Sunday, December 28th
Aston Villa (12) v Fulham (4)
Villa leading scorer Juan Pablo Angel is the only major doubt after limping off against Leeds with an ankle injury. Striker Dion Dublin's form as a central defender is likely to keep Ronny Johnsen out of the starting line-up.
Jerome Bonnissel is Fulham's latest injury concern and Jon Harley is ready to deputise. Sean Davis is struggling to return from a hamstring injury while Mark Pembridge misses out with a calf problem. Luis Boa Morte plays his last game before a one-match suspension.
Last season: Fulham 2 Aston Villa 1, Aston Villa 3 Fulham 1
Last five league matches: Aston Villa W L W W D; Fulham D W L L W
Top scorers: Juan Pablo Angel (Aston Villa) 12; Louis Saha (Fulham) 12
Match odds: H 6-5 A 15-8 D 21-10
Referee: B Knight (Kent).
Bolton (10) v Leicester (18)
Bolton defender Bruno N'Gotty is expected to return after a hamstring injury. In line for a chance from the start are Greek midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos and Frenchman Ibrahim Ba.
Steve Howey limped out Leicester's 1-1 draw with Newcastle after 16 minutes following a recurrence of his hamstring injury and Matt Elliott, who replaced him, begins a three-match ban. Goalkeeper Ian Walker is suspended so Danny Coyne will be handed his first Premiership start.
Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Bolton W L W D L; Leicester W D L L D
Top scorers: Kevin Davies (Bolton) 5; Paul Dickov (Leicester) 7
Match odds: H 8-11 A 10-3 D 11-5
Referee: N Barry (N Lincolnshire).
Chelsea (3) v Portsmouth (15)
Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri is certain to make changes after the 4-2 defeat at Charlton. Argentinian striker Hernan Crespo, who missed the St Stephens's loss with blocked sinuses, may well return at the expense of Adrian Mutu, who has not scored for 10 games.
Portsmouth are facing a midfield crisis with Alexei Smertin, on loan from Chelsea, unable to play against them and Tim Sherwood facing a long spell on the sidelines after suffering a possible broken leg in the 2-0 victory over Tottenham. Amdy Faye, Gary O'Neil and Nigel Quashie remain in the treatment room
and Richard Hughes could make a rare start.
Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Chelsea W D L W L; Portsmouth L D L L W
Top scorers: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 10; Teddy Sheringham (Portsmouth) 6
Match odds: H 2-7 A 7-1 D 7-2
Referee: G Barber (Hertfordshire).
Everton (14) v Birmingham (8)
Everton manager David Moyes is hopeful striker Tomasz Radzinski will be fit after missing the defeat at Manchester United with a slight calf strain.
David Dunn and Clinton Morrison picked up knocks against Manchester City and are struggling to be fit for Birmingham. Christophe Dugarry and Jamie Clapham are recovering from knee and hamstring injuries respectively. Stern John is likely to partner Mikael Forssell in attack while Aliou Cisse could replace Dunn.
Last season: Birmingham 1 Everton 1, Everton 1 Birmingham 1
Last five league matches: Everton L D W W L; Birmingham L L L W W
Top scorers: Duncan Ferguson, Tomasz Radzinski & Steve Watson (Everton) 5; Mikael Forssell (Birmingham) 8
Match odds: H 11-10 A 2-1 D 11-5
Referee: R Styles (Hampshire).
Man City (13) v Liverpool (9)
City midfielder Joey Barton is serving a one-match suspension for incurring five yellow cards during the current campaign.
Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland broke a finger in the 3-1 win over Bolton and will be out for a month. Jerzy Dudek takes over.
Last season: Liverpool 1 Man City 2, Man City 0 Liverpool 3
Last five league matches: Man City L D L D L; Liverpool D W D L W
Top scorers: Nicolas Anelka (Man City) 11; Michael Owen (Liverpool) 9
Match odds: H 9-5 A 6-5 D 11-5
Referee: M Riley (W Yorkshire).
