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10 reasons City are better than United
1. The league doesn't lie - City are 12 points ahead of United with two games in hand - the Blues have clearly been better than United this season.
2. Community spirit - the Blues have a reputation of being the people's club and fans appreciate their common touch.
3. Loyal fans - City fans are enjoying success but they have gone through the mill to get there. Did the support waver when they were down in the third tier of league football? Not a bit of it.
4. Sense of humour - it is precisely because of reason three that Blues can laugh at themselves. Typical City will never die no matter how many titles they win and most long-serving Blues wouldn't want it to either.
5. Packing them in - granted, United blow City out of the water with their Old Trafford attendance. But in March 1934, 84,569 turned up to watch City take on Stoke at Maine Road in English football's record attendance. And that is one record United probably will never get off City.
6. The future - the City Football Academy being built at the Etihad Campus will take the Blues onto another level.
7. Loads of money - while much of United's operations are aimed at lowering the debt on their balance sheets, City owner Sheikh Mansour probably doesn't know the meaning of the word.
8. The only Manchester club - City fans have long poked fun at United for being a Salford club given the location of Old Trafford - but of course it is in Trafford.
9. Pitch perfect - United have got their act together this season pitch-wise but City have traditionally held the upper hand, with Maine Road and now the Etihad Stadium bowling greens the envy of their Reds rivals.
10. Pellegrini chant - Sheikh Mansour went to Spain in a Lamborghini, brought us back a manager, Manuel Pellegrini. Come on feel the Moyes hasn't had much of an airing this season!
Manchester derby: Robbie Savage picks his dream and nightmare XIs
By Robbie Savage
Manchester United won the Premier League title by 11 points from rivals Manchester City last season - but 12 months on and it's a completely different story.
City are the dominant force in Manchester this season and on the eve of Tuesday's derby meeting at Old Trafford I have picked two XIs that illustrate the two teams' contrasting fortunes.
Only three United players have made my 'Manchester dream team' based on this season's form and there are only two City players in 'Manchester's under-performers'.
My Manchester dream team
David De Gea (Man Utd); Pablo Zabaleta (Man City), Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd), Vincent Kompany, Aleksandar Kolarov; Fernandinho, Yaya Toure; Samir Nasri (all Man City), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd), David Silva; Sergio Aguero (both Man City).
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea's double save against Olympiakos last week was superb and it kept his side in the Champions League. He has made crucial saves this season and is developing into a big-game player. He's improved season by season and is much more physical now. When he first came to the Premier League he struggled against the high ball but you don't see that any more. He's a brilliant goalkeeper and will be for years to come.
De Gea has kept four clean sheets in his past five Premier League games
Pablo Zabaleta picks himself. Is there a better right-back in the league? Going forward and defensively he is excellent and never lets his side down.
Zabaleta has seven Premier League assists since the start of last season
What would City do without Vincent Kompany? An outstanding defender who gave one of the best centre-half performances I've seen against Barcelona in the Nou Camp recently.
Since the start of City's title-winning season in 2011-12, they have lost only nine of 75 games when Kompany has played, compared with seven of 29 when he hasn't
I struggled to pick a man to partner Kompany in this team. Jonny Evans has done all right this season but never really convinces, so even though his best days are behind him and he is leaving United in the summer I'd pick Nemanja Vidic. He has leadership skills, he gets his head in, shows great desire and he's a threat from corners at the other end.
Of players to play 200 or more games in the Premier League, Vidic has the best win percentage (71%)
Aleksandar Kolarov has improved a lot this year. He is a real threat getting forward from full-back, his set-piece delivery is superb and he has raised his game defensively too.
Kolarov is level with Zabaleta as the two defenders with the most assists this season (5)
In midfield, Fernandinho cost City a lot of money - around £34m - but, unlike Marouane Fellaini at Old Trafford, he has imposed himself on the Premier League. He has so much energy, he covers the ground and helps the team going forward too. He has come to the fore in the past few months and City really missed him when he couldn't play against Chelsea last month.
