Kylian Mbappe penned a new Paris Saint-Germain deal in May, extending his contract until 2025.

That came after a prolonged courtship from Real Madrid for his services, while several other top clubs were interested.

But Mbappe has again been linked with a move away from the French capital, despite re-committing only months ago.

TOP STORY – MBAPPE WANTS PSG EXIT, MAN UTD CIRCLING

Kylian Mbappe is reportedly pushing for an exit from PSG during the January transfer window, claims Sport.

According to the report, Manchester United are preparing an audacious bid to land the 23-year-old France forward, with Liverpool and Real Madrid also in contention.

Mbappe wants PSG to let him go if a reasonable offer comes in during January, although United may not suit his football aspirations in the short term.

ROUND-UP

- Tottenham are keeping a close watch on Everton winger Anthony Gordon ahead of the January transfer window, reports Football London. Gordon, who also has interest from Chelsea, still has three years left on his Toffees deal.

- Chelsea's strategy with Romelu Lukaku is set to change, meaning he is unlikely to remain with Inter, claims Calciomercato. The Blues want to sell him for a major transfer fee at the end of this season, rather than loaning him back to Inter, as the Nerazzurri had hoped.

- Bild claims Borussia Dortmund have no plans to sell Raphael Guerreiro in January, amid interest from Leeds United and West Ham. Guerreiro is out of contract at the end of the season.

- Sevilla forward Youssef En-Nesyri looms as a January option for West Ham, according to Calciomercato.

The final round of Premier League fixtures before the World Cup break produced a huge shock at the Etihad Stadium.

After missing out on England's World Cup squad, Ivan Toney struck twice to give Brentford a sensational 2-1 victory over Manchester City.

That result confirmed Arsenal would be top heading into the World Cup interval, and they increased their lead to five points by cruising past Wolves at Molineux as Martin Odegaard scored both goals in a 2-0 triumph.

Tottenham and Leeds United played out a seven-goal thriller at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the hosts eventually running out 4-3 winners.

Elsewhere, Chelsea fell to a third straight league defeat as they were beaten 1-0 by in-form Newcastle United.

Here, Stats Perform looks through the best facts of the day.

Manchester City 1-2 Brentford: Toney double stuns Citizens

City had previously been unbeaten for 20 home matches in all competitions since a 3-2 defeat against Spurs in February, winning their last 16 at the Etihad.

But Toney, fresh from his England disappointment, scored his 21st and 22nd Premier League goals to end City's streak in dramatic fashion.

His winner came after 97 minutes and 16 seconds, the latest winning goal scored against City in the Premier League since exact goal times started being recorded in the 2006-07 campaign.

The Bees were made to do a lot of defending to earn the three points, with City's 29 shots their most in a Premier League home game they failed to win since a 2-1 defeat to Leeds United in April 2021.

Phil Foden's equaliser in first-half injury time was his sixth home goal in all competitions, his joint-best return in a Premier League season. Six of his eight goals (75 per cent) this season have come at the Etihad, compared to 43 per cent last term (six of 14).

Wolves 0-2 Arsenal: Odegaard fires Gunners to five-point lead

Odegaard's double puts him up to six Premier League goals this season, the most of any Arsenal player, while only Kevin de Bruyne, James Maddison and Leandro Trossard have been involved in more away goals than the Norway international (five, four goals and one assist).

The three points, combined with City slipping up, gives Arsenal their biggest lead at the top of the Premier League since December 2013.

Mikel Arteta's men are the only team to have scored in every Premier League game this season and they will be top of the league on Christmas day for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign.

Another defeat for Wolves means new boss Julen Lopetegui has much work to do, with the Molineux club bottom at Christmas for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

They are seriously out of form, only winning one of their last 22 Premier League games, failing to score in 11 matches over that run.

Tottenham 4-3 Leeds United: Bentancur strikes twice as Spurs come from behind

Antonio Conte's side completed yet another turnaround to beat Leeds and have now rescued 13 points from losing positions, more than any other team.

