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Oscar not seeking Chelsea departure despite PSG interest
By Nicholas McGee
Mar 30, 2014 5:20:00 PM
Numerous recent reports have suggested that Les Parisiens will make a big-money bid to sign the Brazilian this summer, but he insists he is happy at Stamford Bridge
Oscar insists he is happy with Chelsea despite mounting speculation that Paris Saint-Germain will try to sign him this summer.
The Brazil international arrived at Stamford Bridge in July 2012 and has impressed this season as the London club look to regain the title under Jose Mourinho.
However, Chelsea's hopes were dented on Saturday with a surprise 1-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Crystal Palace that marked their second loss in three league matches.
Rumours of a potential switch to PSG - Chelsea's opponents in the Champions League quarter-finals - have emerged, with compatriot Lucas Moura urging Oscar to join him at the Ligue 1 leaders.
However, Oscar is settled at Stamford Bridge, where he is hoping to enjoy similar success to that of former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.
"Jose [Mourinho] has shown me I can be one of the best," Oscar is quoted by The Daily Star Sunday.
"The manager has given me this confidence and I have grown better and better under him. Now I just hope I can keep on getting better and win titles with him at the end of the season.
"The team is top of the Premier League and the manager has his own way of playing. He alternates quite a bit because we have a lot of games.
"But that's normal. I'm playing well at Chelsea and am in my prime right now.
"Didier [Drogba] was always an idol.
"I'd watched him lots on the TV and then suddenly I was wearing the same Chelsea jersey he always wore. I feel very proud about that.
"But I am writing my own story. I have my own style and hopefully I will be able to have my own great story at Chelsea - just like he did."
Title dream not in my mind, insists Liverpool boss Rodgers
By Chris Davie
Mar 30, 2014 8:14:00 PM
The 41-year-old refused to talk up his side's chances of winning the Premier League after Sunday's 4-0 win over Tottenham fired the club to the top of the table
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers maintains he is not thinking about a title challenge following his side's 4-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday.
The victory at Anfield has fired Liverpool to the top of the Premier League, two points clear of Chelsea, although Rodgers' side will be overtaken by Manchester City if they win both of their games in hand.
"The dream is for our supporters, they want to win the title but it is not in my thinking," Rodgers told Sky Sports.
"My thinking it is to prepare the team and perform well and if we do that we can continue to win games and then we can see where that takes it.
"I thought today was as good an atmosphere as there has been.
"It is a monumental size of club and when we have that support behind us it is a real force and the supporters recognise how hard we are working and hopefully that takes us a long way."
An own goal from Younes Kaboul after two minutes handed Liverpool an early lead against Tottenham, while goals from Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson wrapped up an eighth consecutive win in the Premier League.
"To perform like we did from the first whistle it was an immense performance and I am very proud of the them today," said Rodgers.
"We are very confident with how we play, a lot was made the other night [against Sunderland] of us being anxious but that was not it.
"Today, Tottenham had a spell similar to Sunderland but the difference is we were 4-0 up today and not 2-1, but the confidence in how the players pass the ball, the intensity, they are very calm and focussed on the job and it was a wonderful team performance.
"It is credit to the players, the mentality in each game, we have shown over the course of the season the flexibility in the team - we have a played a 4-4-2 diamond in recent games today but today it was back to 4-3-3 but with two strikers up-field with one side open.
"So that is credit to them the flexibility and the ideas we have in games, but everyone knows their job and when to press."
West Ham United's Andy Carroll (2nd R) scores against Sunderland during their English Premier League soccer match at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, northern England March 31, 2014. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis
(Reuters) - England international Andy Carroll scored one goal and laid on another as West Ham United piled on the relegation woes for Sunderland with a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light on Monday.
The former Newcastle United striker enjoyed his return to his native North East after grabbing a trademark goal in the ninth minute, rising high at the far post to powerfully head in a left-wing corner.
