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Newcastle: More from Howe on the challenge of West Ham, who are winless since 31 August.
They have a group of very good players, especially in the attacking areas, we are going to have our work cut out to limit the space for their attacking talent. Our away form has not been strong enough and we want to put that right in this game.
And on the possibility of winning back-to-back games:
It would be huge for us. It’s only with back-to-back wins that we are going to propel ourselves.
It’s so tight. There are a lot of teams congested where we are, you are looking for one positive result to try to elevate you.
Newcastle: Eddie Howe has given an update on Lewis Hall and the rest of his squad’s fitness ahead of Sunday’s trip to West Ham.
[Lewis Hall] is very close. He hasn’t trained with us yet so hopefully he will be training with us today for the first time. We will see how he looks. I think he has worked really hard. He has looked after himself and looks in really good shape. But then we have to reintroduce himself back into the squad at the right time.
I don’t think there is anything new. We are still managing Will Osula’s ankle problem. We will see how he is today, but apart from that I think we are as we were.
FA Cup: A quick turn to tonight’s meeting between Luton Town and Forest Green Rovers in the FA Cup first round. Both sides will wear kits made by the eco-conscious brand Reflo and to mark the occasion, Reflo says it will plant 1,000 trees for every goal scored at Kenilworth Road, with a minimum of 1,000 trees guaranteed regardless of the result. The initiative is designed to highlight the growing intersection between football and environmental responsibility, particularly among clubs that have made sustainability part of their identity.
Forest Green Rovers, long known as the world’s first fully vegan football club, are celebrating ten years since that milestone this season. Their kits are also certified by the Vegan Society. Luton Town have launched tree-planting schemes of their own as part of their broader push toward greener practices, including plans for an environmentally conscious new stadium at Power Court.
On the pitch, two former Premier League players-turned-managers, Jack Wilshere and Robbie Savage, face off in the dugouts with a spot in the second round and a few thousand trees at stake.
Liverpool: The defending champions take on Villa this weekend before hosting Real Madrid in the Champions League. Their final game before the November international break will be away to Manchester City. Here is what Slot said on the challenge Villa posses:
If you don’t win the beginning, people say: ‘oh maybe they don’t have the same team as last season’ and then they start winning and everything is positive again. Where with us, it’s exactly the opposite.
We’re both on the same points, apart from Arsenal many teams are in and around the same points. It shows how hard the Premier League is.
They’ve done very well in the last six or seven games. And maybe it’s not a surprise and you could see in the games they lost before the signs that they are a very good team.
They decided not to make a habit out of having more chances than the opponent and not win it. Let’s make sure we don’t have that habit.
The Dutchman also provided some team news:
Ryan [Gravenberch] trained with us yesterday. The other two [Curtis Jones and Alexander Isak] not yet.
In the end bit of an injury, things can slow down. Let’s see where the other two are.
Ryan trained with us for the first time yesterday, and will train with us today. Then we’ll make the call to see if he can start or not. The other two are probably 99.9% not in the squad on Saturday.
Liverpool: Slot is also asked whether he and the club are in negotiations for a contract extension.
This is the last question that I was expecting.
My focus is completely on getting Liverpool back to winning ways. That is my first answer and my second answer, contract talks, if they are even there, we never speak about this here.
Let us first start to win again, that is my main focus.
Liverpool: More from Slot on finding form.
The thing that gives me the most confidence is the quality in the players and the chances these players are creating. This will result in the players scoring more goals than we have up until now.
We have to address other things. But if I talk about that and speak about them, people tell me I’m using excuses. So maybe it’s best that I just say that. There are other positives to go int this week – quality of the players first and foremost and the amount of chances we created from open play is enough to compete for the positions we want to compete for.
Slot 'happy with quality of team' despite dire Liverpool results
The Liverpool manager Arne Slot was asked whether he feels his squad depth is the reason his side have lost six of their last seven matches.
We miss nothing. I’m happy with the quality of the team. But I’m also convinced by the strategy and policy we have. What makes it ‘the issue’ – not all of them have had a proper pre-season. When three or four are injured, you go down to having 16 players.
I am a firm believer in 21 or 22 players are enough. But you have to keep them fit as we did last season. We are struggling to keep them fit this season for in my opinion, obvious reasons.
[Alexander Isak] came to us on 1 September. A few others missed out in pre-season. It has been more difficult than last season to keep them more available. When players are not available, it [workload] comes down more to the same players.
But no excuses for results. We had to play a lot of away games with only two days in between. That would have been difficult last season, and for any player that has been fit this season through pre-season. But it has not been the case this season.
Then you have to manage it. The upcoming week is three games in eight days. It has nothing to do with squad depth, but it has how we have run through the season in terms of injuries, availability every two or three days.
Preamble
Another spine-tingling weekend of football is upon us. Join us as we preview a frightful round of fixtures from the Premier League, FA Cup, Women’s Super League and more with team news and key press conferences.
Arne Slot’s press conference ahead of Liverpool’s match against Aston Villa is underway and the defending champions’ form leaves much to be desired. Will they rise from the grave? Or will Unai Emery’s men join the list of teams haunting Anfield’s faithful?
