England Premier League Media

Fulham striker Andrew Johnson is facing a lengthy lay-off after undergoing an exploratory operation on his groin.

The 28-year-old has struggled with the injury since October despite intensive treatment and was missing again in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Bolton.

It was decided to operate after Johnson broke down in training on Friday.

Manager Roy Hodgson said: “I fear he’ll be out for some time. There have been days we think he’s cracked it. Then the next day he has no manageable pain.”

It has been a frustrating few weeks for the England forward who last played in the 2-2 draw at West Ham on 4 October.

Johnson has participated in a number of recent training sessions before the pain levels have forced an early withdrawal – as was the case last week.

Hodgson revealed his striker, who joined from Everton for 10.5m last August, had “tried so hard to get back”.

On Johnson’s sporadic training time, his 62-year-old manager added: “He is forced to go back inside again and that was the case on Friday and the day before.

“That has prompted us, after the numerous scans and alternative medicine, to operate and go into the area where he is suffering the pain in the hope of finding out what it is and put it right.”

Johnson also suffered a shoulder injury at the start of the season and was out for three weeks.

Carling Cup quarter-final
Venue: Fratton Park Date: Tuesday, 1 December 2009 Kick-off: 1945 GMT
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC local radio & highlights on The League Cup Show

Portsmouth will be without Jamie O’Hara, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Mike Williamson and forward Tommy Smith, who are all cup-tied.

David James (calf) and Steve Finnan(groin) are again likely to miss out.

Aston Villa are likely to be without Nigel Reo-Coker, who limped off against Tottenham on Saturday after picking up an ankle injury.

Full-back Stephen Warnock missed that game because of illness and is also a doubt for Tuesday’s match.

Portsmouth’s players are enduring a miserable season but have the chance to make club history by reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Pompey, who have never been in the last four before, have been knocked out at this stage four times.

And in order to go one better this time, they will have to beat a club with outstanding pedigree in this competition.

Only Liverpool have won the cup more times than Villa, who have lifted it on five occasions. But they have stumbled through to the last eight this season, scoring just one goal on their way to this tie.

Portsmouth, on the other hand, have managed 11 goals in this tournament – as many has they have scored in the Premier League all season.

Head-to-head

These clubs have met 83 times. Portsmouth have won 24 matches and Aston Villa 37, with 22 drawn.

They have only met in the League Cup once before: a second-round tie in 1983, which Villa won 5-4 on aggregate.

Villa are vying for a third successive victory over Pompey, who they beat 2-0 in the Premier League earlier this season.

Portsmouth

Pompey go into this tie on a three-match losing run in the Premier League. They have scored twice and conceded eight times in those matches.

They last reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup in the 2004/05 season.

Jamie O’Hara could make his 100th club career appearance.

Aston Villa

This is Villa’s best run in the competition since 2003/04, when they reached the semi-finals for the 12th time in their history.

Martin O’Neill’s side have lost one of their last nine league and cup matches.

Steven Sidwell could make his 300th club career appearance.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez believes Sunday’s hard-fought 2-0 win at Everton could help to kick-start their season.

A Joseph Yobo own goal and Dirk Kuyt’s late strike helped the Reds to just a seventh win in 14 Premier League games and lifted them to fifth in the table.

The Spaniard said: “We won against Debrecen (in midweek) and we knew we had to keep winning. It was important.

“A derby is always very difficult and also very important so the win could set us up for the rest of the season.”

Liverpool were second best for long periods at Goodison Park but took full advantage of some poor finishing by the hosts and also their own good fortune.

Javier Mascherano’s early strike was deflected in off Yobo, while keeper Pepe Reina produced a stunning double save to prevent an equaliser when Marouane Fellaini shot from close range after Tim Cahill’s initial header had been parried away.

Benitez has been under increasing criticism with five defeats in 13 games and a group stages Champions League exit, but managing director Christian Purslow insisted last week that the manager’s job is safe.

And there was more good news for Liverpool after the match, with Benitez saying he hopes striker Fernando Torres will return for Saturday’s trip to Blackburn after missing four games due to a groin problem.

“We were testing Fernando on Saturday. He told me he still had a little bit of pain, but he is improving,” explained Benitez. “He is progressing and next week hopefully we can test him again.”

After Kuyt had secured the points against their Merseyside rivals with an 80th minute goal, Benitez added: “It was a clearly a difficult game from the beginning. They were playing a direct and also a set-pieces game.

“It was very difficult to control that because they are strong in the air but we showed character and were trying to play counter-attack – sometimes with good possession, sometimes not so good.

