FA charges Liverpool’s Mascherano
Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano has been charged with improper conduct following his sending-off against Manchester United on Sunday.
Mascherano must serve a one-match suspension for the red card, but could now miss an additional two games if he is found guilty. The Argentine has been given until 1800 GMT on Thursday to respond and the case is scheduled to be heard on Friday 4 April.
The 23-year old appeared to question Bennett’s decision to caution Fernando Torres, and was then shown a second yellow card himself. Mascherano will definitely miss Sunday’s Merseyside derby at Anfield.
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Carson ‘likely to face Man Utd’
Aston Villa keeper Scott Carson should be fit to play at Manchester United on Saturday, despite pulling out of the England squad to face France.
Carson was dropped from the England squad after hearing about his injury. but a scan has shown the injury to be minor.
“We didn’t think it was anything serious,” said a Villa club spokesman.
“But after consultation with our own medical team and England’s, it was felt a week away with the international squad may have aggravated it.”
The Barclays Premier League match Manchester United vs Aston Villa will be played in Old Trafford on 29 March 2008 17:15 UK.
For more details regarding the match please click on the “More” below;
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Ronaldinho to Inter
Injury, poor form have sidelined Brazilian during ‘08
The Brazilian is having a miserable season at Camp Nou, and has struggled badly to demonstrate the kind of form that once made him the best player in the world.
Ronaldinho has spent long spells of the season out of the line-up, due to injury and poor form, and this has led to constant reports that he will leave Barca at the end of the campaign. Ronaldinho has appeared in just 13 of 29 league games during his underwhelming 2008 campaign.
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Today in the Premier League
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Arsenal
Brazil international Kaka believes Cesc Fabregas is “the prototype of the modern midfielder”. “He influences everything on the pitch,” the Milan player said. “He’s an amazing talent because of how he plays and how he controls how others play. He is always moving and reminds me of [Andrea] Pirlo.”
Chelsea
Midfielder Joe Cole feels the Blues can use Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal to give them momentum as the club enter the final weeks of their title challenge. “We still think we can do it,” the England international said. “We have to hope Manchester United drop points and we win all of our games. We will keep going, we are on a good run.”
Liverpool
Rafael Benitez has requested talks with the referees’ manager Keith Hackett following the controversial dismissal of midfielder Javier Mascherano. “I would like to speak to Keith because it is important that we find a solution,” he said. “At Liverpool we respect the game and the rules.”
Manchester United
Former Reds midfielder Roy Keane believes United will play “like an animal that has sniffed blood” as the title race enters its final weeks. “They will win the title without a shadow of a doubt,” he said. “When you sign for United, you are going there to win. The desire is in the fabric of the club.”
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Barcelona eye Liverpool boss Benitez
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is being banded around the Barcelona boardroom as a potential replacement for Frank Rijkaard.
Nou Camp president Joan Laporta chaired a board-level meeting yesterday to discuss a number of issues which the Catalan giants intend to address after the climax of the La Liga season this summer.
One of those issues is whether former Holland legend Rijkaard, 45, will depart for Chelsea - as is widely expected - and who will take the reins at Barca?
The players are not satisfied with the current performance of the manager Rijkaard either. The board also has major concerns with keeping in mind that Barcelona has the best attacking players of the world which include; Ronaldinho, Mess, Eto and the latest transfer Henry. After reading these names one can easily conclude that Rijkaard has failed to fully utilise his striking resources.
Rafael Benítez Maudes, who guided Valencia to two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup triumph before taking Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005, is top of Laporta’s list, according to news leaked to Spanish newspapers.
The 47-year-old Anfield chief is favoured over other managers - namely Jose Mourinho - because of his proven track record in Spain and his ability to rotate a squad littered with star names.
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