Everton manager, David Moyes, is under pressure ahead of the Europa Football League encounter with Benfica later today. Moyes has a long injury list in front of him that is making his task of picking a good standard eleven a difficult one in a match the club need to win.

Moyes is one of the more experienced managers in the league but this is no substitute when physical circumstances leave you with a lot of problems on your plate. Everton have been struggling with inconsistency in recent times and need to work out any way to win a match.

Moyes said: “We don’t have any extra players at the moment and I don’t have any extra options — we are optioned-out. The players we have will have to cope with the situation. It will be a case of putting them out and letting them cope.”

“It is going to take it out of them. It is going to be tough but we have always tried to put out the best team we can. If we had all of our squad fit we could perhaps rotate one or two players in our squad, but at the moment all we are doing is adding to our injury list. It is disappointing for us.”

“We take all competitions seriously and we certainly will this one. We are fortunate that we have two good results under our belt, which puts us into a good position.”

“There are parts of the game where we will need to stifle Benfica because their attacking prowess is excellent. But we will also have opportunities to have a go at them — so it will be a case of striking a balance between trying to stifle and trying to score. They are a really good attacking side and they will be a big threat to us.”

The club will need to raise their game hugely from some mediocre displays that have been appearing in the Premier League. Sides such as Benfica are very good and will be taking the competiton as a vital importance, if Everton give them any room for opportunity then they will not think twice about taking advantage of it.

They need to get their main players fit again very quickly and make sure that they stay fit. This game may have come just a little too quickly for them and it will be a test of their calibre to see if they can make it through. The only aim of the game seems to be damage limitation.

Chelsea appears to be back to their lethal best after they demolished Athletico Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League last night. Two goals from Solomon Kalou, one from Frank Lampard and one own goal all led to another three points as Chelsea strive to win the competition that has eluded them since Roman Abramovich’s arrival.

Chelsea never looked threatened against a very talented attacking side. There are a number of players in the Madrid team that could have created big problems but John Terry seemed to be in perfect form and snuffed out all signs of danger instantly.

Manager, Carlo Ancelotti, said: “We did better at the set plays. It was very important to keep our concentration at the set plays — and we scored twice from them as well.”

“Maybe the first half was more difficult than the second, but after our first goal we had a good match. We had good attacking, a good transition. Nine points is good. I think we are in control of the group now, but our aim is still to go for first place.”

“I am happy for him [Lampard]. He is important because he works 90 minutes on the pitch for the team. He is a very generous, unselfish player. And if he scores a goal, it is better.”

The problem that seems to have plagued Chelsea in the last one or two seasons is their inconsistency. This had provided gaps and windows of opportunity for rivals to pounce on and is the reason they have fell short of Manchester United in the last two campaigns.

Chelsea are a big club that need to be winning trophies on a regular basis. If they carry on playing in this efficient manner then they should be in with a good shout on all fronts by the end of the season.

The problem is that better teams are going to exploit their weaknesses in a way that Madrid could not. Set plays are just a single part of the game but at times last night they gave too much space and time that will be used a lot better by teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Ancelotti will be grateful for the points but he knows better than anyone that there is always work to do and he will not be happy until his team has won 4-0 in every game they have played over the course of a month.

Chelsea boss, Carlo Ancelotti, has warned his side not to underestimate Athletico Madrid when the Spanish side play at Stamford Bridge this evening. Ancelotti wants a marked improvement on some inconsistent recent Chelsea displays and says that if his side are going to win the Champions League they will need to grind out wins from matches like this.

Chelsea should be able to name a very strong side and Ancelotti does not have many headaches to deal with. He will be happy at the fact that his team are still competing and not out of any thing even though they have not been playing as well as they could do.

He said: “Atletico didn’t start well but they have very good qualities. They have Aguero and Forlan, they are dangerous strikers and we have to pay attention to this. Aguero has fantastic quality and he can win matches. They are a good team.”

“We have a possibility to move eight points ahead of Atletico and that is very good because we want to arrive in first place in the group. We have a great opportunity to do this. To get first place in the group we need 12 or 13 points so it is important to win on Wednesday.”

Chelsea will want to finish first because if they do it will mean that they will get an easier game in the first knock out stage of the Champions League. However, every match seems to be a tough one in the modern day and Athletico will still be entertaining their own ideas of reaching the later stages.

