Aston Villa manager John Gregory is set to make major changes to his side for tomorrow's Villa Park clash with Leicester.
Gregory will recall left-back Alan Wright, midfielders George Boateng and Paul Merson and strikers Juan Pablo Angel and Darius Vassell after they were rested for the midweek Worthington Cup defeat by Sheffield Wednesday.
Steve Staunton, Ian Taylor, Mustapha Hadji - who is sidelined by a knee injury - Dion Dublin and Bosko Balaban are all expected to step down.
Wales international right-back Mark Delaney returns to the squad after a two-match absence with a gashed leg but midfielder Hassan Kachloul is a doubt after suffering concussion against Wednesday.
Team (from): Schmeichel, Stone, Alpay, Mellberg, Wright, Merson, Boateng, Hendrie, Kachloul, Angel, Vassell, Delaney, Staunton, Taylor, Dublin, Balaban, Barry, Enckelman.
Lucas Neill and Corrado Grabbi have returned to the Blackburn squad for tomorrow's match against Middlesbrough at Ewood Park, but skipper Garry Flitcroft is still out.
Neill and Grabbi have recovered from knee injuries, while Flitcroft continues to have treatment on his problem hamstring.
Henning Berg, Craig Short, Stig Inge Bjornebye and Matt Jansen are also back after missing the midweek Worthington Cup win over Manchester City with minor niggles.
Team (from): Friedel, Filan, Taylor, Johansson, Curtis, Neill, Gillespie, Duff, Dunn, Mahon, Tugay, Johnson, Hughes, Ostenstad, Berg, Hignett, Short, Bjornebye, Jansen, Grabbi.
Marcel Desailly and Emmanuel Petit face fitness tests tomorrow morning to determine whether they will be fit to face Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Desailly (Achilles) has already ruled himself out of contention to play at Old Trafford on his personal website and therefore seems unlikely to start.
Petit is also doubtful with a calf injury which meant that he missed the midweek Worthington Cup win at Leeds _ a game which left Graeme Le Saux with a case of mild concussion from which he should have recovered.
Long-term absentees are Mark Bosnich (thigh), Jody Morris (ankle), Jesper Gronkjaer (knee) and Roberto di Matteo (broken leg).
Team (from): Cudicini, de Goey, Melchiot, Babayaro, Le Saux, Ferrer, Terry, Desailly, Gallas, Lampard, Jokanovic, dalla Bona, Petit, Stanic, Zenden, Hasselbaink, Gudjohnsen, Zola, Forssell.
Derby midfielder Giorgi Kinkladze returns to the squad for the game against Liverpool tomorrow as Craig Burley is sidelined with a knee injury.
Kinkladze has been so frustrated at not been given a chance - only three starts this season - he called in his legal team to have a word with manager Colin Todd.
The Derby manager might be tempted to shuffle his pack after the defeat by Newcastle and striker Malcolm Christie could return to the side.
Team (from): Poom, Grenet, Riggott, Mawene, Zavango, Higginbotham, Powell, Ducroq, Kinkladze, Murray, Carbone, Ravanelli, Christie, Oakes, Burton, Boertien.
With Everton strikers Duncan Ferguson and Kevin Campbell still injured, manager Walter Smith will again have to field a makeshift strike force in Sunday's home clash with Southampton.
Ferguson is still recovering from an ankle operation and skipper Campbell is overcoming a back problem.
In the last two games full-back Steve Watson has been drafted into attack alongside Tomasz Radzinski, and Smith could continue with this tactic or try Dave Unsworth in a forward role.
Team (from): Simonsen, Watson, Weir, Unsworth, Pistone, Stubbs, Alexandersson, Gemmill, Gascoigne, Naysmith, Pembridge, Radzinski, Moore, Xavier, Gerrard, Tal, Cadamarteri.
Ipswich recall defenders Mark Venus and Titus Bramble and midfielder Sixto Peralta for tomorrow's home match with Arsenal.
The trio missed the 4-1 Worthington Cup defeat at Newcastle on Tuesday with minor knocks.
Alun Armstrong has a 50-50 chance of recovering from a sore hamstring.
