THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN SUPERSEDED BY FRIDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE ROUND-UP
We’ve got the early team and injury news for Gameweek 8 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
There’s a lot to catch up on. A handful of new flags appeared over the international break, while some reds turned yellow as returns to fitness near.
Will Bukayo Saka (£10.1m) and Kai Havertz (£8.3m) be fit? Are Son Heung-min (£9.8m) and Alexander Isak (£8.3m) ready to return? And… is that Reece James (£4.9m) we spy?
The pre-match press conferences on Thursday and Friday will, of course, tell us a lot more on the injury front. We’ll have article round-ups on both days and a video summary, as usual.
In the meantime, this initial rundown gives an overview of all 20 Premier League sides.
Our team news tab and injuries and bans page are the places to go for more information as the deadline nears.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V WEST HAM UNITED
A social media post from Son Heung-min (hamstring) last weekend suggested the South Korea international would be “back soon”.
Football London reporter Alasdair Gold, usually a reliable sort, suggests Son should return to training in some capacity this week but that Gameweek 8 involvement is still in question.
Gold added that Richarlison (calf) and Wilson Odobert (hamstring) could also be back in training ahead of West Ham’s visit. Nevertheless, starts this weekend are almost certainly out of the equation.
The new concern for Ange Postecoglou is Lucas Bergvall, who exited the Sweden camp without kicking a ball. An unused substitute last Friday, a “minor injury” put paid to his involvement against Estonia on Monday.
Niclas Fullkrug (Achilles) is the only injury doubt that we’re aware of at West Ham. The German striker has been absent since the September international break – and the usual well-connected sources seem to think he’s not going to be back any time soon.
FULHAM V ASTON VILLA
Sasa Lukic is expected to be sidelined for Gameweek 8 with a shoulder injury picked up while away with Serbia.
That could pave the way for Emile Smith Rowe‘s return to the starting XI, although it could have happened regardless as Marco Silva’s Gameweek 7 selection seemed to be more horses for courses.
Joachim Andersen may also be a concern after he withdrew from international duty with Denmark. No more details about his issue have been forthcoming.
Carlos Vinicius (calf) and Jorge Cuenca (ankle) were already on the injury list heading into the break.
Villa have myriad issues and there’ll be much to clear up in Unai Emery’s presser.
Starting with the pre-existing injuries, John McGinn (hamstring) is close to a return but this game may come too soon.
Long-term absentees Tyrone Mings (knee) and Boubacar Kamara (knee) could be back in the squad, however, having got minutes with the under-21s over the last fortnight.
Jacob Ramsey (groin) and Amadou Onana (hamstring) both sat out Gameweek 7 despite Emery being positive on the latter. Onana then failed to feature for Belgium over the break.
Ezri Konsa (hamstring) meanwhile limped out of the goalless draw with Manchester United earlier this month. He subsequently pulled out of the England squad, with reports suggesting he was “optimistic” about making a swift recovery.
Emery received yet another blow in the last few days as it emerged that Jaden Philogene is also a doubt for the Fulham game with an injury sustained while away with the England under-21s.
IPSWICH TOWN V EVERTON
Axel Tuanzebe will be out for some time after suffering a freak injury at home that almost cost him a thumb.
Tuanzebe missed Gameweek 7 and was forced to skip international duty – and the same was true of Jens Cajuste (knee) and Ali Al-Hamadi (unknown).
Massimo Luongo (ankle) then followed suit by withdrawing from the Australia squad last week.
As for Everton, Youssef Chermiti (foot) and Armando Broja (foot) will remain out.
Only match fitness is holding Nathan Patterson (hamstring) back, however: he’s now featured three times for the under-21s as he recovers from a long lay-off. The last of those was a 90-minute run-out, so he may be in first-team contention very soon.
Jarrad Branthwaite (quad) and Vitalli Mykolenko (calf) have both been training this week, meanwhile.
Sean Dyche previously said he was hopeful that Seamus Coleman (ankle) would “get closer” to fitness over the break.
MANCHESTER UNITED V BRENTFORD
They don’t need any more negativity but United are one of the worst-hit teams in the division on the fitness front.
