Carlo Ancelotti’s laughing this morning. After losing at Villa last week he must have looked at the table and thought “Uh oh. One more defeat and we’re gonna be choking on United and Arsenal’s dust, maybe even City’s!” but a 4-0 victory in Europe coupled with a 5-0 victory over Blackburn on Saturday will have reaffirmed his faith. Still, both Arsenal and United were in positions to overthrow his side at the top of the Premier League (although Arsenal would have had to wait until their game in hand to do so) with games that on paper, looked like three points each.

Arsenal will hope their mediocre week of mediocrity can be left behind after surrendering a last minute equaliser against AZ in Europe on Tuesday they managed to go one better by surrendering a two goal lead at Upton Park yesterday. An absolute gift of a first goal from Robert Green was repaid in kind by Vito Mannone at the other end for West Ham’s first, while a lack of concentration from a harmless throw handed The Hammers the equaliser they didn’t look like getting for seventy minutes.

Carlton Cole was in fantastic form, playing the target man role as well as any I’ve seen in The Premier League, strong, quick feet, head-up, tidy, like Bobby Zamora with a shot at the end of it. He and Gallas went back and forth for ninety minutes and with Cole grabbing the first goal and winning the penalty for the second you’d have to say he got the better of it over the ninety minutes.

Robin van Persie’s failed header count almost reached double figures during the game when he flicked his neck into thin air as the ball threatened to mess-up his tidy quiff, a tame headed effort in the dying moments from a fantastic Sagna cross was blocked by Green guaranteeing West Ham the point. How they’re in the bottom three of the Premier League is anybodies guess. Yesterday’s result should give them the impetus to drive up the table.

It will take a few months for Sir Alex to erase the image of Rafa Benitez’s face at full-time yesterday from his memory. A satisfied, relieved, but ultimately reassured Benitez saw his side dominate United for 95% of the game. Only when Michael Owen was introduced with fifteen minutes to play did United really look like getting their first goal.

Berbatov’s lack of urgency frustrated and blunted United’s attack, rendering Wayne Rooney a spectator throughout, his passing was so wayward and his mind too far behind the play, Manc fans must be wondering how much longer they have to wait for Danny Wellbeck or Kiko Macheda to get a proper run in the team.

On the flip side, despite an awful refereeing display from start to finish, Lucas and Mascherano had fun in the gap that Darren Fletcher’s injury had left. Scholes and Giggs really struggled to match the energy and fight of Liverpool’s midfield. Yossi Benayoun seemed to have trouble connecting the final ball but Torres’ diving and niggling around Evra, Ferdinand and Vidic was bound to pay off as long as United weren’t offering anything at the other end (and they really weren’t).

Three straight victories for Liverpool over United then, is that the first time that’s happened since Fergie took over? It feels like it might be. Fuck researching it though.

As if my predictions for yesterday’s games couldn’t get any worse, Fulham came back to equalise against Manchester City and Everton managed to keep their European form going with a 3-2 defeat at The Reebok Stadium. How many predictions did I get right I hear you say? None? Yeah none. So what?

PREMIER LEAGUE

(predictions in brackets)

Bolton-3 Everton-2 (0-2)

Liverpool-2 Manchester United-0 (1-3)

Manchester City-2 Fulham-2 (2-1)

West Ham-2 Arsenal-2 (0-2)

Arsenal, United and City are all in action today, taking on West Ham, Liverpool and Fulham respectively. If all things go according to form, the top four of the Premier League come 7PM will involve all three clubs and Chelsea. The way things are looking, that top four won’t change for the rest of the season.

Arsenal are more than capable of losing at West Ham today. Their only London derby of the campaign so far was a tight 1-0 win at Fulham, which could have gone against them at various moments in the second half. If the North London club really want to be seen as challengers to United’s crown, only three points will do; however they get them. Arshavin, Fabregas and van Persie must avoid being physically dominated by a neat West Ham spine and the budding partnership of Gallas and Vermaelen will be relied upon to supply only their third league shut-out of the season.

