In the latest of our weekly series, we’ll be bringing you the important news from every Premier League press conference that impacts your Fantasy Premier League team selection for FPL Gameweek 16.
As usual, feel free to give myself (FPL Connect) a tweet if you find there are any problems with this article.
All the best for Gameweek 16 everyone – let’s do this.
Burnley
Sean Dyche has confirmed that Kevin Long (hip), Ashley Barnes (groin), Ashley Westwood (groin) and Charlie Taylor (hamstring) are all doubts for the weekend.
Phil Bardsley did not train on Thursday, while Johann Berg Gudmundsson (hamstring) is making progress but unlikely to play:
“Barnesy’s still getting on with it but his groin’s been sore. More of an over-use situation, that’s why he didn’t play, we took him out the other night. But he has got a strong chance.
Kevin Long has got a hip injury which you didn’t know about but that’s why he hasn’t been involved. Westy’s (Westwood) got a groin strain still, he’s touch and go, we’ll wait and see on that one.
Chaz [Taylor] a hamstring, I doubt it for this weekend. Johann (Gudmundsson) is making good progress. Bardo (Bardsley) didn’t train today but we’ll see how he is tomorrow.”
Norwich City
Daniel Farke says that, other than his long-term injuries, ” everyone is okay”:
“Seems like everyone is alright after the last game, so nothing new. I was pleased that Alex Tettey had no problem during the second half because he was a major doubt before the game, was a bit risky to bring him in.”
Timm Klose (knee) may not play again this season. Josip Drmic (hamstring) is expected to return in January and Grant Hanley (groin) could re-join the group on the training pitches from next week.
Crystal Palace
Roy Hogson is hoping to have one of Scott Dann or Gary Cahill available for selection for the trip to Watford this weekend.
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The manager will be without Mamadou Sakho, who picked up a red card midweek against Bournemouth, and Patrick Van Aanholt who got subbed in the first half of the same game with a hamstring strain:
“There’s no chance on putting a timescale on Patrick van Aanholt at the moment – it’s far too fresh, the injury. We’ve had it scanned so we do know there’s a hamstring strain there but I don’t have any timescale. We won’t know until tomorrow [Friday]. It’s only two days after the game but I’m hopeful we’ll recover at least one of the guys who wasn’t able to play for us this time. That’s very necessary with Mamadou Sakho being out of the game.”
On Joel Ward:
“When it happened they [the medical staff] were threatening me with two months, and that was two weeks ago. So there’s plenty of time left in that one if the two-month suggestion or prognosis turns out to be correct.”
On Max Meyer:
“He (Max Meyer) has been sick now for the whole of the week so I very much doubt if he’ll recover tomorrow.”
Watford
Hayden Mullins has confirmed that José Holebas, Tom Cleverley and Sebastian Prödl will again miss out through injury.
Craig Dawson is nearing a return following stitches in a head wound, but the Palace game will come too soon for the defender. The interim manager also confirmed that Christian Kabasele and Roberto Pereyra are available for selection:
“We will pick an XI to go and do a job on the pitch. The attitude has been brilliant. It’s a great a decision to have [picking] a team from very good players. We need [everyone] pulling in the same direction. Training [today] was bright, a real good intensity.
Troy (Deeney) is massive for the football club, he’s a leader and leads in every sense of the word. He’s great to have in and around at this time. (Kabasele and Pereyra) came through fine. They both did everything fine and unless anything happens in between now and Saturday, they’ll be ready.”
Manchester United
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Anthony Martial could play a part in Saturday evening’s Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium:
“We hope to have Anthony, definitely, for part of the game. I am not sure he is able to start. Paul (Pogba) probably won’t be available, no, we expect him back as soon as possible, as quickly as possible. He’s out on the grass training. I said [he’ll be back] in 2019, so hopefully we’ll see him before the new year, definitely”
The manager didn’t provide an update on midfielder Nemanja Matic, whom he had earlier mentioned as possibly being in line for a return in midweek.