City have failed to score in four of the five Premier League games that Fernandinho has missed this season
Fernandinho's worth can also be seen when you look at the difference he has made to Yaya Toure. He has freed up the Ivorian to be a more attacking threat, and they both scored against Fulham at the weekend. The big man has now scored 16 goals in 27 Premier League games this term, which is a fantastic return from midfield. He also comes up with big goals in big games. Look at his goal in the Capital One Cup final. Brilliant.
Toure has scored with nine of the 11 dead-ball shots (penalties & direct free-kicks) that he has had in the Premier League this season
Samir Nasri has surprised a few people this season. He has the desire back and looks like the player who was so good at Arsenal, while David Silva remains a class act but needs to score more goals.
Nasri's six 'pre-assists' (the pass preceding a goal assist) are more than any other player in the top flight this season, while Silva has assisted more goals (38) than any other player in the period he has played in the Premier League (2010-present)
Wayne Rooney started the season so well - scoring 10 goals by Christmas and getting his new contract - and now he has to lead by example. He will be a massive player for United next season, when he could well be captain, and United need him to inspire those around him. He is one of only three United players in this team and gets the nod ahead of Alvaro Negredo because of his all-round game. His goal at West Ham didn't do him any harm either!
Rooney has scored and assisted 10 or more goals this term for the fifth time in a Premier League season, more than any other player in the competition's history
Sergio Aguero has been superb when fit and may well be the best finisher in the Premier League. Give this man a chance and he will score.
Of players with 50 or more Premier League goals, Aguero has the best minutes-per-goal rate (115 mins)
The Manchester 'underperforming XI'
Joe Hart (Man City); Rafael, Chris Smalling (both Man Utd), Martin Demichelis (Man City), Patrice Evra; Tom Cleverley, Marouane Fellaini; Nani, Juan Mata, Ashley Young; Danny Welbeck (all Man Utd).
Joe Hart hasn't had a bad season overall, but had a dodgy spell earlier in the year and was dropped by manager Manuel Pellegrini for nearly two months. While he's been good since he came back, he's still underperformed on the whole. Being left out did him the world of good.
Hart kept only three clean sheets in nine Premier League games before being dropped earlier this season - but has four in a row currently
Rafael is too rash and he switches off defensively at times - you could say the same about all of this back four.
Rafael has only completed 16 of the 41 dribbles he has attempted this season in the Premier League
Martin Demichelis has had a terrible run. He makes mistakes in big games and cost City against Barcelona by being sent off and conceding a penalty. Like all the defenders in this team, he has been guilty of a lack of concentration.
The Argentine scored his first goal in domestic competition in over a year by netting against Fulham this weekend. His last goal was on 9 March 2013, for Malaga against Valladolid
Again it was difficult to pick a second centre-back but Chris Smalling's passing is not good enough at this level, so he gets the nod.
United have won two of the last three Premier League games Smalling has missed, keeping a clean sheet in both victories
Patrice Evra gets beaten too easily in one-on-one situations. He hasn't been good enough this season and will need replacing in the summer.
Evra has recorded his lowest pass-completion rate since the 2009-10 season (83%)
Tom Cleverley needs to decide what his game is about. Is he a box-to-box player? Is he a passer from deep? Can he tackle? He has no identity. But he is not a bad player and the petitions calling for him not to play in the World Cup are ridiculous. I hope he does well and has a good season next year. I think he can.
Cleverley has gone 20 Premier League appearances without providing an assist
Javi Garcia was close to making my team. He has never convinced since Roberto Mancini signed him for City in 2012. He has not had much opportunity but has done nothing to justify the money City spent on him.
However, instead I have gone for Marouane Fellaini. He hasn't performed at all and came with a massive price tag of £27.5m. Is he a holding midfielder? Like Cleverley he hasn't really identified a position and has not had an impact on any game yet, not like he did at Everton.
