Premier League news: Mejbri banned for spitting; Rodri’s return delayed | Soccer

1. Mejbri handed four-match ban and fine

Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri has been handed a four-match ban and £15,000 fine for misconduct in October’s game against Leeds. The midfielder was referred to an independent regulatory commission after spitting in the direction of visiting fans at Turf Moore around the 67th minute as Burnley won 2-0, the Football Association said.

An FA statement said: “An independent Regulatory Commission has sanctioned Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri for misconduct during their Premier League match against Leeds on 18 October. It was alleged that the player acted in breach of the laws of the game and/or in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or indecent behaviour by spitting at or in the direction of Leeds United supporters around the 67th minute.

“Mejbri subsequently admitted the charge, and the Regulatory Commission imposed a four-match suspension and £15,000 fine following a hearing. The Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for its decisions will be published in due course.”

Burnley, 19th in the table, have lost five matches in a row and visit 12th-placed Newcastle on Saturday. Guardian sport

2. Maresca admits Chelsea toil when they rotate

Enzo Maresca has raised questions over Chelsea’s ability to compete for the title by admitting their quality drops when they rotate and bring in squad players.

Although the club’s hierarchy and recruitment team are supportive of their head coach’s attempts to manage the demands of a busy schedule, the drawbacks of shuffling the pack so much were evident when the youngest side in the Premier League lost 3-1 at Leeds and fell nine points below Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Maresca, who suggested his rotation policy was partly down to wanting to protect key players such as Reece James and Wesley Fofana from injury, watched a poor display after making five changes at Elland Road. Andrey Santos replaced the suspended Moisés Caicedo in midfield, Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoît Badiashile started in central defence and Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap came into the attack but the performance has led to doubts over whether Maresca’s squad is strong enough.

“I try always to be honest with you,” the Italian said. “But in football, in life, in any job, there is a level. Andrey unfortunately is not Moi. Tosin is not Wes. They have different skills. They are different. If I say to you that Andrey is like Moi, you can understand for yourself that I am a liar. There is a level. Like me. Plenty of managers are better than me. Some not. But there is a level at all jobs. For me it is the reality. Even the players know they are all different.”

Maresca will hope that resting James, Fofana and Pedro Neto will pay off when Chelsea visit Bournemouth on Saturday. He said Cole Palmer was ready to start but unlikely to play 90 minutes after making his comeback from injury with a cameo against Leeds. Caicedo remains unavailable after his red card against Arsenal.

The Ecuadorian’s absence leaves a big hole in Chelsea’s midfield. Maresca said he would like to play James, who was outstanding in the middle against Arsenal, all the time but must be wary of the captain’s fitness record. Chelsea have been stretched by playing in the Champions League.

“I love all the players that I have,” Maresca said. “But if I play players that have a high risk of injury, that means that I don’t want them or love them, because I would want them to be injured and out for a long time.”

Chelsea are a fearsome proposition with their strongest side. That, though, is not always possible. John Terry reacted to the Leeds game by saying Maresca should ditch his rotation policy and stick with a core of 14 players.

Asked about the former Chelsea captain’s comments, Maresca said: “We are trying to understand and to learn why we were not good enough. I don’t know if the solution is to have 12 or 14 players and the rest just play some minutes. But we are trying to understand. If you play every three days, two days with the same 11, I don’t know.”

Maresca was adamant that a lack of leadership did not contribute to the performance against Leeds. The Italian, who admitted regret over not starting Josh Acheampong in defence, pointed out that Tosin, Chelsea’s oldest player at 28, had a poor game in defence.

“We always talk about experience when we drop points,” Maresca said. “The reason why we didn’t win against Leeds is not because of experience. Who is the oldest one for us in the pitch? Tosin. Did he play good? So, it’s not about experience.”

Maresca indicated that he was not enjoying having to make so many changes because of the schedule. “It’s the most difficult thing for me this season,” he said. Jacob Steinberg

3. Rodri still ‘a few weeks’ away from City return

Pep Guardiola has stated Rodri’s recovery from a hamstring injury will rule him out for a “few weeks”, with the manager confident that the midfielder’s return will solve Manchester City’s faulty defence.

City have conceded six goals in their past two matches; two against Leeds and four against Fulham. Rodri sustained his latest injury in City’s 1-0 win at Brentford on 5 October. Since then he has played only for a few minutes after coming on as an 89th-minute substitute in the 3-1 victory over Bournemouth at the start of last month.

“The process of recovery is going well. He starts to make training sessions on the pitch,” said Guardiola of the Spanish midfielder. “Hopefully in a few weeks, it can start [return].” “Do you know what it means to play without the best player in the world? Rodri is another level of player. If Rodri came on in the last 20 minutes against Fulham, put right in the middle, do you know the effect? Not even touching the ball? The other 10 players feel safe. They play better.

“There are irreplaceable players, not just for how good they play but for what they do for others. They say: ‘Oh I have Rodri there’ and they give him the ball and know he won’t lose [it]. He knows when the space is free, to switch play, he’s unique. He is suffering, struggling, he wants to come back but I want to protect him, be sure to minimise the risk.”

