YOU wait all week for an injury story of real substance and then two come along at once, as Macedonian defender Goran Popov joined Robbie Keane on the doubtful list for tomorrow night’s European Championship qualifier.

THERE will be more than a football match on the horizon when Giovanni Trapattoni lands with his Ireland team in an airport named after Alexander The Great just outside Skopje tonight.

FYR MACEDONIA defender Boban Grncharov has shrugged off Ireland’s attacking threat, claiming his team can deal with ‘aerial players’ and boasted that the current Macedonian team has never been better.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has challenged Edin Dzeko to raise his game and start scoring.

THE meeting of Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium was the big Europa League clash last night to see who would qualify from Group J and a 2-2 draw insured the Spanish side took the spoils.

WITH the 2009-10 version of the UEFA Champions League coming to a close at the Bernabeu with Inter defeating Bayern Munich 2-0 on Saturday night, here is a look at who could be the top contenders in next season’s competition.

BARCELONA are hoping to call on Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic for tonight’s must-win Champions League showdown against Inter Milan.

MANCHESTER UNITED could find themselves facing Cristiano Ronaldo and his fellow Real Madrid galacticos when the draw for the Champions League group stage takes place in Monaco today.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes his side are in great shape ahead of their Champions League match against Dinamo Kiev following the demolition of Blackburn at Ewood Park.

Drogheda United will go on to face Russian side Spartak Moscow if they pull off a major upset and beat Dinamo Kiev in the Champions League qualifiers.

Drogheda United 2 Levadia Tallinn 1

Drogheda United have been drawn against Estonian side Levadia in the first qualifying round for this year's Champions League.

GERARD HOULLIER is refusing to give up on signing Milan Baros for a second time in his managerial career.

Dinamo Kiev and Villarreal struggled to cope with freezing conditions in the Ukrainian capital as a dour encounter ended goalless in tonight’s opening UEFA Cup round of 32 first-leg tie.

Liverpool, Leverkusen, Dinamo Kiev, Juventus, Fenerbahce and Lyon all lead in their Champions League matches tonight.

There were no giant-killings tonight as Juventus and Real Madrid joined and Manchester United in securing their places in the hat for the draw of the Champions League proper.

Russia coach Oleg Romantsev has named a strong 20-man squad for the upcoming friendly clash with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.