Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Enzo Maresca will be asked to clarify Wesley Fofana's injury situation, after he suffered a hamstring injury against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Maresca indicated that Fofana's injury was significant, suggesting he might be sidelined for four to five weeks.

But the France international centre-back has since played down the issue on social media.

The loss of Fofana, who has started all but one of Chelsea's Premier League matches - on top of captain Reece James - could limit the club's defensive options in a busy December period.

However, right-back Malo Gusto was an unused substitute in the 3-0 win at home to Aston Villa on Sunday and could return.

And everything is going very well for third placed Chelsea, amid a run of favourable fixtures that begins with a trip to bottom placed Southampton, stricken by selection issues of their own.

Maresca is likely to be asked:

• Wesley Fofana's fitness issues
• Which defenders could replace him
• Whether Josh Acheampong, who is in a contract stand off with Chelsea, could return to the fold
• About Chelsea's progress and whether they should be aiming to compete in the title race

Chelsea

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is set to speak shortly ahead of his side's trip to Premier League strugglers Southampton on Wednesday night.

His side currently sit third in the Premier League, only behind Arsenal on alphabetical order.

We will bring you the best of what he says ahead of that match.

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on potential recruitment in January: "We are having discussions every day, no matter if there's a window coming up or not. We always talk about the team, which players we like, which players are maybe not in the best place.

"From the beginning of the season, I was so, so happy with the squad. That's not to say if there will be a chance in the market, this club will not look. This club has always shown it will work."

Newcastle United

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe on if it is a psychological issue not getting results against Liverpool: "Let's hope not. I don't prepare games that way, I prepare them with a fresh set of eyes.

"Teams change and evolve every time you play them. Games against them have been tight, especially home games.

"The one from last year was painful. Every time you play opposition like Liverpool you learn new things."

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on whether he has to make smart decisions including makeshift defensive cover: "People will judge it on the results but we have to be creative, that's a better word to use. For the moment that we cannot use Trent [Alexander-Arnold], last weekend against City, we didn't use Trent for 90 minutes after his injury and that's probably going to be the same tomorrow and Saturday as well.

"We have to be creative, playing Jarrell [Quansah] over there is not so creative, he is able to play there, but maybe for whatever reason, if we need Jarrell as a centre-back because one of the centre-backs can't continue the game, then we need to be even more creative."

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Newcastle United

Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe on Alexander Isak's injury, before their game against Liverpool on Wednesday: "He took a knock to his knee and wasn't able to carry on.

"We haven't seen him in training yet, but I don't think it will be a long-term injury.

"It will be time, it is about pain management and how quickly the injury settles down."

On Dan Burn's return to play against Crystal Palace on Saturday: "He got through the game well I thought.

"When he was suspended, we used that as a chance to rest his ankle and get him to feel 100% fixed.

"After the game [against Crystal Palace] he felt okay".

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Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on Joe Gomez, his fitness and mentality: "Everyone sees his quality, but for exactly the reason you just said, it shows how his mentality is and how impressed I am by his mentality because it's not always easy to come in during the game and play and do so well.

"I think Konate did really well and it's not for the first time he's experiencing this, so some players can do this for a season and they are like 'now, I want to play, I want to go somewhere else'. He is patient in a good way, he is always ready whenever the club or his team-mates need him and that is special when it comes to his mentality because not many players can do this for so many years that he has.

"Last season, he played many, many, many games, you could call him a starter that season and in some other seasons, he was more of the second choice in every other position in the last line.

"For him to keep doing this, probably tells you a lot about his mentality but also, what he does on a daily basis in training sessions because he's incredibly fit and he's ready to perform. That is more special than people think it is. That is definitely true."

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Shay Given
Former Man City & Newcastle goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club

It's just an unbelievable start isn't it? We were saying a month or two ago that they'd had such an easy run of fixtures but they have gone through some of the big boys now. Both in Europe and in the Premier League, they look unbelievable.

You can go through their team and they have had their injuries as well. Caoimhin Kelleher has been brilliant in goal. Conor Bradley when he played against Kylian Mbappe was the star player.

They look as if they are really in the groove and the games can't come quick enough. When you are at the top you just want the games to come every day and they are right in the groove at the minute.

