 7 points above the relegation line and with 5 rounds left look safe to secure the status. For the weekend, they beat hopeless Stockport, but have two consecutive defeats at home. Last time comfortably lost 1-2 vs. Leeds (that could be considered as same strength as Milwall). Leeds were controlled the game, scored twice and just thankfully to slowing down in the second half conceded a goal. Boss Skiverton is waiting to see fitness conditions of two important players, striker Dean Bowditch and winger Gavin Tomlin after they took knocks at Saturday. Midfielder Williams will play after extending his loan from Bristol City for the rest of the season. 

Milwall is second with Leeds and Swindon on their neck and every of rest 5 games is do or die for them. Their current form looks impressive. Have 8 wins of last 10 league games and 3 consecutive wins on the road (against strong sides, Colchester, Leeds and Carlisle). They raised their form in correct time and look consistent. Almost all players are available, only concern is defender Alan Dunne who will face a late fitness test. Long time injured striker Gary Alexander has returned to contention after being on the bench in last round.

Obvious difference in teams’ quality and motivation should produce the winner in this one. Milwall have some tough games in rest four and definitely can’t afford a slip tonight. 888sport offer 1.83, away win. They also would prefer not to keep a minimal lead and I think -1.5 handicap should be considered as a nice gamble.
.
Available free bets, bonus offers and promotions:
Expekt - First deposit bonus up to €35 / £25 for all new customers
Make your first deposit at expekt.com and we will immediately double your money up to max €35 / £25. Take these 3 easy steps to start profiting from sports betting: 1.Register an account with expekt.com here. 2.Deposit a minimum of €10 into your expekt.com account. 3.Send an email to 35eurbonus@expekt.com with your customer number and deposit amount included. The bonus amount up to €35/£25 will be added to your account within 48 h

Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will try to persuade Old Trafford chiefs to allow him to splash out £60m this summer to sign striker Karim Benzema and winger David Silva from Real Madrid and Valencia respectively. (The Sun) 
Chelsea are also planning a raid on Valencia, with £50m-rated forward David Villa the target.(caughtoffside.com) 
However, both Manchester United are Chelsea are set to fail in their attempts to sign Ajax's Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, who wants to remain with the Dutch side.(imscouting.com) 
Manchester United could also miss out on Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who is also wanted by Bayern Munich.(imscouting.com) 
Liverpool are ready to make a renewed effort to snap up promising Dutch winger Eljero Elia for £9m from Hamburg this summer.(caughtoffside.com) 
Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna's agent Christophe Mongal claims he has held informal talks with Inter Milan over a possible move to Serie A for the Frenchman. (Footylatest.com) 
The Gunners may also seek to strengthen their defence this summer by making a move for Uruguay defender Martin Caceres, who is on loan at Juventus this season from Barcelona.(Daily Mail) 
Manchester City have put 26-year-old Paraguayan striker Oscar Cardozo on their list of summer targets after he caught the eye in Benfica's Europa League quarter-final clash with Liverpool. (Daily Mirror) 
Cardozo could replace fellow Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz at Eastlands, with Tottenham considering a move for the out-of-favour 28-year-old. (caughtoffside.com) 
Everton will try to sign Inter Milan's former Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari this summer. (caughtoffside.com) 

.

OTHER GOSSIP

The Football Association is considering spending £90,000 to relay the Wembley pitch for the 11th time in three years in time for the FA Cup final on 15 May and England's friendly match against Mexico just over a week later.(Daily Mail) 
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney's ankle injury will be reassessed on Tuesday to determine his chances of playing in Saturday's derby game at Manchester City. Rio Ferdinand is also a doubt for the match at Eastlands after suffering a groin injury in the 0-0 draw at Blackburn on Sunday.(Daily Mail) 
Striker Carlos Tevez has been prevented from speaking out by Manchester City ahead of Saturday's derby match with rivals Manchester United. The Argentine sparked a war of words with his former club when the two teams met in the Carling Cup semi-final and he branded Red Devils defender Gary Neville a "boot licker" and a "moron".(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester United are ready to sell striker Dimitar Berbatov at the end of the season. The Bulgarian has struggled to make an impact since his £30.75m switch from Spurs in September 2008 and it appears as though manager Sir Alex Ferguson has lost faith in him.(The Sun) 
Portsmouth boss Avram Grant has received an offer from an unnamed Premier League club to be their manager next season. The Israeli guided Pompey to the FA Cup final on Sunday via a 2-0 win over Tottenham, but the south coast club are already consigned to Championship football next season.(The Sun) 
Hull fear winger Stephen Hunt may not play again this season and have sent the Irishman for an exploratory operation to get to the bottom of the foot problem that has kept him sidelined since February.  (The Sun) 
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres could miss out on a return to his old club Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-final on 22 April after being booked in for further treatment on his knee injury with a specialist in Barcelona. (Daily Mail) 
Victory in next month's FA Cup final against Chelsea would net Portsmouth about £3.2m, the club's administrator Andrew Andronikou estimates. (Daily Mail) 
Tottenham's hopes of an Aaron Lennon comeback in Wednesday's north London derby have been dashed. The England winger trained last week but was forced to undergo another scan on the groin problem that has kept him out since December, ruling him out of the game against Arsenal. (Daily Mail) 
However, injury-prone centre-back Ledley King is confident he has shaken off the thigh problem that has kept him out since February and may start for Spurs.(The Guardian) 
Celtic's majority shareholder Dermot Desmond has told interim manager Neil Lennon he still has a chance of being awarded the job on a permanent basis, despite Saturday's embarrassing Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by minnows Ross County.(Daily Mail) 
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has insisted that the club are not "oppressive" when it comes to contract negotiations but they refuse to be held to ransom by players. The club are undertaking talks with a number of players over improved terms following what has been a successful first season back in the Premier League for the club.(Daily Mirror) 
Bolton manager Owen Coyle thinks 18-year-old midfielder Jack Wilshere, who is on loan at the Reebok from Arsenal, should be selected by England boss Fabio Capello for the World Cup this summer.(Daily Mirror) 
Leeds are a reported takeover target for Australian billionaire Frank Lowy, who is chairman of the sport's governing body in the country, Football Federation Australia.(Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

