Carling Cup: Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa (preview)

Emerton back for Rovers

Blackburn midfielder Brett Emerton returns to the squad for Tuesday's Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Aston Villa at Ewood Park.

Emerton was forced to sit out the 3-1 defeat by Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday because of a groin problem.
El-Hadji Diouf is sidelined through suspension after being sent off in that match while Vince Grella is absent with a thigh injury.
Sam Allardyce has challenged Benni McCarthy to shrug off his frustration and steer Blackburn to the Carling Cup final.
The South Africa international striker is keen to move on as he does not feel that in World Cup year he is playing enough football.
The 32-year-old has made only nine starts for the club in the Barclays Premier League and League Cup this season and his business manager Rob Moore claims there has been interest in the player from a from a number of clubs.
However, McCarthy looks set to return to the side against Aston Villa in the semi-final first leg tomorrow at Ewood Park after finding the target in the victory over Chelsea in the last round.
While Allardyce admits he would love to keep McCarthy, who marked his debut season in England in 2006-07 with 24 goals, he will listen to offers for the player.
"I know and Benni knows why he is not playing as much but that is a confidential matter between the two of us, '' said the Blackburn boss.
"It really lies in his hands, not mine if he wants to play more.
"If he puts that right he could play a major part here and help us win a cup then go on to the World Cup.
"We want to see him playing to his best every week. He has been frustrated by his lack of playing time. So he wants to leave.
"But that would depend on how much a club is prepared to pay before we would think about letting one of our major scorers go.
"I have had no offers for him and as it is he is a Blackburn player. I know when he goes out on the field, especially at Ewood Park, generally we get his best performances there.''
Midfielder James Milner is Aston Villa's main injury worry with Blackburn at Ewood Park.
Milner missed the FA Cup meeting between the two sides on Saturday with a foot injury and was only able to undertake light training on Monday.
Midfielder Fabian Delph had to be substituted through illness at half-time in the 3-1 weekend victory but has now recovered to be included in the squad.
The likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Richard Dunne and skipper Stiliyan Petrov are poised to return after being rested for the FA Cup tie.
Dunne admits the clash is the biggest club game of his career.
The Republic of Ireland player distinguished himself for nearly a decade at Manchester City and before that played with Everton, but he has never progressed past the last eight of any major competition.
The 30-year-old said: "I've been to a few quarter-finals but every time I thought we've got a chance of getting to Wembley, we have been knocked out.
"There were games where we were expected to win when we were drawn at home but it never happened for whatever reason.
"I was a YTS lad with Everton when they won the FA Cup in 1995. That was a good occasion at Wembley but it seems a million miles away now.
"I think this is the biggest club game of my career. We're getting close to having a chance of getting a trophy and it will be good to look back when I've retired and be able to say that I've won a medal and played at Wembley.''

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Beautiful goal: top 10 goal LA LIGA December - 2009

01. Ronaldo

Real Madrid 6-0 Zaragoza, 20/12/2009

02. Higuain

Real Madrid 6-0 Zaragoza, 20/12/2009

03. Cazorla

Villarreal 3-2 Getafe, 07/12/2009

04. Arana

Racing 3-2 Xerez, 13/12/2009

05. Villa

Bilbao 1-2 Valencia, 07/12/2009

FA CUP : West Ham United 1 - 2 Arsenal (video)

Ramsey and Eduardo put Gunners through

Arsenal scored twice in five second-half minutes to come from behind to beat West Ham at Upton Park and secure their place in the FA Cup fourth round.