Sunderland were unlucky not to be given a first-half penalty when visiting midfielder Kevin Nolan brushed the ball away with his elbow on the edge of the area.
Carroll then set up West Ham's second goal five minutes after the interval when he chested the ball down for Mohamed Diame and the Senegalese's deflected shot from 18 metres beat goalkeeper Vito Mannone.
Gus Poyet's Sunderland perked up with the introduction of Adam Johnson and the substitute gave them hope when he curled a delightful left-foot shot into the top corner of the net with 25 minutes to go.
West Ham, though, held on for a victory that left them 11th in the Premier League with 37 points and effectively banished all fears of relegation for Sam Allardyce's men.
Sunderland remained second from bottom on 25 points, four points from safety with eight matches left to play this season.
"Scoring against Sunderland is a special feeling but the three points for the team are more important," Carroll told Sky Sports television.
"All the lads are positive about staying up and I think we should be safe now."
Poyet was disappointed referee Howard Webb did not award the first-half penalty.
"Howard was in a good position and you need to ask him why he didn't give it," said Uruguayan Poyet. "It was clear, it was deliberate, he tried to play the ball with his hand.
"The idea for us now is not to give up. We still have a chance and we're going to keep going until the end."
(Writing by Tony Jimenez; editing by Mark Meadows)
The 40-year-old claims he has a "good relationship" with the Scot and believes the Red Devils are not underdogs heading into their Champions League tie with Bayern Munich
Ryan Giggs insists he has no problem with Manchester United manager David Moyes.
It is understood that people behind the scenes at Old Trafford expect the 40-year-old to be installed as boss before the end of the season, in the event of Moyes' dismissal.
At Monday's press conference Giggs was prevented from responding to a journalist who asked whether his aim is to eventually become United's manager, but the player dismissed reports which suggest there is a rift between himself and the Scot.
“The relationship is good. There's obviously no problem with the manager, I know a lot of stuff has been said but I don't know where that's come from,” he told reporters.
“As a player you want to play all the time, but I know I probably won't play every game.
“The last time I played was probably the first time in six or seven weeks but we've got a lot of players to choose from and as you see in the performance against Olympiakos I'm always ready to come in and play and that's what you've got to do, not sulk because you're not playing you've got to come in and be ready to play for the team.
“The players tomorrow if they've not been playing have got to come in and perform.”
Following Giggs’ response, Moyes interjected jokily: "I'm doing his yoga classes now, maybe that will help me.”
United host Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday evening.
The two sides head into the fixture with contrasting campaigns. While Bayern have already won the Bundesliga, United find themsevles far behind the title pace and will record their lowest-ever points total in the Premier League this term.
But Giggs has rejected the idea that the Red Devils are approaching the contest as underdogs.
“Obviously Bayern are a fantastic team. They are the holders. Pep Guardiola has took over, added a few new players and obviously they are a very strong team,” he said.
“And like you say, probably favourites in most people’s eyes.
“But we’re Manchester United, it’s at Old Trafford and we have seen so many great nights in Europe especially.
“As players, we don’t see ourselves as underdogs. We see ourselves as Manchester United playing at home in the Champions League and we can’t wait.
“These are the games you want to be involved in as a player. We’ll go out and try and win the game, it’s going to be tough but it usually is in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but we’re confident, we’re looking forward to it.”
The Chelsea manager has frequently moved to play down his side's chances of winning the Premier League but his City counterpart says that he pays no attention to his comments
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says that he ignores Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho's attempts at "mind games".
The Portuguese has played down his team's title chances throughout the campaign despite spending plenty of time at the top of the table and, after a shock 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday, he claimed that it was no longer possible for the Blues to lift the trophy.
Chelsea are two points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, while City are a further two points back with two games in hand, but Pellegrini pays no attention to his rival's comments.
"I don't think other managers can be giving any importance to those mind games," the Chilean told reporters. "I don't know if you think managers who play mind games are more intelligent? I don't think so.