The Red Devils hit double figures for concerns when Manuel Ugarte (muscle) limped out of Uruguay’s clash with Ecuador on Wednesday morning.
Amad Diallo (illness), Kobbie Mainoo (hamstring) and Alejandro Garnacho (knee) had earlier all dropped out of international duty. So too had Noussair Mazraoui, who is expected to be out until November after having minor heart surgery.
Harry Maguire is also likely to be out for “weeks” after hobbling out of the stalemate at Villa Park a fortnight ago, while Leny Yoro (foot), Tyrell Malacia (knee) and Luke Shaw (calf) aren’t anticipated to be back for Gameweek 7.
Mason Mount (knock/head) should be available for the weekend, however.
Brentford aren’t doing great with injuries, either.
Aaron Hickey (hamstring), Igor Thiago (knee), Josh Dasilva (knee) and Gustavo Nunes (back) are sidelined, while it is thought Yoane Wissa (ankle) will remain out – although he was already running two weeks ago, so he may be ahead of schedule.
Mathias Jensen (calf) was also back on the grass for the Bees according to Thomas Frank in his last update.
Rico Henry (knee), who has had a year out, is now in training as his own comeback draws nearer.
Christian Norgaard and Mikkel Damsgaard both withdrew from the Denmark squad last week with injuries of unknown severity.
NEWCASTLE UNITED V BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Jamaal Lascelles (knee) and Sven Botman (knee) remain out long term, while reports this week suggest Kieran Trippier (hamstring) could be out for weeks.
Alexander Isak (toe), Lewis Miley (back) and Callum Wilson (back) had been targeting returns after the international break, while Martin Dubravka (knee) has been seen back on the grass.
Matt Targett hasn’t been spotted since an eczema flare-up in late September.
The New York Times reported this week that Simon Adingra (unknown), Jan Paul van Hecke (groin) and Georginio Rutter (unknown) had all been in training for Brighton. It’s a swift recovery for Rutter, who only dropped out of the France under-21s squad last week.
Solly March (knee) and James Milner (hamstring), both described as possible “options” in Gameweek 7 before ultimately missing out, are two weeks closer to being involved, too.
Joao Pedro (ankle) and Matt O’Riley (ankle) look set to remain out for the Seagulls, however.
We also await further news on the severity of the hamstring injury that forced Adam Webster off early against Spurs.
An update on Carlos Baleba is needed, too. There were fears of a lengthy lay-off after he was stretchered off in Cameroon’s win over Kenya last week but his national team boss said it was only a “light injury”. There was some confusion in Monday’s rematch when he was named on the bench on Cameroon’s social media graphic but not on the official teamsheet.
SOUTHAMPTON V LEICESTER CITY
Tyler Dibling withdrew from the England under-19 squad over the last week. Time will tell if that’s another case of ‘internationalitis’ or something more serious.
What we do know is that Gavin Bazunu (Achilles) remains out and Jack Stephens will have to serve the second match of a two-game ban.
There’s also a good chance that £4.6m forward Ross Stewart (hamstring) will be out, as Russell Martin was pretty downbeat after the striker hobbled out of the Arsenal game a fortnight ago. We await the result of the Scot’s scan.
Will Smallbone (hamstring) and Kamaldeen Sulemana (ankle) were targeting returns after the break, however.
Patson Daka (ankle), Jakub Stolarczyk (ankle) and Hamza Choudhury (shoulder) are on the sidelines for the Foxes.
BOURNEMOUTH V ARSENAL
Tyler Adams (back) was expected to train “almost fully” over the international break, so he will soon come back into first-team contention.
We await news on Milos Kerkez, meanwhile. The left-back withdrew from Hungary’s squad over the break with an injury of unknown severity.
We’re also eager for more information on several Gunners – not that Mikel Arteta is usually much help on the team news front.
Bukayo Saka withdrew from the England squad last Saturday but Arsenal are reportedly “hopeful” that he’ll be fit for Gameweek 8.
There was a further boost courtesy of interim England boss Lee Carsley, who said that Saka would have been “close” for last Sunday’s clash with Finland but that no risks were taken.
Kai Havertz (knee) was another Gunner to pull out of international duty. It’s apparently a long-term issue that he’s been managing, so that may be of some encouragement given that it’s not affected his Premier League game time to date.