“They were on top of us but we showed character, we won and scored two goals and at the end of the game maybe we had better control.”

Everton boss David Moyes was left to rue his side’s missed opportunities, with 10m Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov twice wasting glorious chances.

Despite a third successive league defeat extending their run to one win in 11, leaving them three points from the relegation zone, the Scot was pleased with the effort from his players.

“I don’t feel we came off the pitch losers,” he said. “The players worked extremely hard and I felt they deserved more than they got.

“The deflected goal took the sting out of us. I don’t know how many times Liverpool had been in our half up to that point but it wasn’t many. I thought the players reacted great.

“They kept going and I thought in the main we kept Liverpool quiet. The game was tight and we, in the main, were trying to set the tone and make it difficult for them.

“It is disappointing you don’t get anything from that.”

Carling Cup quarter-final
Venue: Old Trafford Date: Tuesday, 1 December 2009 Kick-off: 2000 GMT
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC local radio & highlights on The League Cup Show

Teenage strikers Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck are in contention to start up front for United, but Michael Owen may get the nod.

Rafael Da Silva could be included at right-back to give veteran Gary Neville a rest, while Ben Foster is expected to replace Tomasz Kuszczak in goal.

Tottenham defender Ledley King is still out with a hamstring problem.

Giovani Dos Santos could feature after recently returning to training following an ankle injury.

Tottenham, beaten on penalties by United in last year’s final, are looking to reach the last four of the League Cup for a record-equalling 12th time.

Spurs have not won at Old Trafford since a Gary Lineker goal gave them a victory there nearly 20 years ago, and now face a United side that has not lost in this competition since being humbled by Coventry in 2007.

The north Londoners are third in the Premier League, and manager Harry Redknapp declared after Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Aston Villa that his team are good enough to seriously challenge for a top-four finish.

Their performance at the weekend underlined how far they have progressed this season, and a win against United would further boost their growing reputation.

Head-to-head

These clubs have met 170 times. Manchester United have won 79 of those matches and Tottenham 46, with 45 drawn.

United have not lost in 20 league and cup matches against Spurs. They have won 15 and drawn five since Tottenham’s 3-1 home win in the Premier League in May 2001.

Manchester United

Holders United are aiming to win this competition for the fourth time.

All of their previous three League Cup triumphs have been under current boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

The last goal United conceded in this competition was against Derby County in the second leg of last season’s semi-finals.

Tottenham

Tottenham have suffered just one defeat in regular play in their last 15 League Cup ties.

They won this tournament in 1971, 1973, 1999 and 2008, and have been runners-up on three occasions.

Leading Spurs to last season’s final is the best Harry Redknapp has achieved in the League Cup as a manager.

Peter Crouch is the joint leading scorer in this season’s Carling Cup with four goals, including a hat-trick against Preston.

Dean Whitehead will miss Stoke City’s trip to Arsenal on Saturday after picking up his fifth booking of the season in the 0-0 draw at Blackburn.

“It’s disappointing, but being right in the thick of things, you’re going to pick up bookings,” the former Sunderland man told BBC Radio Stoke.

“We’ve got a squad that’s really good at the moment so it’s no problem.

“They’ve got a lot of talented players and we’re going to have to work on it this week to see how we can stop them.”

Whitehead spurned two opportunities to win the game for the Potters at Blackburn on Saturday, including a one-on-one chance that was saved by Rovers goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

“He (Robinson) showed me the corner to make me play it there, which I did and he saved it,” added Whitehead.

“I’m more disappointed with the one in the second half, when Ricardo Fuller cut it back and I’ve took it off Matthew Etherington’s foot.

“We’ll keep getting in the box, keep creating chances, and we’ll put them away.”

Stoke have now lost just one of their last seven matches in the Premier League, following the goalless draw against Blackburn.

Premier League leaders Chelsea left Arsenal’s title challenge reeling by beating the Gunners to increase the gap to 11 points on their London rivals.

Striker Didier Drogba guided an Ashley Cole cross into the top corner to put the visitors ahead.

Another Ashley Cole delivery was then diverted into his own net by Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen.

Drogba put an elaborate seal on a deserved victory when he powered in a 25-yard free-kick late on.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger had said the game was a moment for his players to show their strength but, instead, the defeat only served to blow a massive hole in his side’s title hopes.

Chelsea, however, move five points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table and have now kept clean sheets in their previous six Premier League matches.

