News Today

1. Niki Lauda has sharply criticised Lewis Hamilton's form in the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship so far - especially his calamitous performance in Bahrain - and insisted the young Briton is putting too much pressure on himself in his bid to claim the crown. The McLaren-Mercedes star - who finished second in the drivers' world championship at his maiden attempt last year - triumphed in the 2008 curtain-raiser in Melbourne, but since then a litany of errors have conspired to see him surrender his advantage in the title chase.


2. Thierry Henry is reportedly heading for the exit door at Barcelona after fans turned on him during the disappointing goalless draw with Getafe at the weekend - but strike partner Ronaldinho is going nowhere. With a host of top English sides sure to be interested in Henry's services, a return to the Premier League has become a distinct possibility. Henry has struggled to settle at the Nou Camp since his £16.1 million move from Arsenal last summer and with Barca falling behind in the chase for the Spanish title, supporters are beginning to turn their frustrations on him


3. Arsene Wenger is confident his young Gunners can win "everywhere in the world" but maintains his side will be all the better for their experiences this season even if they lose at Liverpool tonight. Only one win in seven has seen Arsenal's lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League vanish and they are now playing catch-up on both Chelsea and Manchester United, whom they face at Old Trafford this weekend.


4. Rafael Benitez has revealed Liverpool have been concentrating on countering Arsenal's set-piece menace ahead of tonight's Champions League showdown at Anfield.
Benitez's troops have succeeded in frustrating the Gunners in two impressive 1-1 draws in Europe and the Barclays Premier League at the Emirates Stadium over the past week. But Benitez is acutely aware both Arsenal's goals in those games have come from dead balls and is determined to counter that threat in the quarter-final second leg.

4. Chelsea left Istanbul wondering how they had managed to lose their Champions League quarter-final first leg to Fenerbahce but they should recover from the setback in Tuesday's home return. For all the celebrations of the Turkish side's upset 2-1 victory, the odds remain heavily in favour of the London side, who need only a 1-0 success to advance to a semi-final meeting with either Arsenal or Liverpool.


5. Czech striker Jan Koller will retire from the national team after this year's Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland. The 35-year-old Nuremberg frontman is the Czech Republic's all-time leading scorer with 52 goals in 85 matches but he will not be adding to that tally after the conclusion of the 16-team tournament running from June 7th-29th.


6. Celtic will host Old Firm rivals Rangers twice inside 11 days in the SPL run-in.
The announcement of the post-split fixtures threw up a double-header that could ultimately decide the destiny of the SPL title. The Old Firm rivals meet a week on Wednesday - April 16 - in the final fixture before the split, a match that has twice been rearranged after the original January 2 meeting was postponed.