Chelsea v Tottenham Chelsea winger Arjen Robben starts his four-match ban for his red card at West Brom last week. Michael Essien and Asier del Horno return to the squad to face Tottenham after suspension ruled both out of the midweek trip to Barcelona in the Champions League. Frank Lampard is still struggling with a tight hamstring but hopes to be fit.

Tottenham coach Martin Jol has no major injury concerns. Republic of Ireland winger Andy Reid, although back in training, is not considered fit enough to return to first-team duty. Defender Stephen Kelly is doubtful with an ankle injury but Egyptian midfielder Hossam Ghaly has recovered from his groin problem.

Birmingham v West Brom

Birmingham midfielder Muzzy Izzet is poised to return from injury in Saturday's vital Premiership meeting with West Brom at St Andrews. The former Leicester player returns after missing the 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough last weekend with a calf injury - the latest in a series of setbacks in the past 18 months. But Blues manager Steve Bruce is pessimistic about the chances of centre-backs Matthew Upson and Kenny Cunningham being available. Upson had an injection in a groin problem in a bid to make him fit enough to play, but his chances are very slim - along with skipper Cunningham, who has also been sidelined with a groin injury.

West Brom boss Bryan Robson has a virtual clean bill of health. Hungarian captain Zoltan Gera is the only player who is not fit enough to come under consideration as he continues his rehabilitation after a pelvic problem. But midfielder Nigel Quashie is ruled out for the second game of a five-match suspension resulting from his dismissal against Middlesbrough and using abusive language towards a match official. Robson's main selection dilemma is in attack, where he must decide whether to stick with the five-man midfield and Kevin Campbell up front tactic he started with against Chelsea, or recall goalscorer Kanu and reunite him with Nathan Ellington.

Bolton v West Ham

West Ham boss Alan Pardew is set to make changes for Saturday's Barclays Premiership trip to the Reebok Stadium. Marlon Harewood is unlikely to feature after his wife gave birth to a son during the week while captain Nigel Reo-Coker has been of f sick for most of the week. Elliot Ward is available for selection after returning from a loan spell with Plymouth and could be involved. Goalkeeper Roy Carroll is back in training after undergoing a back operation and is thought to be a month away from making his first-team return.

Bolton defender Bruno N'Gotty is expected to face the Hammers after recovering from an ankle injury. Jay-Jay Okocha remains doubtful with a thigh problem while El-Hadji Diouf is again ruled out following a hernia operation. Henrik Pedersen is pushing for a place on the bench after making his comeback for the reserves on Monday following an Achilles problem.

Blackburn v Aston Villa

Morten Gamst Pedersen is expected to return to the Blackburn side to face Aston Villa on Saturday after recovering from a hamstring strain. The Norwegian left winger, who missed last week's defeat to Tottenham, should replace Brett Emerton. Turkish midfielder Tugay will miss the match at Ewood Park after failing to shake off a calf injury.

Aston Villa captain Olof Mellberg is available again after serving a one-match suspension for incurring five bookings. Mellberg's return means Aaron Hughes will revert to right-back in place of Jlloyd Samuel, who has shaken off a virus but may have to be content with a place on the substitutes' bench given the return to the side at left-back of Wilfred Bouma. Mark Delaney is the only absentee for Villa - who have not lost in the Barclays Premiership away from home since October. The Wales international defender is still a fortnight away from recovering from a knee problem.

Everton v Fulham

England full-back Wayne Bridge is back in the Fulham squad and could return against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday, 10 days after damaging his ankle ligaments in the 2-1 win over Uruguay at Anfield. Mark Pembridge is also named for the first time this season after proving his recovery from a calf injury with two reserve-team outings. But goalkeeper Antti Niemi (Achilles) and Senegal midfielder Papa Bouba Diop, who suffered a swollen foot while on international duty, are still not fit.

Everton have doubts over Joseph Yobo's fitness following the calf injury which ruled him out of last weekend's 2-2 draw at West Ham. Boss David Moyes seems unlikely to make changes, although Alessandro Pistone is back in training after a long lay-off. Matteo Ferrari is a couple of weeks away from recovering from a damaged nerve on his hamstring. Duncan Ferguson has two games to serve of his seven-match suspension.

Portsmouth v Man City

Benjani Mwaruwari and Andres D'Alessandro are set to return for Portsmouth's home clash with Manchester City but Gary O'Neil is a major doubt. Mwaruwari has recovered from a groin injury and continues the search for his first goal since his move from Auxerre.  On loan D'Alessandro returns after his wife had a baby son last Saturday, causing him to miss the defeat to Aston Villa. O'Neil faces a late test on an ankle injury, as does defender Andy Griffin (calf), while Salif Diao and Noe Pamarot (hamstrings) are both out along with Richard Hughes (broken shoulder) and Dejan Stefanovic (ankle).

