Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri is completely confident in Ron-Robert Zieler’s ability to step up to the plate following the injury to first-choice goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Zieler was bought by the Foxes in the summer and came on to replace Schmeichel in August in a 2-1 victory against Swansea City.

The German has made two Premier League and an EFL Cup start and will be back in action after Schmeichel fractured his hand against FC Copenhagen in midweek.

And Ranieri wasn’t putting a deadline on the Danish goalkeeper’s return after his operation despite his importance to the Leicester City team.

“I’m confident with [Ron-Robert] Zieler so it’s okay. Kasper [Schmeichel] was in very good condition but also Zieler gives me all the confidence,” he said.

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“The surgeon said everything is okay. Now it depends how long.

“Of course he (Schmeichel) is not so happy. It’s normal and when you’re in fantastic form you hope you don’t get injured. He made a good save and punched the ball but it’s unbelievable he didn’t feel anything.

“I don’t want to put a deadline (on Schmeichel’s return) because every man is different. Maybe two, three, five, six or maybe seven weeks – I don’t know.”

West Ham captain Mark Noble admits it took a while, but claims the London Stadium finally feels like home.

After 112 years of playing at Upton Park, West Ham made the move to the former Olympic Stadium over the summer.

Following a narrow 1-0 victory over Bournemouth in their first game at the venue, the Hammers failed to win any of their next four Premier League or Europa League games in their new home.

But another 1-0 triumph late last month, this time over Sunderland, and an impressive 2-1 defeat of Chelsea in the EFL Cup a couple of days later have heralded an apparent change in fortunes.

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And midfielder Noble insists that beating the Blues was the turning point for his side at the 60,000-capacity ground.

“We have made the big move into London Stadium and it was going to take time to get used to our new surroundings,” explained Noble.

“But the victory over Chelsea has really made it feel like home and I am really pleased about that.

“We have beaten Bournemouth, Sunderland and Chelsea at home and have not really struggled despite what some reports have said.

“We were getting hammered a month ago for the way we were defending.

“We then produced a fantastic performance against Chelsea and it was a fantastic evening with great support. We didn’t really get recognised for that.”

Jarrod Bowen made his Premier League debut last weekend against Watford and the Hull City forward is now hungry for more as he looks to make an impact.

Bowen came off the bench to replace Markus Henriksen in the closing stages but couldn’t stop the Tigers falling to a 1-0 defeat – Michael Dawson’s 82^nd-minute own goal doing the damage.

The 19-year-old admits that the demands of the Premier League are second to none but is convinced he can make his mark for the Tigers and avoid getting caught up in the hype.

“It was a massive moment in my career and something that I will remember for a long, long time,” said Bowen of his debut.

“But the key now is to build on it. I don’t want to stand still. I want more, a lot more, but I understand I’m young and I have to bide my time and be patient.

“I’ll just continue to work hard and hopefully go forward from there.”

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Hull may currently be struggling, finding themselves entrenched in the bottom three, but Bowen is aware he will still face a fight to secure himself a spot in the side.

He added: “I know I’ve got to remain patient for my next opportunity, but whenever that chance comes, it’s up to me to make sure I grab it with both hands.

“I just have to be confident and have belief in myself and my ability.

“I’ve grown up on and off the pitch – both physically and mentally – and that has been hugely beneficial for me and my development both as a person and as a footballer.”

Southampton manager Claude Puel has mixed feelings ahead of another international break after this Sunday’s match against Hull.

While the gap in the Premier League schedule will give time for the likes of Shane Long and Matt Targett to recover from injuries, others will be jetting off around the globe.

And while the risk of injury whilst players are on international duty is a constant source of concern for Puel, he’s optimistic some players will edge closer to full fitness.

“I hope so,” he said. “We will see this, for example, with [Cédric] Soares.

“Perhaps he comes back the next week for the training sessions and after, for other players, we will see this.

“The international break is always difficult, because we are going to have many players selected for international games and they cannot recover.

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“But it’s a good thing also, because the squad is good, with good players and international players, and for the future this will be important.”

After a thrilling 2-1 victory over Inter in the Europa League, Puel is not expecting to make many changes to the team when they travel to the KCOM Stadium on Sunday.

“I don’t think we will see the squad change for this week, because all the injured players are still unavailable, like Long, Targett, (Jake) Hesketh and (Jeremy) Pied,” he added. “We don’t change the squad.”

Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool will give Danny Ings all the time he needs after the striker underwent successful knee surgery on Tuesday.

Ings sustained an impact injury to his right knee during the Reds’ recent 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup, and went under the knife earlier this week in London to repair the cartilage.

The 24-year-old faces at least a seven-month spell on the sidelines as he undergoes rehabilitation on his injury, but Klopp was quick to point out that Ings, who switched to Anfield in 2015 from Burnley, would ‘100 per cent return as a Liverpool player’.

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“It’s not nice, but it is part of football and from yesterday onwards, it is already a positive story because the surgery was very positive and the rehab has started already,” he said.

“It’s a moment when the club and the team really has to show how strong we are and we will wait for him.

“We will give him all the time he needs and then he will be back again and will be a Liverpool player, 100 per cent. That’s the only thing we are working on from this moment on.”

Klopp added: “He was very, very close in the last few weeks to the team; he’d already helped us and in each session he helped us on his way back into his best shape.

“Everything will be good at the end but now it’s time to work on the comeback.”

