Saturday, September 15th
Arsenal (8) v Southampton (20)
Gunners goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is available following a rib injury. Winger Theo Walcott has a virus and will be assessed, while midfielder Abou Diaby is 50/50 after picking up a minor knee problem when playing for France. Midfielders Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Jack Wilshere (ankle) and Emmanuel Frimpong (knee) continue their rehabilitation along with defender Bacary Sagna (broken leg).
Gaston Ramirez and Maya Yoshida may be involved for the first time for Saints and fellow new boy Emmanuel Mayuka is also pushing for a start but Guly do Prado may be dropped after admitting drink-driving. Danny Fox is in contention after a groin injury, while Jack Cork is close to a return from an ankle problem.
Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Arsenal D W D D W; Southampton L W L L L
Top scorers (all competitions): Park Chu-young (Arsenal) 2; Rickie Lambert & Emmanuel Mayuka (Southampton) 2
Match odds: H 4-11 A 7-1 D 4-1
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).
Aston Villa (17) v Swansea (2)
Villa manager Paul Lambert includes his trio of transfer deadline day signings in the squad — with strikers Christian Benteke and Jordan Bowery, plus
midfielder Ashley Westwood, in contention to start. Defender Richard Dunne (groin) and winger Marc Albrighton (foot) are still ruled out, although the latter will return to training next week.
Injuries and suspension force Swans boss Michael Laudrup into a defensive reshuffle. Neil Taylor is out for the season with a broken ankle, Chico Flores starts a three-match ban, while Kyle Bartley (ruptured quad) and Garry Monk (back) are also out. Ben Davies and Alan Tate are set to come into the back four with Dwight Tiendalli on the bench, where he is set to be joined by Ki Sung-yueng and Pablo Hernandez.
Last season: Aston Villa 0 Swansea 2, Swansea 0 Aston Villa 0
Last five league matches: Aston Villa D L L L D; Swansea L W W W D
Top scorers (all competitions): Christian Benteke (Aston Villa) 3; Michu (Swansea) 4
Match odds: H 13-10 A 21-10 D 23-10
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire).
Fulham (11) v West Brom (3)
Fulham striker Bryan Ruiz (hamstring) is rated 50/50 but a hip problem sees new signing Kieran Richardson join Mahamadou Diarra (knee), Kerim Frei (pelvis) and Philippe Senderos (foot) on the sidelines. Ashkan Dejagah is not yet match fit but Greek midfielder Giorgos Karagounis is available after his free transfer.
Right-back Steven Reid (hamstring) is West Brom’s major injury concern, now on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has recovered from an ankle injury. Winger Jerome Thomas, who has missed the first four league and cup games of the season, faces a further lay-off after undergoing minor knee surgery.
Last season: Fulham 1 West Brom 1, West Brom 0 Fulham 0
Last five league matches: Fulham W L W L L; West Brom D L W D W
Top scorers (all competitions): Damien Duff & Mladen Petric (Fulham) 2; Shane Long (West Brom) 3
Match odds: H 19-20 A 11-4 D 13-5
Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire).
Man Utd (5) v Wigan (9)
Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa are set to feature for United. The pair returned from international duty with thigh and back problems respectively, but trained this morning and boss Sir Alex Ferguson expects them to be involved. Ryan Giggs (600th Premier League appearance), Paul Scholes (700th United appearance) and Rio Ferdinand (400th United appearance) are on the brink of milestones, but Wayne Rooney (thigh), Chris Smalling (broken metatarsal) and Phil Jones (knee) are all out.
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez looks set to make changes. Jean Beausejour is a doubt with a hamstring injury while Paraguay defender Antolin Alcaraz has returned from international duty with an abductor problem. On-loan Arsenal striker Ryo Miyaichi could be in line for his first start after improving his fitness and midfielder James McArthur is responding well to treatment for a back problem.
Last season: Wigan 1 Man Utd 0, Man Utd 5 Wigan 0
Last five league matches: Man Utd W W L W W; Wigan W W L W D
Top scorers (all competitions): Robin van Persie (Man Utd) 4; Franco Di Santo (Wigan) 2
Match odds: H 1-4 A 9-1 D 5-1
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).
Norwich (15) v West Ham (7)
Norwich manager Chris Hughton will check on the fitness of defender Russell Martin, who pulled out of the Scotland squad with an ankle injury but is back in training and should be available. Hughton will also wait on the recovery of forward Simeon Jackson, who had a punishing travel itinerary over the international break with Canada.
West Ham are without on-loan Andy Carroll, who suffered a hamstring injury on his debut against Fulham — Carlton Cole is likely to replace the striker. Jack
Collison (knee) is the only other absentee as Matt Jarvis has started training again following a thigh injury. Yossi Benayoun could make his second debut for the Hammers after joining from Chelsea for the rest of the season.
Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Norwich D W L D D; West Ham W W W L W
Top scorers (all competitions): Wesley Hoolahan, Simeon Jackson, Simon Lappin & Robert Snodgrass (Norwich) 1; Kevin Nolan (West Ham) 2
Match odds: H 6-5 A 21-10 D 5-2
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside).
