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For all the apparent in-fighting going on at Manchester City, with players looking to leave and the manager under constant threat of the sack, things are going pretty darn well.  In fact, three points against Everton this frosty Monday evening and they’ll find themselves sitting on top of the Premier League table. Other sides will have games in hand but the psychological boost of seeing your name up there should not be underestimated. Carlos Tevez might find himself a little more reluctant to leave when if he catches sight of that.

Not that Everton are any kind of pushovers. Having beaten City home and away last season, caution is recommended. However that was a very different City team against an Everton side who were in far better form than they’ve been so far this season. The Merseysiders biggest issue this season has been in front of goal and though their level of performance has often warranted all three points, they’ve managed that feat on just three occasions. They’ve drawn six of their last nine in the league and four straight on the road so they deserve respect.

With Mancini’s side having scored just once in their last four home games, a lot of people will be enticed by the draw at 13/5 and the 0-0 score line at 8/1. However, all the furore surrounding Carlos Tevez could actually work in City’s favour. First of all we know the little Argentine performs better with a little fire in his belly and he’ll be all fired up as his commitment and professionalism has been brought in to question. He’s 4-1 to score first and as long as he starts he’s the best bet on the pitch. One you may not want to start, for betting purposes only, is Adam Johnson. The talented winger clearly feels he has something to prove when he’s not in the first eleven and has scored the last goal in a number of City games this season. He’s 9/1 to score last against the Toffees.

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This looks set to be a tight one so you’ll need to be confident if you’re going to consider the handicap markets. Man City -1 goal is a decent price at 21/10 but with just eight home goals to their name so far, the stats don’t support it. The 8/11 on City is a much better bet as is Tevez to score anytime and City to win at 2/1 and if you’re looking in the correct score market then City 1-0 at 5/1 is the favourite for a reason but if Tevez is fired up then you could venture to 2-0 at 13/2.

Everything about this game says it’s going to be a toughie but Manchester City have shown themselves to be a very tough themselves. They’ll be more than happy to engage in a physical battle with Everton knowing that when needed, they also have the quality up front to take all three points and top spot in the Premier League.

Football FanCast’s Picks: Match to finish a draw – 13/5 Tevez to score first – 4/1 Adam Johnson to score last – 9/1

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After the Boxing Day Premier League fixtures and Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea at The Emirates last night, there is even more top flight football for us to enjoy today. This is the point in the season when titles can be won and lost, both in the Premier League and in fantasy football leagues nationwide. Manchester United will be favourites to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League table as they head to St Andrew’s to face Birmingham City, while neighbours City will be looking to stay in touch at home to Aston Villa. Elsewhere the mightily impressive Tottenham host Newcastle at White Hart Lane, before Arsenal and Chelsea are back in action away to Wigan and home to Bolton respectively. Who will win? Check out the predictions below…

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Football Writers’ Association Predictions – Week 20 (28/12-29/12)

Patrick Barclay (The Times)

Home Team

Away Team

Man City

V

Aston Villa

D

Stoke

V

Fulham

H

Sunderland

V

Blackpool

H

Tottenham

V

Newcastle

H

West Brom

V

Blackburn

H

West Ham

V

Everton

A

Birmingham

V

Man United

D

Wigan

V

Arsenal

D

Chelsea

V

Bolton

H

Liverpool

V

Wolves

H

West Brom v Blackburn: Berto’s Baggies to reassert home form

Des Kelly (Daily Mail)

Home Team

Away Team

Man City

V

Aston Villa

D

Stoke

V

Fulham

D

Sunderland

V

Blackpool

H

Tottenham

V

Newcastle

H

West Brom

V

Blackburn

H

West Ham

V

Everton

A

Birmingham

V

Man United

A

Wigan

V

Arsenal

A

Chelsea

V

Bolton

D

Liverpool

V

Wolves

D

Sunderland V Blackpool – Steve Bruce’s side hit for in early December and this is a great opportunity to establish themselves in the chasing pack at the top against a Blackpool side brilliantly punching above their weight. But how long can they do it? Home win.

Shaun Custis (The Sun)

Home Team

Away Team

Man City

V

Aston Villa

H

Stoke

V

Fulham

D

Sunderland

V

Blackpool

H

Tottenham

V

Newcastle

H

West Brom

V

Blackburn

H

West Ham

V

Everton

A

Birmingham

V

Man United

A

Wigan

V

Arsenal

A

Chelsea

V

Bolton

H

Liverpool

V

Wolves

H

Birmingham v Man United: Fergie is up against his old protege Alex McLeish and will be out to teach him another lesson.

