Liverpool could reignite their Premier League title dreams with a win against Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon

Liverpool could reignite their Premier League title dreams with a win against Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon

All the latest Tottenham Hotspur injury news ahead of the Lilywhites' clash against Liverpool this weekend

All the latest Tottenham Hotspur injury news ahead of the Lilywhites' clash against Liverpool this weekend

Jurgen Klopp's recent altercation with Mohamed Salah is not the first time that he has publicly fallen out with one of his Liverpool players

Jarell Quansah has made huge progress at Liverpool this season and is ready to be a big part of a new era under Arne Slot

Liverpool will be looking for three points this weekend when they take on Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield

Jurgen Klopp's recent altercation with Mohamed Salah is not the first time that he has publicly fallen out with one of his Liverpool players

Jarell Quansah has made huge progress at Liverpool this season and is ready to be a big part of a new era under Arne Slot

Liverpool will be looking for three points this weekend when they take on Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield

Latest Liverpool injury news and return dates for Tottenham Hotspur including updates on Virgil van Dijk, Diogo Jota, Stefan Bajcetic, Conor Bradley, Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip

Latest Liverpool injury news and return dates for Tottenham Hotspur including updates on Virgil van Dijk, Diogo Jota, Stefan Bajcetic, Conor Bradley, Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip

We simulated the Premier League meeting between Liverpool and Tottenham EA FC 24 to predict the final score

We simulated the Premier League meeting between Liverpool and Tottenham EA FC 24 to predict the final score

There might be nothing riding on the game from a Liverpool perspective, but all eyes will be on Mohamed Salah later this weekend as the Reds take on Spurs. The Egyptian ensured that was the case with his antics last Saturday against West Ham.

Jürgen Klopp was keen to draw a line under the incident immediately before Salah fanned the flames with his mixed zone comments. Eight days on from the public touchline spat, though, it will be interesting to see whether or not the Liverpool talisman returns to the starting XI. His absence, presumably, was the reason for the falling out.

There is a question mark hanging over Salah to some degree heading into the summer. His contract at Anfield only runs until 2025 and now 31, there is a theory that his rare recent injury and below-par aftermath are the start of a decline. That would be a big leap to make, but there is some rationale behind it.

READ MORE: Arne Slot will have double transfer decision to make this summer as duo eye Liverpool role

READ MORE: Liverpool could snap up $32m ace like Philippe Coutinho after 'working for months' on transfer

Liverpool is not expecting to lose Salah this summer, however, and there is no reason whatsoever to think that he would be any more tempted by the riches of the Saudi Pro League, even if the interest from the Middle East remains a year on from it emerging. Jordan Henderson's ill-advised stint there shows that it is not quite the elite division that it wants to be just yet.

But if he is staying at Liverpool — and therefore signing a new contract to avoid the Reds losing him for nothing — it will be up to Arne Slot, the soon-to-be-confirmed new head coach, to get the best out of him. And as the Klopp argument proved, that is not always easy.

Purely from a sporting perspective, Salah remains hugely influential for Liverpool. He is the leading Reds man this season for goals and assists and while some of those are penalties, he is comfortably the club's most reliable forward. In terms of availability (recent injury aside) and conviction in terms of finding the back of the net, he is strides ahead of the rest.

Salah will finish this season with his lowest Premier League goals return since playing for Chelsea, but that statistic is made a lot more dramatic by leaving out the part that he has still scored 17 times. That is a career-best for most good forwards.

Now in his 30s, Salah is not as explosive as he once was. He is a different kind of player; more of a playmaker. He loves a pass through the opposition defense and has perfected that side of his game. With better finishing from Darwin Núñez, his assist numbers would make that considerably more obvious.

Whatever the metric, Salah ranks at or very near the top for creativity. While he isn't scoring as often as he used to, he is setting up his teammates a lot more often (at least across the season as a whole). Recency bias aside, Salah is still offering a huge amount at the top end of the pitch and the numbers bear that out. No one in the top flight has created as many big chances as him and no one can match his expected assists on a per 90 basis.

Arne Slot is famed in the Eredivisie for loving wingers and while Salah fits that description to some extent, he has never really been a wide player. At his best, and even when below par, he is a lot, lot more than that.

