Fabio Capello

That the unpopular Domenech was actually still in charge of Les Bleus in South Africa baffled many onlookers given the fact France – the 1998 world champions – were forced to qualify via the play-offs – who could forget the Thierry Henry handball against the plucky Irish in Paris?

However, the former Lyon chief announced before the World Cup that he would be stepping down – he surely would have been sacked anyway post-tournament – which made him a lame-horse boss unable to work closely with his players.

Laurent Blanc was the choice to replace Domenech and it is the decorated former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Manchester United defender who will lead France into battle against Capello’s England at Wembley on Wednesday night.

Blanc’s status – he won 97 caps for his country over an 11-year spell – meant he was always going to be given time to work his magic and France top their Euro 2012 qualifying group having taken nine points from their four games so far.

England are also ticking over nicely in second place in Group G, three points behind surprise leaders Montenegro who have played a game more than the Three Lions.

The forthcoming midweek friendly in London pits international managers against each other who are at very different stages in their respective career because Blanc is 44, while Capello, 64, will retire when his deal expires in 2012.

The England squad was hit by three withdrawals at the weekend in the shape of John Terry, Ashley Cole and Gabriel Agbonlahor – Gary Cahill, Stephen Warnock and Carlton Cole have all now been called up – to add to high-profile absentees including Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe and Frank Lampard.

Up front that means Peter Crouch with 41 international caps is the elder statesman and almost certain to start as he bids to add to his tally of 21 England goals.

With England the home side they will be looking to start on the front foot and 6/1 for Spurs man Crouch to get the better of a defence that could include Arsenal duo Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna.

Should Crouch need any further incentive then the chance to strike an early psychological blow ahead of the north London derby against the Gunners at the Emirates would not go unnoticed by his club boss Harry Redknapp.

The beanpole striker could be partnered with Newcastle sensation Andy Carroll – fitness permitting for the youngster – and Crouch would surely thrive alongside another big forward.

As depleted as England’s option are in attack, France’s striking options don’t look a whole lot better as, 31-cap Karim Benzeman aside, Blanc’s other three hitmen – Kevin Gameiro, Guillaume Hoarau and Loic Remy – ‘boast’ just nine caps and one goal between them. For the record Remy – 3/1 to score anytime – has the goal.

Like Crouch, Benzema is sure to start at Wembley and while he is just into double figures in international goals, carrying the burden of his country at the age of 22 is a big ask for a player yet to convince since joining Real Madrid.

In the absence of Franck Ribery, much will rest on the shoulders of Chelsea star Florent Malouda who jointly leads the Premier League goalscoring charts (Malouda 18/1 to get his nose in front by the end of the season).

Malouda is likely to relish the chance to run at a defence lacking club-mates Cole and Terry and 25/1 for the 30-year-old to score two or more goals looks tempting despite the fact he only has five strikes to his name in 61 games.

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Arsenal

The Toffees are unbeaten in their last seven games in the top flight – a record that was kept alive in midweek as former Leeds United striker Jermaine Beckford bagged his first Premier League goal, four minutes into injury time against Bolton to salvage a point.

Everton though will be without midfielder Marouane Fellaini after he was given a straight red during the match against Bolton but there is good news for the Toffees in that Dutch defender John Heitinga is set for a return following his recovery from a knee injury.

Jack Rodwell could also make a return to the starting line-up as the talented youngster has overcome an ankle injury which has forced the player out of action since August.

The 19-year-old was expected to be on the sidelines until Christmas but Rodwell has recovered weeks ahead of schedule and could be troubling the Gunners defence on Sunday.

However, Arsenal will be confident as they go into this game having scored four or more goals in a match against Everton in eight of their 36 Premier League games.

The North London side picked up a valuable away win against Wolves in midweek to keep in touch in the title race as Manchester United and City played out a goalless draw.

Arsenal will be hoping that they can continue their strong away Premier League form having won their last three games on the road, scoring nine goals in the process, and at 6/5 for an away win the Gunners look more than capable of bagging all three points at Goodison given their current form.

In the other Sunday game, league leaders and defending champions Chelsea take on Sunderland in what should be a one sided game at Stamford Bridge.

Sunderland did play well on their last trip to the capital as they frustrated an attacking Tottenham Hotspur side at White Hart Lane, recording a 1-1 draw in North London on Tuesday night and they would be delighted if Asamoah Gyan can get on the score sheet at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea do have their injury problems as Frank Lampard will be sidelined for a further three weeks after he picked a muscle injury in training, while the Blues will also be without midfielder Michael Essien, who was sent off in their midweek win against Fulham.

