Barclays Premier League

In-form striker Benjani Mwaruwari struck his fifth goal in three games to help Portsmouth to a 2-0 win against Wigan on Saturday.
Zimbabwe international Benjani's late effort at the JJB Stadium was followed by a solo strike from Glen Johnson to maintain Pompey's impressive start to the season.
The defeat extends Wigan's winless run to seven games as new manager Chris Hutchings's difficult start continues.
England defender Sol Campbell handed Pompey manager Harry Redknapp a boost before kick-off by declaring himself fit after suffering ankle problems during the midweek defeat in Russia.
The home team almost got off to the perfect start when Paul Scharner got to a Andreas Granqvist flick-on but unfortunately for the Austrian midfielder his effort hit the post.
Pompey, looking for their fifth successive win, shook off the early scare and started to pose an attacking threat of their own.
Their endeavour was almost rewarded in the fifth minute but striker Benjani was flagged marginally offside when in a clear goalscoring position.
The visitors then had a flurry of long-range shots, non of which caused Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland undue concern, while for the hosts Antoine Sibierski headed wide of the goal from six-yards out.
Portsmouth started the second half brightly and nearly scored twice in two minutes.
Benjani took control of the ball in the left channel before manouevering space and striking a low drive which Granqvist managed to deflect for a corner.
From the resulting set-piece Campbell found himself free six-yards from goal but the former Arsenal man planted his header wide of the post.
Redknapp's men almost grabbed the lead in sensational fashion shortly after the hour mark, but Sulley Muntari's curling free-kick from 30-yards out went narrowly wide of the goal.
Benjani finally broke the deadlock in the 81st minute when he swept home from the penalty spot after being picked out by Muntari's cross.
The game was put beyond any doubt in the 86th minute when right-back Johnson scored his first Portsmouth goal.
The former Chelsea player drove unopposed down the right wing before cutting inside and unleashing a left-footed shot past Kirkland into the corner of the goal.

Manchester City's magnificent start to the season shows no sign of slowing as Elano's first half goal sealed a 1-0 win over Birmingham on Saturday.
The Brazilian's strike moved Sven Goran Eriksson's side into second place in the Premier League and, although Manchester United would jump over them with a win over Aston Villa in Saturday's late game, City's fans departed Eastlands dreaming of a title challenge.
Birmingham were obdurate opponents but they were unable to stop City maintaining their 100 percent home record this season.
This was a sixth win at fortress Eastlands and evidence of the success of Eriksson's reign doesn't come any clearer than that.
Steve Bruce could take heart from his side's battling display but defeat capped a traumatic week for the Blues boss, who was refused permission to speak to managerless Bolton, even though his future at St Andrews is far from secure.
Potential owner Carson Yeung is still to meet with Bruce to dicuss reports that he wants to bring in his own manager, but the Hong Kong businessman could only be impressed by his team's desire if not their cutting edge.
Birmingham had lost their previous three matches but they started brightly enough and had a chance to take the lead when goalkeeper Joe Hart was penalised for picking up Didi Hamann's back pass.
The indirect free-kick worked its way to Cameron Jerome but his powerful effort deflected wide.
Elano has a happy knack of scoring from long-range and he had Birmingham worried with a 25-yard free-kick that was just off-target.
Eriksson's side have played some superb football at times this season and they were beginning to hit their stride.
Birmingham defender Stephen Kelly alertly cleared from Vedran Corluka, then Martin Petrov drove a shot over.
Visiting teams have found Eastlands a fortress this season but Birmingham were giving as good as they got.
They threatened when Wilson Palacios put Jerome through but Hart raced off his life to block.
The hosts responded immediately and Richard Dunne glanced Petrov's cross wide.
Dunne had no need to rue that miss as Elano broke the deadlock in the 37th minute.
Corluka was the provider with an astute pass that gave Elano a clear sight of goal and the Brazil midfielder steadied himself to drive home his fourth goal of the season.
Birmingham protested that Fabrice Muamba had been fouled by Michael Johnson in the build-up, but referee Mike Dean waved away their complaints.
Driven on by a sense of injustice, Bruce's team should have equalised moments later, but Olivier Kapo's shot was easy for Hart.
Petrov nearly scored direct from a corner early in the first half but Kelly cleared off his line. The Bulgarian tested Maik Taylor with another effort soon after as City kept up their pressure.
When Elano shot just wide, the thought that City may regret so many misses started to loom. Birmingham certainly went close when Rafael Schmitz's shot was cleared off the line by Micah Richards.

