Press Conferences – GW12

Arsenal

Ruled out: Granit Xhaka (knee) and Sead Kolasinac (ankle).
Might play: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (knock) and Thomas Partey (groin)

“It wasn’t pre-planned. We have to assess him and see how he is.”
~ Mikel Arteta on (Aubameyang)

Aston Villa

Ruled out: Douglas Luiz (hamstring), Morgan Sanson (knock) and Trezeguet (knee).
Might play: Marvelous Nakamba (groin), Danny Ings (Covid) and Bertrand Traore (thigh).

“We are going to play slightly differently than what’s been before, I want to put my own stamp on things. That will take time, so you will see some changes in how we go about that at the weekend. I want my teams to be exciting to watch and entertaining. We will become a possession-based team. At the moment, the club is conceding too many goals so it is quite clear that we need to tighten up, be more organised and harder to play against.”
~ Steven Gerrard

Brentford

Ruled out: David Raya (knee), Kristoffer Ajer (hamstring), Mads Bech Sorensen (knee) and Josh Dasilva (hip).
Might play: Mathias Jensen (Covid), Shandon Baptiste (shoulder), Mathias Jorgensen (muscle) and Yoane Wissa (ankle).

Brighton

Ruled out: Robert Sanchez (suspended), Enock Mwepu (muscle), Danny Welbeck (thigh) and Steven Alzate (ankle).
Fit: Dan Burn and Aaron Connolly.

“Jason (Steele) trains really well every day, at a high level and always does well when he comes in. The improvement since I’ve been here is incredible. As a player, he’s been fantastic in how he’s stepped up.”
~ Graham Potter

Burnley

Ruled out: Dale Stephens (ankle).
Might play: Ashley Barnes (knock).
Fit: Aaron Lennon.

“Maxwel (Cornet) was in a longer journey, so he’s back in later today, ready for tomorrow. Aaron (Lennon) is good [after illness]. Barnesy’s got a little niggle, so we’ll have a look at him.”
~ Sean Dyche

Chelsea

Ruled out: Mateo Kovacic (hamstring) and Romelu Lukaku (ankle).
Might play: Timo Werner (thigh).
Fit: Mason Mount, Marcos Alonso.

“Romelu (Lukaku) is very close to team training so hopefully he will join the squad on Sunday. Mason (Mount) is back in training, looking hungry and fresh and in a good spirit, but we need to evaluate. He did training sessions, looks good, but we need to see if he can start, if he can play 90 minutes. Timo (Werner) is in team training since yesterday, so let’s see. We have another training, then we will decide if it makes sense that he is maybe even in the squad or on the bench.”
~ Thomas Tuchel

Crystal Palace

Ruled out: Nathan Ferguson (Achilles) and James McArthur (hamstring).
Fit: Eberechi Eze and Joachim Andersen.

“Eberechi (Eze) is doing really well. He played two games and 90 minutes [in an in-house friendly] and has been training with the team. He will be part of the group that travel to Burnley. Obviously, he’s a talented player but he’s still a long way to go from his best. We need to remind ourselves that he will need time to return to what he was because of the injury. He will get there.”
~ Patrick Vieira on (Eze)

Everton

Ruled out: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (thigh), Abdoulaye Doucoure (foot), Mason Holgate (suspended), Yerry Mina (hamstring), Andre Gomes (calf) and Tom Davies (knee).

“All of them are progressing well but not ready yet. (Doucoure) is a metatarsal injury, so that is something that has a timeframe. I think one week, two weeks maximum. Dominic, at least two or three weeks.”
~ Rafa Benitez

Leeds Utd

Ruled out: Patrick Bamford (ankle), Robin Koch (pelvic) and Luke Ayling (knee).
Might play: Junior Firpo (match fitness) and Jamie Shackleton (knock).

“They are not available for the game on Sunday. They are progressing positively. The evolution is controlled on a daily basis and I wouldn’t want to give you a date that won’t be met.”
~ Marcelo Bielsa

Leicester

Ruled out: Youri Tielemans (calf), James Justin (knee) and Wesley Fofana (leg).
Might play: Marc Albrighton (knock).

