With nothing new on the football front to report, it's an opinion piece on City's chances of making the Champions League that takes the eye this morning.

None other than Sam Allardyce gives his two penn'orth in a Sun article that focusses on his feud with Rafa Benitez, and you get the impression from the piece penned by Martin Blackburn that the Rovers supremo would quite like to see us beat Liverpool into that coveted fourth spot.

"Liverpool have a wealth of experience and that may be a telling factor when the nerve-ends start jangling," says Sam. "But if City can win their games in hand it will give them the impetus to go on and claim that fourth spot."

There's the briefest snippet of transfer gossip in the Mail, who say that City are rivalling our neighbours from across the city for the services of Nigeria U17 midfielder Ramon Azeez, winner of the Bronze Ball at the 2009 U17 World Cup.