Fellaini has averaged 0.5 shots on target per game with United this season; at Everton last season he managed a rate of 1.13
Juan Mata hasn't been great at all. He's certainly underperformed, though he has mainly played out of position since joining United in January. He wants to play in the hole behind the striker, which is his best position, but has been stuck on the wing by Moyes.
He hasn't got the legs to play out wide, he can't get back and help out his defence and you can see now why Jose Mourinho was happy enough to let him go for £37m. He needs to get on the ball and create things. Out wide, there's no point in him being on the pitch. He played more centrally at West Ham at the weekend and was much improved.
Mata has managed only four shots on target (one for Chelsea, three for United) in the Premier League all season
On the wings, Nani and Ashley Young are frustrating players. They'll score you the odd good goal but their crossing has been poor and they just don't offer enough. Every time they have a good game you wonder if they have turned the corner, only for them to be back to their mediocre best again.
Nani has the lowest pass completion of any outfielder at Manchester United this season (76.9%), while Young's assist against West Ham on Saturday was his first in the Premier League since December 2012
Picking a striker was difficult. Javier Hernandez has only scored twice in the Premier League but he's not been given many chances, only starting four games.
Robin van Persie has not been at his best but has still managed to score 17 goals in all competitions, and Edin Dzeko has weighed in with some important goals for City too.
So I've gone for Danny Welbeck. He can be unbelievable one minute and non-existent the next. He doesn't score enough goals to play up front for Manchester United - nine in the Premier League this season - and, like a lot of United players, looks short of confidence.
Only three of Welbeck's nine Premier League goals this season have come at Old Trafford - mirroring the club's problems in home games
Robbie Savage was talking to BBC Sport's Tom Rostance. All stats courtesy of Opta.
Manchester United vs. Manchester City: Manchester Derby
One of the fiercest rivalries in English football kicks back into action on Tuesday, as Premier League champions Manchester United host neighbours Manchester City in a hugely important derby match.
The game could see City take a step closer to their second Premier League crown, if they can take the three points on offer.
The Sky Blues have the advantage over league leaders Chelsea, with three games in hand and only six points off the pace, per BBC Sport.
As has been well documented, it has been United's most disappointing campaign for a generation, with the Red Devils lying in seventh spot.
David Moyes' team are 12 points behind their local rivals having played two games more, but they must seek to maintain recent momentum if they are to take confidence into their Champions League quarter-final tie with Bayern Munich.
When: Tuesday, March 25, at 7:45 p.m.
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester, U.K.
TV: Sky Sports 1/Sky Sports 1 HD/Sky 3D (U.K. only)/NBC Sports (U.S. only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (U.K. only)/NBC Sports (U.S. only)
The opening acts of the David Moyes production at the Theatre of Dreams have undoubtedly received negative reviews.
In the Scotsman's brief time at the club, United have plunged from winning the title by a country mile, to being a light year off the pace for the championship.
However, with a fantastic comeback against Olympiakos and a Wayne Rooney goal from the half-way line, the hearts and minds from the red half of Manchester have been temporarily lifted.
A victory against City would see the Faithful go into delirium.
United have leaped up the Premier League form guide after their wins away at Crystal Palace, West Brom and West Ham, and a further win against City will add vital points for their pursuit of European football next season.
With Robin van Persie out for a month with a knee strain, it will be left to Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata to power United into an end-of-season charge.
United have not been very successful in the last few derbies, and The Manchester Evening News and Bleacher Report's Rob Dawson highlighted a reason for this, illustrating the importance of City captain Vincent Kompany.
If United play to their strengths and try to attack City, they can win this match. But if they try to contain the Premier League challengers and stop them from scoring, they will be beaten in double quick time.
United do not have the defensive confidence to stop Yaya Toure and his teammates at present and will need to play the game in the City half of the pitch as much as possible.
