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• Howe lauds Slot's impact at Liverpool but insists title race not over

  Eddie Howe lauded the impact of Arne Slot with Premier League leaders Liverpool, though insists the title race is far from over ahead of Newcastle United's meeting on Wednesday.

  Liverpool are nine points clear at the summit heading into the midweek action, having dispatched Manchester City with a 2-0 win at Anfield on Sunday.

  That opened up an 11-point gap between the Reds and Pep Guardiola's defending champions, yet Howe believes the title battle is far from over in December.

  "No, I think nothing is ever secure or done until it's done," said Howe. "The Premier League is known for twists and turns, so who knows what's going to happen.

  "I think they're a team at the moment playing with full confidence, they've still got the hallmark of Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp.

  "But Arne has now had his time with the team and tweaked certain things, that makes them a very difficult proposition because they've added new strengths."

  Newcastle were defeated 2-0 at home by West Ham before a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last Saturday.

  Slot believes travelling to Newcastle will pose a tougher test than facing Real Madrid, however, having defeated Los Blancos last week in the Champions League.

  "We know we have a difficult week coming up again," Slot said.

  "We thought Madrid and City were very difficult teams to face, which they actually were as well. I think it’s even harder going away to Newcastle.

  "We're not even halfway through the season yet."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Newcastle United – Alexander Isak

  Fitness permitting if Alexander Isak can shake off a knock suffered at Palace, the Sweden striker will be key to any home hopes here.

  The Newcastle forward has 21 goals in 30 home Premier League appearances, although he has only scored twice from 18 attempts at St James' Park this season.

  Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

  Mohamed Salah stole the show once more against City, scoring from the penalty spot and assisting Cody Gakpo's opener.

  The Liverpool star has also been involved in 14 Premier League goals against Newcastle (eight goals, six assists), with these coming in his last 13 appearances against them.

  MATCH PREDICTION – LIVERPOOL WIN

  Liverpool are firm favourites for this one considering they have won each of their last six meetings with Newcastle in the Premier League.

  The Magpies are winless in the last 15 top-flight meetings overall (D4 L11), while Liverpool have won five of their last six league visits to St. James' Park.

  Indeed, the Reds' three-match winning streak on the road against Newcastle is their longest such streak against Wednesday's hosts in the competition.

  Expect drama, too, given Liverpool have won 11 Premier League games in which they have trailed against Newcastle, the most comeback wins one side has against another in the competition's history.

  To make matters worse for the hosts, they have won just one of their last 26 Premier League meetings against sides starting the day top of the table (D7 L18), a feat which could continue here.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Newcastle United win – 26.2%
  Draw – 23.6%
  Liverpool win – 50.2%

• Greenwood's late penalty fires Marseille past Monaco and into second

  Mason Greenwood's late penalty propelled Marseille past Monaco with a 2-1 victory in Sunday's eye-catching Ligue 1 clash.

  Greenwood converted from 12 yards with just a minute of normal time remaining, moving Marseille up to second in the table and ahead of Monaco on goal difference.

  The spot-kick was awarded for a handball from full-back Christian Mawissa as Marseille ended a three-game winless run against Monaco in the league.

  Valentin Rongier's poor pass in the first half had earlier allowed Aleksandr Golovin to counter-attack and open the scoring with just his second Ligue 1 goal of the campaign.

  Luis Henrique subsequently levelled before the hour, capitalising on some fine work from Neal Maupay, before Greenwood snatched victory for Roberto De Zerbi's side.

  At the other end of the table, bottom side Montpellier salvaged a 2-2 draw with fourth-placed Lille thanks to Arnaud Nordin's last-gasp leveller in an ill-tempered clash.

  Jonathan David had earlier scored a penalty in either half for the visitors, with Issiaga Sylla on target for Montpellier on the stroke of half-time to level after the Lille forward's first spot-kick.

  Montpellier head coach Jean-Louis Gasset was sent off late on before Tanguy Coulibaly and Mitchel Bakker were both dismissed in a chaotic ending.

  Coulibaly prompted the altercation by kicking the ball against Lille head coach Bruno Genesio, with Bakker and the Montpellier man taking the punishment for the clash that subsequently followed.

  Far less drama ensued in Lyon's routine 4-1 victory over Nice as Alexandre Lacazette's hat-trick helped his side move into fifth place.

  Sofiane Diop managed an equaliser for sixth-placed Nice after Lacazette's opener, only for the Lyon striker to put the visitors to the sword along with a goal from midfielder Jordan Veretout.

  Sunday marked the seventh time Lacazette has scored three or more goals in a Ligue 1 game, more than any other Lyon player in the competition's history.

  He also scored his 149th, 150th and 151st Ligue 1 goals. In the 21st century, only Kylian Mbappe (191) and Wissam Ben Yedder (161) have scored more in the top-flight.

• Wiegman hails England's 'solid' defence against USA

  Sarina Wiegman praised England's defensive work in an "intense" game against the United States after they played out a 0-0 draw at Wembley.

  The Lionesses struggled to find their rhythm in attack, managing just four shots throughout the game, with only one of those on target – a Leah Williamson header in the 55th minute.

  However, they also limited the USA to just three shots on target, with Mary Earps the standout performer as she helped to keep the Olympic champions at bay.

  After losing their last friendly at Wembley 4-3 to Germany, Wiegman was pleased to see a marked improvement as England step up their preparation for Euro 2025.

  "This shows where we are at, and we need to keep improving," Wiegman told ITV. "It is November now. This is good, but we want to be better again. We have to be better again.

  "I thought it was a very intense game. Of course, we know the USWNT is very dynamic [and] explosive in going forward.

  "Our defence was solid, we were defending as a team, very strong. They challenged us on the wings; I think we solved that well, and in the box, we defended that pretty good. I'm happy with the team performance."

  The visitors thought they had scored a winner at the start of the second half, only for Lindsey Horan's finish to be ruled out for offside.

  They were also awarded a penalty in the 65th minute for an Alex Greenwood handball, though VAR overturned it after replays showed it hitting her torso.

  The USA are now unbeaten in each of their last 20 friendly matches (W17 D3), keeping a clean sheet in 16 of those matches.

  Emma Hayes also maintained her unbeaten start on her homecoming and was proud of how her team performed.

  "When you have to play England, especially after the defeat to Germany, we knew there was going to be a reaction to that performance," Hayes told ITV.

  "I got the chance to see so many younger, less experienced players. It is so important because we are building towards something. I am proud of the way we imposed ourselves on the game. Generally, I am pleased with the performance.

  "We had a goal disallowed, it was never a penalty, but you saw the entries into the final third it was us more than them. We are at a developmental stage, and I am proud of the way we played. In the Olympics, I saw some composure in our play. I am proud.

  "You've got two top teams. Sarina's an amazing coach. It was a good tactical match-up. I just enjoy coaching. I live in football matches, to be honest with you."