Dusan Vlahovic only joined Juventus from Fiorentina last January on a four-year deal, but he could be on the move already.

That is part of the immediate fallout from the Serie A giants' 15-point deduction for alleged financial irregularities and false accounting.

Juventus will appeal the court decision but it does leave them in a major battle to remain in European contention, slipping to 10th already, and reports suggest they will have a tough task on their hands to keep hold of some of their key players.

TOP STORY – VLAHOVIC OFFERED TO MAN UTD

Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic has been offered to Manchester United according to 90min, amid the fallout from the Bianconeri's 15-point deduction.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich have also been alerted to his availability.

Playing Champions League football is key for the Serbian striker, who has 16 goals in 36 games for Juventus, and the club understands the player's position and could sell in January or at the end of the season.

ROUND-UP

– Jude Bellingham is set to turn down a new Borussia Dortmund contract offer, with Manchester City confident they are in the box seat to land him, reports the Star. Liverpool and Real Madrid are also interested in the England midfielder.

– Arsenal have commenced discussions with Ivan Fresneda as they look to sign the Real Valladolid right-back, according to Fabrizio Romano.

– Sport reports that Chelsea are willing to exchange Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech for Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie.

– Roma are set to move for Udinese forward Gerard Deulofeu should they sell Nicolo Zaniolo, claims Calciomercato.

– The Athletic reports Manchester City are discussing a contract extension with Ilkay Gundogan amid interest from Barcelona.

– The Daily Mail claims that Frank Lampard is on the verge of being sacked as Everton manager following Saturday's 2-0 loss to West Ham.

Liverpool and Chelsea failed to find a cure for their January blues as the out-of-form giants played out a goalless draw in Saturday's headline Premier League clash at Anfield.

While Graham Potter's visitors went close through £89million signing Mykhaylo Mudryk, the contest offered a stark reminder of why both teams are marooned in mid-table, though there was plenty of intrigue to be found elsewhere. 

While Champions League-chasing Newcastle United failed to make further inroads in a stalemate of their own at Crystal Palace, it was a day of contrasting fortunes at the bottom.

West Ham clinched a huge win over Everton as Leicester City were pegged back by Brighton and Hove Albion, leaving both Frank Lampard and Brendan Rodgers under severe pressure.

Here, Stats Perform takes a look at the most interesting facts to emerge from Saturday's Premier League action.

Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea: Reds and Blues fire another blank 

Fans of Liverpool and Chelsea have become accustomed to goalless draws when their sides meet. Saturday's game represented the third consecutive fixture between the teams to finish 0-0.

Liverpool have only recorded a longer such run against an opponent once in their history, playing out four successive 0-0 draws with Everton in 1974 and 1975. Chelsea have never done so.

Jurgen Klopp would have been hoping to see Cody Gakpo hit the ground running when he arrived from PSV earlier this month, but the Netherlands international disappointed once again at Anfield – since his Reds debut on January 7, no Premier League player has had more shots without scoring in all competitions than Gakpo's 12.

While Potter has now overseen 16 goalless draws since making his Premier League bow in the 2019-20 season, at least twice as many as any other manager in that time, Klopp was left to curse the identity of Liverpool's opponents on a landmark occasion.

The German has now completed 1,000 games as a manager – 411 with Liverpool, 319 with Borussia Dortmund and 270 with Mainz. However, 10 of his 20 career meetings with Chelsea have been drawn, more than against any other side.

Leicester City 2-2 Brighton and Hove Albion: Foxes denied by in-form Ferguson

At the King Power Stadium, Leicester looked to be on course for a crucial victory when goals from Marc Albrighton and Harvey Barnes put them on top following Kaoru Mitoma's stunning opener.

Barnes has scored more Premier League goals (seven) in 18 appearances this season than he did in 32 games last term (six), but the winger was to be outdone at the death as Evan Ferguson headed a late leveller for Brighton.

With three goals and two assists in his five Premier League appearances, Ferguson is averaging a goal involvement every 40 minutes in the competition – the best ratio among players to have played at least 90 minutes this term. 

The result leaves Leicester boss Rodgers facing mounting pressure, with the Foxes winless in their last five league games (W1, D4) after winning five of their previous eight.

West Ham 2-0 Everton: Bowen at the double as Lampard's woes deepen

At the London Stadium, West Ham struck a huge blow in the battle to avoid the drop, ending a run of seven league matches without a win (D1, L6) as Jarrod Bowen's brace sunk Everton.

The England international was on hand for two close-range finishes before the interval as the Hammers escaped the relegation zone. With 21 goals at the venue, Bowen is now level with Michail Antonio as the joint-top scorer at the London Stadium.

Everton, however, are in crisis mode after collecting just 15 points from their first 20 games of the season. Accounting for three points per win across all seasons, this is the Toffees' worst return at this point of a campaign in their history.

Their run of eight league games without a win (D2, L6) is the longest of Lampard's managerial career, casting further doubt on his future at Goodison Park.

Crystal Palace 0-0 Newcastle United: Magpies showcase solidity at Selhurst Park

Newcastle's failure to make the breakthrough against Crystal Palace will not have pleased Eddie Howe, but a sixth consecutive Premier League clean sheet demonstrated the solid streak which has put them in top-four contention.

