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Results Tuesday in English football home teams listed first.

Premier League

Stoke 1, Manchester City 1

League Championship

Blackpool 2, Middlesbrough 0

Bristol City 1, Leicester 1

Cardiff 1, West Bromwich Albion 1

Derby 5 Preston 3

Nottingham Forest 1, Sheffield United 0

Peterborough 3, Ipswich 1

Plymouth 1, Swansea 1

Queens Park Rangers vs. Watford - postponed (waterlogged pitch)

Scunthorpe 2, Barnsley 1

Sheffield Wednesday 0, Doncaster 2

League One

Carlisle 1, Huddersfield 2

Leeds 1, Walsall 2

Yeovil 0, Colchester 1

League Two

Hereford 2, Aldershot 0

Lincoln 2, Accrington 1

Morecambe 3, Burton 2

Mark McGhee, the Aberdeen manager, said that this evenings Active Nation Scottish Cup fifth-round replay at home to Raith Rovers is their most vital game of the season so far.

This is hugely more important than Saturday, said McGhee, who was heartened by his sides 4-4 draw with Celtic in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League at the weekend. If we start with the same attitude weve shown recently then the likelihood is that we will score first. And then we can make life difficult for Raith Rovers.

Aberdeen get a second bite at Raith thanks to Gary McDonalds 95th minute equaliser at Starks Park ten days ago in a 1-1 draw. Since that last-gasp goal, Aberdeen have turned in strong displays to draw 2-2 away to Hibernian and share eight goals with Celtic.

Against Raith Rovers the players thought they merited at least a draw and I think they finally thought, we got what we deserved and maybe that was a turning point, McGhee said.

We had a good performance at Easter Road and again on Saturday. The feeling that we were being hard done by or unlucky has been lifted and now its maybe our turn to get the rub of the green.

A trip to Dundee awaits the winners of the replay at Pittodrie, meaning that Aberdeen are two wins against first division opponents away from a place in the semi-finals. However, McGhees side lost at Dens Park in the Co-operative Insurance Cup this season and the manager is taking nothing for granted.

What we cant focus on is who we might play if we beat Dundee, he said. That would be getting ahead of ourselves. Ill be in the dressing room trying as best I can to demand the same kind of performance that we got on Saturday.

We cant fear them because of anything thats happened historically, about being knocked out of the cup by teams from the lower leagues.

Nemanja Vidic has been ruled out of Manchester Uniteds Champions League last-16 tie against AC Milan tomorrow night.

Sir Alex Fergusons squad flew to Italy this morning without the Serbian defender, as they prepare to line up against David Beckham for the first time since the England midfielder left Old Trafford 6 years ago.

Vidic has not played this year since developing a nerve problem in his leg, with Jonny Evans or Wes Brown expected to partner Rio Ferdinand in central defence, while Anderson, the out-of-favour Brazilian, has also remained in Manchester.

Ryan Giggs will also miss the reunion with Beckham having fractured his arm against Aston Villa last week, however, the veteran winger is all too aware of the dangers posed by his former team-mate.

I hope he doesnt do anything nasty to us, Giggs said. He is a quality player and has always risen to the occasion. With the right foot he has he can just ping balls 50 yards or make a five or ten-yard pass. He has amazing accuracy. And we must try not to give free-kicks away from 25 or 30 yards out because he is capable of putting them into the top corner.

Hopefully he will enjoy it - but not that much.

Ferguson, who sold Beckham to Real Madrid in July 2003 after becoming dismayed with his celebrity lifestyle, has already warned his players not to allow the circus surrounding Beckham to cloud their focus but Giggs says the former England captain has always loved the game first and foremost.

We are different in the sense he has been in the limelight, front page and back, while I prefer to keep myself to myself, Giggs said. But I still speak to him. He has not changed as a person. He has always loved football. He has always been dedicated and that is still the same now. Like myself, Becks looks after himself. He is naturally fit and is a natural athlete, so I am not surprised he is still going at all.

In fact I reckon he will keep going for another three or four years.

Stiliyan Petrov spared Aston Villa an FA Cup shock when he got on the end of Stewart Downings corner to head a late equaliser against financially stricken Crystal Palace.

Palace had gone ahead through a Johannes Ertl header, but were guilty of letting James Collins in from a similar position to equalise a few minutes later.

Ambroses thunderbolt from a superb 30-yard free-kick in the second half looked as if it had won Palace the cup-tie, but Petrov, again from a corner, popped up to seal a replay for Martin ONeills men.

Tottenham were out-played for long periods but hit the crossbar twice and missed a second-half penalty as their exhilarating fifth round tie at Bolton finished 1-1.

Wanderers were the superior side for an hour and opened the scoring in the 34th minute when a flowing 16-pass move started by goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen culminated in Kevin Davies scoring from 12 yards.

But Jermain Defoes clinical finish in the 61st minute put his side on level terms before Tom Huddlestone failed from the spot, sending the match to a replay as a result.

Notts County ended their traumatic week by getting swept aside by Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The League Two club, who have a winding-up order hanging over them from Her Majestys Revenue and Customs, was sold for 1 to Ray Trew and then saw Sven-Goran Eriksson resign as director of football - but there was no cup fairytale to lift their chaotic season.

Despite playing well in the first half and creating chances, goals from Simon Davies and Bobby Zamora gave Fulham a two-goal lead, then Damien Duff and Stefano Okaka added to the scoreline in the second period.

Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs has praised the longevity of former team-mate David Beckham, and predicts the AC Milan loanee could play on another three or four years.

Both were part of the famous class of 92 at Old Trafford, which laid the foundations for almost two decades of dominance for Sir Alex Fergusons side.

Giggs was full of praise the ex-England skipper, who will be 35 when the World Cup comes around this summer, and was quick to insist that despite the huge media circus which follows him he has not changed over the years.

The two were due to meet in the Champions League on Tuesday night as Milan entertain United at the San Siro in the second round of the competition.

But despite a promising start to his second loan spell at the Serie A club, Beckham has not started their last two fixtures and has had to settle for late cameo appearances, while Giggs is out of the clash after breaking his arm.

Beckham will be hoping to win his place back in the side to face the club he played for until leaving for Real Madrid in the summer of 2003, and will be desperate to start the return back in Manchester on March 10.

We are different in the sense he has been in the limelight, front page and back, while I prefer to keep myself to myself, said Giggs. But I still speak to him. He has not changed as a person.

He has always loved football. He has always been dedicated and that is still the same now. Like myself, Becks looks after himself.

He is naturally fit and is a natural athlete, so I am not surprised he is still going at all. In fact I reckon he will keep going for another three or four years.

Tuesday will be the first time since his departure that Beckham has come up against Manchester United, and Giggs is looking forward to finally locking horns with his friend.

We had a couple of chances to meet when he was at Real Madrid but it is great that it will finally happen and great for Becks to come back, he said. It will be fantastic for the fans to see him again because he was a great player for United and still is a great player for England and Milan and in America as well.

I hope he doesnt do anything nasty to us. He is a quality player and has always risen to the occasion. With the right foot he has he can just ping balls 50 yards or make a five or 10-yard pass. He has amazing accuracy.

And we must try not to give free-kicks away from 25 or 30 yards out because he is capable of putting them into the top corner. Hopefully he will enjoy it - but not that much.

England defender Ashley Cole will have surgery to repair a broken left ankle that has ruled him out of action for three months.

However, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is confident he wont miss the World Cup.

The leftback was injured after a challenge by Evertons Landon Donovan in a Premier League game on Wednesday.

Chelsea said Cole was expected to be out of action for approximately three months and Ancelotti revealed he would have an operation later Friday.

Although Cole will miss almost the whole of the rest of the season, he should recover in time for the World Cup which kicks off on June 11.

Im disappointed because Ashley is a very important player for us, but it can happen that a player gets an injury, Ancelotti said Friday.

I hope he recovers quickly and comes back before the end of the season. Thats a realistic possibility. He will have surgery today and we hope to recuperate him quickly. In three months he will be ready to play, so for England he can play in the World Cup.

Ancelotti said Coles place in the Chelsea lineup to face Cardiff in the last 16 of the FA Cup on Saturday will be taken by Yury Zhirkov.

Its bad news because Ashley is a very important player for us, Ancelotti said. But we have the opportunity to play Yury Zhirkov, another fantastic left back, and I have confidence that he will do a very good job.

Hes played very well in the last few games, and has played very well at left back as well as in midfield. Ive said I have a lot of confidence in him.

Arsenal forward Andrei Arshavin has revealed he expects to miss the Champions League clash with Porto on Wednesday because of a hamstring injury.

Arshavin picked up the injury in the midweek win over Liverpool and a scan on Thursday revealed the injury was bad enough for the Russian to miss the trip to Portugal on Wednesday.

But he expects to be fit for the following match with Sunderland in the Premier League.

If all goes well, I get back on the pitch as early as the next Premier League match against Sunderland, Arshavin told Russian newspaper Sport Express.

However, the next game against Porto in the Champions League I will miss.

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, chief executive Ernesto Paolillo and the club have been fined a total of ?76,000 ($104,000) for comments after last months derby against AC Milan.

The Italian Football Federations disciplinary commission on Thursday fined Mourinho ?18,000, Paolillo ?20,000 and the team ?38,000 after the two officials questioned the impartiality of referee Gianluca Rocchi following Inters 2-0 win over Milan on Jan. 24.

The result gave Inter a nine-point lead in the Serie A. But Mourinho was furious that midfielder Wesley Sneijder and defender Lucio were both sent off, saying they did everything to stop us winning.

Paolillo told newspaper La Repubblica that between the changes to the fixture list and this match, I have seen one too many signals I dont like.

Results from the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals (home teams listed first).

Wednesdays Game

Getafe 1, Sevilla 0 (Sevilla advances 2-1 on aggregate)

Thursdays Game

Racing Santander 3, Atletico Madrid 2 (Atletico advances 6-3 on aggregate)

Bayern Munichs eight-game winning run has finally pulled it even with Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the Bundesliga, with only goal difference separating the two teams.

Both have potentially tough games in the upcoming 22nd round of games. Bayern hosts Borussia Dortmund, which is hoping to snap a two-game losing streak. Leverkusen hosts defending champion Wolfsburg, which hasnt won in nine games and is coming off a 3-1 loss to Bayern.

While Bayern and Leverkusen, both on 45 points, play Saturday, third-place Schalke (42) plays Sunday against Cologne.

Bayern is on a roll. Louis van Gaals team warmed up for Dortmund by beating second-division Greuther Fuerth 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the German Cup.

But the record 14-time German Cup winner struggled in the first half and trailed 2-1 at the break. Van Gaal had some angry words during the interval and Bayern scored five unanswered goals in the second half.

I was very angry at halftime because we just cant lose against a team like Greuther Fuerth, van Gaal said. But the second half was very good.

Its good that we are still in all three competitions and that we have only one more match before the German Cup final, he added.

Franck Ribery started for the first time since October and scored a goal and had assists on two others before van Gaal substituted him in the 73rd minute.

The Frenchman was visibly upset, but van Gaal said he wants to slowly integrate Ribery into the team after the wingers long absence due to various injuries.

I want him to start against Fiorentina and to play for 90 minutes, van Gaal said of the upcoming Champions League game next week.

We shouldnt forget that Franck has played only two full games in the last eight months, van Gaal said. I have to build him up and integrate him into the team.

Leverkusen remains the only unbeaten team after 21 Bundesliga rounds and has set a club record by remaining at the top for 14 straight weeks. It will be hoping to maintain its record of never having lost to Wolfsburg at home.

Down in 12th place, Wolfsburg is in a deep slump and the firing of coach Armin Veh hasnt lifted the malaise. His replacement, Lorenz-Guenther Koestner, might be only an interim solution if Wolfsburg doesnt start winning soon.

Last season about this time, Wolfsburg began a 10-game winning streak that brought it its first championship. But that was under coach Felix Magath, who is hoping to pull off a similar feat at Schalke. Schalke is also in the semifinals of the German Cup thanks to a 1-0 win over third-division Osnabrueck and will next face Bayern in the semis.

Borussia Moenchengladbach kicks off the 22nd round against Nuremberg on Friday. Also Saturday, its Stuttgart vs. Hamburger SV, Bochum vs. Hoffenheim, Hannover vs. Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin vs. Mainz. Eintracht Frankfurt plays Freiburg on Sunday.