A look ahead to the weekend's fixtures cross-channel:

Today

Arsenal (1) v Bolton Wanderers (19)

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia keeps his place for Arsenal with fit-again Jens Lehmann left out of the squad altogether. Croatia striker Eduardo da Silva and England under-21 forward Theo Walcott are both in contention to replace Robin van Persie, who will be out for up to six weeks with a knee injury.

Captain William Gallas is set to return after his recovery from injury playing for France this week but Swiss centre-half Philippe Senderos (back) will be out for around a fortnight.

Managerless Bolton could be without Nicolas Anelka who missed France's Euro 2008 clash with a thigh injury and has not yet recovered. Caretaker boss Archie Knox is likely to give him a late fitness test. Christian Wilhelmsson (ankle) is also doubtful.

Last season: Arsenal 2, Bolton 1; Bolton 3, Arsenal 1. Last five league matches: Arsenal WWWWW; Bolton LLDDL. Top scorers: Robin Van Persie & Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal) 7; Nicolas Anelka (Bolton) 6. Match odds: H 2-9; A 9-1; D 19-5. Referee: Mike Riley.

Aston Villa (8) v Manchester Utd (2)

Aston Villa midfielder Craig Gardner has recovered from a groin problem after being forced to withdraw from the England under-21 squad. Striker John Carew has started training after a month out with knee ligament damage and could come into contention for the next weekend's clash at Bolton.

Owen Hargreaves is still two weeks away from a comeback after an injection to treat tendinitis in his knee. Gary Neville (calf) and Louis Saha (knee) are also ruled out but John O'Shea (thigh), Nemanja Vidic (concussion) and Edwin van der Sar (toe) should be available.

Last season: Man Utd 3, Aston Villa 1; Aston Villa 0, Man Utd 3. Last five league matches: Aston Villa WLWDW; Man Utd WWWWW. Top scorers: Shaun Maloney & Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) 3; Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd) 4. Match odds: H 10-3 A 8-11 D 11-5. Referee: Rob Styles.

Blackburn Rovers (6) v Reading (12)

Roque Santa Cruz could surprisingly retain his place in Blackburn's starting team. He looked set for a spell on the sidelines after pulling out of the Paraguay squad with a recurrence of tendonitis, but has made remarkable progress in his recovery bid. Ryan Nelsen could return from a hamstring problem but striker Jason Roberts (thigh) is still out while Stephen Reid is nearing a return after more than a year out with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Striker Shane Long has been passed fit after missing the Republic of Ireland's midweek international with Cyprus because of a groin problem. Bobby Convey (thigh), John Oster (ankle), Kalifa Cisse (knee) and Glen Little (Achilles) are sidelined. Defender Ibrahima Sonko is in the travelling party and could get his first game since suffering a serious knee injury in January.

Last season: Blackburn 3, Reading 3; Reading 1, Blackburn 2. Last five league matches: Blackburn WDLWW; Reading LLWLW. Top scorers: Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn) 5; Dave Kitson (Reading) 3. Match odds: H 4-6 A 7-2 D 23-10. Referee: Andre Marriner.

Everton (10) v Liverpool (4)

Australian midfielder Tim Cahill is hoping to be fit after a lengthy spell out with a broken metatarsal. Andrew Johnson will be out for three more weeks after an ankle operation.

Fernando Torres is making good progress with a thigh problem and could be included. Dirk Kuyt's hamstring problem will be assessed ahead of the game.

Last season: Liverpool 0, Everton 0; Everton 3, Liverpool 0. Last five league matches: Everton WLLWL; Liverpool WDDWD. Top scorers: Joleon Lescott (Everton) 5; Fernando Torres (Liverpool) 7. Match odds: H 23-10 A 21-20 D 2-1. Referee: Mark Clattenburg.

Fulham (18) v Derby County (20)

Fulham will be without striker Collins John after the Dutchman was struck down by a fever. Lee Cook (knee), Brian McBride (knee), Moritz Volz (groin), Jimmy Bullard (knee), Philippe Christanval (knee), Simon Elliott (calf) and Ian Pearce (calf) are all still sidelined.

Derby have Craig Fagan available after serving a four-match ban, while Robert Earnshaw is pushing for a starting place.

