Team News

Mané in contention as managers deliver post-deadline press conferences

Jurgen Klopp confirmed on Friday that James Milner (£5.3m) and Sadio Mané (£12.2m) are in contention to return for Saturday’s clash at Carrow Road.

Such news may be of frustration to Fantasy Premier League managers who had to make a decision about the Senegalese international prior to last Saturday’s Gameweek 26.

Takumi Minamino (£6.4m), Divock Origi (£5.2m) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£6.2m) have all had a stint on the left flank while Mané has been sidelined he will surely return to the starting XI if fully fit, although there is the small matter of a Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid 72 hours after the encounter in East Anglia.

GET FULL TEAM NEWS AND PREDICTED LINE-UPS HERE

Minutes could well be managed as a result, although a two-week breather before the meeting with Daniel Farke’s side should ensure that there is little issue with fatigue.

Norwich centre-back Ben Godfrey (£4.4m) will return from suspension ahead of the visit of Liverpool, leaving Timm Klose (£4.3m) as the only confirmed absentee for the match against the runaway league leaders.

Godfrey is by no means a certainty to regain his place alongside Christoph Zimmermann (£4.4m), though, with Grant Hanley (£4.0m) having performed ably in his stead of late.

The fit-again Emiliano Buendia (£6.0m) will be pushing for a recall on the right flank after being overlooked in Gameweek 25, with Farke having hinted before the goalless draw with Newcastle that the Argentine winger hadn’t perhaps quite been at full fitness after his recent thigh injury.

Lukas Rupp (£4.5m) could make way, then, but the positive nature of the display at St. James Park – chance conversion again letting the Canaries down – could see changes few and far between elsewhere.

After a two-week winter break and with a six-day breather to follow after their meeting with Leicester, there is little reason for Wolves to be at anything other than full strength when the Foxes visit Molineux on Friday – injuries permitting, of course.

Ruben Vinagre (£4.2m) won’t feature at the King Power Stadium but Adama Traoré (£5.8m), who was in the wars against Manchester United, was passed fit by Nuno Espirito Santo in the Wolves manager’s pre-match presser, with the rest of the squad also available at the time of writing.

The fit-again Willy Boly (£4.7m) and Diogo Jota (£6.1m) were back in the starting XI in Manchester, with Leander Dendoncker (£4.4m) and Pedro Neto (£5.0m) making way. Boly capable of operating on either side of the defence, Dendoncker could still get a reprieve at the expense of Romain Saïss (£4.4m).

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said on Wednesday that Wilfred Ndidi (£5.0m) “probably is going to be doubtful” to face Wolves on Friday, so Hamza Choudhury (£4.3m) could continue to deputise in central midfield given that Nampalys Mendy (£4.3m) is still sidelined.

Youri Tielemans (£6.2m) has seemingly regained his place from Dennis Praet (£5.3m) in the middle of the park and two assists against Frank Lampard’s side will do his chances of another start no harm, while the superlative form of Harvey Barnes (£6.0m) ought to see the young winger as good as nailed on the left flank. Ayoze Pérez (£6.2m) is perhaps less secure on the right wing but still caught the eye at times against Chelsea and has now started six league games in a row.

Ryan Bennett (£4.8m) is ineligible to face his parent club while Jamie Vardy (£9.8m) came through a 79-minute run-out in Gameweek 25 seemingly unscathed, so there don’t seem to be any serious lingering effects from his recent glute injury and a fortnight’s breather may have helped him regain full match-fitness.

James Ward-Prowse (£5.8m) was stretchered off with a knee injury against Spurs last week but was subsequently only deemed to have suffered a bad cut, with Ralph Hasenhüttl expressing hope that his ever-present midfielder would be fit enough to return against Burnley in Gameweek 26.

The Southampton boss talked in terms of Ward-Prowse playing back in his usual “number six” role if he does recover so Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.4m) or Yan Valery (£4.6m) may get the nod at right-back (where Ward-Prowse had been deputising) for this weekend’s game.

