England can win Euro 2016 - Redknapp

If England don't win Euro 2016 they might as well "give up", Harry Redknapp suggested on Friday.

England disappointed badly at the 2014 World Cup, Roy Hodgson's side failing to make it out of their first round group.

But Redknapp believes it should be a different story next summer in France with the current crop of young players at England's disposal.

"There are some really talented players and Roy's squad for the Euros is going to the best we've had for some time," the former QPR and Tottenham manager told talkSPORT radio.

"If we don't win the Euros we ought to give up because it's the best opportunity we're going to have. It's a really good group at the moment," he said.

Redknapp, who stepped down as QPR boss this month, singled out the likes of Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge, Harry Kane and Ross Barkley for special praise and believes they could help England claim their first piece of major silverware since the 1966 World Cup.

He added: "England has got three or four young players emerging now in time for Euro 2016. Roy will have a team that can really compete.

"I would be disappointed if we don't at least get to the semi-finals and then I could see us having a real go at winning it."

England, who last reached the semi-finals of an international tournament in 1996, are currently top of their qualifying group, with four wins from four games in Group E which also features Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania and San Marino.

'Gunners must be ready to storm Palace'

Arsenal must brace themselves for an "intense" battle against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday when they try to break into the Premier League's top four, manager Arsene Wenger said.

Arsenal, who have 45 points from 25 matches and trail fourth-placed Southampton by a single point, travel to a rejuvenated Palace side who have won five of their last eight games since Alan Pardew took charge.

"It's always very intense and it is a very dynamic ground," Wenger told a news conference on Friday.

"Alan Pardew has done extremely well. They have found confidence again and they made positive results and that is what it is about when you are a manager."

Former Gunners striker Marouane Chamakh is expected to line up for Palace and, after struggling during his time at Arsenal, Wenger is delighted to see the Moroccan performing well in south London.

"He (Chamakh) lost confidence and I'm happy that he went to Crystal Palace and has made a good career now," Wenger said.

"He's not the target man anymore, he's more a midfielder or second striker. Because he's a real team player, that position suits him very well."

Midfielder Santi Cazorla has been in sparkling form for Arsenal since being deployed in a more central role and Wenger has been impressed with the Spaniard.

"Until now he has been maybe the most consistent," he said. "Since he has moved centrally his influence on the team has been bigger as well."

Arsenal could be boosted by the return of Jack Wilshere who has recovered from an ankle injury but fellow midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey are still carrying knocks.

"He is a bit ahead of schedule because he has worked hard," Wenger said. "Chamberlain is back in full training but is a bit short to be considered. (Aaron) Ramsey I think is 10 days away."

Thierry Henry has been at the Gunners' training ground this week after starting work on his coaching badges and Wenger expects Arsenal's all-time record goalscorer to have a positive impact on the club's young players.

"Thierry is making his first steps as a coach. It's good for our youngsters to be coached by him," he said.

"He's been here once or twice. All our former players are welcome to come back here and get their coaching badges. We're happy to have him."

Rodgers backs Balotelli over penalty storm

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers on Friday backed striker Mario Balotelli over the penalty controversy which marred his side's 1-0 Europa League win against Besiktas.

Reds captain Steven Gerrard was angry that Balotelli overruled Jordan Henderson when the stand-in Reds skipper tried to take an 85th-minute penalty in the last 32, first leg at Anfield on Thursday.

With the game goalless, Jordon Ibe won the spot-kick and England international Henderson appeared set to fulfil his role as the assigned penalty taker in the absence of the injured Gerrard.

But Balotelli took the ball out of Henderson's hands, prompting an exchange of words with the Liverpool midfielder before a visibly irritated Reds striker Daniel Sturridge arrived on the scene to protest on Henderson's behalf.

Ignoring their complaints, Balotelli, who has endured a difficult time at Liverpool since his move from AC Milan last year, didn't seem bothered by the fuss as he deliberately stutter-stepped in his run-up before coolly stroking home the spot-kick.

And, although he has had his own issues with Balotelli, on this occasion Rodgers insisted the forward had done nothing wrong because he was following the established penalty order agreed earlier in the season.

"There has probably been a lot more of a drama been made out of it than it actually was," Rodgers said.

"With the players who were initially on the pitch last night Jordan was our nominated taker.

"But if Jordan and Steven and Mario are on the pitch at the same time we would normally have Steven and Mario as the penalty-takers.

"History shows he (Balotelli) has scored nearly 30 penalties in big games so he is an outstanding penalty-taker, but none of them were on (at the start) so you have to nominate someone.

"Jordan was happy enough to take it but he gave it to Mario."

Reds focus on Saints in old boys reunion

Slowly but surely Liverpool are edging towards the Premier League's top four and victory over high-flying Southampton at St Mary's on Saturday could prove crucial in their season, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Friday.