City have coped admirably in the various absences of the perennially injured Sergio Aguero, but it is questionable whether the Argentine's latest time on the sidelines might well cost them the title.
Aguero has been electric this year when he has been fit. The striker has scored 15 goals in his 17 Premier League appearances this season, per Squawka, and he will be required in the first team in the title run-in.
He has missed 11 matches this season in the league, and on Tuesday, he could be the missing link for his side if they do not win at Old Trafford.
With Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo in differing form, City will look toward Toure once again to provide the goals.
The Ivory Coast international scored a hat-trick at the weekend, and it is fair to say the Sky Blues still know where the back of the net is, after their 5-0 win at the Etihad against bottom-of-the-table Fulham.
City are the favourites going into the Manchester derby, but form very rarely dictates these one-off matches. United will feel that they can get a result as they attempt to cling on to the faint hopes of their horrible season.
A City victory will see them progress toward the front of the queue to claim the title this season, and it is hard to envisage anything but a win for the team in blue on Tuesday night.
Real Madrid plotting £25m swoop for Manchester City keeper Joe Hart
REAL MADRID are plotting a sensational £25m summer swoop for England star Joe Hart.
The Spanish giants are weighing up a shock move for the Manchester City keeper.
Hart, 26, has been added to Real's wanted list as they prepare to shake up their goalkeeping department.
Real and Spain icon Iker Casillas has fallen down the pecking order at the Bernabeu and knows his long term future is in serious doubt.
Casillas, who has been relegated to the role of back-up keeper, could even be offered to City as part of an exchange deal involving Hart.
Current Real No.1 Diego Lopez has not convinced boss Carlo Ancelotti he is the long-term successor to Casillas and is also a target of Italian giants AC Milan.
Hart shares the same representatives as Gareth Bale, who joined Real for a world record £85m last summer.
Although he was axed earlier this season by City boss Manuel Pellegrini following a series of costly blunders, he has bounced back to regain his best form and his place as City's first choice.
But he also admitted earlier this week that he has still not got over his treatment.
Hart also accepts he can no longer take his place in the team for granted and expects to miss out on some big games in the future.
His comments have made Real believe they have a genuine chance of luring him to Madrid this summer if the price is right.
Pellegrini is reluctant to lose Hart, but would consider cashing in on him if he can line-up a big name replacement such as Barcelona's Victor Valdes.
Hart, whose current contract expires in 2016, laid bare his frustrations when he spoke about his axing for the first time over the weekend.
He said: "I wanted to play, but I wasn't playing so I had to work hard and wait for my chance again.
"It's tough to say because that's probably one of the main reasons I've not really spoken about it.
"I don't feel it's a case of that side of things being really solved. I'm still training hard - as I would be whether I was in or out of the team - and I'm always working to improve my game.
"I don't want it to seem as though everything is fine or that it was part of my life that I will forget because I'm still living it and I am trying to live in the moment more recently.
"The past is the past and we don't know what lies ahead in the future - so it's better to live day by day.
"We are going to get some wonderful opportunities at this club - some I will be playing in, some that I won't - and I'm just trying to look at things the best I can."
David Moyes tells Manuel Pellegrini: Manchester United's time to be the top dogs will come again
David Moyes has responded to Manuel Pellegrini’s declaration that Manchester City are the top club in the city, warning ahead of tonight’s derby that the Chilean risks hubris and that Manchester United’s time will come again.
United go into the meeting 12 points adrift of their rivals in the Premier League – a level of superiority City have not enjoyed over United on a derby day for 36 years – and City midfielder Fernandinho stoked the fires by declaring he was surprised how easy to beat a poor United had been earlier this season.
But United manager Moyes offered the kind of retort to his counterpart Pellegrini’s observation the club’s fans will be looking for, after consecutive wins which offer fragile signs of hope. “Well, Manchester United had lots and lots of seasons of domination,” Moyes said when questioned about comments Pellegrini first made last month and on which he elaborated yesterday.
