All the latest team news and previews for the Barclays Premier League games over the Christmas period.
Boxing Day normally throws up some of the best football action in the Barclays Premier League and this year will be no different. With Manchester United hoping to catch Chelsea at the top while Roberto Mancini makes his debut as City manager, it will be another exciting day from the best league in the world!
Boxing Day – Saturday
Birmingham vs Chelsea
Chelsea will be without striker Nicolas Anelka for both their Christmas games, against Birmingham on Boxing Day and Fulham on Monday.
Anelka misses out with a muscle problem while Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou look set to miss the game against Fulham to link up with the Ivory Coast ahead of the African Nations Cup next month.
Michael Essien (hamstring) and Jose Bosingwa (knee) have long-term injuries.
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is hopeful key defenders Roger Johnson and Liam Ridgewell will be fit.
Centre-back and lifelong Chelsea fan Johnson and left-back Ridgewell suffered knee and ankle knocks respectively during the 1-1 draw with Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Johnson has been ever present in City’s 18 league games since his £5million move from Cardiff during the summer while Ridgewell has impressed since being converted from a central defender into his current role.
If the duo recover, Birmingham are expected to be unchanged for the seventh successive game.
Teams:
Birmingham (from): Hart, Carr, Roger Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden, Jerome, Benitez, Maik Taylor, Fahey, Vignal, Carsley, Phillips, McSheffrey, Damien Johnson, Queudrue, Parnaby.
Chelsea (from): Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, Ivanovic, Belletti, Alex, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole, Lampard, Ballack, Obi, Malouda, J Cole, Zhirkov, Drogba, Kalou, Kakuta, Bruma, Borini, Sturridge, Matic.
Fulham vs Tottenham
Fulham striker Andy Johnson is available for the Boxing Day clash with Tottenham.
Johnson returned to training this week after recovering from the groin injury which has kept him sidelined since October.
Simon Davies (ankle), Seol Ki-Hyeon (leg) and Diomansy Kamara (knee) remain in the treatment room.
Tottenham pair Ledley King and Luka Modric are in the squad for the clash at Craven Cottage.
King has been recovering from a hamstring injury and is hopeful of playing one of the two games over Christmas, while Modric has recovered from an ankle complaint during his comeback from a fractured fibula.
Jonathan Woodgate (groin) and Alan Hutton (foot) look set to miss out, while Vedran Corluka needs checking as he has picked up a bug. Carlo Cudicini (pelvis and wrist) is a long-term absentee.
Teams:
Fulham (from): Schwarzer, Zuberbuhler, Konchesky, Pantsil, Hangeland, Baird, Smalling, Kelly, Hughes, Etuhu, Murphy, Dempsey, Gera, Riise, Greening, Duff, E Johnson, Nevland, Zamora, A Johnson.
Tottenham (from): Gomes, Alnwick, Corluka, Naughton, Assou-Ekotto, Bale, King, Dawson, Bassong, Lennon, Bentley, Kranjcar, Modric, Palacios, Jenas, Huddlestone, Keane, Defoe, Pavlyuchenko, Crouch, Rose.
West Ham vs Portsmouth
Portsmouth hope to welcome back goalkeeper David James for their vital Premier League visit to West Ham on Boxing Day.
The England international has trained this week but is still nursing a calf injury. Second choice stopper Asmir Begovic will continue to cover between the sticks if he fails to make it.
Manager Avram Grant has no further injury worries, although Kanu, Hassan Yebda, Nadir Belhadj and Aruna Dindane could all play their last game before joining up with their national sides for the African Nations Cup.
West Ham are without defender Danny Gabbidon after the Welsh international injured his hamstring.
Swiss midfielder Valon Behrami completed a full week of training after recovering from a knee problem and could return to Gianfranco Zola’s squad.
Striker Carlton Cole (knee) and forward Kieron Dyer (hamstring) are both still sidelined.
Teams:
West Ham (from): Green, Kurucz, Faubert, Da Costa, Upson, Tomkins, Ilunga, Spector, Kovac, Noble, Parker, Collison, Behrami, Payne, Diamanti, Jimenez, Stanislas, Franco.
Portsmouth (from): James, Begovic, Mokoena, Kaboul, Mullins, Kanu, Vanden Borre, Piquionne, Ben-Haim, Yebda, Dindane, Brown, Wilson, Hreidarsson, O’Hara, Smith, Boateng, Diop, Finnan, Belhadj.
Burnley vs Bolton
Burnley’s first-choice centre-backs Steven Caldwell and Clarke Carlisle are both doubts for the Boxing Day match at home to Bolton.
The pair were forced off either side of half-time in Sunday’s defeat at Wolves with groin injuries.
Michael Duff and Joey Gudjonsson were their replacements on the day but manager Owen Coyle also has the option of dropping Andre Bikey back from central midfield.
