FPL Gameweek 14 – Fixtures, Team News, Press Conference Quotes & Predicted Line-ups

Ahead of Saturday's 11:30 deadline, we have combed through all the Premier League press conferences to bring FPL managers the need-to-know team news, injury updates and predicted XIs for GW14.

The Stats Zone's other Gameweek 14 content can be found on our Fantasy section!

GAMEWEEK 14 FIXTURES

Saturday 30^th November

Newcastle v Man City (12:30)

Burnley v Crystal Palace (15:00)

Chelsea v West Ham (15:00)

Liverpool v Brighton (15:00)

Spurs v Bournemouth (15:00)

Southampton v Watford (17:30)

Sunday 1^st December

Norwich v Arsenal (14:00)

Wolves v Sheffield Utd (14:00)

Leicester v Everton (16:30)

Man Utd v Aston Villa (16:30)

TEAM NEWS & PREDICTED LINE-UPS

ARSENAL

• The big news from Arsenal is that Unai Emery has left the club following a poor run of form, with Freddie Ljungberg taking over on a ninterim basis. Given Arsenal are not due to give a press conference on Friday, we will have to look at the their Europa League match midweek for guidance over who will potentially start on Saturday.
• Both Shkodran Mustafi (£5.2m) and David Luiz (£5.8m) picked up injuries during the Europa League defeat at home to Frankfurt. Prior to his sacking, Emery provided an update on the pair directly following the match: "Yes, I don't know exactly now but they couldn't finish that match and we are going to watch for tomorrow for how they are for Sunday."
• Granit Xhaka (£5.2m) also returned to the starting XI midweek after putting his issues with the club behind him. Given his experience at the club, he could be in line to start at the weekend: “It's very good news with Granit and the normality. He played, he helped and the supporters also, I think they are also helping him and I think it's good news.”
• Elsewhere on the injury front, Dani Ceballos (£5.3m) is the only confirmed absentee while doubts continue to circulate over Hector Bellerin (£5.4m), Rob Holding (£4.5m) and Sead Kolasinac (£5.3m).

ASTON VILLA

• Dean Smith has an almost fully-fit squad to choose from ahead of the trip to Old Trafford. After concerns were raised over his availability, Bjorn Engels (£4.5m) has been passed fit by the manager: "Bjorn Engels is fine, he's trained everyday so far. He just felt he hasn't right to give us 90 mins if required against Newcastle. So I didn't put him on the bench. He trained all week and should be available for selection."
• Elsewhere, both Jota (£5.8m) and Keinan Davis (£4.4m) are stepping up their return to full fitness: "Jota has been training fairly regular for the last 2/3 weeks. He'll probably need some match minutes now. Keinan Davis starts jogging on Monday, so that's great news for us. He's pain-free so hopefully he'll be back in the next 2/3 weeks as well."

BOURNEMOUTH

• Eddie Howe gave an update on a number of injured players in his pre match presser on Friday. Firstly, Bournemouth will be still be without Josh King (£6.2m) for the match against Spurs as the forward his yet to recover from a hamstring niggle: “Joshua is still out,” began Howe.
• That could see Dominic Solanke (£5.3m), who has recovered from a hamstring issue picked up during the half-time warm-up against Wolves, feature: “He was then warming up again at half time and felt that he couldn’t sprint. He had a scan on Monday and that came back all clear, so he should be okay for the weekend’s game.”
• David Brooks (£6.3m) is another who is still missing but Howe is hopeful Ryan Fraser (£7.0m) will be available after returning to training following a dead leg: “We haven’t seen David Brooks on the training ground just yet either and the long-termers are still unavailable. Ryan Fraser got a knock on his leg, a dead leg really. We didn’t see him at training in the early part of this week, but hopefully he’ll be okay.”
• Finally, both Simon Francis (£4.4m) and Philip Billing (£5.0m) will miss the match at the weekend through suspension. Francis will likely be replaced in the starting XI by Chris Mepham (£4.3m), whereas Jefferson Lerma (£4.8m) should come in for Billing.