With more pressing matters ahead in their respective Premier League campaigns at opposite ends of the table, both managers could perhaps be forgiven for their team selection.
However, once the action got under way, the encounter turned out to be a decent cup tie.
West Ham, battling relegation from the top flight, took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Alessandro Diamanti beat the offside trap to slot past Gunners goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
But with 12 minutes remaining the outstanding Aaron Ramsey levelled and Eduardo's looping header after 83 minutes completed the turnaround.
The Gunners have a crucial Premier League game against Bolton on Wednesday which could see them narrow the gap to leaders Chelsea to a point.
But their quest for a first trophy in five years - since they won the FA Cup in 2005 - remained alive on more than one front as they entered the fourth round draw, where they were pitted against Stoke.
Even though Wenger had made five changes from the 4-1 win over Portsmouth in midweek, it was certainly not an inexperienced Arsenal side, with the likes of Carlos Vela, Fran Merida and Luke Wilshere included along with veteran defender Mikael Silvestre, captain in the absence of injured Cesc Fabregas.
The Hammers - famous winners over the Gunners in the 1980 FA Cup final at Wembley - had come back from 2-0 down here to draw their league encounter earlier in the season, and started well, with Diamanti firing over after cutting in from the right.
Merida had a low, 25-yard strike comfortably saved by West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green after 12 minutes before Arsenal slowly built some pressure on the home defence.
Wales teenager Ramsey and Merida both had shots charged down before James Tomkins gave the ball away, Eduardo pounced and the Croatian forced Green to make a full-stretch save as his 20-yard effort looked set to creep into the bottom corner.
West Ham responded after Alex Song - off to the African Nations Cup with Cameroon tomorrow - bundled over Daprela to concede a dangerous free-kick, 25-yards out. Junior Stanislas was just off-target with a dipping effort over the bar.
There was action at both ends as first Diamanti's curling shot from the left was palmed away by Fabianski before Thomas Vermaelen lashed his first-time shot over after a corner.
Stanislas stole possession on the edge of the Arsenal box, but the ball just would not drop for the England Under-21 forward.
After 40 minutes, Mexican Carlos Vela got on the end of a long ball up field, but his angled shot was blocked by Green at the right-hand post.
The Hammers took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Diamanti beat the Arsenal offside trap to collect Valon Behrami's pass and slot in off the post.
The hosts resumed in positive fashion after the interval, with England Under-19 forward Frank Nouble, who was making his debut, firing wide from the edge of the area before Stanislas' 25-yard shot was palmed away by Fabianski.
Arsenal made a double change after 65 minutes, replacing Merida with Diaby and Wilshere for Nasri.
The changes seemed to galvanise the visitors, who had lacked any real penetration in the final third.
Green made a fantastic double save to deny first Diaby after he burst into the penalty area and then the follow-up effort from Song.
There was, however, little the England goalkeeper could do about Arsenal's equaliser with 12 minutes left, when Ramsey smashed a low shot into the far corner after collecting Vela's pass through a crowded penalty area.
Before the Hammers could mount a recovery, Arsenal had turned the tie around.
Vela was again the provider, sending over a cross from the left, which Eduardo met ahead of Tomkins to loop the ball over Green into the top corner.
Arsenal could have further extended their lead, but former Gunner Matthew Upson cleared Vela's shot off the line and Green saved from Ramsey.

Wenger hints at January signingsArsenal boss Arsene Wenger may dip into the transfer market to bolster his squad despite watching his depleted side beat West Ham 2-1 in the FA Cup third round.Wenger's side were handed a fourth-round trip to Stoke in the fourth round as a side featuring the likes of Carlos Vela, Fran Merida and Jack Wilshere came from behind to beat the Hammers at Upton Park.Alessandro Diamanti gave the Hammers the lead in first-half injury time but the Gunners stormed back as Aaron Ramsey equalised in the 78th minute after combining with Vela in the box and Eduardo's towering header five minutes later took them into the fourth round.Wenger said: ''At the moment we have nine injuries.''We needed to fight very hard today to go through and we need some players to come back from injury to cope with the competitions we're in.''Asked about his transfer window plans, the Frenchman said: ''I don't know...a player or two. We'll try to be in the market.''As for the draw, which handed his side a trip to the Potteries, Wenger said: ''It doesn't really matter, what's important is the performance (we produce).''

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LA LIGA: Osasuna 0 - 0 Real Madrid ( video)

Real fail to take top spot

Real Madrid missed the chance to overhaul Barcelona and climb to the top of the Primera Division table as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Osasuna.
Requiring victory in Pamplona to go above their Catalans rivals on goal difference, the visitors were limited to long-range efforts in a poor first half, before having penalty appeals waved away in first-half stoppage time after Cristiano Ronaldo theatrically went to ground while attempting to make space for himself on the edge of the box.
Osasuna had two scrappy opportunities, but Gonzalo Higuain missed a gilt-edged chance on the counter attack and despite bringing Karim Benzema and Raul off the substitutes' bench, the visitors were held in a stalemate to lie two points behind Barcelona in the title race.
In a city famous for its bull run, Madrid struggled to grab the game by its horns in a stop-start first half.
Brazil playmaker Kaka, who had been tipped to return from a hernia problem, was absent again and the visitors were not nearly as creative or clinical as in their last Primera Division clash, the 6-0 home win over Real Zaragoza prior to the winter break.
Raul Albiol fired a speculative long-range effort well over after 11 minutes before Marcelo sliced well wide after 21 minutes.
Rodrigues Roversio headed wide from Nacho Monreal's free-kick as Osasuna threatened for the first time after 32 minutes.
Madrid then had a set-piece opportunity at the other end after Javad Nekounam was booked for a foul on Lassana Diarra.
A corner resulted and Rafael van der Vaart found Ezequiel Garay, who could only head wide.
Van der Vaart then saw an effort held by Ricardo before Osasuna came close to shocking Real before half-time.
Juanfran's corner caused havoc in the visitors' defence, with Carlos Aranda's strike hitting Garay before Alvaro Arbeloa scrambled clear.
Ronaldo then neatly brought the ball down on the edge of the area but as he attempted to weave around the Osasuna defence, he was blocked by Nekounam.
The world's most expensive player tumbled to the ground, but his theatrical fall did Madrid no favours as the referee waved away appeals for a penalty.
Marcelo had a shot stopped by Ricardo, Higuain had an effort from the edge of the area blocked and Ronaldo shot off target with a 30-yard free-kick as Madrid again failed to find the target.
Higuain then combined with Marcelo in the right channel to carve open the Osasuna defence before the Argentina international dragged his shot across the face of goal.
The striker had an even better chance a few moments later, but only after Sergio Ramos had flicked the ball away at the back post after Monreal's teasing cross from the right.
Real broke at pace for Higuain to go through on goal, only to see his effort tipped over by Ricardo.
Substitute Benzema shot wide from 12 yards before being joined up front by Raul, who took the place of Higuain.
But Osasuna's rearguard continued to frustrate the star-studded visitors.

