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City set for titanic Rooney bid

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Manchester City (11/2 – Premier League Outright 2010/11) have admitted they are interested in Wayne Rooney and will monitor his situation closely after Sir Alex Ferguson revealed his star striker has asked for a move from Manchester United.

The mega-rich Manchester club are believed to be the favourites to sign the 24-year-old whose agent told United chief executive David Gill he would not be extending his contract at Old Trafford this summer (Man Utd 4/1 – Premier League Outright 2010/11).

Reds manager Sir Alex Ferguson kept the news in-house in the hope that the player might undergo a change of heart, but has now been forced to go public after a week of speculation leading up to Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Bursaspor.

Rooney, who memorably scored a hat-trick against another Turkish outfit – Fenerbahce – in 2004, will not be in United’s line-up this week after Ferguson declared he has an ankle injury.

“It was terribly disappointing that he wanted to leave. We just couldn’t understand it,” said the Scottish boss.

“We have to keep the door open because he is such a good player.

“We have done nothing but help him since he came to this club, that is why this is such a mystery to us. We’ve helped him with his private life and other matters.

“So we’re as bemused as anyone can be because we can’t understand why he would want to leave a club that is successful as we are in British football.”

City, who have ambitions to become the biggest club in world football, are the obvious candidates to make the highest bid (Man City Multiple Trophies).

They have links to Rooney’s agent, Paul Stretford, through the player’s sponsor Nike and an unnamed official has already spoken about the situation across the city.

“We hadn’t discussed signing Rooney until the last week because we never thought he would be available, just like we have never discussed signing Lionel Messi from Barcelona,” they told the Guardian.

“Now we know he wants to leave United we’re obviously going to monitor it closely.”

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Villarreal expect strong Hercules

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Villarreal (7/5 in Match Betting) coach Juan Carlos Garrido knows the Yellow Submarine will have to play well against Hercules (8/5) tonight to earn their sixth successive Primera Liga victory.

Garrido has warned his in-form squad to expect the newly-promoted team to make it tough and says they will need to give it 100 per cent to take all three points.

The Alicante-based club signed ex-Juventus striker David Trezeguet and Paraguayan hitman Nelson Valdez from Borussia Dortmund in the summer and have scored some impressive results already in the Spanish top flight.

“They’ve made a great investment with the signing of top players,” said Garrido.

“The only way to win on their pitch is by giving a 100 per cent, because they are a good group and have some big stars.”

The coach hinted at an unchanged side, which means strike partners Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi will continue up front.

He said: “It’s important to continue with the group and give a chance to players who have earned it in practice.

“We have a unit that works well, but there are players who can feel entitled to a starting place.”

The front two have combined for 11 goals between them this season and both names were on the scoresheet in Villarreal’s 2-0 win over racing Santander before the international break.

Hercules have managed only five goals this season, but did pull off a shock 2-0 win away to Barcelona and a 2-0 home win over Sevilla recently (4/5 Yes – Both Teams To Score).

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Henry faces up to Liverpool task

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New Liverpool owner John W Henry has admitted he faces a tough task in reviving the club’s fortunes but is confident the Reds will again be able to compete with the best soon (Liverpool 11/1 to be relegated).

Henry’s NESV group finally became the new owners of the Merseysiders on Friday following several nervy days of court battles both in the High Court in London and in Texas as former custodians, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, attempted to block the reported £300m deal.

Henry, who initially said he would not be watching the Merseyside derby at Everton on Sunday but in the end was at Goodison Park for the 2-0 defeat, admitted there is plenty of work to be done to get the club back among the elite – both on and off the pitch.

“What am I thinking? How much work this is going to be. How steep the learning curve is going to be. This is not going to be easy,” he said.

“We realise the challenge that lies ahead if we are going to go toe to toe with the other big clubs.

“We are not asking for a long honeymoon. This is a contact sport we are in and the going can get rough sometimes. We realise that.”

Henry plans to meet Liverpool fans’ groups in the next few days to listen to their concerns but he insisted he has a good track record in reviving sports clubs and hopes the success NESV have enjoyed with the Boston Red Sox can be emulated at Anfield.

“We are not going to make any promises but we are going to listen and consider,” he added in the Liverpool Echo.

“There were big financial issues but in the end we made a decision we really wanted to compete at this level.

