Chelsea's poor form continued as they went down to a 1-0 defeat to Southampton at Stamford Bridge, while they also lost captain Cesar Azpilicueta to what appeared to be a serious injury.

The Spaniard received an accidental boot to the head from Sekou Mara while defending a corner in the 74th minute, leading to 10 minutes of treatment on the field before he was taken off.

James Ward-Prowse's first-half free-kick had given the visitors the lead against Graham Potter's side, extending Chelsea's winless league run to four games.

Southampton caretaker manager Ruben Selles will be happy with the three points his side earned as they picked up a big result in their first game since the sacking of Nathan Jones.

It was Saints who made the brighter start, with Paul Onuachu forcing a save from Kepa Arrizabalaga inside five minutes.

Chelsea gradually found a foothold in the game, with Azpilicueta trying his best to get his team on top in a low-quality encounter.

It was his foul on Stuart Armstrong outside his own box in the 45th minute that allowed Ward-Prowse to dip a trademark free-kick over the wall and into the bottom-left corner of the goal just before half-time.

With a deficit to overturn, the hosts went close several times after the interval, with Romain Perraud making a dramatic clearance to deny substitute Raheem Sterling off the goal-line.

After such a lengthy pause for Azpilicueta's treatment, both teams struggled for cohesion following the restart, but Saints clung on for a crucial victory.

Manchester City missed the chance to return to the Premier League summit as Chris Wood's late goal secured a 1-1 draw for Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola's men had been usurped after Arsenal's last-gasp win over Aston Villa earlier in the day, but they looked set to reclaim top spot thanks to Bernardo Silva's sumptuous first-half strike.

City wasted a host of glorious opportunities to extend their lead in the second half, with Erling Haaland guilty of one particularly glaring miss, and they were duly punished late on.

Substitute Wood popped up at the back post to score his first goal for the club to punish City's profligacy and hand Arsenal the advantage in the title race.

Bayern Munich had Dayot Upamecano sent off in a 3-2 defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach that dealt a fresh blow to their hopes of winning an 11th consecutive Bundesliga title.

The French defender received his marching orders in the eighth minute for a messy challenge, and goals from Lars Stindl, Jonas Hofmann and Marcus Thuram lifted Gladbach to a deserved win. Hofmann scored one and had two assists in a masterclass.

Daniel Farke's home side had won just one of their past five league games, but they did well here, reasserting themselves in the second half after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting equalised Stindl's opener before the break. Mathys Tel's late strike for Bayern was scant consolation.

It leaves Bayern in danger of being knocked down to second place when Union Berlin face Schalke on Sunday, while Borussia Dortmund will have the chance to move level on points with Julian Nagelsmann's Bavarians when they host Hertha Berlin.

Bayern made a dreadful start, with Dayot Upamecano ordered off after bringing down Alassane Plea who got goal-side of the centre-back after a hopeful long ball.

The home side snatched a 13th-minute lead when a free-kick on the right was played by Hofmann to captain Stindl on the edge of the penalty area and his low strike found the bottom-right corner, beating Yann Sommer.

Bayern made a tactical change, replacing captain Thomas Muller with defender Joao Cancelo, but Stindl should have had a second goal for Gladbach in the 24th minute when he shot six inches wide after being picked out on the penalty spot by Kouadio Kone.

It was a major let-off and Bayern drew level in the 35th minute when Alphonso Davies dashed down the left and played a low centre that Choupo-Moting drove past Jonas Omlin for his eighth league goal of the season.

Yet it was Gladbach who struck next, in the 55th minute, when Plea's smart pass across goal from the right was calmly slotted in by Hofmann. It was also his eighth goal of the campaign, and Plea's eighth assist.

Ramy Bensebaini rattled the Bayern crossbar moments later, while at the other end Cancelo sent a drive from the edge of the box into the side-netting and Davies shot wildly wide.

Thuram looked to have sealed victory in the 84th minute, turning in a pass from Hofmann, before Tel turned in Bayern's second from close range in stoppage time amid a frantic finish.

