Our first midweek Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline of 2024/25 means our first batch of early-week pre-match press conferences.
Seven managers are facing the media on Monday ahead of Gameweek 14.
We’ll have the headline team news from these pressers in the article below. Quotes will be gradually added if and when the press conferences become available to watch in full.
We should hear from more top-flight managers on Tuesday but, for the first time this season, some head coaches won’t fulfil their media commitments until after the FPL deadline has passed.
We won’t know for certain until tomorrow but this could be as many as four managers. The clubs playing on Thursday evening – Bournemouth, Brighton and Hove Albion, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur – will be the ones affected.
GAMEWEEK 14 TEAM NEWS: MONDAY’S INJURY UPDATES
- Manchester United: Mainoo + Martinez suspended, Yoro could be involved, Bruno fit
- Crystal Palace: Eze ready to start again, no fresh concerns, too soon for Wharton
- West Ham United: Todibo a doubt again, Kudus returns, likely too soon for Fullkrug
- Nottingham Forest: Nuno says team news is “basically the same”, Danilo not ready yet
- Ipswich Town: Tuanzebe out “long term”, Johnson, Phillips + other knocks to be assessed
- Leicester City: Okoli to be assessed, probably too soon for Winks to feature
- Southampton: Three banned, Onuachu + Bednarek could return
GAMEWEEK 14 TEAM NEWS: MONDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES
🚨 Monday’s #FPL Press Conferences (GMT)
⚒️ 12pm – Lopetegui
🌳 1.30pm – Nuno
🚜 1.30pm – McKenna
🦅 1.30pm – Glasner
🦊 2pm – van Nistelrooy
👹 5.30pm – Amorim pic.twitter.com/njeAsIt1gQ— Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) December 2, 2024
Southampton’s Russell Martin was belatedly added to the above list at 2.30pm GMT.
MANCHESTER UNITED
The Reds will be without Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo after the pair picked up their fifth bookings of the season in Sunday’s win over Everton.
Victor Lindelof (hamstring) and Jonny Evans (unknown) have been absent of late, with no word on their availability.
Leny Yoro (foot) could make his first Premier League matchday squad of the season, however.
“We have one more training session to see it. Maybe Leny Yoro is going to be in the squad. I felt he’s in a good moment now, his fitness is better, so I think he is going to be in the squad.
“I think he is a special talent [but] we have to be careful in this first moment. We didn’t have too many trainings together. He’s training not alone but with a small group of players. He’s really fast, he’s a modern defender and that is good when you want to press high. You leave a lot of strikers, especially in this league, one against one. I think he can manage that. He’s very good with the ball, so I’m really excited.
“I have to be careful. We have to manage the load and the minutes in the beginning but I’m really excited to see Leny Yoro playing.” – Rubem Amorim on the team news
And, despite being pictured with ice on his ankle after Gameweek 13, Bruno Fernandes is fit.
“No, he’s fit to play. I see him already this morning and he’s fit to play. He’s a guy that doesn’t need a lot of rest, you know him. So, he’s prepared to play.” – Rubem Amorim on whether Bruno Fernandes is injured
As he did before the Everton game, Amorim hinted that rotation was a possibility.
“The rest, I have to see. Some players were tired so we have to assess tomorrow in training.” – Ruben Amorim
CRYSTAL PALACE
Oliver Glasner has confirmed that Eberechi Eze is ready to start again after lasting an hour on his comeback from a hamstring injury on Saturday.
“Yes, I think he’s okay to start again. He played 60, 65 minutes. I think we could see that he didn’t have a lot of training in the weeks before but on the other side, he is important.
“He can create situations, he can always score a goal. He had one big chance where he had a… that’s untypical for him: a bad first touch, otherwise he would have had a big chance in the first half. Physically, from his body, everything is fine.” – Oliver Glasner on Eberechi Eze
Chadi Riad (knee) and Matheus Franca (groin) remain out injured, while Gameweek 14 comes too soon for Adam Wharton (groin).
“For Adam [Wharton] it will be too soon. If everything goes as we planned, he will have his first training session with us after the Ipswich game, so he didn’t train with us until now. Also the [Manchester] City game will be too soon, but maybe then Brighton is possible for him.” – Oliver Glasner
Daichi Kamada serves the final game of his three-match ban.
The Eagles have suffered no fresh concerns from the draw with Newcastle United, however.
“Good news, all players who were fit and available against Newcastle are fit and available for the Ipswich game.” – Oliver Glasner
WEST HAM UNITED
Jean-Clair Todibo will be assessed ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League trip to Leicester City.
The centre-half is suffering from the same issue that forced him off against Newcastle United in Gameweek 12.
“We had a little problem in the last match with [Jean-Clair] Todibo. Let’s see if he is going to be ready or not.” – Julen Lopetegui
Elsewhere, forward Niclas Füllkrug (Achilles) is closing in on a return after almost three months out. The midweek clash with the Foxes may come too early, however.
“[Niclas Füllkrug] is definitely improving and is very close. Tomorrow is going to be difficult to [play]. But hopefully in the next matches, he’s going to be available.
