SATURDAY'S MATCHES
PREDICTION: Bournemouth back to winning ways, 2-1
FANTASY PICK: Benik Afobe
KEY STAT: Norwich City are unbeaten in their last six meetings with Bournemouth in all competitions (W3 D3).
- Bournemouth
Bournemouth winger Matt Ritchie is rated as 50/50 after picking up a dead leg in the midweek defeat by West Ham. Striker Lewis Grabban is in line to face his former team, having left the Norfolk club to rejoin the Cherries on Monday. Defender Tommy Elphick has started training again following a serious knee injury but will not be rushed back. Forwards Callum Wilson and Max Gradel also both continue their long-term rehabilitation.
Provisional Squad: Boruc, Smith, Francis, Cook, Daniels, Arter, Surman, Stanislas, Gosling, Ritchie, Afobe, Federici, Grabban, Pugh, Distin, O'Kane, Iturbe, Murray.
- Norwich
Norwich will be without suspended midfielder Gary O'Neil following his red card in the midweek defeat at Stoke. Full-back Ivo Pinto is not expected to be in the squad as the Portuguese defender continues to settle following his transfer from Dynamo Zagreb. Manager Alex Neil reported no fresh injury worries, with fit-again winger Matt Jarvis pressing for a recall having come off the bench at the Britannia Stadium, along with England under-21 forward Nathan Redmond.
Provisional squad: Rudd, Brady, Bassong, Martin, Bennett, Howson, Tettey, Odjidja-Ofoe, Hoolahan, Jarvis, Mbokani, Ruddy, Redmond, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Jerome, Wisdom, Olsson.
PREDICTION: A 2-1 win for Chelsea
FANTASY PICK: Diego Costa
KEY STAT: Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League matches against Everton at Stamford Bridge (W11 D9).
- Chelsea
Eden Hazard remains out with a groin injury, but could return for the Jan. 24 clash at Arsenal. Striker Radamel Falcao has been out since October with a thigh problem and is continuing his rehabilitation.
Provisional squad: Courtois, Begovic, Ivanovic, Fabregas, Zouma, Rahman, Ramires, Oscar, Mikel, Traore, Djilobodji, Kenedy, Pedro, Remy, Costa, Matic, Willian, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Amelia, Aina, Loftus-Cheek.
- Everton
Midfielder Tom Cleverley is rated as 50-50 after he missed the last two matches with a calf problem and will be assessed late on. James McCarthy, who has featured just once in the last seven weeks, is edging closer to full fitness after a groin problem but will not be considered and neither will right-back Seamus Coleman.
Provisional squad: Howard, Stones, Jagielka, Funes Mori, Baines, Barry, Besic, Deulofeu, Barkley, Kone, Lukaku, Robles, Oviedo, Galloway, Mirallas, Osman, Lennon, Pienaar, Cleverley.
PREDICTION: Palace to claim a 1-1 draw
FANTASY PICK: Sergio Aguero
KEY STAT: Manchester City have won nine and lost just one of the last 10 meetings with Crystal Palace in all competitions.
- Manchester City
Manuel Pellegrini will select from the same squad that drew 0-0 with Everton. Nicolas Otamendi and Martin Demechelis will continue in central defence in the absence of captain Vincent Kompany (calf) and Eliaquim Mangala (hamstring). Striker Wilfried Bony is also still out with a calf issue and midfielder Fernandinho will miss out with a muscle problem. Playmaker Samir Nasri remains a long-term casualty after undergoing hamstring surgery in November.
Provisional squad: Hart, Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Demichelis, Otamendi, Clichy, Kolarov, Toure, Fernando, Delph, De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling, Navas, Aguero, Iheanacho, Celina.
- Crystal Palace
Connor Wickham is expected to return after the striker played 45 minutes after coming on as a substitute in Tuesday's 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa having recovered from a calf injury, Pardew is, however, still without Yannick Bolasie, owing to a leg injury, and Dwight Gayle remains a doubt, despite returning to training following a hamstring problem.
Provisional squad: Bamford, Cabaye, Campbell, Chamakh, Dann, Delaney, Gayle, Hangeland, Hennessey, Jedinak, Kelly, Ledley, Lee, Mariappa, McArthur, McCarthy, Mutch, Puncheon, Sako, Souare, Speroni, Ward, Wickham, Zaha.
PREDICTION: A 2-2 draw
FANTASY PICK: Michail Antonio
KEY STAT: West Ham United have won just one of their last 12 Premier League trips to St James Park (W1 D5 L6).