Liverpool snapped up Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren from Southampton during the close season but, as things stand, the trio would have been better off staying on the south coast as Southampton occupy the final Champions League spot.

However, seventh-placed Liverpool, who trail Southampton by four points, are yet to lose in the league this year and are showing signs of the form that earned them the runners-up spot in the Premier League last season.

"The games are now being ticked off and with 13 games to go it would be a big step for us to get the result," Rodgers told a news conference.

"We respect Southampton and what they've done this season but we know we have the quality and confidence to get a result there.

"If we can get a victory and go within a point, it probably takes us to where we thought it would be, edging our way towards (the top four) after a really difficult start.

"That's what we'll continue to do, just step by step."

Liverpool will be without injured midfielders Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva, while defenders Jose Enrique and Jon Flanagan will also miss the trip to St Mary's through injury.

Rodgers played down talk of dressing-room unrest after enigmatic striker Mario Balotelli wrestled the ball off stand-in skipper and designated penalty-taker Jordan Henderson during Liverpool's 1-0 Europa League victory over Besiktas on Thursday.

Liverpool captain and regular spot-kick taker Gerrard, who was working as a TV pundit after missing the game through injury, said the Italian had been "a bit mischievous" in taking the penalty.

"There's been more drama made out of it than it was," Rodgers said. "It's very clear who the penalty takers are. When Steven plays he is No 1. With the players on at the start of the game Jordan was nominated penalty taker.

"Jordan Henderson showed last night what a team player he was by letting Mario take it.

"Maybe the etiquette wasn't what we'd have liked but we got the end result in the end."

'Barca's form not down to attitude change'

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has angrily denied claims by striker Lionel Messi that their hot run is down to a change in attitude.

The Catalan side have won their last 11 games in all competitions since they were beaten away to Real Sociedad in the first game back after the Christmas break and are breathing down the necks of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.

Luis Enrique and Barca's key player had a reported bust-up in the dressing room following that game in San Sebastian but had apparently since buried their differences.

The coach has maintained the same line over the last month and half that Barca are a team in transition that have simply clicked into gear.

"I have no reason why I should change my opinion. It is due to a continual process over a season and nothing else," Luis Enrique told a news conference on Friday.

He became visibly irritated over repeated questions about the comments from Messi ahead of Saturday's La Liga game against Malaga.

"I am not interested in creating problems and so I am not going to discuss it further. If he thinks that way then that is fantastic," said Luis Enrique.

"I am only giving my opinion. What I am interested in now is preparing for the Malaga game, if you're interested in something else then that's up to you."

Luis Enrique then refused to answer more questions on the subject.

Messi, speaking at a publicity event in Barcelona on Thursday, had told reporters said that the Sociedad game was a turning point.

"Since that game in Anoeta there has been a change in attitude, there is a different spirit now when we go out onto the pitch," he said.

Okocha is new Delta FA chairman

Former Nigeria international Austin Okocha has been elected as Delta State Football Association chairman, it was announced in Asaba on Friday.

Okocha got 26 out of the 27 votes that were available to become the new Delta FA boss.

"At the elections conducted in Asaba on Friday, and supervised by Member of the NFF Executive Committee, Alhaji Babagana Kalli, Okocha polled 26 out of the 27 votes cast," the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) stated.

The former Super Eagles captain, will now replace Amaju Pinnick, who is now president of the NFF and relinquished the position after taking up the presidency seat of the country's football governing body.

Okocha had been the vice-chairman of the Delta State FA under Pinnick's reign.

The former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder is also currently the head of the NFF Technical Study Group.

Okocha has now become one of the first among his peers to assume the saddle of chairmanship of a state FA in Nigeria.

'Toure can lead Man City's charge'

Manchester City cannot afford to drop more points in the Premier League title race but with Yaya Toure back the champions are better placed to defend their crown, manager Manuel Pellegrini said on Friday.

City, without a Premier League home win since New Year's Day, host Newcastle United at the Etihad in Saturday's late kick off knowing they could be 10 points behind leaders Chelsea if Jose Mourinho's side beat Burnley earlier in the day.

"We cannot drop more points but the important thing also is, if we win tomorrow, we will have the same amount of points at the same moment as last season," Pellegrini told a news conference.

"We can't think about where Chelsea is – it's important not to drop points and the only way to do it is to play well.

"I always say Newcastle are a very good team with very good players – it's not easy to play against them.

"I hope tomorrow we will recover our normal performance at home – we will have to play well with lots of intensity."

City have won just one game in Toure's absence but with the influential Ivory Coast midfielder returning after a successful African Nations Cup campaign alongside new signing Wilfried Bony, Pellegrini is delighted to have more options.

"It's important to have Yaya back, he's an important player for us – for him and for Bony to come back after winning the Africa Cup of Nations is better," the Chilean said.

"We are sure Yaya will be the same player as he was before he left. We didn't win a lot of games without him but there were other problems too.