The last time Arsenal had been beaten at home was by Chelsea in May and, despite five wins from as many league games at the Emirates Stadium so far this season, the Blues again showed their power was superior to Arsenal’s panache.

Wenger’s side had quickly got into their passing stride but struggled to pierce the visitors’ backline and Chelsea could have had an early penalty in their favour.

Striker Nicolas Anelka had a shot blocked by keeper Manuel Almunia when through on goal but, in the process, seemed to have been pulled down by Bacary Sagna.

There was little protest from Chelsea and they worked another opportunity which saw Drogba fail to get enough power on a header he angled straight at Almunia.

For all their possession, Arsenal had little to show for it and they were handed the harsh lesson in the necessity of having a ruthless streak to their play.

Former Gunners left-back Ashley Cole responded to the boos greeting his every touch by curling in a cross which Drogba finished with aplomb for his ninth goal in his last nine appearances against Arsenal.

Soon after, a whipped Ashley Cole cross to the near post was diverted into his own net by Vermaelen as Arsenal were left stunned on the stroke of half-time.

This was the cue for Wenger to introduce Theo Walcott at the break in an attempt to get behind the formidable Blues back line.

His introduction gave Arsenal fresh impetus and the hosts thought they had pulled a goal back when Andrey Arshavin drove in a shot at the far post. But the goal was disallowed for an earlier foul on Chelsea keeper Petr Cech by Eduardo.

The visitors showed why they boast the top-flight’s meanest defence as they continually thwarted Arsenal to deny them any clear-cut chances.

It was a defensive performance the home side might do well to take note of as they seek to add the steel to their style that many critics argue they lack.

The Gunners were also clearly feeling the absence of injured striker Robin van Persie, who had scored two goals in a victory over Chelsea this time last year, as they lacked a cutting edge to their play.

And the home side almost fell further behind in bizarre circumstances.

A Drogba strike ricocheted off both William Gallas and Frank Lampard and was set to creep into the bottom corner before Almunia, at full-stretch, palmed the ball wide.

But Drogba continued to prove a chief tormentor for Arsenal as he beat Almunia with a free-kick which gave him his 11th Premier League goal of the campaign and 14th in total.

It was three points earned with authority from Chelsea and proved the show of strength from them that Wenger was looking for from his own side.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti hailed the spirit of his players after their 3-0 demolition at Arsenal.

The Blues extended their lead at the Premier League summit by five points thanks to two wonderful Didier Drogba goals and a Thomas Vermaelen own goal.

“It was a very good performance. If you win 3-0 at Arsenal you have to do a good job,” the Italian, 60, said.

“The defence did a fantastic job, all the players worked for the team,” he added saving special praise for Drogba.

Chelsea have won 12 in 14 matches in their current Premier League campaign, with Sunday’s losers Arsenal now lying 11 points behind their London rivals.

Striker Drogba opened the scoring with a delightful flick and his stunning curling free-kick followed Vermaelen’s unfortunate prod into his own net.

“Strength is a quality of this team, we have to use this. We have a lot of different qualities, mental as well as physical,” added Ancelotti, who also revealed defender Ashley Cole had suffered a slight muscle tear.

“We wanted to use intelligence to defend our half and there we won the game. Arsenal put a lot of players in midfield and sometimes they lost the balance.

“Arsenal kept the ball well in the first half but we always had the possibility to score on the counter-attack. We stopped them in midfield. There we won the game.”

Regarding his double goal scorer, the Blues boss said: “Drogba has a good spirit – goals are good but the most important thing is working for the team.”

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger was left furious after referee Andre Marriner ruled Eduardo had been guilty of dangerous play for flicking the ball away from Chelsea keeper Petr Cech before Andrey Arshavin put the ball into the net.

The score was 2-0 at the time of the incident and with Arsenal still looking dangerous on the break, the Frenchman said: “How can he see Eduardo kicking the ball from Cech when it was a Chelsea player kicking the ball?

“That was a very important goal in this kind of game and it was big mistake by the referee.

“What can you say about referees this year? The Chelsea v Manchester United game was clearly decided by the referee (John Terry scored a controversial winner on 8 November). It is important they don’t make mistakes in big games.

“He told me it was dangerous play from our player. He got the turning point of the game wrong. It was not a serious decision.”

It was a decision, though, that did get the support from Ancelotti who said: “Arsenal are upset because they lost and I think it was a foul on Petr Cech.”

Marriner was also in charge of Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Manchester United last month when he was accused of struggling with the intimidating Anfield atmosphere by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Wenger added that Chelsea had been lucky to have achieved such an emphatic result at Emirates on Sunday.

