Team news from the Premier League
All the team news from around the grounds ahead of Week 26 in the Premier League.
Saturday February 21 3pm
Striker Jermain Defoe could return to the Sunderland squad for Saturday’s vital Barclays Premier League clash with West Brom.
The 32-year-old striker missed the 2-0 FA Cup fifth round defeat at Bradford with a calf injury but could be available for the game at the Stadium of Light, as could midfielder Lee Cattermole, who has been sidelined since the end of December with a combination of groin and knee problems.
Head coach Gus Poyet was otherwise playing his cards close to his chest with full-back Anthony Reveillere (hamstring) and midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini (ankle) battling to be fit.
Provisional squad: Pantilimon, Mannone, Reveillere, Jones, Van Aanholt, O’Shea, Brown, Vergini, Coates, Cattermole, Bridcutt, Rodwell, Gomez, Larsson, Johnson, Buckley, Alvarez, Agnew, Honeyman, Fletcher, Defoe, Wickham, Graham.
West Brom defender Jonas Olsson is pushing for a return ahead of Saturday’s Barclays Premier League trip to Sunderland.
The Swede, who has not played since September and underwent Achilles surgery before Christmas, has played twice for the under-21s and was an unused substitute in the FA Cup last week.
Midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, who suffered a hamstring injury at the African Nations Cup, could also return leaving striker Victor Anichebe (groin) as the only definite absentee.
Provisional squad: Foster, Myhill, Pocognoli, Wisdom, Lescott, Baird, Dawson, Olsson, McAuley, McManaman, Gamboa, Morrison, Dorrans, Yacob, Mulumbu, Brunt, Gardner, Sessegnon, Berahino, Ideye.
Saturday February 21 3pm
Tim Sherwood expects to have an almost fully-fit squad for his first game in charge of Aston Villa against Stoke.
Nathan Baker (knee) and Philippe Senderos (calf) are out and Gabby Agbonlahor has been struggling with a hamstring problem but Scott Sinclair is pushing to start after scoring his first goal since 2012 in the FA Cup win over Leicester on Sunday.
Libor Kozak is training with the under-21 squad as the striker continues his recovery from a broken leg which has kept him out for over a year.
Provisional squad: Guzan, Given, Hutton, Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Okore, Cissokho, Delph, Westwood, Sanchez, Cleverley, Bacuna, Gil, Richardson, Sinclair, Grealish, Weimann, Agbonlahor, Benteke.
Ryan Shawcross remains out with a back problem ahead of Stoke’s trip to Aston Villa.
The defender has had injections and is improving but will not be fit and is joined on the sidelines by the suspended Geoff Cameron after his dismissal at Blackburn in the FA Cup last week.
Jonathan Walters (knee) Erik Pieters (hernia), Marc Wilson (groin) and Stephen Ireland (hamstring) have all returned to training this week to hand boss Mark Hughes a boost but Bojan (knee) is out long-term.
Provisional squad: Butland, Sorensen, Begovic, Wollscheid, Muniesa, Wilson, Bardsley, Pieters, Nzonzi, Adam, Whelan, Sidwell, Palacios, Walters, Ireland, Arnautovic, Crouch, Moses, Diouf, Shenton, Teixeira.
Saturday February 21 3pm
Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel remains sidelined for Saturday’s Barclays Premier League clash with Burnley.
Mikel has a knee injury and is at least two weeks away from full fitness, so misses the Stamford Bridge clash.
Boss Jose Mourinho has otherwise reported a clean bill of health with no fresh injuries arising from the 1-1 draw with PSG.
Provisional squad: Courtois, Cech, Ivanovic, Luis, Fabregas, Zouma, Ake, Ramires, Oscar, Hazard, Drogba, Remy, Costa, Matic, Willian, Cuadrado, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Blackman, Christensen, Loftus-Cheek.
Burnley welcome Stephen Ward back into the squad for the first time in two and a half months for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea.
The full-back has recovered from a fractured ankle suffered in the 1-1 draw against Newcastle at the start of December.
Dean Marney has undergone successful surgery on his cruciate ligament injury but will be out until next season along with Shane Long while Matt Taylor suffered a slight setback in his recovery from Achilles surgery but is back training with the squad again.
Provisional squad: Heaton, Gilks, Trippier, Mee, Keane, Shackell, Lafferty, Duff, Arfield, Boyd, Jones, Wallace, Kightly, Barnes, Vokes, Ings, Sordell, O’Neill, Reid, Jutkiewicz, Ward.
Saturday February 21 3pm
Crystal Palace could welcome back captain Mile Jedinak for Saturday’s Premier League visit of Arsenal.
The midfielder picked up an ankle injury whilst helping Australia to Asia Cup success and is in line for his first Eagles appearance under Alan Pardew – as is Shola Ameobi who is now up to match fitness after joining in January.