Rodrigo Bentancur's late double was the first time he has scored twice in the same game within the main five European leagues, on what was his 164th such appearance.

Spurs were made to do it the hard way, as Rodrigo and Crysencio Summerville became the first pair of team-mates to both score in four straight Premier League games.

But Leeds ultimately succumbed to defeat, their fifth straight league loss against London sides since thumping Chelsea 3-0 in August.

Spurs meanwhile have now scored 31 goals in 15 Premier League games this season, only bettering that tally at this stage of the competition in one season, when they netted 35 in 15 to kick off the 2009-10 campaign.

Newcastle United 1-0 Chelsea: Willock wonder strike downs Blues

Joe Willock scored a superb winner to earn Newcastle a fifth straight Premier League victory for the first time since 2014.

On the flip side, Graham Potter becomes the first Chelsea boss to lose three consecutive league matches since Jose Mourinho in 2015 as his side's poor form continues.

A key reason for the defeat was a dismal attacking display, registering just seven touches in the opposition box, their lowest since January against Manchester City.

The closest Chelsea went to scoring was Conor Gallagher forcing an acrobatic save from Nick Pope. No other goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets in the Premier League this season than Pope, with five of his seven coming at St James' Park.

The three points ensure Newcastle will be in the top three at Christmas for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign, when they were top.

Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch said he felt "like someone has ripped my heart out" after watching his side implode in Saturday's 4-3 loss at Tottenham.

The visitors took the lead three times in north London and were ahead with nine minutes of normal time remaining, only for Rodrigo Bentancur to score a late double.

Leeds have shipped 26 goals in 14 Premier League games this season at a rate of 1.86 per 90 minutes – only Nottingham Forest (2) and Bournemouth (2.13) have fared worse.

Marsch, who had seen the pressure on him ease following back-to-back league wins prior to the Spurs loss, admits it has been a familiar theme for his side this campaign.

"I'm gutted, I feel like someone has ripped my heart out," he told BBC Sport. "I thought we had control of the match but then we let it slip.

"There's obviously positives in there because in our good moments we look like we have quality, but in our bad, we still look vulnerable and naive.

"We get leads and then we give it away immediately because we don't stick to our principles. If we can then we can be a good team.

"Mentally, the guys have invested so much, there's been ups and downs. We need to gather ourselves, have a break and then come back and keep pushing.

"A little bit of everything needs strengthening, we need to learn to manage the game as a group at all moments."

Crysencio Summerville and Rodrigo both scored for a fourth straight game for Leeds, with the latter netting twice following Harry Kane and Ben Davies equalisers.

But Argentina midfielder Bentancur scored in the 81st and 83rd minutes – his first brace in Europe's top five leagues on his 164th such outing – as Spurs returned to winning ways.

Tottenham have trailed in 14 of their 22 games in all competitions this term, including the past eight in a row, but Antonio Conte was delighted with his side's fighting spirit.

"I think this game made many people very happy," he said at his post-match news conference. "If you're in the stadium you've seen a 4-3 score, with attractive football. 

"In a lot of games we were losing and then we came back. I think we showed great character, desire and great will not to give up, to believe in the win.

"I try every day to transfer this concept. We need to fight and never give up. Never give up is our mantra. This is the positive side.

"The negative side is that we conceded three goals, which is never good. A team that wants to be competitive, to concede three goals is never positive."

Saturday's thrilling victory was Tottenham's 13th game since the beginning of October and their last until Boxing Day, with domestic top-flight football now pausing for the World Cup.

"If you want to reach a good result, you want to show stability," Conte added. "The last period was really tough for everybody, all the clubs, to play 13 games in 43 days is tough.

"It was impossible to work on the pitch on the tactical aspect. For sure, when you don't work on that you are going to lose something defensively."

Spurs have now scored 31 goals in 15 games in the Premier League this term – they have only bettered that tally at this stage of a season on one occasion, with 35 in 2009-10.