United and Liverpool go head to head in an hour or so, I’ve got analysis fatigue when it comes to this game, you can read my thoughts on it here, here and here.

Manchester City will expect a win today but shouldn’t underestimate Fulham who took Roma to the wire on Thursday night. Hangeland will take heart from Bramble’s performance against Adebayor last week for Wigan, while Hodgson will have to think long and hard about his best options up-front. An away goal is needed, does he have the man to get it? Jonathan Greening should look forward to lining-up again after a fantastic performance in Europe.

Bolton and Everton both take indifferent form with them to The Reebok Stadium this afternoon. Moyes will have to put his side’s thrashing at Benfica behind him as he attempts to break down a stubborn Bolton side. Megson on the other hand, will rely on Davies to bully a bonding Everton defence into making the mistakes that may decide the game. Everton’s classy attacking players will need to make efficiency their main objective today.

My predictions for the fixtures are…

PREMIER LEAGUE

Bolton-0 Everton-2

Liverpool-1 Manchester United-3

Manchester City-2 Fulham-1

West Ham-0 Arsenal-2

The day of reckoning has finally arrived, a selection of Liverpool fans squealed down their phones at talk radio hosts this morning, declaring everything from “It’s the owners fault and Rafa’s god!” to…well that’s about all they said. No league title in nineteen years, £200Million spent in five and it’s the owners fault, it couldn’t possibly be the manager of whom, it has been established, has easily had the talent on his roster during his tenure to prevent over-reliance on the two (three if you include Mascherano, although he’s the only one of the three that can’t carry the side on his own) players he currently relies on.

I think enough has been said about the potential outcome of today’s game. A United side without Fletcher in the big game can be opened up, but a Liverpool side without etc. can be found etc. just as easily.

HULL AND POMPEY HURT MY EYES

Spurs dropped a home point against Stoke when they fell asleep in the last five minutes. Were they so pissed off at not finding the winner that they collectively decided to concede the goal to teach themselves a lesson? Tony Pulis won’t mind though, as I said yesterday, he’s already planning for a third season in the Premier League.

Chelsea put five past Blackburn, adding to the six they leaked in London against Arsenal last week. While the result may never have been in doubt (especially with Franco Di Santo barred from playing against his parent club) the manner in which Chelsea banished their Aston Villa demons was forceful and a little bit spiteful, (in a good way) sending on another striker at 5-0.

Hull and Pompey played out a 0-0 draw. Nothing more to say about the game. I hear a few Hull fans talking about Phil Brown being allowed to take this season to its natural conclusion as he made it when he kept it in The Championship in his first season etc. I don’t think that flies though as he’s clearly not getting the best out of his side and hasn’t for almost twelve months. The pool of talent willing to take on the challenge may be smaller than it would have been in the summer but I can’t see Hull in the Premier Leaugue next season at this rate, I can’t see them stringing two wins together as things stand. Pompey at home, right now, is as close to a banker as this league will throw up for Hull.

As predicted, Villa bottled their chance to climb above Arsenal into the top four with a 1-1 draw against Wolves, which, while including a fantastic Gabby goal, could have seen Wolves claim two more penalties than they eventually won. Michael Kightly continues to impress me.

Wigan claimed an important away victory at Burnley, who took the lead through Steven Fletcher who I think will find the net more regularly as the season goes on. Brian Jensen’s slip and eventual injury offered Hugo Rodallega the equaliser on a plate but his second goal was pure class. A win that was always likely for Wigan, but one that Martinez may be looking back on come May with some satisfaction.

Steve Bruce took his brand spanking new Sunderland side down to Birmingham to face his former club yesterday and felt the full-wrath of a side possessed. Great sprayed passing from Seb Larsson carved open Sunderland’s improving central defence on several occasions. A class showing from McFadden reminded many what a player he can be on his day and but for a narrow miss in the dying moments of the game, Darren Bent could well have secured an equaliser for The Black Cats.