Meanwhile, long-term absentees Eric Bailly, Tim Fosu-Mensah and Diogo Dalot are putting in the hard work at the Aon Training Complex as they fight to be fit according to the United website.
Newcastle United
Newcastle’s record signing Joelinton could return to the starting line-up after only featuring as a substitute in Thursday’s win at Sheffield United.
The Magpies will monitor winger Allan Saint-Maximin, who has been playing despite a niggling ankle injury.
Bournemouth
Eddie Howe has confirmed he will be without Steve Cook (broken wrist), Joshua King (hamstring), Adam Smith (ankle) and Harry Wilson (can’t play against parent club as per the loan deal) for tomorrow’s clash with Liverpool.
Howe also mentioned that long-term injury victims Junior Stanislas and Andrew Surman were both back in training but would not be available for the weekend.
Sheffield United
Chris Wilder reveals that he has a full squad to choose from ahead of the trip to Norwich and that his players came through the defeat to Newcastle unscathed.
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In-form strikers Lys Mousset and David McGoldrick were rested in the defeat to Newcastle last night. Wilder suggests they will come back in against Norwich on Sunday:
“We’ve got that option to put them back in – they’ve been outstanding. I thought the two boys at the top of the pitch on Thursday night were good as well, arguably that was Oli [McBurnie’s] best game. Better teams than us have struggled to break that down.
“It really was a difficult night to find any spaces and gaps, but I though Oli and Billy Sharp were good without just adding that little bit at the end. We made a decision before that it was a big week and we had to rotate the strikers and obviously Lys and David come right back into the thinking for Sunday afternoon.”
Brighton
Graham Potter says he has “no problems to report” after the win over Arsenal.
Solly March has been managing a minor groin issue in recent weeks. Jose Izquierdo (knee) is a confirmed absentee.
West Ham
On the team news, Pellegrini confirms they’ll be without Fabianski and Manuel Lanzini, whilst Michail Antonio, Jack Wilshere and Winston Reid are in the squad but need “seeing”:
“We continue with Fabianski his recovery, also Lanzini – they will not be ready until the end of the month. Michail Antonio we must continue seeing – we’ll see tomorrow if he’s fit for the game. Wilshere is working, also Winston Reid, with the squad.”
Aston Villa
Steer (Achilles) and Davis (hamstring) are the players missing at the moment for Dean Smith’s side:
“Keinan should be back within the next 10 days, to two weeks which should be great news for us. Jed is out for a longer period.”
Anwar El Ghazi will return to training tomorrow, making himself available for the Leicester match, whilst James Chester is training but perhaps isn’t ready just yet:
“Anwar El Ghazi should train tomorrow so he will make himself available for Leicester game. Other than that, everyone else is fully fit. James Chester is training still.”
Tottenham Hotspur
Jose Mourinho has called for improvement from his defenders ahead of this weekend’s game with Burnley.
“We have to sort out the defence without losing what we have in attack. We conceded two goals in each one of my four matches but we scored in all of them. We could score even more than what we did. But we are conceding too much of what I call ‘cheap goals’. We have to try to stop it.
The best way to do this is to work. We have not time to work. After the United game, yesterday was a complete day of recovery. The conditions to work on the pitch are not there. More work, more analysis, more meetings and more talks. I’m not a meetings coach, I’m a ‘on-the-pitch’ coach – that’s where we can accelerate the process.
Let’s wait a little bit until next week, when we face Bayern. That is a game I am going to rest some players so I will work with the players that are not going to be involved. Let’s also wait for the weekend of the December 23, on the (training) pitch is where we can improve things.”
Wolves
“Everybody is OK” following the midweek win over West Ham. Ryan Bennett returned to the match-day squad leaving Wolves with only two players in the treatment room.
“Willy Boly is here every day and is already improving.” The defender is targeting a return to action in January. Gibbs-White (back) however, remains out.
Chelsea
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On Tammy Abraham after being subbed off with a knock midweek, Frank had the following to say:
“Tammy Abraham is good, he hasn’t done much in between games. We’ll make sure of that in the morning but at the moment he’s good. With Toni [Rudiger]… tomorrow comes too soon but he’s had a great week where he’s on the verge.”
