The Premier League, and Jonjo Shelvey, are set to return from their respective long-term absences on Boxing Day.
Fortunes have varied throughout the World Cup break: Chelsea now have the longest injury list in the league, while Crystal Palace are only missing one of their likely starters.
Question marks remain over Fantasy Premier League (FPL) favourites Aleksandar Mitrovic, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ivan Perisic, but an unusually long gap between press conferences and matches for Christmas gives players additional time to recover.
If you haven’t done so already, do join i’s league on the official Fantasy Premier League game to pit your wits against fellow readers and subscribe to our weekly FPL newsletter here to receive tips directly to your inbox each week.
Here is all the key team news ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.
More from Fantasy Football
Brentford vs Spurs
Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Ivan Perisic are all available to start the Premier League’s first game for six weeks. However, Perisic only returned on 23 December and has barely trained, while Antonio Conte said Ryan Sessegnon is “not still 100 per cent but ready”.
Meanwhile, Cristian Romero (World Cup), Richarlison (hamstring), Rodrigo Bentancur (suspension) and Lucas Moura (heel) are all unavailable. Fraser Forster is set to start in goal for Spurs, with Hugo Lloris on the bench after returning late after the World Cup final. Ben Davies and Djed Spence are both fit after recovering from illness.
For Brentford, Christian Norgaard and Pontus Jansson are both available after injury, but this clash comes too soon for Aaron Hickey (ankle), Kristoffer Ajer (knee) and Thomas Strakosha (ankle).
Ivan Toney is available despite being charged with 262 alleged breaches of betting rules by the Football Association. This will also be Thomas Frank’s first match since signing a new long-term contract with the Bees.
Southampton vs Brighton
World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister will not feature at St Mary’s having been given two weeks off after Qatar 2022. Brighton’s other absentees are Danny Welbeck, Adam Webster and Jakub Moder.
Levi Colwill has been solid when deputising for Webster this season and is his most likely replacement, while Leandro Trossard is expected to start as a lone striker in Welbeck’s absence.
For Nathan Jones’ Southampton, Tino Livramento (knee) and Juan Larios (muscle) have been ruled out. Theo Walcott is a doubt having been forced off with calf tightness against Lincoln in midweek. Romeo Lavia missed also that game, with Jones saying they will take it “day-by-day” with the young midfielder.
Leicester vs Newcastle
Brendan Rodgers said “we’re going to give it every chance” to assess James Maddison’s fitness ahead of Newcastle’s visit to the King Power Stadium. The midfielder has been suffering with ongoing knee issues for some time.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s return will bolster the Foxes, while Jonny Evans’ injury picked up in a friendly against Troyes adds him to a list of long-term defensive absentees which also includes Ricardo Pereira, James Justin (both Achilles) and Ryan Bertrand (knee).
For Newcastle, Alexander Isak is unlikely to return for Gameweek 17 but should be back by January, while defenders Paul Dummett (calf) and Emil Krafth (knee) are both ruled out.
Allan Saint-Maximin came off the bench against Bournemouth in midweek, but Eddie Howe has said he plans to ease the French maestro back to fitness, indicating more substitute appearances may lie ahead.
Crystal Palace vs Fulham
Aleksandar Mitrovic is a doubt for Fulham’s visit to Selhurst Park, but Marco Silva has said the Serb should be back for their next league match. Antonee Robinson and Layvin Kurzawa are also both doubts, so Tim Ream may deputise at left-back.
Brazilian forward Carlos Vinicius is Mitrovic’s most likely replacement.
Jordan Ayew and Joachim Andersen are both available for Patrick Vieira’s Palace after their World Cup campaigns, although Marc Guehi is suspended. Reports suggest that goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has been ruled out for two months, while midfielder Will Hughes looks set to start after earning his place in the mid-season friendlies.
Everton vs Wolves
Frank Lampard said it is “going to be tight” for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to start against Wolves, although the striker is back in training. Mason Holgate is likely to start in place of Conor Coady, who is ineligible to face his parent club. Andros Townsend (knee) and James Garner (back) are both long-term absentees for the Toffees.
