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This weekend in-form Liverpool travel to West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League and the Reds will be looking for three points to cement their 6th place in the Premiership table and to put pressure on the teams above them.

Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez could be in tandem against Roy Hodgson’s West Brom on Saturday and bet365 are betting on how many the duo will score at the Hawthorns. bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth says “Albion are yet to score and have conceded 25 goals in the nine Premier League games they’ve faced Liverpool and the new strikeforce could be close to peak fitness after getting valuable game time under their belts.”

You can bet on how many goals Carroll and Suarez will score against WBA, with the odds as follows…

0 – 4/5

1 – 7/4

2 – 7/1

3+ – 16/1

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Elsewhere, Fernando Torres is yet to score for his new club and the Spaniard is 9/4 to outscore fellow January mover Carroll on Saturday. Torres will line up for Chelsea against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium in what, on paper at least, looks like the tougher match.

The odds of Carroll v Torres this weeekend are as follows…

Andy Carroll – 7/2

Tie – 8/11

Fernando Torres  – 9/4

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If that wasn’t enough betting opportunities for you, then you can also bet on how many goals they’ll score on Saturday between them. With the odds being…

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0 – 10/11

1 – 15/8

2 – 11/2

3+ – 12/1

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Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta claims transfer target Cesc Fabregas will play one more season with Arsenal before heading back to Spain.

Fabregas has been involved in a protracted tug-of-war between the two clubs during the off-season, with the Gunners refusing to sanction the sale of their captain back to his former club.

The Spain midfielder reportedly told manger Arsene Wenger of his desire to return to the Camp Nou after seven seasons in north London but an initial bid in the region of £25million was still turned down.

Fabregas refused to discuss his club future during the World Cup and has remained tight-lipped following Spain's success in South Africa.

However, Iniesta claims the midfielder will stay at the Emirates Stadium for one more season before finally returning to Barcelona next summer.

"Cesc wants to be with us, but he told me how close the Arsenal fans are to his heart," he said in the News of the World.

"He is a special player and I hope he wins the title at Arsenal this season.

"For them to win Cesc will have to stay fit and injury-free but he deserves to finish with a title.

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"For all the work he has put in at Arsenal it would be a shame if it was all fruitless.

"I have seen time after time Lionel Messi win games for Barcelona when the rest of the team have not been on form and Cesc can do that for Arsenal this season."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Republic of Ireland have booked their place at Euro 2012 after a 1-1 draw with Estonia at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Emerald Isle’s place at the competition finals was all but guaranteed after a 4-0 win in the first leg in Talinn, and a draw was more than enough to see the home nation make the cut.

Stephen Ward gave the home side the lead after 32 minutes, with a second half Konstantin Vassiljev strike merely a consolation for the Eastern European visitors.

The result means that Giovanni Trapattoni’s men win the playoff tie 5-1 on aggregate, and will now travel to Ukraine and Poland for the tournament next year.

The Italian coach was delighted with his team’s performance and glad to make the European Championships for the first time since 1988.

“This evening was another game, a tough game and we’re happy we didn’t lose. In football it is possible to concede a goal. In first half, two or three time Robbie Keane could have scored. They were not easy chances but he could have score two,” he told RTE Sport.

“We showed the Irish people we built a fantastic team and we deserved to qualify. We have a good team with good players. We improved our qualities. After we lost against Russia we started with a new mentality and attitude. The players believed our system.

“The team improved and they believed what we asked from them. For us that is very satisfying,” he concluded.

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Meanwhile, Croatia, Czech Republic and Portugal have also made the finals after winning their respective playoff ties on aggregate on Tuesday night.

By Gareth McKnight

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Arsenal arrive at the Nou Camp looking to build on their impressive result and performance in the first leg to ensure their passage into the quarter finals of the Champions League. Arsene Wenger promises to go on the offensive as he believes it is the best way they can preserve their hold in this tie.

In the papers this morning there has been a mixed bag of stories that includes Nani upset at United’s silence over tackle; Jermain Defoe considered exit, while Pep Guardiola has a pop at Jack Wilshere.

