Three Premier League managers faced the media on Monday ahead of the midweek EFL Cup semi-finals.
All the key quotes from Pep Guardiola, Liam Rosenior and Eddie Howe can be found below.
Mikel Arteta will host his press conference on Tuesday.
KEY UPDATES FROM MONDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCES
- Chelsea: Rosenior to make late calls on James, Palmer + Gusto
- Manchester City: Ait-Nouri return delayed, Pep on Semenyo
- Newcastle United: Livramento latest, Burn still out, Murphy + Elanga could return
CHELSEA
With Dario Essugo (thigh) returning to the squad on Saturday, there is only Romeo Lavia (quad), Levi Colwill (knee) and Mykhailo Mudryk (suspended) on the ‘red flag’ list.
Reece James, Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto weren’t risked for the FA Cup win over Charlton Athletic, however, with new boss Liam Rosenior set to make a late call on that trio.
Moises Caicedo is also suspended for the EFL Cup semi-final but will be available in Gameweek 22.
“Obviously, Moi is suspended.
“We’ve had no injury problems coming out from Charlton, which is a really, really good thing. I will make a decision on Cole, Reece and Malo tomorrow. I’m giving them some extra time. Doing the press conference two days before is not ideal, sorry about that! I’ve got time to make a decision, I haven’t made a decision on the team. We will make that decision tomorrow or on the morning of Wednesday.
“[Palmer, James and Gusto] are being managed. It was a good time for them to rest in the FA Cup game. I believe in this group, there is no reason to take risks on players’ health if you believe that you can win the game and they can come through and get extra training sessions and extra bits of work. That’s the way it’s worked out so far.” – Liam Rosenior
Marc Cucurella, sent off in Gameweek 21, is available again. He served his one-match domestic ban in the FA Cup at the weekend.
MANCHESTER CITY
Pep Guardiola says he will assess the fitness of his Manchester City squad after training today.
“We’ll see after training. We have some players with niggles. We will see how they feel this afternoon.
“We will take a decision to take no risks for players who could get injured again.” – Pep Guardiola
Josko Gvardiol (leg), Ruben Dias (hamstring), John Stones (thigh), Savinho (thigh) and Mateo Kovacic (ankle) are definitely out, while there’s been no further word on Oscar Bobb (hamstring). Guardiola said last Friday that the winger hadn’t trained since mid-December.
Omar Marmoush remains at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), too.
Rayan Ait-Nouri is one possible returnee. His Algeria side exited AFCON on Saturday and he’s technically available for Tuesday’s match at St James’ Park, although a missed flight connection has delayed his return slightly.
“Rayan Ait-Nouri has come back from AFCON but unfortunately missed a connection so he was a little bit late. We will see in the training session how he feels.” – Pep Guardiola
There was a brief word of praise for Antonie Semenyo, who began his City career with a goal on Saturday. The winger is eligible to face Newcastle in midweek.
“The impression is what he has done in Bournemouth for many, many years. He is a really nice guy. In a few actions, he showed what he showed at Bournemouth and hopefully he can continue to do it here.” – Pep Guardiola on Antoine Semenyo
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Tino Livramento was a casualty of Newcastle United’s penalty shootout win over Bournemouth on Saturday.
The full-back suffered a worrying-looking hamstring injury but, speaking on Monday morning, Eddie Howe couldn’t offer us a recovery timeline for the defender.
“No major update for you. He will be having a scan, I think today at some point, and we will understand the extent of the damage.” – Eddie Howe on Tino Livramento
With Fabian Schar (ankle) already out for an extended period, Howe hinted that he could be tempted to make a move in the transfer market. He also said the club would make a decision “very soon” on whether Matt Targett would be recalled early from loan.
“Again, we’ll have to wait and see. We need to know the full extent of [Livramento’s] injury first and then we’ll have to make decisions based in line with what we know on other injuries and timescales and returns. Yeah, of course, the transfer window plays into that.” – Eddie Howe on if he could be tempted into a January transfer
Dan Burn (rib), Emil Krafth (knee) and Will Osula (ankle) are still out.
Jacob Murphy (hamstring) and Anthony Elanga (knock) may be involved on Tuesday, however.
“The two wingers have a possibility, we’ll see how they get on today. Dan will be a couple of weeks further back.” – Eddie Howe on Messrs Murphy, Elanga and Burn
“He is trying to come back from a knee problem. He is not feeling absolutely at his best currently.
“I have got no definitive return date for him. We are taking it day by day, hoping that he can improve, and we can see him back quickly. He has always been such a reliable performer for us.” – Eddie Howe on Emil Krafth
After the Bournemouth game went to extra time and penalties, Howe has some decisions to make over starts and breathers. There is, at least, a Tuesday-Sunday turnaround before Gameweek 22.
“I will have discussions with the medical team, performance team, the players themselves, because the physical well-being and energy levels are of the utmost importance in this game. It wasn’t ideal, the 120 minutes.” – Eddie Howe