There are question marks over Gabriel Martinelli, as well. The winger complained of calf discomfort after Brazil’s win over Chile last Friday, with scans revealing a “small area of muscle oedema”. He did go on to train, however, and was an unused substitute on Wednesday morning.
Thomas Partey exited the Ghana camp over the last fortnight, too, but only because of illness.
Elsewhere, Martin Odegaard (ankle), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) are expected to remain sidelined.
There are also fears that Takehiro Tomiyasu has suffered the recurrence of a knee issue he’d just come back from.
We await the latest on Jurrien Timber (muscle) and Ben White (groin), meanwhile. White has now missed the last four competitive matches, having been restricted to a substitute role in Gameweek 5. Timber meanwhile was hooked at half-time of Arsenal’s last Champions League tie as a precautionary measure and missed Gameweek 7. The pair had done “modified” training ahead of the Southampton win but didn’t feature.
Finally, loanee Murara Neto can’t feature against his parent club.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS V MANCHESTER CITY
Yerson Mosquera, Sasa Kalajdzic and Enso Gonzalez are at various stages of recovery from serious ACL injuries. They remain firmly out.
So does Boubacar Traore (knee), who will be sidelined until around Christmas.
Hwang Hee-chan is a new concern after picking up an ankle injury in South Korea’s win over Jordan a week ago. Later spotted in a wheelchair, he didn’t feature against Iraq on Tuesday.
Bastien Meupiyou (unknown injury) was the one player that Gary O’Neil was hoping to have back after the break. He has since been pictured doing some ball work.
Rodri (knee) and Oscar Bobb (leg) are long-term absentees for Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola had expressed hope that Nathan Ake (hamstring) and Kevin De Bruyne (thigh) would return after the October internationals, however.
Ake was seen in training on Thursday but De Bruyne was not.
Also not spotted were Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Ederson and Savinho. It could be, especially in the latter two cases, that it’s merely a late return from international duty.
LIVERPOOL V CHELSEA
Liverpool, like Man City, appear to have come through the international break relatively unscathed. Arne Slot may tell us otherwise in Friday’s presser, of course.
Alisson is likely to be out until November with the hamstring injury he suffered in Gameweek 7. Understudy Caoimhin Kelleher is now free of illness, however.
Harvey Elliott (foot) will probably be unavailable, too, but he’s towards the end of his recovery and on the grass.
Federico Chiesa is the only other flagged Red. He sat out Liverpool’s last two matches with what Slot said were “some problems” that caused him to miss a few days of training. That was two weeks ago, so there’s optimism that he’ll be fit.
Chelsea could soon have Reece James (hamstring) available. The injury-prone full-back has been in full training over the break.
Carney Chukwuemeka, struggling with illness before the domestic hiatus, was also on the grass.
That leaves only Omari Kellyman (hamstring) on the treatment table.
The Blues will be without two suspended players, however: Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana are banned for yellow card accumulation.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST V CRYSTAL PALACE
Danilo (ankle) and Ibrahima Sangare (hamstring) are out long term for Forest, while James Ward-Prowse serves a one-match ban.
Reports suggest Morgan Gibbs-White (ankle) will also miss out, although he has seemingly avoided serious injury.
Matz Sels (adductor) is a new worry after his withdrawal from the Belgium squad. There have been no updates on the severity of the issue.
Chadi Riad (knee), Matt Turner (ineligible) and Matheus Franca (groin) are definitely out for Palace, while the absence of Chris Richards (hamstring) from the USA camp suggests he won’t be back either.
Oliver Glasner did however previously express hope that Cheick Doucoure (toe) could return to training over the break.
There are concerns over Daniel Munoz and Adam Wharton, meanwhile. Both players have groin injuries.
Munoz was forced off early in the defeat to Liverpool and couldn’t join up with Colombia, while Wharton withdrew from England under-21 duty with a niggling issue that has plagued him for some time.
4 months, 20 days agoIf you don't play Leif Davis against EVE at home is there any point in owning him? (Struggling to start between him and Rico Lewis)
No defender in the Premier League has created more chances (17) or more big chances (5) than Leif Davis so far this season.@StatmanDave
2nd to Trent in xGI table.