With The Athletic reporting this week that Liverpool could sign another forward this summer, that would make the most sense if it meant Salah playing inside more often. He would be able to create more from there (and probably score more too) without having to try and use the explosive pace to beat a man that isn't necessarily there these days.

With Slot loving pacy, direct wide players and having previously used a 4-2-3-1 formation, someone else — a new signing best deployed off the right rather than forcing Diogo Jota or Cody Gakpo to play there — could take the right wing berth with Salah as a number 10. It wouldn't have to be every game, but it could definitely be an option.

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Liverpool finds itself in a position that it almost never has before under Jürgen Klopp. In the final three matches of the season, there is nothing to play for.

There is no cup final to look forward to, and no Premier League title to fight for. After Spurs lost against Chelsea on Thursday, qualification for the Champions League was wrapped up. Realistically, Liverpool will finish third this season, while the FA Cup and Europa League are both gone, and so there is nothing at all on the line from here.

"Going back to the start of the season, nobody knew... and everybody knew how important it would be to qualify for the Champions League again," Klopp said during his press conference on Friday. "It's what we did, it's super important for the future of the club, and I'm really happy about that."

READ MORE: Arne Slot will have double transfer decision to make this summer as duo eye Liverpool role

READ MORE: Liverpool could snap up $32m ace like Philippe Coutinho after 'working for months' on transfer

A return to the top four spots, though, will mean more to Liverpool than simply Champions League football returning to Anfield. That is big, but the impact will be felt lower down the club as well.

This year, Liverpool wasn't able to participate in the UEFA Youth League, the prestigious European competition for U19s sides, because the route to getting into that is via the senior team being in the Champions League. That might not seem like a catastrophe, but it was sorely missed.

"We will still be able to get that exposure," U21s boss Barry Lewtas, who takes charge in the Youth League, told the Liverpool ECHO last year. "But maybe the glitz and glamour of what the UEFA Youth League brings, such as the television cameras and more people coming to watch and the travel, we'll certainly miss that experience. We won't be able to replicate that."

The UEFA Youth League offers a chance to play against teams with different styles and also the opportunity to go abroad and experience the matchday experience in another country. If these young talents are going to make it at Liverpool, that kind of thing is something they need to be accustomed to. It was a big developmental tool for Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones, to name just two.

Kieran Morrison and Trey Nyoni lead the players to watch out for next season in that competition, with Liverpool's Champions League qualification likely to have been celebrated as much on the academy side in Kirkby as the first team. Getting back into Europe's premiere competition was about far more than the UEFA Youth League, of course, but it is a welcome added benefit.

Liverpool.com says: The Youth League is a brilliant competition to watch. The glamor of the ties is a level up on the domestic tournaments that Liverpool competes in and there is a clear (positive) impact on the best talents looking to take the next step up. Getting back in there can only be a big positive.

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If Jürgen Klopp can be considered the foundation, then Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold can be deemed as the pillars of the Liverpool football team. Alan Shearer, however, has stirred a hornet's nest by prophetically stating that these stars might falter when Klopp's formidable shadow is no longer cast over Anfield at the season's end.

The Reds squad is slowly proceeding toward accepting the impending reality of life post-Klopp. The German maestro will hang up his tracksuit as manager when this season draws to its finale, rounding off an immensely successful eight-and-a-half-year tenure highlighted by ornaments of Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup triumphs decorating the Liverpool trophy cabinet.

Arne Slot is expected to be handed the colossal task of filling Klopp's shoes, but recent setbacks have bred a sense of uncertainty regarding the progressive path. Liverpool's surge hit a road bump as it managed only two wins from its last seven outings, leading to a demoralizing Europa League exit at the hands of Atalanta alongside losing pace in the title race, falling behind Manchester City and Arsenal.

READ MORE: Arne Slot will have double transfer decision to make this summer as duo eye Liverpool role

READ MORE: Liverpool could snap up $32m ace like Philippe Coutinho after 'working for months' on transfer

As we are nearing the twilight of an era, Shearer has sparked debate regarding the potential fate of Liverpool's transformative trio who have blossomed under Klopp's tutelage. "Salah, who was courted doggedly by Al Ittihad, the Saudi Arabian club, last summer, is about to enter the final year of his contract," he penned in a column for The Athletic.

