Double Gameweek 22 starts tonight and there are 16 more pre-match press conferences to get through before we reach the 18:30 GMT deadline, following on from the four we had yesterday.
As usual, we’ll be bringing you all the key quotes that you need for your Fantasy Premier League (FPL) teams.
For the updates from the press conferences of Graham Potter, Brendan Rodgers, Marco Silva and new Everton boss Sean Dyche, check out our Thursday round-up.
KEY UPDATES FROM FRIDAY
- Manchester City: Stones out for 3-4 weeks, Foden should return
- Manchester United: Dalot back in training
- Arsenal: Partey “hopefully” fit, Smith Rowe out
- Newcastle United: Isak a doubt, Bruno banned
- Liverpool: Konate out, Jota begins return to training
- Leeds United: Rodrigo out for up to two months
- Crystal Palace: Zaha ruled out
- Tottenham Hotspur: Richarlison and Lucas return
- Brighton and Hove Albion: Ferguson could make a swift recovery
- Aston Villa: Digne and McGinn available again
- West Ham United: Ings has “a chance”
- Southampton: Walker-Peters’ midweek withdrawal “precautionary”
- Brentford: Jansson and Onyeka still out
- Wolverhampton Wanderers: Neto nearing a comeback
- Bournemouth: Solanke and Tavernier back on the grass
- Nottingham Forest: Multiple issues to report on
FRIDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES
MANCHESTER CITY
Pep Guardiola confirmed on Friday that John Stones will be out for 3-4 weeks with the hamstring injury he picked up last Friday but had better news on Phil Foden (foot).
“Three weeks, one month, more or less.” – Pep Guardiola on John Stones
“Better, he trained really well the last two days, I think [he will be available], yeah.” – Pep Guardiola on Phil Foden
There were plenty of questions about Joao Cancelo‘s departure, including one about City’s remaining alternatives to Nathan Ake at left-back – and Rico Lewis, who has been ‘inverting’ from right-back of late, got a mention.
“Ayme can play there, Rico can play there, Sergio can play there.” – Pep Guardiola his left-back options
MANCHESTER UNITED
Diogo Dalot (muscle) returned to training with Manchester United this week but there was no update on his fitness from Erik ten Hag in the broadcast section of his pre-match press conference.
Back-up stopper Jack Butland is ineligible to face his parent club, while Scott McTominay (unspecified issue) has joined longer-term absentees Christian Eriksen (ankle) and Donny van de Beek (knee) on the sidelines.
New signing Marcel Sabitzer has been passed fit to play by his manager, meanwhile.
“Of course, he did only one session but you can see he’s a very fit player. I didn’t have a different expectation. He’s coming from Bayern Munich. German [clubs] they are always [about] fitness, [it’s] always good. So, he is [fit]. So, I think he is ready to play.
“I think he’s a really smart player. I think we gave him some guidance but I think he knows what to do, he knows the job, so he could do [start].” – Erik ten Hag on Marcel Sabitzer
Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial both appeared as substitutes in the midweek Carabao Cup semi-final victory over Nottingham Forest.
ARSENAL
Gabriel Jesus (knee) remains out despite a return to the grass over the last few days, while Mohamed Elneny looks set for a long spell on the sidelines with a “significant” knee injury and Emile Smith Rowe will sit out Gameweek 22 with a thigh problem.
Reiss Nelson (muscle) is back in training, at least, while Mikel Arteta is “hopeful” that Thomas Partey will recover from a rib injury that forced him out of the FA Cup semi-final a week ago.
“Let’s see, that one is still a doubt. Let’s see today how he comes in and if he’s able to train with the team or not. We’ll make a decision on that.
“He’s not ruled out and it’s nothing very significant, but it was significant enough to get him out of the [Man City] game, which for Thomas is a bit unusual. Hopefully, he will be fine.” – Mikel Arteta on Thomas Partey
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Matt Targett (heel), Javier Manquillo (knee) and Emil Krafth (knee) have been joined on the sidelines by Bruno Guimaraes, who now begins a three-match ban after being sent off in midweek.
It’d also be a surprise to see Alexander Isak feature, with Eddie Howe saying on Friday that the Swedish striker had suffered “slight” signs of a concussion in Tuesday’s win over Southampton. If a concussion is confirmed, then the six-day protocol rules him out of Saturday’s match.
“He had very slight signs of concussion. We’ve followed all the protocols, but whether he’ll be available or not, I’m not sure.” – Eddie Howe on Alexander Isak
LIVERPOOL
Ibrahima Konate is the latest addition to the never-ending injury list and will sit out the Wolverhampton Wanderers game with a muscle problem.
Virgil van Dijk (hamstring), Arthur (muscle), Diogo Jota (hamstring), Luis Diaz (knee) and Roberto Firmino (calf) also remain out but are getting closer to recovery, with Jota having just started training with the team yesterday and van Dijk set to follow suit next week.
“Nothing else so far but there are still two hours until training, so can happen a lot.” – Jurgen Klopp
LEEDS UNITED
Rodrigo Moreno (ankle) has joined Stuart Dallas (knee), Archie Gray (ankle), Sonny Perkins (ankle) and Adam Forshaw (hip) on the sidelines for the trip to Nottingham Forest, while Robin Koch will sit out this game through suspension.
