Will we get any FPL team news over Christmas?

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The busy Christmas schedule tends to cause a lot of player losses, with quick turnaround times and fatigue leading to injuries and rotations.

Not helping the situation is the unpredictability of team news.

A press conference could happen after Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadlines during the festive season, or can be embargoed sections filmed after previous games. This isn’t ideal for the latest injury news, as Premier League managers are unlikely to be able to tell us much new.

So, let’s take a Gameweek by Gameweek look at what we can expect over Christmas and New Year. The deadline is GMT.

GAME WEEK 18

Even though Christmas Day is just around the corner, Gameweek 18 is probably our best pick for team news over the next four Gameweeks.

It’s a relatively long time ahead of the Boxing Day deadline, with little action in the middle of the week, so we expect many Premier League managers to face the media this week.

Arne Slot, David Moyes, Nuno Espirito Santo and Eddie Howe are among those already scheduled for Tuesday, with the full list to come tomorrow.

And Christmas Eve is usually no barrier to holding a press conference. Last year, we had eight live broadcasts (and some embargoed quotes) on December 24th. This is a continuation of the 10 broadcasts we held on December 23rd.

Ruben Amorim is among the managers who will face the media on Christmas Eve this year.

Bruno Fernandes is still undergoing a complete injury check. Ruben Amorim will speak to the media ahead of Newcastle’s game on Christmas Eve.

— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) December 22, 2025

There may be exceptions. We already know that Pep Guardiola will not be holding a press conference for Gameweek 18, although he will “do it on TV”. It will likely be a one-on-one interview, which we have seen in the past, and he may still be asked about team news in that regard.

With Arsenal and Crystal Palace clashing in the EFL Cup tomorrow, Mikel Arteta and Oliver Glasner may opt to hold their Gameweek 18 presser once the cup tie gets underway at full time. If so, price offers will be embargoed until closer to the end of next week.

We’re even running most of Boxing Day (late deadline at 18:30 GMT) to remove all late-arriving deals.

The downside to all this? A press conference will be held early this week. How much can Mr Slot, Moyes et al tell us about the squad’s fitness for the game in four days? There is also the possibility of injury occurring including; the risk is much smaller if the pre-match presser is held one day before the game.

However, any press conference is better than none – as we will discuss.

GAME WEEK 19

Now, it’s Gameweeks that’s in trouble.

Gameweek 19 was a mess in team news last season, with this year looking similar.

The biggest issue could be the injury updates for the eight teams below, all of whom are playing on New Year’s Day:

The deadline for Matchweek 19 is December 30, which will likely be before the managers of the above eight clubs face the media.

Even the managers of a dozen teams playing on deadline day (see below) will probably presser on Gameweek 19 just after full time on Gameweek 18 (this happens often in 2024/25).

So, ‘latest’ FPL team news may be in short supply this Gameweek.

GAME WEEK 20

Gameweek 20 may, once again, be the gathering place for embargoed quotes and actual ‘live’ press conferences. However, unlike Gameweek 19, we will likely hear from most/all managers before the deadline.

It’s Saturday’s deadline, so we’ll do it Possible get the usual pre-game pressers (mostly on Fridays, since Thursday is New Year’s Day) from some of the teams in action on December 30 (Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Burnley, Chelsea, Everton, Man Utd, Newcastle, Nottm Forest, West Ham And Wolf).

Eight teams playing on New Year’s Day (Brentford, C Palace, Fulham, Leeds, Liverpool, Man City, Sunderland And Fame) is the greatest uncertainty. Expect most of those managers to answer live questions after full time in Gameweek 19, with prices embargoed until Friday.

The 2022/23 season is the closest thing to a 30 December-3 January turnaround this season. Very few standalone pressers were done at that time.

GAME WEEK 21

Some normalcy will probably resume for the midweek games below. Press conferences for West Ham and Nottm Forest on Monday, majority of the rest of the division on Tuesday. That’s the theory.

The problem child is Arsenal v Liverpool on Thursday. Mikel Arteta and Arne Slot may face the media on Wednesday 7 January, the day after the Gameweek 21 deadline.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Long story short: tidy up those benches! Some are low cost play replacement, like Omar Alderete (£4.0 million) and Joe Rodon (£4.1m), could come in handy at Christmas.

They may be needed, as some clubs don’t tell us about their latest team news in Matchweek 19-21 and press conferences very early in Matchweek 18.

Take Liverpool as an example. There’s a big chance we won’t get it every team news from Arne Slot in Gameweek 19 or 21, while Gameweek 20 might just be an embargoed, useless, quote from the post-match on New Year’s Day.

Let the ruckus begin…

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