"We had players coming back from injuries – when you put both together, maybe that explains it."

Bony, who signed from Swansea City in January for a reported fee of 28 million pounds ($43.05 million), could make his debut but midfielder James Milner is out with a knee injury.

"He (Bony) can play for us and will be in the squad," Pellegrini said. "We will see if he is in the starting 11. He's trained well this week without any problems.

"He knows the Premier League and knows our team so there won't be a problem."

'Man U best team in BPL on current form'

A defiant Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has answered critics of his side's performances by pointing out that his team would be top of the Premier League based on their form since November.

The Dutchman has come under scrutiny as United have put on a string of uncharacteristically subdued displays since taking over at Old Trafford, often relying on excellent goalkeeper David De Gea and snatching goals against the run of play to carve out results.

Van Gaal, who has tinkered with different formations and resorted to playing striker Wayne Rooney in central midfield, defended the team's lack of attacking verve by highlighting the results over the last four months.

"When you see the score of the last 19 or 20 matches, we are the best team in the league," Van Gaal told a news conference on Friday ahead of his side's visit to Swansea City on Saturday.

"I am never 100 percent (happy). We can play better than we are now, but the main thing is to win games. We've shown our team spirit many times this season. It's good for the fans and for me, as you see a player wants to follow you."

United are third in the standings, 12 points adrift of leaders Chelsea, but have taken more points (34) from their previous 15 league matches than any other Premier League side and have lost just once in 19 games in all competitions.

They booked an FA Cup home quarterfinal against holders Arsenal with a 3-1 win at Preston North End on Monday.

In that match Van Gaal had to change the formation and personnel after the 20-times English champions fell behind against their third-tier opponents.

"I believe that every player knows the philosophy of me and my staff and everyone wants to follow that philosophy," Van Gaal said. "Our team spirit is unbelievable.

"When we change the system during the game we always surprise our opponent and that's why it's also a good thing for our team. Of course, it is not always that we improve our game but mostly we have improved and won the match, so that's important."

We deserved a bigger win - Garba

Nigeria's U20 coach believes his team deserved to beat their Ghanaian counterparts even more.

The two nations played in an international friendly on Thursday in Ghana's industrial city of Tema and saw the Flying Eagles win 2-0.

“I think we deserved to win the game. We had some good chances to win it with an even bigger margin,” Manu Garba told Adom FM.

Musa Mohammed converted a penalty with half an hour to go and then a second by Ifeanyi Matthew in added time completed the win.

The Flying Eagles, who are on a training tour in Ghana and drew the first leg 2-2, were clinical.

“We were put under pressure at times by Ghana but I think we managed that quite well. But all in all, I think we played some good football and we deserved to win the game,” noted the coach.

“The match against the Black Satellites offers us a good platform on which to test ourselves.”

Both teams are to feature in this year's African Youth Championship in Senegal.

Nigeria will be in Group A with Congo, Cote d’Ivoire and hosts Senegal while Ghana will play South Africa, Zambia and Mali in Group B.

Ghana’s starting XI: Mutawakilu Siedu-Kingsley Fobii, Patrick Asmah, Yakubu Mohammed, Stephen Anokye Badu, Paul Quaye, Richard Donkor, Yaw Yeboah, Isaac Quansah, Issah Abbas, Samuel Afful.

Nigeria’s starting XI: Olorunleke Ojo -Musa Mohammed, Samuel Okon, Izu Omego, Abdul Ganiyu, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Akinjide Idowu, Obinna Nwobodo, Musa Yahaya, Taiwo Awoniyi, Usman Hassan.

Chelsea racist fans 'should stand trial'

French football legend Lilian Thuram believes the Chelsea fans who racially abused a black French man on the Paris metro 'should stand trial'.

The commuter, identified as 33-year-old Souleymane S., was seen in amateur video footage being repeatedly pushed back off the train as he tried to board with the fans chanting: "We're racist, we're racist, and that's the way we like it!"

"This was very violent," the star of France's 1998 World Cup-winning side, told AFP.

"It's violence against human beings. This deed is a summary of all racist deeds. You have people suddenly saying 'I don't know you but I deny you the right to...' Why? 'Because you're black'," the 43-year-old added.

"Some people have this thought pattern that is this a superiority complex inherited from history. It's on film, you can't deny it. It happens every day."

The former Juventus and Parma defender regretted the lack of reaction from the RATP, the state-owned public transport operator.

"We cannot accept this. If someone hadn't filmed it, no one would have talked about it. I am talking about education but it can be the education of the entire society", he said.

Thuram, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, also criticised former AC Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi's comment on Monday that there were "too many blacks" in Italian youth football.

"There are people who say racist things but claim they are not racist. Everyone is subject to bias, sometimes you don't even know it", said Guadeloupe-born Thuram.

