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Roy Hodgson will be on a revenge mission when his West Bromwich Albion side host Liverpool in the English Premier League on Saturday.
Hodgson was sacked by Liverpool in January after just six months in charge at Anfield – the shortest managerial reign in the club’s history.

The 63-year-old took over at West Brom the following month, charged with keeping the promoted club in the top flight.

The Baggies are unbeaten in five matches under Hodgson, with one win and four draws seeing them climb to 16th on the table, one point above the relegation zone.

They should have beaten second-placed Arsenal in their last match on March 19, but let a two-goal lead slip to 2-2.

Liverpool turned to former player and manager Kenny Dalglish to replace Hodgson and the crowd favourite has presided over a considerable improvement in the team’s fortunes.

The Reds have moved up to sixth place on the table, recording victories over Manchester United and Chelsea in the process.

The club’s new American owners spent big in the January transfer window to bring in strikers Luis Suarez from Ajax and Newcastle United’s Andy Carroll.

Carroll has made just a handful of appearances for his new side due to injury, but has now returned to fitness and scored his first goal for England in a 1-1 draw with Ghana on Tuesday.

Liverpool benefited from a contentious penalty decision to defeat Sunderland 2-0 at home in their most recent outing, with Dirk Kuyt and Suarez on target.

Dalglish will be without his captain Steven Gerrard for the trip to the Hawthorns due to a groin injury.

Young midfielder Jonjo Shelvey is also unavailable, while fullbacks Martin Kelly and Fabio Aurelio are in doubt with hamstring problems.

West Brom have the majority of their squad available, with only defender Pablo Ibanez (hamstring) and Graham Dorrans (ankle) expected to miss out.

Club Brugge beat Anderlecht and Standard Liege defeated Genk as the top two both lost in the Belgian First Division playoffs.Karel Geraerts put Brugge ahead after just four minutes of the Playoff I match at the Jan Breydelstadion.

The hosts doubled their advantage through an own goal from Anderlecht’s Croatian midfielder Ivan Perisic four minutes before half-time.

And it was 3-0 on 55 minutes courtesy of a strike from Nigeria international striker Joseph Akpala.

Anderlecht finished with 10 men after Argentine Matias Suarez received his second yellow card with 20 minutes to go.

In Sunday’s other Playoff I match, Standard Liege came from a goal down with four minutes remaining to beat group leaders Genk 2-1.

Visitors Genk led through a goal from Hungarian midfielder Daniel Tozser in the 68th minute at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne.

The hosts leveled courtesy of an Axel Witzel penalty on 86 minutes, before Cameroonian forward Aloys Nong found the net in the 90th minute to snatch the win for Liege.

Genk and Anderlecht remain first and second in the Champions League qualification places, with Liege third in the automatic Europa League qualification berth and Club Brugge fourth.

In Playoff I, Group B leaders Westerlo came from behind to draw 1-1 away to Zulte-Waregem.

Striker Mahamadou Habibou put hosts Zulte ahead in the 39th minute at Regenboogstadion.

But the visitors leveled six minutes into the second half thanks to Brazilian Paulo Henrique.

Westerlo remain top of Group B, level on points with Germinal Beerschot and with the right to play off for a Europa League qualification spot at stake.

Still bristling from their fiery Champions League clash, Barcelona and Real Madrid return to tussling over the La Liga title this weekend.Barca must overcome the distraction of their 2-0 win in the hostile environs of the Bernabeu, a victory that seemingly assures of them a trip to Wembley for the Champions League final, when they visit Real Sociedad on Saturday.

The Catalan giants lead Real by eight points in the La Liga standings, an uncomfortably close margin with five games still remaining in the season, and could be making do without Lionel Messi for the trip to San Sebastian.

Messi, for whom superlatives are fast becoming inadequate, scored both of Barca’s goals in the semi-final first leg to take his season tally to 52 across all competitions.

But the Argentinean superstar reportedly suffered a minor muscle tear in the process, and given the 23-year-old’s history of soft-tissue injuries it is believed Pep Guardiola will put his talisman on ice for Real’s return leg at the Camp Nou next week.

Messi’s absence will no doubt be welcome news for struggling Sociedad, who have lost six of their past seven league outings and sit a mere three points from the drop zone in 12th.

