Soccer:All the latest team news ahead of this weekend's Premier League fixtures.
Saturday, January 12th
Aston Villa (16) v Southampton (17)
Villa skipper Ron Vlaar has returned to training after a calf injury and could play some part. Midfielders Ashley Westwood (ankle) and Brett Holman (virus) are in contention but striker Darren Bent (knee), defenders Chris Herd (foot) and Richard Dunne (groin), winger Marc Albrighton (metatarsal) and goalkeeper Shay Given (hamstring) are out.
Saints are without knee victims Jose Fonte and Adam Lallana, while Emmanuel Mayuka is unavailable after linking up with Zambia for the African Nations Cup. Gaston Ramirez and Nathaniel Clyne return from a dead leg and knee problem respectively.
Last season:No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches:Aston Villa W L L L D; Southampton W L D D D
Top scorers(all competitions): Christian Benteke (Aston Villa) 12; Rickie Lambert (Southampton) 8
Match odds:H 13-10 A 15-8 D 23-10
Referee:Chris Foy (Merseyside)
Everton (5) v Swansea (9)
Everton manager David Moyes is optimistic Leighton Baines will be available — the left-back has been nursing an ankle problem and Moyes says he is monitoring the England international’s condition but expects him to be fit for tomorrow’s match. It remains to be seen whether or not forward Kevin Mirallas, sidelined recently by a hamstring injury, is ready to make his return to action.
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup has no new injury concerns but the Dane may decide to make changes given the short turnaround from the midweek Capital One Cup win at Chelsea. Michel Vorm will return in goal while Kemy Agustien, Nathan Dyer and Danny Graham could all be handed starts with Swansea facing a third game in six days.
Last season:Swansea 0 Everton 2, Everton 1 Swansea 0
Last five league matches:Everton D W W L W; Swansea L D D W D
Top scorers(all competitions): Marouane Fellaini (Everton) 9; Michu (Swansea) 16
Match odds:H 8-15 A 5-1 D 11-4
Referee:Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)
Fulham (13) v Wigan (18)
Mahamadou Diarra and Kerim Frei are unavailable for Fulham, whose boss Martin Jol welcomes back Mladen Petric, Damien Duff, Mark Schwarzer and John Arne Riise after the FA Cup third round draw with Blackpool. Diarra (knee) and Frei (pelvis) are out, though, while right-back Stephen Kelly is set to join Reading.
Midfielder Roger Espinoza is set for his Wigan debut and fellow new boy Angelo Henriquez is pushing for a start. However, defenders Antolin Alcaraz (groin) and Adrian Lopez (hamstring) and midfielders Ben Watson (broken leg), Albert Crusat (knee) and Ryo Miyaichi (ankle) are all out.
Last season:Fulham 2 Wigan 1, Wigan 0 Fulham 2
Last five league matches:Fulham L L D L W; Wigan L L L W L
Top scorers(all competitions): Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham) 7; Jordi Gomez & Arouna Kone (Wigan) 6
Match odds:H 5-6 A 3-1 D 12-5
Referee:Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
Norwich (12) v Newcastle (15)
Norwich could have captain Grant Holt back from a hamstring problem but fellow striker Steve Morison (thigh) remains sidelined, so Simeon Jackson is pressing for a start. Midfielder Jonny Howson is expected to shake off a virus but defender Steven Whittaker (hip) and winger Andrew Surman (hip) continue their rehabilitation, while goalkeeper John Ruddy (thigh) remains a long-term absentee after surgery on his thigh injury.
Fabricio Coloccini is set to return for the Magpies despite rumours linking him with a move back to Argentina. Full-back Mathieu Debuchy makes his debut and Papiss Cisse returns after missing the FA Cup loss at Brighton. Yohan Cabaye is set to return to the bench after a groin strain, but Steven Taylor and Hatem Ben Arfa again miss out and Shola Ameobi is suspended.
