Saturday, January 17
Bolton (11) v Portsmouth (17)
Defender Anthony Barness has returned to Bolton after training with West Ham where he was expected to complete a one-month loan deal. He has been recalled because of an injury crisis and goes straight into the squad. Jay-Jay Okocha is set to captain the side. Aiyegbeni Yakubu makes his final appearance before flying off to the African Nations Cup. Harry Redknapp may be forced to name teenager Warren Hunt as one of Pompey's substitutes with Vincent Pericard, Deon Burton, Svetoslav Todorov and Lee Bradbury all injured, along with defender Hayden Foxe.
Everton (12) v Charlton (4)
Everton midfielder Thomas Gravesen will miss his third successive match with a knee problem. He has been back in light training this week, but manager David Moyes will not risk him. Scott Parker has been dropped by Charlton after being "unsettled" by a bid from Chelsea. Parker has not trained with the Addicks for two days at the request of manager Alan Curbishley. Defender Richard Rufus could be out for the rest of the season after failing to recover from a mystery knee injury. Luke Young (ankle) will travel but Shaun Bartlett (ankle) and Kevin Lisbie (back) are out.
Man City (15) v Blackburn (16)
England goalkeeper David James will make his City debut, relegating Kevin Ellegaard to the substitutes' bench, while Jon Macken is also in line for his first Premiership start with Robbie Fowler (knee) still out. Claudio Reyna (calf) has an outside chance of being fit. Lucas Neill (groin) and Paul Gallagher (back) are rated as 50/50 to be fit. Craig Short and Steven Reid, who both have hamstring injuries, are definitely out but Alan Mahon returns from a thigh strain and skipper Garry Flitcroft is back from suspension to face his old club.
Middlesbrough (14) v Leicester (18)
Defenders Gareth Southgate (hamstring) and Ugo Ehiogu (groin) are major doubts for Boro, who are without Michael Ricketts (knee), Carlo Nash (finger) and Jonathan Greening (tonsils). Gaizka Mendieta returns after a virus. Steve Guppy is expected to start after his free-transfer return from Celtic while Riccardo Scimeca has recovered from a shin injury and should also feature. Muzzy Izzet (Achilles) is doubtful but defender Nikos Dabizas is set to return having been rested in midweek, although Steve Howey is not included after being transfer-listed.
Southampton (9) v Leeds (19)
Former England defender Graeme Le Saux (hamstring) is again ruled out of Southampton's team and is not expected to return until the end of the month. Defender Claus Lundekvam is out for at least another fortnight with a torn hamstring while striker Marian Pahars is doubtful with a groin strain. Leeds have David Batty (ankle), Michael Duberry and Lucas Radebe (both hamstring) injured and skipper Dominic Matteo and Stephen McPhail suspended. Lamine Sakho and Salomon Olembe are away on African Nations Cup duty and Mark Viduka is unavailable due to the illness of his father in Australia. Zoumana Camara and Jody Morris are set to play for the first time in almost two months and Alan Smith is back from a ban.
Tottenham (13) v Liverpool (5)
Spurs have lost their battle to keep Frederic Kanoute - who heads for Mali for the African Nations Cup - but Michael Brown is in the squad for the first time since his transfer window move from Sheffield United. Liverpool will again be without Steven Gerrard due to a thigh injury but the midfielder should be back for Wednesday's game at Wolves. Jamie Carragher and Steve Finnan are likely to be given another second-team run-out before returning, while El-Hadji Diouf and Salif Diao are with the Senegal squad preparing for the African Nations Cup.
Wolves (20) v Man Utd (1)
Injury-prone striker Nathan Blake is set to miss out as he continues to struggle with a shoulder problem - Steffen Iversen is likely to return in his absence. Lee Naylor is set to shake off a calf injury after missing the midweek FA Cup victory over Kidderminster and Alex Rae, Paul Ince, Denis Irwin and Colin Cameron are all fit to return after being rested for Tuesday's clash. Ryan Giggs is set to miss out as United manager Alex Ferguson takes a side to Molineux for the first time. The Welsh winger suffered a back strain against Newcastle last weekend and is not likely to be risked - his place could be taken by Darren Fletcher,
Sunday, January 18
Aston Villa (10) v Arsenal (2)
Villa striker Darius Vassell (hamstring) and midfielder Gavin McCann (knee) are both hoping to prove their fitness after suffering injuries against Liverpool last week. Providing the pair do not suffer any adverse reactions in training, boss David O'Leary is ready to name an unchanged side. Kanu has delayed his departure for the African Nations Cup to ease Arsenal's attacking injury problems - with Sylvain Wiltord, Dennis Bergkamp and Jeremie Aliadiere out. Kolo Toure has recovered from a foot problem, while Ashley Cole is expected to start despite having suffered a shoulder injury in midweek.
Chelsea (3) v Birmingham (8)
Wayne Bridge will is preferred to Celestine Babayaro for Chelsea, which means the Nigerian has played his last match before flying out to join the Nigeria squad for the African Nations Cup. Blues' leading scorer Mikael Forssell is unavailable due to the conditions of his loan move from Chelsea. Christophe Dugarry begins a three-match suspension but is not ready to return from a knee injury anyway. David Dunn could play up front behind Clinton Morrison in his place. Robbie Savage returns from suspension and Stan Lazaridis (groin) and Jamie Clapham (hamstring) have outside chances of being fit.