The Magpies' run of six successive shutouts is the longest managed by a Premier League side under an English manager since Steve McClaren's Middlesbrough went seven games without conceding in the 2003-04 campaign.

Meanwhile, Newcastle's sequence of 15 games without defeat in the Premier League (W9, D6) is now the longest in their top-flight history.

Having also drawn 0-0 in the return fixture at St James' Park in September, Palace and Newcastle have attempted 64 shots between them without scoring in their two Premier League meetings this term – the most of any two sides in a single season on record (since 2003-04).

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool "have to be ready for little steps" as he declared himself pleased with a Premier League goalless draw against Chelsea on Saturday.

Struggling heavyweights Liverpool and Chelsea played out a dismal contest at Anfield to leave themselves nine points off fourth-placed Newcastle United, who had a game coming up later in the day.

Liverpool had 15 shots, but just three were on target, with their expected goals (xG) return of 1.40 lower than that of Chelsea (1.59), who had a Kai Havertz goal ruled out.

The Reds did at least snap a two-game losing run in the Premier League with their first clean sheet in nine, all of which Klopp believes points to a positive day on the whole.

"We had good spells but couldn't keep it up," Klopp, who was taking charge of his 1,000th game in management, told BT Sport.

"We have to be ready for little steps, and this is a little step. We didn’t concede against Chelsea, which is good. We didn't create an awful lot of chances, but we had them.

"We defended more with passion than clear organisation, so in the end I am okay with nil-nil. You have to accept it."

Liverpool and Chelsea have now played out five successive draws, albeit with the Reds winning two of those games on penalties in last season's EFL and FA Cup finals.

It is the first time ever the sides have drawn three successive league games.

Klopp's side now turn focus to an FA Cup fourth-round tie with Brighton and Hove Albion, while they have a Champions League last-16 clash with Real Madrid coming up.

Echoing the thoughts of his manager, utility man James Milner believes Liverpool are showing small signs of improvement.

"When you're in a tough period and a tough moment in the team, I think it's important that you stick together and fight for those clean sheets and that's where it starts," Milner said.

"It's not the best football matches that we are playing, but it's small steps to get where we know we can be.

"We would have liked to win it, it's pleasing that we had the chances. This is a small step in the right direction, but we have got a long way to go to where we want to be.

"We always want to win our home games, we know the situation we are in at the moment, things are not easy.

"We've got to stick together, keep working hard. We kept a clean sheet which was pleasing. We need to get that base. We had chances to win the game."

Milner, who lined up at right-back, had the joint-second most touches of any Liverpool player (73) despite playing just 72 minutes. He felt the condition of the playing surface worked against Liverpool.

"It was two teams that aren't playing their best at the moment. That's why you have to win that battle, and the pitch didn't make it as easy to play as we would like," he said.

"At times we could have made it easier for ourselves by taking an extra touch but also moving for each other. 

"We had really good spells in the game as well. There's things to work on, but a clean sheet is a step in the right direction."

Graham Potter said it was a "positive day" despite being denied a win as struggling giants Liverpool and Chelsea played out a 0-0 draw at Anfield.

The Chelsea head coach has seen his team win just two of their last 10 games (D2 L6) but was happy enough with the result, despite it seeing them remain in 10th place in the Premier League.

Kai Havertz was denied a goal in just the third minute after a VAR check found him to be offside in an otherwise fairly eventless game on Saturday.

"I thought the performance was good," Potter told BT Sport after the stalemate. "I was happy with the team, the energy, what we tried to do. At Anfield, it is always tough. It's a clean sheet and a point [and] we move forward.

"First half, we were decent, unlucky not to get the goal. It is what it is. They started the second half well, and we adjusted a couple of things and gained control, had a couple of chances. Overall, a positive day, apart from the fact we wanted three points."

At his post-match press conference, Potter was asked about Mykhaylo Mudryk, who made his debut off the bench and went close to scoring a couple of times.

"He's not played since November. He hasn't had any game time. It would've been a risk. He'll get better the more he is with us," the former Brighton and Hove Albion head coach said as he explained why the big-money arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk did not start.

Potter added regarding Mudryk and another new arrival, on-loan Joao Felix, who was suspended following his debut red card at Fulham: "They're top players. Sometimes people think us coaches turn top players into top players. But Mudryk, Joao, they understand the game. It's just fine-turning it a bit."

Chelsea are now without a win in their last six Premier League away games on the road (D3 L3), their longest run in the competition since September to December 2015 (D3 L4).

Mason Mount – who has been linked with a move to Liverpool at the end of the season – was also of the opinion that it was a good point for Chelsea.

"You know this is going to be a tough place to come," he told BT Sport. "Overall, we controlled a lot of it. We could have taken our chances.

"It has been tough lately, we want to win games. I feel like it is getting better and we worked hard today.

"We'll definitely take this today. The final passes weren't there – if it was maybe we would have scored a few in the first half, but as I said, this is a tough place to come.

"They press you and force mistakes, like [they did in] the second half, and I think we came through that."

Steven Gerrard believes Jude Bellingham should steer clear of continental Europe's top clubs and come to Liverpool.

