Hearts wingers in fitness race

Saulius Mikoliunas and David Cesnauskis are both struggling to be fit for the visit of Rangers after picking up hamstring strains in midweek. However, midfielder Laryea Kingston is available for the SPL match after returning from action with Ghana unscathed. By"http://www.football365.com"

Michael Stewart and Calum Elliot are both fit despite picking up knocks in the last outing against Motherwell.

Kick-off 12.30pm

Hearts (from): Banks, Neilson, Tall, Berra, Zaliukas, Wallace, Mikoliunas, Kingston, Jonsson, Stewart, Driver, Velicka, Elliot, Nade, Palazuelos, Ksanavicius, Ivaskevicius, Kurskis, Karipidis, Goncalves, Cesnauskis

By " http://www.football365.com "

The `Striker Light` Gossip

FERGIE WANTS A STRIKER, AND WANTS BERBATOV, BUT MAY HAVE TO SETTLE FOR ANELKA OR DEFOE
The consensus along Fleet Street is that ManYoo boss Sir Alex Ferguson wants to sign a new striker but that he is running out of time and Dimitar Berbatov is too expensive.

With the injury-prone Louis Saha continuing to produce sick-notes, Carlos Tevez remains the only fit striker at Sir Alex's disposal. Berbatov, of whom Ferguson is a long-time admirer, would represent a high-class solution to the striker shortage, but Tottenham are in no mood to sell.

'Even United's planned bid today for Berbatov of £22million - twice what Tottenham paid Bayer Leverkusen for the Bulgarian barely a year ago - falls well short of being an offer Spurs cannot refuse,' reports The Daily Mail.

It is a point reiterated by The Times, which claims: 'A deal for Berbatov always looked problematic this summer, after an unsuccessful inquiry in June, but, while that situation will be revisited, possibly in January, United are scouring Europe in search of alternatives for the immediate future.

'United are aware that Nicolas Anelka could be available from Bolton Wanderers for about £8 million and that there is a chance of luring either Obafemi Martins or, intriguingly, Michael Owen from Newcastle United. All three have been discussed at Old Trafford during the summer, with Anelka the subject of a tentative and informal inquiry to Bolton in May, but Ferguson and Carlos Queiroz, his assistant, are not convinced of the merits of signing any of them.'

However, The Daily Mirrror believes differently.

According to the newspaper, 'Manchester United and Manchester City are locked in a fierce battle to sign Bolton striker Nicolas Anelka before Friday's transfer deadline.

'Sir Alex Ferguson wants £12million Anelka to solve his striker crisis at United, while City manager Sven Goran Eriksson is keen to bring the Frenchman back to his former club to inject some quality into his front line.'

Thank you "http://www.football365.com" for detail

GUNNERS CRUISE PAST SPARTA

Arsenal joined Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United in the Champions League group stages following a 5-0 aggregate win over Sparta Prague.

The Gunners did the hard work in the first leg of the third qualifying round tie, which they won 2-0 away from home to ensure the pressure was off at the Emirates Stadium.

And after a bright start which saw Robin van Persie steer a header wide and Eduardo da Silva hit a shot straight at Tomas Postulka, Arsene Wenger's hosts took the lead on seven minutes.

Young winger Theo Walcott broke down the right flank and his perfect cross was clinically slotted home by Tomas Rosicky, who was playing against his former team-mates.

Marek Kulic and Jan Rezek wasted half-chances for the visitors - and sub Cesc Fabregas made it 2-0 with a crisp half-volley (82) before Eduardo found the net on 89 minutes.

Thank you "http://www.football365.com" for detail

Heinze & Robben seal Real switch

Real Madrid have completed the signings of Premier League duo Arjen Robben and Gabriel Heinze after they both passed routine medicals.

Chelsea winger Robben, 23, who has been a long-term target for the Spanish champions, has signed a five-year deal.

Real were believed to be ready to pay in the region of £21m for his services.

Heinze, 29, has arrived from Manchester United on a four-year deal after his club blocked the £8m-rated defender's preferred move to Liverpool.

After being unveiled at the Bernabeu, the Argentine said: "I am a man of few words but I always speak my mind and I am enormously proud to get the chance to play for Madrid.

"Every player wants to play for Real Madrid, one of greatest clubs in the world.

"It is a pleasure to wear this shirt. I am going to give everything, like I have done up until now. I hope that this year we can continue making the fans happy."

The Anfield outfit tabled a bid of more than £6.8m but United refused to let the Argentine join their bitter north-west rivals.

Heinze took his case to a Premier League arbitration panel but it ruled against him.

Heinze, who had lost out on a first-team place at United to Patrice Evra, was considering lodging an appeal when Real made their move.

After three seasons at Old Trafford, he will become the third Manchester United player in four seasons to join the Spanish club, following on from David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Heinze will replace Brazilian Roberto Carlos, who left the Bernabeu to move to Turkish side Fenerbahce.

Robben joined the Blues from PSV Eindhoven for £12.1m in 2004.

The Dutchman said: "I want to thank the club, the president and the board for their effort and patience in signing me.

"There were many moments when I felt I was going to Madrid the next day and then it did not happen. It was a big relief when word came I could join.

"Today I have entered a dream world. I am enjoying every minute and I hope together we can win many things."

Real president Ramon Calderon had targeted Robben in his election campaign and landed his man when Chelsea failed to persuade him to sign a long-term contract.

"He was one of the promises of our presidential candidacy for a simple reason - he is the best left winger in the world," Calderon said.

Speaking about the Robben deal, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said: "We've done some very good business for Chelsea Football Club.

"The downside of that he is a very good player and we would have liked him to stay.

"But for whatever reason - and you will have to ask him - he did not want to stay here."

Robben has scored 19 goals in 104 appearances for the Blues.

But after a sensational start at Stamford Bridge, his progress was hindered by injury and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho brought in attacking midfielder Florent Malouda to replace him.

Robben will join fellow Dutchmen Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder and Royston Drenthe at the Bernabeu.

Thank"http://news.bbc.co.uk" for detail.

Everton to seal Fernandes signing

Everton boss David Moyes is hopeful Portuguese midfielder Manuel Fernandes will be part of his squad "within the next 24 hours".

The 21-year-old arrived in Britain on Thursday with a view to completing a £6m move from Benfica.

Moyes said: "He had the first part of his medical and that will be completed on Friday."

The Everton boss added: "I would then expect him to become an Everton player within the next 24 hours."

The move will not been completed in time for the Portugal Under-21 player to acquire international clearance to be involved in Saturday's match at Reading.

Everton have also had to gain clearance from the Premier League over the signing because Fernandes is part-owned by a third party, the Global Sports Agency.

Under Premier league rules, England's top clubs are not allowed to field a player owned by a third party who would have the "ability materially to influence its policies or the performance of its teams".

Everton, it is believed, are only buying 50% of the player from Benfica, with third party companies owning the rest - however, they will have an option to buy out the rest of the player after a fixed period.

Fernandes spent the second part of last season on loan at Goodison Park and did enough for manager Moyes to want to agree a permanent deal for him.

Moyes said: "He knows all about us and we hope he will be able to hit the ground running when he arrives.

"He knows about us and what we do, he will give us a different option. We are playing with Lee Carsley and Phil Neville just now in the centre of midfield and he will give us more competition there.

"But he is a different type of player, with a bit more craft. At 21 he was a big player in the European Under-21 championships for Portugal and we are delighted to have him."

Thank"http://news.bbc.co.uk" for detail.

Owen ready for Magpies return

Michael Owen will return to the Newcastle squad for Saturday's Premier League home clash with Aston Villa after recovering from a thigh injury. There is more good news for Toon manager Sam Allardyce as Owen could be joined on the bench by Turkish midfielder Emre, who has also returned to full training after an ankle complaint.

