Nottingham Forest\u2019s Vitor Pereira did his Gameweek 36 preview in the aftermath of Thursday\u2019s UEFA Europa League defeat to Aston Villa. All the key quotes on Morgan Gibbs-White (\u00a37.3m) et al are here.<\/a><\/p>\n KEY GAMEWEEK 36 TEAM NEWSManchester City: Pep says \u201cwe\u2019ll see\u201d on Rodri. Gvardiol + Dias in training<\/a>Crystal Palace: No major new injury concerns, Glasner hints at rotation<\/a>Arsenal: No fresh concerns, Timber + Merino still out<\/a>Liverpool: Isak back training, Alisson + Salah \u201cclose\u201d to training, Mamardashvili to train today<\/a>Leeds United: Okafor + Gudmundsson out, Struijk a slight doubt<\/a>Aston Villa: Emery reiterates that the Premier League is the priority<\/a>Bournemouth: Kluivert set to return, Cook not too far away, Jimenez out<\/a>Brighton and Hove Albion: Milner + March options, Gomez + Wieffer doubtful<\/a>Newcastle United: Miley, Livramento + Schar likely out for the season<\/a>Everton: Gueye not training yet, Grealish + Branthwaite out<\/a>Brentford: Henderson returns, Henry on the grass<\/a>Fulham: Berge + Kevin return, Iwobi + Sessegnon still out<\/a>West Ham United: Fully-fit squad for Nuno again<\/a>Wolverhampton Wanderers: Krejci returns, Sa still out, H Bueno fine<\/a>Burnley: Roberts to play for under-21s, no injuries beyond long-term absentees<\/a>FRIDAY\u2019S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s FPL Press Conferences! \ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n \ud83c\udf52 9am \u2013 Iraola \u2014 Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) May 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n MANCHESTER CITY<\/p>\n Rodri (groin) is still a doubt heading into Double Gameweek 36.<\/p>\n The Spanish midfielder was not seen in training on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll see. We\u2019ll see this afternoon.<\/p>\n \u201cStill, he doesn\u2019t feel completely comfortable. When he will be ready and fit to come back, we\u2019ll see this afternoon, hopefully, and tomorrow, he will come back.\u201d \u2013 Pep Guardiola on Rodri<\/p>\n Ruben Dias (hamstring) and Josko Gvardiol (leg) were sighted on the training ground, however, and it sounds like they\u2019ll be involved in the run-in.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, he\u2019s good. He\u2019s training, he feels good. It has been many months. Last season, he was an important player for us, with many injuries [elsewhere]. Played all the games. At the end, the body says, \u201cOne more minute, enough is enough\u201d. Happy he\u2019s back, hopefully he can help us in the last part of the season and make a good World Cup with Croatia. Next season, we can have him again at his best, because he\u2019s an important player. Central defender, full-back. He can play different roles. So fast, so quick.<\/p>\n \u201cReally good to have him back, like Ruben as well.\u201d \u2013 Pep Guardiola on Josko Gvardiol<\/p>\n Man of the moment, Jeremy Doku, attracted more (prompted) praise from his boss.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so glad that he\u2019s making the step.<\/p>\n \u201cNot just the goals and assists, also his contributions defensively. Jeremy has been amazing this season, amazing.\u201d \u2013 Pep Guardiola on Jeremy Doku<\/p>\n CRYSTAL PALACE<\/p>\n Oliver Glasner recorded his pre-match presser in the aftermath of Thursday\u2019s win over Shakhtar Donetsk, with the quotes embargoed till today.<\/p>\n Firstly, Glasner said the Eagles emerged unscathed from the midweek game.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was positive. So, no injury concerns. Again, then, we\u2019ll have a day to decide [the team].\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner<\/p>\n Eddie Nketiah (hamstring) and Cheick Doucoure (knee\/muscle\/match fitness)\u00a0remain out, while Evann Guessand (knee) and Borna Sosa (unspecified) didn\u2019t recover in time to feature against Shakhtar. Guessand had been in part-training ahead of Thursday\u2019s game<\/a>, however, so may be closing in on a return.<\/p>\n Glasner then hinted at more rotation ahead, helpfully namechecking a few players.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could see [against Shakhtar], again, that we had good options from the bench with an impact. Let\u2019s see who is fit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t take any risks with injuries, because we also play on Wednesday. Then we have one more day until [next] Sunday against Brentford, and then we have an entire week before Arsenal.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the season, with so many games played, playing Thursday to Wednesday, three games in six days, is really tough. We have to find the right players and we will.