Real have plenty of their own distractions to deal with, not the least an ongoing UEFA investigation into inflammatory comments made by manager Jose Mourinho following their loss to Barca.

The proud club, still seething after Pepe saw red for a challenge on Barca defender Dani Alves, will carry that frustration into their home clash against Real Zaragoza.

Zaragoza escaped the relegation zone with a 1-0 defeat of Almeria last time out, but are still just two points from the bottom three and perilously close to the Segunda Division.

Also on Saturday, Atletico Madrid will look to put some distance between themselves and fellow Europa League hopefuls Sevilla with a trip to Deportivo La Coruna.

They will need to be at their best, as Sevilla face an almost-certain win on Sunday when they take on bottom-placed Almeria, who are winless in five games.

Valencia can go some lengths to shoring up third place when they visit Osasuna, who find themselves in the relegation places at the wrong end of the season on the back of a four-match losing streak.

Villarreal, meanwhile, can get back into the hunt for third place when they host Getafe.

Rounding out Sunday’s fixtures, mid-table sides Levante and Sporting Gijon face off at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, Malaga host Hercules in a relegation dogfight and Mallorca face a Racing Santander outfit hoping to avoid a third successive loss.

Finally, European hopefuls Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol come together for what should be a terrific match at the Estadio Cornella-El Prat on Monday.

After two consecutive defeats, Unai Emery felt his Valencia players restored a measure pride with a 3-0 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday.Valencia lost 6-3 at home to Real Madrid on April 23 and followed up that embarrassing loss with a 1-0 reverse away to relegation-threatened Osasuna.

The late-season defeats had threatened to take some of the gloss off an impressive season for Valencia.

But their 18th win of the campaign puts the team back on track with three matches remaining, while they will also finish at least fourth in La Liga, securing a route into Champions League qualification.

“Besides looking for the three points and knowing that a win would ensure us Champions League football, we wanted to erase the performance of our last home game,” Emery said.

“We wanted to regain our self esteem in front of the fans. We did so in the first half,” he added, referring to Roberto Soldado’s brace and a Jonas goal, all of which came in the first half at the Estadio Mestalla.

“We had intensity, had chances and scored goals. There were times in which they could have scored, and in the second half we lowered our intensity. We have an important game on Wednesday, and we were unable to have the continuity from the first half.”

“In general, however, we are satisfied with the win and the confirmation of Champions League football. We now have our big objective of taking third place. We are satisfied for the fans.”

Next up for Valencia is a trip to face Espanyol and a home game against Levante, before ending the season away to Deportivo La Coruna.

The Republic of Ireland have handed Northern Ireland a 5-0 thrashing in their Carling Nations Cup clash on Tuesday.A brace from forward Robbie Keane helped Giovanni Trapattoni’s side to a comfortable win in Dublin.

Northern Ireland held out early on but were forced to play the majority of the second half with 10 men after teenage defender Adam Thompson was sent off.

Wolverhampton attacker Stephen Ward scored on his international debut, slotting from close range to make it 1-0 after Northern Ireland goalkeeper Alan Blayney spilled a Keith Treacy cross.

Keane doubled their advantage on 37 minutes after another dreadful error.

Northern Ireland full-back Lee Hodson failed to put enough power on his back pass to Blayney, allowing Keane to intercept and delicately chip the advancing goalkeeper.

The hosts made it three just prior to the break, as a brilliant team move led to an own goal from defender Craig Cathcart.

Blayney initially saved a cutback from Seamus Coleman after a tidy passing exchange, only to palm his save into the legs of Cathcart and watch the ball deflect into an empty net.

Keane completed his double on 54 minutes, converting from the penalty spot after 18-year-old Thompson was shown a straight red card for bringing him down when he was through on goal.

West Bromwich Albion attacker Simon Cox completed the scoring 10 minutes from the end as he too scored on debut, placing into the bottom corner after the Northern Irish defence allowed him space on the edge of the area.

Udinese booked a spot in Champions League qualifying next season, with a 0-0 home draw against Serie A champions AC Milan on Sunday.Francesco Guidolin’s side entered the match knowing all they needed was a point to join the elite Champions League company.

