The remaining pre-match press conferences for Gameweek 36 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) all take place on Friday.
We’ll be bringing you the key quotes and injury updates that you need on this ‘live’ page, so make sure to hit refresh for the latest news.
Of the 15 pressers being held on Friday, a dozen of them are scheduled for 1.30pm BST – including Roberto De Zerbi’s, with the latest on Solly March (£5.3m) awaited then.
Five Premier League bosses faced the media during the day on Thursday, with the headline updates from those available to read here.
KEY UPDATES FROM FRIDAY
- Brighton and Hove Albion: March ruled out
- Newcastle United: Longstaff latest, Howe on Wilson + Isak
- Manchester United: Rashford a “big question mark”
- Manchester City: Ake “much better”
- Liverpool: Firmino not ready to return
- Arsenal: Arteta refuses to rule Zinchenko out for the season
- Chelsea: Chilwell ruled out
- Tottenham Hotspur: Lenglet expected to be available
- Leicester City: Iheanacho to return in Gameweek 37
- West Ham United: Antonio “should” be fine
- Brentford: Frank’s presser short on team news
- Everton: Coleman undergoes surgery
- Crystal Palace: Schlupp a doubt
- Bournemouth: Tavernier + Traore still sidelined
- Southampton: Bella-Kotchap out, Adams a doubt
FRIDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Roberto De Zerbi has ruled Solly March (hamstring) out of the Arsenal game, as well as defender Adam Webster.
March looks set to miss Double Gameweek 36 completely, potentially returning for Brighton’s last two matches.
“I don’t know, difficult question, more difficult to answer. I hope he can play the last two games.” – Roberto De Zerbi on Solly March
Tariq Lamptey (knee) and Jeremy Sarmiento (ankle) are definitely out, while Adam Lallana (thigh) and Jakub Moder (knee) have been sighted back in training recently but are still some distance from a playing return.
De Zerbi is still unsure whether Joel Veltman (muscle) will feature, meanwhile.
“I want to understand if Joel Veltman can play. If he can’t, I have to play another right-back.” – Roberto De Zerbi
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Matt Ritchie (knee) has joined Emil Krafth (knee) and Jamaal Lascelles (calf) on the sidelines for the rest of the season, while Sean Longstaff looks set to miss the trip to Leeds United with a foot problem that has proven more problematic than first thought.
Eddie Howe revealed that Longstaff has some ligament damage and faces another scan on Friday but the injury isn’t a long-term one and he could still feature again in 2022/23.
“He went to see a specialist. I think there were a few concerns that there may be some sort of structural damage in his foot. There wasn’t, which was good news, but there is a bit of damage to one of the ligaments.
“He’s being re-scanned today, actually, which we hope will show an improvement. It’s slightly unclear when he’ll be back, but it’s not a long-term issue at all. It’s whether we can get him back before the end of the season.
“We could see him as early next week, potentially, if he improves really quickly, we might not see him at all. It’s unknown. There’s no serious issue with his injury, it’s just time and letting that ligament heal.” – Eddie Howe on Sean Longstaff
Having started both Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson in the defeat to Arsenal last weekend, Howe was asked if he would consider that tactical experiment again:
“They were on the pitch together but they weren’t a partnership as such. I saw enough from Alex, who played really well I thought and could have scored two or three goals on another day, to know that again he can play in that position. I know Callum in the number nine role is an outstanding player so it [playing both together] is something I’ll definitely consider.” – Eddie Howe
MANCHESTER UNITED
Marcus Rashford (leg) is a “big question mark” for the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers but Raphael Varane (foot) has returned to the squad for that match.
“He has a problem, an injury on his leg, so he is a big question mark for tomorrow. But we are happy Rapha Varane is back.
“[Rashford] is doubtful, more than doubtful. So [there is] a big question mark.” – Erik ten Hag on Marcus Rashford
Lisandro Martinez (fractured metatarsal), Scott McTominay (knock), Tom Heaton (ankle) and Donny van de Beek (knee) remain out.
MANCHESTER CITY
Pep Guardiola said on Friday that Nathan Ake (hamstring) was “much better”, with further assessment to come in training later that day.
“I think he’s much better but I don’t know. Now we have training in a few hours and we will see.” – Pep Guardiola on Nathan Ake
Asked whether his focus would be on the return leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, Guardiola said that the Everton match was his priority but perhaps left the window open for a spot of rotation when complaining about the Sunday-Wednesday turnaround.