"But it is not possible to say such things anymore. You can't deny someone a flat or prevent him from rising to the top because you don't like his skin colour, his gender or his sexuality..."

Chelsea responded to widespread condemnation of the episode by announcing three supporters had been identified and have been suspended, pending further investigation.

The victim of the abuse meanwhile has lodged a criminal complaint with the French police, demanding that the culprits be punished.

Al Ahly get classy treatment in Algeria

Algerian football officials are trying to open a new page with their Egyptian counterparts when Cairo-based team Al Ahly arrived in their land on Thursday ahead of this weekend's Caf Super Cup against ES Setif.

The relationship between the two Northern African nations has been intensed and at times, frosty, since 2009 due to a football match in the 2010 World Cup qualifers when Algeria took the ticket at the expense of the Egyptians.

Algerian officials used the B.R.I, otherwise known as the country's commandos, normally used only during critical periods or chaos to provide protection for the Al Ahly contingent on arrival on Thursday.

Supersport.com spoke to one of the commandos, who preferred not to be named. He stated that "the visit of Al Ahly is a big event here and we are here to secure them in the best possible way. This is the first time we are here since a long time and we will be with Al Ahly till they leave."

The Egyptian ambassador Amr Aish said that the relationship between Egypt and Algeria in the sport should return back to its warmness following the gesture.

Algerian Football Federation chairman Mohamed Raouaou was one of the country's offcials who was at the reception for Al Ahly.

Al Ahly Chairman Mahmoud Taher described the warm reception as "a big honour for us and we appreciate that from Mr Raouaou."

'Kane more clinical than Rooney'

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce believes in-form Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane is a more clinical finisher than England captain Wayne Rooney as his side prepare to face the Spurs man in the Premier League on Sunday.

Allardyce's eighth-placed side visit White Hart Lane for the London derby with their hosts in fine form having won three of their last four league games to move three points adrift of the top four in sixth.

Tottenham's excellent run has coincided with the emergence of Englishman Kane, who has struck 23 goals in all competitions this season after breaking into the first team following four loan spells at lower league clubs.

Allardyce thinks the 21-year-old striker could be a more natural marksmen than Rooney, who is third in the Premier League's all-time leading scorers' list behind Alan Shearer and Andy Cole.

"His rise to prominence has been spectacular and it shows you that, in this game, you never can tell," Allardyce wrote in the London Evening Standard on Friday.

"His previous education, though, when he went out on loan a number of times, has helped him no end and paid handsome dividends.

"The attention he is attracting can be a distraction but can be managed carefully and sensibly, by his family, the club and, particularly, his agent.

"Full marks to him, though, and it's great for England. He looks as though he might be an even more clinical and natural finisher than Wayne Rooney."

The West Ham boss said his team will pay special attention to Kane and is expecting the striker to be raring to go after starting on the bench for Tottenham's 1-1 home draw with Fiorentina in the Europa League on Thursday.

Allardyce expects to have central defenders Winston Reid and James Collins available again as both have recovered from hamstring injuries.

Brazilian Nene, who signed on a free transfer on Wednesday as cover for injured striker Andy Carroll, will not be fit to make his debut.

"Nene isn't ready physically yet. He's just started training with us, it'll be about 10 days maybe two weeks before he's ready," Allardyce told a news conference on Friday of the 33-year-old former Paris St Germain player.

"It's great to have a player like Nene, with his CV, at the club. We're all looking forward to seeing him play."

'No free agent to cover for Ideye'

Brown Ideye’s consistent run in the West Bromwich Albion first-team seems set to continue after manager, Tony Pulis declared that he is not on the lookout for “free agents” as cover for his Nigerian striker and partner, Saido Berahino.

Ideye was almost sold by WBA in January but failure to bring in West Ham United striker, Carlton Cole meant the former Dynamo Kiev man got another chance.

The 26-year-old Nigerian has taken his chance and netted four goals in his last three matches for the Albion as well as forging a blistering partnership with Berahino.

Pulis says he would have loved to bring in cover for Ideye and Berahino, with the club’s other striker, Victor Anichebe currently sidelined with a groin injury.

But after scanning a list of available strikers, Pulis admits that bringing in an out-of-contract player could be more trouble than it is worth.

“We’ve done that (considered signing a free agent). We’ve looked through all that stuff. It’s no good bringing people in who are not going to improve it,” Pulis told the Birmingham Mail.

The manager added that it would make no sense bringing in strikers who would not improve the squad adding that he would be keeping his fingers crossed for Ideye and Berahino.

“If you’re bringing people in just to prop it up, you’re wasting money and you’re also dragging the squad down.

“So it’s very difficult for me to go and find someone now who’s going to do something better than what we’ve got with the players that we’ve got.

“We’ve got to make sure that we manage them right and we stay lucky.

“I’ve had a look at the information that the club have brought forward about the people that are free agents and it’s very difficult out there.

