Dilemmas of the Week - GW 24 (25/26)

Midweek European games for 8 of our Premier League teams (most of them crucial to at least avoiding the hassle of an additional play-off round this month) have no doubt taken a toll, and even players who avoided any further injury worries may have earned a 'rest' this weekend. And although we've now got a two-week respite from European competition, there is a danger of some rotation at Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Newcastle ahead of the coming midweek League Cup Semi-Final Second Leg ties. There is yet again quite a nasty accumulation of doubts and niggles, but we do at least seem to have avoided any major catastrophes in these most recent games. [However, because I'm trying to do this roundup on Friday afternoon (my Friday afternoon; still early morning back in the UK), there is a chance that a lot of injury news won't have emerged yet. I'll try to add some updates tomorrow, if significant new information surfaces in today's managerial press conferences.]

I am trying to streamline these weekly round-ups a bit from last year, restricting myself for the most part to just the injuries etc. affecting players that are likely to have a major significance in FPL; and also, of course, only to new injuries - I figure everyone should be aware of players who've already been ruled out for some time!  

[For some years, I have found the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information; although this site, Premier League Injuries, is a very good alternative (often a little quicker to update, I think - though it did go through a bit of a glitchy period for a while last year).  Go check these out for more comprehensive coverage. 

I see the Fantasy Premier League site has added an improved 'Player Availability' page this year (though hidden under 'The Scout' tab?!). That also seems to be reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date, but god knows how it's supposed to be 'organised' - maybe by 'date of injury'? Obviously, arranging it by club and alphabetical order would be more sensible; but the denizens of FPL Towers seem to have a deep aversion to the sensible.]

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 24?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

William Saliba and Jurrien Timber missed the Champions League tie against Kairat on Wednesday with 'niggles'; but they probably would have been rested anyway for this dead rubber against one of the weakest sides in the competition - no reason to suppose they won't be back in the fray against Leeds.

Youri Tielemans hobbled off against Newcastle last week with an ankle injury, and Emery has said he expects him to be absent for 8-10 weeks. With a similar timeline on John McGinn's knee problem, and Boubacar Kamara probably ruled out for the rest of the season, Villa are suddenly looking very thin in midfield. Fortunately, they have been able to get Douglas Luiz back from Juventus on a loan deal for the rest of the season. (If he were on penalties again, like before, he could quickly become quite an interesting 'cheap fifth' prospect in FPL!)  To make things even worse, Ollie Watkins came off early in Thursday's Europa League game, after "feeling something" in his hamstring; Emery hopes it's nothing serious, but he's a yellow-flag for the weekend at the moment.

Kristoffer Ajer (ankle) and Mikkel Damsgaard (knee) both had to come off against Forest last week. Keith Andrews says they're not too serious, but might be a doubt for this weekend.

Brajan Gruda missed the game against Fulham last week with a knock, but is expected to be able to make it back against Everton.

Young midfielder (and regular recent starter) Justin Devenny and back-up defender Borna Sosa have apparently joined Palace's lengthy injury roster this week with muscle problems.

Leeds's back-up striker Lukas Nmecha also has a hamstring problem - which is expected to keep him out of action this week, but maybe not much longer.

Joe Gomez suffered a heavy knock on the leg against Bournemouth last weekend, which seems likely to keep him out this week at least; and Jeremie Frimpong succumbed to a groin strain in the midweek match against Qarabag. So, it looks as if Dominik Szoboszlai is yet again going to have to fill in at right-back. Curtis Jones, meanwhile, missed the Champions League game due to an illness.

In the biggest FPL news of the week, Patrick Dorgu, the Manchester United full-back suddenly reinvented as a goalscoring left-winger (and recently surging to nearly 10% ownership in FPL) had to limp off near the end of last week's stirring win over Arsenal. Michael Carrick was initially hopeful it might have been just a cramp at the top of his leg, but it seems it might be some sort of hamstring issue. The Internet has been awash with rumours that he's going to be out for 10-12 weeks (which is the typical 'worst case' for a serious hamstring strain), but there seems to have been no official confirmation of this yet; and the only reasonably authoritative source cited for such a gloomy prognosis is UK football magazine The Athletic - which might just have been reporting the speculation, rather than offering a definitive statement on the severity of the injury. He seems certain to be out this week, though; and probably for at least another two or three (which conveniently leaves room for the suddenly hot-again Matheus Cunha to take over on the left wing).

Bruno Guimaraes has been back in light training this week, and joined the team for the trip to PSG on Wednesday; but it sounds as though he is very much touch-and-go to start a game again just yet.

Forest full-back Nicolo Savona (not likely to be a regular starter any more, now that Ola Aina's finally available again) has some sort of knee problem that's going to keep him out for a while.

Micky Van de Ven had to miss the midweek win over Frankfurt with a knock (although Frank is hopeful he might be OK for this weekend), while Pedro Porro has apparently now developed a hamstring problem which will sideline him until at least the end of February. Poor Spurs will be playing their youth team soon. (Is Archie Gray going to have to step in at centre-back again if Micky isn't fit?)

Do we have any players who are dropped, or not looking likely to get the starts we hoped for?

Adam Wharton has to serve a one-match ban after committing two yellow-card fouls against Chelsea last time out. Michael Keane, however, has now completed his three-match ban for hair-pulling (although, with Jarrad Branthwaite now fit again, he might be unlikely to get a start again for a while).

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

This is one of those quirky paradoxes of FPL, but.... Bruno Fernandes - who has been one of the midfielders of the season so far - might actually be squeezed out of many FPL squads by the return to goalscoring form of Mbeumo and Cunha. You don't really want more than one, and certainly not more than two players from the same club in the same position; and the latter two are starting to look like slightly preferable points prospects now.

Did anyone play so well, you have to consider bringing them in immediately?

Bryan Mbeumo (one of the league's most consistent and dangerous-looking forwards this year, even when United were struggling earlier in the season) and Matheus Cunha (surely now likely to enjoy a regular start again, at least for a little while) are delighting in the United renaissance under Michael Carrick and look in absolutely banging form at the moment (though this creates some vexing selection dilemmas in FPL-land: see above).

West Ham's Matheus Fernandes is relishing the greater creative responsibility he's been asked to take on in the absence of Lucas Paqueta over the last month or so (which now looks likely to become a permanent state of affairs, as Paqueta is reportedly on the brink of signing for Flamengo), and looks like he might be going on a little spree of banging in long-range goals - he could become an intriguing new option for a 'cheap fifth' midfielder (although there's already strong competition there from the likes of James Garner, Brenden Aaronson, and Elliot Anderson [the former two I plugged as interesting options a couple of weeks back]).

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!

Dilemmas of the Week - GW 23 (25/26)

It looks as though the midwinter injury onslaught may be slackening off a little at last, as remarkably few new problems seem to have emerged during the past week. However, it seems likely at this time of the year that a number of players are carrying 'hidden' injuries of some sort, and may be well below their best. Team form is certainly all over the place at the moment, and it's very difficult to assess relative fixture-difficulty or anticipate match outcomes with any confidence. Moreover, Liverpool, City, Spurs, Newcastle and Chelsea are not yet assured of automatic qualification for the final phase of the Champions League, so might get tempted to rest key players ahead of the crucial last ties of the league phase next week. Palace and Forest, after their disappointing European results this week, also face massive games next week to guarantee their progression. Even if these looming European crunch matches don't affect player selection this weekend, they might be an unwelcome distraction in the players' minds. These are amongst the many reasons why it's a dreadful week to be considering playing any of the chips in!

