FPL Gameweek 13 – 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 GW13.
The Stats Zone's other Gameweek 13 content can be found on our Fantasy section!
GAMEWEEK 13 FIXTURES
Saturday 23rd November
West Ham v Spurs (12:30)
Arsenal v Southampton (15:00)
Bournemouth v Wolves (15:00)
Brighton v Leicester (15:00)
Crystal Palace v Liverpool (15:00)
Everton v Norwich (15:00)
Watford v Burnley (15:00)
Man City v Chelsea (17:30)
Sunday 24th November
Sheffield Utd v Man Utd (16:30)
Monday 25th November
Aston Villa v Newcastle (20:00)
TEAM NEWS & PREDICTED LINE-UPS
ARSENAL
- Unai Emery has a couple of injury concerns ahead of the weekend fixture against Southampton. Sead Kolasinac (£5.3m), Bukayo Saka (£4.5m) and Rob Holding (£4.5m) have all returned from international duty with “small small injuries”, while Daniel Ceballos (£5.3m) is still out with a hamstring injury.
- The latest news on Granit Xhaka (£5.2m) is that the midfielder is ready to come back into the squad and Emery is keen to reintegrate him into the fold: "He is coming back better in his mind, his mindset is better to help us and to be closer to playing when we need him. He is feeling better and also feeling that his team is Arsenal now. He wants to come back with confidence with the supporters, and we are going to decide. But I think little by little we can help him come back and connect with us and our supporters."
ASTON VILLA
- Aston Villa are set to have Tom Heaton (£4.5m) available for the match against Newcastle, as the England goalkeeper appears to have overcome his calf injury: "Tom's been out on the grass today, he'll be training tomorrow and Sunday as well, ready for the game on Monday."
- The recovery of Heaton is excellent news for Dean Smith as reserve goalkeeper Jed Steer (£4.4m) is out injured with an Achilles issue: "He has got a partial tear of his Achilles, so he's going to be out for a while. I'm guessing around about three or four months."
- The manager also provided an update on the fitness of Jack Grealish (£5.9m) ahead of the match: "Jack has been training with us, I'm a little bit ill at ease to say he's available because I've said it the last couple of weeks and he's not played! But he's trained with us the last week and I've no doubts that he'll be there."
- Both Matt Targett (£4.4m) and Bjorn Engels (£4.5m) are also set to be available after the pair have overcome their respective ailments: “Matt came off just before half-time against Wolves with concussion. He went through the protocol and he's been back training for the last week as well. Bjorn Engels had an injection in his hip about ten days ago and he's been back training as well. I would expect them all to be fully fit and available for selection."
BOURNEMOUTH
- Eddie Howe will be without Josh King (£6.3m) for the match against Wolves as the forward tweaked his hamstring while on international duty with Norway: “Joshua King will miss this game unfortunately,” he said. “He picked up a hamstring strain very late in Norway’s second game.” King’s absence could open an avenue for Dominic Solanke (£5.3m) to get back into the starting XI.
- Another who picked up a knock while away is winger Ryan Fraser (£7.0m), who Howe has said will be assessed ahead of the match: “We’ll make a late call on Ryan Fraser, looking at his injury and see how he is ahead of the game.” The likes of David Brooks (£6.3m), Junior Stanislas (£5.9m), Charlie Daniels (£4.3m) and Andrew Surman (£4.7m) are all still unavailable.
- On a more positive note, midfielder Dan Gosling (£4.9m) is making excellent progress as he continues his road to recovery. The midfielder got a number of minutes under his belt for the club during a midweek friendly against Reading.
BRIGHTON
- Despite having been initially ruled out for a number of weeks, Adam Webster (£4.4m) is set to make a sooner than expected return for the match against Leicester: "Adam Webster has a chance of being fit - a lot earlier than expected. He trained today and we'll see how he is. We have good options in that area."
- Lewis Dunk (£4.6m) will miss the match against Leicester after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season last time out. He will likely be replaced in the starting XI by the returning Webster, though if for whatever reason Webster doesn’t start, Dan Burn (£4.5m) can move across from left-back.
