KEY GAMEWEEK 27 INJURY NEWS FROM FRIDAYManchester City: Haaland fit, Doku still out, Savinho returns<\/a>Arsenal: No fresh concerns, Trossard + Saka fine, Odegaard + Havertz could return<\/a>Brentford: Andrews suggests Thiago will return after missing FA Cup, Schade available<\/a>Newcastle United: Botman could return, Wissa likely to miss out, Livramento latest<\/a>Bournemouth: Tavernier trains and will be assessed, Iraola on Kroupi<\/a>Crystal Palace: Lacroix a big doubt, Glasner on the brink?<\/a>Sunderland: Xhaka available, Reinildo out for 3-4 weeks, Mukiele hand issue, Alderete okay<\/a>Aston Villa: Cash returns, everyone else who was out remains sidelined<\/a>Tottenham Hotspur: Solanke trains after throat issue, no one expected back<\/a>Manchester United: Mount \u201cgetting closer\u201d, de Ligt a bit behind<\/a>Everton: O\u2019Brien banned, Grealish out, Coleman fit<\/a>Brighton and Hove Albion: March could be in the squad, Ayari to return next week<\/a>Fulham: Lukic + Cairney back in training, Chukwueze out<\/a>Wolverhampton Wanderers: Angel Gomes fit, Toti Gomes could be involved<\/a>FRIDAY\u2019S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8 Friday\u2019s FPL Press Conferences!<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd4a\ufe0f 9am \u2013 Hurzeler \u2014 Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) February 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n MANCHESTER CITY<\/p>\n Pep Guardiola gave no verbal confirmation that Erling Haaland (knee) would be available this weekend but emphatically nodded when asked if the Norwegian was \u201cback fully fit\u201d.<\/p>\n If you missed it, Haaland was pictured training on Wednesday.<\/a><\/p>\n Savinho\u00a0(thigh)\u00a0will return on Saturday, too, but Jeremy Doku (calf) remains out ahead of Newcastle United\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n \u201cDoku is not ready and Savinho is ready.\u201d \u2013 Pep Guardiola<\/p>\n Josko Gvardiol\u00a0(leg) and Mateo Kovacic\u00a0(ankle) remain out, while we await an update on Max Alleyne after he hobbled out of the FA Cup win over Salford City.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Guardiola hailed the importance of a midweek break.<\/p>\n \u201cThe important thing is the players are revitalised after three days. We\u2019ve had a lot of months with no or few days off \u2013 games every weekend and midweek.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have to run one metre so for me it\u2019s not a problem. After one or two days I sleep well, it\u2019s enough. For the players, it\u2019s really good. Sometimes they have a long week to rest, this one and the next one, to forget [about football] and to train good. And they trained good in the last few days.\u201d \u2013 Pep Guardiola<\/p>\n Elsewhere in a very brief presser, there was praise for Antoine Semenyo.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, he scored a lot of goals \u2013 the strikers and the players who play up front are so important \u2013 but it\u2019s not just that. He makes a special rhythm, his versatility to play in many positions up front, all three positions. We knew it and he comes from Bournemouth, they are exceptional in the rhythm and defensively, so he had it in his DNA. His impact has been really good.<\/p>\n \u201cAntoine, we played against him many, many times in the last years. Whether he can be top-class or elite, we have to see. I don\u2019t know, when you buy a player from another club, they come here, how they adapt to play in the Champions League, where he hasn\u2019t played before. The biggest stages in the Premier League, yes, but in the knockout stages, in this position, is a good test for him, how he will react. But I\u2019m pretty sure, with his mentality, I think he will handle it quite well.\u201d \u2013 Pep Guardiola on Antoine Semenyo<\/p>\n ARSENAL<\/p>\n Mikel Arteta says he has no fresh injury concerns from the midweek draw at Molineux. He also implied that Bukayo Saka is fine after his second-half substitution.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, nothing new.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta on whether he had any new concerns from midweek<\/p>\n \u201cBukayo was okay to start the game [against Wolves] but we knew that he could not finish the game, so we had to get him out. He was going to start to cramp or take a risk with the previous injury and we didn\u2019t want to do that.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka<\/p>\n Arteta confirmed that another player who was seemingly forced off with a head\/facial injury, Leandro Trossard, is \u201cfine\u201d.