All matches 7.45pm unless stated

Wednesday

Chelsea v Burnley

Luiz Felipe Scolari is expected to hand striker Didier Drogba a place in the starting XI against Burnley, though Joe Cole is still out with a hamstring problem.

Michael Ballack is back in training after his foot surgery but not fit enough for a place in the squad, although he may return against West Bromwich Albion at the weekend. Ashley Cole is close to full fitness after his hamstring injury and central defender Ricardo Carvalho is expected to start light training soon.

Owen Coyle, the Burnley manager, looks set to be without several players, particularly in defence.

Clarke Carlisle is suspended after he was sent off in Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Wolves with Michael Duff set to replace him.

Left-back Christian Kalvenes is almost certain to miss out with a leg injury, while fellow defenders Steven Caldwell and Stephen Jordan both picked up knocks at Molineux, but could still play. Steve Thompson is cup-tied and will also miss the game.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Ivanovic, Lampard, Di Santo, Drogba, Obi, Malouda, Bosingwa, Bridge, Ferreira, Deco, Kalou, Terry, Sinclair, Alex, Belletti, Anelka, Stoch, Woods.

Sunderland v Blackburn Rovers

Roy Keane has ruled striker Kenwyne Jones out of the clash with Blackburn as he awaits news on his knee injury.

The Trinidad and Tobago international was due to see a specialist today after undergoing a scan last night on the problem he aggravated in training on Friday.

Craig Gordon and striker Martyn Waghorn (both ankle) and George McCartney (foot) will also be missing, while Daryl Murphy is struggling with the dead leg which forced him off at half time against Portsmouth on Saturday.

Blackburn midfielder Vince Grella has been ruled out for four weeks with a hamstring injury. The Australian suffered the setback in the defeat by Chelsea on Sunday and will now miss the match against Sunderland tomorrow.

Keith Andrews is ineligible while Roque Santa Cruz (hamstring), Andre Ooijer (knee) and Brett Emerton (hamstring) are all sidelined through injury.

Sunderland (from): Fulop, Colgan, Bardsley, Chimbonda, Ferdinand, Nosworthy, Collins, Malbranque, Whitehead, Tainio, Leadbitter, Miller, Yorke, Richardson, Reid, Diouf, Cisse, Murphy, Healy, Henderson, Meyler.

Blackburn (from): Robinson, Brown, Simpson, Samba, Nelsen, Khizanishvili, Olsson, Warnock, Mokoena, Tugay, Treacy, Pedersen, Roberts, Derbyshire, Villanueva, Fowler, McCarthy, Judge, Kane, Hodge, Howarth.

Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool

Benoit Assou-Ekotto is suspended for the clash at White Hart Lane. Ledley King is set to be rested, while Giovani dos Santos is out with an ankle injury.

Harry Redknapp has the option of looking at players such as Paul Stalteri, Ricardo Rocha, Adel Taarabt, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Hossam Ghaly, who all struggled under former head coach Juande Ramos.

Rafael Benitez will make a late decision on whether striker Fernando Torres starts against Tottenham..

Torres is in need of match fitness after missing six games with a hamstring injury and is expected to feature at White Hart Lane while Benitez rests several of his other stars, including Steven Gerrard.

Second-choice goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri, Sami Hyypia, Yossi Benayoun and Jermaine Pennant are expected to play.

Tottenham (from): Gomes, Cesar, Hutton, Bale, Gunter, Dawson, Woodgate, Corluka, O'Hara, Zokora, Bentley, Huddlestone, Jenas, Gilberto, Modric, Bostock, Dervite, Lennon, Bent, Campbell, Pavlyuchenko, Stalteri, Rocha, Taarabt, Boateng, Ghaly

Liverpool (from): Cavalieri, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Dossena, Benayoun, Lucas, Alonso, Babel, Torres, Keane, Ngog, Pennant, Insua, Spearing, El Zhar, Plessis, Reina, Degen.