Premier League previews

Jose Enrique will return to the Newcastle squad for tomorrow’s trip to Aston Villa. The Spaniard’s recovery from a calf problem is timely with emergency left-back Charles N’Zogbia suspended.

Mark Viduka could start after returning from a calf injury as a substitute last weekend, while Habib Beye and Abdoulaye Faye are back in contention following their return from the African Nations Cup. However, Obafemi Martins is out with an ankle problem suffered while playing in the tournament for Nigeria.

Newcastle United (from): Given, Harper, Forster, Carr, Beye, Enrique, Cacapa, Taylor, Faye, Edgar, Butt, Smith, Milner, Duff, Emre, Barton, LuaLua, Owen, Viduka, Ameobi, Carroll.

Bolton Wanderers v Portsmouth

El-Hadji Diouf could return to the starting line-up for the visit of Portsmouth as Gary Megson’s side look to stretch their unbeaten run to four games. The Senegal international started on the bench in Bolton’s win at Reading last weekend after returning from the African Nations Cup but could replace Heidar Helguson as Kevin Davies’ striking partner.

Abdoulaye Meite is unavailable following international duty with the Ivory Coast and Joey O’Brien is again doubtful with a hamstring strain but Gavin McCann may return to the squad following a back injury.

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, A O’Brien, Cahill, Gardner, Guthrie, Nolan, Campo, Taylor, Diouf, Davies, Samuel, Helguson, Cohen, Rasiak, McCann, Fojut, Al Habsi.

Portsmouth have Papa Bouba Diop, Kanu and John Utaka all back from the African Nations Cup for the trip to Bolton but centre-back Sylvain Distin again looks set to miss out with a hamstring injury. Sulley Muntari must stay with Ghana for tomorrow’s third-place play-off after they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Cameroon, but Utaka and Diop look set to go straight into the Pompey starting line-up.

Kanu’s recovery from a knee injury which curtailed his tournament is a boost and he could be on the substitutes’ bench. Harry Redknapp will keep the Jermain Defoe-Milan Baros partnership up front if Baros has returned unscathed from 90 minutes for the Czech Republic against Poland in midweek. David Nugent is still out after a hernia operation.

Portsmouth (from): James, Johnson, Campbell, Hreidarsson, Pamarot, Utaka, Diarra, Diop, Kranjcar, Davis, Hughes, Baros, Defoe, Kanu, Pedro Mendes, Mvuemba, Lauren, Aubey, Ashdown.

Derby County v Tottenham Hotspur

Paul Jewell faces mounting defensive problems ahead of Tottenham’s visit to Pride Park. Claude Davis is set to have surgery on a persistent knee injury and could miss the rest of the season, while Darren Moore and Andy Todd are doubts with hamstring problems. Davis joins a growing list of injured defenders which includes Tyrone Mears (shin), Jay McEveley (knee) and Danny Mills (knee).

New signing Mile Sterjovski could be involved after being granted a work permit and Stephen Pearson and David Jones resumed training this week and are included in the squad - but on-loan Spurs player Hossam Ghaly is ineligible.

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

Jonathan Woodgate is suspended for Tottenham’s trip to Pride Park, however, Darren Bent has been edging closer to full fitness after a knee injury and could be available. Gareth Bale (foot) and Benoit Assou-Ekotto (knee) remain on the sidelines, while Didier Zokora is on international duty.

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

Everton v Reading

Ayegbeni Yakubu has been left out of Everton’s squad for Saturday’s clash with Reading after the Nigerian striker returned late from the African Nations Cup. Yakubu’s international team-mate Joseph Yobo is back in contention having returned on Wednesday.

Steven Pienaar is also back from Ghana but is carrying an ankle injury, while Victor Anichebe (knee) and on-loan defender Anthony Gardner (leg) are also out, and Leighton Baines (calf) is doubtful.

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

Reading will still be without Andre Bikey for their trip to Goodison Park, despite his bizarre sending-off on international duty for Cameroon.

