Team news from the Premier League
All the team news from around the grounds ahead of the full round of matches on St Stephen’s Day in the Premier League.
Friday December 26 12.45pm
Eden Hazard could be a doubt for Chelsea’s Boxing Day clash with West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
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.
Provisional squad: Courtois, Cech, Schwarzer, Ivanovic, Luis, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Zouma, Terry, Fabregas, Mikel, Matic, Hazard, Ramires, Matic, Schurrle, Oscar, Salah, Willian, Drogba, Remy, Costa.
Friday December 26 3pm
West Brom captain Chris Brunt is in line to return for his side’s Boxing Day clash with Manchester City.
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.
Provisional squad: Foster, Myhill, Pocognoli, Gamboa, Dawson, Lescott, McAuley, Yacob, Davidson, Wisdom, Baird, Varela, Gardner, Brunt, Morrison, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Blanco, Sessegnon, Ideye, Berahino, Samaras.
Manchester City are still without strikers Sergio Aguero (knee), Edin Dzeko (calf) and Stevan Jovetic (hamstring) for the Boxing Day trip to West Brom in the Barclays Premier League.
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.
Provisional squad: Hart, Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Demichelis, Mangala, Boyata, Clichy, Kolarov, Silva, Nasri, Navas, Toure, Fernando, Fernandinho, Lampard, Milner, Pozo, Ambrose, Sinclair.
Friday December 26 3pm
Full-back Anthony Reveillere is out of Sunderland’s Boxing Day clash with Hull and will not play again until the new year.
The Frenchman suffered a calf injury in the warm-up before Sunday’s 1-0 derby victory at Newcastle and will be sidelined for up to four weeks.
Head coach Gus Poyet faces a decision on whether to field skipper John O’Shea in his place, as he did at St James’ Park, or turn to fit-again specialist Billy Jones, who has recovered from a hamstring problem, while midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini is also in contention following his return from an ankle injury. Striker Connor Wickham serves a one-match ban for an accumulation of bookings.
Provisional squad: Pantilimon, Mannone, Jones, Brown, O’Shea, Vergini, Coates, Cattermole, Rodwell, Bridcutt, Gomez, Larsson, Johnson, Buckley, Alvarez, Mavrias, Giaccherini, Fletcher, Altidore.
Hull are stretched to the limit for their trip to Sunderland on Boxing Day.
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.
Provisional squad: McGregor, Jakupovic, Davies, Rosenior, McShane, Figueroa, Robertson, Chester, Bruce, Elmohamady, Meyler, Ince, Brady, Aluko, Quinn, Ramirez, Hernandez, Aluko, Jelavic, Sagbo.
Friday December 26 3pm
Everton forward Kevin Mirallas (ankle) is pushing to return for the Boxing Day clash with Stoke in the Barclays Premier League.
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.
Provisional squad: Howard, Robles, Coleman, Distin, Jagielka, Baines, McCarthy, Barkley, McGeady, Naismith, Besic, Barry, Lukaku, Pienaar, Stones, Garbutt, Alcaraz, Eto’o, Kone.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes hopes a neck problem will not rule Peter Crouch out of the Boxing Day clash with Everton at Goodison Park.
Potters striker Crouch was forced off by the issue in the second half of Monday’s 2-0 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 against the Toffees.
Provisional squad: Begovic, Butland, Shawcross, Wilson, Huth, Pieters, Cameron, Bardsley, Muniesa, Nzonzi, Adam, Ireland, Whelan, Walters, Arnautovic, Bojan, Assaidi, Diouf, Crouch.
Friday December 26 3pm
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 Tottenham’s trip to the King Power Stadium but has not started for the Foxes since their Capital One Cup defeat to Shrewsbury in August.
Matt Upson is expected to make his return from a foot injury in the new year while Kasper Schmeichel remains out with a broken metatarsal he suffered in training.
Provisional squad: Hamer, Moore, De Laet, Konchesky, Wasilewski, Drinkwater, James, King, Cambiasso, Albrighton, Hammond, Mahrez, Knockaert, Vardy, Ulloa, Nugent, Schlupp, Wood, Powell.
Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino is hopeful Ryan Mason will be fit for the Boxing Day trip to Leicester.
The 23-year-old midfielder has established himself in Pochettino’s side in recent weeks but was forced off during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Burnley with a twisted ankle.
But Pochettino revealed the issue is not as bad as first feared and is now in contention for the game at the King Power Stadium, as is striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who has not featured since early November.
Provisional squad: Lloris, Vorm, Friedel, Walker, Naughton, Dier, Rose, Davies, Fazio, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Chiriches, Stambouli, Dembele, Paulinho, Mason, Capoue, Bentaleb, Lamela, Eriksen, Chadli, Lennon, Townsend, Soldado, Kane, Adebayor.
Friday December 26 3pm
Sam Vokes could return to the Burnley squad against Liverpool 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 and is being considered for a place on the bench.
Matt Taylor is also in contention following an Achilles injury but centre-half Michael Duff (calf) and Stephen Ward are still struggling ahead of the Barclays Premier League contest.
Provisional squad: Heaton, Cisak, Trippier, Shackell, Mee, Reid, Wallace, Kightly, Sordell, Marney, Jutkiewicz, Boyd, Gilks, Keane, Long, Barnes, Arfield, Ings, Vokes, Chalobah, Jones.
Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli returns from suspension but will only be on the bench for the Boxing Day trip to Burnley.
Fellow forward Fabio Borini is banned after his sending-off last weekend 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.
