Europa League Preview

Athletic Bilbao meets Paris Saint-Germain in Group F while Sporting Lisbon host Lazio in Group D in the pick of Thursday's Europa League games.

PSG have enjoyed a strong start to the French Ligue 1 season, sitting second on the table following their 3-0 win over Montpellier on Saturday.

They enjoyed a 3-1 win over Austrian side Salzburg in their first Europa League match, and manager Antoine Kombouare will be hoping for more good form from striker Kevin Gameiro, who has five goals to his name so far this season.

They journey to an Athletic Bilbao side languishing second from the bottom of the La Liga table, with just two points from their opening five matches.

Group F's other match sees Salzburg host Slovakians Slovan Bratislava.

In Group D, Edy Reja's Lazio journey to Lisbon to take on Sporting, and the Italian side will be keen to bounce back after being held to a shock 2-2 draw in Rome by Romanians Vaslui in their first Europa League match.

Vaslui play host to FC Zurich in Piatra Neamt with both teams keen for their first win.

Ireland's Shamrock Rovers will play their first competitive match in England since 1957 when they meet Tottenham at White Hart Lane in Group A, while the group's other game pits Russians Rubin Kazan against Greek side PAOK.

Martin Jol's Fulham visit Denmark when they tackle Odense in Group K, while Polish champions Wisla Krakow travel to Enschede to face Dutch side Twente.

In Group E, Stoke host Turkish outfit Besiktas while Dynamo Kiev star Andriy Shevchenko will celebrate his 35th birthday when his side travel to Israel to meet Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Birmingham are in Slovenia to tackle Maribor in Group H, with 2010/11 runners-up Braga hosting Club Brugge in the group's other game.

Scottish club Celtic will have it all to do to register their first points of the tournament when they welcome Serie A heavyweights Udinese to Parkhead in Group I.

French club Rennes play host to Atletico Madrid in the group's other match.

German side Schalke meets Israelis Maccabi Haifa in Gelsenkirchen in Group J, while Steaua Bucharest travel to Cyprus to play AEK Larnaca.

Group L sees Belgium side Anderlecht in Moscow to play Lokomotiv, while Austrians Sturm Graz visit AEK Athens.

Swedish outfit Malmo play host to Austria Wien in Group G, and AZ Alkmaar face the tricky trip to Ukraine to tackle Metalist Kharkiv.

German team Hannover is also in Ukraine, to meet Vorskla in Group B, and Standard Liege welcome FC Copenhagen in the group's other match.

PSV Eindhoven are away to Romanian opposition in the shape of Rapid Bucuresti in Group C, and Israel's Hapoel Tel Aviv are in Poland to do battle with Legia Warsaw.

Real Madrid To Make £25m Offer For Man City Misfit Carlos Tevez

Real Madrid are reportedly planning to make a January bid for Man City striker Carlos Tevez in the wake of the Argentine’s apparent refusal to come on as a substitute against Bayern Munich. Bernabeu boss Jose Mourinho is known to be keen on the former Corinthians, West Ham and Man United man and hopes that in light of recent events that the Etihad Stadium club’s valuation of the player will have significantly dropped.

Mourinho has relatively few established striking options to call upon in his Real Madrid squad and is now looking to take advantage of the unsettled nature of Tevez’s relationship with Man City in order to sign the 27 year old for substantially less than his club’s reported £50m valuation.

Currently Jose Mourinho has just two recognized strikers in his squad, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, and has to depend a great deal on goals coming from his attacking midfielders, most predominantly on Cristiano Ronaldo, and therefore is certainly in the market for a new striking option.

Roberto Mancini has made it clear he has no intention of playing Tevez again and as such there are only a few options open to the Man City boss, one would be to terminate the players contract immediately or to wait until January before selling the striker and this may be the more financially viable option for the club to take.

Mourinho is said to be ready to offer up to £25m for Tevez and given that Mancini has in form strikers Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero to call upon as well as Italian youngster Mario Balotelli as back up and could therefore consider such an offer as one that Man City should accept in order to remove distraction from the squad as a whole.

Tottenham Prepare To Move For African Forward Ace

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp is preparing a move for CSKA Moscow striker Seydou Doumbia, according to reports on Tribalfootball.

It is believed Tottenham boss Redknapp is keen to recruit a new forward in the January transfer window after the disappointing start to the season from Roman Pavlyuchenko.

During the summer transfer window Spurs sold strikers Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch, whilst brining in Emmanuel Adebayour on loan.

Doumbia has been linked with a move to the Premier League in the past with Chelsea showing and interest.

However it is now believed Tottenham are leading the chase for the 23-year-old Ivory Coast international.

So far this season Doumbia has made 31 appearances in all competitions for CSKA Moscow and has scored 19 goals.

Liverpool Turn Their Attention To Arsenal Reject

Liverpool is following the progress of former Arsenal defensive midfielder Havard Nordtveit who currently plays for German Bundesliga outfit, Borussia Munchengladbach.

