Pro Eleven Headlines
Totti And De Rossi Make Derby Squad
Roma legend Francesco Totti is likely to feature at some point during tomorrow night's Derby against Lazio, even though he is struggling with an injury...
Roma captain Francesco Totti had to abandon the training pitch on Friday after he went down with a knee problem.
Totti has been suffering from the same on-going injury all season and there were fears he would be forced to skip the game of the season thus far.
However, after a number of tests and exercises, the captain has been included in Luciano Spalletti's squad list.
The former Italian international trained as normal with the rest of the team during Saturday afternoon and no problems were reported.
Daniele De Rossi has also been given the nod. His wrist injury is not as bad as at first thought, and he may feature.
Rodrigo Taddei has also been struggling to make the grade.
However, Alberto Aquilani will have to watch from the stands as he has not been able to shake off a muscular problem.
Spalletti is likely to put together a makeshift side for the game. Roma are desperate for points as well as some pride.
A win is neccessary in order to stop them falling into the drop zone - and to restore some confidence in the team.
They are currently 14 points behind Lazio.
Mirko Vucinic has said that his side's ambition was to finish second in Serie A but that will seem unlikely if they fail to do the business. Goal
Arsenal suffer setback as Chelsea, Liverpool move on
Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United all won on Saturday to continue their Premier League title charges while Arsenal further damaged their chances after losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa.
Villa struck twice in the last 20 minutes, with Gael Clichy heading in an own goal, to seal their first win at Arsenal in 15 years.
Arsenal were condemned to a fourth league defeat of the season and are now nine points behind the leaders.
Chelsea and Liverpool still marched abreast. Rafa Benitez eased past Bolton 2-0 and Nicolas Anelka's two goals led Chelsea to a 3-0 victory over last-place West Bromwich Albion.
The two sides are at joint top on 32 points with Chelsea ahead on goal difference.
Manchester United took advantage of Arsenal's defeat and moved into third place by thumping Stoke City 5-0 at Old Trafford with Cristiano Ronaldo twice on target for the champions.
United are eight points behind Chelsea and Liverpool but have agame in hand.
Tottenham went back into the bottom three after their unbeaten run under new boss Harry Redknapp were snapped by a 2-1 defeat to Fulham.
Sunderland jumped from 19th to 11th place after a 2-1 victory at Blackburn Rovers, who sank into the relegation zone.
Ten-men Wigan snatched a last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Newcastle while West Ham's search for a victory goes on after they were held 0-0 at home by Portsmouth.
The win at Bolton ensured Liverpool maintained the pressure on their rivals as they seek their first title since 1990.
Dirk Kuyt brilliantly headed the visitors in front from Fabio Aurelio's cross after 28 minutes.
Bolton, who were outplayed for long stretches, mounted a spirited effort after the break only for any hope of a comeback tobe snuffed out by Gerrard's close range header with 18 minutes left.
"We were under pressure so that goal was very crucial for us," Betinez said of the Gerrard goal, "after that, the game was over."
"We had two or three clear chances in the first half and at the end we could have had a couple more, but the second goal was the key."
Anelka was again in the spotlight as Didier Drogba, who is facing Football Association charges after throwing a coin into the crowd in their midweek Carling Cup defeat against Burnley, was put onto the bench by Scolari.
Jose Bosingwa opened the scoring on 34 minutes, smashing his shot into the top corner. Anelka ran clear to dink home a second four minutes later and then made it 3-0 before the break after latching on to Salomon Kalou's pass.
At the Emirates, Clichy headed Ashley Young's cross into his own net after 70 minutes and Gabriel Agbonlahor raced clear to add a second 10 minutes later to give Villa a deserved win.
The result undid all Gunners' good work of upsetting Manchester United last Saturday and is massively frustrating for Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
"It was a very bad afternoon because we were not sharp physically and beaten everywhere in the first half," said Wenger.
"We can play very well, but at the top level performances have to be consistent.
"I always say the first sign of quality is consistency, so this was frustrating after beating Manchester United."
Schuster Unruffled By Madrid Defeat
Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster is remaining "calm" despite seeing his position at the Spanish giants further placed in doubt following Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Real Valladolid.
Madrid and Schuster went into the clash at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla under the spotlight after a series of poor recent results was capped this week by their embarrassing midweek Copa del Rey exit to Segunda Division B side Real Union.
Media reports in Spain suggested Schuster would be fired if Madrid lost to Valladolid this weekend, and that speculation is likely to increase after the two-time Primera Liga champions went down to a Fabian Cannobio strike just after the break.
Schuster, whose side had defender Gabriel Heinze sent off late on against Valladolid, knows the defeat complicates things for him, but the German is refusing to panic.
"I'm calm, we are working hard, but it is clear that this result doesn't help. It's a ground where we didn't want to lose," he was quoted as saying after the match by Marca.
However, Schuster did admit in AS he was "concerned and disappointed" by the defeat, which was Madrid's fourth in their last eight matches in all competitions.
"We did not deserve to lose, we had no fortune. We changed our style of play because we lacked some men but, nevertheless, aside from the goal, our opponents did not cause us an problems," added Schuster, who was without
Ruud van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben, Mahamadou Diarra, Pepe, Ruben de la Red and Christoph Metzelder.
"We didn't suffer in defence and we had chances to score."
Schuster was reluctant to talk about the possibility of his job being under threat, but did say: "Last year we also experienced some difficult moments and we got through them."
Real Madrid Hunting For Strikers
Having been rocked by the news that Ruud Van Nistelrooy will be out for the rest of the season, Real Madrid have wasted no time in drawing up a list of targets to fill the void...
As soon as Ruud Van Nistelrooy was ruled out for the season, Real Madrid embarked upon a quest to sign a replacement. The list appears to have been narrowed down to three names.
The most realistic possibility appears to be Ricardo Oliveira. The Brazilian received a salary increase to remain in La Segunda, and is on €2.3 per season at Real Zaragoza, with a €30 million buy-out clause included in his contract. Zaragoza, however, will be willing to accept bids of around €20 million. The major advantage of this option would be that Oliveira would not have to wait until the transfer window to move, and could play in the Champions League.
The next option is Hernan Crespo, who, at 33 years of age, is nearing the end of his career. He has not been registered for the Champions League, so being cup-tied would not be an issue, but any transfer would have to wait until the window opens on January 1. Real Madrid have sent scouts to to watch Crespo in training. However, Jose Mourinho is not keen to sell the Argentinean. Despite giving him less playing time than Javier Saviola is getting in Madrid, the Portuguese has stated that " If Crespo is important for Madrid, then he is also important for Inter."
The final target is the Brazilian Vagner Love, from CSKA Moscow. The forward has scored 30 goals in the last two seasons, is only 24 years old, and would also be eligible to play in the Champions League. His asking price is also around €20 million.
In case none of these moves come to fruition, there are other options for Real Madrid, although these are more complicated. Carlos Tevez will cost €38 million, Klass-Jan Huntelaar is injured until January, and Genoa will not sell Diego Milito for less than €30 million. Indeed, when Genoa president Enrico Preziosi was quizzed on the matter, he replied "We will not sell Milito. They can buy Crespo."
