Douglas Luiz, an Aston Villa midfielder, appears to have leaked some team news ahead of Friday’s Premier League match against Sheffield United, revealing that teammate Pau Torres is unavailable. Pau was previously just an injury doubt after leaving in pain late in the 2-1 win at Brentford, but it appears that is no longer the case.
During a Twitch stream, Luiz was asked about Pau’s condition by a fan, and he admitted that the defender would not be appearing on Friday. “Pau is hurt. “He’s not ready for Friday,” Luiz said, causing a minor meltdown among Villa fans and Fantasy Premier League players.
Pau hasn’t missed a single league game this season and has played all but 31 minutes, so his absence will be felt acutely if Luiz is correct. The most likely impact on team selection would be Ezri Konsa switching from right-back to centre-back and Matty Cash switching from the right flank to full-back.
Meanwhile, Clement Lenglet is another option if Unai Emery prefers a left-footed player to come in as a like-for-like replacement. In case you missed it, Birmingham World’s predicted XI with Pau ruled out can be found here.
READ MORE
FPL injury news: Haaland, Isak, Schar, Pau Torres, and Doku are all out for GW18.
Fantasy To avoid losing valuable points, Premier League managers must remove Erling Haaland from their squads before the deadline on Thursday. The forward is currently in over 66% of FPL teams, but Manchester City is in Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup. He also has a foot injury that could keep him out of City’s next league game against Everton.
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Haaland has yet to resume full training, while Jeremy Doku has a muscle problem and did not play against the Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday night. Both players appear to be in danger of missing City’s match against Everton next week, which would be a devastating blow to the defending Premier League champions.
Over at Newcastle, Anthony Gordon’s fitness will be called into question after he limped off after a heavy challenge against Chelsea in midweek. Eddie Howe will be desperate to have Gordon available for Saturday’s trip to Luton Town, but he has yet to confirm whether or not he will be fit.
Despite making progress in his recovery from a groin injury, Alexander Isak, who is currently in 16.9% of all FPL teams, could be another doubt for the Magpies. Fabian Schar and Joelinton are also doubts for this weekend after being left out of Newcastle’s squad against Chelsea on Tuesday.
Aston Villa will be hoping to have Pau Torres available when they face Sheffield United on Friday night in the Premier League. The Spaniard limped off in Arsenal’s win over Brentford last weekend, but Unai Emery gave an upbeat update after the game, saying, “Hopefully it’s a small injury, hopefully.”
Another popular FPL pick is Brighton defender Pervis Estupinan, who appears to have suffered a new injury setback ahead of Thursday’s match against Crystal Palace. Ecuador football president Francisco Egas revealed the bad news to La Red, saying, “Unfortunately, Pervis got injured again.” It’s now a strain, not the same muscle injury.”
In other news, Tottenham will be without several players when they face in-form Everton on Saturday. Destiny Udogie and Yves Bissouma are both suspended, but Giovani Lo Celso could play if he recovers from what Ange Postecoglou recently described as a “niggle.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool will be hoping to welcome Alexis Mac Allister back into the fold when they face Arsenal in a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday. The Reds midfielder suffered a deep cut to his leg after a heavy challenge earlier this month, but he appears to be recovering quickly.
“Alexis is progressing well,” said Jurgen Klopp’s assistant coach Pep Lijnders this week. He is no longer in pain, which is a good thing. It was worse than we had anticipated, but he is making good progress with no pain. Let’s see if we can move him along.”
Bryan Mbeumo, who is in 9.6 percent of all FPL teams, will be out of action for Brentford for several months due to a long-term ankle injury. He recently had surgery and is expected to be out until March if his recovery goes as planned in the coming weeks.
