Liverpool

Luton Town missed the chance to move out of the Premier League's relegation places as they were held to a draw against Everton at Kenilworth Road.

Everton, safe from the drop with three games still to play, went ahead from the penalty spot after 24 minutes.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin coolly converted after Luton defender Teden Mengi was penalised for hauling down Jarrad Branthwaite following an intervention from the video assistant referee.

Elijah Adebayo showed exactly what Luton have been missing as the striker marked his first start since early February with the equaliser seven minutes later, the big forward proving too strong for Ashley Young before shooting low past Jordan Pickford.

Both sides had opportunities after the break with Luton keeper Thomas Kaminski saving well from Jack Harrison's deflected shot and Calvert-Lewin's header but the stalemate was not broken.

The draw leaves Rob Edwards' side in the bottom three, level on points with Nottingham Forest but having played a game more.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

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The line-ups for Luton v Everton are in, with less than an hour to go before kick-off at Kenilworth Road.

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Jurgen Klopp was absolutely box office in his news conference earlier today.

Whether he was demob happy or just that he wanted to air some grievances before he leaves at the end of the season, the Liverpool boss did not hold back.

Klopp gave a "whoo" of exclamation when he walked into the room as there was quite a lot of the assembled media present and shared a joke with one of the reporters to start off when it was mentioned the German was a bit late.

There was plenty of anticipation about what he might have to say on the touchline row with Mohamed Salah at West Ham last Saturday, especially considering the Egypt forward had said, after the game, that there would be "fire" if he spoke.

Klopp played that down, saying the issue had been resolved, and instead turned his ire on the Premier League and broadcasters for a packed fixture schedule, and in particular TNT Sports, for the 12:30 kick-offs.

The game at West Ham was an early kick-off last Saturday and followed an intense run of matches.

The Reds had played Sunday, Thursday for three weeks before a trip to Fulham on Sunday, 21 April, a visit to local rivals Everton on Wednesday, 24 April and then the 12:30 against the Hammers on 27 April.

During that run, Liverpool's Premier League title challenge was all-but ended and the club was knocked out of the Europa League.

"It's a general problem. That they dare to give Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday 12:30 is a crime – I was actually waiting for Amnesty International to go to them," said Klopp.

He has regularly aired his issues about the fixture list but the stats back him up on the 12:30 kick-off issue.

So far this season, Liverpool have had six games kick-off at 12:30, while title rivals Manchester City have had three and Arsenal just the one.

Klopp also blamed the fixture schedule for Premier League teams as the reason why only one is left in Europe's top three competitions.

The Liverpool manager called his view "a little advice from an old man on the way out" but whether the issue will be addressed remains to be seen.

On his way out of the door, Klopp finished with a "smashed it" and he certainly delivered some big punches to some of football's powerbrokers.

Image source, Getty Images

Prospective new Liverpool manager Arne Slot says "we haven't confirmed anything yet" as plans for a move to Anfield continue to take shape.

The current Feyenoord boss was asked about his next steps during a news conference previewing his side's fixture against PEC Zwolle on Sunday.

Liverpool are reported to have a compensation deal for Slot to succeed Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season.

"As long as we haven't confirmed anything yet I don't think it is honest to the club where I am working now or the club I could go to [Liverpool] to talk about that," Slot replied.

"I'm more than willing to answer any questions if the official announcement will be made. I have all the confidence that that will happen, but until now it hasn't been confirmed officially yet."

Here are the key facts and figures before Sunday's game between Liverpool and Tottenham in the Premier League.

• Liverpool have lost just one of their past 29 home Premier League matches against Tottenham Hotspur (W19 D9), a 2-0 defeat in May 2011.

• Tottenham are looking to complete their first league double over Liverpool since the 2010-11 season. They beat two different Reds managers that season (Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish). Their last league double over the Reds beating the same manager twice was in Dalglish's first spell in 1986-87.

• Liverpool (three) v Tottenham (three) has provided six 90th-minute winners in the Premier League - the most of any fixture in the competition's history. Both of the past two league meetings between the two sides have been won courtesy of a 90th-minute winner for the home team.

• Liverpool have lost their past two home games in all competitions - as many as in their previous 57 combined. They have failed to score in both defeats and they most recently lost three in a row without scoring at Anfield in March 2021.

• Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp lost his first Premier League meeting with Spurs' Ange Postecoglou earlier this season. The only manager to win consecutive Premier League games against Klopp is Brendan Rodgers with Leicester in 2021. The last manager to beat him in his first two top-flight meetings was Louis van Gaal in 2009-10 with Bayern Munich when he was Borussia Dortmund manager.

• Tottenham's Son Heung-min has scored in each of his past four Premier League appearances against Liverpool. The only player to score in five consecutive Premier League games against the Reds is Jamie Vardy (between 2016 and 2017).

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been speaking to the media about the club securing qualification for the Champions League next season, and how he and winger Mohamed Salah have resolved their touchline spat in last weekend's draw at West Ham.

We asked you if you agreed with Jurgen Klopp's complaints about Liverpool's fixture congestion, particularly regarding playing at 12:30 on a Saturday.

Here are some of your replies:

Wes: You only have to look at the statistics to see that Liverpool have been given far too many 12:30 kick-offs, especially when you take into account that we have been in European competitions playing midweek most of the time. With further fixture congestion coming next season, we will only see more injuries and more English clubs exiting Europe in the early stages.

Kevin: They are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. If a team plays midweek, they should be exempt from playing in the early schedule.

Benjamin: Klopp has a point regarding early kick-offs, but with clubs having big squads unless players are injured and the squad depth is not there, then I believe you can rotate players to play at 12:30.

