Team News from the Premier League
Jose Mourinho will keep Thibaut Courtois and Petr Cech guessing on which goalkeeper will start Chelsea’s Barclays Premier League clash at Burnley on Monday night.
Striker Didier Drogba is expected to shake off an ankle problem to be passed fit for action, with Diego Costa and Fernando Torres also in contention.
Provisional squad: Cech, Courtois, Azpilicueta, Luis, Terry, Cahill, Zouma, Ivanovic, Ake, Mikel, Matic, Ramires, Fabregas, Van Ginkel, Oscar, Willian, Salah, Hazard, Moses, Schurrle, Torres, Costa, Drogba.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero (groin) has not been ruled of Sunday’s Barclays Premier League opener at Newcastle but new signing Eliaquim Mangala will not feature.
Defender Mangala only arrived at the club on Monday following his protracted £32million move from Porto.
Other players who did not feature in the Community Shield last week, such as Vincent Kompany, Joe Hart, Bacary Sagna, Fernandinho and Frank Lampard, are in contention. Striker Alvaro Negredo (foot) is the only injury absentee.
Provisional squad: Hart, Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Kompany, Demichelis, Nastasic, Boyata, Clichy, Kolarov, Silva, Nasri, Navas, Milner, Sinclair, Toure, Fernandinho, Fernando, Zuculini, Lampard, Aguero, Jovetic, Dzeko.
New Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana will miss the visit of former club Southampton on Sunday as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.
Fellow summer signing Lazar Markovic (ankle) will also not be fit but both players are expected to return to full training next week.
Striker Rickie Lambert and centre-back Dejan Lovren, who also both moved from the Saints this summer, are available but defenders Jon Flanagan (knee) and Daniel Agger (calf) are sidelined by injuries.
Provisional squad: Mignolet, Johnson, Lovren, Skrtel, Enrique, Gerrard, Henderson, Allen, Coutinho, Sterling, Sturridge, Jones, Manquillo, Toure, Sakho, Lucas, Can, Lambert, Ibe.
Steve Bruce has no new injury concerns ahead of his side’s Barclays Premier League opener against QPR at Loftus Road on Saturday.
Maynor Figueroa is back in contention after being given permission to miss the Tigers’ Europa League openers in the wake of his World Cup exertions.
New boys Tom Ince and Robert Snodgrass are both expected to figure as Bruce looks to shrug off the midweek loss of Shane Long to Southampton.
Provisional squad: McGregor, Harper, Bruce, Chester, Davies, Figueroa, Rosenior, McShane, Boyd, Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Snodgrass, Livermore, Ince, Brady, Jelavic, Sagbo, Aluko, Quinn.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez will make late decisions on the fitness of Seamus Coleman, Kevin Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku ahead of their Premier League opener at Leicester.
Right-back Coleman sustained a hamstring injury in a friendly against Tranmere at the end of July while forwards Mirallas and Lukaku are a couple of weeks behind the rest of the squad in terms of overall fitness having returned to pre-season later after the World Cup.
Striker Arouna Kone, out since October with a knee injury, will not be fit for another month.
Provisional squad: Howard, Coleman, Distin, Jagielka, Baines, Barry, McCarthy, Osman, Pienaar, Barkley, Lukaku, Robles, Hibbert, Stones, Alcaraz, Gibson, Besic, McGeady, Naismith, Atsu.
Tottenham will assess Belgians Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele and Nacer Chadli as well as Brazil midfielder Paulinho following their late return from World Cup duty ahead of the Premier League season opener at West Ham.
England winger Andros Townsend is expected to be involved after shaking off the ankle injury which ruled him out of the end of last term. Summer signings goalkeeper Michel Vorm and defenders Ben Davies and Eric Dier are fit.
Defender Kyle Walker (pelvis) will be assessed along with Michael Dawson (ankle) and Vlad Chiriches (back).
Provisional squad: Lloris, Vorm, Walker, Naughton, Rose, Davies, Dawson, Vertonghen, Chiriches, Dier, Kaboul, Capoue, Sandro, Paulinho, Dembele, Carroll, Bentaleb, Holtby, Eriksen, Lennon, Townsend, Chadli, Lamela, Soldado, Adebayor, Kane.
Sam Allardyce will be without at least two of his prized attacking options when the West Ham manager welcomes Tottenham to Upton Park for their Barclays Premier League opener on Saturday.
Andy Carroll (ankle) is a long-term absentee and summer signing Enner Valencia is short of fitness and will not feature against Spurs, while new recruit Diafra Sakho will be hoping to be involved despite only joining on Thursday.
Matt Jarvis (thigh) is definitely absent with Ravel Morrison (groin) and Carl Jenkinson (hamstring) also unlikely to be available to the Hammers boss.