Provisional squad: Jones, Toure, Skrtel, Sakho, Henderson, Gerrard, Lucas, Markovic, Coutinho, Sterling, Lallana, Mignolet, Manquillo, Moreno, Enrique, Can, Lambert, Balotelli.
Friday December 26 3pm
Kevin Doyle and Fraizer Campbell will battle it out to spearhead Crystal Palace’s attack in the Boxing Day clash with Southampton at Selhurst Park.
Fit-again Doyle and Campbell will compete to lead Palace’s one-man line for the Barclays Premier League contest, with Marouane Chamakh again ruled out through thigh trouble.
Manager Neil Warnock will keep faith with his 4-2-3-1 formation for the visit of Ronald Koeman’s Saints, with Palace seeking to arrest a run of just one win in 11 games in all competitions.
Provisional squad: Speroni, Hennessey, Kelly, Fryers, Delaney, Mariappa, Dann, Ward, Hangeland, Jedinak, Bannan, McArthur, Bolasie, Puncheon, Zaha, Gayle, Campbell, Doyle.
Dusan Tadic is expected to return for Southampton’s Barclays Premier League clash against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day but captain Jose Fonte is suspended.
Tadic missed Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Everton with a knock but resumed training on Tuesday while Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and Florin Gardos are all back from bans.
Jay Rodriguez (cruciate ligament), Sam Gallagher (knee), Jack Cork (knock) and Jake Hesketh (knee), however, remain out.
Provisional squad: Forster, K Davis, Cropper, Clyne, Bertrand, Targett, Alderweireld, Gardos, Yoshida, McCarthy, S Davis, Gape, Flannigan, Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse, Tadic, Wanyama, Reed, Mane, Isgrove, McQueen, Mayuka, Long, Pelle, Seager.
Friday December 26 3pm
Swansea trio Leon Britton (knee), Gylfi Sigurdsson (foot) and Jefferson Montero (hamstring) are all over niggles which forced them to miss last weekend’s 1-0 win at Hull and are available for the Boxing Day visit of Aston Villa.
Garry Monk rotated his squad at Hull by making seven changes ahead of the busy festive period and the Swansea manager will shuffle his pack again with league trips to Liverpool and QPR and an FA Cup tie at Tranmere coming up in the next week.
Top scorer Wilfried Bony could be among those to return after making way for Bafetimbi Gomis at Hull.
Provisional squad: Fabianski, Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Britton, Ki, Shelvey, Routledge, Montero, Sigurdsson, Bony, Tremmel, Richards, Amat, Bartley, Carroll, Dyer, Gomis, Emnes, Barrow, Tiendalli, Fulton.
Gabby Agbonlahor is available for Aston Villa’s trip to Swansea after he had his red card against Manchester United overturned.
The forward was sent off for the first time in his career but Villa won their appeal for wrongful dismissal and he is joined in the squad by Alan Hutton and Tom Cleverley after their bans.
Kieran Richardson is still suspended, though, and Ashley Westwood (knee), Philippe Senderos (thigh), Nathan Baker (knee), Libor Kozak (leg) and Joe Cole (hamstring) are all out.
Provisional squad: Guzan, Given, Hutton, Lowton, Okore, Clark, Vlaar, Herd, Cissokho, Delph, Sanchez, N’Zogbia, Cleverley, Grealish, Bacuna, Agbonlahor, Weimann, Benteke, Robinson.
Friday December 26 3pm
Defender Chris Smalling is making a good recovery from his groin injury and could play in Manchester United’s Boxing Day match 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.
Provisional squad: De Gea, Lindegaard, Amos, Vermijl, Blackett, Rojo, Thorpe, Smalling, Evans, Jones, McNair, Rafael, Pereira, Fletcher, Valencia, Lingard, Anderson, Carrick, Young, Di Maria, Mata, Januzaj, Falcao, Rooney, Van Persie, W Keane.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will be without midfield enforcer Cheick Tiote through suspension for the Boxing Day trip to Manchester United.
The Ivory Coast international picked up his fifth booking of the season during Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Sunderland and will sit out along with goalkeeper Tim Krul, who is a week ahead of schedule in his recovery from an ankle injury, but like number two Rob Elliot (thigh), still has some way to go.
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 back in training but unavailable for the game at Old Trafford, and Rolando Aarons (hamstring), Gabriel Obertan (thigh) and Ryan Taylor (knee) remain on the sidelines.
Provisional squad: Alnwick, Woodman, Janmaat, Dummett, S. Taylor, Williamson, Coloccini, Streete, Haidara, Anita, Sissoko, Cabella, Colback, Gouffran, Ameobi, Riviere, Cisse, Perez, Armstrong.
Friday December 26 5.30pm
Arsenal will welcome back playmaker Tomas Rosicky and goalkeeper David Ospina for the Boxing Day clash with QPR at the Emirates Stadium after they recovered from thigh problems.
Laurent Koscielny (calf) and Aaron Ramsey (hamstring) will miss out against Harry Redknapp’s side, 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.
Provisional squad: Szczesny, Ospina, Gibbs, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Monreal, Bellerin, Flamini, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez, Welbeck, Giroud, Martinez, Podolski, Sanogo, Campbell, Coquelin, Walcott, Rosicky, O’Connor, Maitland-Niles, Ajayi, Akpom.
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” – that will be assessed before the Boxing Day trip to Arsenal.
Long-term injury casualties Sandro and Alejandro Faurlin (both knee) are definitely out.
Provisional squad: Green, McCarthy, Murphy, Traore, Onuoha, Ferdinand, Dunne, Caulker, Hill, Henry, Barton, Fer, Mutch, Phillips, Kranjcar, Hoilett, Austin, Zamora.