Alex: Everyone who enjoys the sport should agree that the fixture congestion is something which needs to be changed in the English game. Other top leagues seem to manage to get through a season without there being controversy on the subject. Broadcasters should be fitting around football, not football fitting around the broadcasters.

Ronan: Yes he is right. The quality of the matches at 12:30 are below average and the crowds are quieter also.

The Jurgen Klopp mural on Randolph Street behind Anfield was already a must see.

Now it's been given an upgrade.

With the Reds boss soon to depart after eight-and-a-half years, this tribute video takes the artwork to a whole new level.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Sutton is making predictions for every Premier League game this season against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's matches, he takes on Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Everton are safe now, and what a tremendous job Sean Dyche has done there.

Dyche says keeping the Toffees up with three games to go is his biggest achievement as a manager, and I can understand why he feels that way after the campaign they have had.

When you look at Premier League managers who have exceeded expectation this season then, with all the nonsense he has had to put up with off the pitch, he is one of them.

If not for their points deductions, Everton would have been a mid-table team for most of the campaign and would not have been worried about the drop.

Luton, meanwhile, are still in the thick of the relegation scrap and you could argue this is a decent opportunity for them, given Everton have just made sure of staying up and might take their foot off the gas a bit.

Looking at their remaining games, Luton have got to play West Ham (away) and Fulham (home) as well this one.

They are three fixtures where you feel they have a chance of picking up some points but, having said that, they are too easy to play against, concede too many goals and might also be low on confidence after losing their past three matches.

We don't know how many points Luton will need to stay up, not helped by the uncertainty over Nottingham Forest's appeal against their points deduction, but they are going to need at least one win.

Luton won at Goodison Park earlier in the season, but I don't see them repeating that result here. The pressure is all on them now, while we should see Everton play with a bit of freedom.

Nathan's prediction: 3-2

I am going with Luton on this one. I like a team that is backed in a corner, and has to claw their way out. Everton could kind of be on cruise control because they have got what they want.

Read the rest of their predictions here

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has lamented the turnaround time between games enforced by football's television broadcasters, labelling it "a crime".

If Aston Villa - who lost 4-2 to Olympiakos in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final - fail to progress, there will be no English representation in all three European finals this season.

The Reds, alongside West Ham, exited in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, while Arsenal and Manchester City were knocked out at the same stage in the Champions League.

"If no English team is in a European final, have we all underperformed?" Klopp asked. "I watch a lot of football and the Premier League is the best in the world, it is not overrated but the players are overworked. Someone needs to help the people.

"Everyone has a reason to say we cannot do it, but we cannot sort it [ourselves] all the time. I had a discussion with TNT colleagues – a television channel I will never watch again – and they said they pay us to play football, but I don't see it that way.

"Football pays them. They broadcast and deliver it - they are doing extremely well and can pay all of you [media]. You have to become a part of football again and not just the squeezer. That is some advice from an old man on the way out."

Image source, Opta

Klopp is leaving the Merseyside club this summer after nearly nine years in charge and has regularly voiced concerns around early kick-offs and fixture congestion.

As the above chart demonstrates, Liverpool's win ratio for Saturday lunchtime starts is some way below their usual record under Klopp.

"People can survive without match days from time to time. Man City, Arsenal, us all out in the quarter-finals. It's not a reflection of quality but that we couldn't deliver on the day," he added.

"When I speak about it, people think it is because of the last game. No, it's not. It's a general problem. They dare to give Thursday to Sunday, Wednesday to Saturday at12:30pm. It is a crime. I was waiting for Amnesty International to go to them.

"[Just once] I would like to be part of that meeting when someone says 'Liverpool 12:30pm' and the whole room bursts into laughter. I would love to be there."

Liverpool fans, how do you feel about the fixture congestion?

Does Klopp have a point?

Have your say

Jurgen Klopp has been speaking to the media before Liverpool host Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Klopp confirmed that Diogo Jota was not in team training this week, Conor Bradley has returned while Virgil van Dijk was in partial team training on Friay so they "will have to see" on his availability.

• He feels it is an "achievement" for Liverpool to qualify for Champions League football next season: "I know it isn't mathematically over [the title race] but the pressure is off now. Going back to the start of the season, everyone knew how important it would be to quality for the Champions League again. I am very happy about that."

• He said the situation with Mohamed Salah is "completely resolved" after their touchline spat because "if we didn't know each other for long, I don't know how we would deal with it. We have known each other very long time so we know how to deal with these things completely independent of outside."

• He said the future of players like Salah "is not my subject anymore" and added: "I have said before the player is incredible. I don't think I should speak on that. Other people will make decisions, especially Mo. I am already the wrong person to speak about the this, the future of the club, I just prepare the foundations and then other decisions will be made by other people, not me."

• On fixture congestion: "If [Aston Villa] go out, no English team will be in any kind of European final. I watch a lot of football. The Premier League is the best league in the world so it's not overrated. The players are over-worked. Someone needs to help the people because next season we have three more Champions League games. [TV channels] have to become a partner of football again, rather than a squeezer of football."

• He added: "I got sent stats that say in the whole world we have the quickest turnaround between games. That is absolutely insane but they [TV] are still happy. And subscribers? You can take me off that list."

• On facing Tottenham, who have lost their past three games: "I understand people don't think it is a great moment for them but you can always see the clear footballing idea. We will have to be prepared for that and have to defend compact otherwise they just play through. They have a very good footballing idea."

• After the first game between the two teams this season was embroiled in VAR controversy, Klopp added: "It was not their [Tottenham's] fault that night -they just played the game. I would like to win the game for 500 reasons, but they way we lost there is one of them."

Follow Friday's Premier League news conferences

Everton manager Sean Dyche looks ahead to Friday's Premier League game at Luton, and speaks about how he wants to use the positive feeling from securing top-flight safety in the club's final three games of the season.