Marcus Bent, signed from Blackburn last week, will make his home debut up front after being ineligible for the Worthington Cup.
Finidi George will be on the bench after being out with a depressed fracture of his cheekbone since October 21st.
Still ruled out are top scorer Marcus Stewart (broken jaw), Jim Magilton (thigh) and Ulrich le Pen (cut foot).
Team (from): Sereni, Makin, Bramble, Venus, Hreidarsson, Wright, Peralta, Holland, Clapham, M Bent, Armstrong, D Bent, Branagan, Reuser, George, Naylor, McGreal, Gaardsoe, Counago and Wilnis.
Leicester City midfielder Muzzy Izzet is struggling to be fit for Saturday's Premiership clash at Aston Villa.
Izzet, a target for Villa manager John Gregory, has been unable to train since picking up a neck injury in training on Tuesday.
Leicester manager Dave Bassett said it would be "touch and go" whether Izzet will have recovered in time.
New signing Brian Deane from Middlesbrough is included in the squad although Bassett has still to decide whether to give him a full debut or make him a substitute.
Team (from): Walker, Davidson, Marshall, Elliott, Sinclair, Impey, Savage, Izzet, Wise, Akinbiyi, Scowcroft, Royce, Rogers, Oakes, Jones, Benjamin, Deane.
Life without Robbie Fowler starts for Liverpool at Derby tomorrow.
Two points clear at the top of the Premiership, the Reds are likely to have Michael Owen available following a recent thigh injury and the England striker is set to play on a ground where last season he was knocked unconscious during Liverpool's 4-0 victory.
Owen missed last Sunday's home win over Sunderland after complaining of tightness in the back of his leg, having suffered what was described as "cramp" at the end of the match with Barcelona earlier in the week.
Assistant manager Phil Thompson insisted that Owen's absence against Sunderland was a precaution to rest him for tomorrow's trip.
Team (from): Dudek, Carragher, Henchoz, Hyypia, Riise, Murphy, Berger, Gerrard, Hamann, McAllister, Smicer, Heskey, Owen, Litmanen, Wright, Kirkland, Biscan, Redknapp.
Newcastle manager Bobby Robson is playing a waiting game ahead of the trip to Charlton after seeing three of his first-choice 11 go down with a virus.
Striker Craig Bellamy missed the 4-1 Worthington Cup win over Ipswich in midweek through illness, while defender Aaron Hughes had to come off at half-time with a similar problem.
Full-back Robbie Elliott was sent home from training yesterday, but Robson is hopeful that all three will be able to take their places in the squad, while keeper Shay Given may return after sitting out on Tuesday night with a shoulder problem.
Team (from): Given, Harper, Hughes, Elliott, Griffin, Dabizas, O'Brien, Distin, Lee, Speed, Solano, Robert, Acuna, Bassedas, Shearer, Bellamy, Ameobi, Lua Lua.
Sunderland boss Peter Reid will again be without influential defender Jody Craddock for the visit of West Ham to the Stadium of Light.
The former Cambridge player has been out of action since suffering a nasty gash to his shin in the 1-0 defeat at Leicester on November 3 and will miss out again tomorrow.
Republic of Ireland midfielder Kevin Kilbane is still struggling with an ankle problem and will sit out again against the Hammers.
Team (from): Sorensen, Macho, Gray, Haas, Williams, Varga, Thome, McCartney, Arca, McAteer, McCann, Thirlwell, Schwarz, Phillips, Quinn, Laslandes, Bellion, Butler.
England Under-21 star Michael Carrick returns to the West Ham line-up for the visit to Sunderland on Saturday.
The 20-year-old missed the home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend with a slight hamstring strain but has recovered in time to face Sunderland.
Other hamstring victims Paolo Di Canio and Frederic Kanoute are still missing, though, while Nigel Winterburn will face a late fitness test.
David James continues in goal, while Don Hutchison returns to the Stadium of Light for the first time since his £5 million switch to Upton Park in August.
Team (from): James, Repka, Winterburn, Hutchison, Foxe, Dailly, Sinclair, Kitson, Moncur, Hislop, Todorov, Minto, Carrick, Potts, Soma, Defoe, Cole, Courtois, Schemmel, McCann.