Milan game is the pick of the round

Our draw against Milan is probably the pick of the Champions League round, closely followed by the Chelsea vs Inter tie.

The San Siro is a very difficult place to go. At Manchester United, we've had good experiences there against Inter but we've had a couple of losses against Milan. It's a real good game for both clubs to look forward to.

The fact that David Beckham plays for Milan adds a bit of interest to it. We didn't play Real Madrid when he went there, and he probably thought his opportunity to play against United at Old Trafford had gone when he went to the US. Football has a strange way of delivering these scenarios.

It's not necessarily an advantage for us to play the second leg at home - it depends how we do away. Over the years, there have been times when the second leg at home has worked for and against us. Scoring away from home is the key because if you don't and the opposition get a goal in the return leg, it can be a very tense night.

Beckham, Ronaldinho and Pato are Milan's real danger men. They have a really good team and they gave us a difficult game at Old Trafford a few years ago when they knocked us out. They're a great club with great European history.

Credit to Villa

We didn't expect to lose at home against Aston Villa last week, but we have to hand it to Villa first and foremost. There is no point making excuses when we lose a match, particularly when the opposing team do really well.

We missed chances in the match and we've had lots of injuries, but you can't take anything away from Villa. They have great pace and gave us a difficult afternoon.

It's difficult to say at this early stage if Villa could challenge for the league. They don't have the pedigree of winning championships, but that's not to say they can't last the distance. They are in a good position at the moment, they got another good result in midweek and they certainly have a good young team; it's whether they can sustain it over the next five months.

I've been saying all along that it's not a two-horse race - it can change so quickly. We've dropped points, Chelsea have dropped points, and it can close up at the top very quickly.

I think the Premier League is getting stronger, with teams like Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Villa spending a lot of money. But it's always been the case that all teams can beat one another in England.

There are reasons for every loss. There is a chance of losing to Chelsea and Liverpool every season because those games can go 50-50.

Against Burnley, we got caught in a cup-tie atmosphere in the second game of the season and we weren't ready for it. And against Villa, we weren't at our best and we are having a real rough patch with defensive injuries.

African exodus

Up to 31 Premier League players will soon be off to the African Nations Cup - but the fact that we've got no African players at the moment means it doesn't bother us.

I have heard talk about aligning that competition with the rest of the football calendar and it would be sensible to do so.

Chelsea will lose some big players like Didier Drogba and Michael Essien but I don't expect them to struggle. They will only lose their players for three or four league games; we've lost seven defenders to injuries this month. Chelsea were aware when they signed those players that they might be called up every few years for the African Nations Cup, so they cannot complain about it.

Wenger wrong

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has taken some stick for fielding a weakened team against us in midweek, but that's the prerogative of a manager.

He has the whole season to think about. It's wrong for people with big squads like Arsene Wenger to criticise Wolves when they have a different agenda.

Wenger doesn't know what is going on at Wolves, neither do we, and Wolves should be able to prioritise what game to play each player in.

Clubs have squads so they can rotate players.

It's not for anyone to criticise - Wolves can decide what they want to do.

They can go and play their youth team next week if they want; it's entirely up to them.

Over to you

After a bad result, have you ever had some kind of argument with a team-mate? David Mercieca
It doesn't necessarily have to be after a bad result. Sometimes two players may disagree about an incident on the field and discuss it afterwards in the changing room. People disagree in every walk of life and it's the same in football. Watch kids play on a Saturday morning and you'll see them arguing about the game. It's the same at our level.

Send your questions to Gary Neville to sunday@timesofmalta.com.