What does it mean?

Bayern cannot buy a win when they ship the opening goal on league duty. They have now failed to win their last eight games when conceding first in the Bundesliga, and that is a problem for a champion team.

Great teams find a way, and on the evidence of much of this season, not just this setback, we are possibly not looking at a great Bayern.

Nagelsmann is winless in five games now against Gladbach in all competitions since joining Bayern (D2, L3).

French folly

It was a Frenchman who was the toast of Bayern in the 1-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, when Kingsley Coman got the only goal.

Here it was another Frenchman in Upamecano whose clumsy defending proved costly. The red card was his third in the Bundesliga, and first since June 6, 2020, when he was an RB Leipzig player.

It was also the earliest a red card has been shown in the Bundesliga this season.

Gladbach pair at it again

Stindl and Hofmann rarely give Bayern a quiet moment. On this occasion, Stindl's goal was his eighth goal involvement against Bayern in the Bundesliga, while Hofmann's assist was his ninth such involvement against the champions.

Hofmann's 10th involvement came when he fired home to give the hosts a 2-1 lead, and his 11th brought about the hosts' third. Among current Bundesliga players, nobody has been involved in more goals against Bayern, with Marco Reus also on 11 involvements.

What's next?

Bayern will be back on home turf next weekend when they host Union Berlin on the Sunday. Gladbach do not have to wait so long for another Bundesliga game, with a trip to Mainz coming up on Friday.

Arsenal were "absolutely bouncing" after Saturday's dramatic 4-2 win over Aston Villa saw them produce a morale-boosting response to defeat to Manchester City.

Mikel Arteta watched on as Arsenal were twice forced to come from behind at Villa Park in the day's early kick-off, with Ollie Watkins and Philippe Coutinho putting the hosts in front.

Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko got the equalisers for the Gunners, who for a while looked as though they would have to settle for a 2-2 draw, particularly when Martin Odegaard missed a glorious opportunity.

But in second-half stoppage time, Jorginho's 25-yard strike hit the crossbar and ricocheted into the goal off Emiliano Martinez's head to finally put Arsenal in front.

They finished Villa off on the break, Gabriel Martinelli putting into an empty net while Martinez was up the other end for a corner, and Arsenal's celebrations at full-time depicted intense jubilation after a run of three Premier League games without a win.

The midweek defeat to City saw Pep Guardiola's men replace Arsenal at the summit, though such a dramatic turnaround appeared to be the perfect tonic.

Asked what the mood was in the Arsenal changing rooms at full-time, Arteta told BT Sport: "It was absolutely bouncing because it was a big effort to play less than 72 hours after the [City] game that we had, and the result we had.

"That is obviously mentally tough, but I'm really pleased with the boys."

The manner of the triumph was as pleasing as anything for Arteta, who reminded his players they cannot expect to just win games in a straightforward fashion.

"When you want to be at the top, you are going to have to win games in many different ways," he continued.

"You're going to have to score goals in the 94th minute, and sometimes play with 10 men, get comeback results.

"To do it especially against this team in this stadium, a lot of credit to the boys."

Arsenal's attitude and spirit also impressed Arteta, though he was under no illusions about their performance being far from perfect.

He added: "We showed a lot of character, resilience to get back twice in the game and end up winning it.

"We have to take some lessons from today because especially in the first half we didn't do the simple things right.

"You give them the two chances to score those goals in a really simple way, but we spoke at half-time, if we raised individual standards and start to do what we have to do, we're going to win this game, and we then went out – which is difficult – and won it.

"In the second half I think we outplayed them. I think we created chance after chance, dominated the game. We needed a magic moment and Jorginho produced it."

England captain Ben Stokes has overhauled coach Brendon McCullum's record for the most sixes in Test matches, reaching 109 against New Zealand on Saturday.

The all-rounder lifted back-to-back balls from New Zealand bowler Scott Kuggeleijn over the boundary to reach the figure on day three of the teams' first meeting in Mount Maunganui.

