Saturday, February 4th

Birmingham (18) v Arsenal (6)

Blues midfielder David Dunn is out for a minimum of three weeks with a calfinjury and Neil Kilkenny is sidelined for several weeks with a twisted ankle.

New signing Dudley "DJ" Campbell, could be among the substitutes but fellow striker Mikael Forssell is a doubt with a tight calf and Damien Johnson starts a three-match ban for his red card at Liverpool.

Arsenal will be without injured defenders Lauren, Pascal Cygan, Ashley Cole, Kerrea Gilbert and Gael Clichy, while Sol Campbell is left out because of personal problems. Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue are on African Nations Cup duty but Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas and Jose Antonio Reyes are available. Theo Walcott is in the squad for the first time, although Freddie Ljungberg and Robin van Persie are rested.

Last season: Birmingham 2 Arsenal 1, Arsenal 3 Birmingham 0

Last five league matches: Birmingham L W L W D; Arsenal D D W L L

Top scorers: Dudley Campbell (Birmingham) 12; Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 18

Match odds: H 5-2 A 10-11 D 11-5

Referee: R Styles (Hampshire).

Bolton (7) v Wigan (5)

Bolton midfielder Khalilou Fadiga undergoes a late test after suffering a recurrence of his knee injury. Boss Sam Allardyce has no other new injury concerns with Gary Speed (knee), Ivan Campo (foot) and Henrik Pedersen (Achilles) all still out alongside Bolton’s African Nations Cup contingent.

Wigan manager Paul Jewell faces a striker crisis. Only Neil Mellor and Andreas Johansson are available with Jason Roberts suspended for three games, Henri Camara on African Nations’ Cup duty, and David Connolly and Lee McCulloch injured. Midfielder Graham Kavanagh is available after a one-match suspension.

Last season: No corresponding fixture

Last five league matches: Bolton L D D W D; Wigan L L L W D

Top scorers: Kevin Nolan (Bolton) 8; Jason Roberts (Wigan) 13

Match odds: H 5-6 A 11-4 D 11-5

Referee: S Bennett (Kent).

Everton (12) v Man City (10)

Everton hope striker James Beattie will have recovered from the calf strain which has kept him out of two matches. Striker Duncan Ferguson starts a three-match ban after being sent off at Wigan in midweek and is appealing against the second FA charge relating to the same match when he is alleged to have pushed Pascal Chimbonda in the face.

Stuart Pearce is expected to name an unchanged line-up, with #6million new boy Georgios Samaras is again likely to find himself on the bench. Danny Mills (shin) and Claudio Reyna (ankle) are two and three weeks away from a return respectively, while Nedum Onuoha is out for the season with knee ligament damage.

Last season: Everton 2 Man City 1, Man City 0 Everton 1

Last five league matches: Everton W W W W D; Man City D L W L W

Top scorers: James Beattie (Everton) 7; Andy Cole (Man City) 10

Match odds: H 21-20 A 11-5 D 21-10

Referee: M Riley (W Yorkshire).

Man Utd (2) v Fulham (13)

Ryan Giggs is likely to be on the bench for United after recovering from a hamstring injury which forced him to miss the last two games. Alan Smith is available again after an ankle injury, but Rio Ferdinand misses out through suspension.

Michael Brown will make his Cottagers debut at the expense of Sylvain Legwinski, who could be out for a fortnight after damaging his ankle in Tuesday’s 1-0 home victory over Tottenham.

Last season: Man Utd 1 Fulham 0, Fulham 1 Man Utd 1

Last five league matches: Man Utd W D L W L; Fulham L W W L W

Top scorers: Ruud van Nistelrooy (Man Utd) 21; Brian McBride (Fulham) 9

Match odds: H 2-7 A 7-1 D 7-2

Referee: M Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

Middlesbrough (16) v Aston Villa (14)

Boro boss Steve McClaren has no fresh injury problems. Defender Ugo Ehiogu is set to be out for three weeks with a hamstring problem, while Chris Riggott (back), Ray Parlour and Fabio Rochemback (both ankle), Franck Queudrue (knee) and James Morrison (hip) are still sidelined. However, midfielder George Boateng is close to a return to training after his ankle problem.

Villa striker Milan Baros has a tight hamstring and faces a late fitness test - Luke Moore, who came off the bench to grab Villa’s equaliser against the leaders, is challenging Juan Pablo Angel to take over from Baros. Jlloyd Samuel continues at left-back with Wilfred Bouma still sidelined by a knee problem.

Last season: Aston Villa 2 Middlesbrough 0, Middlesbrough 3 Aston Villa 0

Last five league matches: Middlesbrough D D L L W; Aston Villa D W L D D

Top scorers: Aiyegbeni Yakubu (Middlesbrough) 15; Milan Baros (Aston Villa) 8

Match odds: H 5-4 A 7-4 D 11-5

Referee: L Mason (Lancashire).

