Manchester City

Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca on if he sees Brighton as contenders for a Champions League place next season: "I think it is still too early for all the clubs but for sure, they are doing very good.

"It is a team that in any game they score many goals - three, four, five goals. They create many chances against any team. It is going to be a tough game but where they can be at the end of the season, I don't know."

He added: "They're doing very good, on the ball and off the ball. They are very aggressive, man-to-man oriented in all the games. They attack very good with so many players - full-backs, wingers, attacking midfielders - so it is going to be a tough game."

Manchester City

Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca on team news: "They are all available, [apart from] Antoine Semenyo. The rest, they are all available."

The likes of Erling Haaland, Elliot Anderson, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Gianluigi Donnarumma were left out of the squad altogether for Wednesday's Carabao Cup win over Brighton.

On Semenyo, Maresca added: "He is good, he is in a good mood. He is inside the building doing recovery sessions, all the therapy that he needs, but again it is too early now [to discuss his return]."

Aadam Patel
Football Reporter

Sunday will be Liverpool's fourth game at Anfield in the space of two weeks and having won the first three, there's a feel-good factor around the club right now.

Dominik Szoboszlai scored the winning goal when these two sides met last season but he hasn't played since the game against Brentford on 17 October due to injury and Andoni Iraola will likely be able to give an update on his fitness.

We'll also get an update on Victor Munoz, who hasn't played since the Brentford game.

Alex Howell
BBC Sport Arsenal reporter at Arsenal's training ground

It's a big news conference for Mikel Arteta, who will be addressing the Max Dowman red card for the first time since it happened on Tuesday.

Arsenal tried to have the red card overturned but the appeal has been dismissed.

Arteta said words to Dowman as he went off and it will be interesting to see how he reflects on what happened the other night.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport Chelsea reporter

There is nothing that creates scrutiny quite like not winning football matches.

Xabi Alonso is under nowhere near the same pressure as his opposite number, Michael Carrick, before Chelsea host Manchester United on Saturday.

However, a home league defeat by Tottenham has brought increased scrutiny, with questions raised about his tactics, while a penalty shootout loss at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup added to his problems.

The latter result on Wednesday was notable for who did not play: namely, Estevao Willian.

The Brazilian teenager is regarded as one of the world's brightest young attacking talents but has played only 172 minutes for Chelsea since the start of the season, the equivalent of less than two full matches.

Given the cup exit and no European competition, there are now even fewer matches available to Estevao and others on the fringes of Chelsea's large 27-man squad.

It is a curious situation that has driven discussion after travelling supporters on Merseyside chanted his name despite Estevao remaining an unused substitute.

Furthermore, Alonso's injury concerns are mounting.

Defender Maxence Lacroix is expected to be out until after the international break, joining Emiliano Martinez, Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Reece James and Pep Chavarria on the sidelines.

More worryingly for Chelsea, Alonso cast doubt over the fitness of midfielder Moises Caicedo and Malo Gusto following a "physical" match against Liverpool.

There will be plenty to discuss when Alonso speaks to the media shortly.

One of the biggest other games this weekend sees the struggling Manchester United visit a Chelsea side that lost at home to Tottenham last week and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties at Liverpool in Wednesday.

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Mikel Arteta isn't the only Premier League manager we're set to hear from.

No less than seven bosses are scheduled to speak to the media over the next hour:

• Arsenal's Mikel Arteta
• Brentford's Keith Andrews
• Chelsea's Xabi Alonso
• Liverpool's Andoni Iraola
• Manchester City's Enzo Maresca
• Tottenham's Roberto de Zerbi
• Aston Villa's Unai Emery

Ray Parlour
Former Arsenal midfielder

I thought Max Dowman was a little bit unlucky. After the game, he'd be sitting on the coach going to the airport disappointed.

But he's got to get back into training, train hard and wait for his opportunity again.

He'll learn from it. Being a footballer is like a rollercoaster ride, with highs and lows - and that's one of his lows.

[Mikel Arteta] has got his standards. He'll [also] have a word behind closed doors. He'll put his arm around him and say 'you've got to be careful in these situations because you're going to get people trying to kick you'.

He's got to get used to that because he's going to be a talent going forward. But I'm sure he'll be fine with Mikel. Mikel has been a young player himself, so he probably knows how to treat the players.

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What did you think about Max Dowman's red card? Was it a bit harsh or did he leave the referee with no option?

And how about Mikel Arteta's reaction? Was it fair to have a go at his teenage winger or did he go too far?

Let us know your thoughts by clicking the Get Involved tab above or to the left.

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As Max Dowman left the field, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta gave him a scathing look and made what appeared to be an angry comment to the young winger.

Arteta said after the game: "When we prepared the context of the match, we were very clear on the things to respect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate. It was very clear."

Dowman was dismissed for violent conduct, which according to the laws of the game is when a player "uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball... regardless of whether contact is made".

The Gunners were already light on options on the wing as Bukayo Saka, Christos Tzolis and Noni Madueke are currently out injured.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal's Max Dowman will miss three matches, including Sunday's trip to Anfield, after an appeal against his sending-off during Tuesday's Carabao Cup loss at Fleetwood was rejected.

The 16-year-old midfielder was shown a straight red card in the 85th minute after reacting to a heavy challenge by Fleetwood's Harrison Neal.

