It’s a much quieter day than usual on the Premier League press conference front, with only five Gameweek 28 media gatherings scheduled for Friday.
That’s one fewer than expected following Patrick Vieira’s sacking by Crystal Palace.
Mikel Arteta isn’t on the below Tweet, either: he did his Gameweek 28 presser on Thursday night after the Sporting game, with the quotes embargoed until Saturday evening – well after the FPL deadline has passed.
As usual, we’ll be bringing you all the key quotes that you need for your Fantasy Premier League (FPL) teams.
For the updates from the press conferences of seven other managers whose teams are in Gameweek 28 action, check out our Thursday round-up.
KEY UPDATES FROM FRIDAY
- Chelsea: James in training, Sterling + Mount sidelined
- Arsenal: Saliba + Tomiyasu fresh concerns
- Crystal Palace: Goalkeeper uncertainty
- Aston Villa: Three still absent
- Wolverhampton Wanderers: Hwang out, Sarabia fit
- Southampton: All available bar Larios + Livramento
- Bournemouth: Traore back in training
FRIDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES
CHELSEA
We didn’t get an update on Reece James (illness) from Graham Potter in Friday’s pre-match presser but the defender has been seen in training this week, so should come back into contention.
Slightly frustratingly, Potter may have been about to give him a clean bill of health before he was interrupted by a reporter asking another question.
N’Golo Kante (hamstring) “has a chance” to feature against Everton, too, following months on the sidelines.
Raheem Sterling (hamstring) and Mason Mount (abdomen) remain out after they missed the win over Leicester, so the England internationals join Thiago Silva (knee), Cesar Azpilicueta (head) and Armando Broja (ACL) on the injury list.
“Raheem’s got a problem with his hamstring, it’s not too serious but he’ll miss the game at the weekend and the international trip. Same with Mason, he’s been struggling a little bit with his pubic bone.
“Thiago is still away, Azpi is still away, apart from that… *interrupted by another question*… [N’Golo] has a chance of being in the squad.” – Graham Potter
There was no update on Edouard Mendy (finger) or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (back), although Mendy has been back in training this week. Wesley Fofana also seemed to be struggling when being substituted last weekend but has since been seen on the grass, too.
ARSENAL
While we won’t hear from Mikel Arteta again before the FPL deadline, he did at least provide a mini-update on Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) and William Saliba (back) after the defensive duo limped out of Arsenal’s UEFA Europa League tie against Sporting on Thursday.
“Tomiyasu looks pretty serious, for his reaction straight away and what he said to me. Obviously, it’s very early and difficult to know. William, I don’t know. He had some discomfort and could not carry on, so we had to take him off.” – Mikel Arteta
Tomiyasu was seen on crutches after the game but an on-site reporter said that there was “no sign” of any stapping on Saliba, so his withdrawal may have been precautionary in nature.
Gabriel Jesus made his first start of 2023, lasting until half-time before he was taken off in a pre-planned change.
“We decided to do that because we had to manage the subs and thank God that we took him out, especially after the two windows that we had to use in the first half, but that was the plan and he was coming from an injury as well. We knew the game could go to extra time and we have to manage that and he looked okay.” – Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Jesus’s substitution
Of more concern to FPL managers will have been Thursday’s cup tie going to extra-time and penalties, with Gabriel Martinelli, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Magalhaes all lasting 120 minutes. Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard began the match on the bench before coming on as substitutes.
Mohamed Elneny (knee) and Eddie Nketiah (ankle) remain out.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Patrick Vieira’s dismissal leaves us in the dark regarding the Crystal Palace team news, with no-one taking his place in the Friday afternoon presser that was originally scheduled.
Will Hughes and James McArthur missed all of Palace’s Double Gameweek 27 due to illness, while Vicente Guaita (hamstring) sat out the midweek clash with Brighton. Guaita’s no-show, plus that of medium-term absentee Sam Johnstone (calf), saw teenage goalkeeper Joe Whitworth line up to face the Seagulls. In the aftermath of Palace’s defeat, Vieira said that he didn’t know whether Guaita would recover in time to face Arsenal this weekend.
Loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga is ineligible to face his parent club, meanwhile.
ASTON VILLA
It’s as you were on the Aston Villa team news front, with Philippe Coutinho (hamstring) and Boubacar Kamara (ankle) still out and Leander Dendoncker failing to recover from a hand injury sustained in a recent domestic incident.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Hwang Hee-chan, who only made his return from injury as a substitute last weekend, has picked up a fresh problem that will sideline him this weekend.
Hwang joins Diego Costa (knee), Hugo Bueno (hamstring), Chiquinho (knee) and Sasa Kalajdzic (knee) on the injury list, while the game comes too soon for Boubacar Traore (groin) despite his return to training.
Pablo Sarabia (heel) is fit after missing Gameweek 27, however.
SOUTHAMPTON
Tino Livramento (knee) and Juan Larios (muscle) are the only definite Southampton absentees for the visit of Spurs, with Ruben Selles implying that Kyle Walker-Peters (hamstring) has recovered from the kick he took in midweek and that Ainsley Maitland-Niles is available after he missed both Double Gameweek 27 fixtures with an unspecified issue.
“Tino and Juan are long-term injuries, they will not be with us tomorrow, the rest are fully available.” – Ruben Selles
BOURNEMOUTH
Hamed Traore (muscle) has returned to training this week but Marcus Tavernier (hamstring) and Illia Zabarnyi (ankle) won’t be available till after the international break.
There was no update on Junior Stanislas (knock), nor was there mention of Adam Smith after he appeared to struggle with injury before being replaced in the win over Liverpool.
Jordan Zemura was left out of the squad last weekend amid an ongoing contract stand-off but is otherwise “fit and available”.