“I don’t think I would have turned round and said that we were the only club in Manchester because football does change. It goes in cycles.”
United were 4-0 behind in 50 minutes at the Etihad Stadium in September, leading Fernandinho to reflect now that they were unexpectedly poor. “Of course I was [surprised],” he said. “It’s a club with a lot of history, with very good players. They were the champions – so, yes, I was surprised at how badly they played that day and how easily we won.”
The Brazilian’s claim that City are fighting for the title now while United are simply fighting to restore some pride tonight was a statement of fact. “They are maybe just fighting for honour now,” he said.
It is in the midfield area that the gulfs between the squad strengths have most graphically revealed themselves this season. United’s midfielders have contributed just two goals compared to nearly 40 scored by their City counterparts.
Pellegrini stated that the midfield was a key point of comparison between the two sides. “Maybe they are stronger and we are more technical,” he said, though Fernandinho also expressed surprise that this area of the field had not delivered more goals for United.
“It does surprise me because they have good midfielders,” he said. “But we can’t go thinking that their midfielders won’t score against us. We need to be careful. It will be better if we go there and score at least two goals. We will be looking to attack them and play our normal game against them.” City would make the trip across Manchester “expecting to win,” Fernandinho added.
Moyes said he had been forced to deal with his defender Chris Smalling, who was pictured dancing a jig outside a nightclub at 3.15 last Saturday morning, having been ruled out of the trip to West Ham United that day with a hamstring injury.
“I’ve dealt with it and I’ve spoken to Chris. That would be as much as I would want to say on it,” said Moyes, refusing to disclose how long Smalling – who will miss tonight’s game – will be out of contention for United.
While Nemanja Vidic is suspended, Moyes has Rio Ferdinand fit to play tonight alongside Phil Jones. His other option in central defence, Jonny Evans, has been struggling with a calf injury and has not played since the defeat at Stoke seven weeks ago. Moyes said he would deploy the midfielders Michael Carrick or Marouane Fellaini at centre-back if he had to.
Pellegrini, who has only Sergio Aguero and Matija Nastasic missing, said he again wanted to inflict on United what City had delivered against them at the Etihad in September. “We will try to play in the same way. We are the same team and we’ll try,” he said, though his side have had to rely less heavily lately on Alvaro Negredo, who has not scored since a prolific run ended abruptly in January. “For different things you always have different moments in a season. I trust in Alvaro and I’m sure he will return to his normal performances.”
Tonight’s game brings its own immense pressures for Pellegrini. His side exited two tournaments in three days earlier this month, and now have a 19-day Premier League period in which they face United, Arsenal on Saturday and Liverpool at Anfield two weeks on Sunday.
The City midfielder Yaya Touré has said that the team need to take a full complement of 30 points from their remaining 10 games to take the title.
“If you say we lose the game tomorrow and win the title, I prefer to win the title but we can do both things,” Pellegrini said. “When you have two important teams in the same city you always want to be the best team. We are not just fighting against Manchester United. In some ways it doesn’t matter.
“I think this club is trying to work in the last four years to reduce the difference we have against important teams – against Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal. The biggest teams in England and in Europe as well. But it’s just four years working so we must continue trying to improve and reduce the difference.”
Of the struggles faced by his opposite number in the city, Pellegrini reflected: “It is not my duty to analyse what David Moyes has done in his season at Manchester United. Of course, all the other clubs expected United would be in the first position in the table. They are not – but they continue to be a difficult team.”
Arsenal's Bacary Sagna closer to Man City move after turning down Inter Milan
BACARY SAGNA has turned down a £9m offer from Inter Milan - and now looks set to sign on a free for Manchester City this summer.
The right-back would be joining former Arsenal team-mates and France international colleagues Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy at The Etihad.