“In an ideal world, if I could have brought someone else in who I thought could do the job it would be brilliant because it does give you that cover that we haven’t got. But it can go the other way as well,” he says.

The current development means Ideye is likely to continue having a decent run in the WBA side.

He is in great form currently and has scored six goals in all competitions for the club this season.

Spurs win court battle over new stadium

Tottenham Hotspur cleared another hurdle in their quest to build a new 56 000-capacity stadium after Britain's High Court rejected a compulsory land purchase order appeal by a local business on Friday.

Archway Sheet Metal Works were challenging the order made in March 2012 that ruled they would have to make way for the 400 million pound ($614.08 million) stadium.

The family firm is based a few metres away from the North Stand at Tottenham's current White Hart Lane home. In November, a fire gutted the premises.

Mr Justice Dove ruled there was "no legal flaw" in the decision-making process after the company claimed the CPO was "unlawful and invalid".

More than 70 local businesses have been successfully relocated on the site that Tottenham, sixth in the Premier League, hope to turn into a new stadium by the 2018-19 season.

Meteb fit for Super Cup clash

Al Ahly have announced that their striker, Emad Meteb, is fit to play the Caf Super Cup match against ES Setif on Saturday.

Meteb left the team's training on Wednesday in Cairo as fever prevented him from completing the session.

"Meteb did the training session on Thursday in Algeria with the entire team and he is ready for the game," Al Ahly doctor Khaled Mahmoud told supersport.com.

"Emad took the treatment and he is okay now, and that will give the coach the chance to pick the striker for the game."

Al Ahly will miss the services of their midfielder, Mohamed Rezk, who picked up an injury in training in Cairo.

'Terry on verge of new Chelsea contract'

Chelsea captain John Terry has won the right to stay another year at thePremier League leaders and is on the verge of signing a contract, manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday.

The Portuguese coach said the 34-year-old Terry, who joined Chelsea 20 years ago as a schoolboy, had accepted the club's rule that over-30s will be offered only yearly contracts.

"I think everybody wants to stay and especially him who has been here all his life. He accepted our policy of going year after year with a smile and he accepted it as a challenge," Mourinho said after training for Saturday's home game against Burnley.

"Last year he won the challenge and this year he is winning the right of getting a one-year extension. Sooner or later he will get the season contract he deserves."

Terry, a former England captain, has started every league game this season.

Mourinho, who has a full squad to choose from apart from the injured John Obi Mikel, added he was not talking about his own contract, despite reports of an extension in British media.

"I'm different. I have two more years of contract. I want to stay. I think the club is happy but...I don't need a contract right now," Mourinho said.

"I will stay (as long as) Mr Abramovich will want me to stay."

Mourinho said he was amazed how lucky his Belgian forward Eden Hazard was considering the punishment he receives every match from heavy tackles. Statistics show Hazard is the most fouled player n the Premier League.

"I was aware of the number of fouls, every time he had the ball he was surrounded," Mourinho said of Tuesday's Champions League match against Paris St Germanic.

"But only on TV I could understand the dimension of the fouls because some of them were really, really dangerous ones. He's so fair and honest that he deserves to be lucky."

Dortmund seek Bundesliga boost

Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic believes that a win in the Bundesliga against Vfb Stuttgart on Friday will provide the perfect boost ahead of their Champions League showdown with Juventus.

Dortmund play the first leg of their last 16 tie against the Italian league leaders in Turin on Tuesday.

Before travelling to Italy though, Juergen Klopp’s side face a crucial German league match away to bottom of the table VfB Stuttgart.

Back-to-back wins over Freiburg and Mainz - coupled with key midfielder Marco Reus’s decision to sign a new contract - have lifted the mood at Dortmund.

The club is still only one point above the relegation zone, however, and Subotic knows that they cannot afford to look ahead to a glamorous European tie just yet.

“We’re excited about the Juventus game – we’re thinking about Stuttgart,” Subotic told AFP.

“The best thing we can do is play well against Stuttgart to get some confidence before we go into Europe.”

Subotic scored his first goal of the season in last week’s 4-2 home win against his former club, Mainz, a result that saw Dortmund climb one place to 15th in the 18-team standings.

Dortmund came from 2-0 down to draw against Stuttgart the last time the sides met in September. Although the home team have failed to win any of their last five matches, Subotic is not expecting an easy time on Friday.

“It’s a tough game,” the 26-year-old said.

“Stuttgart have always been a hard opponent, no matter where they are in the table, regardless of where they are, or where we are in the table.

“They have a good team and I don’t think anyone expected them to be last place. It is a surprise to everyone: they have good players, a great stadium and a rich tradition.

“But we know the situation can happen to anybody and just because you are last place doesn’t mean you’re a bad team. We were in last place ourselves until just a little while ago, so we respect their situation.”

