Attention has quickly moved on to the last six league games of the season, but Friday’s news also brings the latest on the manager search and links to two defenders.

Admirers of Barcelona teenager

There have been a host of links to defenders for some time now, with it an area Liverpool need to invest in over the summer.

Barcelona’s Mikayil Faye, a 19-year-old capable of playing as a centre-back and left-back, is currently plying his trade for the ‘B’ team and has his admirers.

Liverpool are said to be one of them. The source, sadly, is not the strongest but they do have ties to Barcelona, with Spain’s Mundo Deportivo, via Sport Witness, claiming the club are ‘pushing’ for Faye, as are Man United.

Barcelona need to raise funds in the summer, and with Xavi leaving there is plenty of uncertainty, something clubs like Liverpool would be well aware of.

It seems unlikely anything comes of this for the Reds, if the interest is in fact real, but signings for the defence will be expected in the months to come.

4 things today: Manager talk and need to be perfect

• Jurgen Klopp knows Liverpool will have to be “close to perfect” if they’re to have any hopes of the title – can the Reds win six in a row? It’d be our third-longest streak

• If there was a small chance of Julian Nagelsmann taking over at Anfield, it’s over as he’s signed an extension with Germany – Liverpool are ready to be “brave over popular” in their search

• Klopp is “not concerned” by Mohamed Salah‘s lack of current goal threat and he’s not eager to make “a big story of it” – we’d love a big showing on Sunday!

Latest Liverpool FC news

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• Marco Silva senses Liverpool can be quite “emotional” in their fixtures and is ready for Fulham to make “life really difficult” for Klopp’s side – we’d rather the Cottagers headed to the beach early!

• Ryan Gravenberch is on Galatasaray’s radar for the summer, but that’s according to the very questionable Turkish outlet Fotomac

• Liverpool are to ‘investigate’ an official sponsor for reselling Anfield tickets for more than £1,000 – it’s outrageous money (Spirit of Shankly)

• Liverpool are one team ‘contemplating’ making a move for Chelsea‘s Levi Colwill, we were interested last summer but we are sceptical of the source on this one (GIVEMESPORT)

Latest news from elsewhere

• The decision to scrap FA Cup replays has received plenty of backlash, and the FA have defended the controversial move and insisted they did consult various shareholders

• Man City‘s Phil Foden has said “it’s a shame Jurgen Klopp is leaving” as he likes “to play against the best” – it’s just not going to be the same, is it? (Mail)

• The Premier League are now all but certain to miss out on a fifth Champions League spot after four teams bowed out of European competition this week – means Spurs need results!

Tweet of the day

If you’re in need of a pick-me-up that has nothing to do with Liverpool, this may do the trick. One for the slightly ‘older’ generation this…

I know 'you will absolutely never guess who gets out of this car' is overdone, but I swear to god you will absolutely never guess who gets out of that car https://t.co/taMFoSdc7X

— Chris Deeley (@ThatChris1209) April 19, 2024

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The EFL has called on the Premier League and the Football Association to "re-evaluate their approach" after the decision to scrap FA Cup replays was met with widespread criticism.

The EFL has called on the Premier League and the Football Association to "re-evaluate their approach" after the decision to scrap FA Cup replays was met with widespread criticism.

Liverpool are still working behind the scenes to appoint a new manager to replace Jurgen Klopp ahead of next season

Liverpool are still working behind the scenes to appoint a new manager to replace Jurgen Klopp ahead of next season

Fulham have a “sensational” player who Liverpool need to be worried about this weekend, but the Reds are still being backed to win handsomely.

Jurgen Klopp‘s side head to Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon, knowing that anything other than a win would feel demoralising.

Liverpool take on a Fulham side with little to play for between now and the end of the season, but they are capable of being a big threat on their day.

The Cottagers have already won at home to Arsenal this season and another below-par Reds performance could easily lead to a bad result.