Last season: No corresponding fixture. Last five league matches: Fulham DDDDL; Derby LWLDL. Top scorers: David Healy & Clinton Dempsey (Fulham) 3; Kenny Miller (Derby) 5. Match odds: H 8-11 A 10-3 D 11-5. Referee: Phil Dowd.

Manchester City (3) v Birmingham City (13)

Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson will check Elano is not suffering from jetlag after playing for Brazil against Ecuador in midweek. Stephen Ireland is available to play after pulling out of the Republic of Ireland's international squad last week for personal reasons.

Defender Johan Djourou is a doubt for the Birmingham after the on-loan Arsenal player suffered a hamstring injury playing for Switzerland during the week.

Last season: No corresponding fixture. Last five league matches: Man City LWDWW; Birmingham LWDLL. Top scorers: Martin Petrov, Emile Mpenza & Elano (Man City) 3; Cameron Jerome (Birmingham) 3. Match odds: H 4-7 A 9-2 D 23-10. Referee: Mike Dean.

Middlesbrough (15) v Chelsea (7)

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate is hopeful Egyptian striker Mido will return after missing the last three games with a groin strain. South Korean Dong Gook Lee is also back in contention but Jeremie Aliadiere is still ruled out with a hamstring strain and Robert Huth (ankle) and Matthew Bates (knee) are also still out.

Chelsea welcome Didier Drogba and Mikel John Obi back from suspension but will be without Ashley Cole (ankle) and their captain John Terry (knee) - set to be missing for a month and three weeks respectively. Wayne Bridge is still serving a three-match ban after being sent off against Fulham in a reserve-team match.

Last season: Chelsea 3, Middlesbrough 0; Middlesbrough 2, Chelsea 1. Last five league matches: Middlesbrough WLDLL; Chelsea LDLDW. Top scorers: Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough) 3; Frank Lampard & Salomon Kalou (Chelsea) 3. Match odds: H 19-5 A 6-10 D 12-5. Referee: Mark Halsey.

Wigan Athletic (14) v Portsmouth (5)

Wigan midfielder Jason Koumas is in a race against time to be fit for tomorrow's game after withdrawing from the Wales squad for their Euro 2008 qualifiers against Cyprus and San Marino with knee and hip problems. Captain Mario Melchiot should be fit after going off with a thigh strain against Manchester United and striker Antoine Sibierski (hamstring) should be available after missing the last two games while Antonio Valencia is doubtful with fluid on his knee.

Portsmouth are ready to gamble on captain Sol Campbell's fitness at Wigan despite his ankles taking a battering on the plastic pitch in Moscow as England lost to Russia. Left back Hermann Hreidarsson needs a late check after Iceland's defeat in Liechtenstein while striker Kanu and defender Linvoy Primus are still out with knee problems.

Last season: Wigan 1, Portsmouth 0; Portsmouth 1, Wigan 0. Last five league matches: Wigan LDLLL; Portsmouth LDWWW. Top scorers: Antoine Sibierski (Wigan) 3; Benjani Mwaruwari (Portsmouth) 6. Match odds: H 8-5 A 7-5 D 21-10 Referee: Peter Walton.

Sunday

West Ham Utd (11) v Sunderland (16)

Dean Ashton's knee injury will keep him out for West Ham. Henri Camara has been back in training following a hamstring complaint, but Freddie Ljungberg needs to be assessed after injuring his calf in the warm-up for Sweden this week. Craig Bellamy is fit.

Sunderland defender Paul McShane begins a three-match ban after being shown a straight red card for his lunge at Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb a fortnight ago. Andy Cole (calf), Carlos Edwards (hamstring), Russell Anderson (ankle), Dean Whitehead and defender Stanislav Varga (both knee) are out.

Last season: No corresponding fixture. Last five league matches: West Ham WWLLL; Sunderland LWDLL. Top scorers: Craig Bellamy & Dean Ashton (West Ham) 3; Michael Chopra (Sunderland) 2. Match odds: H 8-11 A 10-3 D 11-5. Referee: Chris Foy.

ON TV

Saturday

Everton v Liverpool (Sky Sports 1, kick-off 12.45)

Arsenal v Bolton Wanderers (Setanta Ireland, kick-off 3.00)

Aston Villa v Manchester Utd (Setanta Sports 1, kick-off 5.15)

The Premiership (RTÉ 2, evening's highlights, 7.30)

Sunday

West Ham Utd v Sunderland (Sky Sports 1, kick-off 4.0)