There are injury updates on Kevin De Bruyne (£10.7m), Alisson (£6.2m), Tammy Abraham (£7.5m), Lucas Digne (£5.8m) and more in our weekly team news round-up.
We’ve heard from all 20 Premier League managers ahead of Saturday’s Fantasy Premier League deadline and we’ll recap the headline updates in the article below.
More detailed information and predicted line-ups can be found in the Team News tab, which will continue to be refreshed this afternoon.
A video round-up with Neale and Andy can be viewed at the bottom of the piece.
Manchester United v Manchester City
Pep Guardiola didn’t completely pass Kevin De Bruyne (shoulder) fit for Sunday’s clash with Manchester United but there were some cautiously optimistic comments from the City boss on the Belgian, who said:
He’s getting better. Today we didn’t train, tomorrow will prove, I spoke this morning with the physio and he said that he feels better. Not perfect, but better. We’ll see.
On Leroy Sane (match fitness), Guardiola added:
He’s making big, big progress but still is not 100% fit. And he has to be ready and fit to play official games right now. Maybe will be good [to play more matches with the under-23s].
Marcus Rashford (back) and Paul Pogba (ankle) remain sidelined ahead of the Manchester derby, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka (back), Dan James (knock) and Harry Maguire (ankle) will all be assessed before Sunday’s game after missing the FA Cup tie against Derby County on Thursday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of Maguire immediately after the win at Pride Park:
Well, it’s touch and go because he rolled his ankle and he twisted his ankle but, hopefully, he’ll recover quickly. I hope he’ll be fit, yeah.
On Wan-Bissaka and James’ chances of featuring, the United boss added:
I hope so, yeah, but none of them have been training yet since the last game, so we’ve got to look at them on Saturday probably [because] tomorrow is a recovery day.
Arsenal v West Ham United
Lucas Torreira (ankle), Cedric Soares (knee), Calum Chambers (knee) and Sead Kolasinac (shoulder) will all miss the visit of West Ham United, while the match at the Emirates may well come too soon for Kieran Tierney (shoulder), who is only just back in training after a three-month absence.
Mikel Arteta said of the former Celtic left-back on Thursday:
I don’t know [when he will be ready to play]. He’s done two or three complete sessions now. He’s feeling more and more confident now with contact around him and hopefully, he will join in the squad soon.
On the possibility of Pablo Mari being involved against the Hammers, Arteta said:
He’s recovered really well from the [Portsmouth] game. He played 45 minutes with the under-23s four days before that game. He played 90, he said he’s physically good. He trained well and I think he’s ready to play if we need him on Saturday again.
Shkodran Mustafi wasn’t listed in the Arsenal medical bulletin after muscle problems (potentially just cramp) forced him off against Olympiakos over a week ago.
The Gunners’ head coach added that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was initially “down” after his glaring miss against the Greek side but has since been “happy, smiling and full of energy”.
David Moyes says that Tomas Soucek (groin) has got a “very good chance” of featuring for the Hammers this weekend but Andriy Yarmolenko (thigh) is not available despite a return to training.
Liverpool v Bournemouth
Alisson (hip) will miss the visit of Bournemouth this weekend, with Jurgen Klopp saying on Friday:
Unfortunately, Alisson is out. [It’s an injury] in the hip region, small muscle. You could all do your work still, but for a professional goalkeeper it’s slightly different.
He had a little incident in training before the Chelsea game. We all thought it was nothing and it was clear he would not play anyway, the plan was he was on the bench. There, we thought, ‘Come on, we don’t have to take any risks’ so left him out of the squad. [There was a] scan the next day and they found something. So now he is out. We will see – next week [out], for sure, and then we will see.
I don’t want to say no [for the Merseyside derby] but I don’t know if he will be available. He is not available for the next week, not for tomorrow and not the next week.
Then we have to judge the situation new. I would say after the international break he is back 100 per cent, whatever we can get before that we will see.
Jordan Henderson (hamstring) and Xherdan Shaqiri (calf) remain out, with Henderson in line for a possible return against Atletico Madrid next week.
Charlie Daniels (knee), Arnaut Danjuma (foot), Chris Mepham (knee) and David Brooks (ankle) are still sidelined ahead of the trip to Anfield, while the Cherries will be unable to call upon loanee Harry Wilson as he is ineligible to face his parent club.
Lloyd Kelly (thigh) has been back in training this week, however, so could come into contention in the matchday squad.
Leicester City v Aston Villa
Brendan Rodgers confirms that Jamie Vardy is “on track” to be available on Monday but added that Ben Chilwell is a concern with a slight hamstring “twinge”.
On Vardy, Rodgers said:
He looked very good in training. I think the idea that he’ll be available for Monday – we’re still on track with that. Trained very well this morning.
Long-term absentees Jed Steer (Achilles), Tom Heaton (knee) and Wesley (knee) remain unavailable for the Villans, while this game comes too soon for John McGinn (ankle), who is nearing a return.
Chelsea v Everton
Callum Hudson-Odoi (hamstring) and Tammy Abraham (ankle) have been joined on the sidelines by Mateo Kovacic (Achilles), while Willian (Achilles) is also a doubt for Sunday’s game at Everton.
