Birmingham v Sunderland

Tonight 7.45pm Steve Bruce will stand by Colin Doyle despite his goalkeeper’s lapses in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat at Stamford Bride. “He is one of the main reasons we were playing Chelsea at all,” the Birmingham City manager said. Michael Chopra, who hit Sunderland’s winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, has recovered from a dead leg and is pushing for his full debut, as is Greg Halford, another new signing, after a hamstring injury.

Birmingham City (possible; 4-4-2): C Doyle - S Kelly, J Djourou, L Ridgewell, S Parnaby - S Larsson, F Muamba, M Nafti or O Kapo, G McSheffrey - M Forssell, G O’Connor. Injuries and suspensions: F Queudrue (ankle), D Johnson (hamstring), Martin Taylor (stomach), M Sadler, R Schmitz (both Achilles).

Sunderland (possible; 4-4-2): C Gordon - D Whitehead, N Nosworthy, P McShane, R Wallace - C Edwards, D Yorke, D Etuhu, K Richardson - D Murphy, M Chopra. Injuries and suspensions: G Leadbitter (hamstring).

Referee: P Dowd.

Fulham v Bolton

Tonight 7.45pm There is no shame in losing away to Arsenal on the opening day of the season – but losing at home to a side managed by the old boss is quite another matter. Sammy Lee was already being widely tipped to take Bolton down and now he must make sure the 3-1 defeat by Newcastle was a blip and not a sign that the doom merchants were right. Lee could give a debut to Andy O'Brien, the defender. Tony Warner may continue in goal.

Fulham (possible; 4-4-2): T Warner - C Baird, Z Knight, C Bocanegra, P Konchesky - S Davies, A Smertin, S Davis, H Bouazza - D Healy, B McBride. Injuries and suspensions: J Bullard (knee), S Elliott (calf), I Pearce (ankle), L Cook (knee), P Christanval (knee).

Bolton Wanderers (possible; 4-4-2): J Jaaskelainen - N Hunt, A Meite, A O’Brien, J Samuel - E-H Diouf, K Nolan, G McCann, G Speed - N Anelka, H Helguson. Injuries and suspensions: K Davies (hamstring), R Gardner (knee), S Giannakopoulos (hernia), R Vaz Té (knee).

Referee: L Probert.

Man City v Derby

Tonight 7.45pm Sven-Göran Eriksson is unlikely to make too many changes to the team who defeated West Ham United 2-0 in his first match as Manchester City manager on Saturday, but Joe Hart could replace Kasper Schmeichel in goal. Valeri Bojinov will be pushing for a place up front alongside Rolando Bianchi as City go in search of their first league goal at home since New Year’s Day. Billy Davies, the Derby County manager, could make one or two changes from the side who held Portsmouth to a 2-2 draw.

Manchester City (possible; 4-2-3-1): J Hart - V Corluka, R Dunne, M Richards, J Garrido - D Hamann, M Johnson - S Ireland, Elano, M Petrov - R Bianchi. Injuries and suspensions: A Isaksson (thumb).

Derby County (possible; 4-5-1): S Bywater - T Mears, D Moore, C Davis, J McEveley - C Fagan, A Todd, M Oakley, D Jones, S Pearson - S Howard. Injuries and suspensions: G Barnes (foot), M Johnson (leg).

Referee: L Mason.

Wigan v Middlesbrough

Tonight 8pm It is too early for a relegation six-pointer but Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough fans are already worried. Wigan began with a 2-1 defeat away to Everton while Middlesbrough lost 2-1 at home to Blackburn Rovers. Middlesbrough are without their first-choice defence because of injuries, but in the penultimate match of last season they won 1-0 at the JJB Stadium.

Wigan Athletic (4-4-2): C Kirkland - M Melchiot, T Bramble, A Granqvist, K Kilbane - L Valencia, P Scharner, D Landzaat, J Koumas - C Folan, E Heskey Injuries and suspensions: R Taylor (shin), M Brown (final match of three).

Middlesbrough (4-4-2): M Schwarzer - A Davies, D Wheater, C Riggott, A Taylor - Tuncay Sanli, G Boateng, J Arca, S Downing – Yakubu Ayegbeni, J Aliadière. Injuries and suspensions: L Young (thigh), J Woodgate (knee), R Huth (ankle), E Pogatetz (knee), M Bates (knee), F Rochemback (second match of three).

Referee: S Tanner.