Bottom side Wolves will be missing Pedro Neto (ankle) and Diego Costa (suspension) for Julen Lopetegui’s first Premier League game in charge. However, the club are hopeful that Jonny Otto and Boubacar Traore will return in time for the visit to Goodison Park.
Aston Villa vs Liverpool
Trent Alexander-Arnold will be assessed before Liverpool’s visit to Villa Park after missing parts of training due to a virus. Roberto Firmino and James Milner are confirmed to miss this clash, although Virgil van Dijk and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are both available.
Luis Diaz (knee), Diogo Jota (hamstring) and Arthur (muscle) are all ruled out, while Ibrahima Konate is unavailable after being given additional time off after reaching the World Cup final.
For Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, Emiliano Martinez has not yet returned from Argentina’s post-World Cup celebrations and is expected to be replaced by Robin Olsen. Philippe Coutinho is also back in training, while this match comes too early for Jacob Ramsey and Diego Carlos.
Arsenal vs West Ham
Eddie Nketiah is expected to lead the line for Mikel Arteta’s table-toppers, in place of the injured Gabriel Jesus. Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith-Rowe are also ruled out. William Saliba is unlikely to start having only returned to Colney on 23 December.
West Ham have issues up front, with both Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio both doubtful to start at the Emirates. David Moyes indicated that Jarrod Bowen may well start centrally in their place. Nayef Aguerd is also unlikely to feature after returning from the World Cup on Christmas Eve having suffered an injury and caught a virus.
More from Fantasy Football
Chelsea vs Bournemouth
Chelsea have major injury problems across the pitch, although Reece James should be fit to start having played 65 minutes in a friendly against Brentford. Armando Broja (ACL), N’Golo Kante (hamstring), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (calf), Ben Chilwell (hamstring) and Wesley Fofana (knee) are all ruled out, as are Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic, who are yet to return after their World Cup campaigns.
Kepa Arrizabalaga should start in goal for Graham Potter’s Blues as Edouard Mendy has only trained for a few days, while Mason Mount has been declared fit.
This will be Gary O’Neil’s first game as permanent Bournemouth manager, and he has said it is unlikely that Marcus Tavernier will start at Stamford Bridge. Jefferson Lerma and Lloyd Kelly should be fit enough to start, although Neto and David Brooks (both hamstring) are unavailable.
Man Utd vs Nottingham Forest
Erik ten Hag was unclear on the fitness of some of his key defenders after their midweek tie against the same opponents. Harry Maguire (illness), Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane (both World Cup) are all doubts to start, especially Martinez. Ten Hag gave no further update on Diogo Dalot, who he said returned from Qatar with “some complaints”.
For Steve Cooper’s Forest, it is hoped that Morgan Gibbs-White, Serge Aurier and Wayne Hennessey will all recover from their respective knocks to start at Old Trafford. Hennessey’s fitness is especially important as Dean Henderson is ineligible to play against his parent club.
Other absentees for Forest include Cheikhou Kouyate (hamstring), Moussa Niakhate (muscle), Omar Richards (leg) and Giulian Biancone (ACL).
Leeds vs Man City
Ruben Dias is ruled out and Kalvin Phillips is overweight and unfit to play against Leeds, according to Pep Guardiola. Julian Alvarez is the only other absentee for City after being given additional time off post-World Cup.
For Leeds, Illan Meslier (illness), Patrick Bamford (hip/groin), Crysencio Summerville (foot), Mateusz Klich (illness), Jack Harrison (groin), Liam Cooper (calf) and Rodrigo (hamstring) are all doubts, but Jesse Marsch was positive about most of their chances of featuring in this clash.
Tyler Adams is suspended, while Stuart Dallas (knee) and Luis Sinisterra (foot) are long-term absentees.
from Fantasy Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/vGZsUYq
via IFTTT
Post a Comment