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Manchester City were unable to penetrate a determined Aris Salonika defence and had to settle for a 0-0 draw in the Europa League.

City were looking for a valuable away goal in the first leg on Tuesday, but were denied by several clutch saves from Aris goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis during the round-of-32 clash.

Greek Super League side Aris are undefeated in 24 European matches at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, and it was only on rare occasions that Roberto Mancini’s side looked like breaking that streak.

The Premier League outfit dominated possession early but struggled to find any cohesion in the final third despite fielding big guns Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez in attack.

It was Spaniard David Silva who produced the first real chance, forcing a sharp save from Sifakis with a dipping effort from the edge of the area.

Dzeko’s first sight on goal came after Aleksandar Kolarov fired a dangerous ball into the penalty area, but the Bosnian scuffed his shot straight at Sifakis.

It was not all one-way traffic for city, with Aris’s Japanese winger Daisuke Sakata causing some problems down the left flank.

A mix-up between Joe Hart and Gareth Barry nearly ended in disaster for the visitors, with a collision between the two knocking Hart out of the penalty area as he tried to clear the ball.

Brazilian Neto went close with the subsequent free kick, but saw his curling effort drift just wide of the far post.

Aris came out searching for a goal after the break, with Ricardo Faty and Juan Carlos Toja both having decent chances to put the hosts ahead.

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Dzeko almost broke the deadlock just after the hour mark when his glancing header forced a diving save from Sifakis, and the former Wolfsburg man went close again minutes later with a swerving effort from the edge of the area that flew wide of the upright.

Neto nearly caught the City defence napping at the other end, stinging the palms of Hart with a long-range effort.

Mario Balotelli and Pablo Zabaleta came on in the final 15 minutes as Roberto Mancini looked for new options, but despite a late aerial attempt from Balotelli and a miscued header from defender Micah Richards, City failed to find a winner.

Dave Henson strikes again. This is one of the best football parodies by a country mile.

A song in ‘tribute’ to Leicester City striker Yann Kermorgant following his disastrous penalty kick in the Championship play-off semi final second leg shoot-out against Cardiff.

Enjoy!

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=Iad3gV-9C1U%26hl%3Den_US%26fs%3D1%26color1%3D0x234900%26color2%3D0x4e9e00%26border%3D1

Darren Bent is on the verge of returning to fitness after almost a month on the sidelines, and should feature for Aston Villa against Wigan on Saturday.

The England international striker limped off against Newcastle in early September, and has been on the treatment table due to a groin strain.

However, Villa boss Alex McLeish has confirmed that the attacker has been back in training and is likely to play against the Latics.

“Darren has been back in training this week which is good news. The injury wasn’t as bad as feared,” the manager told Mirror Football.

“It will be good to get him back into the action and unleash him,” he continued.

The Midlands club threw away a 1-0 lead against QPR in their last fixture to draw 1-1, and McLeish was not happy with only a point.

“We should be winning those games, no doubt about it, after dominating so much of the second half.

“Whatever was affecting them, we released the shackles. They started to do what we asked of them to make runs forward, get support to the strikers and it was the tactic that change the game for us,” he concluded.

Villa are one of only four unbeaten teams in the Premier League this season, but have drawn five out of their six games to date.

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A tense 1-0 win has helped Vitoria Guimaraes put valuable breathing space between them and Uniao de Leiria on the Liga Sagres table.Both sides have performed well this season, with Guimaraes sitting in fifth and just one point above Leiria before kick-off on Friday.The duo can both dream of earning a Europa League place if they can maintain their good form, though Guimaraes now have a handy four-point buffer on their rivals after Joao Alves’ lone strike handed his side the three points.On-loan Everton forward Joao Silva had gone close to giving Leiria the lead in the first half when his well-struck shot glanced the wrong side of the upright, but just minutes later the visitors took the lead when Alves’ effort from distance beat Brazilian goalkeeper Eduardo Gottardi.Guimaraes held on for the win to put them within just one point of third-placed Sporting Lisbon, though the capital club have a game in hand.Leiria’s spot on the table is under threat, with five clubs – including Sporting Braga – now within a win of knocking them from fifth spot.