Despite these absentees, Chelsea will be confident of picking up all three points after they put seven goals past Sunderland in their last meeting.

It is difficult to see Sunderland getting anything out of this one as they have won only one of their last 24 matches away from the Stadium of Light and Chelsea are expected to win comfortably (Chelsea 8/15 to be winning at half-time and full-time).

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England

The 29-year-old Chelsea skipper appears to have suffered a recurrence of an old injury which required surgery to rectify back in 2006.

And, while it is not known how severe the injury is, Capello has sent Terry back to Stamford Bridge for treatment and the Blues will hope he will not face a lengthy absence from their bid to retain the Premier League title (Chelsea 8/13 Outright).

Terry’s absence means that Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who is making his comeback from the knee injury that ruled him out of the World Cup finals, is set to partner either Manchester City’s Joleon Lescott or Bolton’s Gary Cahill in the centre of defence for the game.

Cahill was drafted into Capello’s plans when Everton’s Phil Jagielka pulled out due to a hamstring problem, while Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing came into the reckoning when Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon withdrew with back trouble.

However, the Football Association has revealed that it will make do with the players currently available to them, despite Terry’s withdrawal.

Terry’s absence means he has only played one game for England since the World Cup – a friendly win against Hungary in August – after a hamstring injury ruled him out of the opening two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland.

Lescott performed well in the win against the Swiss in Basle and will no doubt pip Cahill for a start alongside Ferdinand on Tuesday.

The Three Lions go into the game aiming to continue their 100% start to their qualifying campaign against a Montenegro side which tops Group G (England 1/7 Group Winner) after winning their opening three matches.

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Chelsea

The 32-year-old is expected to return to the Blues starting line-up when Arsenal arrive at Stamford Bridge having sat out the 2-0 victory over Marseille in mid week.

Drogba has been at his imperious best this season as he helped Carlo Ancelotti’s men get off to a flying start, winning their first five Premier League matches before they came unstuck against Manchester City last weekend.

Chelsea looked off colour at Eastlands last Saturday but were somewhere near their best in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Drogba and his team mates will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing Arsenal having won the last four meetings against their London rivals.

Drogba has been the scourge of Arsenal since he joined Chelsea in 2004, scoring 12 goals in 10 starts and two substitute appearances against Arsene Wenger’s men.

Drogba (5/1 to score two or more against Arsenal) got both goals in last season’s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge, while also getting a brace at the Emirates Stadium in the 3-0 win.

Last season’s golden boot winner says he is expecting a tough encounter on Sunday given Arsenal’s start to the season, with the Gunners having won four of their first six.

“I can say that I am a bit lucky because I scored a few goals against them,’ he acknowledged.

“Every game is different. I remember some games when we played well against Arsenal, but this one will be a different one, I don’t know how.

“It is a strange start to the season for me, I scored goals and made some assists but I am not really 100 percent yet with the surgery I had in pre-season so it is a bit difficult for me to catch up but I am doing my best and I hope that maybe in one or two weeks I will be better.”

The Gunners (7/1 Premier League outright) are expected to be missing a number of star names for the clash with Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Cesc Fabregas, Nicklas Bendtner, Thomas Vermaelen and Manuel Almunia all unavailable.

Chelsea have their own injury problems, although not as bad as Arsenal, with Jose Bosingwa, Yossi Benayoun and Salomon Kalou all out.

Despite the two club’s injury problems fans can still expect Ancelotti and Wenger to name to starting elevens packed with internationals as they look to maintain their push for the Premier League title.

The game is likely to prove to be a good acid test of the pair’s title credentials this season, although Drogba refuses to say a defeat to either side will badly dent their hopes.

“I won’t say [it is] critical because the season is long. Last year Arsenal were 10 points behind us and they came back and they were fighting for the league with three games to go, so it’s going to be a big game, an important game, but not one that will say Chelsea or Arsenal will be champions,” Drogba added.

“I think we can beat anybody but we can also lose against anybody, that’s football and you want to win when you come to the pitch but you never know if you’re going to win or not.”

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The England international, who fired a hat-trick against Bulgaria at Wembley a week ago, suffered an injury against Switzerland on Tuesday night and will now miss up to three months of action.

A Spurs statement on their website confirmed: “Following a review by an ankle specialist, Jermain Defoe underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right ankle yesterday [Thursday] evening.

“The striker was forced off with the injury during England’s European Championship qualifier in Switzerland on Tuesday and has been ruled out of action for around three months.”

