At this stage of the season, there have been more injuries during the 2023/2024 Premier League campaign than any other and there are concerns over a number of players heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures. Fantasy Premier League managers will be scrambling to lock in their picks but they face a difficult task predicting who will be available. Here, Express Sport provides a helping hand with a list of players who are doubts ahead of gameweek 17.
Erling Haaland has accumulated the third most points in the league this season and has been a reliable option for many FPL managers since joining the league last summer. But it may be a good idea to leave him out of your starting XI this week.
The Norwegian goal-machine was ruled out of Manchester City’s 2-1 win at Luton on Sunday with a stress fracture and could miss Saturday’s clash against Crystal Palace. He is expected to return to first-team training on Thursday but that is no guarantee he will play.
He remains a doubt until Pep Guardiola’s next update. “I don’t know right now,” said the Spaniard after City’s 3-2 win over FK Crvena zvezda on Wednesday. “Next press conference I could be more precise about his condition.”
It may be wise to steer clear of Newcastle United stars Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier this week as well. Both of them were forced off during the Magpies’ 2-1 defeat to AC Milan yesterday while Trippier is already suspended for Saturday’s clash with Fulham.
As for Gordon, Howe reveals that the winger has been struggling with hamstring issues for a few weeks now. That could mean a lengthy layoff to fix the problem.
Bryan Mbeumo has been one of the surprise packages at Brentford this year. The Cameroonian international filled the void left by Ivan Toney and has served as an excellent affordable option for FPL managers in 2023. However, the 24-year-old is set to be on the sidelines for several weeks with a serious ankle injury.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace’s Odsonne Edouard is an uncertainty for the Eagles trip to the Etihad after picking up a knee injury against Liverpool last weekend. Roy Hodgson recently said of the forward: “We can’t afford injuries. Edouard we don’t know about – it’s a knee injury.”
