Team news from the Premier League
All the team news from around the grounds ahead of Week 17 in the Premier League.
Saturday December 20 12.45pm
Manchester City have no frontline strikers nor their captain Vincent Kompany available for the visit of Crystal Palace in the Barclays Premier League.
Forwards Sergio Aguero (knee), Stevan Jovetic (hamstring) and Edin Dzeko (calf) could all be out until the new year while defender and skipper Kompany (hamstring) faces a similar lay-off.
Teenage striker Jose Angel Pozo, who made his first start against Leicester last week, could get another chance or the likes of James Milner, Samir Nasri or David Silva might play in a more advanced role.
Provisional squad: Hart, Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Demichelis, Mangala, Boyata, Kolarov, Clichy, Milner, Navas, Silva, Nasri, Toure, Fernando, Fernandinho, Lampard, Pozo.
Crystal Palace will be without Marouane Chamakh for their Barclays Premier League trip to Manchester City on Saturday.
The Morocco international is missing with a hamstring injury and Eagles boss Neil Warnock has ruled him out of contention and is unsure how long the problem will sideline the former Arsenal forward.
Joe Ledley (hip) is also absent but Adrian Mariappa is fit following a knee injury but may not be fit enough to start at the Etihad Stadium.
Provisional squad: Speroni, Hennessey, Kelly, Fryers, Delaney, Mariappa, Dann, Ward, Hangeland, Jedinak, Bannan, McArthur, Bolasie, Thomas, Puncheon, Zaha, Gayle, Campbell, Johnson.
Saturday December 20 3pm
Midfielder Mark Noble will miss West Ham’s Barclays Premier League clash against Leicester because of an Achilles problem.
Manager Sam Allardyce hopes Noble will be back for the Boxing Day trip to Chelsea.
West Ham otherwise report no fresh injury problems heading into the hectic Christmas schedule, with strikers Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho in contention to again lead the attack.
Provisional squad: Adrian, Cresswell, Reid, Tomkins, Jenkinson, Song, Downing, Kouyate, Valencia, Carroll, Sakho, Jaaskelainen, Nolan, Zarate, Amalfitano, O’Brien, Collins, Cole.
David Nugent is set to return for Leicester at West Ham after missing last week’s defeat to Manchester City with a calf injury.
He will be assessed before the game while goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is out after breaking a metatarsal last week which will rule him out for at least five more weeks.
Matt Upson is close to a comeback after a long-standing foot injury but will not be risked as he returns to full fitness.
Provisional squad: Hamer, Moore, De Laet, Konchesky, Wasilewski, Drinkwater, James, King, Cambiasso, Albrighton, Hammond, Mahrez, Knockaert, Vardy, Ulloa, Nugent, Schlupp, Wood, Powell.
Saturday December 20 3pm
Emmanuel Adebayor is available for Tottenham’s Barclays Premier League clash with Burnley on Saturday.
The Togo striker has returned from compassionate leave but is not yet fully fit, so is unlikely to start.
Mauricio Pochettino has an otherwise fully-fit squad for the match.
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.
Burnley’s trip to Tottenham is likely to come too soon for Sam Vokes, although the striker is nearing a first-team return.
The Wales international is instead expected to play for the Clarets’ development squad on Monday against Blackpool.
Full-back Ben Mee has fully recovered from the illness which forced him off against Southampton, but Michael Duff (calf) has suffered a setback and joins Matt Taylor (Achilles) and Stephen Ward (ankle) on the sidelines.
Provisional squad: Heaton, Trippier, Shackell, Mee, Reid, Wallace, Kightly, Cisak, Sordell, Marney, Jutkiewicz, Boyd, Gilks, Keane, Long, Barnes, Arfield, Ings, Chalobah, Jones.
Saturday December 20 3pm
Hull will be without defender Michael Dawson and midfielders Tom Huddlestone and Mohamed Diame for Saturday’s clash with Swansea.
Dawson is facing at least a month on the sidelines with a grade two hamstring tear, Huddlestone is beginning a four-game suspension and Diame’s knee complaint has yet to ease.
Loanee Hatem Ben Arfa has been told he will not play for the club again and Robert Snodgrass remains a long-term absentee.
Provisional squad: McGregor, Jakupovic, Davies, Rosenior, McShane, Robertson, Chester, Bruce, Elmohamady, Meyler, Livermore, Brady, Aluko, Quinn, Ramirez Hernandez, Aluko, Jelavic, Sagbo.
Lukasz Fabianski returns in goal for Swansea as manager Garry Monk has a fully-fit squad to select from for the Barclays Premier League trip to Hull on Saturday.
Fabianski missed last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat to Tottenham through suspension after being sent off against West Ham and will reclaim the goalkeeper’s jersey from Gerhard Tremmel at the KC Stadium.
