Torres to make Chelsea debut against Liverpool

LONDON (AP): Fernando Torres should make his debut for Chelsea against former club Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday, just six days after leaving the Reds in a British-record transfer deal.

The Spain striker angered Liverpool fans after sealing his reported 50 million pounds ($81 million) switch to the defending English champions by saying he jumped at the chance to move to a "top-level club" after 3 1/2 years at Anfield.

Torres says it's destiny that his debut for the Blues comes against Liverpool, although it remains to be seen whether Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti starts him at Stamford Bridge.

Both teams are in impressive form but unbeaten leader Manchester United shows no sign of slowing up ahead of its match at Wolverhampton on Saturday.

  

Arsenal keeper Fabianski to miss rest of season

LONDON (AP): Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski will miss the rest of the season because of a shoulder problem.

Wenger says the 25-year-old Poland international will undergo an operation in Germany to cure an injury that has kept him out for the past month.

Wenger says Fabianski "has decided after having seen a few specialists that he will have surgery ... it means his season is over."

Fabianski had established himself as Arsenal's first-choice goalkeeper, playing 20 games this season after displacing Manuel Almunia.

With Almunia recently back from a long-term injury absence, Wenger will have choose whether to give the jersey to the Spanish player or Polish youngster Wojciech Szczesny.

  

Report: Anelka could join Henry in MLS

PARIS (AP): L'Equipe newspaper says the New York Red Bulls are trying to sign Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka.

According to the sports daily, the Major League Soccer club wants Anelka to reunite with fellow Frenchman Thierry Henry, who will begin his second season with the Red Bulls in March.

Anelka's brother Claude told L'Equipe that the former France international has expressed an interest in moving to the United States.

Anelka, 31, is under contract with Chelsea until 2012 but is now facing competition from Fernando Torres, who was sold by Liverpool to Chelsea during the January's transfer window.

  

Barcelona goes for record 16th straight league win

MADRID (AP): Barcelona will look to make history Saturday against Atletico Madrid when the Spanish leader goes for a record 16th straight league win.

Barcelona tied the mark of 15 straight wins set by Real Madrid 50 years ago against Hercules, a victory which also allowed it to stretch its lead over Madrid to seven points in the standings.

Madrid knows it can ill afford to drop points over the second half of the season to keep the pressure on the two-time defending champions.

Jose Mourinho's side looks to rebound from last weekend's defeat at Osasuna against Real Sociedad on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, where Madrid is 17-0 this season.

Third-place Villarreal looks to maintain its best-ever season against Levante.

  

Schalke out to salvage season at Borussia Dortmund

BERLIN (AP): Schalke coach Felix Magath has more than most at stake in the 137th Ruhr Derby on Friday when his side visits Borussia Dortmund to get a weekend of derbies under way in the Bundesliga.

Trust in the 57-year-old coach's ability to save Schalke's disappointing season is fast eroding following last week's loss to Hoffenheim and a number of questionable transfer deals in the winter period, and it appears patience has run out with his side languishing in 11th place.

Fans have issued an open letter accusing Magath of creating "a climate of fear" at the club and calling for an "end to the madness." "We share these concerns and fears," the board said of the Schalke Fan Club Association.

Schalke has 25 points and Dortmund leads the table with twice as many, but Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp is still wary.

"You can be successful from a desire for victory or from fear of defeat. Schalke has a lot of advantages," Klopp said. "It's easier to surprise when expectations are low than vice versa."

Shinji Kagawa scored twice when Dortmund won 3-1 in Schalke earlier this season, but the Japan midfielder is injured for the rest of the season.

"We'll miss Shinji, no question," Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller told Kicker. "But we cannot change the situation. We have to take it as it is."

Dortmund will look to rising star Mario Goetze to provide the midfield inspiration in his place. Despite limited playing time so far, the 18-year-old German has scored four goals and provided seven assists.

"I feel good in this position," Goetze said. "I know it from my youth. I like playing here as much as I do on the wings."

In Saturday's derby, fifth-place Hannover hosts a Wolfsburg side bolstered by the acquisition of six new players in the winter break, including exciting 19-year-old Yohandry Orozco from Venezuela.

Wolfsburg coach Steve McClaren can also count on Turkey international Tuncay Sanli in midfield, and former Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrick Helmes has arrived to replace the departed Edin Dzeko.

"Edin was without doubt a good player," the 26-year-old Helmes said. "But every player has qualities. Wolfsburg has always had good strikers and that will stay the same." Wolfsburg is 12th, four points from safety.

In Saturday's late game, 2007 Bundesliga champion Stuttgart travels to Borussia Moenchengladbach for a relegation battle between the two bottom sides.

