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Premier League news conferences and team news: 16 managers speaking on Friday before the weekend's fixtures Enzo Maresca confirms Cole Palmer will miss up to three weeks as Chelsea rest the midfielder Slot confirms centre-back Giovanni Leoni has torn his ACL and will be out for "around a year" Slot: 'He is still so young and he has so many years still go to after he recovers from a terrible injury' On Hugo Ekitike's red card against Southampton: 'He's young and players of all ages make mistakes' Liverpool travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday; the two remaining unbeaten sides in the league Newcastle host Arsenal, having won their last three games at St James' Park against Mikel Arteta's side These games tend to be feisty and I'd expect Sunday's match at St James' Park to be a real battle, writes Ciaran Kelly Team news: Jacob Murphy 'fit and available' Also speaking on Friday: Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, Enzo Maresca, Ruben Amorim and more Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Written by Sam Drury, Ben Ramsdale, Alex Fletcher & Werrda Ali. Giovanni Leoni had made his senior professional bow for Padova in March 2023, with that milestone coming just three months after his 16th birthday. He spent the second half of the 2023-24 campaign on loan at Sampdoria in Serie B – featuring a dozen times and scoring once before signing for Parma permanently last summer. The teenager has also represented Italy at youth international level, making seven appearances for his country’s U19s to date, and was called up to the senior squad for the first time earlier this month. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Gutted for Leoni. Football can be so cruel at times. 18-year-old lad and had a really good debut. Only for it to be cut short. Hope he recovers and shines next season. He'll show everyone his full potential next season. Fraser, Edinburgh Crystal Palace v Liverpool (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Before the confirmation of Giovanni Leoni's ACL injury, we looked at the options available to Liverpool at centre-half. Aside from the first choice pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, the Reds only have Joe Gomez as a true senior option to step in. Rhys Williams, who spent last season on loan at League Two side Morecambe is the only other "natural" centre-back on the books. Andy Robertson and Wataru Endo have both filled in at centre-back on the odd occasion while star midfielder Ryan Gravenberch could also drop back if needs must. Sophie Brown BBC Sport Giovanni Leoni only made his senior debut in 2023, playing in the Italian third tier for Padova as a 16-year-old, but just two years later he has joined the Premier League champions. Liverpool were looking for reinforcements in central defence after selling Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer and Leoni came in to provide extra cover in an area where the Reds were potentially light. With Virgil Van Dijk now 34, Liverpool need to have an eye on the future. Eighteen-year-old Leoni certainly ticks that box but also looked ready for the now, despite only establishing himself in Parma's starting line-up in the second half of last season. With just 14 top-flight starts under his belt, he has not played as much as fellow highly rated teenage centre-backs Pau Cubarsi at Barcelona, Mamadou Sarr at Strasbourg or Real Madrid's Dean Huijsen, but his stats are impressive. At 6ft 5in (1. 96m) he is exceptional in the air, ranking in the top 10% for aerial duels won in Serie A last season. At Parma, Leoni played in the middle of the back three or as the right centre-back and, as well as his aerial strength, he is also composed in possession, especially given his lack of experience. The opportunity to develop his game with the Premier League champions and learn from Van Dijk, who he has previously called his inspiration, helped clinch the move. He had to be patient before being given a chance against Southampton but looked every bit the exciting prospect that Liverpool fans were promised before his terrible injury cut his debut short. A cruel blow but the Reds will hope the £26m signing can return next year and go about fulfilling his immense potential. Crystal Palace v Liverpool (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Liverpool Liverpool manager Arne Slot on Giovanni Leoni: "He is not in a good place because he tore his ACL which means he will be out around a year. "Being so young and coming to a new country and playing so well in your first game, it's very hard to take the positives. "There is never a positive side but you try to look at that and that is that he is still so young and he has so many years still go to after he recovers from a terrible injury. " Crystal Palace v Liverpool (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Liverpool Liverpool boss Arne Slot is here and confirms that centre-back Giovanni Leoni has torn his ACL and will be out for "around a year". A huge blow for the 18-year-old, who had looked so good on his debut against Southampton. Newcastle United v Arsenal (Sun, 16: 30 BST) Newcastle United Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on Jacob Ramsey: "His recovery is going well and he is on the grass working hard and building his fitness back up. "The plan was that he would [be back] for the first game after the international break ahead of us and if it is any earlier than that then of course he is ahead of schedule. " Chelsea v Brighton (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler on what he's made of Joao Pedro's start at Chelsea: "Joao was a special player for us and it’s not easy to replace him one-to-one but we did it as team and we did it quite well. "There's always a process, new players have to step in, new young players with big potential have to step in. They have to prove themselves every weekend that they are ready for that but they need time. "Second thing, of course, Joao is a special player. He proved it already at Chelsea in the first [few] games. He played well. He scored goals. He's very good in position. He is a game changer for them. We have to defend as a team, as a unit. I'm sure we are capable of doing that. " Newcastle United v Arsenal (Sun, 16: 30 BST) Newcastle United Newcastle boss Eddie Howe on Jacob Murphy: "He is doing OK and it is an issue that we are managing. With Achilles tendon problems they are ongoing and players manage them. "He is in the place where he is fit and available but we are just trying to manage his load. " Newcastle United v Arsenal (Sun, 16: 30 BST) Newcastle United Newcastle boss Eddie Howe says they have "a couple of players to check" ahead of the game on Sunday. He added that there are "no major