There were 14 Premier League manager press conferences held on a busier-than-usual Friday.
The other six – at Burnley, Brighton, Sheffield United, Southampton, West Ham and Watford – took place on Thursday and you can catch up on the key injury updates from those by clicking here.
Pep Guardiola didn’t provide us with any shock team news this afternoon, confirming that Angelino merely had cramp in midweek and saying of Manchester City’s overall injury situation:
Everybody I think is fit. The guys who were injured are still injured, the guys who were fit are fit.
Asked about whether he prioritises certain competitions after making a raft of changes in the EFL Cup tie on Tuesday, Guardiola said:
I don’t play Gundogan last game, no Kevin [De Bruyne], no [David] Silva, in this competition I prioritise, definitely. And I think Jurgen has done the same and Arsenal has done the same.
Joel Matip (knee) remains out for Liverpool but Naby Keita (muscle) may recover from his midweek injury to feature against Aston Villa.
Jurgen Klopp said:
Naby I don’t know yet, we will see. Joel is not available for the next few weeks, unfortunately. A few [weeks] is more than three!
On whether he has given consideration to the fact that Fabinho would miss the Manchester City game in Gameweek 12 if he is booked this weekend, Klopp said:
Don’t know yet! I know it, of course. What we do with it, I don’t know, we have to see.
No challenges at all! That’s not possible against Aston Villa, playing without challenges, especially in that position. It’s information we have to deal with. Maybe he has to deal with it on the pitch or I have to deal with it in the line-up.
Mohamed Salah (ankle) was declared “fine” by Pep Lijnders in midweek, while Klopp had made similar comments about Virgil van Dijk (dead leg) after last Sunday’s game.
The Reds are this weekend up against Aston Villa, who will be without Keinan Davis (hamstring) and Jota (hernia).
Asked about Jack Grealish (calf), Dean Smith said:
He’s been out there training today. He’s still a little bit sore but he believes that he’s in contention to start. The thing for me is to make a decision on whether I think he’s fit enough to start.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is “hopeful” of having Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Marcus Rashford available for the trip to Bournemouth tomorrow after that trio picked up knocks in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
The United boss said:
It’s still early. Hopefully, we can get them back on the pitch tomorrow. They got some treatment yesterday, a little bit more treatment today, a light session and hopefully, they’re ready. I can’t tell you exactly now.
On Luke Shaw (hamstring), Nemanja Matic (muscle) and Axel Tuanzebe (hip), Solskjaer added:
They’re not ready for tomorrow. Probably after the international break. That is always a risk if you push them back too early but if we have the two extra weeks after the international break, they should all be ready for then.
Paul Pogba (ankle) also remains sidelined.
Asked about Marcus Rashford‘s form, Solskjaer said:
Since Anthony has come back, Marcus has flourished. He is probably happier facing goal, being direct, driving at people, taking players on instead of being a targetman, the one with his back to goal.
But Marcus wants to master all the skills in the end, he’s only 22. I’m sure we’ll see him up front as a number nine, maybe as a two with Anthony, maybe now as a three like we did against Norwich. Or wide like we did against Chelsea. There’s different ways of playing with Marcus.
And it was important for him, and for me, that he stepped up and took that penalty against Chelsea.
Eddie Howe said of the Cherries’ current fitness situation, meanwhile:
Dan [Gosling]’s getting closer, really pleased to have him back. It brings us that eye for goal from midfield, that work rate and desire he shows every time he plays. He’s a big player for us, we’ve missed him.
I think we’re pretty similar to last week. David Brooks isn’t ready yet, Junior Stanislas is still working his way back. A couple of other little niggles but nothing too serious.
Chelsea will again be without N’Golo Kante (groin), Antonio Rudiger (match fitness), Ross Barkley (ankle), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Achilles) and Andreas Christensen (hamstring) for the trip to Watford but there are encouraging updates from Frank Lampard on three of those players.
The Chelsea boss said:
N’Golo’s close, he is working with the team now. Possibly [Ajax next week].
Ross Barkley is still not quite right, he’s not far away. Andreas Christensen is pretty much fit as well, so it’s the finishing touches for a few of these ones. The difference between fit and match-fit.
[Rudiger] is not fit. He’s going to see a consultant on Monday because he has an ongoing issue in his pelvic area, which is bothering him.
Asked about whether he has a selection headache over Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi, Lampard said:
Yes, I think I have. Because then you have Pedro and Willian as well. There is competition in those places specifically which is good, keeps them on edge.
