Pro Eleven Headline News

Manchester United Set To Hit the Front for the First Time This Season

Champions Manchester United have the chance to go top of the table for the first time on Saturday night as the battle for the English Premier League title begins to hit boiling point.

Victory at Bolton Wanderers would lift United one point clear of Liverpool, who are not in action until Monday night when they host Merseyside rivals Everton.

With one game in hand, United have the chance to add to the pressure on Liverpool, who were held to a goalless draw at Stoke City in their last match.

"You don't mind when you go top, but top is definitely the place to be," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. "Hopefully that's where we'll be by Saturday night."

United's recent run of form has been built around a rock-solid defence, with nine successive clean sheets. Five of their past seven league matches have been won by 1-0.

Injuries to Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra mean they will have to shuffle their pack at Bolton, and Ferguson revealed after Wednesday's 1-0 over Wigan Athletic they were not the only doubts for the game.

"Carlos (Tevez) limped through the second half and Jonny (Evans) limped through virtually the whole game," he said. "We will have to assess them and see how they are. We need our best team on Saturday because Bolton are a big side."

Fernando Torres, meanwhile, could start for Liverpool against Everton as they look to maintain their title challenge.

The Spaniard played 30 minutes as a substitute against Stoke after hamstring trouble, but could be thrown into the side from the start for what is a crucial derby.

"If you can score a goal against Everton in the derby it makes the fans really happy," Torres said, having scored three against their city rivals in the past two derbies.

"Before the last one against Everton I had people coming up to me telling me 'you have to win, you have to win' and 'you have to score'.

"I hope to play against Everton again this time and I hope to be able to score again," Torres said.

Torres' Spain colleague Xabi Alonso is also expected to be fit to play after a foot injury.

Chelsea, four points off the pace in third, host Stoke City while Aston Villa, one point further back in fourth, are away to Sunderland.

West Bromwich Albion will be hoping to move off the bottom of the table by beating Middlesbrough at the Hawthorns.

Blackburn, who head West Brom only on goal difference, host Newcastle United, while Tottenham Hotspur, the other side in the bottom three, welcome Portsmouth to White Hart Lane.

That match will see Spurs manager Harry Redknapp and striker Jermain Defoe facing their former side, but for Portsmouth, the match is solely about the result.

"A lot of people will talk about the game being Harry against Portsmouth but we'll just concentrate on getting the points," Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch said.

"There's a few that weren't in the team under Harry who will want to show that they should have been playing, so there might be a bit of that, but first and foremost we just want to win for Portsmouth."

In the weekend's other matches, fifth-placed Arsenal travel to Hull City and big-spending Manchester City - this week linked with a massive bid for AC Milan midfielder Kaka - welcome Wigan.

West Ham take on Fulham on Sunday. Sydney Morning Herald


Kaka, Milan set for Fiorentina clash

Much of the talk leading up to AC Milan's showdown with Fiorentina at the San Siro on Saturday has centered around Milan star Kaka, who is the subject of a transfer bid from Manchester City that is reported to be in the area of $150 million.

The Brazilian has dismissed the switch to England and pledged his future to the Italian giants saying, ""I want to grow old at Milan. My aim is to become, at some point in the future, the captain of this team."

The former FIFA World Player of the Year is saying all the right things, but there is still some uncertainty as to whether Kaka will be in a Rossoneri uniform after January.

Despite all the speculation, manager Carlo Ancelotti is only concerned with his team's play over the second half of the season, and he was able to gain confidence from his side's 2-2 draw with Roma last Sunday.

"We threw away the first half a little bit, playing with too little movement up front," Ancelotti told the club's official website. "The second half was played well, we commanded the match using our speed and ball possession, which we did not do in the first half. This second half gives me great confidence and optimism for the future, and makes me understand that the qualities of our players can give us advantages if they are supported by speed and determination.

"Certainly, a victory would have been important to have even more enthusiasm, but what I saw in the second half makes me think that we could see very good things in the second part of the season."

Ancelotti will be hoping for improvement in the team's results with Milan winning just two of its last six games in league play, which has left the club nine points behind leaders Inter Milan.

Marco Borriello, Gennaro Gattuso, Alessandro Nesta and Kakha Kaladze will all miss the match with Fiorentina, but the boss has already confirmed that on- loan midfielder David Beckham will once again be in the starting 11 after playing 89 minutes against Roma in his Milan debut.

Midfielder Martin Jorgensen is out for the Viola, while Pablo Osvaldo will be serving the first of a two-game suspension.

Fiorentina won four of its previous five games prior to last weekend's 2-1 defeat to Lecce, which dropped the team into sixth place in the table.

The other match on Saturday features second-from-the-bottom Reggina visiting Siena, which has lost its last four games.

Inter Milan was held to a 1-1 draw by Cagliari last time out, and the Nerazzurri will look to rebound with an away victory against Atalanta.

Juventus is four points back in second place and travels to top-half side Lazio, while fourth-place Napoli visits last-place Chievo.

Lecce hosts fifth-place Genoa, Udinese travels to Cagliari, Bologna sits two points clear of the drop zone and invades Catania, Sampdoria entertains Palermo and Roma, which has won six of its last eight games, visits Torino. Sports Network


Gilardino: I Will Celebrate Against Milan If I Score

Former Milan striker Alberto Gilardino will celebrate against his old team if he grabs a goal when Fiorentina visit the San Siro on Sunday.

