Stoke boss Tony Pulis believes Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa have made great strides in the last year and will need no motivating to continue their progress.

The Potters travel to Villa Park, and Pulis has great respect for the work the Northern Irishman has done.

"Villa are stronger than last season," Pulis said of Saturday's opponents, who finished sixth in the league last term.

"I think their front six are good players, the likes of James Milner and Stiliyan Petrov have done brilliantly in midfield.

"Martin O'Neill has quality everywhere. He made some good signings in the summer.

"He has five players who have opportunities to play for England at the World Cup so I don't think he'll have to do any motivating there."

Hull manager Phil Brown reckons confidence and experience could help his side pull off a shock result at Arsenal, where they won 2-1 last season.

"We are going to go to the Emirates with the experience of last season fresh in our mind," said Brown.

"Last season we were going into the unknown. We had never been to the Emirates. I think that stands you in good stead, certainly good experiences like the first game there.

"The second game [2-1 defeat in FA Cup] wasn't so good but we held our own, stood our ground. Then at the KC, for long periods we were involved in that game.

"We have got some good memories of playing against Arsenal last year and hopefully we can draw on that."

Blackburn defender Christopher Samba has called for Rovers to raise their game ahead of tomorrow's Ewood Park clash with Tottenham.

Rovers have failed to win any of their last five league games - two defeats sandwiching three draws - scoring just one goal in that run from defender Ryan Nelsen in Tuesday's 2-1 loss at Birmingham.

Samba said: "We have to show a bit more character, be more solid, to put our bodies on the line.

"It's a very important game now because we've had a lot of draws and we've missed out on points."

Fifth-placed Spurs put in an impressive display against Manchester City in midweek to keep them in contention for the top four.

Things are looking considerably brighter on the pitch for troubled bottom club Portsmouth but they have the difficult task of trying to take something at home to Liverpool.

Fulham will be hoping to cause Manchester United some problems when they host the champions on Saturday.

A 3-2 victory over Basle in freezing conditions in Switzerland in midweek ensured the Cottagers were in today's draw for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Fresh from a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Spurs, Manchester City may be feeling the pressure as they host Sunderland in Saturday's other game.

Sunday sees league leaders Chelsea travel to London rivals West Ham, high-flying Birmingham at Everton and Wolves at home to Burnley with Mick McCarthy expected to field a stronger side than the one which lost 3-0 at Manchester United.

In the Monday night game, Wigan are at home to Bolton.