England international Kane has been responsible for 12 of those, making this his joint-best start to a campaign at this stage since the 2017-18 season.

"Harry has played a really important role in this period," Conte said. "If we finished this period in the top four and qualified for the top four, I think we have to praise Harry a lot.

"I think Harry honestly deserves great praise because he is always an important player, but in this period there was a lot of weight on his shoulders and he played in a great way. 

"He's arriving at the World Cup with lots of enthusiasm, in a great physical condition and mentally stronger. He's ready. I can see in his eyes he's ready to be the protagonist." 

Rodrigo Bentancur struck twice in the final 10 minutes as Tottenham battled back from behind three times to snatch a dramatic 4-3 victory against Leeds United on Saturday.

Spurs conceded the opening goal in a game for the eighth time in a row when Crysencio Summerville scored for a fourth Premier League match running inside the first 10 minutes.

Rodrigo Moreno matched that scoring streak when scoring either side of equalisers from Harry Kane and Ben Davies to give Leeds a 3-2 lead in the 76th minute.

But Bentancur equalised in the 81st minute and earned Tottenham a thrilling victory two minutes later as Leeds, who had Tyler Adams sent off late on, imploded in north London.

Barcelona forward Memphis Depay reportedly is looking to leave the club on a free transfer in January, and a trio of high-profile Premier League teams are mentioned as potential suitors.

Depay, 28, played 38 games for the Catalan giants in the 2021-22 campaign, but he has found himself on the outside looking in this season, appearing in only three contests.

With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, and Barcelona looking to shed his salary to increase their financial flexibility, the Netherlands international is hopeful his exit can be arranged mid-season.
 

TOP STORY – PREMIER LEAGUE TEAMS CIRCLE OUT-OF-FAVOUR BARCA FORWARD

According to Mundo Deportivo, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham are paying close attention to Depay's situation with Barcelona.

If he is allowed to leave on a free transfer, United are said to have strong interest in bringing him back to Old Trafford, where he spent two seasons from 2015 to 2017 before being sold to Lyon.

The report also mentions Chelsea and Tottenham, who had interest in the previous transfer window before deciding against a move.

Depay has not played since a September 22 Nations League match for the Netherlands against Poland, but if he puts on a show at the World Cup, interest could skyrocket.

ROUND-UP

– According to The Guardian, Erik ten Hag plans on selling United captain Harry Maguire at the end of the season.

– 90min is reporting Arsenal are planning moves for Leicester City's Youri Tielemans and Palmeiras' 21-year-old Danilo in a bid to strengthen their midfield in January.

– Newcastle United will rival Arsenal in the chase for 21-year-old Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, who will reportedly cost in the range of £100million, per Football Insider.

– The Daily Mail is reporting Chelsea have hosted 16-year-old Palmeiras prodigy Endrick on an official club visit, introducing him to fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva.

– Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund have shown interest in 20-year-old Leeds right-back Cody Drameh, per the Daily Mail.

A Leeds fan who was accused of racially abusing Jamaica and West Ham forward Michail Antonio has been banned from football events for 4 years.

The incident occurred during the teams defeat to West Ham at Elland Road in 2021.  On that occasion Antonio scored a 90^th minute winner to give the Hammers a 2-1 win.

Following the goal, Gary Hawkins, a 52-year-old male, was found to not have only abused Antonio from his seat but also threatened another fan who challenged him regarding the language. 

Hawkins was found guilty of two offences after a trial at Leeds Magistrates' Court and given an eight-week sentence, suspended for 12 months.

The West Yorkshire Police were quick to condemn the action.

"Race hate crime such as this is truly abhorrent and can never be tolerated,” said Supt Russ Hughes.

"As we have seen with this incident, other fans will rightly take exception to this type of behaviour.”

Antonio Conte wants to earn the right to sign a new contract with Tottenham, but has hinted the club must match his ambitions to keep him for the long term.

