Kyle Walker is in contention for Manchester City’s Premier League trip to Brentford despite informing the champions of his wish to leave the club.
New Everton boss David Moyes is confident they can escape the drop and return to the heights he led them to for 11 years in his first spell.
Elsewhere, Millwall became the final club to reach the FA Cup fourth round after an ultimately-comfortable 3-0 victory over Dagenham set up a clash with Leeds.
Guardiola pepping himself up over Walker
City boss Pep Guardiola is backing himself to find the solution should captain Walker get his wish to leave the club.
“I’m so clever,” the City manager said. “I’m so talented a manager to find the right solution.”
Walker, who was left out of Saturday’s FA Cup matchday squad against Salford, is continuing to train as normal and the 34-year-old England defender could feature at the Gtech Community Stadium on Tuesday.
Guardiola said: “I don’t have any news. We’ll decide after training. I’m not going to add anything else. It is Brentford on my mind.”
Moyes sweet on Toffees
Moyes, who left for Manchester United in 2013, is back at Everton after Sean Dyche’s sacking last week with the club in 17th – a point above the bottom three -after just one win in 11 Premier League matches.
The 61-year-old Scot may not be the ideal man new owners The Freidkin Group envisaged would lead them in their new era at Bramley-Moore Dock next season, but he is the man best-suited to getting them there after struggling for a number of years.
“They want to get us back on track and we all know we need a bit of a sticking plaster at the moment and we have to try to make that work,” Moyes said.
“I’ve come into the seat and I’m going to back that and say I believe we will be strong enough to stay away from it.”
Slot revises opinion of Forest defeat
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot now views their only Premier League defeat of the season differently having seen how Nottingham Forest have defied expectations.
At the time, the 1-0 loss in September was considered a major shock as a team who finished 17th last season registered their first win at Anfield since 1969.
But four months on and Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest go into Tuesday’s return clash at the City Ground level on points with second-placed Arsenal, having won more matches than any other team except leaders Liverpool.
“For us to lose on that day was, for me, hard to take,” said Slot. “Now, looking back at it and seeing where they are in the league, it has not been such a shock result as I thought it was back then.”
Millwall brush aside Daggers
Ra’ess Bangura-Williams scored on his debut as Millwall cruised to a 3-0 FA Cup third-round victory over Dagenham at The Den.
Dagenham, who sit 15th in the Vanarama National League, did little to disrupt their Sky Bet Championship hosts’ rhythm as they gifted Mihailo Ivanovic an unorthodox first-half opener.
Once the forward’s lunged attempt was pushed back into danger by goalkeeper Elliot Justham, Ivanovic was pulled down by Jake Hessenthaler before he superbly managed to get his head onto the rebound, with a quick-thinking move inches from the ground, to nod the ball over the line from a couple of yards out.
Casper De Norre doubled their tally after the interval before Bangura-Williams, who signed a long-term deal with his boyhood club last week, came off the bench to put the result beyond doubt as Millwall booked a fourth-round tie at Leeds on the weekend of February 8.
What’s on today?
Bring your noise. Bring your scarves.
See you tomorrow. ❤️
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 13, 2025
Nottingham Forest will be looking for a seventh-straight win when they welcome Liverpool and such an outcome would move them up to second, just three points behind Slot’s side.
Fourth-placed Chelsea welcome Bournemouth, while Manchester City will be hoping their recent resurgence can continue at Brentford, who are looking to bounce back from a shock FA Cup defeat by Plymouth.
Argyle will be hoping to move off the foot of the Sky Bet Championship as they welcome Oxford and struggling Cardiff take on Watford. In the William Hill Premiership, leaders Celtic travel to Dundee.