Stokes' efforts with the bat saw him pull clear outright of ex-Black Caps batter McCullum, who scored 107 sixes during an illustrious red-ball career.

Stokes achieved the feat in fewer games than his coach, reaching his new total in 90 Tests, compared to 101 for McCullum.

In a further quirk of coincidence, the pair have also scored the exact same number of Test centuries, with a dozen apiece, and have been dismissed for a duck on 14 occasions each.

The duo are also two of only three men's players to reach triple-figures when it comes to sixes in Test match cricket, alongside Australia's Adam Gilchrist, who has 100.

Stokes and McCullum have led a dramatic revival of England's Test fortunes since they took charge last year, leading them to nine wins in 10 Tests ahead of their New Zealand tour.

Ahead of a home Ashes series later this year, the pair have impressed once again in New Zealand, with the tourists holding a 330-run lead at the end of day three at the Bay Oval.

Stuart Broad's riotous 4-21 helped reduce the Black Caps to 63-5 at the close of play, with England having reached 374 all out after half-centuries from Joe Root, Ben Foakes and Harry Brook.

Emiliano Martinez's late own goal proved the turning point as Arsenal came from behind twice to beat Aston Villa 4-2 and boost to their Premier League title hopes.

The Gunners, who were replaced at the summit after losing to Manchester City in midweek, looked to be heading to another underwhelming result at Villa Park before luck went their way in stoppage time.

Ollie Watkins' clinical finish put former Arsenal boss Unai Emery's Villa in charge early on, and although Bukayo Saka soon equalised, the visitors trailed at the break thanks to Philippe Coutinho's sensationally worked team goal.

Oleksandr Zinchenko levelled again and that appeared to be as good as it would get for Arsenal, but Martinez inadvertently put into his own net late on and was then caught up the other end of the pitch as Gabriel Martinelli completed a dramatic turnaround.

Arsenal's limp start provided few clues of the jubilation to come as they were behind inside five minutes.

Matty Cash robbed Zinchenko and released Watkins, who created space with a step-over before lashing across Aaron Ramsdale into the bottom-right corner.

Saka hammered into the roof of the net to level when Ben White's cross was only partially cleared.

But Villa restored their lead in style just past the half-hour mark, Coutinho coolly slotting in from 16 yards after Emiliano Buendia dummied Alex Moreno's cut-back to conclude a brilliant move.

Mikel Arteta's side began to exert more control after the break restored parity again when Zinchenko drilled home with 61 minutes played.

When Martin Odegaard then missed a glorious chance to win it, Arsenal appeared to be heading for a fourth consecutive top-flight game without a win.

But a stoppage-time potshot from Jorginho cracked against the crossbar and ricocheted in off former Arsenal goalkeeper Martinez's head.

Martinez went up for a Villa corner in the hope of making amends, but Arsenal countered, allowing an already-celebrating Martinelli to knock into an empty net.

What does it mean? Arsenal show immense character

Even if they had not ultimately gone on to win, Arsenal would have been due plenty of praise for their attitude here as they twice they came back from a goal down.

In the end, that spirit to keep scrapping away made the win possible, and the victory will surely be a massive boost for their title push after a tricky few weeks.

It looked like Arsenal were going to be four without a win in the Premier League, but they are back at the summit for at least a couple of hours and likely feeling they got what they deserved.

Odegaard a worthy winner

Had his late miss been costly, it would have felt so unjust given the quality of his performance.

Odegaard was sensational here and at the heart of so much of Arsenal's best play. He made seven key passes, including one assist, which is the most by an Arsenal player in a single Premier League game since April 2019.

Martinez antics come back to haunt him

Martinez had been acting up all day. He was routinely time wasting, seemingly trying to wind up Arsenal fans – there was something quite fitting about the late turnaround having him at the centre of it.

Key Opta Facts

- This was Arsenal's 14th Premier League away win against Aston Villa, their joint-best such record against a side in the competition (also 14 against West Ham).

- Arsenal have now conceded the opening goal in four of their last five Premier League games, one more than they did in their first 18 games of the 2022-23 campaign (3).

