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We’ve got the early team and injury news for Gameweek 9 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
There’s a lot to catch up on, with a handful of new flags appearing over the international break and reds turning yellow as some returns to fitness near.
This initial rundown gives an overview of all 20 Premier League sides but the pre-match press conferences for Gameweek 9 will tell us a lot more on the fitness front.
The managers of Nottingham Forest, Burnley, Everton and Sheffield United will face the media on Thursday, with updates from those pressers added to this article as they arrive.
The other 16 head coaches will fulfill their media obligations on Friday and we’ll have a separate article summarising the headline injury news from those.
Our team news tab and injuries and bans page are the places to go for more information as the deadline nears.
LIVERPOOL V EVERTON
Reports suggest that the shoulder injury sustained by Andrew Robertson over the international break could keep him out for 10 weeks, although official word is yet to come from Liverpool.
News is also awaited on whether Cody Gakpo (knee) will be back for the Merseyside derby, with Jurgen Klopp previously saying that he had a “good chance”.
Curtis Jones is suspended this weekend, while Stefan Bajcetic (calf) and Thiago Alcantara (hip) are expected to remain on the unavailable list after setbacks in their recovery.
Darwin Nunez appears to have only been suffering from cramp in a midweek appearance for Uruguay but even if injury free, the late return from international duty does put his Gameweek 9 game-time in some doubt.
As for Everton, they have no new concerns for the clash with their cross-city rivals.
Long-term absentees Dele Alli (hip), Seamus Coleman (knee) and Andre Gomes (calf) are the only Toffees on the injury list but Coleman is at least back in training.
“Virtually everyone, apart from the longer term [absentees] Dele Alli and Andre Gomes, [are back fit].
“Seamus is on the grass for the first time with us but he’s had one day, so he needs time after a long period out.” – Sean Dyche
BOURNEMOUTH V WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Tyler Adams (hamstring), Ryan Fredericks (calf), Emiliano Marcondes (foot) and Alex Scott (knee) are still some way from a return but Lloyd Kelly (calf) could be back after missing out in Gameweeks 7 and 8.
Phil Billing was withdrawn from the Denmark squad over the international break, a “minor injury” cited as the reason.
Wolves’ Mario Lemina and Nelson Semedo are suspended but Jean-Ricner Bellegarde returns from his own three-match ban for this fixture.
Hugo Bueno (knee) missed the draw with Aston Villa a fortnight ago, while positional rival Rayan Ait-Nouri – substituted at half-time in that game – was pulled out of international duty with Morocco as Wolves said he wasn’t fit enough.
BRENTFORD V BURNLEY
Brentford’s chronic injury problems may have got worse over the break, with Aaron Hickey withdrawing from the Scotland squad with an unknown issue.
Ethan Pinnock was also prevented from joining up with Jamaica because of an Achilles problem.
The latest on two Gameweek 8 absentees, Keane Lewis-Potter (calf) and Mark Flekken (illness), is awaited, with the latter reportedly suffering from appendicitis. The goalkeeper has been sighted in training this week, however.
Kevin Schade (muscle), Mikkel Damsgaard (knee), Rico Henry (knee), Josh Dasilva (hamstring), Shandon Baptiste (shoulder) and Ivan Toney (suspended) remain out but Ben Mee (muscle) could potentially return.
Burnley have their own concerns, with Manuel Benson (knock), Michael Obafemi (hamstring), Johann Berg Gudmundsson (muscle), Hjalmar Ekdal (knee) and Nathan Redmond (unspecified) already on the injury list going into Gameweek 8.
Jordan Beyer also missed the defeat to Chelsea, while Ameen Al-Dakhil was substituted at half-time of that 4-1 loss and subsequently pulled out of the Belgium squad.
Beyer remains out but Al-Dakhil’s injury isn’t serious, while Vincent Kompany hinted on Thursday that some of the other aforementioned names could be closing in on a return.