Fulham, down to 10 men at the start of the second half, eked a point out of their relegation clash with Derby thanks in large part to the sterling efforts of their Finnish goalkeeper Antti Niemi.
Saturday's goalless draw moved Derby off the foot of the table above Bolton with six points, with Fulham up to eight points and out of the drop zone but that status may only last until Monday depending on how struggling Tottenham fare against Newcastle.
Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez made five changes from the side that were beaten 2-0 by Portsmouth - among them Collins John who missed out with a fever.
Sanchez's counterpart Billy Davies made three changes from his team's last defeat to Reading, with forward Craig Fagan back after a four match suspension.
As the crowd at Craven Cottage, with an eye on the evening's World Cup final over in Paris, began to chant the rugby hymn Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Derby went close to taking the lead only for Kenny Miller's effort to be denied by the first of a series of important saves from Niemi.
Niemi was also on hand to save the hosts' embarrassment shortly afterwards after Aaron Hughes diverted a cross towards his own goal.
Fulham, looking every inch a side fighting against relegation, were down to 10 men three minutes after retaking the field following the break when defender Paul Konchesky was sent off for elbowing Fagan in the face.
Niemi was again called into action on the hour mark when he kept out a shot from Matt Oakley,
And the Finn, by far and away the star player on an indifferent afternoon for the Cottagers, produced another match-saver when blocking Miller's low shot in the 76th minute.
Diomansy Kamara produced one of Fulham's best chances to break the deadlock in the closing stages but the Rams' keeper Stephen Bywater maintained the status quo.
Fulham have now failed to land a league win since the second game of the season.

LONDON (AFP) - Didier Drogba let his actions speak louder than words as he fired Chelsea to a 2-0 win at Middlesbrough, while Arsenal consolidated their lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Bolton on Saturday.
Drogba dropped a bombshell this week by revealing he is determined to leave the London club because the squad's morale had been shattered by Jose Mourinho's departure.
But Chelsea manager Avram Grant kept faith with the Ivory Coast striker at the Riverside Stadium and got the perfect response, with Drogba laying the foundations for the team's third successive win.
It took Drogba just eight minutes to show Chelsea what they would be missing if he did leave. He collected Frank Lampard's pass and drove a perfectly-placed shot past Mark Schwarzer for his third goal of the season.
Alex came in for John Terry and the Brazil centre-back ensured there was no need to rue the captain's absence when he scored his first goal for the club with a blistering free-kick in the 57th minute.
Grant said: "I'm happy with the win but I'm more happy that we are improving from game to game. The way we win is very important so we are trying to play more attacking football."
Kolo Toure was the unlikely hero as Arsenal beat managerless Bolton at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsene Wenger's side stretched their winning run to 11 matches - their best streak since 2002 - thanks to a superb long range goal from Toure in the 68th minute and Tomas Rosicky's effort 10 minutes from full-time.
The Ivory Coast defender's first goal since April was perfectly timed as Arsenal were struggled to break down Bolton, playing their first match since Sammy Lee's sacking.
With Bolton's resistence finally broken, Arsenal were able to turn on the style and Czech midfielder Rosicky put the result beyond doubt late on.
Wenger said: "I was concerned because Bolton were very resilient and know how to slow the game down. But we build our success by being patient and keeping a high tempo.
"Overall you can see there is a great spirit in the side." Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt's stoppage time penalty snatched a dramatic 2-1 win over nine-man Everton in the 206th Merseyside derby.
Kuyt had already scored from the spot once at Goodison Park to cancel out Sami Hyppia's first half own goal and he held his nerve again to get Rafa Benitez's team back on track with only their second win in five league matches.
Hyppia had put Everton in front in the 38th minute when the veteran defender diverted Phil Jagielka's shot into his own net.
Steven Gerrard helped drag Liverpool level in the 54th minute when he surged into area and was hauled down by Tony Hibbert, who was sent off by referee Mark Clattenberg.
Kuyt drilled home the penalty and repeated the trick with just minutes to go after Phil Neville was sent off for handling Lucas's shot on the goalline.
Everton still had a chance for one last attack but Clattenburg denied them a penalty when Steve Finnan clearly hauled down Joleon Lescott.
Elano sent Manchester City second in the table as his first half goal sealed 1-0 win over Birmingham at Eastlands.
The Brazil midfielder shrugged off the draining effects of a long flight back from international duty in South America to open the scoring in the 37th minute.
Sven Goran Eriksson's side have won all six of their home league games this season and will be dreaming of at least a top four finish. Derby climbed off the bottom of the table after a dour 0-0 draw at 10-man Fulham.
Billy Davies's side collected their first away point of the season but will feel they could have done better after Paul Koncheskey sent off on the stroke of half time after an elbow on Craig Fagan.
Benjani Mwaruwari maintained his impresssive form as Portsmouth staged a late show to win 2-0 at Wigan.
Harry Redknapp's side were locked in a stalemate until the 81st minute when Zimbabwean striker Benjani scored his fifth goal in three matches.
Glen Johnson wrapped up Portsmouth's fifth consecutive victory when the right-back embarked on a surging run, topped by a fine finish in the 86th minute.
Benni McCarthy helped Blackburn inflict another awayday nightmare on Reading as Mark Hughes's side won 4-2 at Ewood Park.
South African striker McCarthy took his goal tally for the season to six as Rovers ran riot.
He broke the deadlock in the 18th minute and four minutes later Blackburn increased their lead when Roque Santa Cruz ended a flowing move with a fine finish.
It got even worse for Reading in the 32nd minute. Steve Coppell's side had conceded seven goals at Portsmouth in their last away game and they must have feared a repeat when Tugay curled in a stunning long range effort.
Kevin Doyle's 80th strike reduced the deficit. But McCarthy converted an 82nd minute penalty and Doyle's last minute effort was no consolation.
Manchester United travel to Aston Villa in Saturday's late match, while West Ham host Sunderland on Sunday and Newcastle play Tottenham on Monday.