"I don't respond to it because I don't know what he says. It's not my duty to respond to what Mourinho says. I don't know the way he thinks."
City have two games in hand on the top two, with trips to Liverpool and Everton to come in the final stages of the season. Pellegrini believes that the top four all have the same chance of winning the title but wants his side to capitalise on their extra games.
"My way of thinking is that the four teams will have the same options to win the title," he stated.
"The other teams have 18 points more to win, six games more. We have eight games more. We have to win those points. We don't have six points, we have two games extra to play – it's not the same thing.
"Do I regret the points we dropped away from home earlier in the season? I don't think, at this moment, it is important. It is too far away to start thinking or talking about those games.
"If you look at the whole season I think we are the second team in terms of points playing away. We can only influence what happens in the future."
The 51-year-old says that some of his players "need to improve" in order for the club to win the title and admits that he will be making "surgical movements in the transfer window"
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says that it is "clear" that his side will be looking to sign a striker this summer.
The Blues' Premier League title hopes were dented on Saturday following their 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, which left the club two points behind leaders Liverpool after their Sunday win over Tottenham.
Samuel Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba have scored a combined total of just 15 league goals this season and Mourinho believes that some members in his current squad need to improve in order to win the title.
"I think it is clear in everybody that Chelsea next year wants to bring a striker," he told the press.
"That is clear but it is also clear that we want to improve our players.
"I can't, and I don't, need to improve [Gary] Cahill, [Branislav] Ivanovic, John Terry. I can't improve them and I don't need to improve them.
"But there are other guys I need to improve. I think we are doing that step by step but it is not enough to be champions."
Earlier in March, Goal exclusively revealed that Chelsea have taken the first steps to making Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa their headline summer signing and Mourinho says that players will be making way at the end of the season as well.
"The ones that are staying are competing with the striker we are bringing," said the 51-year-old.
"And it is also sometimes normal that, at the end of the season, players – I am not speaking about the strikers but players that are not playing a lot or are not happy and prefer a change - that is part of the market.
"We want to improve the team and the players and make some surgical movements in the transfer window."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has ruled out playing for an English club in the future and believes his best chance of achieving Champions League glory is at Paris St Germain.
Wednesday 2nd April 2014
Despite plying his trade with many of Europe's elite clubs - from Ajax to AC Milan to Barcelona - Ibrahimovic has not yet lifted the European Cup.
It is something he is eager to rectify with PSG ahead of the first leg of their quarter-final against Chelsea, but he is not yet ready to consider that it might be this season.
"This is my last contract in Europe and to win it I will have to win it with Paris," said Ibrahimovic, who is under contract at the Parc des Princes until 2016.
"The day I leave Paris is the day I will go down a level or quit football.
"If we will be the kings of Europe, I don't know. I don't want to think so far (ahead). Let's think about the two games against Chelsea."
Ibrahimovic, who has scored 41 goals in his last 36 appearances for club and country, does not expect to get another opportunity with a Premier League club, as PSG's Qatari owners would be reluctant to let him depart, leaving a host of potential suitors disappointed.
Ibrahimovic, himself, is content.
"It's impossible to get me to England," added Ibrahimovic, who revealed potential moves earlier in his career did not materialise.
"The day I stop with football it will not be that I look back and I say to myself 'Maybe I should've played in England.'
"I haven't been part of it. I made stories in other countries. It's nothing that I regret."
The disappointed would include Mourinho, who managed Ibrahimovic at Inter Milan.
"I connected with him," Ibrahimovic said.
"Wherever he went he won. He's a great coach, he knows what he's doing, he knows what he needs to do to win and he has the experience."
Ibrahimovic believes PSG are eight years behind Chelsea in 'project' terms after a cash-injection to surpass Roman Abramovich's in the early years.
As a result, Ibrahimovic believes the Londoners are favourites to advance to the last four for a seventh time in 11 years; PSG are in the quarter-finals for the third time and last season exited to Barcelona on away goals.
