Rangers have confirmed that they have asked the referee to review the red card given to striker Kenny Miller in Wednesday night’s 7-1 destruction of Dundee United.

The win has seen Rangers go seven points clear at the top of the SPL table ahead of the Old Firm clash on Sunday, in which Celtic are favourites at 5/4 to close the gap, and Walter Smith’s men available at 7/4 and the draw at 5/4.

Miller may well be suspended for the clash after being given his marching orders following a tangle with Darren Dods in the 51st minute, but the Gers have appealed the decision.

After the match, Rangers boss Smith had said: “I had a quick look at it and I didn’t think there was that much in it.

“If it’s violent conduct, it certainly didn’t look like very much at all.”

Rangers are convinced that referee Willie Collum will change his mind over the red card if he looks at the incident again, and if he decides the clash does not merit a red card, the Scottish Football Association’s review panel will have the final say.

Smith is hopeful that the sending off will be overturned as he has admitted the squad is down to the bare bones.

“If Kenny is suspended we are down to 16 players, so it leaves us short,” Smith said.

“We had Sasa Papac and Nacho Novo coming off because of sickness.

“The players we had listed tonight are the only ones available to us.”

Rangers at least have hit a rich vein of form in front of goal with Kris Boyd (6/1 to score the first goal) breaking the all-time SPL scoring record with his five-goal haul at Ibrox last night. The Gers have now bagged 26 goals in their last six league matches.

Raymond van Barneveld admitted he is struggling with his diabetes despite booking his place in the quarter-finals of the World Championships at the expense of Kevin Painter, winning 4-1.

The number two seed now faces Ronnie Baxter, who beat Colin Lloyd 4-1, in the last eight, and is a strong 1/2 favourite to progress, with The Rocket available at 6/4 to make it to the semi-finals.

Barneveld had looked on course for another clean sweep after taking a three-set lead but clearly struggled in the fourth, only to come back with renewed vigour after a break to seal his passage.

“In the fourth set I was really tired,” he told Sky Sports. “In August I found out I had diabetes and I can’t handle it.

“For some reason it’s there and you are so tired. I’m so tired every single time and I’m not playing my game. I’m pleased with the doubles but the treble 20’s are really poor this week, really poor.”

James Wade was pushed all the way in a see-saw clash with Andy Hamilton and could have been knocked out only for the Hammer to miss double 18, going for a 156 check-out.

That chance came in the fourth-leg of the deciding set and Wade went on to wrap the next three legs to book his place in the quarters where he will face Simon Whitlock, who had earlier seen off Terry Jenkins 4-2.

Wade is the 4/6 favourite to make his number three seeding count, with the Wizard of Oz available at 11/10 to continue his fine run of form.

Co Stompe (5/6) will play Mark Webster (5/6) in the last eight, while world number one Phil Taylor is a strong 1/6 favourite to continue his march towards a 15th world title against in-form Adrian Lewis, who is available at 7/2.

England captain Andrew Strauss felt the side’s second-Test win over South Africa by an innings and 98 runs was possibly the best victory he has ever witnessed.

The tourists now have a 1-0 series lead ahead of the third Test in Cape Town on January 3, 2010, with Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad taking nine second-innings wickets between them as South Africa were skittled out for 133 on the final day in Durban.

England wasted no time in taking the four wickets needed as South Africa resumed on 76-6, a deficit of 156. However, the hosts could only add 58 runs as England ran riot to inflict their first innings defeat on South Africa since 1964.

Man of the match Swann finished with second-innings figures of 5-54 to make it nine in the match, while Broad cost 43 runs for his four second-innings wickets.

Strauss said: “It’s not far off the best performance I’ve seen from an England side, certainly away from home.

“I’m delighted we’ve stuck to our plans - we’ve had some outstanding performances here that have laid the basis for the victory.

“Our seamers did a really good job in their first innings. We’re going to have to keep our feet on the ground for Cape Town, but 1-0 up in the series with two matches to go is a good place to be.”

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard admits the Reds’ last-gasp win at Aston Villa will mean nothing unless they can back it up next month.

The Anfield outfit are now four points off fourth-placed Tottenham as they bid to fulfil boss Rafa Benitez’s prophecy of a top-four Premier League finish with the Merseysiders looking to return to the Champions League next season.

Liverpool needed an injury-time winner from Fernando Torres (11/4 Premier League Top Goalscorer) to beat Villa 1-0 at Villa Park on Tuesday night – and so gain revenge for the defeat at Anfield at the start of the campaign – but the game’s only goal had as much to do with the home side’s sloppy defending as anything else.

Nevertheless, Gerrard was delighted to see the side fight until the very last minute.

He told Sky Sports: “That’s what football’s about. You’ve got to keep going until the end and when you’ve got guys like (Torres) there’s always a chance.

“When he’s on form he’s the best in the world.”

Gerrard added: “It’s important to build on this. I’m sure we’ll gain a lot of confidence from this and there’s no excuses now. We’ve got to win games.”

Spanish boss Rafa Benitez revealed post-match that Torres is carrying an ankle problem in addition to his long-standing groin trouble which could see the Spain star rested for the FA Cup third-round tie at Reading (Liverpool 11/2 FA Cup Outright Winners).

Right-back Glen Johnson was forced off at Villa Park with a knee injury and is also a doubt for the clash with the Royals who are struggling for form in the Championship.

Medical checks have revealed that Paul Collingwood has not suffered a broken finger and should be available for the remainder of England’s Test series in South Africa.

The Durham all-rounder, who scored 91 in the first innings in Durban, was struck whilst warming up before the start of the fourth day of the second Test.