“My thought is just Everton, no more than that.
“Not much time because we play Sunday, thank you so much, but anyway, the real, real priority is the game at Goodison Park.” – Pep Guardiola
LIVERPOOL
Thiago Alcantara (hip), Calvin Ramsay (knee) and Stefan Bajcetic (thigh) remain out, while Roberto Firmino (muscle) and Naby Keita (muscle) aren’t ready to feature and are even yet to rejoin team training following their respective injuries.
“No. They were not in team training yet. I saw Bobby yesterday training, he looks pretty much nearly there but I don’t think he will be in for the weekend. If I go out of here and he’s in the session I will be surprised, I assume that we start with him, team training-wise, after the Leicester game. And Naby, no.” – Jurgen Klopp on whether Roberto Firmino or Naby Keita will be fit for Gameweek 36
ARSENAL
Mohamed Elneny (knee), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) and William Saliba (back) will again sit out the visit of Brighton, while reports suggest that Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) has joined them on the sidelines – but Mikel Arteta has refused to confirm whether the left-back will miss the rest of the season, as media speculation suggests.
CHELSEA
Ben Chilwell (hamstring) has joined Marc Cucurella (quad), Reece James (hamstring), Mason Mount (pelvic) and Armando Broja (ACL) on the sidelines but Wesley Fofana (hamstring) is back in training, while Kalidou Koulibaly (hamstring) has had some “managed” training of his own and may come back into contention in Gameweek 37.
“[Chilwell is] not fit. We’re hoping that Chilly maybe fit, possibly the last game or two of the season, but it’s a tight call. It’s a similar story with Mason Mount. Maybe a little bit similar with Reece, I feel like Reece might be slightly behind that. So, we’re obviously chasing it a bit now.” – Frank Lampard
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), Hugo Lloris (muscle) and Rodrigo Bentancur (knee) remain out but Emerson Royal (knee) and Yves Bissouma (ankle) returned to the matchday squad last weekend.
Reports suggest that Clement Lenglet didn’t sustain serious damage when injuring his shoulder last weekend, so he should be fit.
LEICESTER CITY
Kelechi Iheanacho (groin), Jannik Vestergaard (calf) and James Justin (Achilles) remain out, with the latter back in training but not part of the 25-man squad anyway.
Iheanacho looks set to return earlier than initially predicted, against Newcastle United in Gameweek 37.
WEST HAM UNITED
David Moyes said he was “not sure” whether Angelo Ogbonna would recover from illness to face Brentford but Michail Antonio (knock) “should” be fine.
Gianluca Scamacca (knee) and Vladimir Coufal (hamstring) remain sidelined, although the latter is back doing some light jogging.
BRENTFORD
Thomas Frank confirmed that everyone who featured against Liverpool “should be available” for the weekend.
Pontus Jansson (hamstring), Keane Lewis-Potter (knee) and Christian Norgaard (Achilles) are still out but the newly fit-again Kristoffer Ajer got more minutes under his belt for the B team in midweek.
EVERTON
Seamus Coleman (ACL) and Ruben Vinagre (Achilles) remain out, with Sean Dyche confirming on Friday that the former has undergone surgery and will miss the rest of 2022/23.
Further news on Ben Godfrey (groin) is awaited after his recent absence.
Andros Townsend (knee) made a playing comeback for the under-23s on Monday but it remains to be seen if he’s anywhere near fit enough for a first-team return after over a year out.
CRYSTAL PALACE
James McArthur has been passed fit but Luka Milivojevic (unspecified) has joined James Tomkins (calf) and Nathan Ferguson (muscle) on the sidelines after last week’s defeat to Spurs.
Jeffrey Schlupp (unspecified) is also a doubt.
Naououri Ahamada (knock) wasn’t involved against Spurs after a late fitness test, so it remains to be seen if he’s any fitter this week.
BOURNEMOUTH
Marcus Tavernier (hamstring) and Hamed Traore (foot) are still missing for the trip to Crystal Palace but Kieffer Moore is available after concussion and, other than ongoing absentees Ryan Fredericks (calf) and Junior Stanislas (back), everyone else is fine.
SOUTHAMPTON
Juan Larios (hamstring), Mohammed Salisu (hip), Tino Livramento (match fitness) and Romain Perraud (ankle) have been joined by Armel Bella-Kotchap (hamstring) on the sidelines, while Che Adams is a fresh doubt for the Fulham game.
VIDEO ROUND-UP
