Edin Dzeko may have to be content with a place on the bench as Manchester City look to secure top spot for 24 hours by beating Wolves at Eastlands.
The £27m Bosnian has not played a competitive game since scoring a last-minute equaliser for Wolfsburg against Hoffenheim prior to the German winter break and Roberto Mancini is cautious about pitching him straight in against Mick McCarthy’s men.
Mario Balotelli (knee) and Micah Richards (back) have been ruled out but David Silva is expected to be available after missing two games with a knee injury.
Team (from): Hart, Given, Zabaleta, Boateng, K Toure, Kompany, Boyata, Kolarov, Lescott, Wright-Phillips, Johnson, De Jong, Vieira, Milner, Y Toure, Silva, Barry, Tevez, Dzeko, Adebayor, Jo.