Continue to PAGE TWO for more predictions…

Andy Dunn (News of the World)

Home Team

Away Team

Man City

V

Aston Villa

H

Stoke

V

Fulham

H

Sunderland

V

Blackpool

H

Tottenham

V

Newcastle

D

West Brom

V

Blackburn

H

West Ham

V

Everton

A

Birmingham

V

Man United

A

Wigan

V

Arsenal

A

Chelsea

V

Bolton

D

Liverpool

V

Wolves

D

Man City v Villa: “I think City will make up for their defeat on Monday by beating an Aston Villa side that is still struggling for form under Gerard Houllier.”

Martin Lipton (The Mirror)

Home Team

Away Team

Man City

V

Aston Villa

H

Stoke

V

Fulham

H

Sunderland

V

Blackpool

H

Tottenham

V

Newcastle

D

West Brom

V

Blackburn

H

West Ham

V

Everton

D

Birmingham

V

Man United

A

Wigan

V

Arsenal

A

Chelsea

V

Bolton

H

Liverpool

V

Wolves

H

West Ham v Everton: Avram Grant is running out of time but every point helps and home advantage should earn him at least a draw as the Christmas programme starts to tell.

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Steve Bates (The People)

Home Team

Away Team

Man City

V

Aston Villa

H

Stoke

V

Fulham

D

Sunderland

V

Blackpool

D

Tottenham

V

Newcastle

H

West Brom

V

Blackburn

H

West Ham

V

Everton

A

Birmingham

V

Man United

A

Wigan

V

Arsenal

A

Chelsea

V

Bolton

H

Liverpool

V

Wolves

H

Tottenham V Newcastle Spurs have had a fantastic first half to the season but with a Champions League break until February’s meeting with AC Milan Harry Redknapp will demand his stars step up their League campaign with a win – but they’ll have to earn it.

Glenn Moore (The Independent)

Home Team

Away Team

Man City

V

Aston Villa

H

Stoke

V

Fulham

H

Sunderland

V

Blackpool

H

Tottenham

V

Newcastle

H

West Brom

V

Blackburn

H

West Ham

V

Everton

A

Birmingham

V

Man United

D

Wigan

V

Arsenal

A

Chelsea

V

Bolton

H

Liverpool

V

Wolves

H

Stoke v Fulham: Fulham continue to find life hard without Zamora and Stoke will give them nothing

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Barcelona striker David Villa is not expecting a repeat of his side’s 8-0 win over Almeria when the two clash in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Barca crushed their La Liga counterparts at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos in November, but Villa is expecting Almeria to be much more competitive in the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday.

“We aren’t thinking about the previous match with Almeria, which was very much in our favour,” Villa said.

“They are a team with a different manager, and every game is different. We don’t think that because we beat them 8-0 that this time it will be the same.”

“On the contrary, they have a lot of desire, just like me, and they have never got so far in this competition. We are both 180 minutes away from the final, so it will be a tough tie.”

“We have to respect Almeria. We are going to have to fight in order to go through. I hope that we can get to the final, and getting there is enough for us.”

Real Madrid or Sevilla will be waiting in the final, and Villa said either team would be tough to beat.

“Choosing our opponents is a bit too much to ask,” Villa said.

“Madrid have their history and haven’t reached a cup final in a while, and they are a great team.”

“Sevilla have been the team who have had most success in the cup over the past few years. That makes them a hard opponent too in this competition.”

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Barcelona have a four point lead over Real at the top of La Liga, but Villa said they were not concerned about what Jose Mourinho’s side were doing.

“We don’t focus on our rivals. Obviously we look at their results, and if they don’t pick up points then it is much better for us,” Villa said.

“We have our fate in our own hands in every competition, and are happy with how we are playing. We have to keep on working.”

The top two in the Eredivisie remain just one point apart after leaders PSV Eindhoven and second-placed Twente both won on Sunday.

PSV recorded a 3-0 victory away to second-bottom VVV Venlo, while Twente came from behind to beat fourth-placed Groningen 2-1.

Fullback Wilfred Bouma put PSV ahead 13 minutes in at De Koel, before a goal either side of half-time effectively sealed the win for the visitors.

Dutch international Jeremain Lens struck in the 45th minute to put PSV 2-0 up and Atiba Hutchinson made it 3-0 just 60 seconds into the second half to secure the points.

Twente had to do it the hard way after falling behind in the first half at Groningen’s Euroborg Stadion.

