Weekend Premier League team news

All the latest on injuries, suspensions and new transfer window signings

Philippe Coutinho, seen here in action against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup, is in line to make his first premier league start against Swansea at Anfield on Saturday. Photograph:  Paul Childs/Livepic/Action Images via Reuters
Philippe Coutinho, seen here in action against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup, is in line to make his first premier league start against Swansea at Anfield on Saturday. Photograph: Paul Childs/Livepic/Action Images via Reuters

SATURDAY (3.0 unless stated)

Liverpool (3) v Swansea (20), 12.30pm – Live on BT Sport 1
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and Nathaniel Clyne are expected to be fit after returning to training on Friday after muscle and rib injuries respectively. Manager Jürgen Klopp will restore his big names as he fields his first-choice line-up again following the midweek FA Cup replay win over Plymouth. That could mean a first league start since November 26th for fit-again Philippe Coutinho.

Swansea new boys Martin Olsson and Tom Carroll are available for the trip to Anfield but Luciano Narsingh’s debut is set to be delayed again. The Dutch winger has yet to recover from a calf problem. Leon Britton could also miss out with an unspecified injury, while Neil Taylor is absent once more with a fractured cheekbone.

Last season: Swansea 3 Liverpool 1, Liverpool 1 Swansea 0
Last five league matches: Liverpool W W W D D; Swansea L L L W L
Top scorers (all competitions): Sadio Mane (Liverpool) 9; Leroy Fer, Fernando Llorente & Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea) 6
Match odds: H 2-9 A 12-1 D 5-1
Referee: Kevin Friend

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Bournemouth (11) v Watford (14)
Bournemouth captain Simon Francis will serve out the final match of his three-game ban. Defender Marc Wilson remains unavailable after missing the defeat at Hull because of a hamstring problem. Tyrone Mings is expected to retain his place at centre back. Midfielder Lewis Cook played for the under-21s in midweek so should be in contention, while defender Baily Cargill is back with the Cherries squad following his loan spell at Gillingham. Ivory Coast forward Max Gradel is still away on international duty.

Watford manager Walter Mazzarri will take a late decision on the fitness of goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. He limped off in their 0-0 draw against Middlesbrough last Saturday with a back injury. Daryl Janmaat, who has been out since Christmas with a groin issue, may feature, while new loan signing Tom Cleverley is pushing for a first start. Nordin Amrabat and Adlene Guedioura are away on African Nations Cup duty.

Last season: Watford 0 Bournemouth 0, Bournemouth 1 Watford 1
Last five league matches: Bournemouth L L W D L; Watford L D L L D
Top scorers (all competitions): Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) 6; Etienne Capoue (Watford) 5
Match odds: H 4-5 A 17-5 D 13-5
Referee: Lee Mason

Crystal Palace (17) v Everton (7)
Jeffrey Schlupp is pushing for his first start as a Palace player following his move from Leicester. James McArthur, Fraizer Campbell and Scott Dann are all fit and available to manager Sam Allardyce, but Wilfried Zaha and Bakary Sako are away on African Nations Cup duty.

Everton boss Ronald Koeman has a dilemma in goal with Maarten Stekelenburg now fully fit after missing five games with a dead leg. Joel Robles has seized his chance in the Dutch stopper’s absence though, and may well keep his place. Leighton Baines is suffering with a slight rib complaint but should be fit, leaving Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Mohamed Besic and Yannick Bolasie as Everton’s only injury absentees.

Last season: Crystal Palace 0 Everton 0, Everton 1 Crystal Palace 1
Last five league matches: Crystal Palace L D L L L; Everton L W D W W
Top scorers (all competitions): Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) 10; Romelu Lukaku (Everton) 13
Match odds: H 2-1 A 11-8 D 9-4
Referee: Anthony Taylor

Middlesbrough (16) v West Ham (12)
Striker Patrick Bamford could be handed a second debut for Middlesbrough against West Ham after completing a permanent move from Chelsea.

However, the frontman, who scored 19 times in 44 appearances on loan for the club during the 2014-15 season, has played little football in the last 18 months after making temporary moves to Crystal Palace, Norwich and Burnley and is likely to be involved only as a substitute.

Daniel Ayala sits out the second game of his three-match ban, while fellow defender Antonio Barragan (hamstring) and midfielder Gaston Ramirez (knee) remain on the sidelines.

West Ham striker Andy Carroll hopes to shake off a neck injury. Defenders Winston Reid and Sam Byram and winger Sofiane Feghouli have also sat out training this week with knocks, but boss Slaven Bilic expects all four players to be available. Wantaway France star Dimitri Payet will not be in the squad as he continues to try to force a move back to Marseille.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Middlesbrough W L L D D; West Ham W W L L W
Top scorers (all competitions): Alvaro Negredo (Middlesbrough) 6; Michail Antonio (West Ham) 8
Match odds: H 7-5 A 21-10 D 21-10
Referee: Martin Atkinson

Stoke (9) v Manchester United (6) – Live Sky Sports 5
Saido Berahino completed his move from West Brom late on Friday, leaving Mark Hughes with a tough decision as to whether he should throw the striker straight into the first team. Bojan Krkic will return to the Stoke squad after recovering from the rib problem which ruled him out of last weekend's win over Sunderland. Jonathan Walters, Geoff Cameron, Jack Butland and Stephen Ireland remain on the sidelines while Ramadan Sobhi, Wilfried Bony and Mame Biram Diouf are away on African Nations Cup duty.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has a fully-fit squad to choose from. Eric Bailly is the only absentee for the trip to Staffordshire as the Ivory Coast centre back is at the African Nations Cup. United left back Luke Shaw is pushing for a first appearance since November 30th after returning to fitness.

