English Premiership soccer news

Soccer:The latest word on team selection for the opening weekend of the season.

Arsenal will assess the fitness of England forward Theo Walcott (thigh), with midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (ankle) and defender Laurent Koscielny (calf) already ruled out. Summer signing Santi Cazorla could be involved and Lukas Podolski is expected to lead the attack following the sale of Robin van Persie to Manchester United. Midfielder Jack Wilshere (ankle) and defender Bacary Sagna (broken leg) remain out.

Sunderland could include new signing Louis Saha in attack, but fellow forward Stephane Sessegnon is an injury doubt due to an ankle problem. Wes Brown (knee), Phil Bardsley (ankle) and David Vaughan (surgery) are all set to miss out.

Last season:Sunderland 1 Arsenal 2, Arsenal 2 Sunderland 1

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

Match odds:H 1-3 A 8-1 D 4-1

Referee:Chris Foy (Merseyside).

Fulham (5) v Norwich (10)

American forward Clint Dempsey has been left out of Fulham’s squad after confirming he wants to leave the club. Kerim Frei (pelvis), Philippe Senderos (foot) and Zdenek Grygera (knee) are unavailable.

Norwich are hopeful midfielders Wes Hoolahan(achilles) and Anthony Pilkington(hamstring) will be fit enough to be involved. Summer signings Steven Whittaker (ankle) and Jacob Butterfield (knee) miss out, but Robert Snodgrass and Michael Turner should feature. Javier Garrido has been awaiting international clearance on his season-long loan from Lazio, so may not be available.

Last season:Fulham 2 Norwich 1, Norwich 1 Fulham 1

Last five league matches:Fulham W L W W L; Norwich L L L D W

Match odds:H 5-6 A 7-2 D 12-5

Referee:Michael Oliver (Northumberland).

Newcastle (9) v Tottenham (17)

Newcastle have doubts over a key quartet of players, with strikers Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba and midfielders Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa all needing to have their fitness assessed. Centre-back Steven Taylor and midfielder Sylvain Marveaux return after long-term injury lay-offs, while new recruits Vurnon Anita, Curtis Good, Gael Bigirimana and Romain Amalfitano are available to make their debuts.

Playmaker Luka Modric is expected to be left out of Tottenham’s squad as he moves closer to joining Real Madrid. Defender Jan Vertonghen and midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson are likely to make their debuts, but Scott Parker (Achilles) and Heurelho Gomes (ankle) are out.

Last season:Tottenham 5 Newcastle 0, Newcastle 2 Tottenham 2

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

Match odds:H 17-10 A 17-10 D 21-10

Referee:Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

QPR (11) v Swansea (16)

QPR manager Mark Hughes will name his new captain tomorrow. Hughes has several candidates to take over from Joey Barton — who is serving a 12-match ban for his dismissal in the final match of last season against Manchester City. Alejandro Faurlin, who is lacking match sharpness following a long injury lay-off, and Armand Traore (ankle) are definite absentees tomorrow, while Bobby Zamora and Samba Diakite (both knee) could also miss out.