Jurgen Klopp urged his Liverpool side to remain focused on the task in hand as they pursue Champions League football and forget about the drubbing of Manchester United.

A thrilling 7-0 victory at Anfield last Sunday provided another boost to Liverpool's top-four hopes, and a victory over Bournemouth in Saturday's early kick-off would see them temporarily leapfrog Tottenham.

Liverpool head to the south coast with last weekend's result still at the forefront of the minds of many but Klopp made it clear past victories, no matter how emphatic, are no longer important.

"The 7-0, it was strange, it was nice and we'll all come back in 10-15 years and watch the game, maybe tickets for another derby, and someone might be next to me and remember that once we did that, but now it's done," he told a press conference.

"It was important but it's not important today. It was a good game, and we have to keep going."

Klopp is aware Bournemouth will provide a strong challenge for his side, having taken a 2-0 lead against league leaders Arsenal last time out before a remarkable second-half comeback from the Gunners.

With relegation still a threat for the Cherries, Klopp expects the hosts to "fight like crazy".

"The main thing is going to Bournemouth and playing a game there and not counting the points before you have them," he added.

"The way Bournemouth play, they can be really uncomfortable for each team - everybody saw against Arsenal in the last game, how much they had to fight and stretch luck, if you want.

"We might fight for the Champions League spots - we will see how the results will be in the next few weeks - but the fight to stay in the league is as exciting. Bournemouth will fight like crazy.

"We want to go into the top four, but it's about fully focused on Bournemouth."

Mohamed Salah delivered for Liverpool in the sensational 7-0 win over Manchester United last weekend – and doubtless he had many fantasy bosses celebrating too.

Two goals and two assists in the Anfield rout showed the Egyptian is getting back to somewhere near his very best for Jurgen Klopp.

Salah has Bournemouth in his sights on Saturday, and our four fantasy team selections for the weekend are players heading out on the road.

Kaoru Mitoma has been in eye-catching form for Brighton and Hove Albion, who head to Leeds United on Saturday, while World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez has four clean sheets already in 2023 for Aston Villa, who visit West Ham on Sunday.

Chelsea's Ben Chilwell returns to an old stomping ground on Saturday as the Blues travel to his former club, Leicester City.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform has looked at why these four could help you bring in useful points this weekend.

Mohamed Salah (Bournemouth v Liverpool)

It was pretty clear Salah needed a rest amid a hectic schedule, and he got it during the World Cup after Egypt failed to qualify. Since games resumed after Qatar 2022, last season's joint-top scorer has been slowly building up to the sort of display that left United in tatters last Sunday. He has totted up nine goal involvements (5 goals, 4 assists) since the World Cup, with only Erling Haaland and Marcus Rashford (11) having more in that time.

Five of Salah's eight Premier League goals against Bournemouth have come at the Vitality Stadium, netting in every appearance in the Premier League there, so he will be looking for more of the same. If he wasn't in your team last week, can you really resist him this time around?

Emiliano Martinez (West Ham v Aston Villa)

There's no denying Villa went through a rocky spell recently, shipping 11 goals in three games, but two clean sheets have followed as Unai Emery looks for resilience.

Only Liverpool (6) and Tottenham (5) have kept more Premier League clean sheets in 2023 than Villa (4). Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, Martinez is one of only six goalkeepers to have kept over 30 clean sheets in the top flight. This weekend he will try to complete three in a row for the first time since March 2022. West Ham have failed to score in 11 games this season, in case that heightens the temptation to pick Martinez.

Kaoru Mitoma (Leeds United v Brighton and Hove Albion)

Brighton's 4-0 demolition of West Ham last weekend included a goal from the twinkle-toed Japanese forward Mitoma. He has been involved in 11 goals across all competitions for Brighton this season (8 goals, 3 assists) with only Pascal Gross (12) having more involvements.

Seven of those involvements from Mitoma have come on league duty, with six goals and one assist, and it's especially good going when you consider he only made his first start in the competition at the end of October.

Leeds will need to be careful. Among all Premier League players, no one has had more take-ons in the box than Mitoma (17) in this season's competition, while only team-mate Solly March (6) has had more chance-creating take-ons than his five.

Ben Chilwell (Leicester City v Chelsea)

Chelsea could make it three wins in a row at Leicester. Successive clean sheets against Leeds and Borussia Dortmund count in Chilwell's favour, as does his attacking prowess.