Last season:Newcastle 1 Norwich 0, Norwich 4 Newcastle 2
Last five league matches:Norwich W L L L L; Newcastle L W L L L
Top scorers(all competitions): Robert Snodgrass (Norwich) 5; Papiss Cisse (Newcastle) 6
Match odds:H 23-20 A 11-5 D 23-10
Referee:Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
QPR (20) v Tottenham (3)
Defender Ryan Nelsen will play for QPR — he has agreed to manage MLS side Toronto FC but a date has yet to be set for his departure, with boss Harry Redknapp hoping he stays until the end of the season. Junior Hoilett (hamstring) and Samba Diakite (African Nations Cup) are unavailable, while forwards Andrew Johnson (knee) and Bobby Zamora (hip) are injured.
Boss Andre Villas-Boas has no new injury concerns — defenders William Gallas (calf) and Younes Kaboul (knee) are the only players unavailable. Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor plays his last game for Spurs before heading to the African Nations Cup.
Last season:QPR 1 Tottenham 0, Tottenham 3 QPR 1
Last five league matches:QPR W L L L W; Tottenham W D W W W
Top scorers(all competitions): DJ Campbell (QPR) 10; Jermain Defoe (Tottenham) 14
Match odds:H 16-5 A 4-5 D 12-5
Referee:Lee Probert (Wiltshire)
Reading (19) v West Brom (7)
New signings Daniel Carrico and Hope Akpan are set to make their Royals debuts but Jason Roberts continues to be troubled by his hip problem, while Hal Robson-Kanu is a doubt with a knee injury. Mikele Leigertwood could also miss out with an unspecified knock while Alex McCarthy is making encouraging progress following shoulder surgery and should return before the end of the season.
West Brom winger Jerome Thomas is in contention to replace long-term knee injury victim Zoltan Gera. Thomas proved his fitness after an injury-hit start to the season during a loan spell at Leeds and appeared as a substitute during the FA Cup tie at QPR last weekend. Defenders Jonas Olsson (groin), Steven Reid (ankle) and Goran Popov (hamstring) plus midfielder Claudio Yacob (hamstring) remain doubtful while Youssouf Mulumbu is on African Nations Cup duty with DR Congo.
Last season:No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches:Reading L L D W L; West Brom D W W L L
Top scorers(all competitions): Adam Le Fondre & Pavel Pogrebnyak (Reading) 7; Shane Long (West Brom) 8
Match odds:H 15-8 A 11-8 D 11-5
Referee:Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)
Stoke (10) v Chelsea (4)
Defender Marc Wilson and midfielder Rory Delap, who have been sidelined by a broken leg and hernia problem respectively, remain Stoke’s only definite absentees. Boss Tony Pulis is expected to shuffle his pack after making changes for the FA Cup draw at Crystal Palace, where the likes of goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and striker Kenwyne Jones were rested.
Captain John Terry, out since November due to knee ligament damage, will be on the bench after coming through 45 minutes of an Under-21 game against Fulham yesterday. Goalkeeper Petr Cech will have a test on his groin injury, while Nigeria duo John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses are unavailable as they are at the African Nations Cup.
Last season:Chelsea 1 Stoke 0, Stoke 0 Chelsea 0
Last five league matches:Stoke D D W D L; Chelsea W W W W L
Top scorers(all competitions): Jonathan Walters (Stoke) 6; Demba Ba (Chelsea) 15
Match odds:H 16-5 A 4-5 D 12-5
Referee:Andre Marriner (W Midlands)
Sunderland (14) v West Ham (11)
Sunderland will be without defenders Danny Rose and Carlos Cuellar, who suffered hamstring injuries during the FA Cup draw at Bolton and will be missing for several weeks. Central defender John O’Shea (also hamstring) and striker Stephane Sessegnon (ankle) both missed the game at the Reebok Stadium and have returned to light training — but O’Shea in particular remains a doubt. New signing Alfred N’Diaye will be included if his international clearance comes through in time.
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)
