India win against Australia

India have finally registered their maiden win on the tour of Australia.India have beaten Australia in the T20 match in Melbourne to level the 2-match series 1-1. India put in an excellent performance in the field, dismissing the hosts for 131, and then chasing down the target with two balls to spare. Gautam Gambhir hit an unbeaten 50 as India beat the Aussies by 8 wickets.

Barcelona step up their interest in Tottenham star Bale

Barcelona have watched Tottenham star Gareth Bale seven times, as they prepare to make a summer move.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy insists the winger is not for sale, but the European champions think a bid of over £40million might well tempt the Londoners.In demand: Gareth Bale in action for Spurs against Wigan on Tuesday night

Barcelona may be wiling to offer a player plus cash deal to ensure signing Bale, according to a report in Saturday's Mirror.

Bale has become one of the most talked about players in English football in recent times, with some sparkling performances for Tottenham.

With Spurs still involved in the title race this season, and almost certain of a place in the Champions League, Levy and manager Harry Redknapp will no doubt argue there's good reason for Bale to stay at White Hart Lane.

David de Gea pressure unfair, says Man Utd boss Ferguson

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes goalkeeper David de Gea has been put under extra pressure by virtue of playing for the champions.

"When you make a mistake at United, it is highlighted and can be exaggerated a little bit," said Ferguson before.

De Gea, signed from Atletico Madrid for £18.9m in June, is set to return to the team for his side's Premier League visit to Chelsea on Sunday.

The Spaniard missed Tuesday's 2-0 win over Stoke  through illness.

And with team-mate Anders Lindegaard out with ankle ligament damage for at least four weeks,  De Gea's return could be the start of an extended run in the side for the 21-year-old.

Despite criticism of De Gea for his role in both the goals conceded in the 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Liverpool  in his last appearance, Ferguson believes his form will improve soon."They are mistakes and he wants to address it himself," Ferguson added.

"He will do so through maturity and the understanding of the English game."

United have not won away to Chelsea in the league since a 3-0 victory in 2002. 

Fabian Barthez was in goal for the Red Devils that day and Ferguson admits he has struggled at times to find the right man to play between the posts.

"It is harder when you are replacing Edwin van der Sar and Peter Schmeichel. They are probably two of the greatest goalkeepers in European football over the last 40 years," he said.

"That is not easy. I found it difficult to replace them.

"That's why we went for a young replacement, who would develop and mature into the position because the potential is there."

Ferguson's Chelsea counterpart Andre Villas-Boas will be without defender John Terry, ruled out with a knee injury at the end of a week in which he was stripped of the England captaincy. 

Left-back Ashley Cole will also be absent after receiving a red card in Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Swansea. 

But Villas-Boas insists his side cannot feel sorry for themselves after a trying few days.

"First, we cannot be crying out," he said.

"Man United will miss players for sure, important players.

"We have important players out as well but we have a very big squad, which enables us to go on and try to win the game and approach it in a positive way.

"So that's what we'll try to do, whoever is involved."

Terry out of Man Utd clash

With Wayne Rooney back from injury in time for Manchester United's trip to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea couldn't have picked a worse time to be without two of their star defenders for Sunday's important match in the Premier League title race.

On the same day John Terry was removed as England captain while he awaits trial in July on charges of racially abusing an opponent, the center back was ruled out on Friday of United's visit and probably next weekend's match at Everton too with a knee injury.

With England team-mate Ashley Cole also suspended following his red card against Swansea on Tuesday, fourth-place Chelsea are already facing an uphill battle to secure a victory that would trim the gap to United to nine points.

"John Terry is the captain, a leader on the pitch and off it and he is a great player so we will miss him of course," Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said.

"We are missing Ashley as well and those two players are in the top four of most-used players. But we cannot be crying out when we miss players ... we have a very big squad which enables to us to approach the game with belief."

Rooney is one of four high-profile players set for comebacks from injury this weekend for United, who have won their last three matches to move level with Manchester City at the top of the standings.

United manager Alex Ferguson may also recalled central midfielder Tom Cleverley and wingers Nani and Ashley Young.

Rooney and Nani have been training for two days after recovering from injuries sustained in the January 22 win at Arsenal. Young has been out since December and Cleverley has been out since October.

"We've done very well away from home this season and we need to be good from now on," Ferguson said. "We've got some really important away games in the run-in - Chelsea, Tottenham and Man City. They're going to be crucial games."

Goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard is out of action for as long as six weeks because of an ankle injury, leaving David De Gea likely to start and Ben Amos set to fill in on the bench.

United - unlike regular top-four rivals Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool - have no worries over whether they will qualify for next season's Champions League.

The defending champions have won five of their last six meetings with Chelsea but the Blues won the other match in that sequence 2-1 in last season's corresponding fixture.

Chelsea v Manchester United Preview

Weather permitting, it`s the clash of the big two tomorrow afternoon when, live on Sky Sports, Chelsea entertain Manchester United. Normally this would be a top-of-the-table clash but whilst United may, once again, be contesting the title, we`ve fallen off of the pace. Nevertheless, it still remains an intriguing battle and one the nation awaits with great interest.

Despite losing 3-1, many a Chelsea supporter considers the performance up at Old Trafford as one of our better this season. Unfortunately, since then, things have sort of slipped away, something that Andre Villas-Boas was keen to discuss in his pre-match press conference, remarking about whether we are a better side now than then,

"Not really. The start of the season was our best sequence of results and best football. We were solid, creative and positive."

"The tipping point was at QPR where (if we`d won) we could have gone second, three points behind the leader. But we lost and ended up six behind."

"Straight after that, losing 5-3 to Arsenal and going the nine points behind was what catapulted the situation."

Being able to recognise the problem as opposed to fixing it seem too be two different traits!

Andre Villas Boas has some selection problems ahead of this fixture. Ashley Cole is suspended so will need replacing whilst John Terry will miss the next two games, at least, due to a knee problem. With Ramires also out and with Frank Lampard unlikely to be fit, some serious thought might have to be given as to what side to send out to face Sir Alex title chasing team.

Here at Vital Chelsea we`d like to see the following eleven start::

Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Bertrand, Romeu, Essien, Meireles, Mata, Torres, Sturridge.

In the reciprocating fixture the Spaniard scored a blinder and missed an absolute sitter, could Sunday see the Spaniard end a goal drought that has now exceeded 1000 minutes of action?

If we thought our injury situation was trying then perhaps we should take a look at how Sir Alex has coped with a far worse situation at United. Out long term are Nemanja Vidic and Darren Fletcher whilst the likes of Ashley Young, Phil Jones, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, David de Gea and Nani have all been struggling recently.

But just as you`d expect when our name crops up, it is expected that Rooney, De Gea and Young may all be fit for this fixture.

Back in the side courtesy of an injury to Ashley Young, Valencia is the unsung hero of the Old Trafford outfit. If allowed to, he`ll torment us down the flanks, one that we`ll need to keep a tight grip on.

Chelsea lost the reciprocating fixture, at Old Trafford 3-1 but, although the form hasn`t been good, enter this fixture unbeaten in 2012 with four wins and two draws to their name.

Also, at Stamford Bridge their form against Manchester United, in recent season`s has seen them not beaten by the current Premier League title holders for almost ten years, with a record of six wins and three draws in nine games.

However, it`s only fair to point out that United won on their last visit to Stamford Bridge, with that fixture being a Champions League Quarter-Final last April. 

Howard Webb, often referred to as United`s 12th man, will be the geezer with the whistle!