sat, 2/1

Valencia 1-0 Espanyol

Barcelona 1-1 Villarreal

Atletico 2-1 Sevilla

Gijon 2-2 Malaga

Getafe 1-0 Valladolid

Racing 2-0 Tenerife

Almeria 1-0 Xerez

Zaragoza 0-0 Deportivo

sunday, 3/1

Mallorca 2-0 Bilbao

Osasuna 0-0 R. Madrid

 Copyright ©2009 ESPN Internet Ventures.

FA CUP : Manchester United 0 - 1 Leeds United ( video)

Manchester United 0 - 1 Leeds United

Leeds emerged from five years of hurt to inflict some pain of their own as Jermaine Beckford's first-half goal secured a 1-0 victory over old enemies Manchester United at Old Trafford.

It is six years since Leeds' loyal fans have made this particular trip - and not since 1981 have they returned across the Pennines celebrating victory. But in manager Simon Grayson they have a man with the club in his heart, and in Beckford they have a striker capable of shooting them to better things.

Those are things to cling to when your once proud club has struck financial strife so deep it sends you tumbling into League One.
And when Beckford's 20th goal of the campaign trundled past Tomasz Kuszczak, you could just sense the hosts would not be saved - not even by the five minutes of stoppage time that must have shredded a few nerves before that final glorious release.
In a sense, Sir Alex Ferguson was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Normally, a week involving two cup matches, one against a side from two levels below, at home, would offer an obvious opportunity to blood a few of his youngsters.
Yet Leeds are no ordinary League One outfit.
Even if they were not surging clear at the top, fuelled by a confidence manager Simon Grayson has painstakingly built up during his time at the helm, this could never be a normal fixture.
The sight of Eddie Gray and Alex Stepney in the press box was a reminder of one era when the Roses rivals fought battles at the very top. The presence of an injured Rio Ferdinand in the directors' box triggered more memories.
In addition, the presence of 9,000 visiting supporters created an atmosphere that crackled from the first whistle, long after minor scuffles outside had reminded everyone that there is no love lost between the two whatsoever.
Leeds were primed and ready. The home side crucially stood off, the sheer ferocity of the visitors' approach catching the less experienced members of their team by surprise.
The Yorkshire outfit were already on top when first Dimitar Berbatov, then Danny Welbeck, lost possession inside the Leeds half.
Jonathan Howson spotted his opportunity and launched a long ball over the top for Beckford, who had stolen half a yard on Wes Brown. The Manchester United defender was only playing because Nemanja Vidic had been injured in the warm-up and must have thought he had got away with it as Beckford's control took the ball away from him.
But Kuszczak was slow to react and Beckford had time to nip the ball beyond the Pole and send it rolling over the line. Grayson, a Leeds fan as a kid and a Leeds player as an adult, led the jubilant celebrations, fully aware of what this particular hostility means on both sides of the Pennines.
Their ecstasy would have only lasted five minutes if Jason Crowe had not been quick-witted enough to get back onto the goal-line as Wayne Rooney charged onto Berbatov's reverse pass. Rooney bore down on the Leeds goal, then beat Casper Ankergren with a low shot that was heading in until Crowe scrambled it away.
If anything, the second period was even more fractious as United's desperation for an equaliser - and Leeds' to stop them - increased.
Welbeck was denied by Ankergren's right leg when he let fly for the bottom corner after charging into the box. The youngster also set up Berbatov, but again Ankergren came out on top.
Ferguson decided it was time for the reinforcements, which are always readily available if things are going wrong in such circumstances.
This time it was Ryan Giggs and Antonio Valencia, although the response was muted and ten minutes later Michael Owen was on as well.
It is almost a month since Owen scored that hat-trick in Wolfsburg, since when he has not started a game.
That lack of match practice was evident as, with virtually his first touch, he scuffed his shot after getting himself in the perfect position to turn home Valencia's cut-back.
Rooney blasted over from a similar position before Leeds countered and Beckford skimmed the far post with a shot across the face of goal.
Robert Snodgrass came even closer shortly afterwards when his free-kick shook the angle of bar and post with Kuszczak beaten.
As is their nature, United pushed and pushed. But the equaliser would not come as their failure to retain possession allowed Leeds to celebrate a famous victory.
other match: 
Manchester United   0-1  Leeds United 
Chelsea     5 -  0     Watford
Notts County    0 -  0  Forest Green Rovers
PostpSheffield United    1- 1 Queens Park Rangers    
West Ham United     1- 2  Arsenal    
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