Premier League Saturday Team News

Premier League Saturday Team News

All the team news and previews of Saturday night's Barclays Premier League matches.

Portsmouth vs Everton

Portsmouth boss Paul Hart could hand a long-awaited debut to Steve Finnan in the Premier League clash with Everton on Saturday lunchtime.

The defender has been struggling with a hamstring injury since his move from Espanyol over the summer, but came through a friendly behind closed doors this week.

Hart is still waiting for Papa Bouba Diop and Herman Hreidarsson to recover from hamstring and foot injuries respectively, while Carling Cup hero Aruna Dindane may not start as he continues his fight for fitness.

Everton manager David Moyes will assess the fitness of striker Ayegbeni Yakubu before making a decision on whether to include him in his squad.

The Nigeria international, who missed most of last season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, scored in the midweek Carling Cup victory at Hull but came off with a groin problem.

Midfielder Steven Pienaar (foot) and defender Joseph Yobo (hamstring) will also have late fitness tests.

Teams:

Portsmouth (from): James, Kaboul, Mokoena, Mullins, Utaka, Kanu, Begovic, Basinas, Belhadj, Vanden Borre, Piquionne, Smith, O'Hara, Brown, Prince-Boateng, Ben Haim, Williamson, Yebda, Dindane, Finnan, Webber.

Everton (from): Howard, Yobo, Baines, Distin, Hibbert, Heitinga, Neill, Cahill, Rodwell, Pienaar, Osman, Yakubu, Jo, Fellaini, Nash, Bilyaletdinov, Vaughan, Gosling.


Birmingham vs Bolton

Bolton midfielder Sean Davis could miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery.

Davis suffered an articular cartilage injury to his right knee during the 3-2 home defeat against Liverpool on August 29.

Manager Gary Megson has no other fresh concerns as his side seek to record their second Premier League victory of the campaign against Birmingham.

Birmingham will be boosted by the return of four players after injury.

Sebastian Larsson, Stephen Carr, Gregory Vignal and Lee Carsley are all available again.

In addition, Teemu Tainio could return after being ineligible for the midweek Carling Cup clash with Sunderland.

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has to decide whether to pair Christian Benitez and Garry O'Connor up front after they impressed in the second half at Hull last weekend.

Teams:

Birmingham (from): WiHart, Taylor, Tainio, Carsley, Vignal, Carr, Larsson, Parnaby, Dann, Johnson, McSheffrey, Bowyer, Ferguson, Fahey, Espinoza, Phillips, Sammons, O'Connor, Benitez.

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Al Habsi, Ricketts, Steinsson, Knight, Cahill, O'Brien, Samuel, Robinson, M Davies, Muamba, Cohen, McCann, Gardner, Taylor, K Davies, Klasnic, Elmander, Chung-Yong.


Blackburn vs Aston Villa

Gael Givet is Sam Allardyce's only injury worry ahead of Blackburn's Barclays Premier League clash against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Defender Givet picked up a knee injury in the defeat at Everton last Sunday but, while he is not expected to have recovered in time for the weekend's game, he should be back to face Arsenal the following week.

Allardyce made 10 changes for the Carling Cup win over Nottingham Forest and, with all those players coming through unscathed, several could come into consideration for the Villa game.

Lars Jacobsen is in contention to return to the Rovers defence having missed last week's league fixture after his wife gave birth.

El-Hadji Diouf will be considered for selection despite an ongoing police investigation into allegations he racially abused a ball boy at Goodison Park.

Nigel Reo-Coker returns to the Aston Villa squad after a two-game absence at Ewood Park.

Rio Coker did not feature against Portsmouth last weekend or Cardiff in the Carling Cup in midweek after a training ground bust-up with manager Martin O'Neill.

Midfielder Steve Sidwell is again ruled out with a thigh strain but winger Ashley Young (calf) and striker Emile Heskey (ankle) are expected to be fit to play.

Stephen Warnock returns to Blackburn for the first time since making the switch to Villa shortly before the summer transfer window closed.

Teams:

Blackburn (from): Robinson, Salgado, Samba, Nelsen, Chimbonda, Diouf, Andrews, Grella, Pedersen, Dunn, Roberts, Brown, Jacobsen, Nzonzi, Emerton, Hoilett, Kalinic, McCarthy, Reid, Di Santo, Olsson, Jones.

Aston Villa (from): Friedel, Guzan, Shorey, Beye, Cuellar, Warnock, Gardner, Collins, Dunne, Milner, Delph, Petrov, Reo-Coker, Young, Heskey, Carew, Agbonlahor, Albrighton, Delfouneso, Clark.


Liverpool vs Hull

Defender Andrea Dossena and midfielder Alberto Aquilani are the only two absentees from Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez's squad to face Hull on Saturday.

Dossena injured a groin in the midweek Carling Cup victory at Leeds while Aquilani, who has yet to make his debut since a £20million move from Roma in August, has stepped up his rehabiltation and has started running again.

Benitez will revert to his strongest line-up on Saturday, having fielded a second-string side at Elland Road.

Hull defender Anthony Gardner could be back in contention for Saturday's clash.

The former England international has been out for the past month with a knee injury but will travel to Anfield with the rest of the squad.

Ibrahima Sonko is also available after being cup-tied for the midweek Carling Cup loss to Everton, Jimmy Bullard (knee) is making encouraging progress but is not yet ready to feature while Steven Mouyokolo (hamstring) is still sidelined.

Youngsters Tom Cairney and Liam Cooper could play a part after impressing against Everton.

Teams:

Liverpool (from): Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Insua, Aurelio, Benayoun, Mascherano, Gerrard, Lucas, Babel, Kuyt, Torres, Riera, Cavalieri, Agger, Ngog, Voronin, Spearing.

