Holland

The 1998 European champions breezed through their qualifying campaign, winning nine and drawing one of their 10 fixtures to finish three points clear of Sweden at the summit.

However, it pays to note that their group contained the likes of San Marino and Moldova, making it difficult to assess the true condition of Bert van Marwijk’s side.

Their run to the 2010 World Cup final should be considered a triumph, even if their aggressive tactics were often criticised, as prior to that they had earned a reputation for freezing in the latter stages of major tournaments – as three semi-final defeats from their last five international competitions will testify.

The squad still contains the similar names we saw reach the final in South Africa, with the likes of Arjen Robben, Nigel de Jong and veteran Mark van Bommel all poised to pull on the famous orange shirt once more.

They have a solid, experienced and talented spine, with goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg well shielded by defenders Johnny Heitinga and Joris Mathijsen.

De Jong and van Bommel then provide further protection in midfield, allowing the likes of Robben, Wesley Snejider and Rafael van der Vaart time and space to feed the strikers.

And it is up front where Holland’s hopes rest. They smashed home 37 goals in their qualifying games with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar top-scoring with 12 (Huntelaar 20/1 – Euro 2012 top scorer), while Dirk Kuyt and Robin van Persie scored six each.

Their key man is undoubtedly van Persie. The 28-year-old enjoyed a memorable season in the Premier League with Arsenal, scoring 37 goals in all competitions and picking up the English PFA Player of the Year Award.

Van Persie is currently priced as the 10/1 second favourite to be top scorer at the tournament, with a van Persie/Holland double priced at a generous 20/1.

If he can transfer his form from the Emirates Stadium to eastern Europe, then the Oranje will take some stopping. However, you should also remember that the draw made in December was not particularly kind to van Persie and co, with Germany, Portugal and Denmark placed alongside them in Group B.

Their opening clash with Denmark on June 9 (Holland 8/13, draw 12/5, Denmark 4/1) should give them the chance to get early points on the board, with the Danes widely tipped to take the wooden spoon.

Given Germany’s impressive record at major tournaments it isn’t surprising that they and Holland are evens to qualify together from the group, even with the presence of Portugal providing a significant stumbling block.

If they can escape their group though then the potential quarter-final draw has been kind.

Group A is generally seen as the weakest of the four and van Marwijk will not be afraid of taking on Poland, Russia, Greece or the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals, which would then leave them just 90 minutes away from a second consecutive tournament final.

With pre-tournament odds of 11/4 it is clear that once again Holland go into a major tournament heavily fancied to do well. Their talent has never been in question but their temperament has, with the accusation often being that they are a team of individuals rather than a force greater than the sum of their parts.

With holders and 5/2 favourites Spain travelling without key defender Carles Puyol and possibly striker David Villa, the door is ajar for another side to play their way into contention.

If the Dutch can safely negotiate an admittedly difficult group then there is no reason why they cannot reach the latter stages (Holland 11/4 to reach the final), with van Marwijk’s greatest challenge ensuring they remain a collective unit.

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Chelsea v Aston Villa 3pm

The Blues will be glad to see the back of 2011 after 12 months full of disappointments and realisations that their squad of superstars are starting to look a bit over the hill. Andre Villas-Boas is trying to change all that but so far has found it tough going. Boxing Day’s 1-1 draw with Fulham effectively ended their title challenge, according to the Portuguese coach, in a move which looks like a bit of reverse psychology. Villas-Boas will hope his team responds to the challenge against Aston Villa, a game that might prove tougher than they expect.

Villa fans have also had to endure a torrid 2011 and will no doubt head to Stamford Bridge full of trepidation about what is to come. No doubt Alex McLeish will set his team up to be tough to beat, as he did at Stoke on Boxing Day when they managed to keep the Potters at bay. As such a win for Villa seems highly unlikely but a draw might not be beyond the realms of possibility. The draw is priced at 4/1, a good looking bet when you consider Chelsea’s last three games have ended 1-1.

This game is likely to be a low scoring affair and with Chelsea struggling to find the back of the net it could be another long afternoon for the Blues faithful.

Bolton v Wolves 3pm

2012 is likely to bring heartache for one, if not both, of these clubs as they battle against the drop. We might be in December but the result of this clash at the Reebok Stadium could go a long way to deciding who splits their year between the Premier League and the Championship.

Bolton fans will have been bitterly disappointed with their display against Newcastle after the win against Blackburn. The news that Gary Cahill is off to Chelsea is only likely to darken the mood at the Reebok Stadium heading into the new year. The Trotters have won once and lost eight of their nine games at home this season and there is already an air of inevitability regarding relegation at the Reebok Stadium it seems.

