Premier League team news and transfer latest: weekend football countdown – live!

Southampton: Following their horror run-in to the end of last season, when they just five points from the final 36 available, Southampton have lost won and drawn the other of their two games in the current campaign. They visit Leicester City tomorrow in search of a much-needed win and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl says they need an upturn in their form away from home.

“We had seasons where we have been horrible at home and unbelievably good away,” he said. “Last season was the opposite, with a long unbeaten run at home and then away we were struggling, with two or three good games, but this is not enough. We know we need to do more there. We must show our fans from the first moment that we are willing to show a different face. New players are coming in and with every session and every day we are sitting together, working together, this becomes a unit and this is good.”

Speaking of Gary Neville: Here he is in conversation with his Sky colleague Geoff Shreeves, getting extremely agitated and exercised over the subject of potatoes and the awfulness of roast turkey. While I couldn’t disagree more with him on the subject of spuds, he has a point about the blandness of Christmas dinner.

In other punditry news: Jamie Carragher has replaced the Gary Neville “clown face” avatar he’s been using for the past week at his fellow Sky Sports pundit’s request.

Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp took a swipe at Aston Villa striker turned Talksport contrarian Gabby Agbonlahor during his press conference this morning. Andy Hunter, our man on the Merseyside beat, has the latest.

Aston Villa: Steven Gerrard has been getting his yap on before heading to that there Big London, where his team are scheduled to play Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park tomorrow afternoon. Villa beat Everton last weelend but lost centre-back Diego Carlos to a long-term achilles injury.

“It’s certainly a blow to lose a player of his importance,” he said. “He had successful surgery yesterday, so it’s important that we look forward and try to be positive. We’ll give him all the support he needs, he still has a part to play. I want him to be involved in the dressing room and to show his leadership skills.”

Gerrard did not rulre out the possibility of signing a replacement centre-back to fill in for the sidelined Brazilian. “It’s something we are analysing,” he said. “We still have three fully fit centre-backs and Kortney Hause is back in full training. We have time to decide if we need more support in that area.” Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Calum Chambers are all available for selection in the heart of the VIlla defence at Selhurst Park tomorrow.

Bournemouth: Scott Parker’s side host Arsenal tomorrow and the young manager has the unenviable task of figuring out how to nullify the threat of Gabriel Jesus, who scored two goals against Leciester City last weekend.

“Gabriel Jesus is a brilliant signing, an amazing signing really,” he said. “Mikel had the player at Manchester City and he’s a top forward, an incredible centre forward. He’s probably got every facet to his game as a number nine: can drop in, can link play, is also a threat on your backline as well, endless work-rate in terms of pressing and leading the line from that sense. It’s a real challenge for us at the weekend to try and keep him quiet, he’s a big player for them.”

Parker was equally effusive in his praise for his opposite number at Arsenal. “What Mikel has done in a short space of time is fantastic,” he said. “The progression they’ve made in terms of signings has enhanced them even more. I seriously see them as a team that are going to be right up there this year. They’re a technical team with huge quality all over the pitch.

“We’ll embrace that, we’re ready for that and we’ll do the work we can to try and nullify that and try and make it uncomfortable as much as we can, while also understanding the challenges that we’re going to face and the problems they’re going to cause. We have a big challenge ahead of us.”

Newcastle United: To nobody’s great surprise, Eddie Howe has dismissed the notion that midfielder Bruno Guimãraes might be off next summer. Reports from Spain in the past 24 hours suggested Guimãraes, who has been a huge success since signing for Newcastle in January has caught the eye of Real Madrid.

“No, absoluterly not,” said Howe, upon being asked if the Brazilian is for sale. “No, absolutely not. “We’re trying to build a squad here that we feel can take the club to be successful over the next few years, and we want to build that squad and enhance the group, not take away our best players.”

Gibbs-White completes Forest move

Newcastle United: For all his excellent qualities as a manager, Eddie Howe has an absolutely dismal record against Manchester City. During his time at Bournemouth and Newcastle, Howe has sent teams out to face City on 12 occasions and all have returned to the dressing-room beaten … by an aggregate score of 39-5. On Sunday, his Newcastle team face the Premier League champions at St James’ Park and Howe has been speaking to the media ahead of the game.

“The results were hard on us but I thought they were tighter than they look on paper,” he said of Newcastle’s 4-0 and 5-0 reverses at the hands of City last season. “The home game, there were bits of our performance that were very good but you need a bit of luck and to be clinical and we probably weren’t that.

“We’d love a very good performance. This is the ultimate test. These games against City and Liverpool are the real barometer of our quality. We want to narrow that gap between us and the top teams in the division.”

In nine matches under Howe against the traditional Big Six in the second half of last season, Newcastle won one, drew one and lost seven. If they are to break into the cabal, as some suggest they might with their Saudi backing, they will have to do much better in this campaign.

Nottingham Forest: Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper insists an “exciting challenge” lies ahead after his newly promoted club’s well-documented summer trolley dash. Wolves midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White is on the verge of becoming their 16th summer signing after the clubs agreed a £25m fee, which could rise to over £40m.

“Well we’re enjoying it that’s for sure and we’re certainly facing up to it because it’s a reality,” said Cooper, speaking before his teamn’s trip to Everton tomorrow. “We’re not seeing it as a negative and not seeing it as a disadvantage because if you see it like that then you’re already on a downer with it. So we’re enjoying it.”

Gibbs-White, 22, will be reunited with Cooper after spending the first half of the 2020-21 season on loan at Swansea. Forest completed their 15th summer signing last weekend following the arrivals of Emmanuel Dennis, Cheikhou Kouyate and Remo Freuler, who could all be in contention for starting places tomorrow. Jesse Lingard, Dean Henderson and Taiwo Awoniyi had been among the club’s new arrivals earlier this summer.

“Quite rightly I get asked every week by people about the amount of players coming in and I completely understand that. It’s the right question to ask,” said Cooper. “But we had no alternative. It was inevitable. We were getting prepared for it for a long while and we’re still in that process. All we can do is keep trying to build layers day by day, in the way that we work and behave.”

Jurgen Klopp has been talking …

This weekend’s top flight fixtures

The weekend starts here …