Former Reds midfielder Gerrard has offered to take Bellingham out for dinner and tell him about what he could achieve by moving to Anfield.

Bellingham has long been touted as a big-money target for the Reds, and Gerrard believes the 19-year-old would be more likely to flourish with Liverpool than with Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich.

The attraction of Liverpool may be diminishing, with Jurgen Klopp's team looking highly unlikely to qualify for the Champions League through the Premier League route this season.

They may yet get there by winning the Champions League, but that looks a fantastical prospect given they face Real Madrid in the last-16 stage, and given Liverpool's general form has been terribly patchy this season. A 0-0 draw at Anfield against Chelsea on Saturday left the Reds rooted in mid-table, a worrying distance behind the top four.

"All he needs to do is send his diary to me, when he's got a free day," Gerrard said, while working as a pundit on BT Sport. "I'll fly to Dortmund personally, I'll take him out for a nice dinner and we'll talk about it."

What is beyond dispute is that Bellingham's skill set and dynamism would improve Liverpool's midfield, with Klopp's experienced campaigners Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara not the force they once were. Gerrard described that area as "a little bit stale".

Gerrard said: "I'm sure Jude is bright enough to see there's a stand going up here, this is going to be a 60,000-seat stadium, they've got one of the best five managers in the world, they've won the Premier League of late, they've been in Champions League finals of late, they pay very well here – that's a fact."

Bellingham plays at an 81,000-capacity ground with Dortmund so Anfield is small by comparison, but there are undoubtedly aspects of a move to Liverpool that might appeal.

Dortmund are struggling domestically this season, too, so Bellingham would not be giving up the prospect of likely league titles in Germany, particularly given Bayern have dominated there for the last decade.

But he might have transfer options where winning major trophies would appear more likely than if he were to move to Merseyside.

Even though Bellingham has been playing in Germany for three seasons, and flourishing in the Bundesliga, Gerrard feels the former Birmingham City player belongs in England.

"I think it's important he stays in this country," said former Liverpool captain Gerrard. "He's 19 years of age.

"You talk about Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich; I know he's doing it at Dortmund now, but them clubs are at a higher level than Dortmund and you can get swallowed up.

"There's a lot of stars, and you can get swallowed up by making a move too soon.

"In my opinion, staying around England, staying around this country, getting developed, there's still growth in him, and he can evolve, and I think staying in England until a certain age until he hits his peak years is very important for the boy now."

Jurgen Klopp's 1,000th match in management; the English top flight's 50,000th fixture – Chelsea's trip to Liverpool on Saturday wasn't short of milestones, intrigue or importance.

But there was certainly no surplus of quality at Anfield as two teams who've been feeling sorry for themselves for most of the season failed to produce the spark that could reignite their thoroughly underwhelming campaigns.

Graham Potter's men left with a 0-0 draw that Chelsea might ultimately be relatively happy with, but generally speaking it was a match devoid of brilliance, and by extension an indictment of two teams who should be faring far, far better.

It bears remembering that, in fairness, Liverpool and Chelsea played out draws in seven of their previous 17 Premier League meetings – but such tightness has also led to numerous classics down the years, helping stoke something of a competitive rivalry between the two.

Recent Premier League title winners, recent Champions League titlists – even with their respective injury woes and general struggles, surely this was still going to be a thriller?

There probably wasn't a more inappropriate description of the first half, a dour 45 minutes of football barely punctuated by any hints of ingenuity or quality.

Chelsea could argue they were the brighter of the teams. Kai Havertz had an early goal disallowed; Lewis Hall flashed a left-footed effort across the six-yard box; Benoit Badiashile headed at Alisson from close range.

But it was hardly sustained pressure, and you could make a case for all three incidents being caused more by poor Liverpool defending than attacking brilliance from Chelsea.

Of course, it cannot be overstated how many important players were absent for both teams – it's no fluke they began the weekend ninth and 10th in the league.

But even with the likes of Hall and Stefan Bajcetic starting, it wasn't as if either side resembled a creche. The starting XIs cost over £200million. Each.

Not even Mohamed Salah – a genuine superstar – could bring the desired quality, skying one attempt as he cut inside and onto his left foot. You know the one, the type of chance you'd almost expect him to finish last season... or any past campaign in Liverpool red.

A fairly tame Thiago Alcantara effort was Liverpool's first shot on target in the 39th minute.

There was undoubtedly a sense of Jurgen Klopp "getting into" – as Reds great Steven Gerrard put it during his punditry – Liverpool at half-time, as they began the second half on the front foot.

Within seconds of the restart, Ibrahima Konate surged forward and seemingly panicked with little else on. His toe-poke from about 50 yards almost crept into the top-left corner in an incident that seemed to sum up everything about the game until that point.

But Liverpool's intensity didn't last, their dip seemingly coinciding with the introduction of Mykhaylo Mudryk, who gave Chelsea a notable lift.

His first touch was heavy. Cue ironic cheers from the home fans.

But his next will have had the Kop staring wide-eyed in terror.

Conor Gallagher was tripped in the box and Mudryk pounced, remarkably dancing past three Liverpool defenders before drilling left-footed into the side-netting.

