News

Nottingham Forest climbed back into the Championship playoff places as goals from Greg Halford and Andy Reid kept up their record of never losing a home game to Qpr. Harry Redknapp’s side missed the chance to go top at the City Ground.

Halford worked Rob Green in the Hoops goal for Forest after an uneventful opening 15 minutes. The versatile Reds player then blazed over following good work from Djamel Abdoun wide left.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto tried his luck from range up from left back at the other end, but Karl Darlow. Henri Lansbury then won a tackle and the Forest midfielder fired into the side netting.

Just before half an hour the Reds went ahead through utility man Halford. He headed home a peach of a cross from Abdoun. Niko Kranjcar led the response for Qpr, curling wide after some silky footwork.

Hoops boss Redknapp made two half time changes,...

Date: Thursday, 28 December; Venue: City Ground, Nottingham; Kickoff: 19:30 GMT

Nottingham Forest have never lost a home game in any competition to Qpr. If Harry Redknapp’s Hoops make history on Boxing Day then, their reward may be to top The Championship table.

Should Burnley fail to win, Qpr can go above them with victory at the City Ground – provided they match or better a potential Leicester City win against Reading. Billy Davies’s Reds have drawn three of their last four outings and have failed to score in the last two.

The Hoops are looking to bounce back from their only home league defeat of the campaign against promotion rivals Leicester. Both teams have suspensions to contend with.

Team News

Forest frontman Darius Henderson starts a ban after being sent off in the goalless draw with Birmingham City. Long-term absentees Dexter Blackstock, club captain Chris Cohen and centre back Kelvin Wilson are also out.

Arsenal

8 – Arsenal have finished outside of the top 2 for each of the past eight Premier League seasons. During these eight seasons, they have finished 4th on five occasions – enough to continue Arsène Wenger’s run of successive Champions League seasons. If the Gunners progress past the qualifying round this season, it wil be 16 consecutive seasons in the Champions League group stage.

Aston Villa

69 – Only Reading and Wigan Athletic (73 each) conceded more goals in the Premier League than Aston Villa last season and both of those sides were relegated. Paul Lambert had a relatively inexperienced side playing last season which saw Richard Dunne injured throughout and later released. The team have one more year’s of experience behind them, perhaps to help take the pressure off Christian Benteke’s whose goals were arguably the difference between Aston Villa staying up and not.

Cardiff City

46 – Cardiff City will be the 46th different...

Venue: Villa Park Date: Saturday 11th May K/o: 12:45 BST Team News

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert is expected to name virtually the same starting 11 that featured in last Saturday’s 2-1 win over Norwich City as his side prepare to welcome Chelsea to Villa Park this weekend.

The only change to the side that won that all important game could be the omission of Matt Lowton, who limped out that day. He could again be replaced by Lichaj.

Marc Albrighton (ankle), Richard Dunne (groin), Gary Gardner (Acl) and Chris Herd (ankle) all remain sidelined.

Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez is expected to hand recalls to the likes of Frank Lampard, John Terry, Victor Moses and Demba Ba and rest the likes of Gary Cahill, David Luiz, Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres ahead of next Wednesday’s Europa League cup final.

Ryan Bertrand (knee), Jon Obi Mikel (hand) and Hazard (calf) are all injury concerns,...

Venue: Villa Park Date: Monday, 29th April K/o: 20:00 GMT Team News

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert may hand a rare start to Karim El Ahmadi in tonight’s Premier League clash with Sunderland after the defensive midfielder put in an impressive performance against Manchester United a week ago.

Marc Albrighton, Richard Dunne and Chris Herd remain sidelined however.

Sunderland will welcome back central midfielder Craig Gardner tonight as he returns from suspension, but Phil Bardsley is a doubt with an ankle injury and will face a late fitness test.

Meanwhile, Connor Wickham misses out once again with a calf problem.

Key Stats

Sunderland’s five-match unbeaten run against Aston Villa came to an end when they lost 1-0 at the Stadium of Light earlier in the season.

In 11 previous visits to Villa Park in the Premier League, Sunderland have lost just four times (W2 D5 L4).

Villa’s...

Venue: Villa Park Date: Tuesday, 29th January K/o: 19:45 Team News

Aston Villa are set to welcome back Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor after the duo were rested for Friday’s Fa Cup defeat by Millwall.

