Tottenham boss Antonio Conte fears Son Heung-min could be unavailable until after the next international break after the South Korea international picked up a muscle injury.

Son - who has made 21 appearances for Spurs in all competitions this season, registering eight goals and three assists - came off after 79 minutes of Wednesday's 2-0 EFL Cup semi-final first leg defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but Conte insists that was not because of an injury at the time.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of Sunday's FA Cup third-round tie against League One outfit Morecambe, the former Chelsea and Inter boss said the player felt a pain in his leg the following day and has had a scan to evaluate the damage.

"It was a strange situation," Conte told reporters. "Against Chelsea, I made two substitutions together, with Lucas Moura and then Son. But not for injury, the substitutions, but only to try to give them a bit of rest, 15 minutes of rest.

"Then the day after, he felt a bit of pain in his muscle, in his leg. He had a scan and now we have to make the right evaluation from the doctors. He has an injury.

"I don't know, but probably he will stay without training sessions until the end of this cycle, before the international break."

The next international break is scheduled for the end of this month, meaning that Son would be unable to play for Tottenham again until February.

It will be a big blow to Conte, with Son having created more chances (33) than any other Spurs player this season, ahead of Lucas Moura (27), Harry Kane (21), Sergio Reguilon (20) and Emerson Royal (18).

Conte was also asked about whether there have been discussions about potential incomings in the January transfer window, to which he responded: "The first person who wants to improve the situation is for sure our owner.

"I will have time to speak, also with the people who work within the club to try to understand well the situation, to understand if there is the opportunity to improve this squad in this transfer market. But I think we will do the same thing that all of the teams are doing in these days.

"We have two ways to improve the situation, one is to improve the level of the players that we have in our squad. Another is to implement new players and improve the quality of the squad. But, as you know very well, January is not easy for anyone. So we'll see what happens."

Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy was released on bail at Chester Crown Court on Friday.

The France international, who has been charged with seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, had been in custody since last August.

Mendy was charged following allegations of attacks on five women that took place between October 2020 and August 2021.

The 27-year-old was granted bail at a hearing on Friday.

He had been due to stand trial this month, but that was put back until June at the earliest.

Mendy had reportedly been moved from HMP Altcourse prison in Liverpool to Strangeways jail in Manchester last month.

Co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie also appeared at the hearing in Chester.

Premier League champions City suspended their big-money signing Mendy after he was charged last August.

Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah have been announced as the three finalists for The Best FIFA Men's Player Award.

The attacking trio were named on a shortlist for the prize in November that also included Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Karim Benzema, Jorginho and N'Golo Kante.

Lewandowski, Messi and Salah are the final nominees chosen following a public vote that closed on December 10. Jennifer Hermoso, Sam Kerr and Alexia Putellas are the finalists for the women's award for 2021.

The final three up for The Best FIFA Men's Coach award, confirmed on Thursday, are Pep Guardiola, Roberto Mancini and Thomas Tuchel. Lluis Cortes, Emma Hayes and Sarina Wiegman are the finalists for the women's coaching prize.

The player awards will now be decided by an international jury comprising national team coaches and captains, a selected journalist from each territory represented by a national side, and fans registered with FIFA's website. The winners will be announced on January 17.

Lewandowski, who won the 2020 prize after firing Bayern Munich to the treble, scored 41 times in the Bundesliga last season to break Gerd Muller's 49-year record for goals in a single season. He ended 2021 with 48 goals in all competitions.

Messi, who won the 2021 Ballon d'Or to extend his record to seven trophies, helped Barcelona to win the Copa del Rey in what proved to be his final season at the club. He then inspired Argentina to glory at the Copa America, with four goals and five assists helping them to win the trophy for the first time since 1993.

Liverpool star Salah scored 37 times in all competitions in 2021, at least 15 more than any other Premier League player. He is top of the scoring charts for 2021-22 in England's top flight with 16, ahead of team-mate Diogo Jota on 10.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has suggested that the Gunners will look to sign at least one midfielder in the January transfer window after being left short of options.

With Ainsley Maitland-Niles having completed a loan move to Jose Mourinho's Roma and Mohamed Elneny away on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Egypt, Arteta's squad is running thin on central midfielders heading into the second half of the season.

