Ten months on from their shock FA Cup final defeat by Wigan Athletic, Manchester City find themselves again cast as potential Goliaths ahead of Sunday's League Cup decider against Sunderland.

As in May 2013, City will start as favorites against a team residing third from bottom in the Premier League relegation zone, but the experience of that rain-soaked Wembley day will steel them against complacency.

Jose Mourinho refuses to accept Chelsea are favorites to win the Premier League as the Blues bid to maintain pole position against struggling Fulham on Saturday.

Mourinho's team hold a one-point advantage over second-placed Arsenal and, with third placed Manchester City in League Cup final action against Sunderland on Sunday, the Blues have an opportunity to pull clear of one of their main title rivals.

Force India's Sergio Perez topped the time charts for the second successive day of pre-season Formula One testing on Friday as world champions Red Bull finally found some pace.

Perez clocked 1min 35.570sec off a marathon 108 laps with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso just behind on 1:35.634 off 122 laps.

Roger Federer battled back from a a set down to beat top-seeded Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the Dubai Open final on Friday.

The Swiss five-time champion took his career head-to-head record over Djokovic to 17-15.

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola said on Friday he expects star winger Franck Ribery to make his return to action next week against Wolfsburg.

"I hope against Wolfsburg (March 8) and in any case against Arsenal (Champions League 2nd leg on March 11)," the former Barcelona coach said ahead of their Bundesliga match at home to Schalke 04 on Saturday.

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has been given a three-match ban, with one suspended for now, following his verbal assault on a referee in a recent Champions League match.

Pellegrini was incensed by Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson's performance in City's 2-0 home defeat to Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on February 18, in which Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Martin Demichelis had been sent off for fouling him.

Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said he is wanted by both Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, but has not yet made a decision on where he will play next season.

The 21-year-old is yet to play a game for parent club Chelsea as he has spent the last three seasons on loan at Atletico after joining the English side from Genk in 2011.

Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung will have to wait until next week to find out whether he has been convicted in a multi-million dollar money-laundering trial as the judge adjourned a long verdict hearing until next week.

The Hong Kong tycoon had been expecting to discover his fate on Friday, the culmination of a case that has rumbled through the courts for the last two years.

Real Madrid staked its claim as the main challenger to Bayern Munich's supremacy in Europe with a 6-1 rout of Schalke on Wednesday.

With its star forwards firing on all cylinders, Madrid outclassed Bayern's Bundesliga rival and only a miracle would now see the Spanish side fail to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Jacques Villeneuve is ready to make an IndyCar comeback.

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports said Wednesday it has hired Villeneuve to race in this year's Indianapolis 500, 19 years after the Canadian driver first drank the milk in Victory Lane.