Relief was the expression written all over the Reds' defence – although only for a moment. Soon after he left James Milner for dead, luring the makeshift right-back into a lunge that brought a booking and his subsequent substitution for Trent Alexander-Arnold, deemed not fit enough to start.

Suddenly Chelsea were looking to Mudryk in virtually every attack. Two devilish Hakim Ziyech crosses sought him out at the back post – the first was met with a heavy touch, the second slightly too strong for him to divert goalwards.

The Ukrainian was also neat with his link-up play, delicately releasing Carney Chukwuemeka into the box twice with well-weighted passes, only for the youngster to stumble on the first occasion and then needlessly delay his shot for the second.

Mudryk wasn't enough to inspire a breakthrough, though. In fact, the game probably didn't deserve a goal, and you certainly couldn't say either team were particularly unfortunate not to win.

While Mudryk's cameo will have undoubtedly offered Chelsea some encouragement, the overriding conclusion from such an underwhelming contest was that both extremely expensively assembled teams still look like they could do with another £200m of investment.

Struggling Premier League heavyweights Liverpool and Chelsea played out a goalless draw at Anfield in Jurgen Klopp's 1,000th game in management.

The clubs find themselves level on points in mid-table and Saturday's 0-0 result does neither side's hopes of challenging for the top four any good.

Kai Havertz thought he had given Chelsea the lead inside three minutes, only for VAR to rule it out for a tight offside, while Benoit Badiashile wasted a good opportunity.

New signing Mykhailo Mudryk was handed his debut in the second half and also went close for Chelsea, but there was to be no breakthrough at either end.

Havertz turned the ball in from close range after Thiago Silva's shot had hit the post and cannoned into his path, but his left foot was adjudged to have been in an offside position.

Liverpool, who handed a full league debut to Stefan Bajcetic, survived another scare when Badiashile headed too close to Alisson from a few yards out.

The visitors turned to Mudryk before the hour mark after Cody Gakpo sent a number of attempts off target for Liverpool, and the big-money signing made a quick impact.

Some slick footwork allowed him to get a shot away, albeit into the side-netting, and an even better chance fell his way when failing to control a pass at the back post.

Shots on target proved hard to come by, though, with substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold also blazing over late on as the sides could not be separated in 90 minutes for a fifth successive meeting.

Manchester United are reportedly planning an audacious move for Tottenham star and England captain Harry Kane at the end of the season.

Kane, 29, has put together a spectacular goalscoring resume during his time at Spurs. He is one goal away from tying Jimmy Greaves as the club's all-time leading scorer, while he has already tied Wayne Rooney for the most goals in an England shirt, and is third all-time for Premier League goals.

This season has been more of the same, as Kane has started all 20 of Antonio Conte's side's league fixtures and hit 15 goals, trailing only Manchester City's Erling Haaland (22) in the race for the golden boot.

Tottenham have no interest in parting ways with their frontman, but his contract situation could force their hand.

TOP STORY – KANE INTERESTED IN A MOVE TO OLD TRAFFORD

According to the Daily Mail, United boss Erik ten Hag has put Kane at the top of his recruitment plans at the conclusion of the season, when the 29-year-old will have only 12 months remaining on his contract.

Crucially, the report states Kane "is open to joining United", providing further indication that he is unlikely to sign an extension to remain at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs will demand a fee of at least £85million, while Bild adds both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid remain interested.

ROUND-UP

– The Guardian is reporting Liverpool will look to pursue 24-year-old Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount at the end of the season if he does not sign an extension at Stamford Bridge.

– According to the Evening Standard, Arsenal are hoping to bring in 20-year-old Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga on a short-term loan.

– Calciomercato is reporting West Ham have proposed a loan with a mandatory £30m (€34m) buy clause for Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo, but the Italian side want an immediate permanent deal.

– Roma will look to replace Zaniolo with 23-year-old Sassuolo midfielder Davide Frattesi, who is valued at €30m, per Gazzetta dello Sport.

– The Daily Mail is reporting Leicester City have returned with a second offer for 24-year-old Stoke City and Australia centre-back Harry Souttar after their initial £10m bid was rejected.

Jurgen Klopp reaches 1,000 games as a head coach and manager on Saturday when Liverpool tackle Chelsea, and it has been quite a ride.

From a relegation battle with Mainz in the German second division to the heights of Champions League glory with Liverpool, Klopp has achieved more than anyone expected of a man whose playing career was distinctly modest.

It would be stretching it to say the signs were there from day one, but they were certainly there from day two.

Klopp was named as an interim replacement for Eckhard Krautzun when Mainz decided on a change of leader on February 27, 2001.

One day later, Klopp made his debut as a coach in the second tier of the Bundesliga. He had been a player in the team until that point, but this marked the beginning of a new chapter.

Club president Harald Strutz, quoted in the Rheinische Post at the time, voiced the suggestion the interim boss could stake a claim for the full-time job.

"Maybe that will be a permanent solution," Strutz said, presciently.

Midfielder Christof Babatz, who would be a significant figure in Mainz's rise to the Bundesliga under Klopp, then said after the first game resulted in a 1-0 win over Duisburg: "The coach teased that certain something out of us."