James McArthur (thigh) could also be involved with Jonny Williams (groin) likely to miss out along with Yaya Sanogo, who is on loan from Arsenal and is therefore ineligible,
Provisional squad: Speroni, Hennessey, Ward, Kelly, Mariappa, Hangeland, Souare, Dann, Delaney, Bannan, Guedioura, Jedinak, Mutch, McArthur, Ledley, Puncheon, Zaha, Bolasie, Gayle, Chamakh, Campbell, Gayle, Ameobi.
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere is in line to return from three months out with an ankle injury for Saturday’s Barclays Premier League match at Crystal Palace.
Right-back Hector Bellerin faces a fitness test on his ankle problem, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back in full training following a groin strain but is unlikely to be rushed into a return.
Midfielder Aaron Ramsey (hamstring) is still around two weeks away from match fitness. Mikel Arterta (ankle), Abou Diaby (calf) and Mathieu Debuchy (shoulder) all also continue their rehabilitation.
Provisional Squad: Ospina, Monreal, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Bellerin, Coquelin, Cazorla, Sanchez, Ozil, Walcott, Giroud, Szczesny, Flamini, Gabriel, Welbeck, Gibbs, Rosicky, Akpom, Wilshere, Chambers.
Saturday February 21 3pm
Gylfi Sigurdsson returns for Swansea at home to Manchester United after serving a three-match suspension for his FA Cup red card at Blackburn.
Wayne Routledge is also in line to start his first Premier League game for five weeks after overcoming a calf problem and Marvin Emnes is available following hamstring trouble, but central defender Kyle Bartley has been ruled out for six weeks after suffering a training ground knee injury which requires surgery.
Provisional squad: Fabianski, Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Cork, Ki, Shelvey, Montero, Dyer, Routledge, Sigurdsson, Gomis, Tremmel, Rangel, Amat, Fulton, Carroll, Britton, Barrow, Emnes, Oliveira, Grimes, King.
Striker Robin van Persie is back to full fitness and is available for Manchester United’s match at Swansea on Saturday.
Van Persie sat out the 3-1 win over Preston on Monday due to an unspecified injury but he is available for the game at the Liberty Stadium, manager Louis van Gaal confirmed.
Centre-half Phil Jones has overcome his knee problem and is also available for selection but midfielder Michael Carrick (calf) is out.
Provisional squad: De Gea, Lindegaard, Valdes, Shaw, Blackett, Rojo, Smalling, Evans, Jones, McNair, Rafael, Pereira, Young, Blind, Fellaini, Herrera, Valencia, Januzaj, Di Maria, Mata, Falcao, Rooney, Van Persie, Wilson.
Saturday February 21 3pm
Hull are once again without midfielder Mohamed Diame for the crunch clash with QPR on Saturday.
Diame was expected to feature for the first time this year but sits out having hurt his knee in training, meaning the Tigers could field the same XI that started last week’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
James Chester (shoulder), Liam Rosenior (hamstring) and Robert Snodgrass (knee) remain long-term injuries.
Provisional squad: McGregor, Harper, Davies, McShane, Figueroa, Robertson, Bruce, Elmohamady, Livermore, Meyler, Brady, Quinn,Huddlestone, Jelavic, Hernandez, Aluko, Ramirez, N’Doye.
QPR welcome back top goalscorer Charlie Austin for their trip to fellow Premier League strugglers Hull on Saturday.
The 13-goal striker missed the 2-0 win at Sunderland with a foot injury but manager Chris Ramsey has said Austin is back in contention after returning to training.
Mauricio Isla is the latest Rangers player to be sidelined with an injured knee and joins Leroy Fer, Sandro, Richard Dunne and Alejandro Faurlin as players who will miss out through different knee problems, whilst Nedum Onuoha has a hamstring injury.
Provisional squad: Green, McCarthy, Caulker, Yun, Ferdinand, Hill, Traore, Kranjcar, Henry, Sandro, Barton, Phillips, Hoilett, Wright-Phillips, Taarabt, Vargas, Austin, Zamora, Zarate.
Saturday February 21 5.30pm
Manchester City midfielder James Milner will miss Saturday’s Barclays Premier League clash against Newcastle with a knee injury.
The England international has taken a kick on a ligament and will be assessed prior to Tuesday’s Champions League encounter with Barcelona.
New signing Wilfried Bony, the £25million striker, could make his debut while midfielder Yaya Toure is also available after the African Nations Cup. Top scorer Sergio Aguero is fit after a slight back issue at Stoke last week.
Provisional squad: Hart, Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Demichelis, Kompany, Mangala, Boyata, Kolarov, Clichy, Navas, Silva, Nasri, Toure, Fernando, Fernandinho, Lampard, Aguero, Jovetic, Bony, Dzeko.
Newcastle head for Manchester City on Saturday with their defensive resources stretched to the limit by injury.