Fabian Delph is missing with an ankle injury, however, but Richard Dunne and Nathan Baker are back in contention.

Newcastle could hand debuts to the French contingent of Moussa Sissoko, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Yoan Gouffran and Massadio Haidara, and have no fresh injury concerns.

Steven Taylor could feature after overcoming a hamstring injury he suffered back in November.

Match Preview

Aston Villa will have to dust themselves down following two successive domestic cup eliminations – they were dumped out of the League and Fa Cup by Bradford and Millwall respectively in the space of just three days last week.

Newcastle also go into this vital relegation scrap on the back of a shock defeat of...

Liverpool vs Aston Villa

Location: Anfield

Kick off: 3 p.m, Saturday 15th December

Referee: Neil Swarbrick

History and Form:

This fixture last season ended in a fairly low key 1-1 draw with Chris Herd and Luis Suarez the goalscorers for either side.

Liverpool have won 3 of the last 5 meetings at either ground. Liverpool won 2-0 at Villa Park nearly a year ago (18th December 2011) in the meeting prior to the 1-1 Anfield draw – one of the scorers that day, Craig Bellamy, no longer plays for the club.

Liverpool Bpl Form: Dwdlww – 4th Real Position: 10th

Aston Villa Bpl Form: Lldwdd – 15th Real Position: 17th

Liverpool Team News

Liverpool head into this fixture buoyed by their late win down at Upton Park just last Sunday. Liverpool won that game 3-2 and it was their first Sunday victory of the season. This accomplished without leading goalscorer and star player Luis Suarez...

Venue: White Hart Lane Kick-Off: 3pm

16th placed Aston Villa make the trip down to London having drawn their last match 1-1 at home to West Brom. After a stuttering start, it appears that the Villa players are starting to come round to Paul Lambert’s style of play and seem to have turned a corner after the humiliating defeat they suffered at the hands of Southampton. However the apparent fall out between Lambert and star striker Darren Bent is unlikely to have a positive effect on the rest of the team, added to which the continuing fall-out between Paul Lambert and old club Norwich City can also be classed as bad timing.

Tottenham, meanwhile, having drawn 1-1 in Greece during the week in the Europa League, are likely to be raring to go after their 3-2 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend. With rumours of player unrest towards Andres Villas-Boas,...

Aston Villa take on Everton at Villa Park in a 3pm Premier League kick-off. The match won’t be televised live in the UK.

Villa striker Nathan Delfouneso has been cleared to face the Toffees after missing last week’s opening day defeat to West Ham United, boosting manager Paul Lambert’s attacking options for the game with Gabriel Agbonlahor (knee) still sidelined.

The news wasn’t so good for midfielder Gary Gardner however. He has been ruled out for around nine months after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury playing for the Under 21′s side against Stoke in midweek. He joins defender Richard Dunne (groin), winger March Albrighton (foot) and youngster Samir Carruthers (ankle) on the treatment table.

For Everton boss David Moyes, his biggest decision seems to be whether to include new signing Kevin Mirallas in his squad. The Belgium international has only enjoyed a couple of...

West Ham United’s first match back in the Premier League sees them welcome Aston Villa to Upton Park this afternoon. Kick-off is at 3pm and the match won’t be televised live in the UK.

Here’s the team news ahead of today’s game;

The Hammers are missing Jack Collison with an aggravated knee injury that has seen him missing all of pre-season.

Former Villa defender and Wales international James Collins is fit to face his former club but manager Sam Allardyce has revealed that his new summer signings Aloud Diarra and Modibo Maiga won’t start today’s game.

Villa sumer signing Brett Holman has shaken off his knee injury and the midfielder is included in the squad for today’s game.

Other new faces include centre-half Ron Vlaar, right-back Matthew Lowton and midfielder Karim El Ahmadi who are all in contention to play today.

Striker Gabriel...

Spain could make history by becoming the only international team to win three major titles in a row when they meet Italy in the Euro 2012 Final on Sunday.

This is a look back at their journey to the Final and what to expect from the game at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev.

Their tournament began as it will finish; against Italy.

Vicente del Bosque elected to play without a striker in a 4-6-0 formation that included Cesc Fabregas as a makeshift frontman. His system allowed the six middle men to swap positions frequently, exchanging passes between one another until space opened up for a break away pass through the opposition’s back four.

