Next up, we check in on the latest injury news to find Mauricio Pochettino playing down Kieran Trippier’s late departure in the defeat to Chelsea. Meanwhile, Xherdan Shaqiri is an early concern for Stoke City’s derby clash with West Brom, while Alexis Sanchez continues to be monitored ahead of Arsenal’s Gameweek 3 trip to Anfield.
New Arrivals
Kieran Trippier was replaced after picking up a knock late on during Spurs’ loss to Chelsea. The right-back was starting for the first time this term after recovering from an ankle injury sustained during pre-season, though post-match, Mauricio Pochettino insisted that the problem is “not a big issue”.
If fit, Trippier’s fitness is certainly one to monitor ahead of a plum home clash against former club Burnley – the right-back is priced at 5.4 compared with the in-demand Ben Davies’ 5.6.
Leicester City skipper Wes Morgan will miss tonight’s cup encounter with Sheffield United with the “slight back problem” that forced him off during the 2-0 win over Brighton. Manager Craig Shakespeare has stated that Morgan’s setback is different to the injury that kept the defender sidelined for the final months of the 2016/17 campaign.
Seagulls’ striker Glenn Murray was forced off midway through the defeat at Leicester after sustaining two knocks to his ankle. Steve Sidwell missed out altogether with a minor back complaint.
Meanwhile, Stoke will assess Erik Pieters (ankle) and Xherdan Shaqiri (leg muscle), who were both forced off in the 1-0 home win over Arsenal.
The Swiss international is set to miss tomorrow’s cup clash with Rochdale but the club “remain hopeful” he will be fit for the weekend trip to West Brom, despite his history with similar problems. Mark Hughes handed new boy Eric Choupo-Moting the lone striker role, but he could move into a central support slot alongside Jese Rodriguez at the Hawthorns, with Saido Berahino leading the line against his former club should Shaqiri miss out.
West Ham’s Winston Reid suffered a calf complaint during the warm-up ahead of the weekend loss to Southampton, with Jose Fonte handed a first start in his absence. The Hammers have shipped seven goals in two matches in light of the 3-2 defeat but now travel to a Newcastle United side that’s failed to find the net in back-to-back fixtures.
Newcastle’s Dwight Gayle (illness) is an early doubt for a cup encounter with Nottingham Forest tomorrow evening. Recent signing Joselu looks in line to start, then, having impressed off the bench in Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Huddersfield Town.
Southampton’s summer signing Mario Lemina was replaced on 64 minutes of his debut after sustaining a shin injury at home to West Ham. His withdrawal allowed substitute James Ward-Prowse – who dropped to the bench at St Mary’s – to take up a central support berth, with Steven Davis moving into the double-pivot.
West Brom’s Claudio Yacob missed the weekend win at Burnley after sustaining a hamstring injury during training on Friday. The Argentine’s absence allowed Gareth Barry his first start for the Baggies.
Crystal Palace were without Jairo Riedewald for their trip to Anfield on Saturday. Eagles manager Frank de Boer has revealed that his compatriot “had growing pains” and was not risked against Liverpool. Riedewald will be expected to return to contention for the visit of Swansea City in Gameweek 3, with James Tomkins the man most likely to drop out.
In Recovery
After seeing his side lose at Stoke, Arsene Wenger rolled out a handy update on the fitness of Alexis Sanchez as Arsenal prepare to visit Anfield this Sunday:
“We’ll see how he goes through the week. He has not played for a long time. He was out with a muscular strain and hopefully, he will survive the tests first before he comes back. He’s not played now for six weeks and it’s difficult to be at your best in the first game straight away.”
Sitting in just 2% of FPL squads, a return to action for Sanchez would be significant news for Fantasy managers after he finished last term as the top scoring player in the game. The Gunners’ schedule from Gameweek 4 onwards is also very encouraging, with home clashes against Bournemouth, West Brom and Brighton in the subsequent four rounds of fixtures. Initially costing 12.0 in FPL, the Chilean’s lack of pitch time has seen his price slip to 11.9.
Although he wasn’t passed fit for Sunday’s win at Spurs, Chelsea’s Eden Hazard stepped up his recovery from an ankle complaint in a behind-closed-doors practice match with QPR last Thursday. While he remains a big doubt for the visit of Everton, the potential return of Hazard, allied with Sanchez’ imminent comeback, could set to trigger major sales across the Fantasy games over the international break.
West Ham trio Manuel Lanzini, Andy Carroll and Cheick Kouyate could all be in contention for the weekend trip to Newcastle. Last week, Slaven Bilic revealed that Lanzini is expected back in full training today, with the Argentine potentially in line to make an immediate return to the first XI as a result of Marko Arnautovic’s dismissal at St Mary’s. He could take up a spot alongside Michail Antonio and Andre Ayew in the attacking midfield places behind Javier Hernandez.
Swansea City frontman Fernando Llorente will be monitored this week as he steps up his recovery from an arm injury. In his pre-Gameweek 2 press conference, manager Paul Clement went on to say ”we will see if he is okay” to face Crystal Palace this weekend.
Bournemouth’s Simon Francis remains sidelined with the hamstring injury that forced off late in Gameweek 1. Cherries’ manager Eddie Howe confirmed yesterday that Francis won’t be back until after the international break, and his absence should allow Adam Smith to retain the right-back role for Saturday’s clash with Man City.
Everton earned a point at Manchester City on Monday without the services of Sandro Ramirez in attack due to a heel injury. Manager Ronald Koeman has since confirmed that he is hopeful that the player will be fit for Thursday’s Europa League clash against Hajduk Split. His potential return in Gameweek 3 would give the Everton boss a selection headache given the impressive display from Dominic Calvert-Lewin against City.
Finally, Manchester United duo Luke Shaw and Ashley Young stepped up their recoveries from injury with 60-minute run outs for the reserves at home to Swansea last night. Marcos Rojo has also returned to training for the Red Devils following his knee ligament injury back in April.
