Saka, Mbeumo & Gordon: Latest FPL injury news for Gameweek 34 before Arsenal v Newcastle

With a big double gameweek out of the way, it’s already time for Fantasy Premier League players around the world to prepare for another deadline, which comes at 18:30 BST on Friday ahead of Sunderland’s game against relegation battlers Nottingham Forest.

With only seven games this weekend due to the FA Cup semi-finals, it’s time for a lot FPL managers to use their free hits – you can find our resident expert’s guide to the perfect free hit team by clicking here – but as always there are plenty of injury issues to assess before you make your transfers.

Bukayo Saka, Bryan Mbeumo and Anthony Gordon are among the big names flagged as potential absentees, and we’ve got all the latest on them and several other FPL-relevant players below ahead of the weekend – and we’ll be updating this article tomorrow as information comes in from the managers’ pre-match press conferences.

Saka, Mbeumo & Gordon among FPL injury worries for Gameweek 34

Bukayo Saka: The winger has missed Arsenal’s last five matches due to an Achilles problem, but Mikel Arteta unexpectedly said on Friday that he would “probably” be back in the squad to face Newcastle this weekend - although he didn’t suggest that he would necessarily start or see out a full 90 minutes. We suspect that it’s not worth transferring him in just yet.

Jurriën Timber & Riccardo Calafiori: Both defenders were considered touch-and-go for the weekend and it looks as though only one will be in the matchday squad - like Saka, Calafiori seems likely to be involved in some capacity, but it sounds as though Timber is at least a few days away from returning. He could be back for next weekend.

Bryan Mbeumo: The Cameroonian winger has a yellow flag next to his name on the FPL app, but it doesn’t currently seem likely that he’ll miss the match against Brentford despite limping off towards the end of Saturday’s win over Chelsea. We’ve heard nothing to suggest that he had anything more than a minor knock, and there are no reports indicating that he’ll miss out.

Anthony Gordon & Tino Livramento: Eddie Howe confirmed on Friday that Gordon is out for the trip to the Emirates this weekend having missed training this week due to a hip problem, although he did stress that the winger wasn’t set for a lengthy lay-off. Full-back Livramento, meanwhile, is expected to miss at least the next three matches and may well be done for the season.

Chelsea & Sunderland stars among injured stars

João Pedro & Cole Palmer: Chelsea aren’t playing in the Premier League this weekend, but we suspect that plenty of players will still want to know how two of their most widely-owned assets are getting on – both João Pedro and Palmer should be fit to face Leeds in the FA Cup semi-final after respective hamstring issues ruled them out of the dismal defeat to Brighton. They’ll be alright going forward. The same can’t be said for young winger Estêvão, who is done for the season and may miss the World Cup after tearing his own hamstring.

Omar Alderete: Regis Le Bris has already confirmed that the centre-back will be fit to face Nottingham Forest on Friday evening, after he was withdrawn in the second half of the ding-dong 4-3 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.

Alisson: With Giorgio Mamardashvili expected to be out for a few weeks with a gashed knee, Liverpool could hurry Alisson back into the line-up after a month-long lay-off due to a hamstring problem. Arne Slot hinted that it was possible the Brazilian would be involved, but it’s a late fitness test situation with no guarantees.

Murillo: There’s less positive news for Forest fans. Vitor Pereira has confirmed that Murillo will be out this weekend, and could miss multiple games due to an unspecified muscular injury. Not that many people were leaning on their defensive assets this year…

Beto: Initial reports from several outlets suggested that a head injury sustained last week wasn’t a concussion, suggesting that the budget-friendly striker would be fit to face West Ham - but David Moyes poured cold water on that on Friday, telling the media that it was indeed a concussion and ruling Beto out.

Guglielmo Vicario: The Spurs defence becomes a real consideration given that they’re playing against Wolves, but it seems that Vicario won’t be available as he recoveries from hernia surgery. He should be back next week.