Spurs were thumped 5-1 by City when they met in the reverse fixture at the Lane, but since then, the Lilywhites’ fortunes have seen a great change, and they are now within striking distance of the title. Win this game and Redknapp’s boys will be within two points of Man City. Lose it and the gap becomes eight. To say that Tottenham’s Premier League hopes will be made or destroyed on Sunday would be a tad premature, but it will certainly tell us whether the Lilywhites are genuine title contenders or not.

Man City will themselves be missing Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany, two colossuses at Eastlands, but their defence will be happy at not seeing Emmanuel Adebayor on Spurs’ lineup sheet. Adebayor is on loan at Spurs from City and the terms of his loan agreement do not allow him to take the field this weekend.

Arsenal suffered one of the most horrific days in their history when they lost 8-2 to Man Utd on the same afternoon Spurs were thumped 5-1 by City. Sir Alex Ferguson’s United are not in great form, but they’re still able to pick up points when required, and have an impressive tally of 48 points to their name at this point of time.
While United are still in the race for the crown, Arsenal’s title hopes are all but over (36 points), but qualifying for the Champions League remains a priority for the Gunners. Plus there’s always the little matter of revenge for that ghastly 8-2 loss !

In other fixtures, goal shy Liverpool meet Bolton Wanderers, who have the poorest home defensive record in the league. Chelsea will be up against Norwich City in Saturday’s early kick off while QPR and Wigan meet in an important bottom of the table clash. Demba Ba-less Newcastle are away at Fulham, in form Sunderland meet last weekend’s heroes Swansea and Robbie Keane and his Villa comrades travel to his old club Wolves. Stoke v West Brom completes this weekend’s list of fixtures.

Wigan vs. Sunderland

Wigan Athletic host Sunderland hoping to move out of the relegation zone. The Latic’s are currently third from bottom in the Premier League and three points would move them up to 16th. Wigan have enjoyed a decent run of form which has included draws against Liverpool and Chelsea.

Sunderland are enjoying a renaissance under new boss Martin O’Neill. The Black Cats clinched a dramatic 1-0 victory over league leaders Manchester City in their last outing. Sunderland have started to pull away from the drop zone.

However they are currently plagued by injuries. They are currently without Titus Bramble, Sebastian Larsson and Phil Bardsley. Connor Wickham, Craig Gordon and Frazier Campbell are also out with knee injuries.

The home side will be without keeper Chris Kirkland and defender Emmerson Boyce for this vital home clash.

Manchester City vs. Liverpool

Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from a shock 1-0 defeat at Sunderland with a home win against Liverpool. The Reds are a hard side to score against though and won’t make it easy for the home side. The Merseysider’s have the best defensive record in the top flight.

City are currently top of the Premier League on goal difference but will be looking to go three points clear of arch-rivals Manchester United in the Premier League table. Liverpool could move up to fifth in the Premier League table if they claim three points.

Both sides have near full strength squads. The only players missing being Owen Hargreaves for City and Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva for Liverpool.

Tottenham vs. West Brom

Tottenham will be looking to go three points behind second place Manchester United with a victory over West Brom at White Hart Lane. The Baggies form has been patchy this season and they lost 1-0 against Everton in their last outing.

The Baggies are struggling to score goals this season but Roy Hodgson’s side will still be hoping to pull off a shock. The Baggies will be without key players Jonas Olsson and Youssouf Mulumbu. Shane Long and Chris Brunt are also doubts for the clash.

Tottenham should have a full squad available, apart from midfielder Tom Huddlestone, who is a long-term injury casualty. Sebastien Bassong and Roman Pavlyuchenko will return to the squad after missing the trip to Swansea.

United easily beat Leeds 3-0 thanks to a brace from Michael Owen while Arsenal endured a horror start to their game before picking themselves up to win 3-1. League Two side Shrewsbury took advantage of some shambolic defending from the Gunners to go 1-0 up but Kieran Gibbs, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Yossi Benayoun struck to spare Arsenal the blushes.

Tottenham were eliminated as Stoke City beat them 7-6 on penalties after the clash ended goalless in normal time. Joining Spurs out of the competition were Alex McLeish’s Aston Villa, who slumped to a 2-0 loss at home to Bolton.

Blackburn won for the second time in three days as they edged out Leyton Orient 3-2. Newcastle United were taken the distance by Nottingham Forest before a late Fabricio Coloccini goal gave the Magpies a 4-3 extra time victory.

Wolves thrashed the living daylights out of Millwall as they routed the Lions 5-0 while Burnley and Crystal Palace recorded identical 2-1 wins over MK Dons and Middlesbrough respectively. Aldershot also continued their dream run in the competition as they overcame Rochdale 2-1.

City are expected to pose a serious threat to United’s title defence in the forthcoming 11/12 season and will be looking for a repeat of their 1-0 FA Cup semi final win over the Red Devils at the same ground last season. Manager Roberto Mancini has continued to add to his squad, bringing in Gael Clichy and Sergio Aguero to Eastlands. However £38m striker Aguero will only start on the bench, with Mancini set to pair the temperamental Mario Balotelli in attack with Bosnian hitman Edin Dzeko. Former United striker Carlos Tevez, so critical to City’s success last season, will play no part in this fixture. In Tevez’s absence, a player who could have a big say in the result of this fixture is hugely talented playmaker David Silva, whose silky passes will pose a major threat to the United backline.

United, who have had a perfect pre-season record so far, will also be without some key players. Midfielder Michael Carrick, who is nursing an Achilles injury, will definitely miss this game and so will young Mexican Javier Chicharito Hernandez, who suffered a concussion during United’s pre-season tour of America. New signing Ashley Young will have to make do with a spot on the bench as Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to start Nani and Valencia on the wings.

Three of the last four Community Shield finals have been decided on penalties. United are regulars at this fixture, while City are making their first appearance since 1973. Winning this title could see City steal a march over their rivals for the Premier League trophy and Mancini is expected to do everything possible in order to ensure a victory for his charges over Sir Alex’s men.

Man Utd vs Man City- Odds:-

Bet365:- Man Utd at 13/10 to win, Man City at 11/5
SkyBet:- Man Utd at 13/8 to win, Man City at 2/1

Media are claiming that Bayern Munich officials will be meeting up in the next few days in order to discuss the amount they are going to be placing for Boateng but if City rejects it, then the club will explore for alternatives.

Bayern Munich already offered around €12 million for Boateng but City wants at least €25 million although an agreement if very plausible to happen in the next upcoming days.

“I think both clubs will talk to each other again in the next few days,” Jerome Boateng stated to the press.

“I hope that they will then find an agreement. I will hold another meeting with Manchester City officials on Tuesday but I have already made my point clear. I cannot be any clearer – I want to join Bayern.

“I want to join as soon as possible. I hope that this will be resolved quickly and that both parties will come to an agreement.”

If everything fails and City rejects them once again, then Gabriel Milito of Barcelona and Alex of Chelsea are rumored to be the next targets of the German Titans.

Maradona continues slamming and contradicting almost everything Pele says and this time it’s concerning the rising star Neymar of Santos.

The 19 years old Brazilian player of Santos Neymar recently said in an interview that he can surpass the likes of Lionel Messi without even going to Europe and staying with the Brazilian club Santos for the rest of his career.

Following the interview of Neymar, the Argentine former player Maradona did not enjoy tose words and even considered Neymar to be ‘’ bad mannered, just like Pele’’.

The exact words of Maradona read as follows:

“Neymar is bad-mannered, just like Pele,” the Al Wasl coach told TVE.

“Messi is an exceptional player and I doubt anyone can separate him from being the best.”

Lionel Messi recently just arrived after playing with his national team Argentina in which they placed against Albania and finished the encounter with a comfortable 4-0 score and Messi easily being the best player on the pitch.