Sagna, 31, has become increasingly frustrated at only being offered a two-year deal on his current wages of £60,000 a week by Arsenal. His contract expires at the end of the season.
Inter offered Sagna £90,000 a week with the option of a third year, but Starsport understands he is leaning towards staying in the Premier League.
Inter also look certain to miss out on the Champions League - they are fifth in Serie A, 11 points behind Napoli - and Sagna wants to carry on playing in Europe's premier competition.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Monaco, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray are among the clubs monitoring Sagna's situation.
Blackburn Under-21s outclassed by City
Rovers Under-21s were comprehensively beaten 6-0 by an impressive Manchester City side at Leigh Sports Village on Monday evening.
Jordy Mayifuila stole the show with four expertly taken goals as Eric Kinder’s men fell to their heaviest defeat of the season.
Seko Fafana and City captain Marcos Lopes also found the scoresheet on a bitterly disappointing night for the Rovers youngsters.
The visitors made a blistering start and opened the scoring after just five minutes, when Mayifuila finished off a superb free-flowing team move with a low shot under Rovers goalkeeper David Raya.
It could have been 2-0 to City shortly after, when Olivier Ntcham flashed a powerful first-time effort narrowly wide of Raya’s left-hand upright.
But Rovers’ reprieve lasted barely four minutes, as Fafana doubled City’s advantage with an emphatic close-range finish from Drury’s accurate pull-back.
Raya made an excellent flying save to tip over Fafana’s long-range missile, and Devante Cole, son of former Rovers striker Andrew, fired over as City dominated.
Rovers' first real opportunity of the evening came after half an hour, when Bradley Bauress' corner was missed by City goalkeeper Ian Lawlor and headed wide at the back post by Darragh Lenihan.
City's pressure on the Rovers goal was relentless and Mayifuila spurned a great chance to make it 3-0 when he failed to connect with Drury's driven centre.
However, the third goal duly arrived just eight minutes after the restart.
Cole was brought down in the area by Will Beesley and Lopes stepped up to coolly send Raya the wrong way with the subsequent spot-kick.
City made it 4-0 just before the hour, when Mayifuila thumped an unstoppable 20-yard volley into the top corner past a helpless Raya.
Rovers fashioned an excellent opportunity to reduce the arrears on a rare foray into City territory, but Devarn Green blazed well over when clean through.
On 64 minutes, the irresistible Mayifuila completed his hat-trick when he lashed a fierce right-footed effort in off the underside of the crossbar.
It was 6-0 to City barely a minute later, Mayifuila capitalising on some lax defending to fire a crisp low drive into the bottom corner.
Substitute Robbie Cotton was denied by Lawlor as Rovers pushed in vain for a consolation goal.
The menacing Drury struck the outside of the post with a venomous strike late on, but 6-0 was how it finished.
ROVERS: Raya, Fernandez, Beesley, Tanner (sub Doyle 84 min), Tumwa, Lenihan (c), Paulo Jorge (sub Cotton 56 min), Payne, Rittenburg (sub Wall 75 min), Green, Bauress.
Subs not used: Williams, Joel.
MAN CITY: Lawlor, Drury, Tasende, Plummer, Denayer (sub Bossaerts 63 min), Bryan, Lopes (c), Fafana, Mayifuila, Ntcham, Cole (sub Byrne 63 min).
Subs not used: O’Brien, Glendon, Bytyqi.
Goals: Mayifuila 5, 59, 64, 65; Fofana 11; Lopes 53
Manchester derby: Fernandinho taunts United ahead of Old Trafford clash
Fernandinho gets to grips with Danny Welbeck at the Etihad Stadium last September (Picture: AFP/Getty)
Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho has put the boot into rivals United ahead of tonight’s derby clash, pointing out David Moyes’ men have had such a dismal season they only have pride to play for.
City thumped United 4-1 in the clubs’ last meeting at the Etihad Stadium in September when both Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini harboured ambitions of winning the Premier League.
