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Palmer - 95 %

What happened?

To be honest, nothing happened. Palmer was pulled out of the England squad after the Arsenal game in which he played the full 90 minutes. The only reason for him not playing during the international break was probably due to the knock from Martinez during the United game.

Palmer might have played on pain killers and a bit of pain, but in the end, it was a knock. Nothing more.

Palmer has also been seen in training, which is of course a very good sign.

My prediction:

Palmer will play.

McNeil - 85 %

What happened?

McNeil didn’t feature in GW 11 due to ongoing knee problems. Rumors circulating that he has been dealing with the problem for some weeks now, but is now back into full training. We don’t have any insights of what type of injury he has been dealing with, but certainly not severe.

Dyche said during the press conference that McNeil has been training and that they’re optimistic that he will feature this weekend.

My analysis:

It’s actually quite positive if it’s a knee injury, as that wouldn’t limit his minutes compared to a muscle injury, which often do. I think Everton might have been a bit conservative about McNeil and that he might even could have played in GW 11, but wasn’t risked. All conspiracy theories though.

I believe McNeil will be fit, ready to start and will start.

My prediction:

McNeil will play.

Mbeumo, Pinnock & Wissa - 95 %

Will the Brentford men be ready?

Pinnock didn’t play the second match during the international break due to a knock, while Mbeumo and Wissa were probably just load management. Thomas Frank said during the press conference that he expect all of them to be ready for the weekend.

My prediction:

All three will play and start.

Saka - 85 %

Dark Arts from Arteta?

Bukayo Saka left the pitch during the last minutes against Chelsea in GW 11. He was later pulled from the international break with a “hamstring injury”.

Many have been speculating that it was a planned injury and substitution. We don’t know, but it surely does seem suspicious that Saka could almost finish the game for then to be subbed off with an international break coming up.

My analysis:

Let’s say it is a hamstring injury, a mild one, then Saka would be looking at 10 days - 3 weeks of recovery before returning. IF that’s the case there’s still a chance that he might play, but a recovery time of only 13 days is not a lot.

I really do believe we HAVE to think that an actual injury occurred as it would be such a weird move to take off Saka in a match Arsenal desperately wanted to win.

Arteta said during the press conference that Saka and Rice took part in their first partial training session. If that is true, then it would be quite risky to play Saka, as partial session could easily mean that he has been left out of high intensity drills.

BUT…

When i saw the “injury” happening, I thought to myself..”When did that injury happen?”. It also looked like Saka didn’t really point to any place on his body. It all seemed really strange.

By the lack of evidence of an actual injury, other than tightness, happening, I simply can’t rule him out.

My prediction: Saka will be available.

Foden - 95 %

Foden is yellow flagged and probably only because he was pulled out of the international break. I haven’t read any rumors or articles about any sort of injury, which is also why I expect him to be ready.

During Peps press conference he didn’t add any comments about Foden, which I see as a very positive sign. Foden has also been pictured in training during this week.

My Prediction:

Foden will play

Trent - 10 %

Trent had to come off with a hamstring injury in GW 11 against Aston Villa and hasn’t trained yet, which basically rules him out. I’ve already talked a lot about this injury on X, and if you want to know my three main reasons I think Trent wouldn’t play in GW 12, you can give this clip a listen.

Prediction:

Trent is out

Five fast ones for the Physio!

Reece James - Don’t ever buy him. Injured again and probably out for 1 week or half a year. You never know.

Semenyo & Kerkez- Andoni Iraola expects Antoine Semenyo and Milos Kerkez to be available for Bournemouth’s Premier League clash against Brighton on Saturday. 

Colwill - I expect Colwill to be abailable. He has trained with the rest of the group during the week.

Konsa - Konsa is set to be left out for this GW, but I expect him to be ready for next GW.

L. Martinez - Seems to be only a knock to the back. Knocks usually recover fast and I expect him to be available for this GW.