Liverpool fly to London ahead of clash with Tottenham
Liverpool have flown to London ahead of their Premier League fixture with Tottenham on today.
Jurgen Klopp’s players flew to the capital still with doubts about the fitness of Brazilian attacker Philippe Coutinho.
Klopp confirmed on Friday that the 24-year-old had missed training for most of the week and that a decision whether he would be available for the 12.45pm kick-off hadn’t been made.
Coutinho, who also missed Liverpool’s 5-0 thrashing of Burton Albion in EFL Cup in midweek, is still struggling with a muscle problem, according to his manager.
‘The muscle was a little stiff. He felt something so we didn’t want to take a risk,’ he told the club’s website.
‘We left him out of training until now. We have to make a decision on Friday with what we can do with him.’
Coutinho has already proved how important he is to Klopp’s side this season.
He scored twice on the opening weekend of the new season as Liverpool thrashed Arsenal 4-3.
Klopp added that he would not risk Coutinho if he was not 100 per cent fit.
‘It is not a situation to take any risk. We have to talk to the player,’ Klopp said.
‘From the medical side, it is not a big issue, but it was big enough to leave him out of the squad for Burton.’
Arsenal hoping renewed sense of optimism lifts fog ahead of Watford
Is the fog lifting at Arsenal? After a gloomy first couple of weeks to the season, a glimmer of optimism is beginning to appear among the fans. The news of two impending signings has revived hopes of a successful season. For now, though, the immediate focus is on securing a first victory of the campaign away at Watford.
It was always going to be a tricky start. The fixture list was far from kind to Arsene Wenger’s men, handing them a home tie against Liverpool before a trip to champions Leicester. A point at the KC Stadium is no bad result in isolation, but the home defeat to Jurgen Klopp’s side really hurt supporters. The opening game is so important in determining the mood for the new campaign, and shipping four goals at home did little to instil confidence in the Emirates crowd.
It was no great surprise then that the Leicester game saw fans calling for money to be spent. The squad had appeared desperately short in two key areas of the field: centre-half and centre-forward. But to be fair to Wenger, he looks to be on the verge of addressing those needs. The Frenchman has raided La Liga to sign Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez from Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna respectively.
Mustafi appears to have been a long-term target, and Arsenal supporters will be reassured that Wenger has paid what it takes to get the deal done. There is more skepticism surrounding the deal for Lucas; having publicly failed in bids for both Jamie Vardy and Alexandre Lacazette, it’s clear the Spaniard was far from firstchoice. However, his pace and versatility should be useful assets in the forthcoming campaign.
Today Tottenham-Liverpool ............................... Chelsea-Burnley ....................................... Crystal P-Bournemouth ........................... Everton-Stoke .......................................... Leicester-Swansea ................................... Southampton-Sunderland ....................... Watford-Arsenal ...................................... Hull-Man Utd ........................................... Tomorrow West Brom-Middlesbrough ..................... Man City-West Ham .................................
Championship
Yesterday Burton-Derby ...................................... 1-0 Today Barnsley-Rotherham ................................ Birmingham-Norwich .............................. Blackburn-Fulham ................................... Brentford-Sheffield W .............................. Bristol City-Aston Villa ............................. Cardiff-Reading ........................................ Huddersfield-Wolves ............................... Ipswich-Preston ....................................... Nottm Forest-Leeds ................................. Wigan-QPR .............................................. Newcastle-Brighton .................................
League One
Today Swindon-Bristol Rovers ........................... Bradford-Oldham .................................... Charlton-Bolton ....................................... Chesterfield-Millwall ............................... Coventry-Northampton ........................... MK Dons-Peterborough .......................... Port Vale-Scunthorpe .............................. Rochdale-Wimbledon .............................. Sheffield U.-Oxford Utd ........................... Shrewsbury-Gillingham ........................... Southend-Fleetwood ............................... Walsall-Bury ............................................
League Two
Today Accrington-Morecambe .......................... Barnet-Carlisle ......................................... Blackpool-Plymouth ................................ Cambridge-Luton .................................... Cheltenham-Crewe ................................. Crawley-Notts County ............................. Doncaster-Yeovil ...................................... Exeter-Portsmouth .................................. Grimsby-Stevenage ................................. Hartlepool-Newport ................................ Leyton Orient-Mansfield ......................... Wycombe-Colchester ..............................
SCOTLAND