STILL NO WIN FOR KEANE

The way Ipswich ended last season, under new coach Roy Keane, promised a real threat this term. Something’s gone wrong though, Keane lost a few Magilton players, brought in a few Sunderland lads and the balance is gone. The way Plymouth are playing at the moment a victory was there for the taking, but yet again Ipswich seemed satisfied with the point. The Suffolk side are a win away from escaping the drop-zone which will keep him in a job for at least another week, but the amount of investment fed into this side (not least on Keane’s wages) will see demands increase as the weeks move on. They can still mount a play-off challenge but they’ll have to get their skates on.

That play-off push is already hotting up with further wins for Bristol City, QPR and Cardiff, while Blackpool could only manage a draw away against Swansea. Preston, Sheffield United and Derby’s potential promotions look further away in my mind.

Let’s see how my predictions went, here’s a prediction, not so well?

PREMIER LEAGUE

Birmingham-2 Sunderland-1 (1-2)

Burnley-1 Wigan-3 (1-0)

Chelsea-5 Blackburn-0 (2-0)

Hull-0 Portsmouth-0 (1-2)

Tottenham-0 Stoke-1 (2-0)

Wolves-1 Aston Villa-1 (1-3)

THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Barnsley-2 Bristol City-3 (1-2)

Coventry-0 West Brom-0 (1-1)

Crystal Palace-1 Nottingham Forest-1 (1-1)

Derby-2 QPR-4 (0-2)

Newcastle-2 Doncaster-1 (3-0)

Peterborough-3 Scunthorpe-0 (1-1)

Plymouth-1 Ipswich-1 (1-2)

Preston-2 Middlesbrough-2 (2-1)

Sheffield United-3 Cardiff-4 (3-2)

Swansea-0 Blackpool-0 (1-2)

LEAGUE ONE

Brentford-2 Stockport-0 (2-0)

Brighton-0 Oldham-2 (1-2)

Bristol Rovers-1 Yeovil-2 (2-1)

Carlisle-2 Southend-1 (2-0)

Colchester-2 Walsall-1 (2-0)

Exeter-1 Wycombe-1 (1-1)

Gillingham-1 Charlton-1 (1-2)

Hartlepool-1 Tranmere-0 (3-1)

Huddersfield-4 Leyton Orient-0 (1-2)

Millwall-2 Leeds United-1 (1-2)

Norwich-1 Swindon-0 (3-1)

Southampton-3 MK Dons-1 (2-2)

LEAGUE TWO (Saturday fixtures)

Barnet-3 Darlington-0 (3-0)

Bournemouth-3 Grimsby-1 (2-0)

Bradford-1 Hereford-0 (1-1)

Bury-2 Rotherham-1 (1-2)

Chesterfield-5 Burton Albion-2 (1-0)

Lincoln City-0 Torquay-0 (1-0)

Macclesfield-2 Dag & Red-2 (1-3)

Morcambe-2 Northampton-4 (1-1)

Notts County-2 Crewe-0 (3-2)

Port Vale-1 Cheltenham-1 (2-0)

Rochdale-1 Accrington Stanley-2 (2-1)

Shrewsbury- 3 Aldershot-1 (3-1)

Henri Lansbury celebrates for Watford

Despite an unappetising fixture on paper, last night Watford (horrible home record) and Sheffield Wednesday (horrible away record) put on a show The Championship could be proud of (less so Wednesday who were deflated early by a couple of 50/50 decisions from the officials).

Malky Mackay’s young squad is finding its rhythm this season in no small part thanks to Tom Cleverly (on loan from Manchester United) and Henri Lansbury (on loan from Arsenal). It was the latter whose star shone brightest at Vicarage Road last night with the footwork, vision and confidence of an Arsenal first-teamer. Henri played on loan in League One last season, helping Scunthorpe to the play-offs at the first time of asking, unfortunately he missed the final with a foot injury but did manage to shake it off for the Arsenal youth FA Cup Final when a side lead by himself, Jay-Emmanuel Thomas (currently on loan at Blackpool), Jack Wilshire and Francois Coquelin (expect him to grace the Premier League before season’s end) pummeled an underdeveloped Liverpool side into oblivion in front of some 20,000 at The Emirates Stadium.

