Saturday January 12

Arsenal v Birmingham City, 15:00

Arsenal will check on the fitness of defender Philippe Senderos (knee) ahead of the game with Birmingham. Johan Djourou (groin) is definitely out, so Justin Hoyte, Bacary Sagna or Gilberto could be asked to move to the centre alongside William Gallas as Arsene Wenger, the manager, recalls his first-team regulars following the midweek Carling Cup tie. Robin van Persie (flu) is sidelined, while Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure and Alexandre Song are all away on international duty at the African Nations Cup.

Central defender Martin Taylor has been recalled to the Birmingham squad even though Alex McLeish has said he can leave the club. Taylor is needed since Johan Djourou has returned to Arsenal after a loan spell and Radhi Jaidi is away for the African Cup of Nations, although Rafael Schmitz is back in the squad after injury. Damien Johnson is set to wear a protective mask and play only two weeks after suffering a slight fracture of the skull. He will replace Medhi Nafti who is also involved in the African tournament. Olivier Kapo has recovered from a knee injury and will travel to London.

Arsenal (from): Almunia, Clichy, Gallas, Senderos, Sagna, Rosicky, Fabregas, Flamini, Hleb, Adebayor, Eduardo, Lehmann, Fabianski, Gilberto, Walcott, Hoyte, Bendtner, Denilson, Diaby, Traore, Diarra.

Birmingham City (from): Maik Taylor, Doyle, Kelly, Ridgewell, Schmitz, Martin Taylor, Queudrue, Larsson, McSheffrey, Muamba, Johnson, Forssell, O'Connor, Jerome, Parnaby, De Ridder, Kapo, Sadler.

Aston Villa v Reading, 15:00

Martin O'Neill has no fresh injury worries ahead of the Barclays Premier League clash with Reading. John Carew suffered no ill-effects after returning from another knee injury in the FA Cup clash with Manchester United last weekend.

Patrik Berger is back in training after recovering from a hamstring injury but it is too soon for him to come under consideration to face the Royals.

Reading will give a late fitness test to Michael Duberry (knee) ahead of the game. Utility man Brynjar Gunnarsson is back from a ban and 19-year-old defender Alex Pearce stands by for his Barclays Premier League debut. Ibrahima Sonko, Andre Bikey and Emerse Fae are all away on African Cup of Nations duty and wingers John Oster (ankle) and Glen Little (heel) remain on the sidelines.

Aston Villa (from): Carson, Taylor, Mellberg, Laursen, Davies, Knight, Bouma, Petrov, Reo-Coker, Barry, Agbonlahor, Carew, Moore, Maloney, Gardner, Harewood.

Reading (from): Hahnemann, Federici, Murty, Rosenior, Ingimarsson, Duberry, Pearce, Gunnarsson, Shorey, de la Cruz, Hunt, Harper, Cisse, Convey, Doyle, Kitson, Lita, Long, Cox, Golbourne, Henry.

Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur, 15:00

New signing Nicolas Anelka is available after being registered with the Premier League following his £15 million move from Bolton.

Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini are expected back into the squad after injury and Grant must decide whether to stick with Hilario or make changes.

Grant is without Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou, Didier Drogba and Mikel John Obi who are all away on international duty at the African Nations Cup.

Frank Lampard (thigh), Andriy Shevchenko (ankle) and John Terry (foot) are also still missing.

Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas are suspended and Didier Zokora is on international duty with Ivory Coast at the African Nations Cup, leaving Spurs short on central midfielders.

Younes Kaboul (ankle) is back but Darren Bent (knee) is doubtful, while Gareth Bale (foot), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (knee) and Anthony Gardner (ankle) are out.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Belletti, Ferreira, Carvalho, Alex, Ben-Haim, A Cole, Bridge, J Cole, Sidwell, Wright-Phillips, Malouda, Pizarro, Sinclair, Ballack, Sahar, Anelka.

Tottenham (from): Cerny, Robinson, Chimbonda, Lee, King, Dawson, Lennon, Malbranque, O'Hara, Tainio, Boateng, Defoe, Keane, Berbatov, Stalteri, Taarabt, Rocha, Gunter, Kaboul.

Derby County v Wigan Athletic, 15:00

Paul Jewell is likely to hand debuts to a number of players for the visit of his former club. Robbie Savage, Emanuel Villa and Laurent Robert could all make their County bows while Danny Mills may be handed a first Barclays Premier League start for his new side after facing Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup last weekend. Doubts remain over Kenny Miller (groin), Claude Davis (knee), Andy Todd (groin), although the trio are expected to be fit - but Jay McEveley, Stephen Pearson, Stephen Bywater, David Jones and Dean Leacock all definitely miss out. Jewell also hopes to tie up deals for Hossam Ghaly and Roy Carroll in time for them to play.

