Team News

FPL Blank Gameweek 28 team and injury news

The second Blank Gameweek of 2019/20 is just hours away, with four teams – Manchester City, Sheffield United, Aston Villa and Arsenal – not in Premier League action this weekend.

The headline team news for the other 16 clubs we round up in our weekly summary below.

Everton v Manchester United

Marcus Rashford (back) and Paul Pogba (ankle) remain sidelined ahead of the trip to Everton, while Anthony Martial (thigh) is a fresh doubt after missing Thursday’s demolition of Bruges.

Martial picked up a muscle injury in training ahead of that Europa League tie and had a fitness test on the morning of the game, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saying that the Frenchman had tried in vain to recover.

Speaking yesterday, Solskjaer said:

I don’t know with Anthony, to be honest. I’ve not asked. He tried [on Thursday] morning, so he wasn’t that bad, but we’ll have to do a scan [on Friday] probably.

Odion [Ighalo] has definitely shown what type of striker he is, he’s ready for that game on Sunday.

The Norwegian had earlier hinted that Mason Greenwood could start against the Toffees, saying after the win over Bruges:

If we hadn’t had Odion [Ighalo] tonight then Mason [Greenwood] would have had to play… he’s then [got] this game on Sunday.

Theo Walcott (knee) has been passed fit to feature for Everton but Lucas Digne (calf) remains a concern, with Carlo Ancelotti saying on Friday:

Theo [Walcott] is fit, Theo doesn’t have a problem. Lucas Digne is training individually, he had a little problem on his calf the last week. We are going to check tomorrow.

On Andre Gomes, Ancelotti said:

He’s ready to start. He’s closer to starting compared to last week. He trained well, normally, properly. He can play but I have to talk to him before the game.

Bournemouth v Chelsea

Christian Pulisic (tendon), N’Golo Kante (muscle) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (hamstring) have been joined on the sidelines by Tammy Abraham, who has suffered a recurrence of his niggling ankle problem.

On Abraham, Frank Lampard said:

I don’t know, we need to see. I speak to the doctors daily about it but we’re not actually clear on that one. At the minute, he’s not doing anything active for the next couple of days.

Eddie Howe said that he was “very hopeful” that Nathan Ake would have no ill-effects from the slight head injury that caused him to miss the defeat to Burnley last week, while Jefferson Lerma has also been back in training this week following a minor back problem.

Charlie Daniels (knee), Arnaut Danjuma (foot), Chris Mepham (knee), Lloyd Kelly (thigh) and David Brooks (ankle) remain out.

Watford v Liverpool

Jordan Henderson (hamstring), James Milner (muscle), Nathaniel Clyne (knee) and Xherdan Shaqiri (calf) remain out but Jurgen Klopp didn’t reveal any fresh injury concerns in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

Klopp said of his sidelined contingent:

Hendo is running, Millie is running and even more. Not enough for this game now but we will see, especially with Millie, what we can do for Tuesday. Not sure about Hendo, Shaq not yet. All coming closer.

Watford don’t have any confirmed absentees for the visit of Liverpool, with Daryl Janmaat (knee) having rejoined training this week.

Kiko Femenia is available for selection, too, although Nigel Pearson said the versatile full-back was not “match ready” for the defeat to Manchester United last weekend.

Ismaila Sarr could depose Roberto Pereyra from the right flank after making his comeback from injury as a substitute last weekend, meanwhile, with Pearson saying his fit-again winger is “much closer” to a start  .

Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Son Heung-min (arm), Harry Kane (hamstring), Ryan Sessegnon (hip) and Moussa Sissoko (knee) will all miss the visit of Wolves, although Juan Foyth (groin) is back in training.

Jose Mourinho confirmed on Friday that Erik Lamela is still not fit enough to offer anything more than 20/25 minutes off the bench, meanwhile.

Jonny (knock) was substituted in the win over Norwich City last weekend with what Nuno Espirito Santo described as a “strong kick” and the wing-back subsequently missed the Europa League clash with Espanyol, with the Wolves boss saying on Wednesday that the Spaniard was “in pain” and expressing hope that he “doesn’t stay out very long”.

Wolves’ involvement in Europe means that we won’t hear anything more from Santo ahead of Friday’s deadline, with there being no standalone press conference ahead of that clash with Jose Mourinho’s troops. 

Norwich City v Leicester City

Wilfred Ndidi (knee) is uncertain to be involved at Carrow Road on Friday evening, despite having returned to training and having made “great progress” according to his manager.

Brendan Rodgers said:

Wilf Ndidi has been training but we’ll see how he is for Friday. If he’s not available then he’ll look to next week but he’s making great progress, which is good for us.

We don’t want to lose him. When he came back for those games, it was deemed he was fit. But we just had a slight reaction from that, so we want to just be sure of where he is at in terms of his fitness.

