ST STEPHEN’S DAY (3.0pm unless stated)

Chelsea (1) v West Ham (4), 12.45pm – Live Sky Sports 1
Eden Hazard could be a doubt for Chelsea's clash with West Ham. The playmaker limped off late on in Monday's 2-0 victory over Stoke after a tackle from Jonathan Walters. Oscar will hope for a recall after being left on the bench at the Britannia Stadium.

West Ham welcome back midfielder Mark Noble for the short trip to Stamford Bridge. Noble has missed the last four games with an Achilles problem but has returned to training ahead of the festive fixtures. James Tomkins (hamstring) is the only absentee for the Hammers with James Collins ready to step in alongside Winston Reid in the heart of defence.

Last season: Chelsea 0 West Ham 0, West Ham 0 Chelsea 3
Last five league matches: Chelsea W D W L W; West Ham W W W D W
Top scorers (all club competitions): Diego Costa (Chelsea) 12; Diafra Sakho (West Ham) 8
Match odds: H 1-3 A 8-1 D 4-1
Referee: Michael Oliver

Burnley (18) v Liverpool (10)
Striker Sam Vokes could return to the Burnley squad for the first time since March. The Wales international stepped up his recovery from cruciate knee ligament damage by scoring twice for the development squad on Monday. Matt Taylor is also in contention following an Achilles injury but centre half Michael Duff (calf) and Stephen Ward are struggling.

Mario Balotelli returns from suspension but will only be on the bench for the trip to Burnley. His fellow forward Fabio Borini is banned after his sending-off against Arsenal while midfielder Joe Allen has not yet recovered from a knee injury. Defenders Dejan Lovren and Glen Johnson (both groin) and Jon Flanagan (knee) are still not fit.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Burnley D D L W L; Liverpool W W D L D
Top scorers (all club competitions): Danny Ings (Burnley) 4; Raheem Sterling & Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 5
Match odds: H 16-5 A 4-5 D 11-4
Referee: Anthony Taylor

Crystal Palace (17) v Southampton (5)
Kevin Doyle and Fraizer Campbell will battle it out to spearhead Crystal Palace's attack. Their fellow forward Marouane Chamakh is again ruled out through thigh trouble. Manager Neil Warnock will keep faith with his 4-2-3-1 formation for the home match, with Palace seeking to arrest a run of just one win in 11 games in all competitions.

Dusan Tadic is expected to return for Southampton after injury while Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and Florin Gardos are all back from bans. Captain Jose Fonte is suspended and joins injured quartet Jay Rodriguez (cruciate ligament), Sam Gallagher (knee), Jack Cork (knock) and Jake Hesketh (knee) on the sidelines.

Last season: Crystal Palace 0 Southampton 1, Southampton 2 Crystal Palace 0
Last five league matches: Crystal Palace D L D D L; Southampton L L L L W
Top scorers (all club competitions): Dwight Gayle (Crystal Palace) 6; Graziano Pelle (Southampton) 11
Match odds: H 12-5 A 5-4 D 21-10
Referee: Mike Dean

Everton (11) v Stoke (13)
Everton forward Kevin Mirallas is pushing to return to action against Stoke after his recent ankle injury. Republic of Ireland midfielder James McCarthy (hamstring) could also be back in action during the Christmas programme, which continues with a trip to Newcastle on Sunday. His fellow midfielders Leon Osman (ankle) and Darron Gibson (knee) are not yet ready to return while defender Tony Hibbert faces a fortnight out after suffering a knock in training.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes hopes a neck problem will not rule Peter Crouch out of the clash with Everton. Striker Crouch was forced off in the second half of Monday’s home loss to Chelsea. It remains to be seen whether midfielder Stephen Ireland, who missed that game due to a knee injury, will be fit enough to be involved.

Last season: Stoke 1 Everton 1, Everton 4 Stoke 0
Last five league matches: Everton L D L W L; Stoke L L L W D
Top scorers (all club competitions): Romelu Lukaku (Everton) 7; Jonathan Walters (Stoke) 6
Match odds: H 17-20 A 7-2 D 23-10
Referee: Lee Mason

Leicester (20) v Tottenham (7)
Chris Wood is a doubt for struggling Leicester after leaving training early because of an infection on Tuesday. The striker will be assessed ahead of the home match but has not started a match for the Foxes since August. Centre back Matt Upson is expected to make his return from a foot injury in the new year while goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel remains out with a broken metatarsal he suffered in training.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is hopeful Ryan Mason will be fit. The midfielder was forced off during Saturday’s win over Burnley with a twisted ankle. The injury is not as bad as first feared and Mason could feature at the King Power Stadium, as could striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who has not played since early November.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Leicester L L L L L; Tottenham W L D W W
Top scorers (all club competitions): Leonardo Ulloa (Leicester) 6; Harry Kane (Tottenham) 14
Match odds: H 3-1 A 1-1 D 11-5
Referee: Neil Swarbrick

Manchester United (3) v Newcastle (9) – Live BT Sports 1
Defender Chris Smalling is making a good recovery from his groin injury and could play for Manchester United against Newcastle. Midfielders Ander Herrera (muscle injury), Marouane Fellaini (illness) and Daley Blind (knee) are out. Left back Luke Shaw (ankle) is also unavailable and Marcos Rojo is a major doubt because of the thigh injury that has sidelined him for the last two matches.

