A look ahead to the weekend's Premier League fixtures.
Saturday, September 26
Birmingham (11) v Bolton (17)
Sebastian Larsson, Stephen Carr, Gregory Vignal and Lee Carsley are all available after injury, while Teemu Tainio could return after being ineligible for the midweek Carling Cup clash with Sunderland. Blues boss Alex McLeish has to decide whether to pair Christian Benitez and Garry O’Connor up front.
Bolton midfielder Sean Davis could miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery. Manager Gary Megson has no other fresh concerns.
Last season:No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches:Birmingham W D L L W; Bolton L L L W D
Top scorers (all competitions):Lee Bowyer (Birmingham) 2; Ivan Klasnic (Bolton) 4
Match odds:H 6-5 A 9-4 D 23-10
Referee:Steve Bennett (Kent)
Blackburn (18) v Aston Villa (5)
Boss Sam Allardyce made 10 changes for Rovers’ Carling Cup win at Nottingham Forest and, with all those players coming through unscathed, several could come into consideration. Lars Jacobsen is in contention after his wife gave birth, while El-Hadji Diouf will be considered despite an ongoing police investigation into allegations he racially abused a ball-boy at Everton. Gael Givet is a doubt with a knee injury.
Nigel Reo-Coker returns to the Aston Villa squad after a two-game absence following a training ground bust-up with manager Martin O’Neill. Midfielder Steve Sidwell is again ruled out with a thigh strain but winger Ashley Young (calf) and striker Emile Heskey (ankle) are expected to be fit to play.
Last season:Blackburn 0 Aston Villa 2, Aston Villa 3 Blackburn 2
Last five league matches:Blackburn L L D W L; Aston Villa L W W W W
Top scorers (all competitions):David Dunn (Blackburn) 2; Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) 4
Match odds:H 21-10 A 5-4 D 23-10
Referee:Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
Fulham (14) v Arsenal (7)
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is likely to make several changes after the Carling Cup loss at Manchester City. Zoltan Gera may retain his place in the starting line-up after scoring the goal which put the Cottagers ahead at Eastlands but Simon Davies suffered a setback from his foot injury in the game and will be unavailable while Erik Nevland, Andrew Johnson (shoulder) and Toni Kallio (Achilles) also miss out.
Arsenal playmaker Andrey Arshavin returns from a groin injury and England winger Theo Walcott has recovered from a side strain — but goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is still troubled by a chest infection so Vito Mannone could continue his place. Denilson (back), Samir Nasri (leg), Lukasz Fabianski (knee) and Johan Djourou (knee) remain sidelined.
Last season:Arsenal 0 Fulham 0, Fulham 1 Arsenal 0
Last five league matches:Fulham W L L W L; Arsenal W W L L W
Top scorers (all competitions):Andrew Johnson & Bobby Zamora (Fulham) 3; Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal) 4
Match odds:H 13-2 A 1-2 D 11-4
Referee:Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)
Liverpool (3) v Hull (19)
Defender Andrea Dossena (groin) and midfielder Alberto Aquilani (ankle) are Liverpool’s only two absentees, although Aquilani has stepped up his rehabilitation and has started running again. Boss Rafael Benitez reverts to his strongest line-up, having fielded a second-string side in the Carling Cup at Leeds.
Hull defender Anthony Gardner could be back in contention after a knee injury, while Ibrahima Sonko is also available after being cup-tied for the midweek Carling Cup loss to Everton, Jimmy Bullard (knee) is making encouraging progress but is not yet ready to feature while Steven Mouyokolo (hamstring) is still sidelined. Youngsters Tom Cairney and Liam Cooper could play a part after impressing against Everton.
Last season:Hull 1 Liverpool 3, Liverpool 2 Hull 2
Last five league matches:Liverpool W L W W W; Hull L W D L L
Top scorers (all competitions):Fernando Torres (Liverpool) 5; Geovanni & Stephen Hunt (Hull) 2
Match odds:H 1-7 A 18-1 D 6-1
Referee:Peter Walton (Northamptonshire)
Portsmouth (20) v Everton (13)
Pompey boss Paul Hart could hand a long-awaited debut to defender Steve Finnan, who has been struggling with a hamstring injury since his move from Espanyol. Hart is still waiting for Papa Bouba Diop and Hermann Hreidarsson to recover from hamstring and foot injuries respectively, while Carling Cup hero Aruna Dindane may not start as he continues his fight for fitness.