injuries" from the game against Bradford. Newcastle United v Arsenal (Sun, 16: 30 BST) Newcastle United We can hear from Newcastle boss Eddie Howe now as well. .. Chelsea v Brighton (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler on if it will help his team if Cole Palmer is unavailable for tomorrow's match against Chelsea: "First of all we can’t influence if he’s playing or not. It's important to focus on our game and focus on how we want to play. "If he’s starting, he’s a game changer for them [Chelsea]. He is one of the best Premier League players. He’s got a special left foot. He can decide a game in one action. "It’s about defending as team, as a unit, but it’s not about only defending, it’s also about playing our style of play. If you go there trying only to defend you won’t have a chance. " Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Osula seems like a great lad, and full of energy, but the quality is not there yet. Hopefully he can develop under Howe. He's not ready to consistently be in the first team. Ian Purcell, Nottingham Crystal Palace v Liverpool (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner speaking after Marc Guehi's failed move to Liverpool: "It is credit to Marc that he never threatened to strike. He is a very honest person. That is why I was never worried about this situation. "He will be our captain as long as he's here, because he's just such a great player and such a great personality. "Everybody could see how he played for England, that he's 100% focused, the same here. It was written [in the media], that he steps back as our captain. Nothing true. " England boss Thomas Tuchel also had his say on the situation during the international break, stating that the 25-year-old handled the situation really well: "He looks absolutely fine and impressive on the field. He has had a good couple of weeks behind him on the performance side. "He has continued like that in camp and he handles it [his transfer situation] with respect and with a brilliant attitude. " Crystal Palace v Liverpool (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Things wouldn't have looked as bleak for Liverpool right now had they got the deadline day signing of a certain Marc Guehi over the line. .. The centre-back was all set for a move to the Premier League champions and had completed his medical in full before Palace pulled the plug at the final hour. Saturday will be the first meeting between the two sides since the transfer saga unfolded. Crystal Palace v Liverpool (Sat, 15: 00 BST) With Giovanni Leoni side-lined with a suspected ACL injury, Liverpool manager Arne Slot's options look extremely limited at centre-back until January at the earliest. Aside from the first choice pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate, the Reds only have Joe Gomez as a true senior option to step in. Rhys Williams, who spent last season on loan at League Two side Morecambe is the only other "natural" centre-back on the books. Andy Robertson and Wataru Endo have both filled in at centre-back on the odd occasion while star midfielder Ryan Gravenberch could also drop back if needs must. Crystal Palace v Liverpool (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Sami Mokbel BBC Sport Senior football correspondent Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni faces months on the sidelines after suffering a suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury on his debut. The 18-year-old played 81 minutes of Tuesday's 2-1 Carabao Cup third-round win over Southampton before going off with the injury. Leoni, who joined the Reds in August from Parma for a fee of £26m plus add-ons, has since had tests on his left knee. Sources have indicated the centre-back has damaged his ACL, which would probably rule him out for most - if not all - of the rest of the season. "I want to sincerely thank every single person who has shown me support in this difficult moment, " Leoni wrote on Instagram. "It wasn't the debut I had always dreamed of, but I will give everything to be back playing in this magical stadium as soon as possible. Thank you so much! " Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say As a Liverpool fan it's crazy to see Harvey Elliott warming Villa's bench. I thought he was criminally underrated for us and proved time and time again that he's a game changer. I'm sure he wasn't sold the idea of swapping one bench for another so hopefully its just temporary. Josh, Liverpool Villa should start Harvey Elliott. That lad will unlock doors for them. Arsenal need a win at SJP. Arteta will be under pressure with anything less than 3 points against an underperforming Toon. Can Chelsea do it without Palmer? Some big games this weekend. Nolberto Goaliola, London Wayne Rooney Former Man Utd striker on The Wayne Rooney Show Sometimes you have the emotion of football - sometimes when you score a goal you do get carried away and he's probably forgot he was on a yellow card I'd imagine. But it's silly if you're on a yellow card and you take your top off. All the players know you get booked for taking your top off. He's doing really well and it's probably a shootout for him and [Alexander] Isak to play and he's giving Isak the chance to come in and try and take his place because at the minute, he's scoring goals and he's in a good place so I'm sure he'll be devastated. Don't you think that's refreshing? We've criticised teams for not playing strong teams and not wanting to really compete in the League Cup. You've got a player who's playing really well, he's just come into Liverpool, scoring goals and he's showing that passion and emotion of scoring a late goal in the League Cup. I think that's quite refreshing really, from where the Carabao Cup competitions have been in recent years. I'm not defending it because it is silly, but I'm saying what we've seen over recent years with VAR and players scoring goals and waiting to celebrate and stuff, I think it's actually refreshing to see someone celebrating a goal. He's been caught up in the emotion of scoring a goal and he'll probably regret it now, but I still think it's nice when you see that raw emotion when someone scores a goal. Crystal Palace v Liverpool (Sat, 15: 00 BST) A reminder that Liverpool will be without forward Hugo Ekitike for the trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday. The 23-year-old was sent off in Tuesday's Carabao Cup victory over Southampton after he was handed a second yellow card for taking his shirt off when celebrating his goal. Ekitike has five goals in eight appearances for the Reds since his summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt. It means record-signing Alexander Isak will likely get the nod from the start at Selhurst Park. Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.