Tag: English Premier League

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Chelsea’s new boss Liam Rosenior convicted of speeding

New Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior has been convicted of speeding after fog delayed his flight back to the UK, where he was due to complete a speed awareness course.

Rosenior admitted being behind the wheel of the vehicle, which had been travelling at 36mph in a 30mph zone in Rykneld Road, Littleover, Derbyshire, at 11.41am on 7 July.

He was offered the chance to avoid a criminal prosecution by completing a speed awareness course, but did not turn up to the session, which had been arranged.

Rosenior explained, in a note to Derby Magistrates’ Court he “had to stay another night and be on a plane the next day during the time of the course”.

He added: “Unfortunately, the course could not be fulfilled due to unforeseen circumstances. Understandably, due to circumstances, I have to accept the situation as is.”

Rosenior was convicted at a single justice procedure hearing on 2 January, with a magistrate ordering him to pay out a total of £1,052 in fines, costs, and court fees.

The former Strasbourg boss was appointed as head coach on Tuesday following Enzo Maresca’s exit.

London-born Rosenior, 41, has admitted his new position at the Premier League club represents a significant step up from his previous job in France.

“The reality is Strasbourg is not on the level as Chelsea,” he said at press conference at the French club – also owned by Chelsea’s parent company BlueCo.

“There are certain clubs you just cannot just turn down. I hope the [Strasbourg] fans can see that.”

Rosenior, who played in England for 16 years, began his managerial career at Derby County – where he got the top job on an interim basis.

His first permanent position was at Hull City, where he lasted for 18 months and took the Championship to the brink of the play-offs before being sacked by the owner who said the pair had a difference in footballing philosophy.

Rosenior, who has been given a six-and-a-half year contract at Chelsea, said on Tuesday that managing a “world-class” club was “something I have always dreamed of”.

“I am looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “If I didn’t think I was ready, I wouldn’t have accepted it.

Chelsea said that the club’s new head coach had “signed a contract with the club that will take him through to 2032”.

Rosenior becomes Chelsea’s fourth permanent boss since owners BlueCo took control in 2022.

Maresca was dismissed on New Year’s Day, leaving abruptly following a deterioration in his relationship with bosses.

It also followed a disappointing run of results – one win from the last seven Premier League games – that left the club 15 points adrift of leaders Arsenal.

Maresca is understood to have stepped down because he felt his position was untenable, while Chelsea were already considering sacking the head coach due to poor results, his comments in the media, disagreements with the medical team and reports linking him with other clubs. (SkyNews)

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Ruben Amorim sacked as Man United head coach after 14 months

Manchester United have sacked boss Ruben Amorim, the club has confirmed.

The announcement was made on Monday morning less than 24 hours after Amorim held a stunning news conference following the 1-1 draw with Leeds United in which he urged United bosses to “do your jobs.”

Under-18s coach Darrren Fletcher is set to take charge of United’s trip to Burnley on Wednesday.

Sources have told ESPN that the club are still mapping out a succession plan, but are leaning towards naming an interim boss until the end of the season before making a permanent appointment in the summer.

Amorim was informed in person at Carrington on Monday by director of football Jason Wilcox and CEO Omar Berrada.

Club sources have denied that the decision was prompted by a breakdown in Amorim’s relationship with Wilcox, but rather because the hierarchy “have not seen enough signs of evolution of progress.”

But sources said Amorim was sacked in the aftermath of an explosive meeting with Wilcox on Friday.

Amorim, according to sources, did not take kindly to the conversation moving on to the subject of his preferred 3-4-3 system and the potential evolution of the team’s style of play.

Following the meeting, Amorim took part in a tense news conference with reporters before quickly leaving the club’s Carrington training ground.

He pulled out of a scheduled broadcast interview citing “personal reasons” and defender Lisandro Martínez had to take his place.

Sources have told ESPN that Wilcox intended the meeting to focus on feedback following the 1-1 draw with Wolves three days earlier.

Amorim’s volatile response to the advice was seen by club bosses as “too emotional” and signalled that his relationship with Wilcox had broken down.