I am trying to streamline these weekly round-ups a bit from last year, restricting myself for the most part to just the injuries etc. affecting players that are likely to have a major significance in FPL; and also, of course, only to new injuries - I figure everyone should be aware of players who've already been ruled out for some time!  

[For some years, I have found the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information; although this site, Premier League Injuries, is a very good alternative (often a little quicker to update, I think - though it did go through a bit of a glitchy period for a while last year).  Go check these out for more comprehensive coverage. 

I see the Fantasy Premier League site has added an improved 'Player Availability' page this year (though hidden under 'The Scout' tab?!). That also seems to be reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date, but god knows how it's supposed to be 'organised' - maybe by 'date of injury'? Obviously, arranging it by club and alphabetical order would be more sensible; but the denizens of FPL Towers seem to have a deep aversion to the sensible.]

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 23?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

No clear details have yet been anounced regarding the knee injury that forced John McGinn off against Everton last week (looked like a cartilage problem to me); Emery has said it's not too serious, but could keep him out for a few weeks at least - and that will likely have a big negative impact on the team as a whole, since he had been so crucial to Villa's strong performances at the end of last year.

Marcus Tavernier pulled a hamstring against Brighton last week.

Tosin Adarabioyo's withdrawal against Brentford last weekend because of hamstring tightness was initially described as 'precautionary', but it now seems he's going to be ruled out for some weeks. Filip Jorgensen had to come off in the midweek game against Pafos after a knock, although he was unlikely to be replacing Robert Sanchez as the league starter anyway. Cole Palmer was complaining again of discomfort in his thigh after the Brentford game and was subsequently omitted against Pafos.

Leeds defender Gabriel Gudmundsson (a surprisingly popular pick in FPL, with over 4% ownership) has been suffering with leg muscle problems in training this week, and seems likely to miss today's game against Fulham.

Jeremy Doku and Nathan Ake were apparently omitted from the line-up in the shocking defeat by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday because they felt problems during the warm-up, and are thus presumably very doubtful for this weekend. (At least that should mean that both Semenyo and Cherki can start....)

Bruno Guimaraes came off against PSV on Wednesday after suffering a knock to his ankle. It doesn't sound very serious, but he is a 'yellow flag' for the weekend.

Ben Davies broke his ankle in an unfortunate collision at West Ham last week, and will likely miss the rest of the season. Lucas Bergvall suffered a less serious ankle injury in the midweek game against Dortmund, looks set to be out for some weeks. I think Thomas Frank's been doing an awful job at Spurs; but you have to sympathise with his difficulties, now having 6 or 7 likely preferred starters sidelined long-term. At least Dominic Solanke was finally able to make a comeback against Dortmund - although there must be doubts about whether he's yet fit enough to play 90 minutes twice in succession.

Do we have any players who are dropped, or not looking likely to get the starts we hoped for?

Michael Keane is this week serving the last part of his three-match 'violent conduct' ban for hair-pulling.

Matheus Cunha had a good impact off the bench last week; but it's difficult to see how he's going to earn a regular start in the formation Carrick seems to want to play. Benjamin Sesko was another casualty of the new broom - although at least his pace and height may recommend him for certain fixtures (Arsenal this week?!), with Mbeumo probably moving to the right (at the expense of Diallo) to accommodate him occasionally as the No. 9.

Rob Edwards has said he intends to include Jørgen Strand Larsen 'in the squad' against City, despite his having just become the subject of a transfer bid; it might however be rather doubtful if he'll actually start in these circumstances (and Mané and Arokodare are starting to look like more than adequate substitutes for him anyway).

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

Rodri had a rare stinker against Bodo/Glimt in midweek; as did the whole City team, really. But you have to be wary of a 'wounded tiger'. City really need a 'statement win' now to restore confidence after a string of shakey performances, and I imagine they'll be fired up to try to give Wolves a proper spanking. (I wouldn't bet against Wolves to nick at least one goal off them, though.)

Did anyone play so well, you have to consider bringing them in immediately?

Well, I've been particularly glad to see Ben White back as the Arsenal right-back, and he was excellent last week; but, alas, he seems to have fallen somewhat out of favour with Mikel, and there must be doubts about whether he'll keep the start once Calafiori and Hincapie are available again. Karl Darlow, stepping up to replace the recently struggling Lucas Perri in goal for Leeds, had a very good game against Fulham. He's probably not good enough to get in anyone's FPL squad purely on merit (and there may be some doubts about how long he'll keep the start), but, at only 3.9 million pounds currently, he is looking like a very tempting 'budget-enabler' (much more so than the long-time favourite in that slot, Martin Dubravka; more expensive, and not in such convincing form recently).

And of course, Manchester United appear to be immediately transformed, their 'true potential' unlocked by Michael Carrick. Bruno Fernandes has been a top midfield pick for quite a while already, but he now faces competition - within his club quota! - from Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo in midfield, and also from Patrick Dorgu (a goalscoring defender is always nice to have) and Harry Maguire (he's finally back???).

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!

Dilemmas of the Week - GW 22 (25/26)

 

We've had a little break from Premier League action for the past 9 days; but of course, everyone was involved in FA Cup ties last weekend, and 4 clubs also had the first leg of their League Cup Semi-Finals this week. So, there have been some further injuries since the last EPL Gameweek, on top of the heavy crop we suffered in that first batch of 2026 games. Also, the January transfer window is starting to cause a little bit of turmoil - with Manchester City looking set to poach all the players that their rivals most covet, and that the better mid-table sides most rely on.

I am trying to streamline these weekly round-ups a bit from last year, restricting myself for the most part to just the injuries etc. affecting players that are likely to have a major significance in FPL; and also, of course, only to new injuries - I figure everyone should be aware of players who've already been ruled out for some time!  

[For some years, I have found the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information; although this site, Premier League Injuries, is a very good alternative (often a little quicker to update, I think - though it did go through a bit of a glitchy period for a while last year).  Go check these out for more comprehensive coverage. 

I see the Fantasy Premier League site has added an improved 'Player Availability' page this year (though hidden under 'The Scout' tab?!). That also seems to be reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date, but god knows how it's supposed to be 'organised' - maybe by 'date of injury'? Obviously, arranging it by club and alphabetical order would be more sensible; but the denizens of FPL Towers seem to have a deep aversion to the sensible.]

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 22?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

Arsenal lost another defender when Piero Hincapie limped out of the GW21 clash with Liverpool with some kind of leg-muscle injury. And as there's still no sign of Calafiori being able to return, this presumably means that Myles Lewis-Skelly or Ben White (with Timber switching to the left) could finally get a run of starts. When we see which of those options Arteta goes with, this might be a tempting cheaper route into extra representation from the Arsenal defence.

Villa's midfield lynchpin Boubacar Kamara had to come off in the FA Cup game against Leeds with a knee injury - which might keep him out for a while. And Emi Martinez came off during the last league game against Palace; apparently it's a calf-strain this time, rather than another instance of his recurring back problem - but he's still a doubt for this weekend.

Justin Kluivert has had to have a knee surgery which has probably put an end to his season. And back-up striker Enes Unal has picked up a leg-muscle problem which will sideline him for at least the rest of this month.

Jordan Henderson rolled his ankle badly in the FA Cup game against Sheffield Wednesday, but his subsequent withdrawal in that game was said to be just 'precautionary', and Keith Andrews is hopeful that he'll be OK for the visit to Chelsea.

Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap missed Wednesday's League Cup game against Arsenal because of an illness (though, for my money, Delap hasn't been looking good enough lately to earn a start ahead of Guiu, let alone Joao Pedro). And Malo Gusto and Reece James missed both this week's Cup games because of training knocks - but are expected/hoped to be OK again for this weekend. Cole Palmer also missed these last two games with a thigh muscle problem, although Liam Rosenior hopes it was fairly minor and won't keep him out any longer.

Everton's Tim Iroegbunam missed last week's FA Cup tie against Sunderland with a knock.

Conor Bradley collapsed near the end of the last league game against Arsenal with a serious knee injury; apparently he has not suffered ACL damage, but has needed surgery - and might miss the remainder of the season.

Fabian Schar suffered a serious ankle injury in the last league game against Leeds, and has needed surgery; he'll be lucky to return for the last few games of the season. Tino Livramento then suffered another hamstring strain in the FA Cup against Bournemouth and seems likely to be out for some time. It seems that Sven Botman may be rushed back into service alongside Thiaw in central defence, and Lewis Miley will have to continue to serve as a makeshift right-back: this is not promising for Newcastle's prospects in a fairly testing run of fixtures over the next month or so.

Forest goalkeeper John Victor somehow injured his knee (in the act of conceding their third goal against Villa in GW21, rashly charging 30 yards up the pitch to leave his goal empty); it's not clear what the problem is, but it's taking some time to resolve - so Matz Sels seems likely to step back between the posts (probably a more reliable choice anyway!).

Bertrand Traore returned early from AFCON after picking up an unspecified injury; so, he's back with Sunderland now, but it's unclear if he'll be available to play this week.

Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Betancur both had to come off with leg-muscle injuries in the GW21 loss to Bournemouth, while Richarlison pulled a hamstring in last weekend's FA Cup defeat by Villa.

Konstantinos Mavropanos had to be stretchered off in the FA Cup tie against QPR after getting caught in the back of the head by an opponent's knee as he was falling to the ground. It was at first feared that he might have suffered a serious neck injury; that seems not to be the case, fortunately, but it is likely he also suffered a heavy concussion, so will surely miss a week or two for that alone.

Do we have any players who are dropped, or not looking likely to get the starts we hoped for?

Michael Keane is serving a three-match ban for 'violent conduct' (although he's got the first one out of the way already in last week's FA Cup game), after his silly tug on Tolu Arokodare's braids. Fortunately, Nathan Patterson is ready to come back in at right-back, so Jake O'Brien can probably be slotted into central defence alongside Tarkowski - but Everton are stretched a bit thin at the back, with Coleman and Branthwaite still unavailable.

Manchester United's teenage winger Shea Lacey has a one-match ban after picking up two yellow cards in quick succession in the FA Cup tie against Brighton.

Oleks Zinchenko is on loan from Arsenal, so can't represent Forest against his parent club this week.

Oliver Glasner has said that Marc Guehi will not play for Palace this weekend, as a transfer away is being finalised. (Looks like City have landed him.)  Presumably, Jaydee Canvot - or perhaps Jefferson Lerma, who has played a few times on the right of the back-three - will step into his slot. But Palace too are looking very stretched in defence now.

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

Antoine Semenyo's move to City creates much uncertainty about how often - and where - he might play for them. Rather surprisingly, he got immediate starts in the FA Cup and League Cup games this past week, and notched attacking contributions in both. But Pep made extensive rotations from his usual 'first-choice' line-up for both games; and given that Semenyo's most likely competing for a place with Cherki and Doku - who've both been outstanding this season - on either the right or left of the attack, it looks rather doubtful to me if he will be able to rely on regular starts.

Did anyone play so well, you have to consider bringing them in immediately?

Well, I did a little 'Picks of the Week' post yesterday on some players who've looked really good recently (but are still surprisingly low-owned in FPL): Brenden Aaronson, James Garner, Mateus Mané, and Harvey Barnes.

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!

Dilemmas of the Week - GWs19 & 20 (25/26)

 

I always warn that December is invariably the most unpredictable month of the season (well, except insofar as it's predictably disappointing for FPL managers every year!),... and it ain't over yet. The 'midwinter blues' - a huge accumulation of injuries (not to mention just fatigue and ennui), frantic squad rotation, and wild swings of team form as a result - generally continue well into January; and often on into February too. But they are now hitting their climax, with the absurd concentration of fixtures on and around the two 'holiday' weekends at the turn of the year. The only slightly 'good' news is that the threshold for a first suspension for accumulated yellow cards is raised from 5 to 10 after this gameweek; but receiving a 5th is still a problem for some players to worry about in the coming match.

At least there weren't too many new injuries in last weekend's games (although there had been a fair few problems that cropped up 'in training' just ahead of them!), so the rundown for this gameweek should be relatively straightforward. However, since there's only a one-day gap between GWs 19 and 20, we probably won't get much - if any - authoritative further injury updates before the weekend; anything that does emerge, I'll try to add here, making it a combined Gameweek 19/20 post. 

And of course, if anyone does still have any chips left to play, they'd better think about which one of them to use in this gameweek, because they were all time-limited to the first half of the season only; any remaining ones are voided after the Gameweek 19 deadline passes. (We do of course get a complete second set of chips for the second half of the season; but no unused ones from the first half can carry over.)

I am trying to streamline these weekly round-ups a bit from last year, restricting myself for the most part to just the injuries etc. affecting players that are likely to have a major significance in FPL; and also, of course, only to new injuries - I figure everyone should be aware of players who've already been ruled out for some time!  

[For some years, I have found the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information; although this site, Premier League Injuries, is a very good alternative (often a little quicker to update, I think - though it did go through a bit of a glitchy period for a while last year).  Go check these out for more comprehensive coverage. 

I see the Fantasy Premier League site has added an improved 'Player Availability' page this year (though hidden under 'The Scout' tab?!). That also seems to be reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date, but god knows how it's supposed to be 'organised' - maybe by 'date of injury'? Obviously, arranging it by club and alphabetical order would be more sensible; but the denizens of FPL Towers seem to have a deep aversion to the sensible.]

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 19 (& 20) [&21]?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

Arsenal were particularly hard-hit at the weekend, with Jurrien Timber suffering a joint injury from 'an awkward landing' in training just before the game and Riccardo Calafiori feeling a leg-muscle stiffness during the warm-ups. No word on the severity of either issue; but Arteta would surely be unlikely to take risks by rushing them back into action so soon. Gabriel appeared on the bench again at last on Saturday, and made a cameo for the last 20 minutes - but is surely still a few weeks away from being able to start. At least Saliba and Hincapie are available again (although only just back from injury themselves), and Lewis-Skelly is a more-than-capable deputy at left-back; but it's hardly the best use of Declan Rice to have him filling in as an emergency right-back. And Arsenal don't seem to have any other defensive cover at the moment, without raiding the youth team - or recalling Jakub Kiwior from loan in Portugal?

Unai Emery mentioned 9 or 10 days ago that Harvey Elliott had been suffering from illness, but he didn't elaborate as to whether this was just a short-term virus, or some more serious, long-term problem that might have been keeping him out of the playing squad - almost since his arrival at the club.

Alex Scott took a whack in the face in the defeat to Brentford, and may have suffered a significant injury to his jaw. He is not much owned in FPL, but is a very important player for Bournemouth.

Sepp van den Berg missed the Bournemouth game with a training knock.

Burnley's Joe Worrall had to miss the Everton game last weekend with a minor muscle problem; but a bigger worry for Scott Parker is that his midfield stalwart Josh Cullen had to go off with a knee injury that looks as though it might be quite serious.