MIDDLESBROUGH, England (AFP) - Chelsea's 2-0 win at Middlesbrough may have been very much in the mould of the Jose Mourinho-era, but it appears supporters of the Stamford Bridge club can look forward to winning with style in the future.
For two seasons Chelsea have faced accusations that their football does little to reflect the so-called beautiful game, but Avram Grant has assured Blues fans that negativity is a thing of the past.
Pointing to the appointment of Dutch tactician Henk Ten Cate as the catalyst for style over substance, Chelsea's Israeli manager said: "Today football is about entertainment.
"We need to win games but to do it by playing positive football. I do feel an obligation to entertain.
"That's the right way to play modern football. You need to win games but the way to win is important. I want to play better football but for now we're on the right track to win games."
It was Didier Drogba who demonstrated his true worth to Chelsea after a typically assured finish laid the foundations for a comfortable victory at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.
The striker's eighth-minute goal settled early nerves and Brazilian defender Alex, standing in for the injured England international John Terry, set the seal on an invaluable win with a wonderfully executed free kick 12 minutes into the second half.
After 24 hours spent desperately backtracking, Chelsea's outspoken forward Drogba reverted to type against Middlesbrough as the lone forward charged with playing on the shoulder of the opposition defence.
The Ivory Coast international may regret telling the magazine, France Football, that he wished to leave Stamford Bridge in the wake of Jose Mourinho's departure but until January, at the earliest, he has no other option but to give his best for the Blues and their increasingly sceptical supporters.
"I think players need to speak on the pitch," added Grant. "Didier is doing that very well. All I care about is how my players behave on and off the pitch.
"Didier is a very positive guy in every respect. He's not negative. I don't see one player who's not 100 percent committed. I judge players on what they say to me and what they do in a game.
"With Didier whether it's in training, in my room, on the pitch - I just don't see a problem. For me it's a great honour for any player to belong to a club like Chelsea.
"If a player has problems then the only way for him to deal with them is to come and knock on my door and we'll find a solution."
Drogba required just eight minutes to soften the blow of his ill-judged words as he raced clear of Middlesbrough's lethargic back line and conjured up the type of cool finish which has turned heads across the continent.
The athletic African had talked about plying his trade in La Liga or Serie A and his third goal of the season, following fine work from the Frenchman Florent Malouda and the Chelsea captain Frank Lampard, was a strike worthy of any of Europe's leading leagues.
Alex's superb free kick 12 minutes after the restart was far superior and the Brazilian's touch of genious was a rare moment of brilliance on an afternoon where the mundane outweighed the memorable.
For Gareth Southgate, the Middlesbrough manager, an unforgiving trip to the Old Trafford home of Manchester United follows hot on the heels of this listless defeat.
"We need a spark," he admitted, after watching his team test Petr Cech just twice in 90 minutes. "It's the fourth game in a row where we've conceded a goal in the first 10 minutes and we always seem to leave ourselves a mountain to climb.
"Confidence is a bit short and we need some belief. It's for us to give the fans something to shout about. They're desperate for something to hold onto.
"There's been a lot of change here already and there will be more change in the future. I had hoped to get everything done in the close-season but there's still some way to go."