"In our game I think Chelsea is the super favourite," he said.
Names of each of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster have been read aloud in a powerful opening to the fresh inquests into their deaths.
Against a backdrop of revered silence, relatives wept quietly as each name was slowly read to the jury by counsel to the inquests, Christina Lambert QC, on Tuesday.
Lambert's voice cracked as she calmly proceeded through the emotional roll-call before the jurors were sworn in.
A panel of seven women and four men have been told the long-awaited hearing, held in a specially fitted building on the outskirts of Warrington, Cheshire, could last a year.
The Hillsborough disaster is "seared into the memories" of everyone affected by it, Coroner Lord Justice Goldring told the jurors hearing the fresh inquests into the deaths.
Making an opening statement, Lord Justice Goldring explained that the tragedy was "the worst ever disaster at a British sports stadium", when hundreds of people were hurt and dozens killed when they were crushed in a crowd of spectators.
The disaster unfolded on April 15, 1989 during Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest as thousands of fans were crushed on the ground's Leppings Lane terrace.
More than 400 people were taken to hospital with injuries, 95 fans were killed and the 96th died later.
Lord Justice Goldring told the jury the findings in the original inquests were quashed in December 2012.
"A new inquiry was needed, we are conducting the new or fresh inquiry. In doing so we are not concerned with whether what was decided at the previous inquiries was right or wrong."
Jurors on the inquest, who have already filled in questionnaires to decide their suitability to hear the case, were also asked yesterday if they supported Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest or Liverpool football clubs.
A list of witnesses was also handed to the panel to see if the jurors know any of them.
Later in the week, a series of "pen portraits" of all the victims will be presented to the court over the next month.
Phil Jones has insisted the players take their share of responsibility for Manchester United's failings this season.
Tuesday 1st April 2014
And he felt manager David Moyes deserved a positive reaction from the supporters against Aston Villa when a group of United fans had arranged for a plane to be flown over Old Trafford on Saturday carrying a banner which read: 'Wrong One - Moyes Out', even as the supporters inside the stadium showed their backing for the manager.
United then fell behind to an Ashley Westwood free-kick before Wayne Rooney's brace, and Juan Mata's first goal for the club, helped to secure a 4-1 victory.
It was the first time since the opening game of the campaign that United have scored four goals in the Premier League following a stuttering first season under Moyes which has left the reigning champions 17 points off the title pace.
However, Jones is optimistic that the situation will improve and the defender was pleased to see Moyes receive the backing of United supporters against Villa.
"We have not done anywhere near as well as we would have liked this season but we can only stick together, keep doing the right things and it will change," said Jones. "We showed that against Villa.
"The plane was well documented and everyone knows it is going on. But I thought the fans were terrific again.
"They got behind the team and especially the manager.
"The manager deserves that. He picks the team but we have got to take responsibility, and we will do."
Saturday's win over Villa came on the back of a 3-0 home humbling by neighbours Manchester City, while United had also been beaten by the same scoreline by arch-rivals Liverpool earlier in March.
United next face Bayern Munich in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday and Jones is happy to be heading into the home game with the holders on a winning note.
He added: "It's always nice to get back to winning ways. It was important to do that ahead of what is probably the biggest game of the season for us.
"We are realistic and know how difficult the game is going to be.
"We know how well they are playing. They are in form and have won the league with seven games to go.
"I think if we were top of the league, Bayern would still have been favourites because they have a superb team full of individual class. We have got to work on how to beat them.
"We will study them, look at what they are good at and try to exploit any weaknesses that they do have.
"Who knows? It is the Champions League, it is a home tie at Old Trafford and if we get the crowd behind us then you just never know."
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has admitted he cannot afford to rush his return from injury.
Tuesday 1st April 2014
The Argentina international has not played a Premier League game since the end of January due to a hamstring complaint.