Ironically, Defoe was only playing for his country after managing a groin problem without the need for an operation.
Spurs start their Champions League challenge on Tuesday with a trip to German side Werder Bremen before it concludes early in December with a trip to Dutch outfit FC Twente (Spurs 40/1 – Champions League Outright).

But Redknapp will be without Defoe so must choose between Peter Crouch, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Robbie Keane up front as he looks to negotiate Group A which also contains reigning European champions Inter Milan.

Defoe’s loss is the second blow for Redknapp after defender Michael Dawson was ruled out for eight weeks with a knee and ankle ligament problems, also picked up on international duty with England.

Spurs return to Premier League action on Saturday with a trip to West Brom as they bid to bounce back from the home defeat to Wigan at the end of last month.

Meanwhile, Spurs’ new-boy, Rafael van der Vaart, says he sees no reason why the club cannot overtake Arsenal to become London’s second best club behind reigning Premier League champions.

“Why not?” said the 27-year-old midfielder, “Arsenal have a great team also with a lot of young players but our squad is not worse than Arsenal’s.

“I think we will have a chance to win against them and also, over the season, we can try to beat them.

“I already spoke with Robin [van Persie] and he said it is the greatest derby in the world.

“I’m looking forward to playing in the derby.”

Spurs can be backed at 11/4 to repeat last season’s top-four finish in the Premier League.

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The French Football Federation announced that the 22-year-old would not be risked on Friday night in coach Laurent Blanc’s first competitive match in charge since taking over after the disastrous World Cup finals campaign.

Although tests on Benzema’s right ankle showed a slight improvement, it was deemed to be too much of a risk for him to play at the Stade de France.

The ex-Lyon star will continue to receive treatment with the FFF hopeful he may be fit for Tuesday’s game with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A statement from the FFF read: “Benzema will not be included in the team selected by Laurent Blanc to face Belarus. We hope he will be able to return to the squad for next Tuesday’s game against Bosnia in Sarajevo.

Guillaume Hoarau (4/1 First Goalscorer) is expecetd to lead the line against Belarus with Loic Remy (5/1) dropping in behind him with the Paris St Germain striker revealing they were forming a good understanding on the pitch.

“His game completes mine,” said Hoarau. “Everything will depend on what we do on the field, on the spark that we inject into the team’s game. We had a big training session on Tuesday and already the understanding is emerging, even though most of the side haven’t played together before.”

Chelsea star Florent Malouda (11/2) is set to be the most experienced international in France’s starting line-up with several new faces given an extended run, such as Jeremy Menez (11/2) who will start on the right.

Louis Saha (7/2), despite having made only one Premier League start and two substitute appearances for Everton this season, is set for a spot on the bench with Nicolas Anelka having been banned for ten matches.

The former Fulham and Manchester United striker revealed he has used leeches to help his chronic knee problems which have sidelined him for long periods in the last few years.

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Bristol City

The former Reading, Crystal Palace and Manchester City manager only took over at Ashton Gate in April but has decided to walk away from the Championship club after a disappointing start to the season.

The Robins were humbled 3-0 by newly promoted Millwall on the opening day of the season before being embarrassed by League Two outfit Southend in the Carling Cup, losing 3-2 to the Shrimpers.

The Robins (23/10 v Doncaster- 90 minutes) were one of the pre-season favourites to gain promotion having appointed Coppell, who has a great deal of experience getting sides promoted to the Premier League.

City’s hopes of reaching the top flight were given a further boost after they signed England international goalkeeper David James on a free transfer.

However, despite the big build-up Bristol City’s season has been undone before it has even got going following Coppell’s announcement.

The 55-year-old hasn’t given a specific reason as to why he has left Ashton Gate but did confirm that he was retiring from football management.

He said in a statement released through the League Managers’ Association: “It is with the deepest regret that I confirm my departure from Bristol City. I have made my decision after very careful consideration and I believe that it is in the best interests of both the club and me personally that we go our separate ways.

“I appreciate that the timing of my departure is not ideal, but I believe it is best for the club to appoint a new manager or indeed appoint Keith Millen, who has a deep knowledge of the club and the squad, at this stage of the season.

“I am retiring from football management but still feel I have a contribution to make to the game sometime in the future. I would like to sincerely thank the chairman and the board for their understanding and I wish the club and its supporters every success.”

Bristol City (6/1 – to be promoted) chairman Steve Lansdown has now been forced to turn to Millen, who acted as caretaker manager for much of last season following the sacking of Gary Johnson.

Millen, who applied to become the permanent manager at the end of last season, has been given a three-year contract having done well during his time in charge last season.