Marc Cucurella had to come off against Villa with a tight hamstring, and his likeliest current replacement, Jorrell Hato, pulled a muscle doing half-time warm-ups, so Chelsea might also find themselves a bit light at the back - if Cucu hasn't shaken the problem off.

Jack Grealish missed the Burnley game on Saturday with an illness, but Moyes is hopeful he'll be back tonight.

Leeds's lynchpin defender Joe Rodon is surely going to be out for a while after suffering two heavy hits in quick succession against Sunderland early in the first-half on Sunday, both of which rolled and twisted his right foot quite severely; he must have at least a very heavily sprained and swollen ankle, and it would be surprising if there isn't some more serious ligament damage; if he needs surgery, he's likely to be out for the rest of the season, but, if he's lucky, it might just need a month or so of rest and recuperation.

Poor Mason Mount is a doubtful starter again, having had to come off at half-time against Newcastle last Friday night after feeling a leg-muscle problem.

Anthony Elanga was a surprise omission against United on Friday; but Eddie Howe said that was due to a training knock, and nothing too serious.

Although Chris Wood has been sidelined for months with a niggly knee problem, it's only just been revealed that he's had to have surgery on it and is likely to remain unavailable until well into the New Year.

Dan Ballard had to miss Sunday's visit from Leeds after suffering an ankle injury in training (he's been quite a poplar 'cheap fifth' defender in FPL).

Lucas Bergvall got hit in the side of the head with the ball in the win at Palace, and had to come off after an hour.

Santiago Bueno had to come off with a knock against Liverpool.

[UPDATES for Gameweek 20:  Decan Rice, Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie, Mats Wieffer, Zian Flemming, Eddie Nketiah, Josh King, Michael Keane and Carlos Alcaraz all missed out in Gameweek 19 due to injuries picked up in training shortly beforehand; Amadou Onana, Yankuba Minteh, Maxime Esteve, Kenny Tete, Savinho and Nico Gonzalez, Brian Brobbey, Jean-Clair Todibo and Santiago Bueno all picked up injuries in their matches. None of these problems sounds too serious, but all leave the players flagged as 'doubts' for this weekend.

Moises Caicedo and Ethan Ampadu became the last players to earn a suspension for reaching 5 yellow cards during the first half of the season; and Xavi Simons has to serve the last part of his three-game ban against Sunderland.

Also, of course, there's now much uncertainty about how Chelsea may be affected by the sudden departure of Enzo Maresca this week. They'd been having a mostly rather disappointing season under him so far anyway, so perhaps at least they'll enjoy a little bit of a 'new manager bounce'.... once a replacement starts settling in. For the coming visit to The Etihad, though, you'd assume they'd be in a bit of a mess.]

[UPDATES for Gameweek 21: I've only been able to do an attenuated update for the following midweek gameweek; as far as I can gather, the following players either missed the weekend game with a problem of some sort, or had to come off with an injury in those games: Wesley Fofana, Robert Sanchez, Jefferson Lerma (concussion), Nathaniel Clyne, Jayden Bogle, Hugo Ekitike, Josko Gvardiol (likely to be out for several weeks at least, after surgery on a cracked tibia), Ruben Dias. Jacob Murphy, John Victor, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Wilson Isidor, Mo Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, Joao Gomes, Hwang Hee-Chan.

At least there ae no new suspensions to worry about for this game. And Xavi Simons. Moises Caicedo and Ethan Ampadu are available again after serving their bans.]

Do we have any players who are dropped, or not looking likely to get the starts we hoped for?

Villa face a major headache for their visit to Arsenal, with three key players, Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash, and Boubacar Kamara all having to serve one-match bans for accumulating 5 yellow cards for the season. [Correction: I was relying on the usually reliable Fantasy Football Scout, but they had earlier been saying Konsa had earned a ban as well, and I didn't have time to do an independent check; turns out they were in error on that, and have subsequently amended that detail.]

Wolves central defensive midfielder André has also reached that suspension threshold. 

These are the players still at risk of an imminent suspension from totting-up (though if they can survive this gameweek, they're then in the clear again for a while).

Xavi Simons is serving the second part of his three-match ban for clogging his countryman Virgil Van Dijk the other week.

Igor Julio is only on loan from Brighton, so can't represent West Ham against his parent club.

Ebere Eze wasn't even on the bench for the Brighton game, which gives some grounds for speculation as to a possible rift with the manager over his sudden lack of minutes since Odegaard's return.

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

Bournemouth, Palace, hitherto high-flying Sunderland, and - despite their narrow, fortuitous win against Palace on Saturday - Spurs all still look as though they're in a bit of a nosedive in form just at the moment. And West Ham and Burnley are starting to look as if they will soon be joining Wolves as irredeemably doomed to relegation barely into the second half of the season. I don't think I'd be touching any of these teams with a bargepole at the moment, even for bench players (except for Semenyo, possibly; he's catching fire again, and looking like the one bright spot for The Cherries).

Did anyone play so well, you have to consider bringing them in immediately?

Patrick Dorgu was superb in the dogged win over Newcastle at Old Trafford on Friday night., and it's always especially attractive to find an FPL 'defender' employed as an outright attacker (could we be seeing this year's 'Stuart Dallas Moment'??). But United's form under Amorim always seems too fragile to trust for FPL, even when they do string together a few good results. Can we rely on the flakey Portuguese to use that much more effective 4-2-3-1 lineup ever again? Or to use Dorgu as the wide attacker on the right again (or on the left; anywhere up-front where he can provide an attacking threat will do!), even if he does?? Amorim seems to insist on changing something every game - especially when there's absolutely no need to. [Yes, indeed, United reverted to the 3-4-3, with Dorgu as a much more defensive left wing-back again, for Gameweek 19's floundering draw against Wolves.]

Of course, it's nice to see Ollie Watkins finally find his scoring boots again; but any enthusiasm for a possible immediate turnaround in his season should be tempered by the reflection that he was only used as an impact sub against Chelsea,... and that they're up against Arsenal next,.... and missing a couple of their usual starters due to suspension.

The other outstanding performance of last weekend was from Brentford's Kevin Schade - although he's actually been playing pretty well for most of the season. And all of that attacking trident of Lewis-Potter, Thiago, and Schade look bang on it at the moment.

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!

Dilemmas of the Week - GW18 (25/26)

With the only midweek game this week being the last of the League Cup quarter-finals between Arsenal and Crystal Palace this Tuesday, most clubs have gone through nearly a full week of no football (and probably not much training!), so there are not many newly emerging injury worries for this gameweek - apart from the few players who got crocked in last weekend's batch of games. However, December is invariably the most unpredictable month of the season (well, except insofar as it's predictably disappointing for FPL managers every year!), and the 'holiday weekend' is typically the most random gameweek of the entire year. Most teams have had briefer or more irregular training this week, as they try to allow their players a little bit of time with their families. Some players may have indulged ever so slightly in over-eating or eating less healthy foods than usual, and perhaps even having a naughty glass or two of alcohol; and even the ones who have been super-disciplined about that are.... probably not quite 100% focused on their football just at the moment. (For one thing, many players have young children, who probably woke them up ridiculously early yesterday morning!)

So, absolutely anything could happen in this next set of games; and it's almost certainly again not going to be a good week to risk playing any of the bonus chips (although many FPL managers may have to, because they haven't yet found any especially propitious moment to use all the extra chips we were given this year, and have now run out of time to do so). Moreover, it's a particularly unpromising set of fixtures to be risking a chip in, even if it had come at a less difficult time of the year: almost all of this weekend's fixtures are uncannily evenly matched: only Liverpool v Wolves and Forest v City look like having an obvious outcome.