- Despite missing Belgium’s internationals with an ankle injury, midfielder Leandro Trossard (£5.8m) has been declared fit by Potter for the weekend: “Leandro Trossard rolled his ankle while he was away - it was more precautionary that he was left out. He's trained with us and he's fine for the weekend."
- One player who has been ruled out is budget forward Aaron Connolly (£4.7m): "Aaron Connolly will miss the game this weekend with the same groin problem from the Manchester United game, hopefully he'll be back for next weekend." Connolly’s absence will likely result in a return to the starting XI for Glenn Murray (£5.5m).
BURNLEY
- Sean Dyche rung the changes last time out with full-backs Matthew Lowton (£4.5m) and Erik Pieters (£4.7m) being replaced by Phil Bardsley (£4.3m) and Charlie Taylor (£4.2m). The result was a much-improved performance as Burnley ran out 3-0 winners over West Ham. Given Dyche's penchant for not changing a winning team, expect the same eleven that lined up against the Hammers to get the nod again this weekend.
- In injury related news, Dyche doesn’t expect Johann Berg Gudmundsson (£5.9m) “to make it” while Matei Vydra (£5.3m) is also a doubt: “Vydra had a little tear in his hip. It was a strange one, we didn’t think anything of it, but he had a scan and that showed up. We’ll see how it settles. He’s got a chance, but probably a slim one."
CHELSEA
- Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has provided an injury update on Christian Pulisic (£7.4m), who needed to be withdrawn from international duty with a hip injury: "He had a problem going into the last game against Palace and he was struggling, that's why he came off after his goal. He's started to train again this midweek so he's in contention to play."
- Indeed, only Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.8m) represents a fresh injury concern for Lampard following the international break. The winger is suffering from a tight hamstring and looks set to join Ross Barkley (£5.6m), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£6.4m) and Antonio Rudiger (£6.0m) in the treatment room: “Callum is probably the one who has a hamstring issue picked up in the England game so he will struggle to be in contention for this game but we’re hoping it’s more short-term.”
- Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.9m) is expected to return to the starting XI after being rested for Reece James (£5.0m) against Palace, although the latter's impressive performance in that game should give Lampard some food for thought. Emerson (£5.5m) should also keep his spot over Marcos Alonso (£6.2m) on the other side of the back four.
- After missing the last match through suspension midfielder Jorginho (£5.1m) will once again be available for Chelsea. Given how highly Lampard rates the midfielder he is likely to come straight back into the starting XI, possibly at the expense of Mateo Kovacic (£5.3m).
CRYSTAL PALACE
- Roy Hodgson has a clean bill of health ahead of Saturday’s match against Liverpool as Wilfred Zaha (£6.7m), Joel Ward (£4.6m) and Mamadou Sakho (£5.0m) have all been passed fit: "We have a full squad to choose from which is incredible. I’m really pleased about that. Sakho is fit. The whole of the contingent is fit."
- The manager was also asked about the possibility of Victor Camarasa (£4.6m) getting a run-out anytime soon: “There’s no news on him, he’s been training very well. His misfortune has been to come at a time where we have so many midfield players. It has not been possible for him to break in. He has been in competition with Max Meyer (£5.2m) but I am happy for him to be here and enjoying working with him.” That’ll be a no then.
EVERTON
- Fabian Delph (£5.4m) and Bernard (£6.4m) are both major doubts for Everton’s match against Norwich at the weekend. Asked about the pair's availability, Marco Silva had this to say, "With Fabian, it's possible he's not in condition for tomorrow's match. He's still a big doubt. Like you know, Bernard is in the same situation. He has started working with the team and it's possible next week we'll have good news about him. But, for tomorrow's match, as well, it's the same situation.
- There was better news though over the fitness of Cenk Tosun (£5.7m), who was handed his first start of the season in the 2-1 victory over Southampton on GW12 but then missed Turkey’s qualifiers: “Cenk Tosun is fine” was the manager's response when asked about the forward.