Titus Bramble is available again for Wigan after suspension. Striker Antoine Sibierski comes into contention after recovering from a knee injury sustained in the FA Cup victory against Sunderland. However, Steve Bruce, the manager, is unlikely to risk Ryan Taylor after he twisted his ankle last weekend.

Derby County (from): Price, Oakley, Mills, Todd, Johnson, Barnes, Mears, Moore, Feilhaber, Holmes, Teale, Savage, Lewis, Robert, Miller, Fagan, Macken, Hinchliffe, Davis, Earnshaw, Griffin, Edworthy.

Wigan Athletic (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Boyce, Bramble, Kilbane, Valencia, Brown, Scharner, Landzaat, Koumas, Bent, Heskey, Aghahowa, Granqvist, Olembe, Skoko, Cotterill, Sibierski, Pollitt.

Everton v Manchester City, 15:00

Manuel Fernandes will undergo a medical today but unlikely to be involved in the clash with City tomorrow.

The midfielder only flew into Merseyside last night, Everton and Valencia had agreed on a short-term loan deal until the end of the campaign for the player who was also on loan at Goodison Park last season.

Everton will be without Joseph Yobo, Ayegbeni Yakubu and Steven Pienaar - all away on African Nations Cup duty - for the match that will have a major bearing on qualification for the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta will be back after a three-game suspension, but Leon Osman is still out injured.

Elano is poised to return for Manchester City in place of new arrival Nery Castillo. Michael Johnson (abdominal strain) is the only absentee for Sven-Goran Eriksson's men, with full-back Michael Ball returning to Everton for the first time since his departure for Rangers in 2001.

Everton (from): Howard, Hibbert, Lescott, Jagielka, Stubbs, Valente, Baines, Arteta, Carsley, Cahill, Neville, McFadden, Johnson, Anichebe, Vaughan, Wessels, Gravesen, Anderson.

Manchester City (from): Hart, Isaksson, Onuoha, Corluka, Sun, Dunne, Richards, Garrido, Ball, Ireland, Hamann, Elano, Fernandes, Geovanni, Petrov, Castillo, Mpenza, Vassell, Bianchi, Samaras.

Manchester United v Newcastle United, 17:15

Owen Hargreaves is a doubt after he sustained a rib injury in training yesterday and manager Sir Alex Ferguson will leave a decision on him as late as possible.

Louis Saha should recover from a minor knock but Gary Neville will not be considered as a replacement for suspended defender Wes Brown, even though the United captain began his comeback from a long-standing ankle problem in the reserves at Everton on Wednesday.

Nigel Pearson, Newcastle's caretaker manager, is awaiting news of striker Obafemi Martins, who could be allowed to return from Nigeria's African Nations Cup training camp for the game. Stephen Carr (hamstring) may return to the squad after playing for the reserves in midweek while Emre (ankle) and James Milner (illness), who missed the FA Cup tie at Stoke last weekend, are available once again. With Habib Beye and Abdoulaye Faye away with Senegal and Geremi with Cameroon, Kazenga LuaLua and Andy Carroll could be included again.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, O'Shea, Simpson, Ferdinand, Pique, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Nani, Park, Ronaldo, Anderson, Carrick, Hargreaves, Giggs, Rooney, Saha, Tevez.

Newcastle United (from): Given, Harper, Carr, N'Zogbia, Enrique, Rozehnal, Cacapa, Taylor, Edgar, Butt, Milner, Emre, Duff, LuaLua Smith, Viduka, Owen, Martins, Carroll.

Middlesbrough v Liverpool, 15:00

Gareth Southgate must reshuffle Middlesbrough's midfield with Julio Arca and Lee Cattermole ruled out through suspension. Southgate will bring back Gary O'Neil who missed the FA Cup win over Bristol City, while George Boateng is also set to figure despite his recent difference of opinion with the manager. Egyptian striker Mido is still one week away from full fitness while Jonathan Woodgate (hamstring) and Tuncay Sanli (knee) remain doubts and Andrew Taylor is still out.

Daniel Agger returns for the first time since he broke a metatarsal bone in September.

Alvaro Arbeloa, Jose Reina, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres - who all missed the FA Cup draw at Luton Town - will also return.

Benitez will take Martin Skrtel, the new £6.5million defender to the Riverside, but the Slovakia international - whose transfer from Zenit St Petersburg was confirmed today - is unlikely to be involved.

Middlesbrough (from): Schwarzer, Turnbull, Young, Woodgate, Wheater, Pogatetz, Huth, Riggott, O'Neil, Boateng, Rochemback, Johnson, Downing, Tuncay, Lee, Hutchinson, Grounds.