Wolves will be seen as very beatable by Owen Coyle but are likely to prove a tough nut to crack given their great rearguard display in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Tuesday. Five points from the last five matches might not be anything to shout about but at least it shows a bit of progress. Wolves are 23/10 to win at Bolton, a decent price in a game which is likely to be a tight affair.

Wolves might never have won at the Reebok Stadium but even with history on their side it just looks like being one of those seasons for Coyle and co.

Norwich v Fulham 3pm

Mid-table mediocrity beckons for these two teams in 2012, something the Canaries will be delighted about given that this time two years ago they had just moved into the top two in League One. Norwich have managed to continue that winning feeling that has surrounded Carrow Road in the last two years and have been the surprise package in the Premier League this season.

Paul Lambert’s men might have been outclassed by Tottenham on Tuesday but will have expected that given the quality they have. It’s games like this one against Fulham they will have targeted to take three points from.  They have already won four games at home this season and with Fulham perennial strugglers on the road the omens look good for Norwich.

Fulham impressed against Chelsea on Boxing Day but will admit that if it hadn’t been for keeper David Stockdale things could have been different. All does not seem well at Craven Cottage, with reports of manager Martin Jol falling out with players continuing to surface. Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora didn’t even feature at Stamford Bridge and until Jol can make the squad his own the Cottagers are likely to be a mixed bag.

A Norwich win is 13/8, with the draw on offer at 9/4 and Fulham at 7/4. We fancy Norwich to rack up yet another win and keep the good times rolling into the new year.

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Celtic

The Bhoys have endured a difficult season both on and off the pitch, with defeat to Rangers in the the Co-operative Insurance Cup final and losing out to their Old Firm rivals by one point in the race for the league title.

There have also been death threats to manager Neil Lennon to contend with, as bullets and parcel bombs were intercepted while en route to the Northern Irishman.

Add in the four-match touchline ban that the boss received for his altercation with Rangers assistant Ally McCoist and it is clear that the Glasgow giants could do with an end-of-season boost to go into the off-season in good spirits.

They are strong favourites to lift the trophy on Saturday afternoon and are a short price to beat Stuart McCall’s men either in 90 minutes, in extra time or by penalties (Celtic 1/4 to win Scottish Cup).

If recent form is anything to go on then Celtic have every reason to be full of confidence, having beaten Well 4-0 in the final match of the season last weekend, but form tends to go out of the window in cup finals and the Steelmen are not without hope.

They did pull off a 2-0 victory over Lennon’s side at Fir Park back in February, with a John Sutton brace good enough to take the points, and the goal-scorer on that occasion has already pointed to the importance of getting an early goal against the Hoops.

The Celts possess better footballers and will doubtless try to dictate the game if they take the lead and so the first goal will be crucial in determining the destination of the trophy.

Well only drew seven SPL games all season and appear and ‘all or nothing’ side, capable of upsetting the best or being blown away, with a 3-3 draw against Hearts prior to a 5-0 defeat to Rangers and a 4-0 reverse to Dundee United towards the end of the campaign emphasising the point.

McCall has no injury worries ahead of the final and Darren Randolph is expected to return in goal having missed the league game at Parkhead, with Steve Jennings and Maurice Ross also in contention to feature.

Lennon will be without winger Shaun Maloney, who has a calf strain, but Kris Commons is back after serving a suspension and Anthony Stokes will be considered having been dropped for the final league match for disciplinary reasons.

In truth, Celtic should beat Motherwell comfortably but it has been an odd season for the Glasgow outfit and they could be in for a tough encounter against a Motherwell side who have nothing to lose and who are all “fully focused” on the job, according to McCall.

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England

Rotherham-born Howard Webb has been chosen to referee Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Holland in Johannesburg (Holland 13/5, draw 12/5, Spain 21/20).

The 38-year-old will be joined by his English assistants, Michael Mullarkey and Darren Cann.

Webb is the first Englishman to referee the final since Jack Taylor took charge of the Holland v West Germany game in 1974.

He has refereed three World Cup matches in South Africa and has neither shown a red card nor awarded a penalty.

However, Webb has handed out an average of 5.67 bookings per game – the second highest tally in the tournament.

Webb made his World Cup finals debut in Spain’s shock 1-0 defeat by Switzerland.

He was also in charge for Slovakia’s 3-2 victory against Italy and was praised for his handling of a dramatic finale to the match.

Taylor said Webb had been “almost perfect” in the three games he has officiated so far.