Provisional squad: Adrian, Jaaskelainen, Cresswell, O’Brien, Reid, Tomkins, Collins, Demel, Jenkinson, Potts, Noble, Kouyate, Poyet, Diame, Nolan, Morrison, Whitehead, Downing, Vaz Te, Cole, Maiga, Sakho, Zarate.
Unsettled midfielder Adel Taarabt is two weeks away from fitness so will miss QPR’s opening Barclays Premier League clash against Hull at Loftus Road.
The AC Milan target is still agitating for a permanent transfer to the San Siro before the end of the transfer window, but is also battling back to fitness from a host of knocks.
Boss Harry Redknapp can call on striker Loic Remy however, the France international ready for action despite the failed medical that derailed his Liverpool move.
Provisional squad: Green, Cesar, Murphy, Hill, Dunne, Ferdinand, Onuoha, Caulker, Yun, Simpson, Traore, Isla, Henry, Barton, Mutch, Faurlin, Hoilett, Phillips, Wright-Phillips, Austin, Remy, Zamora.
Arsenal hope to have defender Laurent Koscielny fit following a minor Achilles problem for the Barclays Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Midfielder Abou Diaby has recovered match fitness and should be in the squad, but German World Cup winning trio Lukas Podolski, Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker will be given more time after their late return to pre-season training.
Colombia Goalkeeper David Ospina is still recovering from a thigh injury, while midfielders Theo Walcott and Serge Gnabry continue their rehabilitation from respective knee problems.
Provisional Squad: Szczesny, Debuchy, Koscielny, Chambers, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Carzola, Sanchez, Ramsey, Giroud, Martinez, Monreal, Diaby, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell, Flamini, Sanogo.
Burnley make their return to the Barclays Premier League with a virtually fully-fit squad.
Only striker Sam Vokes, who ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in March, definitely misses Monday’s clash against Chelsea at Turf Moor.
Summer signings Lukas Jutkiewicz, Michael Kightly, Steven Reid, Marvin Sordell and Matt Taylor will hope to make their debuts.
Provisional squad: Heaton, Trippier, Lafferty, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Wallace, Marney, Ings, Kightly, Jones, Taylor, Sordell, Reid, Jutkiewicz, Gilks, Long, Barnes, Hewitt, Arfield.
West Brom’s record signing Brown Ideye is in contention to make his competitive bow for the club in their Barclays Premier League opener against Sunderland on Saturday, but fellow summer recruit Joleon Lescott will miss out as he continues his recovery from a knee problem.
James Morrison (knee) is also not available for the game at The Hawthorns, while it remains to be seen whether Gareth McAuley (calf) will be ready to feature.
Along with Ideye, a host of other players signed over the summer – including Andre Wisdom, Chris Baird, Jason Davidson, Sebastien Pocognoli and former Black Cats man Craig Gardner – could be involved in what will be head coach Alan Irvine’s first competitive fixture with Albion as well.
Provisional squad: Foster, Myhill, Wisdom, Olsson, Baird, Davidson, Pocognoli, McAuley, Dawson, Yacob, Gardner, Brunt, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Ideye, Anichebe, Berahino, Sessegnon.
Summer signings Joe Cole, Philippe Senderos, Kieran Richardson and Aly Cissokho could all make their competitive debuts for Aston Villa in the club’s Barclays Premier League opener against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
Villa boss Paul Lambert will check the condition of both Cole (thigh) and World Cup semi-finalist Ron Vlaar ahead of the match but is optimistic the pair will be able to feature, while long-term absentee Jores Okore is in contention for his first competitive appearance since September having recovered from a serious knee problem.
There could also be comebacks for Charles N’Zogbia, out for all of last season with an Achilles injury, as well as Alan Hutton and Darren Bent, who have previously been exiled from the Villa first-team and out on loan. Christian Benteke (Achilles) and Libor Kozak (broken leg) remain sidelined.
Provisional squad: Guzan, Given, Baker, Bennett, Vlaar, Okore, Clark, Senderos, Richardson, Hutton, Cissokho, Lowton, Stevens, Bacuna, El Ahmadi, Cole, Westwood, Delph, Herd, Gardner, N’Zogbia, Grealish, Weimann, Agbonlahor, Bent.
Swansea welcome back Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge for their Barclays Premier League opener at Manchester United on Saturday.
Both wingers missed the Swans’ final pre-season game at home to Villarreal last week – Routledge had a foot injury while Dyer was attending the birth of his son.
But Swansea boss Garry Monk is without knee-injury victims Leon Britton, Marvin Emnes and Jay Fulton for the trip to Old Trafford.
Provisional squad: Fabianski, Rangel, Taylor, Williams, Bartley, Ki, Shelvey, Sigurdsson, Montero, Gomis, Bony, Tremmel, Tiendalli, Amat, Dyer, Routledge, Sheehan, King, Kingsley.
