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Briefing

Previews: All the team news from this weekend's Premier League games

Fernando Torres begins his suspension, Rooney and Hernandez to start and injury problems for both Spurs and Arsenal…

Everton v Liverpool (Saturday 12:45)

STEVEN GERRARD COULD be forced to settle for a place on the bench once again, as he continues his comeback from a serious groin injury. The Liverpool has only played 25 minutes since suffering the injury last March.

Glen Johnson (hamstring) and Daniel Agger (rib) will not feature, though the Dane has returned to training.

Meanwhile, Everton’s Tim Cahill could feature despite the shin injury he suffered in a clash with Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany last weekend.

The Australian only did some light jogging on Thursday but took a more central role in training on Friday.

Teams:

Everton (from): Howard, Heitinga, Hibbert, Neville, Distin, Jagielka, Baines, Barkley, Fellaini, Osman, Rodwell, Drenthe, Cahill, Stracqualursi, Mucha, Bilyaletdinov, Vellios, Gueye, Saha, Coleman.

Liverpool (from): Reina, Kelly, Carragher, Skrtel, Enrique, Lucas, Adam, Kuyt, Downing, Suarez, Carroll, Doni, Flanagan, Coates, Spearing, Gerrard, Henderson, Bellamy, Rodriguez.

Aston Villa v Wigan (Saturday 15:00)

Emmerson Boyce is set to replace the suspended Steve Gohouri as Wigan travel to face Aston Villa. Boyce has recovered from the hamstring problem which has caused him to miss the last two games.

However, Antolin Alcaraz (thigh) and Hugo Rodallega (knee) remain sidelined.

Carlos Cuellar, Chris Herd and Eric Lichaj remain sidelined for Villa, but manager Alex McLeish will give a late fitness test to defender James Collins. Darren Bent and Emile Heskey are also in the frame.

Finally, on loan midfielder Jermaine Jenas could make his debut after recovering from a thigh injury.

Teams:

Aston Villa (from): Given, Hutton, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Jenas, Petrov, Delph, N’Zogbia, Ireland, Bannan, Agbonlahor, Bent, Heskey, Albrighton, Weimann, Given, Delfouneso, Beye, Lowry, Gardner, Clark.

Wigan (from): Al Habsi, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, Lopez, Watson, Diame, Moses, Gomez, Di Santo, Jones, Stam, Van Aanholt, McArthur, McCarthy, Thomas, Sammon, Maloney, Crusat, McManaman, Kirkland.

Blackburn v Man City (Saturday 15:00)

Edin Dzeko is likely to partner Sergio Aguero against Blackburn at Ewood Park, after he apologised for a bad reaction to being substituted against Bayern Munich.

Carlos Tevez is suspended for obvious reasons.

Adam Johnson is back in training after an ankle injury but it may be too soon for him to return, while Nigel de Jong is likely to be on the bench once again.

Rovers manager Steve Kean is waiting on fitness tests on defenders Michel Salgado and Scott Dann, while Martin Olsson is definitely out through suspension.

Gael Givet has recovered from the knock he took against Newcastle, while Ryan Nelsen and David Dunn are closer to returns from injury.

Teams:

Blackburn (from): Robinson, Samba, Dann, Salgado, Givet, Hoilett, Lowe, Nzonzi, Formica, Yakubu, Bunn, Hanley, Grella, Pedersen, Petrovic, Rochina, Goodwillie, Roberts, Vukcevic, Slew.

Manchester City (from): Hart, Pantilimon, Richards, Onuoha, Kompany, K Toure, Savic, Lescott, Clichy, Kolarov, Bridge, De Jong, Barry, Milner, Y Toure, Nasri, Aguero, Silva, Zabaleta, Dzeko, Johnson.

Man Utd v Norwich (Saturday 15:00)

Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney and Jonny Evans will all return from injury for Manchester United’s clash with Norwich at Old Trafford on Saturday.

All three missed last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Stoke, as well as the Champions League draw against Basle.