Brazilian legend Pele, often considered the best player in football history, has offered a retort to those hailing Barcelona forward Lionel Messi as the greatest star to have played the game. The three-time World Cup winner says people should only start drawing comparisons when Messi has equalled his goal tally of over 1,000 career goals. The Argentine took his senior career tally to 133 goals, which includes 42 this season for club and country, with a goal against Real Madrid on Saturday.(Daily Mail)
www.bbc.co.uk

Monday's gossip column

BREAKING GOSSIP

With current boss Manuel Pellegrini tipped to be leaving Real Madrid, Spanish newspaper Marca has listed five potential candidates to take over at the Bernabeu. These are England boss Fabio Capello, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, Liverpool's Rafa Benitez, Inter Milan's Jose Mourinho and former Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari, who is currently managing Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan. ( imscouting.com) 

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp wants to take England international Micah Richards from Manchester City, with Eastlands boss Roberto Mancini prepared to listen to offers for the 21-year-old defender. (Caughtoffside.com) 
Meanwhile, City are lining up bids to sign Werder Bremen attacking midfielder Mesut Özil and Roma forward Mirko Vucinic, as they prepare a series of raids on the Bundesliga and Serie A at the end of the season.(The Times) 
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has missed the chance to sign goalkeeping target Fernando Muslera from Lazio after the highly rated 23-year-old Uruguayan signed a five-year deal with the Rome club.(Caughtoffside.com) 
West Ham have joined the race to sign Jermaine Beckford from Leeds and hope to sign the 26-year-old striker on a free transfer when his contract expires in the summer. (Caughtoffside.com) 
Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon are set to sign Manchester United's Brazilian teenage defender Fabio on loan.(Daily Mail) 
Chelsea goalkeeper Hilario is set to reject an offer from Sporting Lisbon as the veteran goalkeeper wants to stay at Stamford Bridge. (imscouting.com) 

Middlesbrough are weighing up a summer move for Oldham's 19-year-old left-back Paul Black. (Daily Mirror)

Stoke boss Tony Pulis is hopeful of pulling of a summer deal for Hull defender Steven Mouyokolo but he could face competition from Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, who have all had the Frenchman watched this season.(Daily Mirror) 

Birmingham want to keep Ecuadorian Christian Benitez on loan from Mexican club Santos Laguna for another season following an impressive first campaign for the striker in England. (Daily Mirror)

. 

OTHER GOSSIP

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie will make a dramatic return following five months out with an ankle injury in Wednesday's north London derby at Tottenham. (Daily Mail) 
Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will finally announce plans to officially put the Reds up for sale this week. But fans who object to the duo's regime at the club and are desperate to see them leave could still be in for a long wait as the Americans will also reveal details of a new refinancing package that effectively ends the need for a fire sale. (Various)
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has conceded that his side's hopes of securing a top-four Premier League finish this season appear to be over after they were held to a 0-0 home draw by Fulham on Sunday. They now trail fourth-placed Manchester City by six points. (Daily Mirror) 
Benitez has hinted Liverpool may need to spend as much as £60m in the summer if they are to challenge for the Premier League title next season. (The Sun) 
Manchester United defender Gary Neville has admitted that the side's Champions League quarter-final defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich last week has had a huge impact. The Red Devils could only draw 0-0 at Blackburn on Sunday, handing the title-initiative to Chelsea, who now lead United by a point with a game in hand. (The Sun) 
Hull boss Iain Dowie and his staff were called to a crisis meeting with Tigers chairman Adam Pearson following the 4-1 home defeat by fellow strugglers Burnley on Saturday. (Daily Mirror) 
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni says he would relish the chance to play under his old boss Neil Warnock at London rivals Queens Park Rangers. (Daily Mail) 