And so began the story of Klopp's touchline career, one centred on teasing out the very best from the talent at his disposal, nurturing prospects into polished performers, and tallying trophies along the way. From Mainz, to Borussia Dortmund, and eventually to Liverpool, Klopp has delivered on that initial leap of faith.

There have been league titles, cup triumphs and big European final nights with Liverpool and Dortmund, plus promotion and even a relegation during his formative Mainz days.

Here, Stats Perform looks at those first 999 games, as Opta data shows some essential numbers behind one of the 21st century's great coaching careers.

Pep, Howe, Hecking and Magath – Klopp's rivalries

Klopp has faced Pep Guardiola more than any other rival manager, going head-to-head with the Catalan 27 times across their careers.

There have been notable defeats along the way, including the 2014 DFB-Pokal final, when Klopp's Dortmund went down 2-0 to Guardiola's Bayern, and the 5-0 and 4-0 thrashings meted out by Manchester City to Liverpool in September 2017 and July 2020, both of which rank among the top nine heaviest defeats Klopp has had to stomach.

However, Klopp has the overall upper hand across their meetings, winning 11, drawing seven and losing nine of those games.

He has faced only one other boss more than 20 times: German Dieter Hecking, against whom Klopp pitted his wits 21 times, winning 11, drawing five and losing five. Hecking bossed Lubeck, Alemannia Aachen, Hannover, Nurnberg and Wolfsburg during Klopp's time in the German leagues.

Klopp certainly has a happy record against Newcastle United's former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, achieving 11 wins from their 13 meetings.

This shows the most wins Klopp has had against any boss is 11, against Guardiola, Hecking and Howe, while it can be revealed the team he has beaten the most are Freiburg (13 times), followed by Crystal Palace, Nurnberg and Arsenal (all 12).

His real nemesis appears to have been Felix Magath, the former Stuttgart, Bayern, Wolfsburg and Schalke coach. In 14 games against Magath teams, Klopp won only three times, losing eight.

Bayern have had the most wins against Klopp, with 16. No other team have reached double figures, with Hamburg, Schalke and Wolfsburg (all nine) next on the list.

The milestones, the biggest and the best... and the games he'd rather forget

Klopp won that first match of his career against Duisburg, and to date he has never lost on each 100th game on his way towards 1,000 as a boss.

There have been wins against the way against Bochum (200th game), Werder Bremen (300th), his old club Mainz (400th), Freiburg (500th) and Southampton (600th), and draws on his 700th, 800th and 900th games, against Newcastle, Chelsea and Real Madrid, respectively. Klopp's 100th game was also a draw, against Unterhaching with Mainz.

His biggest win was the 9-0 trouncing that Liverpool dished out to Bournemouth in August of this season, and his Liverpool team have also hit seven in a game five times (Maribor, Spartak Moscow, Crystal Palace, Lincoln City and Rangers), while his biggest win as a boss in Germany was Dortmund's 6-0 crushing of Arminia Bielefeld in May 2009.

Klopp has suffered four defeats by five-goal margins, the worst he has had to endure, with Aston Villa inflicting two of those: 7-2 in October 2020 and 5-0 in December 2019 – albeit the latter with Klopp and his frontline Liverpool stars out of the country on Club World Cup duty. There was also a 6-1 torching for Mainz at the hands of Werder Bremen in October 2006, and Liverpool's 5-0 whipping by Guardiola's City.

When it comes to promoting young talent, Klopp has rarely hesitated. His youngest player was Harvey Elliott, now a first-team squad regular at Liverpool, who faced MK Dons in the EFL Cup at the age of 16 years and 174 days in September 2019.

Klopp has fielded five 16-year-olds for Liverpool, plus seven 17-year-olds, while he also gave chances to the 17-year-old Mario Gotze at Dortmund, and Mario Vrancic, also 17, during his time at Mainz. Gotze went on to become a World Cup final match-winner.

His oldest player was Peter Neustadter, a Kazakh defender who was older than Klopp himself, aged 37 years and 176 days, when he turned out for Mainz against Alemannia Aachen in the Bundesliga's second tier in August 2003.

Warhorse midfielder James Milner could yet break that record as the oldest Liverpool player to have appeared for Klopp, aged 37 years and 13 days when he played in the recent FA Cup replay win against Wolves this week.

James Woodburn remains the youngest scorer for Klopp after hitting the net against Leeds in an EFL Cup clash in November 2016 at the age of 17 years and 45 days, while Sebastian Kehl ranks as his oldest scorer – 35 years and 53 days old when he bagged for Dortmund against Hoffenheim in a DFB-Pokal quarter-final in April 2015.

Klopp's kingpins

Roberto Firmino has played more games for Klopp than anyone, racking up 341 outings for Liverpool under the manager, with Milner (301) next on the list.

When it comes to starters, though, we get a different picture, with former Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller top of the list with 280 games, followed by another BVB stalwart, Neven Subotic (278), and then Firmino (277 starts). Milner is a long way down that list, with 112 of the veteran's appearances for Klopp having come as a substitute.

Mohamed Salah has made 282 appearances and 261 starts for Klopp, and when it comes to scorers for the Reds manager, the brilliant Egyptian is the untouchable number one.

