Saturday's matches from
soccernet
Blackburn Rovers v Birmingham City
Craig Bellamy is poised to return to the side after the knee injury which has kept him sidelined for three weeks. Which leaves mark Hughes with a dilemma as to who to leave on the bench, given that both Paul Dickov and Shefki Kuqi have performed well alongside Bellamy. Hughes is at least relieved to have Zurab Khizanishvili available after a Football Association disciplinary committee overturned the red card he received in last Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Liverpool.
Birmingham have doubts over midfielders David Dunn and Jiri Jarosik. Dunn, who has just launched his comeback after 10 months on the sidelines following back surgery, picked up a calf strain in training and is unlikely to play against his former club. Jarosik has suffered the recurrence of an ankle injury but skipper Kenny Cunningham and Nicky Butt are free to return after suspension.
Arsenal v Manchester City
Thierry Henry is expected to be fit to start after suffering no major reaction following his midweek comeback from long-term injury. Henry returned against Sparta Prague after a six-week absence with a groin problem and, despite having played for 75 minutes, he should be ready to start against City at Highbury. Arsenal are nevertheless set to be without Jose Antonio Reyes, who sustained bruised ribs in Prague, as well as Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Freddie Ljungberg and Alexander Hleb.
Richard Dunne and Ben Thatcher are missing again as Manchester City look to record their first win at Arsenal for 30 years. Dunne has not recovered from the knee injury picked up on international duty with the Republic of Ireland which forced him to miss Sunday's win over West Ham, while Thatcher is still suffering from an ankle problem.
Neither Robbie Fowler nor Bradley Wright-Phillips are expected to figure despite turning out for the reserves in midweek following back and knee injuries respectively.
Aston Villa v Wigan Athletic
David O'Leary has only 16 players to choose from after further injury setbacks. Wilfred Bouma (hamstring), Gary Cahill (knee) and Jlloyd Samuel (shoulder) have all been sidelined in the aftermath of the derby win over Birmingham, prompting O'Leary to include midfielder Gavin McCann and right-back Mark Delaney amongst his substitutes despite the duo not being fully fit after lengthy lay-offs. Gareth Barry is poised to switch from midfield to left-back with Patrik Berger recalled alongside James Milner, Steve Davis and Eirik Bakke in the centre.
Paul Jewell is forced to change his side for the first time in a month. After three successive matches of fielding an unchanged line-up, Jewell is without Lee McCulloch for the next three games following the winger's red card for a rash challenge on Emre in last Saturday's 1-0 home win over Newcastle. Jewell has a number of options open to him, although it is likely Alan Mahon will step into the breach at Villa Park.
Fulham v Liverpool
Fulham will be without Phillippe Christanval after the ex-Barcelona defender suffered a slight tear to his hamstring - he is expected to be out for up to five weeks. Collins John also sat out training this week - but boss Chris Coleman insists it was just precautionary because he had a slightly bruised calf and the Dutch striker, who has scored two goals in two games since breaking into the starting line-up, is expected to be fit to play.
Steven Gerrard will return to Liverpool's squad after recovering from the shin injury picked up on international duty and manager Rafael Benitez expects his captain to be in the starting line-up at Craven Cottage. But Steve Finnan will not play against his former club, having picked up a groin injury in training prior to the Champions League victory against Anderlecht - the full-back will be out of action for a week, will also miss the Carling Cup trip to Crystal Palace, but could be back for next weekend's home game with West Ham.
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
Sir Alex Ferguson must confront a major injury crisis. Ryan Giggs (fractured cheekbone) is the latest to join a list of absentees which also includes Roy Keane (broken foot), Gary Neville (groin), Gabriel Heinze (knee) and Quinton Fortune (knee). With Wes Brown and Louis Saha pencilled in for their returns in the Carling Cup against Barnet on Wednesday, Ferguson is left with just 13 senior players, two of which are goalkeepers.
Wayne Rooney is available again after his Champions League ban, while Cristiano Ronaldo will be involved despite being arrested and questioned by police over a rape allegation on Wednesday.
Tottenham have a concern over the fitness of Egyptian striker Mido. He has a slight thigh strain but Martin Jol is hopeful he will recover in time to play. Grzegorz Rasiak stands by as his replacement. Tottenham are still without Wayne Routledge (foot) who is still around a month away from regaining full fitness. Defender Anthony Gardner is out with a thigh muscle problem.
Portsmouth v Charlton Athletic
Portsmouth's Salif Diao is out with hamstring trouble and fellow midfielder Richard Hughes is rated 50-50 with a groin injury. Striker Svetoslav Todorov could make his first Premiership start in 19 months after a late check, having being laid low by a virus. Manager Alain Perrin is likely to name Collins Mbesuma on the bench in the continued absence of malaria-affected Lomana Lualua.
Alan Curbishley looks set to leave goalkeeper Dean Kiely out for the second successive match and keep faith with Stephan Andersen. Former first-choice Kiely recovered from a broken finger in time to be considered for Monday's 1-1 draw at home with Fulham but was not even on the bench.
Striker Shaun Bartlett now faces a six-week lay-off with an ankle injury but midfielder Darren Ambrose has stepped up his fitness with a midweek reserve outing following a groin problem