Jamie Vardy and Marc Albrighton are injury doubts for Leicester ahead of their Barclays Premier League return against Everton at the King Power Stadium.
Striker Vardy, who scored 16 goals last season to help the Foxes clinch the Championship title and end the club’s decade-long absence from the top flight, has a thigh strain while midfielder Albrighton, a summer arrival from Aston Villa, is nursing a groin problem.
Anthony Knockaert has had an ankle injury recently but the French winger is expected to be fit while Matt Upson’s ankle injury will rule him out.
Provisional squad: Schmeichel, Hamer, De Laet, Konchesky, Wasilewski, Schlupp, Moore, Morgan, King, Drinkwater, Hammond, James, Albrighton, Knockaert, Mahrez, Vardy, Taylor-Fletcher, Ulloa, Nugent, Wood.
Summer signing Siem de Jong will be denied a competitive debut for Newcastle against Manchester City on Sunday by injury.
The Dutchman has failed to recover from the foot problem he picked up during pre-season, and will be joined on the sidelines by fellow midfielder Cheick Tiote, who is nursing a hamstring strain.
Striker Papiss Cisse is back in training after the knee injury he suffered towards the end of last season, but is still some way away from a return, while full-back Davide Santon (also knee) remains on the sidelines.
Provisional squad: Krul, Elliot, Janmaat, Haidara, Dummett, Coloccini, Williamson, S. Taylor, Yanga-Mbiwa, Anita, Colback, Cabella, Vuckic, Obertan, Riviere, Gouffran, Ferreyra, Perez, Armstrong.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes has a full squad to choose from for the club’s Barclays Premier League opener against Aston Villa at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
Summer signings Bojan Krkic, Mame Biram Diouf, Steve Sidwell, Phil Bardsley and Dionatan Teixeira could all make their competitive Potters debuts.
The likes of Brek Shea and Wilson Palacios look set to depart the club and Hughes has stressed that, due to numbers, some senior players he wants to retain will also have to miss out on being selected for the 18-man match squad.
Provisional squad: Begovic, Sorensen, Butland, Pieters, Huth, Muniesa, Wilson, Shawcross, Cameron, Wilkinson, Shotton, Teixeira, Bardsley, Whelan, Nzonzi, Adam, Ireland, Sidwell, Odemwingie, Arnautovic, Walters, Crouch, Krkic, Diouf.
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman could hand out a number of debuts when his side travel to face Liverpool on Sunday.
Only new defensive acquisition Florin Gardos (hamstring) is a certain absentee, with midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin in contention despite ongoing rumours of a move to Tottenham.
Shane Long, signed on Thursday from Hull, is available and will offer competition to fellow new recruit Graziano Pelle up front while academy graduate Lloyd Isgrove will be hopeful his pre-season showings could be enough to see him handed a first Barclays Premier League appearance.
Provisional squad: Forster, Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Fonte, Hooiveld, Bertrand, Schneiderlin, Davis, Wanyama, Reed, Ward-Prowse, Isgrove, Taider, Cork, Ramirez, Tadic, Rodriguez, Long, Pelle, Gallagher.
Striker Robin van Persie is still short of fitness and will not be risked in Manchester United’s season opener against Swansea on Saturday.
Michael Carrick (ankle), striker Danny Welbeck (knee), centre-half Jonny Evans, versatile midfielder Antonio Valencia (both leg) are out, but right-back Rafael has overcome a groin injury.
Left-back Luke Shaw (hamstring) is out for four weeks, so either Tyler Blackett or Reece James could play their first competitive game for the club.
Provisional squad: De Gea, Lindegaard, Amos, Rafael, Smalling, Jones, M Keane, Blackett, James, Fletcher, Cleverley, Herrera, Fellaini, Young, Nani, Kagawa, Zaha, Januzaj, Rooney, Hernandez, Powell, Lingard, W Keane.
Crystal Palace caretaker boss Keith Millen will select the side for the Eagles’ Barclays Premier League opener against Arsenal on Saturday following the shock departure of Tony Pulis.
Millen also faced the Gunners in his first game in temporary charge in October after Ian Holloway had left the club but he was unable to prevent Palace losing 2-0.
Defender Adrian Mariappa is expected to be available after shaking off a rib injury while new signings Martin Kelly, Brede Hangeland and Fraizer Campbell could all feature.
Provisional Squad: Speroni, Hennessey, Mariappa, Kelly, Ward, Delaney, McCarthy, Dann, Hangeland, Jedinak, O’Keefe, Bannan, Ledley, Garvan, Williams, Guedioura, Bolasie, Thomas, Puncheon, Kebe, Gayle, Murray, Campbell, Chamakh.