"The same applies to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk and all three have been absolutely key, iconic, fantastic players under Klopp. I'm not privy to where negotiations stand, but it's a dangerous position for Liverpool to be in. Those players will want to plan. They have to look after themselves.

"Now put yourself back in their dressing room and look around again: how confident do you feel? How certain? At this level the very, very peak if you're 0.1 per cent off it, physically or mentally, it'll make a difference, particularly when you're going for a title against relentless teams like Manchester City and Arsenal. You can't afford any mistakes, any chinks in your armor."

From the perspective of the players, Shearer added: "In your quiet moments, you have the same doubts as anybody else. Who will the next manager be? Will Arne Slot fancy me? Am I still good enough? What happens next?"

Last weekend, Salah had a rather public disagreement with Klopp, arguing on the touchline before entering the game in the 2-2 draw at West Ham. Ahead of Sunday's match against Tottenham, Klopp dispelled the tension saying it is now water under the bridge.

He sidestepped a question about Salah's future at Anfield, responding: "It's not my subject anymore. I don't think I should speak about it, others will decide that, especially Mo. Those decisions will be made by other people."

Liverpool.com says: There is no reason for anyone to doubt what the future holds at Liverpool. Slot might not be a big name but he is the chosen person, and he will have to convince the players. But that shouldn't take long.

His style of play and charisma have become evident with all the tales from those who know him since he became the frontrunner for the job. Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold are best off staying exactly where they are.

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The Champions League has become European football’s most exclusive party: you either have a ticket or you covet one.

It guarantees sporting prestige but the competition’s appeal also comes from the financial riches on offer, and these are about to climb. UEFA forecasts suggest the Champions League’s new format, including a 36-team league phase, will see an extra £372million ($477m) in prize money will be distributed every season from the start of the 2024-25 campaign.

Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool are already assured of qualification for next season and Aston Villa could join them this weekend. But for Manchester United, Newcastle United, Chelsea and, most likely, Tottenham, the cost of missing out will sting.

The Athletic assesses how much clubs can look to make from the Champions League in 2024-25.

Times are changing in the Champions League, but how?

UEFA’s flagship competition has grown big but there has long been a fixation with making it bigger. Next season brings those ambitions to pass, with an expanded tournament opening the door for four more clubs to take their places at the table.

The new format has been explained excellently on The Athletic but scrapping the traditional group stage in favour of one big league phase brings a marked spike in games. There will be 189 Champions League fixtures from next season instead of the current 125 and more games means more money for those involved.

A drive to increase revenues through TV rights and commercial deals has always been central to the Champions League modifications. The threat of a European Super League focused minds within UEFA in 2021 and, under pressure from the European Club Association (ECA), there was a revised competition signed off in 2022. The restless elite were pacified with more Champions League games (eight minimum) and the promise of a higher yield.

UEFA estimates that total revenue across its four competitions (Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League and Super Cup) will climb from €3.5billion (£3bn; $3.78bn) this season to €4.4bn next, and see the money distributed to participating clubs rise by almost €600m. The Champions League prize pot alone is estimated to stand at roughly €2.47billion for 2024-25, up from €2.03billion this season.

That represents close to a 22 per cent rise in revenue to be carved up.

How is the distribution model being altered?

The new format also brings changes to how the money will be split, with greater weight given to performances on the pitch.

The existing distribution model sees money split four ways: 25 per cent of total revenues are given out in participation fees, 30 per cent in performance-related fees, another 30 per cent on a club’s 10-year co-efficient calculation and a final 15 per cent for a ‘market pool’. That is shaped by the value of TV rights sold in a club’s country.

The system favoured the establishment. A club with a modern history of competing in UEFA competitions based in an elite league would have payments weighted in their favour. Paris-Saint Germain, for example, were eliminated from the 2022-23 Champions League in the round of 16, yet earned €27m more than quarter-finalists Benfica.

Champions League television revenues are sky-high (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Distribution of the greater revenues will change next season, with 27.5 per cent ring-fenced and split equally among all 36 clubs and an improved 37.5 per cent given out in performance-related payments.

