Saka, Watkins & Haaland: FPL injury news with Arsenal, Villa & Man City stars among doubts

With so many high-profile players doubts for this weekend’s Premier League football, a lot of Fantasy Premier League players will be fretting over possible injuries – so we’ve listened in on the managers’ press conferences to find out whether players like Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins and Erling Haaland will play and pick up some points for your FPL team.

We won’t cover players who are definitely out for the long term or who don’t feature heavily in the fantasy landscape, but here are all the latest fitness updates for players who may or may not make it onto the pitch for your teams this weekend – and if you want some more general advice on tactics, chip strategy and how to pick your differentials down the home straight of the season, check out or high-flying manager’s regular advice column. You can read the latest instalment by clicking here.

Bukayo Saka

The Arsenal and England winger has been struggling with his fitness of late and having pulled out of the international friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, he was then rested in midweek when Arsenal hosted Luton Town. Mikel Arteta told the media today that he would be “assessed” later on Friday to see if he was ready to play against Brighton & Hove Albion. At this point, he seems unlikely to play the full 90 minutes.

Ollie Watkins

Having missed the 4-1 defeat to Manchester City after picking up a hamstring injury last weekend, Watkins will be back in the squad for the match against Brentford on Saturday. However, Unai Emery has said that he won’t know what part he will be able to play until the morning of the match – like Saka, he may well not play for the full length of the game. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who also missed the trip to the Etihad with illness, is ready to go, but Jacob Ramsey has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Erling Haaland & Kevin de Bruyne

Both of Manchester City’s biggest names missed the win over Aston Villa on Wednesday, and Pep Guardiola refused to be drawn on whether they will start Saturday’s early kick-off against Crystal Palace – the Catalan head coach simply said “I don’t know yet… I have to think about that.”

Both are believed to be fully fit, so if they are dropped again it will likely be a strictly tactical decision. Meanwhile, Guardiola has confirmed that Kyle Walker and Nathan Aké are out, but it’s possible that Ederson makes his return.

Hwang Hee-Chan

Wolverhampton Wanderers forward (well, midfielder as far as FPL is concerned) Hwang has missed the last four league matches with a hamstring injury, but could be in line for a surprise early comeback in Saturday’s game against West Ham United. Manager Gary O’Neil confirmed that he will be in the squad if he comes through today’s training session. Striker Matheus Cunha, who was scoring freely before injury struck, made his comeback from the bench in midweek against Burnley and could be in line to start – apparently, he “feels great.”

Richarlison

One unexpected absentee this weekend is Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison – the Brazil international has picked up a knee injury and won’t feature against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, with manager Ange Postecoglou said that “we will probably give him the weekend off to get totally over it and hopefully be ready for Newcastle next week.”

Alphonse Areola

One of the most popular goalkeepers in the FPL is almost certain to miss the match against Wolves with a “tweak to his groin,” as manager David Moyes described it. The Scotsman added that “we hope it’s not going to be too long” but declined to provide a timeline for his return.

Michael Olise

Some good news for Palace fans – French midfielder Olise is “coming back into the squad,” but it’s a bit early to get him back into your FPL teams too, as Oliver Glasner said that due to medical advice, he will play for no more than 15-20 minutes. He could become a spicy differential option in the near future, however.