It was followed by a fraught news conference after the 1-1 draw with Leeds on Monday during which the Portuguese coach demanded to be “manager, not the coach” and called on Wilcox to “do his job.”

United sources are insisting that the decision to dismiss Amorim was not made purely because of tensions behind the scenes and was taken because the club “had not seen enough signs of evolution or progress” on the pitch.

However, it’s hard to escape the sense that the timing of the move has much to do with Amorim’s news conference at Elland Road and particularly the barbs aimed at the club and Wilcox.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday ahead of the trip to Leeds, the Portuguese coach revealed his frustration at a lack of movement in the January transfer window.

And after the game on Sunday, he went one step further by telling club bosses he wants to be “manager, not the coach” while also pointedly aiming a dig at Wilcox to “do his job.”

Club sources have told ESPN that, as far as they were concerned, Amorim was “fully aligned” with their transfer plan.

They insist the decision has been made to “give a capable and committed squad the best chance of being successful.”

Amorim has overseen a turbulent 14 months at United after succeeding Erik ten Hag as boss in November 2024.

He won 24 of his 63 matches in charge and oversaw just 15 victories in the Premier League.

He leaves United sixth in the Premier League table after eight wins from 20 games this season.

Current under-18s boss Darren Fletcher is set to take over ahead of the trip to Burnley on Wednesday. (ESPN)

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Arsenal stretches Premier League lead

Arsenal fought back from a goal down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 on Saturday, stretching their lead at the top of the Premier League as Aston Villa extended their winning run at home.

A goal from Gabriel Magalhaes and two from the returning Declan Rice sent the Gunners six points clear of second-placed Villa and seven ahead of Manchester City.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised the character of his team, singling out Rice and Gabriel, whose sloppy pass set up Bournemouth for the opening goal.

“I love the character of Gabriel, the way he overcome that situation — it’s just unbelievable, it says a lot about how much we’ve grown,” he told Sky Sports. “The team found a way to beat them and it’s a massive win.”

The Spaniard said that Rice had worked hard to be available after missing Tuesday’s 4-1 home win against Villa with a knee problem.

“He has stretched himself to the very limit and the team were awarded with two great goals,” he added.

Evanilson gave impressive Bournemouth an early lead, stroking home after Gabriel’s error but the Brazil defender made up for his mistake just minutes later, converting after Noni Madueke’s drive to the byline.

England midfielder Rice side-footed the Gunners ahead in the 54th minute from the edge of the area and gave them breathing space with about 20 minutes to go, producing a low finish from substitute Bukayo Saka’s cutback.

Junior Kroupi brought Bournemouth back into the game with a thunderous right-footed finish but Arsenal held on for a fifth straight Premier League win — keeping them firmly on course for a first English title since 2004.

Earlier, Unai Emery’s Villa bounced back from their chastening defeat at Arsenal to beat Nottingham Forest 3-1, recording their 11th consecutive home win in all competitions.

England forward Ollie Watkins gave Villa a deserved lead on the cusp of half-time with a powerful strike from just outside the area and John McGinn scored twice in the second half, either side of a Morgan Gibbs-White goal.

Villa boss Emery said his players and coaching staff had held a meeting after their drubbing at the Emirates Stadium.

“I am so happy,” he said. “We had to recover our energy and our confidence. Here, at Villa Park, the energy we create was really important.

“Forest are competitive. After the Arsenal match we met — the players and staff — (and discussed) how we are doing this season, how we are feeling, how we needed to keep the same consistency as before, how we needed to be together and strong.”

Sean Dyche’s Forest, who have now suffered four straight league defeats, remain one place above the relegation zone, four points clear of West Ham, who slumped to a damaging 3-0 loss at Molineux. (JapanToday)

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Arsenal will end the year top of Premier League after 4-1 statement win over Villa


Arsenal ensured it will end the year top of the Premier League after beating Aston Villa 4-1 at home in a powerful statement win on Tuesday with all goals scored in the second half.

