MANCHESTER UNITED
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Mikaël Silvestre, the defender, wants to make up for last season’s poor showing in the Champions League, starting at home to Celtic tonight. “I think the players are more mature and you can see a big difference from last season,” he said.
PORTSMOUTH
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Dejan Stefanovic, the club captain, will be fit to play away to Charlton Athletic on Saturday despite fears that he suffered a broken toe against Wigan Athletic last weekend. “His toe was cut, bruised and swollen,” Gary Sadler, the physio, said.
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EVERTON
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The club have denied any wrongdoing in the transfer of Ibrahima Bakayoko to Marseilles in July 1999 after they were alleged to have “circumvented the rules”. “All transfers involving Everton are above board,” a club spokesman said.
CHELSEA
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John Terry is determined to avenge Chelsea’s FA Community Shield defeat by Liverpool in the league match at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. “They’ve already beaten us once this season, so we have to make up for it,” the captain said.
ASTON VILLA
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Didier Agathe, the former Celtic wing back, has signed a fourth-month contract with the challenge of forcing Martin O’Neill to award him a long-term deal. “I think he has the talent and the hunger to get into our side,” the manager said.
BOLTON WANDERERS
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Sam Allardyce has revealed that a £2 million deal for Pavel Mares collapsed before last month’s transfer deadline because the Zenit St Petersburg defender’s fitness levels were poor. “His fitness never came close,” the manager said.
FULHAM
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Moritz Volz’s contract expires at the end of the season and he has lost his place in the team, but according to his agent, the German defender may be offered a new contract at Craven Cottage. “We’re in talks,” David Giess said.
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READING
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Dave Kitson, the top scorer last season, will miss the match away to Sheffield United because of the knee injury suffered in the first game against Middlesbrough. “His recovery is taking longer than we hoped,” Steve Coppell said.
WEST HAM UNITED
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Yossi Benayoun has agreed a new long-term contract with West Ham United. “I will sign in a few days, we agree about everything and I will sign for five years,” the 26-year-old Israel captain and midfield player said.
LIVERPOOL
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Neal Eardley, the 17-year-old Oldham Athletic full back, is rumoured to be attracting interest from Rafael Benítez. Harry Kewell is seeing a specialist in Sydney hoping for a diagnosis of the groin and thigh injury that has kept him out of action.
MANCHESTER CITY
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The club’s appeal against the straight red card shown to Ousmane Dabo in the 1-0 defeat by Reading on Monday night will be heard by the FA’s disciplinary comission tomorrow. Dabo felled Steve Sidwell in an aerial challenge.
MIDDLESBROUGH
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George Boateng, who is suspended for this weekend’s match away to Bolton Wanderers, consulted a specialist yesterday over the extent of the injury to his left knee. The club captain hurt himself challenging Fredrik Ljungberg last weekend.
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WIGAN ATHLETIC
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Matt Jackson, the defender, believes the club can finish in the top ten again this season, despite two defeats in their opening three games. “The new players will need time to settle in, but it is possible we could do as well as last season,” he said.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
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Shola Ameobi has said that his partnership with Obafemi Martins will take time to gel. “Oba is a fantastic player, but we have to get it right sooner rather than later,” Ameobi, who is playing with a long-term hip injury, said.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
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Aaron Lennon, the winger, could play in the Uefa Cup match against Slavia Prague tomorrow evening after fears of a serious knee injury proved unfounded. West Bromwich Albion are interested in signing Calum Davenport on loan in January.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC
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Iain Dowie, the manager, has thanked Rafael Benítez, his Liverpool counterpart, for letting Scott Carson join the club on loan. “I’ve always had belief in him as a goalkeeper,” Dowie said. “Rafael Benítez was very kind to let him come.”
ARSENAL
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Jens Lehmann has warned his team-mates about SV Hamburg in the Champions League this evening. “They score goals out of nothing and are very dangerous,” the goalkeeper said. “That’s how they qualified for the Champions League.”
SHEFFIELD UNITED
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Neil Warnock has revealed that Brian Kidd wanted only a short-term contract to join his coaching staff, out of loyalty to the manager, whose deal runs for this season only. “It’s a challenge for all of us to get a longer deal,” Warnock said.
BLACKBURN ROVERS
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Ryan Nelsen, the New Zealand defender, has been ruled out until Christmas after surgery yesterday on a hamstring problem. “It’s unfortunate but the operation needed to be done,” Mark Hughes, the manager, said.
WATFORD
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Malky Mackay thinks that it is only a matter of time before the team win their first league match of the season. “We’re creating chances, so there’s plenty of optimism here,” the Scotland defender said. “The lads are still in good spirits.”