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Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has stated that he will treat the Europa League with respect and is eager to win the trophy.

The European second-tier competition has been looked down upon in the past, with some sides fielding weakened sides.

However, the Portuguese trainer has stated that the north London club will aim to prevail in the tournament, which he won with Porto back in 2011.

“I have always regarded the Europa League as a prestigious competition and I think it should be promoted that way,” he is quoted as saying in The Sun.

“It gives the winners access to the European Super Cup and we want to do something special in this tournament.

“If we can win this trophy it would represent a lot for Tottenham’s history and would be something really, really special.

“The best teams outside of the Champions League are all involved and then the sides who don’t qualify from the Champions League group stages also come back into the Europa League.

“And sometimes, as we saw last season, some of those teams we are speaking about are among the top teams in the world.

“It’s important European football is not all about the Champions League.

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“The Europa League is a very hard and strenuous competition. But we will give it our best efforts,” Villas-Boas confirmed.

Spurs take on Lazio in their Europa League opener on Thursday.

By Gareth McKnight

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has stated that his side want to win the Europa League and will field a strong side against Bordeaux on Thursday night.

The Magpies have a Premier League clash with Manchester United this weekend, but the Tyneside chief has confirmed his intention to take the European competition seriously.

“We have entered this competition to win it and this is a significant game to up the levels. The team has to be good enough to beat Bordeaux but I have Manchester United coming on Sunday and have to make sure the Premier League result is right too,” Pardew told reporters, published by The Daily Mail.

“It is difficult to produce a team to play at maximum in two games but we will not beat Bordeaux and Man United if we are not at the maximum.

“No one analyses players performance physically, mentally and tactically more than us and we need to put a team out to play Bordeaux and, with all due respect to the teams we have played so far in this competition, our team needs to be stronger.

“It is pretty obvious they are favourites for the group after the fine result in Bruges and to win would be a big step towards qualifying. They are a very good side, had a terrific result on Sunday so are in good form but it is at home and we are strong at home, regardless of the opposition.

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“This is the first real time in this competition where our fans will be taking it seriously too and that will be important for the atmosphere and to focus our minds.

“In European competition your concentration level goes up a little and you have to be prepared for this type of opposition,” he confessed.

Arsène Wenger has said that both Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs will not be able to play in Saturday’s game against Norwich.

Arsenal’s official website has reported on an update from Arsene Wenger on the current state of the team’s injured players, and some of the Gunners’ key players are still a way from returning.

Wenger confirmed reports Walcott will not play on Saturday saying: “Theo is out for Saturday, for sure. He has an injury to his chest and lungs. We have to treat that clinically. He’s quickly short of breath when he makes an effort but that is bruising and that will heal. It’s no major concern but it will take we think about two weeks to be back to a normal level.” Walcott suffered the chest injury when he was clobbered by San Marino’s goalkeeper in England’s World Cup qualifier last week.

Wenger also confirmed that Gibbs will not play on Saturday, after coming off the pitch when playing against West Ham due to a thigh issue. However, he may take part in Wednesday’s Champions League game against Schalke. Wenger says: “He’s not healed yet. He has a little chance to be ready for Wednesday and a bigger chance for QPR.”

However, things are not looking so good for other Arsenal stars. Wenger said that goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was visiting a specialist yesterday about his ruptured ankle ligaments. He also thinks that first choice goalkeeper Wojiech Szczesny is still two weeks from returning, while he says that other injured stars Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby will not return for another few weeks.

Arsenal’s fixture against Norwich kicks off at 17:30 at Carrow Road.

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It appears that Sunderland Winger James McClean was overlooked for the Republic of Ireland’s latest World Cup 2014 Qualifiers.

In their first outing last Friday they suffered an embarrassing 6-1 defeat at the hands of Germany, and this lead to calls to include the Sunderland ace in their next fixture against the Faroe Islands.

However, the manager Giovanni Trapattoni had other ideas and decided that he did not need to call upon the midfielder for the 4-1 victory.

The player has been heavily watched by the Sunderland medical staff whilst on international duty as they want to monitor the situation with his groin injury.

It is believed the 24 year old would have been able to feature on Tuesday night, in Torshavn, but was deemed surplus to requirements.

However, the former Derry City star signed by old boss Steve Bruce is set to appear in the 146th Tyne-Wear derby.

The player will be looking for a chance to shine in this fixture but his international future still looms over him, before the Republic of Ireland squad meet up again.

Martin O’ Neill revealed to the Daily Mail that “’James himself was hoping he might have got a shout for the Republic’s second game but they went with what they had.”

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It is hoped that McClean will be given another chance to show that he is worthy of wearing the Ireland shirt and replicating his club form, for his country. The Black Cats are not worried about risking the midfielder though against their fierce rivals Newcastle on Sunday.

Tottenham will be looking to bounce back from Capital One Cup disappointment when they welcome Wigan to White Hart Lane on Saturday.

Andre Villas-Boas saw his side throw away a 1-0 lead in the last ten minutes at Carrow Road, going on to lose 2-1 as Clint Dempsey missed a last minute penalty.

They are going well in the league however, having won five out of their last six, and moved up to fourth spot last weekend following their 2-1 win at Southampton.

Wigan endured Capital One Cup humiliation in midweek, losing to League Two Bradford City. Roberto Martinez needs to get the defeat out of the players systems as soon as possible, with his side sitting in 15th place and hoping to build on last weekends win over West Ham.

They have a wretched record at White Hart Lane however, and suffered a humiliating 9-1 defeat at the Lane in 2009.

Tottenham will be without Mousa Dembele who is struggling with a hip injury, whilst Wigan have no new injury concerns to contend with.

