Irish defender Ciarán Clark has wished Aston Villa team-mate Libor Kozak well in his recovery from the broken leg that resulted from his tackle on the striker in training.

Aston Villa 1 Swansea 1

Stoke 2 Aston Villa 1

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert is preparing for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League home clash with Manchester United feeling optimistic about the midlands outfit’s chances of achieving something they have not managed for over 18 years.

Champions Manchester United fell further adrift of the Barclays Premier League pacesetters after losing at home to Everton for the first time since 1992.

Aston Villa 0 Sunderland 0

Aston Villa battled back from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw in their derby clash with midlands rivals West Brom at The Hawthorns.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho remains unbeaten in the Barclays Premier League at Stamford Bridge after a controversial late penalty allowed the home side to snatch a 2-2 draw against West Brom.

Aston Villa 0 Tottenham 2

Hull City 0 Aston Villa 0

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Aston Villa 3 Man City 2

Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke is set to miss “four to six weeks” with a hip injury.

Aston Villa 0 Tottenham 4

Norwich City 0 Aston Villa 1

Newcastle’s steady improvement this season continued as Yoan Gouffran’s strike earned them all three points at Aston Villa.

This is a world which demands instant gratification; one in which you can play guitar on a games consul rather than practise the real thing until your fingers bleed; one in which football chairmen cannot wait months let alone years for success — and one in which high-profile transfer deadline-day signings are expected to be heroes before they have unpacked their suitcases.

Mario Balotelli fired Italy to next year’s World Cup finals as the Azzurri came from behind to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in Turin last night.

The summary of this summer's transfers after deadline day, club-by-club.

Arsenal last night wrapped up a deal for German star Mesut Ozil as the Real Madrid playmaker joined the club for a club-record fee of €50 million.

Real Madrid took centre stage on the final day of the summer transfer window as two Galacticos departed to make way for the most expensive player in the history of football.

The latest club-by-club transfer guide of all the happenings in the transfer window.

A club-by-club transfer guide of the happenings on transfer day so far.

Italy head coach Cesare Prandelli will remain patient with Mario Balotelli despite the striker’s impetuous dismissal in last night’s World Cup qualifying meeting with the Czech Republic.

Alan Pardew was fuming with the referee as Newcastle failed to turn their dominance into a first-leg victory over Metalist Kharkiv in their Europa League last-32 tie last night.

Lazio 0 Tottenham 0

Four goals from Lionel Messi put third-placed Valencia to the sword on a night when Barcelona could have scored a dozen but for the efforts of visiting goalkeeper Diego Alves.