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, I don\u2019t know exactly [how much I\u2019ll rotate]. I could see Adam Wharton was really done at the end [on Thursday]. I could see T [Tyrick] Mitchell had a knock on his quad, was limping. I will get all the numbers. I think Ismaila Sarr was sprinting again, high numbers. Yeremy Pino worked so hard today. JP [Jean-Philippe Mateta], the same. Again, we have all the others doing well. I think it\u2019d be wrong, and I never did this, blaming the rotation for losing against Bournemouth. We couldn\u2019t find the focus that day, and they are all human beings. It can happen, I\u2019ve experienced this a few times.<\/p>\n \u201cOn Saturday, I will get all the data, talking to the medical department, talking to my staff, talking to the players, and then we will start the team that looks best for this day.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner<\/p>\n The Eagles could have a pivotal role to play in the title race, as they face Manchester City and Arsenal in the run-in. The match with the Gunners, indeed, comes three days before the Conference League final.<\/p>\n Glasner has no reservations about looking out for number one, however.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, we want to win against Everton because then we are safe. We see all the teams at the bottom are winning. Tottenham now two wins in a row, West Ham, Nottingham Forest was on a very good run. So, all these teams are now closer and we are not 100% safe. That means get one more win and then we can think about the [Conference] League.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, I don\u2019t know right now how we will plan this because it\u2019s also the first time for me playing the last league game on Sunday and then [the final] on Wednesday. When we had this with Frankfurt, we played the last league game on Saturday and we\u2026 played the same team that we played in the [Europa League] final as the last test.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I don\u2019t know if this makes sense if you play Sunday and Wednesday. Fortunately, I have a bit of time to think about it and do my research and talk with my staff, and then we will plan the last week, but now it\u2019s really getting the win against Everton to be really safe in the league and then making the second step.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, if somebody criticises\u2026 for me, sorry, if I can say this, it would be nonsense. It\u2019s just the last game but there were 37 games played before. That means if another team on Matchday 25 rotated against City or Arsenal, they affected the title race as well. I\u2019m not responsible for Arsenal, I\u2019m not responsible for Manchester City; I\u2019m responsible for\u00a0Crystal Palace\u00a0and I get paid for doing the best things for Crystal Palace and not for City and not for Arsenal.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, I don\u2019t know what we\u2019re doing [in Gameweek 38]. Maybe we\u2019ll be playing with the same line-up that we\u2019ll play against Vallecano but again, maybe it feels like the league title is decided on the last day but at the end, it\u2019s a result of 38 Matchdays and at the end, everybody gets what he deserves.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner<\/p>\n ARSENAL<\/p>\n The Gunners have no fresh concerns from the midweek win over Atletico Madrid.<\/p>\n \u201cNo [new injuries]. Everybody finished the game well. Nothing to add, I think.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta<\/p>\n Jurrien Timber\u00a0(ankle) and Mikel Merino (foot) won\u2019t return, however \u2013 and there are no guarantees they\u2019ll feature again this season.<\/p>\n \u201cNo chance for the weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know [if we\u2019ll see them again this season]. There\u2019s still a fair bit to do, so everything has to be so smooth and quick if they want to have a chance of playing minutes.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta on Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino<\/p>\n LIVERPOOL<\/p>\n It was a broadly positive team news update from Arne Slot on Friday.<\/p>\n Mohamed Salah (hamstring) and Alisson (muscle)\u00a0have yet to rejoin training but are \u201cclose\u201d to doing so.<\/p>\n \u201cAlisson not yet, doesn\u2019t train with us yet but very close to.<\/p>\n \u201cMo [has] also not trained with us yet but is also, like Ali, getting very, very, very close to training with us.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot<\/p>\n Giorgi Mamardashvili (leg) is even further down the line in his recovery and will train today.<\/p>\n \u201cGiorgi will train with us today for the first time, so let\u2019s see how he\u2019s going to react.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot<\/p>\n There\u2019s good news on Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Ibrahima Konate, too.<\/p>\n Isak missed Gameweek 35 with a groin issue and wasn\u2019t sighted when cameras were present at the training ground on Wednesday. Neither was Wirtz nor Konate.