FootyChatter.com

All the big Fantasy Premier League talking points and team news before gameweek eight This week's deadline is 11: 00 BST on Saturday Send your questions in for FPL expert Holly Shand - click Get Involved at the top of this page Holly Shand is an official FPL pundit and has two top 10k finishes in 11 seasons playing FPL Do you pick Salah and Isak? Is Eze the way to go after Odegaard's injury? Team news: Palmer | Gravenberch, Konate & Alisson | Rodri, Marmoush & Ait-Nouri | Odegaard | Martinez & Mazraoui | Gruda out, Mitoma and Veltman to be assessed | Lewis Hall & Yoane Wissa | Brooks | Neto, Caicedo and other Chelsea team news | Branthwaite, Rohl, Patterson, Dewsbury-Hall | Hwang & Bellegarde | Tete & Chukwueze | Riad & Doucoure | Kolo Muani & Bissouma & Solanke | Milambo | Watkins Send us your thoughts before the weekend's action - click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Written by Alex Brotherton & Sean Byrne. Q&A with Holly Shand. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Slot saying they haven't had special moments or goals from set pieces. How about the worldie free kick from Szoboszlai against their title rivals worth a five-point swing in the title race? Steve Smith Man City v Everton (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Everton Everton boss David Moyes on fitness updates within the squad: "We have Jarrad Branthwaite back on the grass, Merlin Rohl back on the grass. Unfortunately Nathan Patterson picked up an injury in the Under-21 game during the week. We have bits and pieces going on, but all the clubs will be the same. " Man City v Everton (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Everton Everton boss David Moyes on Keirnan Dewsbury-Hall returning after his suspension: "He's back after a ridiculous two bookings got him suspended. Thankfully we had a great win against Crystal Palace without him, but we will have him back in amongst it that's for sure. " On Jack Grealish missing the fixture against Man City: "Grealish will be a miss, he's played so well for us but we knew that he's on loan from Man City. " While we gather more Mikel Arteta quotes, here is some David Moyes content from Everton. Fulham v Arsenal (Sat, 17: 30 BST) Arsenal Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Declan Rice saying his role has changed this season: "I think he is adapting to the qualities that we have, we have certain chemistries and certain relationships that you notice. With eight new players in the squad different things emerge. We are trying to maximise his qualities and relationship with others to give the team the best capacity to perform. " Fulham v Arsenal (Sat, 17: 30 BST) Alex Howell BBC Sport Arsenal reporter Mikel Arteta has said that he is 'sure' Viktor Gyokeres will start scoring but said he told the striker to expect tough times before he signed for the club. Gyokeres has scored three goals in 10 matches for Arsenal with goals against Leeds and Nottingham Forest but the striker has not scored in his last six games for the club. He played both matches for Sweden in the international break but did not find the net which means he is without a goal for eight matches but Arteta made clear he is pleased with what Gyokeres is offering. "He brings so much to the team. " Arteta said "Watching the games back, I'm very pleased with what he is bringing to the team. " "I told him, in our first meeting 'the nine that I want is a nine that when he doesn't score for six or eight games he can handle that. If not, you have to go somewhere else. '" "The pressure is going to be there, the expectation is going to be there, if you put the number nine shirt on for Arsenal, you have to be able to say, six games I don't score am I different player? Do I act in a different way? "I want more of the same of what he is doing. When we have the opportunities put it (in the net), I'm sure it is going to happen. " Arteta added. Fulham v Arsenal (Sat, 17: 30 BST) Arsenal Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Martin Odegaard will be out for "a number of weeks" with a knee injury. Full quotes to come from Arteta. Liverpool v Man Utd (Sun, 16: 30 BST) If you missed Liverpool boss Arne Slot earlier, he is below. This video can not be played Liverpool: Results don't lie - Slot Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say I think blaming the CWC for injuries is really narrow-minded thinking. Chelsea's injury list this season has mainly comprised of players that are more familiar with the physio room than the training pitch. Is the CWC to blame for Arsenal's injuries? Tottenham's? Brighton's? LG Crystal Palace v Bournemouth (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Bournemouth Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola on David Brooks picking up an injury during international duty: "It's not the best moment to have an injury. Brooksy was playing very well, and we will take this like a small break and use it in a positive way to come back with the same intent and condition. " On Enes Unal returning to training: "It's something we are considering, giving him some minutes with the development squad. He is training with us, but obviously he is coming from 10 months out because of the ACL. We have to be careful with the load as we don't want to make any mistakes with the recovery. " Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Nizaar Kinsella BBC Sport Chelsea reporter It is no secret that Cole Palmer is one of Chelsea's star players, so any prolonged absence is a major blow. The 23-year-old was involved in 39 Premier League goals in 2024 (26 goals and 13 assists), breaking Chelsea's club record for a single calendar year. Last season, Palmer starred in the Conference League and Club World Cup finals, delivering two goals and three assists across both matches. Medical staff have since dealt with Palmer's painful recurring groin injury, trying unsuccessfully to manage him