The former Rangers and Everton midfielder was asked at a news conference ahead of Sunday's FA Cup third-round trip to Nottingham Forest about letting Maitland-Niles leave, with the Spaniard insisting that the player was entitled to move to Italy, but also raising concerns about his lack of options in the middle of the park.

"Ainsley came to me and explained the reasons why he thought the best thing for him in his career right now was to move away," Arteta told reporters. 

"He felt the opportunity to go to Rome and work with Jose was a good one. Being fair with the amount of minutes that he’s played he was entitled to that opportunity. We wish him the best.

"We are very, very short at the moment. But on a player this cannot be the only argument to keep a player. He was very straight with me and I understood the situation.

"We are going to move and we are going to look for options because we are very short there."

The Gunners boss missed Saturday's controversial 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City after testing positive for COVID-19, and insisted that while he is feeling better, he was left frustrated by the loss to the Premier League leaders.

"I feel good. I had a few rough days but I feel in top form. I was so happy to leave my house after seven or eight days," he said.

"I was extremely upset at how we lost the [City] game at the end but at the same time extremely proud for the performance. The support from our fans and the atmosphere it was incredible.

"If I have to rate the decisions that were made in that game [by referee Stuart Attwell] I have to be extremely disappointed because it was completely inconsistent and affected the result in a big way."

Arsenal, like many other clubs, are set to be without several first-team players this weekend due to a mixture of COVID-19 and injuries, with Arteta saying: "I don't want to give anything away as you can imagine.

"We are really short with numbers. We want to play and that's how we are approaching every game."

The 39-year-old was also asked about Arsenal's No More Red campaign, which is part of an initiative to combat youth knife crime in London. Arsenal will wear a special white kit for the game at Forest.

"Obviously we've been really involved as a club over the years with knife crime and we have the capacity to give exposure to that issue in London," he added. "Everyone at the club has been extremely supportive."

Rafael Benitez has confirmed Lucas Digne wants to leave Everton.

Left-back Digne, who signed from Barcelona for a reported £18million in August 2018, has not featured for the Toffees since a 4-1 home defeat to Merseyside rivals – and Benitez's former club – Liverpool on December 1.

That loss was one of eight for Everton from their last 12 Premier League games. They have won just one of their fixtures in that run, beating Arsenal 2-1 thanks to a late Demarai Gray stunner.

Everton, who were limited in the off-season transfer window partly due to the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, have been active already this month, signing right-back Nathan Patterson from Rangers for a fee believed to be £11m plus add-ons, and bringing in left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko from Dynamo Kiev, seemingly to replace Digne.

Chelsea, who need cover at left wing-back following news of Ben Chilwell's season-long injury lay-off, are rumoured to be interested, while West Ham and Newcastle United have also been linked.

And, in a somewhat unexpected outburst during Friday's news conference to preview Everton's trip to Hull City in the FA Cup, Benitez revealed Digne, who signed a new long-term contract in 2021, wished to leave.

Benitez also addressed an Everton legend from the club's 1980s heyday in the form of Peter Reid, who on Sunday, after a 3-2 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion, tweeted: "Major problems at Goodison Park, huge concerns about the direction of the football club."

The Spanish coach told reporters: "I want to ask a question to every fan, or former players, what Peter Reid will do or say if a player doesn't want to be there. That's it, simple.

"I had a couple of conversations with [Digne], he told me what he thought. What do you expect a manager to do? Fans, former players, what will Peter Reid say if a player goes to the manager that he doesn't want to be here?

"We need players that want to be here. Talking about individual stats when the team finished 10th [last season], it means nothing for me. I want a winning mentality, ambition, it will take some time."

Asked why he included Digne on the bench for Sunday's loss to Brighton, having dropped him altogether for previous matches, Benitez said: "I try to do what is best for the club, sometimes you pay for that."

Benitez also confirmed there had been no bids for Digne.

"I would like to sign [Erling] Haaland and [Kylian] Mbappe, but you'd need commitment. We don't have commitment yet," he said.

"There is interest but nothing concrete. What I cannot do is give priority to those who are not interested. Do we want to grow and improve or just manage egos?"

Big boots to fill?

With Digne's replacement already through the door, the focus for Everton will be on recouping a suitable fee for such an experienced player in arguably his prime years.