Left-back Paul Dummett (knee) is facing up to 12 weeks on the sidelines alongside long-term casualty Steven Taylor (Achilles), leaving head coach John Carver with just four fit senior defenders, Daryl Janmaat, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini and Massadio Haidara.
Carver has problems in midfield too with Remy Cabella having damaged a knee in training to join Siem de Jong (collapsed lung) and Cheick Tiote (knee) in the treatment room, although the Frenchman’s injury is relatively minor.
Provisional squad: Krul, Woodman, Janmaat, Williamson, Coloccini, Haidara, R. Taylor, Anita, Abeid, Sissoko, Colback, Gouffran, Ameobi, Obertan, Cisse, Riviere, Perez, Armstrong.
Sunday February 22 12pm
Harry Kane is expected to return to Tottenham’s starting line-up for Sunday’s visit of West Ham in the Barclays Premier League.
Kane was rested along with Ryan Mason and Mousa Dembele for Thursday night’s 1-1 draw with Fiorentina in the Europa League, but all three are likely to come back in against the Hammers.
Spurs head coach Mauricio Pochettino has no injury concerns as his side embark on their second of six games in 17 days.
Provisional squad: Lloris, Vorm, Walker, Rose, Davies, Fazio, Kaboul, Dier, Vertonghen, Chiriches, Dembele, Bentaleb, Paulinho, Mason, Stambouli, Capoue, Townsend, Chadli, Eriksen, Lamela, Kane, Soldado, Adebayor.
West Ham will welcome both Winston Reid and James Collins back into their squad for their London derby at Tottenham on Sunday.
The defensive duo have been missing with hamstring problems but are both back in training – as are Diego Poyet and Cheikhou Kouyate, who is available despite suffering a minor arm injury earlier in the week.
Morgan Amalfitano is suspended and Nene, who was signed earlier in the week after Andy Carroll (knee) had been ruled out for the season, will also miss out as he is not yet match fit.
Provisional squad: Adrian, Jaaskelainen, Cresswell, Jenkinson, Tomkins, Reid, Collins, O’Brien, Noble, Poyet, Song, Kouyate, Nolan, Downing, Jarvis, Cole, Sakho, Valencia.
Sunday February 22 2.05pm
Leighton Baines is expected to return to the Everton team for Sunday’s clash with Leicester after missing three games with a minor knee problem.
It should be a straight swap at left-back for Bryan Oviedo, who felt his hamstring in the Europa League win over Young Boys and is unlikely to be risked.
Midfielder Gareth Barry is suspended but Aaron Lennon, who was cup-tied in Switzerland, returns, while the game is expected to come too soon for Aiden McGeady, Steven Pienaar and Leon Osman.
Provisional squad: Howard, Robles, Alcaraz, Jagielka, Stones, Coleman, Baines, Garbutt, Distin, Besic, McCarthy, Barkley, Gibson, Mirallas, Lennon, Atsu, Naismith, Lukaku, Kone.
On-loan centre-back Robert Huth returns to the Leicester squad after being cup-tied for last weekend’s FA Cup fifth-round defeat at Aston Villa.
With Huth available and Matthew Upson recently returning from injury, boss Nigel Pearson is likely to pair the duo together for the first time for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League clash with Everton.
Pearson has only two players out injured in striker Chris Wood and goalkeeper Kaspar Schmeichel, although both are back in training and close to a return.
Provisional squad: Hamer, Schwarzer, Konchesky, Upson, Wasilewski, Morgan, Huth, Simpson, Cambiasso, James, Mahrez, Kramaric, Ulloa, Schlupp, Nugent, Drinkwater, King, Albrighton, Vardy, De Laet.
Sunday February 22 4.15pm
Morgan Schneiderlin and Shane Long are available for Southampton’s match against Liverpool this weekend.
The pair returned to training on Friday after suffering an adductor injury and fractured ribs respectively and manager Ronald Koeman is confident they will be fit enough to be involved at St Mary’s.
Left-back Matt Targett is back in contention after a head injury, although Toby Alderweireld, Jay Rodriguez, Emmanuel Mayuka and Ryan Bertrand are out.
Provisional squad: Forster, K Davis, Gazzaniga, Clyne, Targett, Yoshida, Gardos, Fonte, McCarthy, Schneiderlin, S Davis, Flannigan, Wanyama, Reed, Ward-Prowse, Hesketh, Tadic, Djuricic, Long, Mane, Elia, Seager, Pelle.
Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling is pushing for a start at Southampton on Sunday after his successful return from injury in midweek.
The England international made his first appearance in three matches after a foot injury as a second-half substitute in the Europa League win over Besiktas.
Captain Steven Gerrard misses out again with a hamstring injury.
Provisional squad: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Ibe, Henderson, Allen, Moreno, Sterling, Coutinho, Sturridge, Ward, Manquillo, Johnson, Lovren, Lallana, Markovic, Borini, Balotelli, Lambert.
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