Conte's current deal with Spurs expires at the end of the season, and although the club have an option for a one-year extension, the Italian has been linked with an exit on several occasions.

A return to Juventus has been touted as a possibility for Conte at various stages this campaign, but the Tottenham boss wants to show he deserves an extended stay in north London – so long as Spurs can help him achieve his own aims.

"My contract expires on June 30. Until that moment, the club has to make the best evaluation," Conte said at a pre-match news conference ahead of Tottenham's meeting with Leeds United on Saturday.

"I think that everything needs to be deserved. For this reason, it's important to see the rest of the season, what happens, if we are happy with the improvement we are doing.

"On my side, professionally, I have to feel that I deserve to sign a new contract with this club. I have to feel this, but for sure I will talk with the club and we will find the best solution.

"When you start a path with a club, your dream is to stay here many years, to try to build something important. 

"I think it's very important, the relationship that you create with your players, the relationship you create with the club, the environment around you, and also don't forget the ambition.

"If you're used to fighting to win, it is also very important to match this situation and then, if you are lucky and find all of these situations, it's simpler to stay for a long-term project.

"When this happens, you are a lucky person, a lucky man. Every manager dreams of this situation. Then the reality, unfortunately, is not always this."

Tottenham have lost three of their past four Premier League games, which is as many as they had lost in their previous 24 (W17 D4), with Conte's side appearing stretched amid an injury crisis.

Attacking stars Son Heung-min, Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski have all been absent in recent weeks, and Conte believes Tottenham may need to add numbers when the January transfer window opens.

"For sure, after the first part of the season it will be right to have a meeting with the club, to discuss the positive and negative things, where we can improve," Conte said.

"Then we will see what we can do. It always depends on the possibilities, and the ambition from the club.

"But for sure, we'll speak, also to have a good evaluation of this part of the season. I have seen a lot of positive things, but with injuries and having to play every three days, I think we struggled a lot.

"In the future, we have to try to improve, to be better to face this type of situation."

Tottenham have won seven of their past nine Premier League games against Leeds (D1 L1), having lost eight of their previous nine against them in the top flight (D1).

Trent Alexander-Arnold says Liverpool must "get some points" at Tottenham to get their "aims and aspirations" back on track.

Jurgen Klopp's side are ninth in the Premier League and could fall 15 points behind Arsenal, who play Nottingham Forest on Sunday as the Gunners aim to return to the top-flight summit.

Liverpool have suffered consecutive domestic defeats against strugglers Forest and Leeds United, the latter of which on Saturday ended a 29-match home unbeaten run for the Reds in the Premier League.

Klopp's team may take some consolation after reaching the Champions League knockout stages, though Alexander-Arnold urged his side to improve in the league at Tottenham next Sunday.

"I'd say we all believe in ourselves, we believe in the way we play, the squad and what we can achieve," the right-back told the club's website.

"But I think when you do get setbacks, it can potentially make you second-guess yourself and question things.

"Clearly as a team something's not going right, it's not going as well as we want it to go. That's something for everyone to think about, for everyone to address and make sure we put it right, especially next week against Spurs, top-four rivals.

"We kind of need to go there and get some points if we've got any chance of reaching our aims and aspirations for the season."

While Liverpool's title hopes are virtually over, with Manchester City and Arsenal embroiled in a two-horse race thus far, the Reds are also eight points away from the Champions League qualification places.

The England international acknowledged Liverpool have been far from their best this season, pinpointing the Reds' failures in front of goal, a notable problem in the 2-1 defeat to Leeds last time out.

"I think we are not in the greatest run of form – I think a lot of players would say that about themselves and as a team in general," he added.

"But we're still creating opportunities to score and win games. We just haven't been able to take them, especially [in the] last two Premier League games.

"I think it's important for us to regroup, assess what's going wrong. I think right now, it's kind of, 'pick up as many points as you can now going into this break [for the World Cup].