In contrast to their domestic form, Dortmund have excelled in Europe this season and topped their group ahead of Arsenal, Anderlecht and Galatasaray.

Next week promises to be a big one for the club. After playing Juventus on Tuesday, they host arch rivals Schalke in the Revierderby on Saturday.

However, Subotic insists that Dortmund are focused solely on picking up another three points against Stuttgart.

“We know they can be a firework, we have to watch out, be patient and not rush things,” the Serbian international said.

“We have to watch them on the counter-attack, stay focused and not make any stupid errors.”

Betis deny involvement in match fixing

Real Betis have joined Espanyol and Osasuna in denying any involvement in the alleged fixing of La Liga matches near the end of last season.

Espanyol and Osasuna reacted swiftly on Tuesday to quash Spanish media reports that said they had agreed to draw their game on the penultimate matchday.

Further reports on Wednesday said a Betis match against Real Valladolid, which Betis won 4-3, was also under scrutiny from the professional league (LFP).

Espanyol narrowly managed to hold on to their top-flight status on the final day, while Osasuna, Betis and Valladolid were relegated.

"Real Betis did not have the slightest knowledge, nor has been party or will be party, now or ever, to any action that constitutes an attack on the integrity of the competition," the Seville-based club said on their website on Wednesday.

"Real Betis will collaborate with the LFP and any authority which is obliged to intervene to clear up the facts being investigated, placing all its personnel, means and supporting documents at their disposal," they added.

Valladolid could not immediately be contacted for comment.

In December, then-Japan coach Javier Aguirre, Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera, Atletico Madrid captain Gabi and 38 others were named in an alleged case of match fixing involving a game between Real Zaragoza and Levante in the 2010-11 season. All deny wrongdoing.

Mexican Aguirre, who was in charge at Espanyol last season, was fired by the Japan Football Association this month amid fears the scandal could affect the team's bid to qualify for the next World Cup.

Suarez strike could be catalyst for more

Luis Suarez's stunning goal last weekend was outshone by the exploits of hat-trick man Lionel Messi but the bicycle kick strike could be just what the Uruguay forward needed after a stuttering start in Spain.

Messi netted a record-equalling 23rd La Liga treble in the 5-0 victory at home to Levante before Suarez came off the bench and acrobatically smashed in what was only his fourth La Liga goal in 14 appearances this term.

Suarez has earned praise for his hard work and creativity – he has made five assists in Spain's top flight – but it was for his proven scoring ability that Barca lured him from Liverpool in the close season.

The 28-year-old has another chance to impress the fans at the Nou Camp in Saturday's game at home to Malaga and Barca will climb above Real Madrid, who play at Elche on Sunday, into top spot if they avoid defeat against the Andalusians.

Coach Luis Enrique should have Andres Iniesta, who missed the Levante game due to a bout of flu, available after the Spain playmaker returned to training on Wednesday.

Barca are looking to bounce back after they failed to win major silverware last season for the first time in six years and Iniesta said the team was well placed.

They are on the verge of a spot in the King's Cup final and through to face Manchester City in the Champions League last 16 and have a chance of repeating their historic treble under former coach Pep Guardiola in 2009.

"We're in a position to win it all," Iniesta said in an interview published on the Fifa website (www.fifa.com) this week.

"We're coming off a down year and that has really served as a motivator for us," he added.

"We're going to try and make sure this season ends happily, with titles in our pockets, and with the fans having fun again."

Champions Atletico Madrid, six points adrift of Barca in third, will look to rebound from last weekend's 2-0 reverse at Celta Vigo when they host Almeria on Saturday.

Valencia are three points further back in fourth and play at bottom side Cordoba on Saturday.

Garcia wants Roma to be respected

The Europa League is a chance for AS Roma to gain respect in Europe and repay their fans after poor Serie A performances, coach Rudi Garcia said on Wednesday.

"We know we are in debt to our supporters and we need a win quickly. We are involved in two competitions and we will do our best in both of them," the Frenchman told reporters.

"We have experience in Europe but we need to make a name for ourselves and earn respect from the other teams."

"In Serie A, we fight all year to qualify for Europe, we need to play in Europe every year."

Roma face Feyenoord at home on Thursday in the first leg of their last-32 tie having finished third in their Champions League group after home defeats by Bayern Munich, who beat them 7-1, and Manchester City.

Roma have dropped seven points behind Serie A leaders Juventus after drawing six out of their last eight league games and were booed off the field on Sunday after being held 0-0 at home by bottom-of-the-table Parma.

Big guns rolled out in Europa

The race to become the first club to qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League hots up on Thursday when Europe's secondary competition restarts with 32 teams chasing glory in Warsaw in May.

Uefa's decision to reward the winners with a place in at least the playoffs for next season's Champions League should spice up the knockout stage, which includes the eight teams who have dropped down from Europe's top tier.

