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Jose hints at Herculean task

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Jose Mourinho has warned his Real Madrid players they cannot relax when they travel to Estadio Jose Rico Perez on Saturday to take on Hercules (9/1 Herucles, 21/5 draw, 3/10 Real Madrid – 90 minutes).

Spain’s capital club have banged in 16 goals in La Liga either side of the recent international break – going back to the 6-1 drubbing of strugglers Deportivo La Coruna – and head to Alicante determined to stay ahead of the chasing pack at the top of the table (10/11 Real Madrid – La Liga Outright).

However, Mourinho has called for a reality check from Real followers and has warned his players they must not expect a cakewalk against the La Liga newcomers.

He said in his Friday press conference: “We are in good shape. We are playing well and working hard. We are not children. There will be close calls because we cannot always win 6-1.

“We must stay on track and score goals, but this is a difficult championship and every match is different.”

Hercules caused a seismic shock when they beat champions Barcelona 2-0 at the Nou Camp on September 11 and the Portuguese coach know there can be no excuses, adding: “There is a long way to go. We have only played eight games.”

Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil, Marcelo and Ricardo Carvalho – who all missed the surprise goalless draw against Real Murcia in the Copa del Rey in midweek – will all return for Saturday’s trip.

Mourinho knows there can be no mistakes against Hercules, who also held Villarreal to a 2-2 draw at home recently, and has demanded his players pick up where they left off in La Liga (5/6 Real Madrid-Real Madrid – Half-time/Full-time).

He added: “I will make some changes against Hercules. It is an important match; even more so than a Champions League game because we cannot lose points. We want to win and remain on top of the table.

“The players I called up are those who are in the best form, and those who start will either be the same or very close to previous line-ups.

“I hope my players help bring home the three points so that we are still first come Sunday.”

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Players must ignore criticism – Hodgson

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Roy Hodgson has urged his Liverpool players to rise above the criticism and concentrate on turning around the season over the remaining seven months (Liverpool 13/10 in the match betting to beat Bolton).

The Reds have suffered their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign and currently sit in 18th place in the table with just nine points from their first nine games played.

The boardroom battle for ownership of the club has hardly helped matters but, with John Henry now in charge, the financial side of affairs at Anfield appear to be sorting themselves out (Liverpool 11/1 to win Europa League).

The low point came in the 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat to Everton, which left Liverpool staring up at all but two teams in the top-flight table, while last Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers gave the club a boost and ensured that they are now only in the relegation zone on goal difference.

Such is the current state of the standings that one win from a team in the lower reaches could propel them into the top half and Hodgson’s men will have a chance at moving in the right direction when they face Owen Coyle’s side at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The former Fulham tactician admits that the early part of the campaign has been one to forget but believes that it is how the players react to adversity that will ultimately determine if they come out of the season with any credit.

“It is quite easy to kick people when they are down,” he said. “We are down at the moment so the kicks are going to rain down on us. We just have to deal with it.

“The first quarter of the season has not been a good one for us in terms of league form. The next three quarters is going to be very important.

“At the moment we are still in a poor position as far as our league position is concerned. We need to get a result in every game to get out of it.”

The 63-year-old is determined not to get carried away with things, after the successful takeover and the Blackburn victory, but he is confident that there is enough quality in his squad to improve their league position over the next couple of months.

“I am a bit wary of saying the problems are over, we have turned the corner, but I believe in the team and I believe we are capable of doing a lot better in the next quarter of the season than we have in the first quarter,” he added.

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Hughton receives Nolan backing

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Newcastle skipper Kevin Nolan has given his support to under-fire boss Chris Hughton, claiming he should remain in charge at St James’ Park no matter what happens in Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby with Sunderland (Black Cats 5/2 to beat Newcastle).

Speculation has been rife this week that the former Republic of Ireland international would be getting the hook in the coming weeks despite having got the Toon promoted last season.

The Tyneside outfit haven’t made a bad start to life in the Premier League after blitzing the Championship and are currently tenth with three wins from their first nine matches.

Despite having guided the team through a difficult period following relegation Hughton is still one of the favourites to become the next Premier League manager to get the sack.

Wednesday’s Carling Cup defeat to Arsenal did nothing to relieve the press on Hughton and Newcastle were forced to issue a statement insisting they had no intentions of sacking their manager, claiming they want to extend his current deal.

Despite the statement all the build-up to the Tyne-Wear derby continues to be focused on Hughton and whether or not he will be in charge for much longer.

The likes of Alan Pardew and Joe Kineaar have been linked with the job but Nolan has now come out to lend his support to his manager, insisting that he is “110 per cent” behind Hughton.

“No matter what happens on Sunday we are going to still be 110 per cent behind Chris Hughton,” Nolan told Sky Sports News.