Italy, playing a 3-5-2, coped well under the pressure and by half time the score remained 0-0. Italian wingers Christian Maggio and Emanuele Giaccherini were immense at falling back to clog up the penalty area...

An Antonio Cassano header and an overhead kick from Mario Balotelli was enough to secure Italy qualification to the quarter finals against ten man Ireland.

It wasn’t as easy a task as many expected for the Azzurri with Ireland coming straight out of the blocks from the kick off however Kevin Doyle could not make the most of his opportunity in the opening minute.

Italy responded from the unexpected pressure early on with a collection of chances themselves. Thiago Motta fluffed his lines at the crucial moment after latching on to a poorly cleared Andrea Pirlo corner.

The experienced Antonio di Natale had his chance to shine after giving a place in the starting XI by Cesare Prandelli and the decision looked inspired with the Udinese forward ravaging the Ireland back line and having a good chance blocked by Sean St Ledger.

Di Natale was once again involved in...

The Republic of Ireland became the first team to be eliminated from the 2012 European Championships as they fell to their worst defeat in a major tournament.

Goals from Fernando Torres (2), David Silva and Cesc Fabregas sealed a hard earned win for the defending champions, putting them in a strong position heading into their final game with Croatia.

For their part, Ireland were lacklustre in defence and showed no signs of ever taking the game to the Spanish. Another goal in the opening moments of the game set the tone and Vicente del Bosque’s team cruised to victory, making no fewer than 859 successful passes.

Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni had stuck to the 4-4-2 formation that was unsuccessful against Croatia, but brought in Simon Cox for Kevin Doyle at the front.

For a minute at least it looked like the change would have the desired effect as Simon Cox drilled...

Venue: Pge Arena, Gdansk, Poland

Kick-Off: 19:45 BST

At the 2002 World Cup, the last major tournament that they qualified for, the Irish were put out by Spain on penalties in the Last 16. After losing 3-1 in their opening game against Croatia, Giovanni Trapattoni’s men know that once again their fate lies with the Spanish.

Injury News

Spain could be forced to play an orthodox striker in tonight’s match, following signs that Cesc Fabregas won’t be able to shake off a thigh injury he picked up against Italy.

Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland look set to field the same starting eleven as last Sunday.

Defender Richard Dunne was suffering from blisters at training in the week but has recovered well enough to start the match in Gdansk. Shay Given also missed some of the early sessions but is primed to start his second game of the tournament.

Preview

Shay Given,...

Two goals from Mario Mandzukic helped put Croatia on top of Group C in an excellent display against a very lacklustre Ireland team in Poznan.

The Croatian’s stamped their authority on the game just two minutes into the tie after Mandzukic capitalised on an eighteen yard box scramble, picking himself up and powering a header past Shay Given from fifteen yards out.

Ireland rallied their troops and managed an equaliser from the head of Leicester defender Sean St. Ledger nineteen minutes into the game. The centre back eluded the defensive efforts of Vedran Corluka to knock in a header on the far post from an Aiden McGeady free kick.

Croatia might’ve felt a bit hard done by conceding the goal after some defenders hesitated upon hearing what appeared to be the referee’s whistle but actually originated from the crowd. The whistle-blower was rife throughout the half but...

The best thing (and worst thing) about football is that you never know exactly what is going to happen. We were all certain that Man City would win the league, except for those few weeks when we were convinced that Man United had won the league, except for that 6-1 at Old Trafford when we were convinced Man City were going to run away…. You get my point.

And if we have learned anything, it is that we actually know nothing.

Which is why the Republic of Ireland will win Euro 2012.

I am certain of it.

And here is how…

Group Stages

Ireland start out their campaign against Croatia, a decent side that have punished England on a few occasions. But Trapattoni has built himself a squad that can get points off difficult teams. For Irish fans, that difficult game in Russia will live long in the memory, if only...

Save one man, Alex McLeish’s sacking did not surprise anybody when the axe finally fell on his tenure as Aston Villa boss today. While the ex-Rangers boss will claim injuries and tightening budgets were to blame, the fact is Aston Villa performed woefully short of expectations. Even with the sales of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing, Villa should never have flirted with relegation for so long.