There are six former European champions taking part with two of them – Celtic and Inter Milan – facing each other with the opening leg in Glasgow on Thursday before the return on February 26.

Celtic famously became the first British team to be crowned European champions when they beat Inter 2-1 in Lisbon in 1967 but the Scottish champions have had a miserable time against Italian sides more recently and are without a win in seven games with defeats in their last four.

Liverpool, European champions five times, will also renew acquaintance with an old foe in Turkish side Besiktas, who have painful memories of their last visit to Anfield in November 2007 when they were beaten 8-0, a record defeat since the Champions League was reformatted in 1992.

Liverpool will be all too aware of the danger posed by Besiktas striker Demba Ba, who has five Europa League goals this season.

Ba, with Chelsea last April, took advantage of Steven Gerrard's famous slip on the Anfield turf to score the opening goal in a 2-0 win that effectively cost Liverpool the chance of a first English title for 24 years.

Gerrard, currently out with a hamstring injury, is the only survivor from Liverpool's 8-0 win and also from their last European title success in 2005.

He would love nothing more to end his last season at the club before moving to the MLS by winning another European trophy.

Rafa Benitez, who led Liverpool to that success a decade ago, is seeking to become only the second man after Giovanni Trapattoni to win the trophy for a third time after victories with Valencia in 2004 and Chelsea in 2013.

His Napoli side take on Trabzonspor with the first leg in Turkey on Thursday.

Three times winners Sevilla face Borussia Moenchengldbach, who won the trophy twice in the 1970s and are unbeaten in eight European fixtures this season.

Taking Villa job was 'no-brainer' - Sherwood

Tim Sherwood on Monday said his decision to take the job as manager of struggling English Premier League side Aston Villa was a "no-brainer".

The 46-year-old was unveiled at Villa Park on Monday after signing a deal until 2018 to replace the sacked Paul Lambert.

He takes over a side who languish in the relegation zone in the league, although his halftime team-talk helped inspire Villa to a 2-1 win against Leicester City on Sunday that took them into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

When asked what he said to his new players at the interval of that game, Sherwood said: "To play with less fear. I thought it was a bit tentative. We had to get (Christian) Benteke more in the game. There's a little bit of apprehension around the place.

"They need to play with a bit more confidence then everything will be fine.

"It's a fantastic opportunity and a huge football club. When I got the call asking if I would be interested, it was a no-brainer. Yes. I'll take the job and then we'll negotiate later, see if they like what I'm about."

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Sherwood, who will take charge for Saturday's visit of Stoke City, is yet to meet chairman Randy Lerner but did speak to the owner on the phone and insisted he is not looking beyond this season as Villa battle the drop.

"I spoke to him (Lerner) briefly but I spoke to (chief executive) Tom Fox at length about the vision of the club. I liked what I heard," he said.

"It's different this season to the long run because we're in a difficult situation right now. I need to get the best out of this group then we can look at it again."

Villa won just twice in their last 21 league games under Lambert, who was sacked last week following a 2-0 defeat to Hull City.

Villa were founding members of the Premier League and Sherwood has targeted six wins between now and the end of the season to ensure they stay there.

"It's all about winning, nothing else. You can't look any further than the end of the season, we need six wins so it (13 games) will be enough," he said.

"We need to win and we need to get the players to play to their ability and if we can do that then we'll be very competitive in any game we play and that includes the one on Saturday."

West Ham sign Brazilian forward Nene

West Ham United have signed Brazilian winger Nene on a short-term contract subject to international clearance, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.

The Hammers moved quickly to replace striker Andy Carroll who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

The 33-year-old Nene played for French Ligue 1 clubs Monaco and Paris St German before joining Qatari side Al-Gharafa in 2013.

"I'm proud to come to a really big club like West Ham. I've been thinking about coming back to Europe for a few months because here, the football, the ambience, everything is better," Nene told the West Ham website.

"I like to get on the ball and show my technique," he added. "I like taking free kicks and I like making assists."

West Ham are eighth in the standings with an outside chance of challenging for a top-four finish and a Champions League qualification spot with 13 games left in the season.

Liverpool trio return to Southampton

Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren left Southampton hoping for bigger things at Liverpool but when they return to their former club in the Premier League on Sunday they will look enviously at their former teammates.

Southampton are fourth in table, occupying the final Champions League qualification spot, while Liverpool have endured an indifferent season and lie seventh, four points adrift of Ronald Koeman's side.

After six months and 25 games, the weekend brings the reverse fixtures of the first matches of the campaign.

When Koeman lost his first competitive game in charge of Southampton 2-1 at Anfield it looked as though the season might unfold as most pundits had predicted.

Liverpool were flying high after finishing runners-up the previous season and the south-coast club looked destined to struggle after an exodus of leading players and the loss of manager Mauricio Pochettino.