I'm trying to streamline these weekly round-ups a bit from last year, restricting myself for the most part to just the injuries etc. affecting players that are likely to have a major significance in FPL; and also, of course, only to new injuries - I figure everyone should be aware of players who've already been ruled out for some time!  

[For some years, I have found the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information; although this site, Premier League Injuries, is a very good alternative (often a little quicker to update, I think - though it did go through a bit of a glitchy period for a while last year).  Go check these out for more comprehensive coverage. 

I see the Fantasy Premier League site has added an improved 'Player Availability' page this year (though hidden under 'The Scout' tab?!). That also seems to be reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date, but god knows how it's supposed to be 'organised' - maybe by 'date of injury'? Obviously, arranging it by club and alphabetical order would be more sensible; but the denizens of FPL Towers seem to have a deep aversion to the sensible.]

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 18?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

Piero Hincapie picked up a knock in the Everton game last weekend, and was unable to take part in the midweek Cup game against Palace; he seems likely to be out for a little while. At least Saliba seems to be fit to make a regular return, so Arsenal's crisis in central defence isn't yet acute - but it does seem likely that Calafiori or Timber will have to be moved into central defence (and the other of the two assigned to the right-back role), creating the prospect for Myles Lewis-Skelly to get a few starts on the left at last.

Jan-Paul van Hecke missed the game against Sunderland last week with illness, but was expected to be back in training at the end of this week. (There has been a lot of transfer talk around him lately, though; so, there is a danger that a move to another club next month, or the possibility of such, may soon rule him out.)

Burnley defender Maxime Esteve missed last week with a training knock; supposedly back with the team now, but still doubtful for this weekend. (He was actually a very popular FPL pick early in the season because of his low starting price, and still features in nearly 11% of squads.)

Palace's Eddie Nketiah and Chris Richards both suffered knocks in the Tuesday night Cup defeat to Arsenal. Nketiah's seems minor, and he might be available for the Spurs game, at least off the bench. But a painful blow on the foot for Richards needed him to be taken off on a stretcher, and although not as serious as first feared, it does seem likely to keep him out for a week or two. That leaves Palace rather short in defence, and it's probable that someone like Jefferson Lerma will have to deputise on the right side of the back-three.

Harry Wilson, a recently very popular FPL pick, had to come off in Monday night's game against Forest with a knock to his knee, but Marco Silva sounds modestly confident that he'll be OK this weekend.

Conor Bradley again had to come off with an injury against Spurs last week; no news on the nature of that problem, but he was not expected to be able to train at all this week. Fortunately, it looks like Frimpong may finally be ready for regular minutes again - although he's not the strongest defensively, and that could be a problem with Liverpool are still struggling to steady the ship after an horrendous couple of months. Alexander Isak looked likely to be out for the season after a heavy collision with Micky Van de Ven, in the act of scoring his goal last week, visibly twisted his leg and surely inflicted massive stress on both his left ankle and knee. Fortunately, the knee ligaments seem to have come through somehow intact, and although he needed surgery on the ankle (including setting a cracked bone just above the joint), Slot is optimistic that he could return to action by the end of the season.

The biggest injury news ot the week is surely that Bruno Fernandes (the 5th most-owned midfielder in the game) had to come off at half-time in Sunday night's game at Villa, after suffering a hamstring strain; it seems not too serious, but may keep him out for at least a couple of weeks. Curiously, it looks as though returning centre-back Lisandro Martinez might replace him in the middle alongside Casemiro rather than the struggling Manuel Ugarte (Mason Mount could also do a job there, but they probably need him up-front at the moment) - although, given Amorim's relentless penchant for varying his selections every week, perhaps they'll just randomly cycle through each of their defenders in turn as a makeshift holding midfielder (I can see Luke Shaw being quite a decent fit for the role)...

Tino Livramento had to come off with a knee injury in the League Cup against Fulham just over a week ago; Eddie Howe is hopeful that it's not too serious after all, but it still needs further assessment. Lewis Miley seems likely to continue to deputise at right-back, since the club doesn't have any other fit defenders now.

Forest winger Dan Ndoye had to miss Monday's game against Fulham with a training injury; not too serious, but going to keep him out this weekend.

Wolves defenders Toti and Hugo Bueno missed the Brentford game last week with training injuries; Bueno's seems not too bad, and he's already rejoined training, but Toti apparently has quite a bad hamstring strain and could be out for several weeks.

Do we have any players who are dropped, or not looking likely to get the starts we hoped for?

Double trouble for poor Spurs as Xavi Simons picked up a three-match 'violent conduct' ban last week for clumsily raking his studs down the back of Virgil Van Dijk's calf, while Cristian Romero earned a one-match ban for two yellow cards in the same game (and was really very lucky it wasn't more, as his petulant jerking of his shin into Konate's chest when they were sitting on the ground beside each other could easily have also been construed as 'violent conduct').

And Sunderland's Luke O'Nien is serving the last part of his three-game ban this week.

At least Dominik Szoboszlai is the only new player to pick up a suspension for amassing 5 yellow cards. But we still have two gameweeks to go before the mid-season amnesty on 'totting up'; these are the players still at risk of an imminent suspension.

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

Spurs and Forest players are starting to look like poison at the moment...

Did anyone play so well, you have to consider bringing them in immediately?

There are some interesting new possibilities opening up in defence, with Keane Lewis-Potter at Brentford (a 'defender' now starting as part of the attacking trident, and looking very confident in front of goal) and Antonee Robinson (back at last from a long injury absence, and likely to get as many minutes as he can stand, now that his positional rival Ryan Sessegnon is out of the picture for a little while), who is immediately reminding us that he's probably the best crosser of a ball among all the league's full-backs, Lewis Hall finally back for Newcastle, and Tyrick Mitchell suddenly enjoying a lot more prominence in games now that his more illustrious partner Munoz is off the scene for a few weeks. Although Bournemouth overall have been in a worrying slump, Antoine Semenyo has continued to look outstanding, and seems to have now recovered his goal magic once more. And Dominic Calvert-Lewin has found a nice vein of goalscoring form lately; but he's never historically managed to keep those going for very long, and although Leeds are enjoying quite a resurgence in their last few outings, they still don't have any truly 'easy' games - and at least 3 or 4 of their next 6 matches are likely to be really hard.

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!

Dilemmas of the Week - GW17 (25/26)

After the frenzy of quickfire fixtures around the turn of the month, followed for several teams by a highly consequential sixth tie in the group phase of the European competitions, being 'back to normal' for a little while now feels tremendously restful - really quite a little holiday. But of course, things start getting a bit crazy again at the end of next week. And even this week, we had 5 Premier League teams - Chelsea, Newcastle, Fulham, City and Brentford - involved in League Cup Quarter-Finals, which have taken a further little toll in injuries. And Palace and Arsenal's tie in that competition is still to come, next Tuesday. (If England's football authorities were to take one step to slightly ease the insane fixture congestion in the modern game, I really don't think anyone would mind seeing this competition being restricted - as its name already implies - to just those clubs competing under the umbrella of the English Football League, i.e., the top three tiers of the game outside of the Premier League [which is a separate and superior entity]. Many Premier League teams would obviously prefer to exit the event fairly quickly; and almost all of them regularly field a 'B side', at least until the latter stages, demonstrating that none of them really care all that much about it.)

