Arsenal's stomach for a fight will be put to the test in Saturday's Premiership confrontation with Middlesbrough.
Arsene Wenger's men may have passed the half-way point of the season with their unbeaten league record intact.
But that has not been enough to prevent Manchester United opening up a three-point gap at the top of the table with the kind of run which has a habit of shredding the morale of teams bidding to knock them off their throne.
Eight straight wins have ensured that Sir Alex Ferguson's champions have exploited every little slip by Arsenal and -- to even greater effect -- Chelsea.
For Arsenal however, the pressure generated by their rivals' relentless form is exacerbated by the painful memory of last season's title race, a nine-point advantage just after the turn of the year ultimately proving insufficient to prevent Ferguson's men from romping away at the finish.
With that in mind, Wenger could be forgiven a twinge of unease after seeing his side outmuscled by Everton in the 1-1 draw at Goodison Park in midweek.
The Frenchman was not about to accept that the breathing space United have established at the top amounts to a significant psychological hurdle for his players to clear.
"It is a long way to go unbeaten and what the boys have done so far is magnificent," Wenger said. "If we keep going and United do better, congratulations to them."
Everton's equalizer on Wednesday was created by Francis Jeffers, the Arsenal striker currently on loan to his former club. The rules governing loan deals mean Wenger could have prevented him playing but insisted the thought never crossed his mind.
"I am completely against that rule because I think it is immoral," the Frenchman said. "If you take it to its extent, it means the rich can give to the poor but they cannot be allowed to harm us. I think it needs to be changed."
With Manchester United not in action until Sunday's visit of Newcastle to Old Trafford, Arsenal can close the three-point gap with victory, although they would have to win by at least four goals to actually knock United off their perch.
Given the parsimonious record of the visiting defense, that looks unlikely and Wenger will be wary of the threat posed by teenage winger Stewart Downing, the architect of Boro's midweek win over Fulham.
Liverpool are hopeful Michael Owen will be ready to return to first team action for Aston Villa's visit to Anfield.
The England striker, whose absence has been sorely felt as Liverpool have struggled to find any sustained form this season, was on the bench for the first time in six weeks during Wednesday's 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The injury jinx that seems to be dogging Gerard Houllier's squad has not disappeared altogether however. The Liverpool manager has been obliged to begin a desperate search for an experienced goalkeeper after Jerzy Dudek joined Chris Kirkland on the club's list of walking wounded.
If, as seems likely, Dudek fails to recover from his groin injury in time for Saturday, Houllier may be forced to start with Patrice Luzi, the young French goalkeeper who only made his debut as a substitute in the closing stages of Wednesday's win.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was