AND FINALLY

Arsenal full-back Bacary Sagna believes Arsenal need to tone down their pretty football as they try to keep their Premier League title bid alive. "Sometimes I think we play too much," said the 27-year-old Frenchman. (The Sun)
www.bbc.co.uk

Liverpool 0-0 Fulham

Liverpool's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League took another huge blow as they failed to break down resolute Fulham despite dominating possession.
Alberto Aquilani's early overhead kick was easily collected by Mark Schwarzer. 
And the Australian continued to thwart Liverpool and Aquilani, saving his 20-yard curling effort and watching the Italian's left-footed drive fly wide. 
Schwarzer was again equal to Ryan Babel's fierce strike as Fulham defended deep and frustrated Liverpool. 
This game could have been a dress rehearsal for the Europa League final in Hamburg - if Liverpool and Fulham are able to overcome their respective semi-final opponents.
But if that is the case, the neutral will hope for a far less one-sided affair - as Liverpool attacked relentlessly but lacked the necessary guile to open the scoring. 
Rafael Benitez's Liverpool side will take on Atletico Madrid after overcoming Benfica 4-1 at Anfield to win 5-3 on aggregate, while Fulham won 1-0 at German champions Wolfsburg for a 3-1 aggregate victory and will face Hamburg in their last-four encounter. 
But, there were no signs that Liverpool were feeling the effects of their exertions in the week as they started brightly with chances falling to David Ngog, Maxi Rodriguez and Aquilani. 
The home side had received an attacking blow prior to kick-off when talismanic 22-goal striker Fernando Torres was ruled out with a knee injury.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez:
"I am a little bit disappointed, normally when you control the game and have chances you can score. We know the fourth position is a little bit far away. 
"They were deep, they were well organised and we had to score. We had one or two chances, their keeper was good, but it's not easy to find space when they have players behind the ball. 
"We needed to be patient and it was not easy to find the final pass in the final third. 
"I am disappointed because I feel that we had plenty of possession." 
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson:
"There is no doubt Liverpool dominated the game and we were forced on to the back foot but at the same time we stood our corner very well and fought very hard. 
"We stopped them getting clear-cut chances and it was really when we just lost Daniel Agger for a corner at the end that I was concerned the ball was going to go in the back of the net. 
"On the occasions when they got good strikes in Mark Schwarzer was equal to it. It is another excellent clean sheet. 
"I have got to be very satisfied with what the team has done because Liverpool are a very difficult team to take points off home or away."
www.bbc.co.uk

Liverpool – Fulham

Nothing much to say about Reds. Gerrard and Torres have improved their form, Rafa realized it’s better to play more attacking and that started to produce really good results. They’ve noticed 9 competitive wins in a row at Anfield, last four with 3 goals margin. They still have a chance for 4th place and will hardly drop any point till the end. Torres is fit, Babel returned to contention. Liverpool have scored in their last 27 home Premier League matches.

.


Fulham made a first class surprise qualifying for EL semi-final. Hodgson said Europe will have priority over Premier. Well, it’s not like I believe what managers talking (especially Hodgson), but they’re safe in Premier and it looks like a natural thing. They’re going to rest some players. Zamora won’t play (although it still hasn’t been confirmed). Maybe few others. If we add their terrible record on the road (15 matches without an away win in the league) and the fact Anfield Road is not a happy place for them (haven’t won in 28 attempts), I think surprise will hardly happen. 

Home win with few goals margin. Bet is Liverpool -1.75, odds around 2.00.

.

Available free bets, bonus offers and promotions:
Expekt - First deposit bonus up to €35 / £25 for all new customers
Make your first deposit at expekt.com and we will immediately double your money up to max €35 / £25. Take these 3 easy steps to start profiting from sports betting: 1.Register an account with expekt.com here. 2.Deposit a minimum of €10 into your expekt.com account. 3.Send an email to 35eurbonus@expekt.com with your customer number and deposit amount included. The bonus amount up to €35/£25 will be added to your account within 48 h

two wins - two loses

I have a hangover. So no full reports (no gossip column, as well), just results of my bets. Other three games stayed in a shadow of Burnley's win supported with two penalties. Hope both clubs will be relegated.

.

Morecambe - Rotheram United, 1 @ 2.30, 2-0 WON!

.

Leeds United - Southend United, Leeds -1.25 ah @ 1.82, 2-0 WON!

.

Southampton - Charlton, Over 2.5 @ 1.90, 1-0 LOST

.

Hull City - Burnley, 1 @ 1.76, 1-4 LOST

.

Available free bets, bonus offers and promotions:
Expekt - First deposit bonus up to €35 / £25 for all new customers
Make your first deposit at expekt.com and we will immediately double your money up to max €35 / £25. Take these 3 easy steps to start profiting from sports betting: 1.Register an account with expekt.com here. 2.Deposit a minimum of €10 into your expekt.com account. 3.Send an email to 35eurbonus@expekt.com with your customer number and deposit amount included. The bonus amount up to €35/£25 will be added to your account within 48 h

Fourth and last for today

Hull City - Burnley, home win, 1.76 at Pinnacle

.

.