And to the joy of the Stadio Communale Friuli crowd, Udinese managed a draw that will see them in the group stages of European football’s most prestigious club competition if they can negotiate their way through a playoff next season.

They could have ended the season on a high when Antonio Di Natale was presented with a chance to score his 29th league goal of the campaign for Udinese.

But he missed his spot-kick with 16 minutes remaining, leaving the door slightly ajar for Milan, but in the end both sides were happy to share the spoils, giving Udinese fourth spot and ensuring Lazio missed a Champions League spot for next term.

Both Udinese and Lazio finished level on points and on head-to-head, meaning goal difference gave the former fourth place.

Lazio could feel aggrieved though, after they won 4-2 away at Lecce in an exciting encounter at the Stadio Comunale Via del Mare, thanks to a Mauro Zarate double.

Tommaso Rocchi scored the opener after seven minutes for Lazio, and although Manuel Coppola replied 26 minutes later, Zarate was on hand to make the most of Rocchi’s assist shortly after.

Ignacio Platti responded for Lecce who were having a real go at their opponents and levelled proceedings at half-time, but when they lost goalkeeper Massimiliano Benassi to a straight red card seven minutes into the second half, their hopes of gaining an unlikely result faded.

Zarate tucked away the resultant penalty and an own goal from Lecce striker Giuseppe Vives sealed the result with just under half an hour to play.

In other matches, a Giampaolo Pazzini double helped Inter Milan end their season on a high with a 3-1 home win over Catania while Napoli, who finished third, claimed a 2-2 draw at Juventus, with Alessandro Matri netting a late equaliser for the hosts.

Roma came from a goal down to defeat relegated Sampdoria 3-1 thanks to strikes from Francesco Totti, Mirko Vucinic and Marco Borriello and Chievo won by the same scoreline as they beat Palermo away from home.

Brescia avoided a final-day defeat but will be in Serie B next season after a 2-2 draw with Fiorentina at home and the spoils also had to be shared between Cagliari and Parma, who drew 1-1.

A first-half double to Antonio Floro Flores saw Genoa topple a fast-finishing Cesena 3-2 and a Francesco Grandolfo hat-trick gave Bari, who will finish bottom, just their fifth win of the season as they trounced Bologna 4-0.

The biggest (un)surprise in football happened on the 15th May when West Ham United announced they had parted company with Avram Grant after only eleven months in charge. Naturally the media circus started instantly with regards to who was going to take up the Upton Park hot seat and it is rumoured that former Blackburn and Bolton manager Sam Allardyce has emerged as favourite. Is ‘Big Sam’ really the man to bring back Premier League football to Upton Park?

Allardyce has a reputation for managing sides that play ‘ugly’ football, his Bolton side continually rubbed Arsene Wenger up the wrong way, with their robust and strong nature, and the same can be said for his Blackburn Rovers side. There was a big thing throughout last season amongst the board, players and fans for West Ham to play the ‘sexy’ football, and well we all know how that worked out for them. Big Sam would most definitely not alter his style of management, and the Hammers would become a more robust outfit. However surely with the financial gain and the pride playing in the Premier League brings, everyone related to West Ham wouldn’t mind what way they got back to the top tier of English football.

Allardyce has a rather substantial CV, not in regards to trophies and individual awards but success in comparison with the clubs he has managed. Bolton became an established Premier League side under Allardyce and occasionally flirted with the European places, and Blackburn finished in the top ten in 2009/10 season and Steve Kean who took over Big Sam had Blackburn locked in a relegation battle all season. West Ham are now looking to become an established Premier League side again, like during the Harry Redknapp days and Allardyce’s record speaks for itself in achieving such feats, and is definitely the right man for the Hammers on that side of things.

West Ham need someone to steady the ship, someone who can persuade the likes of Robert Green and Matthew Upson that it is in their best interests to ply their trade in the Championship. I’m not even sure Sir Alex Ferguson could convince them of that, but the point is that West Ham need a determined, strong and powerful leader, everything Avram Grant wasn’t. The former Bolton manager wouldn’t have allowed a 2-0 lead against relegation rivals on the penultimate league fixture end in a 3-2 defeat.

