Manchester

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Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has been ruled out "for the next few weeks" with a muscle injury.

The 30-year-old picked up the issue in the Red Devils' 4-3 defeat by Chelsea last Thursday.

In a statement the club said Varane is "aiming to be back before the end of the season in May".

United also confirmed that centre-back Jonny Evans will also miss the side's match against Bournemouth on Saturday with a "shorter-term muscle issue".

It leaves Erik ten Hag with a selection headache in defence with Harry Maguire the only fit senior player in that position following injuries to Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof.

The United boss played teenager Willy Kambwala alongside Maguire in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool and the 19-year-old could be set to keep his place for the trip to Vitality stadium.

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Manchester United have written to the Premier League to express their concern at the Premier League fixture with Crystal Palace being moved to Monday, 6 May, with a 20:00 BST kick-off.

The game was switched for television broadcasting last week.

It is a bank holiday and there is no option to return to Manchester by rail after the full-time whistle.

United have offered free coach travel with the club's official coach partner for fans going to watch their team at Selhurst Park.

However, the club is unhappy at the situation and said in an open message to supporters that it "shared frustrations and appreciated the logistical difficulties that have been created for our fans".

The club added: "We want to inform you that we are writing to the Premier League to this effect and will be asking for greater consideration to be given to match-going fans when agreeing fixture schedules with broadcasters."

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I am told there is no rush from either Manchester United or the player's side to get a new contract for young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo pushed through.

The 18-year-old signed a long-term contract 12 months ago.

However, since then he has become a first-team regular and earned England recognition.

United are looking to improve his current terms considerably and it seems the Stockport-born youngster is keen to remain at Old Trafford, so there is no panic about getting an agreement.

All sides remain quite calm.

The Champions League ties are both extremely tough for Manchester City and Arsenal.

Balancing big European nights with Premier League title races is what Manchester City have been doing for a number of years so they should be ahead of the loading, ahead of knowing what is needed next and how to use the squad.

When you look at the weekend games, Arsenal will have an extra day of rest but will have to go all out against Aston Villa, whereas City might be able to rest a couple of players against Luton before the return legs next week. It is a balancing act and a risk and reward situation.

Both sides showed good character in their games on Tuesday with all kinds of drama in the matches, but it is a learning curve. Arsenal are still behind on that in terms of the Champions League, but either way you need a little bit of luck in these situations.

Sometimes there are questions on if it is a distraction having these big cup games but I don't think it is - you know it is a massive game to win the ultimate prize of the Champions League. They will want to give everything but the league is also so tight. It is a run of games and everyone will have to go flat out for them.

Arsenal have better squad depth at the moment. City have found it hard and they would have taken a draw against Real Madrid when looking at the players missing. There are some tough games coming up for both and you factor in the FA Cup for City too, it is tough. Looking at the situation for all the teams in the title race, Liverpool having a slightly easier European situation could come into play.

There is not going to be more focus on one competition over another, they are all just going to be focused on every game that comes because the prizes are as great as it gets.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Bournemouth and Manchester United in the Premier League.

• Bournemouth are looking to complete their first league double over Manchester United, following their 3-0 win at Old Trafford in December.

• Manchester United have won four of their six Premier League away games against Bournemouth, losing the other two in December 2015 (1-2) and November 2019 (0-1).

• Bournemouth have won each of their last three Premier League home games – they have never won four in a row at home in the top-flight before.

• Despite coming into this round of games in sixth place in the Premier League table, only bottom side Sheffield United (560) have faced more shots than Manchester United in the Premier League this season (554), while the Red Devils also have the third highest expected goals against figure (58.2).

• Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi were on target for Bournemouth in their 3-0 win over Manchester United in the reverse fixture. Only Joshua King in 2019-20 has scored home and away for the Cherries against the Red Devils in a single campaign.

• Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie (33) and Manchester United’s Antony (31) are the two players to have had the most shots without scoring a single goal so far in the Premier League this season.

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Manchester City and Luton in the Premier League.

• Man City have won their last four home league games against Luton by an aggregate score of 12-1. They last hosted them in April 1999 in the third tier (2-0) and the last time they played them in the top-flight in February 1992 finished 4-0.

• Luton have never won an away league match against the reigning top-flight champions in 16 attempts (D3 L13), losing the last nine by an aggregate score of 27-2.

• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 40 home games in all competitions (W34 D6), just two short of their all-time club record of 42 set between December 1919 and November 1921.

• Excluding penalties, only Arsenal (19) and Everton (15) have scored more goals from set-piece situations than Luton in the Premier League this season (14). However, Manchester City have conceded just two such goals so far, fewer than any other side.

• Phil Foden has scored nine goals in his last nine Premier League games, with his 14 overall this season his best return in a single campaign. His next goal will be his 50th in the competition. He would be the 10th player to reach this milestone for Manchester City, while aged 23 years and 321 days on the day of this game, he would be the second youngest to do so for the club after Erling Haaland earlier this season.

• Kevin De Bruyne has been involved in nine goals in just 11 Premier League appearances this season, scoring three and assisting six. He is averaging a goal or assist every 75 minutes this term, the best rate of any player (min. 500 minutes).

Manchester United are to let 12 of their first-team squad leave Old Trafford in what will be a huge rebuild at the club this summer. (FourFourTwo), external

Manchester United have set their sights on AC Milan and Portugal forward Rafael Leao, but the 24-year-old is valued at 145m euros (£124m) by the Italian club. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter is in line to take over from Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag - who reportedly expects to be sacked this summer - following a meeting with the club's minority stakeholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe. (Sun), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Shakhtar Donetsk are preparing to sell Ukraine midfielder Georgiy Sudakov, with Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Manchester City interested in the 21-year-old. (HITC), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Michail Antonio and Tom Cairney have been waxing lyrical over Kevin De Bruyne on the latest episode of the Footballer's Football Podcast after the Belgium international scored his 100th Manchester City goal in Saturday's win over Crystal Palace.

"He already is [one of the greats]," said West Ham striker Antonio.

"It's where we judge him off. [Frank] Lampard bagged goals for years, there's [Steven] Gerrard, [Paul] Scholes, [Cesc] Fabregas, [Xabi] Alonso. He's rapid.

"I got the ball, 20 yards on the edge of our box, we were penned in, and I saw him and a stretch of grass and thought 'man's just gonna knock this, it's just Kev not Kyle Walker - no problem'.

"I've knocked it and he was there and I thought 'what the hell is this?' Powerhouse - the guy is fast.

"The power in his left foot is as good as his right, he can cross equally with both. He's better than Yaya Toure."

"Even if you take stats out of it - what a footballer," added Fulham captain Cairney.

"I think wherever he plays across midfield he's the best player.

"He's dynamic, he can run past people. He's so fast, I can't explain to you. He's a powerful boy. I don't think people understand. He kicks it so hard, he's got a left foot as well.

"He's definitely in the conversation for best Premier League midfielder ever. He's definitely Man City's best ever signing."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds