Liverpool may be dealing with injury concerns of its own, but Premier League title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal are both set to miss key players heading into the upcoming domestic fixtures.

Alisson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are nearing a return to full fitness after hamstring injuries, but remain unavailable for Liverpool's trip to Southampton on Sunday. Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa have resumed training this week, though both are doubts for the match as manager Arne Slot aims to maintain Liverpool’s five-point lead at the top of the table.

Both City and Arsenal play before Liverpool, with their respective matches against Tottenham and Nottingham Forest scheduled for Saturday. However, City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Mateo Kovacic is expected to miss "three to four weeks" due to a midfield issue.

The champions are already facing a season without Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, and Kovacic had been stepping into his role. City had suffered four consecutive defeats for the first time under Guardiola before the recent international break, and now they must cope with Kovacic’s absence as the festive schedule begins.

City will also be without senior defender Ruben Dias, and Oscar Bobb has yet to reach full fitness following a leg fracture sustained in pre-season. Despite midfield shortages, City have welcomed back centre-backs John Stones, Manuel Akanji, and Nathan Ake to first-team training.

"John [Stones] trained well, Manu [Akanji] trained well. Nathan [Ake] is returning to training, so we didn’t have any centre-backs, and now we have three," Guardiola said during Friday’s press conference. "Ruben [Dias] is out, but hopefully back soon. Some players recover better.

"These 10 days have allowed some players to recover a little. I don’t know if they are ready to play 90 minutes or start the match, but seeing their training sessions and their faces was a really good boost for all of us."

In London, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed that defender Ben White would miss "a few months" after undergoing knee surgery. "We know that Ben will push every boundary, but it got to the point where we had to protect the player, so we decided to proceed with the surgery," Arteta told reporters.

"He agreed with that decision, and it will keep him out for a few months." Fellow right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu remains sidelined, but the Gunners could field Riccardo Calafiori against Forest, as the £42 million summer signing has been cleared and is ready for selection.

Arsenal also saw star players Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice withdraw from the England squad due to suspected injuries, though both are expected to feature on Saturday. Leandro Trossard sustained a minor injury while on international duty with Belgium but is also anticipated to be involved.