Premier League: weekend team news

Saturday February 13th (3pm ko unless stated otherwise)

Sunderland (19) v Manchester United (5) (12.45pm ko)

Sunderland midfielder Adam Johnson was sacked on Thursday evening after pleading guilty to charges of grooming and sexual activity with a child, while defender Younes Kaboul and striker Duncan Watmore are both out with ankle ligament injuries and midfielder Jeremain Lens is a doubt with a suspected hernia problem. Full-back Billy Jones is struggling to shake off a hip injury and the game is likely to come too soon for midfielder Sebastian Larsson following his return to training following a long-term knee problem. Striker Fabio Borini is available after missing the trip to Liverpool because of a virus.

Long-term absentees Luke Shaw (leg), Marcos Rojo (shoulder), Antonio Valencia (foot), Bastian Schweinsteiger (knee) and Ashley Young (groin) remain sidelined for United while Phil Jones, Adnan Januzaj and Guillermo Varela all came off with unspecified injuries in the under-21s’ 7-0 win over Norwich on Monday. Striker Will Keane has been rewarded for his five-goal haul against the Canaries with a place in the matchday squad for Saturday’s fixture at the Stadium of Light.

Last season: Man Utd 2 Sunderland 0, Sunderland 1 Man Utd 1

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

Top scorers (all competitions): Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) 13; Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) 14

Match odds: H 15-4 A 4-5 D 12-5

Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)

Bournemouth (15) v Stoke (11)

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has no fresh injury or suspension worries. Tommy Elphick, who played a game behind closed doors in midweek following ankle surgery, will not be back in time to face Stoke. Max Gradel, who has been out since August with an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury, came back to training this week but is yet to kick a football and has “a lot of hurdles to overcome” but Howe is confident he will play before the season ends.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes hopes to have forward Jonathan Walters back after he missed the 3-0 loss to Everton last weekend due to a virus. Potters captain Ryan Shawcross (back) is almost ready to return to action but this game comes too soon for him, along with Geoff Cameron (ankle) and Charlie Adam (calf).

Last season: No corresponding fixture

Last five league matches: Bournemouth L W D W L; Stoke W D L L L

Top scorers (all competitions): Junior Stanislas & Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) 5; Marko Arnautovic (Stoke) 8

Match odds: H 21-20 A 11-4 D 23-10

Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire)

Crystal Palace (12) v Watford (10)

Crystal Palace have been boosted by the return of strikers Dwight Gayle and Connor Wickham. Gayle has been sidelined with a persistent hamstring injury, while Wickham has served the last game of a three-match ban, although James McArthur and Jason Puncheon will miss out, owing to ankle and hamstring injuries respectively. Manager Alan Pardew also expects Yannick Bolasie and Bakary Sako to return at Tottenham next week, which is when Joe Ledley could also be back as he is unlikely to be risked on Saturday.

Captain Troy Deeney could be restored to Watford’s starting line-up. Deeney started on the bench in the Hornets’ defeat at Tottenham amid concerns over his fitness, but manager Quique Sanchez Flores revealed both he and Valon Behrami, also a substitute at White Hart Lane, are in contention to start. Defender Miguel Britos is a doubt after sustaining an injury against Spurs while Tommie Hoban (groin) and Joel Ekstrand (knee) remain sidelined.

Last season: No corresponding fixture

Last five league matches: Crystal Palace L L L L D; Watford L L W D L

Top scorers (all competitions): Wilfried Zaha, Yohan Cabaye & Scott Dann (Crystal Palace) 5; Odion Ighalo (Watford) 15

Match odds: H 5-4 A 23-10 D 11-5

Referee: Robert Madley (West Yorkshire)

Everton (8) v West Brom (14)

A late decision will be made on the fitness of Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard (knee) and defender John Stones (hamstring). Midfielder Muhamed Besic (hamstring) is still absent and is unlikely to return for another couple of weeks while deadline-day striker Oumar Niasse has to prove his fitness before being considered having not played since December when the Russian league shut down.

Gareth McAuley has been added to West Brom’s growing injury list after he came off with a hamstring problem against Peterborough on Wednesday night and will be out for about two weeks. He joined fellow defenders Chris Brunt (calf), Jonny Evans (hamstring) and Craig Dawson (ankle) on the sidelines, although the latter has a slight chance of being involved at Goodison Park.

Last season: Everton 0 West Brom 0, West Brom 0 Everton 2

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

Top scorers (all competitions): Romelu Lukaku (Everton) 20; Saido Berahino (West Brom) 6

Match odds: H 8-15 A 5-1 D 3-1

Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

Norwich (18) v West Ham (6)

Norwich midfielder Alex Tettey serves out his two-match suspension. Scotland midfielder Graham Dorrans missed the defeat at Aston Villa through illness but could return to the squad, while on-loan Chelsea forward striker Patrick Bamford is pressing for his first start. Full-back Andre Wisdom, on loan from Liverpool, continues to recover from a knee problem. Winston Reid, Joey O’Brien (both hamstring) and Cheikhou Kouyate (concussion) were all injured during West Ham’s FA Cup win against Liverpool in midweek and join James Tomkins (calf), Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho (both thigh) on the sidelines. Midfielder Alex Song is available having shaken off the knock which kept him out of the fourth-round replay and Sam Byram returns after being cup-tied.