“For the statements, for anything else we don’t care what anyone else says outside. As a group of players, as a squad, as a staff and I believe as fans too, we believe we are going in the right direction and the main focal point and the main leader in that is Chris Hughton.

“I think the talk is absolutely ridiculous on him having to win a game to stay in his job, it is absolutely ridiculous.

“No matter what, we want to see Chris Hughton in charge of us and we believe we are going in the right way with him in charge of us.”

Sunday’s visit of local rivals Sunderland (14/1 to be relegated) will be Hughton’s biggest test since he  got Newcastle (9/2) promoted and could go a long way to sealing his fate as Newcastle boss.

He will be hoping the Toon can keep up their recent good record against the Black Cats having lost just three times in 16 Premier League matches against their local neighbours.

Having rested the majority of his big-name players for this fixture Hughton has no new injury concerns, although Steven Taylor did lose his race against time to recover from a shoulder injury.

Sunderland have an almost fully-fit squad to choose from after Kieran Richardson returned from a hamstring injury, with just David Meyler and Frazier Campbell sidelined with long-term problems.

The Black Cats will be looking for their first win at St James’ Park since 2000 when now chairman Niall Quinn won the match with a towering header.

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Torres returning to form – Hodgson

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Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson firmly believes that striker Fernando Torres (14/1 Premiership Top Goalscorer) is now returning to his best form following his performance and winning goal against Blackburn last weekend.

The Spain international World Cup-winning hitman has endured a difficult campaign to date due to a lack of form following some injury problems which have blighted him since he underwent a knee operation in April.

However, Hodgson witnessed Torres put in a good shift against Rovers at Anfield and felt he looked a lot sharper, while his second goal of the season only heightened his belief that the former Atletico Madrid man could be set to hit top form.

Hodgson insists that Torres has always had the desire and will to do well for him since he replaced Rafa Benitez at Anfield in the summer, but claims the extra confidence the team are starting to show on the pitch is now having a positive impact on his game.

He added on LFC TV: “You do need, if you are going to have a good team, your good players in good form producing what they are capable of producing.

“With Fernando on Sunday we definitely saw that.

“I see it in training every day and I just hope he keeps going and we have a good few months of it.”

Torres will get a chance to add to his goals’ tally this weekend when the Reds travel to face Bolton at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday (Bolton 2/1, Liverpool 13/10, Draw 11/5 90 Minutes).

And Hodgson is looking for his side as a whole to secure a third Premier League win of the season and start pushing up the table (Liverpool 7/1 Top 4 Finish).

“The performance we gave in the second half against Everton and the whole of the game against Blackburn – that is what we need for the whole 90 minutes in the remaining 29 games.”

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Klose KO leaves Bayern bare

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Miroslav Klose has been added to Bayern Munich’s growing injury list, leaving Louis van Gaal with fewer options going into Friday’s must-win Bundesliga clash at home to Freiburg (Bayern 2/7 to win in 90 Minutes).

The Germany striker is set to spend the next three weeks on the sidelines at Bayern Munich after aggravating a thigh muscle injury in training.

Klose was originally injured playing for his country and he was enjoying a superb run of form for the national side, with six goals in four games this season leaving him only 10 away from equalling Gerd Mueller’s all-time record of 68 in a Germany shirt.

But his domestic record has not been impressive for a while, failing to notch in six Bundesliga appearances this term following on from his most meagre year when he bagged three times in 25 league appearances for the double-winning Munich club.

Having sat out Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over Werder Bremen in the German Cup with ‘flu, Klose pulled up in training and a scan revealed the damage.

Van Gaal will turn to Mario Gomez again tonight with Tony Kroos and Thomas Muller in support as the champions bid to stop a run of results which has seen them take just four points in the last four games.

Injuries can easily be blamed with wingers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben out for long spells, the latter not having played all season.

The key duo have now been joined on the sidelines by captain Mark van Bommel, defenders Diego Contento and Breno as well as midfielder David Alaba.

With Klose out and fellow striker Ivica Olic still required to wear a facemask to protect a broken nose, Gomez is Bayern’s only fit all-out striker – and he has only scored three times – a hat-trick against hannover a fortnight ago.

Bayern’s lowly tally of eight goals represents the worst return from any club in the Bundesliga this season and they sit 12 points behind pacesetters Mainz going into this weekend’s matches, in 11th place.

Muller, a star of the World Cup who bagged a hat-trick against England, has now failed to score in nine matches for club and country and looks to be struggling in the elevated expectations  of him post-South Africa.

Freiburg are not expected to get much from their Friday night trip to the Allianz arena but can at least boast an in-form striker in Papiss Cisse.

