Birmingham Mail: Paul Lambert is confident Joe Bennett will come good, after the defender felt the need to apologise for his performance in the cup shocker at Bradford.

Birmingham Mail: Darren Bent is a major doubt for this weekend's Premier League survival scrap against Southampton at Villa Park.

Birmingham Mail: Paul Lambert has praised Andi Weimann's willingness to put his body on the line and play through the pain barrier for the claret and blue cause.

Daily Mirror: Harry Redknapp is competing with LA Galaxy for Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne.

Daily Star: Aston Villa have approached Inter Milan over a move for midfielder Philippe Coutinho. Brazilian Coutinho, 20, is viewed as one for the future at the San Siro and the Italian giants are open to a loan move.

Times: Aston Villa have been given a welcome boost after it emerged that Richard Dunne could return to training within the next fortnight.

Best of the Rest

BBC Sport: Blackpool have granted Blackburn Rovers permission to speak to Michael Appleton about their managerial vacancy.

BBC Sport: Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas says he is not looking to sign a striker in January despite losing Emmanuel Adebayor to the Africa Cup of Nations.

*The extracts on this page are taken from various newspapers and media outlets. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Aston Villa.