Sports Mole rounds up every Premier League club’s confirmed team news ahead of gameweek 14, and what their managers have had to say about their injury situations.
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Wolves (H)
Out: Thomas Partey (thigh), Fabio Vieira (groin), Jurrien Timber (knee), Emile Smith Rowe (knee)
Doubtful: None
Mikel Arteta quotes: “I don’t think we are going to get anybody back still, and we didn’t have any incidents, so all good.
“We have another big one to play against Wolves, a very difficult team to play against. They have shown against the top teams what they are capable of. Our preparation has been focused on understanding what we have to do to win the game.
“I think there is more levels to come. I hope so, and we have to continue to do a lot of the things we are doing well in games to earn the right to win, but I think we can still improve and be more consistent.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Bournemouth (A)
Out: Emiliano Buendia (knee), Tyrone Mings (knee), Bertrand Traore (muscle), Boubacar Kamara (suspended)
Doubtful: Ollie Watkins (knock)
Unai Emery quotes: “[Watkins] is going to be a doubt for Sunday but we are adding other players like John Duran, Zaniolo, Ramsey getting more minutes. You can trust any player we have in the squad when there are some problems.
“[Watkins] is not completely unavailable for Sunday, we are going to wait for tomorrow and it depends if we can take a risk or not with him and what he feels for the demand we are going to face on Sunday. We are thinking only about the match on Sunday.
“It’s very important when players are coming back after long injuries. Some players make an impact with good performances, like Alex Moreno yesterday and Robin Olsen as well after not playing recently.
“Jacob Ramsey was taking minutes after his injury and Jhon Duran was being consistent in 90 minutes after a long time not playing. It’s a very good example for other players. It’s very good for players in the squad because you have to create and build a strong structure inside and good feelings.
“Everyone has to be happy when we are winning and together when we are losing in the bad moments and then try to create a positive energy and enjoy every moment with our supporters.”
BOURNEMOUTH
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Aston Villa (H)
Out: Tyler Adams (thigh), Alex Scott (knee), Ryan Fredericks (calf), Max Aarons (hamstring), Emiliano Marcondes (ankle), Darren Randolph (ill), Lloyd Kelly (muscle)
Doubtful: None
Andoni Iraola quotes: “It’s really bad news for Lloyd Kelly. He has a muscle injury that will keep him out for some weeks. He has been performing really well since the beginning. At centre-back he’s done very well, on the side he’s done very well and is a very good defender.
“Obviously you never want your best players injured but this is happening to all the teams, and we have to be ready to be solid without him and we have very good alternatives.
“The timing isn’t good with a lot of games coming up, key games for us, but we hope that nothing else happens in training and we’ll have the same squad available to us from the weekend.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Luton (H)
Out: Rico Henry (knee), Aaron Hickey (hamstring), Ivan Toney (suspended), Kevin Schade (adductor), Nathan Collins (ankle), Joshua Dasilva (hamstring), Mathias Jensen (adductor)
Doubtful: Mads Roerslev (knock), Mikkel Damsgaard (knee)
Club statement: “Mikkel Damsgaard, who last appeared in the Premier League in mid-August, is “touch and go” having played 45 minutes for a Brentford XI against Bournemouth on Tuesday.
“Defender Mads Roerslev is fit and available, while Mathias Jensen remains sidelined with an adductor injury and will be assessed ahead of the Bees’ trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.
“Nathan Collins (ankle) and Josh Dasilva (hamstring) have also been ruled out of Saturday’s game at Gtech Community Stadium.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Chelsea (A)
Out: Danny Welbeck (unspecified), Solly March (knee), Julio Enciso (knee), Mahmoud Dahoud (suspended), Pervis Estupinan (thigh), Adam Webster (knock), Tariq Lamptey (thigh), Ansu Fati (thigh), Lewis Dunk (suspended)
Doubtful: None
Roberto De Zerbi quotes: Press conference cancelled.
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Sheffield United (H)
Out: Lyle Foster (mental health), Jack Cork (unspecified)
Doubtful: Arijanet Muric (illness)
Vincent Kompany quotes: “Like every team that comes up, you are in that little between zone where you’re pushing to become a Premier League team but there’s still the threat of relegation. One thing you can’t do is go and spend all of your money on players that you can’t resell.