Tim Matavz gave the hosts the lead in the 33rd minute, but an equaliser from Marc Janko just seven minutes later ensured Twente would go in level at the break.

Janko then grabbed the winner for the visitors with nine minutes left in the second half.

The Austrian striker should have claimed his hat-trick, but missed a penalty in the 84th minute.

PSV remain top with 44 points, one point ahead of Twente and six clear of Ajax, who fell further off the pace after a 3-0 defeat away to Utrecht.

Two goals in the space of two first-half minutes from Edouard Duplan put seventh-placed Utrecht firmly in control at the New Galgenwaard Stadium.

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Ismo Vostermans netted a third with seven minutes to go to make absolutely sure for the hosts.

Defeat leaves third-placed Ajax six points off PSV and five behind defending champions Twente.

Elsewhere, goals from Jimmy Hempte, Pa-Modou Kah and Morten Skoubo gave Roda JC a 3-0 win at home to third-bottom Excelsior, who finished with 10 men after the 64th-minute dismissal of Kaj Ramsteijn.

Clint Dempsey missed a 93rd-minute penalty as Fulham passed up a chance to earn a much-coveted win over London rivals Chelsea on Monday.

Mark Hughes’ side was awarded the spot kick after a clumsy challenge by the otherwise-excellent David Luiz on Dempsey, but the American was thwarted by Petr Cech in the dying seconds and the game finished 0-0.

Fulham’s best chance of a well-fought but technically limited first half came after just six minutes when former Chelsea player Damien Duff linked well with Andrew Johnson, resulting in a shot at goal for the former Everton striker that was well saved by Cech.

In reply, Frank Lampard went close with volley in the box with 28 minutes on the clock and Branislav Ivanovic miscued a cross from the right flank that Mark Schwarzer had to punch over the bar five minutes later.

In truth, the opening half was more about chances missed rather than taken.

Fernando Torres – chosen ahead of the benched Didier Drogba – cut a forlorn figure in the Chelsea attack and missed two golden opportunities to get his first goal for his new club in front of his former manager Roy Hodgson, who was in the Craven Cottage crowd.

David Luiz, however, was showing the travelling fans what sort of defender you got for 23 million pounds.

Only his assured play and towering presence kept the busy Mousa Dembele and Duff from scoring.

One of Chelsea’s misfiring strikers was replaced on 63 minutes by Salomon Kalou, but it was Nicolas Anelka and not the 50-million-pound man.

But, the Spanish striker was withdrawn just seven minutes later for the man whose place he had taken.

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Drogba was injected into the game as Carlo Ancelotti tried desperately to find a goal, but Chelsea were fortunate to escape with a point when Dempsey – handed the responsibility with Danny Murphy substituted off – had his penalty saved by Cech and bicycle-kicked the follow up wide.

Ipswich manager Paul Jewell has issued a warning to Premier League clubs by claiming that highly rated 19-year-old striker Connor Wickham is not for sale – according to a report in the Daily Mirror.

The likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham have been linked with the England U-21, and Jewell knows just how hard it is to keep a top player when big money is involved.

“Every player has a price. You ask Manchester United – Ronaldo went,” says Jewell.

“Every player has his price, but I don’t want to sell Connor Wickham.”

However the 46-year-old denied that any club had already made any official approach.

“To answer the question, I haven’t had the opportunity to sell him because since I’ve been here, no-one’s enquired about him, certainly not that I know of anyway.”

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Connor Wickham has scored 5 goals in 23 games this season.

Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Oezil believes he has more work to do before he can measure up to comparisons with Zinedine Zidane.Speaking on Wednesday, Oezil also revealed Real was remaining focused in their efforts to win the La Liga crown but conceded the Madrid side will need a Barcelona slip-up to steal the title.Oezil joined Real from Bundesliga club Werder Bremen in August after impressing for Germany in their run to the 2010 World Cup final and has wasted little time in impressing for Jose Mourinho’s side.The 22-year-old’s performances have already drew comparisons with Zinedine Zidane, who won a La Liga and Champions League title with Real during a five-year spell.But Oezil was quick to play down the comparisons – at least for now.”Of course I am happy that I play so well these days (but) I haven’t reached anything in my life up till now,” he said.”I came here to evolve and of course Zidane was a great player, he is an idol of mine. I am not Zidane. He was a world-class player. I think I am on a good way to reach that. I want to grow and my goal is to bring my best on the pitch.”Oezil’s team is now seven points behind league-leaders Barca, and has the added hindrance of being without talisman Cristiano Ronaldo because of a hamstring complaint.But the German believes there is still much to play for in La Liga, with his side also still alive in both the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.”You could see in the last matches that we have a strong team, a strong squad,” he said.”I don’t have to say anything about Cristiano – he is a world class player, has scored many times for Real and is of course an important player for us. We hope that he gets well quickly in order to help us again.””We just play our game, want to play aggressive and be successful. We always want to win without conceding a goal. Like I said, we are on a good way with this team and one could see that in these last few matches.””Of course we hope that Barcelona will make a mistake but we are only watching ourselves. The season is still long and we know that everything is possible in football.”