Argentina central defender Federico Fernandez has trained all week after missing the last six games through calf trouble and could be in contention to play alongside skipper Ashley Williams at the back.
Provisional squad: Fabianski, Rangel, Bartley, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Britton, Ki, Shelvey, Routledge, Montero, Sigurdsson, Bony, Tremmel, Richards, Amat, Carroll, Dyer, Gomis, Emnes, Barrow, Tiendalli, Fulton.
Saturday December 20 3pm
Aston Villa will be without three players through suspension when they face Manchester United in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday.
On-loan Tom Cleverley, who would not have been allowed to play against his parent club anyway, is banned alongside Alan Hutton and Kieran Richardson.
Ashley Westwood (knee), Joe Cole (hamstring), Philippe Senderos (calf) and Nathan Baker (knee) are all injured, but captain Ron Vlaar and midfielder Fabian Delph are available after both returned from injury last weekend.
Provisional squad: Guzan, Given, Lowton, Okore, Clark, Vlaar, Herd, Cissokho, Delph, Sanchez, N’Zogbia, Grealish, Bacuna, Agbonlahor, Weimann, Benteke, Robinson.
Midfielder Marouane Fellaini has been ruled out of Manchester United’s game at Aston Villa through illness.
Winger Angel di Maria could return after his hamstring injury and striker Radamel Falcao is nearing full fitness.
Left-back Luke Shaw (ankle), midfielder Daley Blind (knee) and centre-backs Chris Smalling (groin) and Marcos Rojo (thigh) are out.
Provisional squad: De Gea, Lindegaard, Amos, Vermijl, Blackett, Thorpe, Evans, Jones, McNair, Rafael, Pereira, Fletcher, Valencia, Lingard, Anderson, Carrick, Young, Herrera, Di Maria, Mata, Januzaj, Falcao, Rooney, Van Persie, W Keane.
Saturday December 20 3pm
QPR will welcome top goalscorer Charlie Austin back from suspension for their Barclays Premier League clash against West Brom.
The striker missed the 3-1 defeat at Everton having been sent off against former club Burnley but will be back to spearhead the Hoops’ attack on Saturday.
Steven Caulker is also in contention after sitting out the Everton game due to a head injury suffered at the players’ Christmas function.
Mauricio Isla will be absent as he has returned home to Chile for the birth of his child and long-term injury casualties Sandro and Alejandro Faurlin (both knee) are not close to a return.
Provisional squad: Green, McCarthy, Murphy, Traore, Onuoha, Ferdinand, Dunne, Caulker, Yun, Hill, Henry, Barton, Fer, Mutch, Phillips, Kranjcar, Hoilett, Austin, Zamora.
West Brom will welcome back captain Chris Brunt for the trip to QPR after he overcame a hamstring injury.
The skipper had missed the last two games but is fit again for the game at Loftus Road.
Victor Anichebe remains a doubt with a groin strain though and Georgios Samaras has not trained this week after being granted permission to return to Greece for a family matter. Jonas Olsson is sidelined following Achilles surgery.
Provisional squad: Foster, Myhill, Pocognoli, Gamboa, Dawson, Lescott, McAuley, Yacob, Davidson, Wisdom, Baird, Varela, Gardner, Brunt, Morrison, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Blanco, Sessegnon, Ideye, Berahino, Anichebe.
Saturday December 20 3pm
Midfielders Darron Gibson (knee) and James McCarthy (hamstring) are both rated 50-50 to be fit for the trip to Southampton.
Forward Kevin Mirallas will be missing after sustaining ankle ligament damage on Monday while Leon Osman (ankle) is unlikely to return this weekend.
Midfielder Gareth Barry returns from suspension.
Provisional squad: Howard, Coleman, Distin, Jagielka, Baines, McCarthy, Gibson, Barkley, McGeady, Naismith, Lukaku, Pienaar, Robles, Hibbert, Stones, Garbutt, Alcaraz, Eto’o, Kone.
Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and Dusan Tadic are amongst a host of players unavailable for Southampton’s Premier League match with Everton.
Schneiderlin and Wanyama, along with Florin Gardos, are suspended for Saturday’s match, while Tadic and Jake Hesketh join long-term absentees Jay Rodriguez, Sam Gallagher and Jack Cork on the sidelines.
Graziano Pelle and Steven Davis are doubts for the match, while Harrison Reed is set for a first Premier League start.
A number of Under-21s players have been called up to the squad.
Provisional squad: Forster, K Davis, Cropper, Clyne, Bertrand, Targett, Alderweireld, Yoshida, Fonte, McCarthy, S Davis, Gape, Flannigan, Ward-Prowse, Reed, Mane, Isgrove, McQueen, Mayuka, Long, Pelle, Seager.