Among defenders with at least 500 minutes played in the Premier League this season, only Liverpool's Konstantinos Tsimikas (133) has a better minutes-per-goal-involvement rate this season than Chilwell (237).

Granted, he has had only three such involvements so far, but having missed a large chunk of the season through injury, Chilwell is out to make up for lost time. His former club will be on guard, aware of his talent.

To say it's "as you were" in the Premier League's title race after Saturday's action wouldn't be doing Arsenal justice.

A brilliant turnaround against Bournemouth saw them answer Manchester City's earlier statement, a 2-0 win over a Newcastle United side who find themselves in a real rut.

Arsenal's lead at the summit somehow – we'll get there – remains five points, and the nature of their victory will surely prove a massive boost.

Also on Saturday, Graham Potter eased the pressure on him ever so slightly, though the same cannot be said for David Moyes.

Stats Perform has delved into the Opta data from the pick of the day's action.

Arsenal 3-2 Bournemouth: Title tilt still on track as Gunners respond to Cherries' incredible start

If Arsenal go on to win the Premier League title, fans will probably look back on this game as absolutely vital.

Bournemouth opened the scoring through Phillip Billing after just 9.11 seconds, making it the second-fasted Premier League goal of all time, and Marcos Senesi made it 2-0 in the second half.

The Gunners appeared to be heading for a shocking home defeat, but their response was exceptional – and dramatic.

Thomas Partey and Ben White scored in an eight-minute spell to restore parity, and for a while that looked to be the best Arsenal could muster.

But with 96 minutes and 57 seconds on the clock, Reiss Nelson's brilliant left-footed strike from just inside the box completed the turnaround with Arsenal's second-latest league winner on record (since 2006-07).

It ensured Arsenal won a league game after finding themselves at least two goals down for the first time since February 2012 – the mentality of champions?

Brighton and Hove Albion 4-0 West Ham: Homesick Hammers crushed with Moyes running out of time

There is little to be optimistic about at the moment for West Ham and David Moyes, with Saturday's one-sided defeat to Brighton seeing them plumb new depths.

Alexis Mac Allister got the scoring started from the spot, making it four out of four from the spot this season for the Argentina international – no one in the Premier League has a better 100 per cent record.

Joel Veltman then chested over the line to make it 2-0, before the tremendous Kaoru Mitoma knocked in from Pascal Gross' cross to tally his 11th goal involvement (eight goals, three assists) of the season, which is bettered only by his German colleague among Brighton players.

Danny Welbeck's seventh goal against West Ham – making them his favourite opposition – wrapped things up.

Defeat stretched West Ham's winless streak on the road in the league to 11, their longest dry spell away from home since December 2014-May 2015 (12 matches).

Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle United: Magpies unable to end champions' record run

Newcastle have endured a difficult start to 2023 – after initially looking destined for the top four, their chances of being in the Champions League next season are dwindling.

Having lost to Manchester United in last weekend's EFL Cup final, Eddie Howe had to try and inspire a response in a fixture that has long brought Newcastle misery.

Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva got City's goals, the first coming after a solo run and the second a clever poked finish from the Portugal international.

Those efforts sealed City's 14th successive Premier League home win over Newcastle, a run that no team has ever bettered against a single opponent in the competition.

That is now one win in their past 31 clashes with City for Newcastle, having emerged victorious from seven of their first 15.

Newcastle's failure here saw them lose three in a row for the first time under Howe, their inability to score allowing Ederson to keep his 100th Premier League clean sheet in his 208th appearance – only Petr Cech (180 games) and Pepe Reina (198 games) reached that milestone quicker.

Chelsea 1-0 Leeds United: Blues lacking magic but rare win a boost to Potter

It's going to take more than a slender victory over struggling Leeds for Graham Potter to win over his critics, but every turnaround has to start somewhere.

Once again, goals proved difficult to come by for Chelsea's attackers, with French defender Wesley Fofana heading in the decisive goal – his first in the Premier League.

But at this point Potter will not care where the goals come from as long as Chelsea get wins on the board.

Leeds were unable to provide a response, meaning Chelsea held on for only their second win from 12 games across all competitions in 2023 and their first since beating Crystal Palace 1-0 in January, ending a six-game winless run.

Saturday's visitors have taken only six points from away games this season, however, a joint-Premier League low, so it cannot be considered much of a statement from Chelsea.

