Arsenal are seemingly nailed on at 1/12 to secure one of those Champions League berths – which may be reduced to three depending on the result of the this year’s final – but the Gunners will be keeping a close eye on proceedings on Wednesday with Tottenham (8/11), Chelsea (11/10) and Newcastle (6/1) all in with a chance of closing the gap.

Arsene Wenger’s men have at least a four-point cushion over their rivals but have played a game more, and victories for the two of the three chasing clubs will really set up an exciting run in.

Chelsea v Newcastle 7.45pm

Chelsea have been in tremendous form under Roberto di Matteo, losing just one of 16 games under his stewardship, and go into the match on the crest of a wave, having knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League as well as crushing QPR 6-1 in an embarrassingly one-sided west London derby on Sunday.

Fernando Torres looked every inch the star footballer that persuaded Roman Abramovich to splash out £50m to sign him from Liverpool  and he won the man of the match award after scoring a hat-trick.

It has been a difficult season for the Spain hitman and that treble doubled his league tally for the season to six, although he has scored 11 goals in total in 47 appearances in all competitions.

However, it was the manner of his performance that will have got the Blues fans excited – with two cup finals approaching – as he looked sharp and dangerous and wanted the ball, as well as finding the net on three occasions.

Whether he starts remains to be seen as di Matteo may opt to change things around again but if he does start, he has to be considered in the goalscoring markets.

Newcastle have surprised so many for so long and a recent six-match winning streak kept them firmly in the hunt for a top-four finish.

However, that run was emphatically ended at the weekend and although it was no disgrace to lose to Wigan at the DW Stadium, given Latics recent run, the manner of the defeat and the 4-0 scoreline leaves cause for concern.

The Magpies do not usually travel well to Stamford Bridge, having not won there in 18 matches, but should provide more of a test than the Rs as they have kept 14 clean sheets this season – only the Manchester clubs have kept fewer – and have a distinct goal threat in the shape of Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba.

Branislav Ivanovic is a welcome return for the Blues as David Luiz and Gary Cahill are still ruled out and given the way they have been playing recently, coupled with the fact they won 3-0 at St James’ Park, Chelsea should come away with the points (Chelsea  8/15, Draw 16/5, Newcastle 11/2 Match Betting).

Bolton v Spurs 8pm

Spurs managed to rediscover the winning formula over Blackburn last Sunday, easing to a 2-0 win in a match where Rovers did not muster a single shot on goal, either on or off target.

Whether the Lilywhites rediscover the spring in the step that made them a title challenger earlier in the season now that the England situation has been sorted out (although it was never an issue in the first place apparently) remains to be seen, but they still remain in the hunt for a top-four place despite a horror run of form.

Harry Redknapp’s men had won just one of nine matches going into the Rovers clash although they did get the better of Bolton during that time in the FA Cup.

That cup win over the Trotters did come at White Hart Lane though and they need to turn around a dismal away run to keep pace with the likes of Newcastle, Chelsea and of course Arsenal.

Spurs have not won any of their last eight Premier League away games and have not scored in the last four, although they are the favourites at 10/11 in the match betting to end that run on Wednesday.

However, it could come down to a question of whose need is greater with Bolton knowing any kind of positive result will take them out of the bottom three with just two games to go.

Owen Coyles men are priced at 3/1 to pick up maximum points although a draw, given the Trotters defensive woes this season, at  13/5 could be the way to go.

Spurs have never won at the Reebok and are hardly in the best of nick, while Bolton are unbeaten in the last three Premier League games which gives sway to a positive ‘home’ argument, despite the fact that the Lancashire outfit has picked up more points on the road this term.

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Chelsea

Rooney has told United he wants to leave Old Trafford, citing the club’s lack of ambition to secure the world’s top players as the reason behind his decision to call time on his stay with Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

Chelsea are one of a small group of clubs who could afford to capture the England international and Terry is keen to link up with Rooney at club level having been an international team-mate for a number of years.