Digne has undoubtedly been a success at Everton after having a tricky spell at Barca, where he struggled for regular minutes behind Jordi Alba in the pecking order.

Having replaced fan-favourite Leighton Baines as first choice at Everton, Digne went on to be a creative fulcrum under Marco Silva and Carlo Ancelotti, both from set-pieces and open play.

Since making his Everton debut on August 11, 2018, Digne has created 211 chances in the Premier League, ranking him behind only Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold (267) among defenders.

Digne's 34 big chances created is the third most, behind Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson, with his 18 league assists also only bettered by the Liverpool duo.

Alexander-Arnold (1,408) is also the only defender to have played more passes/crosses into the area than Digne (902), highlighting just how much of a persistent threat the Frenchman can be.

But on the defensive side of things, Digne has proven himself slightly more reliable in the tackle than Alexander-Arnold and Robertson, with the former Paris Saint-Germain full-back boasting a better success rate (63.2 per cent) than both in such situations.

That desire also translates to his duels involvement, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Charlie Taylor the only full-backs (minimum 50 games played) to have a better duel success rate than Digne's 59.4 (712/1,199) since the Everton man made his Premier League debut.

Thomas Tuchel says Antonio Rudiger's future is a "no-problem situation" for Chelsea and confirmed the European champions are exploring their options in the transfer market.

Rudiger is only under contract with the Blues until the end of this season and the centre-back is free to talk to clubs from overseas.

Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus are all reportedly eager to sign the Germany international.

Chelsea boss Tuchel says there is no need to "pamper" the 28-year-old in a bid to try and keep him at Stamford Bridge. 

Asked if he might need to take Rudiger out for coffees in an attempt to get him to sign a new deal, Tuchel said: "I don't know it helps if I take him for a lot of coffees, maybe it pushes him out!

"I don't feel like that he needs a lot of coffees with me. He's a guy who needs to trust you, who needs to feel the connection, to feel the trust. He needs to feel it by minutes and by actions.

"I don't feel that he needs a lot of words and a lot of pampering and coffee talks, invitations to dinners and whatever. He is a top professional, this is what he gives, he's very important.

"Nothing has changed, we are in talks. It's in good hands. I trust the club 100 per cent and I have full trust in my player, so it's a no-problem situation for me and obviously also for Toni.

"He can still deliver, he did a fantastic match now in a back four and so he's super-reliable. Nothing has changed, the points of view have not changed. Once something changes you will be one of the first to know."

With Ben Chilwell a long-term absentee with a knee injury and the likes of Reece James also sidelined, Tuchel confirmed the London club are looking to add to the squad.

He said on the eve of Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie with Chesterfield: "We are discussing in talks with staff and board, scouting check possibilities, like they always do.

"Given there are long-term injuries we are looking into the market. We are not under the very highest pressure. Things have to make sense for us personality-wise, position-wise and also for the quality. We have our options and check our options."

Tuchel says recalling Emerson Palmieri from a loan spell at Lyon could be an option for Chelsea and did not rule out another exit for Ross Barkley during the January transfer window.

Asked about a premature return for Emerson, the German said: "I will not give you any details, but I will not hide from the fact we have a long-term injury with Ben Chilwell.

"Of course, we know and appreciate Emi as a player and a person in general."

He said of Barkley: "It depends on what Ross wants and what the possibilities are. There is always a chance."

Philippe Coutinho and Steven Gerrard are back in tandem, nine years after they first began to forge an alliance at Liverpool.

Gerrard referred to Coutinho as a friend this week, but he is also set to be his boss at Aston Villa after the Brazilian agreed to join from Barcelona.

The theory is that if anyone can get a tune out of Coutinho, it should be his former Liverpool captain, given the strong relationship they had on the pitch, which has endured in the years since.

Barcelona hoped Coutinho would be a leader in their orchestra, but instead his displays often struck a bum note, and the Blaugrana are happy to have offloaded one of the most expensive signings in their history.

Exactly how much they have ended up paying Liverpool for Coutinho is unclear, given the various clauses that were in the January 2018 deal, but he cost the Catalans giants well over £100million, and the return on that investment was far from what was expected.

In LaLiga, he played 76 times, starting 51 games, and managed 17 goals and nine assists. Overall, he had 26 goals and 13 assists in 106 games.

