Paolo di Canio had good reason to be happy last weekend.
After all the criticism he got from the media following his appoint-ment as Sunderland boss, the fiery Italian answered back when he led the Black Cats to a 3-0 away win over bitter rivals Newcastle.
Sunderland are still floating outside the red zone but now, buoyed by Di Canio’s passion, they will surely fancy their chances of preserving their top-flight status for another year.
This afternoon, Sunderland face a tough task to make it two wins in a row when they host sixth-placed Everton at the Stadium of Light.
The Toffees travel to the North East still with a glimmer of hope of forcing their way into the battle for a Champions League spot following the goalless draw at Arsenal.
In midweek, leaders Manchester United twice came from behind at West Ham in a 2-2 draw.
United should cement their posi-tion at the top on Monday if they beat erratic Aston Villa at Old Traf-ford. Alex Ferguson was thrilled to see Robin van Persie end his goal drought after goals in succession against Stoke and West Ham.
Manchester City are through to the FA Cup final but they won’t save their season if they beat modest Wigan in next month’s showdown at Wembley Stadium.
Roberto Mancini’s men had an awful Champions League campaign and some of their perfor-mances in the domestic league were well below par.
Tomorrow, City play at Tottenham having beaten Wigan 1-0 on Wednesday. The Spurs are lagging behind Chelsea and Arsenal in the race for a top-four position after figuring in three successive 2-2 draws at home and in Europe.
Manager Andre Villas-Boas is urging his players to take all points against City at White Hart Lane as striker Gylfi Sigurdsson is looking for the Londoners to strike the right balance between graft and guile in a tense run-in.
The home draw against Everton derailed Arsenal’s efforts to finish in the top four. This afternoon, the Gunners, two points ahead of fifth-placed Spurs, play Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Last season, the Gunners beat Tottenham to the fourth place and they have high hopes of repeating the feat this time round even though Spurs have a match in hand.
Chelsea have been involved in so much league and cup fixtures these past few weeks.
On Sunday, they lost to Man. City in the FA Cup semi-finals and this weekend they travel to Anfield to play guests to Liverpool.
Rafa Benitez, who will be making a sentimental visit to his old stom-ping ground tomorrow, was be-sieged by critics for leaving out stalwarts John Terry and Frank Lampard in the FA Cup.
Terry scored twice in a 3-0 win over Fulham on Wednesday.
At the bottom, Harry Redknapp appears to have lost his struggle to lead QPR out of the drop zone as the Hoops play fellows-in-distress Stoke at Loftus Road today.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis will hate to be relegated for the first time in his career and this encounter can point to the Potters’ fortunes at this cru-cial phase of the campaign.
Fixtures and forecast
Premier League
Fulham-Arsenal 2
Norwich-Reading X
QPR-Stoke City X
Sunderland-Everton 2
Swansea-Southampton 1
West Brom - Newcastle 1
West Ham-Wigan X
Tomorrow:
Liverpool-Chelsea (17:00) 1
Tottenham-Man. City (14:30) X
Monday:
Man. Utd-Aston Villa (21:00) 1
Standings: Man. Utd 81; Man. City 68; Chelsea 61; Arsenal 60; Totten-ham 58; Everton 56; Liverpool 50; West Brom 44; Swansea 41; Fulham 40; West Ham 39; Southampton 38; Newcastle 36; Norwich 35; Sunder-land, Stoke, Aston Villa 34; Wigan 31; QPR, Reading 24.
The Championship
Birmingham-Leeds X
Bolton-Middlesbrough 1
Brighton-Blackpool 1
Burnley-Cardiff (13:45) X
Charlton-Wolves X
Crystal Palace-Leicester X
Derby-Peterborough 1
Huddersfield-Millwall (13:30) 1
Nottm Forest-Barnsley1
Sheffield Wed.-Ipswich X
Watford-Blackburn 1
League One
Bournemouth-Carlisle 1
Colchester-Shrewsbury X
Coventry-Leyton Orient X
Doncaster-Notts County 1
Hartlepool-Brentford2
MK Dons-Scunthorpe 1
Oldham-Crawley X
Portsmouth-Sheffield Utd 2
Preston-Tranmere 1
Swindon-Stevenage 1
Walsall-Bury 1
Yeovil-Crewe 1
League Two
Aldershot-Dagenham 1
Barnet-Wycombe 1
Bradford City-Burton 1
Bristol Rovers-Accrington X
Exeter-Cheltenham X
Fleetwood-Chesterfield X
Gillingham-Wimbledon 1
Morecambe-Torquay 1
Oxford-Rochdale X
Plymouth-Rotherham X
Port Vale-Northampton 1
York City-Southend 1
Hot Four
Nottm Forest, Watford, Bolton, Bournemouth.