Joey Barton returns from suspension as Manchester City look to improve their dire Barclays Premiership away record. The former England Under-21 international is just one booking away from an automatic two-match ban for picking up 10 yellow cards in the season, but his place in the Blues starting line-up is by no means certain following the win over Sunderland last week. Veteran defender Danny Mills is vying with Micah Richards for the right-back berth while Georgios Samaras will continue in attack as Andy Cole remains sidelined with a knee injury.

Sunderland v Wigan

Sunderland defender Steve Caldwell will take over the captain's armband for Saturday's Barclays Premiership clash with Wigan as Gary Breen sits out through suspension. The Scottish international will return after four games following his own one-match ban at the expense of Breen, who was sent off at Manchester City last Sunday. Caretaker boss Kevin Ball will be without Stephen Wright and Martin Woods (both ankle) and Ben Alnwick (bruised leg) for his first game in charge, but will hope to have strikers Andy Gray (Achilles) and Chris Brown (ankle) available.

Wigan manager Paul Jewell is set to name the side that lost to Manchester United. Jewell is looking for his first win in nine games against Sunderland, who sacked manager Mick McCarthy this week. John Filan will continue in goal as Mike Pollitt has a hamstring injury.

Man United v Newcastle (Sunday)

Ruud van Nistelrooy is sweating on his place in the Manchester United starting line-up to face Newcastle in the Barclays Premiership on Sunday. The Dutchman surprisingly found himself on the bench for both the Carling Cup and Premiership triumphs over Wigan, although his introduction did inspire a Red Devils comeback at the JJB Stadium on Monday. If Van Nistelrooy does return, it could be at the expense of John O'Shea as Sir Alex Ferguson toys with the idea of dropping Wayne Rooney into a slightly more withdrawn role in midfield. Meanwhile, Quinton Fortune has returned to training after suffering only a minor knee injury in a reserve team outing at Middlesbrough in midweek.

Newcastle midfielder Kieron Dyer will miss the trip to Old Trafford despite making good progress with his hamstring injury. The England international is back in training but like defender Titus Bramble, who has a similar problem, will not return this weekend. Craig Moore (hamstring) is also approaching full fitness, but Michael Owen (foot), Stephen Carr (hernia) and Steven Taylor (shoulder) are still out.

Arsenal v Liverpool (Sunday)

Arsenal will monitor the fitness of Freddie Ljungberg and Cesc Fabregas ahead of Sunday's Barclays Premiership clash with Liverpool. The midfielders have been troubled by calf and groin problems respectively, while Thierry Henry and goalkeeper Jens Lehmann (knee) both also picked up knocks during the Real Madrid game but all are expected to play this weekend. Striker Emmanuel Adebayor returns to the squad after being cup-tied. Campbell (ankle), Robin van Persie (toe) and Pascal Cygan (hamstring) should be back in full training shortly, but will not feature yet. Full-back Ashley Cole faces around another three weeks out after spraining his ankle, Kerrea Gilbert is still struggling with a back problem while Gael Clichy (foot) and Lauren (knee) are longer-term absentees.

Liverpool will give a late fitness test to defender Sami Hyypia. The Finnish centre-back was only on the bench for the Champions League defeat by Benfica in midweek because boss Rafael Benitez would not risk the player's hamstring problem - he has trained since but there is still a doubt over whether he could start at Highbury. New signing Daniel Agger is a potential replacement for Hyypia following Djimi Traore's poor display alongside Jamie Carragher against Benfica, while full-back John Arne Riise is out for two weeks with a thigh muscle injury, so youngster Stephen Warnock could continue at left-back.

Charlton v Middlesbrough (Sunday)

Alexei Smertin looks to have played his last game for Charlton as he finalises a move back to Russia with Dinamo Moscow. The midfielder, who is on loan from Chelsea, has not been included in the squad to take on Middlesbrough at the Valley on Sunday in the Barclays Premiership. Forward Marcus Bent is a doubt with hamstring problems brought on by a back injury, while winger Dennis Rommedahl (rib) and defender Gonzalo Sorondo (foot) look set to remain on the sidelines after a postponed reserve match in midweek delayed their comebacks.

Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren will make a late check on midfielder George Boateng before naming his squad. The Dutchman turned an ankle in last night's 1-0 UEFA Cup win over Roma, and although he was able to continue, the injury will be assessed ahead of the game at the Valley. McClaren otherwise has no fresh selection problems with only Fabio Rochemback (ankle), Stuart Parnaby (hamstring) and James Morrison (hip) missing.