“The score is a very unfair reflection of the game but it is the score and we cannot change it now,” he added.

“I believe that Chelsea had absolutely everything for them. The first shot on goal they scored and the second cross they scored. And after that it was difficult.

“They are physically strong players, but that is the impression you get when they are 2-0 up. They just defended in their own half and attacked on the break.

“They lost many balls and made many technical mistakes but we couldn’t take advantage.”

The Dutch Football Association (KNVB) has hit back at Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger’s criticism of their handling of Robin van Persie’s ankle injury.

The striker will be out for up to five months after damaging ankle ligaments while playing for the Netherlands.

Wenger claimed Van Persie’s injury was “much worse” than the KNVB had told him and said: “The Dutch FA minimised the injury. It’s a joke and disrespectful.”

The KNVB says it kept Arsenal informed of his scan results on the same day.

Van Persie ruptured ligaments in his ankle during the Netherlands’ 0-0 draw with Italy on 14 November.

The 26-year-old, who is in plaster and will undergo surgery this week, said on Saturday that if he had known at the time what he now knows, he would have been operated on immediately.

And Wenger added: “If a player gets injured with his country he should be sent back to his club straight away to be checked by their doctors, not by those of the national team.

“Countries just take your players away for a friendly and then give him back and say: ‘There you go’. It doesn’t happen in any other sport.”

A KNVB statement said: “Directly after Van Persie was injured, the doctor of the Netherlands team diagnosed an ankle ligament problem.

“The Arsenal striker went to the hospital in Amsterdam on Sunday (after the game which took place on a Saturday) where further examination (MRI scan) confirmed the diagnosis of the Netherlands team – he had a ruptured ligament of his right ankle.

“The medical staff of the KNVB contacted Arsenal club doctor Gary O’Driscoll the same Sunday to inform him about the outcome of the investigation and to transfer the medical record regarding this injury.

“The scan was also handed over to the medical staff of Arsenal.”

Liverpool took the honours in the Merseyside derby as Javier Mascherano’s deflected first-half shot and Dirk Kuyt’s late strike gave them victory at Everton.

The home side dominated for long periods but paid the price for failing to turn possession into goals as Liverpool took full advantage of their rare moments of attacking threat.

Mascherano enjoyed a huge slice of luck as Liverpool opened the scoring after only 12 minutes when his 25-yard shot ricocheted off Joseph Yobo’s leg and flew beyond Everton keeper Tim Howard.

And Yobo was at fault when the Reds wrapped up the points with 10 minutes remaining. Steven Gerrard retrieved his sliced penalty area clearance, and when Howard could not hold Albert Riera’s powerful effort Kuyt was perfectly placed to turn in the rebound.

In between Everton were left to rue their own carelessness in front of goal and the heroics of Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina as a traumatic week at Goodison Park – with the proposed move to a new stadium in Kirkby rejected by the government – ended with the pain of defeat in the 212th Merseyside derby.

Everton’s 10m Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov scuffed an effort wide from just eight yards with only Reina to beat just after Mascherano’s goal.

Jo, playing as Everton’s lone front man, twice had the ball in the net as Everton kept Liverpool under constant pressure in the first half, but both goals were rightly ruled out for offside by referee Alan Wiley.

And the crucial moment came when Reina made a stunning double stop after 70 minutes, saving brilliantly from Tim Cahill’s header and then recovering instantly to block Marouane Fellaini from the rebound when he looked certain to equalise.

Kuyt then added insult to injury with the second as Liverpool put some gloss on a disappointing week after their Champions League exit.

For all Everton’s defiance, they now have only one win in 11 games and face the real prospect of a season of struggle after the riches of fifth place in the Premier League and an FA Cup Final appearance last term.

Rafael Benitez’s side were poor for much of a frantic encounter, but victory was the only item on his agenda as he seeks to push Liverpool back into the top four and he will be delighted with the win, no matter how it was achieved.

Everton boss David Moyes produced a surprise in his line-up when Jo got the nod ahead of Louis Saha and Yakubu, who were named on the bench. Saha has been struggling with a calf injury and Yakubu is on his way back from a serious Achilles tendon problem, and their inability to start presented a major problem for Moyes.

And yet Jo emerged as a central figure in an eventful first half dominated by Everton, but one which ended with Liverpool taking the lead.

It came in fortuitous circumstances after 12 minutes, when Mascherano’s speculative long-range effort took a crucial touch off Yobo and flew tantalisingly out of the reach of Howard.

