'Overweight' Ronaldinho: Barcelona players have defended team-mate Ronaldinho over accusations that the Brazilian forward is overweight and out of shape. Newspapers in both Madrid and Barcelona published photos of the forward taken in 2003 and 2004 in which he appears to be leaner and more muscular. "As long as he plays well I don't think there is a problem with his weight," team-mate Javier Saviola said. On his part Lionel Messi said: "When something goes wrong with the team, they always blame Ronaldinho and when he scores a couple of goals he is the best in the world."
Diarra: Mali midfielder Mahamadou Diarra looks set to return in central midfield for Real Madrid today, after recovering from an ankle injury. He is likely to pair up with Fernando Gago. David Beckham is suspended, while Roberto Carlos and Sergio Ramos are struggling with injuries.
Massive Incentive: Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand says the chance to open up a nine-point advantage over second-placed Chelsea is a "massive incentive" to beat Fulham at Craven Cottage today. "I'd be lying if I said we weren't thinking about that," Ferdinand said. "We need to win the game regardless of how many points it puts us in front, but if we're sitting nine clear at the final whistle it'll be a great feeling."
Wigan: The English FA has rejected Wigan defender Fitz Hall's appeal against the red card he received in Wednesday's 1-1 Premier League draw at Watford. Hall now misses Wigan's next three matches against Newcastle, Manchester City and Fulham, the club said.
Bayern Munich: Bayern Munich have trouble in defence for today's home game against VfL Wolfsburg. Willy Sagnol and Martin Demichelis are suspended, Valerien Ismael is injured and Daniel van Buyten is rated extremely doubtful because of flu. Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld will have to ask midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic to drop back to cover for Sagnol at right-back, while Christian Lell, 22, could start at centre-back in place of Van Buyten.
Lauren: Portsmouth defender Lauren could miss tomorrow's trip to Blackburn Rovers after sustaining a small tear in his thigh in training. Pedro Mendes is in contention for a recall after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.
Basketball: Gatorade League - Qormi vs Dakar SW 57-74.
MFA Division Three: Attard vs Mgarr 0-2; Gharghur vs Xghajra 0-1.
In England: The Championship - Cardiff vs Preston 4-1.
Barcelona's Mexican defender Rafael Marquez says his side are struggling to recreate their form of last year, after two demoralising defeats inside a week. "We aren't pressuring rivals as much, aren't getting the ball back quickly enough, and lack consistency in our play. We need to work on our mental approach and our concentration," said Marquez. The leaders will be without suspended Portugal midfielder Deco and Italy full-back Gianluca Zambrotta for the visit of Athletic Bilbao tomorrow.Reuters