Premier League team news and statistics
Marouane Chamakh goes straight into the Hammers squad — the striker has been signed on loan from Arsenal and could make his debut tomorrow. Modibo Maiga is missing as he links up with Mali ahead of the African Nations Cup while fellow forward Andy Carroll (knee) is also absent. Defender Joey O’Brien remains a doubt with a hamstring problem but George McCartney (knee) is definitely out.
Last season:No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches:Sunderland L W W L L; West Ham L D L L W
Top scorers(all competitions): Steven Fletcher (Sunderland) 8; Kevin Nolan (West Ham) 5
Match odds:H 6-5 A 21-10 D 23-10
Referee:Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)
Sunday, January 13th
Arsenal (6) v Man City (2)
Arsenal will assess striker Olivier Giroud’s knee injury ahead of the game but midfielder Abou Diaby could be in the squad after playing for the club’s under-21 team following three months out with a thigh problem. Defender Andre Santos (stomach muscle) also played in midweek but is not expected to yet feature for the first team, while forward Gervinho is away at the African Nations Cup with Ivory Coast.
City striker Sergio Aguero (hamstring) remains sidelined while midfielder Yaya Toure is at the African Nations Cup along with brother Kolo and back-up striker Abdul Razak. Forward Samir Nasri completes a ban, right-back Maicon (knee) is still out and Micah Richards and Jack Rodwell are long-term casualties — but left-back Aleksandar Kolarov (knee) is in contention.
Last season:Arsenal 1 Man City 0, Man City 1 Arsenal 0
Last five league matches:Arsenal W W W W D; Man City W W L W W
Top scorers(all competitions): Theo Walcott (Arsenal) 14; Sergio Aguero & Edin Dzeko (Man City) 10
Match odds:H 6-4 A 8-5 D 23-10
Referee:Mike Dean (Wirral)
Man Utd (1) v Liverpool (8)
Nani and Anderson both return to the United squad — the pair have been sidelined for 14 and eight games respectively with hamstring injuries but are available to bolster Alex Ferguson’s options. Wayne Rooney (knee) is missing though and Phil Jones is also likely to be saved for Wednesday’s FA Cup replay with West Ham.
Striker Daniel Sturridge, who scored on his first appearance for Liverpool in the FA Cup win at Mansfield, could keep his place. The likes of the rested Steven Gerrard, Jose Reina and Glen Johnson will all return, while forward Fabio Borini is back in the squad having been sidelined since mid-October with a broken foot.
Last season:Man Utd 2 Liverpool 1, Liverpool 1 Man Utd 1
Last five league matches:Man Utd W D W W W; Liverpool L W L W W
Top scorers(all competitions): Robin van Persie (Man Utd) 20; Luis Suarez (Liverpool) 19
Match odds:H 10-11 A 11-4 D 11-4
Referee:Howard Webb (S Yorkshire)
