Football blog: Who should face Ukraine?

Fabio Capello faces a selection headache up front ahead of the vital World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Wednesday.

Target man Emile Heskey is definitely out, Carlton Cole almost certainly missing and Peter Crouch battling to be fit. In response, Capello has called up Darren Bent, but he could be tempted to play Wayne Rooney, superb against Slovakia, in a lone role.

Elsewhere, the side looks fairly settled - given the options available to Capello. The midfield is unlikely to be changed with Aaron Lennon providing pace (if not precision) on the right before making way in the second half for another David Beckham cameo. And it would be a major surprise if Rio Ferdinand did not replace Matthew Upson in an otherwise unchanged back four.

Our team to face Ukraine: James; A Cole, Terry, Ferdinand, Johnson; Gerrard, Lampard, Barry, Lennon, Rooney, Crouch.

Who do you think should play up front? Should Rooney play as a lone striker? Send in your views below.

F1 gossip column... More to come from Brawn

Our insider says Brawn GP are yet to show their true pace despite dominating in Australia ahead of this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Read more in our daily F1 gossip blog and post your views using the boxes below.

Button wins Australian Grand Prix

A month ago, Jenson Button looked to be heading to the job centre with his team struggling to find a buyer after Honda had opted to quit Formula 1. But on Sunday, the 29-year-old Briton completed a stunning turnaround for a wholly deserved victory at the Australian Grand Prix at a circuit where he has habitually struggled to perform.

Button didn't put a foot wrong through the 58-lap race as the majority of his rivals lost their heads around him. The only shame was that he had to take only the second chequered flag of his F1 career - the last was at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2006 - behind the safety car.

However, Button's victory does not remain guaranteed. Next month, motorsport governing body the FIA will make an official ruling on BrawnGP's rear diffuser which rival teams believe is flouting the current rules and regulations. And it will be an anxious wait for the Frome racer, who could yet be stripped of victory.

As season openers go, it could not really have gone any better for the FIA and F1 promoter Bernie Ecclestone. There was stunning racing and the desired overtaking throughout and, while Button led from start to finish, there was so much incident. Kimi Raikkonen unforgivably drove into a wall before Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel's unbelievable coming together in the dying moments. And Lewis Hamilton surprisingly finished in fourth after a woeful weekend.

In short, it was a race with pretty much everything and a deserving champion at the end.

What did you make of Button's victory and the start to the season? Can the Briton now go on to take the world title. Post your comments below.

Have your say on KP's big whinge

Kevin Pietersen can't wait to get home from the Caribbean after admitting that the loss of the England captaincy, coupled with the team's lack of success in the West Indies, has taken a heavy toll on him.

"It's been a heck of a tough time and I'm at the end of my tether now," he says in a candid newspaper interview.

So is KP just another whinging Pom or does he have a genuine grievance over the way he's been treated by the ECB?

His rift with former coach Peter Moores and resignation as skipper has left him justifiably unhappy with the ECB's role in what turned into a shambles of sporting mismanagement.

In the interview he says: "Being England captain means you have to be a politician, and that's something I'm not."

And therein lies the problem for Pietersen, and for England. While his timing on the pitch is usually impeccable, his timing off it is awful.

No player, however much aggrieved, should speak out like this on the eve of a crucial match. One can only guess how his England team-mates felt as they went into the third one-dayer against the West Indies in Bridgetown.

We must hope that Pietersen, and the ECB, get their act together for the Ashes series, otherwise we could be in for an extremely embarrassing summer.

Is KP just a whinger, or is he right to express his frustration at this time? Have your say via the boxes below.

Time for Gerrard to break free

Steven Gerrard is in the form of his life at the moment: fully fit, hauling Liverpool back into the title race and scoring goals like there's no tomorrow with six in his last three games.

But against Slovakia on Saturday and Ukraine on Wednesday he'll no doubt revert to being little more than the bit-part player that he all too often becomes when wearing an England shirt.

Successive England managers have failed to get the best out of one of the world's most inspirational midfielders, which is one reason why the national side has drastically underperformed in recent years.

Even Fabio Capello, for all the improvement that he has brought to the Three Lions, has failed to come up with a system and style of play that suits Gerrard.

And so the tedious debate about whether he and Frank Lampard can play together drags on.

It's about time that Gerrard was given the freedom to bomb forward and play a central part in the team's formation, rather than being shunted out on the left or drifting into midfield no-man's-land.

Why is it that Gerrard so often falls short for England? And just where should Capello play him? Have your say in the boxes below.

From the Touchlines: Pick your Lions XV

No sooner has a dramatic Six Nations come to a close, thoughts turn to the British and Irish Lions summer tour to South Africa.

We've picked our Lions XV, and despite Ireland's first Grand Slam in 61 years just three Irishmen make our side.
 
Brian O'Driscoll is of course there at outside centre and sneaks the captaincy too, while lock of the tournament Paul O'Connell deserves the No.4 shirt, with Tommy Bowe edging one of the wing berths.

As for the rest of the backline, Lee Byrne is a shoo-in at full-back. Delon Armitage may have been impressive but Byrne's not mistimed a kick or catch all tournament, plus he's a phenomenal runner. Few would argue with our choice of the other wing, current IRB Player of the Year Shane Williams.

Things get tricky when it comes to O'Driscoll's centre partnership. The Wales pairing of James Roberts and Gavin Henson would not be out of place at 12 but we feel Riki Flutey has too much of an all-round game and lacks the histrionics of Henson.

Regards the half-back pairing, Mike Phillips is the form scrum-half so gets the nod, while most people would consider Ronan O'Gara and Stephen Jones the leading contenders for the No.10 jersey. However, we fancy taking a punt on Danny Cipriani, despite him being overlooked by England. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that he will be the Lions starting fly-half, considering his club coach Ian McGeechan will be doing the selecting.

In the pack, we've gone with a front row of Gethin Jenkins, Ross Ford (our sole Scottish representative) and Euan Murray, although Phil Vickery could just as easily get in. The other lock option along with O'Connell has to be Wales' Alun-Wyn Jones.
 
That just leaves the back row. There could be any number of permutations but our dream line-up is surprise late star of the Six Nations Tom Croft, Martyn Williams - the sort of wily protagonist needed to unsettle the Springboks - and Ryan Jones. However, should Jones slip up then Jamie Heaslip, Ireland's No.8 supreme, should get the nod.

Here's our Lions side in full: Lee Byrne, Shane Williams, Brian O'Driscoll, Riki Flutey, Tommy Bowe; Danny Cipriani, Mike Phillips; Gethin Jenkins, Ross Ford, Euan Murray; Paul O'Connell, Alun-Wyn Jones; Tom Croft, Martyn Williams, Ryan Jones.

Do you agree with our Lions selections? Who would make your starting XV? Post your comments below...

Premier League team of the week... Your view

Every weekend we select our star performers from the Premier League action. Send in your own selections using the boxes below:

Goalkeeeper:
Mark Schwarzer - Fulham: A series of outstanding saves in the second half prevented a Manchester United fightback.

Defenders:
Gael Clichy - Arsenal: A persisent threat down the left flank
Ryan Nelsen - Blackburn: His sterling efforts at the back were wasted by his profligate strikers
Ryan Shawcross - Stoke: A clean sheet and a crucial late winner - a perfect afternoon
Ledley King - Tottenham: Had Didier Drogba in his back pocket at The Lane.

Midfielders:
Steven Gerrard - Liverpool: A hat-trick and another excellent performance from the heartbeat of the Reds team.
Luka Modric - Tottenham: Probed and prompted before and after scoring the winner.
Danny Murphy - Fulham: Set the Cottagers on the way from the spot and proved a steady influence in midfield.
Aaron Lennon - Spurs: Gave Ashley Cole a torrid afternoon to celebrate his new contract.

Strikers:
Peter Crouch - Portsmouth: Two far-post headers grabbed three crucial points against in-form Everton.
Robin van Persie - Arsenal: Involved in all that was good about Arsenal's attacking play.

F1 medal system deferred... Your view

What a mess! If the decision to introduce a winner-takes-all scoring system so close to the start of the new season was surprising, the u-turn which has now followed beggars belief.

It seems the FIA, with egg plastered all over their face, has grossly underestimated the opposition to the rule change amongst drivers. If they needed reminding, Lewis Hamilton did just that with his ferocious recent comments.

Bernie Ecclestone's certainty in his own idea remains undimished, but, with so many people voicing opposition, it's hard to understand why the change is being introduced.

The FOTA has perhaps given him a timely reminder over who really runs F1.

Champions League draw

Manchester United have been granted the easiest path to the Champions League final after Friday's draw pitted them against Porto in the quarter-finals.

Sir Alex Ferguson will have been beaming as the balls were plucked out of the bowl in Nyon, with United's two biggest rivals, Liverpool and Chelsea, pitched against each other. Arsenal, meanwhile, face Villarreal.

Fergie said he was "happy with the draw and we are looking forward to the next round." You'd be forgiven for thinking he was talking about the semi-finals.

The bookies won't share Fergie's joy though, with them set to lose stacks of cash on bets for United to complete an unprecedented quintuple.

Do you think United are now clear favourites to win the Champions League after Friday's draw? Who'll come out on top in the Liverpool-Chelsea clash, and what chances do Arsenal have? Share your thoughts below.

From the Touchlines: History against Ireland

Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll said at the Six Nations launch that he finally felt 2009 was Ireland's year, and sure enough this weekend he and his countrymen will be bidding for the Grand Slam.

The Second World War had finished just three years previously when the Irish last pulled off a clean sweep in the tournament and the history books - not to mention their on-off form in the tournament - would suggest they are up against it at the Millennium Stadium.

First, the history part. The weight of expectation will be massive on the Ireland players and barely a moment of a day will have passed since their victory over Scotland when they have not been reminded that they are on the precipice of making history. Such pressure can either make or break a side and, in the past, it's tended to break Ireland.

Then there's the simple fact of the team's performances in the tournament to date. They were poor against England and should have lost, while they pulled off a great escape to come back from a deficit and defeat the Scots last weekend.

They have a formidable and experienced pack, they have a backline to match most of the best sides in Europe and yet they've still not been that convincing. In fact, they're probably not even the best side currently in the Six Nations. That accolade probably still belongs to Wales, who were unfortunate to meet a France side in Paris having one of those typically French days.

So, time for predictions. Unfortunately for the Irish, we expect the wheels to come off their Grand Slam ambitions this weekend and for Wales to just sneak the championship by winning by 13 points or more.

Do you think Ireland will win the Grand Slam or do you tip Wales to quash their dream at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday? Post your comments below...