Arne Slot, Mikel Arteta, Eddie Howe, Oliver Glasner, Thomas Frank and Simon Rusk faced the media on Tuesday ahead of their EFL Cup quarter-finals this week.
The key updates are summarised below.
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LIVERPOOL
Kostas Tsimikas (foot) is set to return to full training today.
Ibrahima Konate (knee) and Conor Bradley (hamstring) remain on the injury list, however.
“Kostas [Tsimikas] is coming close. He’s going to be training with us today, maybe for the first time, so let’s see how that works out. Ibrahima [Konate] and Conor [Bradley] are still not training with us.” – Arne Slot
Andrew Robertson is suspended after his red card against Fulham on Saturday but will be available in Gameweek 17.
Arne Slot also outlined his early team selection plans for Wednesday’s quarter-final.
The Dutch tactician confirmed Caoimhin Kelleher will start in goal.
He added that Diogo Jota missed training on Monday and is unlikely to start as a result, while Federico Chiesa should get minutes but not the full 90’.
“Diogo [Jota] would have been definitely one that it was ideal for him to play, but after the [Fulham] game he wasn’t completely fit, so he didn’t train with us yesterday. Let’s see if he can train with us today. Don’t expect him to start. Hopefully he can make some minutes, but don’t expect him to start tomorrow.” – Arne Slot
“It’s definitely a moment where he [Chiesa] can get minutes. The amount of minutes is a question mark. You cannot expect from him to play 90, I think, especially at his level, where the intensity is so high, because he has been out for five or six months now. But if he has a good training session he will make minutes, but it’s going to be a game where not all of our starters will start, so we have to manage minutes.” – Arne Slot
ARSENAL
Riccardo Calafiori (groin) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (unknown) remain out for Arsenal.
Declan Rice was forced off against Everton on Saturday after suffering a knock but has been passed fit. Whether the England international is risked against Crystal Palace remains to be seen.
“He’s fine [Rice]. We will make the decision on whether he’s available or not.
“Alex [Zinchenko] and Riccy [Calafiori] will still be out of the squad for tomorrow.” – Mikel Arteta
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Eddie Howe confirmed Newcastle United don’t have any fresh injuries from Saturday’s match.
Sean Longstaff will miss out through suspension having received bookings in the previous two rounds.
Sven Botman (knee) played 60 minutes for the U21s on Monday but isn’t expected back until the end of the month, perhaps early January.
“I don’t know how he is this morning, it’s quite early, but he was good last night. He seemed in a really good place and it’s always a big step, playing your first game. He looked good on the pitch, his movement was good. It was typical Sven. He’s a massive player for us and we’ve missed him but he’s still got a little bit to go before he’s available for selection.”
“We were looking right to the end of December to the beginning of January, that’s the plan and we’re still on track with the plan. With the length of the time he’s been out, ideally he will need two or three more games to get his rhythm back because it’s a big step up to the Premier League.” – Eddie Howe
Howe also discussed Lewis Hall’s recent impact.
“I think he has played very well this season. He has been very consistent and has been a real shining light for us in terms of being the same Lewis home or away. For someone so young, that is not easy to do. I think his technical delivery this year has been outstanding – in all phases. I think his final ball can improve but it was great to see him with two assists at the weekend. Defensively he has been pretty good but again there are areas he can improve and develop but he is certainly moving in the right direction. For someone so young, how he has handled himself, the maturity he has shown on and off the pitch has been really high level.” – Eddie Howe
CRYSTAL PALACE
Eberechi Eze (£6.6m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.2m) both made way before the hour mark at the Amex on Sunday.
Eze “got a hit on the top of his foot”, with Oliver Glasner to decide on his availability tomorrow.
Adam Wharton (groin) remains out for “quite a few weeks”.
“Mateta is okay. Ebs [Eze] we will take the final decision tomorrow. It looks quite good but he got a hit on the top of his foot and it was swollen. He could do a little bit of training today, but we will decide tomorrow.
“Adam [Wharton] can’t train with us yet. It will be quite a few weeks until he is available.” – Oliver Glasner
Daniel Munoz is suspended having already picked up two yellow cards in the EFL Cup this season.
The Colombian will also miss Gameweek 17, having collected his fifth Premier League booking of the campaign against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
BRENTFORD
There are no new injury concerns for Brentford.
Igor Thiago missed Brentford’s 2-1 defeat against Chelsea on Sunday due to a minor injury but has since returned to training.
“Everyone is available from the Chelsea game and [Igor] Thiago has trained which is positive.” – Thomas Frank
SOUTHAMPTON
Simon Rusk said there are “no fresh injuries” that he is aware of.
The Southampton interim boss gave a non-committal answer when asked if goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale (finger) would be available.
“There are no fresh injuries that I’m aware of. I think as is normal in such a quick turnaround of games, there’ll be things that are still being assessed. That’s an ongoing situation. I’m sure over the next 24 hours, 48 hours before Liverpool and post-Liverpool, we’ll hopefully get some news on them guys that might be close.” – Simon Rusk