“Wayne is one of the best young players in the world,” said Terry. “I am no different to any other player in saying that.

“You obviously have to respect Manchester United and Wayne, but who knows what’s going to happen.

“We’ve got a great squad of players and he would add to that and strengthen the squad. He is the best player in the world for me.”

If Chelsea decide to move for the former Everton striker he will compete with the likes of Didier Drogba and Anelka for a place in the starting eleven. Anelka insists he would love to partner Rooney in attack and the Frenchman remains hopeful Chelsea will try and convince Rooney to move to London.

“Rooney is a good player, everybody knows his quality,” Anelka explained.

“If he wants to come to Chelsea then he is welcome, but I am not the owner.”

If Chelsea do move for Rooney they are likely to face competition from at home and abroad, with Manchester City the current favourites to prise the 24-year-old away from United (City 7/4f to sign Wayne Rooney).  Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has admitted he would welcome Rooney at the Bernabeu, although he expects him to stick with United, while Spanish champions Barcelona are also believed to be keen.

Chelsea face Wolves on Saturday after seeing off Spartak Moscow in the Champions League on Tuesday, with both Terry and Anelka expected to feature in the tie with the Premier League strugglers (Match Betting – Chelsea 1/7, draw 6/1, Wolves 14/1).

Manchester United travel to Stoke on Sunday but Rooney will play no part as he is suffering from an ankle problem and it remains to be seen whether he will feature again for United after expressing his desire to quit the Premier League heavyweights (Match Betting – Stoke 4/1, draw 5/2, United 4/6).

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Manchester United

The 30-year-old last played for the Three Lions when he came on as a substitute in a 1-0 defeat to France in March 2008 and he was never a contender for the current squad to play Montenegro in Tuesday’s Euro 2012 qualifier.

Veteran Bolton forward Kevin Davies has finally been called up for international duty and Owen, who has scored an impressive 40 goals in 89 appearances for his country, believes he could still do a job for England (England 9/1 NOT to qualify for Euro 2012).

He told the Daily Mirror: “I haven’t resigned myself to never playing for England again.

“But I’m not stupid enough to get myself worked up before every squad’s announced and then go ‘oh no, the world’s caved in and I’m not in it again’.

“Everyone deals with things in different ways. The first time I wasn’t named in the squad I was really gutted. The second time I was pretty gutted, the next time I was just gutted and so on.”

Owen has only started two of United’s games so far this season but has scored three goals, and he remains hopeful that the call from England will come again at some point. However, he admits he does not expect to see his name in the squad every time Capello confirms his selection.

“I’d love to play for my country again, but I don’t look out for the squad expecting my name to be in it, unless someone phones me to tell me otherwise,” he added.

“I still have a lot of friends in the team and you can’t play for your country for as long as I did and not still have an interest in how they’re doing.”

Owen will be hoping to feature for United against West Brom next weekend after he came off the bench recently to score a vital goal in the 2-2 draw at Bolton.

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The 19-year-old has impressed in recent seasons for the Toffees and established himself in the Everton line-up towards the end of the last season.

England coach Capello has been widely tipped to introduce a new generation of stars with many believing Rodwell should be the man the side is built around.

Alongside the Everton youngster, Arsenal pair Kieran Gibbs and Theo Walcott and Manchester City’s Adam Johnson and Joe Hart are all tipped as the players to take England forward to the European Champions in 2012.

Rodwell scored four times for the Toffees last year and says he is hoping that scoring more goals from midfield could be the key to catching Capello’s eye.

Rodwell has been one of the stars of Everton’s recent tour to Australia and opened the goalscoring in their final match against Brisbane Roar.

“It was a nice way to sign off the tour,” said Rodwell. “It was good to get another win and to be on the scoresheet, which is my main aim for next season – to get more goals.

“Any goal counts but obviously it was a bit special to get a goal like that. The top players in the world, the Gerrards and the Kakas, score from long distance and that is something I am aiming to work on in my game. I am still young so hopefully I can keep improving.”