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Arsenal boss said there was a \u201cbig possibility\u201d that Martin Odegaard\u00a0(knock) and\u00a0Kai Havertz\u00a0(muscle)\u00a0will return.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to wait till tomorrow but there is a big possibility that they are available for the game.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta on Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz<\/p>\n Arteta (half-jokingly) fired back at a reporter when asked about Jurrien Timber and Martin Zubimendi, who have played the most minutes in the Premier League this season, looking \u201cfatigued\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, they look great.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta on Jurrien Timber and Martin Zubimendi<\/p>\n BRENTFORD<\/p>\n Kevin Schade is back from a three-match ban, while loanee Reiss Nelson is available again: he was ineligible to face his parent club in Gameweek 26.<\/p>\n Josh Dasilva, F\u00e1bio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo all remain out with knee injuries.<\/p>\n Jordan Henderson and Igor Thiago were, like Schade, absent from the FA Cup squad last Sunday but those two have been managed carefully in cup ties this season and Keith Andrews suggested they\u2019ll return this weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, everyone has come through that [Macclesfield] game well. A few players that missed it for various reasons will come back into the squad. So, yeah, we\u2019re in a pretty good place on that front.\u201d \u2013 Keith Andrews<\/p>\n NEWCASTLE UNITED<\/p>\n Sven Botman\u00a0(back) looks set to return for the trip to Manchester City.<\/p>\n But the game comes too soon for Lewis Miley\u00a0(dead leg\/muscle) and likely\u00a0Yoane Wissa\u00a0(knock), too.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, good news or better news on Sven Botman. He could be in and around this game.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe<\/p>\n \u201cLewis Miley, still a little bit to go, I think.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a dead leg, so that was factually correct, but it disturbed a bit of the muscle. Again, I don\u2019t think he\u2019s too far away, nothing more than a week, a couple of weeks maximum.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think [Wissa] will be [available tomorrow] but I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll be too far off maybe the Qaraba\u011f game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was in training, a nasty little knock, but I think he\u2019ll be fine.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe<\/p>\n Fabian Schar\u00a0(ankle),\u00a0Tino Livramento\u00a0(hamstring),\u00a0Bruno Guimaraes\u00a0(hamstring) and\u00a0Emil Krafth\u00a0(knee) all remain out for longer periods. Livramento should be the first one back in March.<\/p>\n \u201cTino is making good progress but still I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to shave too much time off the early March target for him.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe on Tino Livramento<\/p>\n Joelinton\u00a0(groin) was back in the Newcastle squad for Wednesday\u2019s UEFA Champions League win over Qarabag.<\/p>\n After Anthony Gordon\u2018s four-goal haul up top in midweek, Eddie Howe was asked about the natural winger\u2019s attributes as a central striker.<\/p>\n \u201cAnthony has got some really good qualities in that position [centre-forward]. None more so than his pressing intensity but also his tactical understanding of when to do it and how to do it is. It is of the very highest level. A couple of our goals came from his regains and that\u2019s not by luck, it\u2019s by his really good judgement and where he puts himself.<\/p>\n \u201cI was delighted with his performance.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe on Anthony Gordon<\/p>\n BOURNEMOUTH<\/p>\n Marcus Tavernier\u00a0(hamstring) has returned to training this week and will be assessed to see if he can feature against West Ham United.<\/p>\n \u201cTav has started training with us, and it\u2019s very good news, but I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s going to be ready for tomorrow or not. We will train today and see how he feels and take a decision from there. But if it\u2019s not for tomorrow, it\u2019s going to be for the next one.\u201d \u2013 Andoni Iraola on Marcus Tavernier<\/p>\n Matai\u00a0Akinmboni\u00a0featured for the under-21s recently<\/a>\u00a0after months on the sidelines with a muscle injury.<\/p>\n Justin Kluivert\u00a0(knee),\u00a0Julio Soler\u00a0(hamstring) and\u00a0Ben Gannon-Doak\u00a0(hamstring) remain out.