He returned to start the Champions League last 16, second leg clash at Barcelona on March 12, but he aggravated the problem which has seen him sidelined ever since.
With City battling for the Premier League title, Aguero is desperate to return but he admits he cannot rush things as it could mean him missing the rest of the season and the World Cup finals this summer.
"With this recovery I am trying to do my best to be able to play again, but I cannot do it in a hurry," he told DirecTV.
"I do think to myself if something happens now, I will lose the rest of the Premier League season and the World Cup."
Aguero also insisted that he has no plans to leave City this summer and coach Manuel Pellegrini has told him he needs to win a Champions League title with the club first.
"He says to me that I can't leave without winning a Champions League," said Aguero.
"That's the objective of each player in Europe."
Aguero admits that Argentina have a great chance of World Cup success ahead of the finals in Brazil this summer.
"We know that we have a great team, but each match has to be played," he said.
"There doesn't exist any easy matches, but I think that with the squad that we have, there are chances. It depends on us."
Arsenal will always give youth a chance, insists Wenger
By Alex Fisher
Apr 1, 2014 2:41:00 PM
The Frenchman has come under pressure to splash out on established talent to end the Gunners' trophy drought but insists promoting from within is "one of the values of our club"
Arsene Wenger insists he will stick to his philosophy of promoting youth through the Arsenal ranks, despite calls to spend in the chase for silverware.
The Frenchman has not lifted a trophy since 2005 and has come in for criticism from supporters in recent times for not spending big in order to help turn them into contenders both domestically and in Europe.
Wenger has consistently looked to promote players from Arsenal's youth setup into the first team, with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere and Wojciech Szczesny all benefitting.
And the 64-year-old is determined to continue with that strategy.
"It's one of the values of our club [promoting from within]," Wenger told the club's official website. "We want to be very successful without neglecting the need to give a chance to people.
"I want it to be part of our tradition and I also want to develop a spirit inside the club that makes the young players be faithful to this club.
"It has to work in both ways but we want to be the ones who give [youth] a chance."
However, the Arsenal boss does acknowledge that there has been a shift within the game in terms of longevity at the top level, and that experience within his side is still important.
"Football has changed," he added. "It's quite amazing because football is like a fast train on the evolution side, which forces the players to adapt to the evolution.
"I believe that the players are better prepared now, and they last longer because they take care of their health much better.
"The medical environment is much better than it was 10 or 15 years ago and the individualised injury-prevention training is much better than it was before."
Aston Villa announce summer US tour
Aston Villa will take on Major League Soccer opposition as part of a two-match pre-season tour of the United States in July.
Wednesday 2nd April 2014
Villa will face FC Dallas at the Toyota Stadium on July 23 and Houston Dynamo at the BBVA Compass Stadium on July 26.
Villa boss Paul Lambert said: "It's a good place to go and play football.
"The facilities are really good, the weather will be warm as well and a lot of teams in the Barclays Premier League go to the US now for pre-season, so it will be good for us.
"The Premier League is world-renowned and everywhere you go people know what it's about. They're getting into it now in the US, too, and it's good for us to tap into that interest and to attract new fans to the club."
Construction is expected to begin on the 'Northumberland Development Project' in a matter of months, thus putting the club in a position to relocate in three years
Tottenham have announced that they hope to be able to move into a new 58,000-seater stadium by the middle of 2017.
Construction is expected to begin on the 'Northumberland Development Project', located next to the club's current home at White Hart Lane, later this year.
And chairman Daniel Levy believes it is "feasible" to expect the stadium to be opened in time for the start of the 2017-18 season.
"We have fantastic, strong support," Levy told the club's official website. "Our current 36,000-seater stadium sells out and the waiting list for season ticket holders is currently in excess of 47,000.
"We have the smallest capacity stadium of any club in the top 20 clubs in Europe, let alone the current top four Premier League clubs.
"We cannot stress strongly enough how critical the new stadium is over the long term to these raised expectations."