Mikel Arteta described Arsenal's dramatic 3-2 victory over Bournemouth as "madness" as he hailed his side's determination.

The Gunners trailed 2-0 in the second half, with the Cherries' goals including Phillip Billing netting the second-fastest goal in Premier League history, to leave the league leaders with a mountain to climb.

Thomas Partey and Ben White struck to restore parity, before Reiss Nelson's fierce drive completed the turnaround and re-established the Gunners' five-point lead over Manchester City to leave Arteta delighted with a fourth win in a row.

"It was madness from the first second. We kept trying and dominating the game. We had a mountain to climb and we took it bit by bit," he told BBC Match of the Day.

"We had the hunger to go for the first goal. From then the atmosphere changed. Reiss hasn't featured much because he has been injured.

"He comes on and puts in that performance. It was incredible to experience the emotion with the crowd. It's going to stick with us.

"I am going to remember this day for a few things. I loved the initiative, the courage, their personality, and the way they made things happen.

"When its ugly and when its difficult, that's what big teams do. We have to make it easier for ourselves. But this is the Premier League.

"The opponents are good, and they make it hard for you. Now we have the Europa League – many games coming up. We're going to need everyone at their best."

Nelson added of his late winner: "We need moments like this if we want to go all the way. We're not looking at any other team at the minute. We are focusing on ourselves.

"We will keep going day-by-day, game-by-game. As an Arsenal fan, I'm just delighted with the result."

Reiss Nelson's 97th-minute strike completed a remarkable comeback for Arsenal in a 3-2 win against Bournemouth.

Phillip Billing scored the second-fastest goal in Premier League history to hand the Cherries a shock lead, with Marcos Senesi doubling the advantage in the second half.

Thomas Partey and Ben White struck in quick succession to bring Arsenal level, though it seemed the Gunners would remain on course to drop crucial points in the title race.

Substitute Nelson had other ideas though, firing in from outside the box in the dying moments to restore a five-point advantage over Manchester City.

Phillip Billing stunned Premier League leaders Arsenal when he scored after 9.11 seconds for Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

It ranked as the second-fastest goal at the start of a game in Premier League history, beaten only by Shane Long's effort after 7.69 seconds for Southampton against Watford in April 2019.

Here, we take a closer look at the five fastest goals ever scored in the Premier League, as recorded by Opta.

Shane Long: Watford v Southampton, April 2019 – 7.69 seconds

There appeared to be little danger when Craig Cathcart looked to play a long ball downfield from Roberto Pereyra's kick-off, but Long had other ideas. His block fell fortuitously into his path, but there was nothing lucky about the glorious flick over the onrushing Ben Foster.

What a moment! #SaintsFC 's @ShaneLong7 celebrates the fastest goal in #PL history!   pic.twitter.com/M4fpU1sIcj

Phillip Billing, Arsenal v Bournemouth, March 2023, 9.11 seconds

Sleepy Arsenal let Bournemouth get straight on the attack, and Dango Ouattara's cross from the right took a slight touch off Gabriel Magalhaes and ran into the path of Billing, who fired past Aaron Ramsdale from close range.

Ledley King: Bradford City v Tottenham, December 2000 – 9.82 seconds

It might have held the title of quickest goal for nearly 19 years, but it certainly was not the prettiest. King powered forward from midfield and dispatched a bobbling effort past Matt Clarke, who might feel he should have done better.

Alan Shearer: Newcastle United v Manchester City, January 2003 – 10.52 seconds

The Premier League's all-time top goalscorer scarcely needed a helping hand to find the back of the net, but he got one from Carlo Nash. The Magpies hero closed down the City goalkeeper's attempted clearance and tapped into an empty net for possibly the easiest finish of his decorated career.

Christian Eriksen: Tottenham v Manchester United, January 2018 – 10.54 seconds

The Denmark international took full advantage of some generous United defending to set Spurs on their way to a 2-0 win. Son Heung-min's attempted shot was blocked into the path of Eriksen, who coolly slotted past a shell-shocked David de Gea, a future United team-mate.

Gabriel Jesus is closing in on an Arsenal return after four months on the sidelines, but the Premier League leaders will not have the striker available for Saturday's meeting with Bournemouth.

Jesus made an immediate impact upon his arrival from Manchester City last year, but he has not played since suffering a knee injury while representing Brazil at the World Cup in December. 

