Tottenham v Chelsea 15-04-2012

Chelsea defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole have been passed fit for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final tie with Tottenham Hotspur.

Terry (cracked ribs) and Cole (ankle) were both doubts but have trained this week. Right-back Branislav Ivanovic misses the game as he begins a three-match suspension.
Ryan Bertrand (calf) and Oriol Romeu (illness) are also out, while Younes Kaboul's knee injury means Spurs manager Harry Redknapp only has two fully fit first-team centre-backs.
Ledley King's chronic knee problems could rule him out as he struggles to play more than once a week and he started the 2-1 defeat by Norwich City on Monday, while Michael Dawson is sidelined for the season with ankle ligament damage.
Midfielder Scott Parker is likely to be available after he missed the loss to the Canaries, but playmaker Niko Kranjcar has picked up a knee injury that rules him out of the trip to Wembley.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
These clubs are facing each other for the 146th time.
Chelsea have won 60 of the previous 145; Tottenham are looking for their 50th win.
This season's Premier League meetings were both drawn; 1-1 at White Hart Lane, 0-0 at Stamford Bridge.
  This is the ninth time they have been paired together in the FA Cup, with honours even at four wins a piece.
The most recent clash was in a quarter-final replay in March 2007, which Chelsea won 2-1 at the Lane.
They have never met in the semi-finals, but Tottenham were 2-1 victors when the pair clashed for the one and only time in the final in 1967.
Tottenham Hotspur
It is 21 years since Tottenham won the FA Cup for the eighth time in their history. Only Manchester United (11) and Arsenal (10) have won the silverware more often.
Spurs have won half of their 18 previous semi-final appearances, but have been unsuccessful in the most recent five - included the season before last.
The only major piece of silverware of Harry Redknapp's managerial career was the 2008 FA Cup, with Portsmouth.
  Jermain Defoe is Tottenham's top FA Cup scorer so far this season, with three goals.
Chelsea
  Chelsea still have the chance to become only the second club to complete the double of FA Cup and Europe's premier club competition, following Manchester United's Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup treble achievement in 1999.
The six-times FA Cup winners, who have lifted the cup in three of the last six seasons, have lost only two of the last 32 FA Cup matches - one of those being on penalties.
This will be their 20th appearance in a FA Cup semi-final. They have progressed from the last four to the end-of-season showpiece on 10 of the previous 19 occasions.
  Caretaker manager Roberto di Matteo has two FA Cup winners' medals with Chelsea; 1997 and 2000. Under Di Matteo, Chelsea have won eight, drawn two and lost one in all competitions.
Juan Mata is Chelsea's top scorer in the FA Cup, with three goals..

Manchester United vs. Aston Villa, Match Preview 15-04-2012

Wigan beating Manchester United on Wednesday was amusing, and I don't think many that aren't of the United-supporting persuasion would disagree too vehemently. It's always funny when a top side loses, and it's especially funny when it's United; Alex Ferguson just has such an expressive Angry Face, and his complexion makes it look like he quite literally may be ready to explode. And for that loss-which was just their fourth of the season and first since January, by the way-to come against Wigan makes the whole thing even funnier. But in a couple of ways, it was less than ideal from a Villa-centric perspective. Most readily apparent is that it makes Villa's Premier League standing just that little bit more precarious. There's also the belief (certainly not held by everyone, but by a fair number of people) that losing in such an embarrassing fashion will have United re-focused and ready to lay a severe walloping down upon Villa's head. Frankly, I'm not sure the loss to Wigan was really necessary to set the stage for a lopsided result in favor of the home side. Though it's true that this is not the most impressive Manchester United side we've ever seen (it's quite frankly astonishing to me that they're likely going to win the league) they're still a damned site better than Villa. And their most exploitable weakness-a tremendously underwhelming central midfield-is one that Aston Villa are quite possibly the most unlikely to exploit in the league. With Blackburn Rovers and Crystal Palace the exception, every team that's beaten United this season in all competitions has done so in large part by completely dominating the middle of the park. Doesn't seem like that's in the cards for tomorrow, frankly. There's a reason they play the games and all that, and with a lineup so heavy on youth it's entirely possible that one of the kiddos has something of a coming out party tomorrow. Unless you charge $2.99/minute to give stock tips and telling people how and when they're going to die over the phone (and you should be ashamed of wasting your gift in that fashion!) you can't really know what will happen until it does, etc. etc. etc. But on the face of things, this looks to be an excellent candidate for being the first real and true thrashing Villa have had to endure all season. I've been dreading this game for months. Here's hoping I'm a terrible psychic.

Ronaldo, Messi set La Liga scoring record of 41

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi took their remarkable scoring achievements to new heights when they jointly set a record for La Liga goals in a season of 41 on Saturday. Portuguese international Ronaldo, who set the previous best of 40 last term, nodded home an Angel Di Maria centre in the 74th minute at the Bernabeu for Real Madrid's second in a 3-1 win against Sporting Gijon, his 53rd goal in all competitions this term. Messi matched him around two hours later by netting his and Barcelona's second of the night from the penalty spot in a 2-1 victory at Levante. The Argentine World Player of the Year earlier curled in Barca's equaliser and has 63 goals overall, four short of the all-time record of 67 set by former Bayern Munich striker Gerd Mueller in the 1972-73 season. Already Barca's leading scorer at only 24 years of age, Messi was characteristically modest in a pitchside interview after the game in Valencia, saying it was vital to keep the pressure on Real. "Luckily things are going well (for me) but the important thing is that the team performs well so we can challenge for the title," he said. Real, who lead Barca by four points with five games left and play at their arch rival's Nou Camp stadium in a week's time, also equalled the record for goals scored in a season of 107 set under Welsh coach John Toshack in 1990. Barca have 96. "The team with 107 goals deserves to finish the season with the title," Emilio Butragueno, who played in Toshack's side and is now a club director, said in a television interview. Assistant coach Aitor Karanka added at a news conference: "It's a result of the work of a fantastic group of players who give joy (to the fans) and who deserve to be champions."