Hamza Choudhury is available after suspension.

Rumours circulating on Friday suggest that Jamie Vardy will miss out, however.

Sam Byram will miss the rest of the season after being ruled out for four months with a hamstring injury, while Onel Hernandez is set to be sidelined for eight weeks following knee surgery and Christoph Zimmermann (hamstring) won’t recover in time to feature against Leicester.

Newcastle United v Burnley

Ciaran Clark (ankle), Jetro Willems (ACL), Paul Dummett (tendon) and Andy Carroll (hip) remain out, while the availability of Emil Krafth (ankle), who was pencilled in for a return to training this week, is uncertain.

Jonjo Shelvey (hamstring) and Javier Manquillo (hamstring) have been back on the training ground this week, at least, and could come into contention.

Valentino Lazaro is suspended.

On a possible change of shape, Steve Bruce said:

It’s something we’ve talked about and worked on. The big teams sometimes change every other week, it’s something that is quite normal in the Premier League. It gives us another string to the bow, and we’ll see.

Ashley Barnes (hernia) is still unavailable as Burnley prepare to face Newcastle, while Sean Dyche said on Thursday that Matthew Lowton (knee) and Johann Berg Gudmundsson (minor niggle) are both “unlikely” to be involved on Tyneside.

There was better news concerning Chris Wood (hamstring), however, with Dyche confirming that his striker had been back in training this week.

The Burnley boss said:

He’s certainly fit, so he comes back into the thinking. But Vyds and J-Rod in the last couple of games have certainly laid down a marker as well.

West Ham United v Southampton

Ryan Fredericks (shoulder), Jack Wilshere (groin) and Tomas Soucek (groin) will miss the visit of Southampton, while Andriy Yarmolenko (thigh) is not ready to return despite featuring in a practice match this week.

Nathan Redmond (muscle) is set to be out until after the March international break but Kyle Walker-Peters has returned to training after a minor calf issue and could come into contention.

Ralph Hasenhuttl added in Thursday’s press conference that he didn’t know if Moussa Djenepo would be in the right frame of mind to feature following the death of the player’s mother this week.

Brighton and Hove Albion v Crystal Palace

James Tomkins (hamstring) and Jeffrey Schlupp (muscle) remain sidelined ahead of the trip to Brighton and Hove Albion but Mamadou Sakho (hamstring) and Luka Milivojevic (illness) are back in training and Cheikhou Kouyate has made a swift recovery from the twisted ankle that forced him off last weekend.

Jose Izquierdo (knee) is Brighton’s only confirmed absentee, with Dale Stephens (hamstring) having returned to training and been passed fit ahead of the M23 derby.


More detailed information and predicted line-ups can be found in the Team News tab.

A video round-up with Neale and Andy can be viewed below.

1,090 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Fpl Richie
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    Ryan
    TAA Soyuncu Robbo Stephens
    Traore* Martial* Salah
    Vardy* Ings Jimenez
    Button Holgate Dendo Kdb*
    2.2m 1ft

    Resigned to a hit. Which moves? Happy to do more than 1
    A. Martial to Bruno
    B. Traore/Dendo to Barnes/Perez
    C. Vardy to anyone (?)
    D. Holgate to James/Wolves def

    1. Belli2007
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Leicester fixtures coming up are good so would think hard about shipping Vardy....

    2. JT11fc
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      B Perez

      1. Belli2007
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        Agree with JT11FC

        1. Belli2007
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 29 days ago

          Perez will be on pens if Vardy not playing

  2. pol
    • 13 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    -bottomed-

    Worth a -8, Yay or nay?

    Stevens + Martial + Traore > Boly + Bruno + Barnes

    1. Taking the Mkhitaryan
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      No

    2. Taking the Mkhitaryan
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Do 2 for a -4

      1. pol
        • 13 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        Yeah might be safer to just go Stevens + Martial > Boly + Barnes (-4) and Hayden first bench

  3. JT11fc
    • 5 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    Maupay to Jota/Jimi -4?

    1. Belli2007
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Depends if you think either one is going to score more than a goal away at Spurs.....Maupay could well get one at home..

    2. Taking the Mkhitaryan
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Palace arent great at the back

  4. Better Call Raul
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    Best Traore replacement with 7.9m to spend ? Already own Barnes

  5. Nightf0x
    • 8 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    which?

    a) fleck to 5.3 mid. armstrong probably, 11 with vardy out
    b) lund to bardsley/taylor, 11 with vardy out
    c) play with 10 roll ft

    1. Belli2007
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      GW29 is now a DGW I believe so that should come into your reckoning for c)

      1. Taking the Mkhitaryan
        • 7 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        Excuse me???????

    2. Taking the Mkhitaryan
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      B

  6. bigdip
    • 11 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    Help guys. FH activated. What should I do? Need Vardy. Anybody I need in as well?
    Schmeichel
    TAA Doherty Taylor
    Salah Mane (c) Bruno Perez
    Jiminez VARDY Vydra

    1. Taking the Mkhitaryan
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      "Its too late for you my son"

      1. bigdip
        • 11 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        lol so no help then

        1. Taking the Mkhitaryan
          • 7 Years
          4 years, 29 days ago

          I'd have said dont play free hit.
          Team looks ok

          1. bigdip
            • 11 Years
            4 years, 29 days ago

            trust me. it was bad. only had 5 players starting. what you see above is the FH team. Any tips on players to bring in?