Although Dowman did not fully kick out, his foot did make contact with Neal.

The game finished 1-1 before League Two Fleetwood beat the Premier League champions 5-3 on penalties.

Arsenal appealed Dowman's sending-off on Wednesday.

It was Dowman's second red card this month having also been sent off while representing England's Under-19s.

While Fleetwood celebrated a memorable win over the Premier League champions in midweek, the main talking point was Mikel Arteta's reaction to Max Dowman's red card late in the game.

The Arsenal boss is sure to be asked about that incident when he speaks to the media later. We're expecting to hear from the Spaniard from about 13:30 GMT.

FPL Heisenberg
Fantasy Premier League expert with seven top-30k finishes

I'm not looking to sell my Arsenal players just because they face Liverpool away in gameweek nine.

David Raya (£6.2m) and Riccardo Calafiori (£6m) remain quality defensive options, but the Liverpool fixture does make a clean sheet less likely than usual.

After that, Arsenal face Hull, Newcastle, Manchester City and Brentford. There are opportunities in that mixed fixture run, and Arsenal being one of the best teams in the league makes them favourites going into the majority of games.

If you've got Arsenal defensive assets, I'd be happy to hold rather than spend transfers trying to chase fixtures. If Calafiori is injured, I'll probably just bench him against Liverpool and hope he's ready for Hull at home the following gameweek.

However, I wouldn't necessarily be buying Arsenal assets this week as several other teams offering more attractive short-term fixtures.

I'd prioritise those options before bringing in another Arsenal defender.

Liverpool proved me wrong against Brighton last week, because they didn't just win, they played well too.

After conceding so many goals last season, you can see they have really tightened things up. Arsenal don't give much away either, so this is going to be very close.

Alexander Isak is scoring goals again for the Reds, and they will be full of confidence coming into this game.

You could make a case for it ending up a repeat of the result we saw at the end of last season, when Dominik Szoboszlai's brilliant free-kick meant Liverpool edged a 1-0 win.

I do think we will see the same scoreline, just with a different winner.

Sutton's prediction: 0-1

Liverpool

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has said he hopes the "reward will come soon" for his team and supporters after his side beat Chelsea to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

The Reds exited the competition at the same stage last season - with a resounding 3-0 home loss to Crystal Palace - but under Andoni Iraola, Liverpool seem to be building something better this campaign.

When asked whether wins like that are bringing the energy back into Anfield, Van Dijk said: "Yeah, of course. It's a night like this and obviously the other night [against Villarreal]. I think the fans definitely like what they're seeing and, of course, you feel that energy and it's great.

"I've been feeling that energy for quite a while and when you then miss it a little bit, to get it back is obviously very good.

"Results help, massively. We understand that as well. We want to show that for the full 90 minutes - every game, home and away. Obviously it's not the easiest thing to do, but we're trying and nights like this help.

"We put a lot of work in behind the scenes. Hopefully the reward will come soon."

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal

Prior to Tuesday evening's shock defeat by Fleetwood Town, Arsenal's form hadn't been anything to worry about.

They sit joint top of the Premier League table, level on points with Manchester City with both sides having won seven games and lost just the one in the top flight.

In fact, the Gunners' defeat by the League Two side was just their second in all competitons this season with Brighton the only other team to inflict a loss on the Premier League champions.

A draw at Bayern Munich in the Champions League is the only other time Mikel Arteta's side have failed to win so far in 2026-27.

Arsenal's last six results:

• Fleetwood 1-1 Arsenal (5-3 on pens)
• Arsenal 2-0 Everton
• Bayern Munich 2-2 Arsenal
• Nottingham Forest 0-1 Arsenal
• Arsenal 3-0 Lille
• Arsenal 2-1 Leeds United

Liverpool

Liverpool are currently fourth in the Premier League after picking up 15 points in eight games.

Andoni Iraola's side have won four games, drawn three times and lost once in the league.

They remain unbeaten in the Champions League after winning three of the league phase matches and sit third in the table.

The Reds have also progressed to the next stage of the League Cup after beating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties.

Liverpool's last six results:

• Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea (6-5 on pens)
• Liverpool 2-0 Brighton
• Liverpool 4-3 Villarreal
• Brentford 1-2 Liverpool
• LASK 3-6 Liverpool
• Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City

• Liverpool have won one of their last eight Premier League games against Arsenal (D5 L2), a 1-0 home win last season.
• No side has more Premier League clean sheets since the start of September than Liverpool (4 in 6 games), with that tally of four only one fewer than they managed in their first 22 games in 2026 (5).
• Arsenal have won 299 Premier League away games and would be just the second team to reach 300 in the competition after Manchester United (328). However, at no ground they’ve visited 10+ times do they have a lower win rate than at Anfield (18% - won 6 of 34).
• Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola has lost just two of his 27 Premier League games in 2026 (W12 D13), one of which was at home to Arsenal in January as Bournemouth boss. It’s the lowest defeat percentage (7%) by a manager in a year (min. 20 games) since Jurgen Klopp lost one of his 37 games in 2019 (3%).

The only game on Sunday will see the past two Premier League champions go head-to-head at Anfield so let's have a closer look at the biggest game of the weekend.

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