“Most of the guys have come back okay. We had the issue with Youri (Tielemans) before he left, so that puts him out for a few weeks.”
~ Brendan Rodgers

Liverpool

Ruled out: Roberto Firmino (hamstring), Joe Gomez (calf), Curtis Jones (eye), Naby Keita (hamstring), James Milner (hamstring) and Harvey Elliott (ankle).
Might play: Andrew Robertson (hamstring) and Jordan Henderson (knock).
Fit: Sadio Mane.

“Sadio (Mane) is fine – painful but fine. Everybody who had a rib bruise knows it’s an annoying thing. But he looks fine. Robbo (Robertson) was lucky, we can probably say. It was the intensity of all the games he played probably, rather than anything else. He was smart enough to make the right decision, he went off early. So there’s a good chance that he can be involved. Bobby (Firmino), getting closer but not for the weekend. We’ll see, that will take a little bit longer still.”
~ Jurgen Klopp

Man City

Ruled out: Kevin De Bruyne (Covid) and Ferran Torres (foot).
Might play: Jack Grealish (knock) and Phil Foden (knock).
Fit: Aymeric Laporte.

“Jack (Grealish) is getting better after going to the national team. Phil (Foden) came back with a knock, a problem with his leg but is getting better. Jack, I don’t think so. Phil, we will see.”
~ Pep Guardiola

Man Utd

Ruled out: Paul Pogba (thigh) and Raphael Varane (hamstring).
Might play: Luke Shaw (head), Edinson Cavani (tendon) and Scott McTominay (illness).

“Paul (Pogba) is out still for a while, Raphael (Varane) is out for a while still. Apart from that, players will be coming back in the near future, some this weekend, some in the week.”
~ Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Newcastle

Ruled out: Paul Dummett (calf).
Fit: Martin Dubravka.

“Martin Dubravka (played) in midweek. Is he 100% fit? That remains to be seen, that’s his first game in a long, long time. So I’ve got a tough call to make there. The difficulty for the international lads is that some of them have been with us for a day, two days. We’ll have to get that balance right between who’s been here the whole time and who’s coming back.”
~ Eddie Howe

Norwich

Ruled out: Christoph Zimmermann (ankle) and Sam Byram (lack of match fitness).
Fit: Ozan Kabak, Grant Hanley and Todd Cantwell.

Southampton

Ruled out: Jack Stephens (knee).
Fit: Tino Livramento, Nathan Redmond, Armando Broja and James Ward-Prowse.

“Not much different to the past. We have only Jack Stephens out. Everybody else is fit, everybody is on the pitch.”
~ Ralph Hassenhuttl

Spurs

Ruled out: Cristian Romero (thigh) and Oliver Skipp (suspended).
Might play: Giovani Lo Celso (knock) and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (knee).

“We have a few problems after the international break. (Romero) is injured. I spoke with the doctor and now it’s right to wait seven days, ten days to have another scan and to understand the time he will need to recover. Also, Giovani (Lo Celso) has a little problem and I’m not sure if he’ll be available. We’ll see for Sunday.”
~ Antonio Conte

Watford

Ruled out: Juraj Kucka (suspension), Peter Etebo (thigh), Francisco Sierralta (hamstring), Christian Kabasele (hamstring), Ken Sema (knee) and Kwadwo Baah (ankle).
Might play: Ozan Tufan (knock).

West Ham

Ruled out: Angelo Ogbonna (knee).
Might play: Declan Rice (illness) and Pablo Fornals (knock).

“We think surgery for Angelo (Ogbonna) will take place over the next couple of days and it’s really sad because he’s a great team player. His performances have been great.”
~ David Moyes

Wolves

Ruled out: Yerson Mosquera (thigh), Jonny (knee) and Pedro Neto (knee).
Fit: Marcal.

“We don’t have too many players so I cannot put anyone at risk for a game. Raul arrived yesterday afternoon so he had time to rest and recover. He trained today so now we’re going to make the best decision for tomorrow.”
~ Bruno Lage