LONDON, (AFP) - Robbie Keane claimed a Spurs fightback to earn a 4-4 draw with Aston Villa had felt as good as a win after a night in which manager Martin Jol came within half an hour of the sack.

That is how long there was to play when Villa opened up a 4-1 lead but a Pascal Chimbonda strike and a Keane penalty set the stage for Younes Kaboul to snatch an 92nd-minute equaliser and a point that may come to be regarded as a turning point in Tottenham's season.

"To come back from 4-1 down is unbelievable," Keane said after an unbelievable night of drama at White Hart Lane on the club's 125th birthday.

"You talk about dead and buried but we showed lots of character. That's what we have in this team. When you're 4-1 down, you go hell for leather. It does feel like a sort of victory to us in many ways."

The players celebrated Kaboul's equaliser by sprinting to embrace Jol, who had looked distinctly like a condemned man when Villa's fourth goal, a Craig Gardner free-kick, went in in the 59th minute.

"You should have seen him (Jol) at the end when we scored the goal," Keane added. "He had the support from everyone. He's shown what a good manager he is over the past couple of years."

Jol showed the strain of the evening when he admitted: "I don't know what to feel.

"It was awful but on the other hand it was a big celebration at the end. We almost spoiled the night and it was a great night.

"But we came back from the death and that was a big positive but I don't think I've ever been involved in a game like this. We could have won it at the end."

Jol admitted that thoughts that this might be his last game in charge had crossed his mind but claimed: "I thought about my future for the last six weeks so that's nothing new."

Asked if he felt he was safe for the time being, he added: "I don't know. It's not up to me."

Jol must have thought he was in for a more relaxing evening than he finally endured when a bright start was capped by Dimitar Berbatov heading the home side ahead from a 20th-minute corner.

It may have been a memorable fightback but it was nevertheless a night that Tottenham's England goalkeeper Paul Robinson will want to quickly forget.

From the outset, it appeared that Villa had decided to test his confidence on crosses and that approach soon paid off.

Two minutes after Berbatov had given Spurs a lead that their early efforts merited, Robinson dropped a corner and Martin Laursen gratefully fired home.

The Danish defender did not know too much about his second goal which came after another flap by Robinson allowed Zat Knight to get on the end of a Gareth Barry cross, the ball finding its way into the net off Laursen.

There was nothing the hapless England goalkeeper could do about Gabriel Agbonlahor's 40th-minute strike. After taking the ball off Michael Dawson, the youngster wriggled his way into the box and produced a cool, low finish into the far corner of the net.

Agonlahor was also instrumental in winning the free-kick that allowed Gardner to make it four, his trickery resulting in Kaboul chopping him down on the edge of the area.

Gardner's strike appeared to sneak through the edge of the wall and Robinson was unable to keep it out despite getting a hand to the ball close to his right-hand post.

Chimbonda kick-started the fightback by following up smartly after Jermain Defoe connected with a cross from Gareth Bale with a shot that hit the post.

Villa had introduced Marlon Harewood in the hope he would provide an outlet from the relentless pressure from Spurs.

Instead, the former West Ham striker's first meaningful contribution was to hack down Darren Bent to concede the penalty that Keane converted with aplomb.

From then on an equaliser always looked on the cards and Villa were made to pay for their failure to clear a corner in the second minute of injury time, when Kaboul levelled from close range.