Liverpool Echo

Liverpool host Premier League title rivals Manchester City at Anfield next weekend, and Gary Neville has explained to Arne Slot the perfect plan to ensure victory

The 2024/25 Premier League campaign seems to be going from good to great for Liverpool as each week passes. Without Arne Slot's men even kicking a ball this weekend, Manchester City have given them something to smile about.

Pep Guardiola's side went into the November international break on a four-game losing streak in all competitions. Two of those were in the Premier League, allowing the Reds to build a five-point advantage at the top.

Slot will have his team zeroed in on their own trip to Southampton on Sunday before listening to any outside noise or looking further down the fixture list, but the result at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening was too outstanding to ignore.

A fifth loss on the bounce at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur left the reigning champions with their tails between their legs. As a result Liverpool have the chance to move eight points in front of their rivals.

And if they are able to do that, next Sunday's clash with Man City at Anfield would have an even greater prize on offer - the chance to move 11 points clear in top spot.

Looking at Man City's latest defeat, they were seemingly lifted by the manager's contract extension and controlled the opening 10 minutes, only to be hit by a double sucker punch from James Maddison.

On commentary duty for Sky Sports, Gary Neville pointed out that their midfield failures had allowed Spurs to gain the advantage.

"The control Man City usually play the game with and the order has gone. They’re still good on the ball, they’re still playing decent football but when they give it away things aren’t the same," the pundit explained.

"It just doesn’t look like the answer - this cocktail of midfield players he has picked today looks quite vulnerable against quick play and innovative play by this Spurs team."

Guardiola is without Ballon d'Or winner Rodri for the season, whilst the man who has been providing cover, Mateo Kovacic, is also a doubt for the Anfield clash. He was using Ilkay Gundogan and Rico Lewis as a makeshift alternative.

Seemingly if Liverpool can win the midfield battle next week, they can beat their great rivals at home for the first time in five years.

Neville also highlighted how Spurs defended after their second goal, which the Reds can also take into consideration.

"What Spurs have done in the last 15 minutes [since 2-0] is they’ve made City go around them rather than allowing them to go through - City were getting through them in those first 10 minutes and now they’re having to sort of recycle it and play across midfield, across the back four," he added.

Pedro Porro added a third and Brennan Johnson a fourth goal for the visitors in the second half, rounding off a miserable night for those in sky blue.

Rodrigo Bentancur was hit with a seven-game ban earlier this week

Rodrigo Bentancur could be available for next month's Premier League clash against Liverpool after Tottenham Hotspur confirmed they appealed the seven-game ban he was hit with for making a racist remark about team-mate Son Heung-min.

The Uruguayan was hit with a lengthy ban by the Football Association earlier this week for comments he made about Son in an interview back in April. As well as being banned for six Premier League games and one League Cup match, Bentancur was hit with a £100,000 fine.

However, Tottenham confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that they have challenged the length of the ban passed down to the 27-year-old rather than the guilty verdict.

"We can confirm that the Club has appealed against the length of Rodrigo Bentancur’s FA suspension, issued earlier this week," a Spurs statement said. "While we accept the guilty finding against Rodrigo by the independent regulatory commission, we believe the subsequent sanction is severe.

"Rodrigo will remain suspended from domestic competitions while the appeal is heard and the Club will make no further comment during this time."

If the North Londoners' appeal is successful, the midfielder would still be in line to serve a six-game suspension after rules introduced by the FA in 2020 proposed a minimum ban for individuals found guilty of racist abuse, meaning Bentancur's return could come when Tottenham host Liverpool in the Premier League on December 22.

Asked about the midfielder's situation in September, manager Ange Postecoglou said that Bentancur will have to face whatever punishment is handed down to him.

"In terms of Sonny and Rodri, they had a discussion about the whole incident. Both players understand and respect each other’s position and Rodri has already apologised for what he said. Sonny has accepted that and accepted the fact that one of his team-mates and a person he is close with has made a mistake," said Postecoglou

"If we are talking about having a society that is understanding and tolerant of everything, we also must show that to people who make mistakes as Rodri has made in his time.

"We know him very well, a lot better than most because we spend every day with him and understand the kind of person he is.

"We understand that even though he is a great guy and a fantastic team-mate, he has made a big error this time and he has got to take the punishment but also we need to give him the opportunity to learn from it and atone from it and hopefully others learn from it as well."

Rodrigo Bentancur will miss seven matches after making racist remarks about Spurs teammate Son Heung-min.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur will not be available for next month's Premier League clash with Liverpool after being handed a seven-match ban for using a racial slur about teammate Son Heung-min. He has also been fined £100,000.

During an interview this summer, the Uruguay international was asked by a native reporter to get hold of a Tottenham shirt. Bentancur replied: "Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same."

