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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said it was hard to inform some of his players he was leaving them out of the Real Madrid clash.

Nani and Ashley Young were left disappointed by their omission for the Champions League last-16 first-leg trip to the Bernabeu.

Both wingers failed to make the bench for the clash as Cristiano Ronaldo cancelled out Danny Welbeck's header to leave the tie in the balance ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford.

"There were a lot of disappointed players," Ferguson told the Daily Express.

"Nani and Ashley Young - international footballers - I found it hard to explain to them I was leaving them out."

Arsene Wenger believes victory over Bayern Munich could prove the springboard for Arsenal to go on and win the Champions League.

Arsenal are considered outsiders to beat Bayern, who are 15 points clear on top of the Bundesliga table after 21 games.

"If we pass Bayern we'll say why should we not go further and win it," Arsenal manager Wenger said. 

Arsenal host Bayern in Tuesday's opening leg of their last-16 tie, but first will entertain Championship side Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Wenger's men have a good record against lower-division opposition, but were knocked out of the Capital One Cup by fourth-tier outfit Bradford City in December.

FIFA has committed to using biological profiling at both the 2014 World Cup and this year's Confederations Cup to combat doping in football.

President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) John Fahey claimed earlier this week that the game was not doing enough to test for the blood-boosting agent EPO, after it was revealed that only one in four players would be given a blood test during World Cup qualifiers.

After meeting with FIFA president Sepp Blatter earlier this week to discuss the problem, Fahey revealed the commitment made by the sport's governing body, and praised their willingness to take action against the problem.

Swansea manager Michael Laudrup is expecting Liverpool to have revenge on their minds when he takes his side to Anfield on Sunday.

Following a 3-1 win in the Capital One Cup in October and a 0-0 stalemate in the Premier League a month later, the Welsh outfit are yet to taste defeat against their former manager Brendan Rodgers.

Liverpool come into the game on the back of a shock 2-0 home league loss to West Brom, before a lacklustre display left their Europa League hopes in tatters after losing 2-0 to Zenit, and Laudrup is cautious of a backlash at the weekend.

Everton boss David Moyes said that he will make a decision regarding his managerial future at the end of the Premier League season.

The 49-year-old's contract at Goodison Park expires this summer, while Goal.com revealed in January that club officials are concerned over the Scot's reluctance to sign a new deal.

Moyes, who has been with the Merseyside team since leaving Preston 11 years ago, is popular with the players and fans but has often been linked with top Premier League clubs.

"I'll give as much as I can, and I've spoken with the chairman and I want to see how the team does," Moyes told reporters.

Chris Hughton said his Norwich side may have to sacrifice style in order to record enough points to stay in the Premier League next season.

The Canaries are in 14th position in the table and are six points away from the drop zone, however a run of nine matches without victory has raised the alarm bells after an impressive start.

Hughton's men have drawn four out of the last five league games and in 11 matches overall – a record only surpassed by Everton and Stoke - and Hughton indicated that his players may have to play ugly in order to bring in some points.

"We have got 12 games left and, whichever way we get the points, we have to get them," the 54-year-old told reporters.

The Newcastle Jets leapt back into the top six with a strong 2-0 win over Melbourne Heart at Hunter Stadium on Friday night.

Jets coach Gary van Egmond paired Emile Heskey and Michael Bridges for the first time this season, starting the former EPL players in behind Socceroo Adam Taggart and the tactical change paid off as Newcastle looked much more dangerous in front of goal as they outplayed Heart for the majority. 

Heskey opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a wonderful striker before Griffiths sealed the win with a smart goal 10 minutes from the final whistle.