🔗 Share this article

From the world of top-flight news, a key player was issued a significant ban, a manager has singled to a defender's errors to make a point, and the Manchester City manager has called for defensive improvements after a wild win.

1. Mejbri Given Four-Match Ban and Financial Penalty

Burnley's midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was issued a four-game suspension and a financial penalty following misconduct in October's fixture versus Leeds United. The Football Association stated the player faced an independent disciplinary panel following an incident of spitting in the direction of away supporters at the 67-minute point of a 2-0 victory by Burnley.

An FA release read: “A disciplinary panel has sanctioned the Hannibal Mejbri for his actions in their top-flight match against Leeds of 18 October. The charge was that he behaved against the laws of the game or in an improper manner by using offensive and unacceptable conduct through spitting at or in the direction of Leeds United fans.”

It continued, “Mejbri later admitted the charge, with the Regulatory Commission handing down a four-game ban and a fine following proceedings. The panel's written reasons for its decisions are to be released at a later date.” Burnley, currently 19th in the table, travel to 12th-place Newcastle on Saturday.

Maresca Points to Tosin's Errors to Make a Point

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has stated that not having seasoned players is no an issue at team, pointing out how centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo's age did not stop the 28-year-old from having a bad game in the defeat to Leeds United.

Maresca, who oversees the youngest team in the division, does not feel that mentality was a factor in their poor result. He made his argument by singling out Tosin, Chelsea's most experienced outfield player on the pitch, after he delivered a mistake-riddled display at the back.

“People always mention experience when we drop points,” Maresca said. “When we defeated Barcelona, the draw against Arsenal, nobody was talking about older personnel. I know that if we don’t win, people are always looking for an explanation, but I think why we lost against Leeds is not because of inexperience, it was because we just weren't good enough.”

Maresca continued, “Who was the most senior player for us on the pitch? Who was? Was he good? Therefore, it’s not about his age. It’s about those 11 players, they were simply not up to standard.”

Guardiola Says Defence 'Has to Get Better'

The Manchester City manager has insisted his team have taken lessons from a recent scare at Fulham with the game is now in the past. City held on to claim a 5-4 victory during a remarkable encounter at Craven Cottage, after leading 5-1 with about an hour played.

Coming after they fought off a comeback to win 3-2 in their prior game, prompting more questions regarding if they are resilient enough to mount a challenge to leaders Arsenal. “That game is forgotten,” Guardiola said. “Valuable lessons, hopefully. At this level, for every team, one must learn from both good and bad performances and bad things and focus on the next one.”

“Naturally I am worried,” Guardiola added. “We are trying to analyse what happened, so as not to concede so many goals. With the three goals by Leeds, and the five against Fulham you can see our versions, correct? Therefore, we have we have done many good things. Yet the number of shots on target had Leeds have? Three? Scored two. It’s not bad. How many attempts did Fulham ? Five, six? So our ratio of shots conceded we can see too high. We must improve.”

4. Newcastle Focus New Livramento and Botman Deals

Newcastle United's recently appointed football chief, Ross Wilson, has placed contract negotiations with key backline players Tino Livramento and Sven Botman the priority on his to-do list for the club. Wilson arrived from Nottingham Forest recently and is pleased to learn midfielder Sandro Tonali has a deal that runs to 2029 and, potentially, 2030.

That has left Wilson to focus on negotiations with Livramento and Botman's representatives. Livramento's agreement ending in 2027 and Botman's a year later, Newcastle's efforts have assumed some importance.

“The initial few days after starting was when I found that Sandro’s deal is significantly better than I had thought,” he stated. “However, it is well known that we wishes to extend Tino’s contract and also wants to renew Sven Botman’s too. Those discussions are underway.”

Manager Eddie Howe will be without Botman against the match with Burnley this Saturday, with the defender expected to be out for at least a further period.

5. Nuno Confirms Paquetá Returns Against Brighton

West Ham head coach Nuno Espírito Santo has confirmed that Lucas Paquetá will return to start when the side face Brighton this Sunday, having completed a ban following a red card he received Liverpool.

“That incident is behind us,” the manager remarked. “I am positive it won't happen again because he himself acknowledged his mistake. We discussed it internally. I am positive the matter is closed and it will not happen again.”

He also acknowledged the significant strain on his side, who are 18th before Saturday's fixtures. “We can't avoid it,” he said. “It's a reality. We must confront it. We're battling for survival. We cannot hide it.”

Arteta Pleased with No 9 Deputy Merino

Mikel Merino may keep his place as Arsenal’s centre-forward even when the club's usual strikers return from injury. Merino has been playing as an emergency number nine due to fitness issues to Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

He scored the opener versus Brentford before assisting Bukayo Saka for the second in a 2-0 victory which preserved {their|