Also, most clubs will be reeling from having lost a key player or two (or, in some cases, even more) to the African Cup of Nations, which kicks off this Sunday. That is a further element of unpredictability we have to grapple with this weekend!

I'm trying to streamline these weekly round-ups a bit from last year, restricting myself for the most part to just the injuries etc. affecting players that are likely to have a major significance in FPL; and also, of course, only to new injuries - I figure everyone should be aware of players who've already been ruled out for some time!  

[For some years, I have found the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information; although this site, Premier League Injuries, is a very good alternative (often a little quicker to update, I think - though it did go through a bit of a glitchy period for a while last year).  Go check these out for more comprehensive coverage. 

I see the Fantasy Premier League site has added an improved 'Player Availability' page this year (though hidden under 'The Scout' tab?!). That also seems to be reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date, but god knows how it's supposed to be 'organised' - maybe by 'date of injury'? Obviously, arranging it by club and alphabetical order would be more sensible; but the denizens of FPL Towers seem to have a deep aversion to the sensible.]

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 17?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

The inevitable surge in seasonal injuries has really begun to kick in big time, with Ben White, Daichi Kamada, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Jack Grealish, Joe Gomez, and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde all having to come off in last weekend's games with pulled thigh-muscles. No clear news on any of them yet, I don't think; all seem likely to be kept on the sidelines for at least 3 weeks or so, but it could be 2 months or more if any of them prove to be serious cases. We also saw Dominic Szoboszlai limping from a heavy knock to the ankle in the Brighton game. Dan Burn, who had to come off against Sunderland after taking a heavy blow to the ribs, is apparently going to be out of action for 4-6 weeks (so, presumably he must have broken some ribs?). Jeremy Doku, who was a surprise late omission from City's match against Palace after a training mishap, has now been confirmed as being likely to miss about 2 weeks with a leg injury. And Bournemouth's Tyler Adams came off in Monday night's thriller at Old Trafford; Iraola said he thought it was an MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament) problem rather than ACL, and not too serious - but it could still keep him out for a few weeks at least.

Danny Welbeck has been struggling with a sore back and hasn't trained much this week, but Hurzeler is modestly hopeful he might be OK this weekend.

Igor Thiago and Jordan Henderson are also both struggling with knocks which kept them out of the midweek League Cup defeat by City. Oscar Bobb came off very early in that match; apparently yet another hamstring injury.

Estevao also had to miss the midweek League Cup game with a minor muscle injury; he is expected to be able to play again after Christmas.

As well as being without Dan Burn, Newcastle had to rest Lewis Hall for the League Cup game against Fulham because of some ominous tightness in the thigh, and he's still considered doubtful for this weekend. And Tino Livramento had to come off in the Fulham game with a knee injury that looks as if it might be at least moderately serious. With Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth already on the injury list, and not expected to be able to return for at least another couple of weeks, it appears that Newcastle no longer have any specialist full-backs available to them - unless they promote someone from the youth team. (Lewis Miley did a decent job filling in at right-back in the League Cup game, but I wouldn't expect that to be a regular assignment.) I wonder if Howe might switch to a back-three for a while, and try to deploy players like Gordon, Ramsey, Willock or Murphy, or maybe even Elanga, as wing-backs rather than wide attacking players. And at least Yoane Wissa is now available again as an additional attacking option, having played well and scored a fine poacher's goal in the League Cup victory.

Fulham's Sasa Lukic also had to be withdrawn at half-time in that League Cup game with tightness in the groin; though that might have been just 'precautionary'.

Forest midfielder Nicolas Dominguez had to miss last week's win over Spurs with an unspecified knee problem, and goalkeeper Matz Sels also had to give way to his understudy John Victor because of a sore groin muscle.

It's a lucky FPL manager who isn't going to be missing at least 1 of those. Actually, that would be extraordinarily lucky! You're pretty fortunate if you've only got 2 or 3 players here wiped out or extremely doubtful for this week. [This is why it's so dangerous to try to play a Bench Boost in the bleak midwinter.]

Do we have any players who are dropped, or not looking likely to get the starts we hoped for?

Jadon Sancho is still a Manchester United player, so can't turn out for Villa against them on Sunday (though Emery hasn't been making much use of him anyway).

Lewis Dunk, Diego Gomez, Casemiro, and Yerson Mosquera are the latest players to earn a one-match ban for picking up a 5th booking of the season. Here the other players now getting close to a 'totting up' suspension.

Sunderland's Luke O'Nien is serving the second part of his three-match ban for a sending-off for 'serious foul play' near the end of the City game a fortnight ago.

Sunderland are likely to be particularly hard-hit by the AFCON departures, losing their midfield lynchpin Sadiki and their first-choice left-back Reinildo, as well as the more intermittently used Talbi, Traore, Masuaku, and Diarra (although at least they'll still have Simon Adingra still avaiable, as he was unexpectedly omitted from the Ivory Coast squad - because he's been getting so few minutes thus far at Sunderland). Manchester United have to do without their only regular goalscorer so far, Mbeumo, as well as wide attacker Amad and back-up defender Mazraoui, while West Ham are losing their preferred full-backs on both sides, Wan-Bissaka and Diouf,; Everton will surely suffer without the influential Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye, and already struggling Fulham could perhaps implode without their influential Nigerian trio of Bassey, Iwobi, and Chukwueze.

Brentford lose Dango Ouattara and Frank Onyeka, Brighton their commanding midfield stopper Baleba, Burnley lose Tuanzebe, Foster, and Hannibal (though he's currently banned anyway),  Palace lose Ismaila Sarr, Liverpool lose Salah, City lose Marmoush and Ait-Nouri (although the latter hasn't been getting any game time anyway), Spurs lose Pape Sarr and Bissouma, while Forest must do without Sangaré (who was superb in the Spurs game last week) and back-up defender Boly.

The 'good news' is that few FPL managers owned any of these anyway, apart from Bryan Mbeumo. And the 'jolly super news' was that 3 of the next most popular African players in FPL so far this year, Antoine Semenyo and Mo Kudus (Ghana) and Yankuba Minteh (Gambia) missed out on qualifying for the tournament this year.

As I observed a few weeks ago, the main impact of AFCON on our FPL fortunes this time around is not going to be felt in the players we lose from our teams (few, if any) but in the effects it may have on the Premier League sides who lose key players; form is going to be even more uncertain, match results even more unpredictable for the next few weeks. At least most of these players should be back again in time for Gameweek 21, kicking off on the 7th January. But any who make it through to the knockout stages won't be available again GW22 or GW23 - perhaps even GW24 for the Finalists.

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

Fortunately, no. But - even with FPL's generous Early Christmas Present of extra Free Transfers last week! - I doubt if any of us enjoy the luxury of being able to drop someone this week just for showing dodgy form. It seems likely that every available transfer is going to be needed to address injury and suspension issues over the next few weeks.

Did anyone play so well, you have to consider bringing them in immediately?

