Premier League clubs have voted to approve changes to rules governing commercial deals, despite opposition from Manchester City, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.

At a meeting in London on Friday, clubs took under 30 minutes to approve the changes to Associated Party Transaction regulations (APTs).

Clubs voted 16 in favour and four against. Manchester City and Aston Villa had both written to rival clubs before the meeting to seek support.

For changes to be approved, a minimum of 14 Premier League clubs needed to vote in favour.

Friday's vote came after an independent panel found aspects of the Premier League's rules to be unlawful earlier this year, following a lawsuit instigated by Manchester City.

The Premier League said the rule changes relate to "integrating the assessment of shareholder loans" and "include the removal of some of the amendments made to APT rules earlier this year".

"The purpose of the APT rules is to ensure clubs are not able to benefit from commercial deals or reductions in costs that are not at fair market value by virtue of relationships with associated parties," read a Premier League statement.

Newcastle United

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe on Pep Guardiola signing a new contract with Manchester City: "I was delighted to see that. On a serious note, I think he's contributed so much to English football. I think he's revolutionised how a lot of teams play. I think he's incredibly talented and I think it's good for the English game that he's still here.

"He will continue to develop and evolve his style and people will potentially continue to follow that. From the competition side, I think it keeps the Premier League as the best game in the world."

Newcastle United

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has provided some team news, saying that Callum Wilson is "doing well" but "has to get through the next few days in training" before a decision is made about the striker's availability versus West Ham.

Full-back Kieran Trippier "is slightly closer than Callum" but the Magpies will be careful not to rush him in his final few days of rehab.

Fellow defender Emil Krafth is "going to be out for six to eight weeks" after undergoing surgery.

Newcastle United

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe on seeing three of his players play for England during the international break: “We sat and watched the game [against the Republic of Ireland] together and there was an enormous amount of pride.

"It was great to see Anthony [Gordon] score his first goal, Tino [Livramento] win his first cap and Lewis Hall in his second game [for England] look so settled in the team. Full credit to all the players for making such big strides in their careers."

Image source, PA Media

Liverpool could not have wished for a better start under Arne Slot, whose side are five points clear at the top.

This is a game where everyone is expecting them to easily beat bottom side Southampton, and understandably so.

I am expecting Liverpool to win too, but I don’t think it will be an absolute walloping.

Saints are scrapping and they proved they can be resilient when they lost narrowly to Manchester City at the end of last month, so they can make it hard for Slot's side too.

Sutton's prediction: 0-2.

Image source, Getty Images

First up on Manchester City's in-tray following Pep Guardiola's contract extension is turning over the five points they currently trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by.

Liverpool have started the season excellently under Arne Slot but City, off the back of an already record-setting fourth league title in a row, will be looking to create further history by making it five in a row come May.

Next up for City in the Premier League is a home meeting with Tottenham on Saturday before travelling to Anfield next weekend, a golden opportunity to make a dent in Liverpool's start to the season, as well as their advantage at the top of the table.

The Premier League resumes with Liverpool having a five-point advantage over Manchester City at the top of the table.

Image source, Getty Images

Premier League leaders Liverpool head to bottom of the table Southampton on Sunday, to start a run of three fixtures in a week.

After facing the Saints, they have back-to-back home matches, first against Real Madrid in the Champions League before taking on Manchester City, who currently sit in second.

The Reds then face three away matches in six days, taking on Newcastle, Everton in a Merseyside derby and then heading to Spain to face Girona.

Liverpool's next six fixtures

November 24: Southampton v Liverpool

November 27: Liverpool v Real Madrid

December 1: Liverpool v Manchester City

December 4: Newcastle v Liverpool

December 7: Everton v Liverpool

December 10: Girona v Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on Harvey Elliott's injury: "We always want all of our players available. It was a blow for him and us he got injured for so long. Three months is such a long time.

"He’s training with us again, but that’s different to being to the top of your game again. I’m grateful he’s back, especially with the games that are coming in the next two or three months."