- Newcastle
New signings Jonjo Shelvey and Henri Saivet are in the squad after completing moves from Swansea and Bordeaux respectively, and they could be joined in the 18 by fellow midfielder Rolando Aarons (foot) and striker Emmanuel Riviere (knee) after both played for the club's under-21s on Thursday evening. Defender Steven Taylor (hamstring) is back in training, but midfielder Siem de Jong will be sidelined for up to two weeks after being rushed to hospital with an eye injury suffered in training and striker Papiss Cisse could miss eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a groin injury.
Provisional squad: Elliot, Darlow, Janmaat, Dummett, Coloccini, Mbemba, Lascelles, Mbabu, Sterry, Colback, Tiote, Wijnaldum, Sissoko, Shelvey, Saivet, Thauvin, Gouffran, Aarons, Mitrovic, Perez, Riviere, Toney.
- West Ham
Andy Carroll is out after he suffered a hamstring injury at Bournemouth on Tuesday night and will be out for four to six weeks, joining Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho (both thigh) on the sidelines. But Victor Moses is fit after six weeks out with a hamstring problem while Cheikhou Kouyate and Mauro Zarate have shaken off the knocks which kept them out midweek.
Provisional squad: Adrian, Randolph, Jenkinson, Hendrie, Tomkins, Collins, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Noble, Kouyate, Song, Obiang, Zarate, Moses, Payet, Valencia, Antonio, Cullen, Oxford, Jelavic.
PREDICTION: A 2-1 win for the Saints
FANTASY PICK: Shane Long
KEY STAT: West Brom have enjoyed just one win in their last five top-tier meetings with Southampton (D2 L2).
- Southampton
Victor Wanyama is back in contention after suspension but Ronald Koeman was not giving anything away as to whether he will start. The Saints' manager has no fresh injury worries ahead of the game but Gaston Ramirez is still out with a hamstring injury and Florian Gardos remains on the sidelines with a knee problem.
Provisional squad: Forster, Stekelenburg, Gazzaniga, K Davis, Martina, Van Dijk, Fonte, Yoshida, Targett, Clasie, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, S Davis, Tadic, Ramirez, Mane, Long, Pelle, Juanmi, Wanyama.
- West Bromwich Albion
Tony Pulis may make "one or two changes'' after monitoring his players' fitness levels in a light training session on Friday. The Baggies stayed in Southampton after their 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Tuesday and Rickie Lambert will be back in contention after missing that game through illness. Jonas Olsson will be one of the players Pulis monitors before the game as he has just come back from a hamstring problem and James Morrison will be unavailable after coming off after playing only seven minutes on Tuesday due to a similar injury.
Provisional squad: Foster, Myhill, Lindegaard, Chester, Gamboa, Dawson, Olsson, McAuley, Evans, Brunt, Pocognoli, Fletcher, Yacob, McClean, McManaman, Gardner, Sessegnon, Lambert, Berahino, Anichebe, Rondon.
PREDICTION: Leicester to win 3-1
FANTASY PICK: Riyad Mahrez
KEY STAT: Aston Villa have won only four of the 19 Premier League match ups with Leicester (D8 L7), but they have won three of the last four at Villa Park (W3 L1).
- Aston Villa
Micah Richards could return after recovering from an ankle injury. The defender was an unused substitute in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace with boss Remi Garde unwilling to risk him. Carlos Sanchez (hamstring), Gabriel Agbonlahor (back) and Jack Grealish (tonsillitis) have returned to training and are in contention but Alan Hutton (hamstring) is out and Jordan Amavi remains sidelined with his season-ending knee injury.
Provisional squad: Guzan, Bunn, Richards, Bacuna, Clark, Lescott, Okore, Richardson, Crespo, Cissokho, Westwood, Sanchez, Gil, Gana, Veretout, Grealish, Agbonlahor, N'Zogbia, Sinclair, Gestede, Kozak, Ayew.
- Leicester
Claudio Ranieri is expected to name an unchanged Leicester squad. He rotated his team for their FA Cup and Premier League games with Tottenham this week but could stick with the same side which won 1-0 at White Hart Lane on Wednesday. Jeff Schlupp is out with a hamstring injury but is expected back by the end of the month while Matty James is closing in on a return after a long-term knee injury.
Provisional squad: Schmeichel, Schwarzer, Simpson, De Laet, Fuchs, Wasilewski, Benalouane, Huth, Morgan, King, Drinkwater, Kante, Albrighton, Inler, Gray, Mahrez, Dyer, Vardy, Ulloa, Okazaki, Kramaric.
