Abou Diaby was expected to make his return into the first team of Arsenal in this week but the Frenchman has encountered another setback which will be delaying his return to action for an unknown amount of time.

The Frenchman has been out of action for 13 months after suffering from a cruciate knee ligament injury and a few days ago he was featured in Arsenal’s Under-21’s defeat against Chelsea but despite only playing for 45 minutes, he had to be removed from the pitch in half-time after sustaining a groin injury.

Andrea Pirlo at his 34 years old remains playing a fundamental role in Juventus and this became more evident recently with his free-kicks against Genoa and Fiorentina which gave the team of Antonio Conte 2 crucial victories.

The Italian midfielder was being linked with a possible transfer away from Juventus but he stepped it up and revealed his intentions of not only staying where he is right now but also retiring at the Juventus Arena with the white and black jersey.

With the 2014 World Cup just a few months away from starting, there already are bet shops receiving bids for respective countries to win it all while some people are placing their bets on some teams to not make it into the quarter-finals of the worldwide competition.

Television and Internet has played an important part in the world of soccer betting as it is just so much easier nowadays to watch matches and look at players and team profile.

The odds for the upcoming World Cup have Brazil being the favorites on winning it followed closely behind by Argentina, Germany and Spain.

Chelsea will be looking to inflict a third straight defeat against Manchester City this campaign, as they face the Premier league's third placed team at Etihad stadium in the FA Cup on Saturday. Chelsea have already beaten City twice this campaign.

The first time, they needed an injury time goal from Fernando Torres in order to get three points. The second time around, Chelsea were much more impressive after inflicting a 1-0 defeat at the Etihad stadium. This brought an end to the unbeaten run City had at the ground.

Jack Wilshere is confident Arsenal will end their long wait for a trophy this season, as long they come through a gruelling upcoming schedule with no further damage inflicted other than last Saturday’s woeful performance at Anfield.

The Gunners have made good progress in the Premier League, their weekend thrashing aside, as well as the Champions League and FA Cup, but their hopes of winning silverware for the first time since 2005 may well rest on their ability to bounce back in midweek from their Liverpool humbling. They are now 13/2 with Paddy Power to win the title.

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has admitted his side’s Premier League title hopes are over following the 3-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, a result which left the club 14 points off the top of the league and came as no surprise to some Betfair punters.

Most Manchester United supporters might have expected some teething problems following the departure of manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, but few would have thought their hopes of retaining their Premier League crown to be all but over in January.

Ferguson’s successor, David Moyes, has not been able to get the same performances out of the squad left to him by the knight of the realm and injuries to the likes of Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney of late have certainly not helped the former Everton manager’s cause.

Barcelona will lock horns with Atletico Madrid in a match that will decide who is going to be the leaders of La Liga. Both clubs are tied at the top of the Spanish league with 49 points and the only factor that is giving Barcelona a slight edge is their goal difference.

It will be a battle between the 2 clubs that have been performing the best in this season. Even with the absence of Lionel Messi for around 6 weeks, the side of Gerardo Martino has coped well as some other stars of the Catalan club have emerged most noticeable was Alexis Sanchez who scored 3 goals against Elche.

Tottenham Hotspur have made a good start to the Premier league season, but they have found it difficult to score goals even after spending a lot of money on attacking players like Roberto Soldado and Lamela.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas recently criticised the home fans for lacklustre atmosphere at the White Hart Lane for the recent home match against Hull. Tottenham were likely to come away from this match with a 1-0 win. They will be looking to improve on their performance when they take on Newcastle on Sunday.

Leeds United will be taking on Leicester City during the weekend in one of the crunch games of the Championship season. Both clubs are expected to be challengers for the promotion at the end of the season. Hence, this is an extremely important match in just the second weekend of the season.

Both teams come into the match on the back of a victory on the opening day of the campaign. Their victories were extremely similar because they were made to work hard by the opposition. They came back from behind to win the match. Leeds United took on Brighton and Hove Albion on the opening day.