Well, Phil Foden does appear to have become the season's 3rd 'essential' pick (after Haaland, and an Arsenal defender...) - even though it's almost certain that he won't produce half as many points over the next 5 or 6 gameweeks as he just has in that remarkable fortnight around the turn of the month! But damn, Rayan Cherki has been looking very, very good of late as well (if you fancy going against the tide...). Harry Wilson and Bruno Fernandes are also justifiably popular picks this week, after a storming run of form over the past 4 gameweeks (trouble is, really hot streaks like this rarely last more than 4 games...). Hugo Ekitike and Morgan Rogers are also being heavily transferred in; but, although they've been playing superbly, I doubt if there's reliable long-term FPL value in them: Villa have been massively over-performing, and are due a downward blip, while Liverpool are only just starting to sort themselves out - and may now be facing another step backwards, without Szoboszlai, Gakpo, Salah, or any recognised right-back [ah, I forgot Bradley's fit again; so, things aren't quite that bad...].  [Well, I was 'wrong' about Villa and Morgan Rogers; they keep grinding out the wins, even without playing that well - which is usually a sign of a potential champion! I'm still a bit wary about young Morgan for FPL, though; he's been in a super-hot little spell of form lately, but he's never in the past been a super-prolific points producer: only a few double-digit hauls per season, almost never gets back-to-back hauls of any sort at all. And I was right about Foden's and Wilson's and Fernandes's streaks coming to an end.]

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!

Dilemmas of the Week - GW16 (25/26)

Not many major new injuries seem to have emerged from this week's European games (but suspensions, especially for accumulated yellow cards, will be a hazard throughout this month), although there are a bothersome number of nebulous 'doubts' - which I feel are even more of a hassle than definite exclusions, because of the complete uncertainty about whether they'll start. Unfortunately, this is not feeling like a good gameweek for a Bench Boost (or even the Free Hit!) because of this. 

And although the European competitions are out of the way for six weeks now, there may still be an increased risk of rotations at Chelsea, Manchester City, Brentford, Newcastle and Fulham, who are all involved in League Cup Quarter-Finals next week, (Arsenal and Crystal Palace don't play their q-f until the Tuesday before Christmas.)

I'm trying to streamline these weekly round-ups a bit from last year, restricting myself for the most part to just the injuries etc. affecting players that are likely to have a major significance in FPL; and also, of course, only to new injuries - I figure everyone should be aware of players who've already been ruled out for some time!  

[For some years, I have found the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information; although this site, Premier League Injuries, is a very good alternative (often a little quicker to update, I think - though it did go through a bit of a glitchy period for a while last year).  Go check these out for more comprehensive coverage. 

I see the Fantasy Premier League site has added an improved 'Player Availability' page this year (though hidden under 'The Scout' tab?!). That also seems to be reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date, but god knows how it's supposed to be 'organised' - maybe by 'date of injury'? Obviously, arranging it by club and alphabetical order would be more sensible; but the denizens of FPL Towers seem to have a deep aversion to the sensible.]

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 16?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

Jurrien Timber supposedly picked up a knock last weekend which resulted in him being a late withdrawal from the midweek game against Brugge; very uncertain whether he'll be OK to start against Wolves on Saturday - and if he can't, Arsenal are getting stretched dangerously thin in central defence (is there a chance Rice or Norgaard might have to deputise there??). Declan Rice also missed the Brugge game because of illness, but the man is a tank and will probably bounce back straight away....?  Young Max Dowman has also picked up an ankle injury in training this week, which sounds moderately serious; he hadn't been getting many minutes so far anyway, but it's unfortunate that he now can't be involved at all until perhaps the end of January.

Emi Martinez suffered a recurrence of his niggling back-strain this week, and had to drop out of the squad for Thursday's game against Basel (and his understudy Marco Bizot really did not impress in that one). And Pau Torres suffered a calf-strain in that game, which looks likely to keep him out this weekend - Villa too are getting stretched very thin at the back; with Mings still unavailable, presumably Victor Lindelof will finally get a chance.

Marcos Senesi had to come off against Chelsea last week, feeling some tightness in his quad muscle - unclear how bad that is, Iraola was trying to be upbeat about it; but yet another 'doubtful' starter for this gameweek.

Liam Delap had to come off against Bournemouth last time after landing heavily on his right shoulder: nothing broken or dislocated apparently, but still likely to be out for a few weeks (he hadn't been playing very well anyway, and Marc Guiu really deserves a run of starts in his place; although if Palmer is now starting in the middle, Joao Pedro might shift back into a more conventional No. 9 spot). Wesley Fofana is also a doubt, having had to come off with vision problems after being kicked in the face in Tuesday's defeat at Atalanta; it sounds like it was bruising around the eye that was the problem rather than a concussion, but the 'protocols' might still be in play - and even the eye problem might not be trivial: another big doubt for the weekend. Cole Palmer was omitted from the trip to Italy, but that appears to have been merely precautionary, as he's feeling his way back from a long absence; he lasted nearly an hour against Bournemouth last week, and appeared to be moving easily.

Daniel Munoz had to have surgery on the 'minor' knee problem that unexpectedly kept him out of last week's game: probably just a cartilage issue, as he's apparently expected back in just a month or so. Jean-Philippe Mateta was omitted from Thursday's Conference League match in Ireland due to an ongoing knee niggle, but Glasner doesn't seem to think it will keep him out of the City match.

Ryan Sessegnon missed the Palace game last week because of a hamstring strain suffered in training; not too serious, but going to keep him out this week as well.

Cody Gakpo suffered a muscle injury of some kind against Leeds last week, and is now expected to be out for some weeks. At least this eases much of the uncertainty around Slot's selections: presumably Isak is now safe for a while as the No. 9 (and that might give him the confidence to rediscover his form of last year?), while the much better Ekitike can be guaranteed a regular start on the left, and Wirtz will operate more centrally - where he's likely to be more dangerous. Back-up midfielder Endo Wattara has also suffered an ankle injury in training, which will make him unavailable for a while.

John Stones has suffered yet another leg muscle problem, and is likely to be out for some weeks. He's only been a very occasional starter for City anyway; but this is an unfortunate setback for his England hopes.

Matthijs de Ligt missed last week with a back problem, and seems to be still not right now. Benjamin Sesko was apparently ready to be considered for a return after being out for over a month with a knee problem, but somehow came down with a bout of food poisoning this week. (The things people will do to avoid playing for Ruben Amorim...!!)

Joelinton had to come off in the midweek game against Leverkusen with a groin strain. Will that mean another start for Lewis Miley - or Joe Willock?

Matz Sels has also been suffering with a tight groin and was rested for the Europa League match against Utrecht - but Dyche is hoping he'll be OK again for the weekend.

Destiny Udogie missed last week's game against Brentford, and it's now been confirmed he has a hamstring strain which will keep him out for at least a few weeks.

Two of Wolves's more dangerous players, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Marshall Munetsi, both suffered muscle injuries in Monday's game against United, and look likely to miss at least the next six weeks.

Do we have any players who are dropped, or not looking likely to get the starts we hoped for?

Sunderland's Luke O'Nien is beginning a three-match ban for a 'serious foul play' red card last week against City. Moises Caicedo and Lewis Cook are serving the last part of their three-match bans this week. Burnley's Lucas Pires has a one-match ban for his 'denial of a goalscoring opportunity' offence against Newcastle. And their occasional midfielder Hannibal has just received a four-match ban for spitting at Leeds supporters in a game back in October.

Riccardo Calafiori, Kyle Walker, Kevin Schade, and Conor Bradley are the latest players to be suspended for picking up a fifth yellow card of the season. Here are the other players now getting close to a 'totting up' suspension.

Mo Salah has reportedly had 'peace talks' with Arne Slot; but given the extent of the rift between them, it seems unlikely that these can achieve much. In fact, Mo's latest mutterings seem to be suggesting that he'll only be turning up at Anfield today to 'say goodbye' to the fans. He hasn't been remotely worth having for FPL this season anyway; but, sadly, it does rather look as if his time at Liverpool is over.

