EPL Updates: Sarri not sure about Kepa's return to Chelsea team

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga remains the club's first choice but manager Maurizio Sarri is still uncertain if the Spaniard will be recalled to the starting team for Sunday's Premier League trip to Fulham.

Arrizabalaga was fined by the club for his refusal to be substituted by Sarri near the end of extra time in Sunday's League Cup final defeat by Manchester City and he was dropped for Wednesday's 2-0 league win over Tottenham Hotspur.

"I'm sure in one of the two next matches he will be on the pitch," Sarri told a news conference, suggesting Willy Caballero could continue in goal after making his first league appearance of the season against Tottenham.

"Kepa's the first choice, of course, he is very young, he's improving, we know very well that he can become one of the best goalkeepers in Europe," Sarri added.

"But in this moment we know that Willy is doing very well. He (Arrizabalaga) is very important in our group and dressing room, so we need to consider him."

Sarri said Chelsea's players had to take the opportunity to come closer together after the incident at Wembley last week.

"After a difficult situation, a group is not the same. So there is the opportunity to be better, and you have to take it," the Italian added.

Liverpool's Mane happy to stay central in derby

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane is happy to continue in his central role if the team need him to after scoring twice in Wednesday's 5-0 Premier League victory over Watford.

Filling in for injured striker Roberto Firmino, Senegalese Mane headed in from close range in the first half before adding to his tally with a cheeky back-heel effort.

Firmino has shaken off an ankle injury and could return for the Merseyside derby at Everton on Sunday.

"I was lucky to score two but honestly I don't mind," Mane told Sky Sports. "I'm happy to play left or right side but if the team or the coach needs me as a striker, I'll try again.".

"To be honest I was surprised. I never played there before, I was nervous."

Title-chasing Liverpool have 69 points from 28 games, one more than Manchester City who could regain the lead after their match at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Liverpool edged Everton 1-0 when the teams played earlier this season and Mane is well aware of the importance of the fixture in the title race.

"Of course, it is one of the more important derbies because we know what we want this season," Mane said.

"But after all it's like any other game. We need to focus and give everything to win it."

Everton looking to dent Liverpool's title chances, says Keane

Denting Liverpool's Premier League title hopes will be the added motivation for Everton when they take on their arch rivals in Sunday's Merseyside derby, defender Michael Keane has said.

Liverpool are unbeaten in 18 games against their neighbours since a defeat in October 2018 and Keane said that hurting the leaders' chances of winning a first league title since 1989-90 would please Everton fans.

"It's not the main reason we want to win the game. We want to win the game for ourselves," Keane told Sky Sports.

"We're chasing seventh place ourselves, but in the back of our heads, if we can take points off Liverpool and get a win, that will dent their title chances which is great. That should make the fans happy.

"We want to put in a performance and we want to win the game, and we want the fans to be happy. If that's what they want, then that's what we want."

Everton, who were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool in December, are ninth in the table with 36 points and Keane is confident they can climb to seventh and come into contention for a place in European competition.

Magic Pochettino not giving up on silverware

Tottenham Hotspur will find it tough to claim the game's major honours under their current business model but have made fantastic progress over the past five years despite not winning a trophy, manager Mauricio Pochettino said on Friday.

Third-placed Spurs have seen a 10-point lead over Arsenal cut to four ahead of Saturday's London derby after their title bid all but disappeared with defeats in their last two games but the Argentine said they should be judged on resources.

"If you compare Tottenham with Arsenal and the capacity to sign (players) you could say Tottenham cannot be at the same level as Arsenal...," he told reporters, with Spurs having not spent any money on players in the last two transfer windows.

League leaders Liverpool and champions Manchester City, who are a point behind, along with Manchester United and Chelsea as well as Arsenal have all spent millions of pounds on players in recent seasons in their quest to challenge for the title.

Pochettino has built a young Tottenham side without splashing out in the transfer market and they have several times been title contenders only to fade away towards the end of the season. Nonetheless, they are established top-four regulars.

"Maybe if (chairman) Daniel (Levy) said to me, 'Next season we need a title, we need to win the Champions League and we need to win the Premier League', I would say maybe you need to find another magic guy who can do this," said Pochettino.

"If we're not going to change the way we operate we can be there, yes, we're going to fight, yes, we'll find a way to be competitive, of course, but you can't say we need to win (titles) if we don't fight with the same tools as other teams."

Tottenham's new 62,000-seater stadium is proving to be a financial burden, with early estimates that it would cost around 700 million pounds ($925 million) having jumped towards one billion according to British media reports.

Pochettino said Britain's political and economic situation had not helped.

"The job the club is doing is fantastic. Brexit, the depreciation of the pound with Europe, has increased by 30 to 40 percent the cost of building the new stadium," he said.

Despite the difficulties, Pochettino believes the club are making progress with Spurs having reached the Champions League quarter-finals, where they hold a 3-0 lead over Borussia Dortmund ahead of Tuesday's second leg in Germany.

They still have a five-point cushion over fifth-placed Manchester United in the race to qualify for a place in Europe's elite club competition again next season and only lost to Chelsea on penalties in the League Cup semi-finals.

"To be in the top four to play in the Champions League that was the dream five years ago. Arrive in the new stadium in a very good condition," Pochettino said.

"I think it's more than winning a cup... We're talking about bigger things than winning a trophy.

"(I hear people say) Pochettino came for five years and didn't win (a trophy) but, for me, what we're doing here is more than winning a title," he added.