Gerrard will be hoping the 29-year-old Coutinho can sprinkle some magic at Villa, having already shown his qualities in the Premier League.

After a slow start at Liverpool, his performances came on leaps and bounds; across his final two and a half seasons with the Reds, Coutinho managed 38 goals and 24 assists in 99 matches.

In this World Cup year, Coutinho will want to be playing regularly. Such a prospect was off the table at Barcelona, where planning for the long-term future is the order of the day, along with hacking down the wage bill.

Coutinho made an encouraging start at Barcelona, and across all competitions he managed 10 goals and six assists in just 22 games across his first half-season with the Blaugrana.

In 2018-19, he played 54 times and finished with 11 goals and five assists, with his productivity already in decline. From an average of 0.97 goal involvements (goals and assists) per 90 minutes in that honeymoon period after first arriving from Liverpool, his contribution shrank to 0.43 involvements per 90 in his first full season.

In an all-conquering Bayern side, that bounced back up to 0.84 goal involvements per 90 minutes in the 2019-20 campaign, but Coutinho could not crack on at that pace once back at Camp Nou.

Last term, as he made just fitful contributions, his involvements averaged out at 0.57 per 90, and this season's rate was just 0.3 as his inevitable exit approached.

In his final half-season at Anfield, the former Inter winger was contributing 1.2 goal involvements per game as his Reds form peaked.

Across his Reds career, Coutinho scored 19 Premier League goals from outside the penalty area, Opta said. Only Gerrard has scored more for the club from outside the box (33).

Since returning to Barcelona from Bayern, Barcelona have tended to do better when Coutinho has played no part in games.

When he has been involved, either as a starter or substitute, they have won just nine of 24 LaLiga games for a 37.5 per cent success rate, averaging 1.4 points and 1.5 goals.

But without him they have won 23 of 33 (69.7 per cent) in LaLiga, losing only three times, averaging 2.3 points and 2.4 goals per game.

It is little wonder he has played just 26 per cent of minutes across all competitions for Barcelona this season. Injuries have blighted his Barcelona career, and if this is the end, with a loan potentially leading to a sale, then all parties will be happy to move on.

Villa are signing a special player, one that Gerrard still likes to tag as a "magician", but also a footballer who perhaps needs a reminder of those old tricks in his repertoire.

If Gerrard can bring back that spark, that trickery with end results, Villa will be all the better for it.

Aston Villa have pulled off a significant coup by agreeing to sign Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho on loan for the rest of the season.

The Brazil playmaker returns to the Premier League four years after leaving Liverpool to join Barca in a big-money move.

Coutinho will be reunited with his former Reds team-mate Steven Gerrard, who was appointed as Villa boss in November.

The 29-year-old Coutinho, who is contracted to Catalan giants Barca until June 2023, spent a loan spell with Bayern Munich in the 2019-20 season.

He has endured an injury-hit time at Camp Nou, with Barca attempting to cut him from their squad in the last off-season as they looked to clear room on the wage bill to not only register new signings, but also keep hold of Lionel Messi.

No buyer could be found for Coutinho at the time, but he is now on the move, at least temporarily, to Villa, who are 13th in the Premier League.

Villa said: "Aston Villa and FC Barcelona have agreed terms for Philippe Coutinho to spend the rest of this season on loan at Villa Park.

"The agreement, which is subject to the player completing a medical and receiving a work permit, also includes an option to buy and Philippe will travel to Birmingham in the next 48 hours."

Coutinho has made 16 Barca appearances across all competitions this season, starting five times and scoring two goals.

Across his time in Spain, he helped Barca win two LaLiga titles, the Copa del Rey twice and the Supercopa de Espana, scoring 26 goals in 106 appearances in all competitions. He scored 17 times in LaLiga.

Gerrard had refused to be drawn on talk of Coutinho joining Villa during a press conference on Thursday, but he lavished praise on the "magician".

"Sixty-three caps for Brazil, a serial winner, was incredible at Liverpool, so I can understand why he's linked to a lot of football clubs," said the former England midfielder.

"I can understand why a lot of supporters up and down the country are speaking about him. I don't think you get a nickname as a magician if you're not a special footballer, so he's someone I have an incredible amount of respect for."

Gerrard added: "I think if you go and have a look at his Wikipedia page, I think you'll see a serial winner wherever he's been.

