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Premier League

Previews: United without Vidic, Liverpool face midfield dilemma

All the team news for this weekend’s matches, as Manchester United look to recover from their Champions League elimination.

Saturday

Arsenal v Everton, 15:00

Arsenal, as ever, have a number of players missing for the visit of Everton on Saturday. Andre Santos picked up an ankle injury in the defeat to Olympiakos, while goalkeepers Lukasz Fabianski and Vito Mannone also picked up injuries in Greece. Manuel Almunia makes a rare appearance in the Gunners squad.

Abou Diaby (hamstring) and Ryo Miyaichi (ankle) are still out, along with defenders Carl Jenkinson (back), Kieran Gibbs (hernia) and Bacary Sagna (ankle), while midfielder Jack Wilshere (ankle) is not expected back until January at the earliest.

Robin van Persie will return after he was rested in midweek.

Jack Rodwell will not feature for Everton after picking up a hamstring injury in training, while Leon Osman (hamstring) and Royston Drenthe (foot) will be assessed before the game.

Teams:

Arsenal (from): Szczesny, Koscielny, Djourou, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Song, Ramsey, Arteta, Gervinho, Walcott, Van Persie, Almunia, Miguel, Benayoun, Frimpong, Arshavin, Chamakh, Coquelin, Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Everton (from): Howard, Hibbert, Heitinga, Jagielka, Baines, Coleman, Fellaini, Osman, Drenthe, Bilyaletdinov, Cahill, Barkley, Saha, Vellios, Mucha, Mustafi, Stracqualursi, McFadden, Gueye, Distin, Neville.

Bolton v Aston Villa, 15:00

Brad Guzan is set for his first start of the season for Aston Villa against Bolton after Shay Given was ruled out for a month with hamstring injury.

On-loan Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas has been ruled out for the season with a ruptured Achilles, so Stiliyan Petrov and Stephen Ireland come into contention.

Gary Cahill is eligible to face his former side after seeing a red card, received last week against Tottenham, rescinded. Nigel Reo-Coker, another former Villan, is a doubt with a hamstring problem and David Wheater is still suspended.

Teams:

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Boyata, Cahill, Knight, Eagles, Robinson, Muamba, Petrov, K Davies, Klasnic, Tuncay, Bogdan, M Davies, Pratley, Ngog, Blake, Kakuta, Reo-Coker.

Aston Villa (from): Guzan, Hutton, Cuellar, Collins, Dunne, Clark, Warnock, Beye, Herd, Delph, Bannan, Petrov, Ireland, Albrighton, Bent, Heskey, Agbonlahor, N’Zogbia, Weimann, Marshall.

Liverpool v QPR, 15:00

Liverpool manager is facing a tough decision on who to start in central midfield against QPR on Saturday. Lucas is out for the season with a knee injury, while Jay Spearing – sent off against Fulham – is suspended.

Captain Steven Gerrard, meanwhile, is still out with an ankle infection.

Jordan Henderson could play in his favoured central midfield position alongside Charlie Adam, with the in-form Jonjo Shelvey another option.

QPR’s Adel Taarabt has a thigh strain and will undergo a fitness test, while Matt Connolly (ankle), Kieron Dyer (foot) and DJ Campbell (foot) returned to training this week and have an outside chance of being involved.

Teams:

Liverpool (from): Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Kuyt, Adam, Henderson, Downing, Suarez, Bellamy, Doni, Kelly, Carragher, Coates, Shelvey, Coady, Rodriguez, Carroll.

QPR (from): Cerny, Putnins, Hall, Gabbidon, Taarabt, Traore, Bothroyd, Faurlin, Barton, Orr, Buzsaky, Young, Smith, Helguson, Wright-Phillips, Ferdinand, Puncheon.

Man Utd v Wolverhampton, 15:00

Manchester United were rocked on Friday by the news that captain Nemanja Vidic is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, while Javier Hernandez, Tom Cleverley (both ankle), Michael Owen (thigh), Fabio and Rafael will also miss the visit of Wolves.

Dimitar Berbatov is battling to recover from an ankle injury.

Jody Craddock is rated doubtful to overcome a hamstring injurym, so captain Roger Johnson could come straight back into the side after he was dropped against Sunderland.

Karl Henry is available after serving a one match suspension.

Teams:

Manchester United (from): De Gea, Lindegaard, Amos, Evans, Smalling, Ferdinand, Evra, Jones, Fryers, Cole, Fletcher, Carrick, Young, Valencia, Park, Gibson, Nani, Giggs, Macheda, Rooney, Welbeck, Berbatov, Diouf.

Wolves (from): Hennessey, De Vries, Stearman, Zubar, Johnson, Craddock, Berra, Ward, Hammill, O’Hara, Hunt, Henry, Guedioura, Jarvis, Doyle, Doherty, Elokobi, Milijas, Edwards, Ebanks-Blake, Fletcher, Doherty.

Norwich v Newcastle, 15:00

Alan Pardew has a number of defensive worries as Newcastle prepare to travel to Carrow Road to face Norwich City.

Steven Taylor (Achilles) and Mike Williamson (broken arm and ankle) are both out, while Fabricio Coloccini is very doubtful with a thigh problem.

21-year-old Hungarian Tamas Kadar could, as a result, make his first appearance of the season alongside James Perch.

Midfielder Cheik Tiote is still out.