Middlesbrough (11) v Man Utd (1)
Danny Mills looks set to push for a Boro place after recovering from flu. Fellow defender Ugo Ehiogu is looking to make his first start since April after tearing his cruciate ligament.
Quinton Fortune will replace hamstring-injury victim John O'Shea at left-back for Manchester United, but, with Mikael Silvestre (knee) rated extremely doubtful, Sir Alex Ferguson must decide whether to use Roy Keane or Gary Neville in central defence or recall Wes Brown, who has yet to make a first-team appearance since his second cruciate knee ligament operation in the summer.
Last season: Middlesbrough 3 Man Utd 1, Man Utd 1 Middlesbrough 0
Last five league matches: Middlesbrough D W D D D; Man Utd L W W W W
Top scorers: Osvaldo Juninho Paulista (Middlesbrough) 4; Ruud van Nistelrooy (Man Utd) 17
Match odds: H 4-1 A 8-13 D 23-10
Referee: M Messias (N Yorkshire).
Newcastle (6) v Blackburn (16)
Newcastle will make a late check on midfielder Kieron Dyer after the England international was sent home before the Leicester match with a stomach bug.
Blackburn defender Craig Short could return to the squad after a chest infection. Midfielder Alan Mahon is pushing for a place in the starting line-up after an impressive show when he came off the bench against Middlesbrough yesterday.
Last season: Newcastle 5 Blackburn 1, Blackburn 5 Newcastle 2
Last five league matches: Newcastle D D W D D; Blackburn W W L L D
Top scorers: Alan Shearer (Newcastle) 16; Andy Cole (Blackburn) 5
Match odds: H 8-13 A 4-1 D 23-10
Referee: M Halsey (Lancashire).
Tottenham (17) v Charlton (5)
Spurs caretaker boss David Pleat hopes to include Darren Anderton after the former England midfielder picked up a calf injury against Manchester United and was forced to sit out the 2-0 defeat by Portsmouth.
Alan Curbishley is likely to keep faith with the Charlton side which did him so proud in the 4-2 Boxing Day win over Chelsea, which means centre-back Mark Fish is likely to start on the bench again after more than a fortnight out with a groin injury. He will be one of three defenders expected to be among the substitutes with left-backs Chris Powell and Paul Konchesky, recalled from loan at Spurs four days ago, also awaiting starting berths.
Last season: Tottenham 2 Charlton 2, Charlton 0 Tottenham 1
Last five league matches: Tottenham L W L L L; Charlton L L D D W
Top scorers: Frederic Kanoute (Tottenham) 9; Kevin Lisbie (Charlton) 5
Match odds: H 5-4 A 7-4 D 11-5
Referee: P Durkin (Dorset).
Wolverhampton (20) v Leeds (19)
Nathan Blake and Alex Rae are both out for Wolves. Striker Blake is still suffering from the calf injury he sustained against Tottenham earlier this month while midfielder Rae is suspended after picking up five bookings.
Leeds could be without skipper Dominic Matteo after he limped out of yesterday's goalless home draw against Aston Villa with a thigh strain and David Batty misses out through a one-match suspension. Stephen McPhail is the likely replacement for Batty.
Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Wolverhampton L D L L L; Leeds W D W D D
Top scorers: Alex Rae (Wolverhampton) 6; Alan Smith (Leeds) 5
Match odds: H 6-4 A 6-4 D 21-10
Referee: A D'Urso (Essex).
Monday, December 29th
Southampton (7) v Arsenal (2)
Latvia striker Marian Pahars is a Southampton doubt with a thigh strain. Danny Higginbotham is set to deputise again for Graeme Le Saux at left-back.
Arsenal defender Gael Clichy is expected to continue to deputise for Ashley Cole. The Frenchman impressed in the 3-0 Boxing Day victory against Wolves and should start again in place of Cole, who completes a three-match ban.
Last season: Arsenal 6 Southampton 1, Southampton 3 Arsenal 2
Last five league matches: Southampton L W W W L; Arsenal D D W D W
Top scorers: James Beattie (Southampton) 11; Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 16
Match odds: H 7-2 A 4-6 D 23-10
Referee: S Dunn (Gloucestershire).