"I've got nothing but positive things to say about the player. He's a friend of mine, so if I'm asked the questions I can speak for as long as you want."

Coutinho won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League during his season in Germany with Bayern.

Aston Villa have pulled off a significant coup by agreeing to sign Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho on loan for the rest of the season.

The Brazil playmaker returns to the Premier League four years after leaving Liverpool to join Barca in a big-money move.

Coutinho will be reunited with his former Reds team-mate Steven Gerrard, who was appointed as Villa boss in November.

The 29-year-old Coutinho, who is contracted to Catalan giants Barca until June 2023, spent a loan spell with Bayern Munich in the 2019-20 season.

He has endured an injury-hit time at Camp Nou, with Barca attempting to cut him from their squad in the last off-season as they looked to clear room on the wage bill to not only register new signings, but also keep hold of Lionel Messi.

No buyer could be found for Coutinho at the time, but he is now on the move, at least temporarily, to Villa, who are 13th in the Premier League.

Villa said: "Aston Villa and FC Barcelona have agreed terms for Philippe Coutinho to spend the rest of this season on loan at Villa Park.

"The agreement, which is subject to the player completing a medical and receiving a work permit, also includes an option to buy and Philippe will travel to Birmingham in the next 48 hours."

Coutinho has made 16 Barca appearances across all competitions this season, starting five times and scoring two goals.

Ralf Rangnick's start at Manchester United has been rather underwhelming.

There have been reports this week that stars in the United dressing room have not fully taken to the German, who was appointed as interim manager in the wake of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal.

United plan to move Rangnick into a consultancy role after his short spell in charge of the team, with a new, permanent manager their target ahead of next season.

However, whoever the club picks must reportedly gain the approval of Cristiano Ronaldo.

TOP STORY – RONALDO'S UNITED RETURN TO COME TO AN END?

United need to get their next appointment right, with Mauricio Pochettino supposedly high on their list of targets.

Yet another factor in the decision seems set to be the feelings of Ronaldo, who may yet have input in the appointment.

According to the Daily Star, Ronaldo could cut short his second stint at Old Trafford should he disagree with the club's managerial selection.

ROUND-UP

- Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves is Manchester United's top transfer priority in January, according to Fichajes.

- Liverpool have declined a £7million bid from an unspecified Premier League club for defender Nathaniel Phillips, according to the Daily Mail.

- The Sun, meanwhile, claims Liverpool are moving in on a £60million deal for Porto's Luis Diaz. The Colombia winger was close to joining Everton in August.

- Sky Sports says Newcastle United want to buy Norwich City midfielder Todd Cantwell.

- Fabrizio Romano has reported that Manchester United are not interested in signing River Plate's young striker Julian Alvarez in this window.

Newcastle United have completed the signing of Kieran Tripper from Atletico Madrid on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

The England international is the first arrival at St James' Park following the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover in October, joining for a fee reported to be in the region of £12million plus add-ons.

Tripper returns to the Premier League following a two-and-a-half-year stint with Atletico, having previously played for Tottenham and Burnley in the English top-flight.

The full-back will aim to bolster the Newcastle defence and help them climb out of the relegation zone, with the Magpies only winning one league game all season. They currently sit 19th, two points from safety.

The 31-year-old also links up with Eddie Howe for a second time, the pair having previously crossed paths at Turf Moor in 2012.

"I'm delighted to be joining this fantastic club. I really enjoyed my time in Madrid, but when I became aware of interest from Newcastle United, and having worked with Eddie Howe before, I knew this was where I wanted to be," Trippier told the club's official website.

"I'm aware there is a lot of work ahead of us but I know the demands of Premier League well and I know what an amazing club this is with very talented players. I can't wait to get started and I'm excited to step out at St. James' Park as a Newcastle player."

Trippier made 68 LaLiga appearances for Los Rojiblancos, helping Diego Simeone's side capture the domestic title last season.

The full-back contributed to the success with six assists; Jose Gaya (seven) the only defender to record more in the Spanish top-flight in 2020-21.

Trippier also registered 74 successful crosses during his time in LaLiga, with Jesus Navas (129) and Damian Suarez (84) the only defenders to better that tally.

Although he has failed to record any goals or assists across all competitions this season, there is no doubt in the quality and experience the England defender will bring to the Magpies' ranks.

