Pundits have
already handed the Premier League title to Liverpool. Their own fans are
singing: “Now they’re going to believe us!”. And the Reds’ latest win,
2-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Thursday, put them a massive 16 points
clear.
But manager Jurgen Klopp is having none of it.
“I don’t think about it (winning the title). I just think about winning the next matches … let’s carry on,” he said after Liverpool’s 22nd victory in 23 league games this season.
Liverpool boss
Jurgen Klopp has no intention of allowing any of his players to leave
the club in the January transfer window as he closes in on the Premier
League title.
Klopp’s side are 13 points clear of defending champions Manchester City with two matches in hand and look certain to be crowned English champions for the first time since 1990.
Bayern Munich have
signed Real Madrid right-back Alvaro Odriozola on loan until the end of
the season, the two clubs confirmed on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old
Spain international will bolster Bayern’s defence, which has been left
short on cover with centre-backs Niklas Suele and Lucas Hernandez
sidelined by knee injuries.
“We decided to comply with the request of our head coach Hansi Flick for reinforcements in defence and together we decided on Alvaro Odriozola,” said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in a statement.
Frank Lampard says Chelsea can cope without
leading scorer Tammy Abraham after the England striker suffered an ankle
injury scare in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with 10-man Arsenal.
Abraham
hobbled off the Stamford Bridge turf at fulltime as Chelsea failed to
capitalise on old boy David Luiz’s red card, thwarted by Hector
Bellerin’s late equaliser.
Cesar Azpilicueta thought he had scrambled Chelsea to victory with a neat finish only to see Bellerin steal a share of the spoils, after Gabriel Martinelli’s breakaway goal had cancelled out Jorginho’s penalty.
Manchester UnitedOle Gunnar Solskjaer has been dealt a blow in that Marcus Rashford is out for at least the next six weeks and he joins Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Marcos Rojo and Axel Tuanzebe on the sidelines.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah is a doubt, but Eric Bailly was at least fit enough for the bench on Sunday, which is a boost, and comes at the opportune time after Victor Lindelof was sent home from training on Tuesday through illness.
Mason Greenwood and Juan Mata could both come into the side having started the loss at Liverpool on the bench.
Premier League | Chelsea v Arsenal | Highlights
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hopes the
resilience his side showed in twice coming from behind while a man down
to hold Chelsea 2-2 at Stamford Bridge proves a “stepping stone” to a
brighter future for the Gunners.
Arteta’s men remain 10th in the Premier League, 10 points behind Chelsea in fourth, but while a point may be too little for their hopes of a return to the Champions League, the manner in which it was achieved gave their new manager cause for optimism.
West Ham manager David Moyes will be without injured Brazilian winger Felipe Anderson for a month.
Anderson
missed last weekend’s draw against Everton after suffering a back
injury when he fell awkwardly in a defeat against Sheffield United
earlier in January.
Moyes revealed on Tuesday that Anderson is set to be absent for longer than first expected.
The death of
Cardiff forward Emiliano Sala in a plane crash a year ago will be marked
by his family on Tuesday in “private, quiet contemplation of their
loss”, their lawyer said.
The 28-year-old striker was killed when
the small plane taking him to join the then Premier League side after
being bought from French side Nantes for £15 million crashed off the
Channel island of Guernsey.
There are still unresolved issues surrounding the player’s death, such as who was responsible for the crash in which pilot David Ibottson also died, and, above all, the payment of the 17-million-euro ($18.85 million, 17.6 million euros) fee agreed for his transfer.
Bayern
Munich are close to signing Real Madrid defender Alvaro Odriozola to
boost their back four, according to German media reports on Tuesday.
According to several outlets, defending Bundesliga champions Bayern hope to sign the right-back because their defensive resources are stretched by knee injuries to centre-backs Niklas Suele and Lucas Hernandez.
Manchester United
manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has contradicted former teammate Gary
Neville by saying on Tuesday United are on the “right track”.
Outspoken TV pundit Neville had said in a podcast after United’s 2-0 defeat at leaders Liverpool on Sunday, which left the Red Devils 30 points behind their rivals in the Premier League, the club was in a mess.