Lazio manager Edy Reja says it is time to move on from what he describes as a ‘terrible’ week.Reja, 65, watched his side slump to a 2-0 defeat in a tense derby against AS Roma on Sunday in a match in which Stefan Radu and Cristian Ledesma were also sent off.Lazio have now dropped two of their last three Serie A games and slipped to fifth on the table after showing good form earlier in the season.”I’ve had a terrible week,” Reja said.”I am mortified and I am very sorry for our fans. I’ve lost my fourth derby in a row and this doesn’t make me happy above all because this time we did little, but Roma have had five penalties in the last four derbies.”But Reja said the time to turn things around is now, starting with Saturday’s home match against relegation-threatened Cesena. Lazio also face third-placed Napoli and Inter, who sit second, in the next five matches.”Saturday’s game is fundamental. We can’t allow ourselves any more false steps,” he said.”I have spoken with the team. It seems to me that they’ve put the disappointment behind them and I’ve seen a great desire to react.”

Aston Villa are confident of retaining their English Premier League status, according to keeper Brad Friedel and manager Gerard Houllier.
Houllier was jeered at their most recent loss – a 1-0 derby defeat by relegation-threatened Wolverhampton – and the French boss is confident the Midlands club can stay in the top flight, despite sitting just one point outside the drop zone with eight games remaining.

“We know exactly where we stand and the difficulty of our task,” Houllier said.

“You have to remain positive. You can’t spend your time reflecting on what happened.”

“We have eight games ahead of us now and never mind what has happened in the past. This is our league and the eight games ahead are vital for our future. Everybody is concerned because we are not dreamers.”

Houllier said the mindset was to tell his players that the new eight-game league starts on Saturday, when the Villans take on Everton at Goodison Park.

“There is a new league starting up for us of eight games and the mood is positive. A lot of players are internationals so they have that experience and they know what pressure is. I also know their personalities and they want to do well for the fans and the club,” Houllier said.

Veteran Friedel acknowledged his side’s woeful predicament – just 12 months after ending the season in sixth place and gaining a Europa League spot – but the American emphasised their remaining fixtures can be Villa’s saving grace this season.

“We’ve got eight cup finals (remaining this season),” Friedel told Sky Sports.

“We’ve got enough quality in the changing room and we’re confident to get the points on the board to stay in the Premier League.”

“It’s a shame we’re in the position we’re in. I can assure the fans that we’re all pulling together as one. We’re going to be taking these games incredibly seriously.”

“We’re determined to get enough points on the board to ensure our Premier League safety.”

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has set his side a survival target of just two more wins this season.Next weekend’s game at home to Wigan has been touted as a relegation decider, but Holloway said that game will not be the only crucial match in the run home.

Blackpool host Arsenal on Sunday – a game Holloway insists they can win.

“We can lose our next five and win our last two and still stay up because I believe 39 points will be enough to survive,” Holloway said.

“I have already heard people going on about Wigan – it is being made out to be the game that could decide whether we stay up or not.”

“Our season won?t depend on what happens against Wigan. But that is nonsense as it will decide nothing.”

Blackpool have won just twice since the turn of the year and Holloway knows they will have to do better than last weekend?s 3-0 capitulation at Fulham if they are to compete with title-chasers Arsenal.

“We will have to play better than we did at Fulham,” Holloway said.

“We?ve got to get back to our attacking ways and against Arsenal, with the ground bouncing, the fans can help us do that.”

“Everyone can beat everyone else in this league on any given day, and we know we are capable of scoring goals and getting victories.”

“‘Who’s to say Arsenal will not turn up at Bloomfield Road on a cold Sunday afternoon with our fans roaring and not fancy it?”

?It is unlikely because Arsenal are a class team, but you never know.?

Richard Kingson will continue in goal as Matthew Gilks (knee) is still unavailable, while defender Chris Basham (broken leg) and forward Billy Clarke (knee) will also miss out.