Last season: Man Utd 3 Stoke 0, Stoke 2 Man Utd 0
Last five league matches: Stoke D L L W W; Man Utd W W W W D
Top scorers (all competitions): Peter Crouch (Stoke) 6; Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Man Utd) 19
Match odds: H 9-2 A 8-13 D 14-5
Referee: Mark Clattenburg

West Brom (8) v Sunderland (19)

Jake Livermore could make his West Brom debut after joining from Hull. The midfielder trained with the Baggies on Friday having completed the switch. Albion will give defender Jonny Evans a late fitness test as he continues to struggle with a calf injury. Saido Berahino completed his move to Stoke on Friday night, while Allan Nyom is still waiting for Fifa clearance to play having been left out of Cameroon’s African Nations Cup squad.

Sunderland midfielder Jack Rodwell is expected to be fit after his knee injury proved not to be as serious as was first thought. Fellow midfielder Steven Pienaar (calf) and striker Victor Anichebe (hamstring) could feature, but full-back Javier Manquillo (calf) is a doubt.

Last season: Sunderland 0 West Brom 0, West Brom 1 Sunderland 0
Last five league matches: West Brom L L W W L; Sunderland W L L D L
Top scorers (all competitions): Salomon Rondon (West Brom) 7; Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) 12
Match odds: H 7-10 A 4-1 D 13-5
Referee: Craig Pawson

Manchester City (5) v Tottenham (2), 5.30pm – Live on BT Sport 1
New signing Gabriel Jesus could make his City debut against Tottenham on Saturday after the striker's move from Palmeiras was finally completed this week. Midfielder Fernandinho is still unavailable through suspension but captain Vincent Kompany could return after two months out with a knee injury. Fernando is hoping to overcome a knock.

Kevin Wimmer and Ben Davies will be on hand to deputise for ankle injury victim Jan Vertonghen at the Etihad Stadium. Vertonghen’s ankle problem is not as serious as first feared, with the Belgian central defender likely to be missing for six weeks.

Last season: Man City 1 Tottenham 2, Tottenham 4 Man City 1
Last five league matches: Man City W W L W L; Tottenham Hotspur W W W W W
Top scorers (all competitions): Sergio Aguero (Man City) 18; Harry Kane (Tottenham) 15
Match odds: H 23-20 A 9-4 D 5-2
Referee: Andre Marriner

SUNDAY

Southampton (13) v Leicester (15), 12.0 - Live Sky Sports 1
Ryan Bertrand and Virgil van Dijk are set to be recalled by Southampton after missing Wednesday's 1-0 FA Cup third-round replay defeat of Norwich. Manager Claude Puel is, however, still without the injured Steven Davis (knock), Jeremy Pied (knee), Matt Targett (hamstring), Alex McCarthy (hamstring), Sofiane Boufal (knee) and Charlie Austin (shoulder). He will also not consider Jose Fonte for selection while the central defender's future remains uncertain.

Leonardo Ulloa will miss out for Leicester as he struggles to shake off a thigh injury. The striker has handed in a transfer request following an offer from Spanish side Alaves but the Premier League champions want to keep the 30-year-old. Defender Luis Hernandez is in Spain to finalise a move to Malaga but boss Claudio Ranieri has no fresh injury worries.

Last season: Leicester 1 Southampton 0, Southampton 2 Leicester 2
Last five league matches: Southampton W L L L L; Leicester D L W D L
Top scorers (all competitions): Charlie Austin (Southampton) 9; Riyad Mahrez & Islam Slimani (Leicester) 7
Match odds: H 17-20 A 10-3 D 12-5
Referee: Michael Oliver

Arsenal (4) v Burnley (10), 2.15 - Live Sky Sports 1
Arsene Wenger is expected to welcome a trio of players back into his squad. Hector Bellerin (ankle), Kieran Gibbs (knee) and Francis Coquelin (hamstring) are all set to be in contention for a return to the side and Olivier Giroud is fit despite being forced off during the win at Swansea with an ankle issue. Theo Walcott (calf), Santi Cazorla (Achilles), Per Mertesacker (knee) and Mathieu Debuchy (hamstring) all remain sidelined while midfielder Mohamed Elneny is at the African Nations Cup with Egypt.

Burnley boss Sean Dyche is set for a triple injury boost with Ashley Barnes, Dean Marney and Johann Berg Gudmundsson all back in contention. All three missed the midweek FA Cup replay win over Sunderland due to minor knocks but are expected to pass late fitness tests. Scott Arfield is expected to miss out again after suffering a knee injury in the original Sunderland fixture, while James Tarkowski could come into contention after an impressive display on Tuesday night.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Arsenal L W W D W; Burnley L W W L W
Top scorers (all competitions): Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) 16; Andre Gray (Burnley) 6
Match odds: H 2-9 A 12-1 D 5-1
Referee: Jonathan Moss

Chelsea (1) v Hull (18), Live Sky Sports 1, 4.30
Striker Diego Costa is fit to return from a back injury. Costa missed last weekend's win at Leicester amid speculation over his future and interest from China, but Blues boss Antonio Conte says he is committed to the cause. Captain John Terry is available again following suspension, but is likely to be a substitute at best.

Hull winger Robert Snodgrass has been forced to sit out training this week due to a muscle strain and will be monitored by head coach Marco Silva, who has no other new injury worries. Jake Livermore’s £10million move to West Brom was completed on Friday morning, while recent signings Oumar Niasse and Evandro could make their full debuts. Midfielder David Meyler is hoping to be in contention after returning to training.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Chelsea W W W L W; Hull L L D L W
Top scorers (all competitions): Diego Costa (Chelsea) 14; Robert Snodgrass (Hull) 9
Match odds: H 2-11 A 16-1 D 11-2
Referee: Neil Swarbrick