His 173 goals put him streets ahead of Klopp's next highest scorer, Sadio Mane (120), with Firmino (107) and former Dortmund supreme finisher Robert Lewandowski (103) being the only other players to reach three figures.

Among players with 10 or more goals for Klopp teams, Salah has also scored at the fastest rate, netting once every 133 minutes, with Lewandowski in a tie for second place with Darwin Nunez, both scoring at one per 139 minutes. Nunez scrapes onto the list, having scored 10 times so far.

Lewandowski hit four hat-tricks for Klopp's Dortmund, while Salah has managed five for Liverpool under the German.

Both men once hit four in a game for Klopp, with Lewandowski doing so in a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, and Salah in a Premier League match against Watford.

The manager teased plenty out of those two down the years, and Klopp will doubtless look to Salah, a former Chelsea player, to ensure his 1,000th game brings cause for celebration.

Chelsea have an opportunity to truly turn a corner under Graham Potter when they face Liverpool in Jurgen Klopp's 1,000th game as a manager.

Just four months into the job, Potter had to fend off questions regarding his future on the back of a run of one win in eight matches, six of those ending in defeat.

Last weekend's slender 1-0 win over Crystal Palace has brought the "buzz" back to Chelsea, in the view of Potter, but another loss at Anfield on Saturday could change all that.

Tenth-place Chelsea are not the only Premier League giant to have struggled this term, with opponents Liverpool level on points in ninth, albeit having played a game less.

Indeed, this weekend's meeting will mark the first time since the 2015-16 campaign that both sides have been outside the top six at this stage of a season.

Stats Perform has picked out the standout Opta numbers to preview the big game, with both clubs needing to put a strong run together to have any change of securing a top-four finish.

Poor form laid bare

Chelsea have won just two of their past 10 Premier League matches, collecting nine points from a possible 30 in that period.

Both of those victories – against Bournemouth late last month before seeing off Palace  – have been on home soil, with the Blues winless in five away top-flight matches since mid-October.

Liverpool's form has been equally as patchy, having lost back-to-back league games in 2023 against Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion, the two sides directly above them.

They picked up their first win of the year in all competitions at the fourth attempt against Wolves in the FA Cup on Tuesday to lift the gloom.

Not since 1953 have the Reds started a year with three straight league losses.

Draws galore

Both teams are therefore in need of a victory if they are to make up any ground on the top four, though this fixture has often ended all square in recent times.

The two league games last season were drawn – 1-1 at Anfield in August and 2-2 at Stamford Bridge five months later, with Chelsea recovering from two goals down in the latter.

Then came the EFL and FA Cup finals contested in the space of three months that defined both sides' seasons; each ending goalless before Liverpool prevailed on penalties.

Never before have Liverpool and Chelsea drawn three consecutive league games, though, so that streak looks set to end this weekend.

No home comforts

Preceding that run of draws, Chelsea won 1-0 at Anfield in March 2021 – Mason Mont scoring the only goal – to continue an interesting sequence in this fixture.

The home team has won just three of the past 17 league games between Liverpool and Chelsea – and none in the Reds' case since July 2020 on the day they lifted the title.

Due to the high number of draws, though, Liverpool have lost only two of their past 15 top-flight games with Chelsea at Anfield, winning six and having to settle for a point seven times in that sequence.

Mudryk to make his mark?

One of the big factors behind Liverpool's drop-off this season has been their struggles at the back, having conceded 25 goals in 18 games – compared to 26 in 38 last season.

Should they concede against Chelsea, it will be the first time since between May and October 2016 they have gone nine successive Premier League games without a clean sheet.

Not since December 1953 have they shipped three-or-more goals in three straight top-flight matches, meanwhile, which they are risk of doing on Saturday. 

But that seems highly unlikely on the face of it as Chelsea have only scored more than twice in a league game once this season, coming in October's 3-0 win at Wolves.

Mykhailo Mudryk's arrival has bolstered Chelsea's attack, and he is out to become the first Ukrainian to score on their Premier League debut.

Graham Potter confirmed Mykhaylo Mudryk is likely to make his Chelsea debut in Saturday's Premier League clash with Liverpool.

The Blues splashed a reported £89million (€100m) to secure his services from Shakhtar Donetsk, beating London rivals Arsenal in the hunt for the Ukraine international.

Questions have been asked as to how Potter will fit Mudryk into a top-heavy squad at Stamford Bridge, where he joins the likes of Kai Havertz, Joao Felix, Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

While that remains to be seen, Chelsea fans will have their first glimpse of Mudryk in action at Anfield as Potter confirmed he is set for his debut.

"He is a young and exciting player. We have to help him adapt to us and the Premier League. He hasn't played so much football recently but has been training well, so we will have to assess him," Potter said.

"There's a chance [he could make his debut]. There is probably a role for him at some stage in the game.

"We've got to help him and everybody [must] understand that he is coming from a different country and league and has to adapt.

"He is a young player who has a lot of potential and at the same time he has had good experiences already and he is an exciting player.

"He's trained very well and is very happy to be here. He is looking forward to his career here and is excited to get started."

Chelsea's work in the transfer market is seemingly not yet complete, with PSV winger Noni Madueke closing in on a move to west London, while Brighton and Hove Albion reportedly rejected a £55m bid from the Blues for midfielder Moises Caicedo.