The 27-year-old later apologised for his comments, describing them as a "very bad joke”. The Football Association has now handed him a lengthy suspension and ordered him to take part in a mandatory in-person education programme.

The ban will only apply in domestic competitions, meaning Bentancur is allowed to play in Tottenham’s Europa League games. Liverpool’s visit to Spurs on December 22, their last match before Christmas, will be the final fixture he is banned for.

The FA released a statement amidst the sanction. It said: “An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed a seven-match suspension and £100,000 fine on Rodrigo Bentancur for a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a media interview.

“It was alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder breached FA Rule E3.1 as he acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute. It was further alleged that this constitutes an “aggravated breach”, which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it included a reference – whether express or implied – to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.

“Rodrigo Bentancur denied this charge, but the independent Regulatory Commission found it to be proven and imposed his sanctions following a hearing. Its written reasons for these decisions can be seen below."

Tottenham have the opportunity to appeal the sanction. Bentancur has faced Liverpool three times across his career and has failed to come out on the winning side on each occasion.

He has been a regular in Ange Postecoglou’s team this season, featuring in all but one of the club’s 11 Premier League games so far.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been banned for seven matches, which includes Liverpool's visit to North London in December

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a blow with Rodrigo Bentancur handed a seven-match ban by the Football Association. The midfielder is therefore set to miss Liverpool's away match against Ange Postecoglou's side next month.

Liverpool have several fixtures both domestic and in Europe to attend to before they can consider preparing for their visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. At least now they have been given an early hint as who is unable to line up for their hosts.

The FA have intervened with this lengthy ban after an investigation opened earlier this year. Bentancur was charged with an 'aggravated breach' of the governing body's rules over comments actually made in Spanish on Uruguayan TV about Spurs team-mate Son Heung-min.

His host asked him for a Spurs player's shirt, to which the midfielder replied: "Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same."

This immediately landed him in hot water back in England and the repercussions have just only now been settled. Bentancur is due to be ruled out of his club's next seven domestic matches, therefore including the Reds' next Premier League meeting with Spurs on December 22.

This is actually the last of the seven he will miss, handing Liverpool this advantage by the finest of margins.

Whilst still a fair way from this clash, he becomes the sixth Spurs player simultaneously sidelined at present. Micky van de Ven, Timo Werner, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert have all been absent in recent weeks whilst teenager Mikey Moore was recently ill.

I have never worn Daniel Levy Tottenham gift from before Liverpool final - who does such a thing?

Hugo Lloris has opened up on Tottenham's Champions League final against Liverpool in 2019

Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris has admitted he was stunned by a gift given to each of the Spurs players by Deny Levy before the 2019 Champions League final with Liverpool. The two teams met in Madrid in the European Cup climax.

Goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi gave the Reds a memorable victory. The 2-0 success crowned Liverpool as kings of the continent for a sixth time.

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For Tottenham it was their first-ever Champions League final and in his new autobiography Earning my Spurs, Lloris has revealed that the occasion may have got to some figures at the club, most notably the divisive chairman Levy, per the Guardian.

"We do all have one engraved memory, though," he said. "Four days before the final, Daniel Levy called us all together to announce that, with the support of a sponsor, we would each receive a luxury aviator watch from the club. At first, we were excited to see the elegant boxes.

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"Then we opened them and discovered that he’d had the back of each timepiece engraved with the player’s name and ‘Champions League Finalist 2019’. ‘Finalist’. Who does such a thing at a moment like this? I still haven’t got over it, and I’m not alone. If we’d won, he wouldn’t have asked for the watches back to have ‘Winner’ engraved instead.

"I have considerable respect and esteem for the man and all he has done for the club as chairman – I got to know him – but there are things he is simply not sensitive to. As magnificent as the watch is, I have never worn it. I would have preferred there to be nothing on it. With an engraving like that, Levy couldn’t have been surprised if we had been 1–0 down after a couple of minutes: so it was written."

Lloris has also shared his frustration at the officiating in the final. Liverpool were awarded a penalty early on after Sadio Mane's attempted cross clattered into Moussa Sissoko's body from close range and then onto his arm.

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The French goalkeeper has suggested the final was "snatched" from Tottenham as a result and noted the change in guidelines over the award of penalties that followed soon after.

"From 2 June 2019, a change in the rules meant that a penalty would no longer follow if the ball struck a player’s hand after touching another part of their body," said Lloris. "The final took place on 1 June 2019, and something which wouldn’t have been an offence the following day sealed the fate of the final before it had really begun.

"Liverpool contented themselves with putting on a robust defence. As for us, we could only try our luck and dare a little in our play during the last 20 minutes. It was not a great final.