Norwich striker James Vaughan has been ruled out for four months with a knee injury, while centre-half Zak Whitbread is still getting over a hamstring problem. Ritchie de Laet is not available to play against his parent club.

Defenders Elliott Ward and Dani Ayala (both knee) remain out.

Teams:

Manchester United (from): De Gea, Lindegaard, Evans, Evra, Fabio, Jones, Ferdinand, Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher, Giggs, Nani, Park, Valencia, Young, Berbatov, Hernandez, Owen, Rooney, Welbeck.

Norwich (from): Ruddy, Tierney, Barnett, Martin, Naughton, Fox, Johnson, Hoolahan, Pilkington, Bennett, Morison, Rudd, C Martin, Crofts, Holt, Francomb, Wilbraham, Drury.

Sunderland v West Brom (Saturday 15:00)

Gabriel Tamas of West Brom is available for the Premier League clash with Sunderland on Saturday after he completed a three-game suspension.

However, Gareth McAuley could well keep his place after impressing against Fulham.

Zoltan Gera and striker Marc-Antoine Fortune are still sidelined through injury, though defender Craig Dawson is expected to be back from illness.

Titus Bramble is suspended by Sunderland over allegations of sexual assault and drug possession, so will not play, while Sebastian Larsson’s broken toe will be monitored. Connor Wickham is doubtful with a groin injury, while Craig Gordon and Fraizer Campbell are long term ansentees.

Teams:

Sunderland (from):
Mignolet, Westwood, Brown, O’Shea, Richardson, Turner, Laing, Cattermole, Gardner, Vaughan, Larsson, Colback, Elmohamady, Bendtner, Sessegnon, Wickham, Ji, McClean, Cook.

West Brom (from): Foster, Reid, Tamas, Dawson, Olsson, McAuley, Shorey, Brunt, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Thomas, Long, Odemwingie, Morrison, Fulop, Jones, Cox, Scharner, Tchoyi.

Wolverhampton v Newcastle (Saturday 15:00)

Davide Santon could make his Newcastle debut after recovering from the knee problem that has blighted his first few weeks at the club.

Shola Ameobi misses out with a shoulder injury, while both Alan Smith and Mike Williamson remain sidelined and a hamstring injury and broken arm respectively.

The 19-year-old Matt Doherty could start for Wolves if Richard Stearman fails to recover from a toe injury, while Steven Fletcher has recovered from the groin problem that consigned him to the bench against Liverpool.

Jody Craddock, Ronald Zubar, Kevin Foley and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake are still unavailable through injury.

Teams:

Wolves (from):
Hennessey, Stearman, Johnson, Berra, Ward, Hunt, Henry, O’Hara, Jarvis, Edwards, Doyle, Doherty, Fletcher, Guedioura, De Vries, Elokobi, Hammill, Milijas.

Newcastle (from):
Krul, Harper, Simpson, R. Taylor, Santon, Ferguson, Coloccini, S. Taylor, Tiote, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Marveaux, Obertan, Gosling, Guthrie, Ben Arfa, Abeid, Vuckic, Ba, Lovenkrands, Best, Sammy Ameobi.

Bolton v Chelsea (Sunday 13:30)

Fernando Torres begins his three-match suspension for Chelsea against Bolton, but Daniel Sturridge is fit to return against the club where he spent a successful loan spell last season.

Otherwise, Chelsea are missing goalkeeping understudy Hilario and midfielder Michael Essien, a long term absentee with a knee injury.

Bolton’s Gael Kakuta is ineligible to play against his parent club, while Stuart Holden has been ruled out for a further six months with a serious knee problem.

David Wheater and Ivan Klasnic are suspended, and Jussi Jaaskelainen is a doubt with a leg knock.