The 25-year-old has scored eight times in nine Bundesliga matches this season and bagged in their shock midweek Cup defeat to second division Energie Cottbus.

Freiburg, however, have lost their last three away matches by a 2-1 scoreline (Bayern 2-1 7/1 in Correct Score) and will be expected to go down again on Friday.

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Rooney doubtful for derby return

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Wayne Rooney (12/1 in Premiership Top Scorer 2010/2011) could be out of action for more than three weeks, according to Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Rooney suffered another ankle injury in training last week in a tackle from Paul Scholes prior to United’s Champions League victory over Bursaspor.

The England striker’s return had been pencilled in, by media and fans at least, for the Manchester derby at Eastlands on November 10, but Ferguson’s comments cast doubt on that now.

When asked if three weeks remained the prognosis, Ferguson, speaking ahead of Saturday’s late Premier League game against Tottenham at Old Trafford, replied: “I think it may be longer. There is no recovery, it is just rest. Before he went away we did his remedial in terms of what we could do at the time. Thereafter, rest – we’re quite happy with that.”

Ferguson’s message to Rooney following his new, record-breaking five-year deal last week, appears to be about him remaining the boss, but his continued praise for the lively Javier Hernandez (25/1) also could be construed as a word of warning to the England striker to pull his socks up.

The United boss said he was happy with the form of ‘Chicharito’ and stated that when Rooney does come back he will have some big decisions to make about team selection.

Hernandez has taken his opportunity well in the last month and banged in four goals in his last three starts, including the winners against Stoke City and Wolverhampton Wanderers (4/7 Man United 11/4 draw 9/2 Tottenham – 90 minutes betting).

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Owen’s future doubts

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Michael Owen has hinted that Manchester United could be the last team he plays for because he has no intention of dropping into the lower divisions as he gets older (United 4/7 – 90 minutes betting v Tottenham).

The 30-year-old began his career at Liverpool and scored 158 goals from 297 appearances in all competitions while at Anfield but was sold to Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2004 when seemingly still at the peak of his career.

The Chester-born hit-man managed to bag 13 goals in 35 league appearances for the Bernabeu giants, despite coming off the bench in a number of games and only having the last 30 minutes or so in which to make his mark.

Despite becoming a fans’ favourite with the Spaniards he joined Newcastle after just one term in Madrid and spent four injury-plagued seasons at St James’ Park, scoring 30 goals in 79 appearances in all competitions for the Magpies.

With Newcastle slipping into the Championship for the 2009-2010 campaign, Owen was snapped up by Sir Alex Ferguson but scored just three Premier League goals in 19 appearances – many from the bench – for the Red Devils last season.

Owen has only started six top-flight matches since arriving at Old Trafford and has scored just one goal from four appearances in the current campaign.

He has now been ruled out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury and appears way down the United strikers pecking order, with Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez and Federico Macheda all seemingly ahead of him in Ferguson’s thoughts (United 9/2 to win Premier League).

Owen’s current United deal runs out next summer and it is open to question as to whether or not he will be offered new terms and the former England international admits he would love to stay at the club while hinting that he would rather hang up his boots than move to a lesser club.

“I would honestly love to stay but you will have to ask the manager about the long term,” he told the Sun. “I could score at this level for many years and would love it to be at a top club like United.

“Whether I would want to be dropping down to a poorer Premier League team, I don’t know. Yes I could score goals but I would probably get less opportunities and less enjoyment. I just don’t feel my game is suited to a team that is really struggling. I won’t drop down leagues.”

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Hughton reacts to job ‘threat’

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Newcastle (9/2 to be relegated) have done their best to quell speculation over the future of their manager Chris Hughton by issuing a statement saying that they will be renegotiating his contract.

Hughton’s current deal at St James’ Park runs out at the end of the season and as yet there is no conclusion to any negotiations, which has put the rumour-mill into overdrive about his immediate future and the fact that he could be on his way beforehand.

Despite suffering a 4-0 defeat at home to Arsenal (2/1 – outright betting) in the Carling Cup, Newcastle released a statement backing the manager and insist that the club plans to retain Hughton’s services.

The statement said: “Chris is our manager and will remain our manager, and it is our intention to re-negotiate his contract at the end of the year.”

For his part, Hughton has also insisted that he intends to stay at the club but has admitted that ongoing speculation is becoming a bit of a distraction.

“It’s difficult not to [notice the speculation] but I can’t do anything about that apart from the best job possible,” said Hughton. “I had a remit last season to get into the Premier League and this season it is to keep us in the division. So far, we’ve had our ups and downs but done OK.

“I can’t affect anything that is said but I think it is unfair. As far as I am concerned I’m a very strong character and have to work around these situations.

“I have a job to do and a group of players that have been wonderful for me. We have a focus and nothing will detract from that.