Nordtveit spent three years at Arsenal, albeit regularly loaned out, but never managed to make a break through in to the first team on a regular basis, Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, was reluctant to sell the youngster but accepted that he needed to start playing more first team football.

Nordtveit ended up at Borussia Munchengladbach at the end of 2010 and since then has grown in to a fine player, he has played his first game for Norway and established himself as a first team regular for the Bundelsiga side.

Liverpool are still in the rebuilding process and have identified Nordtveit as one of a handful of players that they would like to build their team around, he is very versatile and can play either central defence or defensive midfield and at just 21 years of age would constitute a long term signing for Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish.

Arsenal received just £800,000 for Nordtveit, which in all fairness was probably justified at the time, now however Nordtveit has a valuation of £5 Million and that figure is set to rise the more impressive performances the youngster puts in.

Arsenal Looking To Land Brazilian International Goal Getter

Arsenal is keeping an eye on CSKA Moscow striker Wagner Love, with a view to making a move for the Brazilian as soon as January.

Love has endured an up and down relationship with CSKA, he has been loaned out, been their top scorer and been both adored and subjected to racism, he has regularly been linked with various top European clubs and it appears that Arsenal have now joined that long list of admirers.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is on the lookout for a consistent goalscorer to compliment Robin van Persie up front and Wagner would fit the bill, his valuation is within reach of the North London giants as is his wages.

It is common knowledge that Wagner is unhappy in Moscow and the reports are that he would jump at the chance of joining Arsenal, all that remains to be seen is whether Arsenal will make an official bid once the transfer window opens.

No fee has been mentioned but it is thought a bid in the region of £12 Million would be enough to secure the 27 year old’s signature.

Manchester United Prepare To Bid For Spanish International Full-Back

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is lining up a move for Villarreal's Bruno Soriano, according to reports in Spanish publication Cadena Ser.

The Spanish international is versatile and able to operate anywhere on the left-side of the pitch as a winger or a full-back.

It is believed Manchester United have already been in talks with the La Liga club with regards to a possible move for Soriano when the January transfer window opens.

Reports in Spain are suggesting a deal in the region of €10million could already have been put in place by the Old Trafford club.

Liverpool Identify Chelsea & Man City Duo As January Transfer Targets

Liverpool will make January moves for Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou and Manchester City winger Adam Johnson.

The Reds have been tracking both players for some time and even made tentative enquiries over the summer with their respective clubs.

Anfield boss Kenny Dalgish is known to want another striker as back up for Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez.

Kalou can play this role but also offers versatility as he often played on the wing for the Blues.

The Ivory Coast international is ion the final year of his contract and even though Chelsea will offer him a new deal it is unknown if the 26-year-old will sign.

Liverpool will test the water with an £8million bid in the New Year and will then let the west London club decide to take the cash or risk losing him for nothing.

Dalglish will also offer up to £18million, but will start the bidding at £14million, for City midfielder Johnson, who has been left out in the cold by manager Roberto Mancini.

Despite promising performances, the 24-year-old has not been able to cement his place in the first-team since his move from Middlesbrough in 2010.

The Liverpool boss is hoping the chance of regular action will convince the England international to move to Anfield and fulfill his undoubted potential.

Their arrivals could herald the end of the road for Maxi Rodriguez and Dirk Kuyt.

The veterans do not fit in with Liverpool’s new philosophy of young talent and could be sold to generate transfer funds and free up space on the wage bill.

Maxi has been linked with clubs in Spain and in Argentina, while Kuyt is the subject of a £13million bid from Inter Milan.

Tottenham Lining Up Move For Barcelona Defender

Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City are set to battle it out for the signature of Barcelona defender Eric Abidal.

The French international is currently having new contract talks with the Spanish giants but the two parties seem to be struggling to come to an agreement.

According to reports in Spanish publication Cadena Ser, Tottenham and Manchester City are keeping a close eye on the situation and it is believed both clubs have already been in contact with Abidal’s representatives.

It is also thought that mega-rich French side Paris Saint Germain is also interested in the 32-year-old.

Marouane Chamakh Could Be On His Way Out

Paris Saint Germain are ready to offer Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh an exit route out of north London according to reports in the French media.

The 27-year-old Moroccan international has endured a torrid time since moving to the Barclays Premier League in May 2010, having struggled to ever really find his feet in England.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has given Chamakh time to acclimatize to the rigours of the English top-flight, but now appears to be finally losing patience with the forward.

He has strengthened his attacking options with the addition of versatile South Korean striker Ju-Young Park - who moved to the Emirates Stadium on transfer deadline day, which could spell the end for Chamakh.

Having signed for Arsenal on a free transfer, it is unclear at this stage how much money Wenger will be looking to retrieve for the African ace.

But it is widely anticipated Chamakh will return to France with cash-rich PSG, having completed a successful spell in Ligue 1 with Bordeaux prior to his Gunners move.