By all accounts, Chelsea simply look the stronger side. After trashing Bolton Wanderers 4-0 last weekend and earning a 2-2 Champions League draw against Atletico Madrid, Chelsea’s in-form striker Didier Drogba will be looking to punish a Manchester United defense that will be without Rio Ferdinand. The troubled defender will stay on the sidelines due to a calf injury.

Drogba, who has nine goals in the Premier League already, seems to be enjoying himself on the field as he was the author of the late goals against Atletico Madrid and netted one against Bolton. Manager Carlo Ancelotti is delighted by his front man’s performance and has said that he “wouldn’t change him for another striker.” Similarly, teammate Deco – who also scored last weekend - has claimed that the African striker will be the man of the match on Sunday.

Manchester United will have their work cut out for the day in defense for sure. Aside from not having Ferdinand, the Red Devils will also miss Gary Neville. It is certainly bad timing for the suspended captain to be out since the importance of the match goes beyond the three points.

A Chelsea win will see them gain a considerable advantage over their direct challengers. United will be looking at a number three spot as a rejuvenated Arsenal team keeps winning with a flourish of goals. The Gunners seized the chance to take their points as they defeated Wolves earlier today in their game in hand.

If United somehow manage to pull the win off, they will regain the top spot by a point. Even though it would be a slender lead, it will be a huge confidence boost that, at the moment, is desperately needed.

A goalless draw in overcast conditions in Central Stadium Kazan ensured that Rubin remain tied on points with the Catalans.

For both sides, however, the bad news is that reigning Italian champions Inter Milan are also battling it out to make it to the Round of 16.

The Nerazzuri’s visit to Dynamo Kyiv in Ukraine is likely to prove the deciding factor in a group that was thrown wide open when underdogs Rubin defeated Pep Guardiola’s immensely strong side at the Nou Camp last month.

Benitez’s side is decimated by injuries and an awful lot of responsibility is on the shoulders of Fernando Torres tonight if he plays. With no Gerrard, Liverpool will probably be relying on Lucas and Mascherano. Lyon are a young team who will relish the task of putting Liverpool to the sword.  This Liverpool team is shockingly short of depth in key areas and the defense is short of pace.

If Liverpool lose and Benitez doesn’t go, he will become the manager everyone knows should not have the job. Players will not respond in the same way to a manager who is only in his position because the club can’t afford to get rid of him. Finally, Benitez’s success with Liverpool has been fortuitous, he has been lucky while he has never built a top class side, instead buying mercenaries from Spain in his early days of management. He has not made major progress with the club and it may benefit Liverpool in getting rid of this defensive minded coach whose decision making is often in doubt.

The match got underway in a defensive battle. It seemed as though it may have been heading into the break at 0-0, but then Portsmouth found some life with ten minutes remaining. After Dindane received a beautiful through ball, all he had to do was beat the keeper, which he did with the outside of his right foot. Then, on the stroke of halftime, Piquionne doubled Pompey’s lead on yet another beautiful through ball. The finish was slightly more difficult, but the result was the same. Portsmouth went into the half sitting on a 2-0 lead.

Had you been watching the match, you may have expected that the best would be yet to come for Wigan, but that just wasn’t the case. Twenty minutes into the second half there was some hectic play in front of the Wigan goal, which eventually led to an easy tap in for Dindane. That would give him his second goal of the match, but there was more yet to come.

Just for good measure, Dindane was able to finish off his hat-trick when Kanu was brought down in the Wigan box with under a minute left in regulation. The final score of 4-0 really showed how well Portsmouth played on this day, and just how terribly Wigan performed. I can’t see many more of these victories down the road for Pompey, but for now it can be their lone bright spot in what has been a very dismal season.

For all of you Pompey fans out there, I am praying that there will be more of these performances to come, but I just can’t see it happening. Aruna Dindane was fantastic on this day though, and his performance is something you can treasure from this season. That is exactly why he is this week’s Premiership Talk Wednesday Wonder! Congratulations, Aruna!

Was Aruna Dindane the right choice? Have your say below!

Aguero’s first strike had brought the capacity crowd to its feet as new manager Quique Sanchez Flores celebrated in relief. Despite only arriving to this fourth group stage game with a single point, crisis-ridden Atletico could have tightened the group up had they managed to hold on to their lead.

However, as many pundits had expected, Didier Drogba’s much awaited return to Europe – following a three-game suspension last season – severely pushed the hosts back. After conceding an equalizer eight minutes from the full time whistle, Flores’ men stumbled to concede a second goal with merely two minutes left to play. The shocked crowd dejectedly began the painful journey towards the exit as Aguero managed to salvage some pride with a fighting equalizer in the final moments.

In fact, Aguero’s goal could have actually salvaged a bit more than just the pride. Remember, not all is lost for Atletico just yet. They are still in the running for a spot in the Europa League Round of 32 with APOEL Nicosia as the direct competitor. Thanks to the late equalizer against Chelsea, the La Liga outfit has a point more than its counterpart from Cyprus.