Pressed on whether he would rotate his wide options, the Chelsea boss replied:
Not necessarily, no. I’ll go as I see it. We changed slightly in midweek, I felt it was a game where we had to rotate across the pitch. I’m not here to rotate for the sake of it.
I understand players that want momentum and want to play and there’s not the pressure that if you have one game below-par, then you don’t play. It can’t be that extreme. It’s just choices I need to make every week.
The furore over Granit Xhaka‘s antics in the draw with Crystal Palace hasn’t quietened down, so much so that Unai Emery looks set to overlook the Swiss midfielder in Gameweek 11.
The Arsenal boss said:
It’s not in my mind [that] he will play tomorrow. I think that tomorrow, he is not going to play. Because I think that now, we need to be focused only 100% on the match. Now we are going to train but at the moment, he’s not in my mind.
Asked about the midweek contributions of Mesut Ozil and Gabriel Martinelli, Emery added:
It is very important, we are playing lots of matches, we are using players, and it’s a challenge for them to show how they can help us. The performance was positive at Liverpool and I am thinking how they can help us tomorrow.
Arsenal are this weekend up against Wolves, who will be without Ryan Bennett (groin) along with longer-term absentee Willy Boly (ankle).
Nuno Espirito Santo said of Bennett:
No, he’s not OK. He had this problem last week, he played in Villa knowing that he still has this problem. Let’s see how he recovers but hopefully he will join us soon. He’s not OK for tomorrow.
Todd Cantwell (hamstring) and Ibrahim Amadou (knee) are doubts for Norwich, who at least can count on the return of two of their goalkeepers.
Daniel Farke said on Friday:
Tim Krul is ready to go, he was able to train the last two days. He’s fine, he can start tomorrow. Ralf Fahrmann is also back and available, also back in team training, he’ll also travel with us.
Todd Cantwell is a little bit doubtful, he had some problems with his hamstring at the beginning of the week. He just joined us today in team training, it was alright but we have to wait to see how he reacts and if he’s really available tomorrow.
It’s the same with Ibrahim Amadou, he overstretched his knee in the last game. Today was the first time that he was back together with us on the pitch. It could be that he’s available but we need to make a late call with them both.
Farke is still without Grant Hanley (groin), Timm Klose (knee), Christoph Zimmermann (foot), Mario Vrancic (match fitness), while Onel Hernandez could miss out as he attends the birth of his child.
It was all quiet at Leicester City, with Brendan Rodgers saying that he has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Sunday’s match against Crystal Palace.
The Eagles look set to be without Andros Townsend (muscle), with Roy Hodgson saying on Friday:
I think we may have lost Andros Townsend. He felt a muscle strain against Arsenal and hasn’t trained before today. He was desperate to see how it went but didn’t complete the session. We’ll see tomorrow of course but I’ll be surprised if he makes it
Vicente Guaita (groin) is available, however, with Hodgson saying:
The good news is Guaita has trained all week and Mamadou Sakho and Connor Wickham took part in at least the early part of our session today, not the more intensive part. We’re really quite blessed with not having many injuries.
Erik Lamela (hamstring) is unavailable for Spurs’ trip to Everton, while Jan Vertonghen (hamstring) is being monitored ahead of Sunday’s game.
Hugo Lloris (elbow) remains sidelined while Danny Rose serves a one-match ban.
The Toffees could have Yerry Mina (knee) back despite his midweek injury but Bernard (knee) is sidelined.
Marco Silva said of Mina:
He worked with the team this morning, like I said after the [Watford] match, it was nothing serious what he has in his knee at this moment. It’s a matter of him just having the conditions to support the pain he has. If he can do that he can train and possibly play as well. He did all the session, let’s see how he will react tomorrow and after we will take the decision.
Steve Bruce said of Newcastle’s injury situation:
Andy [Carroll]’s trained the last couple of days so he’ll come into the squad as long as he stays OK today. Matt Ritchie it’s still too [early] for and that goes for Fab Schar as well.
We think maybe after this weekend, [Schar] could be OK for Bournemouth. If not we might have to wait until after the international break. He’s been sore for a while with his knee, so we’ll just have to wait and see. We don’t think it’s too serious.
Sean Longstaff begins a three-match ban but Isaac Hayden returns after his own suspension.
Predicted line-ups and more detailed information will be found in the Team News tab, which is being refreshed this evening.
Our YouTube round-up can be viewed below, with the podcast version available later tonight.
4 years, 5 months agoWho is scoring more?
A) Auba +4pts
B) Mane