Zak Whitbread could return to the Norwich starting line up after a hamstring problem, but Ritchie de Laet remains sidelined.

Teams:

Norwich (from): Ruddy, Tierney, Whitbread, Martin, Naughton, Crofts, Johnson, Pilkington Bennett, Hoolahan, Morison, Rudd, Barnett, Fox, Holt, Surman, Wilbraham, Jackson, Ayala.

Newcastle (from): Krul, Elliot, Simpson, R. Taylor, Santon, Ferguson, Perch, Cabaye, Gosling, Obertan, Ben Arfa, Sammy Ameobi, Abeid, Vuckic, Smith, Ba, Best, Shola Ameobi, Lovenkrands, Kadar, Gutierrez.

Swansea v Fulham, 15:00

Joe Allen misses Swansea’s clash with Fulham as he is suspended, having been sent off in last weekend’s 4-2 defeat to Blackburn.

Luke Moore, Wayne Routledge and Kenny Agustien are vying to take his place.

Angel Rangel (ankle) remains sidelined but Danny Graham is back in contention, as is defender Steven Caulker.

Danny Murphy has made a rapid recovery from the ankle injury he picked up against former club Liverpool, and could start, as could Simon Davies.

Winger Damien Duff (calf) and defender Chris Baird (personal reasons) are out.

Teams:

Swansea (from): Vorm, Williams, Taylor, Caulker, Britton, Orlandi, Graham, Sinclair, Dyer, Dobbie, Routledge, Monk, Lita, Moore, Bessone, Tremmel, Agustien, Gower, Richards, Moras.

Fulham (from): Schwarzer, Etheridge, Riise, Kelly, Hangeland, Hughes, Dembele, Briggs, Kasami, Davies, Murphy, Gecov, Etuhu, Ruiz, Dempsey, Frei, Johnson, Zamora, Sa.

West Brom v Wigan, 15:00

Wigan are at full strength for the trip to the Hawthorns on Saturday, with Antolin Alcaraz available after his three game suspension for spitting at Wolves’ Richard Stearman.

Manager Roberto Martinez must decide whether to start striker Hugo Rodallega and defender Emmerson Boyce.

West Brom manager Roy Hodgson must do without midfielder Zoltan Gera for the rest of the season, while he is hoping that Shane Long continues to suppress his groin problem.

Teams:

West Brom (from): Foster, Fulop, Reid, Jones, Jara, Olsson, McAuley, Dawson, Tamas, Mattock, Shorey, Scharner, Brunt, Morrison, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Thomas, Tchoyi, Cox, Odemwingie, Long.

Wigan (from): Al Habsi, Boyce, Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Watson, Diame, Moses, Gomez, McCarthy, Di Santo, Jones, Stam, Van Aanholt, McArthur, Lopez, Thomas, Sammon, Maloney, Crusat, Gohouri, Rodallega, McCarthy, Pollitt.

Sunday

Sunderland v Blackburn, 13:30

New Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill is hopeful that both Nicklas Bendtner and Phil Bardsley can overcome groin and ankle injuries for the visit of Blackburn on Sunday.

Goalkeepers Simon Mignolet (nose/eye) and Craig Gordon (knee) are both still out, as is Connor Wickham (knee), while midfielder Lee Cattermole misses out through suspension.

Martin Olsson and Ruben Rochina are both doubtful for Blackburn, while Steven Nzonzi serves the final game of his three-match suspension while Ryan Nelsen is still short of match fitness.

Teams:

Sunderland (from): Westwood, Carson, Brown, Bardsley, Richardson, Turner, Laing, Gardner, Vaughan, Larsson, Colback, Elmohamady, Meyler, Sessegnon, Bendtner, Ji, McClean, Cook, Egan, Noble, Bramble.

Blackburn (from): Robinson, Bunn, Olsson, Samba, Lowe, Dann, Salgado, Givet, Hanley, Rochina, Pedersen, Petrovic, Dunn, Hoilett, Yakubu, Goodwillie, Formica, Roberts, Vukcevic, Slew, Blackman, Henley.

Stoke v Tottenham, 16:00

Ledley King, Gareth Bale and Jermain Defoe are all doubts for Tottenham’s trip to face Stoke City on Sunday, but Rafael van der Vaart has recovered from his hamstring injury.

Long-term absentees Michael Dawson (Achilles), Tom Huddlestone (ankle) and Niko Kranjcar (thigh) remain out, while Sandro is struggling with a groin injury.

Jermaine Pennant and Rory Delap could return for Stoke, while Andy Wilkinson will have a late fitness test on a back injury sustained in training.

Thomas Sorensen is fine after sustaining mild concussion against Everton.

Teams:

Stoke (from): Sorensen, Huth, Wilkinson, Wilson, Shawcross, Shotton, Woodgate, Whelan, Etherington, Whitehead, Walters, Crouch, Begovic, Upson, Delap, R Fuller, Palacios, Jerome, Jones.

Tottenham (from): Gomes, Friedel, Cudicini, Bale, Kaboul, Corluka, Bassong, Rose, Gallas, King, Walker, Assou-Ekotto, Parker, Modric, Livermore, Townsend, Carroll, Fredericks, Lennon, Falque, Sandro, Pienaar, Pavlyuchenko, Defoe, Dos Santos, Adebayor, Van der Vaart, Kane.

Monday

Chelsea v Man City, 20:00

No team news available at time of publication.

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