“I don’t have ‘Sheikh’ in front of my name but we look at revenues in sports as being the ability to send out a strong team on the field.

“When we arrived at the Red Sox, the New York Yankees were a juggernaut and it wasn’t that much of rivalry.

“I believe we turned it into a rivalry where we have gone toe to toe with the Yankees even though they have got a much higher revenue.

“They keep going up but we have gone up faster. When we looked at Liverpool, the first thing that struck us was there are opportunities here to really build a winner.”

Liverpool’s revival on the pitch cannot come quickly enough following a shocking start that was compounded by the derby defeat on Sunday, but they have a Europa League clash next up on Thursday when they go to Italy to face Napoli (Liverpool 10/1 – Europa League Outright).

Under-pressure boss Roy Hodgson has yet to lose in Europe this term but the Reds’ dismal Premier League form so far has left his side second bottom of the table, ahead of West Ham but only on goal difference.

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Wenger unsure over Fabregas return

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Arsene Wenger says Cesc Fabregas is now fully fit again but the Gunners boss may not risk the Spanish ace against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday (Arsenal 4/6, Shakhtar 4/1, the draw 14/5).

The Arsenal skipper has not played since he picked up a hamstring injury in the 1-1 draw at Sunderland last month but has been making good progress in training and could play if required this week.

However, Wenger is keen to protect Fabregas and has hinted he may decide against playing the midfielder against their opponents from Ukraine, with Sunday’s trip to title rivals Manchester City in mind (Arsenal 15/2, City 11/2 – Premier League Outright).

“Cesc is available. He is good and has prepared well. He had a little setback but got over the hurdle and is ready to play at full fitness,” said Wenger.

“I do not know yet whether I start him or not but he is available. It will be (determined by) whether I take a gamble or not, because he has been out for a long time.

“I have to make up my mind but physically he is ready, fit and wanting to play.”

Theo Walcott, meanwhile, picked up a minor knock in training but is expected to be fit to face Shakhtar but Laurent Koscielny, Thomas Vermaelen, Robin van Persie and Manuel Almunia are all definitely ruled out of the game.

Arsenal will be hoping to make it three wins out of three in their Champions League group matches on Tuesday following victories so far over Braga and Partizan (Arsenal 10/1 – Champions League Outright).

Wenger is expected to make at least two changes from the side that beat Birmingham 2-1 on Saturday but youngster Jack Wilshere is tipped to start despite his sending off late on at the weekend.

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Braga urged to overcome stage fright

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Braga (4/5) coach Domingos Paciencia has urged his team to break their Champions League duck and record their first Group H win against Partizan Belgrade (7/2) on Tuesday.

The Portuguese club have made a miserable start to their debut season in the competition, following up their 6-0 defeat at Arsenal with a 3-0 home loss to Shakhtar Donetsk.

But the visit of the Serbian champions to northern Portugal gives Sporting Braga an opportunity to do compete on a level playing field – financially.

“We’re in a competition where we’re up against teams in a different boat to us, teams with a budget ten times the size of ours,” said Pacienca.

“To be able to match teams like that, we will have to see a very different Braga – a Braga side at the top of their game, playing their best.

“It’s our first time in the competition so it’s only natural that it’s tough, but it’s important for us to get second or at least third place to stay in Europe,” added the former FC Porto and Portugal striker.

The 41-year-old coach has been compared to compatriot Jose Mourinho after enjoying success early on in his coaching career, leading Braga to second place in the Portuguese Superliga last term and then knocking Celtic and Sevilla out to hit the European big time.

Braga’s home form was the key to their title challange last season as they dropped only two points at the Municipal, but they have struggled to make an impact in the rarified atmosphere of the Champions League and have only won two corners in two matches.

Partizan could be without Brazilian striker Cleo, recently linked to Liverpool, who missed their 5-3 win over Smederevo at the weekend with a minor knee problem.

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Hodgson gets Henry’s backing

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New Liverpool owner John W Henry has told boss Roy Hodgson and his Liverpool squad that New England Sports Ventures will ’support you and encourage you’ ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Everton (Everton 6/4, Liverpool 11/5, Draw 15/8 90 Minutes).

NESV’s head man Henry has chosen to speak out about the current manager and team following a meeting with them on Saturday, the day after the £300million takeover from former US owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks finally got the go-ahead.

