We have Gameweek 31 team news updates from six more pre-match press conferences today.
We will refresh this article as and when the pressers take place.
However, the managers of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United won’t face journalists until after Tuesday’s Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline.
So, we’ll also attempt to round up what we know about those three teams in this article.
For a summary of Monday’s injury news, head here.
FYI: this week’s usual team news video will be replaced by a Twitter Spaces stream at 3pm BST.
FPL GAMEWEEK 31 TEAM NEWS: TUESDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE UPDATES
- Arsenal: Saka “fine” but to be assessed, Martinelli ready to start
- Manchester City: Ederson, Ake + Walker out, Stones a maybe
- Aston Villa: Watkins ruled out but not a serious injury
- Luton Town: Edwards unsure whether Doughty, Burke + Chong will recover
- Brighton and Hove Albion: Pedro + Enciso return
- Sheffield United: Archer could be back
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT…
- Liverpool: Jones + Robertson could return, no one else expected back
- Chelsea: No clues on Gusto, Chalobah back in training
- Manchester United: Varane a precautionary withdrawal, Lindelof more of a worry
FPL GAMEWEEK 31 TEAM NEWS: TUESDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES
ARSENAL
Mikel Arteta said that Bukayo Saka is “fine” after the winger was substituted with fatigue in Sunday’s clash at the Etihad.
However, the Arsenal boss did add that he would need to assess Saka’s starting credentials on Wednesday.
“Yeah, he’s fine. Obviously, we haven’t trained, just recovered. We will have a short, light session today to prepare the game and we’ll see whether he is in the best condition to start or not.” – Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka
Arteta also confirmed that Gabriel Martinelli was ready to start after his cameo comeback in Gameweek 30.
“He is [ready to last 90 minutes] because he was available to play against a really tough opponent three days ago. So, he certainly is today. Again, we will train today and see the state of every player and make the right decision tomorrow.” – Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Martinelli
That leaves only Jurrien Timber (knee) on the sidelines but even he is back on the grass. Arteta said today that he has “a good chance” of featuring before the end of the season.
MANCHESTER CITY
Pep Guardiola has ruled Nathan Ake (calf), Ederson (muscle) and Kyle Walker (hamstring) out of tomorrow’s match against Aston Villa, while John Stones is only a “maybe”.
Stones was on the bench for Sunday’s draw with Arsenal but failed to get onto the field.
“I don’t think so. John, maybe. The other two, no. No chance.” – Pep Guardiola on Ederson, Kyle Walker and John Stones
“Injured. I don’t know how long].
“No, [it’s not the end of his season]. It’s two months left. Hopefully back soon but I don’t know exactly the timing. For sure, the next games he won’t be ready.” – Pep Guardiola on Nathan Ake
“He has to feel fully, fully fit. The injury was less than we expected in that moment but we’ll see. For today or maybe for the next games, will be ready.” – Pep Guardiola on John Stones
ASTON VILLA
Unai Emery confirmed that Ollie Watkins (hamstring) will be absent for the clash with Manchester City.
The good news is that it’s not a serious injury, and the striker could even be back in Gameweek 32.
Emery also revealed that Jacob Ramsey (foot) won’t return on Wednesday.
Matty Cash (hamstring), Tyrone Mings (knee), Boubacar Kamara (knee) and Emi Buendia (knee) remain on the injury list, meanwhile.
John McGinn completes a three-match ban.
LUTON TOWN
Rob Edwards is unsure whether Alfie Doughty (unknown), Reece Burke (Achilles) and Tahith Chong (unknown) will be fit for the Arsenal game.
“Don’t know, we haven’t trained yet. So, we’ll see how they are. We will train this afternoon to try and give them as much time as possible. A couple of them are very doubtful, maybe we’ll get one, maybe we’ll get two.
“I’m not going to give you that information [as to who is the most likely to recover]! They’re not [all] 50/50, some are more than that. Some are 50/50.
“Everyone else is out. It could be 11, 12, 13 players out.” – Rob Edwards
Albert Sambi Lokonga (hamstring), Chiedozie Ogbene (hamstring), Gabriel Osho (knee), Elijah Adebayo (hamstring), Amari’i Bell (hamstring), Dan Potts (hamstring), Jacob Brown (knee), Mads Andersen (calf), Marvelous Nakamba (knee) and Tom Lockyer (health) remain unavailable.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Jack Hinshelwood (foot), Solly March (knee), Kauro Mitoma (back), James Milner (muscle) and Billy Gilmour (knee) are all still on the injury list.
Joao Pedro (hamstring) and Julio Enciso (muscle) return, however.
“Joao Pedro is back. I don’t know [how long he can play]. He played in an under-21s friendly on Saturday and he played well, he worked well. So I think he can be available to play tomorrow, I don’t know how much time, I didn’t decide yet. It’s great news for us.
“[Julio] Enciso, as well, is the same as Joao. We will see if one of two starts from the beginning or during the game.” – Roberto De Zerbi
SHEFFIELD UNITED
George Baldock (calf), Tom Davies (hamstring), Rhian Brewster (hamstring), Max Lowe (ankle), Rhys Norrington-Davies (hamstring), Chris Basham (leg) and John Egan (leg) remain on the injury list but there is a chance we may see Cameron Archer (calf).
Chris Wilder hinted that Vinicius Souza (cramp) and Ollie Arblaster (knock) were over their minor issues from last week.
LIVERPOOL
Liverpool are again set to be without Diogo Jota (knee), Trent Alexander-Arnold (knee), Thiago Alcantara (muscle), Stefan Bajcetic (calf), Ben Doak (knee), Joel Matip (knee) and Alisson (hamstring) in midweek.
Alexander-Arnold may be on track for a Double Gameweek 34 return, based on his weekend comments.
Curtis Jones (foot) has recently rejoined training and should be in contention for the visit of Sheffield United.
We may even see Andrew Robertson (ankle), who Jurgen Klopp said was “cleared” to train fully on Saturday.
CHELSEA
Romeo Lavia (thigh), Lesley Ugochukwu (hamstring), Levi Colwill (toe), Reece James (hamstring), Wesley Fofana (knee), Christopher Nkunku (hamstring), Carney Chukwuemeka (unknown), Robert Sanchez (unknown), Trevoh Chalobah (unknown) and Ben Chilwell (knock) were all on the injury list for the disappointing draw with Burnley but only Fofana and Lavia are definitely out for the season, so there’s a theoretical chance that one or two of those names could be back in the reckoning come Thursday night.
Chalobah, indeed, was already back in “partial training” a week ago, so he might be close to a return.
Another unknown is the availability of Malo Gusto, who seemed to hobble off with a hamstring injury in the closing stages of the clash with the Clarets.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Luke Shaw (muscle) and Tyrell Malacia (knee) won’t be available, while it’d be a shock to see Anthony Martial (groin) even though he’s coming towards the end of the original 10-week recovery timeline set in late January.
The exact details of Jonny Evans‘ “minor injury” are unknown but Altay Bayindir (muscle) could be back, as he was only ruled out for a fortnight before the FA Cup victory over Liverpool.
The Red Devils saw Victor Lindelof (hamstring) and Raphael Varane (foot) hobble out of the draw with Brentford on Saturday, with Lindelof the bigger concern and Varane more of a precautionary withdrawal.
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3 months, 25 days agoBetter chance of starting this gw?
A. Odegaard
B. Havertz