Alexis Sanchez will sit out Arsenal’s season opener against Leicester City, but Mesut Ozil is expected to be available. Gareth McAuley is sidelined for West Bromwich Albion’s trip to Bournemouth, who are missing Junior Stanislas. Meanwhile, Cedric Soares’ fitness will be monitored as Southampton prepare to host Swansea City.
Arsene Wenger will be without the suspended Laurent Koscielny for tonight’s home clash against Leicester City, while Alexis Sanchez is also absent due to an abdominal injury.
There are also a number of doubts, including Mesut Ozil (ankle), Aaron Ramsey (calf), and Shkodran Mustafi (lack of match fitness), though Ozil confirmed he returned to full training yesterday and appears to have a good chance of starting.
Leicester City trio Robert Huth (ankle), Danny Drinkwater (thigh), Vicente Iborra (groin) will all miss the trip to the Emirates. Kelechi Iheanacho has shaken off a minor toe problem, though, while Islam Slimani is also available after recovering from a gashed leg.
Gareth McAuley (thigh) and James Morrison (knee) will both miss the visit of Bournemouth to the Hawthorns, but Jonny Evans (hamstring), Nacer Chadli (hip), Chris Brunt (calf) should be available.
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe revealed that Junior Stanislas is out for out to a month due to a groin injury. Steve Cook and Jermain Defoe are expected to be contention for the visitors.
Troy Deeney is a doubt for Watford’s home encounter against Liverpool, having only been able to take a limited part in training prior to today due to a groin problem.
Ross Barkley (groin) and James McCarthy (knee) will both miss Everton’s home meeting with Stoke City, though Wayne Rooney will start for the Toffees, manager Ronald Koeman has confirmed.
Earlier this morning, Stoke City manager Mark Hughes confirmed that he hopes to have defender Bruno Martins Indi on board in time for the Goodison trip.
Virgil van Dijk is unavailable for Southampton’s home encounter with Swansea due to illness. Meanwhile, the fitness of right-back Cedric Soares will be monitored after he arrived back late for pre-season due to international duties with Portugal.
Tammy Abraham looks set to be available for Swansea City’s trip to St Mary’s following a minor groin issue but fellow frontman Fernando Llorente misses out with an arm complaint.
All this and more has now been updated in the Team News section ahead of this evening’s deadline. Keep an eye on our official Twitter Stream for breaking news – as the day unfolds, we will issue updates from Friday’s press conferences and refresh our Team News tab accordingly to keep you informed.