Hasenhüttl didn’t consider Walker-Peters for the trip to Anfield as he needed to learn about the finer details of the Saints’ system but a two-week winter break has given him ample opportunity to do just that, so the Spurs loanee could very well be handed a start in what is otherwise a settled back four.

Ashley Barnes (£6.1m) and Johann Berg Gudmundsson (£5.9m) will miss Burnley’s trip to Southampton, while Matt Lowton (£4.2m) and Charlie Taylor (£4.2m) will both be assessed before Saturday’s game, with the left-back looking more likely to recover given his manager’s comments on Thursday. Phil Bardsley (£4.3m) and Erik Pieters (£4.3m) will both be on standby to deputise should the first-choice full-backs fail to recover.

Aston Villa’s long-term absentees John McGinn (£5.4m), Jed Steer (£4.3m), Tom Heaton (£4.4m) and Wesley (£5.5m) will remain sidelined for the visit of Spurs but we are in the dark regarding the availability of Danny Drinkwater (£4.4m).

The former Leicester midfielder missed the 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth but could very well threaten the midfield pairing of Douglas Luiz (£4.4m) and Marvelous Nakamba (£4.4m) if passed fit given that Smith has shown a lot of faith in the Chelsea loanee since his arrival in the Midlands. Conor Hourihane (£5.7m) and Henri Lansbury (£4.4m) are further options in the middle of the park but look to have fallen down the pecking order in recent weeks and may only be among the substitutes at best this weekend.

Harry Kane (£10.8m), Juan Foyth (£4.8m) and Moussa Sissoko (£4.8m) are unavailable for Spurs as they travel to Aston Villa on Sunday, while Erik Lamela (£5.7m) will be assessed ahead of the game.

Giovani Lo Celso (£7.3m) and Ben Davies (£5.3m) are back in training, at least, and should be in contention to feature in the Midlands. Davies’ return perhaps puts Japhet Tanganga‘s (£4.1m) security of starts in some doubt given what Jose Mourinho had said previously about the importance of the Welshman to his system.

Tanganga could still continue as the two-in-one left-back/centre-half while Davies gets up to full speed, with Mourinho again declaring that Ryan Sessegnon (£5.4m) “is not a left-back” after his run-out in that position in the FA Cup fourth round against Southampton.

Sead Kolasinac (£5.2m), Bukayo Saka (£4.5m) and Reiss Nelson (£5.3m) were all passed fit by Arsenal on Friday, with Kolasinac potentially in line to displace Saka at left-back as he had done at the start of the calendar year.

Newcastle’s long-term absentees Jetro Willems (£4.5m), Paul Dummett (£4.4m) and Emil Krafth (£4.3m) won’t feature at the Emirates on Sunday, while Andy Carroll (£5.4m) and Jonjo Shelvey (£4.9m) aren’t yet ready for a return.

Dwight Gayle (£5.0m) and Yoshinori Muto (£5.1m) will be assessed after a return to training but will likely be among the substitutes at best as Joelinton (£5.5m), who picked up a rib injury in the win over Oxford United last week, was passed fit on Thursday.

New signings Valentino Lazaro (£5.5m), Nabil Bentaleb (£5.0m) and Danny Rose (£5.3m) also bolster Newcastle’s squad depth, with Bentelab having already made two competitive starts for the Magpies.

Rose, ineligible to face Oxford in the FA Cup, could very well be handed his first Newcastle start in London at the expense of Matt Ritchie (£5.3m), who is a possible option on the other side of the pitch given that DeAndre Yedlin (£4.4m) has failed to really impress of late.

It remains to be seen if Bruce sees Lazaro more as a wing-back or a winger, meanwhile, with the right-sided Austrian another alternative to Yedlin if it’s the former.

