THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN SUPERSEDED BY FRIDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE ROUND-UP – CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST GAMEWEEK 26 TEAM NEWS
The latest team news for Gameweek 26 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) will arrive on Thursday and Friday when the pre-match press conferences take place.
But before then, this initial rundown gives an overview of all 16 sides who are in Premier League action this weekend.
ASTON VILLA V NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Boubacar Kamara (knee), Tyrone Mings (knee) and Emi Buendia (knee) are out for the season, while we’re not expecting Diego Carlos (hamstring), Ezra Konsa (knee) or Jhon Duran (hamstring) to be available for Aston Villa’s clash with Nottingham Forest.
Konsa is thought to be the closest to a return but this fixture will still likely come too soon, as he was ruled out for 3-4 weeks on February 6.
Chris Wood (hamstring) remains out through injury, while local media suggest that Gonzalo Montiel (hamstring) won’t feature this month either.
There may be a slight concern over Taiwo Awoniyi, too, after his withdrawal midway through the second half of Forest’s win over West Ham United.
“We have to assess him now. Let’s see how he is. We all know he is struggling because he was a long time without competition. We push him – more minutes than he should have done. He is working hard. Let’s hope it is nothing serious.” – Nuno Espirito Santo on Taiwo Awoniyi
Ibrahim Sangaré, Willy Boly and Ola Aina ought to be available, though: they returned from international duty last Thursday but weren’t considered for selection in Gameweek 25.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION V EVERTON
Joao Pedro (hamstring) is back in the gym but is still thought to be two or three weeks away from a return, while Julio Enciso (knee) seems to be targeting Gameweek 27 for his long-awaited comeback.
Jack Hinshelwood (foot) and Solly March (knee) are out longer term but James Milner (muscle) might not be too far away based on Roberto De Zerbi’s rather vague update earlier this month.
Everton’s Arnaut Danjuma (ankle) and Dele Alli (groin) will remain out.
Andre Gomes (calf) was back on the grass as of last Saturday, so mightn’t be too far away from a return. Sean Dyche did urge caution on the Portuguese midfielder, however.
Seamus Coleman missed Monday’s draw with Crystal Palace through illness.
CRYSTAL PALACE V BURNLEY
Oliver Glasner will host his first press conference as Crystal Palace manager later this week.
These inaugural pressers are sometimes lacking on the team news front, however, so there are no guarantees that we’ll get an update from the Austrian.
We hadn’t been given official timelines on Eberechi Eze (hamstring) or Marc Guehi (knee) but there is reported optimism that the former will be fit to face Burnley, while there was hope that Guehi’s knee hyperextension was going to be “weeks and not months”.
Michael Olise (hamstring), Cheick Doucoure (Achilles) and Rob Holding (ankle) are longer-term absentees for the Eagles.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (hamstring) has also been sidelined of late, while Will Hughes missed out on Monday after limping off in Gameweek 24.
Lyle Foster (muscle), Luca Koleosho (knee) and Nathan Redmond (leg) will be out for months yet for the Clarets.
Aaron Ramsey may have joined them on the longer-term injury list after being stretchered off against Arsenal at the weekend.
Jordan Beyer (muscle) has been missing all calendar year. He was said to be “progressing well” a week ago but his manager was noncommittal on a return date.
MANCHESTER UNITED V FULHAM
Luke Shaw will miss out for the hosts after being withdrawn in the first half of Sunday’s 2-1 victory at Luton Town – and the outlook looks bleak for the left-back.
Erik ten Hag admitted that it “doesn’t look great” for the defender, while unconfirmed media reports on Wednesday suggest Shaw could even be sidelined for the season.
Tyrell Malacia (knee), Mason Mount (calf), Lisandro Martinez (knee), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (leg) and Anthony Martial (groin) will all remain out.
Raul Jimenez (hamstring), who will be unavailable until after the March international break, was the only Cottager ruled out in advance of Gameweek 25 by Marco Silva.
Kenny Tete (Achilles) didn’t feature, however, so the Fulham boss may have neglected to mention him.
Armando Broja wasn’t involved against Aston Villa on Saturday but only due to illness.
Joao Palhinha will be absent for the next two Gameweeks after collecting his tenth booking of the season in the defeat to the Villans.
BOURNEMOUTH V MANCHESTER CITY
Romain Faivre will likely return after missing the trip to Newcastle through illness.
The Cherries will again be without Max Aarons (hamstring), James Hill (ankle), Tyler Adams (hamstring) and Ryan Fredericks (calf), with Adams thought to be the nearest to a return.
Philip Billing serves the final game of a three-match ban following his dismissal in Gameweek 23.
Their visitors will be without Josko Gvardiol (ankle) and very likely Jack Grealish (muscle), who was said to be around ten days away last Saturday.
The big team news development from Tuesday night’s narrow win over Brentford was the lack of game time for Kevin De Bruyne, who remained an unused substitute at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola said after full-time that the Belgian had complained of a “niggle in his hamstring” and wasn’t risked as a result.
ARSENAL V NEWCASTLE UNITED
Thomas Partey (muscle) and Fabio Vieira (groin) both trained with the Arsenal squad this week but only Vieira was involved against Porto on Wednesday night, with Partey not making the trip to Portugal.
Gabriel Jesus (knee), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf) were not spotted at the training ground, meanwhile, and also missed out in midweek.
Jurrien Timber (knee) is progressing well but is not likely to be seen competitively till later in the season.
Newcastle will again be without the services of Callum Wilson (tendon), Elliot Anderson (back), Joelinton (quad), Sandro Tonali (ban), Nick Pope (shoulder) and Matt Targett (hamstring) on Saturday night.
Fabian Schar suffered a wrist injury in the dying stages of the draw with Bournemouth but was sighted in training in midweek.
And there is hope, via the aptly named Craig Hope, that Alexander Isak (groin) and Joe Willock (Achilles) will be back for the trip to the Emirates.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS V SHEFFIELD UNITED
The only Wolves player missing out last weekend was Matheus Cunha (hamstring), who faces weeks and potentially months on the sidelines after he suffered a “fairly significant injury” in Gameweek 24.
Max Lowe (ankle) and Rhys Norrington-Davies (hamstring) have both been ruled out for the season this week, while Chris Basham (leg), Ryan Jebbison (illness) and John Egan (leg) have already been sidelined for several months.
Ben Brereton Diaz (hamstring) “wasn’t close” to being involved against Brighton at the weekend, meanwhile, and Cameron Archer was absent after complaining of calf tightness.
The Sheffield Star says that there is some hope that those two, and George Baldock (unspecified issue), could be back this weekend.
Mason Holgate certainly won’t be involved, however, as he begins a three-match ban for his Gameweek 25 red card.
WEST HAM UNITED V BRENTFORD
Lucas Paquetá (calf) is nearing a return after beginning on-field training but there are question marks about whether he’ll make his comeback against Brentford, with the Hammers said to be cautious about his recovery.
Kalvin Phillips will definitely miss Gameweek 26 after being sent off for two bookable offences at Nottingham Forest.
Absent for the Bees are Josh Dasilva (knee), Bryan Mbeumo (ankle), Aaron Hickey (hamstring), Kevin Schade (muscle), Rico Henry (knee) and now Ethan Pinnock (ankle).
Pinnock will be out until after the March international break with an injury sustained in Gameweek 24.
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