<\/p>\n However, all three were back involved on Thursday, with an illness and a personal issue given as the explanations for the brief absences of Wirtz and Konate.<\/p>\n \u201cAlex trains with us again. Only yesterday for the first time. So that\u2019s a positive.<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday he did parts of it, so hopefully he can do parts \u2013 or everything \u2013 today and let\u2019s then see how much we\u2019re going to use him tomorrow.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot<\/p>\n \u201cIbou had a personal reason not to be there, but he was there yesterday and today again. And Florian was a bit unwell but he trained with us yesterday also.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot<\/p>\n Wataru Endo (foot), Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Conor Bradley (knee), Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring), Jayden Danns (hamstring) and Giovanni Leoni (knee) are on the injury list.<\/p>\n LEEDS UNITED<\/p>\n Gabriel Gudmundsson (hamstring) and Ilia Gruev (hamstring) have been joined on the injury list by Noah Okafor (calf), who will likely miss the next two games.<\/p>\n Pascal Struijk (hip) will train individually today but the Whites are hopeful of his recovery for Monday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n \u201cI think, as the manager already mentioned last week, Gabi will be out for this week and then we need to assess him on a daily basis, so hopefully he can be with us as soon as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cThen we have got another one with Noah, who picked up a calf strain, so he will miss the next two games. We are hopeful that he will be available back for the last game. He sustained an injury after the FA Cup game in the calf. It was the right calf where he got a contusion. And, in the Burnley game, he pulled the left calf. So, likely he will be out [for] the next two games and, as I said, we are hopeful that he will be back for the last game.<\/p>\n \u201cPascal is not going to train today with us. He has a hip contusion, so [he] got a hit. He will train individually but we are hopeful that he will be available.\u201d \u2013 Edmund Riemer, sitting in for the ill Daniel Farke<\/p>\n Premier League survival could be secured before a ball is kicked on Monday but Leeds won\u2019t take an Arsenal win over West Ham for granted and instead prepare for the match as if a result will be needed in north London.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so. I think we prepare in the best possible way. Of course, we take it however it comes but we want to be ready, whatever happens. So, we don\u2019t want to be surprised and say, \u201cOh, now we need to refocus.\u201d So, the focus will be there. We will prepare the next three training sessions. We will travel and then we\u2019ll be ready to play on Monday evening, Monday night, for a really heated game.\u201d \u2013 Edmund Riemer on if the order of Gameweek 35 fixtures, and the possibility of survival being secured in advance, makes it a strange dynamic<\/p>\n ASTON VILLA<\/p>\n The only injuries that Villa had going into Thursday\u2019s win over Nottingham Forest were Amadou Onana (unspecified) and Boubacar Kamara (knee).<\/p>\n John McGinn (hamstring) recovered ahead of that match to start and score twice.<\/p>\n There were no obvious concerns emerging from Villa Park, with Ollie Watkins taking a blow to the head but going on to last 90 minutes.<\/p>\n Unai Emery sidestepped a question on Watkins and any other concerns, but reassuringly said that the Premier League is a priority \u2013 so we hopefully won\u2019t see the teamsheet carnage we witnessed last weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cStill some things to close, and speaking about the match yesterday, we are going to play the final, and the final, of course, is one day with our supporters, enjoying travelling to Istanbul, and the preparation, the days before, and the day, especially the day, the matchday, enjoying.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, doing special matches, a special day and something maybe for the future we are going to remember, to remember all the process and all the years we are going to be.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd after, we can win, we can lose. If we are losing, we are not getting a trophy, we are not getting the Champions League position for the next year, and we must, again, watch the league, how we are finishing in the league.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd of course, the priority to achieve our objective is through the league. And in the league, we are not performing the last matches like more or less we were.\u201d \u2013 Unai Emery<\/p>\n \u201cWe have our own experiences during the three years playing in Europe and playing matches in a row in a few days. And especially this year, we performed fantastic. A lot of times, playing in Europe on Thursday and then playing on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s true, the last three months after we played in Istanbul against Fenerbah\u00e7e and (that) weekend in Newcastle winning, we didn\u2019t win away.