Liverpool

Liverpool boss Arne Slot on if Chelsea is their biggest challenge so far in the league: "If you look at the league table it is, I think Manchester United was a very good team, a top club in England that has spent a lot of money to make the team better again, same for Chelsea in this season. Chelsea does really well so if you look at the league table then they are the ones that might be our toughest opponent but it's not always about the league table sometimes, it's about the form on the day, it's about their game plan. We had some difficulties with Wolves as well, it is a challenge that's for sure."

So Liverpool's start to the season may have been against arguably easier opposition but the Reds' league run is about to increase in difficulty.

Their next five Premier League games are:

• Home against Chelsea on 20 October
• Away to Arsenal on 27 October
• Home to Brighton on 2 November
• Home to Aston Villa on 9 November
• Away to Southampton on 14 November

Opta have made a graphic for the next five games across the league and Liverpool's run is the sixth most difficult.

But, interestingly, potential title-rivals Arsenal have the fifth most difficult run coming up. Will we see the title race take an early twist in the next month or two?

Image source, Opta

Liverpool

Liverpool boss Arne Slot on the fixture list and: "If you judge your team only on a week then that is not fair. You have to judge as a team after this spell of games, not three of them, six, seven or eight, then we know better how we act and how we perform. If we play tough Champions League games and tough Premier League games, it's normal in everybody's season and we know how difficult it is. We've seen it ourselves, two years ago when we played Champions League, we saw it last season with Manchester United and the only ones that showed they could perform Champions League and in the league are Manchester City and Arsenal, the last two seasons. Now it's up to us."

That's from Joe by the way, just to give my colleagues an out in case he has a shocker at the weekend.

My take - Caoimhen Kelleher is the best back-up keeper in the Premier League.

Liverpool

Liverpool boss Arne Slot on team news: "We have quite some issues from players coming back from the national teams. We can only judge that perfectly today because today is the first time that they're all in and the first time that they're all training together again. So let's see after the session where everybody is. Mac Alister missed one game, Kostas missed out in the first game, against England. So I can name them all. We've got a few issues going on but let's wait and see where we are after today."

Liverpool

Liverpool boss Arne Slot on injuries: "Alisson is not with us for the upcoming weeks that's clear. That's a blow for him and for us, he did really well this season and has done so well for this club for so many years. Now the good thing is Caoimhin [Kelleher] did really well for us in previous years and it shows we have a good replacement."

Liverpool

Liverpool boss Arne Slot on contract extensions: "What was happening was that they were with their national teams. Trent [Alexander-Arnold] scored a fantastic free-kick like you probably saw. Same question, same answer. There will always be talks about our players and it's a good thing that you ask about it, It means they do well because if they played badly, then you wouldn't have asked. I cannot tell you anything about that at this moment."

Slot has just said that goalkeeper Alisson Becker is "not available for a couple of weeks".

Arne Slot has walked out to a room full of journalists. Full quotes to come from him shortly...

Liverpool

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool full-back Conor Bradley has said coming up against Chelsea will always be a "special" fixture.

A youthful Reds side beat the Blues in last season's Carabao Cup final, while Chelsea were also the opposition against whom the Northern Ireland international scored his first Liverpool goal in January.

The 21-year-old said: "I didn't really expect to start because Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was back, but the gaffer [Jurgen Klopp] put trust in me to play. I used that in the game and went into it full of confidence.

"It was a surreal night scoring my first goal. I remember making a tackle and winning a free-kick and then the Kop was singing my name. I can't describe in words what that felt like.

"It's definitely one of the most special nights, my mates were over for it and I remember going back home after it and I was thinking 'what has just happened?'"

Fewer than 10 minutes until Liverpool boss Arne Slott speaks to the media.

We have 14 news conferences today. Here's a list of when they're taking place.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal defender Ben White says former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa stopped speaking to him for months after his first training session with the club.

White joined Leeds on loan from then parent club Brighton & Hove Albion in 2019 and had a memorable first interaction with the Argentinian.

Speaking to Ben Foster for Amazon Prime Video Sport, White said: "My first training session, he didn't speak any English so someone interpreted it, he said I was too slow and not mentally quick enough and just walked off, and he didn't speak to me again for months. But when he would say something to you, you would do it."

So many news conferences today, but we'll definitely find the time to squeeze in your opinions!

You can have your say on all things football. Got an opinion on a Home Nation's performance over the international break? We're all ears. Want to let us know your hopes for your side this weekend? The floor is yours. Hoping a journalist will ask a specific question at a manager news conference? Tell us all about it.

Get in touch using the usual channels above.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

Manchester United held a monthly board meeting in central London last Tuesday which the BBC reported as being significant in determining the immediate future of United manager Erik ten Hag.

The meeting lasted around six hours, with footage ofco-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe arriving and leaving published by some media.

After the big build-up, silence. We don't know the outcome because no-one is saying.

Read the full piece from last week here.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal defender Ben White, speaking to Ben Foster for Amazon Prime Video Sport, on centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel: "Unbelievable. I am not sure I have seen two better together. Saliba is incredible, there's nothing I can say is a weakness. And Gabriel, the threat he has in the box is scary. Every time we get a corner you kind of know you're going to score if the ball is in an alright area."

On Mikel Arteta as a manager: "There are so many details and you know what is going on based on what position everyone is in. Then you have to adapt to who is on the ball. The amount of defending he [Bukayo Saka] does for me is crazy, he never leaves me one-on-one."

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal defender Ben White, speaking to Ben Foster for Amazon Prime Video Sport, on whether he hates football: "No of course not. Obviously I don't watch it. For me it's not a big deal. In training the amount of videos you watch is so extreme, when I come home I just want to forget about it. There is no football on, don't talk about it when I come home. It's just like it's not my job. People think I don't love it, but I could probably tell you most things about every winger I'm going to come up against."

Southampton's chances of survival are fewer than 10%. I could go on...

Anyway, Arsenal and former England defender Ben White has done as sit-down interview with Amazon Prime.

Let's hear from him next, and we'll still have plenty of time to build up to our 14 Premier League news conferences which are taking place throughout today.

Always love me an Opta update.

Manchester United's predicted finish is now ninth, and Erik ten Hag's side have a higher chance of finishing 15th than in any of the top four spots.

Image source, Opta

After the October international break, the Opta supercomputer,, external has updated its projected final Premier League table.

It is only seven matches into the campaign so much can still change but the season is beginning to take shape. The supercomputer simulates thousands of seasons and takes the percentage each side finishes in each league position.

As at the start of the campaign, Manchester City remain favourites for the title, but the supercomputer is not as convinced, suggesting the chance of them winning a fifth in a row has fallen from 82.2% to 69.4% of simulations.

Arsenal are still the second favourites and after a strong start have seen their chances improve from 12.2% to 19.6%.

Current leaders Liverpool are currently projected to win their second Premier League title in 10.8% of simulations, which is more than double their pre-season projection of 5.1%.

According to Opta, Chelsea are the only other side to have any chance, but Enzo Maresca's side won the title in only 140 of the 10,000 simulations!

The Blues are fancied to finish in the top four though, making the Champions League places 37.9% of the time.