Chelsea should be able to welcome back Germany’s captain, Michael Ballack, but right back, Jose Bosingwa, will miss the match with a knee problem. Otherwise the Chelsea gauntlet should be at full strength and it will be full steam ahead as they look to carry on their Champions League quest.

Chelsea will probably still feel a little bit of heart break from the final defeat they suffered two years ago at the hands of Manchester United. This should be enough inspiration to spur them on this season and they will go out of their way to make sure that there are no repeats of any last minute goals, like the one that knocked them out at the semi-final stage last year.

Chelsea are capable of going all the way but they need to work very hard at keeping a level of consistency that will allow them to compete with the better sides in the competition.

Rafa Benitez is under increasing pressure after his Liverpool side lost 2-1 to Lyon in the Champions League last night. Liverpool were quite clearly below par and mirrored some bad recent performances that have also seen them lose to Fiorentina in the same Champions League group.

Liverpool did go ahead through a Yossi Benayoun strike but goals from Maxime Gonalons and César Delgado were enough to make it a happy night for the French team as Liverpool are now staring right down the barrel of a gun. Liverpool’s problems were made worse by the fact that captain, Steven Gerrard, limped off with an injury.

Gerrard is the tool the many people have said was missing from the side and his premature arrival back into the team did not appear to work and he has only made his injury worse. Needless to say Benitez was not exactly happy.

He said: “Everything that can go wrong is going wrong at the moment. I think we have to win our last three games now. We were 1-0 up and had two or three chances which could have changed everything, but we just had too many problems. I’m really disappointed because we still had enough chances to win it, which could have made everything different.”

“With Glen and Stevie, we will have to check how they are. It was the same problem with Stevie. He felt something and I knew it was better to change him then, but starting with him wasn’t a risk because the doctor said he was OK. He trained for the last two days and was OK — sometimes it’s just bad luck.”

“My job is to prepare them for the next game, and that starts as soon as I finish tonight. Personally, my staff and the players will be the ones who lift me — everyone who wants to see Liverpool winning again, in fact.”

Liverpool fans seems to be losing their patience with the man that won them a fifth European Cup in the club’s history, but the point is that time is running out. Liverpool have also slipped right off the pace in the Premier League and if things do not start to improve quickly then it could be the end as far as Liverpool’s season is concerned.

Benitz needs wins and he needs them fast. In this day and age, losing is heavier than any thing else and if Liverpool keep up their bad form then people will start to want the Spaniards head.

Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger, reacted furiously after his club’s win against Birmingham City at the weekend. For once the reaction had nothing to do with the performance of his side as the Frenchman said he was furious about some of the chants that were aimed at his striker, Eduardo.

Many people will not remember that Eduardo badly broke his leg playing against Birmingham the last time they were in the Premier League. Martin Taylor was the player responsible and that was the name being chanted by a number of Birmingham fans as they watched their side lose miserably.

Wenger said: “They will not be remembered for the quality of their taste with that kind of remark. Eduardo was here. I don’t know how he felt about the chants. I just put that in the ranks of stupidity.”

“That’s fantastic. It shows first that everybody goes forward and when everybody scores, the team has a good collective base. On a longer term, some will score more than others, but to know that everybody can score is fantastic.”

“After the last international break we lost at Manchester City. It’s difficult away from home.”

Birmingham boss, Alex McLeish, added: “They’re a beautiful footballing team. I threw the gauntlet down to the strikers, the McFaddens of this world. Cameron’s had experience in the Premier League and he’s now got to show that he’s a Premier League striker.”

It is not clear whether the Football Association will bother taking a look into the incident in order to try and work out who started the chants in the first place. The Birmingham boss certainly does not condone them and the fact is that the chants were made by a small few. There were probably fans sitting in the same section that told whoever was signing that they were out of order in the first place.

Sometimes the atmosphere and passion at a football match can go straight to your head and you start chanting or saying things that you would not have done when given the benefit of turning back the clock. This is probably one of those situations. There was no reason for the chants as Eduardo had not done a single thing to warrant the negativity from Birmingham fans.

Wenger will be happy that his side won the match and muted the chants of the idiotic fans. It is certainly not something that should be remembered and if Eduardo scores against them this season, we’d all forgive him for doing an Adebayor.

Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher, is throwing caution to the wind ahead of a week that could shape the rest of the club’s season. Liverpool lost 1-0 to Sunderland over the weekend thanks to a controversial goal from Darren Bent.

The bad news is that the club’s next two games will be against Lyon, the best side in France, and Manchester United, the best side in England. Rafa Benitez needs to quickly work out what his best side is and what competition Liverpool will be going for this season.

At the moment they are struggling both domestically and in Europe so the heads seem to have dropped ahead of this week’s crucial European tie with the French giants. Benitez has to be praised for his never say die attitude but as far as Carragher is concerned, it is all up hill from here.

He said: “There is a long way to go yet, but if we continue losing games, it will be the end. We have given ourselves a mountain to climb, but Chelsea lost as well. There is a seven-point difference with Manchester United but we can’t think about the title right now.”

“We have to forget about that and concentrate on the next league game, which will give us the chance to claw some points back. We have to restore our confidence and play much better.”

“We are not playing well, the supporters know that. I am sure there will be a lot of stick flying around before the Lyons game.”

It is good to see one of Liverpool’s most loyal and consistent players come out with comments that are so black and white, they define the feeling of nearly everyone at the club. When he speaks, Carragher does not mix with words and comments like this will be common around the club.

The fact is that without Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres running the show at Liverpool, they struggle and struggle very badly. There is too much reliance on those two players and until Benitez is able to find a solution then they will probably keep losing games.

Liverpool fans know better than any others that when United sniff a point of weakness then they will start to circle it like hungry sharks. For Liverpool to have any hope of repeating their victories against United last season they will have to perform mid-week. If they do not then it could well be season over, little after it has just begun.

Robinho has stirred up the exit rumours that have surrounded him at Manchester City by saying that he would enjoy a move to Barcelona. It had been expected that the Brazilian playmaker would be thrown into this weekend’s Manchester City match but Mark Hughes may now leave him out.

Robinho said: “Of course I would like to play for Barcelona, who wouldn’t? We could really enjoy ourselves. It would be a pleasure to play alongside [Lionel] Messi, my compatriot [Dani] Alves, Xavi, [Andrés] Iniesta, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, everyone. They are a great team. I have played against them and I know all about their quality. But until now I have only been able to play with them on the PlayStation.”

“Pep Guardiola’s side is truly spectacular. It is an honour that a coach like Guardiola speaks highly of me, for him to rate me as highly as I have read that he does. I genuinely appreciate it, from the bottom of my heart.”

“I can assure you that right now my father, who is my only representative, hasn’t said anything to me about Barcelona. I don’t know anything, believe me. Besides, out of respect for Manchester City, the two clubs are the ones that should talk about my transfer or loan and then tell me [what they have decided]. It’s not right to talk about this hypothetical transfer or loan until there’s something more concrete.”

“It’s a question of sitting down and talking about it when there is a concrete and serious offer. Let me make one thing clear: I have a contract with City and as a professional I owe my allegiance to them.”

A lot of people did question his move to Manchester City when it did happen and those that said it would be a matter of time until he moved on again may be proved right. The point is that City pay Robinho a stupid amount of money that probably no other club would offer so he simply has to way up whether he is more of a football player or a mercenary.

He added: “It is no secret that [in the summer] there was clear interest from Barcelona in signing me but Manchester City didn’t want to negotiate. I was declared non-transferable and that’s the way it stays.”

“I’m concentrating on doing the best I can for City. We’re thinking big now. We have built a very strong side that has aspirations of winning the Premier League with Carlos Tevez, [Emmanuel] Adebayor, [Joleon] Lescott and [Gareth] Barry.”

The unpredictable Robinho could be used by Manchester City as a piece of transfer bait ahead of the January transfer window. Robinho has been in and out of the City side for various reasons ever since he joined the club two summers ago.

Mark Hughes is showing his ambition as the manager with every game that passes and with even more big names lined up for City, Robinho could be the first player who finds himself moving another way for a more solid player.

Hughes said: “There were a lot of questions — would we be able to gel early as a team, would so-called egos in the dressing room be able to be managed — being asked of us before a ball was even kicked.”

