We’ve had a deluge of pre-match press conferences on Friday, with 15 Premier League managers facing the media.
Add that to the three bosses who held virtual pressers yesterday and we almost have a full complement.
Dean Smith and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose teams were in action in the final match of Gameweek 34+ on Thursday evening, are the only two head coaches we haven’t heard from, although there is always a chance that some embargoed quotes from their respective post-match conference calls leak out before Saturday’s Fantasy Premier League deadline.
We’ll round up the headline injury news match by match below.
Liverpool v Burnley
Jurgen Klopp has ruled Jordan Henderson out for the rest of the season with a knee injury but no surgery is needed, so he should be back for the start of 2020/21.
Dejan Lovren has resumed full training and could come into contention for Saturday’s match against Burnley.
Asked whether Roberto Firmino allowed Mohamed Salah to score against Brighton purely to aid the Egyptian’s quest for the Golden Boot, Klopp replied:
I hope the boys were not in that mood in that moment. It was just Bobby’s football intelligence. He was not in the best position [to score].
You cannot have this kind of mindset, football is too quick. We all help each other. Sadio is another contender, with 16, not too close but it’s not impossible. They all want to score goals.
Jack Cork (ankle), Ben Mee (thigh), Matthew Lowton (foot) and Ashley Barnes (hernia) remain unavailable for the trip to Anfield but Sean Dyche reported no fresh injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s match.
Brighton and Hove Albion v Manchester City
There was no mention of Kevin De Bruyne in Pep Guardiola’s press conference, with the Belgian having initially given his manager a shock when hitting the turf against Newcastle United in midweek.
Guardiola said on Friday:
Today they trained really well, all of them. Now I have a meeting with the doctor to get an update. We had some problems. After two or three games in a row, Mendy was not comfortable with muscular issues. That’s why we rotate the team.
We have to arrive in the best condition possible for Arsenal and Real Madrid. At the same time, the best way to be ready is play our games, with the rhythm.
Jose Izquierdo (knee) is Brighton’s only confirmed absentee ahead of the visit of City but Steven Alzate continues to struggle with a groin issue.
Sheffield United v Chelsea
Frank Lampard has confirmed that Billy Gilmour has had an operation on his knee on Friday and the midfielder is now estimated to be out for between three and four months.
Lampard added that N’Golo Kante (hamstring) is still out but Mateo Kovacic (Achilles) returns to the squad.
Fikayo Tomori (muscle) is bordering on a return but is not ready to play just yet.
Chris Wilder said that he will give injury doubts John Fleck (groin) and David McGoldrick (foot) “the best possible chance of being involved” against the Blues.
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
Nuno Espirito Santo will check on Adama Traore (shoulder) and Pedro Neto (knock) ahead of this weekend’s clash with Everton.
The Wolves boss said:
We have some issues, one of them is Adama. But we still have a training session tomorrow to reassess all the situations. Some knocks, normal things that happen in football, so let’s wait to see how things are.
[Neto] is better. He trained yesterday with the fitness coach and was able to do some things. We still have one day to assess all the players tomorrow.
Carlo Ancelotti brought us updates on Mason Holgate (shin) and Andre Gomes (knock), meanwhile:
I think that for Andre Gomes, we will have to wait until tomorrow when we have training. He’s not a big problem, he had a knock on his ankle, today it was a little bit stiff, but we hope that tomorrow he can train and play on Sunday.
The same it will be for Holgate. I think he can train tomorrow and we will check tomorrow. No [other] problems.
Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal
Spurs have confirmed that Dele Alli remains out with a hamstring injury ahead of the north London derby, while Eric Dier serves the second game of a four-match ban.
Calum Chambers (knee), Pablo Mari (ankle), Gabriel Martinelli (knee) and Bernd Leno (knee) are still sidelined for the Gunners, while Mesut Ozil (back) faces yet another late fitness check ahead of Sunday.
Eddie Nketiah begins a three-match ban, meanwhile.
Bournemouth v Leicester City
James Maddison (hip) and Ben Chilwell (foot) look set to miss the trip to Bournemouth, with Brendan Rodgers saying on Friday:
I think both those boys will most likely be out for the game. And then we’ll assess them before the Sheffield United game to see where they are at.
Eddie Howe reported that Adam Smith (head) will miss the Leicester game and “thinks” David Brooks‘ (calf) issue was only cramp.
Steve Cook has a hamstring problem and is not “100% yet”, despite making the bench against Spurs.
Manchester United v Southampton
Moussa Djenepo (calf), Sofiane Boufal (thigh), Nathan Tella (unspecified) and Yan Valery (muscle) all look set to miss the trip to Manchester United but Ralph Hasenhuttl said that Jannik Vestergaard (muscle) could make the bench.
As we’ve mentioned, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has yet to stage a Gameweek 35+ press conference but did say of Mason Greenwood after Thursday’s game:
He has to manage himself. I’m doing my bit to help him, he has to turn in performances in the training sessions and in the games, play properly. It’s all down to him and he can go as far as he wants to. He’s an exceptional finisher and I’m surprised he didn’t score his first chance today. You can’t leave a player out when he’s scoring goals. That’s more or less impossible.
Watford v Newcastle United
Steve Bruce said of Newcastle United’s team news ahead of the trip to Watford:
I hope Almiron, Saint-Maximin and the skipper (Lascelles) will be OK, we’ll see how they are after training, so that’ll give us a hand.
Bruce also reported “one or two knocks” from the defeat at Manchester City, with Emil Krafth “a concern”.
Gerard Deulofeu (knee), Isaac Success (Achilles) and Daryl Janmaat (knee) are Watford’s only confirmed absentees for the visit of Newcastle United, with Nigel Pearson reporting no new fitness issues in his pre-match press conference
Norwich City v West Ham United
David Moyes says West Ham United’s injury situation is “much the same” heading into the match against Norwich City.
Robert Snodgrass (back) and Felipe Anderson (hamstring) miss out but Moyes is hopeful he can get them back for a few of the remaining games.
Daniel Farke reported that Todd Cantwell (hamstring) is back in training and is hopeful of the midfielder’s involvement against West Ham in some capacity this weekend.
Kenny McLean is also expected to be available.
Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
Roy Hodgson said that he hopes to largely have the same Crystal Palace squad available for Sunday, with the fit-again Martin Kelly (calf) replacing the injured Gary Cahill (hamstring) in the travelling party.
Dean Smith, as we mentioned above, has yet to face the media.
More detailed information and predicted line-ups can be found in the Team News tab, which is being gradually refreshed this evening.
Keep an eye on our Twitter feed, too, for any late-breaking updates.
A video round-up with Andy and Neale can be viewed below, and the podcast version can be accessed here.
FPL Lessons Learned From Gameweek 34+
- Crystal Palace 2-3 Chelsea
- Watford 2-1 Norwich City
- Arsenal 1-1 Leicester City
- Manchester City 5-0 Newcastle United
- Sheffield United 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
- West Ham United 0-1 Burnley
- Brighton and Hove Albion 1-3 Liverpool
- Bournemouth 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
- Everton 1-1 Southampton
- Aston Villa 0-3 Manchester United
