Premier League previews

Australian winger Mile Sterjovski could be involved if Derby get his international clearance papers through in time.

Derby (from): Carroll, Leacock, Moore, Stubbs, Edworthy, Teale, Ghaly, Savage, Fagan, Miller, Earnshaw, Villa, Robert, Price, Todd, Barnes, Sterjovski.

Statistic from Bill Edgar: Wigan Athletic’s last-day victory away to Sheffield United last season to avoid relegation is Paul Jewell’s only win in 19 league games at Wigan (nine) and Derby (10).

Blackburn Rovers v Everton

Ryan Nelsen remains out as Blackburn Rovers look to extend their six-match unbeaten run. The New Zealand international was sidelined for last week’s 1-1 draw at Aston Villa after being advised to rest a hamstring problem and will be out of contention for at least another week.

Matt Derbyshire is hoping to keep his place in attack after being handed only his third league start of the season at Villa Park, while Paul Gallagher has joined Stoke City on loan and Aaron Mokoena is still away at the Africa Cup of Nations with South Africa.

Blackburn (from): Friedel, Emerton, Ooijer, Samba, Warnock, Bentley, Pedersen, Dunn, Reid, Derbyshire, Santa Cruz, McCarthy, Roberts, Berner, Khizanishvili, Olsson, Rigters, Treacy, Tugay, Brown.

Everton will give late fitness tests to Leon Osman (groin) and Tim Cahill (hamstring), but Anthony Gardner (leg) and Steven Pienaar, who is not back from international duty, will miss out.

Everton (from): Howard, Hibbert, Neville, Jagielka, Lescott, Valente, Baines, Arteta, Carsley, Cahill, Osman, Fernandes, Vaughan, Johnson, Anichebe, Van der Meyde, Wessels, Gosling.

Statistic from Bill Edgar: This term both have played in the Uefa Cup, lost at home to lower-division FA Cup sides, reached at least the Carling Cup last eight and are chasing fourth place in the league.

Liverpool v Sunderland, 5.15pm

Javier Mascherano will return from a one-match suspension for Liverpool’s game at home to Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League. The midfielder’s future is becoming clearer, with Liverpool having a verbal agreement that they will be able to turn the third-party loan deal they have with Mascherano’s owners into a permanent deal in the near future. Mascherano was banned from Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat in midweek by West Ham, his former club.

Liverpool still have Alvaro Arbeloa and Andriy Voronin out with long-term injuries but Daniel Agger is now back in full training and is expected to return later this month.

Liverpool (from): Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Skrtel, Riise, Aurelio, Pennant, Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso, Babel, Benayoun, Crouch, Torres, Kuyt, Kewell, Lucas, Itandje.

Kieran Richardson could return to the squad after shaking off a hamstring problem but Dwight Yorke is out with a calf injury. New £4m signing Andy Reid is recovering from a knee problem, but Michael Chopra returns from suspension.

Sunderland (from): Gordon, Ward, Fulop, Bardsley, McShane, Evans, Collins, Harte, Whitehead, Miller, O’Donovan, Richardson, Jones, Waghorn.

Statistic from Bill Edgar: In 18 months at Sunderland, Roy Keane has signed nine ex-Manchester United colleagues and six fellow Irishmen (Miller and McShane are in both categories).

Manchester City v Arsenal, 12.45pm

Micah Richards could return from a niggling knee problem to face Arsenal, but deadline day signing Felipe Caicedo is not expected to arrive in Manchester until next week. Darius Vassell and Daniel Sturridge should continue up front unless the Premier League allow Benjani Mwaruwari proposed move from Portsmouth go through.

Manchester City (from): Hart, Jihai, Onuoha, Dunne, Richards, Corluka, Ball, Hamann, Fernandes, Petrov, Vassell, Elano, Mpenza, Ireland, Sturridge, Geovanni, Schmeichel, Garrido, Etuhu.

Arsenal will again be without winger Tomas Rosicky because of a hamstring injury. Robin van Persie (thigh) is back in training, but is not yet match fit.

Johan Djourou (groin) and Denilson (hamstring) are also still not fit, while Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure and Alex Song are at the African Cup of Nations.

Arsenal (from): Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Senderos, Clichy, Diaby, Fabregas, Flamini, Hleb, Adebayor, Eduardo, Lehmann, J Hoyte, Gilberto, Bendtner, Walcott, Traore, Lansbury.

Statistic from Bill Edgar: Arsenal have won their past two league games 3-0; Manchester United have won their past two 2-0; Chelsea have won their past two 1-0.

Portsmouth v Chelsea

Jermain Defoe is expected to make his Portsmouth debut at home to Chelsea and Benjani Mwaruwari could also figure, depending on whether the Premier League decided to allow his move to Manchester City to go through. Hermann Hreidarsson looks set to be recalled with Sylvain Distin struggling with a hamstring injury.