“It depends if we can find the right fit. Any club in our position has to be open to that but let’s see what happens between now and the start of the transfer window.
“There is no hiding away from the results but I have to say the team has been playing really well. I always look forward to seeing the team play as they put up a real fight.
“It’s that kind of fixture – there’s no need to say it any different than it is. It’s part of what you have to face in a career. For these players who are going to be taking to the field, these are the games that make you.”
CHELSEA
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Brighton (H)
Out: Wesley Fofana (knee), Ben Chilwell (thigh), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh), Carney Chukwuemeka (knee), Reece James (suspended), Marc Cucurella (suspended)
Doubtful: Malo Gusto (tendon), Christopher Nkunku (knee), Romeo Lavia (ankle)
Mauricio Pochettino quotes: “I don’t believe we can recover any [injured] player but still there’s one day more and we’ll see what’s going on tomorrow and if we can have some players available.
“Nkunku, Lavia? We need to assess tomorrow and then decide. They are close but we need tomorrow to make a decision. Maybe Lavia is the more difficult but we need to assess.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: West Ham (A)
Out: Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (thigh), Dean Henderson (thigh), Eberechi Eze (ankle), Cheick Doucoure (calf), Rob Holding (ankle)
Doubtful: James Tomkins (calf)
Roy Hodgson quotes: “[Cheick Doucoure] It’s bad. He’s snapped his Achilles tendon, so it’s a question of how long that takes [to heal]. It could take as long as the end of the season, but of course one remains optimistic.
“He’s young and a quick healer, so I don’t think it necessarily has to be that amount of time, but we know it’s a long-term injury and we’ll miss him. It’s a massive blow, something we’re going to have to come to terms with and find a way around.
“We should know more after [Ebere Eze] has seen the surgeon again today. He saw the surgeon at the start of the week and had his ankle put in a boot because it’s a ligament problem. He’s going to see him again today.
“It’s a high ankle ligament which apparently is not quite as serious as it could be when you get a bad ligament injury lower down, but it’s still a considerable injury. We’re waiting on the advice from the surgeon again today to find out how long it will take before he gets back.
“[James] Tomkins is good, that is good injury news. But it’s countered by the news that Rob Holding, who’s been fantastic in training and has worked all the way through without having got any real opportunity to show what he can do, has been suffering from a grumbling ankle injury for a while.
“It turns out now he’s also going to be missing for maybe as long as a month, which is very disappointing for him and also very disappointing for us going into so many fixtures in the month of December.
“Alongside Jes [Rak-Sakyi] and [Dean] Henderson [out injured], we’re not quite as badly off as we once were, but we’re being hit by injuries in the wrong part of the field at the moment.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Nott’m Forest (A)
Out: Dele Alli (hip), Andre Gomes (calf)
Doubtful: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (muscle), Amadou Onana (calf), Beto (knock)
Sean Dyche quotes: “Amadou is unlikely I think, Beto is likely, he’s back, he’s just got a minor kind of situation but it needed some settling down and that’s settled so we’re pleased with that and he certainly trained today which is good.
“Dom we’re just being careful with, he’s one of them who we’ll just make a decision on these next couple of days. It’s just a bit of tightness and as we know he’s got an up and down past over the last couple of years and he’s done very well recently with his fitness so therefore we’re just monitoring.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Liverpool (A)
Out: Rodrigo Munoz (knee), Issa Diop (ankle), Adama Traore (hamstring), Tyrese Francois (unspecified)
Doubtful: None
Marco Silva quotes: “Issa Diop is still recovering but making steps forward. Adama Traore, Rodrigo Muniz and Tyrese Francois are still the same.
“[The Wolves win] was an important one, a good one from ourselves. The reaction that we wanted to see was there from the first minute.”
LIVERPOOL
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Fulham (H)
Out: Thiago Alcantara (hip), Stefan Bajcetic (calf), Andrew Robertson (shoulder), Diogo Jota (leg), Alisson Becker (hamstring)
Doubtful: None
Jurgen Klopp quotes: “Nothing changed [with Thiago]. We said that needs time and we will give him that time. As easy as that. [We] see him every day, he is still a fantastic guy who works hard to get back. That’s all.
