The first half-dozen pre-Gameweek 1 press conferences took place on Thursday, with a number of key injury updates being delivered by the head coaches in question.
Ten more virtual media gatherings will follow on Friday, with Aston Villa, Burnley and the two Manchester clubs not in action, of course, on the opening weekend.
We’ll run through the headline injury news and stand-out manager quotes from the conference calls so far, with a more detailed discussion to follow in our Team News tab.
Chelsea
Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta are in contention to feature against Brighton and Hove Albion on Monday evening, with the pair rejoining training after their recovery from hamstring injuries sustained in the FA Cup final.
To what extent they will be involved remains to be seen, with boss Frank Lampard saying:
I am very happy to welcome them both back. Yesterday was their first day fully training with the team, so they’re in contention for Monday.
I have to be careful and I have a squad to pick from, but the way they’re training and the attitude they’ve come back with, it looks like they’re over those injuries. I just have to make sure I manage them both back in in their own ways.
New signings Hakim Ziyech (knee) and Ben Chilwell (heel) have joined Billy Gilmour (knee) on the treatment table, while Thiago Silva is also unlikely to feature.
Lampard said:
Hakim Ziyech took an injury to his knee against Brighton, in the friendly game, so he won’t be fit [this weekend]. We’re working with him. We hope it’s a matter of weeks, hopefully a couple of weeks, but we will have to see on that one.
Ben Chilwell is working towards fitness, he won’t be fit for Brighton. He has developed and improved this week and going in the right direction, which is good news for us.
Thiago Silva is now in London but not training with us until the weekend, so I doubt very much he will be in contention for the Brighton game.
Billy Gilmour is obviously a longer-term injury, he will be out for a couple of months more. Other than that, we are in decent shape.
Leeds United
A taciturn Marcelo Bielsa gave his first pre-match press conference as a Premier League manager on Thursday.
The Argentinean revealed that Rodrigo and Robin Koch could be in contention to make their Leeds United debuts at Anfield, saying:
They are in very good physical condition ahead of the game.
Koch may even have a chance of starting on Merseyside despite a lack of preparation time with his new teammates, with Bielsa adding:
The spot on the right of the defence in the back four does not require a lot of adapting.
The Whites almost have a clean bill of health going into Gameweek 1, with Bielsa saying:
All the players are available to play. Adam Forshaw is out. He’s a separate case.
Everton
Mason Holgate (toe) looks set to be missing when Everton take on Spurs this weekend but Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes appear to have shaken off minor fitness concerns.
Carlo Ancelotti told the media:
I think that Holgate is out. Mina I think is available to play, Gomes is available. We are going to check tomorrow Delph, he will start training with the team tomorrow. For the others, I think the physical condition of the team is quite good.
Southampton
One of the more popular sub-£6.0m midfielders looks set to be missing in Gameweek 1, with Ralph Hasenhuttl revealing that Stuart Armstrong has come back from international duty with Scotland with an injury.
The Saints boss also confirmed that Alex McCarthy is his number one goalkeeper at the start of the new season, with one of Angus Gunn or Fraser Forster likely to depart the club and the other playing understudy.
Sheffield United
Chris Wilder told reporters that a couple of his players are “touch and go” for the weekend, although didn’t name any names.
Sander Berge came back from international duty with Norway with a knee problem, so may be amongst that number.
Wilder had said last Friday that Jack O’Connell would be “100% fit” for the visit of Wolves despite not featuring in pre-season and added that Lys Mousset “will be fine” after a knock to his toe.
Fulham
Scott Parker said ahead of Gameweek 1 that Jean-Michael Seri and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who spent last season out on loan, will be given a chance to work their way back into the first-team fold but have “only just returned to the building”.
Parker also said that new acquisition Alphonse Areola and Marek Rodak “can push each other” for the goalkeeper’s jersey in west London.
The Fulham boss didn’t report any fitness concerns in the broadcast section of his presser.
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