- Ollie Watkins has scored in each of his last four Premier League games for Aston Villa – it is his longest such run in the top four tiers of English football. Indeed, only Erling Haaland and Marcus Rashford (both 8) have more goals in the competition since the World Cup break than his five.

- Aston Villa’s Philippe Coutinho has now scored five Premier League goals against Arsenal. Against no other opponents does he have more (also five against Manchester City and Southampton).

- Only Erling Haaland (30) and Harry Kane (18) have been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (17 – nine goals, eight assists), while it is the second successive season he has reached double figures for goals in all competitions (10), netting 12 in 2021-22.

What's next?

Arsenal go to Leicester City next Saturday, while Aston Villa are at Everton the same day.

Ansu Fati can follow Marcus Rashford's example and turn a promising start into a flourishing career, according to Barcelona head coach Xavi.

Teenage Barcelona forward Fati has had a stop-start beginning to his time in the spotlight, with injuries and a dip in form seeing him struggle to establish himself as a starter.

He has featured in 47 first-team games for Barcelona over last season and the current campaign but has started just 13 times, netting 12 goals and adding three assists.

This season he has six goals in 32 appearances, having managed the same number in 15 games during the 2021-22 campaign, and his shot conversion rate has plummeted from 24 per cent last term to just 9.38 per cent this time around.

Fati turned 20 in November and Barcelona see the Spain international playing a big part in their future, although they might like to see the return of the 2019-20 Fati, who hit eight goals as a teenage sensation.

In every season except this one, Fati has exceeded his expected goals (xG) tally, which assesses the quality of chances and the likelihood of a player scoring. This term his xG total stands at 7.87.

Asked whether Fati might become Barcelona's equivalent to Manchester United's Rashford, Xavi said on Saturday: "He has the potential to be. It is clear we have a lot of hope in him.

"We will give him confidence. Performance will mark his development. He will be important. He is being and will be."

Rashford was a teenage star whose game briefly went off the boil after a fast start. He featured in 53 games in the 2016-17 campaign as United won the EFL Cup and Europa League, their last major trophies, and Rashford hit 22 goals in the 2019-20 season followed by 21 in the next campaign, before managing just five in the 2021-22 season.

This season has seen 25-year-old Rashford back to his best, matching his best season haul of 22 goals by netting against Barcelona on Thursday in a 2-2 Europa League draw.

LaLiga leaders Barcelona host Cadiz on Sunday, wary they lost 1-0 in this fixture last year.

Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 12 LaLiga games (W11 D1), and victory over Cadiz would see them bring up a seventh consecutive win in the competition, matching their best run under Xavi, twice achieving seven-game runs previously.

Striker Robert Lewandowski scored and had two assists when Barcelona won 4-0 at Cadiz in September, the only time he has been involved in three goals in a single LaLiga game.

Xavi has urged Barcelona to make the most of having one of Europe's deadliest strikers as the spearhead to their attack.

With just one goal from his last five games, this is a lean patch for Lewandowski who has had 19 shots across those fixtures.

Xavi said: "He was extraordinary and now he's lower, but it's not bad. I'm happy with him because of how he works and moves. Maybe we have to use him more. He's a top player who makes a difference.

"He's always a danger. He links well and gives assists. You have to play more with him."

Barcelona will make changes with next week's second leg of their Europa League play-off against Rashford's United in mind, and midfielder Pedri misses out with a hamstring problem.

Emiliano Martinez's late own goal proved the turning point as Arsenal came from behind twice to beat Aston Villa 4-2 and boost to their Premier League title hopes.

The Gunners, who were replaced at the summit after losing to Manchester City in midweek, looked to be heading to another underwhelming result at Villa Park before luck went their way in stoppage time.

Ollie Watkins' clinical finish put Villa in charge early on, and although Bukayo Saka soon equalised, the visitors trailed at the break thanks to Philippe Coutinho's sensationally worked team goal.