“I think we have answered each and every one of them. We know there is a long way to go but we are pleased with the start we have made because we needed one. The review we have had of the first phase [of the season] has been good.”

Among the new names that have been connected with the club is Barcelona captain, Carlos Puyol. The Spain international is nearing the end of his career and is quickly running out of time in terms of being able to go to another club and experience a new challenge.

The big problem so far for City has been that their defence does not appear to be tight enough to keep out the most talented if sides that can score goals against them easily. This was demonstrated perfectly during the Manchester derby where they were able to score three goals at Old Trafford but still lost the match.

Puyol would probably also arrive as captain and he would bring a huge presence. He would demand perfection and could effectively seal the defence up. With Shay Given in goal, arguably one of the most under rated goalkeeprs in the history of the game, if the move comes off it would be a Hughes master stroke.

The reason that Robinho, a very good player, would be sacrificed is because Hughes is going after stability and not unpredictability. The only way City will start to win things every season is if they have a team that is full of reliable and consistent players. Not the sort of players that turn up for training late or only perform when they feel fit enough themselves.

Emile Heskey says that he may be forced to move from Aston Villa in order to keep his hopes of playing at the World Cup alive. Heskey has not been able to have a significant impact at Villa Park, due to his inconsistent starting place in the team.

Martin O’Neill brought him to Aston Villa with the aspirations of helping him find the form that he showed when he was a Liverpool regular and terrorising defences with Michael Owen.

Heskey has also been in and out of Fabio Capello’s England side and many have started saying that unless he bucks up his ideas very quickly then he will miss out on a chance to seal a place on the plan to South Africa.

He said: “I’m happy to be playing for England and, obviously, not playing at club level is difficult. It’s something I will have to look at when I get back and try to address it.”

“That’s what I mean. I will have to sit down and think about my next move. I don’t know whether I can get a World Cup place if I’m not playing for Villa. The manager [Capello] hasn’t really spoken to me about it. I just have to keep performing well in training and keep going. But you always wonder about those kind of things, whether it will affect my chances. I will just have to try to address it when the time is right.”

“I’m never going to give up. It’s just another hurdle I have to get over. I just have to try and keep my spirits up at Villa. I must keep going, keep training hard and then just try to address it. We will see what happens. But you would have to ask the manager [O'Neill] why I’m not playing.”

Heskey’s options are very simple. If he wants a move from Villa then he can submit a request in late December and make himself available for the January window. However. This is very risky.

If he lets it out that he wants to go before December then he could end up being shunned by all connected to Villa. If January comes and goes and no one wants him then Heskey is forced to stay at a club that he has stated he does not want to be at.

He must be praised for showing such ambition and want but he needs to step very carefully to cover his tracks.

Michael Owen has upped the stakes ahead of Manchester United’s future game with Liverpool. Owen has said that United are the biggest club in the world, which will not go down well with Liverpool fans that saw Owen forge his career on Anfield.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to give Owen a chance in a United shirt does not seem to have been a bad one just yet, even though the player is struggling with another injury.

What will not go down well with Liverpool fans is that Owen, a Liverpool legend, even considered a move to United in the first place. His comments are sure to fire up the passion of many fans who will be expecting Liverpool to up their game after some disappointing results.

Owen said: “It’s fantastic, everything you would expect of a top, top team. It’s probably the biggest club in the world. Everything right down to the kit man and the canteen girls through to the manager, it is just first class.”

“The older you get, the more you get to learn your body. A couple of years ago I would have carried on playing, pulled something and been out for a couple of months, or a few weeks at least. But I felt something coming and if I’d continued I think I would have pulled my groin so I came off just before it happened and instead of three or four weeks it was three or four days.”

If United are going to succeed on more than one front this season then they will need Owen to play his part. The trick will be keeping him free from regular injuries that he now seems prone to and if the club can do this then they have the poacher that they have been missing ever since Ru ud Van Nistelrooy went to join Real Madrid.

Owen has already done a large part in making himself an Old Trafford by scoring a winner against Manchester City in injury time of one of the best derbies in recent memory. It was just what United needed to lift the side after a dodgy display and if he can do it again in another important match they will love him for a long time.

Owen seems to know that he is lucky to have been given a contract at United when he could easily have ended up at a Hull or Stoke City. The point that someone showed such faith in him seems to be something he will never forget.