The 25-year-old returned to light training last month, and while his first club outing since November is not imminent, Arsenal fans will not have to wait much longer to see him in action.

Manager Mikel Arteta said of Jesus at Friday's pre-Bournemouth press conference: "He's not far now. I don't want to give a timeline – he's not very close, but he's not far at all, and he's feeling better every day. 

"The doctors are confident with the way the injury is evolving and we are in a good place with him, I think.

"It's been pretty straightforward. Obviously at the start we were really concerned about the extent of the injury. Thankfully it was not that bad, but it was a long-term injury and required surgery.

"Knowing Gabi, he's gone through this before. His mentality is just incredible and I think the team has done a good job to put him in the position he's in today."

Asked if Jesus could play before the international break later this month, Arteta added: "We don't know. We're not far away but he needs to do much more with the team.

"Lets see how the next week or 10 days develop, then we'll have a much better picture."

Despite Jesus' absence, Arsenal are five points clear at the summit after winning seven of their 11 Premier League games since the World Cup.

Arteta is proud of his players' reaction to Jesus' injury, with Eddie Nketiah among those to have stepped up to fill the void up top.

"That was a huge blow for the team. We knew the importance of Gabi and the way he transformed this period and the belief," Arteta said.

"But to be fair, the team made a step forward and players took more responsibility individually. They were keen to maintain the level and we have done it so far.

"What he was producing for the team was phenomenal. But it's true that we now need to see what level he comes back at, how we are going to fit him in. 

"Like everybody else he will have to earn his place, but we know what Gabi can give to the team, that's for sure."

Meanwhile, two other stars of Arsenal's bid for a first league title since 2004 – Bukayo Saka and William Saliba – have entered the final 18 months of their contracts with the Gunners, who are keen to tie them down to long-term deals.

Arteta, however, is unwilling to publicly discuss their futures until Arsenal's title charge is concluded.  

"Every player is very important. Obviously there are players with special circumstances contractually, and we are trying to deal with them," he said.

"But I don't want to cause any distractions in this moment with those conversations. When something is done and it's good news, we will announce it."

Pep Guardiola hailed Erling Haaland and Phil Foden after Manchester City's 4-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Both Haaland and Foden found the net at the Vitality Stadium in between Julian Alvarez's opener and a Chris Mepham own goal, with Jefferson Lerma hitting a late consolation for the hosts.

It was the fourth of five consecutive away games for City, and their first win in three after 1-1 draws at Nottingham Forest and RB Leipzig.

"Considering the amount of games and a lot of travel, we played incredibly aggressive," said Guardiola. "Our attack was more dynamic and we got a good result."

Haaland scored the second of the game from close range to record his 27th Premier League goal of the season, beating Sergio Aguero's club record for a single season in the competition, and giving the Norwegian the most league goals by a City player in a single top-flight campaign since Francis Lee's 33 in 1971-72.

"Erling Haaland, his impact has been incredible," Guardiola added. "We love him and he is helping us. Today we found him more and he is an incredible threat."

It was only Foden's 15th start in the league this season from his 22 appearances, and he was instrumental as he created seven chances in all, the most by a City player in a Premier League away game since James Milner's eight against Aston Villa in October 2014.

"We need Phil, his work ethic, his goals, his assists. Step by step he will be back," his manager said.

Guardiola also had words of praise for 18-year-old Rico Lewis, who impressed again at right-back, lauding his "quality and intelligence" and ability to "move in small spaces, to play in pockets that we need".

Lewis completed 67 of his 72 passes (93.1 per cent), and was also happy to have the backing of the Spanish coach.

"I love playing in this role. I have played as a midfielder before and then been a full-back, so I love it," he said. "I have played there all the way through the academy but with these players around you, it's 10 times easier.

"I got my rhythm quickly and did as well as I could. Pep just tells me to play my normal game but asks me to go inside alongside Rodri, to give us more control of the midfield. It's about winning the ball back on the transition.

"It's nice that he wants to play me and trusts me, it's up to me to perform. The players in the dressing room are very experienced and have had it every year, we know to focus on ourselves and that's the only way."

Manchester City bounced back as they returned to winning ways with an emphatic 4-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday.

After their disappointing 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest last week was followed by another in the Champions League at RB Leipzig on Wednesday, City responded with a ruthless performance at the Vitality Stadium.

Goals from Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and a Chris Mepham own goal took Pep Guardiola's men back to within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal, after the Gunners had beaten Leicester City earlier in the day.