“He picked up an injury at the end of the [Accrington] match and that’ll keep him out for probably 6-8 weeks.” – Jesse Marsch on Rodrigo Moreno
Pascal Struijk, Liam Cooper, Crysencio Summerville and Tyler Adams are all back in training and “ready for Sunday”.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Patrick Vieira revealed on Friday that Wilfried Zaha will be out for “a couple of weeks” with the hamstring injury he picked up in Gameweek 21.
“He is still on the treatment table. Obviously, his injury will take him a couple of weeks, so we have to do without him.
“Wilfried is someone who recovers quite quickly, but we don’t want to put a date on his injury. We are just going to let him work with the medical staff and try get him back as soon as possible.” – Patrick Vieira on Wilfried Zaha
Long-term absentees James McArthur and Nathan Ferguson have been training with the team but are not available for tomorrow, while Joachim Andersen is progressing “slowly” in his recovery from a calf problem and remains out.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Spurs have a fully fit squad available at their disposal for Sunday’s game, with Richarlison (thigh) and Lucas Moura (tendon) back in contention.
“Richarlison had a small problem and now he is available. He has been training this week and he is available.
“No, no [new] injuries.
“We recover also Lucas and we are happy to say that because Lucas has been training this week. He played 45 minutes with the young team and is back.” – Cristian Stellini, in for the unavailable Antonio Conte
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Evan Ferguson (knee) could make a very swift recovery and will be assessed ahead of tomorrow’s game, while Facundo Buonanotte (back) is available again and will be on the bench.
Levi Colwill (muscle), Adam Lallana (muscle), Jakub Moder (knee) and Alexis Mac Allister (suspended) will all miss the visit of Bournemouth.
ASTON VILLA
John McGinn (hamstring) and Lucas Digne (shoulder) have both returned to training over the last fortnight and are available again, leaving just Diego Carlos (Achilles) and Bertrand Traore (unspecified) on the sidelines for the visit of Leicester.
WEST HAM UNITED
Danny Ings (knee) “has a chance” to make a swifter-than-expected recovery for the trip to Newcastle, according to manager David Moyes, but Kurt Zouma (hip), Gianluca Scamacca (knee) and Maxwel Cornet (calf) remain out.
SOUTHAMPTON
Nathan Jones said on Friday that Kyle Walker-Peters’ withdrawal against Newcastle United in midweek was “precautionary”, while Stuart Armstrong (groin) and Juan Larios (muscle) are “closer” to a return.
“It was a precaution we brought him off, tight hamstring. It wasn’t a pull or anything. Whether we start him tomorrow is another thing.” – Nathan Jones on Kyle Walker-Peters
Four seniors – Moussa Djenepo, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Mislav Orsic and Duje Caleta-Car – are playing for the Southampton ‘B’ side on Friday afternoon in a bid to build up match fitness.
Deadline-day signings Paul Onuachu and Kamaldeen Sulemana haven’t even trained yet, with red tape and work permits standing between them and Gameweek 22 debuts.
BRENTFORD
Pontus Jansson (hamstring) and Frank Onyeka (hamstring) remain out but Shandon Baptiste could make a return to the matchday squad, having built up his fitness in January after a couple of months on the sidelines.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Long-term absentees Boubacar Traore (hamstring), Chiquinho (knee) and Sasa Kalajdzic (knee) remain on the sidelines, although winger Pedro Neto (ankle) is making big improvements in his recovery and looks set for a playing comeback within the next few weeks.
New arrival Joao Gomes arrived from Flamengo earlier this week and is ready to play but it hasn’t been confirmed whether he’ll be in the squad versus Liverpool.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
There are plenty of injuries for Steve Cooper’s side, with Morgan Gibbs-White (ankle) and Ryan Yates (illness) joining Dean Henderson (thigh), Taiwo Awoniyi (groin), Cheikhou Kouyate (hamstring) and Giulian Biancone (knee) on the sidelines.
“We’ve got to the bottom of Ryan Yates and he’ll be back with us in, hopefully, two weeks.” – Steve Cooper
Long-term absentees Omar Richards (leg) and Moussa Niakhate (muscle) aren’t too far away from a return, while Jonjo Shelvey, one of their deadline day signings, still has a calf issue to fully recover from.
Chris Wood and Jack Colback have also been ill while, in midweek, midfielder Jesse Lingard was supposed to make his first start since recovering from a hamstring injury but he hurt his Achilles during the warm-up.
“It’s frustrating for Jesse. With it only being Friday today and it happening on Wednesday, it’s still settling down, so we’re not quite sure of the extent of it.” – Steve Cooper
BOURNEMOUTH
David Brooks (hamstring), Ryan Fredericks (unknown) and Junior Stanislas (unknown) remain out but there is a chance that the Cherries can welcome back some or all of Dominic Solanke (knee), Lewis Cook (knee), Marcus Tavernier (hamstring) and Philip Billing (muscle).
“We’ve had a tough spell injury-wise. I don’t like talking too much about it the day before a game, but what I can tell you is that David Brooks won’t be available, neither will Junior Stanislas or Ryan Fredericks.
“Dominic Solanke and Marcus Tavernier have both had good weeks on the grass and I’ll have a couple of late calls tomorrow. Let’s see at 2pm tomorrow who we have available.
“Lewis Cook, Philip Billing, Dom Solanke and Marcus Tavernier were all missing from the last game. They’re big players and being able to put them back into a matchday squad will be as big as us putting the new faces back in.” – Gary O’Neil