Portsmouth (from): James, Johnson, Pamarot, Distin, Hreidarsson, Davis, Diarra, Hughes, Pedro Mendes, Kranjcar, Baros, Defoe, Benjani, Diop, Mvuemba, Lauren, Aubey, Wilson, Begovic.

Frank Lampard has an outside chance of returning to the Chelsea squad. The midfielder is back in training but is still not match fit and coach Avram Grant may hand him a place on the substitutes’ bench as Chelsea search for a record-breaking 10th straight win at Fratton Park.

Salomon Kalou, Michael Essien, Mikel John Obi and Didier Drogba are all still away on international duty in the African Cup of Nations while John Terry is out with a fractured foot. Andriy Shevchenko (back) is also expected to miss out while Ricardo Carvalho serves a one-match ban for collecting five bookings.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Belletti, Alex, Ben-Haim, Ivanovic, A Cole, Bridge, J Cole, Wright-Phillips, Sidwell, Ballack, Pizarro, Lampard, Anelka, Malouda, Sinclair, Makelele.

Statistic from Bill Edgar: These clubs have 12 Africa-born players: Portsmouth: Aubey, Lauren, Diop, Muntari, Utaka, Benjani, Kanu. Chelsea: Makelele, Essien, Drogba, Mikel, Kalou.

Reading v Bolton Wanderers

Reading welcome back Shane Long and Dave Kitson for the visit of Bolton. Long has served a one-match ban and Kitson has recovered from the illness that forced him to miss the midweek defeat to Chelsea. Defender Ibrahima Sonko may feature if he gets back from international duty in time but Emerse Fae and Andre Bikey are still on African Nations Cup duty.

The Royals will also be without new signing Jimmy Kebe and long term casualty Glen Little as well as Bryn Gunnarsson and Michael Duberry.

Reading (from): Hahnemann, Federici, Murty, Rosenior, de la Cruz, Ingimarsson, Cisse, Bennett, Shorey, Oster, Harper, Matejovsky, Hunt, Convey, Doyle, Kitson, Lita, Long, Sonko.

El-Hadji Diouf could return following Senegal’s exit from the African Cup of Nations, as the club have a private plane on standby to bring the striker back to England from Ghana.

Defender Gary Cahill is poised to make his debut after completing his move from Aston Villa, as is on-loan striker Grzegorz Rasiak.

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Hunt, J O’Brien, A O’Brien, Gardner, Cahill, Steinsson, Taylor, Campo, Cohen, Guthrie, Nolan, Davies, Rasiak, Diouf, Giannakopoulos, McCann, Samuel, Braaten, Alonso, Al Habsi.

Statistic from Bill Edgar: Bolton have signed three Aston Villa players since May: Jlloyd Samuel, Gavin McCann and, this week, Gary Cahill. They have not won in 14 away league games.

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United

Alan Hutton is set to make his Tottenham debut after arriving from Rangers. Jonathan Woodgate is also in the squad after his midweek signing from Middlesbrough, and Gilberto is thought to be available after arriving from Hertha Berlin. Ledley King missed Wednesday’s clash against Everton and is being assessed to determine whether he will be ready, while Darren Bent (knee) has been edging closer to fitness. Gareth Bale (foot) and Benoit-Assou Ekotto (knee) remain sidelined, Didier Zokora is on international duty.

Tottenham Hotspur (from): Cerny, Robinson, Chimbonda, Lee, Gilberto, Hutton, Gunter, Kaboul, Dawson, King, Rocha, Tainio, Jenas, Malbranque, Boateng, Taarabt, Huddlestone, O’Hara, Lennon, Bent, Berbatov, Keane.

Sir Alex Ferguson is poised to make changes to his side for the Barclays Premier League match against Tottenham at White Hart Lane tomorrow. Ryan Giggs, Carlos Tevez and Owen Hargreaves are pushing to return to the starting line-up following the victory against Portsmouth on Wednesday. Louis Saha (knee) and Gary Neville (ankle) remain sidelined as United look to kick on towards a second successive title after taking 27 points from a possible 30.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Brown, O’Shea, Simpson, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Nani, Park, Scholes, Ronaldo, Anderson, Carrick, Hargreaves, Giggs, Rooney, Tevez.

Statistic from Bill Edgar: These two are meeting twice in seven days; also since mid-January, Arsenal played Newcastle twice in four days, West Ham faced Manchester City twice in five days.

Wigan Athletic v West Ham United

Steve Bruce is set for a tough decision in attack ahead of the home game with West Ham.

Bruce played debutant Marlon King alongside Marcus Bent and Emile Heskey in the defeat at Middlesbrough but one of them will miss out tomorrow after Bruce confirmed he will revert to a two-man strike force.