Rodri’s hamstring problem was a latest setback in his recovery from the anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained against Arsenal in September 2024. “When he comes back, he has to make a pre-season. He cannot play 90 minutes, 90 minutes, 90 minutes,” said Guardiola. “When you injure your ACL, your body is completely different.”

Commenting on England’s World Cup prospects, Guardiola said: “If you see the quality of the manager, if you see the quality of the players, the moment they believe it, they can do it [win]. Thomas [Tuchel] will convince them that they can do it.

“I’ve not been manager of a national team and these tournaments are so special – a short competition. One half bad afternoon, you are home – British Airlines [and] come back. The most important thing is to create a real team – in that month and a-half you are there. Because everyone is from Aston Villa, Chelsea, Arsenal, City, United, Liverpool, and all together, you are able to create something unique, something special. That is more important than the tactics.” Jamie Jackson

4. Newcastle focus on Livramento and Botman deals

Newcastle’s new sporting director, Ross Wilson, has placed contract negotiations with the key defenders Tino Livramento and Sven Botman at the top of his to do list at St James’ Park. Wilson arrived from Nottingham Forest in October and was reassured to learn the club’s Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali has a deal extending to 2029 and, potentially, 2030.

That has left Wilson free to prioritise talks with Livramento and Botman’s agents, but with the former’s agreement set to expire in 2027 and the latter’s a year later, Newcastle’s talks have assumed a certain urgency.

“My first three or four days in the job was when I found that Sandro’s contract situation as significantly better than the one I was expecting,” said Wilson, who does not want the club’s players running down their contracts down.

“But it’s no secret that we would want to extend Tino’s contract and we would want to extend Sven Botman’s too. Those discussions are ongoing. Some discussions are more difficult than others, but the desire would be to keep those players. Will they agree those contracts? At the moment, I think it’s too early to say.”

Eddie Howe will be without Botman at home to Burnley on Saturday and the defender is likely to be sidelined for at least another week. More positively, Newcastle’s manager hopes Yoane Wissa could make his long awaited debut. The £55m signing has been working his way back to fitness after sustaining a knee injury on international duty with DR Congo in early September. Louise Taylor

5. Nuno says Paquetá will start for West Ham

Nuno Espírito Santo has confirmed Lucas Paquetá will return for West Ham to face Brighton on Sunday after serving his suspension for the red card he received against Liverpool. “It is in the past. I am positive it will not happen again because he personally admitted his mistake,” the West Ham manager said. “We spoke about it in the dressing room. I am positive it is over and it will not be repeated.”

Nuno also understands the intense pressure on his side, who are 18th before the weekend fixtures. “We cannot avoid it,” he said. “It is a reality. We have to face it. We are fighting for survival. We cannot hide it. The results of other teams we cannot control. It is up to us.”

Nuno hopes the injured Crysencio Summerville will return soon and said the left-back Oliver Scarles is expected to return to the squad after should he pass a medical on Monday. He added: “We are going to need him because we lose our full-backs to Afcon.”

Aaron Wan-Bissaka will join up with DR Congo and El Hadji Malick Diouf with Senegal for the tournament in Morocco, which starts on 21 December. Jamie Jackson

6. Moyes eager to keep Grealish despite high fee

David Moyes has confirmed that he wants Jack Grealish to remain at Everton beyond this season but admits the attacking midfielder would be out of the club’s reach at £50m.

Grealish is thriving at Everton and delivered the club’s first league win at Bournemouth in midweek with his second goal of the season. Under the terms of the season’s loan from Manchester City, Everton have an option to buy the 30-year-old for £50m next summer, when Grealish will have 12 months remaining on his contract at the Etihad Stadium.

Asked whether he saw Grealish playing for Everton next season, Moyes said: “Yes I do. I am still giving him the electric prod – keep going – and making sure I am getting more out of him every week. He is not too old but he is getting to the wrong age. He has to keep showing what he is capable of. The biggest thing for me is that he has been getting through the games. I have not been feeling like I need to take him off.

“I am sure we would have to alter that [£50m fee]. I don’t think we would be in that ball game and, let’s be fair, adding everything into it, such as his age, it would be very difficult to pay that sort of money.”

Grealish declared his love for Moyes following the Bournemouth win and has established a similar rapport with the Everton crowd. For his part, Moyes believes the enjoyment Grealish is getting out of his loan move could convince him to stay beyond this season. “I use the example of Jesse Lingard,” said the Scot. “I took him to West Ham and nearly begged Jesse to come again because he scored nine goals in 16 games and got himself back in the England squad.

“They are different players and different situations but Jesse probably thought he was going back to play for Manchester United. We tracked him throughout the summer but couldn’t get him back because he had been told he was going to play for Manchester United again. And he didn’t.

“Sometimes you have to make brave decisions,” Moyes added. “It is easy to say the grass isn’t always greener but it is only when you get older that you think: ‘What did I do that move for? Why did I not stay and enjoy it?’ They are lording Jack here and I am sure they do at Manchester City as well but maybe in a different way. He certainly was at Aston Villa. But he is enjoying it and the connection he has got with the supporters is fantastic. It is helping with the rebuild of the club here.” Andy Hunter