The fourth goal, scored by substitute Gabriel Jesus one minute after coming on, highlighted the depth of Arsenal’s bench this season and coach Mikel Arteta jubilantly high-fived his assistants at the final whistle.

Victory moved Arsenal five points ahead of Manchester City, which plays at Sunderland on New Year’s Day, and six points clear of third-place Villa.

“It is a beautiful evening. That was a very tough match, as we knew it would be, because they are a top opponent to play against,” Arteta told broadcaster Sky Sports. “The way we started the second half was amazing, we really turned things up and were efficient in everything that we did.”

Arsenal has not won the Premier League since 2004 and the pressure is on Arteta to deliver.

“In 2026, we know what we want,” Arteta said.

Elsewhere, Chelsea drew 2-2 at home to Bournemouth; Newcastle won 3-1 at lowly Burnley; and Manchester United was held 1-1 at home to rock-bottom Wolverhampton.

Struggling West Ham drew 2-2 with visiting Brighton, and Everton won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.

No Arsenal player is near the top of the scorers’ charts this season, yet sharing the goals around might just be the team’s strength.

Defender Gabriel Magalhães headed home early in the second half following a corner for set-piece specialist Arsenal, and midfielder Martín Zubimendi netted in the 52nd minute.

Winger Leandro Trossard curled in a fine third from the edge of the penalty area in the 69th and was involved in the fourth goal, curled into the same corner from almost the same spot in the 78th minute by Jesus after Arsenal had launched a superb counterattack from deep.

The win was even more impressive considering Arsenal was missing key midfielder Declan Rice with a knee injury and Villa was playing on the back of 11 straight victories in all competitions.

Gabriel nodded in from close range and was deemed not to have impeded Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez with his elbow.

Zubimendi finished confidently after captain Martin Ødegaard expertly won the ball in midfield and advanced before threading a perfect ball behind Villa’s defense. (JapanToday)

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Spurs down Palace; Leeds and Sunderland draw

Tottenham ground out a much-needed three points for the under-fire Thomas Frank with a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, while high-flying Sunderland were held 1-1 by Leeds on Sunday.

Archie Gray was Spurs’ unlikely match winner at Selhurst Park with his first senior goal as Frank’s men won for just the second time in nine league games.

Richarlison had two goals disallowed for offside but Gray’s header was enough for Tottenham against a Palace side running out of steam after a gruelling schedule.

“In the end we got over the line,” said Frank. “The team showed great resilience today and I think the desire beat the details in the game.”

The Eagles are winless in five games as they have hit the wall from trying to stretch their limited resources across three competitions.

Oliver Glasner described his side’s set-piece defending in a 4-1 defeat to Leeds last weekend as “embarrassing” and it was a dead ball that cost them once more against a Spurs team badly lacking in creativity.

An overdue victory will temporarily ease the scrutiny on Frank, but another performance devoid of flair going forward will do little to quieten his doubters in the Tottenham support.

The visitors did not have a shot on target from open play before half-time but were only denied by a VAR review for offside when Richarlison thought he had opened the scoring.

Instead the source of the only goal was an unexpected one as Gray headed in Richarlison’s flick from a corner for his first goal in 112 appearances for Tottenham and Leeds.

Palace dominated territory and possession after the break but lacked the class needed in front of goal to make Spurs pay.

Justin Devenny blazed high over the bar from close range before Maxence Lacroix headed wide.

Palace were handed another reprieve when Richarlison turned in Mohammed Kudus’ cross only for VAR to again intervene.

But Tottenham held out to climb to 11th, just one point behind Palace in ninth.

Earlier, Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for a sixth consecutive Premier League game as Leeds denied Sunderland a place in the top five with a draw at the Stadium of Light.

Simon Adingra fired the Black Cats into a half-time lead, but the in-form Calvert-Lewin leveled early in the second period to pull Leeds further clear of the relegation zone.

Sunderland are still yet to lose at home on their return to the top flight but have been severely depleted by the departure of six players to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Sunderland are still yet to lose at home on their return to the top flight but have been severely depleted by the departure of six players to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Adingra was one of the Ivory Coast’s key men in winning the AFCON on home soil last year, but he was not selected this time.