Netherlands youngster Eljero Elia could attract a lot of interest this summer if he impresses for his country during the World Cup in South Africa. His chances of playing will be increased should Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben not be fit for the tournament, or at least the early part of it.

There are many clubs who have been linked with the 23-year-old Hamburg winger including Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City (linked with just about everyone) and Juventus following an impressive season in the German Bundesliga. Elia scored five goals last term and is becoming a fan favourite at Hamburg since nailing down a regular spot in the first XI.

Despite the interest shown in him he insists that he does not want to leave Hamburg yet and insist he want to concentrate on the Oranje’s World Cup campaign.

“I will be playing for Hamburg next season. I am not finished at HSV by a long way,” said Elia, who added: “Being involved in the World Cup makes me the happiest person in the world,” he added: “I hope that I get to play in South Africa and then I will show the world what I am capable of.”

Despite his reluctance the rumours about him leaving still persist and clubs will continue to track the Hamburg star. I doubt whether he would be able to resist the chance to play for a Spurs or Liverpool side, why would any footballer worth his salt not want to play in the Champions League, or for one of the most famous clubs in football history? But he may be perturbed from a possible move if he is not confident of being first choice with a new club.

Breaking into the Tottenham line-up at the moment might prove to be difficult as they currently have Gareth Bale occupying the left-back spot. Bale impressed at the back end of last season, most notably against Chelsea when Tottenham won 2-1 at White Hart Lane. However, should Harry Redknapp acquire a talent like Elia he could move the Welshman into the left-back position, which would give the north London club a formidable attacking options down that particular flank.

As for Liverpool’s interest in the player, with the expected departures of Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera the club could do with re-strengthening their squad and may be able to raise funds with the aforementioned sales…even more so if they cash in on someone like Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres.

Of course we can only speculate about transfer rumours and many fans do not like to regard any rumour until they see a player putting pen to paper, or being photographed holding their club’s shirt. But Elia could be a fantastic acquisition for many European clubs as he has been billed as one of the hottest young properties in Dutch football. In 2009 he won the Johan Cruyff Award for Young Player of the Year in the Netherlands and is tipped as one to watch for the World Cup this summer, if he makes his name there then more clubs may join his current list of admirers.

For Elia, even though he insists that a move away is unthinkable his club finished outside the top six last season and won’t be playing any form of European football next season. Maybe the desire to play in a major league or European competition will prove too strong an urge for the player to snub.

Video showcasing Eljero Elia’s talents:

[youtube xL-6O94l308]

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Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has stated that he is confident that Brendan Rodgers will lead the club back to the Premier League top four.

The Anfield club have missed out on Champions League football for the last number of seasons, and Kenny Dalglish was sacked after poor domestic form last term.

However, the England international feels the Northern Irish boss has brought in a sense of excitement and that finishing in the top four is achievable.

“I do think we will get in the top four. I think we will get it. I am confident we will get it,” The Telegraph have Gerrard as saying.

“I am not being unrealistic. If we can play like we did in a lot of games last season, be clinical and take our chances, I think we will be high up in the table. I do.

“It has got to come. We are Liverpool. We can’t finish eighth. We have got to put that right. We have got to take the criticism for underperforming last year.

“We can’t be doing post-match interviews saying ‘we should have got the points or we were not clinical enough’. We have got to be clinical. We have got to get the points we should get,” he admitted.

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By Gareth McKnight

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This week the Football FanCast Video Show takes a look at Joey Barton going into politics, Scott Carson being lost in translation and the worst footy fads of all time in this sideways look at football.

After another beating being handed out by Manchester United over their title rivals, Arsenal and Liverpool seem to be taking a different approach and seeing how much embarrassment each can cause. Fernando Torres forgot he was rubbish for a minute, then quickly remembered.

