David Silva will miss Spain’s friendly with Argentina on Tuesday, Stoke City’s attack gets a boost and a number of Premier League stars are in action during Saturday’s international fixtures.
Manchester City’s Silva has been allowed to leave Spain’s squad for “personal reasons”.
The 32-year-old, owned by 10.3% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers, started and played 71 minutes of Friday’s 1-1 draw with Germany.
But he will play no part in Tuesday’s match with Argentina in Madrid and there is no official confirmation either way as to his availability for City’s fixture at Everton on Saturday evening.
Silva has missed a number of domestic matches this season following the premature birth of his son and this latest development will put the 55,000+ who have signed him ahead of Gameweek 32 on alert.
Diouf boost for Potters
Stoke City hope to have both Mame Diouf and Xherdan Shaqiri available for Sunday’s Gameweek 32 trip to Arsenal.
Diouf has missed the last two matches with a shoulder injury, leaving Potters manager Paul Lambert to make do and mend up front, with midfielder Eric Choupo-Moting and veteran forward Peter Crouch both used in the lone striker role.
Lambert’s assistant manager, Stuart Taylor, has now said that Diouf is “coming along nicely”. He is currently away with Senegal and could feature in Tuesday’s friendly with Bosnia Herzegovina.
Taylor added that the 12.5%-owned Shaqiri is continuing to rest after pulling out of Switzerland duty with a calf injury.
“You’ve got to go through the pain barrier which a lot of players do in fairness to them – Xherdan Shaqiri was one of those last weekend for us.”
The playmaker passed a fitness test to feature against Everton last time out, though according to Taylor, signalled to the bench to request his withdrawal on 76 minutes. While Shaqiri is willing to play with the injury, his ability to complete 90 minutes still looks in question, particularly at Arsenal in Gameweek 32.
Midfield stars in action
Three major midfield assets were involved in yesterday’s international fixtures, with the most popular – Spurs’ 15.1%-owned Son Heung-min – playing 75 minutes in South Korea’s 2-1 loss to Northern Ireland.
Son couldn’t repeat his blistering domestic form – he’s scored four goals in his last two Gameweeks – for his country, but he remains a key Gameweek 32 target, with more than 82,000 managers making him the third most purchased player ahead of next weekend’s action.
Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-yueng played 67 minutes in Belfast, while West Brom duo Gareth McAuley and Jonny Evans featured for 90 and 68 minutes respectively for the hosts.
Arsenal’s 11.7%-owned midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan played the full 90 minutes in Armenia’s 0-0 draw at home to Estonia, with Liverpool defender Ragnar Klavan doing likewise for the visitors.
Meanwhile, Man United star Alexis Sanchez provided the assist for Chile’s late winner in a 2-1 victory in Sweden.
The 2.8%-owned attacker played the full 90 minutes and it was his shot, saved by Swansea City keeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt, that was turned in on the rebound to seal the win.
Nordfeldt’s club-mate Martin Olsson played the full match for the Swedes, as did Man United centre-half Victor Lindelöf.
Elsewhere…
Leicester City winger Demarai Gray scored for England U21s in a 2-1 win over their Romanian counterparts.
The midfielder captained the side and played 59 minutes before being replaced by Everton full-back Jonjoe Kenny.
Other Premier League players in action were Trent Alexander-Arnold, who provided the assist for England’s winner, and Kyle Walker-Peters, the pair both featuring for the full 90 minutes.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles played for 70 minutes but limped off with an injury which will need assessment. Meanwhile, Tammy Abraham enjoyed 84 minutes before being replaced by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Lindelöf’s team-mate Eric Bailly and Spurs full-back Serge Aurier were part of an Ivory Coast defence that couldn’t hold on to a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw away in Togo.
The pair played the full 90 minutes, while Brighton striker Tomer Hemed scored on the hour for Israel and was subbed off just a minute later as his side lost 2-1 at home to Romania.
Watford’s André Carrillo was on target for Peru as they defeated Croatia 2-0 in the early hours of Saturday morning, while club-mate Sebastian Prödl played the full 90 minutes in Austria’s 3-0 win over Slovenia on Friday.