"And potentially this break will come at a decent time for us to reset and be able to get our heads straight to go into the second half of the season."

Liverpool are not battling through "a blip" but a "serious problem", according to club great Jamie Carragher.

Jurgen Klopp's side sit ninth in the Premier League, 13 points off the top ahead of Arsenal's meeting with Nottingham Forest on Sunday, after falling to defeat against Leeds United on Saturday.

Crysencio Summerville's late strike snatched an unlikely victory for strugglers Leeds as Liverpool suffered their first Premier League defeat at Anfield since March 2021, ending a 29-match home unbeaten run in the competition.

Despite Mohamed Salah cancelling out Rodrigo Moreno's early opener, Illan Meslier made a series of impressive stops to help pave the way for Summerville's winner, and Carragher feels his former side face a worrying situation.

"It's a huge result for Leeds but Liverpool have got massive problems," Carragher said in his role as a pundit on Sky Sports.

"Leeds' fans know how big a result this is. It's so long since anyone's won at Anfield. They're going to milk it and rightly so. It will do wonders for them, in terms of the league table.

"This isn't a blip for Liverpool, this is a serious problem. There's no doubt that the goalkeeper in the last 10-15 minutes has kept Leeds in it but if you look at the whole game you can't say Leeds haven't deserved to get something from it. They were fantastic.

"Klopp must be thinking, what else can I try now? Different permutations, formations, personnel."

Klopp again bemoaned a lack of consistency, lamenting the injury issues Liverpool face, though Graeme Souness offered a scathing assessment of his former side's capabilities.

"Liverpool are a country mile from where they were over the last few years," Souness added. "In many instances, Leeds were more than a match for Liverpool and they did to Liverpool what they had been doing to teams for years.

"Liverpool basically bullied teams before, their midfield bullied teams. And now they're being bullied. That's making them vulnerable at the back, and they're not creating the same chances up front. Liverpool are a shadow [of the team they used to be].

"Liverpool still had enough chances to win the game, but they are not like the Liverpool we've seen for the last five years. They don't play with the same intensity and just don't have it in their legs anymore."

Souness pinpointed Liverpool's midfield as a primary reason for their struggles.

"If correct [Leeds ran 11 kilometres more than Liverpool], then to a man they ran a kilometre more than Liverpool. That's a big difference," he continued.

"And if you look at a midfield of Thiago [Alcantara], 31, [Jordan] Henderson, 31, Fabinho, 29, then after that you have [Naby] Keita and [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain, Curtis Jones who is 21, and Harvey Elliot who's 19.

"If you go back to the start of the season, Jurgen [Klopp] must have looked at his midfield and thought: 'We're vulnerable here'. I feel their midfield is no longer a midfield that is going to get them back and win the big trophies."

Jurgen Klopp suggested Liverpool were asking to be punished with the way they defended for Leeds United's winning goal on Saturday.

The Reds were beaten 2-1 in dramatic circumstances at Anfield, with Crysencio Summerville poking home from inside the box after Patrick Bamford was able to tee the youngster up.

Liverpool had numbers back but failed to stop Wilfried Gnonto from getting his cross into the box in the build-up despite the Italy international being faced up by two defenders.

Similarly, both Bamford and Summerville were outnumbered in the penalty area as well, and Klopp was left frustrated.

"It was a setback, absolutely," the German told Sky Sports. "I thought we had a really good start then conceded a freakish goal.

"We scored the equaliser but for some reason it didn't give us the security back. We struggled to control the game and gave too many balls away.

"The boys tried, we had good possession and had big chances but, in the end, if it is 1-1 and you defend the situation around the second goal like this, you leave everything open.

"In the end, it was two versus one in the box and they can finish off the situation. The problem is we cannot control this type of game at the moment."

He added: "A team performance is always made up of individual performances. It's the same, it's never different, so how could it be different? One leads to the other.

"You can see we had a lot of good moments, like a lot of parts of the game, but all over it's not enough if you don't finish your situations off. 

"You can watch this game completely, but you cannot defend like we did for the second goal, but we did, that's why we lost, otherwise it would have been a point which would've been deserved and we'd go from there. Now we have nothing and it feels completely different."

Liverpool have been unfortunate with injuries and illness this season and ultimately their squad has not been deep enough to dampen the impact of those absences.

Klopp again offered this as one explanation for Liverpool's issues, with the Reds potentially set to end the weekend 15 points off the Premier League summit, but he urged his players to show more fighting spirit.

"Maybe some players are overplayed," Klopp continued. "Harvey [Elliott] has been exceptional for us this season. He had a good start but couldn't keep it going.

"Thiago [Alcantara] was ill last week, but not in the last few days so we thought he was fresh. Up front the same [players] play all the time – they are the three strikers we have left.

"All these kinds of things but in the end if you don't finish your situations off, they were there and it changed the game completely. We have to fight and that is what we must do.

"We have to bring our quality on to the pitch and we fight against it. We had problems from the first day, injury wise.

"Players have had to play from the first day. It's our situation and it means we have to help ourselves, and that is what we will do."

Crysencio Summerville's dramatic 89th-minute winner condemned Liverpool to a second successive Premier League defeat as Leeds United left Anfield with a shock 2-1 victory.

Jurgen Klopp's men were beaten by bottom-of-the-table Nottingham Forest last weekend, and Summerville's late goal means the Reds have lost back-to-back games to teams in the relegation zone for the first time since March 2012.

Liverpool gave themselves an uphill struggle early on when Joe Gomez gifted Rodrigo Moreno the opener, though it did not take Mohamed Salah long to restore parity.

The Reds were even more dominant in the second half but they could not find a way past the excellent Illan Meslier, and Summerville – on the eve of his 21st birthday – prodded home at the end to rescue a potentially vital win for the under-fire Jesse Marsch and Leeds.

The match was less than four minutes old when Gomez went rogue, sending his backpass wide of Alisson and Rodrigo was on hand to tap in.

Liverpool hit back 10 minutes later; Salah left with a similarly easy finish from Andy Robertson's left-wing delivery.

Leeds were almost ahead again soon after as Brendan Aaronson saw his volley crash against the crossbar, but Liverpool's dominance continued to grow.

They piled the pressure on in the final 30 minutes, forcing Meslier into a flurry of saves.

He rushed out to thwart Darwin Nunez when one-one-on, before also saving smartly from Jordan Henderson.

The young Frenchman then tipped a long-range Nunez effort over and made a crucial block from Salah with five minutes left.

Leeds took full advantage of Meslier's heroics, as Summerville instinctively poked past Alisson at the other end to seal the Whites' first Anfield win in over 21 years.

What does it mean? Liverpool crisis deepens as Jesse Marsches on

Klopp said last weekend's defeat to Forest left him feeling "as low as possible" – well, they have plumbed new depths here.

Liverpool were dominant and clearly created enough chances to win, but their chronic lack of ruthlessness proved their undoing yet again.

Similarly, a lot has been said of Leeds' issues this term coming down to luck, with the stats suggesting they should be better off than they are. Certainly, they did not look like a team who have given up on their manager.

Meslier plays his part

Summerville will get the headlines and the glory, but this win would not have been possible were it not for Meslier. His nine saves is a joint-high for a Premier League game this season.

Nunez fluffs his lines

Liverpool striker Nunez was very lively and in many respects had a good game – he set up four shooting opportunities for his team-mates. However, he was simply not reliable in front of goal, hitting a one-on-one straight at Meslier and also hesitating in the first half when the chance for a lob presented itself.

What's next?

Liverpool are at home to Napoli on Tuesday in the Champions League before going to Tottenham in the league next Sunday. Leeds face Bournemouth at Elland Road the day before.

Crysencio Summerville's dramatic 89th-minute winner condemned Liverpool to a second successive Premier League defeat as Leeds United left Anfield with a shock 2-1 victory.