Indeed, he played five of the Three Lions' seven matches as they reached the Euro 2020 final last year.

Howe said: "I am really pleased to welcome Kieran to Newcastle United. I have long admired his abilities and have followed his career, so when the opportunity arose to secure him, we didn't hesitate.

"A lot of hard work has gone into planning for the January transfer window long before the month began, which is clear in how quickly we have been able to complete this move."

Newcastle have also been linked with a move for another full-back, this time for the left flank, in the form of Everton defender Lucas Digne, who is out of favour with Rafael Benitez following a reported training-ground disagreement.

Digne, however, is reported to prefer a move elsewhere as it stands, with West Ham and Chelsea also said to be interested.

Premier League managers are already feeling the strain amid cascading numbers of COVID-19 cases and mid-season injuries. Now many top bosses stand to lose stars to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Africa's greatest football show – now commonly known as AFCON – gets under way on Sunday in Cameroon.

Although the 2019 edition was held in June and July, it has historically been a January-into-February tournament and has returned to that place on the calendar.

A host of Premier League big names are hoping to make an impact during the four-week tournament, which falls slap-bang in the middle of European club campaigns, causing a major clash of competitions.

Premier League clubs certainly cannot complain of a lack of fair warning. It was June 2020 when African football chiefs decided the 2021 edition of the tournament would have to be pushed back by 12 months to a January 2022 start, in the hope the coronavirus crisis would have eased.

Here, Stats Perform takes a look at which teams from the English top flight might feel its impact the most.

Can Reds cling on in title battle?

If Liverpool lose no further ground on leaders Manchester City by the time their stars return from AFCON, then Jurgen Klopp would surely settle for that.

The 2019-20 Premier League champions have taken two points from a possible nine to leave the title as effectively City's to lose, and now Klopp is going to have to get by without Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita.

Egyptian striker Salah is the Premier League's leader in goals (16) and assists (9, level with Trent Alexander Arnold) so far this season. He has taken 80 shots in 20 games (38 of these have hit the target), played 12 throughballs and created 40 chances from open play: in each of those categories he is at the top of the Premier League charts for players defined by Opta as forwards.

How do you cope without such a contribution? Having Mane on hand would help, but Mane will be turning out for Senegal, a team who, like Salah's Egypt, are firmly in the mix as serious trophy contenders. Don't expect either back at the end of the group stage.

Mane has eight Premier League goals this term, including the opener at Chelsea recently. That goal return puts Mane joint-second among African scorers in the Premier League this season, level with Watford's Emmanuel Dennis, who is not in Nigeria's squad.

Mane has played 19 throughballs and has made 23 tackles to boot, which is the seventh highest number of tackles by a forward in the league this season, a rarely mentioned attribute of his game. He does not always tackle with his elbow, either.

Keita will presumably be less of a miss, with the Guinean's Anfield contribution remaining underwhelming, but Liverpool have been so hard hit by absentees recently that to lose anybody for up to five weeks is an inconvenience.

They are at least assured of Joel Matip's presence this month. The centre-back last played for Cameroon in 2015 and has retired from international duty. That is bad news for the AFCON hosts but helps Liverpool, given Matip remains a sturdy presence, with a duel success of 69.47 per cent this season ranking him third among Premier League defenders with 10 or more appearances, and a passing accuracy of 88.89 per cent putting him eighth in that metric.

Liverpool only have two league games inked in between now and the end of AFCON, against Brentford and Crystal Palace, but the Reds also have two postponed fixtures to be slipped in somewhere along the line.

Wintertime Blues?

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City hold a 10-point lead over second-placed Chelsea, with Liverpool a point further back but possessing a game in hand on the top two. Reigning champions City have won 11 straight Premier League games and the Citizens have the resources to be able to cope with the short-term loss of Riyad Mahrez, who will captain Algeria.

Mahrez's six goals and four assists this season have come at a startling rate. Given the depth in City's squad, he does not always start, so to appreciate his contribution it is worth looking at his numbers per 90 minutes on the pitch.

The former Leicester City forward is averaging 0.64 goals and 0.43 assists per 90 minutes – impressively close to Salah's return of 0.81 and 0.45 in those categories – and is one of only four Premier League players with 10 or more appearances to average at least 1.00 goal involvements per 90 (Michael Olise 1.43, Salah 1.26, Roberto Firmino 1.24, Mahrez 1.07).

