Team News
23 April 2021 1136 comments
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We’ve got injury updates on the 16 Premier League teams who are in Gameweek 33 action in our weekly press conference summary below.

There are also a couple of notable quotes from Ryan Mason and Pep Guardiola to bring you ahead of Sunday’s EFL Cup final.

For more team news information, check out our Predicted Line-ups page and Injuries and Bans feed.

A video recap with Neale and Andy can be viewed below.


LIVERPOOL V NEWCASTLE UNITED

The rumours surrounding an injury to Diogo Jota turned out to be a false alarm, with Jurgen Klopp keeping it short and sweet on Friday:

Diogo is fine, Diogo is fine.

Nat Phillips (hamstring) is out but Curtis Jones (muscle) returns.

Jamaal Lascelles (foot), Isaac Hayden (knee), Karl Darlow (knee) and Ryan Fraser (groin) are sidelined for the Magpies, while the game may come too soon for Fabian Schar (knee) despite his recent return to training following a two-month lay-off.

There was better news elsewhere on the fitness front, however, with Callum Wilson confirmed as available despite not being seen in training ground photos and Allan Saint-Maximin passed fit following his ankle knock in Gameweek 32. 

EFL CUP FINAL: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V MANCHESTER CITY

We had an update on Harry Kane (ankle) in Ryan Mason’s pre-EFL Cup final presser but uncertainty still surrounds the striker’s availability for this weekend and beyond.

Mason said:

We’re not sure yet. He didn’t train with the team today but we’ll have more of an idea tomorrow to see if we can get him back on the pitch.

As for City, they have a clean bill of health after Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero returned to training on Friday.

WEST HAM UNITED V CHELSEA

Jesse Lingard is “fine” according to his manager, with David Moyes confirming that it was only cramp that forced him off last weekend:

Jesse had a bit of cramp at Newcastle, which at the time we didn’t see as being too big a problem and he’s fine.

I’m hoping that somewhere along the line we can get Micky, Declan, Aaron Cresswell and Arthur back in amongst it because they’ve been important players for us throughout the year. We’re aware that if we can get them back it would help us.

Aaron is getting closer, we’ll monitor it, see how he feels tomorrow and see how we think.

Mateo Kovacic (hamstring) is Chelsea’s only absentee, with Thomas Tuchel confirming that Edouard Mendy would start between the posts following his Gameweek 32 benching:

Mendy is in goal. The change was made for Kepa for the FA Cup game and even before then, the goalkeeper coach and me decided that Kepa would stay one more game after Man City to have it as a reward and feel a bit the rhythm of playing every three days. 

We wanted to reward what he is doing in training and in the dressing room which is simply outstanding in terms of quality and personality so I’m very happy he could show it on the pitch.

He had two clean sheets in two difficult matches for us so it’s a very good feeling that we can absolutely can rely on two goalkeepers and they can produce clean sheets. They earn our trust but the situation in general has not changed so Edou will be in goal tomorrow.

LEEDS UNITED V MANCHESTER UNITED

Liam Cooper (suspended) and Rodrigo (muscle) will miss out on the visit of Manchester United, while Raphinha is a major concern.

Marcelo Bielsa said ahead of the game:

With Raphinha, we’re controlling his evolution on a daily basis. Up until now, he’s not recovered sufficiently to be able to train again. Rodrigo is in the last stages of his recovery but not well enough to feature this weekend.

The ongoing saga of Marcus Rashford‘s (foot) fitness rolls on, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saying:

Marcus [Rashford] hasn’t trained but I hope that he will join us tomorrow. Eric [Bailly] is back and has been training this week.

ARSENAL V EVERTON

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was among five players who were all passed fit by Carlo Ancelotti on Thursday, leaving just Jean-Philippe Gbamin (knee) and Abdoulaye Doucoure (foot) on the treatment table.

Yerry Mina, Andre Gomes, Bernard and Fabian Delph have all been given the all-clear too.

As for Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (illness) and Alexandre Lacazette (hamstring) will join Kieran Tierney (knee) and David Luiz (knee) in sitting out Friday’s match.