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"I’m not sure we understood that this was perhaps the only chance in our career to win the Champions League; that the club we played for was not one that was programmed to win it; that we could have avoided ever hearing again the complaint that Tottenham never won anything; that our names might have been engraved in the club’s history forevermore. This is what that penalty took from us."

Lloris spent 12 years at Spurs between 2012 and 2024, where he cemented his reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in world football.

While silverware escaped him at Tottenham, he won the 2018 World Cup with France and earned 145 caps for his country - more than any player for the men's team - before his international retirement in 2023.

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Lloris, now 37, plays for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer.

Man City's current injury crisis has left them with 13 fit senior players - with a number facing a race against time to be fit to face Liverpool next month

Man City face an injury crisis as they look to retain top spot in the Premier League table ahead of Liverpool this weekend. After his side’s League Cup exit to Tottenham Hotspur in midweek, Pep Guardiola declared he had only 13 fit players.

City were handed a number of fresh injury blows in the clash with Spurs as Manuel Akanji withdrew from the starting XI, Savinho was stretchered off, Ruben Dias was replaced at half-time and Josko Gvardiol received treatment after the game.

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“Tomorrow we have two 'keepers and Erling Haaland for a training session and we don't have anything else," Guardiola said after losing to Tottenham. "We are 13 players. We are in real difficulty but we have to make the effort.

“The guys who played, most finished with problems and we will see how they recover. I think when we are in trouble like we are - because in nine years I have never had this many injuries for this many reasons - in these situations, the players make a step forward, they are more together than ever and we will try to do this week in a short time for recovery.

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"[Savinho] had a knock in the 18-yard box for a potential penalty and we will see tomorrow what happened. We have to see just a knock, or maybe something else. It was in the bone. Hopefully it is nothing dangerous but we will see tomorrow.

"Akanji yesterday in the last action felt something muscular in the meniscus and today in the warm-up he didn't feel good. He said he could take a risk but I said no. Ruben is struggling sometimes as well. It's been getting more difficult game by game but maybe one day we will be all together."

According to Premier Injuries, City are currently without nine first team players, with only Ipswich Town suffering more absentees in the English top-flight. However, such a total does not include the ‘struggling’ Dias.

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Admittedly, the likes of Akanji and Gvardiol could be passed fit in time to travel to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday. But City are still set to be without a considerable number of players until at least after the November international break.

As a result, a number of Guardiola’s players could be doubts for their visit to Liverpool on December 1.

After travelling to Bournemouth this weekend, City face away trips to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday and Brighton & Hove Albion next weekend prior to the international break.

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Upon club football’s return later this month, they host Tottenham Hotspur on November 23 and Feyenoord on November 26 ahead of their trip to Anfield on December 1.

Rodri has been ruled out for the season with an ACL injury, while Oscar Bobb is not expected to return from injury until at least January, with the two long-term absentees certain to miss the trip to Liverpool as a result.

Meanwhile, Guardiola has already confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker won’t return until after the international break. Jeremy Doku is also not expected back from injury until after the break, with the quartet facing a race against the clock to return and prove their fitness ahead of their top-of-the-table clash with the Reds.

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Elsewhere, City are waiting to find out the severity of Savinho’s ankle injury after he was stretchered off against Tottenham.

While Guardiola’s walking wounded have time on their hands to return ahead of trip to Anfield, he will be hoping that City’s injury crisis does not get any worse before it starts to get better. The Spaniard is set to offer an injury update when he faces the media on Friday ahead of his side's trip to Bournemouth.

I was close to signing for Everton - but David Moyes only invited my team-mate to his house

Kyle Walker has revealed he was close to signing for the Blues before his move to Tottenham Hotspur

Kyle Walker said he almost signed for Everton but turned the club down because another transfer target was given preferential treatment. Walker said the Blues were close to securing him as clubs fought to take him from Sheffield United back in 2009, when he was 19.

But when fellow Blades talent Kyle Naughton was invited to the home of then boss David Moyes - and Walker was not - he opted to pursue the interest shown in him by Tottenham Hotspur. In the end, both Walker and Naughton - who Everton agreed a fee with Sheffield United for - joined Spurs.

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Speaking on his BBC podcast, You'll Never Beat Kyle Walker, Walker told his guest - former Everton captain Phil Jagielka: “I was close to signing for Everton before I signed for Tottenham. Just to let you know.”

At the time Naughton, then 20, was considered the bigger talent of the two having made 50 senior appearances across the defence and midfield.

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Walker continued: “Naughts went to his house. Naughts went to Moyes’ house and he never invited me. So I went down… to Tottenham and I was like, OK, they like me more, so I signed for Tottenham.”