Victor Wanyama insists Tottenham are not low on confidence despite a run of six games without a win following Wednesday’s loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.

Spurs are still unbeaten in the Premier League, but have now lost both of their home games in Europe, in front of record crowds at Wembley.

The main issue has been with scoring goals, with just three in those six games, and the return of Harry Kane cannot come soon enough.

However, Wanyama believes the most important thing is for the squad to unite in an effort to turn things around, starting with this weekend’s North London derby against Arsenal.

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He said: “I don’t think it’s a lack of confidence, it’s just that things are not working well and we have to stay together.

“We know we’re in a bad moment, we have to stick together and it will come.

“Everyone is disappointed, we know we can do much better than this. We have tough games to come so we have to continue fighting.

“Sure, it’s very disappointing losing at home. We have great support so it’s very disappointing but there is nothing we can do now, it’s happened and we have to look ahead and try to be better.”

Arsenal versus Tottenham is one of the Premier League’s titanic clashes and does not need any hype in the build-up to get fans of all clubs excited.

But Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has stressed that Sunday’s game at the Emirates Stadium is much more than just a local derby between north London rivals.

Both clubs have eyes on the Premier League title this season and are also looking to progress in the Champions League.

Spurs have not won at the home of Arsenal for six years, although the last two clashes at the Emirates have been 1-1 draws, and Wenger has stressed the importance of their home form heading into this massive contest.

Arsene Wenger during a training session at London Colney. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Wenger said: “I don’t know [if Arsenal have a mental hold over Spurs], you should ask them that. We try to do as well as we can.

“At the moment I’m more focused on the fact that this is more than a derby. It’s an important game for us because it’s a big home game and we have an opportunity to show that we have an interesting role to play in this Premier League, and that we can win these kinds of games too.”

When asked if whether Spurs being unbeaten would play a part, Wenger added: “No. It’s too early in the season for that. At the moment what is important is that we focus on ourselves, on the quality of our performances.

“We know that we have done very well away from home, and we can do well at home. We know as well that the success of our season will depend on how well we do at home.

“I feel that it is difficult to speculate on any weakness to Tottenham. I prefer to concentrate on us, to be strong and to turn up with a top-level performance.”

Swansea City’s Fernando Llorente believes football’s most expensive player Paul Pogba could become the world’s best – but hopes his former teammate doesn’t get the chance to show it Sunday.

The Swans striker could do battle with friend and former teammate Pogba when Manchester United visit the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.

Llorente, who has only netted once in the Premier League this term, insists that 23-year-old Pogba player can accomplish anything he wants in football.

He said: “I think Pogba above all is a great person – he’s a good friend and I experienced great times with him at Juventus.

“I feel very honoured to have shared a changing room with a player like him.

“He doesn’t have limits. He can achieve anything he wants to.

“He has the ability to be the best player in the world if he wants.”

Pogba, who has scored three goals in 14 appearances for Jose Mourinho’s side, is an injury doubt for this weekend’s clash in after sustaining a thigh injury after just 30 minutes of their Europa League tie with Fenerbahce.

The Spanish World Cup winner Llorente won Serie A titles and Coppa Italia trophies alongside Pogba during their time at Juventus.

The pair were also on the wrong side of the result when they met Barcelona in the Champions League final in 2015.

United head to Wales without a league win in their last four outings while the Swans haven’t picked up three points since their opening day win at Burnley.

Jose Mourinho is calling on summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan to up his game if he wants to become a regular part of the Manchester United starting line-up.

The Armenian had to settle for a place on the bench for Thursday’s Europa League defeat to Fenerbahce, eventually replacing Marcus Rashford with 30 minutes to play.

And the 27-year-old has found starts a rarity this term, playing from the outset just once in United’s derby defeat against Manchester City, replaced at half-time by Rashford.

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That was one of just six appearances for Mkhitaryan since his £26million switch from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, with Mourinho sending a message to his attacker to show off his potential.

“He has to do more. It’s as simple as that,” said Mourinho, whose Red Devils have won just two of their last seven games in all competitions.

“We have big expectations at this club, lots of players for these positions and he has to play better than Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial – he has to play better than them. It’s as simple as that.

“Every manager wants to win matches, every manager in the world wants to play the players that he thinks can help the team more, and I’m no different.”

Idrissa Gueye has been a Premier League ever-present for Everton this season, but boss Ronald Koeman believes his side are more than able to cope without their influential midfielder.

The Toffees travel to Chelsea on Saturday, but must do so without the 27-year-old, who picked up a fifth yellow card of the season and a subsequent suspension during last week’s victory over West Ham.

It was a fourth caution in five games for the Senegal international, already becoming a focal point at Goodison Park since his £9million switch from Aston Villa in the summer.

But Koeman is confident the void of Gueye’s absence won’t be too deep, calling on his squad to replicate the togetherness which has launched them into the top six with ten games of the season played.

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“We know Gana is doing well and he has brought a lot of energy to the team,” said Koeman. “He wins a lot of second balls in the midfield and that’s always a loss.

“He’s a miss but it’s not about one player. We have enough replacements in his position. That’s the kind of decision I need to make.

“[Players taking their chance] is what you expect and hope for. We had that last weekend. Maarten Stekelenburg was not available and Joel played a very good game. He made important saves at important moments in the game.

“Funes (Mori) played instead of Phil (Jagielka) and did a really good job, which is what you expect and Bryan Oviedo is doing well during the long time that Leighton (Baines) has been out.”