Everton responded with real spirit to their ill-fortune and Bilyaletdinov was guilty of a wasting a glorious opportunity to restore equality, sweeping a half-hit effort wide with the goal at his mercy as Liverpool struggled to defend a throw-in.

Jo then thought he had drawn Everton level when he turned home a finish as Everton continued to press, but Fellaini was clearly in an offside position and Goodison Park’s celebrations were cut short.

South African Steven Pienaar was comfortably the most composed player on the pitch amid a typically frenetic derby atmosphere, and he was at the heart of all the good things Everton were doing.

But Liverpool almost broke the shackles to double their lead five minutes before the interval when Emiliano Insua arrived on the end of Glen Johnson’s cross, but his header brought a fine reflex save from Howard.

Everton had the ball in the net again on the stroke of half-time, again through Jo, but the Brazilian was in an obvious offside position as he stood directly in front of Reina.

Reina had an anxious moment after 57 minutes when he allowed a powerful shot from Pienaar to slip through his grasp, but he was able to recover before the ball slid over the line.

Everton boss Moyes finally introduced Saha for Jo with 25 minutes left in the hope that the striker’s undoubted class could overcome his lack of fitness.

Liverpool were unable to pose any sustained attacking threat to Everton, and they were grateful to Reina for a fine double save that kept them on terms with 20 minutes remaining.

Cahill’s header from John Heitinga’s free-kick looked bound for the bottom corner until Reina dived to his left to save before recovering to block the follow-up effort from Fellaini.

Liverpool made a double change as they attempted to close out what had been an anxious afternoon, sending on Yossi Benayoun and Riera for David Ngog and Fabio Aurelio.

The move reaped rewards as Riera fired in the shot that was too hot for Howard to handle, allowing the lurking Kuyt to pounce from six yards and seal Liverpool’s victory.

Riera almost added a third for Liverpool when his shot was saved by Howard – but that would have been cruel on Everton who matched their rivals and more for long spells.

Everton boss David Moyes:
“You have to earn your luck. We worked really hard and I was hoping we’d earn that luck but we didn’t. It was disappointing. But we also missed some chances.

“The game was tight and I thought we were in the ascendancy in general. But after the game in the week, the players were asked to show great attitude and endeavour and it was there in abundance.”

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez:
“It was a great victory – everybody is really pleased. Today we worked so hard – they were tough and pushing and we did our job in defence and we had to play counter-attack.”

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez believes Sunday’s hard-fought 2-0 win at Everton could help to kick-start their season.

A Joseph Yobo own goal and Dirk Kuyt’s late strike helped the Reds to their seventh win in 14 Premier League games and lifted them to fifth in the table.

The Spaniard said: “We won against Debrecen (in midweek) and we knew we had to keep winning. It was important.

“A derby is always very difficult and also very important so the win could set us up for the rest of the season.”

Liverpool were second best for long periods at Goodison Park but took full advantage of some poor finishing by the hosts and good fortune.

Javier Mascherano’s early strike was deflected in off Yobo, while keeper Pepe Reina produced a stunning double save to prevent an equaliser from Tim Cahill’s header and then Marouane Fellaini’s shot.

Benitez has been under increasing criticism with five defeats in 13 games before this weekend but despite a Champions League exit, three domestic points will go some way to pleasing managing director Christian Purslow, who has insisted the manager’s job is safe.

After Kuyt had secured the points against their Merseyside rivals with an 80th minute goal, Benitez added: “It was a clearly a difficult game from the beginning. They were playing a direct and also a set-pieces game.

“It was very difficult to control that because they are strong in the air but we showed character and were trying to play counter-attack – sometimes with good possession, sometimes not so good.

“They were on top of us but we showed character, we won and scored two goals and at the end of the game maybe we had better control.”

Everton boss David Moyes was left to rue his side’s missed opportunities, with 10m Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov twice wasting glorious chances.

Despite a third successive league defeat extending their run to one win in 11, leaving them three points from the relegation zone, the Scot was pleased with the effort from his players.

“I don’t feel we came off the pitch losers,” he said. “The players worked extremely hard and I felt they deserved more than what they got in the end.

“The deflected goal took the sting out of us. I don’t know how many times Liverpool had been in our half up to that point but it wasn’t many. I thought the players reacted great.

“They kept going and I thought in the main we kept Liverpool quiet. The game was tight and we, in the main, were trying to set the tone and make it difficult for them.

“It is disappointing you don’t get anything from that.”