And the current owner of the successful Boston Red Sox baseball team insisted that NESV will give them every opportunity to shake of their disappointing start to the Premier League campaign and begin to climb the table (Liverpool 15/2 Top 4 Finish).

Henry told the News of the World: “I think our message was simple: ‘We’re here to support you and encourage you’.

“Our feeling is we’re here to stabilise and to answer questions that might be lingering, and to just come in and have the same attitude we had in Boston.

“That is to be smart managers and to listen. Our first intention is under-promise but over-deliver.”

Henry claims NESV’s main aim with Liverpool is to get them consistently battling it out with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea in the same way they managed to get Boston on a par with baseball giants New York Yankees since taking over there.

However, he added: “It’s a huge challenge but we’re aware how much work it’s going to take to do that.”

Meanwhile NESV chairman Thomas Werner showed he is singing from the Henry’s hymn sheet when he pledged his support for Hodgson and the current staff at Liverpool in their pursuit of success (Liverpool 10/1 Europa League Outright).

And Werner also promised the supporters, who he compared to the Boston Red Sox faithful, that they will do all they can to achieve big things on Merseyside.

He added on www.liverpoolfc.tv: “They’re loyal, they’re passionate and it’s our good fortune to be stewards and we hope that we will take care of this extraordinary club and provide it with the resources and the commitment to win in the near future and hopefully restore some of its lustre.”

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Sevilla wingers doubtful for Gigon trip

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Coach Gregorio Manzano is looking to make it a hat-trick of wins for Sevilla (11/10 in Match Betting) when the Andalusians make the long trip north to face a struggling Sporting Gijon (12/5) on Sunday.

The former Mallorca boss has guided Sevilla to impressive back-to-back wins over Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid in his first two matches since replacing Antonio Alvarez, who was sacked after a run of one win in five fixtures.

Now, the resurgent rojiblancos face 16th-placed Sporting, who have picked up two points from their last four matches, although Sevilla striker Alejandro Alfaro is not expecting an easy game (8/1 Sevilla 2-0 in Correct Score Betting).

He said: “It will be a fiercely disputed game, but we’re working really hard and we are going there to win it.”

Sporting have a decent home record against Sevilla but lost both meetings with the Andalusians last season, but they catch a break with a couple of injuries potentially depriving Manzano of two key men.

Sporting coach Manuel Preciado recognises the opportunity that presents itself because Sevilla wingers Jesus Navas and Diego Capel may be missing from the line-up.

“It’s better for me,” he told Marca.”Possibly for the fans not, but for me it is. This team has great speed and if neither of them play it’s best for us.”

Sporting captain Rafael Sastre admitted in AS: “We all know the potential that Sevilla have. They have a squad of very versatile and, most notably, very fast players Capel, (Diego) Perotti and Navas being very good examples.

“The change of coach has been good for them, or so it seems, and now they are a more difficult team to beat than a few weeks ago.”

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Black Cats face another stern test

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Bet on Blackburn v SunderlandSunderland defender Michael Turner is expecting a really tough challenge at Blackburn Rovers (23/20 to win the game) on Monday night as the Black Cats prepare for another big month ahead.

In the last four weeks, Turner and co have faced Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United and come through those games unbeaten.

Steve Bruce takes his side to Ewood Park on Monday night to face a Blackburn side level on points with them as the sides sit just two points above the relegation places (Sunderland 12/5 to win the game, draw 23/10).

What will be a huge blow to Sunderland could be the loss of leading scorer Darren Bent. The former Tottenham man sustained a groin injury on England duty and is rated as doubtful for the clash. Their £13million Ghanaian signing Asamoah Gyan (15/2 to be first goalscorer) is set to take his place should Bent fail to make it.

Bruce is also buoyed by the return of Kieran Richardson, Anton Ferdinand and John Mensah, while Danny Wellbeck is available after being ineligible to play against parent club Manchester United in the last game.

Turner knows many Sunderland fans are looking for the side to step up and improve on their results from last season and finish in the Premier League top ten, but the defender is taking nothing for granted with more tough games against Aston Villa and local rivals Newcastle looming on the horizon.

“We have had a good start this year and we just want it to carry on,” said the former Hull defender.

“But we have got a tough game on Monday night and that is what we are concentrating on.

“We know it is going to be a huge contrast to Manchester United and Liverpool in the way Blackburn play, so we know we are going to have to be prepared and roll our sleeves up and be ready for what they throw at us.

