Weekend Briefing: Team news, manager updates, injuries & suspensions

Gaffer Tracker

Jose Mourinho Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino will go down as one of the finest managers in Tottenham's history but the last few months of his tenure appeared to be a strain for all concerned and it was not a huge surprise when Daniel Levy terminated the Argentinian's contract.

Levy's choice to replace him, Jose Mourinho, will not be universally popular but there were strong grounds for targeting the Portuguese, who has a fantastic track record and has won trophies wherever he has gone.

Mourinho's pragmatic style of play will not be to everyone's taste but if he delivers a trophy or two he could soon have the Spurs fans singing his name.

Neil Harris Cardiff

Neil Harris will probably always by associated with Millwall, having spent the vast majority of his professional career with the Londoners, but he could be a good fit for Cardiff.

Replacing Neil Warnock will not be easy but Cardiff looked in need of a fresh start and so did Harris after devoting so much time and energy to one club.

His Millwall side favoured a physical, direct brand of football and those tactics should suit the squad he inherits.

Michael O'Neill Stoke

Michael O'Neill has worked wonders with Northern Ireland and should do a decent job for Stoke, whose immediate priority is to stave off relegation to Sky Bet League One.

There is the possibility that O'Neill could remain Northern Ireland's manager until Euro 2020, but his long-term commitment is to Stoke and he has already made a bright start, leading them to a 4-2 win at Barnsley.

His maximised the potential of Northern Ireland's players. If he does the same at Stoke they should soon climb the table.

Gerhard Struber Barnsley

Barnsley's decision to sack Daniel Stendel seemed slightly harsh but they still have enough time to climb away from danger and have identified Austrian head coach Gerhard Struber as the man to save them.

Struber was doing a decent job with Wolfsberger, who are third in the Austrian top flight, but he has taken on a tough job with the Tykes, who are five points adrift of safety.

Derek Adams Morecambe

Morecambe are not used to recruiting managers but they can be reasonably pleased to have snapped up Derek Adams, who has a decent track record north and south of the border.

The Shrimps' last manager, Jim Bentley, had been in their dugout since 2011, and they are likely to afford plenty of time and patience to Adams, who inherits one of the lowest budgets in the EFL.

Adams had success with Ross County, leading them to the Scottish Second and First Division titles in 2007-08 and 2011-12, and he steered Plymouth to League Two promotion in 2016-17.

Injury Briefing

Reds may miss key trio

Liverpool could be stretched for Saturday's trip to Crystal Palace with Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Joel Matip reportedly struggling for fitness.

Losing Salah, the scorer of nine goals in all competitions this season, would probably be the biggest blow.

The Egyptian sat out Liverpool's 1-1 draw at Manchester United in October which was one of their poorest performances of the campaign.

Robertson has not missed a minute of Premier League football this season and Matip has featured just once since September.

Jurgen Klopp may face a tricky selection but is boosted by the availability of Jordan Henderson (illness) and Joe Gomez (knee), who are back in training.

Bowyer down to bare bones

Charlton manager Lee Bowyer had hoped for some relief on the injury front after a two-week break but may struggle to fill the bench for their home clash with Cardiff.

Bowyer could be without as many as ten players, including star striker Lyle Taylor, who has missed almost three months with a knee injury and is rated touch and go to face the Bluebirds.

The Addicks are definitely without suspended midfielder Darren Pratley and injured contingent Tomer Hemed, Sam Field, Jonny Williams, Lewis Page, George Lapslie, Ben Amos, Jake Forster-Caskey and Chuks Aneke, leaving Bowyer short of senior players.

He said: "We've got a 23 or 22-man squad and we've got ten out."

Midfielder Albie Morgan has been recalled from a loan spell at Ebbsfleet.

Oxford midfielders on the mend

Oxford have had a tough spell with injuries but there is some light at the end of the tunnel after manager Karl Robinson issued a positive update on three players.

Midfielder Cameron Brannagan, previously described by Robinson as one of the best midfield players in League One, is back in light training after a knee injury and could be playing again by mid-December.

Fellow midfielders Josh Ruffels (dead leg) and Jamie Hanson (hamstring) are back in full training and will be pushing to be involved in Saturday's clash at Southend.

Mariners navigating tricky spell

Interim Grimsby manager Anthony Limbrick has taken on a tough job and his options for their League Two match at Northampton are severely restricted by injuries.

Limbrick got off to a losing start on Wednesday with Grimsby exiting the FA Cup with a 2-0 loss at Newport.

It was a severely depleted Grimsby side weakened by the pre-match withdrawals of James Hanson (calf) and Ludvig Ohman (illness) and the Mariners are unlikely to be much stronger against Northampton.

Hanson may has a chance of returning but Matt Green (knock) has joined the absentee list which includes injured trio Luke Hendrie (hamstring), Max Wright (thigh) and Moses Ogbu (unspecified) and suspended defender Mattie Pollock.

Cambridge crisis has eased

Cambridge United were without nine players for Tuesday's 1-0 loss at Exeter in an FA Cup first-round replay but they should be stronger for the long weekend trip to Carlisle.

Among the injured players were midfielders Luke Hannant and Paul Lewis and defender George Taft, who are all expected to be in contention to feature at Brunton Park.

And there is positive news regarding midfielder Samir Carruthers, who is expected to be available the following weekend.

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