But Allardyce must still do without goalkeeper Shay Given (groin), Damien Duff (ankle), Joey Barton (metatarsal) and Celestine Babayaro for his first home game as Magpies boss.

Kick-off at St James' Park is at 5.15pm.

Newcastle (from): Harper, Carr, N'Zogbia, Rozehnal, Taylor, Solano, Milner, Geremi, Butt, Smith, Viduka, Martins, Ameobi, Owen, Ramage, Pattison, Cacapa, Enrique, Emre.

FERGIE LOOKING FOR VINTAGE UNITED

Sir Alex Ferguson will gladly accept an expensive bottle of wine from Sven-Goran Eriksson on Sunday - but he has no intention of sharing it with the former England coach.

The duo had a stormy relationship during Eriksson's five-and-a-half years in charge of the national side and go head-to-head in a Manchester derby for the first time this weekend as resurgent City face a United side who are without a win so far this term.

Eriksson is reportedly ready to mark the occasion by splashing out ฃ400 on a bottle of vintage red to hand the Red Devils boss. But if he thinks Ferguson will open it during their post-match chat, the Swede is sadly mistaken.

"I am not aware of the wine," he said.

"If he gives me a present I will accept it, but I will not be sharing it with him. I will take it home instead."

Given their past history, Ferguson steered clear of offering any major personal analysis of Eriksson's managerial record, preferring instead to focus his attention on City as a whole.

Eriksson, he noted, is the Blues' 12th manager during his own near 21-year stint as United boss - a tenure which reached a glorious peak on his side's last visit to Eastlands in May when a single-goal win effectively sealed his ninth championship crown.

"Last year was amazing," he laughed.

"They spent a fortune on those blue-and-white scarves for all the fans and they never had a shot at goal, or tried to beat us.

"We were trying to win the league, and they were quite happy."

Ferguson's assessment may be stretching a point slightly, given Edwin van der Sar saved a late Darius Vassell penalty which would have earned City a draw.

Nevertheless, the relatively timid manner of that defeat hastened Stuart Pearce's departure.

Despite public doubts over his record with England, Eriksson has had an immediate impact at the Blues.

Successive wins over West Ham and Derby mean even if City were to lose on Sunday, they would still head their local rivals in the table.

Yet as Ferguson is only too aware, success brings its own pressures - and given the desperation of the City fans to end a 31-year trophy drought, the heat is on.

"It is a big season for every City manager that comes along, especially so this time because they have spent a bagful of money on players," he said.

"No matter what people say, there is an expectation now because they have won their first two games. They have to manage that. That is more difficult."

Having noted Eriksson had talks with Aston Villa and "another club" he opted not to name, Ferguson is not surprised to see the Swede returning to life as a manager in England.

What has caught him slightly on the hop is the sheer number of unknown players Eriksson has brought in from abroad, which makes planning for Sunday's encounter slightly difficult.

"I know about (Martin) Petrov and (Rolando) Bianchi," he said.

"They were on the radar screen for everyone for a long time. But I don't know about the rest of them. Time will tell."

Despite investing heavily himself this summer, Ferguson finds his own options restricted.

Cristiano Ronaldo begins a three-match ban following his dismissal at Portsmouth - joining Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves on a long list of absentees.

Hargreaves' recovery from a tendinitis problem is proving frustratingly slow, although Ferguson is confident the ฃ18million summer arrival from Bayern Munich will not need to have an injection.

"We think we are on the right road to sorting it out," he said.

"The better prevention is to do it naturally.

"Owen has been training reasonably well, and we are prepared to go along that course until it deteriorates. If that happens - in any way, shape or form - we have to consider an injection."

Ferguson will place his trust in Carlos Tevez - who performed creditably on his debut at Portsmouth, setting up Paul Scholes for United's opener.

But while Tevez's fellow Argentinian Gabriel Heinze is fit, it appears highly unlikely Ferguson would name him in his squad just 23 hours before a Premier League panel will determine whether the 29-year-old should be free to join Liverpool.

Thank you "http://www.football365.com" for detail