An aura of class surrounded Lansbury last night as Wednesday grew weary at his presence, he began to find it easy to draw space and ultimately supply the killer touch; two top quality finishes and a fantastic assist topped off a fantastic evening for the North-of-London side. His and Cleverly’s loan-spells come to an end at Christmas and if Watford are to have a chance of the play-offs this season he’ll need to protect them from burn-out and hope Wenger and Fergie do him a solid by letting them stay until May (Wenger’s the more likely with Watford’s training ground a stones throw from London Colney).

TOP DIVISION

Champions League and Europa League fixtures have rendered the greatest kick-off time in the world somewhat flaccid this afternoon.

Sunderland at Birmingham should be a spicy meatball with Bruce taking a performing team back to St Andrews where he found himself a little mistreated (although I think he learned a lot from that period and righted a lot of wrongs in his approach, certainly the media, but also to other managers). Darren Bent will be hoping to continue his fine run of form with a winner in what’s shaping up to be a tight affair in the West Midlands. Despite investment, Phillips remains Blues’ greatest goal threat to my eye, but Chucho can unleash his clear potential at any moment…still waiting though.

Burnley will be hoping to scare a growing Wigan side into an away defeat at Turfmoor today, Martinez’s side must find consistency if they’re to draw themselves away from the bottom seven in the early stages of the season.

Chelsea host Blackburn, who will have nothing to lose (scoring two goals at The Emirates and still being humiliated shows there’s not an inch given that isn’t taken away with gusto in the top-four). The West-London side’s form has been erratic so far, looking unplayable at their best and clueless at their worst, problems in the Ancelotti family may work in their favour as the Italian’s influence may be proving a little Scolari-esque with the dropping of Carvalho and the insistence on starting Deco proving potentally ominous signs.

Paul Hart will see a trip to Hull as the best and probably last chance of saving his job before the new owners at Portsmouth get rightly pissed-off and give him his marching orders. The steady improvement in the Pompey side over the last few weeks should see the South-Coast side pick up the away win against Phil Brown’s clueless side. A lack of biting edge in the final third could well prove their undoing though. If they’re to claim the much needed three-points, Dindane’s going to have to concentrate when it’s time to pull the trigger.

Spurs will continue their fine start to the season (remember their start last season? What a difference a twitchy con-man can make) at home to Stoke today. Despite Tony Pulis’ men performing fantastically in the league already this season, I wouldn’t expect them to collect any points today. Still; it’s worth noting the comfort with which Stoke sit in the Premier League this season, a worthy and settled addition to the top division, if they snatched a draw I wouldn’t be surprised but I can’t really see it.

Wolves host Villa in the early kick-off (twenty minutes in fact. I’d better hurry-up). Villa will see the local derby as an opportunity to improve on their shocking tally of just twenty-two shots on target all season. The opportunity to sit in the top four, if only for a twenty-seven or so hours may prove daunting to a Villa side that last season failed to match their expectations when Saturday came.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Birmingham-1 Sunderland-2

Burnley-1 Wigan-0

Chelsea-2 Blackburn-0

Hull-1 Portsmouth-2

Tottenham-2 Stoke-0

Wolves-1 Aston Villa-3

THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Barnsley-1 Bristol City-2

Coventry-1 West Brom-1

Crystal Palace-1 Nottingham Forest-1

Derby-0 QPR-2

Newcastle-3 Doncaster-0

Peterborough-1 Scunthorpe-1

Plymouth-1 Ipswich-2

Preston-2 Middlesbrough-1

Sheffield United-3 Cardiff-2

Swansea-1 Blackpool-2

MY LEAGUE ONE AND LEAGUE TWO FIXTURES CAN BE FOUND HERE

I’ve just had to sacrifice eight points to swap Cattermole who’s out for three months for Ryan Giggs, van Persie who I should remember to never buy ever again for Drogba and Carlton Cole who I can’t see scoring on Sunday for Rodallega.