Sunderland were grateful for that decision as the former Brighton winger curled in his first goal for the club from Granit Xhaka’s fine through ball on 28 minutes. (JapanToday)

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Man Utd 1-0 Newcastle: Patrick Dorgu’s volley sends Ruben Amorim’s side fifth as back-four switch pays off

Patrick Dorgu’s first-half volley sent Manchester United fifth in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Newcastle at Old Trafford as Ruben Amorim went to a back four.

Amorim’s tactical change to a 4-2-3-1 formation with Dorgu playing on the right wing appeared to confuse Newcastle early on, with Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko going close. And though Eddie Howe did adjust, Dorgu’s wonderful volley beat Aaron Ramsdale.

The 21-year-old Denmark international has had his struggles since arriving from Lecce last winter but he impressed here even beyond his spectacular goal, although it was Matheus Cunha with his driving runs from deep who lit up the first half at Old Trafford.

“Newcastle will fancy their chances,” former Manchester United captain Roy Keane had told Sky Sports beforehand. That the hosts had failed to win any of their previous seven Premier League matches without Bruno Fernandes offered further encouragement.

Although Sesko did hit the crossbar on the counter-attack, Howe’s side certainly stepped up the pressure in the second half with Lewis Hall striking the underside of the bar himself. Amorim had Dorgu and Diogo Dalot as his wingers in a 4-4-2 formation.

Dalot even came close to doubling the lead but it was Newcastle pushing – Lisandro Martinez, on his return to the starting line-up, surviving a VAR call for a penalty against him. They lacked the cutting edge to break down a resolute defensive effort.

The three points lift Manchester United up to fifth in the Premier League table, above Liverpool and out of the top four on only goal difference. Newcastle, with only one away win in the Premier League all season, remain in the bottom half of the table in 11th.

Manchester United finished this game with a back four of Leny Yoro, Tyler Fredricson, Ayden Heaven and Tyrell Malacia – a trio of youngsters and a left-back making his first appearance of the season. Martinez had earlier shone on his first start.

The midfield two were Jack Fletcher and Manuel Ugarte, the former having come on for the injured Mason Mount at half-time. On the wings were Dalot and Dorgu. Joshua Zirkzee was up front. That Amorim was able to fashion this into a rearguard action that kept out Newcastle was a minor Christmas miracle. (SkySports)

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Liverpool’s Alexander Isak sidelined for two months after “reckless” tackle, Slot says

Liverpool striker Alexander Isak will be laid up for two months with a broken ankle and fibula from a tackle that coach Arne Slot described as reckless on Tuesday.

Isak had surgery on Monday, two days after he was injured in the act of scoring the opening goal of a 2-1 win over Tottenham in the Premier League.

“It’s going to be a long injury, for a couple of months,” Slot said. “It’s a big disappointment for him and, as a result, for us.

“This was, for me, a reckless challenge. I’ve said a lot about the tackle of Xavi Simons (who was sent off for dragging his studs down the calf of Virgil van Dijk in the same game) which for me was completely unintentional.

“I don’t think you will ever get an injury out of a tackle like that. But the tackle of (Micky) van de Ven (on Isak), if you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury.”

Van de Ven slid into Isak and trapped his shooting foot just after he’d shot.

TV analyst and Liverpool great Jamie Carragher defended Van de Ven.

“There’s a lot been made about a lot of the challenges in the game from Tottenham players and a lot of them weren’t clever,” Carragher told Sky Sports on Monday.

“I’ve put myself in Van de Ven’s position and that’s a challenge I’d probably make. He’s trying to block it, it’s just the follow through. I don’t know where else anyone thinks his foot’s going to go. He has to make that challenge. You can’t let the striker just get a shot away there in that situation.

“It’s just really bad luck for Isak. It’s probably one of the first glimpses we’ve seen of his real quality in a Liverpool shirt.”

Slot was doubly disappointed for Isak because the Sweden international was just getting up to speed.