Tottenham chief Levy: No more upheaval after last summer's splurge
By Nicholas McGee
Apr 2, 2014 12:53:00 PM
Though disappointed not to be in the thick of the fight for Champions League qualification, the Spurs chairman is hopeful of having a new stadium completed by 2017
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy says that there will not be "a summer of major upheaval" at White Hart Lane despite being disappointed at their Premier League position.
Spurs spent over €100 million on new players last summer as they put the profits from Gareth Bale's sale to work but have fallen below expectations and set eight points adrift of the top four, with Tim Sherwood struggling after replacing Andre Villas-Boas as manager.
Though Louis van Gaal has been linked with taking over at Tottenham at the end of the season, Levy does not expect sweeping changes for the club - who announced profits of €1.8m in their financial results on Wednesday - and is hopeful that work on a new stadium could be completed by 2017.
"At the time of this announcement, we are in sixth position in the Premier League and it has been another season when the top four places have been fiercely contested by at least seven teams," he said in a statement.
"We have come far in the last decade - we have raised our expectations from a club aiming to be in the top half of the table to competing in Europe each season - to the point at which we find ourselves disappointed if we don't make Champions League.
"This season we have had to make significant changes, both in respect of coaching and playing staff, and yet we are currently only two points less than last season's tally.
"Whilst this season's performances and results have not lived up to expectation, we believe our squad has potential and it is important that we all now show commitment and teamwork to get the best possible finish to the season.
"Our focus therefore is to continue to invest in and develop the squad - we shall not look to a summer of major upheaval but rather to strengthen in key positions, to play the style of football for which we are famous - and to deliver the new stadium."
Reject Carroll out to jolt Liverpool's title hopes
By Mike Collett
LONDON Thu Apr 3, 2014 3:06am BST
West Ham United's Andy Carroll reacts during their Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London, January 29, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville
(Reuters) - Former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll can dent his former club's Premier League title chances and virtually seal West Ham United's top-flight status for next season when the teams meet at Upton Park on Sunday.
Carroll did not fit into manager Brendan Rodgers's plans when the Irishman took over at Anfield and 18 months after becoming the most expensive English player ever following his 35 million-pound move from Newcastle United he joined West Ham on loan before signing permanently last year.
Carroll, 25, faces Liverpool for the first time since leaving for 15 million pounds and if he turns in the type of scoring performance he produced in a 2-1 win at Sunderland on Monday, his old club's title hopes could be jolted.
A win would also leave West Ham in a secure position, with the Hammers currently 11th on 37 points, 11 above the drop zone.
With the end of the league campaign fast approaching and most sides having only six games to play, the outcome will have a crucial bearing on the title race along with Chelsea's game at home to Stoke City and Southampton's visit to Manchester City.
Everton face Arsenal at Goodison Park in a game that could determine which one of those two finish fourth and grab a place in next season's Champions League qualifiers.
Liverpool thrashed hapless visitors Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 on Sunday for their eighth successive league win to reclaim top spot for the first time since Christmas. They have 71 points from 32 games, two more than Chelsea.
Manchester City, who have two games in hand, are third on 67 points, followed by Arsenal who have 64 from 32 games.
Everton, who have a match in hand on Arsenal, have 60 points, followed by Spurs on 56 and outgoing champions Manchester United with 54.
At the other end of the table, relegation battlers Cardiff City and Crystal Palace meet in South Wales, Norwich City host West Bromwich Albion and basement side Fulham go to Aston Villa.
Second-bottom Sunderland visit Tottenham on Monday.
BIGGEST GAMES
But the two biggest games of the weekend are on Sunday when the 6ft 4ins (1.93 metre) Carroll hopes to prove a point to Rodgers, who has based his team plan on using Luis Suarez as the focal point of his attack rather than Carroll, with handsome dividends.
Suarez became the first Liverpool player to hit 29 league goals in the Premier League era when he scored against Spurs.
