Four in chase for Uefa Cup
A fantastic night of European football is in store tonight. The group stages of the Uefa Cup are just around the corner, and there's plenty of British interest as the teams scrap for places in the next round.
The Uefa Cup group stages can provide a huge boost to clubs' revenue, and any side in a position to qualify will grab the opportunity with both hands.
From the Premier League, Blackburn Rovers, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and West Ham all play tonight.
Of these, Newcastle and Spurs are best placed, having both won away in their first-leg matches.
Spurs' Jermaine Jenas arrowed a shot into the corner of the net of Slavia Prague's substitute keeper. Spurs and England keeper Paul Robinson later made a fine save to secure a 1-0 win in the Czech capital.
Newcastle's trip to Estonia to play Levadia Tallinn also ended in a 1-0 win for the Premiership side. Frenchman Antoine Sibierski scored on his debut for the Magpies.
Blackburn Rovers could also make it through. Rovers had a 2-1 lead before SV Salzburg equalised in the 92nd minute.
West Ham didn't fare so well. They lost 1-0 at home to Palermo and must now win away in order to go through.
The TV stations are falling over themselves to show the games. Spurs' match is on ITV4 from 7.00pm, with kick-off at 8.00pm. Newcastle's game against Lavadia is on five from 7.15pm, for a 7.30pm kick-off. Eurosport will show Rovers' match. The coverage starts at 7.15pm, and the game gets underway at 7.45pm.
Later this week, Bolton play Liverpool in the Premiership at lunchtime on Saturday. SS1 has coverage from 12noon and the match kicks off at 12.45pm. A win for Wanderers would be a remarkable result and would divert some of the attention away from the situation off the pitch at Bolton.