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Nani upset by United silence on tackle – Guardian

Defoe considered exit – Sky Sports

Pep takes a pop at Wilshere – Sun

Man United lack leaders – Sheringham – Mirror

Ref Clattenburg takes month off to move out of spotlight after backlash – Daily Mail

FA to support challenger to Blatter – Daily Telegraph

Suárez tells fans: ‘My best is yet to come’ – Guardian

Carlo – No Torres concerns – Sky Sports

Agent ‘stole half-a-million from Downing’ – Mirror

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Newcastle and Sunderland eye Lille’s France Under 21 striker Moussa Sow – Daily Mail

Vucinic pursuit ‘stepped up by Liverpool and Spurs’ – Metro

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Arsenal could be looking for a new midfielder this summer with Barcelona desperately wanting to sign Cesc Fabregas. Just who Arsenal will look to fill the Spaniard’s shoes is a mystery and one rumour doing the rounds is Fiorentina and Italy midfielder Riccardo Montolivo, but is he really good enough to step up to the plate?

Montolivo has started the last two games for Italy in South Africa, in place of the injured Andrea Pirlo. However whilst he has shown flashes of brilliance on the whole he has been quite disappointing as Italy have lacked a spark which Pirlo usually provides. Indeed the 25-year-old midfielder is of a similar mould to Pirlo and therefore not a like-for-like replacement for Cesc. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for the Gunners, but due to his style he would probably need a defensive midfielder alongside him to clean up his mistakes. Gennaro Gattuso has done that for Pirlo at AC Milan and Daniele De Rossi currently assists Montolivo in Italy’s engine room.

The playmaker was named as captain of Fiorentina this year and he showed great maturity in leading his club when given the responsibility, however despite his best efforts he could stop the Viola from finishing a disappointing 11th place in Serie A. His form was clearly good enough to get into the Italy squad where there was a lot of competition for places, his technical ability and superb passing skills were seen as vital to the squad by manager Marcello Lippi. However he does possess weaknesses to his game and is over reliant on his midfield partner to cover for him. Defensively his tackling ability isn’t great either which is one of the reasons why he needs someone else there. He has also been known to bottle a challenge or two.

In truth compared to Fabregas, whilst Montolivo is a good player he is miles away from being a successor to him because he just isn’t in the same class. Fabregas is a complete midfielder and could pretty do anything required of him; Montolivo is not able to do that. His passing whilst it is good isn’t at the same level as the Spaniard’s.

There is something missing from his game that is the difference between a good player and a world beater and Montolivo won’t ever develop that. By all means he could be a good signing for Arsenal but he won’t fill the void of Fabregas by any stretch.

Arsene Wenger would be beater off investing his money elsewhere on a player who is more of an all-rounder rather than splash out on somebody who excels at a few things but is lacking in other areas. Fabregas will be very difficult to replace at Arsenal but not impossible, however Riccardo Montolivo is definitely not the answer.

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Click image below to see a gallery of the German babes at the World Cup:

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As reported by The Sun, West Ham United are interested in signing Stoke City midfielder Joe Allen this summer.

What’s the story?

Now the Potters have been relegated, the surviving teams in the top-flight will be taking a close look at their squad and handing transfer lifelines to those they deem good enough to continue on in the English Premier League.

One such player is Welsh international Joe Allen.

The Sun say that West Ham, Newcastle and Swansea are all interested in signing him this summer.

However, the paper say he won’t come cheap, with plenty of time left on his contract which has no relegation clause.

That means he could cost as much as £20m, according to the report.

Would he be a good signing?

Fans rarely like signing relegated talent. There’s an obvious stigma involved – if they weren’t good enough to help their side stay in the league, then why should they be signed? There’s a element of truth to that, but obviously the factors involved in relegation are often far more complex than the form or ability of one player.

Joe Allen wouldn’t be the most glamorous of signings if he ended up at the London Stadium, but while fans might turn their nose up, it’s easy to see how he could make an impact.

Allen has excellent technical ability in the middle of the park and in recent years the defensive side of his game has improved dramatically, showing the kind of determination and hard work that would ensure he gave his all for the Irons.

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With the vision to turn defence into attack quickly and the kind of final product that has seen him notch up six assists and two goals this season in one of the poorest attacking outfits in the league, he’s a player that West Ham should definitely be looking at this summer if the price is right.

Since the sale of Gareth Bale two summers ago, Tottenham have experienced first hand just how punishing getting it wrong in the transfer market can be.

With a world record transfer fee to splurge, the likes of Paulinho, Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado were brought to White Hart Lane – all international players and arriving with burgeoning reputations.

However, fast forward 24 months and one has been sold to a Chinese club after flopping, while the other two are practically unsellable due to the extortionate fees that Spurs dished out for them in the first place.