<\/p>\n Tyler Adams and David Brooks, who both recently returned from injury, are \u201cready\u201d for more involvement.<\/p>\n There are also no new concerns.<\/p>\n \u201c[We have had] some more training for the last ones we recovered, Tyler Adams, Brooksy, [so] that they are ready for tomorrow. No new injuries, so it\u2019s overall good news, I would say.\u201d \u2013 Andoni Iraola<\/p>\n Away from team news, there was plenty from the Bournemouth boss on budget forward Eli Kroupi.<\/p>\n \u201cI think with Junior, with Evanilson, I don\u2019t judge them by the goals. Goals are important, but it doesn\u2019t give you like a guarantee [of a good performance\/result].<\/p>\n \u201cI prefer he does everything and then if he scores a goal, amazing. But it gives me the guarantee of, okay, we are not going to lose the game because I put this player over the other player. I think I\u2019m really pleased because we score goals overall. It\u2019s not about number 9, number 7. If the team scores goals, okay, you are playing. Team scores goals, perfect, you are going to continue playing. I don\u2019t care if you are the one putting the ball on the net or it\u2019s the one next to you. And it\u2019s the approach.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not telling Junior how you finish, how you put the feet so you can score. He\u2019s amazing doing this. I\u2019m not going to show him anything in that department. I need to tell him what the team needs so he can be on the pitch, so he can score his goals, he can do his plays. And I think he\u2019s improving a lot. He\u2019s improving a lot because it\u2019s kind of a new position for him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not so different. Basically, when we play with Eva and Junior, we are playing with two strikers, but there are some demands on the ball, off the ball, that both need to do, and I think they are doing well. The other day also with Enes [Unal], they played 30-something minutes together, so it\u2019s good he has more relationships. I\u2019m happy with Junior, if he starts or if he comes from the bench like the other day.\u201d \u2013 Andoni Iraola<\/p>\n CRYSTAL PALACE<\/p>\n Maxence Lacroix suffered an adductor injury in Thursday\u2019s UEFA Conference League clash with Zrinjski and it sounds like he\u2019ll miss out on Sunday.<\/p>\n Chadi Riad also came off with cramp in yesterday\u2019s game but Oliver Glasner said \u201call others look fine\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cNo [update on Lacroix].<\/p>\n \u201cIt looked like yesterday, yes [he will miss out this weekend], but again, we will assess him further with training in the afternoon after the press conference. Then, we will see. He had to be subbed because he had problems with his adductor. He mentioned it at half-time already, so it doesn\u2019t look good.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner on Maxence Lacroix<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like we\u2019ll have to change the back three again. It\u2019s every single game. This was the foundation of everything we had, our backline, our togetherness. Right at the moment, we\u2019re not that consistent in our defence.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are struggling to get clean sheets because we are making too many mistakes. This is what we have to improve, definitely, and the next chance is on Sunday but again, there will be three new players in the back three.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner<\/p>\n Elsewhere on the injury front, Jean-Philippe Mateta\u00a0(knee) won\u2019t be involved for another 2-3 weeks, while\u00a0Jefferson Lerma\u00a0(hamstring) has joined the injury list for three weeks.<\/p>\n Eddie Nketiah\u00a0(hamstring) has had a setback and will be out for a \u201cfew more weeks\u201d.<\/p>\n Cheick Doucoure\u00a0(knee)\u00a0was involved in training on Wednesday<\/a>, although it\u2019s not clear how close he is to a playing comeback after being sidelined for 12 months. He wasn\u2019t involved on Thursday evening, indeed.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udf52 9.30am \u2013 Iraola
\u26ab\ufe0f 9.30am \u2013 Howe
\ud83e\udd85 11.30am \u2013 Glasner
\ud83d\udd35 12.30pm \u2013 Guardiola
\ud83d\udc3a 1pm \u2013 Edwards
\u2b55\ufe0f 1.30pm \u2013 Arteta
\ud83d\udc1d 1.30pm \u2013 Andrews
\ud83c\udf6c 1.30pm \u2013 Moyes
\u2b1c\ufe0f 1.30pm \u2013 Silva
\ud83d\udc79 1.30pm \u2013 Carrick
\ud83d\udc08\u200d\u2b1b 1.30pm \u2013 Le Bris
\ud83d\udc13 1.30pm -\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/pqlRgJsnjj<\/a><\/p>\n
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