The $170 million British record signing didn’t have a preseason because of his dispute with Newcastle then his fitness was set back by a groin injury in October.

Liverpool was patiently building him up and he’d started five of the last nine games but Slot, who expects Isak back before the end of the season, doesn’t believe he’ll be as sharp as he was last season for Newcastle.

“It’s been a really challenging and difficult period for him. Usually when you join a new club — he was very excited as well — you want to show all the qualities you have but that was simply impossible,” Slot said.

“Maybe no one understands but if you haven’t trained on a serious level for three or four months with the team and you are playing in this league you have to be on top of your game to impact a game of football.

“That took months because there was no preseason, just games, games, games and hardly any time to train. We all knew it would take him time and that’s why he is so unlucky he is now injured because we all saw with his goal against West Ham and with this goal (against Tottenham) he gets closer and closer to the player he was last season at Newcastle.” (JapanToday)

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Haaland sends Man City to top; Liverpool beats nine-man Spurs

Erling Haaland fired Manchester City to the top of the Premier League by beating West Ham 3-0, while Liverpool continued their upturn with a 2-1 win at nine-man Tottenham on Saturday.

Arsenal can retake top spot for Christmas when they visit Everton later, but City ramped up the pressure on the Gunners with a seventh consecutive win in all competitions.

The Hammers feared a rout when Haaland smashed home after just five minutes.

Haaland turned provider for City’s second just before half-time as Tijjani Reijnders scored his first goal at the Etihad.

And he netted his 38th goal of the season already for club and country when the ball broke his way 21 minutes from time to move City one point ahead of Arsenal.

Yet, Pep Guardiola was still far from satisfied as he demanded improvements if City are to win a seventh Premier League title under his tenure.

“I want to be honest. I said to the players, ‘Merry Christmas everyone but it will not be enough if we don’t improve’.”

Liverpool extended their unbeaten run to six games after they survived a nervy finale to inflict a miserable Christmas on Spurs boss Thomas Frank.

Xavi Simons’ dangerous lunge on Dutch international team-mate Virgil van Dijk on 33 minutes left the home side with a mountain to climb.

Despite the absence of Mohamed Salah at the Africa Cup of Nations, Alexander Isak again started on the bench.

Arne Slot introduced the most expensive Premier League player of all time at the break.

The Swede netted just his third goal since joining Liverpool for £125 million in September but suffered another injury setback in the process and had to be replaced.

Hugo Ekitike headed in his fifth goal in three league games to double Liverpool’s lead.

But Slot’s men still wobbled in the closing stages once Richarlison pulled a goal back.

A fifth defeat in nine home league games this season intensified the pressure on Frank and the Dane was not helped by his captain Cristian Romero, who got himself needlessly sent off in stoppage time.

Liverpool climb up to fifth, while Spurs are rooted down in 13th.

Chelsea remain above the Reds in fourth on goal difference as a second-half fightback rescued manager Enzo Maresca from more speculation over his future.

The Italian claimed after last weekend’s win over Everton that he and his players had not received enough support during a difficult run of results.

Maresca was then linked with being Guardiola’s successor at City in recent days.

Chelsea have won just once in their last five league games to see ambitions of a title challenge wilt.

But it could have been even worse for Maresca as Nick Woltemade’s double put Newcastle 2-0 up in a dominant first half from the Magpies.

A brilliant Reece James free-kick brought the Blues back into the game before Joao Pedro pounced on an error from Malick Thiaw to equalise.

Newcastle felt aggrieved as two late appeals for penalties and for James to be sent off were dismissed to leave Eddie Howe’s men languishing in 11th.

Wolves remain without a league win this season and on course to enter the record books as the worst side in Premier League history.

Keane Lewis-Potter scored both goals as Brentford won 2-0 at Molineux to move 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Burnley ended their seven-game losing streak as Armando Broja’s 90th-minute goal snatched a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.