“There’s quite a few players coming back. I think they’re at different stages, so to make a decision if they’re ready for the battle on Saturday or not, that’s going to be over the next 48 hours for us to decide.
“[Al-Dakhil] withdrew because at half-time against Chelsea, he couldn’t continue. Luckily the news is quite positive for him. Again, a decision to make by Saturday.
“We feared the worst [about Beyer]. He’s not back yet, but we don’t think the extent is dramatic. He’s progressing well within his rehab. He did a little bit of damage landing wrong. We knew he was going to be out for a few weeks but we thought it could have been worse and maybe a few months.” – Vincent Kompany, speaking on Thursday
MANCHESTER CITY V BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Rodri returns from suspension this weekend, leaving only Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring) on the sidelines for the visit of Brighton.
John Stones built up his match fitness with two run-outs for England over the international break.
The Seagulls will be without Pervis Estupinan (muscle) and Julio Enciso (knee) but local media suggest that James Milner (muscle), Tariq Lamptey (muscle) and Igor Julio (knock) should be closing in on a return at the Etihad.
Kaoru Mitoma was pulled out of the Japan squad over the international fortnight, with concerns over fatigue thought to be the reason for that.
NEWCASTLE UNITED V CRYSTAL PALACE
Harvey Barnes (toe) is the only confirmed absentee for the visit of Crystal Palace but the game may also come too soon for Joe Willock (Achilles), who is nearing a comeback following six months on the sidelines with various issues.
The Magpies were hopeful that Sven Botman (knee), Alexander Isak (groin) and Joelinton (hamstring) could be back for Gameweek 9, with further word awaited from Eddie Howe in his pre-match presser. A social post from Botman himself offered more vague encouragement, albeit without confirming how far into his recovery he is.
Palace’s Eberechi Eze (hamstring), Dean Henderson (thigh) and Michael Olise (hamstring) are out, while word is awaited on the severity of the injury picked up by Jeffrey Schlupp (groin) a fortnight ago.
The latest on Gameweek 8 absentees Joel Ward (groin) and Cheick Doucoure (hamstring) should also be provided by Roy Hodgson ahead of the weekend.
The Eagles’ head coach had expressed hope that Jefferson Lerma (hamstring) and Naouirou Ahamada (ankle) would be back in training over the international break.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST V LUTON TOWN
Taiwo Awoniyi (groin) is expected to be out another week or two, while Danilo (hamstring), Felipe (knee), Nuno Tavares (groin) and Ola Aina (muscle) remain sidelined if Steve Cooper is to be believed.
There are two other issues to report: Serge Aurier‘s Gameweek 8 injury forced him to pull out of the Ivory Coast squad, while Gonzalo Montiel (calf) limped out of Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Peru in midweek.
Moussa Niakhate returns from a ban, at least.
“[Montiel] has only just got back in the country. We’ll assess it ourselves. We’ve seen the initial scans but it does look like a calf injury.
“Serge walked off, as well, at Crystal Palace. He picked up an injury there.
“The ones who were injured before that game continue to be that way. They are not in training at the moment.
“[Taiwo] is progressing well. He’s not far off some training, so let’s see how the next week goes, going into the game after Saturday.” – Steve Cooper, speaking in his pre-match presser on Thursday
Albert Sambi Lokonga (hamstring), Daniel Potts (ankle) and Jordan Clark (ankle) are still absent for Luton Town, who could welcome back Gabriel Osho (knee) for the first time this season.
Rob Edwards will hopefully bring us up to speed on Amari’i Bell after the centre-half sustained a hamstring injury earlier this month, while the Luton boss was hopeful that Mads Andersen (hamstring) wouldn’t be out for too long with the muscular issue he suffered against Spurs two weeks ago.
CHELSEA V ARSENAL
Ben Chilwell (hamstring), Romeo Lavia (ankle), Christopher Nkunku (knee) and Wesley Fofana (knee) remain out for the Blues but Malo Gusto and Reece James are both free of suspension.