The final 35 per cent will now be allocated through a new ‘value pillar’. That will be a payment determined by the value of broadcasters’ rights in the country a club is based in and the club’s UEFA coefficient ranking.

Each of the 36 clubs will be ranked by an average of the two calculations, with one share given to the club in 36th position, all the way through to the 36 shares given to the top-ranked club. It is safe to assume that Manchester City, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich will all feature prominently at the top end.

“Sporting performance can go either way and there will be upsets, but with the way money is being distributed, it cements the competitive advantage held by the big clubs,” says Dr Dan Plumley, a sports finance expert and lecturer based at Sheffield Hallam University.

“You look at the numbers and that’s the reality of it. It’ll still benefit the clubs that regularly go deep into the Champions League.”

Talk cold hard cash: what’s it going to be worth?

Let’s begin with a caveat. The numbers being forecast by UEFA last month are not set in stone but the estimates are unlikely to be far off.

The simplest starting point is what qualification as one of the 36 competing clubs will bring: a cheque for €18.6m, up from the €15.6m of this season.

How much the end-of-season balance is topped up is then shaped by performances. Every win in the league phase is expected to bring €2.1m, with a draw worth €700,000. And the higher you finish in the 36-team league, the more you can expect. Finishing top will bring in the region of €10m, with a sliding scale of merit payments all the way down. Clubs in the top eight will get an additional €2m as a bonus for qualifying for the knockout stages, with €1m going to those from ninth to 16th.

The 16 teams ranked ninth to 24th will go into a play-off to decide who progresses to the round of 16 for an additional €11m. Qualify for the quarter-finals and it will be €12.5m, the semi-finals €15m and the final €18.5m. The winning team can expect another €6.5m, as well as further €4m for reaching the UEFA Super Cup final in 2025.

Manchester City and Sevilla line up for the UEFA Super Cup final last August (Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

All of these staggered instalments bring increases from the current sums, using a performance-related pot that is forecast to stand at €915m. The kitty for performance-related payments this season was only €600m.

The unknowns come from how much a club stands to make from the new value pillar. How each club is ranked and rewarded will not be known until the make-up of the 36 teams is complete. A position will be decided by where a club is based and how much that country contributed to media revenues (formerly the market pool calculation), as well as where the club is ranked in UEFA’s coefficient.

There will be a European part and non-European part splitting revenues from the two markets, but topping both ranking tables will likely bring in around €45m.

Manchester City and Liverpool will be close to the top of those distribution metrics, owing to their European performances in recent seasons, but Aston Villa, like Newcastle this season, can expect a more modest windfall.

Villa are currently ranked 81st in the UEFA coefficient but can improve that by overcoming their first-leg semi-final defeat to Olympiacos and making it to the Europa Conference League final. Villa’s ranking in the value pillar, should they hold on to fourth position in the Premier League, would also be enhanced by England being among the biggest contributors to the overall media revenue pot.

“The value pillars are still be decided but each club will get a ranking within that which will dictate how much money they get,” adds Plumley. “The Premier League is still likely to win in that argument because of their strength in the market pool.

“If you were to win everything in the revamped format — taking into account all your league fixtures, being top of market pools and going all the way — I’ve got the numbers around the €161million mark based on UEFA’s guidance.

“The baseline, ballpark sum for an English club is minimum £50m, the sum we’ve usually attached to Champions League qualification, but there will be scope for more next season. It’s going to be more lucrative because of changes to the distribution and the English clubs will continue to win because of their position in the market pool.”

The last official UEFA numbers on record come from the 2022-23 season, when Manchester City’s first Champions League title returned them just under €135m.

Any English club, theoretically ranked in the top half of UEFA’s value pillar, will earn at least €70m if they were to progress automatically to the last 16 next season. And all for playing eight matches.

Manchester City earned €135m from last season’s Champions League (Michael Steele/Getty Images)Is there more to be made and how does it tally with FFP rules?

The bulk of revenue associated with Champions League qualification will come from UEFA but clubs can expect to make more than just the central distributions. There is the guarantee of one extra home game, bringing in anything between £2m and £4m in matchday revenues. Liverpool, with Anfield’s capacity extended to 61,000, are sure to benefit from their Champions League return.