Bikey was dismissed for pushing a medic who was on the field treating team-mate Rigobert Song during the African Nations Cup semi-final clash with Ghana. However, he is expected to remain with the squad who play in Sunday’s final, while Ivory Coast international Emerse Fae will remain in Ghana as his team play in the third-place play-off.

Ivar Ingimarsson is suspended while winger Bobby Convey also misses out as he is back in the USA receiving treatment on a knee. Brynjar Gunnarsson (groin), Michael Duberry (knee) and Glen Little (heel) are all still sidelined.

Reading (from): Hahnemann, Federici, Murty, De La Cruz, Rosenior, Sonko, Cisse, Shorey, Oster, Matejovsky, Hunt, Harper, Doyle, Kitson, Lita, Long, Golbourne, Kebe.

Middlesbrough v Fulham

Afonso Alves, Middlesbrough’s record signing, could make the squad for tomorrow’s clash with Fulham. However, the 27-year-old Brazilian is likely to be included only as a substitute after not playing for five weeks and having only two days’ training with his new team-mates.

Mido (groin) could return after missing the draw at Newcastle last week, but Lee Cattermole is likely to be missing for two or three weeks after damaging his medial ligaments at St James’ Park, while Tuncay Sanli (hamstring) remains on the sidelines.

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

Brian McBride could return to the Fulham starting line-up after recovering from a serious knee injury. New signing Paul Stalteri had been sidelined by a dead leg, so may now come back into contention, while Jari Litmanen was short of match fitness, but played for Finland during the international break.

Hameur Bouazza has been granted special leave to deal with a family matter after his mother was taken ill.

Fulham (from): Niemi, Baird, Hughes, Andreasen, Hangeland, Konchesky, Bullard, Davies, Murphy, Dempsey, Nevland, McBride, Keller, Volz, Bocanegra, Kamara, Litmanen, Stalteri.

Sunderland v Wigan Athletic

Roy Keane is facing a major midfield selection headache as he prepares for tomorrow’s must-win clash with Wigan. Liam Miller damaged a calf muscle on international duty in midweek and could be out of action until the end of the month, and with Kieran Richardson (hamstring), Dwight Yorke (calf) and Grant Leadbitter (broken toe) all out and new signing Andy Reid searching for match fitness, the manager’s resources will be severely stretched.

Dickson Etuhu has returned from Nigeria’s African Nations Cup campaign, but Danny Higginbotham (broken toe), Carlos Edwards (broken leg) and Ross Wallace (knee) remain on the sidelines.

Sunderland (from): Gordon, Ward, Fulop, Bardsley, McShane, Evans, Collins, Harte, Whitehead, Etuhu, O’Donovan, Jones, Waghorn, Murphy, Stokes, Chopra, Prica.

Wigan could be without Mario Melchiot and Marlon King for tomorrow’s crucial relegation clash with Sunderland. Melchiot suffered a thigh injury on international duty with Holland on Wednesday and Steve Bruce is awaiting the results of a scan taken yesterday. King only returns from Jamaica today after playing all of his country’s 1-1 draw with Costa Rica in Kingston.

Emile Heskey, who is still nursing the back injury he suffered in last week’s win over West Ham, is also a doubt. New signing Erik Hagen will not play any part due to a hamstring injury.

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

West Ham United v Birmingham City

Lucas Neill will have to overcome a gruelling 24,000-mile round trip if he is to feature against Birmingham at Upton Park tomorrow. Neill flew to Melbourne immediately after last weekend’s defeat at Wigan and helped Australia open their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-0 win over Qatar.

England’s Matthew Upson and Northern Ireland’s George McCartney were also on international duty, though both were closer to home and came through unscathed. Mark Noble may be rested after playing three games in six days but Julien Faubert and Nolberto Solano both came through a reserve game against QPR on Monday and could be in the selection mix.

