Premier League Injury Update - Gameweek 20
Content Editor at Free Super Tips, Alex was born in the shadow of Old Trafford and is an avid Man Utd fan. After graduating from university he combined his love of football, writing and betting to join FST and now closely follows goings-on in all of the top European leagues.
West Ham vs Liverpool – Sat 2nd Jan – 12:45
Aaron Cresswell, Nikica Jelavic, and Dimitri Payet could all be in line for a return to West Ham’s teamsheet after injury layoffs. Winston Reid and Victor Moses are still a week or so off making a comeback though, whilst Diafra Sakho will have to wait another month or so.
Liverpool have quite a bit more to worry about. Danny Ings and Joe Gomez are going to miss the remainder of the season with their serious knee injuries. Captain Jordan Henderson is still out with his foot problem as well. Also sidelined for their trip to West Ham are Jon Flanagan, James Milner, Martin Skrtel, Divock Origi, and Jordan Rossiter. On the plus side, Joe Allen and Daniel Sturridge should be fit to play.
Sunderland vs Aston Villa – Sat 2nd Jan – 15:00
Sunderland have a number of doubts for their bottom of the table clash with Aston Villa. Seb Coates, Steven Fletcher, and John O’Shea could miss out on Saturday. Jack Rodwell, Adam Matthews, Younes Kaboul, and Seb Larsson have all been ruled out though.
Jores Okore could return for Aston Villa after recovering from his knee injury, but Gabby Agbonlahor and Carlos Sanchez will have to wait another week or so to put their boots back on. Jordan Amavi remains on the sidelines for a long period along with Gary Garnder, who just can’t seem to recover from the horrendous tackle he received in pre season.
Norwich vs Southampton – Sat 2nd Jan – 15:00
Andre Wisdom and Matt Jarvis are both very close to a return for Norwich, but there’s a good chance that at least one of them will be given more time to recover and left out of the team for their hosting of Southampton.
Graziano Pelle won’t lead the line for Southampton for another week or so, whilst Fraser Forster and Jay Rodriguez are inching towards a return at the start of February. Florin Gardos probably won’t play again this season though.
Manchester United vs Swansea – Sat 2nd Jan – 15:00
Jesse Lingard and Marcos Rojo are both suffering from injuries, but it’s unknown how long they will be out for. Antonio Valencia won’t be back until the end of February for Manchester United whilst Luke Shaw’s broken leg won’t have fully healed until April.
Wayne Routledge and Federico Fernandez are both carrying knocks but are hoping to be fit in time to take to the field for Swansea. Franck Tabanou and Macedo Lopes will both be in recovery for another week though.
West Brom vs Stoke – Sat 2nd Jan – 15:00
West Brom are hoping to have a clean bill of health when they host Stoke on Saturday, although there are doubts over how fit Ben Foster, Victor Anichebe, and Jonas Olsson will be.
Stoke are a week or so away from welcoming back their casualties. Marco Muniesa, Stephen Ireland, and Peter Crouch are all expected back next weekend. We don’t know how much longer Shay Given will be out for though.
Arsenal vs Newcastle – Sat 2nd Jan – 15:00
Arsenal’s injury crisis is showing no signs of letting up yet, and they will play their part in the most injury hit fixture of the week. Alexis Sanchez and Mikel Arteta are still a week or two off a return. Tomas Rosicky won’t be back in action until the end of January with Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck, and Francis Coquelin all following him in February. Santi Cazorla is ruled out until March though.
Newcastle still have the longest casualty list in the league. Rob Elliot is desperate to make a recovery from illness to pull his gloves on, but Vernon Anita, Papiss Cisse, Mike Williamson, Massadio Haidara, Rolando Aarons, Tim Krul, Gabriel Obertan, Steven Taylor, Emmanuel Riviere, and Craig Good won’t be back in action yet.
Leicester vs Bournemouth – Sat 2nd Jan – 15:00
Leicester only have two injury concerns to deal with ahead of their match against Bournemouth. Jordan Schlupp and Matthew James are a few weeks off a return and will miss a few games more.
Bournemouth have a couple more problems to deal with than their opponents. Christian Atsu and Tommy Elphick should be back next week, with Max Gradel ready to make a long awaited return at the end of February. Callum Wilson’s ACL injury will keep him out until April, whilst Tyrone Mings’ own knee problem will see him out of action until September.
Watford vs Manchester City – Sat 2nd Jan – 17:30
Joel Ekstrand is hoping to make his first Premier League appearance for Watford on Saturday, and if he does recover in time then Watford will have a completely clean bill of health.
Fabian Delph and Fernando are both slight doubts for Manchester City’s trip down south. Gael Clichy, Vincent Kompany, and Samir Nasri definitely won’t make the team bus though, with the former being out for another week, Kompany missing until the end of January, and Nasri out until April.
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea – Sun 3rd Jan – 13:30
Damien Delaney is a doubt for Crystal Palace’s hosting of Chelsea on Sunday, but Dwight Gayle will miss another week with his hamstring injury along with Bakary Sako. Yannick Bolasie and Connor Wickham won’t be back until the end of the month though. It’s unknown how much longer Kwesi Appiah will be out for though, who suffered an ACL injury back at the start of the season.
Chelsea could have a fully fit squad on Sunday, but with four players all listed as doubtful it’s unlikely. Cesc Fabregas has been suffering from illness, with Loic Remy, Gary Cahill, and Radamel Falcao all doubtful as well.
Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur – Sun 3rd Jan – 16:00
Tom Cleverley and Phil Jagielka are both major doubts for Everton ahead of Sunday’s match. Meanwhile, Stephen Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo will have to wait another week before recovering. James McCarthy, Tyias Browning, and Tony Hibbert are all out injured too.
Tottenham Hotspur are looking fairly good in injury terms. Moussa Dembele and Alex Pritchard will definitely miss out, but apparently Clinton N’Jie could be back in action on Sunday.