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 8

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 8 everyone – let’s do this.

Sheffield United

Chris Wilder has confirmed that David McGoldrick (groin) is unlikely to feature while Billy Sharp will return after serving his three-match ban for his red card against Southampton. Another striker who could possibly feature is Lys Mousset:

“He (Mousset) was behind everybody pre-season and he’s been gradually building up. He gives us something different off the bench. He wants to play and we want him to start. That’s a decision that’s getting closer and tighter by the game.”

West Ham

Manuel Pellegrini is awaiting further news about the duration of injuries sustained by Lukasz Fabianski and Winston Reid. He mentioned that Lukasz Fabianski could be out for close to three months following his thigh injury in the game against Bournemouth:

“About Lukasz, the medical staff will decide probably today or tomorrow if he will have surgery on his muscle, or if he will recover without surgery, I think in both cases less than three months will be long enough for Lukasz to recover.“

Winston Reid’s rehabilitation looks set to continue in the U23 side as he has had multiple muscle injuries since being involved in pre-season training:

” The problem with Winston is that, two or three times before when he was ready to start, he had another muscle injury. We need to be calm and patient with him, as soon as he’s able to play with the first team, he’ll be involved.”



He also mentioned that Manuel Lanzini and Jack Wilshere are fit and could feature this weekend:

“Manuel Lanzini recovered from his injury [last week], so he doesn’t have any problems. Jack is okay. He stopped [playing] just one day because he felt something in his muscle, but he has worked a full week with us.”

Pellegrini also spoke about the impact that Andriy Yarmolenko has had this season:

“He’s playing in the way that we expected when we brought him here. Unfortunately for him last season, he was also playing very well against big teams, like against Chelsea and Manchester United he played very good games, and he had that injury. Now he’s returning, and he’s returning in the way we know he’s able to play. I think that he’s the second striker for Ukraine now also, and he’s used to scoring goals, and always making good passes”

Aston Villa

Dean Smith has confirmed that Henri Lansbury (ankle), Tyrone Mings (calf) and Matt Targett (hamstring) are all in contention to face Norwich City this weekend – but Jonathan Kodjia (cheek) will miss out.

All four players trained ahead of the Canaries clash but Kodjia won’t be risked and should be back for the home clash with Brighton:

“The game will come too quick for Jonathan Kodjia. He’s trained with us but, because of the nature of the facial injury, he’ll be available after the international break. Henri Lansbury is back in training now so he’s available for selection. Tyrone Mings is fine. He’s trained all week. And Matt Targett has trained for the last couple of days so he’s available, too.”

Smith also spoke about his options upfront:

On Wesley: “His performance wasn’t great on Saturday against Burnley and he was the first to admit that to me afterwards. But what I’ve seen in training this week has been a reaction. He’ll be the first to go out there and try to prove people wrong” On Keinan Davis: “He’s ready to start a game. He had a full pre-season with us, not missed a day’s training, works very hard. He’s been pushing Wesley all the way so Wesley knows that if he’s not at it, then Keinan gets the shirt.”

Burnley

Sean Dyche confirmed that Jack Cork would be out with the shoulder injury picked up in the draw with Aston Villa last weekend while Danny Drinkwater remains a few weeks away from a return:

“He (Jack Cork) has a minor fracture of the shoulder. He is touch and go but I think we will look wider on it with the international break coming up“

Danny Drinkwater has returned to light training, but he is a definite absentee, while Johann Berg Gudmundsson will be hoping for a return to action, having been an unused substitute against Villa, after more than a month out with a calf problem.

Dyche gave several players some game time in a ‘bounce’ game this week. Charlie Taylor, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Robbie Brady, Matej Vydra, Phil Bardsley and Ben Gibson were all involved. “We just wanted to make sure they topped up their fitness to keep them as sharp as we can.” — Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) October 3, 2019

Norwich

If you’re a Norwich City fan then you may want to look away now, as the Canaries have a number of injuries to contend with ahead of their game with Aston Villa.

Norwich City boss Daniel Farke said:

“Fahrmann will not play tomorrow. Krul is also unavailable. Grant Hanley is unavailable for tomorrow. He will need to see a specialist next week for his groin. “Sam Byram has been struggling for a couple of weeks but he will be in the squad. There is a little doubt behind Todd Cantwell. He has had some hamstring problems. We will have to see with him.”

No fracture for Jamal Lewis. A scan showed ligament damage around his elbow. There is a “good chance” that the defender will be involved.

