The big story: Liverpool look to arrest slump

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte observed that Liverpool have been “unlucky” in recent times as the two sides prepare to face against each other at Anfield. Liverpool have lost their last three home games in all competitions and the pressure has mounted on Klopp’s men. The German coach, though, was optimistic about his side’s chances going into the game, “If we are seven points behind Chelsea we will not say that now we go for them – they might win the rest of their games – but we need the points,” the former Borussia Dortmund boss was quoted as saying.

Liverpool are currently 10 points behind league-leaders Chelsea and had beaten the West London club earlier in the season at Stamford Bridge.

Other top stories:

Cricket:

  • New Zealand opener Martin Guptill has been ruled out of the second One-Day International against Australia in Napier after hurting his hamstring. 
  • Another opener, Aaron Finch will be leading out Australia for the three-match Twenty20 International series against Sri Lanka at home. 
  • In the zonal Twenty20 league, Tamil Nadu coasted to a nine-wicket win against Goa with the latter losing as many as nine wickets for 19 runs batting first. Meanwhile, Karnataka posted a 37-run over Andhra.
  • Tamil Nadu’s Murali Vijay has recovered from a shoulder injury to make a comeback after a month after he was named in the Inter-state T20 squad. TN’s next game in the tournament is slated to be held on February 2.
  • Australia all-rounder Cameron White lashed out at the Australian selectors for their apparent lack of emphasis placed on the domestic scene. The 33-year-old came down heavily on the importance laid out to the franchise-based T20 event, the Big Bash League, “Selection over the last period of time that the Big Bash seems to be the be-all and end-all. You can get picked to play for Australia in any format out of the Big Bash, really. It doesn’t make a lot of sense,” White was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.
  • West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell is hopeful that the anti-doping tribunal does not reprimand him for going missing on three separate tests in 2015. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines, three missed tests amounts to a failed dope test. Russell faces a ban of two years if found guilty. 

Football:

  • In what is the last day of the winter transfer window, Southampton have agreed to buy Napoli forward Manolo Gabbiadini for an initial price of £14.6 million. The Italian club will also receive a further £2.6 million in performance-related bonuses. 
  • Premier League table-toppers Chelsea are reportedly in line to buy Celtic forward Moussa Dembele, who has scored 20 goals for Brendan Rogers’s side this season. The Blues have bid in the range of £30 million to the Scottish giants. Chelsea have also reportedly asked Celtic about signing goalkeeper Craig Gordon in order to let go of backup goalie Asmir Begovic to Bournemouth.
  • After forcing his way out of West Ham United to Marsellie, Dimitri Payet stated that he doesn’t need to “justify his behaviour” while he was unveiled at the French club. Payet added, “I was not feeling good at the club anymore”.
  • Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger opined that his current squad has more strength-in-depth than the “Invincibles” side from 2003-’04, “We had never so many players who could perform and score goals – certainly never. Bergkamp and Henry had the quality but we did not have a large number,” Wenger said. 
  • Alakhpura FC beat Aizawl FC 6-2 in the Indian Women’s League at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi. Sanju netted a hat-trick while Deepika scored a brace. 

Tennis:

  • After crashing out of the Australian Open to Andreas Seppi, Nick Kyrgios said the upcoming Davis Cup was important for him, mentally. The Australian was booed by his home crowd after blowing a a two-set lead, “Playing Davis Cup will improve my general well being,” Krygios was quoted as saying. 

Golf:

  • The upcoming Indian Open is said to have the largest line-up of Indian golfers including SSP Chawrasia, Anirban Lahiri, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Arjun Atwal, Rashid Khan, Shiv Kapur and Rahil Gangjee.