Jurgen Klopp's men were beaten by bottom-of-the-table Nottingham Forest last weekend, and Summerville's late goal means the Reds have lost back-to-back games to teams in the relegation zone for the first time since March 2012.

Liverpool gave themselves an uphill struggle early on when Joe Gomez gifted Rodrigo Moreno the opener, though it did not take Mohamed Salah long to restore parity.

The Reds were even more dominant in the second half but they could not find a way past the excellent Illan Meslier and Summerville – on the eve of his 21st birthday – prodded home at the end to rescue a potentially vital win for the under-fire Jesse Marsch and Leeds.

Jurgen Klopp says his Liverpool players are "1,000 per cent committed" to domestic matters despite the looming Qatar 2022 World Cup.

The Reds have struggled this season, falling well off the pace of the Premier League title race, after a blockbuster 2021-22 campaign that saw them come close to a historic quadruple.

Though the team will be handed an enforced rest by the mid-season break for Qatar 2022, several of their stars will head straight to international duty, unless they are injured over the coming weeks.

The prospect of missing out on the plane to the tournament has seen some wonder if players could pull their metaphorical punches.

But speaking ahead of his side's Saturday clash with Leeds United, Liverpool manager Klopp disabused such notions.

Klopp told reporters: "This happens every year when the World Cup is usually in the summer, and the big finals are in the summer as well.

"So, if you are involved in the finals of the Champions League, the FA Cup, whatever, there is no player who thinks about the World Cup.

"They want to win the final [in front of them]. It is a logical thing.

"If the last match day decides qualifying for the Champions League or staying in the league, there is no player I know who thinks, 'Be careful', the players I know are 1,000 per cent committed with us here."

Ahead of the match at Anfield, Klopp further cautioned his side to expect a response from under-fire Leeds, who are looking to pull free of another relegation battle this term under Jesse Marsch.

"I heard Jesse Marsch say he was sick of losing," Klopp added. "We saw his half-time talk at Salzburg, so he is obviously pretty lively in the dressing room. He will set them on fire."

Liverpool start the weekend sitting in eighth position, while Leeds are 18th.

Liverpool fans will say their team is like a box of chocolates at the moment in that you never know what you're going to get, and also they can be hazardous to your health.

A wobbly start to the campaign looked to have got back on track after wins against Manchester City and West Ham, only for an insipid defeat at Nottingham Forest last week to send Jurgen Klopp's men back into crisis.

A 3-0 win at Ajax on Wednesday to secure their place in the last 16 of the Champions League should boost confidence again, but it is still anyone's guess as to which version of the Reds will turn up when they host Leeds United on Saturday.

Jesse Marsch heads to Anfield under serious pressure himself, with Leeds having not won in eight Premier League games (D2, L6) since beating Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road in August.

Stats Perform has taken a look behind the numbers heading into this clash to try and get to the bottom of what can be expected.

Home comforts can calm Reds nerves

They may have not had the best start to the campaign domestically, having not won any of their five Premier League away games (D2 L3), but Liverpool remain a force to be reckoned with at Anfield.

Klopp's side are unbeaten 29 league home games (W22 D7), scoring 73 goals and conceding just 16 in that run.

It has not all been plain sailing, having fallen behind in five of their previous six at Anfield prior to back-to-back 1-0 wins against City and West Ham, but more often than not they get the job done.

Virgil van Dijk is still yet to suffer a Premier League defeat in his home stadium since his move from Southampton in January 2018 (70 games – W59 D11).

You've lost that winning feeling

When Leeds were celebrating a well-earned victory against Chelsea on August 21, few would have thought they would not have experienced another by late October.

As mentioned, the Whites are winless in their last eight league games, which is the longest current run of any team in the Premier League.

Leeds have also lost each of their past four away games, last losing five in a row on the road in the top flight between January and March 2003 – the fifth game of which was at Liverpool, where they were beaten 3-1.

