The team news updates for Gameweek 31 will be a real mixed bag.
Five pre-match press conferences take place today, with more to follow tomorrow.
As many as four others (Liverpool, Sheffield United, Chelsea and Manchester United) could occur after Tuesday’s Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline.
And then there are a handful of managers who fulfilled their Gameweek 31 media obligations straight after their weekend fixtures. Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe is among this group.
We’ll have another team news summary tomorrow but here’s what has been said so far.
FPL GAMEWEEK 31 TEAM NEWS: MONDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE UPDATES
- Tottenham Hotspur: No new concerns for Spurs
- West Ham United: Areola set for a spell out
- Brentford: Schade nearing a comeback, Reguilon returns
- Fulham: Silva expecting to have a fully fit squad
- Burnley: Assignon banned, Fofana returns
FPL GAMEWEEK 31 TEAM NEWS: EMBARGOED QUOTES + OTHER UPDATES
- Newcastle United: Lascelles out for the season, Gordon suspended
- Wolverhampton Wanderers: Cunha returns, Dawson a possibility
- Bournemouth: Iraola pledges to make changes, Christie to be assessed
- Crystal Palace: Olise close but not expected to feature
- Everton: Onana not a serious concern, Mykolenko could be back
- Nottingham Forest: Awoniyi out, Nuno unsure on Boly
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
The Lilywhites have no real concerns from the win over Luton Town.
“Pretty much no different to the last game. Everyone got through the game unscathed. So, no real change, everyone’s good.” – Ange Postecoglou
Manor Solomon (knee), Fraser Forster (foot) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) remain out, however.
Micky van de Ven (hamstring) and Richarlison (knee) were both among the substitutes against the Hatters, so could be pushing for starts.
“Yeah, he was much better after the game and he felt a lot better. He trained yesterday, will train this afternoon. Feels good now.” – Ange Postecoglou, when asked if Richarlison was ready to start
WEST HAM UNITED
David Moyes has confirmed that Alphonse Areola is set to be sidelined for Tuesday’s match after coming off with a groin injury on Saturday.
“He has hurt his groin. At the moment it looks like he’s unlikely to start. We hope it’s not too serious but he is not going to be available for the game on Tuesday.
“We don’t see it being something too serious. He might be back quite quickly.” – David Moyes on Alphonse Areola
Edson Alvarez serves the final game of a two-match ban, meanwhile.
Nayef Aguerd (shoulder) has trained today, so could come back into contention after missing out at Newcastle.
BRENTFORD
Sergio Reguilon returns from suspension following his Gameweek 29 red card.
While Kevin Schade (muscle) will not feature, he will take part in an in-house friendly on Tuesday and could be back in Gameweek 31.
Ethan Pinnock (ankle), Christian Norgaard (back), Aaron Hickey (hamstring), Rico Henry (knee), Josh Dasilva (knee) and Ben Mee (ankle) are still out.
Thomas Frmk confirmed that Bryan Mbeumo is now ready to start, having been eased back into the team with two substitute appearances.
FULHAM
Marco Silva is expected to have a clean bill of health for the clash with Nottingham Forest.
“No new injuries, everybody is going to be available. We have another session [on Monday] morning, we have to keep assessing them. Nothing really serious but at the end of the day, we are going to assess them and take a decision for tomorrow’s match.” – Marco Silva
BURNLEY
David Datro Fofana is back after being ineligible to face his parent club at the weekend, while Lorenz Assignon serves a one-match ban.
Otherwise, Vincent Kompany once again gave little away on the team news front.
There are no timelines for or major details about Ameen Al-Dakhil (unknown), Jordan Beyer (muscle) and Han-Noah Massengo (unknown).
Aaron Ramsey (knee), Nathan Redmond (leg) and Luca Koleosho (knee) are likely to be out for the season, however.
“There are still a few players that, even though we don’t have a lot time until the end of the season, we just have to make sure we recover them for the last six, seven, eight games. We just want to make sure we still don’t do something irresponsible.
“We’ve got players back in training and hopefully they’ll able to feature really soon.
“Yeah, [Fofana is the only one who will return].” – Vincent Kompany
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Jamaal Lascelles has been added to the long-term injury list after sustaining a knee injury on Saturday.
The defender will be out for 6-9 months after an ACL rupture was diagnosed.
Sven Botman (knee), Matt Targett (Achilles), Joelinton (quad), Sandro Tonali (ban), Callum Wilson (tendon) and Nick Pope (shoulder) remain sidelined, while Lewis Miley (back) is thought to be out, too.
And Newcastle will also be without Anthony Gordon, who was sent off for two bookable offences at the weekend.
