The Premier League is back and Daily Fantasy Focus gives you the definitive lowdown on suspension, illness and injury in the Premier League. Here we round up who’s on the Hitlist for Gameweek 1 of the new season.
Arsenal
Next Up: Liverpool (H)
Arsene Wenger’s team will be missing some key players for Sunday’s clash with Liverpool. Key names such as Giroud, Ozil and Koscielny are unlikely to feature after being given extra time off following the Euros. Danny Welbeck, Per Mertesacker and Carl Jenkinson are long term absentees from the squad while Jack Wilshere is an injury concern after picking up a knee injury.
Injured: Welbeck, Mertesacker, Jenkinson, Gnabry
50/50: Giroud, Ozil, Koscielny, Paulista, Wilshere, Cazorla
Bournemouth
Next Up: Man United (H)
A tough start for Bournemouth facing Mourinho’s United, however, Eddie Howe has few injury concerns. Tyrone Mings is still recovering from a ruptured ACL and is expected back in October while Junior Stanislas, an important player for the Cherries last season, is out with a hernia.
Injured: Mings, Stanislas, Hyndman
50/50: Cargill
Burnley
Next Up: Swansea (H)
Burnley have no players who are definitely out for their first game back in the Premier League. New signing Jon Flanagan is short of match fitness and may not feature.
Injured: None
50/50: Flanagan, Ward, Barnes
Chelsea
Next Up: West Ham (H)
Captain John Terry is a doubt with a head injury for Antonio Conte’s first competItive game as Chelsea boss. Kurt Zouma and Marco Van Ginkel still face a long time on the sidelines with knee injuries.
Injured: Zouma, Van Ginkel
50/50: Terry
Crystal Palace
Next Up: West Brom (H)
Palace’s squad is looking bare with the loss of Bolasie to Everton and an ever increasing injury list. Recent signing James Tomkins is out until mid October after pulling his hamstring.
Injured: Tomkins, Sako, Campbell
50/50: McArthur, Fryers, Souare, Williams
Everton
Next Up: Tottenham (H)
In terms of fantasy teams, popular pick Romelu Lukaku is rated as 50/50 but whether he will be togging out for Everton or Chelsea remains to be seen. Muhamed Besic is out until the new year with a knee ligament injury.
Injured: Besic, Connolly, Browning
50/50: Lukaku, Pennington
Hull City
Next Up: Leicester City (H)
Change of manager rather than injuries will be the most worrying thing for Hull fans ahead of the new season however, goalkeeper Allan McGregor and defenders Alex Bruce, Michael Dawson and Moses Odubajo are all long term absentees.
Injured: Dawson, Odubajo, McGregor, Bruce
50/50: Maguire, Moloney, Luer
Leicester City
Next Up: Hull City (A)
Robert Huth is the only player missing for the Champions as he serves a suspension. New signing Luis Hernandez is expected to deputise and partner Wes Morgan.
Suspended: Huth
Liverpool
Next Up: Arsenal (A)
Liverpool have a raft of injuries to their squad. Goalkeeper Loris Karius broke his handing (accidentally) punching Dejan Lovren in a pre season match. Sakho, Gomez, Ilori and Lucas are all definitely ruled out. James Milner who is likely to play at left back will face a late fitness test on a heel injury and Daniel Sturridge is suffering from a hip injury.
Injured: Lucas, Karius, Sakho, Gomez, Ilori, Ejaria
50/50: Sturridge, Milner, Grujic, Ojo, Lovren
Manchester City
Next Up: Sunderland (H)
Vincent Kompany’s injury woes continue into the new season as he misses out on the first game due to a quad strain. New signing Ilkay Gundogan also won’t be available until mid September as he recovers from a patella dislocation.
Injured: Kompany, Gundogan
50/50: De Bruyne, Sane
Manchester United
Next Up: Bournemouth (A)
Chris Smalling serves his suspension for picking up two yellows in the FA Cup Final. Jesse Lingard and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson are nursing minor injuries while it remains to be seen if marquee signing Paul Pogba will be thrown in from the start against Bournemouth after being pictured in Las Vegas just last week.
50/50: Pogba, Borthwick-Jackson, Lingard
Suspended: Smalling
Middlesborough
Next Up: Stoke (H)
Premier League football is back at The Riverside after 7 years, however, Espinosa (ACL), Husband (Shoulder), Leadbitter (Hernia) and Ayala (Ankle) will all miss the home game with Stoke.
Injured: Espinosa, Ayala, Husband, Leadbitter
Southampton
Next Up: Watford (H)
Southampton already have a small defensive crisis on their hands as 5 first team defenders could miss the opening match. Virgil Van Dijk is the most likely of the 5 to have a chance of playing as he recovers from a knock picked up in pre-season.
50/50: Gardos, Bertrand, Fonte, Van Dijk, Soares
Stoke City
Next Up: Middlesborough (A)
Stoke welcome back Jack Butland for the new season after an ankle fracture kept him out of the Euros. Marko Arnautovic (Hamstring) and Xherdan Shaqiri (Knock) are nursing minor injuries ahead of this weekends game.
Injured: Afellay, Ireland
50/50: Arnautovic, Shaqiri, Cameron
Sunderland
Next Up: Man City (A)
Jermain Defoe is the big doubt for Sunderland. He is currently struggling with a quad strain and if Sunderland are to survive again they will need Defoe available for as many games as possible this season.
50/50: Defoe, Kirchhoff, Jones, Larsson
Swansea City
Next Up: Burnley (A)
Euro 2016 starts Gylfi Sigurdsson and Neil Taylor are rated as 50/50 as they have only recently returned to training. Ki and Frederico Fernandez will face late fitness tests before the trip to Turf Moor.
50/50: Fernandez, Ki, Sigurdsson, Taylor
Tottenham Hotspur
Next Up: Everton (A)
Heung-Min Son is representing South Korea at the Olympics while Jan Vertonghen (ankle) also misses out. Vertonghen’s fellow Belgian Mousa Dembele serves the third of a 6 game ban for eye gouging Diego Costa during the “Battle at the Bridge” last season.
Injured: Vertonghen, Son,
50/50: N’Jie
Suspended: Dembele
Watford
Next Up: Southampton (A)
New signing Brice Dja Djedje, Craig Cathcart and Etienne Capoue are all doubtful for Walter Mazzarri’s first game in charge of The Hornets.
50/50: Dja Djedge, Cathcart, Capoue
West Bromwich Albion
Next Up: Crystal Palace (A)
Only Chris Brunt is missing for the Baggies as he continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered back in March against this week’s opponents – Palace.
Injured: Brunt
West Ham
Next Up: Chelsea (A)
Knee injuries are causing Slavin Bilic a headache before West Ham’s opener at Stamford Bridge on Monday night. Four of his squad are currently sidelined with varying degrees of knee ailments. Meanwhile, Dmitri Payet only returned to training this week and may not feature from the start against Chelsea.
Injured: Cresswell, Lanzini, Tore, Henry
50/50: Payet, Sakho