Fantasy.PremierLeague.com

I feel a bit Liverpool obsessed this week, I probably have been all season though to be fair. I didn’t expect them to challenge for the title this season and had serious doubts about their top-four credentials depending on whether Villa, City, Spurs or Everton got their shit together early doors. With the exception of the latter (Everton will pull a run together after Christmas) they’ve all exceeded my expectations so far; both in terms of success and quality. Liverpool’s current run of four straight defeats, while always a possibility, was never a probability in my mind; that said, it’s happened and Rafa finds himself staring down the barrel of Fergie’s loaded gun praying for a result, that on current form, would be nothing short of a miracle. He pulled one out the bag last season though, in probably the funniest ninety minutes I’ve seen in a long time. As if to imply that Benitez’s job is very much under consideration but that he shouldn’t worry about it on Sunday, George Gillett of Gillett and Hicks fame declared “Our family is extraordinarily pleased with him” . Wait a minute, that suit, that beard, that Spanish accent…does Gillett think Rafa’s his butler? Gillett must have known he was buying a shambles and an international joke when he bought Liverpool, I think; he thinks all English companies are Fawlty Towers! He’s creating cross-over comedy gold, imagine those two rich guys from Trading Places, bought and ran Fawlty Towers, with hilarious results. We’ll base it in the North, we can tie in the whole “Beatles” thing, we’ll make it about soccer, if it’s not working we’ll draw out some great guest stars (sixty-seven in five years). Sorry guys, it doesn’t work without 1980s Eddie Murphy. If you think you can just replace him with Ryan Babel you are sorely mistaken, we’re a savvy bunch sirs, we can tell the difference. News that Rooney may be out as well as Fletcher (who is always crucial in the big games) will come as potential relief to the rosy cheeked Spaniard who is still shitting his bloomers about potentially lining up without Gerrard, Torres or Glen Johnson at right-back.

TUDGAY & CLEVERLY DOUBTS

Watford are back at Vicarage Road tonight playing host to Brian Laws’ Sheffield Wednesday. The two sides are entirely too comfortable in The Championship and will more than likely play out a bore-draw this evening. Wednesday are in the trap they found themselves in a few years ago when League One beckoned, if you show no ambition in the second tier you’re bound for failure. Saying that, the optimist in me looks forward to a potentially explosive Marcus Tudgay (facing a late fitness test) who’s a good bet to score at least one goal and a Malky Mackay Watford team who have seen results and performances improve since losing 0-4 to Cardiff a couple of weeks back, tonight could also be a great opportunity to scout loanee Tom Cleverly (another late fitness test) further.

I’m going to do my League One and League Two predictions today as four divisions of scores might explode my tiny mind tomorrow.

CHAMPIONSHIP (tonight’s game)

Watford-1 Sheffield Wednesday-1

LEAGUE ONE (Saturday fixtures)

Brentford-2 Stockport-0

Brighton-1 Oldham-2

Bristol Rovers-2 Yeovil-1

Carlisle-2 Southend-0

Colchester-2 Walsall-0

Exeter-1 Wycombe-1

Gillingham-1 Charlton-2

Hartlepool-3 Tranmere-1

Huddersfield-1 Leyton Orient-2

Millwall-1 Leeds United-2

Norwich-3 Swindon-1

Southampton-2 MK Dons-2

LEAGUE TWO (Saturday fixtures)