Teams:

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Eagles, Robinson, Muamba, Reo-Coker, Petrov, K Davies, Tuncay, Bogdan, Gardner, M Davies, Pratley, Ngog, Blake.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Ivanovic, Bosingwa, Alex, Ferreira, Terry, Luiz, Cole, Bertrand, McEachran, Mikel, Romeu, Ramires, Lampard, Meireles, Mata, Malouda, Drogba, Anelka, Sturridge, Lukaku, Kalou, Turnbull.

Fulham v QPR (Sunday 15:00)

Armand Traore misses out through suspension for QPR, having been sent off against Aston Villa last weekend.

Danny Gabbidon is still out with a knee injury, while Jamie Mackie is still not fully recovered from the double leg break he suffered in January.

The seldom seen Kieron Dyer is out with a foot problem.

Aaron Hughes will have a fitness test on a knee injury, while Matthew Briggs is also a doubt with a bruised ankle.

Simon Davies has a long term knee injury but could be available against in November.

Teams:


Fulham (from):
Schwarzer, Hughes, Hangeland, Baird, J Riise, Kelly, Briggs, Sidwell, Duff, Kasami, Murphy, Dempsey, Dembele, Ruiz, Zamora, Etheridge, Senderos, Briggs, Grygera, Frei, Gecov, Sa, Johnson.

QPR (from): Kenny, Derry, Hall, Taarabt, Campbell, Bothroyd, Faurlin, Buzsaky, Orr, Connolly, Barton, Young, Smith, Helguson, Murphy, Wright-Phillips, Ferdinand, Puncheon.

Swansea v Stoke (Sunday 15:00)

Asmir Begovic and Jonathan Woodgate will return for Stoke after playing no part in Europe in midweek against Besiktas, while Matthew Etherington will have a fitness test on a dead leg.

Salif Diao is doubt with a fractured cheekbone, while Kenwyne Jones (hamstring) is still a couple of weeks away from playing.

Swansea’s biggest concern surrounds playmaker Leon Britton, while Danny Graham could replace Leroy Lita in attack.

Garry Monk and Ashley Williams are again the only fit centre-halves with Alan Tate (broken leg), Steven Caulker (knee) and Kemy Agustien (hamstring) all sidelined.

Teams:

Swansea (from):
Vorm, Williams, Taylor, Britton, Graham, Sinclair, Dyer, Dobbie, Routledge, Monk, Lita, Moore, Bessone, Moreira, Rangel, Allen, Tremmel, Gower, Richards, Lucas.

Stoke (from): Begovic, Wilson, Huth, Shawcross, Upson, Wilkinson, Woodgate, Whelan, Whitehead, Etherington, Walters, Sorensen, Shotton, Arismendi, Pennant, Delap, Crouch, Palacios, Jerome, Nash.

Tottenham v Arsenal (Sunday 16:00)

Emmanuel Adebayor will face his former club as Harry Redknapp prepares to give winger Aaron Lennon a fitness test. The winger was forced off in the Europa League win over Shamrock Rovers on Thursday.

Steven Pienaar is available for the first time this season, though William Gallas (calf), Michael Dawson (Achilles) and Tom Huddlestone (ankle) are all out.

Theo Walcott (knee) and Gervinho (hamstring) will have fitness tests, but Laurent Koscielny, Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby and Thomas Vermaelen all have ankle injuries.

Johan Djourou (hamstring) also remains out but Yossi Benayoun (thigh) and Sebastien Squillaci both return.

Teams:

Tottenham (from): Gomes, Friedel, Cudicini, Bale, Kaboul, Bassong, Corluka, Walker, King, Assou-Ekotto, Rose, Parker, Modric, Livermore, Townsend, Carroll, Lennon, Kranjcar, Rose, Falque, Sandro, Pienaar, Pavlyuchenko, Defoe, Dos Santos, Adebayor, Van der Vaart.

Arsenal (from):
Szczesny, Sagna, Gibbs, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Song, Andre Santos, Frimpong, Arteta, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Arshavin, Gervinho, Benayoun, Squillaci, Chamakh, Walcott, van Persie, Fabianski, Park, Jenkinson, Coquelin.

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