Everton, the underdogs in their forthcoming FA Cup semifinal against Manchester United, have been boosted by news that two key players will return from injury to participate in the match.

Tony Hibbert and Joseph Yobo are expected to be fully fit when Everton takes on United at Wembley on the 19th of April. Hibbert has been absent from the side since injuring his thigh 3 weeks ago while Yobo injured a hamstring last week.

“Tony’s injury was a bad one and he is now 23 days into his recovery and we were talking of four to six weeks before he could play again so he is making good progress,” Mick Rathbone, the Everton physiotherapist, was quoted as saying by the Time Online.

“Hopefully he will train towards the middle of next week. Joseph’s hamstring injury is not so bad. If there is a good time to injure your hamstring, it is during the international break, I suppose.”

Everton manager David Moyes has also learnt that Australian striker Tim Cahilll has recovered sooner than expected from a calf-strain and will also make the Toffeees line-up for the big match against Manchester United next month.

Everton will be focusing on the Premier League in coming weeks, despite breaking into the semi-finals of the 2009 FA Cup.

The Toffees are currently placed 6th on Premiership league table, and a couple more wins could see them take 5th place in the league, thereby qualifying for a place in the Champions League qualifiers next season.

With European football the holy grail of any English club, Everton will want to concentrated on hauling in Aston Villa and Arsenal before they turn their attention to the big FA Cup semifinal at Wembley next month.

“We’ve not talked about it too much,” Everton’s Phil Jagielka told EvertonTV. “Every so often it crops up but we’ve got to try as best as we can to forget about the excitement of going to the semi-final and concentrate on the league.”

Everton will face Wigan and Aston Villa before heading into the FA Cup semifinals the following weekend. While a win over Aston Villa would put Everton within striking distance of 5th place in the league, Jagielka says that the squad isn’t feeling the pressure.

“I think the pressure is off because of the bad start we had,” he said. “Arsenal and Aston Villa have always been quite far ahead of us, but as it is we’ve clawed a few of the points back and hopefully we can do so until the end of the season and see where we stand.”

Arsenal ended a four year absence from the semifinals of the FA Cup yesterday evening, defeating a brave Hull side in a playoff for the last remaining FA Cup semifinal berth.

It was Hull, who defeated Arsenal earlier in the season at the Emirates Stadium, who drew first blood in the match as Nick Barmby scored on 13 minutes. Hull City then had a goal disallowed minutes later due to an offside ruling.

Arsenal took the best part of an hour to claw themselves back into the match, with Robert van Persie eventually scoring the equaliser in the 74th minute. 

William Gallas then broke Hull hearts by scoring the winner 6 minutes from time. Following the match Hull coach Phil Brown alleged that Gallas’ goal had been scored from offside.

“We haven’t been beaten by Arsenal,” Brown told Setanta. “We’ve been beaten by a linesman’s decision and a referee’s decision.”

Arsene Wenger dismissed his rival’s claims as so many sour grapes, and pronounced himself satisfied with his club’s efforts.

“We want of course to pass to the final now,” Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, told Setanta Sports. “We’ll go with full belief and commitment.”

Hull City are one match away from a dream FA Cup semi-final fixture against Chelsea at Wembley.

The Premier League newcomers made an impressive start to the 2008/2009 season, defeating some of the top clubs in the League, before entering a period of steep decline that has left them languishing in the Premiership drop zone.

The former high-flyers will have an opportunity to resurrect their dreams of glory this week when they take on Arsenal in a play-off for the FA Cup semifinals.

While recent form suggests little cause for optimism, Hull will take encouragement from the fact that they have already beaten Arsenal at home once this season, and a single good performance could give them a shot at one of the biggest prizes in football.

“In football, some unthinkable things can easily become possible,” Hull City manager, Phil Brown, told Sky Sports. “Any player must have a winning mentality. In all my life I always sought to win and in football nothing is impossible.”

“It is difficult to say which teams are easier to defeat - what we really care about is playing our game and seeking to win. It will be an important game for us in this competition.”

While all eyes will be on Old Trafford this weekend as Champions Manchester United look to edge another step closer to defending their crown, it is the battle at the bottom end of the table that is providing the real excitement in this Premiership season.

Blackburn’s 2-1 victory over Fulham on Wednesday evening not only pulled Sam Allardyce’s men out of the bottom three but dragged the Londoners into a relegation dogfight of their own. Incredibly, 8th placed Manchester City are only seven points clear of relegation and in one of the most competitive and unpredictable Premiership for years, it is almost impossible to call who will be relegated.

West Brom appear to be cast adrift and nothing short of a minor miracle can save them now. They may only be six points from safety – but this is six points from a raft of teams who are all picking up points. For all their freeflowing football, the Baggies defensive frailties remain and this will be the reason why they will be plying their trade in the Championship next season.

Middlesbrough and Portsmouth occupy the remaining two spots at the moment and both sides meet at the Riverside at the weekend. It’s hard to see both (if either) of these teams surviving the drop this season as not only are they in the bottom three at the moment, they are both looking the most vulnerable and the least equipped to turn their situation around.

Stoke will be many people’s tip to go down, but their steely determination should see them pick up enough points at home to survive by the skin of their teeth. Tomorrow sees a tricky trip to Everton, but they then face a run of games against fellow relegation candidates Boro, West Brom, Blackburn and Newcastle, the results of which will determine what division they play in next season.

There could of course be a major casualty with Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur and even Manchester City sitting dangerously close to the dropzone. Newcastle in particular, amid managerial and owner turmoil, look particularly vulnerable although they will be hoping the returning Michael Owen can fire the goals to preserve their Premiership status.

For football fans, relegation is unthinkable. Even the knowledge that they will save money on lower ticket prices cannot make up for the devastation at missing out on Premiership football. One thing is for certain – this years relegation battle will go right to the final day.

Saturday, 18 April 2009
15:00 Arsenal v Chelsea
15:00 Man Utd v Everton

Sunday, 08 March 2009
Arsenal 3-0 Burnley
Everton 2-1 Middlesbrough

Saturday, 07 March 2009
Coventry 0-2 Chelsea
Fulham 0-4 Man Utd

Chris Coleman walked away with the Football Championship Manager of the Month for February as he guided his team to a series of victories over top ranked Championship sides and helped them qualify for the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

Coventry face Chelsea in a tough FA Cup quarterfinal this weekend, and Coleman’s award may give the minnows the inspiration they need to score another upset over a Championship side.

Coventry progressed to the quarterfinals after defeating Blackburn Rovers in the round of 16, a victory that came after defeats of top Championship sides Wolves, Birmingham and Burnley.

“To go unbeaten in that run of games was particularly good and I see a big improvement in the team,” Coleman told Sky Sports News.

Chelsea are firm favourites to win this weekend’s FA Cup clash with Coventry, priced 8/15 with William Hill. The midlanders are a distant 6/1 to register the first major upset of the 2008/2009 FA Cup.

Saturday, 14 February 2009
15:00 Blackburn v Coventry
15:00 Sheff Utd v Hull
12:45 Swansea v Fulham
17:30 Watford v Chelsea
15:00 West Ham v Middlesbrough

Sunday, 15 February 2009
16:30 Derby v Man Utd
14:30 Everton v Aston Villa

Monday, 16 February 2009
19:45 Arsenal v Cardiff

Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Aston Villa 3-1 Doncaster
Blackburn 2-1 Sunderland
Everton 1-0 Liverpool
Nottm Forest 2-3 Derby

Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Burnley 3-1 West Brom