His all-round link-up play with Daniel Sturridge and the improving Raheem Sterling in attack has contributed to Liverpool's top spot and league tally of 88 goals.
If they win their remaining matches, including at home to title rivals Manchester City and Chelsea later this month, they will be champions for the first time in 24 years.
City have their destiny in their own hands too and will be champions if they win their final eight games. They dropped two points but played well in a 1-1 draw at Arsenal on Saturday but cannot afford to slip up again against the tricky Saints.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said his team, who were beaten 3-1 by Paris St Germain in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, were out of the title race after they surprisingly lost 1-0 at lowly Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Yet no-one else seems to think so.
"It is very, very close at the top and I think any one of the top four sides can win it," City coach Manuel Pellegrini said after his team's draw at the Emirates.
"I think all of the top four will drop points, it is still very open. Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and us are all in it and all we can do is keep fighting."
Chelsea will go back on top, for 24 hours at least, if they beat Stoke at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, a ground where the visitors have not won a league match since April 1974, although they did beat the west London side 3-2 at home in December.
Although Manchester United are out of the title race, they boosted their confidence with a 1-1 first-leg draw at home to holders Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday and a win at erratic Newcastle would keep them in the hunt for at least a Europa League place for next season.
United manager David Moyes' old side Everton are striving for better than that and can take a big step towards a Champions League qualifying spot if they beat Arsenal, who have won only one of their last five league games, at Goodison.
Exciting young midfielder Ross Barkley is a doubt for Everton who are seeking a sixth successive league win.
Newcastle United midfielder Moussa Sissoko is set for "two or three weeks" on the sidelines through injury.
The 24-year-old revealed via his Twitter account on Thursday that he had undergone treatment at Clairefontaine, France's training base.
The Frenchman did not reveal the nature of his injury, but confirmed that he will be absent for at least a fortnight, ruling him out of this weekend's visit of Manchester United and a trip to Stoke City the following Saturday.
"Early rehabilitation Clairefontaine today!! Back in 2 or 3 weeks!!" he tweeted.
Sissoko has started all of Newcastle's 32 Premier League games this season, but was substituted 12 minutes from time in Saturday's 4-0 loss at Southampton.
Alan Pardew's side slipped to ninth after that defeat - their second in a row - but that still represents a marked improvement on last season's 16th-place finish.
Fernando Torres' Chelsea days are numbered, according to the club's former assistant manager and midfielder Ray Wilkins.
The Spain striker has fallen some way short of the level of consistency that made him so revered at Liverpool since his January 2011 move from Merseyside to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho criticised Torres' work rate following Wednesday's 3-1 UEFA Champions League defeat at Paris Saint-Germain.
And Wilkins believes that the 30-year-old – who has scored 43 goals in 164 appearances for the London club – is on borrowed time at Chelsea.
"Torres has no future at Chelsea," Wilkins told talkSPORT.
"I think he has seen his time out there.
"He moved from a Liverpool side where he was so successful as an individual to Chelsea, where the style of play is so different.
"He needs the space in behind people in which to run.
"He needs to make those runs though. He needs to make the players find him.
"Sometimes it is down to the individual. He needs to try and make something happen."
Tony Pulis will make a late call on whether to thrust Marouane Chamakh back into the Crystal Palace side at Cardiff City on Saturday.
The fit-again striker, the club's top scorer this season, is in contention to return this weekend following a month out with a hamstring injury.
Confidence levels at Palace are high following last Saturday's 1-0 win over Premier League leaders Chelsea and Pulis knows what a boost it is to have Chamakh at his disposal again.
Victory over Chelsea means Palace are five points ahead of Cardiff, who are third from bottom and have played a game more.
"Chamakh has trained all week with us," confirmed Pulis at his pre-match press briefing.
"He looks ready to go.
"Whether we start him or whether he's involved on the bench, we'll have to wait and see. It's a decision that I'll make closer to the game."