through the season so far. Palmer withdrew from the warm-up minutes before facing West Ham in August, pulled out of England international duty in September, and came off after 21 minutes in the defeat at Manchester United. That Manchester United match proved the final straw, as Chelsea stopped trying to manage Palmer through the season and sought to resolve his injury once and for all. The current stance from Maresca and the club is that surgery will not be needed, but it remains to be seen whether Palmer can fully overcome the injury after this latest setback within the new time frame. Brighton v Newcastle (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler talking about Diego Gomez after he suffered an injury while on international duty with Paraguay: "Unfortunately players don't come back like how we left them, they come back with small issues. We have tried to manage it across the last couple of days. "The other players including Diego Gomez we will assess, but there is a high chance that they are an option and can start the game" Brighton v Newcastle (Sat, 15: 00 BST) Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler speaking on who will be unavailable against Newcastle: "Brajan Gruda can't play tomorrow, he won't be available. "Karou Mitoma and Joel Veltman are training, but we will have to assess them as well. There is still a question mark over both so we will have to wait. " We are still waiting on Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, so here is some Fabian Hurzeler on Brighton. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say Clive @10: 16 doesn't know what he's talking about calling the CWC a meaningless competition. We are the first and only world champions - sounds like a bitter, jealous fan of our success. Wouldn't trade it for the world, even if it does hamper us a bit this year. Matty Clive's thoughts are here. Fulham v Arsenal (Sat, 17: 30 BST) Arsenal Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta would have been all smiles heading into the international break as the Gunners took first place in the Premier League with a win against West Ham. The result took Arsenal's winning streak to four games across all competitions and they also maintain a perfect record in the Champions League with two wins from two. So it is no wonder Opta have them favourites for not just winning their first Premier League title since 2004 but also a first-ever Champions League. Opta have Arteta's side finishing at the top of the Premier League standings in more than 44% of their simulations. Liverpool, beaten 2-1 by Chelsea before the break, are only one point behind but Opta only gives them a 30. 93% chance of defending the title while Manchester City's chances of becoming champions stand at 13. 98%. The story is not very different in Europe either as Arsenal have the highest chance of winning the Champions League at 19. 65% with Paris St-Germain next, with a 14. 73% probability of becoming back-to-back champions. Liverpool have a 12. 72% probability of lifting the trophy while Bayern Munich and Manchester City each have about 10% chance of emerging victorious on the continental stage. Fulham v Arsenal (Sat, 17: 30 BST) Alex Howell BBC Sport Arsenal reporter Arsenal take on Fulham tomorrow as they get back to Premier League action after the international break. Mikel Arteta has some team news updates to give with captain Martin Odegaard ruled out for 6-8 weeks and Peiro Hincapie returning to training after a groin issue. There are also questions to be asked about Ben White who was not pictured in training and has had fitness issues this season. Striker Viktor Gyokeres hasn’t scored for six games for Arsenal and also did not score in his two matches for Sweden meaning he’s without a goal for 8 games. Arteta said he gave him a hug for his efforts after the last match against West Ham but with Kai Havertz still out injured, Arsenal need the striker to start firing. That's all from Enzo Maresca, we will hear from Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta shortly. Nottingham Forst v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Nizaar Kinsella BBC Sport Chelsea reporter Chelsea's star forward Cole Palmer has struggled throughout the season, and this injury absence could last up to ten weeks in total. He picked up the recurring groin injury in pre-season, following a sensational summer in the Club World Cup, which Chelsea won. There, Donald Trump, the US president, presented him with the Golden Ball after the final victory over Paris Saint-Germain. Palmer played 90 minutes on the opening day but withdrew from the warm-up for the next match against West Ham and later pulled out of England international duty in September. He returned to play three matches for Chelsea but lasted only 21 minutes in an away defeat at Manchester United before withdrawing. He has been sidelined ever since. Palmer has been partly doing his rehabilitation in Dubai with a personal trainer. Maresca had hoped to have him back after the October international break, but the absence - now extended by six weeks - is a blow, ruling him out until after the November break at the earliest. Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (Sat, 12: 30 BST) Chelsea Finally from Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, he was discussing substitutions and how far ahead they are planned: "When we analyse a team we try and consider everything. "We have watched all the games with Ange [Postecoglou] in charge, so making changes you sometimes plan but also it depends on the game. "With amount of games now we need to think of change not only during but also the starting XI. " On improvement scoring from set pieces: "Since I joined the club, Bernardo [Cueva] is in charge for set pieces. "Something you can score or concede, but overall, between goals we score and concede, we are doing quite well. " Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.