But Southampton have defied the doom-mongers, coping admirably with the loss of Lallana, Lambert and Lovren to Liverpool as well as Luke Shaw to Manchester United and Calum Chambers to Arsenal.

Serbia defender Lovren has not been missed as the Saints boast the tightest defence in the league, while Koeman's attack has outscored Liverpool's expensively-assembled forward line.

Brendan Rodgers's side have struggled to recapture their scintillating form of last season but have regained a bit of swagger recently, unbeaten in nine league games ahead of the trip to St Mary's.

Arsenal, who are one point behind Southampton in fifth, visit London rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday, while sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur host another capital derby when West Ham United visit White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Leaders Chelsea held on for a 1-1 draw at Paris St Germain in their Champions League last-16 first-leg tie on Tuesday and will hope for an easier ride at home to second-bottom Burnley.

Champions Manchester City, trailing Jose Mourinho's team by seven points in second, host Newcastle United.

Louis Van Gaal tasted defeat in the first competitive game of his managerial reign at Manchester United and will want to avenge the Old Trafford loss when his third-placed team go to Swansea City on Saturday.

Tim Sherwood's first league game as Aston Villa manager is at home to Stoke City.

Ramsey out to become QPR's dream boss

Queens Park Rangers manager Chris Ramsey is under no illusions that he is the club's "dream" candidate to lead the team but said he could become just that if he keeps the Premier League strugglers in the top flight.

The 52-year-old was promoted from coach to caretaker manager following Harry Redknapp's surprise resignation at the beginning of February.

Club chairman Tony Fernandes began the search for a high-profile appointment and said he had found his "dream manager" to take over at the club on a permanent basis.

A deal with the mystery candidate fell through, though, and Ramsey was given the job until the end of the season.

He oversaw QPR's first league away win this season with a 2-0 victory at Sunderland last week and Fernandes has since admitted he would "be nuts" if he did not give the manager a long-term contract if his side avoid relegation.

QPR are one place above the relegation zone on goal difference, level on points with 18th-placed Aston Villa, with 13 games remaining.

"I really do have a long way to go to be a dream manager," Ramsey told a news conference ahead of their league trip to Hull City, one place and one point above them in 16th, on Saturday.

"We (he and Fernandes) have had a few discussions over the last week. He hasn't said that (Ramsey will keep the job if QPR stay in the top flight) directly, he has insinuated it.

"We all want to stay up and if I do that, he will have a difficult decision then to bring someone else in or to keep me. I want to try to give him that difficult decision.

"I'm in a situation where I could be in a very prestigious job for a long time if things work out," Ramsey added.

"I'm just focused on the next games to get the wins to keep us up. We can talk about that after. If we can win games, you have a chance. I still think there is a project to do here. We have a new training ground coming and trying to make the academy stronger."

Porto hold Basel amid controversy

Porto hit back with a late Danilo penalty to hold FC Basel to a 1-1 draw in the Champions League on Wednesday amid controversy over a goal for the Portuguese visitors which was disallowed after a long delay and consultation between match officials.

Basel, who progressed through the group stage at the expense of Liverpool, led for three quarters of the round of 16 first leg after Derlis Gonzalez gave them an 11th minute lead on a freezing night.

Two-times winners Porto kept their unbeaten record in this year's competition intact when fullback Danilo stroked home a penalty with 11 minutes to play after a handball by 36-year-old former Argentina defender Walter Samuel.

But the game's talking point was the disallowed Porto goal early in the second half.

The visitors had finished celebrating and were back on the halfway line waiting for the re-start when referee Mark Clattenburg, after a long consultation with his linesman, disallowed Casemiro's goal for offside.

Television replays suggested that two Porto players were offside when Casemiro headed in the rebound after Maicon's header was parried by Basel goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik, but it was the delay which angered the Porto players and coach Julen Lopategui.

"It was difficult for us to get going again when the decision was changed after such a long time," said Porto coach Lopategui. "We reacted very well."

"We were clearly superior to a very good team and in very adverse circumstances," he added "They scored with their only shot on goal, they were 100 percent efficient which is very unusual."

Clattenburg had a busy night elsewhere as he booked nine players, five from the Swiss champions and four from their opponents.

Basel scored with the first chance of the game in the 11th minute.

Fabian Frei chipped a perfectly weighted ball over the Porto defence and found Gonzalez who held of his marker and prodded the ball past Porto goalkeeper Fabiano.

But Basel lost their bite after the Paraguayan went off injured in the 25th minute and often looked like the away team as they played on the counter attack.

Porto dominated possession but often appeared to be going nowhere as they passed the ball around in the first half.

Vaclik made his first difficult save in the 55th minute as Cristian Tello raced through and Colombia forward Jackson Martinez saw his only chance in a quiet performance land on the roof of the net.

The game petered out after Danilo's equaliser with the two teams apparently happy to wait for the return leg on March 10 to settle matters.