“I’ve known Howard for a long time,” Taylor told the BBC. “I’ve seen him as a young referee and I’ve seen him come through, I’ve seen his ability.

“He’s had three games and he’s been almost perfect.

“He’s fit, he’s strong, he’s diplomatic, he reads the game terribly well, in my opinion they couldn’t pick a better man.”

Webb’s achievement comes off the back of a highly successful season for him and his assistants after they officiated the Champions League final in May when Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in Madrid.

Premier League referees chief Mike Riley says those experiences mean all three men will be more than prepared for such a high-profile match.

“As a team they will be prepared for the challenges and I’m sure they will be more than looking forward to the occasion,” he told the BBC.

Webb, a former police officer from Rotherham, started officiating in the Northern Counties League in the mid-1990s.

He has been a Premier League referee since 2003 and took charge of the 2007 Carling Cup final and the 2009 FA Cup final.

One of Webb’s assistants, Mullarkey, recently revealed how Fifa training sessions had included preparation for the noise of the vuvuzelas in South Africa.

Mullarkey said: “When we’re doing our training exercises Fifa is actually playing recorded sounds of vuvuzelas through the speakers.

“For three hours a day we’re exposed to that sound which helps preparation.”

Meanwhile, Italian Roberto Rosetti quit refereeing on Thursday but said his decision had nothing to do with allowing a clearly offside goal in the World Cup.

The 42-year-old, who took charge of the Euro 2008 final, has opted to retire and become the referee designator for Serie B less than two weeks after Carlos Tevez’s goal was allowed to stand in Argentina’s 3-1 win over Mexico in the last 16.

“The disappointment of the World Cup did not influence my decision,” Rosetti said.

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Ballack was unable to secure a new deal with Premier League champions Chelsea and moved to his former club in the Bundesliga.

The 33-year-old is still ambitious about his future and is looking to bring success to Leverkusen as they look to challenge for the league title.

He said: “We want to win the league in the near future.

“My ambitions are still very high. I have always been playing to win trophies over the last decade and we can do that with Bayer too.

“Of course Bayern are the top favourites, but there is such great potential here in Leverkusen and we should also go a long way in Europe,” he added.

Ballack stated that he was shocked not to be offered a new deal at Stamford Bridge (Chelsea 13/8 to win the Premier League next season) after he helped the west London side secure their first domestic double in their 105 year history.

The former Bayern Munich midfielder would be captaining Germany at this summer’s World Cup in South Africa but for an ankle injury he picked up in the final game of the season for Chelsea in their win against Portsmouth in the FA Cup.

Ballack is still a key player for the national side and is determined to continue his career at that level after he recovers from injury.

He said: “Of course I still want to play for the national team and I have my eyes on Euro 2012.

“I will be 35 then and we will have to see nearer the time what happens (with a new contract). My health also plays a very big role.

Ballack will regain his favoured number 13 shirt when he plays for Leverkusen and could feature as the captain next season however the player is taking nothing for granted.

He said: “That is up to the coach,” he said. “I don’t have to be the captain to assume responsibility.

“Simon Rolfes is a great captain and has filled the position well and I think that it will remain that way.”

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Manchester United

The 68-year old has denied speculation that he will be retiring at the end of next season and has recently stated that his health is the only factor that would see him leave Old Trafford.

Ferguson saw his side win the League Cup this season and run Chelsea close for the Premier League title.

The Scotsman, who has been at the club since 1986, would only leave the club if they were in a ‘good, healthy’ position.

He said: “If we hit a bad spell, it would not be the right time to go.

“I would not want to put the new manager into a situation where he was taking over a bad team,” he added.

The United boss is already looking to next season as he hopes to regain the Premier League title from Chelsea.

Ferguson said: “It’s a challenge. A few years ago it was Arsenal,  then it was Chelsea, and each time we’ve managed to raise the bar at our football club – and that is exactly what we are going to do next year.”

The manager was close to retiring from football back in 2002 but changed his mind after he saw his team suffer a poor run of form.

Ferguson also revealed that his wife Cathy had a big influence on his decision after he felt that 60 was a good age to retire.

United’s chief executive David Gill has stated that the manager will have a substantial transfer budget to buy players this summer.

The Old Trafford club have been linked with a number of players including Aston Villa midfielder James Milner and Joe Cole, whose contract at Chelsea ends this summer.

New signings may be coming to the club in the next few weeks as transfers get rushed through before the World Cup in South Africa starts, which will increase the cost for potential targets.

United have already made two signings in the form of defender Chris Smalling and striker Javier Hernandez and will be hoping to make a few more additions to the squad in an attempt to bring the Premier League title back to Manchester.

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