SPORTS

Joe Allen, Glen Johnson and Jon Flanagan remain absent ahead of the start of the festive schedule.

The Argentine manager is also hopeful Ryan Mason will recover from an ankle injury in time.

Louis Van Gaal's wish of signing Kevin Strootman is about to become a reality according to the Italian agent.

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has said that his side are not thinking about Chelsea, as they head into a hectic set of fixtures over the Christmas period

Northampton forward available for Wales clash after elbowing Leicester's Matt Smith

Brendan Rodgers is keen to sign a striker in January following the failure of summer arrival Mario Balotelli.

Arsene Wenger has backed Per Mertesacker to improve following the return of Laurent Koscielny.

Adrien Rabiot is looking to join a team that can give him regular football for the remainder of the season.

Chris Smalling "maybe" could feature against the Toon but Marouane Fellaini remains out

Manchester United are reportedly set to pay £120m for Gareth Bale's services.

United are well-placed going into the festive period - and Wayne Rooney is thriving as captain.

The Gunners manager has previously admitted the club are following the full-back's progress.

Bellamy says the Italian hasn't performed during his two-and-a-half years at Anfield.

Moyes have secured six points from his first five La Liga games.

Striker's father says the Blues' plans to loan the Croatian international out is holding up the deal.

The 34-year-old centre-back has started every single Premier League game this season.

Ferguson is confident United will be a force to reckon with once they get over injury problems.

Yedlin will join the club from Seattle Sounders after deal was struck in the summer.

The Slovakian needed seven staples after being caught by Olivier Giroud in the 2-2 draw.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has praised Eden Hazard's performance during his side's 2-0 victory against Stoke City

Ray Parlour says Arsenal need two to three players in the defensive position to have a balanced squad.

Bale moved to Real Madrid in summer 2013 for around £91m

David Ospina and Tomas Rosicky are back for the Boxing Day game against QPR.

The Belgian international limped off in the dying minutes of Chelsea's 2-0 win at the Britannia.

Winston Reid has stated that the transfer speculation does not bother him as he is focused on giving 100% for West Ham.

Louis van Gaal is keen to strengthen his defence during the January transfer window with Hummels being his primary target.

Sevilla's Grzegorz Krychowiak says he wants to play in the Champions League every year.

Tottenham Hotspur considering move to sign Aston Villa defender Aly Cissokho in January.

The Stamford Bridge hierarchy are ready to cancel Atsu's Everton loan deal with Sunderland waiting in the wings.