Manchester United

Karim Benzema, the Lyons forward, will not be heading for Old Trafford in the foreseeable future after his agent, Karim Djaziri, announced that the 20-year-old would stay in France. “He wants to gain more experience,” Djaziri said.

Played 34 Won 25 Drawn 5 Lost 4 For 72 Against 18 Points 80
Next match Tomorrow Blackburn Rovers (a)

Chelsea

Silvio Berlusconi, the AC Milan president, believes that Andriy Shevchenko wants to return to the club. “Things have changed,” Berlusconi said. “If he returns, we should welcome him not just with open arms, but with arms as open as they can go.”

Played 34 Won 22 Drawn 9 Lost 3 For 59 Against 24 Points 75
Next match April 26 Manchester United (h)

Arsenal

Manuel Almunia will have a fitness test on his injured wrist before tomorrow’s Premier League match against Reading. Mathieu Flamini, Bacary Sagna and Tomas Rosicky remain out and Justin Hoyte has suffered a hamstring injury.

Played 34 Won 20 Drawn 11 Lost 3 For 64 Against 29 Points 71
Next match Tomorrow Reading (h)

Liverpool

Rafael BenÍtez is unsure whether Chelsea will have an advantage in next week’s Champions League semi-final, first leg, having been given extra time to prepare after playing Everton last night. “We will have to see,” the manager said.

Played 34 Won 18 Drawn 12 Lost 4 For 60 Against 26 Points 66
Next match Tomorrow Fulham (a)

Everton

Tim Cahill has yet to undergo surgery on the foot injury that has ruled him out of the remainder of this season. David Moyes, the manager, is expecting the midfield player to be fit for the start of preseason training in the summer.

Played 34 Won 18 Drawn 7 Lost 10 For 50 Against 28 Points 61
Next match April 27 Aston Villa (h)

Portsmouth

John Utaka (hamstring), Lassana Diarra (thigh) and Milan Baros (calf) are back in training after injury. Utaka, who missed the past three matches, is in contention for a place in the squad for the match against Manchester City on Sunday.

Played 34 Won 16 Drawn 9 Lost 9 For 47 Against 33 Points 57
Next match Sunday Manchester City (a)

Aston Villa

Martin O’Neill believes that Nigel Reo-Coker’s liberation has helped to inject more impetus into the team since Stiliyan Petrov took over the holding role. “In that second half at Derby [last Saturday] he was fantastic,” the manager said.

Played 34 Won 15 Drawn 10 Lost 9 For 62 Against 44 Points 55
Next match Sunday Birmingham City (h)

Manchester City

Micah Richards hopes to step up his training programme next week, with a view to playing again before the end of the season. The England defender has missed the club’s past seven matches after a knee operation in February.

Played 34 Won 14 Drawn 10 Lost 10 For 39 Against 40 Points 52
Next match Sunday Portsmouth (h)

Blackburn Rovers

Mark Hughes believes that the club can still qualify for Europe this season. “We haven’t given up hope of qualifying for Europe,” the manager said. “It might require us to win three of our four remaining games, but we are capable of that.”

Played 34 Won 13 Drawn 12 Lost 9 For 44 Against 42 Points 51
Next match Tomorrow Manchester United (h)

West Ham United

Roehampton University expects to conclude its investigation into the club’s injury problems by the end of the season. It will interview staff and players and examine the club’s facilities, players’ boots and diet during its investigation.

Played 34 Won 12 Drawn 8 Lost 14 For 35 Against 41 Points 44
Next match Tomorrow Derby County (h)

Tottenham Hotspur

Juande Ramos has decided which players will be at the club next season. “I’m not going to discover [in the last four matches] anything new about a group of players I have been with for a long time,” the head coach said.

Played 34 Won 10 Drawn 11 Lost 13 For 63 Against 57 Points 41
Next match Tomorrow Wigan Athletic (a)

Newcastle United

After almost 15 years at the club, Steve Harper will experience a home derby against Sunderland this weekend. The goalkeeper has twice played at the Stadium of Light, with the side being held to a draw on each occasion.

Played 34 Won 10 Drawn 9 Lost 15 For 40 Against 58 Points 39
Next match Sunday Sunderland (h)

Middlesbrough

Gary O’Neil, the midfield player, requires knee surgery after suffering an injury last weekend and will miss up to six months. Tuncay Sanli, George Boateng and Adam Johnson are available to deputise again in his wide position.

Played 34 Won 8 Drawn 12 Lost 14 For 31 Against 48 Points 36
Next match Tomorrow Bolton Wanderers (h)

Sunderland

Keith Hackett, the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Board, has phoned Roy Keane to apologise for the poor refereeing decisions inflicted on the club this season. “It was little or no consolation,” the manager said.

Played 34 Won 10 Drawn 6 Lost 18 For 33 Against 52 Points 36
Next match Sunday Newcastle United (a)

Wigan Athletic

Erik Edman, the Sweden defender, had an operation in his home country on Wednesday to repair his damaged knee. Although the operation was deemed a success, Edman is unlikely to play again until November.

Played 34 Won 9 Drawn 8 Lost 17 For 31 Against 48 Points 35
Next match Tomorrow Tottenham Hotspur (h)

Reading

Steve Coppell is trying to remain upbeat about the daunting match away to Arsenal tomorrow. “They must be looking at us to be prime candidates to be the next lambs for slaughter,” the manager said. “But for us there is everything to gain.”

Played 34 Won 9 Drawn 5 Lost 20 For 37 Against 63 Points 32
Next match Tomorrow Arsenal (a)

Birmingham City

Alex McLeish hopes the swelling on James McFadden’s knee will have gone down in time for him to face Aston Villa. Sebastian Larsson (knee), Mikael Forssell (ankle) and Mehdi Nafti (foot) also face fitness tests on injuries.

Played 34 Won 7 Drawn 10 Lost 17 For 39 Against 52 Points 31
Next match Sunday Aston Villa (a)

Bolton Wanderers

Gary Megson has played down fears that Kevin Davies, suspended for the next two games, could miss the rest of the season after having surgery on a fractured hand. “He’ll be OK when he comes back from suspension,” the manager said.

Played 34 Won 7 Drawn 8 Lost 19 For 31 Against 52 Points 29
Next match Tomorrow Middlesbrough (a)

Fulham

Lee Cook’s loan spell at Charlton Athletic could turn into a permanent transfer after the left winger said that he is tempted to stay at The Valley. “If Charlton made an offer for me, I would be interested,” he said. “The ball is in Fulham’s court.”

Played 34 Won 5 Drawn 12 Lost 17 For 32 Against 56 Points 27
Next match Tomorrow Liverpool (h)

Derby County

Robert Earnshaw, the striker, would relish a return to Cardiff City, his first club. “People know what playing for Cardiff meant to me and I need regular football to rekindle my international career,” Derby’s record signing said.

Played 34 Won 1 Drawn 8 Lost 25 For 16 Against 74 Points 11
Next match Tomorrow West Ham United (a)