Right-back Tyrone Mears sustained a head injury in that game but is expected to be fit.
Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba will finally serve his suspension for the clash at Turf Moor.
After collecting his fifth booking of the season in the 3-1 win over West Ham last week, Muamba should have sat out Monday’s game at Wigan, only for it to be postponed.
Chris Basham is likely to step in as the only change from the game with the Hammers as the midfielder Gavin McCann again misses out due to an ankle injury.
Teams:
Burnley (from): Jensen, Mears, Jordan, Carlisle, Bikey, Caldwell, Eagles, Alexander, Elliott, McDonald, Fletcher, Duff, Nugent, Blake, Thompson, Penny, Guerrero, Gudjonsson.
Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Knight, Cahill, Robinson, Steinsson, Cohen, Taylor, Gardner, Lee, K Davies, Klasnic, Basham, A O’Brien, Al Habsi, Samuel, Elmander, Ricketts.
Manchester City vs Stoke
Midfielder Nigel de Jong returns from a one-match suspension to face Stoke on Boxing Day – new manager Roberto Mancini’s first match in charge.
Mancini only took his first training session on Monday following Mark Hughes’ controversial sacking after Saturday’s victory over Sunderland and has had little time to fully assess the squad.
However, defenders Nedum Onuoha (calf) and Joleon Lescott (knee) are definitely out while striker Emmanuel Adebayor and winger Shaun Wright-Phillips (both ankle) and Micah Richards (knee) are all doubtful.
Stoke are expected to recall defender Robert Huth following a one-match suspension which ruled him out of last weekend’s defeat at Aston Villa.
Huth’s return gives boss Tony Pulis decisions to make at the back, with Danny Collins having returned to the side in the German’s absence at Villa Park.
The Potteries club have a doubt, however, over defender Ryan Shawcross, who is struggling with a groin injury.
Teams:
Manchester City (from): Given, Taylor, Richards, Zabaleta, Toure, Sylvinho, Garrido, Kompany, De Jong Ireland, Barry, Robinho, Petrov, Wright-Phillips, Adebayor, Tevez, Santa Cruz, Weiss.
Stoke (from): Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Faye, Collins, Lawrence, Huth, Diao, Delap, Etherington, Whitehead, Sidibe, Beattie, Fuller, Tuncay, Whelan, Simonsen, Higginbotham, Cort.
Sunderland vs Everton
Sunderland will be without suspended central defender Michael Turner for the Boxing Day clash with Everton.
The 26-year-old starts a four-game ban after failing in an appeal to have his red card at Manchester City overturned, although skipper Lorik Cana returns from his own suspension.
Manager Steve Bruce hopes to be able to welcome midfielder Bolo Zenden back from a hamstring injury following his return to training, although Steed Malbranque is a doubt with a dead leg.
Keeper Craig Gordon will have a scan on his broken arm next week but remains on the sidelines along with defender Anton Ferdinand (ankle).
Everton boss David Moyes will have little scope for changes to his side due to the club’s on-going injury problems.
Moyes reports that Phil Neville, Sylvain Distin and Joseph Yobo are all close to comebacks after long-term problems, but not until the new year.
Jack Rodwell is out for a month with a hamstring injury, while there are no dates for comebacks for Mikel Arteta and Phil Jagielka.
Teams:
Sunderland (from): Fulop, Carson, Bardsley, Richardson, McCartney, Da Silva, Nosworthy, Mensah, Cana, Cattermole, Reid, Malbranque, Henderson, Zenden, Campbell, Jones, Bent, Healy, Murphy, Meyler, Reed, Noble.
Everton (from): Howard, Hibbert, Neill, Heitinga, Baines, Pienaar, Osman, Cahill, Bilyaletdinov, Fellaini, Saha, Vaughan, Yakubu, Nash, Baxter, Coleman, Duffy, Agard.
Wigan vs Blackburn
Blackburn will be without Vince Grella as well as David Dunn for the trip to Wigan on Boxing Day.
Chris Samba is back after a stomach bug and Brett Emerton could also return from injury.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the clash at the DW Stadium.
He will again be without midfielder Mohamed Diame, who is sidelined for four to five weeks because of a knee injury.
Martinez may be tempted to freshen things up after a run of only one win in seven games, which has left his side in the bottom half of the table.
Teams:
Wigan (from): Kirkland, Edman, Bramble, Scharner, Melchiot, Boyce, Figueroa, N’Zogbia, Scotland, Koumas, Sinclair, Cho, Rodallega, Amaya, De Ridder, Thomas, Gomez, McCarthy, Kingson, Pollitt.
Blackburn (from): Robinson, Olsson, Chimbonda, Givet, Salgado, Samba, Nelsen, Diouf, Pedersen, Andrews, Jacobsen, Nzonzi, Emerton, Hoilett, Kalinic, McCarthy, Roberts, Di Santo, Brown.