“The boys don’t have to convince me in the games. We don’t rotate. This is my squad, this is my team and they play. If somebody is not extremely awful in shape and you think, ‘My god, what is going on with him?!’ – and that didn’t happen for a long, long time – then we just decide for the game and these kind of things.
“This is the most intense period in world football coming up now, that’s how it is, for all the teams by the way. So, they all will play.
“We already have Diogo [Jota] not in and that’s not helpful, so yes, we have to share these kind of minutes with different players and they have to perform, not always 90, sometimes less, but 60 or 70 and then full throttle. That’s how it is.
“I am not sure we can rotate all the time. I don’t know, we will see that – it depends who is available. [On Thursday] we could do it and that’s why we did it.
“When you lose in Toulouse, for example, and then people tell you, ‘Too many changes’, these kind of things, ‘No rhythm’, I think it myself. When I saw the game I thought, ‘Was that the right decision?’ Just the problem is it is already done. But we have to do it as long as we can. But I don’t know if we can do it.
“You saw Newcastle playing in the Champions League, two goalies and three kids on the bench I think and a centre-half, [Paul] Dummett. That’s really tough. You have to make sure you have as many available, as much as you can have influence on, which we don’t have really.
“We watch it, take what we get and go from there. How I said, the toughest period in world football is coming up. It’s a good start [against LASK] and now let’s keep going.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Brentford (A)
Out: Mads Andersen (hamstring), Dan Potts (hamstring), Albert Sambi Lokonga (hamstring), Reece Burke (hamstring), Marvelous Nakamba (knee)
Doubtful: Cauley Woodrow (calf), Issa Kabore (concussion)
Rob Edwards quotes: “[Marvelous Nakamba]’s knee was swollen and he had some discomfort, but he’s had scans and checks and it’s not too serious. He’s been on the grass at times this week but he’s not quite right and won’t be ready this week.
“[Sambi Lokonga]’s been given the all clear, he’s trained fully and it’s about building him up in the right way. He’ll continue to work with the strength and conditioning guys but he’ll be on the pitch soon.
“It’s been an up and down week. We’re managing one or two, training’s been good but we’ll have to see if one or two are ready or not.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Spurs (H)
Out: Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring), Matheus Nunes (muscle)
Doubtful: Mateo Kovacic (thigh), John Stones (muscle)
Pep Guardiola quotes: “John Stones is much better, close to returning. He will be with us, although I don’t know if he will play. Mateo Kovacic is back, he trained well yesterday and Matheus Nunes still has some time left.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Newcastle (A)
Out: Casemiro (hamstring), Lisandro Martinez (foot), Jonny Evans (hamstring), Christian Eriksen (knee), Jadon Sancho (banished), Amad Diallo (knee), Tyrell Malacia (knee)
Doubtful: Mason Mount (calf)
Erik ten Hag quotes: “We have many options but we have to manage the load of the players. It is also about freshness as well. Mason Mount is, today, returning on the [training] pitch, but I don’t know how long it will take until he returns [to play]. I can’t say in this moment.
“Ty Malacia, he had surgery and he will return in quite short notice. I think, from new year on, he can be available. But it’s very good that Luke Shaw made his return in this week. We are happy with that and also the others, they are working very hard to return as soon as possible to the team.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Man Utd (H)
Out: Sandro Tonali (suspended), Sven Botman (knee), Callum Wilson (hamstring), Matt Targett (hamstring), Dan Burn (back), Elliot Anderson (back), Harvey Barnes (foot), Jacob Murphy (shoulder), Javi Manquillo (groin), Joe Willock (Achilles), Sean Longstaff (ankle)
Doubtful: None
Eddie Howe quotes: “We hope both Sean [Longstaff] and Joe [Willock] aren’t long-term injuries. Hopefully, we can get them back. It’s very difficult to give a definitive time on both but they’re not too bad.
“[Sven Botman]’s not training with us at the moment. He’s building up very slowly to build his load to make sure we don’t hit the knee injury too much. At the moment, he is reacting well and we hope to have him back soon.
“I thought you were going to ask me if Sean would be back for this weekend, which would be too soon. We hope to get some players back in the not-too-distant future, but certainly there doesn’t seem that there is anyone that is right around the corner.