The Blues of Chelsea may have concerns over the absence of goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, given the Senegalese's stabilising influence at the back. His save percentage of 77.14 has only been beaten this season in the league by Wolves' Jose Sa (80.82) and Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale (77.46).

Spaniard Kepa Arrizabalaga struggled in the early stages of his Chelsea career and is now the undoubted understudy.

Yet Kepa's form when given an opportunity this season has not given such cause for concern. The former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper has been chiefly used in cup action, and he has achieved a remarkable save percentage of 81.48, suggesting that for a short run of games, he could be a perfectly able deputy.

Can an exodus to Africa affect the race for Europe?

Will fourth-placed Arsenal miss Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang? It seems unlikely now, given he was dropped and stripped of the captaincy after a disciplinary breach before heading off to join Gabon. He has not played for a month. The Gunners won five games in a row without him, including four in the league, before being unlucky to lose to Manchester City.

Cold facts tell us Arsenal have a points average of 1.9 per Premier League game when Aubameyang has started games this season, and 1.5 when he has been either a substitute or out of the team, but those figures may not be significant given the momentum Mikel Arteta's players have built in the recent absence of the 32-year-old. His continuing exile from the first team seems unlikely to cause much consternation.

For manager Arteta to lose Thomas Partey (Ghana) at this point is a blow though, with the former Atletico Madrid player having been excellent in the 2-1 defeat to City, having been slowly building up to such a performance. He had more touches, won more duels, made more tackles and played more successful passes than any other Arsenal player.

Arsenal have a big derby at Tottenham coming up on January 16, and they might feel Partey's absence that day, particularly given Spurs, who currently sit sixth, are sending no current first-teamers away to AFCON.

Splitting the north London rivals for now are West Ham, in fifth, and it will surely have hurt David Moyes to wave off Said Benrahma for a month of Algeria duty. The playmaker has five goals and four assists in the league this season, as well as making 83 ball recoveries and creating 21 chances in open play. That makes him one of only 13 players in the competition to top both 80 recoveries and 20 open-play chances created, and one of only five Premier League stars to tick both boxes and score at least five times. Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha, away with Ivory Coast, is another member of that small group.

Seventh-placed Manchester United will lose Eric Bailly to Ivory Coast too. But with Phil Jones back in the first team, will Bailly be missed? The former Villarreal centre-back has played just 217 minutes in the Premier League this season. United youth prospect Hannibal Mejbri is also away, in his case with Tunisia.

Further into mid-table, Wolves must find an alternative to the excellent Romain Saiss (tackle success rate 72.73 per cent) on the left side of their defence, after he joined up with Morocco. Brighton and Hove Albion powerhouse Yves Bissouma has the highest tackle success rate among midfielders to have made more than 40 such challenges in the Premier League this season (50 attempted, 35 won: 70 per cent hit rate) and he will line up for Mali after ending an international exile.

Leicester City sent away striker Kelechi Iheanacho (2 goals, 4 assists this season) for Nigeria service at a bad time for the Foxes, given injured Jamie Vardy faces several weeks out of action.

Palace are firmly in favour of players heading away to represent their countries, but the Eagles never particularly like to be without Zaha (5 goals, 1 assist, 86 dribbles). Since his return from Manchester United in August 2014, Palace have averaged 1.2 points and a 32.9 per cent win percentage with Zaha in their starting line-up, and 0.9 points and a 24.5 win percentage when he has not been in that matchday XI. The loss of Cheikhou Kouyate (80.56 per cent success rate from 36 tackles) to Senegal duty may also diminish the sturdiness of Patrick Vieira's Eagles spine.

Can Clarets cope without Cornet?

The relegation scrap seems more likely to be affected by transfer market activity than departures to AFCON.

Newcastle United and Norwich City, the league's bottom two, are sending nobody away, while fourth-bottom Watford have kept Dennis (8 goals, 5 assists) and it remains to be seen what happens to Ismaila Sarr (5 goals), who has been absent with injury of late but has headed for checks with Senegal doctors.