Chamakh was on target in a 2-0 win when the two sides met at Selhurst Park in December and Pulis has been pleased with the Moroccan's form this season.
Pulis added: "He's been outstanding for us.
"For me, he's the player that gives us something a little bit different within the group."
Nine teams are separated by 10 points at the bottom of the Premier League, prompting Pulis to predict that the battle for survival will go down to the wire.
"It will ebb and flow – and that's right through the league," said the Welshman.
"It has been a very exciting season at the top and bottom of the league."
Meanwhile, Pulis has confirmed that contract talks with Palace players entering the final few months of their current deals - including goalkeeper Julian Speroni - will not take place into the club know which division they will be in next season.
He said: "As soon as we know where we are, what league we are in and what we're doing then we'll sit down and talk to people.
"We'll sit down and talk to Julian along with I think there's six or seven other players who are also out of contract."
(Reuters) - The Dutch FA have asked Vitesse Arnhem to comment on claims in a local newspaper interview by the club's former owner that their relationship with Chelsea has curtailed their Dutch title ambitions.
"In the interests of the integrity of the (Dutch league) competition, the KNVB is to ask Vitesse to explain their organizational structure and its governance," said a statement from the Dutch FA on Wednesday.
"The KNVB and Vitesse have agreed to meet soon and after discussion it will be decided whether an investigation is needed."
The FA's intervention follows allegations in an interview with De Telegraaf by former Vitesse owner Merab Jordania that Chelsea exerted undue influence at the Eredevisie club and had sought to prevent them qualifying for the Champions League.
Under UEFA rules two clubs under the same ownership cannot play in the same European competition in the same season.
"I want to tell the Vitesse supporters the real story," said Jordania, a former Georgian footballer who saved Vitesse from financial ruin in 2010.
"I wanted to reach for the title, but 'London' didn't want that in the end. Ambition is fine, but Vitesse is not allowed to reach the Champions League.
"That is why (former coach) Fred Rutten left (last June). He knew that he wasn't allowed to win the title with Vitesse."
Chelsea declined to comment on the allegations.
Vitesse are now owned by Russian tycoon Alexander Chigirinsky and have a formal relationship with Chelsea, which has seen players regularly loaned to the Arnhem-based club.
Last weekend Bertrand Traore scored for Vitesse, who are in third place nine points behind leaders Ajax Amsterdam, and other players on loan from the Premier League club include Brazilian striker Lucas Piazon and Ghana international Christian Atsu.
Vitesse chairman Bert Roetert described Jordania's interview as "a poor 1 April joke" in a statement on the club's official website (www.vitesse.nl).
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Ken Ferris)
The 23-year-old Belgium international will not travel to Brazil after being ruled out of action for "a minimum of six months"
Christian Benteke will undergo surgery on an Achilles injury which ends his season and rules him out of this summer's World Cup, Aston Villa have confirmed.
The 23-year-old suffered the injury during training and a scan on Thursday confirmed the extent of the damage, which the club say will sideline him for "a minimum of six months".
"It's a terrible blow both for Christian and for the club," boss Paul Lambert told the club's official website.
"He will miss the rest of the season, obviously, and also the World Cup. But he'll work hard because that's what he does and he'll come back for us stronger than ever next season."
Benteke was a revelation in his first season in England, scoring 28 goals in 50 appearances for Villa and Belgium to help his club preserve their Premier League status and his country reach Brazil.
At the end of his first year the Belgian submitted a transfer request amid interest from Tottenham, before changing his mind and signing a new contract which keeps him at Villa until the summer of 2017.
His second season has been more problematic, yielding just 11 goals in 29 games, but Benteke was still set to battle Everton loanee Romelu Lukaku for a starting spot up front for Belgium this summer.
The injury is also a significant blow for Lambert as he bids to keep Villa in the top flight, though his side lie 12th in the table, eight points clear of 18th-placed Cardiff with a game in hand.
