Premier League team news and statistics.
Saturday, January 30th
Birmingham (8) v Tottenham (4)
Birmingham have new £3 million midfielder Craig Gardner available. Kevin Phillips is still missing with a groin problem but Cameron Jerome is fit having suffered no reaction to his ankle injury after making his comeback against Chelsea.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will give loan signing Eidur Gudjohnsen a “week or so” to settle in at White Hart Lane so he will not feature at St Andrew’s. Aaron Lennon is still out with a hernia problem which the club hope to cure with physio treatment while Roman Pavlyuchenko will be out for at least a week with a groin strain.
Last season:No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches:Birmingham D D W D L; Tottenham D W D L W
Top scorers (all competitions):Lee Bowyer (Birmingham) 6; Jermain Defoe (Tottenham) 16
Referee:Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire).
Burnley (18) v Chelsea (1)
New signings Leon Cort and Nicky Weaver are in Burnley’s squad to face the Premier League leaders. Graham Alexander is struggling with a calf strain but Chris McCann is hopeful of shaking off a knock on his knee.
Chelsea will be without Ivory Coast strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou. The pair have returned from the African Nations Cup but will not be considered for first-team duties until Chelsea visit Hull on Tuesday night. Midfielder Michael Essien is out with a knee injury along with Juliano Belletti but coach Carlo Ancelotti has no fresh injury worries.
Last season:No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches:Burnley L D L L L; Chelsea D D W W W
Top scorers (all competitions):Steven Fletcher (Burnley) 9; Didier Drogba (Chelsea) 19
Referee:Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).
Fulham (10) v Aston Villa (7)
Bobby Zamora (collarbone) and Simon Davies (foot) will continue their Fulham comebacks after both played some part in the 2-0 defeat by Tottenham and could start at Craven Cottage tomorrow. Andy Johnson is still struggling with a knee problem while Clint Dempsey (knee), Paul Konchesky (ankle) and John Pantsil (knee) are long-term injuries.
Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill has named an unchanged squad. Left-back Stephen Warnock and striker John Carew are still ruled out through shin and knee injuries respectively, while midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker will be out for up to three months with a stress fracture to his ankle. James Milner and Gabriel Agbonlahor are expected to be fit despite picking up knocks against Arsenal in midweek.
Last season:Fulham 3 Aston Villa 1, Aston Villa 0 Fulham 0
Last five league matches:Fulham D L L L L; Aston Villa W L L D D
Top scorers (all competitions):Bobby Zamora (Fulham) 11; Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) 10
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire).
Hull (19) v Wolverhampton (17)
Loan signing Amr Zaki is set for his Hull debut although he is likely to start on the bench. Jimmy Bullard, out for almost two months with a knee injury, is not quite ready and will not be risked. Defender Kamil Zayatte (ankle) is doubtful having not trained this week while Geovanni (knee) and Kamel Ghilas (thigh) have niggly injuries.
Wolves newcomer Geoffrey Mujangi Bia is expected to recover from a tight hamstring in time after being unable to train yesterday. Defender George Elokobi is also set to be in contention after suffering a bout of illness earlier in the week while striker Stefan Maierhofer has recovered from his hernia operation. Michael Kightly and Dave Edwards have been forced to delay their comeback from respective ankle injuries for a further fortnight.
Last season:No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches:Hull L L D D L; Wolverhampton W L L L D
Top scorers (all competitions):Deiberson Geovanni (Hull) 5, Stephen Hunt (Hull) 5; Kevin Doyle (Wolverhampton) 5.
Referee:Mike Dean (Wirral).
Liverpool (5) v Bolton (15)
Defenders Fabio Aurelio and Philipp Degen will both miss out for Liverpool. Aurelio has missed the last two matches with a minor knock while Degen (calf) did not play in the midweek goalless draw with Wolves. However, centre-back Daniel Agger returns to the squad after regaining fitness while captain Steven Gerrard has reported no after-effects from Tuesday night when he made his comeback after a hamstring problem.
Bolton manager Owen Coyle could be tempted to name an unchanged side. On-loan winger Vladimir Weiss may have to settle for a place on the bench while another new recruit Stuart Holden has a slight thigh strain. Mark Davies remains absent with an ankle injury.