- Andre Gomes (£5.3m) and Jean-Philippe Gbamin (£4.8m) remain long-term absentees with Silva hopeful Gbamin will be back in the New Year: "For sure, Gbamin will not be back before [New Year] and let's see when he'll be available."
LEICESTER
- Brendan Rodgers once again has a fully-fit squad to choose from ahead of their GW13 match against Brighton: “The whole squad is fit. Matty James (£4.3m) is back in training, he’s a fabulous player, so hopefully he can get a bit of luck, so it’s just about developing his football fitness.” As no update was given on the fitness of Jonny Evans (£5.1m), it is assumed he will be fine for the weekend given Rodgers’ comments.
- The news of no injuries means that James Maddison (£7.5m) has overcome the slight niggle he had with his calf during the international break: “James is fine, He’s trained the last few days so he’s okay. We’re all very happy for James. If you look at his numbers, goals scored and created… he’s a big-game player. He’s scored against Liverpool and Tottenham.”
LIVERPOOL
- The big news surrounding Liverpool revolve around the potential absences of Mo Salah (£12.3m), Andy Roberson (£7.0m) and Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m). On Salah, the manager has been non-committal over the Egyptian's availability: “Yesterday he trained. He has been training the things we want him to do. It's not that he has got worse, it's just that it is there still. We have to be sensible. I have to see the session today before I make a decision.” The telling line there could be “we have to be sensible”. If Salah isn’t declared fit, any one of Adam Lallana (£5.8m), Divock Origi (£5.2m) or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£6.2m) could step in.
- Klopp was clearer on Van Dijk, with the manager declaring the centre-back “100% available” for the weekend. With his traditional partner Joel Matip (£5.3m) still out with a knee injury, Dejan Lovren (£5.3m) is set to continue at the back.
- Unfortunately, Klopp provided no update over the fitness of Robertson. When asked about the defender, Klopp simply said: “From the others, I cannot say 100%, I don’t know 100%. Today is a very important session to judge that, especially with the players who came back late.” James Milner (£5.3m) is the likely replacement if Robertson is indeed injured, although Joe Gomez (£5.1m) is another potential option.
MAN CITY
- Manchester City and Pep Guardiola have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match against Chelsea. When asked about the injury situation, the manager said, “Same situation, players fit after Liverpool are fit, those injured are still injured a few more months.”
- This means that Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.2m) will still be sidelined and with Benjamin Mendy (£5.8m) not in the squad for the GW12 match against Liverpool, Angelino (£4.7m) is set to continue at left-back. On Mendy, Pep had this to say after that Liverpool match: "He was two years injured and trained one game after the game. Angelino showed quality and played a good game. He’ll go the national team now, he’s not injured. We need a time when he’s not injured, and he can play every three or four days."
- The manager has been handed an injury boost though, as Ederson (£6.0m) has fully recovered from his muscle injury and is expected to once again be back between the sticks at the weekend: “Ederson is back. He trained the last few days with no pain.”
- One player who will miss out is Bernardo Silva (£7.9m), who is set to serve out a one-match suspension. His likely replacement will be Riyad Mahrez (£8.4m) who has been starting in the Champions League and League Cup in recent weeks in place of B. Silva.
MAN UTD
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer provided injury updates on a number of his players during his press conference. Scott McTominay (£5.1m) is set to be out for a couple of weeks after failing to recover from an ankle injury: “Scott will be out for a little while, still. He has not been training with us, he is still recovering and, hopefully, we can see him, maybe, around the time of Tottenham or City. We don't know yet. He heals quickly, Scotty, but he is not going to be ready for Sheffield United or Astana, definitely. Probably not Villa either.”
