Arsene Wenger feels the biggest test for Eduardo will be overcoming the "psychological hurdle" as he fights towards a first-team comeback after almost a year out with a broken leg. Eduardo featured for the reserves in Tuesday night's 2-0 win over Portsmouth, playing the opening 45 minutes at Underhill. "For him to be back playing in the first team will not be a physical problem, it will be more a psychological hurdle to go back into the fight," Wenger said. "For a striker, the goal is about the fraction of a second he was ahead of the defender. Any reluctance to go into contact takes that away and then you do not score any more. That is where the question mark will be about Eduardo. He is a very brave guy, but sometimes you cannot master those kind of reflexes."   

 Martin O'Neill offered no excuses for Aston Villa's limp display with a shadow squad against Hamburg - and is confident a full-strength line-up will do the club justice in the UEFA Cup. O'Neill rested eight players from the side which overcame Bolton Wanderers in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday and saw Villa beaten 3-1 by the German side who topped the group. He said: "We were beaten by the better team tonight. I am disappointed to be beaten but we have qualified and we will give the competition due consideration in February. Obviously the draw is on Friday and I look forward to that. We are through. I was very pleased with some of the younger players, Nathan Delfouneso especially in the second half did really well. Once again, disappointed to have lost but we were through."

 Manchester City manager Mark Hughes is backing Sam Allardyce to drag his former club Blackburn Rovers out of trouble. Allardyce was appointed as Rovers manager on a three-year contract after Paul Ince was sacked on Tuesday. Hughes said: "Sam is an experienced Premier League manager. He's had success at a similar-size club in the past. They may be lacking a bit of confidence - he is a big guy with a big personality. He will go in there and try and address things quickly."

 Gary Megson hopes his side can repeat their fine home performance against Portsmouth last season when the sides meet again this weekend - but wants a different result. The Trotters dominated that Barclays Premier League contest at the Reebok Stadium but were undone by a controversial 81st-minute goal from Lassana Diarra. Megson said: "The Portsmouth game was probably our best performance over the last 12 months. We've obviously had better results but performance-wise we were excellent on that day. Harry (Redknapp) came in after the game and said that there had only been two teams that had done that to them throughout last season, and that was Manchester United and Arsenal."

 Luiz Felipe Scolari thinks he knows why his Chelsea side have been struggling at home this season. The Blues have dropped 14 points at Stamford Bridge already, and Scolari believes a creative player would have helped against a side who pitch up with the sole intention to defend. While champions Manchester United have Cristiano Ronaldo, Chelsea have not had such an 'energiser' since the departure of Arjen Robben in 2007. He said: "We lack an organiser who can get hold of the ball, get forward and energise our front line, I just have players who work on the ball. Deco, Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard can all shoot but I don't have a player who can dribble. When we are at home our opponents close up at the back, with lots of men behind the ball. That makes it difficult when you don't have an organiser. It's different when we play away. The home sides play a more open game. There is no point in me weeping or moaning or seeking blame. I have to find a solution, and that is what I will do."

 Everton have revealed a record turnover of £75.7m and a slight pre-tax profit in their latest statement of accounts. The club announced that revenues for the financial year ended 31st May, 2008 increased by 47 per cent compared to the previous 12-month period. Before player trading, they made a profit of £6.8m compared to a loss of £500,000 the year before. Transfer dealings, however, almost cancel the figures out with the balance sheet ultimately showing a pre-tax profit of £260,000 on its bottom line. Last year the club lost £9.4m. Chairman Bill Kenwright said in his report: "Our determination to ensure that our first-team squad is constantly upgraded has had an effect on the club's balance sheet but, as ever, we have benefited from what I would call sensible and careful fiscal management during a period which was, in pure financial terms, hugely challenging."

 Andy Johnson admits he is surprised how competitive the Barclays Premier League is proving this season but remains confident of a top-half finish. The Cottagers are 10th in the table after losing just once in their last 10 matches but while they are just five points behind sixth, they are also just three above the bottom three. He said: "On the back of those results, realistically, I think we can be looking at a top-10 finish, and possibly upwards of 10th spot. But it's such a tight league this year, and a few results can take you either way. We could go on a run of two defeats and, depending on other results, could well find ourselves in the relegation zone. Then again, two wins in succession could put us right up there."

 Phil Brown has hailed the improved form of Bernard Mendy. The Frenchman has taken time to settle at the KC Stadium and struggled in his early appearances, particularly at right-back. However, the 27-year-old has forced his way back into the reckoning as a right winger and, after some impressive substitute appearances, started last weekend's 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw at Liverpool. The Tigers manager said: "Bernard probably came to this football club as a number two but more often than not has found himself as a number seven. In that more advanced role, the free spirit tends to come out. It is a nice option and a nice problem to have. He puts opposition players under pressure." 

 Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has returned home after a minor operation to remove kidney stones and is expected to return to work within a couple of days. The Spaniard was admitted to hospital late on Sunday with the problem but is expected to make a speedy recovery. "The operation went well and Rafa is now back at home continuing his recovery," a club spokesman said. "He is expected to return to Melwood (training ground) within the next 48 hours."  

 Richard Dunne has been ruled out of the UEFA Cup match against Racing Santander on Thursday because of a family matter. Dunne did not travel with the rest of the squad to Spain as his wife had a baby boy in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Benjani Mwaruwari (hamstring) and Daniel Sturridge (Achilles) will miss the match because of injury while fellow striker Jo has not travelled because of a virus. 

