Tuesday’s briefing: Trent Alexander-Arnold set for Anfield return

A big night of Champions League football on Tuesday is headlined by the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold to Anfield for the first time since his acrimonious summer move to Real Madrid.

Arsenal take on Slavia Prague without injured striker Viktor Gyokeres, while Tottenham are in action against FC Copenhagen.

Rangers have had a rant about referees following Sunday’s Scottish League Cup defeat to Celtic, while Granit Xhaka’s second-half goal helped Sunderland avoid defeat against Everton on Monday night.

Trent Alexander-Arnold braced for hostile return

Liverpool boss Arne Slot admits he cannot guarantee Alexander-Arnold a warm reception when he makes his first return to Anfield since his acrimonious summer move to Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold, who came through the club’s academy system, was booed by his own fans when his departure was made public and can expect the same treatment during Tuesday’s eagerly-anticipated Champions League showdown.

However, Slot and his former team-mates are expected to welcome the defender back with open arms.

Slot said: “I have great memories of the player and the human being. He was my vice-captain last season and I have memories of working with him which were only positive.

“How the fans…I have no clue how that’s going to be, but he gets a warm welcome from me, that’s for sure.”

Arteta ‘concerned’ over Gyokeres injury

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta says he is “concerned” about a muscular injury suffered by Gyokeres, with the Gunners working to discover the severity of the problem.

The Swedish forward missed training on Monday after being substituted with the issue during Saturday’s 2-0 win over Burnley.

Arteta confirmed he will definitely miss Tuesday night’s Champions League match against Slavia Prague but indicated there was uncertainty over just how bad the problem was.

“I am concerned because he hasn’t had many muscular issues and he had to leave the pitch and he was feeling something,” said Arteta.

“That’s obviously never a good sign, especially for a player that is very, very explosive. So we are digging in a little bit more to understand where we are in terms of the injury and we’ll announce the moment we know.”

Rangers hit out at refereeing standards

Rangers have lashed out at the state of refereeing in Scottish football in the wake of their 3-1 League Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic.

In a strongly-worded statement, the club said they remain “unsatisfied” following a meeting with the Scottish Football Association to discuss key incidents during the game.

Rangers had Thelo Aasgaard sent off in the 38th minute, but their main gripe centred around the failure of referee Nick Walsh to dismiss Auston Trusty for appearing to kick out at goalkeeper Jack Butland in the final moments of the first half, despite a VAR review.

Rangers’ statement read: “The handling of key incidents during Sunday’s semi-final has again raised legitimate concerns about the consistency of refereeing in Scottish football.

“Club representatives met with the Scottish FA this evening to seek explanations for major decisions in the match, including the incident involving Jack Butland and Auston Trusty.

“Following that meeting, we remain unsatisfied with the explanation of the referee’s decision in that incident, the application of the Laws of the Game, and the VAR review itself, which we do not believe was sufficiently robust or
thorough.”

Huge security operation for Villa’s Maccabi Tel Aviv clash

More than 700 police officers will be deployed to ensure public safety when Aston Villa face Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League on Thursday.

Residents living close to Villa Park have been warned of significant disruption as a result of the policing for the match, from which supporters of the Israeli club were initially banned before Maccabi decided not to take up their ticket allocation for safety reasons.

Pro-Palestinian groups have called for the game to be cancelled and, with protests due to take place, senior officers from West Midlands Police have warned those attending over their behaviour.

Birmingham Police commander, Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce, said: “Anyone who breaks the law will be dealt with directly, as will those who incite hate.”

What’s on today

Real Madrid’s trip to Anfield tops a packed night of Champions League action, which also includes Arsenal’s visit to Slavia Prague and Tottenham’s bid to bounce back from defeat to Chelsea when they face Copenhagen.

Two intriguing Championship games see leaders Coventry look to get back on track against struggling Sheffield United, while Leicester aim to stem a run of three successive defeats against second-placed Middlesbrough.