BRIGHTON

• Graham Potter has confirmed that Aaron Connolly (£4.7m) will be available for the weekend after the forward returned to training this week. Bernardo (£4.3m) is another who is getting close to a return but Saturday will come too soon for the defender: "Aaron Connolly is back in the squad and training now too, Bernardo got his first 45 minutes last night but Saturday will come a bit too soon for him."
• In less positive news, Solly March (£4.7m) is set to miss out after feeling some tightness in his groin throughout the week. Given the games are set to come thick and fast, Potter may edge on the side of caution when it comes to risking the midfielder: "We've got Solly March who has a bit of tightness in his groin so he's doubtful at the moment for the weekend.”
• Lewis Dunk (£4.6m) is set to return to the matchday squad after missing the last match through suspension. His return could see Shane Duffy (£4.9m) drop back to the bench.
  

BURNLEY

• Sean Dyche will still be without Johann Berg Gudmundsson (£5.9m) for the weekend as the Icelandic international has been ruled out for the foreseeable future. Along with Gudmundsson, Ashley Westwood (£5.4m) is also unavailable after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season against Watford.
• Jeff Hendrick (£5.4m) is likely to partner Jack Cork (£5.0m) in central midfield, though Danny Drinkwater (£4.4m) is also in the manager's thinking after the midfielder has "worked well" in his recovery from an ankle injury: "His sharpness is improving, so he's in the mix."

CHELSEA

• Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has declared Tammy Abraham (£8.0m) out of the weekend match against West Ham but has given no timescale on his return: “We will know by the end of the weekend, he won’t be available for tomorrow. It is a squad game, the lads have been training well and when opportunities come they are ready.” In Abraham’s absence, Michy Batshuayi (£6.6m) is set to lead the line, although Oliver Giroud (£6.6m) is another option.
• Lampard also provided an update on Antonio Rudiger’s (£6.0m) bid to return to fitness: "He's getting closer, had a really good week's work. The reality is that he's not played for a very long time, so it's a mini pre-season now the injury seems to be over. Now we need to get him properly fit. Days and weeks rather than months."
• There was no update on the progress of Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.7m) by Lampard in his presser after stating earlier in the week ahead of the Valencia match that he would “hopefully be better for the weekend.” Both Ross Barkley (£5.6m), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£6.4m) remain in the treatment room.
• Mason Mount (£6.7m) has been restricted to bench appearances in Chelsea's last two matches - against Man City in Gameweek 13 and Valencia in the Champions League midweek - so the English international will be hopeful of a return to the starting XI.

CRYSTAL PALACE

• Roy Hodgson has provided an update on the fitness of Joel Ward (£4.5m) after the defender limped off early against Liverpool: "We’ve recovered well. It is of course only Joel Ward, who was taken off, and his injury I’m afraid will keep him out for a number of weeks, but he’s the only one at the moment." Martin Kelly (£4.1m) is set to step back into the starting XI after replacing Ward at Liverpool.
• Other than Ward, Hodgson has a clean bill of health and the manager provided encouraging news over Mamadou Sakho's (£5.0m) ever-increasing return to sharpness: "Mamadou has been fine for a while. The last two weeks he’s been training so it’s just a question of getting back, if you like, to the full fitness level he wants to achieve and to do that he’s got to play some matches."

EVERTON

• Marco Silva has revealed that Bernard (£6.4m) is progressing well and may be in line to return to action this weekend: “Bernard is working with the team and did a full session yesterday morning. It is the type of injury where he needs to build confidence and work more days with the team to see how he will react. He is getting better every day and it is possible Bernard will be able to play soon.”
• On the injury front, Fabian Delph (£5.4m), Andre Gomes (£5.3m) and Jean-Philippe Gbamin (£4.8m) are all still sidelined. The trio have been joined in the treatment room by Morgan Schneiderlin (£4.4m) and Theo Walcott (£6.2m), who are both now major doubts for the match against Leicester: "Morgan is a big doubt for the match, Theo the same.” The absence of Walcott could allow Alex Iwobi (£5.7m) a path into the starting XI.
• The bad news just kept on coming as Seamus Coleman (£5.3m) has also been ruled out of the match at the weekend: "And more bad news is that, unfortunately for us, Coleman will be out as well."