Then there are the kickers in commercial deals, that can typically see additional revenue paid on the back of reaching European football’s elite competition.

And, in this world of increasing financial scrutiny, it all comes in useful. Clubs playing in UEFA competitions next season will not be allowed to spend more than 80 per cent of revenue on wages, transfers and agents in 2024-25, a figure that will fall to 70 per cent by 2025-26.

“The only way you make the new ratios work is either cutting costs or growing revenue,” adds Plumley. “We know most clubs aren’t keen on cutting costs so it’s all about growing revenue. The extra distribution from Champions League goes into that.

“It’s an extra home matchday guaranteed. That’s not just tickets — it’s hospitality packages and sponsorship deals. More games means more exposure. All that adds up. Spurs are a good example, they’ve set the benchmark on how much money can be made on matchday.”

Remuneration from the Europa League and Europa Conference League will also bring the chance to increase revenues next season. The total money paid out to Europa League clubs next term will be €565m, up from €465m of this season. That could bring a club close to €40m in prize money.

The Europa Conference League, meanwhile, is forecast to begin with a central pot of €285m, up from €235m. West Ham United’s victory in the 2022-23 competition brought them prize money of €22m when going all the way. A club the size of Manchester United could make more than in matchday revenue if they end up in a competition they might rather avoid.

(Top photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)

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The “old man on his way out” has no intention of leaving quietly.

Jurgen Klopp might be in his final days as Liverpool manager but, in keeping with much of a reign that began in 2015, he still has plenty to say.

Before facing Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday, Klopp used his pre-match press conference to take aim at television broadcasters — in particular, TNT Sports.

A week on from drawing 2-2 at West Ham United on Saturday lunchtime, a result that finally ended any realistic hopes of winning the title, Klopp called the scheduling problems within English football ”absolutely insane”.

“That they dared to give us Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday 12:30pm (7:30am ET) is a crime,” said Klopp, who asked to be taken off the list of TNT subscribers. “I was actually waiting for Amnesty International to go to them!”

The Athletic analyses Klopp’s parting shots – their origins, meaning and whether his pleas for change may work.

Inside Klopp’s departure from Liverpool…

This isn’t the first time Klopp has clashed with TV companies, is it?

Absolutely not. Klopp has often looked like a man howling at the moon on this issue, bemoaning Liverpool’s status as the most popular pick for Saturday lunchtimes.

No Premier League team has been asked to kick off at 12:30pm as often as Liverpool (six times) this season, although their record at that time is strong, with 14 points representing almost a fifth of Liverpool’s overall tally this season.

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That is part of a longer-term pattern. Liverpool have had 41 lunchtime kick-offs since the start of 2016-17, just ahead of Tottenham and five more than Manchester City. All of Liverpool’s 12:30 kick-offs in this period have been on a Saturday.

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Klopp’s issue has never really been with 12:30pm Saturday games but rather being asked to play them after a Wednesday fixture, as they were last week when travelling to West Ham less than three days after losing 2-0 at Everton. Being allocated the same slot immediately after an international break, with non-European players given little time to readjust, has also been a bugbear.

TNT Sports, formerly BT Sport until a rebrand last summer, has routinely been the broadcaster in Klopp’s crosshairs as the company holding the domestic rights for Saturday lunchtime games.

Klopp clashed with Des Kelly, the channel’s lead interviewer, in November 2020 following Liverpool’s 1-1 draw away to Brighton & Hove Albion. “I don’t know how often I can say it, you picked the 12:30 kick-off,” said Klopp at the start of a lengthy back-and-forth with Kelly that was broadcast live.

A fascinating interview between Jurgen Klopp and @TheDesKelly discussing Liverpool's draw with Brighton, the Reds' injuries and fixture schedule. pic.twitter.com/s0BhahlUsP

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 28, 2020

Klopp has revisited this before his penultimate game at Anfield. “I would like to once be part of that meeting where somebody says, ‘Liverpool 12:30’, and the whole room is bursting into laughter: ‘Again?!’.”