The Italian international will return to Milan for the first time since leaving the Rossoneri for the Viola in the summer. Gilardino has been outstanding under Cesare Prandelli, scoring 12 goals in Serie A so far this season.

A Champions League place is the objective for his side this term and the striker is ready to help them get it as he hopes for maximum points at the weekend.

Many players prefer not to celebrate against their old teams, but the former Parma man doesn't fall into that category.

"If I score against Milan? Well, there is nothing wrong in celebrating," Gilardino told Il Corriere Dello Sport. "I cannot speak badly about Milan as they gave me a big chance. I left them because I don't like sitting on benches or in stands.

"I have found a great group of players here in Florence and a coach who values me.

"I am an instinctive player and I don't think there will be anything wrong if I celebrate."

Fiorentina will be looking to bounce back following their 2-1 shock defeat at home to Lecce last week. Goal


Eto'o warns Barcelona over complacency

Star striker Samuel Eto'o has warned Barcelona cannot afford to get caught out by complacency as they attempt to push their Spanish title surge into overdrive.

Barcelona face Deportivo La Coruna at Camp Nou on Saturday with a 12-point lead over Real Madrid and Sevilla.

"We can't afford to rest on our laurels because we've thrown away big leads before," said Eto'o. "We can't afford to get tired of winning."

Last week, Barcelona were indebted to Lionel Messi for keeping their season on track.

The Argentine, who was pipped by Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo for the World Player of the Year award on Monday, scored a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid in the Kings Cup and then a last-gasp winner in a 3-2 league win at Osasuna.

The manner in which Barcelona came from behind to win the game in the final ten minutes underlined their never-say-die attitude for manager Pep Guardiola that seemed to have evaporated under former coach Frank Rijkaard.

"This spirit is the only thing we can't afford to lose," explained Guardiola. "We all feel part of every game in every competition, that's a good thing."

Depor are enjoying a great season lying seventh, five points behind Real Madrid, and will hope to get over their midweek Kings Cup exit to Sevilla by becoming only the second team to defeat Barca in the league.

Barcelona have equalled the record points total of 47 for the first half of the season - set by Bernd Schuster's Real Madrid last season - and have one game left to better that mark.

Schuster is now gone and his successor Juande Ramos has started promisingly with Real, winning their last three league matches without conceding a goal.

Real host Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

"We have to continue what we are doing and see if we can win some silverware at the end of the season," declared Ramos.

"We are 12 points behind (Barcelona) and that is a lot but if we win our games the pressure on them increases."

Dutch winger Arjen Robben has scored in his last two matches and comparisons with Messi have been made in the Spanish media.

"Messi is the best in the world," said Robben. "He is on a different planet."

Sevilla, who reached the quarter-finals of the Kings Cup, are level on points with Real going into Saturday's home game against Numancia and can pull three points clear of the champions with victory.

Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid are desperate to keep Champions League rivals Sevilla on their radar - they are currently five points behind - but are low on confidence after four straight defeats, including a painful Cup exit to Barcelona on Wednesday.

Disgruntled Atletico fans flocked out of the Vincente Calderon turnstiles 10 minutes before the end of last weekend's Athletic Bilbao defeat and the players are probably relieved to be away at Almeria on Sunday.

Valencia, a point behind Real and Sevilla, had to play extra-time to overcome Racing Santander in the cup on Wednesday so the legs could be heavy for Sunday's trip to Athletic Bilbao.

"Bilbao are a difficult opponent especially at San Mames with their fans behind them," said Valencia winger Joaquin.

"We have had one day less to prepare and it is going to take it out of us to win there."

Fixtures

Saturday

Barcelona v Deportivo La Coruna, Sevilla v Numancia

Sunday

Real Madrid v Osasuna, Villarreal v Real Mallorca, Getafe v Racing Santander, Recreativo Huelva v Sporting Gijon, Valladolid v Real Betis, Malaga v Espanyol, Athletic Bilbao v Valencia, Almeria v Atletico Madrid AFP


Calderon steps down as Real president

Ramon Calderon's high-profile tenure as Real Madrid club president came to an abrupt end on Friday when he resigned from the helm of the Spanish giants.

Calderon gave the official confirmation at a hastily arranged press conference at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, but rumors had circulated all day that he would be standing down.

Calderon, who met with the Real board on Friday morning, was under pressure after allegations in the Spanish sports paper Marca that he had rigged the ballot at December's general assembly, effectively a vote of confidence in his leadership.

The 57-year-old lawyer launched an impassioned defense as he brought his reign to an emotional and tearful end.

"I deliver up my head, which has been persecuted so much since my arrival, because I hope it will help pacify a social mob who are permanently upset and in fits by news that the press spreads, which is exaggerated with complete disregard to moral codes.

"I walk away with clean hands and a clear conscience, and less money and health than when I started."

Vice-president Vicente Boluda will take charge until new presidential elections, which have been brought forward to this summer.

Calderon took control of affairs at Real after closely contested presidential elections in 2006.

He was initially popular with supporters as Real won back-to-back Spanish titles, but this season arch-rivals Barcelona are dominating the Primera, leading to the sacking of Bernd Schuster in December and his replacement by Juande Ramos.

Calderon's very public pursuit of Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, who eventually opted to stay at Old Trafford, also proved controversial.

But it was the latest allegations which have forced his departure and Calderon was at pains to issue another strong denial.

"I have nothing to hide and firmly deny all the lies that have been published by various media sources in the past few days," he added.

"The success of those who looked for my destruction is also the triumph of injustice and wickedness.

"I may have committed mistakes but never irregularities." CNN