Burnley, who sit 18th, are seemingly the team to watch carefully here. Maxwel Cornet, now away with Ivory Coast, has scored six Premier League goals from just 10 shots on target, and Sean Dyche must find a way to make the Clarets impactful without the former Lyon man.

Steven Gerrard described Philippe Coutinho as "a serial winner" and a "special footballer" amid rumours Aston Villa want to sign the Barcelona midfielder.

Coutinho is reportedly keen to secure a return to the Premier League this month after four years at Camp Nou in which he has struggled for consistent form and fitness.

Barca, meanwhile, are said to be eager to remove the Brazil international from their wage bill to free up funds to register new signing Ferran Torres and explore further options in the January window.

Gerrard was Liverpool captain during Coutinho's impressive spell at Anfield, in which the former Inter star was twice named the club's player of the season by both fans and team-mates.

There is speculation the Villa boss would like to reunite with Coutinho, and he was certainly not prepared to rule out such a move.

Asked on Thursday about the rumours around the 29-year-old, Gerrard said: "Sixty-three caps for Brazil, a serial winner, was incredible at Liverpool, so I can understand why he's linked to a lot of football clubs.

"I can understand why a lot of supporters up and down the country are speaking about him. I don't think you get a nickname as a magician if you're not a special footballer, so he's someone I have an incredible amount of respect for.

"But I don't want to add to any speculation, because he belongs to Barcelona."

Coutinho has won two LaLiga titles, two Copas del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana with Barca, scoring 26 goals in 106 appearances in all competitions.

However, he has found it difficult to establish himself as a key player during a period of upheaval at the club and has only started 15 games since the start of the 2020-21 season.

Coutinho spent 2019-20 on loan at Bayern Munich, winning the treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League titles, but he could not convince the German giants to make the move permanent.

"He won two league titles and two Copa del Reys with Barcelona," added Gerrard.

"I think if you go and have a look at his Wikipedia page, I think you'll see a serial winner wherever he's been.

"I've got nothing but positive things to say about the player. He's a friend of mine, so if I'm asked the questions I can speak for as long as you want."

Arsenal have been fined by the Football Association for failing to control their players' conduct during their 2-1 Premier League defeat to Manchester City.

League leaders City snatched a late winner through Rodri at the Emirates Stadium on New Year's Day, in a match littered with contentious moments.

Arsenal were convinced they should have had a penalty for Ederson's tackle on Martin Odegaard in the first half, while they were then left outraged that a spot-kick was awarded City's way for Granit Xhaka's challenge on Bernardo Silva.

Gabriel Magalhaes was booked for dissent during the aftermath of that decision, with the centre-back then receiving another booking two minutes later for clattering into Gabriel Jesus.

Arsenal's players surrounded referee Stuart Attwell and, for that, the club have been handed an FA fine of £20,000.

An FA statement said Arsenal had "failed to control their players in an orderly fashion".

The Gunners have accepted the fine and admitted the charge, meaning there will be no appeal.

After the game, goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and assistant coach Albert Stuivenberg, who stood in for the isolating Mikel Arteta, questioned the consistency of the officiating, in particular the use of VAR.

Arsenal's defeat allowed West Ham and Tottenham, who both won, to close the gap to one and two points respectively.

Gabon captain and star player Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Arsenal striker was one of three members of the travelling Gabon party to produce a positive result after the team's flight landed in Yaounde.

It means the Premier League star is set to miss his team's opening Group C game against Comoros on Monday.

The Gabon Football Federation issued a statement on its official Facebook page, with a headline of "Aubameyang, Lemina and Yala positive".

The statement read: "Arriving this morning at Yaounde on a special flight, the Panthers of Gabon submitted, like all delegations, to an antigen COVID-19 test at the Nsimalene airport.

"Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mario Lemina and assistant coach Anicet Yala have not escaped [COVID-19].

"But as required by the health protocol in this area, they subsequently underwent a PCR test, the results of which will confirm or deny the status of the latter."

Lemina is another key player for Gabon, with the midfielder having played for Juventus, Southampton, Fulham and now Nice.

Aubameyang missed the start of the Premier League season after testing positive for coronavirus.

More recently, his Arsenal future has become clouded by uncertainty after he was stripped of the club captaincy and dropped by manager Mikel Arteta following a disciplinary breach.

Gabon are also due to face Ghana on January 14 and Morocco four days later.