Bournemouth pulled a late goal back through Jefferson Lerma but slip to 19th in the table after West Ham and Leeds United both won against Nottingham Forest and Southampton respectively.

City took the lead in the 15th minute after Rico Lewis won the ball back on the right, with a swift attack leading to Haaland hitting the crossbar with a deflected effort, and Alvarez tapping in the rebound from close range when it fell kindly for him.

It was two just before the half-hour mark when Ilkay Gundogan's cross from the left found Foden, who was put off by a last-ditch tackle by Jordan Zemura, only for the ball to roll to Haaland who slammed home.

The third came just before half-time courtesy of a sloppy square pass from Philip Billing, which presented the ball on a plate for Foden to finish with ease past Neto on his 200th City appearance.

City continued attacking in the second half and had a fourth after a Foden ball in from the right was cleared by Marcos Senesi, but only as far as Alvarez, who fired in via the unfortunate Mepham.

Lerma struck a consolation high into the net in the 83rd minute after a pull-back from the left by Zemura, but City ultimately eased to a handsome win.
 

What does it mean? City remind people what they can do

It has been a strangely inconsistent season for City by their usual standards, though they seemed to have finally taken charge in the Premier League title race when they won 3-1 at Arsenal earlier this month.

A sloppy draw at Forest handed the initiative back to their rivals, but the nature of this demolition of Bournemouth felt ominous.

They looked more like the City that has been posting 90+ points every season, and if they can get back to this kind of showing regularly, Arsenal and Manchester United will certainly have their work cut out.

Another landmark for Haaland

If you can believe it, some people were questioning Haaland after his failure to score against Forest or Leipzig, though his manager blamed his team-mates for not finding him often enough.

He was on the scoresheet again here, and his 27 Premier League goals this season is the most by a City player in a single top-flight campaign since Francis Lee's 33 in 1971-72.

Cherries picked and could drop

Bournemouth earned a much-needed win at Wolves last time out, and while they were never likely to get another against the champions, defeat does mean they fall back into the relegation zone.

That win at Molineux is their only success in their last 11 games in all competitions (D2 L8), and they remain without a win at home since a 3-0 victory against Everton on November 12.

What's next?

It does not get much easier for Bournemouth, who travel to Premier League leaders Arsenal next Saturday, while Man City have a trip to Championship side Bristol City in the FA Cup fifth round on Tuesday before a crunch league clash with Newcastle United.

Pep Guardiola has dismissed criticism of Erling Haaland, insisting it is the team's fault when the striker struggles to influence a game.

Having struck an incredible 32 goals in 32 games this season for Manchester City, Haaland failed to score in draws against Nottingham Forest and RB Leipzig over the last week, having just 22 touches in the Champions League last-16 first leg in Germany, the lowest amount of any player for either side who completed 90 minutes.

Speaking ahead of City's Premier League trip to Bournemouth, Guardiola said it was up to the rest of the team to find their star forward.

"That is our fault, Erling has been impressive for us all season," he told reporters.

"I don't need numbers or metrics, I know immediately after the game who has been involved and who has not.

"Yes, of course, it depends on us. We need to look for him a little more."

The City boss was unsure about the fitness of trio Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne, though while the latter could potentially be fit for Saturday's game on the south coast, the two defenders remain more unlikely to feature.

Guardiola also explained his decision not to make any substitutions during Wednesday's 1-1 draw in Leipzig, suggesting he had considered it at one point only for Josko Gvardiol's equaliser to alter his thinking.

It meant that City became the first team to make no substitutions in a Champions League game since Manchester United in October 2018 against Juventus.

"I'm not concerned [about squad depth], Kevin was not there, Aymeric, John," Guardiola added. 

"The second half I wanted to make a change, maybe Phil [Foden] or Julian [Alvarez] in a position close to Erling to be more aggressive, but after we conceded the goal we were good.

"When the situation is going more or less well I don't like to change things around normally, when I don't like what I see I will but I don't like to move things around [for the sake of it]."

City are two points behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race, having played a game more, and just three ahead of United.

Guardiola, a four-time Premier League winner, took the opportunity to offer a reminder that he was told English football would be more competitive than his previous jobs at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

"People told me when I arrived that the UK is different to Spain and Germany," he said. "Fortunately [for me], for most years it was only a two-horse [title] race.