Walker went on to become an integral part of the England set up while with Spurs before moving to Manchester City. There, he has clocked up six Premier League titles and two FA Cups alongside multiple other trophies. He was part of the Champions League winning side that included former Everton defender John Stones and Erling Haaland - another player Everton once looked at.

The tale of Walker and Naughton echoes that told by Arsenal’s FA-Cup hero Aaron Ramsey on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football this week. Now back at boyhood club Cardiff City, the midfielder spoke of how he too visited Moyes’ home before opting to sign for the Gunners as clubs battled to take him from south Wales.

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Mohammed Kudus was shown a straight red card for West Ham in their 4-1 defeat to Tottenham at the weekend and the forward is now set to miss the clash with Everton

West Ham United star striker Mohammed Kudus will be absent from the upcoming match against Everton, following a straight red card in the loss to Tottenham Hotspur last Saturday. Kudus had initially put the Hammers ahead with a close-range goal in the first half, but Spurs equalised before half-time through Dejan Kulusevski and then dominated the second half.

Yves Bissouma, an own goal by Alphonse Areola, and a strike from Son Heung-min saw the visitors crumble before the 60-minute mark. As tensions escalated at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Kudus was sent off just before stoppage time for a foul on Micky van de Ven, which escalated into a scuffle near the centre circle.

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Initially, referee Andy Madley issued a yellow card, but after a VAR review, it was upgraded to a red. This turn of events could prove advantageous for Sean Dyche's team as they prepare to face West Ham next weekend.

Kudus is facing a three-match Premier League suspension due to a violent conduct dismissal. The 24-year-old will not only miss the Everton match, but also the preceding fixtures against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.

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After Saturday's match with Ipswich Town, Everton face Fulham next weekend before the visit of Southampton seven days later. Today's clash with Ipswich was delayed due to IT issues, with kick-off pushed back 15 minutes.

West Ham started the day three points above Everton in the Premier League table, as both sides grapple with patchy early season form.

Jamie Carragher couldn't help but poke fun at Manchester United after Sunday's 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur

Jamie Carragher has poked fun at Gary Neville's early season prediction that Manchester United would finish above Liverpool - following the Red Devils' 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

In their first Premier League outing at Old Trafford since the 3-0 defeat to Arne Slot's side earlier this month, United endured another humiliating afternoon as goals from Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solake sealed a historic win for Spurs to mount the pressure on Erik ten Hag.

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Neville, on co-commentary duty for Sky Sports, pulled no punches when assessing United, labelling their third defeat of the Premier League season as "disgraceful". And Carragher couldn't help but bask in the downfall of United with a cheeky social media post immediately after the game.

Taking to X, Liverpool legend Carragher retweeted a Sky Sports graphic from the start of the season where Neville had predicted that United would finish above Liverpool.

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On the first Monday Night Show of the season, the former United and England full-back predicted Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea to finish in the top four, insisting Liverpool would suffer a slump in form as a result of Jurgen Klopp's departure. Carragher, meanwhile, had the Reds down to finish third, behind Manchester City and Arsenal.

It's fair to say that Neville's prediction hasn't aged well, with Liverpool's 2-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday night moving them to the top of the Premier League, eight points ahead of United after just six games.

Latest Liverpool news and gossip as an ex-coach has claimed that a former Tottenham defender is 'better' than Reds captain Virgil van Dijk

A former coach has explained why he believes ex-Tottenham Hotspur star Davinson Sanchez is "better" than Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. Servet Cetin, a former centre-back for Turkey, has claimed that Van Dijk is not as good a defender as Sanchez.

Van Dijk is into his seventh full season with Liverpool and second since being named Reds captain following Jordan Henderson's departure. The 33-year-old's contract at Anfield has been the subject of speculation with the current contract set to expire at the end of the season.

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Sanchez, meanwhile, is enjoying his second season at Galatasaray after signing for the Super Lig club from Tottenham in 2023. During his time with Spurs, Sanchez made 207 appearances but was an unused substitute against Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final in Madrid.

Servet, a former centre-back who made 59 appearances for Turkey, has made a claim about Van Dijk. The 43-year-old, who was most recently a coach with Super Lig club Sivasspor, has explained why he believes Sanchez is "better" than the Liverpool captain.

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''I think Sanchez is a better stopper than Van Dijk. In England, stoppers play regionally, they do not change their positions," Cetin told Ajannsspor.

"They do not enter the level of right back or left back. They constantly take positions in the centre. They usually play slowly. They intercept the ball in the centre because they are physically good. But they struggle when they have to open up.

"Van Dijk had a hard time against Baris Alper Yilmaz in the Turkey-Netherlands national match [at Euro 2024]. However, Sanchez is both in one game. He has a level, plays in a wider area and does not let anyone pass. He does a much more difficult job. He goes out with the ball very well.

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