“We hope [Joe Willock] is not too bad. We thought there could be a total reoccurrence, which would have been six to eight weeks. We hope it is not that long but the problem that we have is two to three weeks at this stage feels like a lifetime for us with the amount of games we have. So although it is possibly good news, it is still really frustrating.
“I still think we have got a really good team on the pitch. I have said all through this injury this position we are in that we still have a very good team. Yes we have some youth in it but we also have some real experience in it as well, so we have a good mix and I still feel we are good enough to get positive results.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Everton (H)
Out: Taiwo Awoniyi (groin), Felipe (knee)
Doubtful: Ibrahim Sangare (illness)
Steve Cooper quotes: “Ibrahim [Sangare] is just joining back in with training. He had a really bad virus that made him miss the game last week and it took him time to return to the UK after international duty.
“The virus has knocked him, it’s going to take him a bit of time to recover and get back to full health, but we’re glad that he’s back with us and back on the grass, albeit not in full training.”
SHEFFIELD UNITED
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Burnley (A)
Out: Chris Basham (foot), Rhian Brewster (knee), Rhys Norrington-Davies (thigh), John Egan (ankle), Tom Davies (thigh), Daniel Jebbison (illness)
Doubtful: None
Paul Heckingbottom quotes: “Day by day we’ll increase what [Norrington-Davies] does, he’s on his own programme and using us when he needs. What he needs is football, so we’re testing and training.
“[McBurnie] benefited from that 45 mins of play but you could see he’d been out. He’s had another week of training which is good – he’s in a much better place this week.
“We’ve changed every game because we’ve had to, I’d love to get some consistency and start working with the same group of players every week on the training ground.
“Unfortunately one of our issues is there’s been too many enforced changes, whether that’s selling players, recruiting late, getting injuries, we need that to settle down.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Man City (A)
Out: Ivan Perisic (knee), Micky van de Ven (hamstring), James Maddison (ankle), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), Manor Solomon (knee), Richarlison (hip), Cristian Romero (suspended), Alfie Whiteman (ankle), Ashley Phillips (ankle), Rodrigo Bentancur (ankle), Pape Sarr (unspecified)
Doubtful: None
Ange Postecoglou quotes: “It’s disappointing for Rodrigo [Bentancur], the outcome wasn’t great and he’ll probably miss a fair chunk of time between now and the new year.
“Probably a couple of months for him to get back which is disappointing for him because we all know how hard he’s worked to get back, but he’s such a positive guy and he can’t wait to get cracking.
“[Richarlison] is probably the closest of the ones that have been missing, looking to get him involved in training and then we’ll see how he feels, because he’s missed a fair bit – but he feels good, which is important. He’s the next cab off the rank in terms of the injured guys.
“Pape [Sarr]’s probably a little bit behind so we’ll see how he goes. Out of all the injured guys they’re the two we’re hoping will be back in the next couple of weeks – the rest we won’t see until the new year.
“I’ve never had such a high volume [of injuries] in such a short space of time. Over the course of a season, yes, but to have this much is the first time I’ve experienced this. No matter how long you’ve been around there’s always something new to deal with. Hopefully this experience will make me better for it.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Crystal Palace (H)
Out: Michail Antonio (knee)
Doubtful: Jarrod Bowen (knee), Nayef Aguerd (unspecified)
David Moyes quotes: “Because we’re only just back from Serbia we’ll find out a bit later. We left several behind because they had viruses and flu-like symptoms but we’ll find out later today.
“Jarrod, of course, had an injury. I’ll pick up with the medical team and we’ll see later this afternoon.”
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Gameweek 14 opponents: Arsenal (A)
Out: Pedro Neto (hamstring), Joe Hodge (shoulder), Rayan Ait Nouri (ankle)
Doubtful: None
Gary O’Neil quotes: “Rayan [Ait-Nouri] rolled his ankle, so we’re hoping it’s not too serious.
“It’s one where you can carry on with once the pain and the early stuff settles down, but depending on how painful it is, it could drag on a little bit longer than we would hope. He’ll miss tomorrow and we’re hopeful he can play a big part next week because he’s been important to us so far.
“Pedro [Neto] is back on the grass and doing some running with the fitness guys. It’s progressing well, he won’t play again this Saturday but we’re hopeful to get him back in with the group fairly soon. There’s no real date set on it, there’s lots of things for him to check off, but we’re getting closer.”