Liverpool vs Wolverhampton
Javier Mascherano starts a four-match suspension when Liverpool face Wolves on Boxing Day although the midfielder would have been out anyway for three weeks as he recovers from a knee problem.
Manager Rafael Benitez is considering bringing in Alberto Aquilani for his first start in the Barclays Premier League, the Italian having recovered from a calf injury.
Liverpool’s other injury problems are all long term, with Albert Riera, Martin Kelly and Nabil El Zhar all still sidelined.
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy is poised to name an unchanged side for the trip at Anfield.
With the exception of Michael Kightly, Dave Edwards and Andy Keogh who all have ankle problems, McCarthy has no other injury worries to contend with.
McCarthy is poised to retain the side that started last weekend’s 2-0 win against Burnley – a result which moved Wolves out of the relegation zone and into 12th place.
Wolves follow the game against Liverpool with another tough clash against Manchester City on Monday.
McCarthy said: “I will have to assess everyone after the Liverpool game.
“If I have to make changes to the side for the following game then I will.”
Teams:
Liverpool (from): Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Insua, Aurelio, Benayoun, Babel, Gerrard, Lucas, Aquilani, Kuyt, Torres, Kyrgiakos, Ngog, Spearing, Dossena, Cavalieri.
Wolves (from): Hahnemann, Stearman, Craddock, Berra, Ward, Foley, Henry, Milijas, Jarvis, Doyle, Ebanks-Blake, Surman, Mancienne, Zubar, Iwelumo, Hill, Jones, Maierhofer, Castillo, Elokobi, Halford, Friend, Hennessey.
Sunday
Boxing Day
Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Arsenal will be waiting on the fitness of captain Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Aston Villa on Sunday.
Fabregas missed the 3-0 win over Hull last week with a minor hamstring strain but may have recovered sufficiently to make himself available for the visit of fourth-placed Villa.
Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Nicklas Bendtner (groin) and Robin van Persie (ankle) remain sidelined, along with full-back Gael Clichy (back) and Johan Djourou (knee), while Armand Traore could be ready to return.
Emile Heskey is Aston Villa’s biggest injury worry ahead of the crucial festive double-header away to Arsenal and at home to Liverpool two days later.
The England striker suffered a groin injury during the 1-0 home success against Stoke that kept Villa in the top four in the Barclays Premier League.
Villa boss Martin O’Neill is hopeful Heskey will be fit enough for at least one of the two forthcoming games but does have a ready-made replacement in John Carew.
O’Neill is unlikely to make many changes for the visit to the Emirates Stadium as Villa strive for a fifth successive league win.
Teams:
Arsenal (from): Almunia, Silvestre, Vermaelen, Gallas, Sagna, Song, Denilson, Fabregas, Diaby, Nasri, Walcott, Arshavin, Fabianski, Vela, Eduardo, Wilshere, Eboue, Ramsey, Senderos.
Aston Villa (from): Friedel, Guzan, Luke Young, Beye, Cuellar, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Ashley Young, Petrov, Milner, Sidwell, Reo-Coker, Downing, Delph, Gardner, Agbonlahor, Heskey Carew, Clark.
Hull City vs Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to rush Brazilian brothers Fabio and Rafael Da Silva back into his Manchester United line-up for Sunday’s trip to Hull.
The teenage duo have both been absent with shoulder problems but as United’s defensive problems continue could be unleashed against Phil Brown’s men.
Ferguson is crossing his fingers that either Wes Brown (hamstring) or Nemanja Vidic (thigh) are able to play, having expressed confidence they should both be available for the clash with Wigan on December 30.
Hull expect to have veteran midfielder Nick Barmby available for the visit of the champions.
The former England international has not trained this week after suffering a calf injury during last weekend’s defeat at Arsenal but should be fit.
Manager Phil Brown has no other fitness concerns aside from long-term casualties Jimmy Bullard and Ian Ashbee.
Midfielder Seyi Olofinjana is due to link up with Nigeria for the African Nations Cup after the game but the club are still hoping to delay his departure.
Dean Marney, Stephen Hunt and Kamil Zayatte are all one booking away from an automatic suspension.
Teams:
Hull (from): Myhill, McShane, Zayatte, Gardner, Dawson, Garcia, Barmby, Boateng, Hunt, Fagan, Geovanni, Mouyokolo, Mendy, Kilbane, Marney, Cairney, Olofinjana, Ghilas, Cousin, Altidore, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Duke.
Manchester United (from): Kuszczak, Foster, Rafael, De Laet, Vidic, Brown, Evra, Fabio, Valencia, Park, Carrick, Fletcher, Scholes, Anderson, Gibson, Giggs, Obertan, Rooney, Berbatov, Owen, Welbeck, Tosic.
