Gameweek six of the Premier League season sees another round of games just days after the midweek action, meaning squad rotation could be around the corner. Manchester United will look to build on their impressive form as they take on high-flying Arsenal, while Chelsea meet West Ham in a London derby, Spurs host Fulham in another all-London clash, Manchester City travel to Aston Villa and Liverpool cross Stanley Park to take on Everton.
Fantasy football managers will have a keen eye on the team news ahead of the FPL deadline at 11am BST on Saturday. Here we take a look at the key team news from the pre-match press conferences and predicted line-ups to help make our Fantasy Premier League decisions.
Manchester United & Arsenal
Fixture: Manchester United vs Arsenal, Sunday 4 September, 4.30pm
Team news: Anthony Martial remains injured but big-money signing Antony could make his Manchester United debut against Arsenal on Sunday. Martial missed the previous two matches with an Achilles issue and boss Erik ten Hag confirmed he will absent again this weekend.
Midfielder Casemiro is pushing for his first United start and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka could be in the squad after joining on loan from Newcastle. Ten Hag is unsure whether full-backs Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka will be fit, but Facundo Pellistri, Phil Jones, Axel Tuanzebe and Brandon Williams remain injured.
Mikel Arteta will make a late call on the availability of captain Martin Odegaard and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale ahead of the trip to Old Trafford. The pair will be assessed on Saturday, but the Gunners manager was hopeful they will be fit enough to be included in the matchday squad. Defender Oleksandr Zinchenko is unlikely to play with a knee problem that has already kept him sidelined for Arsenal’s last two matches.
Provisional Arsenal squad: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney, Lokonga, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Jesus, Smith Rowe, Nketiah, Holding, Cedric, Tomiyasu, Vieira, Alencar, Turner Smith
Manchester United provisional squad: De Gea, Dubravka, Heaton, Dalot, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Martinez, Lindelof, Varane, Shaw, Malacia, McTominay, Casemiro, Fred, Van de Beek, Eriksen, Fernandes, Garnacho, Antony, Elanga, Rashford, Sancho, Ronaldo.
Man United predicted line-up: De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Malacia; McTominay, Eriksen, Fernandes; Sancho, Rashford, Elanga.
Arsenal predicted line-up: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka; Martinelli, Odegaard, Saka; Jesus.
Liverpool
Fixture: Everton vs Liverpool, Saturday 3 September, 12.30pm
Team news: Everton have new signings Neal Maupay, Idrissa Gana Gueye and James Garner available for the Merseyside derby with Liverpool at Goodison Park. Former Brighton striker Maupay was unable to be registered in time for Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Leeds due to Premier League requirements, while midfielders Gana Gueye and Garner both signed on deadline day. Abdoulaye Doucoure (hamstring) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (knee) are back in training, but remain out for now alongside Mason Holgate (knee), Yerry Mina (ankle), Ben Godfrey (fractured fibula) and Andros Townsend (knee).
Liverpool will be without midfielder Jordan Henderson due to a hamstring injury picked up against Newcastle in midweek. New signing Arthur Melo will not be involved as he is still waiting for international clearance but forward Diogo Jota could make his return after a lengthy hamstring injury. Striker Darwin Nunez returns from his three-match ban but Thiago Alcantara, Ibrahima Konate, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Caoimhin Kelleher and Calvin Ramsay all continue to miss out.
Everton provisional squad: Pickford, Tarkowski, Keane, Coleman, Coady, Onana, Iwobi, Mykolenko, Patterson, McNeil, Gray, Gordon, Maupay, Begovic, Vinagre, Davies, Gana Gueye, Garner, Mills, Welch, Allan, Rondon.
Liverpool provisional squad: Alisson, Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Gomez, Matip, Robertson, Phillips, Tsimikas, Bajcetic, Van den Berg, Fabinho, Jones, Elliott, Milner, Carvalho, Clark, Salah, Firmino, Diaz, Davies, Nunez, Jota.
Liverpool predicted line-up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Milner, Elliott; Salah, Firmino, Diaz
Manchester City
Fixture: Aston Villa vsMan City, Saturday 3 September, 5.30pm
Team news: New signing Leander Dendoncker is a doubt for Aston Villa’s clash with Manchester City. The £13m midfielder has a throat problem, having joined from Wolves, but Jan Bednarek, who signed on loan from Southampton, is in contention. Fellow defender Diego Carlos is out with a long-term Achilles injury which is likely to keep him sidelined for the majority of the season.
