Liverpool hope to cure their London travel sickness

Arsenal will seek to turn the tables on Liverpool tomorrow at Highbury following the Londoners' 1-0 upset at Anfield last month in the Premier League.

On the other side of the coin, the Merseysiders are looking forward to improve their record in the capital. Their last win in London was at Charlton 2-1 (Bartlett - Morientes, Riise) on February 1, 2005. Their results after the victory at the Valley read:

2004-05: Arsenal 1-3, Crystal Palace 0-1.

2005-06: Charlton 0-2, Chelsea 0-2, Fulham 0-2, Tottenham 0-0.

Liverpool were also eliminated at Crystal Palace, 1-2 in the third round of the League Cup and drew 0-0 at Chelsea in a Champions League group encounter.

This week Arsenal became the sole English survivors in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after their brave performance against Real Madrid, successfully defending their 1-0 lead in Madrid two weeks before.

Liverpool, like previous Champions League winners before them, failed to progress and will not retain the title. Yet, their two defeats against Benfica, especially the 0-2 upset at home, left the team in turmoil. Now, it is up to manager Rafael Benitez to bring the confidence back into the side.

Robert Pires is willing to sign a new deal at Highbury and play his part in helping the Gunners' next generation thrive at the Emirates Stadium as from next season.

Benitez has meanwhile distanced himself from the lure of joining Real Madrid or Inter for the coming campaign.

Liverpool enjoy a positive record in the 13 Premiership visits to Highbury, finishing unbeaten on nine occasions (Arsenal score first): 3-1, 4-2, 1-1, 1-1, 2-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1, 1-2, 0-0, 0-1, 1-0, 0-1.

Euro fall

Chelsea vs Tottenham. Chel-sea's 1-1 draw at Barcelona was not enough for them to advance in the Champions League. The 1-2 upset at home, when the Blues had to play the second period with ten men, left its toll.

At home, despite their unconvincing performances of late, Chelsea have still done enough so far to earn the full points on their way to retaining the Premiership crown.

It seems Jose Mourinho is gathering more football foes - the last to criticise him was Everton's David Moyes for snubbing Bryan Robson following the bad-tempered affair at West Brom.

Spurs striker Robbie Keane celebrated the signing of a new four-year contract with a brace of goals against Blackburn.

Man. United vs Newcastle. This will be the biggest test for Newcastle since Glenn Roeder took over on a temporary basis.

Chairman Freddie Shepherd remarked that Roeder has left him pondering about the new man to take over at St James' Park after the latest string of positive outcomes.

On Monday, Manchester United defeated Wigan for the third time to fill the second-place berth. Ruud van Nistelrooy was back in the side as a substitute - many United fans fear that the Dutchman will seek new pastures next season for not even appearing in a cameo role in the League Cup final.

Bolton vs West Ham. Two sides fighting it out for European places clash at the Reebok Stadium.

Both failed to win in their last outing. Bolton were beaten by Newcastle, 3-1, and West Ham drew 2-2 against Everton at Upton Park after being twice in the lead.

The two sides will meet again on Wednesday in London in a replay of the FA Cup fifth round after the first match had ended in a 0-0 draw at Bolton.

Blackburn vs Aston Villa. Blackburn are striving for a return to Europe. Ten years ago they contested the European Cup as Premiership champions.

Boss Mark Hughes has offered new deals to Paul Dickov, Michael Gray and Tugay. His counterpart at Villa, David O'Leary, has hit out at Mark Delaney for conducting his contract dispute with the club through the media. Villa will be keen to chalk up their first double of the season sequel to their win at home against Blackburn earlier in the campaign.

Everton vs Fulham. David Moyes, who has expressed his desire to manage Celtic or Rangers in future, will lead Everton out in search of a fifth straight victory at Goodison Park, following league wins over Blackburn (1-0), Manchester City (1-0), Arsenal (1-0) and Charlton (3-1).

Meanwhile, Fulham still have to register an away win and presently they are in a sticky patch of six consecutive defeats.

Manager Chris Coleman will probably start with former Everton striker Tomasz Radzinski up front.

Charlton vs M'boro. After beating Roma 1-0 in their UEFA Cup match on Thursday, M'boro will be looking to continue with their positive streak at home and improve on their back-to-back wins on their travels.

Charlton have also done well in their last excursion, holding Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield.

Defender Luke Young ignored the latest rumours that he is unsettled at the Valley, and confirmed that his future is with his present club.

Sunderland vs Wigan. The dismissal of manager Mick McCarthy was not expected even if Sunderland are doomed for relegation.

McCarthy, who took over from Howard Wilkinson three years ago, was let down most in the transfer market as some of the players he wanted had rejected a move to the Stadium of Light.

For the last ten matches Sunderland will rely on assistant boss Kevin Ball and a permanent appointment will be made in the summer.

Wigan suffered the third defeat at the hands of Manchester United, who beat them in the League Cup final as well.

Birmingham vs West Brom. This clash in the Midlands is not for the faint-hearted as a loss can spell demotion.

West Brom, who played a game more than Birmingham, have a three-point advantage at the moment. Bryan Robson had the backing of other managers when he accused Chelsea's Didier Drogba as one of the best actors or divers in the Premiership.

If the authorities do not come hard against these culprits the game will continue to degenerate.

Portsmouth vs Man. City. Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp can enter the record books as the first manager to steer two different clubs to demotion in successive seasons, following Southampton's demise last year.

The club's board insisted that the construction of their new stadium and village complex at Fratton Park has moved a step closer. Plans are on course even if the side will not be top-flight members, come August.

Greek striker George Samaras has continued on the good work since he arrived at City from Heerenveen with a brace of goals against Sunderland.