Martin Odegaard (ankle) remains a doubt as he has only engaged in “light training” as of Wednesday.

LEICESTER CITY V CRYSTAL PALACE

With Leicester City only in action on Thursday evening, we won’t hear much new on the team news front from Brendan Rodgers ahead of their Gameweek 33 clash with Crystal Palace.

There was no obvious cause for concern in that comfortable victory over the Baggies, with Rodgers confirming that Wesley Fofana‘s early substitution was due to his fasting for Ramadan.

On Ricardo Pereira‘s benching, Rodgers said:

I’m very conscious Ricardo is coming back from a long-term injury and I always felt between when he came back and the end of the season we’re just getting him some minutes. I don’t think he’s ready to play three games in a week.

Harvey Barnes (knee) and James Justin (knee) remain out.

A 16-day gap between league matches has allowed Crystal Palace the chance to recover some of their sidelined players, with Jeffrey Schlupp (unspecified), James Tomkins (eye) and Mamadou Sakho (thigh) all back in training.

James McArthur (calf) is the only confirmed injury-related absentee, although Nathan Ferguson and Connor Wickham have not yet rejoined their teammates despite returns to the training ground and also look poised to miss out on Monday.

Gary Cahill is a fresh doubt with what his manager described as a “minor problem”, although Roy Hodgson was optimistic of his recovery when facing the media on Thursday.

ASTON VILLA V WEST BROMWICH ALBION

Trezeguet (knee), Morgan Sanson (knee) and Jack Grealish (shin) will miss the visit of West Bromwich Albion, while Matthew Cash is also unavailable as he serves a one-game ban for his dismissal in the midweek defeat against Manchester City.

Wesley (match fitness) could be back in the first-team squad after a lengthy absence.

Albion were only in Gameweek 32 action on Thursday, so we’ve yet to hear much on the team news front from Sam Allardyce.

Uncertainty surrounds the availability of Robert Snodgrass, who underwent an epidural a fortnight ago in a bid to address a long-standing issue.

SHEFFIELD UNITED V BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

Graham Potter said that his Brighton players had come through their goalless draw at Chelsea unscathed, although the Albion boss will be forced into at least one change after Ben White was dismissed in that stalemate at Stamford Bridge.

While Potter gave the all-clear on the fitness front, he did say that Albion would “need to be careful of” Adam Webster and Dan Burn following their recent returns from injury:

Everybody came through the game ok, we’re still in the recovery process. There’s a couple of lads that we need to be careful of, Adam Webster and Dan Burn haven’t played for a while, to a certain extent Danny Welbeck, so we just need to keep monitoring them.

Tariq Lamptey (hamstring) and Solly March (match fitness) are out for the season and Florin Andone has had a setback in his recovery from a long-term knee problem but Percy Tau could be back in contention after hamstring tightness forced his non-involvement at Chelsea.

Oli McBurnie (foot), Billy Sharp (thigh) and Jack O’Connell (knee) remain out for the Blades, while Sander Berge (hamstring) and Jack Robinson (knee) are still some distance from a playing comeback despite their recent returns to training.

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS V BURNLEY

Robbie Brady (Achilles), Kevin Long (calf) and Ashley Barnes (thigh) will all miss the trip to Molineux, with the first two still some distance from a playing comeback and Barnes working on his fitness in first-team training.

Nick Pope (shoulder) should be back involved, however, with Sean Dyche saying:

Popey has been good. I suggested last week that we felt he was over the biggest hurdle of it and he has come through training this week. He’s trained fully with us today – if there’s no reaction, then he’s back into consideration.

Ruben Neves isn’t ready to return for Wolves, despite serving a 10-day self-isolation period after testing positive for COVID-19.

His manager said ahead on Friday:

Unfortunately, he’s still in isolation, he’s been tested, and he’s not allowed yet to join the group. We try to provide training sessions in their own homes. Some of them have space and the weather is also helping, but it’s not the same.