Ahead of Sunday’s match, Henry Jackson spoke to Fulham fan and journalist Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) to discuss the season to date, the weekend clash and much more.

Since we last spoke in December, have things got better or worse?

Things have stayed about the same, which is a good thing!

There are still major holes in midfield that must be addressed in the summer, but the emergence of Rodrigo Muniz up front has been sensational.

Replacing Aleksandar Mitrovic with an academy product is something nobody saw coming, and it saves the club a boatload of money they can spend at other positions.

There have been some great results and some awful performances, but that will happen in today’s Premier League.

Overall, it’s a positive end to the season to not be part of the relegation battle, even if Fulham seem to have headed to the beach a bit earlier than we would have liked.

Who have been Fulham’s best and worst players this season?

Incredibly, Willian and Bobby Reid have been great yet again, despite both being over 30 years old. Their contributions have been huge to keeping this club afloat and pushing it forward.

Bernd Leno hasn’t quite been able to recreate his season-long heroics from last year, but he’s done just fine, and the emergence of Muniz has been a wonderful bonus.

Alex Iwobi has been wonderful in his first season as a low-risk, high-reward signing, while the emergence of Tosin Adarabioyo has been massive.

The club has a number of valuable assets that they can hopefully cash in on in the near future, such as Tosin, Joao Palhinha and Antonee Robinson, and reinvest accurately.

On the flip side, the midfield has been a mess. Palhinha may leave this summer if Bayern Munich are still interested, and there are very few remaining assets in the middle who inspire confidence in next season.

Is Silva still the right man for the job?

Marco Silva is absolutely the man for the job.

The list of players who have overperformed anyone’s expectations for them under Silva grows by the month.

He is tactically adept and has the versatility to adapt as a season goes on. He can navigate an injury crisis well and he can develop talent and get the most out of mediocre players.

There is no coaching search at Craven Cottage this summer, and rightly so.

How do you assess Liverpool’s title hopes?

Oh my. We were all counting on you and Arsenal to give us something different, but you both botched it!

Man City winning another title would be the biggest bore, but sadly, it has that same feeling of inevitability as when they finally passed Arsenal last season.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, it feels as if the Gunners are better equipped to challenge City than you are, given the massive injuries Jurgen Klopp has been forced to navigate.

The more Liverpool played with fire late in games, the more it felt like this slip was inevitable.

Given the injuries and other squad constraints, the job Klopp has done this season is nothing short of remarkable, but it feels as if there are too many roadblocks to the Premier League title.

The one thing going for them is if they are eliminated from the Europa League, they won’t have to worry about navigating European football at the same time down the stretch, which does matter.

Who would you like to see win the league?

Anyone but City at this point – let’s have some fun shall we?

There is no reason to have the same nation-state-owned club winning every year.

From a neutral, journalistic point of view, either Arsenal or Liverpool winning would provide plenty of interesting storylines, but I think I’ve had enough of City for now.

As for Sunday, where will the key battles take place?

For Fulham, it always starts with Pahlinha, who needs to be a rock in the middle against Liverpool’s exceptional transitional play.

Robinson and Timothy Castagne (Kenny Tete? Probably not) will have their hands full on the outside and need to limit the times they are beaten one-on-one.

Going forward, if Pereira doesn’t have it through the middle, which is usually a coin flip, they will need to rely on Iwobi to run transitions and create danger in the attacking third.

This game has the potential to be a track meet just like it was in the reverse fixture which ended 4-3.

Fulham put in a fantastic shift that match and Liverpool will have to be far sturdier to avoid another slip in the title chase.

Still, if they bang one in early, Fulham have the potential to collapse, especially now that their season is essentially over.

If you could only have one Liverpool player at Fulham, who would it be?

Oh man, where to start?

It’s got to be Alexis Mac Allister, who I’ve repeatedly yelled about being far too underrated as a ‘Signing of the Season’ candidate.