"Now, finally, there is more."

John Terry led tributes to former Chelsea and Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu, who was confirmed to have died in the earthquakes that hit Turkey earlier this month.

Atsu was reported to be missing in the immediate aftermath of the tremors that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6.

The former Ghana international joined Turkish Super Lig outfit Hatayspor last September and scored for the side the day before the earthquakes.

After the tremors caused the collapse of the apartment block in which Atsu was living, his club initially said he had been recovered from the rubble and hospitalised, but that was later confirmed to not be the case.

Following confirmation of Atsu's death on Saturday, Terry – who was a team-mate of Atsu's during the Ghanaian's four-year spell at Chelsea, for whom he did not make a competitive appearance – paid tribute on social media. 

"RIP my friend," the former England captain wrote on Twitter, alongside an image of Atsu.

Atsu's former clubs also expressed their condolences on Saturday, with Chelsea saying his death caused "enormous sadness" and Newcastle calling him: "A talented player and a special person, he will always be fondly remembered by our players, staff and supporters."

Other former team-mates paid tribute on Instagram, with Cesc Fabregas calling his death "heart-breaking" and Michael Essien saying: "Rest well king".

Bournemouth, where Atsu spent the first half of the 2015-16 season on loan, will join Chelsea and Newcastle in paying tribute to Atsu during Saturday's Premier League games.

Players from all three clubs will wear commemorative black armbands for their respective fixtures, while Chelsea will hold a minute's applause ahead of their meeting with Southampton, and Newcastle and Liverpool will observe a minute's silence before their clash at St James' Park. 

Kevin De Bruyne served up a reminder of his match-winning brilliance as Manchester City usurped Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, so Nottingham Forest will be on high alert.

City go to Forest on Saturday, looking to stay at the summit, and their Belgian playmaker is set to be a key figure once more, and potentially a big points winner when it comes to fantasy leagues.

In an unlikely top-seven battle, Brighton and Hove Albion will look to in-form left-back Pervis Estupinan to contribute at both ends of the pitch against Fulham, while Wolves and Brentford will be hoping for big contributions from Ruben Neves and Ivan Toney as they tackle Bournemouth and Crystal Palace respectively.

Stats Perform, using Opta data, has chosen these four players for your selection consideration ahead of the weekend games.

Pervis Estupinan (Brighton v Fulham)

With three assists in his last three Premier League appearances, including last time out against Palace, Ecuadorian Estupinan is making a huge impact for the Seagulls.

Only three defenders have provided more assists than him in the competition this season, while Estupinan is one of only four such players to create at least 20 chances from open play (21).

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi has welcomed the efforts of the former Villarreal player, saying: "He's very important in build-up, but he's becoming a complete player now."

Kevin De Bruyne (Nottingham Forest v Manchester City)

Dropped to the bench at Tottenham recently, De Bruyne has responded by showing his value to City.

After scoring the opener, De Bruyne assisted for Erling Haaland's clincher in the 3-1 win at Arsenal, meaning the Belgian has been involved in 16 Premier League goals this season (4 goals, 12 assists), bettered by only three players.

Since the start of the 2019-20 season, only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (14) has both scored and assisted in more games in the competition than De Bruyne (13).

Forest beware: De Bruyne has assisted Haaland six times in the Premier League this season, more than any other player has assisted another.

Ruben Neves (Wolves v Bournemouth)

Wolves midfielder Neves has scored five goals in this Premier League season, equalling his best tally from the 2020-21 campaign.

Four of those five goals have come at Molineux, including in his last such appearance against Liverpool, so he will fancy his prospects of adding to that haul and setting an outright personal best for goals when second-bottom Bournemouth visit.

He is Wolves' joint top scorer in the league, matching Daniel Podence's total, and Neves brings abundant creativity too.

Ivan Toney (Brentford v Crystal Palace)

The visit of Palace should bring the best out of Toney, given he has scored in his last three London derby appearances (against Arsenal, West Ham and Tottenham), helping Brentford to a healthy five points.

Only Haaland (30) and Harry Kane (18) have been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Toney (17 – 14 goals, 3 assists).

Another factor in his favour is that among players with 30-plus shots this term, only Haaland (33.3 per cent) has a better shot conversion rate than him (23.7 per cent).

Nicolo Zaniolo would have been willing to accept a lower wage to secure a move to Milan or Tottenham in the January transfer window.