  1. Jdpz
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Best midfielder under 6.1m? (not Gundogan)

    1. clarkey_2000
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Harrison or Saka imo

    2. Bobby Digital
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Trossard

    3. #Swish41
      • 15 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Harrison for the run in (Raph slightly better but injury doubt)

  2. tissae
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Would you change anything here or g2g? 2FT, 0.0 itb.

    Mendy
    TAA Rudiger Fofana Shaw Holding
    Salah Bruno Lingard Jota
    Nacho

    Forster Davis Kane Son

  3. Milk, 1 Šuker
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 10 months ago

    Diogo is "fine" but will he start?

    1. RamaJama
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Og course, Firmino is useless

    2. Bleh
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      I hope so, both from a fan and FF perspective.

    3. @persecuted_by_mods
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Nobody knows

    4. Mr_Barbs
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      A) Gundo, Bruno, Cancelo > Mane, Greenwood, Dunk/Veltman (-4)
      B) Gundo, Dias, Cancelo > Greenwood, Veltman, Castagne (-4)
      C) Kane, Gundo, Cancelo > Vardy, Greenwood, Castagne (-4)

      Martinez
      TAA, Azpi, Struijk, Cancelo**
      Bruno, Jota, Lingard, Gundo**
      Bamford, Iheanacho

      Fabri, Dias*, Son*, Kane*

    5. Bleh
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Dias > Castagne worth a punt for -4? Would replace Struijk who faces United and isn’t guaranteed to start either.

      1. Champions League Varane
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Like it

      2. #Swish41
        • 15 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Pascal will definitely start btw

    6. Me Spurs
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Which def?
      A:fofana
      B:saiss
      C: coady

    7. AlternativeB
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Sorry. Bottomed: What are the odds of blank GW 35?

    8. iL PiStOlErO
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Konsa or Coufal?

    9. Mr Wizard
      • 15 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Would you do

      Kane > Vardy (C) -4

      Or play Dallas?

      1. Il Papera
        • 9 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        I’d play Dallas. No one else you can drop?

        1. Mr Wizard
          • 15 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          TAA, Dunk,Shaw
          Lingard,Fernandez,Jota,Mount
          Bamford,Watkins

      2. Traction Engine Foot
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        I've done it

    10. Drogo
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      My WC-team. Thoughts?

      Sanchez - Meslier

      Dunk TAA Dallas Castagne Vetltman
      Jota Maddison Lindgard Salah Sigurdsson
      Iheanacho Kane Watkins

      0.2 in bank

    11. clarkey_2000
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      De Bruyne to:

      A) Mane
      B) Jota
      C) Maddison

    12. Tmel
      • 15 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Best captain pick from these?

      a) Trent (NEW)
      b) Jota (NEW)
      c) Bruno (lee)
      d) Nacho (CRY)

      1. Milk, 1 Šuker
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Nacho for me. Been my bus captain since last week

    13. camarozz
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Kdb➡️Mane(have Jota)

      Dawson➡️ Castagne - 4

    14. The Royal Robin
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Salah or Nacho (C)?

      1. Pep's Money Laundry
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Struggling with that myself

      2. RamaJama
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Salah

      3. Tango74
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        On my mind too . It’s a toughie

      4. Dybala10
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Tempted by Nacho

      5. clarkey_2000
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Has to be Salah for me

      6. Nomar
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 16 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        I’ve capped Nacho.

        Nothing to lose at this point, so just figured why not do it now.

      7. #Swish41
        • 15 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Salah if leading, Nacho if chasing...or just whoever you think will score more points

    15. lordkippe
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Team is a mess. Lacking Salah, TAA & Nacho. What to do with this ? 25 points behind ML leader and every point is precious

      Mendy

      Alonso - Coufal - AWB - Perreira

      Bruno - Jota - Soucek - Raphinha

      Vardy - Bamford

      Areola - Dias - Kane - Son

      A : Kane & Son > Nacho & Salah -4
      B : Son & Alonso > Pulisic & Kabak -4
      C : Kane,Son & Alonso > Nacho, Salah & TAA -8
      D : Other suggestions

      1. Nomar
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 16 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Take a punt. Raphina to McGinn or M Perreira. Or Trossard.

