Premier League weekend team news

SATURDAY (3.0 unless stated)

Newcastle (14) v Man City (3), 12.30pm – Live BT Sport
Newcastle defender DeAndre Yedlin is a doubt for the clash with Manchester City. The United States international has a hip problem and could join central defender Jamaal Lascelles (fractured tibia) on the sidelines, while Matt Ritchie is expected to be out until the end of January after undergoing a second bout of ankle surgery. However, fellow midfielder Sean Longstaff is available once again after completing a three-match ban following his sending-off against Wolves.

City are still without record goalscorer Sergio Agüero, who suffered a thigh injury in last week’s defeat of Chelsea. Midfielder Bernardo Silva is back in Premier League action after serving a one-match domestic suspension. Left back Oleksandr Zinchenko remains on the sidelines after minor knee surgery while centre back Aymeric Laporte and winger Leroy Sane (both knee) are long-term casualties.

Last season: Newcastle 2 Man City 1, Man City 2 Newcastle 1
Last five league matches: Newcastle L D W W L; Man City W W W L W
Top scorers: Ciaran Clark, Jonjo Shelvey (Newcastle) 2; Raheem Sterling (Man City) 14
Match odds: H 16-1 D 6-1 A 2-11
Referee: Chris Kavanagh

Liverpool without Fabinho until new year with ankle injury

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Solskjaer says Pogba will be like ‘world class signing’ on return

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Arsenal’s loss to Frankfurt increases pressure on Emery

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Burnley (7) v Crystal Palace (13)
Ashley Westwood misses out for Burnley through suspension. The key midfielder has picked up five bookings and his absence potentially opens the door for Danny Drinkwater, who is finally fully fit after the ankle injury he suffered in an incident outside a nightclub in early September. Sean Dyche may well choose to move Jeff Hendrick into the midfield instead and bring in either Robbie Brady or Aaron Lennon out wide. Matej Vydra (hip) is fit again but Johann Berg Gudmundsson (hamstring) remains sidelined.

Crystal Palace will be without defender Joel Ward. The right back suffered a knee injury during Saturday’s 2-1 loss at home to Liverpool and will be missing for “weeks” according to boss Roy Hodgson. Mamadou Sakho and Connor Wickham stepped up their returns this week with minutes for the Under-23s and the former will hope to be part of the matchday squad.

Last season: Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 3, Crystal Palace 2 Burnley 0
Last five league matches: Burnley L L L W W; Crystal Palace L D L L L
Top scorers: Ashley Barnes, Chris Wood (Burnley) 6; Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace) 4
Match odds: H 13-10 D 11-5 A 23-10
Referee: Peter Bankes

Chelsea (4) v West Ham (17) – Live Premier Sports
Tammy Abraham will miss out for Chelsea due to a hip problem. The England striker fell heavily on his hip in Wednesday's 2-2 Champions League draw at Valencia and was carried from the Mestalla Stadium field on a stretcher. Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud will battle it out to start up front against West Ham, while Antonio Rudiger is still working back to fitness after a pelvic problem.

West Ham will be without Issa Diop through suspension so Declan Rice could drop back to central defence. Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski is still injured so boss Manuel Pellegrini must decide whether to stick with error-prone back-up Roberto or give third-choice David Martin a chance. Manuel Lanzini, Jack Wilshere and Winston Reid are still sidelined.

Last season: Chelsea 2 West Ham 0, West Ham 0 Chelsea 0
Last five league matches: Chelsea W W W W L; West Ham L D L L L
Top scorers: Tammy Abraham (Chelsea) 11; Sebastien Haller (West Ham) 4
Match odds: H 2-7 D 24-5 A 9-1
Referee: Jonathan Moss

Liverpool (1) v Brighton (12)
Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has been ruled out until the new year but manager Jürgen Klopp has no other new injury problems ahead of the visit of Brighton. The Brazil international, who was actually suspended this weekend, could be out for six to eight weeks with ankle ligament damage. Fellow midfielder Naby Keita has recovered from illness but centre back Joel Matip faces another scan on a knee problem which has kept him out since October 20th.