Barnet-3 Darlington-0

Bournemouth-2 Grimsby-0

Bradford-1 Hereford-1

Bury-1 Rotherham-2

Chesterfield-1 Burton Albion-0

Lincoln City-1 Torquay-0

Macclesfield-1 Dag & Red-3

Morcambe-1 Northampton-1

Notts County-3 Crewe-2

Port Vale-2 Cheltenham-0

Rochdale-2 Accrington Stanley-1

Shrewsbury- 3 Aldershot-1

With sixty seconds remaining in a game where Fulham looked the more professional, the more collected and the more clued-up, Andreolli scored a far post equaliser for Roma to wreck what would have certainly been the West-London side’s greatest European night. Brede Hangeland gave Fulham the lead in a first half that saw the Whites move the ball around the tight Craven Cottage pitch as if Roma didn’t have a right to be there. The second half evened out with Roma starting to see the better of the attacking play, before John Arne Risse was felled by Gary Kelly on his way to goal. A penalty and a red card for…Hangeland? The experimental fifth official shrugged his shoulders before sensing the unforgiving stare of Michel Platini from somewhere across Europe, a minute or sos consultation saw the red card rescinded and attributed to the guilty Kelly who used the farcical situation to eat up a few extra minutes for Fulham and increase the pressure on young Menez who would take the penalty. Take it he did, fantastically saved by Schwarzer to keep Fulham in the lead. A variety series of last ditch clearances and standing tackles frustrated the Roman club until their eventual equaliser. Fulham were a moment away from forgetting all the unfashionable Sunday and Monday fixtures, the random exhausting trips around Europe on a Thursday night and embracing the magnificence of European competition in a way Aston Villa seem to have refused. It’s hard not to look at tonight’s result as some kind of defeat with the win so close, but on reflection I think Fulham fans and staff will look on tonight as the culmination of a great season last season and an incredible job done by Roy Hodgson since arriving at the club. Nights like tonight, win, lose or draw, are what Europe is all about.

EVERTON

David Moyes may not quite see the bright side of Everton’s absolutely disgraceful 5-0 defeat this evening. While I predicted a win for Benfica I didn’t expect that, I don’t think the most optimistic Benfica fan in the world expected that. Inexperienced full-backs contributed to a mess of a performance from the Merseysider club but the eleven they sent out were more than capable of claiming at least a draw tonight. Moyes has seen his side fall by big margins one too many times this season and may start asking questions of a few defensive players.

LAZIO CONFIRM DECENT WEEK FOR SORRY-AH

Before watching the Fulham game I caught Villareal’s trip to Lazio and was quite delighted to discover that neither team had any clue how to keep the ball or defend. A post-Cygan Villareal defense traded the ball with Lazio’s Matuzalem and Julio Cruz for sixty minutes (until Cruz came off for being shit, only after missing an open goal header though), Lazio’s defense seemed to dance about in the box at every opportunity, losing almost every time to a grateful Rossi who unfortunately didn’t have anybody alongside him with anything like the tenacity, pace or power to make his hard work pay off. Robert Pires’ sorry performance on the left-wing was a horrible thing to witness from a former-great (imagine last year Figo). Lazio were reduced to ten-men when Matuzalem was given a second yellow card for diving despite replays clearly showing that he had in fact been clipped in the box (fifth referee?) but still went on to win the game with a late winner from Rocchi which left La Liga’s bottom club dumb struck. A pitiful example of two recently worthy Champions League sides.

Let’s see how my predictions worked out…

EUROPA LEAGUE

(predictions in brackets)

Celtic-0 Hamburg-1 (1-2)

Fulham-1 Roma-1 (2-2)

Lazio-2 Villareal-1 (1-3)

Benfica-5 Everton-0 (2-1)

I’m going to do my League One and League Two predictions for the weekend tomorrow.

