MANCHESTER: Influential Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher expects Liverpool to raise their game when they visit Old Trafford on Sunday.

Despite beating crisis-hit and bottomplaced Portsmouth at Anfield last Monday, Rafael Benitez's side have endured a frustrating campaign this season.

After finishing second to United in Premier League last season, the Reds are now chasing fourth place in the table rather than the title.

MANCHESTER: Alex Ferguson was delighted with Manchester United's determined display in the 3-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford yesterday.

United were the dominant force against Fulham,who struggled to contain their opponents throughout. Having held the hosts to a goalless draw for the first-half, they were then outclassed in the second, falling to this defeat which sent the Red Devils back to top spot. Lending praise to the Cottagers, Ferguson said the win was by no means easy.

LONDON: Chelsea striker Didier Drogba (right) insists the hunger to win more medals is driving him on as the Blues continue to fight for glory on three fronts.

Drogba, who has scored 25 goals in all competitions so far this season, claims he is reaping the rewards from taking a few months out of action to deal with a long-standing knee problem last season.

LONDON: Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is confident they can secure a passage to the Champions League quarterfinals. The Gunners head into the last 16 second leg clash with Porto at Emirates Stadium  tomorrow (3.45am) looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit accrued during the first leg at Estadio do Dragao.

The north London club’s task is going to be trickier because skipper and influential midfielder Cesc Fabregas will not see action because of a hamstring injury picked up during the weekend win over Burnley in the Premier
League.

LONDON: Chelsea stars Frank Lampard and John Terry were happy to bounce back from last week's loss
to Manchester City in the Premier League by sealing a place in the FA Cup semifinals.

The Blues were beaten 4-2 by City at Stamford Bridge eight days ago, but saw off stubborn Stoke 2-0 this
morning to keep their Cup defence on track — with the goals coming from the duo.

"It's never easy after a defeat like last week, we didn't play to our standards but came back determined to put it right (against Stoke)," said Lampard.

LONDON: Everton boss David Moyes singled out Spanish creative  midfielder Mikel Arteta for special praise after they thrashed Hull City 5-1 at Goodison Park this morning.

Arteta capped a fine game with  a virtuoso display by scoring two of the goals and an assist in the mauling of the hapless Tigers.

This win was Everton's sixth on the bounce and sees them leapfrog Fulham and Birmingham into eighth place in the standings.

LONDON: Egypt manager Hassan Shehata believes England should be aiming high at this summer's World
Cup Finals in South Africa.

The Egyptians are still coming to terms with the fact they will not be in South Africa following their agonising
play-off defeat by Algeria in Sudan last November.

Instead, they are having to make do with the compensation of winning their third African Nations Cup in a
row and acting as England's warm-up opponents ahead of their Group C encounter with Algeria in Cape Town
on June 18.

Rooney stressed that he felt the tackle was an accident and doesn’t believe a player like Shawcross, who he
knows from their days at Old Trafford together, would ever set out to deliberately inflict injury on an opponent.

LONDON: Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp says star midfielder Luka Modric can help them through their
injury crisis after returning to his best form following a fractured leg. Modric, 24, previously admitted he feared not coming back as the same player when he injured his right fibula last August and was out for more than three months — but he has eased his way into action and scored a stunning goal against Everton last weekend.

LONDON: Striker John Carew believes he has regained his best form at the right time as Aston Villa chase a domestic cup double and a Champions League spot.

The Villans, who clash against Manchester United in Sunday’s League Cup final, are through to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup and also challenging for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

KUALA LUMPUR: Live football viewing parties — arguably Malaysia's favourite pastime — have now been taken to the next level with ESPN Grandstand, just in time for tomorrow's big match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

The match will be screened on ESPN HD, which recently made its Asian debut in Malaysia. Now the equation of a stadium setup, giant TV screens and an unbeatable atmosphere of being surrounded by hundreds of cheering football fans now has an additional bonus of a game broadcast in the unsurpassed clarity of high-definition!

LONDON: Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko continued wih his scoring act with a brace to steer them to a 4-0 win over Bolton in the FA Cup fifth round replay at White Hart Lane this morning.

The Russian, who was desperate to leave White Hart Lane in the winter transfer window, struck in the 23rd and 87th minutes.

Bolton also conceded two own goals by goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and defender Andy O'Brien for this comfortable win for Spurs as they advanced to the next round where they will take on Fulham.

LONDON: Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini defended his training methods — saying he finds it incredible reports have suggested they are a divisive issue.

Mancini enjoyed four straight wins after being appointed manager at Eastlands in December with the team scoring 10 goals and conceding only once, but since then things have been more of a struggle.

LONDON: Midfielder Scott Parker says West Ham enter the Premier League clash with Manchester United tomorrow (4am) in confident mood following back-to-back wins over Birmingham and Hull.

The Hammers enjoyed successive Premier League wins for the first time since March 2009 when they crushed nine-man Hull 3-0 at Upton Park on last Saturday.

The victory pushed West Ham into 13th place in the table and optimism has returned ahead of the trip to Old Tafford.

MANCHESTER: Manager Roberto Mancini hopes to have striker Carlos Tevez back in his side ahead of two crunch clashes for Manchester City this week.

City face Stoke in an FA Cup fifth-round replay on Wednesday before travelling to league leaders Chelsea this weekend and Mancini is unsure whether Tevez will be back from compassionate leave in time to play.

LONDON: Chelsea took advantage of Manchester United's slip-up away to Everton when they won 2-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers this morning to go four points clear of the champions at the top of the Premier League.

LONDON: Manchester City centreback Joleon Lescott cranked up the tension ahead of their crucial clash against top four rivals Liverpool at Eastlands on Sunday.

City currently hold a slender advantage in the battle for the final Champions League spot as they lead the Reds by one point with a game in hand.

Tottenham and Aston Villa are also firmly in the race as the Premier League season enters what promises to be a thrilling home stretch.

LONDON: Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko accused manager Harry Redknapp of having a laugh at his expense and "does not see any future" for himself at Tottenham.