QPR (19) v Chelsea (1)
QPR defender Anton Ferdinand is available after recovering from a shoulder injury but midfielder Samba Diakite is still unavailable for personal reasons and defender Stephane Mbia is in the treatment room with an unspecified injury sustained on international duty for Cameroon.
John Terry and Ashley Cole should be fit for Chelsea — both defenders have been in a race against time to shake off ankle injuries but have trained for the past three days. Marko Marin (hamstring) will be forced to wait a little longer for his debut, while manager Roberto Di Matteo must decide whether to continue to rest fellow winger Juan Mata, who was given a complete break during the international window.
Last season: Chelsea 6 QPR 1, QPR 1 Chelsea 0
Last five league matches: QPR W L L D L; Chelsea L W W W W
Top scorers (all competitions): Bobby Zamora (QPR) 3; Fernando Torres (Chelsea) 3
Match odds: H 10-3 A 4-5 D 13-5
Referee: Andre Marriner (W Midlands).
Stoke (12) v Man City (4)
Striker Michael Owen says he is fit to play and will be assessed by manager Tony Pulis, while Steven Nzonzi and Maurice Edu could also make their first appearances for Stoke. Fellow midfielder Charlie Adam may get a first start, while winger Matthew Etherington and defender Andy Wilkinson, recently injured with a hamstring problem and concussion respectively, could be back. Midfielder Jamie Ness (groin) is out.
City striker Sergio Aguero could return from a knee injury and fellow forward Mario Balotelli is clear to play after undergoing minor eye surgery. Midfielder Gareth Barry (abdominal) is not yet fully fit and defender Micah Richards (ankle) remains sidelined but defenders Maicon and Matija Nastastic, midfielder Javi Garcia and winger Scott Sinclair — all deadline-day signings last month — could play some part.
Last season: Stoke 1 Man City 1, Man City 3 Stoke 0
Last five league matches: Stoke L D D D D; Man City W W W D W
Top scorers: Peter Crouch & Jonathan Walters (Stoke) 2; Carlos Tevez (Man City) 4
Match odds: H 19-5 A 3-4 D 13-5
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).
Sunderland (13) v Liverpool (18)
Sunderland winger Adam Johnson missed England’s World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine with a thigh problem and will only be considered if he emerges unscathed from training today. On-loan full-back Danny Rose could make his debut and midfielder David Vaughan may figure but defenders Phil Bardsley (also ankle) and Wes Brown (knee) are short of match fitness.
Jose Enrique’s knee injury will be assessed — the left-back has trained this week after the recurrence of a problem which has dogged him since the start of the season. Reds midfielder Joe Allen has recovered from the illness which disrupted his international duty while boss Brendan Rodgers is confident Luis Suarez and Sebastian Coates will be fit after international duty having travelled back from South America.
Last season: Sunderland 1 Liverpool 0, Liverpool 1 Sunderland 1
Last five league matches: Sunderland D L L D D; Liverpool W L L D L
Top scorers (all competitions): Steven Fletcher & James McClean (Sunderland) 2; Luis Suarez (Liverpool) 2
Match odds: H 11-5 A 5-4 D 23-10
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).
Sunday, September 16th
Reading (16) v Tottenham (14)
Royals winger Jimmy Kebe has been missing all season due to a hamstring injury but is now available for selection after returning to training. Goalkeeper Adam Federici has proved his fitness, meaning striker Jason Roberts (calf) is the only player unavailable to manager Brian McDermott.
Goalkeeper Brad Friedel will keep his place in the Spurs team despite the recent signing of Hugo Lloris. Manager Andre Villas-Boas said Lloris may not even be on the bench as he has only trained with his new team-mates once since signing from Lyon for €10 million on deadline day. Clint Dempsey could make his debut but Younes Kaboul (knee), Scott Parker (Achilles) and Heurelho Gomes (ankle) are out.
Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Reading W D L D L; Tottenham D W L D D
Top scorers (all competitions): Pavel Pogrebnyak (Reading) 2; Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Jermain Defoe, Mousa Dembele & Sandro (Tottenham) 1
Match odds: H 13-5 A 21-20 D 12-5
Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).
Monday, September 17th
Everton (6) v Newcastle (10)
Everton midfielder Darron Gibson has been ruled out for up to five weeks with a thigh strain.
However, manager David Moyes has reported no other problems from players coming back from the international break. Costa Rica midfielder Bryan Oviedo, a deadline-day signing from FC Copenhagen, is not yet eligible as he has been finalising his work permit and required paperwork.
Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul (elbow) is out and central defender Fabricio Coloccini (hamstring) is a major doubt with a hamstring problem. Cheick Tiote (calf), Ryan Taylor (knee), Haris Vuckic (groin) and Shola Ameobi (hamstring) are out but defenders James Perch (neck) and Shane Ferguson (groin) and midfielder Sammy Ameobi (hamstring) are available again.
Last season: Everton 3 Newcastle 1, Newcastle 2 Everton 1
Last five league matches: Everton D W W W L; Newcastle L L W L D
Top scorers (all competitions): Marouane Fellaini & Kevin Mirallas (Everton) 2; Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle) 2
Match odds: H 4-5 A 17-5 D 13-5
Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire).