Newcastle (15) v Portsmouth (19)

Kieron Dyer, who has not played since October 30 because of hamstring and health problems, is in the Magpies squad but Michael Owen (foot), Stephen Carr (hernia), Steven Taylor (shoulder), Craig Moore (hamstring) are all still missing and midfielder Amady Faye is on African Nations Cup duty with Senegal. Pompey captain Dejan Stefanovic may face an operation on his injured ankle.

Andy Griffin looks set for the right-back spot against his old club and the rest of the side would appear to be the same as against Bolton with midfielder Gary O’Neil now recovered from a stomach virus.

Last season: Portsmouth 1 Newcastle 1, Newcastle 1 Portsmouth 1

Last five league matches: Newcastle L D L L L; Portsmouth W L L L D

Top scorers: Alan Shearer (Newcastle) 8; Andres D'Alessandro (Portsmouth) 5

Match odds: H 8-11 A 16-5 D 23-10

Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).

West Brom (17) v Blackburn (8)

Midfielder Nigel Quashie is poised to make his West Brom debut, while fellow new boys defender Williams Martinez and midfielder Jan Kozak are also included.

Ronnie Wallwork is available after suspension but captain Kevin Campbell and Steve Watson are doubts with groin injuries while Zoltan Gera (hernia) is out.Rovers midfielder Robbie Savage is a doubt with an ankle injury. Florent

Sinama Pongolle, signed on loan from Liverpool on deadline day, is struggling with flu, while Craig Bellamy is close to a return after a three-week lay-off with a hamstring problem.

Last season: West Brom 1 Blackburn 1, Blackburn 1 West Brom 1

Last five league matches: West Brom L L W L D; Blackburn W W D W W

Top scorers: Nathan Ellington (West Brom) 6; Craig Bellamy (Blackburn) 9

Match odds: H 13-8 A 11-8 D 21-10

Referee: C Foy (Merseyside).

West Ham (9) v Sunderland (20)

New signing Lionel Scaloni makes his Hammers debut at right-back after joining on loan from Deportivo La Coruna until the end of the season. Utility man Christian Dailly is back from suspension but midfielder Yossi Benayoun is a doubt after picking up a knock in Wednesday’s 3-2 win at Arsenal.

Sunderland skipper Gary Breen is struggling with a groin injury but long-term injured pair George McCartney and Stephen Wright are in the squad after proving their fitness in the reserves. New signing Rory Delap is ruled out with an Achilles problem.

Last season: No corresponding fixture

Last five league matches: West Ham L L W W W; Sunderland L L L W L

Top scorers: Dean Ashton (West Ham) 11; Anthony Le Tallec & Dean Whitehead (Sunderland) 4

Match odds: H 4-9 A 11-2 D 13-5

Referee: A Mariner (Coventry).

Sunday, February 5th

Chelsea (1) v Liverpool (3)

Blues boss Jose Mourinho hopes Carlton Cole recovers from his groin injury in order to add more potential firepower to their attack — Cole missed the midweek trip to Aston Villa along with defender Paulo Ferreira (thigh). Midfielder Michael Essien is still struggling to recover from ankle ligament damage.

Reds midfielders Mohamed Sissoko and Xabi Alonso, defender Jamie Carragher and striker Djibril Cisse may return after being rested in midweek. Robbie Fowler is in contention for a start, with Peter Crouch and Cisse without a goal in their last six appearances, and Fernando Morientes scoreless in seven games.

Last season: Liverpool 0 Chelsea 1, Chelsea 1 Liverpool 0

Last five league matches: Chelsea W W W D D; Liverpool W D W L D

Top scorers: Frank Lampard (Chelsea) 15; Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 18

Match odds: H 4-5 A 7-2 D 19-10

Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).

Tottenham (4) v Charlton (11)

Spurs boss Martin Jol faces an anxious wait to learn whether Edgar Davids(stress fracture) or Teemu Tainio have recovered sufficiently enough to play.

The duo missed the defeat at Fulham and Spurs also lost winger Andy Reid in that game with a recurrence of knee ligament damage — he is out for up to six weeks.

Charlton midfielder Matt Holland faces a late fitness test on a thigh strain, while Dennis Rommedahl misses out with a cracked rib — he is expected to return to training next week. Talal El Karkouri is added to the squad after the Moroccan defender returned from international duty at the African Nations Cup.

Last season: Charlton 2 Tottenham 0, Tottenham 2 Charlton 3

Last five league matches: Tottenham W W L D L; Charlton W L W D D

Top scorers: Mido (Tottenham) 9; Darren Bent (Charlton) 14

Match odds: H 8-13 A 4-1 D 23-10

Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire).