Carlo Ancelotti's Father Passes Away

Chelsea will be preparing for their derby game against Arsenal this Sunday without the supervision of their manager Carlo Ancelotti, following the death of his father.

A statement on the club's official website read: "Carlo Ancelotti's father Giuseppe passed away in Italy last night aged 87 with his son at his side.

"Everyone at Chelsea Football Club sends our deepest condolences to Carlo and his family. They are all in our thoughts at this time.

"The funeral will take place in Italy on Saturday. Carlo will return to London for Sunday's match versus Arsenal."

Terry wants Anelka to stay

"Nico has stressed before how much he loves the club," said Terry. "The fans love him, the players love him. We would love him to stay here for years to come.

"He is a great character to have around the place. He is a nice guy and a really good professional, someone who myself and the young players look up to and learn from.

"He has found a nice home here at Chelsea. He has come out and said how much he has settled here. We have a good base of French players here as well, so that helps people settle in. People like Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda are key to keeping people happy and so it works well."

Albelda out to upset United

Valencia captain, David Albelda, is hopin for a home win when they host Manchester United on Wednesday night. The midfielder is convinced that Valencia have what it takes to upset the English giants.

"For me there are no doubts," said Albelda. "We are playing in Valencia and at this moment Manchester United are not favourites. I don't dispute that the English club are favourites for the group, but Valencia want to win.

Rooney out for up to 3 weeks

Wayne Rooney will be out for up to three weeks with an ankle injury, Man Utd boss Alex Ferguson has confirmed.

The United boss said: "It will be two to three weeks. But it depends because Wayne has done quite well with his recovery from injury in the past."

War of words between Totti and Di Canio

Di Canio, now a TV pundit, started the spat when he branded the way Totti reacted after being substituted against Internazionale at the weekend "an absolute disgrace."

"I find it incredible what he (Totti) did when he was substituted. It was an absolute disgrace," Di Canio said on Mediaset Premium. All of us are angry in similar cases, but I would have never been allowed to leave the field in that way. It's disrespectful to your team-mates who remain on the field. The job of captain is to stay close to the team.

"A true leader would have remained on the sidelines and cheered his team on, not to leave your comrades, but he has proven himself selfish."

However, Totti replied to Di Canio with a statement on his official website that was an obvious dig at Di Canio's 11 transfers during his career with an implication to Di Canio's links with the Italian fascist movement.

"I understand him.In order for him to put his stamp on television and make himself noted he has to speak about me. On the other hand, he is an expert on flags and has waved many in his short career." Totti said.

Ian Holloway charged by FA

The charge relates to his language and behaviour towards match officials following Blackpool's loss against Blackburn on Saturday.

Holloway was left fuming by Emerton's late winner, feeling there was a suspicion of offside and he also felt Gary Taylor-Fletcher had been fouled in the build-up to the goal.

The Blackpool manager confronted referee Mike Dean at the final whistle. Holloway has been given until the 1st October to respond to the charge.

Pique urges Torres to leave

Pique told the Daily Star Sunday: "There is no way this can go on for Nando. It's just impossible.

"I spoke with him before he committed to Liverpool and he told me he wanted to win things with Liverpool - but if the club didn't invest and show real intent, he would be forced to leave.

"It's really embarrassing for Nando to play in a team of that quality. You would not see Messi or Rooney playing in the Europa League - so there is no reason why Nando should be playing there.

Mancini tips Chelsea for title

Roberto Mancini feels defending champions Chelsea will 'easily' retain their Premier League crown.

Mancini feels, whatever the result of Saturday's showdown, the trophy will wind up at Stamford Bridge this season.

"Chelsea are the best team in the Premier League at the moment," said Mancini. "They are probably going to win the Premier League title easily.

"They are a strong team, who have been playing together for many years.

"They have a fantastic manager and they have worked to reach this situation."

Newcastle's Harper out for 12 weeks

Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper has been ruled for "around 12 weeks" after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Harper sustained ligament damage after landing on his left shoulder following a challenge by Jermaine Beckford during Saturday's 1-0 win at Everton.

Newcastle described Wednesday's operation as "successful" but the prognosis means Harper, 35, is unlikely to figure again until mid-December.

Peter Crouch Is Everywhere

Click HERE to see a humorous image of Peter Crouch who is actually EVERYWHERE.

Week 5 : The Preview

The pick of the weekend without any doubt is the clash between bitter rivals Liverpool and Manchester United.

Liverpool haven’t found their league stride yet and Manchester United haven’t had the best week and both will be hoping to be the winner of this famous fixture and Fernando Torres in particular would want to score again after scoring in his last three games against the Red Devils.

Both teams were involved in European cup games in midweek and both team managers had decided to use fringe squad players but they will surely decide to go with their strongest lineup for this fixture.

Rooney is expected to be named in the starting lineup while Rio Ferdinand will be making his first league appearance of the season alongside Vidic, who has been sent off THREE times against Liverpool.

Houllier set for Villa bow

Aston Villa have announced that Gerard Houllier will officially take charge of the club after this weekend's game against Bolton. 

Houllier who has penned a three-year deal at Villa, will make his bow as manager in the Carling Cup clash against Blackburn Rovers.

"It has been confirmed Gerard Houllier will take charge of the team after the Bolton game," said a club statement.
"He will be in charge for the Carling Cup game against Blackburn Rovers next Wednesday."

Silva confident of making impact at Man City

Silva is confident he will soon make a significant impact at Manchester City. 

"I think that physically, I'm feeling better day by day," he said on the club's official website.

"Of course, I need to get a few more minutes on the pitch to get to optimum fitness levels and I'm sure that will happen with so many games coming up.

Week 4 : The Preview

Amid ongoing allegations surrounding his private life, Rooney would probably rather be playing anywhere but his old ground but he hasn’t got much choice as Manchester United travel to lock horns with Everton. It surely isn’t expected to be an easy game for him and the Red Devils as the Toffees are unbeaten in their last 13 Premier League matches at Goodison Park, winning 9 out of the last 11.

Manchester United lose Carrick to the treatment room while Rio returns to fitness, but

Defoe out for six weeks

Defoe sustained the injury midway through the second half of England's win over Switzerland on Tuesday night.

The injury is set to sideline Defoe for six weeks at least and means he will miss several of Spurs' Champions League group games, starting next week's trip to Werder Bremen.

"Even if it's a bad sprain, you're still talking about six weeks or so, because it's a nasty one," said Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.

Hodgson worried about Kuyt's Injury

"It could be more than four weeks. It's one of those injuries where it's very difficult for the doctor to say and I think four weeks is a very conservative estimate," Hodgson told the club's official website.

"If we're lucky, it could be earlier, but it could be longer. We have to be very careful because it's the type of injury that has to be treated with a lot of respect.

"It's a great blow for us because Dirk is an important member of our first team. He does a job which is not easy to replace because he has all the qualities required for that role on the field.

"I was very sad to see such a thing happen, especially in a training session. He's a quick mender and he has a great mentality and attitude towards recovery, so he will be back as quick as is humanly possible."