After a fortnight’s breather, the build-up for Gameweek 29 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) ramps up with the start of the pre-match press conferences.
As usual, we’ll be bringing you all the key quotes and injury updates that you need for your teams over the coming 24 hours or so.
Nine Premier League bosses are holding pressers on a busier-than-usual Thursday, with the rest to follow on Friday. For the latest on those 11 other sides, check out our early team news summary.
One of the managers facing the media tomorrow will be Pep Guardiola, who will hopefully bring us up to speed on Erling Haaland (groin) – the Norwegian striker wasn’t spotted in team training at Manchester City today.
KEY UPDATES FROM THURSDAY
- Leicester City: Evans, Souttar + Kristiansen could be fit
- Leeds United: Wober + Gnonto to miss Arsenal
- Aston Villa: Cash out for 2-3 weeks
- Brentford: Roerslev fit, Ajer not
- Nottingham Forest: Johnson uncertainty, Wood out for season
- Wolverhampton Wanderers: Bueno “90%” available
- Everton: Calvert-Lewin still not in team training
- Crystal Palace: Guaita fit
- Fulham: Mitrovic + Willian suspended
THURSDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES
LEICESTER CITY
Youri Tielemans (ankle) and James Justin (Achilles) remain out for the Foxes, with Tielemans suffering a slight setback just as he was on the cusp of a return to training.
There was positive news elsewhere, however, as Jonny Evans (muscle) and Victor Kristiansen (ankle) have both trained this week and Harry Souttar (knock) and Dennis Praet (dead leg) will “hopefully” shrug off minor issues picked up when playing for their respective countries.
“[Kristiansen] done very well. He’s trained this week so we’ll assess him finally tomorrow before the game and we’ll see where he’s at fitness-wise. He’s trained this week and he’s done very well.
“It’s a big thanks to Australia. [Souttar] had a slight knock on his ankle and they could have kept him there to see if he played on the Tuesday. If he did or he didn’t, it was a long way back for him to get ready, so they took the decision to look after Harry and rule him out of the game and send him back early to get the treatment. That’s made a big difference for us. Him travelling back has allowed him to get some treatment, get working again and so hopefully he should be fine.
“Jonny is back in training, which is great for us.
“Sadly [Tielemans] had a slight setback. He was due to train this week. He was training very well up until last Friday. He’s had a slight setback which may need some rest now. That is disappointing for us but we have to let the ankle settle back down and take it from there.”
“[Praet] had a little bit of a dead leg but hopefully he’ll be able to train tomorrow. Everyone else (on international duty) has come back and looked good.” – Brendan Rodgers
LEEDS UNITED
In a possible boost to Arsenal players ahead of Leeds United’s trip to the Emirates, Max Wober (hamstring) and Willy Gnonto (ankle) were ruled out of Saturday’s match in north London.
Boss Javi Gracia couldn’t say whether either player would be back for Leeds’ second Double Gameweek 29 fixture against Nottingham Forest, however.
Tyler Adams (hamstring), Adam Forshaw (hip) and Stuart Dallas (leg) remain on the longer-term injury list, meanwhile.
“Tyler, we’ll see his evolution but after this surgery, we’ll see if he can play any games this season. We’ll see, day-by-day.
“There are other players, Max Wober, Willy Gnonto, they had different injuries. Hamstring injury and ankle injury and we’ll see their evolution but they need time to recover, they are out of the team [against Arsenal].
“I’m sorry but I cannot clarify [on Wober and Gnonto’s return] because I don’t know. What I know is they are out for this game and I think it will be more time. I don’t if one week more, two weeks more, I cannot tell you. It depends on the evolution.” – Javi Gracia
Gracia warned that Rodrigo and Luis Sinisterra were still not 100% fit, while he also discussed the prospect of rotating in a busy month ahead.
“Luis and Rodri are, in this moment, improving in condition but they are not in the best condition. They need time training more, competing more, more minutes. Luis is improving, he is feeling better day by day and I’m sure he is going to help us in the next games, as Rodri is going to do as well.
“It will be good to rotate the players. First of all we need to recover more players because in some positions, we don’t have players to rotate.” – Javi Gracia
ASTON VILLA
Aston Villa have lost Matty Cash (calf) for two to three weeks, while Philippe Coutinho (thigh) is “progressing well” but is not ready to return this Saturday.
In better news, Leander Dendoncker (hand) is fit after returning to action in a behind-closed-doors game over the break and Boubakar Kamara (foot) will be in the squad to face Chelsea if he gets through Friday’s training session unscathed.
BRENTFORD
Kristoffer Ajer (calf) and Keane Lewis-Potter (knee) remain out and Shandon Baptiste is suspended for the first half of Double Gameweek 29 after his red card against Leicester City.
We haven’t didn’t hear anything specific on Aaron Hickey (knock) or Vitaly Janelt (knee) from Thomas Frank: the former limped out of Scotland’s win over Spain on Tuesday, while the latter required further assessment on an injury that saw him miss out in Gameweek 28.
