Fulham v West Bromwich Albion: Squad sheets

Fulham v West Bromwich Albion: Probable starters in bold, contenders in light. Photograph: Graphic

Given that he has been a No2 at both Chelsea and Liverpool, the top four is not unfamiliar territory for Steve Clarke, but it is to Albion fans, who, even at this early stage of the season, are wide-eyed in disbelief at being in third place. Victory in this fixture for the first time in 45 years could even see them go top on Saturday. Martin Jol, having lost the services of Moussa Dembélé and Clint Dempsey across the capital to Tottenham, gives a first start to Dimitar Berbatov and will need him to find his old Spurs form if Fulham are to prosper. Paul Chronnell

Venue Craven Cottage, Saturday 3pm

Tickets Sold out

Last season Fulham 1 West Brom 1

Referee Roger East

This season's matches 1 Y2, R1, 3.00 cards per game

Odds Fulham 10-11 West Brom 3-1 Draw 5-2

DON’T FALL ASLEEP IN FRONT OF MANCHESTER UNITED GOALKEEPER DAVID DE GEA

Until now David De Gea has only been making his Manchester United team-mates feel uncomfortable when they were forced to watch him underneath the high ball. But it now emerges that they should also be uncomfortable if they nod off in front of him.

De Gea showed a total lack of respect for fellow Olympian Iker Muniain’s beauty sleep by arranging and taking the photograph above at Jerez airport as the Spain squad waited for a flight to Madrid.

Muniain’s gaping mouth proved too tempting for the young goalkeeper, so he got to work on taking advantage of his mate’s siesta.

As if he hadn’t invaded enough of Muniain’s privacy he then tweeted the photo to his 669,000 Twitter followers.

ARSENAL’S DECISION NOT TO PURSUE YANN M’VILA… AND FIVE OTHER ARSENE WENGER TRANSFER FIASCOS

Newspaper reports suggest Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has cooled his interest in French midfielder Yann M’Vila because he feels his squad is already adequately prepared in that department.

Despite rumours claiming Jack Wilshere may not play again until October, Wenger believes that signing M’Vila would have an adverse effect on the potential of the injury-prone Abou Diaby.

He even claimed that Diaby would walk into the France national team if fully fit. That may not be quite true, and Diaby’s fitness record suggests him staying off of the treatment table long enough to make an international squad – let alone starting eleven – would be a challenge in itself.

But this is not the first time Arsenal’s manager has overlooked a potential signing, citing how another player in his squad would suffer as a consequence as the reason for not opening the club’s chequebook…

1. Jose Enrique
Last summer Gael Clichy’s £7m move to Manchester City left a gaping hole in Arsenal’s squad at left-back. Wenger felt that moving for Newcastle’s Jose Enrique would put the blockers on young Kieran Gibbs’ development, so he opted for Andre Santos instead. While Santos has looked OK when called upon, Enrique would have been an upgrade, and Gibbs spent a large part of the season injured anyway.

2. Xabi Alonso
Arsenal were set to capitalise on the Xabi Alonso/Gareth Barry/Rafael Benitez debacle at Liverpool in 2008, with Wenger putting a bid in for the Spaniard. However as Alonso was travelling down to London, Liverpool insisted for more money and Wenger called off the deal, stating that publicly that he didn’t want to ‘kill’ Denilson. Arsenal fans are now likely to suggest that wouldn’t have been the worst thing, as the Brazilian has just spent the last season back in his homeland on loan.

3. Yaya Toure
Yaya Toure – the man driving the Man City revolution from midfield last season – could well have ended up playing in the red of Arsenal instead if things had been different. While at the Gunners’ feeder club Beveren, Yaya trialled at Arsenal after a recommendation from brother Kolo, who was playing for the club at the time. But no permanent deal was done. Yaya played in a friendly game against Barnet, but Wenger decided he had enough midfield options in his squad and let the Ivorian move onto Olympiakos. A big mistake in hindsight.

4. Juan Mata
Another transfer Arsenal could have secured last summer was that of European Championship winner Juan Mata. A clause in his Valencia contract allowed Arsenal to agree in principle a deal of around £21m, but the club dithered on finalising the signing because of the situations with Cesc Fabreags and Samir Nasri, and Chelsea eventually swooped in.

5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
PSG’s most recent signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic could have been an Arsenal player, and picture evidence suggests he would have suited the club’s colours too. However, when the big Swede was available for transfer from Malmo, Wenger wanted him to come on trial first. Ibrahimovic said he didn’t do trials, negotiations broke down and he joined Ajax instead.

BET’S BE ‘AVIN YOU: FOOTBALL BETTING TIPS FOR THE 14-16 SEPTEMBER

£40 staked last time out and £40 returned, thanks to England’s victory to nil over Moldova. Would have been considerable more had Croatia won by more than one goal, but c’est la vie.