Stuttgart coach Bruno Labbadia is hopeful that Germany striker Cacau will make a return from injury.

He has also bolstered his attack with the acquisition of Japan striker Shinji Okazaki from J-League club Shimizu S-Pulse, expected to make his debut against Nuremberg on Feb. 12.

Also on Saturday, relegation struggler Cologne hosts a third-place Bayern Munich side missing Franck Ribery, Nuremberg hosts second-place Bayer Leverkusen, fourth-place Mainz hosts Werder Bremen, and Hoffenheim hosts Kaiserslautern.

There's another local derby on Sunday, when Hamburger SV hosts St. Pauli, with public viewing set up around the city so fans without a ticket can see the sold-out game.

"It is one of the most beautiful games of all," Hamburg coach Armin Veh said. "A derby at home in front of your own fans. If that does not stir your heart, then you have none."

Also Sunday, it's Freiburg vs. Eintracht Frankfurt.

  

PSG striker Guillaume Hoarau in form again

PARIS (AP): Paris Saint-Germain striker Guillaume Hoarau, whose confidence hit rock-bottom earlier this season after spending 11 games without scoring, is starting to silence his critics.

Hoarau's capacities to deliver at the highest level were questioned when he broke into tears after being substituted earlier this season during a game at Montpellier.

Sitting on the bench, the 26-year-old forward started to cry, with pundits questioning whether he would be mentally strong enough to bounce back.

The France forward answered with a hat trick in a 4-1 win over Martigues in the French Cup on Wednesday, hitting form again at the right time before next week's friendly against Brazil.

Hoarau is also expected to start PSG's league match at fourth-place Rennes on Saturday. PSG is in second place in the standings, four points behind leader Lille.

"The important thing was to get through. We went about things in the right manner," Hoarau said after his hat trick. "For a striker, there is nothing better than scoring a goal, although I benefited from the hard work put in by my teammates."

This season, Hoarau has often been overshadowed by Brazilian midfielder Nene, who already has 13 goals and has inspired PSG's rise to second place in the standings.

Hoarau has scored only six goals in 20 league matches but France coach Laurent Blanc has maintained his confidence in the tall forward. Hoarau is now hoping his hat trick will be rewarded by a spot in Blanc's squad for the Brazil match.

"This match against Brazil is like the icing on the cake," Hoarau said. "The France team needs players able to perform and I rang the bell (with my hat trick). Until now I've been left unsatisfied with France, I didn't manage to fully become part of the team."

PSG coach Antoine Kombouare, whose support to Hoarau never wavered, was pleased by the striker's best performance this season.

"He had a great match," Kombouare said. "It's very important both for him and the team. I'm really happy to see him playing good matches at the highest level again."

Against Rennes, Kombouare is likely to be without midfielder Claude Makelele, who injured his left ankle last week. Striker Peguy Luyindula is also doubtful after picking up a pelvis injury at Martigues.

Fourth-place Rennes is lagging three points behind PSG in the standings and will try to bounce back after back-to-back defeats. The club was handed an humiliating 5-1 loss by Sochaux last weekend before losing 4-3 to second-division side Reims in the French Cup.

"Rennes will be a wounded animal after conceding nine goals in two games," Kombouare said. Unbeaten in 11 league matches, Lille plays at Auxerre on Sunday while defending champion Marseille hosts last-place Avignon.

Also Saturday, it's: Brest vs. Nancy; Caen vs. Lorient; Lens vs. Valenciennes; Montpellier vs. Saint-Etienne; and Nice vs. Sochaux.

Marseille coach Didier Deschamps has asked his players to show they are capable of defending their title this season following a disappointing scoreless draw against Monaco.

"I know it's the best attack against the worst defence, but at least the players will be awake after what happened in Monaco, where they maybe thought we had already won the game," Deschamps said. "I want them to take the three points."

  

Fans turn against Ronaldo after Corinthians' loss

SAO PAULO (AP): The love affair between Corinthians fans and Ronaldo is apparently coming to an end, and the player's career may be too.

Corinthians was eliminated from the preliminary round of the Copa Libertadores after a 2-0 loss to Deportes Tolima on Wednesday in Colombia, and fans are blaming Ronaldo's poor performances for the disappointment.

The result leaves the Brazilian club with little to play for the rest of the year, and may prompt Ronaldo to halt his career ahead of time.

He had already said he wouldn't play past 2011, and has not dismissed stopping earlier depending on his condition and the team's results.

The visibly out-of-shape Ronaldo said he was "a little stunned" as he left the pitch on Wednesday, as some fans jeered him.