The pre-match press conferences for Gameweek 36 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) are off and running.
As ever, we’ll be bringing you all the key quotes and injury updates that you need over the coming 24 hours or so.
Five Premier League bosses held pressers during the day on Thursday, with the rest to follow on Friday.
Tomorrow’s round-up will be the place to come for the fitness latest on Solly March (£5.3m).
KEY UPDATES FROM THURSDAY
- Aston Villa: A near-fully-fit squad
- Fulham: Mitrovic returns
- Nottingham Forest: Aurier “touch and go”
- Leeds United: Four still sidelined
- Wolverhampton Wanderers: Lopetegui promises rotation
ASTON VILLA
Other than back-up goalkeeper Jed Steer, who isn’t even listed in FPL, Aston Villa have a fully-fit squad for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur.
Boubacar Kamara (foot), Philippe Coutinho (thigh) and Leon Bailey (hamstring) all returned to the Villa matchday squad as substitutes last weekend, while Matty Cash (calf) had also been back in training ahead of Gameweek 35 – and he too is set to be involved against Tottenham Hotspur.
“It’s the first time in the last month we have everybody ready to be in the squad for Saturday. Only Jed Steer is out, but Cash, Kamara, Bailey, Coutinho – in the last match they were in the squad but not ready 100% to play.
“Some players are still not ready to play 90 minutes, but they’re ready to be in the squad and ready to play, more or less.” – Unai Emery
FULHAM
Aleksandar Mitrovic returns after his eight-match ban but Fulham will be without Andreas Pereira (ankle) and Tim Ream (arm) for the rest of the season.
Marco Silva admitted that Mitrovic’s availability and Carlos Vinicius‘ current good form give him a welcome selection headache this weekend.
“A very good headache. It’s what any manager wants really, and it was the reason why we signed Carlos.
“With more game-time and making good things, bad things, mistakes, whatever, it makes players grow. Of course, some important goals gave him the confidence that he needs, as all strikers, and it’s nice to see him performing better and better the last few games.
“It’s important to have a player like Mitro, a player like Vini, and we even won two games with Daniel James as a striker and Bobby as a striker. Different profiles, and we were able to do that in games against Everton, and Leeds at home, and that shows that everyone knows his role, everyone is fighting for the Club and can pop up in certain moments of the season.” – Marco Silva
Daniel James also hasn’t recovered from the minor hamstring issue that kept him out of the win over Leicester City.
“Daniel James is still injured, he’s got a small problem in his hamstring and was out in the last game, and will be out for the Southampton match as well.” – Marco Silva
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Emmanuel Dennis (knock), Neco Williams (jaw), Scott McKenna (collarbone), Chris Wood (thigh), Dean Henderson (thigh), Giulian Biancone (ACL) and Omar Richards (leg) remain on the sidelines, while we’re none-the-wiser about Jack Colback (concussion) after his recent omissions.
Serge Aurier is “touch and go” after limping out of the 4-3 win over Southampton but there was no word on Renan Lodi, who also seemed to pick up a knock before being replaced on Monday.
Gustavo Scarpa (calf) has been training this week after a month on the sidelines so could return.
“Serge walked off and we’re doing everything we can to see if he’s available. Maybe at a different time of the season, and maybe if Neco was fit, it may have been a different situation, but we’re going to give him everything we have to see if he can be available. That’s going to be touch and go, to be honest.
“Scarpa is back in full training now, so he won’t be far off being available. Dennis has been injured. He picked up a knock in training in preparation for Southampton and he is still not available.
“It’s still a bit of a mixed bag. Our injury list has definitely been worse, but it’s never something we pay too much attention to.” – Steve Cooper
LEEDS UNITED
Liam Cooper (glute), Luis Sinisterra (ankle), Tyler Adams (hamstring) and Stuart Dallas (leg) remain out but Cooper could be back for Gameweek 37.
“Right, my injuries are, before we even start, let’s get them out of the way: Liam Cooper, Stuart Dallas Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra. That’s not bad, just four.
“They think [Cooper could be back] next week. I think that we’ve got to keep everybody fit if we possibly can. I think the squad in general is a bit light in terms of numbers. So we have to be very protective of not picking up too many injuries because it does deplete the squad”. – Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce added that he would make a couple of changes to his line-up for the visit of Newcastle United, having lost 2-1 to Manchester City in his first game in charge.
“We’ll make a couple of changes based on what the Newcastle team is and how we want to play against Newcastle, so we’ll make a couple of changes, which we’ll find out about when the teamsheet goes in.” – Sam Allardyce
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Chiquinho (knee) and Sasa Kalajdzic (knee) remain on the long-term absentee list but Wolves have no other concerns for their trip to Old Trafford.
With Premier League safety all but assured, Julen Lopetegui promised to give more of his players minutes between now and the end of 2022/23.
“The aim is to do the same in the next three matches. We have ambition and we are going to try to see more players and all of them have to be ready. After, of course, we are going to put our best. We are playing against teams fighting for different aims, for the Champions League, the Premier League or relegation. We have to be honest, be professional, of course. We are going to play at Old Trafford, it’s the most important reason to be ready to go there with our best Sunday clothes.” – Julen Lopetegui