However, with third-place City still in the title hunt and United languishing in seventh, Fernandinho said the two teams have very different priorities going into tonight’s game at Old Trafford.
Manchester United manager David Moyes will be looking for reenge tonight (Picture: Reuters)
‘The game against us was a long time ago, but the situation is different now because we are fighting for the title and they are not, they are maybe just fighting for honour,’ said the Brazilian.
And Fernandinho, a newcomer to the Manchester derby after arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk last summer, admitted he had been surprised by how poor United were in that first meeting last autumn.
‘It’s a club with a lot of history with very good players and they were the champions so, yes, I was surprised at how badly they played that day and how easily we won.’
First Manchester City vs Manchester United Derby Bollox
Division One (Old) - Sat 01 December 1906.
Score: W 3-0 Attendance: 50000
1.WE Smith
2.P Hill
3.F Norgrove
4.G Dorsett
5.WP Eadie
6.J Buchan
7.G Stewart (2)
8.W Jones (1)
9.I Thornley
10.J Blair
11.J Conlin
[spoiler]Evangelina Anderson - Martin Demichelis' Wife.
[/spoiler]Big-spending Monaco could use their close links with agent Jorge Mendes to challenge Manchester United for the signature of Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho, 21. Inside Futbol
Espanyol goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, 27, has distanced himself from a move to Arsenal by stating that he will stay at the La Liga club for at least another season. Talkshit
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is interested in adding Metz's 24-year-old Senegalese striker Diafra Sakho to his squad. Daily Mirror
Rubin Kazan midfield anchorman Yann M'Vila, 23, is back on the list of possible targets for Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton after being told he can leave the Russian club. Daily Express
Bayern Munich are confident that they can keep hold of striker Mario Mandzukic, 27, despite the interest of Chelsea and Arsenal. Daily Star
AC Milan could move to sign Udinese striker Luis Muriel at the end of the season if 23-year-old Mario Balotelli departs the San Siro. Muriel, 22, is reported to be one of Liverpool's summer targets. Talkshit
Arsenal have offered manager Arsene Wenger a two-year contract extension, rather than the three-year deal they originally planned, in the first sign that they are planning for life after the Frenchman's departure. Daily Mirror
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will hold talks with striker Fabio Borini in the summer to assess the 22-year-old's striker progress after a season spent on loan at Sunderland. Daily Star
Neil Warnock has rejected the opportunity to replace sacked Billy Davies as manager of Nottingham Forest because he would not have the final say on transfers. Sun
Manchester United boss David Moyes has disciplined defender Chris Smalling, 24, after he was photographed out singing and dancing in Manchester city centre in the early hours of Sunday morning. The Guardian
Former Manchester United defender, turned television pundit and England assistant manager, Gary Neville has admitted that he has ambitions to manage his former club. Twitter
Referee Andre Marriner may have sent off the wrong Arsenal player because he was too exhausted after spending almost 19 hours travelling more than 1000 miles the day before taking charge of the Gunners' 6-0 defeat at Chelsea. Sun
Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o, 33, has lashed out against his former manager Pep Guardiola's coaching style, saying that the Bayern Munich manager did not fully utilize his capabilities at Barcelona. Marca
Italian side Udinese have signed a contract with Galatasaray's winger Albert Riera, 31, who previously played for Manchester United and Liverpool. Tuttosport
Deportivo La Coruna midfielder Ibrahim Sissoko, 22, who arrived on loan from Wolfsburg until June, has expressed a desire to stay on at the Spanish club for two or three more seasons. AS.com
Tottenham winger Andros Townsend has mocked former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips for his pronunciation of team-mate Gylfi Sigurdsson's name during his television punditry work. Metro
Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil's decision to attend a Great Gatsby-themed birthday party for his girlfriend hours after Saturday's 6-0 defeat to Chelsea has attracted derision on social media. DSSC
more bollox very soon
