News in brief of English Premier League Club - Fri 14th Nov

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Liverpool

Daniel Agger has demanded improvement from Liverpool as they look to sustain their Barclays Premier League title challenge with victory at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday. Centre-back Agger was the only player retained in the starting XI for the midweek Carling Cup defeat against Tottenham Hotspur and the 23-year-old Denmark international feels standards must be higher if Benitez needs to call on his squad players again. The Liverpool manager will recall his first-choice players for the trip to the Reebok Stadium, with Agger hoping there will be no hangover from White Hart Lane. He said: "We definitely have to do better. Bolton are a physical and strong team so it will be a tough match for us, but we are focused on making improvements in every area. We take every game as it comes and must play a lot better than how we performed against Tottenham."

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Hull City

Due to demand from season ticket holders, Hull City have managed to secure an extra 500 tickets for the away match at Portsmouth. The remaining 100 tickets will go on general sale the KC Stadium's ticket hotline only from 9am on Monday 17th November.

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Fulham

Roy Hodgson has called on his players to ignore league positions and focus on performances. The Cottagers moved up from 18th to 10th place in the Barclays Premier League following the win over Newcastle United and just six points seperate eighth place from bottom. With so much at stake in every match, Hodgson calling on his squad to try and put the pressure to the back of their minds. Hodgson said: "Our task is to keep the players focused on one thing and one thing only. That is the game they've got to play against the opposition - and try to put out of their minds the league position. Individually we can still get more out of our players but we'll probably only really start to do that when the pressure comes off. Unfortunately, you see it all the time at the moment because players are being constantly reminded of the perilous situation they find themselves in, and it affects the quality of their performance."

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Everton

Midfielder Tim Cahill is relishing the prospect of battling it out with Marouane Fellaini for a place in the starting lineup. Cahill has been the source of the majority of Everton's goals from midfield since his arrival in 2004, but Fellaini has started finding his feet in the Barclays Premier League after his move from Standard Liege for a fee which could rise to a club-record £15m. With the Australia international back to full fitness and Fellaini - who has scored three goals in his last five matches - returning from a one-match ban, Everton manager David Moyes has a selection headache, but Cahill is loving the competition. He said: "I'm all for it. I think the best thing for me is to welcome players like Marouane with open arms. I'm happy for him because with a price tag like that people expect him to come in and do things straight away. It's up to us to help him settle and make sure he scores more goals."

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Chelsea

Luiz Felipe Scolari did not regret his decision to ring the changes as his side were beaten on penalties by Burnley in the Carling Cup. He said: "The players are disappointed because they lost a competition. They wanted to win this game but now it is time to work for Saturday's game. We had all the information about Burnley to win the game. But what happened is similar to other games and we made many mistakes in front of goal. If we had had more quality in front of goal we would have won this game. I kept some players out because they have played a lot of games but it was still a side that could have won this match. We have lost one competition. This is not normal for us. We want to win all the competitions but we have lost one and we need to understand this. I am not angry with the players because they tried their best. If they make mistakes maybe it is because I have not given them good lessons. The players tried to do their best."

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Bolton

Wanderers Captain Kevin Nolan admits he would love to see Liverpool claim a first domestic title since 1990. Rafael Benitez`s side head to the Reebok Stadium this weekend on the back of an impressive start to the league campaign and lifelong Reds fan Nolan is hoping they can last the pace as the season progresses. He said: "It would be great to see the championship coming back to Liverpool because it would mean so much to the fans. When they won the Champions League in 2005 the amount of fans on the streets was absolutely unbelievable. I didn't get back in time for the victory parade - I was stuck in the airport - but I saw it on telly and a lot of my family were there. Istanbul was brilliant but winning the league would top that and I don't think Liverpool are far off. The squad in depth probably isn't as good as Man United and Chelsea, but their first XI is definitely as good as theirs and they have proved that this season by beating them both."

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Blackburn Rovers

Paul Ince admitted he had been scared to death by Roy Keane's teamsheet after seeing his side book their place in the Carling Cup quarter-finals. The Sunderland manager fielded a strong team at the Stadium of Light, including striker Kenwyne Jones, whom he said would not play as he consulted a surgeon over his knee injury. But Ince saw his men survive a series of first-half scares to emerge victorious as the match was decided by a flurry of activity midway through the second half. Ince said: "I'm delighted, considering we put a team out that wasn't probably as strong as Sunderland's. To be fair to Roy, he probably caught me on the hop because I thought he was going to play a few kids and when I saw his team, it scared the life out of me. I saw conflicting reports - Kenwyne Jones was having a scan after landing on his knee on Friday and all of a sudden, he's on the teamsheet. Whether Roy was trying throw a googly at me, it certainly worked. But whatever team I put out goes out to win, and they are capable of winning if they play to their maximum. We have got a great bunch of players and we showed in the last round, when Everton played their full side, that we have players who are capable of coming in a doing a job and impressing me."

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Aston Villa

Winger Ashley Young believes his boyhood heroes Arsenal have the right blend of youth and experience to challenge for the Barclays Premier League title this season. Gunners manager Arsene Wenger had come under fire from supporters and critics before Saturday's deserved home success over Manchester United calmed the situation. But Young, who will be part of the Villa side in action at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, is confident Arsenal will sustain a title bid. He said: "Arsenal have a great squad. If you look at the table it's no surprise they're up there challenging for the league crown again because they've got world-class players all over the pitch. Arsene Wenger seems to buy some absolute gems. Emmanuel Ad****or, Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas in particular have tremendous quality and flair. But, if you look at the squad, they've got a great mix of youth and experience. They are a tremendous side. They pass and move magnificently and they've got flair throughout the side. They've got everything."

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Arsenal

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Ad****or has a "50-50" chance of facing Aston Villa on Saturday, according to manager Arsene Wenger. The Togo forward suffered an ankle injury in the Gunners' 2-1 defeat to Stoke City and Wenger said : "We will assess the situation of Ad****or on Friday. He is 50-50." The outlook appears better for goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, who suffered a head injury in last week's win over Manchester United. Wenger said: "We have to assess Almunia too. He got that knock on his head against Manchester United and until now we have not exposed him. He has to go into a normal [training] game to see how he deals with it. So he is 70-30 at the moment."

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Tottenham Hotspur

Harry Redknapp insists he is not getting carried away with Tottenham's excellent form since his arrival at White Hart Lane. Spurs are unbeaten since Redknapp took over and continued their fine form with a 4-2 win over Liverpool in the Carling Cup on Wednesday night. Redknapp said: "The run will come to an end at some point, that's for sure. The morale's great. They're all enjoying it. It's easy when you're winning. That's why we want to keep this run going. We're going well. We've got a big chance, here. But we have to keep going - we need league points."