Everton boss David Moyes will assess the fitness of striker Ayegbeni Yakubu before making a decision on whether to include him in the squad. The striker, who missed most of last season with a ruptured Achilles, scored in the midweek Carling Cup victory at Hull but came off with a groin problem. Midfielder Steven Pienaar (foot) and defender Joseph Yobo (hamstring) will also have late fitness tests.
Last season:Portsmouth 2 Everton 1, Everton 0 Portsmouth 3
Last five league matches:Portsmouth L L L L L; Everton L L W L W
Top scorers (all competitions):Younes Kaboul, Tommy Smith & Mike Williamson (Portsmouth) 2; Louis Saha (Everton) 6
Match odds:H 3-1 A 19-20 D 23-10
Referee:Alan Wiley (Staffordshire)
Stoke (10) v Man Utd (2)
Stoke strikers Ricardo Fuller and James Beattie are both doubtful. Fuller suffered a groin problem in the Carling Cup victory over Blackpool while Beattie is struggling with a recurrence of an ankle injury. Manager Tony Pulis could recall Richard Cresswell to the attack to partner Dave Kitson.
Tomasz Kuszczak had been hoping to get the nod after keeping a clean sheet against Wolves in the Carling Cup but Ben Foster will return as deputy for Edwin van der Sar, who is out for another three weeks with broken fingers. Plenty of changes are anticipated from midweek, with Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra among those certain to be recalled.
Last season:Stoke 0 Man Utd 1, Man Utd 5 Stoke 0
Last five league matches:Stoke L D W L D; Man Utd L W W W W
Top scorers (all competitions):Dave Kitson (Stoke) 3; Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) 7
Match odds:H 8-1 A 4-11 D 7-2
Referee:Howard Webb (S Yorkshire)
Tottenham (6) v Burnley (9)Tottenham centre-back Sebastien Bassong will have a late fitness test following head and knee injuries. Fellow defenders Ledley King (hamstring) and Jonathan Woodgate (groin) are sidelined but Michael Dawson (Achilles) is available after playing at Preston in midweek. Giovani dos Santos (ankle) joins Luka Modric (fractured fibula) and Roman Pavlyuchenko (Achilles) in the treatment room.
Burnley goalkeeper Brian Jensen should recover from a dead leg in time to reclaim the starting spot from Diego Penny. Striker David Nugent is back in the squad having been cup-tied for the game at Barnsley but club captain Steven Caldwell is not ready to return despite training again after groin trouble and Martin Paterson and Chris McCann are out for three months after sustaining knee injuries this week.
Last season:No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches:Tottenham W W W L L; Burnley W W L L W
Top scorers (all competitions):Jermain Defoe (Tottenham) 6; Steven Fletcher (Burnley) 3
Match odds:H 1-3 A 8-1 D 19-5
Referee:Mike Dean (England)
Wigan (15) v Chelsea (1)
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has hinted he may make changes. Last weekend’s 4-0 defeat at Arsenal was the worst performance of the Spaniard’s short reign and, with a fully-fit squad at his disposal, a few players could be left out. On-loan Chelsea winger Scott Sinclair is ineligible against his parent club.
Joe Cole and Yury Zhirkov are in Chelsea’s squad after overcoming long-term knee injuries. Striker Didier Drogba is fit after a bout of cramp but midfielder Deco (calf) and defender Alex (groin) will miss out.
Last season:Chelsea 2 Wigan 1, Wigan 0 Chelsea 1
Last five league matches:Wigan L L L W L; Chelsea W W W W W
Top scorers (all competitions):Hugo Rodallega (Wigan) 2; Didier Drogba (Chelsea) 5
Match odds:H 7-1 A 3-10 D 10-3
Referee:Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)
Sunday, September 27
Sunderland (8) v Wolves (12)
Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole could return after missing the last two games with a heel problem. Full-back George McCartney also has a chance of playing after shaking off a hamstring strain, while goalkeeper Marton Fulop could make the squad after five games on the sidelines with his own heel injury.
On-loan defender Michael Mancienne, ineligible to play in the Carling Cup, will return while strikers Kevin Doyle and Andy Keogh are set to start at the expense of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Stefan Maierhofer. Wayne Hennessey replaces Marcus Hahnemann in goal with Greg Halford taking over from Kevin Foley at right-back. Dave Edwards may replace Michael Kightly.
Last season:No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches:Sunderland L W L W L; Wolves W L D L W
Top scorers (all competitions):Darren Bent (Sunderland) 5; Stefan Maierhofer (Wolves) 2
Match odds:H 7-10 A 4-1 D 13-5
Referee:Lee Mason (Lancashire)