As for Chelsea, they will fancy their chances to win the group given their outstanding all-round form. Rest assured, though, a very impressive F.C. Porto side – which has also qualified for the Round of 16 along with the Blues – will do all in its power to leapfrog Carlo Ancelotti’s men to end top of Group D.

“Every day there’s a story linking Maicon to a different club,” said Caliendo.

“First it was Real Madrid, then Manchester United and now City. I think Maicon has already reiterated his wish to remain at Inter.”

“If the likes of Real or United knock on the door then you consider the eventual offers,” said Caliendo. “But we are talking about a top player who is fighting for the league title, the Champions League, the best player in his role, what would he be doing at City?

“I think it would be unthinkable, let’s not joke about it.”

Caliendo has not played down rumors of a move away from the San Siro for his client, but Maicon’s destination is certainly not going to be the City of Manchester Stadium.

“We want to finish first in the group and that will not be done on Wednesday but we can make the first step, to win and qualify,” Wenger said.

“That will be a big step but you know we were warned at Alkmaar that this team has quality, that, in my opinion, they focus highly on the Champions League.”

“I consider ourselves as an elite club because we are in the top seeded eight of Europe and we are as I have said with only two clubs who have achieved 12 consecutive times to play in the Champions League, so we are an elite club,” he said.

“You do not only want to participate. We have been in the final, we have been in the semi-final and at some stage I think being here every year we will win it.

“We have to show that we can focus every three days, that we can play for each other every three days all along the season, that we can prepare every game with the same kind of conscientious attitude and that we can win.

“That’s a lot of things that we have still to accomplish. It is in front of us and for example we have to show that we can go into the game with the same seriousness that we have done on Saturday against Tottenham.”

Here, in all of its glory, is what one of the cabin crew members revealed about Tottenham versus Manchester United:

“We often get football teams flying to European games, and it’s always interesting to see how they behave. Without doubt the rudest was Spurs. They were going to Prague a couple of years ago, and they were all very impolite. None of them said thank you for anything.

“One player in particular, a striker, sat with his headphones on and refused to take them off, and none of them would lift their window blinds for takeoff and landing.

“By contrast, Manchester United were incredibly polite. Sir Alex Ferguson was all ‘yes please, no thank you’, and all the team were exactly the same. They were all linked up together playing Fifa football on their Game Boys or PlayStations or whatever they were. They were like a bunch of little schoolboys.

“The only one who wasn’t playing was [Cristiano] Ronaldo, who just rolled his eyes at me whenever I walked down the plane, as if to say, ‘Look what I have to put up with, with these kids.’”

Special thanks to Who Ate All the Pies for spotting this.

“It is always good to win every game and stay in first place,” said Diaby.

“We need to work on our defence and make sure we stay focused until the last minute.

“We are confident of qualifying for the knockout stages. There is nothing for us to worry about and we are a good team.

“We want to show that we can get through this competition.”

Arshavin, meanwhile, had this to say: “I want to win the Champions League and the Premier League.

“I am sure it is possible for Arsenal to do that.

“We have to finish speaking about how young we are. I am so happy here, it’s a new season and we need to play like we are a big and strong team.”

Uncertainty that stretches from the dressing room to the boardroom has seen the chairman Paul Duffen resign and new man (or should that be old man?) Adam Pearson return. Pearson immediately backed beleaguered boss Phil Brown, although his statement cloaked a subtle warning that a bad result against Stoke could be curtains for the former Derby boss.

All of this caps a horrible 12 months for the club which has seen the dream turn into a nightmare. They had that fantastic start to last season, which saw them flying high in the table, beating the likes of Spurs and Arsenal away. Punch-drunk with their dizzy heights, Duffen boldly declared the club were aiming for Europe, not relegation (a quote which now causes most Tigers fans to wince with embarrassment).

But come May safety was celebrated with all the vigour and relief of a side that had won only one game all calendar year, and were nudged above the safety line only by the inadequacies of others.

The poor form has continued this year, with just two league wins, and the side look relegation fodder all over. What is more worrying is the latest financial results from Deloitte which say the club has to raise £23 million just to stay a ‘going concern’ and cover their costs next season. It’s when you delve into this issue that you find the root of Hull’s problems.

The club has the seventh highest wage bill in the top flight, but since selling Michael Turner to Sunderland in August, have no real saleable assets to speak of. Did their early success go to their head? Is it a coincidence that around about the time of Duffen’s prediction of European football, the club signed Jimmy Bullard from Hull in a deal that will eventually cost them £16million including wages? Add that to the £7 million in Premier League TV revenue and there is your £23 million shortfall.

Ten years ago, Leeds United were ‘living the dream’, signing the country’s best young players, upsetting the Champions League odds and challenging at the top end of the Premier League table. Hull’s achievements aren’t on the same level but if you consider where they have come from it is on a similar scale.

But the dream became a nightmare for United as the banks asked for their money back and they tumbled down the divisions. They are the example for any club which thinks about over-stretching.

Sadly, if the figures are to be believed, Hull are heading the same way, and once you start dropping, it’s very hard to arrest the slide. Sadly I fear a return to the lower divisions is beckoning for the Tigers and their brief sojourn in England’s top flight will prove an unsustainable dream.