Following our earlier round-up of the seven pre-Gameweek 2 press conferences that were held on Thursday, we turn our attention to the remaining Premier League pressers.
The headline news came from Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp dropping the bombshell that Adrian (ankle) is a doubt for the match against Southampton on Saturday.
The Spaniard was injured in the post-match celebrations following the penalty shootout win over Chelsea in Wednesday’s Super Cup.
With Alisson (calf) already ruled out, Klopp may have to turn to Andy Lonergan or Caoimhin Kelleher should Adrian be ruled out – although the noises were cautiously positive coming from the Liverpool camp.
Klopp said of Adrian:
A supporter jumped over something, was chased by some security guys, slipped and kicked his ankle. Crazy. Yesterday it was swollen, today I spoke to him, he’s here, says it’s better, much better than yesterday. We have to see.
We will not go for a scan, I think. We wait for the swelling… it went already down. You have that, then you fly four hours back, it doesn’t help [the] swelling. I saw him now, it’s OK, it looks better. But the decision will be made tomorrow.
The player himself later added:
Yeah, I think I have many chances [to play]. I feel mentally ready and I also hope today with the treatment of the ankle it’s going to be much better. But I’m very optimistic to start playing tomorrow again.
Liverpool will also be without Naby Keita (muscle) tomorrow.
Many Fantasy managers will be concerned about Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah following their lengthy run-outs in the Super Cup.
Klopp eased fears slightly in that regard, saying:
I would say that the three players who suffered least in that game were Kante, Sadio and Mo! They are more used to playing in circumstances like that, physically really strong all three of them.
On Mane’s substitution in the Super Cup, Klopp said:
It was a pure decision based on responsibility to get him off and not let him go the full 120 minutes.
Otherwise why would you take off a player who scored two goals and looked pretty OK still? Very important for us that he is back.That Mo played now since we started the season is incredible, as well, because we all know, not the longest pre-season in the world. But that’s how we need them.
Now we have to make sure and have a
look how they all recover. I will see them in an hour or so and then we have to make decisions.
Asked about Liverpool’s current defensive woes, Klopp said:
We know that we have to improve, we know that we have to do a couple of things. But those few things will just come because we are then longer together, at different situations, get used to it again.
Benjamin Mendy (knee) and Leroy Sane (knee) remain out for Manchester City but Pep Guardiola reported on Friday that everyone else was fit going into Saturday’s match against Spurs.
On the subject of Mendy, Guardiola said:
What I want with Benjamin is
be fit. Be ready for training sessions, week after week. That is the target. After, for these specific qualities, he is going to help us. Because when he played, he played good.
The Lilywhites will again be without Ryan Sessegnon and Dele Alli (both hamstring), while Son Heung-min and Juan Foyth serve the final game of their bans.
Foyth is also undergoing rehab on an ankle problem.
Giovani Lo Celso may be involved in the matchday squad but Mauricio Pochettino confirmed the summer signing wouldn’t start.
Brendan Rodgers reported no fresh concerns ahead of Leicester’s trip to Chelsea on Sunday.
There was plenty to discuss in Frank Lampard’s presser, meanwhile.
The Chelsea boss said of the club’s injury situation:
Rudiger is training. Whether he’s completely match-fit is a different thing, for the same reasons as Callum [Hudson-Odoi], a bit of conditioning. Willian is probably closer. They are both in contention for the weekend.
Lampard said Callum Hudson-Odoi (Achilles) would probably return after the international break, adding:
He’s getting closer. He’s trained the last week or two with the under-23s and is looking good. There is going to be a period of conditioning work for him. The injury looks good which is the great news.
Then he’s going to have to be fitter than he’s ever been because I’m going to want him to run!
The Blues’ head coach expects Reece James (ankle) to be back in two or three weeks.
Asked about N’Golo Kante’s best position, Lampard replied:
The idea he wins the ball
as well as anyone in world football doesn’t mean he has to sit in front of the back four. He has too much in his game: driving forward with the ball, leaving midfield areas and winning the ball back high up the pitch.
Lampard also praised Mason Mount, saying:
His attitude is so good. He is so hungry and very understanding of what it needs to be a player. He trains every day with absolute application and focus.
The two games he’s played gives me confidence this will be the season for him. He probably won’t start every game, but if he carries on the way he’s going he’s going to be a huge influence for us this season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reported no fresh injury concerns in Friday’s presser and said that Alexis Sanchez (match fitness) is “very close” to being part of his squad for the trip to Molineux on Monday.
Nuno Espirito Santo made nine changes to his starting XI for the Europa League tie with FC Pyunik last night, resting many of his big guns ahead of Gameweek 2.
Only Conor Coady and Joao Moutinho kept their places against the Armenian side, although Leander Dendoncker, Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez came on as second-half substitutes.
Arnaut Danjuma (foot) joins David Brooks (ankle), Lloyd Kelly (ankle), Dan Gosling (hip), Junior Stanislas (knee), Lewis Cook (knee) and Simon Francis (knee) on the sidelines for Bournemouth’s trip to Aston Villa.
Chris Wilder didn’t report any fresh injury concerns for Sheffield United and said he had a welcome selection headache ahead of the visit of Crystal Palace.
Asked about striker Billy Sharp, who came off the bench to score at Bournemouth, Wilder said:
He couldn’t have done any more, really. Came onto the pitch, changed the course of the game, changed the result. But that’s what you’re looking for when you make substitutions. All three substitutions had an impact on the game.
The Eagles will again be without James Tomkins (groin) and Mamadou Sakho (match fitness) but Jeffery Schlupp has returned from injury and is available.
Norwich’s injury woes continue, meanwhile.
Centre-backs Timm Klose (hip) and Christoph Zimmermann (knee) will again miss out, while Josip Drmic (ankle) is unavailable and Onel Hernandez (knee) has been sidelined for the next three months at least.
Kenny McLean (back) is also a major doubt for the visit of Newcastle but Alex Tettey (calf) and Ibrahim Amadou (match fitness) are now available, at least.
For Newcastle, Andy Carroll (match fitness) is set to remain sidelined for at least four or five weeks, while Florian Lejeune (knee) and DeAndre Yedlin (groin) are long-term absentees and Allan Saint-Maximin (hamstring) is a “slight doubt”.
Jonjo Shelvey (knock) should be fine to feature, though, having returned to training in midweek.
Fabian Delph (groin) will miss out on Everton’s match against Watford, while Morgan Schneiderlin is suspended and Andre Gomes (calf) is a doubt after limping off at Selhurst Park last Saturday.
On whether any of his new signings could be involved at Goodison Park on Saturday, Marco Silva said:
Some of them
they are already ready if I need them, the others I need to give them some time. Alex [Iwobi]arrived the last manlike you know. Some of the others didn’t play enough minutes in pre-season.
Specifically on Alex Iwobi, Silva added:
It’s a matter of putting him in the best physical condition possible, we’re trying to do this as fast as possible. He’s working really hard and well. It’s up to me to decide if he will be in the squad list for tomorrow.
You can read our round-up of Thursday’s pressers by clicking here.
Predicted line-ups can be found in the Team News tab and are being updated at the time of writing.
Our weekly summary can be viewed below or accessed in podcast format.
Lessons learned from Gameweek 1
- Liverpool 4-1 Norwich
- West Ham United 0-5 Manchester City
- Bournemouth 1-1 Sheffield United
- Burnley 3-0 Southampton
- Crystal Palace 0-0 Everton
- Watford 0-3 Brighton and Hove Albion
- Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Aston Villa
- Leicester City 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Newcastle United 0-1 Arsenal
- Manchester United 4-0 Chelsea
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