“I’ve been at this club for two and a half years and have thoroughly enjoyed it and I would like to stay here as long as possible.”

Newcastle have enjoyed a mixed season so far but Saturday’s come-from-behind win at West Ham saw the club climb up to ninth in the table, above Aston Villa on 11 points due to a better goal difference.

Next up for the Magpies (11/10 90 minutes betting) is the derby clash at home to Sunderland (23/10 to win, 23/10 the draw) in Sunday’s early kick-off and Hughton is expected to recall the big guns after fielding his fringe players against the Gunners on Wednesday night.

Sunderland are just one point above Newcastle in the table but have yet to win on the road in the Premier League this season, although they have only lost once with three draws from four games.

Newcastle have hardly made St James’ Park a fortress on their return to the top-flight with just one win – albeit a 6-0 hammering of Aston Villa, having lost to Blackpool and Stoke.

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Owen faces new injury setback

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Manchester United (9/2 to win the Premier League) striker Michael Owen is set to spend yet more time on the sidelines after picking up another hamstring injury in training.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid forward was due to play for United in their Carling Cup clash against Wolves at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

However Owen was withdrawn from the match not long before kick-off as the defending champions beat Wolves 3-2.

The 30-year-old was disappointed to pick up yet another injury after struggling with muscle problems throughout his career.

He said: “I’ve trained for a week and had a setback with another muscle injury.

“I’ve got some damage in my hamstring and will be out for the next few weeks unfortunately,” he added.

Owen has only started one Premier League match for United this season after he took the field at the Stadium Light for the Red Devil’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland.

However the former England striker has looked good when he has had an opportunity by Sir Alex Ferguson scoring two goals in the Carling Cup and a goal at the Reebok Stadium after coming on as a substitute against Bolton in the Premier League.

Ferguson has been hoping that Owen and fellow front man Wayne Rooney could rekindle their partnership when the pair played together for the Three Lions.

However it has been rare that the two players have been in the same United (11/2 to win the FA Cup)  line-up and currently both players are on the sidelines.

Revelations about Rooney’s private life and more recently contract issues have meant it has been a difficult time for the former Everton player but Owen believes hype surrounding the player has not affected his team-mates at Old Trafford.

He said: “I don’t think (there was) any (affect), really.

“Everyone seems to be happy now. The club have got a world-class player signed for five years and obviously Wayne’s happy and the manager’s happy.

“Wayne is obviously ambitious and the club’s ambitious. He wouldn’t have signed if he had any doubts,” he added.

United will be hoping that Rooney will return to the form that saw him ranked as one of the best players in the world after scoring 34 goals in 44 appearances for the Old Trafford side last season.

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Wenger desperate to end drought

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has sent a clear message to his Gunners stars – go for everything this season (Arsenal 11/2 to win the Premier League).

The Emirates side have not managed to pick up any silverware for five-years and Wenger is desperate for his side to end their trophy drought.

Arsenal take on Newcastle in the Carling Cup at St James’ Park tonight and Wenger has insisted the competition is an important one.

In previous seasons the Frenchman has allowed his younger players the chance to impress in the Carling Cup, but Wenger has now admitted he sees the Carling Cup as a great opportunity to end their barren run (Arsenal 3/1 to win the Carling Cup).

The Premier League and Champions League have been Arsenal’s priorities over the last few years, with both domestic cup competitions used as opportunities to hand chances to his fringe players, but Wenger admits that may not be the case this season.

“I said to the players we will go for everything we can, as simple as that,” revealed the Arsenal boss.

“And not really specifying one more than the other one that’s why I believe we are on a good run and we want to keep that going.

“It’s important to keep it moving no matter what competition it is. That’s what we want to do.”

Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Manchester City at Eastlands on Sunday has led many pundits to suggest the north London outfit could mount a serious title challenge this season.  The Gunners have also enjoyed a fantastic start to their Champions League campaign and top the Group H table with nine points from three games, scoring 14 goals in the process.

Wenger believes this season could be a successful one for his Arsenal side and has called upon his squad to fight for every trophy they can.

He added: “We are doing well in the Champions League and we have done well so far in the Carling Cup and we are back on track in the championship so it’s just all movement.

“I believe we have a squad good enough to go forward with trophies, that’s why I think: ‘OK let’s go as far as we can’. If needed we can still always choose later but at the moment it is important for everybody to think we go for everything we can.”

Wenger is expected to name a virtually full strength starting XI when Arsenal take on Newcastle later this evening.  The north east side saw off Chelsea in the last round and boss Chris Hughton may hand his youth and fringe players the chance to shine against Arsenal after their exploits against the league leaders in their last Carling Cup fixture (Match Betting – Newcastle 3/1, draw 11/4, Arsenal 5/6).

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