Demonstrating to the World that he does not need the likes of: Xavi or Iniesta in order to pull of breathtaking moves and leading his team to victory,

While the Brazilian 19 years old is expected to be one of the players to guide Brazil into a successful World Cup f the upcoming years alongside the highly rated Ganso.

Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas created Theo Walcott’s early opener but the lead did not last as Spurs hit back seconds later through Rafael Van der Vaart’s fantastic finish. However Samir Nasri’s drive from outside the edge of the box put Arsenal back ahead and Walcott capitalised on a momentary lapse of concentration from William Gallas to set up Robin Van Persie for Arsenal’s third of the game.

Spurs, despite an injury to star man Gareth Bale, were not going to go down without a fight and Tom Huddlestone’s brilliant half volley allowed them to go in only a goal behind at the break. In the second half, like they had done the other day against Liverpool, Arsenal conceded a penalty, and Rafael van der Vaart stepped up to give Spurs a share of the spoils.

Chelsea, on the other hand, beat Birmingham City 3-1, thus avenging their 1-0 loss at the hands of the Carling Cup winners earlier this season. Two goals from Florent Malouda on either side of Salomon Kalou’s superb individual effort saw the Blues go 3-0 ahead before Sebastian Larsson pulled one back from the spot for Birmingham in the 77th minute.

Marseille and Manchester United played out a goalless draw at Stade Velodrome that left the tie evenly poised ahead of the return leg in Manchester.

FC Copenhagen could not maintain their proud European home record as they went down 2-0 to Chelsea, with Nicolas Anelka scoring both goals for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Real Madrid were again unable to break their jinx in Lyon as they drew 1-1 with Olympique Lyonnais. Both goals came in the second half, with Bafetimbi Gomis cancelling out Karim Benzema’s equaliser.

A brace for Blackburn Rovers forward Nikola Kalinic allowed Croatia to continue their excellent run of international form as they beat the Czech Republic 4-2 in Pula. Russia, meanwhile, were stunned 1-0 by Iran while Guus Hiddink’s Turkey had to settle for a share of the spoils against South Korea as both teams played out a goalless stalemate.
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was on target for France as they debuted in their new Nike strip with a 1-0 win over long time rivals Brazil.

Germany were not able to avenge their 2006 semifinal defeat against former world champions Italy as they drew 1-1 with the Azzurri in Dortmund. An early goal from Miroslav Klose was cancelled out nine minutes from time by Giuseppe Rossi.

The battle between the two best players in the planet saw Lionel Messi have the last laugh as his penalty allowed Argentina to beat Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal 2-1 in Geneva.

World Cup finalists Holland had few problems in beating Austria 3-1, while champions Spain laboured to a 1-0 win over Colombia in Madrid thanks to a late goal from substitute David Silva.

With be win you can find the very latest 2012 European Championships odds.

The only stalemate was between Bolton and Wigan at the Reebok Stadium. The two teams’ Lancashire neighbours Manchester United had to produce a comeback act for the second game running as they edged out Southampton 2-1 thanks to goals from Michael Owen and Javier Hernandez.

Salomon Kalou’s late equaliser kept holders Chelsea in the Cup as they drew 1-1 with Everton at Goodison Park.

Robert Pires’ first goal in Villa colours helped the Villans beat Blackburn Rovers 3-1 at home. Villa’s great Midlands rivals Birmingham showed great fighting qualities to come back from two goals down and beat Coventry City 3-2 thanks to an inspirational performance from David Bentley.

Burnley beat Burton Albion 3-1, while Sheffield United ran out 4-1 winners over Hereford United. Stevenage, who had upset Newcastle in the previous round, were denied an encore this time as Reading beat them 2-1 thanks to Shane Long’s late winner.

Cupsets were however not short in number as Watford were beaten 1-0 by Brighton and Torquay United losing by the same scoreline to Crawley. A dramatic own goal from Swansea skipper Alan Tate condemned his side to a 2-1 loss to Leyton Orient.