A huge weekend of Premier League action is just around the corner, with the title race, battle for Europe and relegation scrap all accelerating towards a thrilling conclusion at the end of the month.
Daily Mail Sport brings you all the live updates across Friday’s press conferences, with Mikel Arteta, Arne Slot and Pep Guardiola among the managers speaking…
Isak and Mamardashvili close in on Liverpool return
Alexander Isak is back in training for Liverpool and could return this weekend but several other stars are still missing.
In a lengthy fitness bulletin on Friday afternoon, boss Arne Slot also delivered good news on goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili – though No 1 Alisson will remain out.
Isak missed last week’s trip to Old Trafford with a groin problem but the Swede is now back on the training field and set to play against Chelsea on Saturday – though they will need to manage his minutes and he might not be risked from the start.
Georgian goalkeeper Mamardashvili is also in line to return after No 3 Freddie Woodman played the last two and a half games.
But Alisson is not quite ready after skipping the last month with a hamstring issue. He was originally hoping to be fit again for the end of April but is taking longer in the last stage of recovery than expected.
The Brazil No 1 has strong interest from Juventus and his Anfield future remains in the balance despite signing a one-year contract extension recently that sees his deal run until the end of next season. Italian sources suggest Alisson is keen on the move to Turin.
Ibrahima Konate and Florian Wirtz both missed training earlier this week but they are now back after a personal issue and illness respectively.
Mohamed Salah is ‘very close’ to a return, according to Arne Slot, but he is not ready just yet. Both the Egyptian and Alisson could be expected to feature next week in Friday night’s trip to Aston Villa.
Alexander Isak is back in training for Liverpool and could return this weekend against Chelsea
Howe discusses Gordon’s Newcastle future
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has affirmed Anthony Gordon’s commitment to the club following speculation over his future.
The England forward has been the subject of reported interest from Bayern Munich, with reports suggesting they have opened talks with the Magpies over a possible move.
When asked if he could shed any light on Bayern links, Howe said: ‘No, none. That’s not something I’m involved in.’
Gordon joined Newcastle from Everton in January 2023 and has scored 17 goals in all competitions this season.
Asked if he feels Gordon is 100 per cent committed to the club, Howe replied: ‘Yeah, he wouldn’t be in the squad if that was the case.
‘And I judge that, as I said many times, not on communications elsewhere, I do that with my relationship with the player and how I see them train.’
Newcastle are 13th in the table and have three games remaining this season, starting with a trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has affirmed Anthony Gordon’s commitment to the club
With the campaign approaching its end, Howe admitted the summer transfer window is ‘difficult to predict’, but he is currently focused on a strong league finish.
He said: ‘It’s difficult for me to comment too much on individual players and timescales and all that stuff because that’s going into an area that isn’t really my forte, so I’ll leave that to other people.
‘All I’m looking to do is try and finish the season with the squad in a really strong way and the players be committed to what they’re doing right here, right now.
‘There’s no point looking too far ahead into the future. The summer transfer window is difficult to predict, it’s difficult to see what’s going to happen on any level at this moment in time so we’ve got three big games to play and we need to focus on them.’
Newcastle will be without Lewis Miley after the club announced on Tuesday that the midfielder had fractured his fibula in training.
Miley’s premature end to the season comes having only made his return to the team last month following a spell on the sidelines with a leg problem sustained during the 1-1 Champions League draw against Paris St Germain.
Howe said of the incident: ‘It was a really innocuous moment. Training on Tuesday, no one around him, there was no other player involved.
‘He slipped and went down. We probably at that moment thought it was just a twist or something, nothing too serious, but he was unable to continue.
‘Pretty early we became aware it was a little bit more serious than we thought. That’s the fragile nature of a professional footballer’s career.
‘Now he faces a few months out, we hope that he’ll be back in and around for pre-season.
‘It’s a real shame because he was playing really well, outstanding in recent weeks, we really missed him when he got his injury last time.
‘A real blow for us but also for Lewy and knowing the strength of character he’ll be back and he’ll be back better than ever, but it’s going to be a blow for him and for us.’
Howe also revealed Tino Livramento is ‘improving’ but suggested it is unlikely the full-back will feature again this season.
The England forward has been the subject of reported interest from Bayern Munich
Rodri touch and go ahead of Brentford clash
Rodri will train with the Manchester City team on Friday afternoon as Pep Guardiola hopes to count on the midfielder when Brentford arrive at the weekend.