    16. KuttiBunja
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Some help lads

      Current Team:

      Martinez - Areola
      Rudiger - Konsa - Creswell - Dias - Phillips
      Salah - Jota - Lingz - Son - Gundo
      Kane - Nacho - Watkins

      Any of these worth a -8??:

      A. Dias, Phillips, Gundo --> TAA, Holding, Trossard
      B. Creswell, Phillips, Gundo --> Coady, Fofana, Greenwood
      C. Anything else??

      Please please any advice I would be so grateful.

    17. Ohh1454
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Don’t think it is anymore but Bruno > Salah for a hit ?

    18. AntiTorres
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Start Holding v EVE or Burn v SHU

      1. RamaJama
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Burn

      2. The Count of Monte Cristo
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Burn

      3. AlternativeB
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        I'm starting Holding (on WC)

        1. Stranger Mings
          • 5 Years
          4 years, 10 months ago

          I am benching holding this week as not sure of cleansheet v Everton

          1. Nomar
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 16 Years
            4 years, 10 months ago

            That one will probably end up being the 0-0 game this weekend, now!

            1. Stranger Mings
              • 5 Years
              4 years, 10 months ago

              I think arsenal could keep cleansheet just think wolves & Chelsea more likely and I also want to post shaw

    19. RamaJama
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Cresswell to Holding worth -4 this week to enable Vydra to Nacho next week?

      1. Nomar
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 16 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Nacho this week, surely?

    20. AC/DC AFC
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Bowen or Pulisic for this week?

      1. The Count of Monte Cristo
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Pulisic for me

    21. AlternativeB
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Best defender for 3.9?

    22. SMOOTH
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 15 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      does it look like masuaku might be fit?

    23. Gemma817
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Would really appreciate some help here. Been out of touch with FPL for the last 10 days for so.

      Martinez
      TAA, Digne, Veltman, Konsa
      Salah, Jota, Saka, Raphinha
      Ihenancho, DCL

      Martinez, Kane, Son, Stones...

      I'm guessing I transfer out Rapf? But for who? 1FT, .4m ITB. Up for hits too.

    24. jdp219
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Bench one:
      1) Rudiger -- @ whu
      2) Coufal -- v. CHE
      3) Holding -- v. EVE

      1. RamaJama
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        3

      2. The Count of Monte Cristo
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        3

    25. Corona is not good 4 U
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Is this worth a - 8 that I can play 11 players (I will wildcard next week)?

      Dias, Son and Kane -> Alexander-Arnold, Salah (C) and Watkins.

      Thank you!

    26. Sid07
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      1) son to Greenwood
      2) reguillon to shaw
      3) reguillon to Evans
      4) Mendy to Martinez

      1. RamaJama
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        1

    27. La Roja
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      FPL website is down?

      1. La Roja
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Unavailable

        Sorry, but we are unable to load the requested page at this time.

        Please try again in a few minutes.

    28. Jebiga
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Who is more important :

      1. Coady (don't have Wolfs players)
      2. Fofana (have Vardy and Iheancho)

      ?

      1. HD7
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Just choose the one you think will get more cleanies. The other part is irrelevant

    29. HD7
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Mendy
      Fofana, Rudiger, Holding, Philips*
      Salah, Bruno, Gundo*, Jota
      Vardy, Nacho

      Forster, Davis, Masuaku, Son

      Gundo, Philips to Greenwood, TAA (-8) ?

      or any better ideas, mates?

      1. The Count of Monte Cristo
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        Looks like good moves

    30. cutch
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 10 months ago

      Sorry for asking again. Just looking for some more answers if possible. Cheers in advance.

      % chances of each player starting:

      A) Jota
      B) Maddison
      C) Greenwood

      1. AlternativeB
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 10 months ago

        I got A and C on wildcard so I will say 100% or shoot me