“Every team in the league plays with a different style and it is about dealing with whatever is thrown at you.

“We will try to stamp our play on the game and concentrate on that, but we know we are going to have to deal with balls into the box and throw our bodies on the line to keep a clean sheet.”

Blackburn (6/1 to win the game 1-0) manager Sam Allardyce has injury concerns over captain Ryan Nelsen, who is struggling with a thigh problem, while David Dunn is likely to play some part after recovering from a hamstring sprain.

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Injury-hit Inter need win in Cagliari

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Serie A champions Inter Milan travel to face Cagliari (3/1 to beat the Nerazzurri) on Sunday without key men Esteban Cambiasso and Diego Milito.

Rafael Benitez’s men have picked up one point from their last two league matches and will be desperate to get their title defence back on track, particularly after rivals AC Milan and AS Roma won on Saturday night.

Cambiasso and Milito were injured on international duty with Argentina and are joined on Inter’s injury list by Thiago Motta, Ivan Cordoba, Goran Pandev and David Suazo. Youngsters Jonathan Biabiany and Philippe Coutinho are expected to start on the wings once more, having excelled against Bremen, while Samuel Eto’o is freed up to play down the middle.

But Inter’s problems pale in comparison to those of the hosts, who were beset by internal strife before the international break.

Cagliari coach Pierpaolo Bisoli froze out his captain Daniele Conti and his vice-captain Alessandro Agostini after the pair came to blows.

The club claims the issue has been resolved, although both players are expected to be on the bench on Sunday. The row was the last thing Bisoli needed after rumours emerged suggesting that the players were unhappy with his methods and that his job was at threat.

Cagliari were known for their attacking style under ex-coach Massimiliano Allegri, but they have lost their verve and Bisoli must rediscover it soon, for his own sake and that of the team.

Four of the six Serie A fixtures the Sardinians have played this season have ended 0-0.

However, Cagliari are free from injury and suspension worries.

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Henry wants winning mentality

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New Liverpool owner John Henry insists “we’re here to win” after he finally completed his protracted takeover of the Reds (Evens – Top Six finish).

The New England Sport Ventures group finally crossed the I’s and dotted the T’s on a deal after another day of negotiations, this time out of the High Court after Liverpool’s former owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks had their injunction against the sale dismissed.

Henry’s NESV group agreed in principle a deal to buy the club last week but had been held up by Hicks and Gillett.

However, the American duo finally admitted defeat on Friday meaning the £300million deal could go ahead.

Henry takes charge of a club who have made their worst-ever start to a Premier League season and find themselves currently entrenched in the bottom three with just one win from their last seven matches.

Liverpool (11/1 to be relegated) have looked a shadow of the side that pushed Manchester United all the way in the title race two years ago and Henry appears to have his work cut out to turn the club around.

The Reds’ first test under their new owners will come against local rivals Everton (6/4 to beat Liverpool) on Sunday, who themselves have also made a sloppy start to the season.

The Merseyside duo could both find themselves inside the bottom three by the time they kick off on Sunday – should either Wolves or West Ham win on Saturday.

It would be the first time the ‘friendly derby’ has seen the two sides both start the match in the relegation zone.

Henry has said he will tackle the club’s on and off-field problems “head on” as he looks to restore the Reds’ glory days.

“I am proud and humbled,” said Henry. “We have a lot of work to do and I cannot tell you how happy I am to have finally got the deal done.

“It’s too early to say what we’re going to do but we’re here to win, we have a tradition of winning – we (the Boston Red Sox) are the second-highest spending club in Major League Baseball and we’re here to win, we will do whatever is necessary.”

Given Liverpool’s threadbare squad Henry will be expected to invest heavily in new players if he is to give Hodgson the tools necessary to do the job he was brought in to do.

The former Fulham manager has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks given Liverpool’s poor start to the season, but hopes things will now get better.

Hodgson has admitted that the ownership saga and the instability of the club has taken its toll on the players and is now hoping the takeover will put their minds at rest ahead of Sunday’s big match.

“The fact is we have six points from seven games because we have lost games we should have done better in,” said Hodgson, when asked about how it had affected his players.

“But it would also be naive of me to think that these things don’t matter.

“We are very proud of club, very proud to work at club and when club is in a bad situation it is bound to affect you in some way.”

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