Godfrey (eye) is fine, but he will need surgery to remedy a hernia problem during the break:

“He’s been struggling, but we didn’t speak about it because we had so many injured players. We have no other centre-backs at the moment so I’m thankful he’s been willing to play.”

Brighton

Graham Potter has confirmed that Solly March and Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Leon Balogun are fit and back in training while he will have to take a late decision on Davy Propper.

Shane Duffy, Leandro Trossard and Bernardo are likely to return only after the International Break:

“Solly’s been training back, Alireza’s fine. Davy Propper we’ll wait till tomorrow to make a decision. Shane Duffy is making really good progress, won’t make the game but diagnosis is probably a bit better than the original diagnosis. Leo [Trossard] is making good progress but again too soon, same with Berny [Bernardo] as well. Leon Balogun, back in the squad.” “Jose [Izquierdo] was back out on the pitch for the first time, but it is quite slow give the operation and the injury. I will not be putting any time-frame on his return.”

Everton

Andre Gomes and Theo Walcott will both be available for Everton’s Premier League game at Burnley on Saturday, while boss Marco Silva reported more good news as midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin returned to light training for the first time on Thursday.

Gomes has missed each of the Blues’ last four games with a rib problem, while Walcott suffered concussion early on in last weekend’s 3-1 defeat against champions Manchester City:

“They [Andre and Theo] are really good news for us. Andre started training the first day of this week, Theo started to do some individual work as well, and today he did all the session. Both [are available]. Andre didn’t play most of the last month and it’s always a tough period to [come back from that].“ “He worked during the week and, in some moments, he was more tired than his teammates but that is something natural and normal. Now it is up to us to keep working hard with him and put him on the same level as the others. Theo just stopped for two or three days, it’s nothing, so, if we decide, he will be ready.”

On summer arrival Gbamin, who sustained damage to his quadriceps just two games into the campaign, Silva added:

“We saw him for the first time this morning on the pitch doing individual work with Bruno [Mendes, Head of Performance]. Let’s see over the next few days how he’ll react. It’s step by step to see but it was a good sign for us to see him on the pitch with his teammates and starting to run. Even if it was individual work, it’s still a good step.”

Leicester City

Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that James Maddison is available for selection for Leicester City in Saturday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool.

Maddison has been absent with an ankle injury for the Foxes during recent victories over Luton Town and Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League respectively but Rodgers has confirmed that the skilful midfielder has trained with the first team squad over the past week:

“James is fine, he’s trained the last couple of days and he’s okay.”

Rodgers also had this to say on team spirit and bonding:

“We have a great spirit in the team, James Maddison turned up this morning in full golf gear, which was quite amusing! We have a great spirit. The senior lads are amazing here, they really care, they really want to win, and the younger lads are learning from it. We’re bringing a real positive mindset into our games, no matter who the opponent is.”

Watford

Troy Deeney (knee) and Isaac Success (Groin) remain long term absentees with no timeline on when they could return. Will Hughes (knock) could also miss this weekend’s game against Sheffield United while Robert Pereyra and Andre Gray could feature.

Newcastle United

Steve Bruce has revealed he will have practically a whole squad to choose from when Newcastle United welcome Manchester United to St. James’ Park on Sunday.

Only long-term absentee Florian Lejeune, wide-man Matt Ritchie and the suspended Isaac Hayden are definitely out of contention for the Premier League clash, with Jonjo Shelvey available following a hamstring injury and Jetro Willems ready to feature after overcoming a knee problem:

“We’ve got practically everybody OK, Dwight Gayle has trained all week, so I’ll make a decision on him in the next couple of days – we’ve still got a couple of days before we play. It’s been a long time, but he went out and worked on it last week and put in a really good week with the physios in Portugal. And thankfully, he’s had no reaction to that. He’s been out for a long time, don’t get me wrong, but he’s on the training ground again.“ Lejeune has been training now for the past week to ten days. Another couple of weeks after this one, and he might be available too.”

Liverpool

Jürgen Klopp has confirmed Alisson Becker has returned to team training, whilst he also revealed Joel Matip and Xherdan Shaqiri will miss Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Leicester City.

