• Liverpool forward was pulled away from coach by Darwin Núñez
• Klopp: ‘We spoke in the dressing room … it is done for me’

Mohamed Salah ruined Jürgen Klopp’s attempt to play down his touchline row with the winger by saying there would be “fire” if he stopped to speak after Liverpool’s faltering title challenge suffered another blow in their 2-2 draw at West Ham .

Salah, who was dropped after Liverpool’s midweek defeat at Everton , cut a disgruntled figure while he was waiting to come off the bench at the London Stadium. The winger reacted badly after Klopp, whose side were chasing a late winner after squandering a 2-1 lead, tried to speak to him. The incident ended with Darwin Núñez, another substitute, having to pull Salah away from Liverpool’s manager.

Is it over yet? Watching as his side contrived to drop more points with some weird and wasteful finishing at the London Stadium, Jürgen Klopp could at least tell himself that this might be the last time he will ever have to coach in a 12.30pm kick-off. Next season that responsibility will fall to Arne Slot, who will also need to work out how to make Liverpool more ruthless in front of goal.

This was a game that they could won 10 times over. Luis Díaz could have had a hat-trick but finished with merely an assist to his name. Behind to a header from Jarrod Bowen at half-time, Liverpool should have run away with the points after fighting back to lead 2-1. Conviction, though, is in short supply at both ends of the pitch. West Ham, who are preparing for their own managerial change, were given a route back. David Moyes could be pleased with a point after Michail Antonio’s late equaliser, leaving Liverpool two points off the top.

• Premier League updates from the 12.30pm BST kick-off
• Live scoreboard | Reds agree terms for Slot | And mail Barry

West Ham midfielder George Earthy has been stood down according to the concussion protocols after being stretchered off with a head injury during his Premier League debut against Fulham last weekend.

• Feyenoord to receive £7.7m after verbal agreement made
• Klopp says position is ‘best in the world at the best club’

Arne Slot is set to become Liverpool’s next manager after the terms of his move from Feyenoord were agreed in principle between the two clubs on Friday.

Liverpool and Feyenoord have been negotiating a compensation package since the Anfield club made an official move for the 45-year-old earlier this week. The two parties have now reached a verbal ­agreement over the deal, which will see ­Feyenoord receive €9m (£7.7m) plus €2m in add-ons for a coach who has two years remaining on his contract.

Frontrunner to take charge at Liverpool did not make a big impression as a player but can spark a revolution as a manager

Liverpool’s move for the Feyenoord coach, Arne Slot, has been described by Ajax fans as “the best news of the year”. Troubled Ajax have been blown away this season, losing 4-0 at home and 6-0 away against their arch-rivals .

So superior were Feyenoord in every area – tactics, intensity, power, unity, intelligence – that it could have been worse for Ajax. Only in their finishing might Feyenoord have done better.

Liverpool await a dead-ball salvo, Luton have to keep their chins up, and things could get spicy at the City Ground

David Moyes will surely have taken note of Liverpool’s struggle to defend set pieces against Everton. Jürgen Klopp, who must be delighted with a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday, should prepare his team for another bruising test when they visit West Ham. For Moyes, this is a chance to repair the sizeable damage to his reputation caused by last weekend’s collapse at Selhurst Park . West Ham were 4-0 down to Palace after 31 minutes and are preparing to part company with Moyes at the end of the season, but they should take heart from how Everton unsettled Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Everton scored twice from set pieces and West Ham pose a similar threat from dead balls. James Ward-Prowse’s deliveries towards Tomas Soucek, Kurt Zouma and Michail Antonio will have Klopp’s defenders sweating. Jacob Steinberg

West Ham v Liverpool, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Fulham v Crystal Palace, Saturday 3pm

Newcastle v Sheffield United, Saturday 3pm

Manchester United v Burnley, Saturday 3pm

• ‘It’s no secret that I want to go to Liverpool’
• Feyenoord coach confident the clubs will agree a deal

Arne Slot has revealed he is keen on a move to Liverpool and has “confidence” that a switch to Anfield will materialise.

The Feyenoord manager, who has become Liverpool’s preferred candidate to succeed Jürgen Klopp , was speaking to ESPN before the club’s Eredivisie game with Go Ahead Eagles.

Manager’s departure news is not to blame for his side losing their grasp on two, quite possibly three, trophies in quick time

In isolation, Jürgen Klopp did not have to apologise for losing for the first time in eight visits to Goodison Park. Bad nights happen. In the context of Liverpool’s sorry end to the season, however, an apology felt entirely appropriate.

“I really feel for the people, I am really sorry for that,” said the Liverpool manager after Wednesday’s derby defeat by Everton . “We never lost here before and that feels really different. I really apologise for that.” Klopp’s voice and choice of words captured Liverpool’s mood as the prospects of giving their legendary manager a fitting send-off evaporate. Deflation. Yes, a new-look team was not expected to mount a title challenge this season. That is not a default excuse for recent underperformance. Yes, a quadruple is a fanciful ambition. That does not explain how Liverpool have allowed two, quite possibly three, trophies to slip from their grasp in less than six weeks.

Devolution has been too cautious, and England has less say about community affairs than almost any other democracy

• Tony Travers is a visiting professor in the LSE department of government and a director of LSE London

All the bigger British political parties are in favour of devolution, yet it proves oddly difficult to deliver. England is a remarkably centralised country, with the UK government responsible for setting every tax, including the annual cap on council tax. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also, despite their devolved status, heavily centralised within their own national systems of government.

It is exactly 50 years since the major reform of local government structure in England and Wales. Prior to the 1974 changes , there were 1,245 councils in England; after the reforms were implemented, the number of councils was slashed to just 412. Today there are 317 councils, and the number continues to fall as the result of a near-continual reorganisation, which has turned two-tier counties – where there were county councils plus districts within them – into one or more unitary councils, where a single council provides all municipal services. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, after more recent reforms, now have a single tier of large municipalities.