UEFA Cup Qualifications 2008

Having stumbled out of the blocks, Fenerbahçe SK are finally getting into their stride and as they steadily climb the Süper Lig table there is nothing quite like a couple of derby victories to put a spring back in the step.

José Manuel Esnal has been entrusted with the task of lifting the fortunes of RCD Espanyol, one point and place above the Liga relegation zone, after replacing Bartolomé Márquez as coach until the end of the campaign.

ACF Fiorentina will take on FC Steaua Bucureşti for a spot in the UEFA Cup on 10 December without Massimo Gobbi as the midfield player needs a month to recover from surgery on a fractured cheekbone.

Two in-form teams meet this week as FC Metalist Kharkiv host Olympiacos CFP, but with the race for the UEFA Cup Round of 32 hotting up the likes of the VfL Wolfsburg-Portsmouth FC fixture may well provide similar intrigue.

Submit video footage of you and your team-mates demonstrating your most outrageous footballing skills and you could win a minibus and an impressive full kit in a fabulous competition on the UEFA Training Ground.

Real Madrid CF have endured yet more miserable injury news as midfielder Wesley Sneijder and defenders Pepe and Miguel Torres were all ruled out after they sustained knocks in Saturday's 3-1 Liga loss at Getafe CF.

Hertha BSC Berlin coach Lucien Favre insists there is no secret ingredient behind his side's rise to third place in the Bundesliga, saying: "Building a football team is like baking – it's just a question of getting the right mix."

It cannot be easy for a striker who stands at over two metres tall to slip under the radar, but in-form 26-year-old SK Rapid Wien frontman Stefan Maierhofer is finally making his presence known for both club and country.

Robin van Persie shared the credit after his two goals earned Arsenal FC a valuable 2-1 comeback victory at Chelsea FC, but in the Manchester derby Sir Alex Ferguson was keen to single one man, Wayne Rooney, for praise.

Juventus hope to have Mauro Camoranesi back in action before Christmas as the collarbone injury the Italian international winger suffered on Saturday is not as serious as initially feared.

The draw for the eight-team 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, to be played from 15 to 29 June in Sweden, will be held at the Svenska Mässan exhibition centre in Gothenburg on Wednesday.

Iceland's UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2009™ qualification has not just meant TV viewers have another chance to tune in in record numbers next summer – it has also helped earn much of the squad professional terms in Sweden.

AC Milan, Manchester City FC, AS Saint-Etienne and PFC CSKA Moskva are the first four teams to seal progress from the UEFA Cup group stage after Thursday evening's matches, while only two teams are out of contention.

According to England's Stuart Pearce the qualifying campaign for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship "is the hardest of anything in football". uefa.com looks back at the key facts in the race for a finals spot.

England centre-back Steven Taylor says the pain of losing out to the Netherlands on penalties in the 2007 semi-finals has fuelled his ambition to win the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Sweden next June.