ARSENAL: The club have denied a claim that they will stop Jens Lehmann playing for Germany because he is being forced to wear boots that are causing problems. Lehmann has been released from hospital after suffering circulatory problems after the 3-0 win over Sweden on Wednesday.
ASTON VILLA: Martin O’Neill will assess today whether Wilfred Bouma, the Holland left back who has a hamstring injury, and Gary Cahill (knee), the centre back, will join Milan Baros (foot) and Patrik Berger (hamstring) on the list of absentees for tomorrow’s match away to Arsenal.
BLACKBURN ROVERS: Mark Hughes, the manager, will tell his players in a meeting today that Champions League qualification is a realistic goal this season. “There will always be a club outside the big four who will make a challenge for a Champions League spot,” he said.
BOLTON WANDERERS: Jared Borgetti, the Mexico striker, is expected to complete his £750,000 move to Al-Ittihad today. Talks between the 33-year-old player and the Saudi Arabian club recently broke down over personal terms, but a deal has since been resurrected.
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CHARLTON ATHLETIC: Andy Reid, the Ireland midfield player, is keen to prove himself after his transfer from Tottenham Hotspur. “The club ticks all of my boxes and I want Charlton to be the place where I prove to myself and everybody else that I belong in the Premiership,” he said.
CHELSEA: The club, like Manchester United, have set up a ticket exchange allowing season-ticket holders to advertise tickets they cannot use to other club members. The exchange aims to reduce ticket touting and ensure that as many tickets as possible end up with Chelsea supporters.
EVERTON: James McFadden, the Scotland forward, could celebrate his new four-year deal at Goodison Park by being handed a starting role in the game at home to Watford tomorrow. “Faddy is definitely in the frame,” David Moyes, the manager, said.
FULHAM: Chris Coleman has stepped up his battle of wills with Steed Malbranque by omitting the French midfield player from the 30-man first-team squad, which he announced yesterday. Malbranque’s No 4 shirt has been allocated to Franck Queudrue, the former Middlesbrough defender.
LIVERPOOL: Sami Hyypia hopes to play against Sheffield United tomorrow, despite suffering a dead leg during Finland’s 2-1 defeat by Northern Ireland on Wednesday. However, he is not certain of his place after Daniel Agger impressed in the FA Community Shield victory over Chelsea.
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MANCHESTER CITY: The club hope to overcome a work-permit complication that threatens to deny Hatem Trabelsi the opportunity to make his Premiership debut away to Chelsea on Sunday. Richard Dunne and Dietmar Hamann are racing to be fit for the game after recent injuries.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Gary Neville hopes that his 79-minute run-out for England against Greece will persuade Sir Alex Ferguson to select him for the game against Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday. ��I want to be involved on Sunday,” the defender, who has had a groin injury, said.
MIDDLESBROUGH: Stewart Downing should be available for the match away to Reading tomorrow after shaking off the dead leg he suffered during his full debut for England. “We’re all very proud of him,” Gareth Southgate, the manager, said. “He’s staked a real claim for a regular international place.”
NEWCASTLE UNITED: After a wasted journey to watch the Liverpool-bound Dirk Kuyt play for Holland in Dublin on Wednesday evening, Glenn Roeder’s attempts to sign a new striker remain unfulfilled. Obafemi Martins, Inter Milan’s Nigeria forward, is now the manager’s leading target.
PORTSMOUTH: Manuel Fernandes, the Benfica midfield player, may not be fit enough to complete his transfer before the deadline in two weeks’ time, but a loan deal means that Harry Redknapp is not under pressure to make a decision. “We’re taking it day by day with him,” the manager said.
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READING: Steve Coppell, the manager, has criticised the transfer windows. “I can understand the window closing towards the end of the season, when you don’t want people to buy their way out of trouble,” he said, “but I’d prefer it to be an open market, certainly until January, as it was before.”
SHEFFIELD UNITED: Leigh Bromby claims that belief will be as significant a factor as any in how the team adapt this season. “It will be a bit unreal when I look across at Liverpool in the tunnel,” the defender said. “But we have to believe we can play against these so-called stars.”
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Robbie Keane, the forward, has a chance of recovering from a thigh injury for the game away to Bolton Wanderers tomorrow. Teemu Tainio, the midfield player, will miss the match but is likely to return from an ankle injury at home to Sheffield United on Tuesday.
WATFORD: Adrian Boothroyd, the manager, has said that he wants to bring in two more players, in addition to the five that he has signed this summer. “We are still trying. I think it will be easier when the season starts because it will create a trickle-down effect,” the manager said.
WEST HAM UNITED: Marlon Harewood is expected to sign a new contract, thought to be for four years, in the next few days. The forward scored 16 goals in all competitions last season and was linked with a move to Newcastle United this summer.
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WIGAN ATHLETIC: Paul Jewell, the manager, is worried that he does not have enough leaders in his squad after the loss of Jimmy Bullard, David Thompson and Alan Mahon. “There is not as much noise without those three,” Jewell said. “I’ve said to the players I want a group of leaders, not sheep.”