Oleksandr Zinchecko levelled again and that appeared to be as good as it would get for Arsenal, but Martinez inadvertently put into his own net late on and was then caught up the other end of the pitch as Gabriel Martinelli completed a dramatic turnaround.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad have become the most successful bowling partnership in the history of Test cricket after Broad bowled Devon Conway in England's match against New Zealand on day three.

The late Shane Warne and fellow Australian great Glenn McGrath had previously held the record, having combined for 1,001 wickets during their illustrious careers.

It was a record that looked like potentially standing the test of time, with the two Australia legends retiring 16 years ago.

But the England pair moved level with them on day two of the first Test at Bay Oval on Friday when Anderson took 3-36 and Broad finished with figures of 1-72.

That was their 133rd appearance together – Warne and McGrath reached their total in 104 matches.

The record-breaking wicket came in the fourth over of New Zealand's second innings, with the hosts having been set a target of 394 to chase down for an improbable victory.

Broad left New Zealand at 14-1 after his around-the-wicket delivery snuck through Conway's defence, immediately celebrating with Anderson as the duo were well aware of what they had just accomplished.

Broad went on to bowl Kane Williamson in his next over, making it 14-2 after an Anderson maiden in between.

New Zealand was a fitting location for them to reach the landmark, with the pairing having first teamed up together in Wellington way back in 2008.

Napoli's relentless charge to the Scudetto continued with a straightforward 2-0 win at Sassuolo on Friday, their key men at the fore yet again.

Victory at Mapei Stadium made it seven Serie A wins in a row since a 1-0 defeat to Inter in their first game back after the World Cup, extending the Partenopei's lead at the summit to 18 points.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put Napoli in front early on with a wonderful solo effort, before their other talisman, Victor Osimhen, made it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark to become the club's first player to net in seven successive top-flight games in the three-points-for-a-win era.

Sassuolo somewhat contentiously had a goal chalked off late in the first half, but thereafter Napoli's game management was exceptional, with the only shame for the visitors coming late on when Giovanni Simeone had a goal disallowed for offside.

It took Napoli 12 minutes to take charge as Kvaratskhelia breezed through midfield and coolly slotted into the bottom-left corner from 20 yards.

Armand Lauriente and Osimhen were both then denied by the post at either end, though the latter did not have to wait much longer to get his customary goal.

The Nigerian brilliantly held off two defenders before catching Andrea Consigli off guard with a ferocious effort hit early from a tight angle.

Sassuolo's Lauriente thought he had followed suit just before the break, only for his tap-in to be disallowed for an offside in the build-up.

Osimhen spurned a one-on-one opportunity early in the second half, and Andrea Pinamonti nodded agonisingly wide at the other end.

Substitute Simeone appeared to have added further gloss in stoppage time, yet VAR cut short his celebrations as Napoli had to settle for two.

Aaron Jones will remain with the Green Bay Packers after agreeing a restructured contract with the team.

Jones was due to earn $16million in 2023 but has reportedly agreed to reduce that number by $5m.

In return, Jones will receive $8.52m of his $11m as a signing bonus.

Posting on Twitter, the running back wrote: "Year 7 is gonna [sic] be crazy in Lambeau [Field]. Honoured to carry the G and blessed to be back."

Last season, Jones rushed for 1,121 yards, marking his third 1,000-yard campaign in the last four years. However, he scored just two rushing touchdowns. As a receiver, he recorded 395 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

Jones is third on the Packers' all-time list for rushing yards having amassed 5,284 during his five seasons in the NFL. His 43 rushing touchdowns rank fourth.

In 2022, he performed above average in yards before contact per attempt (3.06), yards after contact per rush (2.33) and yards per carry on rushes where there was a disruption by a defender (3.5).

But his efforts were not enough to earn the Packers a playoff berth as they finished 8-9, missing the postseason courtesy of a Week 18 defeat to the Detroit Lions.

Son Heung-min is receiving no guarantees regarding his starting role at Tottenham amid a disappointing campaign on an individual level.

The South Korea star was one of the Premier League's standout players last season, sharing the Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah after scoring 23 times.