On-loan striker Henri Camara back in training after he returned from the Africa Nations Cup, however, there are concerns over Craig Bellamy who has been sidelined with an abdominal injury and reported being “sore” three days after the reserve-team game.

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

Olivier Kapo will miss the trip to West Ham through suspension after picking up his fifth booking of the campaign against Sunderland 11 days ago. The absence of the former Juventus player could give hope of a recall for Gary McSheffrey who has been axed from the starting line-up for the last three games. Alex McLeish has also to decide whether to make changes upfront with Mikael Forssell and Cameron Jerome in contention for a recall.

McLeish will be boosted by the return of midfielder Mehdi Nafti and defender Rahi Jaidi from African Nations Cup duty with Tunisia, but Franck Queudrue is still side-lined with a hamstring injury.

Birmingham (from): Maik Taylor, Doyle, Kelly, Ridgewell, Martin Taylor, Schmitz, Jaidi, Murphy, Parnaby, Larsson, Muamba, Johnson, Nafti, McSheffrey, O’Connor, McFadden, Jerome, Forssell.

Sunday

Chelsea v Liverpool, 4pm

Frank Lampard is in contention for a place in Avram Grant’s squad to face Liverpool on Sunday. The England international is close to fitness after being sidelined with a thigh problem since Boxing Day. Ricardo Carvalho is back after suspension but Andriy Shevchenko (back) and John Terry (foot) remain out. John Obi Mikel should be available after international duty in the African Nations Cup.

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

Fernando Torres is out of Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea after he picked up a hamstring problem on international duty. Rafa Benitez will be without six key players, with Torres the biggest blow. The Spaniard will also miss the FA Cup fifth round home tie with Barnsley next weekend. Liverpool are targeting the Champions League clash with Inter Milan on February 19 for his return. Andriy Voronin, Fabio Aurelio, Alvaro Arbeloa and Daniel Agger are all long term injury victims while Xabi Alonso is suspended. Ryan Babel picked up an ankle injury playing for Holland on Wednesday making him a doubt.

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

Manchester United v Manchester City, 1.30pm

Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra are suspended for Sunday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford. With Louis Saha (knee) still injured Sir Alex Ferguson is short of strikers and may even turn to 17-year-old Danny Welbeck, who has been brought into the senior squad for the rest of the season.

Gary Neville (ankle) is back in training but will not return to action for a couple of weeks.

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

Benjani Mwaruwari is ready to make his City debut after his complicated transfer from Portsmouth was completed this week.

The Zimbabwe forward has now signed for an initial £3.87million and could be named on his own up front, with Darius Vassell and youngster Daniel Sturridge also in contention.

Micah Richards was not involved in Fabio Capello’s first match in charge of England so should be well rested after a knee complaint. But the loss of suspended pair Elano and Vedran Corluka could be keenly felt by the visitors.

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

Monday

Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers, 8pm

Arsenal have several injury worries ahead of Monday night’s clash at the Emirates Stadium. Philippe Senderos (knee) is a major doubt having come off during the midweek international against England, while Mathieu Flamini (thigh) and Manuel Almunia (virus) are also concerns.

But Gilberto should return from a stiff back having played for Brazil in Ireland.

Abou Diaby (calf) is out, along with Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Robin van Persie (thigh), Johan Djourou (groin) and Denilson (hamstring). Kolo Toure could be rushed back from the African Nations Cup following Saturday’s third-placed play-off.

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

Mark Hughes has major selection problems ahead of Monday’s trip to Arsenal, with three players suspended and a number of others struggling with injury. Christopher Samba serves the second game of a two-match ban, while David Dunn and Morten Gamst Pedersen also sidelined after incurring too many bookings. Andre Ooijer (hamstring) and Steven Reid (knee) withdrew from midweek international duty and Ryan Nelsen’s hamstring problem is expected to keep him out.

Matt Derbyshire’s girlfriend is expecting twins any time so that could affect the striker’s participation, although Aaron Mokoena could be available after returning from the African Nations Cup.

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