First bet this week drops down to the Championship, where Nottingham Forest host Birmingham City. Forest have started the season in great form, moving up to third in the table before the international break. Birmingham, however, have stuttered despite pre-season predictions that they could gain automatic promotion following the end of their financial woes. When a side that has won both its home games is odds against (6/5) to beat a side that has lost both its away games, I would advise you to pile on.
£15 on Nottingham Forest to beat Birmingham City gets you £33

Next up is the Premier League action, and a couple of first goalscorer bets to examine. Firstly i’m going for Edin Dzeko. The Bosnian is not first choice at Eastlands, but scored four goals during the international break and may be given the nod here with Sergio Aguero not yet at full fitness. And at 6/1, even if he doesn’t start your stake will be returned. Next I’m going for Mladen Petric. The Serbian has scored two goals already in England, and odds of 6/1 again look generous.
£5 on Edin Dzeko first goalscorer gets you £35
£5 on Mladen Petric first goalscorer gets you £35

Another £5 available to take the stakes to £40, so let’s make this one an accumulator. Manchester United will be backed on the handicap to beat Wigan, Charlton should see off Crystal Palace in Friday night’s London derby, whilst Tranmere will look to continue their excellent start to the season against struggling (and managerless) Coventry City
£5 on Manchester United (-1), Charlton and Tranmere gets you £35

IT’S A HUGE WEEKEND FOR… LIVERPOOL FC, NIGEL ADKINS, SPURS’ GOALKEEPERS AND HANDSHAKES

Liverpool FC
Finally, vindication. Finally, the truth. Finally, redemption. It doesn’t matter if you know the truth, the truth still needs to be known. Scars will not heal, wrongs have not been righted and the lost cannot be found. But finally, Liverpool football club and its family can sleep knowing that the truth has now outed.

I am not a Liverpool fan (indeed, as a Forest fan I knew people there that day, and at four years old could not comprehend the tragedy), but this is not about which club you support, because it’s not even about football. It is about humanity. And when, at 2.55pm at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, the Liverpool fans sing You’ll Never Walk Alone and think of their lost ones and loved ones, they will do so with a pride that says “we put this right”, and Sunderland fans could do worse than sing it to. Simply writing about it makes my spine tingle.

Bill Shankly was wrong. It is not more important than life or death. And the events of April 15th 1989 demonstrated that hauntingly. I just hope that finally, the families of 96 sadly-missed people can be proud of their club and their city.

Nigel Adkins
Ian Holloway knows that simply impressing people in the Premier League means nothing without the substance of points. Southampton may have the well wishes of the neutral after their opening three games, but they have no points.

A trip to Arsenal makes things no easier, but Adkins must be hoping that his side does not simply play well, but instead demonstrates a backbone, a steely side with which to accompany the joys of their August football.

Spurs’ goalkeepers
An early season headache for a Portuguese manager. Having lost his job at Chelsea through trying to move the old guard out too quickly, AVB has now been criticised by the tabloid media for apparently attempting to do the same with a 42-year-old goalkeeper at White Hart Lane.

Brad Friedel has been a wonderful performer, but Hugo Lloris cost £12million and is the French number one. Pick the Frenchman and he makes a mistake, it was the wrong choice: AVB loses. Pick the American and he makes a mistake, AVB has unsettled his keeper: AVB loses. Pick Friedel and he performs well and Lloris begins to get uneasy: AVB loses. Pick Lloris, Spurs win at the Madejski and his goalkeeper makes some decent saves without his side coming under significant pressure: AVB wins.

Welcome to management in England as a foreigner, take two.

Handshakes
After the shittingly awful week football has had, it would be nice to think that this weekend could be about sportsmanship, fair play and wonderful football. Luckily there is a West London Derby in which Chelsea’s captain is approaching a hearing at the FA related to alleged racially aggravated comments during the fixture last season.

And we all shake our heads at football’s disgusting underbelly of immaturity, unpleasantness and ignorance. Oh joy.

QPR and Chelsea players must shake hands, says Premier League

Anton Ferdinand and John Terry have faced each other twice since the incident, but the handshake was cancelled both times.

The Premier League has announced that the pre-match handshake before Queens Park Rangers' match with Chelsea at Loftus Road on Saturday must take place.

Anton Ferdinand and John Terry, who has recovered from his ankle injury, will meet for the first time since the Chelsea captain's race trial in July. Terry was found not guilty of using a racial slur against Ferdinand in the corresponding fixture last October, but remains the subject of a Football Association investigation over charges that he denies.

The QPR manager, Mark Hughes, revealed on Friday afternoon that they were awaiting guidance from the Premier League, who has confirmed it must go ahead.

"There has been dialogue between the Premier League, Queens Park Rangers and Chelsea in relation to tomorrow's match between the two clubs," said a Premier League statement. "All parties understand and acknowledge that the pre-match handshake will go ahead as part of the normal pre-match activity."

Walton and Humphreys In Frame To Face Cherries

Hartlepool United duo Simon Walton and Ritchie Humphreys are in contention to face Bournemouth at Dean Court tomorrow.

Both impressed manager Neale Cooper during a midweek reserve match and are now pushing for first time slots. Humphreys is yet to feature for the first team this season while Walton was dropped in favour of Paul Murray after a disappointing start to the season.

''I was at the reserve game during the week and Simon and Ritchie both played well and were the only two positives really.'' he told the Mail.

''Simon looks a lot sharper and fitter, which he had to be, and I've told him that. He's worked really hard since I've brought Paul back.

''That's what I want - a reaction from boys - and to get the best out of Simon I thought he had to be a bit fitter. But he's in the squad and we could use him this weekend.

''We'll have to think about what we'll do.''