Klopp, though, has not always been quite so lighthearted over the subject. He accused Marcus Buckland, TV anchor for Amazon Prime, of being “completely ignorant” when asked about his “favourite” kick-off time looming after a 2-0 win at Sheffield United in December. “That’s brave, really brave; you make a joke about that,” said Klopp.

Why was he upset?

It should be pointed out that Klopp’s speech on Friday was far from an angry rant — more a case of an outgoing manager eager to get a few things off his chest. That Klopp grinned throughout much of his scheduling lament would endorse that theory.

Klopp had been asked if eight days of preparation would benefit his flagging side before facing Tottenham when he veered off on the tangent of scheduling. He cited Aston Villa’s surprising 4-2 loss to Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night as being symptomatic of the demands placed upon Premier League clubs.

Aston Villa were beaten by Olympiacos on Thursday (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

“The Premier League is the best league in the world,” said Klopp. “It is not overrated, the players are overworked. Somebody needs to help the people.

‘They broadcast and deliver it, but it’s not like TNT or Sky is doing really well and can pay all of you. You have to become a partner of football again and not just the squeezer. That’s just a little advice from an old man on the way out.”

Klopp has not been a lone voice in this debate. Mikel Arteta and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer previously made their misgivings clear, as did Frank Lampard when in charge of Chelsea. “That 12:30 slot, how much does it need to be there?” Lampard asked. “It’s not the optimum way to have players preparing for a Premier League game.”

Has there always been an early Saturday kick-off in the Premier League?

Not always, but it has become a staple of the broadcasters’ weekend. The 12:30pm slot was introduced in 2016 — early games had previously begun at 12:45pm — and is here for good. It may carry reduced appeal to viewers in North America and South America, but the Saturday lunchtime games go out live to primetime audiences in Asia.

Although Friday night games have been increasingly shown in the last two seasons, the Saturday lunchtime spot typically marks the beginning of a Premier League weekend. It has been ‘Package A’ in the rights deals sold domestically and covers 32 games kicking off at 12:30pm on a Saturday.

How are the games allocated?

Broadcasters, who pump billions into the Premier League every year, ultimately call the shots. Depending on the rights package owned, either Sky Sports or TNT will get the first-, second-, third-, fourth- or fifth-choice pick of games on any given weekend.

First choice usually goes to the Sunday 4:30pm slot, which is considered the prime viewing window for Sky Sports. TNT Sports is not given any first-choice picks for a Saturday lunchtime but is given 20 second-choice picks. That has historically meant bad news for Liverpool, who guarantee high viewing figures.

The one restriction on TNT — and Sky — is how many times one team can be picked for a slot. No club can be shown on a Saturday lunchtime more than six times a season.

Do other leagues make more allowance for their clubs playing in Europe?

Klopp’s point holds some water. Of the 12 clubs remaining in UEFA’s three competitions this season, only one is from the Premier League. Aston Villa, in the Europa Conference League, are the last team standing but face an uphill task to reach the final after a bruising first-leg loss to Olympiacos.

It can hardly be noted as an alarming trend when two English clubs, Manchester City and West Ham, won European prizes last season, but the Premier League does not go to the same lengths to help its teams as others on the continent.

The LFP, the governing body for France’s Ligue 1, has postponed domestic matches for its teams playing in Europe to give additional preparation time. Paris Saint-Germain will not play anyone between the two legs of a Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund, with the same luxury afforded to Marseille in their Europa League semi-final against Atalanta.

PSG’s Kylian Mbappe was given a week off domestic football in between Champions League semi-finals (Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Portuguese and Spanish clubs have also been known to call on the support of their domestic leagues when going deep into European competitions. Real Madrid, for example, had their La Liga game away to Real Sociedad moved to last Friday to give them an extra day of preparation before facing Bayern Munich on Tuesday, a game they drew 2-2.

The bigger motivation for some leagues is improving their UEFA coefficient and, with that, bringing chances for more of their clubs to qualify. The Premier League’s faint hopes of being given a fifth spot in the Champions League vanished once and for all this week. Klopp, at least, can count down the days until it ceases to be a consideration.

So will this change?

Not in the short term. TNT Sports has made the 12:30pm spot its own and will continue broadcasting Saturday lunchtime games until at least the end of the 2028-29 season after the Premier League struck a new domestic deal in December.

(Top photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)

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