Saturday, December 15th (kick-off 3.0pm unless stated otherwise)
Man City (2) v Everton (7) (12.30pm)
Manchester City could welcome back Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne for Saturday's visit of Everton in the Premier League. Striker Aguero (groin) has missed the last four games while playmaker De Bruyne has suffered two serious knee injuries this season and not featured since November 1. Defenders John Stones and Danilo and midfielder Fernandinho will be assessed after knocks but David Silva, Benjamin Mendy and Claudio Bravo are all out. Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye is a doubt for Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Toffees boss Marco Silva said on Friday the Senegal international had sustained "a small problem" in Monday's 2-2 draw with Watford and was being assessed. Silva, whose side are seventh in the table, has no other availability concerns in his squad.
Last season: Everton 1 Man City 3, Man City 1 Everton 1
Last five league matches: Man City W W W W L; Everton D W L D D
Top scorers: Sergio Aguero (Man City) 12; de Andrade Richarlison (Everton) 8
Match odds: H 1-5 A 14-1 D 11-2
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
Crystal Palace (16) v Leicester (9)
Crystal Palace are without the suspended Wilfried Zaha and James Tomkins for Saturday's Premier League visit of Leicester. They will be joined in their absence by Christian Benteke, who is still recovering from a knee injury. Doubts had persisted over Patrick van Aanholt suffering a suspected shoulder injury, but he is expected to be fit. Jamie Vardy is back for Leicester. The striker has missed the last two games with a groin injury but has returned to full training. Harry Maguire is expected to make a comeback from a knee injury while Daniel Amartey (broken ankle) is out for another few months.
Last season: Crystal Palace 5 Leicester 0, Leicester 0 Crystal Palace 3
Last five league matches: Crystal Palace L D W L L; Leicester D D W D L
Top scorers: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace) 4; Jamie Vardy & James Maddison (Leicester) 5
Match odds: H 13-8 A 19-10 D 21-10
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
Huddersfield (18) v Newcastle (15)
Huddersfield have lost midfield duo Danny Williams and Aaron Mooy to knee injuries ahead of the Premier League visit of Newcastle. Mooy suffered ligament damage in last weekend's defeat to Arsenal while Williams is expected to miss 10 weeks after a training ground injury. Fellow midfielder Abdelhamid Sabiri (collarbone) is also out while Tommy Smith (hamstring) is sidelined and Steve Mounie serves the last of a three-match ban. Philip Billing is available following suspension and Terriers boss David Wagner is hopeful both Jonathan Hogg and Terence Kongolo can feature after recent injuries.Newcastle defender Federico Fernandez faces a late fitness test ahead of the Magpies' trip to Huddersfield. Fernandez limped out of last weekend's home defeat to Wolves with a calf injury and has been struggling to regain full fitness. DeAndre Yedlin is suspended after his red card and Jonjo Shelvey is still out with a calf problem, but Fabian Schar is available again.
Last season: Newcastle 1 Huddersfield 0, Huddersfield 1 Newcastle 0
Last five league matches: Huddersfield D W L L L; Newcastle W W L D L
Top scorers: Mathias Zanka Jorgensen & Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield) 2; Jose Salomon Rondon (Newcastle) 4
Match odds: H 31-20 A 21-10 D 2-1
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Tottenham (3) v Burnley (17)
Tottenham will assess a host of players ahead of their Premier League clash with Burnley. Kieran Tripper, Serge Aurier (both groin), Davinson Sanchez and Juan Foyth (hamstring) have all been struggling in recent weeks. Mousa Dembele (ankle) and Victor Wanyama (knee) miss out, but Jan Vertonghen returns from his Premier League ban. Steven Defour and Johann Berg Gudmundsson are both highly doubtful for Burnley's trip to Tottenham on Saturday. Defour (calf) has missed the last two matches while Gudmundsson limped off during the second half of last weekend's victory over Brighton because of a hamstring problem. Defender Stephen Ward (knee) and goalkeeper Nick Pope (shoulder) both remain sidelined.
Last season: Burnley 0 Tottenham 3, Tottenham 1 Burnley 1
Last five league matches: Tottenham W W L W W; Burnley D L L L W
Top scorers: Harry Kane (Tottenham) 13; Jack Cork, Sam Vokes, Ashley Barnes, Chris Wood & James Tarkowski (Burnley) 3
Match odds: H 1-6 A 12-1 D 7-1
Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire)
Watford (12) v Cardiff (14)
Watford will be missing several players for the Premier League match against Cardiff. Forward Andre Gray (leg), midfielder Will Hughes (hip), Adalberto Penaranda (foot), defender Sebastian Prodl (knee) are all unavailable, while midfielder Etienne Capoue serves out his three-match ban. Tom Cleverley (hamstring and Achilles) is close to a return. Kenneth Zohore could return to the Cardiff squad after taking part in training this week following a calf muscle injury, although Bluebirds boss Neil Warnock is undecided in terms of any involvement for him at Vicarage Road. Jazz Richards, though, is set to remain sidelined because of hamstring trouble as Cardiff look to build on last weekend's win against Southampton.
Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Watford D L L L D; Cardiff W L W L W
Top scorers: Roberto Pereyra (Watford) 5; Callum Paterson (Cardiff) 4
Match odds: H 8-13 A 24-5 D 29-10
Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire)
Wolves (10) v Bournemouth (8)
Raul Jimenez and Joao Moutinho could return for Wolves when they host Bournemouth. The duo were on the bench for last week's 2-1 win at Newcastle but are set to start at Molineux. Jonny is training after a knee injury but boss Nuno Espirito Santo has no new injury concerns. Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson is expected to return from a hamstring problem for the Premier League match at Wolves. Midfielder Dan Gosling, however, is set for a spell on the sidelines following an operation on his knee. England midfielder Lewis Cook (serious knee injury) will miss the rest of the season while defender Adam Smith (knee) continues his rehabilitation.
Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Wolves D L L W W; Bournemouth L L L W L
Top scorers: Raul Jimenez (Wolves) 4; Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) 9
Match odds: H 19-20 A 3-1 D 5-2
Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire)
Fulham (20) v West Ham (11) (5.30pm)
Fulham will have to face West Ham without Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa. The midfielder is suspended after he received a red card in Saturday's 4-1 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford. Maxime Le Marchand is still injured but Calum Chambers, Floyd Ayite and Kevin McDonald are available. Jack Wilshere will miss the trip with an ankle injury. The midfielder could be joined on the sidelines by striker Lucas Perez, who suffered a badly cut foot against Crystal Palace last week. Marko Arnautovic, Andriy Yarmolenko, Ryan Fredericks, Carlos Sanchez, Winston Reid and Manuel Lanzini remain on a lengthy casualty list.
Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Fulham L W L D L; West Ham D L W W W
Top scorers: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) 7; Gomes Felipe Anderson (West Ham) 6
Match odds: H 9-5 A 6-4 D 12-5
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)
Sunday, December 16th
Brighton (13) v Chelsea (4) (1.30pm)
Brighton will hand a late fitness test to Jose Izquierdo before selecting their team to host Chelsea on Sunday. The forward has been struggling with a knee injury and remains a doubt but could yet be passed fit. Glenn Murray is expected to be available following a shoulder injury, but Shane Duffy will miss out through suspension. Striker Alvaro Morata is a doubt with a knee injury for Chelsea. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Antonio Rudiger, Eden Hazard, Cesar Azpilicueta and N'Golo Kante are poised to return to the starting line-up after being rested for Thursday's Europa League tie with Hungary's Vidi. Mateo Kovacic, Gary Cahill and Victor Moses missed the trip to Budapest through injury and are expected to be absent again.
Last season: Brighton 0 Chelsea 4, Chelsea 2 Brighton 0
Last five league matches: Brighton L D W W L; Chelsea D L W L W
Top scorers: Glenn Murray (Brighton) 8; Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 8
Match odds: H 15-2 A 42-100 D 17-5
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)
Southampton (19) v Arsenal (5) (1.30pm)
Southampton will be without injured defenders Ryan Betrand and Jack Stephens for Sunday's Premier League game with Arsenal. Left-back Bertrand is recovering from a back problem, while centre-back Stephens has a knee issue. Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, who takes charge of his first game at St Mary's, is boosted by the return to fitness of strikers Danny Ings (hamstring) and Shane Long (ankle), and right-back Cedric Soares (calf). Arsenal head coach Unai Emery is without four central defenders for the trip to Southampton. Laurent Koscielny is the only recognised centre-back available but has only just returned from a long-term Achilles problem. Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi are suspended while Rob Holding (knee) and Konstantinos Mavropanos (groin) are injured, with striker Danny Welbeck (ankle) and midfielder Emile Smith Rowe (hip) also sidelined.
Last season: Arsenal 3 Southampton 2, Southampton 1 Arsenal 1
Last five league matches: Southampton D L D L L; Arsenal D W W D W
Top scorers: Danny Ings (Southampton) 5; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) 12
Match odds: H 29-10 A 88-100 D 14-5
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire)
Liverpool (1) v Man Utd (6) (4.0pm)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has defensive issues ahead of the visit of
Manchester United. Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold (foot) and Joel Matip (broken collarbone) this week joined Joe Gomez (fractured leg) on the injury list, leaving the Reds boss with just two fit centre-halves in Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren. Nathaniel Clyne has returned to fitness but midfielder James Milner is likely to start on the right side of defence. Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is hopeful some of his injured players will be available for Sunday's clash with Liverpool at Anfield. Marcos Rojo joined the ranks of sidelined defenders during Wednesday's loss to Valencia and looks certain to miss out along with Victor Lindelof and Alexis Sanchez while Chris Smalling, Diogo Dalot, Anthony Martial, Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay are all doubts. David De Gea and Nemanja Matic, who were rested for the trip to Spain, will return while Mourinho must decide whether again to leave out midfielder Paul Pogba, who failed to impress in Valencia.
Last season: Man Utd 2 Liverpool 1, Liverpool 0 Man Utd 0
Last five league matches: Liverpool W W W W W; Man Utd L D D D W
Top scorers: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) 13; Anthony Martial (Man Utd) 8
Match odds: H 4-7 A 5-1 D 16-5
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)