Another England hopeful Leighton Baines also commented that the tour had been a satisfying exercise for his side.

“It was a good tour for us and the teams we have beaten have been of a decent standard,” said Baines.

“We played some decent stuff and there are still plenty of top players to come back. The three victories were good and overall we are pretty pleased.”

Tim Cahill was the only player who played in the World Cup to take part in the tour of his homeland with Steven Pienaar, Tim Howard, Joseph Yobo, Yakubu, Jan Mucha and John Hetinga all due to meet up with the squad in the next few days.

Everton start their Premier League campaign on Saturday 14 August against Blackburn and Rodwell is hoping this will be the season where he becomes a key component in manager David Moyes’ side (Everton 8/5 to beat Blackburn).

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The curtain falls on the Spanish domestic season tonight with the encounter between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla in the Copa Del Rey Final.

This game could easily go all the way and end up being decided on penalties such is the closeness of each side’s abilities. The draw is available at 3.25, with the inform goal machine Diego Forlan going at 6.00 to score the first goal at PartyBets.com.

Chance to silence sceptics

Both sides have performed inconsistently throughout the 2009/10 season but both managed to salvage their season’s right at the end. Atletico Madrid enjoyed Europa League success with a 2-1 win after extra time against a determined Fulham side in Hamburg, whereas Sevilla came out on top of an epic tussle with plucky Real Mallorca in a fight for fourth place and Champions League football next season. Both sides now have the chance to turn their season into a truly memorable one.

Sevilla (2.60) finished five places higher than Atletico (2.60) in the final league standings and go into the final as slight favourites. However, Sevilla coach Antonio Alvarez has stated that the two sides will be evenly poised at Camp Nou.

“I do not like to go in as favourites. That can stir up the pride of the opposition. We come with a 50 per cent chance. It is you [the media] who have to say those things, we respect Atletico Madrid a lot,” he said at a press conference.

Advantage Sevilla

Sevilla managed to find some winning form in the run-in, winning six and losing three matches of their last nine. Atletico on the other hand have already proven this season they can win cup competitions and produce the goods in the games that really matter.

These two sides played each other twice this season with Atletico winning their home match 2-1 and Sevilla winning 3-1 at home as well.

You Can Bet On This Outcome: Atletico Madrid v Sevilla

The team news for Sevilla is that Brazilian forward Luis Fabiano is injured and will play no part in the Final. Fernando Navarro will be missing from the weakened defence and Avero Negredo is suspended.

Atletico face no major injury worries and welcome back their star players who were given a rest at the weekend.

Related posts:

1. Back Sevilla To Beat Getafe In Copa Del Rey Semi Final
2. Atlético Madrid and Valencia Clash in all-Spanish Europa League Quarter-Final
3. La Liga Predictions: Atletico Madrid On Path To Europe

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Roma have turned up the heat on Inter Milan in this season’s title race and nothing but a win over their city rivals on Sunday will be acceptable if they are to land the Scudetto.

It would be a mistake to judge this match based on current league standings with Lazio languishing down by the relegation zone, Roma are going to be favourites but a win for Ranieri’s side is far from a safe bet.

Lazio have been playing well in recent games and are unbeaten in their last five having won 3 and drawn 2. Roma are on an incredible run which has taken them all the way to the top of the league and are unbeaten in 8 matches having won all of their last 5 outings.

Roma just edge Lazio in recent head to head meetings having won 3 of the last 5 clashes with Lazio claiming the other 2. When they last played each other in December Roma won 1-0.

With just five games left to the conclusion of the Serie A season, this derby will be a closely contested encounter with both sides having a lot to lose in defeat. Because of this and the fact this tie has not ended in a draw for three years, back it to end all square in a 2-2 score line available at 12.00 with PartyBets.com

Related posts:

1. Fiorentina V Roma Will Be Too Close To Call
2. Roma Stay Top After Derby Win Over Rivals Lazio
3. The Big One: Inter Take On AC In Milan Derby Clash