 Dimitar Berbatov will miss Manchester United's Club World Cup semi-final with Gamba Osaka at the Nissan Stadium on Thursday. The £30.75m Bulgarian picked up a virus on the flight to Japan and has barely been out of bed since the Red Devils landed in Tokyo. Wayne Rooney is also struggling after picking up a knock in training, but Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs will definitely feature. 

 Julio Arca is keeping his fingers crossed that Middlesbrough will retain their top players ahead of next month's transfer window. Arca said: "I don't think we are a team which needs to sell players because we have not got a big squad. I think the manager and the players would like to have everyone here after January and keep everyone until the end of the season and then we will see what happens then. If new faces come into the club, they are going to be welcomed, but I think the manager and players would like to have everyone here." 

 Owner Mike Ashley insists Joe Kinnear will be granted a certain amount of freedom in next month's transfer window. "It is up to Joe, we have signed him, it's up to him," Ashley said of Kinnear, who has been handed a contract until the end of the season. "I've definitely got some money although whether I will give it to him or not is another question. Joe realises that Newcastle don't have a bottomless pit of money so he will be very careful with what he does. If it's a player that costs £30million then I can absolutely say. 'I don't think so'. But will he able to get the players he wants to tinker with the team and change the balance? The answer's yes."

 Tony Adams is "100 per cent confident" he will be allowed to re-invest the full proceeds from Lassana Diarra's proposed sale to Real Madrid. Portsmouth confirmed on Wednesday that Real had made an "exceptional" offer - reported to be in the region of £20m - for Diarra, who signed from Arsenal in January for just £5.5m. Asked whether he was confident Portsmouth owner Alexandre Gaydamak would make every penny available, Adams replied: "Absolutely. I am 100 per cent confident. My job now is to get the recruitment right and add to the squad. We are going to have to find some other players and move on. We do need reinforcements but it doesn't mean I will spend it all at once. If people know you have got money they overcharge you. Maybe you have to use your head a little bit and get the right player at the right price."

 Liam Lawrence is hoping to return to action this week after the "worst three months" of his career. The former Sunderland midfielder has not played since September's Barclays Premier League defeat by Chelsea after suffering a freak ankle injury when falling over his dog. The 27-year-old now finally feels he has overcome the problem and aims to feature at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. Lawrence said: "It's been horrendous to be honest with you, I never envisaged it would be three months. Without doubt it has been the worst three months of my career. It hasn't been nice not being part of what the lads have achieved since the start of the season. But, I am back now and hopefully I can get myself involved in the game against Blackburn on Saturday." 

 Goalkeeper Marton Fulop believes Ricky Sbragia has managed the transition from coach to caretaker with ease. "Ricky has changed his role, but that has not been a problem for any of us," he said. "When he was appointed as the caretaker, we knew things would change - you can't make as many jokes with him anymore - but it's not like everything goes out of the window. He still has a great sense of humour and we still enjoy working with him as much. Personally, I don't think it has been a great change, although he is acting more like a manager now. He is the boss instead of being one of the lads, and we all respect that. The fact that he knows how everything works has made it easier for him to step in. That's why the whole thing has worked so well. He knows the squad inside out. He has his own views on football and maybe we have benefited from that a bit."

 Harry Redknapp will target a striker next month as his priority after illness to Darren Bent exposed a lack of attacking options in his squad ahead of the UEFA Cup match against Spartak Moscow. Redknapp has Fraizer Campbell as his only fit frontman to face the Russian outfit, with Roman Pavlyuchenko cup-tied and Bent in bed with tonsillitis for a match Spurs could lose and still advance to the knockout phase if other results go their way. "Pav's out, Benty's out, we've got to wrap Fraizer Campbell in cotton wool because if anything happened to him, we haven't got anybody to play centre-forward," Redknapp said. "(Coach) Les Ferdinand up front would be handy!"

 Tony Mowbray admits he must try to address his squad's lack of top-flight experience in the January transfer window. The promoted Baggies have struggled on their return to the Barclays Premier League and are bottom of the table after 17 matches. Mowbray had hoped to build a side with an emphasis on youth but he concedes a wise old head could help them in their predicament. Mowbray said: "Premier League experience is something, which looking back on, we've probably missed. It goes against my philosophies and beliefs about going and buying 33 or 34-year-olds who have played 400 games in the league. Yet, when I look at it, it's probably very crucial for promoted teams."  

 Former Spain striker Diego Tristan has spoken of his determination to make his mark at West Ham United. The veteran forward joined the Hammers on a free transfer in October after being released by Livorno but has so far made just one substitute appearance. But after scoring for the first time in a West Ham shirt in the reserves' 4-3 win over Chelsea this week, the 32-year-old is confident he can excel at Upton Park. Tristan said: "For a striker, goals are always important for your confidence, and it was also good for me to play 90 minutes and get back into the rhythm of a match. It will give me confidence even if it is a reserve game because goals are the lifeblood for every striker. It is important to be ready for when the team needs me and I hope I can make a contribution with my goals."  

 Erik Edman has continued his comeback from injury with a fourth appearance for the reserve side. The Sweden left-back played all 90 minutes of the Latics second string's 2-0 defeat by Bolton in wet conditions at Robin Park. Former Tottenham player Edman has made just five first-team appearances for Wigan since his move from Rennes last January due to cruciate ligament and hamstring injuries. Manager Steve Bruce said: "We don't want to rush him back but when he is finally able to join up with the squad it will feel like a new signing and add terrific competition for places."