LEICESTER

• Brendan Rodgers once again has a fully-fit squad to choose from ahead of their GW14 match against Everton after confirming that Jonny Evans (£5.1m) is fit to play after being brought off early last time out: “He’s fine. It’s a combination of being away with the international team. He’s been training for a few days so he’s fit and ready for the weekend."
• Though Rodgers has a plethora of options at his disposal, it is likely the manager sticks with the same starting XI for a sixth match in succession given the run the side currently find themselves on.

LIVERPOOL

• Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Fabinho (£5.5m) - who is suspended for the match against Brighton anyway - suffered ankle ligament damage in the Champions League match against Napoli midweek and the midfielder is set to be sidelined for the festive period: "It's absolutely bad news. Nothing good to say about that. We are pretty sure he won't be involved in the Christmas fixtures. We have solutions for that position."
• There are a whole host of options available to Klopp to replace the injured Fabinho. After the Brazilian went off midweek, the manager strung James Milner (£5.3m), Jordan Henderson (£5.4m) and Georginio Wijnaldum (£5.4m) across the middle, though Naby Keita (£5.8m), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£6.2m) and Adam Lallana (£5.8m) all provide further options.
• Elsewhere, Joel Matip (£5.3m) is still out with a knee injury and is set to have a scan on his knee on Friday afternoon to see how his recovery is progressing. Dejan Lovren (£5.3m) is set to continue at the back.

MAN CITY

• Manchester City have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match against Newcastle. When asked about the injury situation, the manager said, “Normal situation. The long injuries are still long, the others are fit.” Leroy Sane (£9.3m) and Aymeric Laporte (£6.3m) remain long-term absentees, while Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.2m) and Sergio Aguero (£11.9m) will miss out in the shorter term.
• On the injury to Aguero, Pep stated earlier in the week that he expects the Argentinian to be out for the next couple of weeks, saying it would be a “miracle” if the striker was available for the Manchester derby in Gameweek 16. This should therefore allow Gabriel Jesus (£9.5m) at least three matches as the starting forward, unless Raheem Sterling (£12.0m) is deployed as a false nine, as has been hinted.
• Bernardo Silva (£7.9m) is once again available after serving out a one-match suspension. It will likely be a toss-up between himself and Riyad Mahrez (£8.3m) as to who gets the start. Given Mahrez scored last time out and B. Silva played in the Champions league midweek, it would seem the Algerian is the frontrunner for the spot.

MAN UTD

• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has provided injury updates on a couple of his key players during his press conference. Scott McTominay (£5.1m) could be involved this weekend but should definitely be back for the GW15 match against Spurs: “We hope Scotty will be back as soon as possible, but he’s also been back home and I’ve not seen him. Maybe Spurs but hopefully for Sunday.”
• Paul Pogba (£8.4m) also won’t be available for this weekend but the French midfielder has stepped up his recovery from the ankle injury that has kept him sidelined since September: “Paul is stepping up his recovery and let’s see how soon he’ll be match fit and available. We want him back as soon as possible. Sunday? No. I can’t say now as I’ve not been home and seen him. Let’s see where he’s at when he comes back and he starts training with us.”
• Elsewhere, both Axel Tuanzebe (£4.4m) and Luke Shaw (£5.4m) returned to action in the midweek Europa League tie against Astana and Solskjaer has hinted that Tuanzebe could be in line to start against his former club: “Axel can do the team talk for us! Axel has done fantastic and he’s played for 90 minutes, after five minutes or 10 minutes against Sheffield United as well. He’s fit now and available and, as you said, he did well today.”

NEWCASTLE

• On the injury front, DeAndre Yedlin (£4.4m) is the only addition to the treatment table from the squad Steve Bruce had available to him last Monday night: “We’ve got a problem with DeAndre Yedlin. He’s hurt his hip. Apart from that everybody else is okay.” Yedlin joins long-term absentee, Jamaal Lascelles (£4.4m), on the sidelines.
• Matt Ritchie (£5.3m) is another who is still sidelined and Bruce gave an update on how Ritchie's rehabilitation from surgery to remove a tiny piece of bone from his ankle is going: “We’re devastated and so is he. We did give him a period of rest, he went to see the specialist again and had the operation the next morning. We hope this time he’s back in training in early January.”
• Sean Longstaff (£5.0m) returns to the matchday squad having served out the final match of his suspension. If Bruce does decide to throw the midfielder straight back into the starting XI, then either Isaac Hayden (£4.4m) or Jonjo Shelvey (£5.0m) could be at risk of the seeing the bench: “He’s had to wait a long time for his suspension. Three games has spanned over something like six weeks so it will be good to see him back.”

NORWICH

• Daniel Farke has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Norwich’s match against Arsenal at the weekend. This means that despite being unable to train from Monday – Wednesday, Todd Cantwell (£4.6m) has been declared fit: “Todd Cantwell wasn't able to train from Monday to Wednesday, but he's been back since Thursday, so I think he'll be available for Sunday.”
• Elsewhere, both Grant Hanley (£4.0m), Timm Klose (£4.4m) and Alex Tettey (£4.5m) are all unavailable but Jamal Lewis (£4.5m) could potentially be set to return: “Nothing too special for injuries. Grant Hanley is still on his way back. Timm Klose has a long-term injury. Alex Tettey is not available for private reasons. Jamal Lewis returned to team training this week, but we'll decide how that develops.”
• After securing a first win in eight matches last time out against Everton, it would be surprising to see Farke make any changes to the starting XI other than those that will be forced upon him.

SHEFFIELD UTD

• Chris Wilder will have a fully-fit squad to choose from after confirming that both Lys Mousset (£5.0m) and John Egan (£4.5m) have recovered from their respective injuries: “He’s recovered. We all feared the worst when Lys pulled up. He’s been outstanding for us. He just ran out of gas. The amount of effort he put into that game was phenomenal. Delighted he’ll be involved Sunday.”
• On Egan, Wilder has stated that he will have a battle on his hands to displace Phil Jagelka (£4.2m) from the starting XI: "We should have John Egan back. He’s got to oust Phil Jagielka who I thought was outstanding on Sunday. No issues, a full group travel down to Wolverhampton on Saturday, looking forward to the game on Sunday."
• Wilder will also have Dean Henderson (£4.7m) available again after the keeper was ineligible for the previous match against Man Utd. He will come straight back into the starting XI for Simon Moore (£4.4m).

SOUTHAMPTON

• Ralph Hassenhuttl has a couple of injuries to deal with ahead of the match against Watford. Stuart Armstrong (£5.2m) has been ruled out of the match after failing to recover from a hamstring injury he suffered against Arsenal: "We have a few issue. One is Stuart Armstrong, in the last game at the end he cramped a little. He has a few problems with his hamstrings. He isn't able to play at the weekend. Maybe two weeks he is out - after Newcastle we will look again.”
• Another potential absentee is Sofiane Boufal (£5.5m), who is dealing with a toe ailment: "Sofiane Boufal hit his toe, and hasn't been able to train for three days. It's a bit swollen still. It will be a little bit difficult for the weekend.” With Boufal doubtful, Armstrong is likely to be replaced in the starting XI by Moussa Djenepo (£5.2m), who impressed after coming on from the bench last weekend.

SPURS

• Tottenham have confirmed that they will still be without injured quartet Erik Lamela (£5.8m), Ben Davies (£5.4m), Hugo Lloris (£5.3m) and Michel Vorm (£4.4m) ahead of their 3pm kick-off at home to Bournemouth. Other than that, Jose Mourinho has no fresh injury concerns.
• Mourinho’s first two games in charge of Spurs have shown the good and the bad sides of Tottenham. They were excellent for the first 70 minutes against West Ham last weekend before taking their foot off the gas, while in the midweek Champions league match against Olympiacos, they were listless until Eric Dier (£4.9m) was hauled off after only 29 minutes of action.
• The manager was asked about Dier in the press conference and how he handled being substituted so early: “As I was saying, it's a decision for the team. It was a decision the team needs at the time and he's one of the guys who easily understands that meaning. For him, the team is everything and you find sometimes in football some players when they are more important than the team. Eric is about team, team, team. He understood and he's ready for tomorrow.”
• The boss has also discussed the potential of Giovani Lo Celso (£7.3m) and Tanguy Ndombele (£5.8m) and has said he thinks they need a little time to adapt to the Premier League: “I always think that people who come from abroad, from different leagues need more time to adapt to the Premier League, but great potential and I am more than happy to have them.”

WATFORD

• Quique Sanchez Flores is suffering with a defensive crisis with no fewer than four of his defensive options struggling with injury. Craig Dawson (£4.8m), Christian Kabasele (£4.3m), Daryl Janmaat (£4.4m) and Sebastian Prodl (£4.0m) are all out for the trip to Southampton: “[Dawson] will not be available, he received a couple of cuts in the head and has had stitches.”
• Along with the lack of defenders, Flores will also be without Tom Cleverley (£4.9m), Danny Welbeck (£5.8m) and Roberto Pereyra (£5.6m) with the manager not wanting to risk any players who are struggling with a knock: “It would be a risk to play the player and we are not going to risk any player. We are not this desperate to risk a player, not now and not in the future. We need to respect the players.”
• With all the injuries to the squad, Flores only has two fit centre-backs at his disposal - Craig Cathcart (£4.4m) and Adrian Mariappa (£4.2m) – which could cause a change in formation from 3-5-2 to four at the back.

WEST HAM

• Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that he has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the weekend fixture against Chelsea. There will also be no returnees to the squad so Lukasz Fabianski (£4.9m), Manuel Lanzini (£6.2m) and Jack Wilshere (£4.7m) are all still unavailable for the boss: “One not available is Jack Wilshere. Manuel Lanzini just started working yesterday on the pitch again, but he needs at least one month more without any problems with his shoulder.”
• With question marks over stand-in keeper Roberto (£4.4m), Pellegrini provided a specific update about Fabianski who will still be sidelined for another month or so: “Lukasz Fabianski is continuing with his recovery from his surgery. The diagnosis of Lukasz is clear – after you have surgery, you need some amount of time to recover, so he’s working the same way we expected from the first day. We will see what the doctors say. In his last month, in one month more, you don’t know how he is, but the first date that was around was around Christmas, but we cannot give you an exact date."
• Winston Reid (£3.9m) is another who will be out as the defender continues to build up his fitness, while Issa Diop (£4.5m) will be suspended for Saturday’s match after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season. Pellegrini has revealed than Declan Rice (£4.8m) is set to replace Diop at the heart of the backline: “Declan knows perfectly how to play in that position.” Carlos Sanchez (£4.4m) will likely step into the midfield.

WOLVES

• Nuno Espirito Santo has no fresh injury concerns for the match against Sheffield Utd after everyone returned home from midweek Europa League action in Portugal untroubled. Willy Boly (£4.9m) remains the side’s single long-term absentee, while Romain Saiss (£4.4m) will miss the match through suspension after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season last time out. Saiss’ absence should allow Ryan Bennett (£4.9m) a path back into the starting XI.
• Santo named the strongest line-up available to him for the match against Sporting Braga midweek so if he does make any changes this weekend, it will likely be for rest purposes. In that match, his front three of Raul Jimenez (£7.5m), Adama Traore (£5.2m) and Diogo Jota (£6.1m) were all brought off early, which would seem to indicate they are in line to start at the weekend.