Premier League news LIVE: Arsenal and Man City injury updates, Liverpool latest after Xabi Alonso blow

There was better news for the Manchester City manager with goalkeeper Ederson “much, much better” having recovered from a knock picked up in the 1-1 draw at Liverpool earlier this month.

While Kevin De Bruyne, who was devastating in both games against Arsenal last season, is available after returning to training this week.

Pep Guardiola has confirmed that both Kyle Walker and John Stones are out of Manchester City’s potential Premier League title decider against Arsenal on Sunday.

Both defenders picked up injuries while playing for England this week, and will play no part in the clash at the Etihad Stadium.

Walker pulled up with a hamstring injury in the early stages of England’s 1-0 defeat to Brazil at Wembley, with the right-back returning to City for a scan.

And just days later, Stones limped off with an abductor problem just 10 minutes into England’s 2-2 draw against Belgium, with the centre-back also having started against Brazil.

Nuno Espirito Santo has emphasised that relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest’s finishing must improve “now more than ever” after they were deducted four points for breaching the Premier League PSR rules.

Forest have won just one of their nine league games in 2024 and have only scored once in their last three. They sit 18th in the table with nine matches to go, a point behind 17th-placed Luton and four adrift of 16th-placed Everton, who could soon be hit with a PSR-related deduction for the second time this season.

Forest have two home games in four days, with the clash against Oliver Glasner’s 14th-placed Palace being followed by the visit of Fulham, who are 12th, to the City Ground on Tuesday.

Nuno said: “Very important games, definitely. We go game by game, it starts against Palace.

“Good team, it’s going to be tough, we are at the City Ground, the situation that we have – big game for us.”

Manchester United fans have spoken out in anger against the decision to move their Premier League match against Brentford at the weekend to the late kick off time.

The match is due to kick off at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday 30 March at 8pm GMT.

The kick off time is just two minutes before the last train is scheduled to depart London St Pancras for Manchester Piccadilly. London Euston is not in service this weekend because of engineering works between London and Milton Keynes.

The day after the game on Sunday there are also no direct services between London and Manchester, with almost all journeys scheduled to take well over three hours.

Erik ten Hag is to give his press conference shortly ahead of the trip to London.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has urged the Football Association not to “throw the book” at midfielder Sandro Tonali after charging him with further betting offences.

The 23-year-old, who is currently serving a 10-month worldwide ban imposed by the Italian Football Federation in October after he admitted breaking gambling rules, is alleged to have breached FA rule E8 50 times by betting on matches between August 12 and October 12 last year.

However, Howe, who has been without his £55m summer signing from AC Milan since October, is hoping English football’s governing body will not impose further stringent punishment on a player whose agent, Giuseppe Riso, has insisted is battling a “gambling addiction”.

Manchester City host Arsenal on Sunday in a potential Premier League title decider at the Etihad – but both teams come in the clash with injury concerns following the international break.

It was a potentially devastating window for the champions City, who saw Kyle Walker limp off with a hamstring issue in England’s 1-0 defeat to Brazil, before John Stones was forced off early on in the 2-2 draw with Belgium due to an abductor problem.

The concerns for Arsenal came earlier, with Bukayo Saka pulling out of England’s camp and both Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli forced to withdraw from Brazil’s squad.

Arsenal will need to be at full strength if they are to end a nine-year winless run at Manchester City, who they lead by two points in the Premier League title race as Mikel Arteta’s side hunt a first league championship in 20 years.

Liverpool have received an injury boost with Andy Robertson only expected to be sidelined for a few days with the ankle injury he sustained in Scotland’s defeat to Northern Ireland.

The left-back underwent scans after being forced to go off on Tuesday but they confirmed that he suffered no major damage and the defender, who was ruled out for three months earlier in the season with a shoulder problem he sustained on international duty, will be back soon.

Robertson is set to miss Sunday’s home match against Brighton but could return for Thursday’s meeting with Sheffield United and should to be fit for the trip to Manchester United on 7 April.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has been out since February with a knee problem, could be available by the middle of April while Klopp said goalkeeper Alisson, who has missed the last 10 games with a hamstring injury, might be back in three weeks.

Tonali, 23, is currently serving a 10-month ban after admitting gambling offences in Italy.

“He has suffered during this period, he has sought help, he’s been very honest, he has admitted he has an issue, and I think the best thing for Sandro would be to resume his career having taken his punishment and having learned a lot of lessons from this,” Howe said.

“I certainly hope for Sandro that there is no further consequences [after the latest charge].

A full fixture list kicks off the run towards the finish line, and with only nine gameweeks remaining, every point is crucial in your mini-leagues.

It is worth noting that gameweeks 34 and 37 are likely to feature plenty of clubs with two matches, so keep an eye on fixture announcements and be prepared to stock up on the doublers.

Here are our top tips for GW30:

Liverpool’s manager search has been dealt a blow after the news that Xabi Alonso is not expected to be on their shortlist to replace the outgoing Jurgen Klopp this summer.

Alonso was considered to be the favourite to step in for Klopp at Anfield, and was named by the German as the outstanding candidate, but Bayer Leverkusen are confident of keeping the former midfielder.

Leverkusen are on the brink of winning a first Bundesliga title under Alonso this season – Bayern Munich are also likely to try and convince the Spaniard to join them, but the German giants also face an uphill task.

It means Liverpool will have to look elsewhere as they try to replace Klopp, who will be stepping down at the end of the season.

The picture is rather complicated by the fact that Bayern and Barcelona will also be looking for new managers this summer too, and perhaps Manchester United too.