Manchester City playmaker Jack Grealish is fit to face his former club. The 26-year-old has not featured since the 4-0 win against Bournemouth three weeks ago, nor has defender Nathan Ake, but Pep Guardiola said they both trained well on Thursday. Kalvin Phillips and Aymeric Laporte remain out, while Manuel Akanji arrived from Borussia Dortmund on deadline day.
Aston Villa provisional squad: Martinez, Olsen, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Chambers, Augustinsson, Bednarek, Young, Guilbert, Digne, Luiz, McGinn, Dendoncker, Sanson, Buendia, Nakamba, Coutinho, Ramsey, Kamara, Ings, Watkins, Traore, Bailey, Archer.
Manchester City provisional squad: Ederson, Ortega, Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji, Ake, Cancelo, Gomez, Lewis, Wilson-Esbrand, Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva, Gomes,Mahrez, Palmer, Grealish, Foden, Knight, Alvarez, Haaland.
Man City predicted line-up: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo, De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan, Mahrez, Haaland, Bernardo.
Chelsea
Fixture: Chelsea vs West Ham, Saturday 3 September, 3pm
Team news: Wesley Fofana could make his Chelsea debut in Saturday’s Premier League clash with West Ham at Stamford Bridge. The £69.5m signing has been training with the Blues after his switch from Leicester.
N’Golo Kante is absent with hamstring trouble, but Reece James and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are fit to feature. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will miss out due to his fractured jaw, while Denis Zakaria has not yet had his work permit application processed.
West Ham will assess the fitness of Gianluca Scamacca, who missed the draw with Tottenham due to a virus. Ben Johnson is out with a hamstring injury and fellow full-back Aaron Cresswell is doubtful due to a groin problem. Craig Dawson is still out with a thigh problem and Nayef Aguerd is a long-term absentee with an ankle injury.
Provisional Chelsea squad: Mendy, Arrizabalaga, James, Silva, Koulibaly, Fofana, Chalobah, Azpilicueta, Cucurella, Chilwell, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Jorginho, Chukwuemeka, Mount, Havertz, Sterling, Pulisic, Ziyech, Broja.
West Ham provisional squad: Fabianski, Coufal, Kehrer, Zouma, Cresswell, Emerson, Rice, Soucek, Fornals, Bowen, Antonio, Areola, Ashby, Ogbonna, Downes, Lanzini, Cornet, Benrahma, Paqueta, Scamacca.
Chelsea predicted line-up: Mendy; Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Kovacic, Jorginho, Cucurella; Mount, Sterling, Broja.
Tottenham
Fixture: Spurs vs Fulham, Saturday 3 September, 3pm
Team news: Cristian Romero is set to return for Tottenham’s home fixture with Fulham in the Premier League. The Argentina defender has missed the club’s last three matches with an adductor issue but is back in training and fit again.
Rodrigo Bentancur missed the midweek draw at West Ham due to concussion protocols but will return. Fellow midfielders Bryan Gil and Lucas Moura remain sidelined with minor muscle injuries.
Fulham can add deadline-day captures Carlos Vinicius, Dan James, Layvin Kurzawa and Willian to their squad. Defender Shane Duffy returns after sitting out against parent club Brighton. Manor Solomon and Harry Wilson (both knee) are still ruled out.
Tottenham provisional squad: Lloris, Forster, Austin, Doherty, Emerson, Spence, Dier, Sanchez, Romero, Tanganga, Lenglet, Davies, Perisic, Sessegnon, Bissouma, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Skipp, Sarr, White, Kulusevski, Son, Kane, Richarlison.
Fulham provisional squad: Leno, Tete, Ream, Diop, Tosin, Robinson, Palhinha, Reed, Decordova-Reid, Kebano, Pereira, Mitrovic, Rodak, Hector, Onomah, Cairney, Willian, Muniz, James, Kurzawa, Mbabu, Chalobah, Francois, Vinicius.
Spurs predicted line-up: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Davies; Emerson, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Sessegnon; Kulusevski, Kane, Richarlison.
more to follow...