Alisson has not featured since picking up a calf injury during the Norwich City match on the opening weekend of the top-flight season. Matip, meanwhile, sat out the Champions League victory over Salzburg in midweek, while Shaqiri continues to be sidelined through injury:

“With Alisson it’s still: maybe, maybe not. Yesterday he trained with the team [for the first time]. But if you know goalie sessions, they are often pretty more intense than the proper football sessions. He looked really good. We will see, I have to talk to different people before I make a decision about that. “Joel looks good but is not ready for tomorrow, and Shaq not. And Clyney not. That’s it pretty much. After the international break they are all back on track, apart from Clyney, but until then we have only one game and we have to play without them for that game.”

Klopp back Joe Gomez after a tough return for the English CB against Salzburg, who scored 3 past the Liverpool backline:

“It would be really unfair to make Joe responsible for the goals we conceded (against RB Salzburg). Players who haven’t played together a while need time to get used to each other again. That’s normal.”

Bournemouth

Eddie Howe has confirmed that Adam Smith and Dan Gosling are closing in on fitness ahead of Sunday’s trip to take on Arsenal. The Cherries have no other injury concerns.

Gosling has yet to play in 2019/20 while Smith has been absent since August after picking up a ham-string injury against Leicester City:

“They ( Smith and Gosling) are not quite ready for this game but they’re getting close. There’s a whole group of players getting closer. They’re not there yet but we’re hoping for them to be ready for after the international break, but we’ll see. Other than that I think we’re okay.”

Spurs

Mauricio Pochettino will be without the services of Serge Aurier in addition to the injured duo of Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon for Saturday’s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Right-back Serge is serving a one-game suspension following the red card he collected in last weekend’s 2-1 home victory over Southampton, meaning he misses out on our visit to the AMEX Stadium.

New signings Giovani (hip) and Ryan (hamstring), meanwhile, are entering the late stages of rehabilitation following their respective injuries:

“It is a long period that they have not been playing. We need to be careful. It is a little bit unlucky. They are two new signings that can provide new energy for the team but we cannot use them from the beginning. Lucky that Tanguy was a very small problem and recover quickly. The team needs time.”

Crystal Palace

Luka Milivojevic is suspended for the game against West Ham United but Roy Hodgson is confident his side can cope:

“In the midfield area we do have options. It will be quite a simple case of replacing him. We are disappointed to lose him because he is an important cog in our wheel.”

Aside from the suspended Milivojevic, only Mama Sakho misses out:

“Mamadou (Sakho) is the only senior player injured for tomorrow. We don’t think his injury is going to keep him out for a long period of time.”

Wolves

Updates will be provided as and when they are available.

Chelsea

On N’Golo Kante, Lampard says he will be checked over the next 24/48 hours, but the injury is fine and he is in contention to play on Sunday. Aside from that, there are no other injury concerns for the Blues.

Manchester City

Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sané remain out long-term.

Part of the press conference is embargoed until around 11pm. Will provide further updates if any.

Southampton

On the possibility of Cedric Soares facing Chelsea, Hasenhuttl reveals:

“For sure not, he really tried to play vs Tottenham, that was maybe not the best idea, but he really wanted to help the team. He really tried to do it against Tottenham, and after a few minutes [of the warm-up] the problems he had were too big. I think it will take until maybe the Wolverhampton game is the next one for him. In the moment it is not possible for him to play.”

Moussa Djenepo remains sidelined through injury this weekend.

Ché Adams is hoping for a return to the starting XI:

“Ché played every game until the last game. And also played 90 mins v Portsmouth. It was clear that I needed to give him a rest. Sometimes a break can help. This week he’s in better condition and is clearer in the mind. He can be an option.”

Arsenal

Updates will be provided as and when they are available.

Manchester United

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will assess his options at the Aon Training Complex ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash at Newcastle United.

Jesse Lingard joined the injury list with a hamstring problem in the closing stages of Thursday’s Europa League draw with AZ Alkmaar, leaving the Reds down to 10 men for the final few minutes. The boss has already confirmed the winger is unlikely to feature this weekend as a result.

Speaking ahead of the stalemate with AZ, Ole has already indicated that the Tyneside encounter will probably come too soon for Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial, even if they are making progress in terms of their return, while Paul Pogba looks set to miss out with an ankle problem.

When asked if any players are coming back:

“Probably not [but] let’s see on Saturday morning. Paul? Probably not. There’s the international break to come and that might be the time to give them 10-14 days extra to get them ready for the Liverpool game.”

Harry Maguire should come back into the side at centre-back after being an unused substitute, while captain Ashley Young did not travel but was presumably rested.

There is a question mark over Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s involvement after illness, and fellow defenders Eric Bailly and Phil Jones are definitely ruled out.