We’ll have all the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) injury updates, squad news and quotes from key managers as we cover Friday’s Gameweek 2 press conferences on this live blog.
There are 14 managers in total speaking to the media today, with the other six facing questions yesterday.
Thursday’s top presser updates can be found here.
KEY UPDATES
Friday’s press times are detailed below:
For much more detailed information, check out our predicted lineups page and injuries and bans feed.
LIVERPOOL
Thiago Alcantara (hamstring) has joined Diogo Jota (thigh), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (hamstring), Caoimhin Kelleher (muscle), Ibrahima Konate (muscle), Curtis Jones (muscle) on the sidelines for Monday’s clash with Crystal Palace but Naby Keita has recovered from illness and Kostas Tsimikas (knock) could also be involved when he returns to training today.
“Now we have, at the moment, definitely too many injuries, that’s clear. A couple of guys are coming back. Naby will be back on Monday, Kostas will train today for the first time, so he could be back too.
“Thiago is fine, but the injury is not good. I read four to six weeks [for a timeframe]. I’d rather have four!” – Jurgen Klopp
Klopp was also asked about the developing relationship between Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez, as well as the importance of Roberto Firmino to Liverpool’s squad.
“It’s a great partnership, that’s for sure. They’re two players who are determined to score and be in decisive areas, I mean behind the line, wherever the line is. It’s very helpful. Mo is in a good moment and Darwin s ‘is installing I think Luis [Diaz] I just missed the goal, if you will [at Fulham]very good times, very good situations. [He had] twice, one was a post I think, or a crossbar, and then it was blocked in another situation. So a bit of luck and then he would score and that would also help him massively. But other than that, that department wasn’t our problem last weekend.
“[Firmino is] very important. If you take our last game against Fulham now, we didn’t get Bobby right. There were different reasons, we saw a lot in the analysis; we can talk about it but it was something that had nothing to do with us, honestly, because the center was very often blocked. If you want to watch it again you can see it too, and they weren’t bad players. That’s why it took him a little while to get into the game. And we didn’t play well, and that’s always an offensive player that’s not easy to come up with. But other than that, I obviously don’t judge Bobby by one or two games or whatever. Bobby’s a fantastic player and he’s had a good pre-season, not a perfect pre-season but a good pre-season and that’s all he needed, to be able to have the amount of sessions he had and train as often as he did. He will definitely benefit from it during the season and we will go from there.” – Jurgen Klopp
MANCHESTER CITY
Aymeric Laporte (knee) remains sidelined for the visit of Bournemouth, while Kalvin Phillips (niggles) and Cole Palmer (foot) are new doubts.
“We have Kalvin [Phillips] with a few, I don’t know if he will be able to. Cole Palmer had a knock on his feet in the last few games, and tomorrow is a doubt. the remaining [apart from Aymeric Laporte] they are perfect.” – Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that new signing Sergio Gomez will be part of the first team squad and will provide support/competition for Joao Cancelo at left back.
“You know that the club is always working on many possibilities and opportunities in all positions. This goal is a young player, in the World Cup years ago the best player was Phil Foden and he was the second best player in this tournament.
“He played for Spain under-21, he was a young talent for the Barcelona academy, he went to Dortmund, he didn’t have many minutes, last year he played in good hands with Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht . He played well, we target him and we could take him here.
“For now he is, he will stay with us, the team, and Joao, Josh [Wilson-Esbrand] and he, an option for the left back”. – Pep Guardiola on Sergio Gómez
ARSENAL
Mikel Arteta confirms that Takehiro Tomiyasu, Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira have returned to training after injury, while Kieran Tierney “looks in perfect condition”.
However, Reiss Nelson is set for a stint on the sidelines.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Antonio Conte has confirmed that Clement Lenglet is very likely to miss out with “adductor fatigue” ahead of the trip to Chelsea.
The Spurs boss also revealed that Oliver Skipp needs “a couple of weeks” before he returns, but Richarlison returned from suspension this weekend.
CHELSEA
Marcos Alonso will not be considered for the squad this weekend as he tries to force his way away from Chelsea, while Mateo Kovacic is out of the Tottenham Hotspur game with a troublesome knee.