But in the 2022-23 season Son has netted just four in 21 league appearances, meaning he looks likely to fall short of 10 top-flight goals for the first time since his debut campaign in England (2015-16, four goals).

Son's per-90-minute averages of 0.2 goals, 0.26 expected goals, 1.0 open-play chances created and 0.36 goal involvements this season are all new lows for him in the Premier League.

Tottenham's lack of options in attack has perhaps contributed to Son keeping his place, but with the fit-again Richarlison pushing for a first start since before the World Cup after returning to action last month, the former Bayer Leverkusen man might find himself benched soon.

Certainly, Stellini – who is standing in for Antonio Conte again after he was ordered to return home to recover from surgery – does not appear to be offering Son any assurances over his place in the team.

"Every time when you pick the team, you have to leave someone on the bench, and normally it is not important the player you have to maybe leave on the bench, it is about the team that has to play," Stellini told reporters ahead of Sunday's visit of West Ham.

"It is important also that some important players stay on the bench for their effort when they come in. This is very important.

"We have experience with Sonny; we have experience with Richarlison; we have experienced with [Dejan] Kulusevski from the bench, they change the game.

"This is normal and it is normal for everyone, not because you have an important player he has to play compulsory.

"If he needs to play sometimes, also he needs to rest because we have a tough fixture [list]. We have a tough moment and we play many times. Sometimes you have to change the player and also to perform better."

Richarlison has made four substitute appearances since recovering from the hamstring injury he sustained in Qatar.

Stellini is "absolutely" convinced the Brazilian is now 100 per cent fit, hinting he sees him as a viable weapon as Spurs look to further their cause for a top-four spot.

Asked if he was looking for a way to fit Richarlison into the side, Stellini said: "Yes, this is our expectation for Richy.

"We were very unlucky with him because [of the injury] in the World Cup. We've missed Richy now for a long time. We missed Richy.

"In the best moment we had him at the start of the season, he was a player who changed our game.

"He changed the pace of the game during the game and when he started. He scored two goals in the Champions League and that was important.

"We've lost him sometimes and we have to accept it and work to have him back at the top, and his performance now I think could be good."

Brendan Rodgers wants James Maddison to sign a new contract with Leicester City but will not be "begging" the England international to stay.

Leicester signed Maddison from Norwich City in 2018 in a deal reportedly worth £20million and has since gone on to become one of the Premier League's best attacking midfielders.

Although injuries have troubled him this season, Maddison has been involved in 21 goals in his last 19 Premier League starts, scoring 13 and assisting another eight.

His 14 goal involvements in the top flight this term is bettered by only six players, all of whom have played at least 500 minutes more than Maddison.

But his contract is due to expire at the end of June 2024 and Leicester do not appear to be making much progress on a new deal, meaning a sale at the end of the season is increasingly likely.

Rodgers is prepared to move on, however, adamant one player leaving is not a catastrophe.

"It's been a conversation the club have been having with his representatives for a while, so nothing's changed there," Rodgers told reporters ahead of Sunday's trip to Manchester United.

"His contract is clear where it's at. For me, it's about making sure James is playing at the best level he can be, and thankfully he's doing just that. He's staying available and fit.

"It'd be great [if he signed a new deal]. He's a top player in the league, he's shown that in his time here, gradually.

"You can see that development take place. We improve players and give them great conditions to work in, but I won't be begging a player to stay.

"They get great support here and if they've been here, they understand what the club is about. This is a great club, great facilities and they have to understand that.

"But it's a short career and they have to think about the future. I understand what they're thinking."

More pressing than contract talks, however, is the upcoming clash at Old Trafford.

Rodgers expects to have Youri Tielemans, Boubakary Soumare and Maddison – whose record of no goals in eight games against United is his worst record versus any club in the Premier League – available for the match after recent fitness issues.

Leicester head into the game on the back of something of an upturn in form, winning their past two Premier League matches, though they have not won three in a row since January 2021.

Eddie Howe has detailed how he "absolutely detests" losing matches – something Newcastle United have not done in the Premier League since August's trip to Liverpool.