Listen to Monday Night Club.

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on whether he side have too much over reliance on Mohamed Salah for assists: "Is it a danger putting too much on him? A bit, but only for the fact that he can, he's also a human being. It happened to him last season that he can get an injury as well and since Federico Chiesa has had a difficult start to the club because of injuries, we don't really have a replacement for Mo.

"The good thing is that Harvey Elliott is getting fitter and fitter again and he played this position many times as well. I'm not afraid that Mo's numbers will drop at all. When it comes to an injury of him, then we are in a better position on the left wing than we are on the right.

"The good thing is, Federico is also training with us. He is getting back and Harvey is getting back, but the best thing that can happen to us is that Mo stays fit and keeps producing these numbers."

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Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on his side's defence and his injuries back there: "You tell me we've got the best defence because we've conceded less goals, so that doesn't mean we have only the best defence, we have 11 players who work really, really hard not to concede a goal, but I agree with you that our last line has impressed this season.

"To go into this month with only five defenders is not ideal but it's part of everyone's season and we play just as many games in October and January.

"I trust the players who are doing everything they can to stay fit, you have to take smart decisions as well to keep them available for this month."

Chris Sutton
Former Premier League striker on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

I do wonder about the Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk contract situations and the longer it goes on. I wonder whether it sort of heightens the Liverpool hierarchy to think that we are so far ahead now that we don't want to do anything to mess it up.

This should, as far as I can see, accelerate getting the deals over the line.

Listen to Monday Night Club.

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on Cody Gakpo's form and whether he can score 20 goals a season: "Unfortunately, I have experienced already that he is able to score 20 goals in a season when he played for PSV Eindhoven when I was at Feyenoord and he almost every time, scored against us. He was able to score in that league and almost definitely will be able to score that many goals here as well.

"Just like Mo, just like Lucho [Diaz], just like Diogo [Jota], just like Darwin [Nunez] as well. They are all capable of scoring that amount of goals.

"Now, unfortunately for them, they have so many good players around them that they don't start every single game, because that would help for them to get their numbers even higher, but if I combine the numbers of Cody and Lucho, they are probably coming close to the numbers Mo has, so it is the position that has to bring the numbers and the same for the nine position, as well as the right winger position.

"Cody is in a very good place at the moment, but I think you'll agree with me that Lucho is as well."

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Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on his side's main competitors: "I think it is important. I think it's also the culture of this club. For us, it's not that special thing to be on top of the league or on top of the Champions League format, although that does feel special because we've never been before. Normally, we have different groups in the Champions League.

"This club, this team, these players are used to the fact that they are top of the league or they are competing for every trophy so that helps. Then, that experience helps us. They also have that experience that they've competed for a long time. Then, in the end, they came too short, they couldn't manage to win it. They also know how to win the league against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and City, because I see those three as our main competitors at the moment.

"They all know that for nine to 10 months, we have to be on top of our game."

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Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on his side's form: "They all know how hard they had to work for it. If they had done this by just playing at 50% and it is so easy for us, then they might feel 'ah, we're just too good for this league' but that's definitely not what we feel.

"Against every team and no matter if it is Man City or Real Madrid or Wolverhampton Wanderers or Nottingham Forest, we had to work really, really hard to get a result and I think that keeps them with their feet on the ground."

Liverpool

Liverpool manager Arne Slot on team news and Alisson Becker: "I feel I always have a big decision to make in every line-up I have to make. If you look at our last game against Man City, Darwin [Nunez] I didn't play, Curtis [Jones] I didn't play, Harvey Elliot I didn't play, Jarrell Quansah and probably one or two others.

"It's always big decisions you have to make as the manager of Liverpool because you always have so many quality players.

"I think I have been clear a few weeks ago about what my position is about our goalkeepers, but we are just waiting for Alisson to be completely fit because Caoimhin [Kelleher] is doing too well to put Alisson on goal if he's only 50%. That would not be good for Alisson and it would not be good for the team.

"He's getting there, it might take a few more extra days, but he's getting closer. Like I've always said, the end phase of a rehab is always the period where you feel like 'okay, is he really there or does he need extra days?' But he will be in goal before the end of December if things continue like they are now."

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