Sporting briefs

Robinson: Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson has been restored to the England squad by Fabio Capello for the friendly with France in Paris on Wednesday. Robinson comes in for the injured Scott Carson. Carson, on loan to Aston Villa from Liverpool, was withdrawn yesterday after his team's home defeat by Sunderland. David Beckham has retained his place in the 23 with the 32-year-old in line to win his 100th cap.

Tamudo: Espanyol striker Raul Tamudo is hoping to return to the starting line-up for today's match at relegation-threatened Real Murcia after two months out with a broken arm. "I've never had such a long injury and I'm desperate to play and help the team in the remaining 10 matches," the Spain international said.

Ferdinand: Manchester United could be without centre-back Rio Ferdinand for today's top-four encounter with Liverpool at Old Trafford. Ferdinand, who missed Wednesday's 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers, is hoping to shake off a back problem.

Chelsea: Chelsea will be looking to extend their unbeaten home league run at Stamford Bridge to 78 matches today against Arsenal, the last side to beat them in the league in December. Nicolas Anelka could return to the squad after being sidelined with an ankle injury.

Strong winds: Part of Premier League Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium was closed yesterday due to damage caused by Arctic winds. The South Stand was out of bounds to fans for the visit of Derby County but the game went ahead with Middlesbrough winning 1-0 in front of a 25,000 crowd. Around 1,000 Derby fans had to be relocated.

Bilic: Croatia coach Slaven Bilic, 39, looks set to stay in charge for their 2010 World Cup campaign. Bilic, who is under contract until the end of Euro 2008, was quoted as saying he wanted to stay on for the 2010 finals, assuming Croatia qualify, while the head of the Croatian football federation indicated a new deal would be offered. "My wish is to stay with the national team," Bilic was quoted as saying by popular daily Jutarnji List. "The only issue here is whether the soccer federation wants me to stay. If that is so, I will sign another contract."

Ligue 1: Nancy vs Metz 2-1; Auxerre vs St Etienne 1-3; Caen vs Monaco 4-1; Nice vs FC Lorient 1-2; Marseille vs Sochaux 0-1; Strasbourg vs Lille 0-1; Toulouse vs Le Mans 1-1; Valenciennes vs Bordeaux 3-1.