With 20 games now gone in the Premier League this season for all clubs apart from Tottenham and Everton, there are five sides who need to start winning now if they are to escape the drama of the relegation dogfight sooner rather than later.

The thought of playing at Wembley must have been on the minds of most players from Crystal Palace and Cardiff City over the festive period as one of these sides will grace the turf at the home of football in the Carling Cup final this season (Crystal Palace 17/10, draw 23/10, Cardiff 8/5 in the match betting).

Another sporting weekend has come and gone and it is time to reflect on what we have learnt from proceedings over the past 48 hours with FA Cup shocks and controversy aplenty (Chelsea 4/1 fav FA Cup Outright).

With the January transfer window now firmly open, bosses up and down the country are checking available funds and players, as they look for a key buy to help them in the second half of the season. Here we look at five potential big deals.

The FA Cup continues on Sunday with the tie of the round as Manchester United travel to the Etihad Stadium for the huge clash with Manchester United. The day’s other fixtures throws up some tasty matches, with a repeat of the 2010 final and a tough test for Martin O’Neill’s revival of Sunderland.

The busy period of Premier League fixtures is about to come to an end with two matches rounding off the festive programme on Wednesday, before taking a break with the FA Cup taking precedence next weekend (totesport – football).

The traditional New Year fixtures throw up several intriguing contests in the Premier League on Monday with Chelsea, in particular, desperate to bounce back from their 3-1 home defeat to Aston Villa. Here we preview the games.

The traditional Christmas fixtures are in full swing, here we look at some key moments.

The annual Boxing Day extravaganza of football is upon us, with only a couple of alterations due to the planned London Tube strike. There are seven Premier League games on up and down the country, with some matches a lot easier to call than others.

If racing ever wanted to promote itself all it had to do was get Wayne Rooney, the Manchester United and England soccer star, to buy a racehorse and guess what? He’s bought two!
I got the… read more