Image source, EPA

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on lessons learnt from first games back from international breaks in previous months against Nottingham Forest and Chelsea: "Last time, I said before the Chelsea game I was not so worried about this, the first game of the international break. It's ore how the opposition play.

"The most influence is our own game plan, our own intensity, the opponent’s game plan - everything else is smaller details."

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on whether Alisson, Diogo Jota and Trent Alexander-Arnold may return to face Real Madrid or Manchester City: "That is something that we have to wait and see. The last few days of recovery are tricky as they have to go from isolated training to group training, it’s difficult for me to judge.

"All I can say is that with Alisson and Jota I don’t expect them to be available for that game, Trent is in between."

Image source, PA Media

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on Southampton: "I would say Southampton are more than a capable team. I’ve seen them play against City, Arsenal and Wolves. They are very, very capable of playing teams like us.

"They have been a bit unlucky and they have a very good playing style. Everyone is saying City and Real being difficult, but I think Southampton will be difficult as well."

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on facing Real Madrid and Manchester City back-to-back next week and team selection: "We have an incredible fixture list coming up, starting with Southampton. That is the most important, the next one.

"The other two games have no effect on my team selection, but what does effect it is Southampton - how they play, how fit they are."

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on Pep Guardiola's new contract at Manchester City: "It’s good news for City and for the league because everyone wants the best managers and the best players over here.

"He is definitely one of the best managers, maybe the best manager.

"He’s won four titles in a row. If he did decide to leave, with the players they’ve got, they wouldn’t be at the bottom of the league."

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold: "Virgil is all good, he is training with us today.

"Trent isn’t training with us, but he's getting there to be back with us soon. Harvey [Elliott] is training with us again, that's a positive thing, he's been out for many weeks but he's on the training ground again with the team and that's a positive thing for him.

"[Diogo] Jota is still apart from the group, as is Federico. They are all expected with us in the next few weeks."

Image source, Reuters

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on Alisson's injury: "We are careful with everyone, especially when it comes to muscle injuries. Alisson is training with the goalkeepers but not with the team. He is getting better but is not ready for Sunday."

Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport

Arne Slot planned to spend the international break back with his family and helping his children with their studies.

When it comes to his day job as Liverpool boss, it’s fair to say, the Dutchman has earned top marks so far with his side leading the way in the Premier League and Champions League tables.

The Reds get back to top-flight action on Sunday against Southampton and we’ll be hearing from Slot at shortly, in the build-up to that game.

Can the Dutchman build on his impressive start and stay ahead of a Manchester City side who will be buoyed by manager Pep Guardiola extending his contract with them?

One thing Slot will not have missed during the international break are questions about the futures of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, who are all out of contract in the summer, and it’s unlikely he will not be asked about the trio.

Alexander-Arnold withdrew from the England squad after going off with a hamstring injury in the first half against Aston Villa and we’ll find out what his chances are of making the trip to the south coast.

We’ll also find out where goalkeeper Alisson Becker is up to in his recovery from a hamstring injury and hear if there’s anything on Federico Chiesa, Harvey Elliott and Diogo Jota, who have also been sidelined.

Premier League

Premier League statement: At a Premier League Shareholders’ meeting today, clubs approved changes to the League’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules.

The amendments to the rules address the findings of an Arbitration Tribunal following a legal challenge by Manchester City to the APT system earlier this year.

The Premier League has conducted a detailed consultation with clubs - informed by multiple opinions from expert, independent Leading Counsel - to draft rule changes that address amendments required to the system.

This relates to integrating the assessment of Shareholder loans, the removal of some of the amendments made to APT rules earlier this year and changes to the process by which relevant information from the League’s ‘databank’ is shared with a club’s advisors.

The purpose of the APT rules is to ensure clubs are not able to benefit from commercial deals or reductions in costs that are not at Fair Market Value (FMV) by virtue of relationships with Associated Parties. These rules were introduced to provide a robust mechanism to safeguard the financial stability, integrity and competitive balance of the League.