Sunderland edged up to sixth after a 0-0 draw at Brighton. (JapanToday)

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Liverpool ‘united as one’ after Salah return – Van Dijk

Captain Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool “are absolutely united and go forward as one” after Mohamed Salah returned to the squad for Saturday’s win over Brighton.

Salah came off the bench for his first Liverpool appearance since claiming after last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Leeds that he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club.

The 33-year-old was left out of the squad for the midweek Champions League win at Inter Milan, but returned for the Brighton game following talks with manager Arne Slot – and claimed an assist in the 2-0 win.

Salah joins up with the Egypt national team for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on Monday and could miss up to eight Liverpool games if his country go all the way to the final on 18 January.

“We showed this week that we are absolutely united. We go forward as one,” said Van Dijk, who made his 250th Premier League appearance for Liverpool on Saturday.

“Mo is going to Afcon and we all hope that he’ll be successful there and he’ll come back and be important for us for the rest of the season.

“The other side of it is that we all know football and we have no idea what is going to happen. I hope that he stays because he is one of my leaders and still very important for the football club. But there’s more parties to this situation.”

Van Dijk also praised Slot for how he handled the events of recent days, with Liverpool now unbeaten in five games since losing to PSV at Anfield in the Champions League.

“I think he has handled the situation very well – calm in his own way and it’s a very tricky situation,” said the Netherlands defender.

“There’s a lot of noise and pressure from the outside world and rightly so because we’ve not been up to the standard we’ve shown in the last few seasons.

“We’ve just got to keep going. He’s at a club which is very together and that’s how it has been before our time at the club, and that’s something we have to keep going.

“We go through the good times together, as a team, as a club and as a fanbase, but sometimes when the difficult moments arise we also have to stick together. This moment of time is a very good moment to see how everyone responds.” (BBC)

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Man City and Aston Villa win to stay in touch with Premier League leader Arsenal

Manchester City and Aston Villa kept the pressure on Premier League leader Arsenal with wins on Sunday.

Nottingham Forest pulled further away from the relegation zone with a 3-0 victory against Tottenham and Sunderland beat Newcastle 1-0 in the Tyne-Wear derby after an own-goal from Nick Woltemade.

Arsenal had extended its lead at the top of the standings to five points with a 2-1 win against Wolves on Saturday. But a day later its closest rivals both responded with victories – second-place City winning 3-0 at Crystal Palace and Villa, in third, twice coming back to beat West Ham 3-2 at the London Stadium.

City is two points behind Arsenal and Villa is a point further back.

Beaten by Palace in the FA Cup final last season, City exacted some revenge to take all three points at Selhurst Park.

“They are so strong. Every time we play against them it’s so difficult,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “Still, we are not top, but we are learning and after what happened we will be closer in the future.”

Erling Haaland scored his 101st Premier League goal to put City in front late in the first half and he got his second of the match with an 89th-minute penalty. The Norwegian has 36 goals in 27 appearances for club and country in another remarkable scoring season. He is the league’s leading scorer with 17 goals.

Phil Foden got City’s other goal in between Haaland’s double.

Morgan Rogers scored twice in the second half to extend Aston Villa’s winning run to nine-straight games in all competitions and keep Unai Emery’s team on the heels of Arsenal and City.

Villa has lost just one of its last 13 games in the league and won 10 of its last 11, but twice had to come from behind at relegation fighting West Ham.

“We feel unstoppable, but we are making it difficult for ourselves,” Rogers said. “The battle and resilience we have means we know we can get back into it against a good team.

“We want to keep this going, it’s about being confident and I’m feeling good.”

Mateus Fernandes scored the fastest goal in England’s top flight this season when putting the home team 1-0 up after just 29 seconds. But Konstantinos Mavropanos’ own-goal leveled the game eight minutes later.

Jarrod Bowen then gave West Ham the lead at halftime with his second goal in as many games in the 24th.

Rogers leveled the game again five minutes after the break and struck the winner in the 79th.

The pressure is mounting on Tottenham coach Thomas Frank, who was left infuriated after a latest loss.

Spurs have won just one of their last seven games in the league and face defending champion Liverpool at home next week. (JapanToday)