Sun: Rafa Benitez wants to sign Aston Villa star Gareth Barry and will demand the warring Anfield board back him. The Liverpool boss is believed to have contacted Villa about a £12million move for Barry, 27, and has made signing the England midfielder his top priority. A move for Barry must be agreed by all parties at Anfield. Villa boss Martin O'Neill is desperate to keep Barry. He has promised to improve his skipper's current £50,000-a-week deal, which has two years left to run.

Daily Mail: Aston Villa winger Ashley Young believes Martin O'Neill's side can catch Everton and secure the vital fifth placed finish needed to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Villa's hopes of making it into Europe seemed unlikely last month after a poor run of form. But two victories in a row, with a return of 10 goals and none against, have lifted spirits in the Villa camp to such an extent that the players now hope they do not need to make use of their application to play in this summer's InterToto Cup. Villa are still six points behind David Moyes' side, and two adrift of Portsmouth. But Young says they have not given up hope and he knows a victory over city rivals Birmingham next Sunday will put pressure on the teams directly above them. "We want that fifth position, we never said we couldn't do it," said the England forward. "Yes, we went through a bad spell but that's gone now. You can see over the last two games against Derby and Bolton that everybody is playing with confidence. "We look a threat every time we go forward. It's nice to go into a tough game likes Birmingham on the back of a big win. "We're definitely looking forward to Sunday. We will go out there, be positive and impose ourselves on the game."