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the first, is no excuses. If someone is getting tired or risk to get injured, of course, we are going to avoid it, but then, try to recover as better as possible today. Tomorrow, we will rest, good food. Tomorrow, we will see how they are coming here, the players, the last training session.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd on Sunday, my idea is to try to get the best players for this match and try to get this challenge. The challenge [of] playing in Europe, and this challenge is not only for now, it\u2019s not only how we were doing during the season. It\u2019s because if we want to play in the highest level, we must be ready to play matches on Thursday and Sunday and getting performance and competing with the mentality we will need.\u201d \u2013 Unai Emery<\/p>\n BOURNEMOUTH<\/p>\n Justin Kluivert (knee) is set to return to the Bournemouth matchday squad for the first time in more than four months.<\/p>\n The Netherlands international has been out of action since undergoing surgery in January but has been back in training over the last fortnight.<\/p>\n \u201cJustin has been training with the team normally this week. I expect him to be in the squad tomorrow, yes.\u201d \u2013 Andoni Iroala on Justin Kluivert<\/p>\n The Fulham match may come too soon for Lewis Cook (hamstring\/calf), although he too is back in training and should return in the final two Gameweeks.<\/p>\n \u201cLew also has been training, not fully, and probably is a little bit behind Justin in the rehab process but is getting there. Probably not for tomorrow but he\u2019s training today normally and we will see. I hope Justin definitely and Lew also can be available for the last two games.\u201d \u2013 Andoni Iraola on Lewis Cook<\/p>\n Andoni Iraola otherwise reported the usual knocks and niggles.<\/p>\n \u201cNo [other injury concerns]. We have, like all the teams in this moment of the season, some niggles, some things, but I hope everyone is available for tomorrow.\u201d \u2013 Andoni Iraola<\/p>\n After Iraola\u2019s presser, the Cherries confirmed<\/a> that \u00c1lex Jim\u00e9nez will not feature against Fulham.<\/p>\n The club are investigating further after posts emerged on social media concerning the right-back.<\/p>\n BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION<\/p>\n James Milner (unspecified) and Solly March (muscle) return to contention this week.<\/p>\n The Wolverhampton Wanderers match may come too soon for Diego Gomez (knee), however.<\/p>\n Mats Wieffer (ankle) is also doubtful after limping off early last week.<\/p>\n \u201cMats Wieffer, it will be tight for this game. I\u2019m not sure if he can make it. He has a small ankle issue, nothing serious. So, therefore, he will be assessed.<\/p>\n \u201cBesides that, we have Diego Gomez, who will be assessed. Besides that, we have James Milner and Solly March, who will be back. They will be definitely an option.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hoping [Gomez will be fit] but I think it\u2019s important that we understand that we can\u2019t risk his health. We also have a responsibility for the players and therefore we have to make the right decision, not the decision that doesn\u2019t take care of the health.\u201d \u2013 Fabian Hurzeler<\/p>\n Stefanos Tzimas and Adam Webster (both knee) are longer-term absentees.<\/p>\n Knee niggles and a suspension have limited Lewis Dunk\u2018s minutes lately but Fabian Hurzeler hinted that he could return this weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always an opportunity for my captain to come back to play. I think against Newcastle, we made this decision [not to start him] because we had the feeling that, in the time when Lewis wasn\u2019t playing, he couldn\u2019t fully train. We had the feeling that we take care of the fitness of each player individually and therefore we tried to make the right decision, what is best for the team. But now, we had one more week, he could train one more week, so that\u2019s a positive. That\u2019s a really positive thing and let\u2019s see how we play tomorrow.\u201d \u2013 Fabian Hurzeler on Lewis Dunk<\/p>\n NEWCASTLE UNITED<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udd4a\ufe0f 9am \u2013 Hurzeler
\u26ab\ufe0f 9.30am \u2013 Howe
\ud83d\udd35 12.30pm \u2013 Guardiola
\ud83d\udc1d 1pm \u2013 Andrews
\ud83d\udc3a 1pm \u2013 Edwards
\ud83d\udd34 1.15pm \u2013 Slot
\u2b55\ufe0f 1.30pm \u2013 Arteta
\ud83c\udf77 1.30pm \u2013 Jackson
\ud83e\udd85 1.30pm \u2013 Glasner
\ud83c\udf6c 1.30pm \u2013 Moyes
\u2b1c\ufe0f 1.30pm \u2013 Silva
\u2692\ufe0f 1.30pm \u2013 Nuno
\ud83d\udfe3 2pm\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/UjOzrNcK3K<\/a><\/p>\n
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