McLeish just about managed to avoid taking down a second Birmingham club in succession, but it’s not all doom and gloom in the Holte End. Darren Bent, Richard Dunne and Shay Given are proven at Premiership level, and the one bright side of McLeish’s reign has been the promotion of some of Villa’s prodigious academy prospects. But who should Randy Lerner look to take over in the dugout?

1. Roberto Martinez

Lerner approached the likeable Spaniard last summer but could not prise him away from Wigan,...

Team news ahead of a vital clash for Aston Villa as they travel to the Hawthorns to face West Brom. Villa have suffered a horrible run of results under boss Alex McLeish, winning only 1 in their last 13 which has left them only three points ahead of the drop zone.

West Brom’s Marc-Antoine Fortune is fit to return and could lead the front line. The Baggies striker missed the terrific 1-0 away victory at Anfield last weekend with a hamstring injury. That game saw Paul Scharner cracking a wrist bone but he too looks to have recovered to play.

James Morrison (knee), Zoltan Gera (knee) and right-back Steven Reid (foot) remain unavailable on the injured list.

Aston Villa’s Richard Dunne may return to the defence having recovered from his broken collarbone injury that has kept him out for the past two and a half months.

James Collins has a...

Team news ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League tie with Aston Villa at the Emirates this afternoon. Kick-off time is at 3pm and the match is not being screened live anywhere in the UK.

Arsenal will be missing Abou Diaby who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. Manager Arsene Wenger has declared that he will not risk the midfielder in any of his squads until next week.

Wenger therefore is likely to name an unchanged squad from the side that won at Everton.

Per Mertesacker (ankle) and Jack Wilshere (ankle) are among Arsenal’s lone term absentees.

For Aston Villa, winger Charles N’Zogbia should recover from his tweaked knee ligament injury to face the Gunners. Villa’s big £9 million summer signing has also endured a public falling out with manager Alex McLeish this week over his lack of form and bad attitude. He will face a late...

Aston Villa are seeking their first home win since December when they take on Fulham at Villa Park in the Premier League this afternoon. Kick-off time for the match is 3pm and the encounter is not screened live anywhere in the UK.

Villa boss Alex McLeish was happy to report at the pre-match press conference that he has no fresh injury concerns for today’s game.

Though important trio Darren Bent (ankle), Richard Dunne (collarbone) and midfielder Fabian Delph (ankle) are all long-term absentees for the home side. Meanwhile Ciaran Clark is doing well on the comeback trail and could play soon as he battles to overcome his knee injury.

McLeish has hinted in the build-up that he will play the same side who secured a 1-1 draw at Blackburn last weekend.

For Fulham boss Martin Jol, veteran defender Aaron Hughes is a doubt with a calf injury. Which could...

A cold day at Villa Park was in no way warmed by the football on show. Manchester City claimed the all important three points against Aston Villa thanks to a goal from Joleon Lescott, but it was ultimately a game that will be best forgotten by players and fans alike. An important win regardless though as it puts the Sky Blues back at the top of table. A terrible performance by the hosts though – they need to improve considerably and fast too if they want to stay clear from the drop zone.

Hardly a ‘must watch’ game by anyone’s standards – Manchester City haven’t looked as irresistible as they did in the first half of the season since, well, the first half of the season. That’s not to say Roberto Mancini’s men have been bad though, and City fans would undoubtedly be spurred on by the comfortable...

Today’s match importance was put into the back of players, Welsh fans, and football fans in general’s minds after news broke of the unfortunate passing of Wales national team manager Gary Speed.

The resultant atmosphere at the Liberty could only be described as shocked and sadenned. The crowd passionately singing chants of “one Gary Speed, there’s only one Gary Speed” before kick off summed up their feelings aptly.

The events were respectably handled after a minutes silence was demonstrated with the utmost passion before kick off, some fans choosing to stay silent, some giving the Welshman applause and some parading him with the aforementioned chant. Either sentiment was done with utter respect. Suggestions were put forward to call the game off in Swansea, but the game took place as planned.

Shay Given was visibly touched by the emotional gesture from the fans and with no less than...

Giovanni Trapattoni went into this match against Estonia knowing that his future as Republic of Ireland boss hung in the balance but he needn’t have worried as his side ran out comfortable 4-0 winners over nine man Estonia.

Goals from Keith Andrews, Jonathan Walters and a brace from Robbie Keane all but sealed Ireland’s qualification for Euro 2012 as their opponents saw Andrei Stepanov and Raio Piiroja sent off for the home side.

