(League positions in brackets)
Saturday
Birmingham (5) v Arsenal (1)
Birmingham will be without star striker Christophe Dugarry who has not recovered from a twisted knee. Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison, Stern John or possibly David Dunn - in a second striker role - are vying to partner Mikael Forssell.
Arsenal right-back Lauren begins a four-game ban, centre-back Martin Keown starts a three-match absence and midfielders Patrick Vieira and Ray Parlour are both suspended for one game. Arsene Wenger, who will counter Lauren's absence byrecalling Pascal Cygan or promoting Justin Hoyte, is also without midfielderGilberto Silva, due to international commitments and striker Sylvain Wiltord(groin).
Everton (18) v Wolverhampton (19)
Duncan Ferguson is unavailable after a dispute with boss David Moyes andEverton will also be without long-term injury victims Steve Watson, AlessandroPistone, Scot Gemmill, Richard Wright and Lee Carsley. Wayne Rooney, Alan Stubbsand Li Tie are all back in the squad after flu ruled them out of the lastmatch.
Colin Cameron is out with a stomach muscle injury but Nathan Blake is backfrom his hamstring problem and to push Steffen Iversen for a starting place.On-loan goalkeeper Andy Marshall will be on the bench for the first time asunderstudy to Michael Oakes.
Leeds (20) v Bolton (14)
Leeds are without skipper Dominic Matteo and striker Alan Smith, who bothserve one-match bans, while defenders Roque Junior and Salomon Olembe may alsobe unavailable as they were on international duty in midweek and are notexpected to return until later today. Jody Morris has been told by the club hecan continue to play pending the outcome of legal proceedings into a charge ofrape, while striker Mark Viduka and midfielder Seth Johnson have been strugglingwith flu and a knee injury respectively.
Bolton forward Youri Djorkaeff returns after seven-week league absence with anagging calf strain. Central defender Emerson Thome (hamstring) is likely tomiss the game while striker Mario Jardel may have to make do with a place on thebench again.
Leicester (15) v Charlton (4)
Goalkeeper Ian Walker is winning his fitness battle against a shoulder injury.Frank Sinclair (Achilles) is Leicester's only long-term injury victim and isunlikely to be back until Christmas.
Midfield duo Scott Parker and Claus Jensen, missing due to a one-game ban anda knee ligament problem respectively join defensive trio Richard Rufus, Gary Rowett (both knee) and Luke Young (ankle) on Charlton's absentee list. Striker Shaun Bartlett underwent an ankle injury this week which will rule him out for three months - but his place in the squad is taken by the fit-again Carlton Cole, recovered from a hip problem.
Man Utd (3) v Blackburn (16)
United boss Alex Ferguson plans to play Diego Forlan, who scored twice forUruguay against Brazil in midweek, despite his tiring trip. Gary Neville hasshaken off a hamstring strain and Ryan Giggs has also recovered from a minorknee injury he picked up in Wales' defeat to Russia, so both are expected toplay.
Andy Cole and Lucas Neill are both suspended for Rovers while David Thompsonis likely to be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Italianstriker Corrado Grabbi has returned to his homeland for treatment on a footinjury.
Middlesbrough (12) v Liverpool (8)
Middlesbrough will be without suspended full-back Danny Mills, who picked uphis fifth booking of the season against Wolves - either Andrew Davies or ChrisRiggott will take his place. Mark Schwarzer returns in goal after missing the2-0 victory at Aston Villa because his daughter was ill, while Franck Queudruewill continue at left-back after being cleared of violent conduct following aclash with Southampton striker Kevin Phillips.
Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Steve Finnan have completed full trainingsessions after recovering from ankle, back and knee problems respectively.Dietmar Hamann and Stephane Henchoz are also pushing for a first team recallafter recovery from long-term injuries.
Newcastle (10) v Man City (6)
Jonathan Woodgate, who has missed Newcastle's last 11 games after undergoingsurgery for a double hernia, is back in the squad, while Kieron Dyer - out forsix with a hamstring problem - also returns. Alan Shearer is back after a throatinfection but there is no Nolberto Solano (international duty) or Hugo Viana(flu), so midfielder Bradley Orr is drafted in.
Kevin Keegan is set to recall Trevor Sinclair to City's starting line-up afterrecovering from a dead leg. With Claudio Reyna (flu), Danny Tiatto (hamstring)and Shaun Wright-Phillips (suspension) all ruled out, he is likely to be plungedstraight back into the fray. Robbie Fowler is likely to partner Nicolas Anelkaup front.
Southampton (9) v Chelsea (2)
Defender Danny Higginbotham is favourite to replace suspended Southamptoncentre-back Michael Svensson, while long-term injury victim Marian Pahars couldreturn after making his comeback for Latvia in midweek. Fellow striker AgustinDelgado is still not fully fit after back surgery and midfielder Matthew Oakleyis out for the season with a knee ligament injury.
Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly's hip injury has not recovered in time whileHernan Crespo, Juan Sebastian Veron and Geremi's midweek internationals mayreduce their roles. Striker Eidur Gudjohnsen is available after choosing not toplay for Iceland but midfielder Emmanuel Petit (knee) is still on thesidelines.
Sunday
Tottenham (13) v Aston Villa (17)
Anthony Gardner has recovered from the back injury which denied him a possiblefirst full England cap last week and is set to start for Spurs. Frederic Kanouteis making good progress on his ankle injury but Simon Davies, Christian Ziegeand skipper Jamie Redknapp remain absent.
Aston Villa will be without suspended midfielder Gavin McCann - ThomasHitzlsperger is likely to deputise. Manager David O'Leary will also check on thefitness of striker Darius Vassell, who was forced to withdraw from the Englandsquad to face Denmark last weekend because of a knee injury - Marcus Allback ison stand-by to partner leading scorer Juan Pablo Angel.