- Paul Pogba (£8.4m) is also no nearer a return as the manager provided further information on the French midfielder: ”Paul is improving. Obviously he has been out and, when you are in a cast for that long, you do lose your muscle, so gradually you have to step it up. He has not started on his football work yet so it will still be a little while before we see him.“
- Elsewhere, Ashley Young (£5.4m) returns following his one-match suspension, while Axel Tuanzebe (£4.4m), Nemanja Matic (£4.8m) and Luke Shaw (£5.4m) are all back in training: “We shoudn't expect too much of them because they have been out for a long, long time. Axel, the last game he played was Newcastle. Nemanja was injured in the international break that week. Shawy, or Luke, has been out for three months now, more or less. At least they are training, training hard, and if we can give them some game time then that will be good.“
NEWCASTLE
- On the injury front, Steve Bruce once again has a number of centre-backs unavailable to him. Jamaal Lascelles (£4.4m) will be out until the new year with a fractured leg while Ciaran Clark (£4.3m) has picked up a knock on international duty: "Lascelles has a fracture of his tibia so he's out for a few weeks, but his knee ligaments are okay so it's not as bad as we feared. Ciaran Clark has got a knock after playing for Ireland.”
- On a more positive note, both Fabian Schar (£5.0m) and Florian Lejeune (£4.4m) are back in contention following a week of training: “The big one is obviously Flo, because he’s been out for so long. But he’s done everything – he’s played, he’s got minutes under his belt on the training ground and he’s ready to go. The same goes for Schar; as long as they come through the next two or three days unscathed then they’ll both come into contention, and that can only be a good thing.”
- Matt Ritchie (£5.3m) is another who is still sidelined and, despite appearing to be close to a return a couple of weeks ago, Bruce is unsure when he’ll actually be fit: "Matt Ritchie went to see his specialist again yesterday. It’s a difficult one because he was so close a couple of weeks ago and unfortunately had a setback. It’s difficult and frustrating for him.”
- Isaac Hayden (£4.4m) and Jonjo Shelvey (£5.0m) are set to continue in the centre of midfield as Sean Longstaff (£5.0m) serves out the final game of his three-match ban.
NORWICH
- Daniel Farke could be boosted by the return of Christoph Zimmermann (£4.4m) this weekend: "Christoph Zimmermann is back in team training. He’s available. He’s a fit lad and he could start. We will have to see." The inclusion of Zimmerman would be at the expense of Alex Tettey (£4.5m), who may move back into midfield or drop to the bench. Teemu Pukki (£6.7m) is fine after limping off for Finland on Monday.
- Kenny McLean (£4.9m) has also overcome a minor knock but it wasn’t all good news as Jamal Lewis (£4.5m) is set to miss out after failing to recover from an injury picked up while on international duty. Josip Drmic (£5.4m) is another who will be absent.
- Grant Hanley (£4.0m) also won’t feature after suffering a setback in his rehab: "We have some bad news. Grant Hanley hasn’t been able to train with as he's had a setback in his rehab. I hope he can return to team training soon. It's not a major setback. We have to be careful with him. We will decide from day-to-day."
SHEFFIELD UTD
- Chris Wilder has said there is “a chance” of John Egan (£4.5m) recovering from the calf strain he suffered when playing for Ireland. If he can’t make it, Phil Jagielka (£4.2m) is set to step in: "We’re going to leave it to the last minute but we’ve got replacements if needed. If he isn’t fit, Phil will slot in there and his experience in big games will be huge.”
- One change Wilder will be forced into making is in net where Dean Henderson (£4.7m) is ineligible to play against his parent club. Most likely to deputise in his place for one match will be Simon Moore (£4.2m).
SOUTHAMPTON
- For the first time in a number of weeks, manager Ralph Hassenhuttl has a fully-fit squad to choose from following the return of Ryan Bertrand (£4.8m) from suspension: “Everyone is back fit and with a few successful experiences for the players with their national teams. “It’s also good that Ryan Bertrand is back after suspension from the Leicester game. I have the whole squad now available and I can pick the eleven that fits perfect to the shape which we play and the opponent we play against.”
- Following their 9-0 defeat at the hands of Leicester, Hassenhuttl has played a 5-3-2 away to Man City and 3-4-3 at home to Everton. This week the Saints travel to Arsenal, who have been struggling defensively but have the quality to hurt teams at the top end. Given they are away from home, the manager may switch to five at the back in an effort to stifle the opposition.
