After the non-stop football action over Christmas and New Year, it feels like an age since we’ve had any meaningful Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team news.
But the winter/international break is nearly at an end and thoughts now turn to Gameweek 24, which kicks off next Tuesday.
Training ground images have offered us hope on players like Son Heung-min (£10.6m) and Ben Foster (£4.1m) and now top-flight managers are starting to face the media again, with a number of them holding conference calls on Thursday ahead of the FA Cup fourth round.
We’ll have the main headlines from the day’s pressers below but first, here’s when you might also expect to get some FPL team news information over the coming days:
- Friday: Pre-match FA Cup press conferences from the managers of Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Norwich City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United, Wolverhampton Wanderers.
- Friday-Sunday: Post-match press conferences from all 14 Premier League bosses whose teams are in FA Cup fourth-round action, as well as Sean Dyche and Roy Hodgson, whose sides face each other in the final fixture of Double Gameweek 23 (nothing from Arsenal, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Newcastle United).
- Monday-Tuesday: Pre-match press conferences from at least 14 of the 18 Premier League managers whose teams have a Gameweek 24 fixture. Some of these might be in the form of ’embargoed’ quotes from the FA Cup weekend but most will be facing the media anew. We may not hear from the bosses of Liverpool, Leicester, Arsenal and Wolves, however, as those four clubs won’t play until Thursday – so there’s a strong chance that Messrs Klopp, Rodgers, Arteta and Lage will be staging press conferences on Wednesday, after the FPL deadline. Not only will we not get the latest information on Mohamed Salah (£12.7m), we won’t have had any official Arsenal team news for the best part of three weeks.
THURSDAY’S TEAM NEWS AND INJURY UPDATES
MANCHESTER UNITED
We are set to see Paul Pogba in action for the first time under Ralf Rangnick on Friday, with the fit-again Frenchman poised to feature in the FA Cup tie against Middlesbrough.
“Paul [Pogba] will be part of the group. He might even be in the starting XI.” – Ralf Rangnick
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw are also back, with Rangnick saying that Shaw would start due to the late return of Alex Telles from international duty.
Edinson Cavani is also back late from Uruguay and won’t be involved, while Victor Lindelof (illness) and Eric Bailly (ankle) are fresh concerns.
“Cavani… contacted me a week ago and asked me if he could have two more days at home. I allowed him because I knew that he couldn’t be in the starting XI anyway, with jetlag and only coming back today or last night. So he won’t be part of the group.
“Victor Lindelof has been ill the whole week and not training. So he will also miss tomorrow’s game. Eric Bailly came back yesterday. He has some problems, a swollen ankle, and will therefore not be a part of the squad for tomorrow.
“Jesse [Lingard], he asked me and the club if we could give him a couple of days off, just to clear up his mind. He will be back in the group I suppose next Monday, back for training, and then be a regular part of the whole squad again.” – Ralf Rangnick
Mason Greenwood is suspended by the club and won’t feature in training, let alone competitive action.
SOUTHAMPTON
Alex McCarthy (hamstring) and Nathan Tella (groin) remain out for the Saints ahead of their FA Cup tie against Coventry City but Tino Livramento (knee) and Will Smallbone (calf) are back in training and could feature for the first time this calendar year.
“We have in the moment, two injured players. Alex McCarthy, is a little bit longer out, has had a setback in his recovery. Nathan Tella is also still out. Will Smallbone is back in training, Tino Livramento also.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl
Moussa Djenepo is also back from international duty.
EVERTON
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (knock) won’t play any part in Everton’s FA Cup match against Brentford this weekend and he’ll remain a doubt for Gameweek 24, although new Toffees boss Frank Lampard hopes to have him back on the training ground in the coming days.
“Dominic Calvert-Lewin picked up a small knock in the last game so he won’t be available for this weekend. We hope he can be back and outside over the next days and ready for the games coming up.” – Frank Lampard
Fabian Delph (thigh), Tom Davies (hamstring) and Abdoulaye Doucoure (groin) are sidelined while new arrivals Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli are cup-tied.
BRENTFORD
We’re not likely to see Christian Eriksen in a Brentford shirt for a little while, as Thomas Frank revealed that the Dane is only due to start training his new teammates on Monday and may be “weeks” from a return.
“Christian will arrive on Sunday and he will train with the team on Monday. That will be the first training session. Of course I have been speaking to him a lot the last few weeks, more since December, but he has a physical coach and they had Zoom meeting with our head of performance during this week to make sure we hand over everything in the best way.
“Christian has a solid physical foundation and has been doing all sorts of tests, of course. He has been running a lot, training a lot… he has done quite a lot over the last few months so his foundation is fine, but another thing is to get up to that match intensity.
“It is more or less impossible for me to say when he will be available. I think I will be much more clever on Monday when I have seen him, worked with him, talked with his physical coach. I hope weeks, a few weeks, but I don’t know.” – Thomas Frank
READ MORE: FPL player prices revealed for Christian Eriksen and more
On course for a return this weekend, however, is David Raya, who has been out for the best part of four months with a knee injury. Raya played 63 minutes in a friendly against Aston Villa earlier this week.
BURNLEY
Deadline-day signing Wout Weghorst could be set for his Burnley debut in the Clarets’ second Double Gameweek 23 fixture against Watford on Saturday and may be paired alongside Maxwel Cornet, who has returned from international duty in Cameroon.
“[Weghorst] has got a good chance of featuring [v Watford on Saturday]. He’s fit and well. We’ve tested him, he’s enjoying the challenge straight away.
“Maxwel was a little bit later coming back after having a couple of extra days, so we’ll have to be a little bit careful. He didn’t play a lot while he’s been away, the training schedule is different and the game schedule. Them two come into the thinking.” – Sean Dyche
READ MORE: What can FPL managers expect from new £6.5m forward Wout Weghorst?
Charlie Taylor (foot) remains touch and go, while Johann Berg Gudmundsson (appendicitis) and Matej Vydra (hernia) are set for “weeks” out. Ashley Barnes (thigh) featured for the under-23s on Thursday, meanwhile, as he slowly builds up match fitness.
“Johann Gudmundsson is down with appendicitis, he’s had to have that done. Charlie Taylor is still touch and go. Ashley Barnes is on his way back but still needs game-time, he’s getting a run-out today for 45 minutes.” – Sean Dyche
Josh Brownhill is suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the season a fortnight ago but there’s no flag on him in FPL as he’ll be back for Gameweek 24.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Graham Potter confirmed that Yves Bissouma has trained today after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, so will go into the squad for the FA Cup clash with Spurs.
Lewis Dunk, Shane Duffy and Adam Lallana should all be involved in the tie against the Lilywhites but Alexis Mac Allister is still Covid-positive after missing both of Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers so is unavailable.
Enock Mwepu (hamstring) and Jeremy Sarmiento (hamstring) remain out.
Brighton, of course, blank in Gameweek 24.
READ MORE: The Watford team news ahead of their Double Gameweek 23 clash with Burnley