But ahead of the reverse fixture at St James' Park on Saturday, Howe's focus is on winning, rather than preserving a record unbeaten run.

Newcastle have suffered only a sole defeat in the league this season – the fewest in the division – and that loss came in particularly painful circumstances as Liverpool's Fabio Carvalho scored a 98th-minute winner at Anfield.

Since then, the Magpies are unbeaten in 17 in the league, a sequence that has tied their best ever streak, set in the Championship in 2010.

Newcastle have also advanced to the EFL Cup final, but they suffered an upset in the FA Cup, losing to Sheffield Wednesday to remind Howe just how much he hates that feeling.

Asked if the previous Liverpool match had aided his team, the Newcastle boss replied: "Possibly it may have helped us in some strange way. You go through that experience and you're desperate not to feel that again.

"Certainly the Sheffield Wednesday game was another example.

"I don't need any reminding of how painful losing is – I did most of that in my playing career, and I hated that feeling. I tried to do everything I could to not feel that going into the next game.

"As a manager, it's probably 10 times worse, maybe 100 times worse. I hated it as a player, and I absolutely detest it as a manager.

"You're preparing and working to try to stay away from that feeling for as long as possible."

The length of that unbeaten run in the Premier League would have kept Howe happy then, but Newcastle have drawn eight of those 17 matches, ending remote hopes of a title challenge and putting them under pressure in the Champions League chase.

While another draw against Liverpool – their sixth in seven and fourth in a row – would see Howe's players make history with the outright record, he only wants victory.

"To go on that kind of unbeaten run in this league is so tough, because it only takes one bad 10 minutes and that record is gone," Howe said, before adding: "I don't want the players to become focused on it, though.

"That can be the danger with unbeaten runs sometimes – it becomes about staying unbeaten, rather than winning the game.

"That's not in my mindset at all. Tomorrow, we go out to try to win, and all our focus has to be on that."

Tottenham are in need of a lift following back-to-back defeats, and history would suggest it might come at the expense of West Ham in the absence of Antonio Conte.

Head coach Conte made a swift return to the touchline last weekend following gallbladder surgery and watched his side suffer a 4-1 Premier League defeat at Leicester City.

The Italian then oversaw a 1-0 Champions League defeat at Milan on Tuesday, but he has remained on his homeland in order to take time to make a full recovery from his operation.

Cristian Stellini will once again step up to take charge of Tottenham for the foreseeable future, and Conte's assistant's first task is to mastermind a home derby victory over West Ham this weekend.

Stats Perform previews the clash between the London rivals by picking out the standout Opta data.

Five-in-a-row frustration for Hammers

West Ham have lost five consecutive away London derbies since beating Crystal Palace 3-2 on New Year's Day in 2022.

That is their longest such run since a streak of six defeats on the bounce between April 2009 and October 2010.

David Moyes' men draw 1-1 at home to Spurs in August but only once in the past eight seasons have they avoided defeat in both Premier League meetings with Spurs – that being in the 2020-21 campaign.

More home comforts for Spurs?

While Tottenham are smarting from back-to-back losses in all competitions, they beat Premier League leaders Manchester City 1-0 in their last home game.

Although they lost 2-0 in their own backyard to fierce rivals Arsenal in their last London derby, they were unbeaten in five encounters with fellow capital clubs at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before that painful setback.

Not since November 2004 have Spurs lost consecutive home London derbies,

Antonio to torment Tottenham again?

Michail Antonio should be licking his lips at the prospect of facing Tottenham.

The striker has scored in four of the Hammers' past five wins over Spurs, including the only goal of the game in three of those contests.

No player has ever scored in four 1-0 victories against the same opponent in Premier League history.

Hammers can snuff out Spurs set-piece threat

No side have scored from more corners in the Premier League this season than Tottenham's 11.

They might be hard pressed to bring up a dozen this weekend, though, as West Ham have not conceded from a corner this term.

If they are to turn the corner this weekend and get their bid for a top-four finish back on track, Spurs may have to be more creative in open play after firing a blank at San Siro.