Jorginho begins a two-match suspension, while Christian Pulisic (tendon) would appear unlikely to be involved despite featuring for Chelsea in an in-house friendly this week.
Frank Lampard said in his pre-match press conference:
We just had an in-house game here, which Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] and Christian Pulisic took part in. Great to see Christian get some minutes, still short of match-fitness. Ruben played half of that game himself and is trying to find match-fitness.
[Hudson-Odoi] had a re-injury yesterday. We’re having a scan on him this afternoon, so he will be longer than expected.
There was no update on N’Golo Kante (muscle) in Lampard’s presser, with the Chelsea boss saying he “hopes” Abraham will be back by the end of the month.
It’s one in and one out for Everton, with Carlo Ancelotti saying of Lucas Digne (muscle) and Seamus Coleman (muscle):
Not available, Seamus Coleman. Had a muscular problem in the game against Manchester United. He will be out for at least two games, then we will see. The others are in good condition. Lucas Digne is good.
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Brighton and Hove Albion
Jonny (knock) looks set to miss the visit of Brighton and Hove Albion, while Nuno Espirito Santo confirmed on Friday that Morgan Gibbs-White has also picked up an injury while playing for the under-23s – although didn’t specify the nature of it or how long it would keep him out.
There was no update on Adama Traore (shoulder) in the broadcast section of Santo’s press conference but the Express and Star journalist Nathan Judah reports that the winger is “fit and available”.
Jose Izquierdo (knee) is Brighton’s only confirmed absentee ahead of the trip to Molineux.
Sheffield United v Norwich City
Chris Wilder reported a clean bill of health in his pre-match press conference, with Enda Stevens (calf) and John Fleck (unspecified) recovering from minor injuries in time for the visit of Norwich City.
The Canaries are close to recovering two of their injured centre-halves, with Christoph Zimmermann (hamstring) and Timm Klose (knee) back in training.
Klose isn’t ready to feature but Daniel Farke reported that Zimmermann “could be involved” at Bramall Lane, with an assessment to be made after Friday’s final training session.
Alex Tettey and Teemu Pukki are fine after a bout of illness, while Emiliano Buendia only suffered cramp against Spurs and looks set to be available.
Southampton v Newcastle United
Nathan Redmond (muscle) is out until after the March international break, while Ralph Hasenhuttl’s midfield options are further diminished because Will Smallbone (illness) and Stuart Armstrong (concussion) are set to miss the visit of Newcastle United this weekend.
Moussa Djenepo returns from compassionate leave and could be recalled to the starting XI, as he and Sofiane Boufal were both name-checked by their manager as being the only two “number tens” available on Saturday.
On Danny Ings, Ralph Hasenhuttl added:
It was good that we did rest him last week because the danger was too much. This week he trained well, he’s absolutely hungry to score again. We need him for the important goals and hopefully, at the weekend, he scores again.
Ciaran Clark (ankle), Jetro Willems (ACL), Paul Dummett (tendon) and Andy Carroll (hip) remain out for the Magpies, while the availability of Emil Krafth (ankle), who was pictured in training this week, is uncertain.
Steve Bruce said on Friday that “everybody has come through” the FA Cup victory over West Bromwich Albion, although did add that Javier Manquillo was “sore” after his 90-minute run-out at the Hawthorns.
The Newcastle boss said Allan Saint-Maximin was “OK”, too, after recent hamstring concerns.
Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs confirmed that Harry Kane (hamstring), Moussa Sissoko (knee) and Son Heung-min (arm) remain out but Hugo Lloris (groin) has returned to training with the rest of the squad.
On whether Lloris will feature, Jose Mourinho said earlier today:
It’s a decision to be made after training, and training is at three o’clock. At this moment, if you ask me if I’m expecting positive news and for Hugo to play, I say yes, but I cannot confirm.
Matthew Lowton (knee) and Johann Berg Gudmundsson (calf) remain unavailable ahead of the visit of Mourinho’s side, while Ashley Barnes (hernia) is not ready to feature despite a return to training.
Other than a few “aches and pains”, Sean Dyche didn’t report any fresh injuries in his pre-match press conference.
Crystal Palace v Watford
Loanee Cenk Tosun has returned to Everton and will undergo surgery after sustaining an injury to his knee during training.
Jeffrey Schlupp (muscle) and Mamadou Sakho (hamstring) are back in the fold but James Tomkins (hamstring) looks unlikely to be involved, with Roy Hodgson saying:
James Tomkins has recovered. He will join in full training next week but he was out there with us this morning, doing some lighter training with the team. He’ll train tomorrow and, on Monday, he’ll be ready.
Other than Gerard Deulofeu (knee) and Daryl Janmaat (knee/match-fitness), Watford have a fully-fit squad to choose from for the Crystal Palace game.
On Deulofeu, Nigel Pearson said:
At this point, prior to surgery, I can’t give an indication [into how long he’ll be out]. Normally, these types of injuries you are looking at five to six months, something like that.
4 years, 1 month agoIf you had enough players for GW31 and zero Man City & Arsenal Players and still had FH, WC and BB would you consider free hitting this week.
Bring in 6 DGWs?
Thanks in advance.