Swedish full-back Erik Edman is Bruce’s only injury doubt having sustained a calf problem, while Norwegian defender Erik Hagen is awaiting international clearance following his loan move from Zenit St Petersburg.

Wigan (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Scharner, Kilbane, Valencia, Brown, Palacios, Taylor, Bent, Heskey, King, Aghahowa, Boyce, Edman, Figueroa, Granqvist, Koumas, Olembe, Cotterill, Sibierski, Skoko, Pollitt.

Alan Curbishley will give late fitness tests to Craig Bellamy and Julien Faubert ahead of the match with Wigan Athletic on Saturday. Nolberto Solano is available and should be included in the squad, but Bobby Zamora is set to miss out. James Collins is ruled out for the rest of the season after injuring his cruciate ligaments and is joined on the sidelines by long-term absentees Calum Davenport, Kieron Dyer and Nigel Quashie .

West Ham United (from): Green, Neill, Ferdinand, Upson, McCartney, Ljungberg, Noble, Mullins, Bowyer, Ashton, Boa Morte, Etherington, Cole, Spector, Wright, Solano, Faubert, Bellamy.

Statistic from Bill Edgar: West Ham celebrated after three stoppage-time penalties this season. Robert Green saves earned draws v Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur; Mark Noble scored winner v Liverpool.

Sunday

Fulham v Aston Villa, 4pm

Erik Nevland could make his Fulham debut against Aston Villa. Among Roy Hodgson’s other January signings, Paul Stalteri has a dead leg, Jari Litmanen is not match-fit and Eddie Johnson is returning from America and could be jet-lagged. Brian McBride is back in full training but will need assessment before a decision is made whether he plays. Kasey Keller is also back in full training.

Fulham (from): Niemi, Volz, Konchesky, Hangeland, Hughes, Andreasen, Bocanegra, Stefanovic, Seol, Healy, Smertin, Bullard, Murphy, Davies, Dempsey, Baird, Brown, Milsom, Leijer, McBride, Nevland, Keller.

Ashley Young will miss his first Barclays Premier League game of the season at Craven Cottage through suspension.

Young, one of five Villa players named in the provisional England squad to face Switzerland next Wednesday at Wembley, has to serve a one-game ban after incurring five bookings this season.

Martin O’Neill has to decide whether to include new signing Wayne Routledge, after a lack of first-team action since August with Tottenham Hotspur.

Olof Mellberg, who has signed a pre-contract agreement with Juventus, is set to remain at right-back.

Aston Villa (from): Carson, Taylor, Mellberg, Laursen, Davies, Knight, Bouma, Routledge, Gardner, Petrov, Reo-Coker, Barry, Berger, Osbourne, Agbonlahor, Carew, Harewood, Moore, Salifou, Maloney.

Statistic from Bill Edgar: Different defensive strategies: Fulham have caught the opposition offside three and an half times as often as Villa this season – 110 times to 31.

Newcastle United v Middlesbrough, 1.30pm

Emre returns to the squad for Sunday’s derby clash with Middlesbrough after completing his three-match ban. Mark Viduka could also return from the calf injury which has prevented him from playing under new boss Kevin Keegan to date, but full-back Jose Enrique remains a doubt with a similar injury.

Joey Barton could figure at St James’ Park for the first time since December 23, but David Rozehnal has left the club to join Lazio on loan with Habib Beye and Abdoulaye Faye on their way back to Tyneside, although not in time for the Boro game.

Newcastle (from): Given, Harper, Carr, N’Zogbia, Enrique, Cacapa, Taylor, Edgar, Butt, Smith, Milner, Duff, Emre, Barton, LuaLua, Owen, Viduka, Ameobi, Carroll.

Record signing Afonso Alves looks set to miss out on Middlesbrough’s match at Newcastle on Sunday. Gareth Southgate, the Middlesbrough manager, has said the Brazilian will not get his work permit through in time for Sunday’s game and expects he will be able to play for the club from the beginning of next week. The Boro boss has concerns over the fitness of Jeremie Aliadiere (groin), who played in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Wigan, and Emanuel Pogatetz (ankle), who missed the midweek match. Turkey striker Tuncay Sanli (hamstring) is definitely out, which means Mido could start for the first time this year.

Middlesbrough (from): Schwarzer, Young, Pogatetz, Huth, Wheater, Arca, Rochemback, Boateng, O’Neil, Downing, Aliadiere, Alves, Mido, Jones, Grounds, Riggott, Johnson, Dong-Gook.

Statistic from Bill Edgar: Just four Premier League managers played for their clubs: Kevin Keegan (Newcastle), Gareth Southgate (Middlesbrough), Mark Hughes (Blackburn), Alan Curbishley (West Ham).