But the Brentford boss suggested that all of his internationals have returned unscathed, while the Bees’ own website still lists Janelt as an absentee.
Mads Roerslev (thigh) is available.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Nottingham Forest’s chronic injury woes got worse over the break, with Brennan Johnson (groin), Chris Wood (thigh), Serge Aurier (knock), Wayne Hennessey (knee) and Andre Ayew (knee) either limping out of their respective nations’ games or returning to Forest without kicking a ball.
Gustavo Scarpa, who wasn’t on international duty, is also a fresh concern.
Wood has been ruled out for the season and joins Willy Boly (hamstring), Dean Henderson (thigh), Giulian Biancone (ACL) and Omar Richards (leg) on the sidelines.
“Chris Wood is out for the season. He’s picked up an injury during the international break.
“Serge [Aurier], André [Ayew] and [Gustavo] Scarpa have picked up some injuries over the break as well. We’re not sure how long they will be out for or what their availability will be for the next few games.
“[Brennan] is not back to full fitness. It’s something we are assessing on a daily basis and are having to manage. Like some of the other guys I mentioned, it’s a little bit inconclusive at the moment in terms of availability for the next games, obviously we’ve got three in a week. It’s a day-by-day situation with not just him but a few of the boys.
“Taiwo Awoniyi and Cheikhou Kouyaté are back in full training, and obviously Moussa [Niakhate] is back now having played the last game and then making his international debut for Senegal.
” – Steve Cooper
Cheikhou Kouyate (match fitness) and Taiwo Awoniyi (groin) were namechecked as being in contention to return in Gameweek 29, while Scott McKenna (hamstring) should also be coming to the end of his recovery based on in the initial timeline.
Ryan Yates (shoulder) and Emmanuel Dennis (knock) suffered injuries in the defeat to Newcastle United but Cooper said the latter has been “with us through the international break” and is “very much in our thoughts” for Gameweek 29. There was no update on Yates, however.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
If there was a ‘90%’ flag in FPL then it would have been slapped on Hugo Bueno (hamstring) after Julen Lopetegui’s pre-match presser, as that was how much of a chance the Wolves head coach gave a near-fit-again Bueno of making the squad this weekend.
Boubacar Traore (muscle), Nelson Semedo (knee) and Matheus Nunes (ban overturned) are also available for selection but Hwang Hee-chan (unspecified), Chiquinho (knee) and Sasa Kalajdzic (knee) remain out and Jonny is suspended.
EVERTON
With Seamus Coleman swiftly recovering from an injury picked up with the Republic of Ireland and Nathan Patterson returning to action with Scotland over the international break, there’s little new team news from Everton.
The perma-crocked Dominic Calvert-Lewin (thigh) and long-term absentee Andros Townsend (knee) are the only Toffees currently flagged in FPL, with Calvert-Lewin still no closer to a playing comeback.
“Nothing too major coming back on the injury front.
“[Calvert-Lewin] hasn’t trained with the group but he’s back on the grass again, so he’s making progress which is good. He did have that tiny niggle on the injury, slighty different area, but he’s making very good progress.
“No timescale, I don’t do that anyway, and certainly when we’re just trying to get him back to full fitness, as I call it, or as close to.” – Sean Dyche
CRYSTAL PALACE
In his first press conference since returning as Palace boss, Roy Hodgson confirmed that the Eagles will be without the injured Chris Richards and Nathan Ferguson this weekend.
But Vicente Guaita (hamstring) and Sam Johnstone (calf) have been passed fit after returning to training.
There was no specific word on Joachim Andersen, who pulled out of the Denmark squad with the calf problem that forced him to sit out Gameweek 28, but the suggestion from Hodgson was that everyone bar Richards and Ferguson was available.
“We’ve got two players who are unfortunately not going to be available.
“It’s unfortunate because both were training last week, but we’ve lost Nathan Ferguson and Chris Richards for this game. Hopefully the injuries are not really serious ones, so the prognosis is we might get them back for next week.
“Both goalkeepers are back fit.” – Roy Hodgson
FULHAM
Shane Duffy (calf), Layvin Kurzawa (knee) and Neeskens Kebano (Achilles) were the only players on the Fulham injury list the last we heard but there were no specific injury updates from Marco Silva’s press conference, other than the Fulham boss confirming that his international contingent had returned unscathed.
Kebano was pictured in training on Thursday afternoon but has been out for five months with a ruptured Achilles so may be some time away for a playing comeback.
What we do know is that Willian will be suspended in Gameweek 29 after being sent off for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity in the ill-tempered FA Cup defeat to Manchester United, while we can expect Aleksandar Mitrovic to be out for much longer than that: he’ll be banned for three games at least after his dismissal for violent conduct in the same game but the Football Association are looking to increase the length of his suspension given that a match official was involved in the incident that led to his red card.