        2. waddles mullet
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 13 Years
          4 years, 29 days ago

          Take out Vardy - likely not playing tonight.

  7. fplking14
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    Best midfielder under 6.5m except for Traore?

    1. Belli2007
      • 13 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Few options....

      Perez/Barnes for upcoming fixtures but are rotation risks
      McNeil
      Mount

    2. PapaWengzz
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Zero good options, including Traore.

  8. have you seen cyan
    • 4 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    Get the blankets and glasses of water ready for the distraught Vardy owners. Emergency shelters are being established

  9. DaisyDaisyDaisyDaisy
    • 10 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    Hope Rockstar said it in a Harry Enfield scouse accent

  10. Krafty Werks
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    Right that's it i've decided if there's no Vardy it's Traore > Perez, if Vardy party starts Traore > Barnes...done deal!!

  11. Hand of Dog
    • 6 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    Best defender under 5.0 with a rigorous justification (or not)?

  12. Henning
    • 9 Years
    4 years, 29 days ago

    If No Vardy is it worth to take a hit to get
    Jimenez or just play Stephens?

  13. Party time
      4 years, 29 days ago

      If I was Rockstar, I won't share anything tonight until after the deadline

    • Gentle_Turks
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Martial to -
      A Barnes
      B Fernandez

      1. PascalCygan
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        B

    • PascalCygan
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      A) Martial to Bruno for -4?

      B) Or just hold tight and hope Williams/Dendoncker (+4 for no hit) do a good enough job from the bench?

      0FT 2.6ITB
      Ryan
      TAA VVD Soyuncu Taylor
      Salah Traore Martial*
      Vardy* Ings Jimenez

      McGovern Williams Dendoncker KdB*

      Thanks!

    • have you seen cyan
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Tonight we shall all get drunk on those sweet Vardy owner tears, cheers!

    • bigdip
      • 11 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      G2G? or any changes (I activated my FH last week so I can make as many changes as needed)
      Schmeichel
      TAA Doherty Taylor
      Salah Mane (c) Bruno Perez (Mount)
      Jiminez Pukki Vydra

    • Pedaso Pirates
      • 10 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Do I drop Alli for Fernandez (-4) given risk he won't play? Or a Leicester midfielder?

    • Nightf0x
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      fleck traore -4 to perez/barnes 4.5/4.8 mid. ? y or n

    • g40steve
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Who’s the Leicester twitter guy something Enderby, local area or village?

      1. Old Man
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        Large village a few miles West of Leicester

      2. g40steve
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        Found it Sean from Enderby.

        Vardy’s had a scare in training?

        He posts a team, but make your own decision!!!

        https://twitter.com/seanfromenderby?lang=en

    • Jdpz
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Armstrong is good option?

    • Nightf0x
      • 8 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      fleck traore -4 to perez/barnes & cheap mid. ? y or n

    • Jdpz
      • 4 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Armstrong or Snodgrass?

    • FPLtfs
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      A) Barnes, Pérez, Doherty
      B) Barnes, Fernandes, Saiss

    • yanky
      • 14 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      was in a panic and did vardy > firmino -4, i blacked out hope it works out. good luck all

    • CMJC
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Holgate in for Vardy...so far I’ve missed all his points on my bench. 2 pointer incoming

    • PocketZola
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Ffs brought in Madison before finding out about vardy

      1. CMJC
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        Still have a good feeling about Maddi tonight. Fingers crossed

      2. Silecro
        • 6 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        Same, for Martial.. But not a lot of difference for me

      3. Sun Jihai
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        On pens though!

    • Jimmy Boy
      • 7 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      Been hanging onto Vardy, suffering for weeks but holding on due to him eventually having a fixture against Norwich. You really can't make this up.

      1. Steve The Spud
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 4 Years
        4 years, 29 days ago

        Norwich were ok against pool

    • Doctor Evil
      • 5 Years
      4 years, 29 days ago

      As I only have Barnes I will take that. Get rid of that clean sheet

    • Alli
      • 6 Years
      4 years, 22 days ago

      Any suggestions? 1 FT - 1.1 ITB

      Ryan
      TAA - Dunk - Lascelles
      Salah - Mané - KDB - Traoré
      Jimé - DCL - Ings

      Button - Fernandes - Stephens - Williams