Although it may seem there is no end in sight for Chelsea's spending under Todd Boehly, Potter does not anticipate an influx of new additions at the backend of the mid-season transfer window.

"I don't think there'll be too many to be honest. I've no complaints about the squad. January is very complex. You might want A, B and C, but they are not available in terms of positional need," he added.

"You are always looking to strengthen your squad and we have done that. When players come back, we have an exciting squad of players.

"You've got to analyse the squad and analyse where it's at. Sometimes it is adding and sometimes it's moving out players. That is on a case-by-case basis and we'll look at it as and when."

Graham Potter is confident Chelsea have turned a corner ahead of Saturday's crucial Premier League clash against Liverpool.

The Blues travel to Anfield to face Jurgen Klopp's side, also recently out of form, with both clubs hovering in mid-table and facing a tall order to secure a top-four finish and Champions League football.

Victory against Crystal Palace last Sunday brought an end to a three-game losing streak across all competitions for Chelsea and represented only their second Premier League win since mid-October.

The club have continued to spend heavily in the transfer market in a bid to improve their position and head coach Potter feels better times are on the horizon, though they need to make an impression on their trip to Merseyside.

"The win has been important for us, but it's just a win. We have to go to Liverpool next and back it up," Potter said.

"I'm confident, but I respect Liverpool and Anfield. It's a tough place to go at any point, a fantastic football club. Jurgen [Klopp] is a top manager and [they are] a top team, but we've come through a tough spell.

"Players are coming back, new players are arriving. There is a buzz at the training ground."

With the Blues having suffered an early exit from the FA Cup, Potter will have a fortnight after the Liverpool game to work with his squad ahead of their next fixture against Fulham, which he feels can make a big difference.

"We have two weeks, it's an important period for us when you consider we have new faces and players coming back from injury," Potter said. "It's an important period. We'll use the time as best as we can."

Jurgen Klopp has advised Graham Potter to shut out the noise of his critics, as the Liverpool manager prepares to face Chelsea in his 1,000th game.

The German will reach four figures in his coaching career when his under-fire side face their fellow struggling heavyweights at Anfield on Saturday.

Klopp has largely weathered criticism of a difficult season with the Reds due to past successes, but Potter is struggling to keep fans onside after succeeding Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.

In reflecting on his own lengthy career, though, the Liverpool boss offered his opposite number advice about ignoring those not in the know, particularly on social media.

"Twenty-two years ago, when I became a manager, nobody had smartphones," he said. "There was much less [instant] information. I watched games on a video recorder.

"If you wanted to hear what the outside world thought, you had to ask somebody or read a newspaper. It was easy [to avoid].

"I'm interested in criticism, I'm interested in people who really care. But I'm sorry to say, from all of you, I couldn't care less. Why should I be concerned about what you say?

"[With] social media, all these people without any kind of knowledge [are allowed to sound off]. When I was [starting out], people had to write a letter to the newspaper.

"I really think the best advice [I can give] is to ignore the outside world. They have no clue about your situation."

On reaching his 1,000th game, Klopp acknowledged he feels lucky to hit the milestone, paying tribute to Liverpool and former clubs Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.

"I never thought about these kinds of numbers," he added. "I never would have thought I would be allowed to do [this] for that long.

"I've obviously had three fantastic clubs that gave me the opportunity to do the job. When you come in somewhere, you never know how it will go. I was really lucky."

Klopp also confirmed Darwin Nunez would be available for the match with Chelsea after his absence against Brighton and Wolves, simply telling reporters when asked: "Yes."

Half a season is a long time in football.

At the end of the 2021-22 campaign, Liverpool had come within a whisker of becoming the first English team in history to win the EFL Cup, FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League in a single campaign.

Chelsea had reached two domestic finals, losing on penalties to Liverpool on both occasions, and finished third in the Premier League after initially threatening a title charge with their early season form.

As the two prepare to meet at Anfield on Saturday, they do so in very different places from then, sitting ninth and 10th in the league table respectively.

They both managed to win their last games 1-0, but there is a long way to go if they are to get back to where they expect to be, and Stats Perform has taken a look at where it may have gone wrong for the two stumbling giants.

Reds struggling to step up to the challenge

It has been a particularly harsh slide for Liverpool, who for the second time in recent seasons were denied the league title by Manchester City in May despite earning over 90 points, while an inspired performance from Thibaut Courtois stopped them in the Champions League final against Real Madrid.

The inevitable disappointment from those two blows has been suggested as one of the reasons why they have accumulated just 28 points from 18 Premier League games, having already lost three times as many as they did in their entire league campaign last season (6-2), and conceding just one fewer goal in less than half the games (25-26).

A lack of turnover in his previously trusted players has been another factor blamed for what has been a tired looking season from the Reds, and tired performances are understandably a significant problem for a team that thrived by overwhelming the opposition with their energy and high pressing.

Liverpool simply aren't executing as many high turnovers, averaging 9.4 per 90 this season, the fourth-most in the league, down from 11.7 last season when they produced comfortably the most (Man City second with 9.9 per 90).

One of the criticisms Klopp has been willing to make publicly of his team in recent games has been their struggle to win challenges, and he wasn't wrong as Liverpool have the worst record in the Premier League for duel success this season (47.4 per cent).