Last season:Liverpool 3 Bolton 0, Bolton 0 Liverpool 2
Last five league matches:Liverpool W W D W D; Bolton D D L L W
Top scorers (all competitions):Fernando Torres (Liverpool) 12; Ivan Klasnic (Bolton) 10
Referee:Steve Bennett (Kent).
West Ham (16) v Blackburn (11)
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola welcomes back midfielder Scott Parker and left-back Herita Ilunga after the pair recovered from hamstring injuries. Fit-again England striker Carlton Cole could start after playing the last 17 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Portsmouth in midweek but Danny Gabbidon, Guillermo Franco, Kieron Dyer (all hamstring), Zavon Hines and Luis Boa Morte (both knee) again miss out.
Blackburn’s new signing Yildiray Basturk will not be in the squad for tomorrow’s trip to West Ham as he is not match-fit. Chris Samba returns from suspension but David Dunn (calf) misses out. Midfielder Vince Grella is back in training following a thigh strain but unlikely to be included in the squad.
Last season:Blackburn 1 West Ham 1, West Ham 4 Blackburn 1
Last five league matches:West Ham D W L D D; Blackburn D D L W W
Top scorers:Carlton Cole (West Ham) 7; Nikola Kalinic (Blackburn) 6, David Dunn (Blackburn) 6
Referee:Peter Walton (Northamptonshire).
Wigan (14) v Everton (9)
Wigan could be without captain Mario Melchiot, who had to come off with a neck problem in the Latics’ 2-1 defeat at Blackburn on Wednesday and faces a late fitness test. Chris Kirkland is still recovering from the collarbone injury that he sustained in training last week, so Serbian loanee Vladimir Stojkovic is likely to continue in goal.
Everton could be without midfielder Mikel Arteta. The Spanish star has picked up a groin strain in training, having only just returned from almost a year out with knee damage. Tony Hibbert and Jack Rodwell are still out with long-term injuries, while Ayegbeni Yakubu and Joseph Yobo are not due back from the African Nations Cup until next week.
Last season:Everton 4 Wigan 0, Wigan 1 Everton 0
Last five league matches:Wigan L D L W L; Everton D W D W W
Top scorers:Hugo Rodallega (Wigan) 7; Landon Donovan (Everton) 14
Referee:Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).
Sunday, January 31st
Arsenal (3) v Man Utd (2)
Nemanja Vidic is set to replace Rio Ferdinand in the Manchester United line-up. Ferdinand misses out as he starts a four-game suspension, the FA disciplinary panel deciding his appeal against a violent conduct charge for an attack on Hull’s Craig Fagan last weekend was “frivolous”. But Vidic is ready to step into the breach after a six-game absence with a nerve problem down the right side of his leg.
Arsenal welcome back Cameroon midfielder Alex Song and Ivory Coast defender Emmanuel Eboue from African Nations Cup duty, and centre-back Thomas Vermaelen has a small chance to feature despite picking up a leg problem in midweek. Nicklas Bendtner (groin) and Samir Nasri (hamstring) are pressing for starts, but Eduardo (hamstring) and Abou Diaby (calf) are both out injured.
Last season:Man Utd 0 Arsenal 0, Arsenal 2 Man Utd 1
Last five league matches:Arsenal W D W W D; Man Utd W W D W W
Top scorers (all competitions):Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal) 14; Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) 21
Referee:Chris Foy (Merseyside).
Man City (6) v Portsmouth (20)
Manchester City’s Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure will be available after returning from the African Nations Cup. Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira remains sidelined with a calf injury while Benjani Mwaruwari is unlikely to feature after being linked with a move to Sunderland.
Portsmouth manager Avram Grant is set to welcome midfielder Jamie O’Hara back after he returned to Fratton Park on loan from Tottenham until the end of the season. Defender Younes Kaboul and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic are on the verge of completing transfers in the opposite direction. Tommy Smith (groin) and Papa Bouba Diop (hamstring) are both doubts for the Eastlands game, while David Nugent is back after his loan spell at Burnley ended.
Last season:Portsmouth 2 Man City 0, Man City 6 Portsmouth 0
Last five league matches:Man City W W W W L; Portsmouth L W L L D
Top scorers (all competitions):Carlos Tevez (Man City) 18; Frederic Piquionne (Portsmouth) 6
Referee:Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).