Tammy Abraham (£7.7m) is still feeling the effects of a recent ankle injury according to Frank Lampard, who said in his latest press conference that the player has had to be pulled out of training a few times over the Winter Break but managed a full session on Friday. As things stand, he will have to be assessed over the weekend ahead of the visit of Manchester United on Monday night.

Christian Pulisic (£6.9m) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£6.3m) have both been ruled out of Gameweek 26 but are both approaching a return to full fitness.

GET FULL TEAM NEWS AND PREDICTED LINE-UPS HERE

547 Comments Post a Comment
  1. HashAttack
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Anyone else get the feeling this "winter break" is just a test run at giving Sky / BT alternative weeks of the whole schedule - it's their best way of persuading fans to get mugged off by both companies

    1. HashAttack
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      nice - top of page 🙂

    2. KDB4PREZ
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      I’m pretty sure Bt sport is owned by sky sports and they just used it as an off branch to make extra money from us a few years ago

      1. HashAttack
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        damn, you could be right

      2. Supersonic Marv'
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Bt sport is not owned by sky dude.

    3. goriuanx
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      I read an article about the prospect of Premflix - something that would basically bin off Sky and BT. Depends on investment probably.

      1. HashAttack
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        be happy to pay for a single source - would have thought Sky / BT could sublet their content

        1. goriuanx
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          It's mad that all PL games are played in the UK yet not all games are televised despite supporters having to buy 3 legal subscriptions. It's why so many, and rightfully so, have opted for IPTV.

      2. Arteta
        • 8 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Premflix & chill sounds good, real good.

    4. Rainer
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Worst
      ‘Week’
      Of
      Football
      Ever

    5. Revival
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Well they failed badly. In the Winter break next season how about actually having 5 matches each weekend with a good mix of the top sides involved.

  2. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Will Pep still rotate with no Europe??

    Will Pep even be there??

    1. Arteta
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      So many questions eh.

    2. Rainer
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Would jump ship asap.

  3. Maximus Bonimus Pointimus
    • 14 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Vardy
    Jimmy
    Maddo

    7 goal thriller plz thx bye

    1. Amey
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Vardy Jimenez hattrick each & we have a deal !

  4. Rainer
    • 7 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    5th won’t be a UCL spot, cruel on the other smaller clubs who actually play by the rules...

    “If City do indeed go to CAS, then they probably won't be banned next season (process takes around 6months + so can compete whilst appeal ongoing).”

    https://twitter.com/edthompsn/status/1228397782085623815

    1. goriuanx
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Clubs don't come much smaller than Man City.

  5. Revival
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Just gone to log into the Sky Sports fantasy site. On the log in page there is a picture of a Fulham player behind Salah. WTF?

    1. HashAttack
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      was there something his missus forget to mention

  6. Woy_is_back
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Krap!

    I missed the deadline 🙁

    1. Lord.
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Casual

    2. OverTinker
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      which deadline?

  7. Amey
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Is it City Ban or Football being back ....

    Anyways, I'm happy that DZ is over 😀

    1. Rainer
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      United are back with a top 5 finish? 😮

      Ole in!

      A broader plan from City...

      1. Amey
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Ha ha
        Poch is about to get Poached 😉

        1. Rainer
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Kane & Poch 2020.

          1. Amey
            • 5 Years
            4 years, 1 month ago

            Poch ✓
            Mouthbreather .... Nahhh
            😛

            1. goriuanx
              • 13 Years
              4 years, 1 month ago

              Mouth breather LOL

  8. Jet5605
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    I think we should call City's ECL ban Mancexit?

  9. Weasel Boy
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Traore benched.

    Great.

    Bring on the you have known cos he his shoulder comments.

    Blah blah.

    1. Rainer
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Don’t forget his hammy twinge 😛

      1. Woy of the Wovers
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        He’s got about 70 hammys

    2. Miguel Sanchez
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Could still.do well off the bench

      1. El Presidente
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Yes indeed

    3. Revival
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Don't own Traore but needed him to assist Jimenez.

  10. Arteta
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Sorry lads, I forgot to inform you that I've bought Adama 2 weeks ago. So blanks and becoming a crap pick is pretty much guaranteed. I just had to stop the beast...

