RAFAEL BENITEZ held “positive” talks with Liverpool’s co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett last night, despite seeing his side slip further behind in the Premier League title race.

MUTINOUS mutterings are sweeping Merseyside. Whisper it quietly, but Everton — so used to being downtrodden by brutish neighbours — have the scent of revolution thick in their nostrils.

PERHAPS it is a result of living next door to football’s equivalent of the neighbours from hell that Manchester City and their supporters are so prone to hyperbole.

ARSENE WENGER hopes Arsenal fans will give Ashley Cole a positive reception rather than subject the former Gunner to abuse when he returns to face his former club for the first time tomorrow.

LIVERPOOL, Arsenal and Celtic face the toughest ties of the five British teams when the draw for the Champions League knockout stage is made this day next week.

MANCHESTER United will enter the most intense cauldron they will experience all season on Sunday with striker Louis Saha viewing the trip to Liverpool as a perfect time for his team-mates to flex their title muscle.

LIVERPOOL manager Rafael Benitez insists he is more concerned about facing Manchester United than George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

ROBIN VAN PERSIE insists Manchester United are the biggest threat to Arsenal’s hopes of regaining the Premier League title this season.

CHELSEA have confirmed that manager Avram Grant has signed a four-year deal as manager.

AIDEN McGEADY has been backed to follow the Cristiano Ronaldo route to the top after adding a devastating end product to his endless supply of tricks.

David Meek was the Manchester United correspondent for the Manchester Evening News from 1958 to 1995. He describes how the story of Munich came through to change a city forever.

ARSENE Wenger is not known for exaggerations but he might have broken new ground when he insisted Emmanuel Adebayor could become as good as Didier Drogba.

IF THE hand of history has been placed on Alex Ferguson’s shoulder this season, it is not something that the Manchester United manager is entirely comfortable with, as the club’s date with destiny begins to loom on the horizon.

JUANDE RAMOS has seen enough to believe ending Manchester United’s winning streak is possible — but his plan will not involve an attempt to man-mark Cristiano Ronaldo out of the game.

CHELSEA goal hero Michael Ballack insists he can play alongside recovering midfielder Frank Lampard.

ARSENAL captain William Gallas is in no doubt his old club Chelsea remain a real “danger” in the race to become Barclays Premier League champions.

WITH Newcastle thumped3-0 by Arsenal for the second time in four days, it was little wonder that the press corps gathered in Portmarnock yesterday wondering what sort of mood Damien Duff would be in.

MANCHESTER United midfielder Michael Carrick is aiming to take a ‘defining’ step towards the treble this week — with a hat-trick of victories.

READING captain Graeme Murty claims Chelsea may be winners but they are still not great entertainers.