Ross Barkley (illness/injury) will be in the squad which travels to his former stomping ground.
Frank says he has to be careful with Callum Hudson-Odoi and that he needs to show him what he can do:
“He has to show when he comes on for periods of games what he can do and bring to the table if he’s going to start more games. He will do that but we have to be a little bit steady with Callum because of his age and because of his injury”
Frank remains coy on rotation:
“I’ll see. It’s obviously on my mind at a busy period of the year but we’ll see.”
Leicester City
Brendan Rodgers confirms Demarai Gray is fully fit and ready to go to face Aston Villa after recovering from illness.
There are still doubts over Ben Chilwell however, who has a hip injury. Other than that, here are no new injuries within the camp.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola has stated City’s leading goalscorer Sergio Agüero will miss the game with a thigh injury, while long-term absentees Leroy Sané and Aymeric Laporte (both knee) are out of contention until the new year.
Left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has returned to training after surgery on a knee problem:
“He’s ready but in his physical condition I don’t know how many minutes he can play,”
There is some good news for City, as Ilkay Gundogan can once again be selected after serving a one-match suspension during the comfortable midweek win over Burnley.
Liverpool
Liverpool have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Bournemouth, Jürgen Klopp has confirmed.
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The Reds are set to have the same squad of players available for the trip to the Vitality Stadium as they did for the midweek victory over Everton, plus the return of Alisson Becker from suspension.
Asked whether he had any new knocks to contend with, Klopp told his pre-match press conference:
“In the moment, no, it looks OK. But it’s like, if somebody wakes up and feels a little bit here and there, then I need to know that. When I know that, then I have to deal with that information.
“Nobody is ruled out, yet, so that’s good, but there are still three hours until we train, so there is still a bit of time. But in this moment, they all should be fine.”
That means that Joel Matip (knee), Fabinho (ankle) and Nathaniel Clyne (ACL) are the three players ruled out for the trip to the south coast.
Klopp confirms changes are inevitable this time of year:
“It is a time where you have to make changes, that is clear. When you are a football supporter you have your ‘best 11’ and you want them to play all the time but it is not FIFA or Playstation. We have to do these kind of changes. If we have the opportunity, we will do it.
We have to see who we can use, especially in these three days between two games, so Wednesday-Saturday is always a massive challenge. We have to be sensible and sensitive in the same moment with the decision-making about the line-up.”
Southampton
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl says he must have a look at the starting XI ahead of their trip to Newcastle:
“We had a few issues after the last game, it was very intense, so third game in a week, we must have a look at what is the starting XI.”
Midfielder Stuart Armstrong remains sidelined by a hamstring injury suffered against Arsenal last month.
Everton
Former Everton striker Duncan Ferguson has been placed in temporary charge of the first team ahead of Saturday’s game against Chelsea after the sacking of Marco Silva.
Ferguson will be assisted by John Ebbrell, Francis Jeffers and Alan Kelly until a permanent manager is announced. Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports News this morning,
Ferguson said:
“It’s an honour for me to be taking the role. I’m proud to be asked and hopefully we can give the fans something to smile about again.”
Onto injuries and Ferguson confirms he’ll be without Seamus Coleman, Fabian Delph and the longer-term injuries whilst Yerry Mina is being assessed:
“Seamus, no, Delph, no, and the long-term injuries, no. [Yerry Mina] is being assessed, he’s a doubt. But he’s done a wee bit of training this morning so we’re confident.”
Cuca Martina (knee), Andre Gomes (ankle) and Jean-Philippe Gbamin (thigh) remain out for the Toffees.
Arsenal
A report from Arsenal’s medical staff on Dani Ceballos who remains out:
Ljungberg on Aubameyang coming off temporarily last night:
“I actually don’t know [why] but he ran off and then he came back three minutes later. Maybe you should ask him about it but if you feel bad, you feel bad, there’s nothing we can change.”
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