There have been mixed reports on James’ fitness this week: a minor setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury was thought to render him a major doubt but the player himself hinted that he could be available.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have confirmed that Trevoh Chalobah (hamstring) and Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) have had setbacks of their own and are back on the sidelines.
Benoit Badiashile (hamstring) has returned to training, while the issues that forced Cole Palmer (dead leg), Nicolas Jackson (wrist), Axel Disasi (quad) and Armando Broja (unspecified) out of their national team squads are not thought to be serious. That quartet has, indeed, been pictured back in training this week.
As for Arsenal, the big news we’re all waiting on is if Bukayo Saka has recovered from the hamstring injury that forced him to miss Gameweek 8 and England duty.
There is hope from the Gunners camp that the winger will be fit for the Chelsea match, as there is about fellow international withdrawals William Saliba (toe) and Leandro Trossard (hamstring).
Jurrien Timber (knee) is a long-term absentee.
SHEFFIELD UNITED V MANCHESTER UNITED
John Egan (foot) and Tom Davies (thigh) are both out for “months” and Chris Basham (leg) potentially for the season, joining an injury list that already included Max Lowe (ankle), Rhys Norrington-Davies (hamstring), Daniel Jebbison (illness) and Will Osula (unspecified).
Ben Osborn (groin) and George Baldock (calf) are closing in on returns, however.
“George is getting closer. Ossie has been back in doing a few days with us this week. One or two coming back, which is good.
“George maybe not [for Gameweek 9], Ossie yeah. We are low on numbers so even if there is a chance for the bench for the last 15 minutes and it is not going to harm them, we will be using them.” – Paul Heckingbottom
The Red Devils have plenty of issues of their own, with Lisandro Martinez (foot), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (hamstring), Luke Shaw (muscle), Amad Diallo (knee) and Tyrell Malacia (knee) remaining unavailable.
Casemiro has now joined them after picking up a small ankle injury while away with Brazil.
Jadon Sancho also won’t feature for disciplinary reasons, while Kobbie Mainoo (ankle) has reportedly had a setback while on the cusp of a comeback.
In better news, Raphael Varane is expected back from a minor issue and Sergio Reguilon (muscle) could also feature to ease the left-back crisis. Both players were spotted in training on Thursday, as was Sofyan Amrabat, despite his withdrawal from international duty due to an unspecified problem.
ASTON VILLA V WEST HAM UNITED
Long-term absentees Tyrone Mings (knee) and Emi Buendia (knee) are out, while it remains to be seen if Jacob Ramsey (foot) and Alex Moreno (hamstring) are any closer to featuring after they suffered the recurrence of old injuries and took a step back in their rehabilitation.
Ben Johnson (groin) and Aaron Cresswell (hamstring) have been back in training over the international break, so the Hammers could have a clean bill of health for the trip to Villa Park.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V FULHAM
Yves Bissouma serves a one-match ban, while Manor Solomon (knee), Ivan Perisic (knee) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) remain out.
Rodrigo Bentancur (knee) is back in training but a playing comeback in November looks likelier.
Brennan Johnson (hamstring) is expected back but there are minor concerns over Son Heung-min and Cristian Romero, with the former playing through the pain barrier for South Korea and the latter being substituted at half-time of Argentina’s clash with Peru in midweek.
“I was worried about whether to play in today’s game, but I couldn’t accept coming to Korea and not playing in front of the fans.
“I discussed with the coach and told him I would play in the game. I couldn’t participate much in training, but I’m grateful to the coach for respecting my decision.” – Son Heung-min, speaking about his involvement for South Korea against Vietnam on Tuesday
Tosin Adarabioyo (groin) and Adama Traore (hamstring) are expected to remain unavailable for Fulham, while Marco Silva was downbeat about Issa Diop‘s (foot) prognosis when he limped out of the Sheffield United match two weeks ago.
Kenny Tete (groin) has been missing for the best part of a month, with news awaited on his recovery.
