Premier League news conferences: Slot to speak before Man City trip

Will Isak be fit to return?

Manchester City v Liverpool (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

Among the things that we can expect to find out from Arne Slot is whether British-record signing Alexander Isak will be fit to return on Sunday.

The striker has been out with a groin injury since being forced off in the Reds' 5-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in October but has been included in the Sweden squad for the forthcoming international fixtures.

That suggests he is close and Slot said before the Real Madrid game that Isak had a chance of making the squad but almost certainly would not be able to start.

A few days on, we can expect on update on his fitness - and possibly that of goalkeeper Alisson Becker and full-back Jeremie Frimpong as well.

Reds boosted by impressive win over Real Madrid

Manchester City v Liverpool (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

Liverpool

Six defeats in seven is something that Liverpool simply are not used to, so responding with back-to-back wins - without conceding a goal - was just the tonic for Arne Slot's men.

There were signs the team that won the Premier League title at a canter last season was still there somewhere in the 2-0 win over Aston Villa, and an impressive win over Real Madrid on Tuesday proved it.

Liverpool were superb, Alexis Mac Allister scored the only goal but a 1-0 scoreline did not reflect the hosts' superiority at Anfield.

Can they follow it up in Manchester and go into the international break on the back of three straight wins?

Slot to kick things off

Manchester City v Liverpool (Sun, 16:30 GMT)

Liverpool

Yes, as ever Eddie Howe is among the early starters today but after a much more positive week for his side, Liverpool boss Arne Slot is the first manager up this morning.

The Premier League champions have a very tough game away at Manchester City on Sunday as they aim to make it three wins in a row and well and truly put their recent slump behind them.

Plenty on the agenda for Howe this morning

Brentford v Newcastle (Sun, 14:00 GMT)

Ciaran Kelly

BBC Sport reporter

In some ways, Newcastle United appear to be very much on track as we approach the final international break of the year.

Newcastle are in sixth place in the Champions League standings. Eddie Howe’s team are in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, with a home tie against Fulham to come next month. They have even won each of their last five games at St James’ Park in all competitions.

But that does not tell the full story.

Newcastle currently lie in 13th place in the Premier League and Sunday’s trip to Brentford feels like a real litmus test of this side, who have not won an away league game since April.

Expect those issues on the road to be the main theme of Howe’s news conference this morning.

The Newcastle head coach is also sure to be asked about the latest on former Brentford forward Yoane Wissa’s recovery from a knee injury, and to give his take on midfielder Sandro Tonali’s assertion that he is “happy” at St James’ Park, but only thinking year by year.

Manager news conferences galore!

It's Friday and that only means one thing: a shedload of Premier League manager news conferences. Just the 14 today, here is what we have to look forward to.

These are the scheduled times, how that plays out in reality remains to be seen...

09:00 - Liverpool, Arne Slot

09:30 - Newcastle, Eddie Howe

10:00 - Arsenal, Mikel Arteta

10:30 - Chelsea, Enzo Maresca

13:00 - Bournemouth, Andoni Iraola

13:30 - Everton, David Moyes

13:30 - Leeds, Daniel Farke

13:30 - Sunderland, Regis Le Bris

13:30 - Tottenham, Thomas Frank

13:30 - Wolves, James Collins

14:00 - Man City, Pep Guardiola

All times GMT.

That's 11 but we'll also have quotes from Aston Villa's Unai Emery, Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche and Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, who spoke after their sides' European games last night, at some stage today as well.

Premier League table

They used to say not to bother looking at the league table until 10 games have been played and, well, having reached that threshold, I fancy a few sides might prefer to ignore for a while longer.

Arsenal fans will no doubt be happy to stare at it all day, though, given their six-point lead and the fact their two closest rivals play each other this weekend...

International break incoming - but then no more until March...

For plenty of football fans, the international break is something to dread as it means two weeks without any club action to get your teeth stuck into.

If you are among that number then autumn is a frustrating time with breaks in September, October and November arriving just when you think the season is starting to build up a head of steam.

Well, after this weekend, the last of those will be upon us. But the good news for those who endure rather than enjoy international football is that once it is done, that's it!

No more international breaks until March. Four whole months of uninterrupted club football.

So if your side needs a break to regroup and figure things out before a hectic winter, this is your last chance.

We still have one more round of fixtures to enjoy first, though, and no set of fans want to spend two weeks stewing on a loss...

Rangers and Celtic beaten in Europa League

It was another tough night for Celtic and Rangers in the Europa League as both sides fell to defeats.

After back-to-back wins under interim boss Martin O'Neil, Celtic were brought back down to earth as they conceded three goals in eight minutes in a 3-1 against table-topping Midtjylland in Denmark.

Meanwhile, Rangers were booed off at half-time of their 2-0 home defeat by Roma.

The Italians were much the better side and having gone two up after 36 minutes, they never looked like surrendering their lead.

"I'm totally convinced we'll go in the right direction, but we need to work hard," Rangers boss Danny Rohl said after the game.

Both sides are out of the qualifying places with pointless Rangers propping up the table and Celtic a point off the play-off spots in 27th.

Elsewhere, Aberdeen picked up their first Conference League point of the season with a gritty goalless draw with AEK Larnaca in Cyprus.

They sit 33rd in the standings after three games, albeit only two points off the play-off positions.

Wins for Villa and Palace; Forest held

It was a good night for the English sides in Europe last night.

Stuttering Aston Villa edged past Maccabi Tel Aviv on a challenging evening on and off the pitch to strengthen their position in the Europa League.

Ian Maatsen's opener and Donyell Malen's penalty gave Unai Emery's side victory in a game that followed pre-match protests at Villa Park, with no fans of the visiting Israeli team allowed inside the ground.

Villa are sixth in the league phase table after four games, having secured the positive result that head coach Emery wanted following last month's defeat at Go Ahead Eagles.

Nottingham Forest had to settle for a goalless draw away to Sturm Graz after Morgan Gibbs-White's first-half penalty was saved by Oliver Christensen.

Injuries meant Sean Dyche had to make seven changes to his XI from the draw against Manchester United but had the chance to go in front 10 minutes before half-time when Emanuel Aiwu handled in the box.

But Gibbs-White's tame spot kick was kept out to leave Forest 23rd and clinging onto a play-off spot.

Meanwhile, Ismaila Sarr scored twice as Crystal Palace won their first match in a major European competition on home soil, beating AZ Alkmaar in the Conference League at Selhurst Park.

Centre-back Maxence Lacroix fired Palace in front not long after Jean-Philippe Mateta had missed a penalty and Sarr doubled the lead in stoppage time at the end of the first half.

Sven Mijnans pulled one back for Dutch side AZ after the break but Sarr calmly slotted home to restore Palace's two-goal cushion just 130 seconds later.

Victory moves Oliver Glasner's side up to ninth in the table.

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