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West Brom

The Scotland international had been a summer target of West Ham, with Albion turning down three bids from the Londoners for the 23-year-old.

He only agreed a new deal with the Baggies in January but, underlining how desperate Roberto Di Matteo was to hold on to him, Dorrans was offered fresh terms and he has now penned a new four-year contract with the option of a further year after that.

The midfielder scored 18 goals in all competitions to help West Brom (40/1 to be top Midlands club next term) win promotion back up to the Premier League last season and Di Matteo is looking forward to building a team around him in the top flight.

“I’m delighted Graham has signed a new long-term contract, which is fully deserved,” the boss said on the club’s website.

“He made excellent progress last season and we’re now very hopeful he can make the step up to the Premier League.

“There has been a lot of media speculation about Graham’s future, but it hasn’t affected him one bit.

“Ever since he has reported back for pre-season training, his attitude has been as spot on as it always is and I know for a fact how much he’s looking forward to the new season.”

He added: “The exciting thing is that Graham knows he still has a lot of work to do and is yet to reach his full potential.”

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Owen Hargreaves

The 29-year-old midfielder, who United signed from Bayern Munich for £17million in 2007, only returned from an 18-month knee injury absence at the end of last season when he featured in several reserve-team matches and made a three-minute substitute appearance in the 1-0 Premier League win at Sunderland.

However, while Hargreaves’ return was too late for him to be considered for Fabio Capello’s England squad for the ill-fated World Cup campaign in South Africa, it was hoped that he would be fit to start the new league season when newly-promoted Newcastle visit Old Trafford (United 1/5, Newcastle 10/1, draw 9/2 – 90 Minutes) in mid-August. But United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has now revealed that Hargreaves picked up a fresh problem in training and will miss the club’s upcoming pre-season tour of America in order to see a specialist in the States.

“He will not be ready for the start of the season,” Ferguson told MUTV. “I do not know when he will be back.”

The disappointing news on Hargreaves follows on from the news that central defender Rio Ferdinand will also miss the Newcastle match on Monday August 16 due to the knee injury he picked up in training ahead of England’s first World Cup group stage match with the United States in June.

Ferguson added: “Rio will probably not make the start of the season. It will be close. It depends on his progress over the next few weeks.”

There is some good news for United fans as Antonio Valencia, Nani and Michael Owen should all be fit for the new campaign after recovering from respective hamstring, shoulder and hamstring problems, while Anderson is making good progress in recovering from the cruciate knee injury he suffered last September.

United depart for their training camp in Chicago on Monday.

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Brazil

The former Manchester City midfielder was forced off against Ivory Coast after a strong tackle by Elephants defender Cheik Tiote and broke down in training on Tuesday as he looked to prove his fitness to coach Dunga.

Elano will now sit out the quarter-final showdown with Holland in Port Elizabeth on Friday as A Seleção look to make the last four for the 11th time ever (Holland 16/5, draw 11/5, Brazil 20/21 – 90 Minutes).

Brazil’s team doctor told the media: “I’m not saying that he won’t be able to play again at this World Cup but he won’t be ready for Friday.

“He has bad bruising and it was after he trained on Sunday that he said that he was having problems.

“The bone is swollen and we have to release the pressure on it so he will do nothing strenuous for the rest of the week.”

“We still hope he can play next week but I can’t say that he will be able to categorically.”

Elano has scored two goals during the tournament so far despite missing the games against Portugal, in Group G, and Chile in the second round.

The pressure is on the Samba Kings after quarter-final eliminations at the last two World Cups in Germany and Japan & South Korea as they bid for their sixth world crown.

Former Arsenal star Gilberto Sliva, 33, is probably playing at his last World Cup and he admits he is looking to make it third time lucky after appearing at the 2002 and 2006 editions of the tournament (Gilberto 13/2 – Anytime Goalscorer).

Ahead of the clash with the Dutch, who topped Group E with three wins out of three, Gilberto admitted he has full belief in the Brazilians’ chances of going all the way to Soccer City, Johannesburg on July 11 and lifting the trophy.

He told FIFA.com: “The mood in the squad is very good at the moment, everyone is enjoying a lot what we’re doing for our country.

“Everyone is hungry to achieve one more trophy for Brazil. This is what we talk about all the time.”

Gilberto added: “We expect a very hard game because Holland have got a quality team with very good players.

“We know that (if) we give them space it will be very difficult for us and we could have a problem. This is what we want to avoid.

“We have played against Holland in these big World Cup matches before and it will be an emotional game. But I’m sure we will do our job as we did against Chile.”

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