The Spain international partially trained on Thursday as he battles back from a groin injury that has kept him out of the last three matches – including this week’s dramatic 3-3 draw at Everton.
City need their metronome for the remaining fixtures of the campaign as they attempt to pip Arsenal to the Premier League title.
‘We will see this afternoon,’ Guardiola said. ‘Still he doesn’t feel completely comfortable and when he will be ready and fit and come back. Hopefully tomorrow he will come back.’
Everton were able to heap pressure on City’s midfield in Rodri’s absence but Guardiola insisted that it was not the defining factor in dropping points at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
‘It doesn’t depend on him, it wasn’t because Rodri wasn’t there,’ he added. ‘We have survived without him for many months.’
New Hurzeler contract gives Brighton clarity
Seagulls head coach Fabian Hurzeler believes the announcement of his new three-year contract gives Brighton clarity for the Premier League run-in.
With three games to go as the eighth-placed Seagulls chase European qualification, Hurzeler has extended his deal at the Amex Stadium until June 2029.
‘Clarity is always important and clarity I think is, regarding the last three games, crucial,’ the 33-year-old German told a press conference.
‘That’s why we said we want to finish this (the contract announcement) as quick as possible and then we have clarity because there are always noises, end-of-the-season noises with offers from other clubs.
‘There will be always noises about players, that’s typical in this period when it comes more to the transfer window. So for me and for the club, it was so important to have this clarity to focus now just on performance, to focus now on finishing the season strong. That was the main reason (for the timing of the announcement).’
Following last weekend’s 3-1 loss at Newcastle, Albion host relegated Wolves on Saturday before visiting Leeds and then finishing the campaign at home to Manchester United.
‘The biggest challenge is to prove we can bounce back from this defeat against Newcastle,’ said Hurzeler.
‘It’s about reducing mistakes. In the last games we made too many easy mistakes and, if we do this again, Wolverhampton has the quality to punish us. But if we keep reaching our highest level then we have a good chance (of victory).’
Fabian Hurzeler believes the news of his fresh three-year contract gives Brighton clarity
Cherries in ‘good place’ regardless of dream Champions League spot
Andoni Iraola admits European qualification for sixth-placed Bournemouth will be difficult but knows his team are in a ‘good place’ as they look to create history.
The Cherries’ impressive 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday has opened up a four-point gap over faltering Chelsea and moved them above Brentford and Brighton.
However, Iraola has consistently remained cautious about Bournemouth’s top-seven hopes and the prospect of European qualification for the first time in the club’s history, but eighth place could now earn a spot in Europe after Aston Villa reached the Europa League final.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Fulham, which is followed by tricky matches against Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, Iraola told a press conference: ‘We are like six or seven teams fighting for two or three positions.
‘We need points and we need wins and we don’t have easy games. The only thing that makes me optimistic is I see my team in a really good place.
‘There is a possibility (for Europe) and still we have to get good results.
‘If we don’t get good results, if we don’t get wins, we will not have Europe. It is for me quite clear.’
Bournemouth are set to be boosted by the return of Justin Kluivert for their trip to Fulham, who are 11th and only four points behind Iraola’s side.
Andoni Iraola knows Bournemouth are in a ‘good place’ as they eye a Champions League spot
Le Bris eyeing improvements after impressive season
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris stressed the importance of building on the foundations set this season.
The Wearsiders have impressed in their first season back in the top flight, sitting on 47 points and well clear of the relegation scrap.
Le Bris, though, believes there is ‘still room for improvement’.
He said: ‘I think the season gives us a strong platform. This first season with 14 new signings, so the performance was good, the connection between the lads was good.
‘There is still room for improvement everywhere with this squad. Sometimes, you might say this is the end of the story for 20 or 40 per cent of the group because they are exhausted, the connection is not the same because you need freshness, you need ambition and so on. It’s not the case at the minute.
‘It’s probably really important to build on the foundations we created together because we feel that we have so much to do with this squad.
‘Then, it’s still important to add two, three, four players to help the starting XI and probably the 16, the 16 core of the squad and that’s still an objective.’
The 12th-placed Black Cats have three games remaining, starting against Manchester United on Saturday.
They have no fresh injury concerns but they be without the suspended Dan Ballard, while Romaine Mundle remains sidelined.