Robert Huth has been rightly banned for three matches today after striking Matthew Upson’s eye in Stoke’s 2-1 victory over West Ham last week. Although an argument could be made for centre-back on centre-back violence being an acceptable part of the game, Huth’s deliberate and nasty attack deserved to be punished. The question is though, where is Vidic’s ban for punching Hugo Rodallega last month? The referee didn’t spot it, the cameras did and a couple of newspapers called for action but nothing has happened. It could be argued that Vidic was in fact trying to hit Rodallega’s chest when the Ecuadorian lowered his head and received a blow to the face but there is surely no place for the clenched fist in the modern game? Is this the Fergie factor at play? Why was the case never taken on by the FA or highlighted to the extent that Adebayor’s or Huth’s were by the BBC or Sky?

1. XABI ALONSO

It goes without saying at this point that losing Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid in the summer was the most crippling loss to any Premier League team this season. While many speculated that in fact, the losses of Christiano Ronaldo and Emmanuel Adebayor from United and Arsenal respectively would damage the title hopes of said teams more, both sit in leading positions in the league early on. Xabi’s awesome passing, tireless work-rate and a reputation for raising his game when Fergie’s men are in opposition will be sorely missed this weekend. When you consider that he was already an Arsenal player in everything but contract the season before his departure you really do have to question the logic of Benitez. This entry could just as easily have been Gareth Barry though, who Benitez didn’t even gesture towards this summer as his fruitless attempt to convince Alonso to stay backfired.

2. MOMO SISSOKO

Rafa’s ace up the sleeve in his early Liverpool days, most Premier League fans counted Sissoko as their secret crush, as much of a threat going forward as tracking back, it was probably right that behind Gerrard, Mascherano and Alonso he would be fourth choice but with the subsequent shift of Gerrard to striker and the loss of Alonso, I don’t truly believe that Alberto Aquilani is any better a player than the dynamic and committed Malian and with Aquilani injured until next week at least (next manager?) he’s not a factor.

3. STEPHEN WARNOCK

Liverpool’s defensive frailties this season have been pinned on the generally overrated Jamie Carragher and the potentially brilliant Martin Skrtel (who appears to have lost a touch of class and borrowed a pair of Carra’s lead-boots) not unfairly, but Rafa’s obsession with buying full-backs has never lead to him finding a player at left-back who’s genuinely made that position his own. Meanwhile, local-lad Stephen Warnock (their last Academy player to show anything like Premier League quality) has gone from strength-to-strength since leaving Anfield, first at Blackburn where the fans counted him as one of their most important players and now at Aston Villa who forked-out a healthy £8Million for his services this summer. Warnock’s solid, no-nonsense approach to Villa’s ever-changing back-line has supplied the metal and experience to support Young and Gabby from the front and Dunne or Collins at the back.

4. MICHAEL OWEN

Something of a novelty on this list, I don’t believe Owen’s gone on to prove his worth to Rafa Bentiez since leaving, an undeniably impressive record for Newcastle (when fit) aside, the sparkle in the corner of Owen’s eye has diminished year-on-year since being sold by Liverpool. Still, he’s a star and he’s a big game player and going into Sunday’s game, a potential lack of leaders would easily be remedied by the once (and maybe again) World Class striker who will instead line-up for the opposition. Benitez will be praying for another off day for the striker who still seems to be finding his range slowly in a United shirt (he’s missing and mishitting the ball a lot at the moment. Anybody noticed that?). A winner late (after the game) against City earlier in the season could prove an ominous sign for Liverpool on Sunday.

5. ROBBIE KEANE

The details surrounding Robbie Keane’s time at Liverpool remain unclear, did Rafa ever want him? Did he ever want to play him? Did he facilitate his speedy return to Spurs? There’s no doubting that Keane failed to match his almost £20Million transfer fee but there’s also no doubting that in six months he was never given the chance. Seven goals in that short-time, including a crucial equaliser against Arsenal at The Emirates was an acceptable return, with the season panning out as it was for Liverpool Keane would have provided at least another seven and probably more, the difference come May? Very possibly. With the weight of Liverpool’s goal-threat balancing uniquely on Fernando Torres’ shoulders, a second goal scorer and one with the awesome football brain of the Irish international would come in very handy. Lord knows David N’Gog and Stone Cold Steve Voronin don’t have what it takes.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

1. Peter Crouch, always did a job for Benitez.

2. Craig Bellamy, proving this season that he really does have the potential we saw under Bobby Robson at Newcastle.

3. Jermaine Pennant, the perennial under-achiever Pennant crosses the ball like very few in the game, another player blocked by Benitez despite the Spaniard signing him.