SPURS
- New manager Jose Mourinho didn’t give much away when it comes to team selection during his presser, other than saying, “I don't need players. I am so happy with the players I have. I don't want to make big changes, I want to respect the base and the base of work they did for five-and-a-half years. We hope in two days it is a plus, an update, not a change, the base is what they did before.” Pochettino generally played with a 4-2-3-1 and given that Mourinho has preferred to line his team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, it would seem this is how he’ll approach the match on Saturday.
- On the injury front, both Jan Vertonghen (£5.2m) and Tanguy Ndombele (£5.9m) face late fitness tests while Hugo Lloris (£5.3m) remains Spurs’ only long-term absentee. Erik Lamela (£5.8m) will also be unavailable.
- Mourinho is known for his defensive masterclasses and given Tottenham’s fragility at the back this season, the defence is likely to be the first thing he sets about solving. With Vertonghen doubtful, Mourinho is likely to partner Davinson Sanchez (£5.3m) with Toby Alderweireld (£5.4m), who he is known to be a fan of.
- Further forward, Heung-Min Son (£9.6m) looks a shoe-in to start given his impressive work-rate off the ball and Mourinho’s love of players who offer this. Harry Kane (£10.8m) is another who is assured of a start so the only question that remains is which of Dele Alli (£8.4m), Christian Eriksen (£8.7m), Lucas Moura (£7.0m) and Giovani Lo Celso (£7.3m) will fill the other two roles.
WATFORD
- Quique Sanchez Flores has said that Troy Deeney (£6.2m) and Ismaila Sarr (£6.2m) could be named together in the same squad for the first time this season after both have taken part in full training this week: “Sarr is okay, He has been training with us for two or three days, no problem. He looks well in training. He is ready.” On Deeney Flores has said, ““Little by little, he is progressing. He is ready and he wants to play, of course. He is wishing to go the pitch. It’s good news for us.”
- On the injury front, the manager is still set to be without Domingos Quina (£4.4m), Tom Cleverley (£4.9m), Danny Welbeck (£5.8m), Sebastian Prodl (£4.0m) and Roberto Pereyra (£5.6m).
- Christian Kabasele (£4.3m) is another who will miss out after his red card against Norwich. He is likely to be replaced in the starting XI by Adrian Mariappa (£4.2m), who was brought on as cover after Kabasele’s red card in GW12.
WEST HAM
- Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that club captain Mark Noble (£5.0m) as well as midfielders Michail Antonio (£6.9m) and Jack Wilshere (£4.7m) will be available for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off against Spurs: "Yes, both of them worked the whole week without any problem so they will be involved in the game on Saturday. Most of them will be able to play."
- In other injury news, Manuel Lanzini (£6.3m) could be set to miss the remainder of the year following surgery to fix a fractured collarbone.
- The manager has thrown his support behind stand-in keeper Roberto (£4.4m) after a series of high profile mistakes in recent matches: "Every player when they are in a bad moment needs the confidence of us behind them. Roberto has a lot of experience in a lot of countries. He knows it's not his best performance in the last game, but I think, all of us – the fans, the players and the staff – must trust in him.”
WOLVES
- Nuno Espirito Santo have a couple of potential injuries to deal with ahead of their weekend clash against Bournemouth: “We have a couple of players that we have to assess. We are still assessing them this afternoon for tomorrow. “
- At the forefront of those injuries is Adama Traore (£5.2m), who is struggling with a hamstring issue: “Adama has an injury that he had from before in the last game, during the break, but we have to assess him.” If Traore is unable to make the matchday side, then Patrick Cutrone (£5.6m) could be afforded a first league start since GW9.
- Also potentially injured are defender Ryan Bennett (£4.9m) and midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White (£4.7m), though Santo is hopeful at least one of them will be able to play: “Bennett is getting better but, like I said, we have to assess, there are a lot of things we still have to work on.” Willy Boly (£4.9m) remains the club's only long-term absentee.
- After arriving back late from international duty, Raul Jimenez (£7.3m) is another who is set to be assessed but there is no reason to think that the Mexican international won’t start the match against Bournemouth: "Raul was the last one to join us but, again, we have to assess him because there is not a lot of time to train and we will decide for tomorrow. They came back healthy, this is the most important aspect."