The Argentine is just 25 years old and has been exceptional all year long in both phases of play – a true No. 8 star in midfield.

Watching the difference between Liverpool last season and this season starts and ends with the influence of Mac Allister in midfield.

Of course, Mohamed Salah is a star, but the way Mac Allister has single-handedly turned around Liverpool’s midfield — which was swiss cheese last season — has put stars (and dollar signs) in my eyes.

Finally, what’s your prediction?

Fulham have been so inconsistent over the past two months that it’s been tough to predict which version of the Whites will show up, but as the end of the season nears, they’ve been more and more mentally soft.

If Liverpool can crack the lid off the goal early, they have the potential to run away with this. With the club having suffered a few adverse results of late, it will be hard to keep them down for long.

Liverpool should come away as 3-1 or 4-1 winners in the end.

Of course, if Willian scores a stunner and Pereira has one of his trademark masterclasses, and Liverpool miss a few chances (which they’re prone to lately), it could end very differently.

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Liverpool’s search for a new manager has the club resolved to be “brave over popular” with their appointment, with three candidates already ruled out.

The narrative of Liverpool’s hunt for a successor to Jurgen Klopp has already taken a number of turns since the news of his resignation in January.

Xabi Alonso became the immediate favourite for the job, but the club kept their own counsel when it came to rumours, with the confirmation that he would stay at Bayer Leverkusen seemingly less of a shock to them.

Brighton‘s Roberto De Zerbi was another early front-runner, but it is now widely reported that he is not under consideration.

Friday brought the news that Julian Nagelsmann has extended his contract as Germany manager, while earlier in the week, ex-Bayern Munich boss Niko Kovac publicly dismissed claims he was in the running.

Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim is now the overwhelming favourite, but The Athletic‘s David Ornstein insists Liverpool are “prepared to be brave over popular” with their choice.

Amorim, he insists, is “not a shoo-in” for the job, which indicates that, at least where the media is concerned, no decision has been made yet.

The notion of being “brave over popular” could lead Liverpool to a shock candidate, though from an outside perspective there seem few viable options.

It has been maintained that, benefiting from the input of director of research William Spearman and new arrivals Michael Edwards (CEO of Football) and Richard Hughes (sporting director), the search will be data-led.

Whether that could lead them to a left-field target such as Bournemouth‘s Gary O’Neil, for example, would certainly fit into the “brave over popular” mantra.

O’Neil is now fourth-favourite among bookmakers, behind only Amorim, De Zerbi and Bologna manager Thiago Motta, but there would be major question marks over his credentials.

Interestingly, odds have shortened in recent days when it comes to Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, while Thomas Tuchel, Unai Emery and Vitor Pereira, who currently coach of Saudi Pro League side Al Shabab, are also deemed in the frame.

Sources in Portugal have been adamant that Amorim is the primary candidate and even that talks had progressed with the 39-year-old’s representatives.

But perhaps the key takeaway when it comes to Ornstein’s update is that, when it comes to Liverpool’s new manager pursuit, the club are simply giving nothing away.

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Fulham head coach Marco Silva believes his squad is in the best place they could be, as he aims to make life difficult for Liverpool on Sunday.

Liverpool and Arsenal's weekend defeats may have handed the title to Man City, Trent Alexander-Arnold has told Sky Sports - but Jurgen Klopp thinks being "hunters" suits his side best.

Man City came into last weekend's round of Premier League fixtures third in the table as they chase a record fourth consecutive Premier League title, but shock home defeats for their rivals put them two points clear at the top with six games remaining.

Liverpool were stunned at home by Crystal Palace on Sunday, before Arsenal also slipped up against Aston Villa later on the same day to hand Pep Guardiola's side the initiative and see them end a match day top of the table for the first time since November.

Those set of results were even more ominous for Arsenal and Liverpool given City's form in the second half of recent seasons.