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The father of modern British football, Arsene Wenger turns 60 today. Having revolutionised the game in just about every way imaginable, Wenger’s greatest off-pitch achievement to me, came in 2002 when he forced Sir Alex Ferguson to reconsider retirement by winning the domestic double in what would have been the Scotsman’s final season. English football owes a lot to Arsene Wenger, he’s destined to change and further the game in this country for as long as he remains. He is of course, much discussed and much admired so I don’t need to remind you of his achievements or his memorable moments I’ll just say happy birthday and hope he enjoys it.

KROENKE

Arsene Wenger looks set to receive a gift of a new owner today, as American sports-tycoon Stan Kroenke’s scooping up of shares has lead neatly to Arsenal’s AGM this afternoon. No official word has come from the Arsenal board or Kroenke that he is in fact the club’s next owner, but the 29% shareholding that forces an outright bid for the club will soon be surpassed (it may have been yesterday). I doubt Arsenal would hold an AGM and ignore the elephant in the room (no, not Uzmanov) despite reports. Arsenal fans appear split on the news that an American billionaire will soon own their club, but the friend of Jay-Z is already a multi-franchise owner in the states (St Louis Rams-NFL, Denver Nuggets-NBA, Colorado Avalanche-NHL, Colorado Crush-AFL, Colorado Rapids-MLS, Colorado Mammoth-NLL) so will bring a serious level of experience to The Emirates.

A man who went toe-to-toe with notoriously hard-headed juggernaut Vince McMahon over the use of Pepsi Centre (double booked for a Denver Nuggets game and a WWE television show) Kroenke saw McMahon back down and move his show to Staples Centre only to attack a look-a-like in the ring during the event. Look-a-like or no, it was clear who had won the battle. Kroenke’s other warming point for Arsenal fans is that he clearly represents the current board and Arsene Wenger’s preferred choice of owner since David Dein’s backer Alisher Usmanov has consistently insisted on pumping endless finance into Arsene Wenger’s warchest (he’s never needed it) which smug Arsenal fans have always looked down on as buying success (they’re right). It would be fairly typical of Arsenal for us not to hear anything official today (much more likely in an international break or as late as May 2010) but the time draws near for the last locally owned side in the top 4 to be scooped up by a foreign billionaire (only Everton remain in the top 6).

UEFA CUP

Last night’s European games seem to have passed with little hangover (although I’d love to be in Madrid today) so I’ll move on to a selection of tasty looking UEFA Cup fixtures for this evening. Celtic host Hamburg, two bi-polar sides so far this season, Hamburg have had injury problems but easily have the quality to turn over Mowbray’s side, the Celtic Park factor can never be underestimated though. A Roma team managed by Claudio Ranieri visit West-London to play Fulham in the game I’ll endeavour to watch this evening, Hodgson and Ranieri are bother wiser than they’re often given credit for and Danny Murphy at the speed of the Italian game on a European night (when he always seemed to excel for Liverpool) could be a thing to behold. Lazio are a pale imitation of their former selves but still boast undeniable quality in their ranks while Villareal are still a side proving doubters wrong at every turn. I expect a Spanish victory today. Benfica are a fledgling side that seem to boast favour across Europe exemplified by their unbelievable potential in the loan market and Everton are capable of sending out an eleven that could reach the knock-out stages of a modern Champions League competition. Whether those players rise to the occasion is always the question though, they’ve been known to collapse under expectation.

Predictions…

EUROPA LEAGUE

Celtic-1 Hamburg-2

Fulham-2 Roma-2

Lazio-1 Villareal-3

Benfica-2 Everton-1