The lack of a proper press conference from Howe means that we’re unlikely to get further information on Tino Livramento (ankle) and Miguel Almiron (knee). Those two came off against West Ham United with “twists”.
Fabian Schar also looked like he was struggling with his hamstring in the closing stages of that match but finished the game.
As for Kieran Trippier (calf), Howe had hoped to have him back in the squad on Saturday but he failed to show. The latest update from the Newcastle boss sounds more cautious.
“Kieran is improving. A difficult injury for him. An injury to the calf, one we have to be very careful with and we’d hoped he’d be fit in and around this game but we’ll have to wait and see how he goes during this week.
“He’s desperate to be involved, he knows what’s at stake for us towards the end of the season and his qualities are obvious. We’re desperate to have him back but it has to be at the right time.” – Eddie Howe, via the Shields Gazette
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Matheus Cunha (hamstring) is back in contention for the clash with Burnley, while Craig Dawson (groin) could also feature.
Pedro Neto (hamstring), Hwang Hee-chan (hamstring) and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (knee) remain out, however.
“He will definitely be in the match-day squad barring anything going wrong between now and then. He’s miles ahead of schedule. He was knocking my door down to be involved in the Aston Villa game but we have to make sure it’s right for him.” – Gary O’Neil, via the Express and Star
“Bellegarde no, Daws possibly. He was doing a session outside (on Saturday), so possibly. But Bellegarde will not be available.” – Gary O’Neil, via the Express and Star
- READ MORE: Gary O’Neil on a “tired” Rayan Ait Nouri
BOURNEMOUTH
Marcos Senesi (hamstring), Ryan Fredericks (calf) and Luis Sinisterra (hamstring) remain out, although Senesi is closing in on a comeback.
“Marcos, it is true that he is not far. It’s true that he may start doing some things with the group. But we are talking about two or three days. It’s impossible to recover. You don’t have rhythm with one or two trainings.” – Andoni Iraola
A late call will be made on Ryan Christie, who missed the win over Everton with a cut on his knee.
Andoni Iraola pledged to make changes, with little more than 72 hours separating Gameweeks 30 and 31.
“Most of the times in these cases, it’s not a matter of what I want to do, it’s a matter of what I can do. Players have very short time to recover between these two games, and we are coming from a physical game. So I don’t think we will play with the same starting XI. For sure we will have to make some changes, but it’s something that I haven’t decided.” – Andoni Iraola
Iraola added that he’d have to consider whether to hand starts to Tyler Adams and Lloyd Kelly, who have recently returned from injury, given the quick turnaround. Adams lasted 90 minutes for the first time in over a year, while Kelly was given half an hour on his comeback.
“It is a difficult one. He played 30 minutes, which is a good amount. He trained one week. It’s not a lot. But we will have to talk to him and the medical department also and take the decision from there.” – Andoni Iraola on Lloyd Kelly
Iraola was also asked about whether Neto could be given the axe following his latest rick on Saturday.
“No, I put the starting XI I consider gives us more chance to win the game. Sometimes they are difficult decisions, but I put the one I think. Sometimes I make mistakes and I regret it after 15 minutes. But it’s the job of the coach.
“Neto is very experienced and luckily for him and for everyone, the mistake hasn’t cost us points. He’s used to recovering, I’m sure, from worse positions.” – Andoni Iraola on whether Neto’s status as captain makes him less likely to be dropped
CRYSTAL PALACE
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (hamstring) and Michael Olise (hamstring) are closing in on comebacks but aren’t expected to feature until Gameweek 32.
Sam Johnstone (elbow), Odsonne Edouard (knee), Matheus Franca (groin), Marc Guehi (knee), Cheick Doucoure (Achilles) and Rob Holding (ankle) remain on the Eagles’ injury list.
EVERTON
Sean Dyche doesn’t think Amadou Onana is badly injured after the midfielder was substituted in the loss to Bournemouth.
“I think they’re minor things, I’ll find out more. We’re in [on Sunday] so I’ll find out more but I don’t think they’re too serious.” – Sean Dyche
Dyche added that Vitalli Mykloenko was “likely to be through” the illness that caused him to miss out in Gameweek 30.
Lewis Dobbin (ankle) and Dele Alli (groin) were already on the injury list going into Saturday’s game.
Arnaut Danjuma (ankle) had returned to training for the first time last Thursday so while he’ll require more time to build his match fitness, there is an outside chance we could see him on the bench.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Nuno Tavares (muscle), Taiwo Awoniyi (muscle) and Willy Boly (muscle) were all absent for the draw with Crystal Palace.
Awoniyi will definitely miss this one, while Tavares hasn’t featured in six weeks.
Nuno said after full-time on Saturday that he was “not sure” whether Boly would return on Tuesday.