Brighton will have Lewis Dunk and young forward Aaron Connolly back for the trip to Anfield. Captain Dunk missed the 2-0 loss to Leicester after picking up his fifth caution of the season while Republic of Ireland international Connolly has recently been sidelined with a groin injury. Both return for the clash with Liverpool, but Bernardo remains short of match fitness despite featuring for the Under-23s this week and Solly March is a doubt with tightness in his groin.

Last season: Brighton 0 Liverpool 1, Liverpool 1 Brighton 0
Last five league matches: Liverpool D W W W W; Brighton L W W L L
Top scorers: Sadio Mane (Liverpool) 12; Neal Maupay (Brighton) 4
Match odds: H 1-5 D 11-2 A 14-1
Referee: Martin Atkinson

Tottenham Hotspur (10) v Bournemouth (11)
Ben Davies is missing for Tottenham against Bournemouth. The left back is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines following ankle ligament damage. Erik Lamela (hamstring), Hugo Lloris (elbow) and Michel Vorm (calf) are also out.

Bournemouth will check on winger Ryan Fraser (leg) ahead of the trip to north London. Defender Simon Francis is banned following his red card in the defeat by Wolves, while midfielder Philip Billing is also suspended following his fifth caution, but forward Dominic Solanke (hamstring) should be involved. Norway striker Joshua King (hamstring) and midfielder David Brooks (ankle) are both still not fit, while Junior Stanislas, Andrew Surman and Charlie Daniels (all knee) continue their own long-term recoveries.

Last season: Bournemouth 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0, Tottenham Hotspur 5 Bournemouth 0
Last five league matches: Tottenham Hotspur D L D D W; AFC Bournemouth D D W L L
Top scorers: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) 13; Callum Wilson (AFC Bournemouth) 5
Match odds: H 4-11 D 17-4 A 7-1
Referee: Lee Mason

Southampton (19) v Watford (20), 5.30pm – Live Sky Sports
Southampton midfielder Sofiane Boufal is a major doubt to face bottom club Watford after stubbing his big toe on the kitchen table at home. Stuart Armstrong picked up a hamstring problem during the closing stages against Arsenal and the midfielder is expected to be out for at least a couple of weeks. Defender Jannik Vestergaard has been able to resume training following illness so should be involved again.

Watford will be without defender Craig Dawson, who needed stitches in a head wound suffered during the 3-0 home defeat by Burnley. Christian Kabasele has a hamstring problem, while Dutch defender Daryl Janmaat (knee) is also not available. Roberto Pereyra is stepping up his recovery from a thigh strain but is unlikely to be risked. Tom Cleverley (heel), Danny Welbeck (hamstring), Sebastian Prodl (knee) and Domingos Quina (groin) all continue their own rehabilitation.

Last season: Watford 1 Southampton 1, Southampton 1 Watford 1
Last five league matches: Southampton D L L L D; Watford D D L W L
Top scorers: Danny Ings (Southampton) 8; Roberto Pereyra & Andre Gray & Gerard Deulofeu (Watford) 2
Match odds: H 11-10 D 5-2 A 5-2
Referee: Michael Oliver

SUNDAY

Norwich (18) v Arsenal (8), 2pm – Live Sky Sports
Norwich midfielder Todd Cantwell has been declared fit by manager Daniel Farke for the visit of Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday. Cantwell had his foot in a protective boot following his side's win at Everton and was not able to train at the start of the week, but the manager expects him to make a recovery in time. Jamal Lewis returned to training this week after missing the trip to Merseyside with a knee issue, but Grant Hanley remains sidelined and Alex Tettey is unavailable for personal reasons.

Freddie Ljungberg takes charge of the Gunners for the first time since being announced as interim head coach following the sacking of Unai Emery on Friday. He will be hoping David Luiz (bruised ribs) is fit after being forced off in the 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night, while Hector Bellerin (hamstring) will be assessed. Dani Ceballos (hamstring) is a definite absentee but Sead Kolasinac has recovered from his own minor hamstring issue and could feature.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Norwich D L L L W; Arsenal L D D L D
Top scorers: Teemu Pukki (Norwich) 6; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) 9
Match odds: H 16-5 D 3-1 A 4-5
Referee: Paul Tierney

Wolves (5) v Sheffield United (6), 2.0
Romain Saiss will be suspended when Wolves welcome Sheffield United. The defender collected his fifth booking of the season in last week's 2-1 win at Bournemouth. Ryan Bennett may return from a groin injury to replace him after missing Thursday's 3-3 Europa League draw in Braga. Morgan Gibbs-White (back) is likely to sit out and Willy Boly (fracture leg) is sidelined.

Dean Henderson and John Egan both return to the Blades squad. Henderson, on loan from Manchester United, was ineligible against his parent club last weekend. He will replace Simon Moore in goal at Molineux. Defender Egan missed the 3-3 draw with United due to a head injury but he has now recovered. Lys Mousset was forced off with a hamstring problem late on in that game but the forward will be fit.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Wolverhampton D D D W W; Sheff Utd W D W D D
Top scorers: Raul Jimenez (Wolverhampton) 14; Lys Mousset (Sheff Utd) 4
Match odds: H 10-11 D 12-5 A 10-3
Referee: David Coote

Leicester (2) v Everton (16), 4.30pm – Live Sky Sports
Jonny Evans will be available for Leicester as they look to equal a club record of six successive top-flight wins against Everton. Evans was forced off with cramp after 62 minutes at Brighton last weekend but he has resumed training and will be fit. Matty James is back in training following a long-term Achilles problem but the midfielder is not yet ready for a return to first-team action.

Everton have significant injury problems and will be without full back Séamus Coleman. Midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin and forward Theo Walcott, who both went off during last weekend’s loss to Norwich, are major doubts, as is Fabian Delph (hamstring). Richarlison will be fit while Bernard (knee) has an outside chance of being involved. Andre Gomes (ankle) and Jean-Philippe Gbamin (thigh) remain long-term absentees.

Last season: Everton 0 Leicester 1, Leicester 1 Everton 2
Last five league matches: Leicester W W W W W; Everton W L D W L
Top scorers: Jamie Vardy (Leicester) 12; Dominic Calvert-Lewin & de Andrade Richarlison (Everton) 5
Match odds: H 63-100 D 3-1 A 17-4
Referee: Graham Scott

Manchester United (9) v Aston Villa (15), 4.30
Scott McTominay is pushing to play against Aston Villa as Manchester United return to Premier League action on the back of the 6,000-mile round trip to Kazakhstan.

The 22-year-old missed the trip to Sheffield United with an ankle complaint and will be assessed ahead of Sunday — a match Ole Gunnar Solskjær says Paul Pogba will not be available for following an ankle injury of his own. Luke Shaw, Lee Grant, Jesse Lingard and Axel Tuanzebe built fitness by playing 90 minutes as United lost 2-1 to Astana on Thursday, when the remainder of the senior squad stayed at home ahead of facing Villa. Nemanja Matic, Eric Bailly, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Diogo Dalot continue to build fitness after injury.

Aston Villa defender Bjorn Engels is in contention to return to Premier League action at United.

Engels has been out of action since the start of November with a hip injury, but has trained all week and is available for selection after admitting he did not feel ready for Monday night’s victory over Newcastle.

Midfielder Jota is also back in training after a hernia problem, but is short of match fitness, while striker Keinan Davis is due to resume jogging on Monday and is two to three weeks away from a return. Keeper Jed Steer (Achilles) is expected to be sidelined for four months.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Man Utd D W L W D; Aston Villa W L L L W
Top scorers: Marcus Rashford (Man Utd) 10; Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa) 5
Match odds: H 1-2 D 16-5 A 6-1
Referee: Craig Pawson