Sunday December 21 1.30pm
Jak Alnwick will retain his place in goal for Newcastle’s derby showdown with Sunderland on Sunday.
The 21-year-old has recovered from the shoulder problem he suffered during Wednesday night’s 4-0 Capital One Cup defeat at Tottenham and will continue to deputise for the injured Tim Krul (ankle) and Rob Elliot (thigh), while full-back Daryl Janmaat will return from a one-game ban.
Manager Alan Pardew will assess striker Papiss Cisse, who missed the game at White Hart Lane with a virus, while defender Steven Taylor and midfielders Cheick Tiote and Sammy Ameobi (muscle strains) are hopeful of being fit.
Provisional squad: Alnwick, Woodman, Janmaat, Dummett, S Taylor, Williamson, Coloccini, Streete, Haidara, Tiote, Anita, Sissoko, Cabella, Colback, Gouffran, Ameobi, Riviere, Cisse, Perez, Armstrong.
Italy international Emanuele Giaccherini could return to the Sunderland squad for Sunday’s derby trip to Newcastle.
The midfielder, who has been out of action since September with an ankle problem, has returned to training and is in contention for the game at St James’ Park.
However, Billy Jones (hamstring) will be given another week to build up match-fitness, while fellow full-back Patrick van Aanholt continues his recovery from a dislocated shoulder.
Provisional squad: Pantilimon, Mannone, Reveillere, Brown, O’Shea, Vergini, Coates, Cattermole, Rodwell, Bridcutt, Gomez, Larsson, Johnson, Buckley, Alvarez, Mavrias, Giaccherini, Fletcher, Wickham, Altidore.
Sunday December 21 4pm
Liverpool are awaiting a late assessment on defender Dejan Lovren’s groin injury ahead of Sunday’s visit of Arsenal.
The centre-back was forced off during Wednesday’s Capital One Cup quarter-final win over Bournemouth and should he not be fit manager Brendan Rodgers can recall Mamadou Sakho or revert to a flat-back four.
Midfielder Joe Allen missed the trip the south coast but could return to the squad but striker Mario Balotelli is suspended.
Provisional squad: Jones, Toure, Skrtel, Sakho, Henderson, Gerrard, Lucas, Lallana, Markovic, Coutinho, Sterling, Mignolet, Manquillo, Moreno, Can, Allen, Lambert, Borini.
Arsenal’s Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (both groin) and Nacho Monreal (ankle) face fitness tests to determine if they can play in Sunday’s Barclays Premier League clash at Liverpool.
Manager Arsene Wenger fears midfielder Aaron Ramsey will miss the hectic festive fixture schedule with his hamstring problem, but has Calum Chambers back from suspension.
Laurent Koscielny (calf), Mikel Arteta (calf), Mesut Ozil (knee), David Ospina (thigh), Abou Diaby (calf), Jack Wilshere (ankle), Tomas Rosicky (thigh) and Serge Gnabry (knee) are all still out.
Provisional Squad: Szczesny, Gibbs, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Monreal, Bellerin, Flamini, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez, Welbeck, Giroud, Martinez, Podolski, Campbell, Coquelin, Walcott, O’Connor, Maitland-Niles, Ajayi, Akpom.
Monday December 22 8pm
Stoke forward Bojan Krkic looks set to be fit for Monday’s Barclays Premier League clash with leaders Chelsea at the Britannia Stadium.
Bojan, a stand-out performer of late, sustained a hip injury in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace, but the Spaniard has trained this week and Potters boss Mark Hughes expects him to be available to face the Blues.
Defender Marc Muniesa has recovered from the hamstring complaint which prevented him from being involved in the Palace match, while Hughes is optimistic a knee problem picked up by Stephen Ireland will not rule the midfielder out of Monday’s contest.
Provisional squad: Begovic, Butland, Shawcross, Wilson, Huth, Pieters, Cameron, Bardsley, Muniesa, Nzonzi, Adam, Ireland, Whelan, Walters, Arnautovic, Bojan, Assaidi, Diouf, Crouch.
Thibaut Courtois should be fit to return for Chelsea’s Premier League trip to Stoke on Monday.
The Belgian goalkeeper has missed the Blues’ last two matches with a muscular injury and manager Jose Mourinho expects him to return at the Britannia Stadium.
Didier Drogba should overcome an ankle injury sustained in the Capital One Cup win against Derby, while defender Kurt Zouma is available for selection after suffering a head injury on Tuesday.
Provisional squad: Courtois, Cech, Schwarzer, Ivanovic, Luis, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Zouma, Terry, Fabregas, Mikel, Matic, Hazard, Ramires, Matic, Schurrle, Oscar, Salah, Willian, Drogba, Remy, Costa.