Newcastle will be without midfield enforcer Cheick Tiote through suspension, while goalkeepers Tim Krul and Rob Elliot remain sidelined. Striker Papiss Cisse continues to battle the after-effects of knee surgery and a virus, while midfielders Mehdi Abeid (toe) and Siem de Jong (thigh) are unavailable, with Rolando Aarons (hamstring), Gabriel Obertan (thigh) and Ryan Taylor (knee) also ruled out.

Last season: Newcastle 0 Manchester United 4, Manchester United 0 Newcastle 1
Last five league matches: Manchester United W W W W D; Newcastle L D W L L
Top scorers (all club competitions): Robin van Persie (Manchester United) 7; Papiss Cisse (Newcastle) 7
Match odds: H 2-5 A 7-1 D 10-3
Referee: Mike Jones

Sunderland (14) v Hull (19)
Full back Anthony Reveillere is out of Sunderland's immediate plans. The Frenchman suffered a calf injury before Sunday's victory at Newcastle and will miss up to four weeks. Manager Gus Poyet could field captain John O'Shea in Reveillere's place or turn to specialist Billy Jones, back from a hamstring problem. Midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini is fit again following an ankle injury but striker Connor Wickham is suspended.

Hull are stretched to the limit. Midfielders Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone are suspended, Mohamed Diame is out with a knee problem and centre half Michael Dawson has a torn hamstring. Paul McShane and Hatem Ben Arfa are both exiled from the squad and captain Curtis Davies (calf) is a doubt but Tom Ince and Maynor Figueroa have been recalled from loan spells.

Last season: Sunderland 0 Hull 2, Hull 1 Sunderland 0
Last five league matches: Sunderland D L D D W; Hull L D D L L
Top scorers (all club competitions): Steven Fletcher (Sunderland) 4; Mohamed Diame & Nikica Jelavic (Hull) 4
Match odds: H 21-20 A 11-4 D 11-5
Referee: Andre Marriner

Swansea (8) v Aston Villa (12)
Swansea trio Leon Britton (knee), Gylfi Sigurdsson (foot) and Jefferson Montero (hamstring) are all over niggles which forced them to miss last weekend's win at Hull and are available for the visit of Aston Villa. Manager Garry Monk will make changes, with league trips to Liverpool and QPR and an FA Cup tie at Tranmere coming up. Top scorer Wilfried Bony could be among those to return after making way for Bafetimbi Gomis at Hull.

Gabriel Agbonlahor is available for Aston Villa after he had his red card against Manchester United overturned. He is joined in the squad by Alan Hutton and Tom Cleverley after their bans. Kieran Richardson is still suspended, and Ashley Westwood (knee), Philippe Senderos (thigh), Nathan Baker (knee), Libor Kozak (leg) and Joe Cole (hamstring) are all ruled out.

Last season: Swansea 4 Aston Villa 1, Aston Villa 1 Swansea 1
Last five league matches: Swansea D W L L W; Aston Villa D W W L D
Top scorers (all club competitions): Wilfried Bony (Swansea) 8; Gabriel Agbonlahor & Andreas Weimann (Aston Villa) 3
Match odds: H 4-5 A 4-1 D 9-4
Referee: Roger East

West Brom (15) v Manchester City (2)
West Brom captain Chris Brunt is in line to return to action. The Northern Irishman was unable to make his comeback from a hamstring injury against QPR last weekend but has trained this week. Victor Anichebe (groin) is still not training but fellow forward Georgios Samaras is back after going home to Greece due to a family matter. Graham Dorrans (calf) and Boaz Myhill (illness) missed training on Tuesday but are expected to be available.

Manchester City are still without strikers Sergio Aguero (knee), Edin Dzeko (calf) and Stevan Jovetic (hamstring). Midfielders James Milner and David Silva could again play in the advanced central roles that proved successful against Crystal Palace last weekend or teenage forward Jose Angel Pozo might get another chance. Captain Vincent Kompany (hamstring/calf) is also still sidelined but fellow defender Gael Clichy has recovered from a minor knock.

Last season: Manchester City 3 West Brom 1, West Brom 2 Manchester City 3
Last five league matches: West Brom L L D W L; Man City W W W W W
Top scorers (all club competitions): Saido Berahino (West Brom) 8; Sergio Aguero (Man City) 19
Match odds: H 6-1 A 1-2 D 3-1
Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Arsenal (6) v QPR (16), 5.30pm – Live BT Sports 1
Arsenal will welcome back playmaker Tomas Rosicky and goalkeeper David Ospina after they recovered from thigh problems. Laurent Koscielny (calf) and Aaron Ramsey (hamstring) miss out but could return in the upcoming games against West Ham or Southampton. Mikel Arteta (calf), Mesut Ozil (knee), Abou Diaby (calf), Jack Wilshere (ankle) and Serge Gnabry (knee) are sidelined.

QPR left back Yun Suk-young has been ruled out for a number of weeks with an ankle problem so misses the club’s entire Christmas schedule. Manager Harry Redknapp has revealed he has a number of knocks – “too many to list” – to contend with. Long-term injury casualties Sandro and Alejandro Faurlin (both knee) are definitely out.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Arsenal W W L W D; QPR W L W L W
Top scorers (all club competitions): Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) 14; Charlie Austin (QPR) 11
Match odds: H 2-7 A 10-1 D 4-1
Referee: Martin Atkinson