The opening ten minutes were a nervy and uneventful affair with very few chances. A tame shot form Jonathan Walters and a long range deflected effort from Konstantin Vassiljev were the only attempts on goal.

But then, virtually out of nowhere, Aiden McGeady’s inch perfect cross found Andrews who directed his header expertly into the bottom corner past the outstretched Pareiko to give the Irish an early lead (13).

It was an excellent header from Andrews...

The whole of the UK will be behind the Republic of Ireland tonight as they travel to the Le Coq Arena to take on Estonia in the Euro 2012 play off qualifier knowing that this two legged affair is the best chance they’ve had to qualify for a global tournament in years.

Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni, whose job is well and truly on the line if they don’t qualify, has to make the big decision of who will partner Robbie Keane up front with Kevin Doyle being suspended. With Newcastle United striker Leon Best having pulled out of the squad it seems to be down to Stoke’s Jonathan Walters or West Brom’s Simon Cox, but with away goals very much on Ireland’s agenda tonight his selection could prove to be the crucial one.

With John O’Shea injured, Stephen Kelly will fill in as right-back but...

Six games into the season and we are beginning to see the strengths and weaknesses of the newly promoted teams as well as those whose top flight status is in jeopardy. In this article I’ll be looking at the chances of survival for said clubs, as well as a brief analysis of their summer window activity. So here goes…

Blackburn Rovers

With Venky’s millions behind them, many thought Rovers would be transformed from a mediocre lower-mid table club to European contenders. However with the rather odd appointment of Steve Kean as manager (a man who had never managed a professional football team) things haven’t really changed too much at Ewood Park. After a very poor start to the 2011/12 season, Blackburn find themselves in 18th place. On paper there is enough quality in Kean’s squad to survive, but players such as Rubén Rochina and Junior Hoilett may...

Young referee Michael Oliver shaped an unsurprisingly tight affair that finished 1-1 thanks to a last gasp equaliser for Queen’s Park Rangers, courtesy of an own goal by Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne. Barry Bannan had put the visitors ahead by converting a penalty after a soft challenge by Armand Traore who was later dismissed. It was perhaps justice then, that 10 man Qpr managed to grind out a deserved point.

All that was missing from a near-perfect start to the season was a home win for newly revitalised Queen’s Park Rangers, who welcomed Aston Villa to Loftus Road – where the Hoops have yet to score a single goal this season. This unfortunate record looked likely to end sooner rather than later though as Qpr had been looking very impressive with Neil Warnock seeming able to gel his new look squad after some lavish but intelligent summer spending. R...

An indie comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne (Jeff Daniels) and a Long Island teen (Emma Stone) who befriends him, all under the disapproving eye of his long-suffering wife (Lisa Kudrow) and his imaginary Superhero friend (Ryan Reynolds). Looks good and it's funny to see Reynolds parodying the whole hero genre he's become a part of.

A coming-of-middle-age comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne and a Long Island teen who teaches him a thing or two about growing up, all under...

A first trailer, poster and set of photos have been released for the upcoming indie comedy Paper Man, which will be released in theaters on April 23 in limted release. Click below to watch the trailer and you can click on the new poster to access our poster gallery or any of the four new photos to access the photo gallery as well.

Paper Man Trailer

A coming-of-middle-age comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne and a Long Island teen who teaches him a thing or two about growing up, all under the disapproving eye of his long-suffering wife and his imaginary Superhero friend.

Paper Man comes to theaters April 23rd, 2010 and stars Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Lisa Kudrow, Hunter Parrish, Kieran Culkin, Arabella Field. The film is directed by Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney.

Today we have the trailer for "Paper Man," in which Ryan Reynolds (Wolverine, Green Lantern) stars as yet another superhero. Check it out below. Plot: A comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne (Jeff Daniels) and a Long Island teen (Emma Stone) who teaches him a thing or two about growing up, all under the disapproving eye of his long-suffering wife (Lisa Kudrow) and his imaginary superhero friend (Reynolds). The new movie is directed by Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney, who are currently lined up to write the "Sherlock Holmes" sequel. Their "Paper Man" movie is scheduled to get a limited theatrical release on April 23rd. Trailer: If you cannot see the player, click here.