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Prediction: Tottenham 3-1 Wigan 

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Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City will be looking to avenge their second-round Capital One Cup defeat on Saturday, when they take on Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium.

The Eastlanders are currently the only team in the Premier League not to have lost a single game. They are currently second in the league and will seek to do something about the two-point gap between them and their neighbours, Manchester United.

However, the Citizens have not had everything their own way so far this season. Despite their unblemished stats, the team are yet to extend their domination. They had to dig deep to subdue Tottenham Hotspur in their previous match at home, but have, nonetheless, managed to squeeze out results.

For Paul Lambert, he will aim to lift the morale of his team, after their disappointing 3-2 loss against United last week. The Birmingham-based club had the 19 times champions on the ropes, but squandered a two-goal lead to emerge empty handed from the game.

However, the team will take encouragement from their 4-2 win over City the last time they visited the Etihad and will back themselves to cause yet another upset.

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Prediction – Manchester City 3 – 0 Aston Villa

Reading manager Brain McDermott claims that he is working hard to strengthen his squad next month.

The Royals enjoyed a solid start to the Premier League season, but results have begun to drop off in recent weeks.

Their loss to fellow strugglers Southampton leaves the club to 19th position in the table, six points away from safety.

McDermott’s squad is largely unchanged from last season’s Championship winning campaign, but he admitted that with his options becoming limited he may have to delve into the market to avoid a relegation dogfight:

“We are always looking for new players, that is part of the job really as a manager,” he is quoted by talkSPORT.

“Our scouting system is always trying to find players but we work with the players we have got and we don’t talk about the players we haven’t got.

“We will see what happens in January.”

It’s thought that McDermott may be looking to reinforce his attacking options, with summer signing Pavel Pogrebnyak failing to transfer the form he showed with Fulham to the Madejski Stadium.

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He could also target defensive cover, with Alex Pearce, who was impressive during the promotion-winning season, struggling to adapt to the top-flight.

The Berkshire-based outfit have been linked with out of favour Arsenal star Andrei Arshavin, but it’s thought that the Russian’s wage demands may scupper any potential deal.

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas was happy to see he side take all three points from their Premier League encounter with Swansea.

Spurs have made a habit of conceding late goals this season, but managed to stand firm against their South Wales rivals, with Jan Vertonghen’s 75th minute strike deciding the tie.

The Portuguese coach celebrated the performance of his players after the game, claiming they deserved the win:

“It was a good, good win and I think we deserved to win today.” He told SkySports.

“We did everything right today. We had so many chances, so many opportunities to put the game to bed even earlier.

“We concentrated, we were responsible and it would have been very unfair if we had not won today.

The Swans’ defensive approach stifled the Londoners for long periods, but AVB insisted that he had full faith his side would get the breakthrough their play had earned:

“Swansea made it very difficult. Not only are they strong in attack, but their defence is very organised. It was difficult to break them down and we had to be patient.

“We were doing everything right in the first half and in the second half. It was a tremendous effort from the boys and I think they got the reward for their patience.

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“You just have to be persistent. We kept the ball well, moved the ball well and fortunately enough through a set-play we managed to get the goal.

“You saw the players acknowledge the fact that we have been suffering and showing great commitment to finish the game.”

Paulinho has insisted that he wants to stay with Corinthians, amid interest from Chelsea and Manchester City.

The Brazilian midfielder helped his side claim the FIFA Club World Cup, with a 1-0 victory over the Blues in Japan, earning them the status as the best club team on the planet.

His performances during the past few seasons have alerted top clubs across Europe, with Inter Milan believed to have made an approach during the summer.

However, the 24-year-old stated his intention to remain with his current employers, citing their recent triumph as a key factor:

“I’m staying at Corinthians,” he told Esporte iG but reported by Sky Sports.

“There were lots of rumours that I could possibly leave the club, that there are talks, but I have never been aware of anything concrete, apart from Inter Milan, which everyone knows about.

“The more titles you win, the more you want to win. That’s what everyone says, and I say that too.”

Paulinho recently signed a new deal with Corinthians, but it has been speculated that this was a just a measure to extract a greater transfer fee in the future.

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The holding midfielder is dubbed as one of the rising stars in South American football and has been lauded for his mixture of defensive and attacking abilities.

Despite being relatively young, he has made eight appearances for Brazil, netting twice.

Leeds manager Neil Warnock was delighted with his team’s 2-1 FA Cup victory over Tottenham, describing his players as “heroes”.

Goals from Luke Varney and Ross McCormack put the home side ahead, before Clint Dempsey pulled one back for the Londoners.

Despite some tense moments in the closing stages the Championship side held on, much to the delight of Warnock:

“It’s a fabulous performance, it’s a great day for us. The atmosphere was good, two cracking goals.” He is quoted by Sky Sports.

“There were a lot of heroes today. It was a typical FA Cup tie today.”

The visitors fielded a number of their first-choice stars, including the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, but Leeds managed to match their top-tier opponents.

Warnock highlighted the performances of defensive duo Aidy White and Sam Byram as key in keeping Spurs’ attacking line fairly quiet across the 90 minutes:

“I thought Aidy and Sam got done occasionally, but they’ve learned so much today against top-class opposition,

“It’s not very often that Aaron Lennon has an ineffective game as he did today, and we handled Gareth well as well.”

Star striker Luciano Becchio was missing for the Peacocks, amid reports that he is set to leave the club after handing in a transfer request.

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But, Warnock refused to suggest that the Argentine’s actions have been disruptive, and insisted that even if he had have been fit and focused he would not have made the starting XI:

“If I’d have thought Becchio would have been fit today or in the right frame of mind I would still have played this team.”

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