Liverpool (from): Reina, Arbeloa, Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Hyypia, Riise, Pennant, Gerrard, Alonso, Mascherano, Babel, Lucas, Voronin, Kuyt, Torres, Crouch, Benayoun, Kewell, Skrtel, Itandje.

West Ham United v Fulham, 15:00

Luis Boa Morte is pushing for a return to the West Ham squad for the clash with his former club. The Portuguese forward has been out for a month with a hamstring injury but came through a reserve team game on Monday.

Scott Parker is out for six weeks with a knee injury while Nolberto Solano (groin), Bobby Zamora (knee) and Craig Bellamy (abdominal) are still unavailable.

Julien Faubert is back in full training and played 45 minutes on Monday night but is not yet ready for first-team action.

Jimmy Bullard has an outside chance of being included. The midfielder has completed rehabilitation from his career-threatening knee injury, sustained in September 2006, and could figure on the bench.

Philippe Christanval (knee) and Aaron Hughes (calf) have trained this week and will undergo fitness tests. Ian Pearce (calf), Elliot Omozusi (leg), Brian McBride (knee) and Hameur Bouazza (shoulder) are unavailable.

Diomansy Kamara is away on African Nations Cup duty with Senegal.

West Ham (from): Green, Neill, Ferdinand, Upson, McCartney, Bowyer, Mullins, Noble, Etherington, Ashton, Cole, Wright, Spector, Collins, Boa Morte, Reid, Collison, Tomkins.

Fulham (from): Niemi, Warner, Volz, Stefanovic, Bocanegra, Hughes, Konchesky, Davies, Murphy, Davis, Dempsey, Healy, Kuqi, Leijer, Smertin, Seol, Christanval.

Sunday January 13

Bolton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers, 16:00

Kevin Davies is set to lead the line after the departure of top scorer Nicolas Anelka.

Davies is available again following a one-match ban and Anelka's big-money move to Chelsea has opened the door for Davies to return to his favoured centre-forward role after spending most of the season in a wide position.

Nicky Hunt missed the last two league matches with a foot injury but will retain his place in defence after coming through last week's FA Cup defeat by Sheffield United.

Roque Santa Cruz is set to return to ease Rovers' injury problems. The Paraguay forward has not trained this week due to a groin problem, but should be in contention for the trip to Bolton.

Tugay (groin) and Jason Roberts (foot) are out and Aaron Mokoena is on African Nations Cup duty, but David Dunn, Steven Reid and Andre Ooijer could all return after missing the FA Cup defeat by Coventry last weekend.

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Hunt, J O'Brien, Meite, A O'Brien, Gardner, Nolan, Campo, Guthrie, Diouf, McCann, Samuel, Al Habsi, Giannakopoulos, Cohen, Cid, Michalik, Wilhelmsson, Braaten, Alonso.

Blackburn (from): Friedel, Samba, Nelsen, Warnock, Khizanishvili, Ooijer, Bentley, Pedersen, McCarthy, Dunn, Reid, Berner, Olsson, Santa Cruz, Derbyshire, Rigters, Gallagher, Treacy, Brown.

Sunderland v Portsmouth, 13:30

Kenwyne Jones faces a late fitness test as he bids to overcome a knee injury. Roy Keane, the Sunderland manager, rates Jones as "50-50" to return to the starting line-up but he has fellow striker Michael Chopra available again after an ankle problem and Dwight Yorke is back from suspension.

Danny Higginbotham (foot) remains a doubt while Dickson Etuhu is on African Nations Cup duty with Nigeria and the game has come too soon for Carlos Edwards, who is close to returning from a broken leg.

Glen Johnson faces a late check on a hamstring strain and midfielder Sean Davis could need an injection to return from a foot injury.

The absence of African Nations Cup quartet Sulley Muntari, Kanu, John Utaka and Papa Bouba Diop means Pompey are stretched to raise a squad even if they include unsettled Matt Taylor, who looks to be on his way to Bolton. However, Richard Hughes has recovered from a hip injury.

Benjani Mwaruwari was rested for last week's FA Cup success at Ipswich but is set to lead the attack again, perhaps at the expense of David Nugent. Young defender Marc Wilson could figure on the bench.

Sunderland (from): Gordon, Ward, Fulop, McShane, Halford, Harte, Evans, Higginbotham, Collins, Leadbitter, Wallace, Yorke, Whitehead, Richardson, O'Donovan, Jones, Chopra, Waghorn, Murphy, Stokes, Cole.

Portsmouth (from): James, Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Pedro Mendes, Davis, Hughes, Lauren, Taylor, Kranjcar, Benjani, Nugent, Traore, Pamarot, Mvuemba, Wilson, Begovic.