We give you an update on the ‘Owen Hargreaves how many minutes have I spent on the pitch’ totaliser, as well as pitching Wayne Rooney against Sergio Aguero. Then of course there’s the question of how long will it take Emmanuel Adebayor to win the Spurs faithful over, if he hasn’t done it already.

That’s not to mention the weekly Twitter Report, Caption Competition, TriviaCast and our 188BET giveaway, where you have the opportunity to watch your Premier League team play in style as a VIP; all on the Football FanCast Video Show presented by Anthony Richardson. Enjoy…

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Mick McCarthy is adamant his bottom-of-the-table Wolves side is a force to be reckoned with at home – even against Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s league-leading men travel to Molineux on Saturday and McCarthy believes his side poses a threat.

He said: “We’ve proved at home we can beat anyone and we keep everybody honest. Nobody turns up here and gets an easy ride and Manchester United will know that.”

“Sir Alex Ferguson always says this part of the season is the business end and Manchester United kick into gear. Well they did on Tuesday night (in the 3-1 win over Aston Villa) when they got off to a devastating start. “

“Ryan Giggs, Nani, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov are terrific. They’re worryingly good but they won’t worry me tomorrow.”

Defender Ronald Zubar’s error gifted a last-minute win to Bolton on Wednesday but McCarthy is sticking by his player.

He said: “I wanted to kill him on Wednesday night but he’s one of our players. He runs around and puts his shift in. Do you think he’s the only one who’s made a mistake? I don’t think so.”

“There’s only one bloke who never made a mistake and you know what happened to him. We’re all liable to make a mistake; you don’t cast him aside, you support him.”

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“I believe I will get the best out of him. He’s been terrific for us and I wouldn’t leave him out on the back of a mistake.”

Adlene Guedioura (broken leg), Stephen Hunt (calf), Michael Kightly and Michael Mancienne (both knee) are all missing for Wolves.

Chelsea are ready to conclude a deal to sign Eden Hazard’s younger brother, Thorgan.

The Blues have already completed a big-money deal to bring the Belgium international star to Stamford Bridge this summer, and are now closing in on his 19-year-old brother, who is also an attacking midfielder.

Thorgan currently plays for Lens, and the French club’s sporting director Antoine Sibierski has admitted that a deal is close to being finalised.

“It should be official tomorrow,” Sibierski told Lens’ official website, translated to English by Sky Sports.

“When I arrived there was no intention of letting him go and I met him very quickly after my arrival to show my confidence in him.

“He still had one year left and it was proposed he extended it but he told me eye to eye that did not interest him and he wanted to leave Lens.

“I realised 48 hours later why, when I learned Chelsea wanted him. I understand,” he concluded.

Meanwhile Lens coach Jean-Luis Garcia has confessed that the opportunity was too good for the player to turn down.

“He is a boy of 19, his elder brother signs for Chelsea and he is urged to do so by the same club, who won the Champions League.

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“Congratulations to Thorgan. Unfortunately we cannot go against such an opportunity. Good luck to him,” the coach revealed.

By Gareth McKnight

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Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes has confirmed that the newly promoted Premier League club are interested in signing David Beckham from LA Galaxy.

The veteran midfielder is out of contract at the MLS outfit in November, making him a free agent, and the Loftus Park side want to bring him back to London.

Fernandes, who recently took over the ownership of the club, confirmed that he would like to see Beckham at Rangers.

“I think having someone like David in the club would be great. Was always in my thoughts. Let’s see,” he stated on his Twitter page.

Fernandes is known to be a shrewd businessman, and his investment has already funded moves for Joey Barton, Anton Ferdinand and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

However, the Air Asia chairman also has links from within entertainment company AEG, who own LA Galaxy, and is using this to start the negotiation process.

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The former Manchester United man has previously stated that he would not return to the Premier League unless it was to Old Trafford, but despite this may be intrigued by one last chance to play in the top flight in England before his career ends.

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