For now and the considerable future appointing Sam Allardyce will be the first thing Karren Brady and co. would have done right.

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FIFA president Sepp Blatter said any player or official who is found guilty of match-fixing will be banned for life.Blatter was speaking on a visit to Zimbabwe, a country that has been blighted by controversy over the past few years.

In 2009, a number of national team players, including captain Method Mwanjali, told an inquiry by the Zimbabwe FA that they were paid to lose matches during a tour of Asia.

As a result ZIFA chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya was suspended from duty.

The FIFA president had stern words for those involved in match-fixing scandals, but stressed that FIFA would only intervene when all legal processes were completed.

“We must let the jurisdictional organisation of the different states, and when these people are condemned and found guilty, then we will suspend them for life, and they will never come back to football, being officials or being players. Banned for life,” Blatter said.

Blatter also promised to help improve the state of football in Zimbabwe.

“We can help a lot, we can help in own problems you have, even in the problem you evoked concerning the recapitalisation of your federation, all this we can do,” Blatter said.

“We can send you the best coaches, referees, we can give you money, but homework must be done by yourselves, what we cannot do is the homework, so it has to be said that help yourself and God will help you.”

The Mirror is reporting that Bolton manager Owen Coyle trying to complete deals for a quartet of players this week.

Coyle is looking to strengthen the Trotters after a lackluster end to last season that coincided with the heavy FA Cup semi final defeat to Stoke City.

Free agent Nigel Reo-Coker is set to sign a three-year deal and undergo a medical today. His signing will provide competition for Fabrice Muamba in the Wanderers engine room.

The former Aston Villa midfielder had an offer from Championship side Ipswich but opted to move to the Reebok after speaking to Coyle.

Burnley’s Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears are set to join Reo-Coker at Bolton with Coyle raiding his former club for the duo.

A £2.75 million deal has been agreed with both players set to leave Turf Moor and reunite with their former manager.

The Trotters chief will now turn his attentions to a striker to offset the loss of Johan Elmander with Liverpool’s David N’Gog high on his wish list.

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However he will not meet the £6 million asking price set on the Frenchman’s head and could instead turn his attentions to Cameron Jerome.

The Birmingham forward will be available for a small fee as Birmingham look to slash the wage bill in the wake of relegation.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has claimed the Catalan club are in negotiations to sign Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.Fabregas is a long-time target for Barca and has repeatedly told of his dream to one day return to the club where he began his career.

Barca are back in pre-season training and have yet to make any signings.

While Guardiola admitted that Chile forward Alexis Sanchez is his priority, he also revealed the reigning La Liga and Champions League holders are in talks to sign Fabregas.

“It is scary the amount of games we have to play,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“Last year we were interested in Cesc but Arsenal didn’t place him on the market. This year they have agreed to negotiate and that’s what we’re doing. Market prices are what they are but we have in the end that everything will be sorted out.”

Barcelona announced earlier in the off-season that they would only have around 45 million euros to spend in the current window, but president Sandro Rosell later clarified that the Catalan club could use some of next year’s budget to sign players.

“There is some money in a box (set aside) for this player and we will try until the last day to bring Cesc because he will make our squad better,” Guardiola said.

Fabregas has been encouraged to return to Spain by Barcelona players Xavia and Dani Alves, but Guardiola believes the 24-year-old must be respectful to Arsenal.

“I think Cesc has to do what Arsenal ask him. I wouldn’t like it if a player from this institution stood up and said, ‘I am not going to train anymore because I want to leave’,” he said.

“When he is fit, (Arsene) Wenger will play him. He has spoken to his coach and his club and if he has the possibility to leave, he would like to come to Barca.”

Guardiola also ruled out a summer move for midfielder Thiago Alcantara, even if Fabregas joins the Catalan club.

Some reports had suggested the Spain Under-21 star could be sold but the player signed a new long-term contract in June, raising his release clause from 10 million to 50 millon euros.

“One doesn’t have anything to do with the other,” the Barca coach said when asked about Fabregas and Thiago.

“Thiago has endless personality. He is a very daring boy with a lot of talent, but he has a lot of (first-team) competition.”

“He has a very big future and we will try to give him the minutes (he needs) for his potential to explode. Now he is worth a lot of money.”