SUNDAY'S MATCHES
PREDICTION: No goals, 0-0
FANTASY PICK: Chris Smalling
KEY STAT: Manchester United have won six of their last eight Premier League meetings with Liverpool (L2) and two of the last four at Anfield (W2 D1 L1).
- Liverpool
Dejan Lovren will not be fit to return as he is still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained at Stoke earlier this month, while none of the other players on a lengthy injury list are close to fitness. Striker Daniel Sturridge, who has been out since the start of December with a similar problem, is still not ready to make his comeback.
Provisional squad: Mignolet, Clyne, Toure, Sakho, Moreno, Henderson, Can, Milner, Ibe, Firmino, Lallana, Ward, Caulker, Smith, Lucas, Allen, Teixeira, Benteke, Randall, Chirvella, Ojo, Sinclair.
- Manchester United
Bastian Schweinsteiger is a major doubt for the trip to Anfield. The German missed Tuesday night's draw at Newcastle with a knee injury and despite making good progress is expected to remain on the sidelines. Phil Jones could return from his ankle problem but Antonio Valencia (foot), Luke Shaw (leg), Marcos Rojo (shoulder) and Michael Carrick (knee) are all definitely still out.
Provisional squad: De Gea, Romero, Varela, Darmian, Borthwick-Jackson, Jones, Smalling, Blind, McNair, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Fellaini, Depay, Lingard, Powell, Mata, Young, Pereira, Martial, Rooney, Keane.
PREDICTION: Stoke to win 2-1
FANTASY PICK: Bojan Krkic
KEY STAT: Stoke City have lost just one of their seven Barclays Premier League games at the Britannia Stadium against Arsenal (W4 D2 L1).
- Stoke
Xherdan Shaqiri will once again be missing because of a hamstring strain -- but there is hope he can feature against Leicester next weekend. Geoff Cameron (ankle) is highly doubtful for the Gunners' visit too. Marko Arnautovic (hip) is fine to feature and while Stephen Ireland (hamstring) and Phil Bardsley (groin) could also be in the squad, Marc Muniesa is still missing.
Provisional squad: Butland, Haugaard, Cameron, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Wilson, Johnson, Pieters, Bardsley, Whelan, Van Ginkel, Adam, Sidwell, Arnautovic, Afellay, Bojan, Walters, Diouf, Joselu, Crouch, Odemwingie.
- Arsenal
Arsene Wenger is yet to decide whether to hand Mohamed Elneny his debut after the midfielder joined the Gunners on Thursday. Wenger also has a decision to make over Alexis Sanchez, admitting he would be taking a risk by playing the Chile forward who is fit after recovering from a hamstring injury, while Jack Wilshere (leg), Francis Coquelin, Danny Welbeck, and Santi Cazorla (all knee) are definitely out.
Provisional squad: Cech, Ospina, Macey, Monreal, Gibbs, Koscielny, Gabriel, Mertesacker, Bellerin, Debuchy, Chambers, Ramsey, Elneny, Rosicky, Flamini, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Reine-Adelaide, Iwobi, Sanchez, Campbell, Walcott, Giroud.
MONDAY'S MATCH
PREDICTION: A 1-1 draw
FANTASY PICK: Gylfi Sigurdsson
KEY STAT: Watford have lost just one of their last five competitive away games against the Swans (W2 D2 L1).
- Swansea
Swansea were given a boost when Kyle Naughton won his appeal after being sent off in the 4-2 defeat at home to Sunderland on Wednesday. Alan Curtis has a fully fit squad to choose from as he attempts to win for only the second time as Swansea manager.
Provisional squad: Fabianski, Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Britton, Cork, Ki, Routledge, Sigurdsson, Ayew, Nordfeldt, Naughton, Amat, Bartley, Tabanou, Grimes, Montero, Barrow, Eder, Kingsley.
- Watford
Watford will have defender Nathan Ake available after he completed a three-match ban. Defender Craig Cathcart, midfielder Ikechi Anya and Colombia forward Victor Ibarbo are in contention after featuring from the bench in midweek. Defenders Tommie Hoban (groin) and Joel Ekstrand (knee) remain unavailable.
Provisional squad: Gomes, Britos, Prodl, Holebas, Nyom, Abdi, Jurado, Watson, Capoue, Deeney, Ighalo, Arlauskis, Cathcart, Ake, Ibarbo, Anya, Paredes, Guedioura, Behrami.
Injury Table