Last season: No corresponding fixture

Last five league matches: Norwich L L L L L; West Ham W L D W L

Top scorers (all competitions): Jonny Howson, Dieumerci Mbokani & Nathan Redmond (Norwich) 4; Michail Antonio (West Ham) 8

Match odds: H 11-8 A 2-1 D 3-1

Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)

Swansea (16) v Southampton (7)

Ki Sung-yueng returns to the Swansea squad. The South Korean missed last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace after being taken off on a stretcher in the previous game at West Brom suffering from concussion. Wayne Routledge could make way if Ki is restored to the starting line-up as Swansea boss Francesco Guidolin considers his options with a full-strength squad to choose from.

Victor Wanyama is out for Southampton as he serves the first game of a five-match ban. The midfielder received his third red card of the season in the Saints’ 1-0 win against West Ham last weekend. Ronald Koeman can welcome Matt Targett (ankle) and Steven Davis (hamstring) back into his squad after recovering from injury.

Last season: Southampton 0 Swansea 1, Swansea 0 Southampton 1

Last five league matches: Swansea L W W D D; Southampton W W W D W

Top scorers (all competitions): Andre Ayew (Swansea) 8; Graziano Pelle (Southampton) 9

Match odds: H 21-10 A 7-5 D 21-10

Referee: Jon Moss (West Yorkshire)

Chelsea (13) v Newcastle (17) (5.30pm ko)

Striker Diego Costa is expected to play in a protective face mask after suffering a broken nose in training on Thursday. Defender Kurt Zouma suffered a serious knee injury in last Sunday’s draw with Manchester United and is out for the rest of the season, so Gary Cahill is expected to come into central defence. Former Newcastle striker Loic Remy (calf) has been out in recent weeks along with Radamel Falcao (thigh), while Alexandre Pato is still short of match fitness and unlikely to be included.

Jack Colback is back in the Newcastle squad after a hamstring problem. The midfielder could be a candidate to fill in as an emergency left-back in the absence of injured defenders Paul Dummett and Massadio Haidara. Striker Emmanuel Riviere has also returned to training after a knee injury.

Last season: Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0, Newcastle 2 Chelsea 1

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

Top scorers (all competitions): Diego Costa (Chelsea) 11; Georginio Wijnaldum (Newcastle) 9

Match odds: H 4-9 A 6-1 D 10-3

Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire)

Sunday February 14th

Arsenal (3) v Leicester (1) (12pm ko)

Arsenal have no new injury worries. Danny Welbeck is close to a return having missed all season with a knee injury but manager Arsene Wenger still expects Jack Wilshere (leg) and Santi Cazorla (knee) to be out for another three to four weeks. Tomas Rosicky (thigh) is also absent while Wenger will have to decide whether to recall Per Mertesacker or keep Gabriel and Laurent Koscielny as his centre-back partnership for the fourth game in succession.

Midfielder Daniel Amartey must wait for his Leicester debut. Claudio Ranieri expects to have him up to speed to face Norwich next week. Jeff Schlupp remains sidelined with a hamstring injury which has kept the winger out since the start of December while Matty James is close to a recovery from a long-term knee injury but the Foxes are expected to be unchanged following their 3-1 win at Manchester City last week.

Last season: Arsenal 2 Leicester 1, Leicester 1 Arsenal 1

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

Top scorers (all competitions): Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) 18; Jamie Vardy (Leicester) 18

Match odds: H 3-4 A 7-2 D 11-4

Referee: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire)

Aston Villa (20) v Liverpool (9) (2.05pm ko)

Jack Grealish has been ruled out for Villa with an ankle problem. Rudy Gestede and Carlos Sanchez will be assessed after hamstring injuries and Alan Hutton is available but Libor Kozak (ankle), Adama Traore (foot) and Jordan Amavi (knee) are all sidelined.

Midfielder Joe Allen will miss out for Liverpool with a hamstring injury which is likely to sideline him for several weeks. Defenders Dejan Lovren and Martin Skrtel have both returned to training but neither will be ready for Sunday. There is better news on fellow centre-back Steven Caulker, who has shaken off a back problem. Youngster Cameron Brannagan has recovered from illness while manager Jurgen Klopp has to decide how best to use strikers Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi and playmaker Philippe Coutinho after all returned to action in midweek after long lay-offs.

Last season: Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 2, Liverpool 0 Aston Villa 1

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

Top scorers (all competitions): Scott Sinclair (Aston Villa) 6; Christian Benteke (Liverpool) 7

Match odds: H 17-5 A 17-20 D 12-5

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire).

Manchester City (4) v Tottenham (2) (4.15pm ko)

Captain Vincent Kompany is back in contention after playing just nine minutes of City’s last 20 games because of a calf injury. His return coincides with news that playmaker David Silva has shaken off an ankle problem. On the downside, midfielder Fabian Delph (Achilles) faces six to seven weeks out and right-back Bacary Sagna (knee) is also missing this weekend. Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Jesus Navas and Kevin De Bruyne are also still sidelined.

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli is expected to return to the starting line-up. Alli was named on the bench for the win over Watford last weekend after feeling dizzy against Norwich, but the 19-year-old has come through tests and is fit to play. Clinton Njie and Jan Vertonghen, however, both remain sidelined with knee injuries.

Last season: Tottenham 0 Man City 1, Man City 4 Tottenham 1

Last five league matches: Man City D W D W L; Tottenham Hotspur L W W W W

Top scorers (all competitions): Sergio Aguero (Man City) 18; Harry Kane (Tottenham) 18

Match odds: H 21-20 A 13-5 D 12-5

Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)