England (1/16 to win the second Test) officials sent Collingwood to a local hospital to get an X-ray on the troublesome area and the news is good.

The former one-day captain has just dislocated the index finger on his right hand and although he is unlikely to play again in this match, he is likely to feature in the third Test in Cape Town.

Despite his absence, England finished day four in a commanding position – leading by 156 runs with South Africa 76-6 in their second innings at stumps.

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Edwin van der Sar has been given an indefinite break from football by Manchester United after his wife suffered a brain haemorrhage.

The Dutchman, who has missed a large part of the season through injury, has been given no date to return to Old Trafford by boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who has Tomasz Kuszczak and Ben Foster in reserve.

Annemarie Van der Sar is currently in hospital with United (5/2 with Totesport to win the Premier League)  saying that doctors are still trying to get to the root of the problem.

Ferguson revealed: “I have told Edwin to stay over there. There is no point in him being here. The best thing is for him to be with his wife. Hopefully she will make a good recovery.”

Former West Brom shot-stopper Kuszczak started in the 3-1 win at Hull on Sunday and is likely to retain his place against Wigan (11/1 to win at Old Trafford) on Wednesday night.

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has predicted the team which makes the least mistakes between now and the end of the season will win the Premier League (Chelsea 10/11 Man United 9/4 Arsenal 7/2 Premier League - Outright).

The champions recovered from a shambolic 3-0 defeat away to Fulham last weekend by beating Hull on Sunday to move back over Arsenal into second place and two points adrift of leaders Chelsea.

The usual suspects have all dropped points in recent weeks and Ferguson admits the race for the domestic crown is more open this year than in seasons gone by.

He said: “It’s looking different, that’s for sure, there are some unusual results going round and come the second half it just builds it up to what is looking like it’s going to be a really tight league.”

United are next in action on Wednesday against Wigan (Man United 1/4 draw 7/2 Wigan 10/1 Premier League - match bets) at Old Trafford and Ferguson has said he expects results to pick up once he has got more of his injured players back.

He added: “I think the team that stays clear of injuries will also have an advantage, and I’m hopeful I’ll have all the defenders back by (the time) the European campaign comes around again, which should freshen us up and give me more options, that will be important to us.

“Other than that, if you make mistakes you’re going to get punished. If you eradicate mistakes, whoever does that will have a great chance.”

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Phil Taylor (1/3 World Championship - Outright) thumped outsider Steve Hine 4-0 for a place in the third round of the World Championship at Alexandra Palace - but was already planning ahead for a possible quarter-finals showdown against protege Adrian Lewis.

The 14-time winner, who has dropped just three legs in the tournament, hit six 180s and registered an average of 103.28 in a one-sided contest against the former full-time baker.

He said: “When you are playing it doesn’t feel easy but you try to win every leg. I am happy to get through.”

Taylor said he was relishing the prospect of a Stoke-on-Trent match-up against ‘Jackpot’ Lewis, who saw off Wes Newton 4-2 to make it to the third round.

“He has impressed me for a few matches now, he has been very, very good. If me and Adrian play in the last eight, I think you are going to see the winner (of the event) come from that match,” he added on Sky Sports 1.

“I used to stand next to him and say do this, do that and now he is doing it.

“It will be like Nigel Benn versus Chris Eubank, it will light up the tournament.”

Standing in the way of Taylor next is Robert Thornton (80/1 World Championship - Outright), former number one from the BDO, following his 4-1 victory over German qualifier Jyhan Artut.

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Nathan Hauritz has helped to put Australia (2/7 to win the Test on coupon) in prime position during the first Test in Melbourne as Pakistan have been left reeling.

Night watchman Hauritz scored 75 and Michael Hussey got 82 as Australia dominated with the bat until they declared on 454-4.

Hauritz also starred with the ball and was among the wickets as Pakistan (33/1 to win the test on coupon) only managed to score 109-4 before the close of play on day two – which leaves them struggling to avoid the follow on in Melbourne.

Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Hauritz, Doug Bollinger and Peter Siddle in the Australian bowling attack got a combined total of 17 maidens as the visitors struggled on a run rate of 2.22 per over.

Hauritz said he was happy with his night watchman role and really enjoyed his time batting with Hussey.

“The wicket’s still very good, it’s only day two obviously. I think it’s just a matter of being extremely disciplined in our areas and probably getting that last wicket is very crucial,” he said.

“We had a pretty good day in the end there but they’ve still got some very good batting to come.”

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George Boateng thinks that Hull (8/1 to win on match coupon) can beat Manchester United at the KC Stadium and climb out of the Premier League relegation places.

The veteran Hull midfielder has seen his side win just one of their last six matches, which means they have slid into the bottom three of the Premier League.

His side welcome Manchester United (4/11 to win, 7/2 draw on match coupon) to the KC Stadium this evening and Boateng thinks his team can dent United’s title bid by copying Fulham and pulling off a shock home win against the champions.

Fulham beat United 3-0 at Craven Cottage, however Hull (7/4 to avoid relegation on outright coupon) will have to go some way to improve if they want to be victorious as they have won only 25 per cent of their home league matches in Premier League history.

Boateng wants the Hull fans to make the KC Stadium feel like a fortress and believe their side can beat Manchester United (13/5 to win Premier League on outright coupon).

“We gave a good account of ourselves at Arsenal and we have to take that into the United game,” said the Dutch midfielder.

“We can take heart from our own display and we have to make sure we do the right things against Manchester United.”

Hull’s only fitness concern could see Nick Barmby miss out this afternoon while United could welcome back Nemanja Vidic, Rafael, Ryan Giggs and Wes Brown to their injury-hit side of recent weeks.

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