Hull (from): Myhill, Gardner, Dawson, Mendy, Marney, Olofinjana, Hunt, Boateng, Barmby, Ghilas, Geovanni, Zayatte, Cousin, Halmosi, Kilbane, Altidore, Fagan, Cairney, Cooper, McShane, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Sonko, Duke, Warner.


Tottenham vs Burnley

Owen Coyle is hoping goalkeeper Brian Jensen will be fit to return to action this weekend as Burnley travel to Tottenham in the Barclays Premier League.

Jensen suffered a dead leg in the 3-2 Carling Cup defeat at Barnsley but should recover in time to reclaim the starting spot from Peruvian Diego Penny.

Striker David Nugent is back in the squad having been cup-tied for the game at Oakwell but club captain

Steven Caldwell is not ready to return despite training again after groin trouble and Martin Paterson and Chris McCann are out for three months after sustaining knee injuries this week.

Tottenham centre-back Sebastien Bassong will have a late fitness test following head and knee injuries against Chelsea last week.

Fellow defenders Ledley King (hamstring) and Jonathan Woodgate (groin) are sidelined for the match at White Hart Lane but Michael Dawson (Achilles) is available after playing at Preston in midweek.

Giovani dos Santos (ankle) joins Luka Modric (fractured fibula) and Roman Pavlyuchenko (Achilles) in the treatment room.

Teams:

Tottenham (from): Gomes, Cudicini, Walker, Hutton, Bassong, Bale, Assou-Ekotto, Corluka, Dervite, Dawson, Bentley, Huddlestone, Lennon, Jenas, Palacios, Naughton, Kranjcar, Rose, Keane, Crouch, Defoe.

Burnley (from): Jensen; Mears, Eckersley, Duff, Carlisle, Bikey, Jordan, Alexander, Fletcher, Elliott, Blake, Thompson, Guerrero, Eagles, Penny, Kalvanes, McDonald, Gudjonsson, Edgar, Rodriquez, Easton, Nugent.


Wigan vs Chelsea

Joe Cole and Yury Zhirkov are included in Chelsea's squad for their trip to Wigan on Saturday.

Both successfully overcame long-term knee injuries to make their comebacks in the midweek Carling Cup victory over Queens Park Rangers.

Didier Drogba is fit after recovering from a bout of cramp but midfielder Deco (calf) and defender Alex (groin) will miss out.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has hinted he may make changes for the visit of the Premier League leaders.

Last weekend's 4-0 defeat at Arsenal was the worst performance of the Spaniard's short reign and, with a fully-fit squad at his disposal, a few players could be left out.

On-loan Chelsea winger Scott Sinclair is ineligible against his parent club.

Teams:

Wigan (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Scharner, Bramble, Figueroa, N'Zogbia, Thomas, Diame, Koumas, Gomez, Rodallega, Edman, Boyce, Cho, Scotland, King, McCarthy, Pollitt.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, Belletti, Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry, Ivanovic, A Cole, Hutchinson, Borini, Bruma, Lampard, Ballack, Obi, Kalou, Malouda, Anelka, Drogba, Sturridge, Zhirkov, J Cole, Essien.


Fulham vs Arsenal

Arsenal playmaker Andrey Arshavin returns from a groin injury for the Premier League clash against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

England winger Theo Walcott has recovered from a side strain and is available again - but goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is still troubled by the chest infection so Vito Mannone could continue in his place.

Denilson (back), Samir Nasri (leg), Lukasz Fabianski (knee) and Johan Djourou (knee) remain out.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is likely to make several changes for the home match against Premier League heavyweights Arsenal tomorrow.

Hodgson made 11 changes for loss at Manchester City in midweek but Zoltan Gera may retain his place in the starting line up after scoring the 25-yard screamer which put the Cottagers ahead.

Simon Davies suffered a setback from his foot injury during the game at Eastlands and will be unavailable while Erik Nevland, Andrew Johnson (shoulder) and Toni Kallio (Achilles) also miss out.

Teams:

Fulham (from): Zuberbuhler, Schwarzer, Stockdale, Conches, Stoor, Pantsil, Hughes, Hangeland, Kelly, Baird, Smalling, Andranik, Duff, Riise, Dempsey, Etuhu, Greening, Kamara, Zamora, Seol, E Johnson, Elm, Dikgacoi.

Arsenal (from): Mannone, Clichy, Gallas, Vermaelen, Sagna, Song, Diaby, Fabregas, Rosicky, Van Persie, Bendtner, Szczesny, Eboue, Eduardo, Silvestre, Ramsey, Gibbs, Wilshere, Arshavin, Walcott.


Stoke vs Manchester United

Ben Foster will start in goal for Manchester United at Stoke on Saturday after being given a public vote of confidence by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Tomasz Kuszczak had been hoping to get the nod after keeping a clean sheet against Wolves in midweek but Foster will return as deputy for Edwin van der Sar (broken fingers), who is out for another three weeks.

Plenty of changes are anticipated from midweek, with Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra among those certain to be recalled.

Stoke strikers Ricardo Fuller and James Beattie are both doubtful.on Saturday.

Fuller suffered a groin problem in the Carling Cup victory over Blackpool while Beattie is struggling with a recurrence of an ankle injury.

Manager Tony Pulis could recall Richard Cresswell to the attack to partner Dave Kitson.

Teams:

Stoke (from): Sorensen, Simonsen, Huth, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Faye, Collins, Delap, Whitehead, Whelan, Etherington, Fuller, Beattie, Kitson, Cresswell, Cort, Higginbotham, Griffin, Lawrence, Pugh, Tuncay.

Manchester United (from): Foster, Kuszczak, Neville, O'Shea, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Fabio, Valencia, Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher, Gibson, Giggs, Nani, Rooney, Berbatov, Owen.


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