They are unbeaten since December 6 and have won 11 of 14 games since the mid-way point of this campaign leading Liverpool defender Alexander-Arnold to tell Sky Sports that giving City a clear route to glory so close to the end of the season was tantamount to handing them the Premier League trophy.

Sunday 21st April 4:00pm Kick off 4:30pm

"Arsenal experienced it, we've experienced it two or three times, when you get into a title race with Man City they are borderline perfect," he said.

"You can't slip up or make mistakes. If you give them the upper hand they don't really blink in those moments. They don't seem vulnerable. It's a well-oiled machine.

"That's what they do, they click and there's no stopping them. Giving them this advantage with six games to go is almost like handing them the title. All we can do is hope someone does us a favour and get our goal difference up.

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Crystal Palace's win against Liverpool in the Premier League

"We've got six games left, it'll fly by. Our aim is to win every game - that's all we can and try to capitalise. It will be difficult but I've seen over the last few weeks of odds and percentage chances of who is going to win the league has fluctuated with just one result. Anything can happen in the Premier League.

"They are a fantastic team with the squad they've got, the manager, it's hard to think they won't win it at this point. Stranger things have happened in the Premier League."

Even after Liverpool's defeat, City would have ended the weekend behind Arsenal in the title race had the Gunners continued their five-game home winning league run and beaten Villa.

Alexander-Arnold felt the Gunners' first league defeat of 2024 may been partly influenced by Liverpool's defeat, and the lure of moving a point clear of either of their title rivals had proven too much of a distraction.

"If those fixtures were reversed and we played second and Arsenal played first maybe it would've been a different mentality," he said.

"It all comes down to mentality. I think our result played a part in Arsenal's result. They have potentially got too excited and thought this is our chance, this is what we need to do.

"Maybe they overthought things whereas if us and City both won it made them think, 'we need to just win' rather than it being a chance to breakaway from the pack. None of us have been in a three-horse race, so it's difficult."

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Aston Villa’s win against Arsenal in the Premier League Klopp: Hunters tag suits us best in title race

Liverpool have played the role of 'hunter', sitting on Man City's tail until the very end, a number of times over recent years.

When the two have been locked in a tight title race, they have always come out second-best but Klopp told Sky Sports this year could be the moment when Liverpool do upset the odds and edge out their rivals to lift the trophy.

"Maybe it's the right moment we became a hunter again - who knows," he said. "We played our game and we watched Arsenal's game with one eye, 'oh, they lost that game'. That softens the situation slightly but then people say Man City will win all of their remaining games - of course they can.

"Can we win football games? Can we be us again? If we can do that then we'll have a good chance of doing something really special. And if not, then someone else deserves to be champions.

"How do we approach it? With a fear of failing or the excitement of maybe succeeding. I want to succeed. Until someone proves me wrong, there's no other way to do it. We've done that in the past. Let's see. I'd love to have the chance on the last matchday and then we can see what we can do."

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Gary Neville thinks that Liverpool were 'hanging in there' in regards to the title race, and now they're starting to struggle nearing the end of the season

Gary Neville called Liverpool's title challenge a "monumental achievement" when reflecting on the disappointment of their Palace defeat last weekend, pointing to the Reds finishing outside the Champions League spots last season - as well as having to adapt to a largely new midfield in 2023/24.

When the same suggestion was put to Klopp, he said he had not expected to lead Liverpool to this point in what is his final season, and that even finishing in the top four would have been acceptable.

"Who would've thought that?" he said. "I wouldn't have been angry if someone told me at the start of the season if we could just qualify for the Champions League.

"I wouldn't have just taken it as you've got to let the season have a chance but it's been a positive season. But if you went and asked people with a microphone after the Palace game, would they have said it was a great season?

"It's not like that. We are influenced by things that happen recently but the job is to get a positive view again - it starts with me and I'm in a good mood. I will try my best to give that to the boys. The next big job is in front of us."

Watch Fulham vs Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League from 4pm on Sunday, kick-off 4.30pm.

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