    1. Amey
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Please don't sign Ayoze Perez.
      😀

    2. Woy_is_back
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      ta

    3. FPL Pillars
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Thanks, let me know when you sell ok.

    4. Sid1891
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Had him, sold him
      Will not be getting back
      Prefer extra 2m for Jiménez

    5. Woy of the Wovers
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      You’ve got as much chance of stopping him as Chilwell

  11. King Henrik
    • 12 Years
    4 years, 1 month ago

    Just heard the news. Wow !! Well not very surprised tbh I knew something was not right at the Etihad.
    Does this mean that 5th place in the PL will get a Champions league place??

    Yes I am a United fan lol

    1. El Presidente
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Nope

    2. jtreble
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      "... Does this mean that 5th place in the PL will get a Champions league place?? .." No because City will most likely play in CL next year. 🙂

    3. goriuanx
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      City are appealing so they'll be in the CL if as expected the appeal hasn't reached an outcome by then.

      1. King Henrik
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Awesome mate cheers for clearing that up.

    4. Rainer
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      All pending appeal, which will take time...

      So it’s likely nothing changes next season, or at all.

    5. UTD - HATED, ADORED, BUT NE…
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Aren’t Utd 8th? I wouldn’t worry about it

      1. King Henrik
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Haha true mate. Gotta stay hopeful. We will take all the luck we can get Haha.

    6. Party time
        4 years, 1 month ago

        If Pep leaves he is a chicken

      • Regin
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Yes 5th place team will play in cl if city lose appeal

    7. Regin
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Can anything go right? Traore benched.

      1. kamdaraji
        • 14 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Loads wildcarded to get Traore in lol

      2. Weasel Boy
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Hopefully they perform poorly so that he comes off bench asap

    8. kamdaraji
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      so given the news what Man City team do we expect to line up against West Ham?

      1. Wilshere Knowledge
        • 10 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Hart
        Zabaleta Dunne Otamendi Kolarov
        De Jong Yaya
        Navas Foden Nasri
        Adebayor

        1. Yank Revolution
          • 12 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Needs more Robinho

      2. Miguel Sanchez
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Full strength - need to find some form before playing Madrid

        1. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Then a weakened team away to Leicester a few days before Madrid?

          They could get hammered, that won't be good prep for real Madrid would it?

      3. diesel001
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        My guess:

        Ederson
        Cancelo Otamendi Fernandinho Mendy
        KDB Rodri Silva
        Mahrez Jesus Bernardo

        1. diesel001
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          But perhaps Aguero starts ahead of Mahrez

        2. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 1 month ago

          Foden will surely start

      4. IRBOX ⚽
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Which news?

    9. wulfrunian
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Mike Dean's massacre is coming.

    10. Woy_is_back
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Traore 5 minute cameo

      ta

      1. TRIPOS TOPPER
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        with YC

    11. bOttOmEdpOstrEpliEr.
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Leicester wins.

    12. Yank Revolution
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Barnes and Jimenez (welcome back to my team Raul!)...let's goooo!

    13. Baps hunter
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      First time ever I check whether Dendoncker starts even though he is last on my bench 🙂 I still fear that MCI multiple asset owners might be winners if there are cancelled match(es).

    14. Niho992
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Main rival has DCL first on the bench... I hope Traore will make cameo...

    15. Sid1891
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      Odd choice

      Firmino KDB > Mane Jiménez

      Crazy moves?

    16. Yank Revolution
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      5th place now qualifies for CL according to league.

    17. Pras (FPL)
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 12 Years
      4 years, 1 month ago

      This is huge news.. wow.. Traore dropped.. can’t believe it.

      1. OverTinker
        • 5 Years
        4 years, 1 month ago

        Dropped? may be he isn't fully fit