It was widely expected that players competing in the African Cup of Nations tournament would have to depart at some point during the last week; but, after much manoeuvring behind the scenes as clubs have lobbied hard for players to be allowed to stay with them as long as possible, FIFA seems to have decided that their clubs don't have to release them until Monday 15th December, less than a week before the tournament kicks off. (And Manchester United have crowbarred themselves a further dispensation that will allow their trio of Mbeumo, Diallo, and Mazraoui to remain with them for their game against Bournemouth on Monday evening.) So,... none of these players should be missing this weekend. But we'll lose quite a few for Gameweek 17.

Did anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

As I predicted some weeks ago, Ebere Eze looks to have been instantly marginalised by Martin Odegaard's return; he's much less significantly involved if having to start out on the left - and last week was so ineffectual against Villa that he was replaced by Trossard at half-time.

Jean-Philippe Mateta, as I also foresaw, has been pretty unimpressive of late; and there are certainly a number of far stronger forward options you might replace him with.

Did anyone play so well, you have to consider bringing them in immediately?

Fulham players are suddenly becoming very appealing assets, because of their upcoming trio of 'gimme' fixtures; Harry Wilson is the most-favoured option there, but as a possible alternative, I particularly like the prospects for Emile Smith Rowe - and also United's Mason Mount, and Newcastle's Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall.

Phil Foden is on a hot streak, of course; but those tend to burn out very quickly - and he has become rather over-popular. I still fancy Jeremy Doku or Rayan Cherki (although he was chided by Pep last week for his impudent Rabona cross to set up Foden's headed goal!!) as potentially stronger picks from City for the long-term.

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!

Dilemmas of the Week - Gameweek 15 (25/26)

Amazingly, we seem to have been spared too many new injury concerns in this packed week of league fixtures (although suspensions, especially for accumulated yellow cards, will be a hazard throughout this month), so this rundown can once more be a relatively concise one.

I'm trying to streamline these weekly round-ups a bit from last year, restricting myself for the most part to just the injuries etc. affecting players that are likely to have a major significance in FPL; and also, of course, only to new injuries - I figure everyone should be aware of players who've already been ruled out for some time!  

[For some years, I have found the 'Injuries & Bans' summary on Fantasy Football Scout the most reliable resource for this kind of information; although this site, Premier League Injuries, is a very good alternative (often a little quicker to update, I think - though it did go through a bit of a glitchy period for a while last year).  Go check these out for more comprehensive coverage. 

I see the Fantasy Premier League site has added an improved 'Player Availability' page this year (though hidden under 'The Scout' tab?!). That also seems to be reasonably comprehensive and up-to-date, but god knows how it's supposed to be 'organised' - maybe by 'date of injury'? Obviously, arranging it by club and alphabetical order would be more sensible; but the denizens of FPL Towers seem to have a deep aversion to the sensible.]

So, what are the conundrums we face ahead of Gameweek 15 of the season?

Does anybody need to be moved out because of injury?

Christhian Mosquera suffered a leg injury in the game against Brentford in midweek (still not clear exactly what, or how serious, but seems likely to keep him out for a few weeks at least). With Saliba still doubtful, it seems likely that Timber will now play alongside Hincapie in the centre, making room for Ben White to return at right-back (he started there anyway on Wednesday - apparently just to give Timber a rest - and turned in a 'Man of the Match' performance!); but both of those could be very short-term assignments: once Saliba is back, it's quite likely that Timber and White will again be contesting, and perhaps rotating the right-back slot. Declan Rice also had to come off with a knock in that Wednesday night game, but it doesn't sound too serious.

Emi Martinez was a last-minute withdrawal from the Wednesday game against Brighton with a back problem, so it seems likely that Marco Bizot will continue to deputise for him for a little while.

Yasin Ayari also had to miss out on that Villa match with a muscle strain suffered in training. And the young Greek striker Stefanos Tzimas had to come off in that game with a knee injury that might be quite serious.

Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe missed out on the Wednesday game against Palace because of a training knock, and is expected to be out for a couple of weeks. (This might actually be to Burnley's advantage, if it spares him from an AFCON call-up... Conspiracy theorists might indeed speculate that the injury is purely fictitious.)

Sandro Tonali may be a slight doubt, after apparently suffering a dead-leg in the game against Spurs.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffered a calf-strain in the surprise win over Chelsea, and could now be out for a few weeks, while Leeds's first-choice striker, Lukas Nmecha, might be out even longer after apparently pulling a hamstring in that match. Presumably, Joel Piroe will now finally get a chance to start up front for them.

Matthijs de Ligt missed out on Thursday's West Ham game with a training knock, but Amorim hopes he might be OK again to face Wolves on Monday night. If he's not, United are getting stretched a bit thin at the back! Diogo Dalot was also struggling with a leg-muscle problem at the end of the West Ham game, but that appears to be not too serious....

Destiny Udogie hasn't quite got back to his best since his return from injury, and appeared to be limping heavily at the end of Tuesday's draw at Newcastle - so, might give way to Djed Spence again this weekend.

Wolves left-back Hugo Bueno missed the Forest game in midweek because of a back-muscle problem, and Marshall Munetsi suffered a calf-strain in that match (although the cynic in me again suspects the club are playing up that one to try to get him out of going to AFCON with Zimbabwe)

Does anyone give other cause to consider dropping them?

Bournemouth's Tyler Adams, Everton's Tim Iroegbunam and Wolves's Joao Gomes are the latest players to have to miss a match for collecting a 5th yellow card. These are the other players now getting close to a 'totting up' suspension.

Moises Caicedo and Ryan Christie have the second instalment of their three-match 'violent conduct' bans this weekend, and Idrissa Gueye is serving the last part of his suspension for slapping Michael Keane for a loose pass out of defence.

West Ham defender Igor Julio is on loan from Brighton, so ineligible to turn out against the parent club this week.

Did anyone play so well, you have to consider bringing them in immediately?

'The Sheep', of course, are getting terribly excited about Phil Foden. But I'm still nervous of Pep Roulette, especially at this very busy time of year (and especially because, in recent years, Pep has often seemed to bench him, for no obvious reason, precisely when he's appeared to be coming into top form - almost as if he just doesn't want him to get too big for his boots?!). I still think City's team form isn't stable enough for it to be worth betting on more than one of their midfielders (and maybe not more than one of their players from any position in addition to the, for now, still 'essential' Haaland), and Jeremy Doku still looks likely to be the most regular and reliable points scorer from them. But with a make-or-break Champions League game away to Real Madrid next Wednesday, this weekend's selection at The Etihad is even more of a lottery than usual; it does seem dangerously likely that several top players - perhaps even Haaland - will get only fairly short minutes, or perhaps remain on the bench throughout.

The imminent Early Christmas Present of extra transfers to help us get over AFCON means that this weekend, Gameweek 15, could in effect be a mini-Free Hit: we are incentivised to use all our existing transfers at once (to gain maximum advantage from the extra ones available after the deadline passes), but we could undo all those changes again immediately the next week if we wanted to (the splurge of additional Free Transfers in GW16 being effectively a mini-Wildcard for that gameweek, or one of the ones soon following).

AFCON itself is not likely to be directly much of an issue (apart from Salah [why does anyone still own him??], Mbeumo is the only high-owned player affected; Semenyo and Kudus are not taking part in this year's tournament), although it may lead to some interesting fluctuations of form and revision of team selections in teams that are losing key players.

Also - REMEMBER, the 1st Round of the FPL Cup is this weekend!!

BEST OF LUCK, EVERYONE!