Chelsea

ICYMI, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said the club "trust" Mykhailo Mudryk did not knowingly take a banned substance that led to him failing a drugs test.

The Ukraine international has been provisionally suspended by the Football Association after a routine urine test provided by Mudryk returned an "adverse finding".

The 23-year-old, who is unable to play for or train with the club during his suspension, denies knowingly using a banned substance.

Maresca hopes the winger will quickly be absolved of blame.

"We support Mykhailo and trust means that we believe Mykhailo," said Maresca.

"The club, the coaching staff and all of the people that are inside the training ground - we support and we trust Mykhailo.

"I think he is going to come back but we don't know when. But for sure he is going to come back."

Image source, PA Media

The Daily Mail

The back page of today's Daily Mail leads on Gabriel Jesus but also reports on Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca defending Mykhailo Mudryk after the Ukraine winger failed a drugs test.

It also mentions that Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim is again set to overlook Marcus Rashford for their Carabao Cup quarter-final with Tottenham tonight. More on that later.

Image source, Daily Mail

Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter at Emirates Stadium

Mikel Arteta hopes Gabriel Jesus' Carabao Cup hat-trick will give the striker the "spark" he needs to rediscover his Premier League goalscoring form.

The Brazil striker scored three second-half goals against Crystal Palace as the Gunners came from behind to reach the semi-finals.

They were his first goals at Emirates Stadium in a year and also only the second game he has scored in this season, following a strike against Preston - also in the EFL Cup - at the end of October.

Jesus has not scored in the Premier League since 30 January and Arteta hopes his treble will spur him to start finding the back of net in the league again to aid Arsenal's title challenge.

"It's now about consistency," said Arteta.

"It's a moment of spark that will bring so much to the team, that we can rely on him to change games. We need to give him more chances."

Image source, Getty Images

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport

Manager Eddie Howe says Newcastle are finally "starting to see the best" of Sandro Tonali as they booked their place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup with a 3-1 victory over Brentford at St James' Park.

The Italy international scored the opening two goals for the Magpies against the Bees as he delivered a masterclass in midfield play.

His first came with an unerring 20-yard drive after Tino Livramento's cross was only partially cleared and the former AC Milan player added to his tally with a cushioned side-foot volley from Anthony Gordon's corner from the right.

Tonali, 24, who returned this season from a 10-month ban for breaching betting rules, notably also made a heart gesture to the home supporters as he celebrated his opener - after waking to media reports linking him with a move to Juventus.

"He's a big signing and you want your big signings to do well and settle quickly," said Howe.

"He's been here a while, but has had very little football. Nights like tonight will build connections with him and the supporters even stronger, I'm just really pleased for him on a personal level.

"It was great to see Sandro score the two that he did. We are starting to see the best of him."

Image source, PA Media

Alex Brotherton
BBC Sport journalist

Darwin Nunez set Liverpool on the path to victory over Southampton as Arne Slot's side reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Nunez ended his six-game barren run as he and Harvey Elliott scored to give Liverpool firm control in the first half, although Cameron Archer later pulled a goal back to give the hosts hope.

Southampton were led by interim manager Simon Rusk following the sacking of Russell Martin after Sunday's 5-0 home defeat by Tottenham, and they started brightly but fell behind after 24 minutes.

Trent Alexander-Arnold did superbly to escape pressure from two Southampton attackers before finding Nunez with a through ball, albeit via a huge deflection off Jan Bednarek. The Uruguay international took advantage of Alex McCarthy's slip to place his finish out of the goalkeeper's reach.

Any hopes Southampton fans had that cup duty would distract from their desperate struggles at the foot of the Premier League evaporated when Elliott doubled Liverpool's lead eight minutes later.

The England Under-21 midfielder - making his first start of the season - sent a shot into the bottom left corner via a deflection after Cody Gakpo played him in on goal.

Image source, PA Media

• Arsenal 3-2 Crystal Palace
• Newcastle United 3-1 Brentford
• Southampton 1-2 Liverpool

And welcome to today's live football page, where we'll begin with a recap of Wednesday's action in the Carabao Cup, Fifa Intercontinental Cup and Women's Champions League.

We'll also look ahead to Thursday's Carabao Cup and Europa Conference League games and bring you the latest on Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

Plus there's a handful of Premier League news conferences so we'll bring you the best lines from those, along with any other news updates.