That is according to the player's mother, who revealed Zaniolo wanted to move to either San Siro or north London after Roma head coach Jose Mourinho made it clear he was happy for the midfielder to leave.

Neither Milan nor Spurs were willing to match Roma's asking price for Zaniolo, however, with only Bournemouth initially willing to do so.

Francesca Costa said her son had even agreed to join the Premier League strugglers before the closure of January's window, but by that time they had already signed Hamed Traore on loan from Sassuolo.

The 23-year-old finally sealed a move to Turkish Super Lig leaders Galatasaray for a reported fee of €16.5million last week.

"I want to clarify one thing, Nicolo would have reduced his salary or would have asked for the same money as at Roma for a move to Milan or Tottenham, but those clubs didn't find an agreement with Roma," Costa told Corriere dello Sport.

"At that point there was Bournemouth... Later, he accepted Bournemouth's offer, but when we called them back they had already taken another player."

Zaniolo joined Roma from Serie A rivals Inter in 2018 and went on to score 24 goals in 128 appearances for the club, though he spent significant periods on the sidelines after suffering two long-term knee injuries during his time in the Italian capital.

Eddie Howe is concerned about the injury sustained by Joe Willock in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Bournemouth, where Newcastle United also saw Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin forced off.

Almiron fired home at the end of the first half to cancel out Marcos Senesi's opener, but fourth-place Newcastle could not find a winner as Howe was held on his return to his former club.

Newcastle are now unbeaten in a club record-equalling 17 league games, although five of their past six matches have finished all square, while only Reims (12) have drawn more times across Europe's top five leagues.

While Newcastle have stuttered somewhat by their previous high standards, of more concern to Howe will be the fitness of three key players ahead of the EFL Cup final against Manchester United on February 26.

Almiron went off with 10 minutes left after appearing to suffer a wrist injury, while Saint-Maximin's game was ended after what looked to be an innocuous collision.

Howe does not believe either injury is too serious, but Willock's hamstring issue is more worrying ahead of that Wembley showdown in two weeks' time.

"Miggy [Almiron] and Max, I don't think they're too bad," Howe said at his post-match press conference. "Miggy, I think, got stamped on his hand, so we think he'll be okay. 

"Maxi was just a knock. The concern from today is Joe Willock, who has gone off with a hamstring problem."

Willock has featured in all 22 of Newcastle's league games this season, starting all but two of those, and has two goals and two assists to his name.

Senesi's close-range finish marked the first time Newcastle have conceded the opening goal in 15 top-flight games, with the previous occasion also coming against Bournemouth in September.

Almiron's 10th Premier League goal of the season in 22 games – one more than he managed in 110 appearances in his first four seasons in the competition – earned the visitors a point that keeps them ahead of the chasing pack in the race for Champions League football, though Newcastle had Kieran Trippier to thank for a goal-line clearance from Dominic Solanke's flick.

"It's up to us to find solutions but the real positive is we are not losing games," Howe added.

"Despite not winning, we're keeping our points tally moving in the right direction and if you look around league, the league is so tight.

"There are a lot of results that mean the challenge for us is to be as consistent as we can. We're going through a phase where we're creating chances but not scoring and I think that will end, I don't think that can continue."

Eddie Howe has expressed concern for former Newcastle United and Bournemouth winger Christian Atsu amid conflicting reports over the Hatayspor player's welfare after earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria.

More than 21,000 people have died after southern Turkey and northern Syria were struck by earthquakes on Monday.

Atsu, who enjoyed five years with Newcastle after spending six months on loan at Bournemouth under Howe in the 2015-16 season, was reported to be missing in the aftermath of the tremors.

There appeared to be a positive update on Atsu when Hatayspor vice-president Mustafa Ozat said he had been "removed from the wreckage" on Tuesday, but the club remained unable to confirm his whereabouts the following day and said there was no update on Atsu's condition.

Howe had Atsu and his family in his thoughts ahead of Saturday's meeting between the winger's two former clubs, saying: "It's hugely worrying. 

"I really, really enjoyed working with Christian, a great lad, great player. Our thoughts are with him and his family.

"We hope for some good news, we hope he's okay, but we're really concerned for him and his welfare this week.

"It has been difficult because there have been conflicting stories coming out about his whereabouts, so it's been very tough. I can't imagine how his family are feeling.

"But from the bottom of our hearts, we wish him well and hope there's a positive ending."