Russell Fuller
BBC tennis correspondent

Following the news that Laura Robson is to use her protected ranking for the French Open, there will now be a staggering seven British players gaining direct entry into the Roland Garros main draws. Stone the crows. Or sacre bleu, for French followers... 

Jo Konta, Heather Watson and Naomi Broady join Robson in the women's draw, with Andy Murray, Aljaz Bedene and Kyle Edmund in the men's event.

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Tottenham's pursuit of leaders Leicester and the fast-approaching Premier League finishline could play into Stoke's hands says Mark Hughes.

"They are running out of games now," he said. "They will have to come here and be positive and I think that will help us.  

"In the games against teams who come and back their ability against us, we tend to do well. We have beaten Chelsea, Manchester City and United, so we are confident."  

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Stoke manager Mark Hughes insists that he and defender Erik Pieters have put a brusque exchange of views - after which the Dutchman was substituted - at Anfield behind them.

"It's one of those moments. He understands my position. I understand what he was saying. We move on. It's not an issue," said Hughes. 

Alan Judge, Andre Gray and Ross McCormack are nominated for the Football League's Championship player of the year award.

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Stoke's season has been undermined by injuries to key parts for their defence such as goalkeeper Jack Butland, centre-back Ryan Shawcross and right-back Glen Johnson according to manager Mark Hughes.

"We haven't had the benefit of continuity at the back. You can compare and contrast our fortunes to other teams - Leicester most notably, who have benefited from a regular starting eleven," said Hughes.

"It is well known that if you can get a settled back line then you can put together a good run of form. Still, despite all of that, we are still in a position where we can improve upon our tally last season. It isn't all doom and gloom."

Stoke collected 54 points last season. They have 47 with five games remaining this term.

Forward Watmore has been missing through injury since the start of February.

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But first up, Sunderland...

It’s hard to overstate just how crucial Saturday’s encounter at Carrow Road is to their survival hopes. That being so, it’s little wonder Sam Allardyce has been tinkering with his line-up in training this week in an attempt to strike the right balance.

The manager acknowledges that, while a win is vital, a defeat would be disastrous.

"The lads have got to keep their nerve more than anything else,” he said. “It's time that we were the ones who took advantage of the opposition, rather than them taking advantage of us."

What are Mark Hughes' plans for derailing the Tottenham train?

We'll find out very soon...

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As expected, former British women’s number one Laura Robson has been added to the French Open entry list after she chose to use her protected ranking.

Robson, 22, is currently ranked 465 in the world after being absent from the tour for 17 months because of a serious wrist injury.

She decided not to use her protected ranking of 58 to gain direct entry into January’s Australian Open, preferring to save it for Roland Garros.

The second Grand Slam of the year starts in Paris on 22 May.

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Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has earmarked Everton's Ross Barkley as a man to be wary off when the teams meet on Saturday.

The 22-year-old capped a fine performance with the final goal in Everton's 3-0 win at St Mary's in August.

"He is a very young, good player, he has already been playing several years in the Premier League," said Koeman. 

"He already plays for the national team; he can make the difference on the pitch and has a very good couple with Romelu Lukaku in front of him."

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Former Manchester City defender Danny Mills says Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid are the team to avoid in the Champions League semi-finals.

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Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has been talking about the "life kinetics" techniques that he is putting his players through to improve their communication on the pitch.

"I was working with that when I was a coach in Holland because players need to communicate more than they do," the former Netherlands international added.

"That is all about telephones, headphones and we do so exercises each week on the pitch with focus on concentrating and communication on the pitch."

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Now we rattle on to Ronald Koeman, who starts by confirming that striker Charlie Austin - a January arrival from QPR - will not be involved in the trip to Goodison Park.

 "Charlie Austin last week twisted his knee warming up before Newcastle last weekend. Maybe it will be one more week, but he is not available for the weekend. Steven Davis is back though," said Koeman.

Eric Black was in London to watch Manchester United's FA Cup win over West Ham on Wednesday and was impressed with the character Louis van Gaal's side showed.

"People say they're not the team they were five years ago," he said. "But they went into a hostile atmosphere and coped with it. It will be a tough task. But let's go and surprise a few people."

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Gabby Agbonlahor will continue to be absent from the Aston Villa squad, with the striker spending the next two weeks "undergoing a personal fitness programme".  

The 29-year-old was suspended and the club carried out an investigation after he was pictured appearing to hold a shisha pipe, external during last month's international break.

"In terms of fitness levels, he's not fit for the Premier League at this moment in time," said caretaker boss Eric Black.  

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