“For sure, not in his best fitness, because he has to recover all this fitness – three months is a lot of time without matches. But fortunately he’s in the end of the recovery time.” – Julen Lopetegui
Mohammed Kudus is available, however, having served his extended five-match ban.
“Let’s see what’s going to happen. We’re not going to talk about the line-up.
“It’s true that he’s come back, he has stayed out a lot of time, too. Five matches, two months. Let’s see. He’s ready, working well and happy to come back, he’s one player more to use. It is good news for us because now we start with a lot of matches in a row, so it’s a good thing that we have more players.” – Julen Lopetegui on whether Mohammed Kudus will return to his line-up
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Nuno Espirito Santo says that the Forest team news hasn’t changed since Gameweek 13.
“Basically the same, yeah, it’s the same.” – Nuno Espirito Santo
Danilo (ankle) and Ibrahima Sangare (hamstring) remain unavailable, then, although the former returned to training last week. Nuno said ahead of the weekend that Danilo was still “a long way away” from being match-fit and reiterated that sentiment on Monday.
“Not yet, we have to be very patient and very careful with him. Yesterday he did a good training session again but today for example we have to offload, give him to the physios. We have to take patience and the right steps, looking forward. We don’t want to have any setback.” – Nuno Espirito Santo on whether he had a return date for Danilo
Morgan Gibbs-White (ankle), Elliot Anderson (foot) and Anthony Elanga (shoulder) all returned to the squad on Saturday, the first two starting.
IPSWICH TOWN
Kieran McKenna has confirmed that the Tractor Boys have lost Axel Tuanzebe “long term” with the hamstring injury he sustained at the weekend.
He joins George Hirst (knee) and Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles) on the injury list.
“We’ve lost Axel, hamstring, long-term. He’s seeing specialists over the next 24 hours. Hopefully, it won’t need surgery, but it’s a significant injury.
“He’s a very important player for us that we’re going to miss a large chunk of the season. It’s disappointing for him and for us as well.” – Kieran McKenna on Axel Tuanzebe, via the East Anglian Daily Times
McKenna said “a couple of other knocks” from Gameweek 13 will need to be assessed, meanwhile.
There’ll be late calls on Kalvin Phillips (ankle) and Ben Johnson (muscle), too. Both players trained today and should be fit for Gameweek 15 if they do miss Tuesday’s fixture.
“Kalvin had an ankle roll that he picked up shortly after the Leicester game. He’s trained with the group today and is feeling better. We’ll have to make a decision with regards to tomorrow night but he’ll definitely, touch wood, be in a great position come Sunday’s game.
“Ben is pretty similar. He had a small muscular injury that he missed some training with but he’s trained a bit with the group today. Again, we’ll have to make a decision for tomorrow night. Hopefully, by the end of the week, both will be in a good place.” – Kieran McKenna on Ben Johnson and Kalvin Phillips, via the East Anglian Daily Times
LEICESTER CITY
Caleb Okoli has avoided serious injury despite leaving the field early in the defeat to Brentford.
Okoli was on the wrong end of a clash of knees before exiting but has since returned to training.
“Caleb was, before individual training today, a part of team training. That looked good. We’re waiting on his reaction because he pushed to be there today with the team. We’ll see how the reaction is. All being well, he can be in the squad tomorrow.” – Ruud van Nistelrooy on Caleb Okoli
It looks like Harry Winks (groin) will miss out, although the midfielder isn’t seriously injured.
“Harry is doing individual work. He is still not part of team training but his rehab is going well and it’s not a long-term injury. So, hopefully, we can welcome him soon in the squad too.” – Ruud van Nistelrooy on Harry Winks
Abdul Fatawu (knee), Jakub Stolarczyk (ankle) and Ricardo Pereira (hamstring) are on the injury list.
There were some interesting quotes from van Nistelrooy on his “football philosophy”, meanwhile.
“The structures that you talk about, off the ball, is a 4-4-2, where we look to give pressure on the opponent and using different formations in that. But the basic structure in that is a 4-4-2. On the ball, there’s a three-box-three that I liked to use at PSV, also at United. We were developing that and it’s something that has been very well developed here as well when Enzo [Maresca] came.” – Ruud van Nistelrooy
SOUTHAMPTON
Saints could have Paul Onuachu (unknown) and Jan Bednarek (knee) back for the visit of Chelsea but it’s not particularly positive team news elsewhere.
Adam Lallana (hamstring), Juan Larios (unknown), Aaron Ramsdale (finger), Ross Stewart (hamstring), Gavin Bazunu (Achilles) and Will Smallbone (hamstring) remain sidelined, for starters.
Loanee Lesley Ugochukwu can’t face his parent club, either.
Then there’s the trio of players who all picked up their fifth booking of the season at the Amex last Friday: Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyler Dibling and Flynn Downes. They serve one-match bans in Gameweek 14.
“We’re hopeful that Paul Onuachu will be involved on Wednesday, which will be good for us. Everything else is the same.
“Jan Bednarek will be back in the squad as well, hopefully, all being well. We’ll assess whether he’s ready to play or not but he’ll be back involved which will be good for us.” – Russell Martin