This could go some way to explaining why the number of big chances against them – defined by Opta as a situation from which a player should reasonably be expected to score – has exploded, having already allowed 54 in just 18 games, one more than the whole of last season, and 13 more than their total from the 2018-19 campaign when the team was entering its peak.

Compounding the problem, their ability to put away their own big chances has also fallen off a cliff, having led the league with a 55.3 per cent conversion rate last season.

Despite only Man City (67) creating more big chances than Liverpool's 60 this season, only Leicester City (25.8 per cent) have a worse conversion rate than their 26.7 per cent, less than half what it was last season.

The sale of Sadio Mane could be a factor given the Senegalese forward scored 14 of his 27 big chances in the league last season (51.8 per cent), while his primary replacement Darwin Nunez has only taken four of his 19 so far (21.1).

Things should settle if Nunez and new arrival Cody Gakpo can get close to their previous numbers. The Uruguayan put away 21 of his 35 in the Primeira Liga for Benfica last season, with his 60 per cent success rate the fourth-highest of players in Europe's top 10 leagues (min. 20 big chances), while Gakpo scored five of his 10 big chances for PSV in the Eredivisie before his move this season.

Blues in limbo after period of change

If the lack of squad replenishment is one of the main issues at Liverpool, it could be argued quite the opposite is true of Chelsea since their ownership change last May.

The £88.5million purchase of Mykhaylo Mudryk took the club's overall spending to £372.7m since then (according to Transfermarkt), with 13 new players coming in.

All that on top of swapping the head coach in September, with Thomas Tuchel replaced by the much-heralded Graham Potter, who had never coached a club of Chelsea's standing before.

While many put this down to same old Chelsea, changing their man in the dugout at the first sign of any trouble, it felt more like a statement of intent from Todd Boehly and co, wanting to put in place a long-term strategy with a progressive coach like Potter at the helm.

Despite a solid enough start, going unbeaten in his first nine games (W6, D3), a 4-1 humbling at former club Brighton and Hove Albion signalled the start of a prolonged wobble that has seen them lose another seven of their 11 games since. 

Potter managed to turn the Seagulls into one of the most attractive and fluent teams in the league, with one particular stand-out metric being their high turnovers.

Between the start of the 2021-22 season and leaving for Chelsea last September, only Liverpool (11.4) and Man City (9.9) averaged more high turnovers per game than Brighton (9.8) in the Premier League.

During the same period, Chelsea averaged 8.2 per game, which has gone up to 8.9 under Potter, showing there is still a way to go before his new team will be fully able to implement his style of football.

There has also been a significant struggle to score goals, having only managed 22 at the halfway point of the league campaign – four fewer than Leeds United and Leicester City – after scoring 76 last season.

It is an interesting situation considering Brighton managed just 42 goals last season, with only Wolves and the three relegated teams scoring fewer, and many pointed to the fact Potter never really had an orthodox and accomplished striker to call on.

However, at Chelsea he has had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who may not be what he once was but still scored 13 goals in 23 games for Barcelona last season. The Gabon international has found the net just three times in 16 outings for the Blues, and once in 10 games in the Premier League.

There is also the revolving door of players in and out of the side due primarily to injuries and Potter trying to ascertain his best team, making 60 changes to his starting XI already since his arrival, 21 more than any other manager in the league in that time.

With the talent and resources available to both Klopp and Potter, it would be safe to assume that this is probably just a bad patch for them and before long, the familiar figures of the Reds and the Blues will be back challenging the top four.

There are certainly issues to iron out for both though, and what better way to start than by adding further misery to the other at Anfield on Saturday?

Manchester City have topped the Deloitte Football Money League for the second year running, with 11 of the world's 20 highest-earning clubs coming from the Premier League.

Reigning English champions City last year became just the fourth club ever to top the list, which examines the top-performing football clubs in terms of revenue every year.

City remained the world's highest revenue-generating club in the 2021-22 campaign – the first season in which fans returned to stadiums as coronavirus restrictions were eased.

They made £619.1million (€731m) over that period to finish ahead of LaLiga giants Real Madrid (€713.8m), while Liverpool climbed from seventh to their highest position of third after making £594.3m (€701.7m).

Fellow English clubs Manchester United (fourth), Chelsea (eighth), Tottenham (ninth) and Arsenal (10th) also make the top 10, with West Ham (15th), Leicester City (17th), Leeds United (18th), Everton (19th) and Newcastle United (20th) in the top 20.

It marks the first time in the report's 26 years that a single country has provided more than half of the rich list.

"The Premier League was the only one of the big five European leagues to experience an increase in its media rights value during its most recent rights sale process," said Tim Bridge, the lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group.

"It continues to appeal to millions of global followers and its member clubs have a greater revenue advantage over international rivals."

Paris Saint-Germain (fifth), Bayern Munich (sixth), Barcelona (seventh), Juventus (11th), Atletico Madrid (12th), Borussia Dortmund (13th), Inter (14th) and Milan (16th) make up the rest of the top 20.

In the women's game, Barcelona generated the highest revenue (€7.7m) after winning the Champions League in 2021 and reaching the final last year.