AHEAD OF THE GAME

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Tuesday, February 9, 2010. 1300 GMT
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The Alpha mail that lets you set the agenda

THE NEWS: INDIA'S RICHEST MAN SETS SIGHTS ON LIVERPOOL

Liverpool emerged as a takeover target for the seventh-richest man in the world last night as the pressure mounted on Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr to cut a deal to sell Anfield.

Robinho has criticised Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager, for not giving him the freedom to express himself, but Mark Bowen, the club's former assistant manager, believes the Brazilian failed to handle the physical challenge of the Premier League.

Arsenal were closing in on the signature of Marouane Chamakh last night after the Bordeaux striker's proposed move to Liverpool collapsed amid some acrimony.

Gary Cahill's hopes of forcing his way into Fabio Capello's World Cup plans were dashed yesterday when the Bolton defender was all but ruled out for the rest of the season with a blood clot in his left arm.

Lawyers for Portsmouth are trying to stave off the threat of liquidation, with a date in the High Court looming. Against the background of feverish negotiations with potential new owners, who could take on the club's debts of £60 million, Portsmouth were trying to strike a deal with Revenue & Customs to win a postponement of the winding-up order scheduled for tomorrow.

WENGER'S MORALISING IS HARD TO DEFEND

Matt Dickinson, our Chief Sports Correspondent, says the Arsenal manager is in danger of becoming a unpopular parody of himself for his post-match preaching. "He is so convinced that Arsenal's way of playing is the right way, how the game was always meant to be played, that things such as the number of goals are dismissed as mere details in his bigger, philosophical struggle," he writes.

SUNDERLAND MUST NOT BLOW THEIR CHANCE TO BE A SUCCESS

George Caulkin believes the Wearside club has laid the foundations for a rosy future in the Premier League, but the team's poor form is placing all the good work in jeopardy. "The club has a unique set of circumstances in its favour - to blow it now would be disastrous and unforgivable," he writes.

EURO 2012 DRAW RECALLS SCOTLAND'S GLORIOUS PAST

As the enormity of the task facing Craig Levein and his players sinks in, Graham Spiers remembers a time when qualifying for major tournaments was a formality in Scotland. "Reaching six out of seven World Cups in 24 years was pretty good going," he writes. "We lorded it during this period. We had a casual sense that we were among the big men - one of the powerhouses - of European football."


ASK THE EXPERT: CITY TO RETURN TO WINNING WAYS

Tony Cascarino predicts the outcome of tonight's Premier League fixtures:

Fulham v Burnley (8pm)

Cas's crystal ball: 2-1 to Fulham

Yes, Fulham have lots of injuries, including to key men such as Andrew Johnson and Clint Dempsey. And yes, they've been on a bad run lately and didn't look good when beating Portsmouth last week, which ended a run of five straight losses. They followed that up with a goalless draw at the Reebok Stadium last weekend which was a reasonable result. But despite Fulham's problems, the good news is that they're playing Burnley at home, and when Burnley travel, they almost always lose: just a single point on the road all season. I can't see Brian Laws's team keeping a clean sheet and I back Fulham to edge a feisty encounter where both teams will scrap for every loose ball.

Manchester City v Bolton Wanderers (7.45pm)

Cas's crystal ball: 3-1 to City

I'd never predict a goalless draw when City are involved because they're brilliant in attack and bad in defence. If only they could get their back four sorted, they'd develop the sort of consistency that would make them a threat to the top three, let alone the top four. They need a win to bounce back from a poor 2-1 defeat at the KC Stadium last Saturday and Roberto Mancini, the manager, will not settle for anything less. Bolton have improved a little under Owen Coyle's management, but not enough to avoid defeat at Eastlands, where City are usually strong - and Gary Cahill being out for the season with a blood clot is a massive blow to them.

Portsmouth v Sunderland (7.45pm)

Cas's crystal ball: 2-0 to Sunderland

Two out-of-form teams to say the least. I know Sunderland are on an atrocious run but I can't see Portsmouth winning any game at the moment given their off-field turmoil, even though they've played reasonably well in patches in recent weeks. But Avram Grant's side have only one point from their past six matches and they were thumped 5-0 at Old Trafford last Saturday. This is a great opportunity for the visitors, even though they've not won any of their past eleven league matches. Here's a perfect chance to turn their season around. If Sunderland score first, Portsmouth's heads will drop. A loss tonight and I just can't believe Portsmouth will have any hope of staying up.

Wigan Athletic v Stoke City (7.45pm)

Cas's crystal ball: 1-0 to Wigan

This will be a tight affair but Wigan will have just that bit too much quality for Stoke, so I reckon that Roberto Martinez's team will nick a victory. I don't see it being a classic, however - more like the sort of game you forget about as soon as you leave the stadium. The pitch at the DW Stadium isn't conducive to the sort of nice football that Wigan try to play, though I don't imagine that Stoke will be too bothered by the surface. Tony Pulis's men will be feeling good after thrashing Blackburn Rovers 3-0 last Saturday but they haven't won for six games on their travels. Wigan have been doing OK without getting wins and this should be their night.

You can set the agenda by sending in a question for one of our experts to answer. E-mail aotg@thetimes.co.uk

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