“[Alonso] He is not training at the moment and is trying to finalize his transfer, so he will not be available for tomorrow’s game. The same goes for Kova, who is injured, unfortunately. He has knee problems and always a bit of a reaction, so we decided to take a step back and increase the treatment time and reduce the stress that comes with training.
“All others are available.” – Thomas Tuchel
MANCHESTER UNITED
Erik ten Hag confirmed that Manchester United’s squad news is “still the same” for the trip to Brentford, meaning Anthony Martial and Victor Lindelof remain on the sidelines.
When asked if Cristiano Ronaldo could start against the Bees after last weekend’s ‘false nine’ experiment with Christian Eriksen, the Red Devils boss was non-committal.
“So he had a good week of training, I thought he played a little over half an hour [against Brighton], I would say he now has two half games. The starting eleven, we’ll see tomorrow. I, of course, have made my decision, but I [will] keep it.” – Erik ten Hag on Cristiano Ronaldo
ASTON VILLA
We didn’t hear much from Steven Gerrard’s side ahead of the Everton game, but the Villa manager spoke at length about FPL midfielder Leon Bailey, saying the winger “looked sharp” in training .
“I don’t think he’s been very lucky in terms of health and having his body used to the Premier League. On the back of that, he had some injuries and niggles that prevented him from getting into a routine and rhythm.
“In the preseason, he’s been healthy and he’s been brilliant. Repeating matches and training sessions – once again he was sharp this morning – he is in a good place. He was disappointed, as we all were, with the last game, but it’s a game. León is in a much better place than last year.
“He had doubts about his body, he wasn’t having the best of luck and that was quite frustrating for him.” – Steven Gerrard
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Jonjo Shelvey may struggle to return before the Premier League reaches the World Cup, with Newcastle boss Eddie Howe ruling him out for around 12 weeks following hamstring surgery.
“It was quite a complex thing. We had a number of scans, a number of opinions because we wanted to make the right call. It wasn’t just an injury. He has had surgery and we expect him to be around 12 weeks.
“I was very disappointed, he worked very hard in pre-season and looked in good physical shape. A real shame for him and us, but he is now on the road to recovery, much better after the operation.
“I think we have enough to cover his absence at the moment, but you know football can change very quickly. Bruno played in that position on Saturday and did very, very well. We’ve got other players – Sean Longstaff has played the position in pre-season and again he’s done really well.” – Eddie Howe on Jonjo Shelvey’s injury
Jamaal Lascelles is expected to shake off a thigh injury after being pulled from the Week 1 matchday squad and briefly missing practice earlier in the week, while Jamal Lewis (groin) and Federico Fernandez (son-in-law) is slowly building match fitness after a long layoff. – off
Emil Krafth is suffering from a back problem although the scans come back clear.
EVERTON
The Toffees released a medical update on Ben Godfrey (leg) and Yerry Mina (ankle) earlier in the week: the former will be out for three months with a fractured fibula, while the latter “will see a specialist this week for discover the full extent.” of [his] problem before receiving treatment”.
Of course, Conor Coady has been brought in to bolster the numbers at the back, while Salomon Rondon returns from suspension this weekend.
“No, we’re still weighing it up. And the reality is that we’re still a little bit into the preseason as well and not every player has been able to play a lot of minutes in the short preseason that we’ve had. I have to weigh up the fitness levels to try and get the sharper players on the pitch. If maybe some people haven’t had as many minutes, they could be more effective. – Frank Lampard when asked if it was a ‘given’ that Salomon Rondon starts this weekend
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Bruno Lage confirmed on Friday that Raul Jiménez and Joao Moutinho remain sidelined for the clash with Fulham.
Nelson Semedo and Adama Traore are technically available for selection, but Lage warned of their lack of pre-season, so match fitness still appears to be an issue.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Michael Olise (foot) could make his long-awaited return against Liverpool on Monday, but the game comes too soon for James McArthur (groin) and James Tomkins (calf), while Nathan Ferguson (foot) has suffered a ‘setback’ and he still faces it. another spell on the sidelines.
“Michael has been training all week with the team, so there is a possibility that he will be with the squad. The other two [James McArthur and James Tomkins]it will be too short for them.
“[Nathan Ferguson] just had a mishap. It’s too early to tell, but obviously…