It's another action-packed Premier League weekend ahead and the managers have been having their say. Follow the best of it here with Daily Mail Sport...

Xabi Alonso discusses Estevao's future with Chelsea 

Xabi Alonso insists there are zero talks being held inside Chelsea about allowing Estevao to leave in January on loan for game time, despite the Brazilian wonderkid struggling for chances to impress.

The 19-year-old stayed sat on the bench during Chelsea’s Carabao Cup shootout-loss to Liverpool on Wednesday. In the Premier League, he has been a late substitute six times, and unused twice. It has seen questions asked of Alonso’s plan for a highly-promising talent.

There is no shortage of rivals who would be willing to take Estevao temporarily. As revealed by Daily Mail Sport this week, multiple clubs at home and abroad are watching his situation.

Before Manchester United visit Stamford Bridge for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, Alonso was asked if they would consider finding him a temporary home in this winter window.

‘No, no, no,’ Alonso said. ‘No discussions about that. The season is long and there will be moments for everyone. It's a process for the team, for Este, for myself, but I'm sure that in the season, he will have his games, his minutes. We are still early in the season, but he will be there.

‘It's not about attitude. It's been about the context of games, it's been about the start of the season, and he's a great guy. We are still in October and he will be important.’

Chelsea fans feel as if they have heard this before, and then watched as he failed to come on as a substitute in their Carabao Cup trip to Liverpool. The Blues signed Estevao from Palmeiras for £29million rising to £55m, and he is tied down to a deal lasting into the 2030s.

He had some magic moments in his first season, including scoring a stoppage-time winner against Liverpool in the Premier League and upstaging Lamine Yamal of Barcelona in the Champions League. His lack of opportunities this term has come as a surprise to supporters, who sang his name at Anfield, and led to speculation in Brazil that the youngster is frustrated.

‘It is no secret that all players want to be on the pitch,’ Alonso added. ‘When any of them haven't had enough minutes because of my decision, I have to take the responsibility for that, that they are not as happy as they could be. But everyone has to be ready because in any game, they could be important, they could be part of the team, and Este, his training and his attitude has been good.

‘We are back in Premier League mode, and that is, for me, the main competition for us this year, and it's a big one. It's one that we didn't have that much time to prepare, but it's really important after the last home game that we had (a 2-0 loss to Tottenham).’

Meanwhile, Maxence Lacroix has a hamstring injury which will sideline him for several weeks. Moises Caicedo and Pep Chavarria are fit to face United, but Jorrel Hato is injured. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez may return sooner than expected – perhaps even before the international break – as Alonso said: ‘In case he's ready to play, he will need a face mask probably.’

KIERAN GILL 

Enzo Maresca hits back at 'lucky' claims against Brighton

Enzo Maresca has shrugged off Fabian Hurzeler’s thirst for revenge and the suggestion that Manchester City were lucky to beat Brighton in midweek as the managers face off for the second time in four days.

City progressed to the Carabao Cup quarter finals via penalties on Wednesday night, with the Brighton boss insistent that they had created more than enough to knock out the holders.

Maresca’s side are looking to open up an eight-point gap with the Seagulls, who are flying high in third. Hurzeler has confessed to being a ‘bad loser’ but has moved on from Wednesday night.

‘Revenge is more about him [Hurzeler] and not about us,’ the Italian said. ‘This is what he said. Every manager can say something different.

‘It depends on what you see with your eyes. But I respect what he said. Probably the reason why it's so difficult to play against them is because they are always front foot, aggressive and their attack is also very good.’

Instead of returning to the south coast between fixtures, Brighton have remained in Manchester through the week and trained locally on Friday.

Maresca added: ‘If you see the Premier League games they have played, they scored three, four, five goals against any team. That's why I was so happy after Wednesday.

‘It's because yes, they scored two goals, they had some more chances. We also created chances. But we knew that it was a difficult test for us. We dealt quite well.’

Meanwhile, Maresca has claimed that no City star has a guaranteed place in his team despite revealing that shootout hero deputy Geronimo Rulli is not rivalling Gianluigi Donnarumma for the No 1 spot.

‘I think one thing is to say that in this moment Gigio is plus 10 others,’ he said. ‘And another thing is to say undroppable. Yes, there are two different things. There is no player who is undroppable. But in this moment it is Gigio plus 10. In this moment I see it like this.’

JACK GAUGHAN

Roberto De Zerbi on James Maddison's availability  

Tottenham playmaker James Maddison is available for Saturday’s visit of Crystal Palace despite an injury scare during the victory at Chelsea.

Maddison sparked more fitness fears when he limped off in the 51st minute of Spurs’ 2-0 victory at Chelsea.

After Maddison had endured a slow start to the campaign with caution preached over his fitness following a May return from anterior cruciate ligament damage, his substitution last Saturday looked to be another setback.

But, ahead of the Palace game, Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi said: 'James is available. This week he didn’t work like the other players, but for tomorrow he is available and he is a special player for us. A special player because of the character and he has unique characteristics.

'For James Maddison or the players who are coming from a long injury, they have to work more than the other players, but he has already four or five weeks he is working very hard and consistently.'

'So, I think it’s not a problem if he loses two days (training), but then we have to analyse if we take risk or not.

'If we take risk like Pedro Porro (against Aston Villa) or (Dejan) Kulusevski.

'We are lucky to have a big squad and it’s important to not take risk with new injuries.'

MATT BARLOW 

Andoni Iraola: Fans can dream of Liverpool title challenge 

Andoni Iraola is happy for Liverpool fans to start dreaming of a Premier League title challenge ahead of Sunday’s clash with champions Arsenal, but insisted it is too early for him to start looking at the table.

Victory at Anfield would see Liverpool move to within three points of the Gunners as they look to continue a five-match winning run in all competitions, but Iraola said his focus remains on improvements in performances early in his reign.

'It is still October,' Iraola said. 'We have to take one game at a time and I always say the reference is more or less when we’ve played against each other once so halfway through the season. That’s when you can start to look at the standings.

'Right now, we are in a position where we need to improve and keep getting better.'

But when asked if he welcomed the growing optimism amongst Liverpool supporters, Iraola added: 'For fans, it is good if they have expectations or they think we can win.'

Arsenal moved level with Manchester City at the top of the table last weekend with a 2-0 win over Everton, but were then on the wrong end of a huge cup upset in midweek, dumped out of the Carabao Cup when they were beaten on penalties by League Two Fleetwood.

'We know Arsenal and how good they are,' Iraola said. 'They have very good players, working a lot in synchronicity and we have to be ready for that challenge.

'It’s going to be a demanding game but we also trust our players, trust ourselves and in the good atmosphere we will for sure have on Sunday. I hope we will be at level to win this game.'

LEWIS STEELE