They will also be missing several players through injury, with Rodrigo Moreno's likely absence a blow as the Spaniard has scored five goals in 10 Premier League games this season, just one fewer than he netted in 31 appearances last season, and just two less than he managed in his best scoring season in the competition in 2020-21 (seven in 26 games).

Mo Salah, fewer problems

Mohamed Salah has been the subject of much debate this season, seemingly not hitting his usual heights.

Last season's joint-top scorer in the Premier League seemingly enjoys facing Leeds, though, having been involved in six goals in two home appearances against them (five goals, one assist).

Salah has 10 goals in 17 games in all competitions, and is coming off another fine finish to open the scoring in Liverpool's victory in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

The Egypt forward has also created more chances from open play than any other player in the Premier League this season (28). He is creating 2.6 chances per 90 minutes on average this season, his best rate in a single campaign in the competition.

No more bottom feeding

While they have dropped some sloppy points this season, Liverpool could at least take some comfort in the fact their only Premier League defeats had been against fellow big fish Manchester United and Arsenal.

That was until last week when they handed three points to bottom club Forest, and they will be looking to avoid a similar story this time around.

Liverpool have not lost consecutive Premier League games against sides in the relegation zone since March 2012, when a defeat at QPR was followed by a home loss to Wigan Athletic.

They have already lost more league games this season (three) than they did in the whole of 2021-22 (two), while their 16 points from 11 games is their worst return at this stage of a campaign since 2014-15 (14).

Leeds might smell blood, or arguably more likely, face the wrath of a wounded beast.

Jurgen Klopp emphasised the importance of the three Premier League matches Liverpool will play before the World Cup break as they look to recover ground on their rivals.

Liverpool took the title fight all the way to the final day of the 2021-22 season, narrowly losing out to Manchester City, but they enter this weekend down in eighth, 12 points behind leaders Arsenal.

Ahead of the season pausing next month, the Reds will face Leeds United on Saturday, before visiting Tottenham after a Champions League clash with Napoli and hosting Southampton following an EFL Cup tie against Derby County.

Klopp's side at least head into the Leeds game on a high, having secured their progress in Europe with a 3-0 win at Ajax.

Since losing 4-1 at Napoli, Liverpool have been flawless in the Champions League, although they have only won one of the three domestic matches that have followed directly after European successes.

Asked about the prospect of taking confidence from the win in Amsterdam, Klopp replied: "I think we've had this conversation or a similar conversation after all the games we won or won convincingly – Bournemouth, Rangers, Ajax."

But he added: "We have to. It's a better feeling. Of course, I sit here with a different feeling than if we'd lost to Ajax and we had to play Leeds and then we have a final against Napoli.

"I would feel different, I can tell you. At the moment, it's not too important.

"We have to see who we can use again. The situation is it's a tough five games until the World Cup break; for us, they're all super important.

"Then there's a long break and we'll see how we come back and how others come back.

"We have to create the basis for the time after, and we have three games in the league, which are all difficult. I can't find an easy one. After the World Cup break, we are the first to face Unai Emery with Aston Villa, and we have no idea what they will do then. Great.

"That's our situation. Yes, the moment is okay, we are ready to fight again, I hope the people are ready to fight again.

"It's 19:45, Saturday night, a great time to play a football game. Everybody is in the right shape, and let's go for it."

For opponents Leeds, Klopp has seen "a massive difference between the results they got and the performance they put in".

It was suggested Leeds' struggles might be evidence of a highly competitive Premier League, and Klopp answered: "City is not running away, which makes it already more competitive.

"There is not only two teams or one team up front; there are three, four, five teams up front. My problem with that is only that we are not one of them."

Five points behind Newcastle United in fourth, let alone the title contenders, Klopp is looking to swiftly get Liverpool back on track.

He should at least be boosted by the presence of Thiago Alcantara and Jordan Henderson in midfield. Thiago is back, while Henderson should "be okay" after he was substituted at Ajax.