As such, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly continued where Tim Sherwood left off; by giving some of the North London club’s brightest youth players a chance to shine.

So far it has certainly paid off, with Harry Kane showing that he has all the attributes to be a world-beater and having a terrific influence on the club last season.

Both Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb shone in the heart of the pitch, with potential for a long-term central midfield pairing for years to come.

Looking at the next wave of Spurs youngsters, there is clearly more talent that seems ready for Premier League action, with the signs being that Pochettino is ready to blood more of the club’s best starlets.

The sales of Paulinho, Etienne Capoue and now Benjamin Stambouli take three central midfielders out of the Argentine’s squad, while Mousa Dembele’s future at White Hart Lane is also a point of contention.

However, one young central midfielder that looks set to benefit as a result of the exodus in his position is Dele Alli.

The promising former MK Dons star is still only 19, but has proven that he has all the physical attributes to play senior football over the last number of seasons in the Football League.

This all-action, goalscoring midfielder is seen as one of England’s brightest young homegrown talents, with the Spurs man featuring for the national under-19’s side.

Although the step up to playing in the Premier League for someone so young will take time, the signs are there that Alli could well get his chance.

After Mason, Bentaleb and Dembele, Spurs have no other recognised central midfielder apart from Alli and fellow young star Tom Carroll. Both could have a part to play in 2015-16.

Further forward, the right side of Pochettino’s attack has been an area of concern, with neither Andros Townsend nor Lamela proving consistent enough to call the position their own.

This surely should be an area that the Londoners are looking to strengthen this summer, but a telling reason that they are not could well be the return of Alex Pritchard.

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The homegrown star had a fantastic campaign on loan at Brentford last season and has been starring for England under-21’s.

A live-wire with pace to burn, trickery and an eye for goal, Pritchard’s inclusion will surely freshen Pochettino’s options up and add another young star to the first-team reckoning.

Although buying big-name players can still pay dividends for a team with top-four ambitions like Tottenham, the policy of promoting youth seems to be one that they are set to continue with.

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Liverpool’s transfer limitations mean that Brendan Rodgers might struggle to get all the signings he wants in the summer. With the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, owning the Boston Red Sox too, the Reds don’t have the financial advantage that their rivals in the top four have, and will have to be clever when attempting to strengthen their squad this summer.

But while the Reds may not have much money, their academy is working wonders. Raheem Sterling and Andre Wisdom made over double figures in Premier League appearances this season, after coming through Liverpool’s youth system. And with Jonjo Shelvey and Jay Spearing featuring for the Reds over recent years, maybe the answer to Brendan Rodgers’ problems is waiting in the academy.

Click on Michael Ngoo to see some Liverpool starlets who will be pushing for a first XI start next season

Roy Hodgson’s England troops begin their World Cup qualifying campaign and the road to Brazil with a tricky looking trip to Chisinau to face Moldova in an important opening fixture. The Three Lions will be looking to get off to a good start after their quarter final exit on penalties to the Italians and they will be hoping to put in a good performance to boot. The critics were divided over Hodgson’s England at Euro 2012, some praised their achievements of reaching the quarter finals despite possessing their weakest squad in years, while others criticised the negative style of play that saw them dominated by other teams.

They will be hoping to put that right against the Moldovans and play like they did in the August friendly victory over their Euro conquerors, Italy. However, Hodgson’s preparations have been disrupted by injuries to key players including Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole and this will make the task ahead a little tougher. They will still be confident of putting together a good performance and picking up the three points regardless of what team they put out. This time around, there are no surprise call-ups and the squad looks strong on paper which cannot be said for previous efforts. For such a strong footballing nation, England have capped some abysmal players and in recognition of those who should never have pulled on the white shirt, we bring you 15 names that will make you cringe with embarrassment.

Click on Andy Sinton to unveil the 15

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Chelsea know they have to beat Liverpool in their crunch clash with the Champions League finalists at Stamford Bridge to keep their faint hopes of making the top four alive.

Even then, their fate is out of their hands as the Reds need only to beat Brighton on the closing day of the season to secure their place at Europe’s top table next term.

Despite the FA Cup final being on the horizon, Antonio Conte knows he must put out a full-strength side in order to get the victory the Blues need.

With that in mind, we asked Chelsea fans whether they would like Willian to be recalled to the starting eleven for the visit of the Reds and the response was overwhelming.

94 per cent of Blues supporters want the Brazilian in the starting lineup for the match that could effectively end their campaign without a win. You can check out the full results of the poll below…

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