Premier League team news

SATURDAY

Chelsea v Bolton (3pm)

Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink must decide whether to play Ricardo Carvalho or John Terry in defence.

Terry is out of Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final return tie with Liverpool because of suspension, and Hiddink may opt to give his expected replacement a run out against Bolton.

Jose Bosingwa is doubtful with a hamstring problem, while Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira are out for the season with knee ligament injuries.

Bolton boss Gary Megson has no fresh injury concerns and may name an unchanged side.

Megson is still without the services of midfield duo Mark Davies and Joey O’Brien because of knee injuries.

Chelsea squad: Cech, Hilario, Belletti, Alex, Ivanovic, Terry, Mancienne, Carvalho, A Cole, Lampard, Ballack, Deco, Obi, Kalou, Essien, Malouda, Di Santo, Anelka, Quaresma, Stoch, Drogba

Bolton squad: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Shittu, Samuel, Taylor, Muamba, McCann, Gardner, Elmander, Basham, K Davies, Al Habsi, Hunt, Smolarek, Puygrenier, Cohen, A O’Brien

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Liverpool v Blackburn (12.45pm)

Liverpool is a major doubt Steven Gerrard with a groin problem.

Javier Mascherano returns after serving a suspension in midweek.

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce faces a headache over this striker selection with Roque Santa Cruz (knee) a serious doubt and Jason Roberts (foot) definitely out.

Centre-back Chris Samba may be called upon again to play an emergency striker’s role, at least for some of the match, as Benni McCarthy is the only recognised forward available.

Morten Gamst Pedersen is also struggling with a calf strain but Vince Grella is available again.

Liverpool squad: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Agger, Skrtel, Dossena, Aurelio, Insua, Benayoun, Riera, Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso, Lucas, Kuyt, Torres, Ngog, Cavalieri

Bolton squad: Robinson, Bunn, Ooijer, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Samba, Simpson, Warnock, Givet, Olsson, Villanueva, Tugay, Andrews, Diouf, Treacy, Mokoena, McCarthy, Pedersen, Grella

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Middlesbrough v Hull (3pm)

Middlesbrough skipper Emanuel Pogatetz has been ruled out for three weeks with a knee injury.

The Austria international is replaced in the squad by fellow defender Chris Riggott, who has recovered from a thigh problem.

Midfielder Gary O’Neil starts a two-match suspension following his 10th yellow card of the campaign at Bolton last week.

Daniel Cousin remains doubtful for Hull but George Boateng could face his former club.

Former Rangers striker Cousin has missed the last three games with a back injury.

Midfielder Boateng is more likely to make his comeback after three months out with a knee injury.

Jimmy Bullard (knee) and Anthony Gardner (back) remain out long term.

Middlesbrough squad: Jones, Turnbull, Hoyte, McMahon, Taylor, Grounds, Wheater, Riggott, Huth, Hines, Aliadiere, Tuncay, Bates, Walker, Shawky, Downing, Johnson, Alves, King

Hull squad: Duke, Ricketts, Turner, Zayatte, Dawson, Mendy, Ashbee, Barmby, Geovanni, Fagan, Manucho, Garcia, Boateng, Halmosi, Folan, Marney, Featherstone, Doyle, Hughes, France, Cousin, Kilbane, Myhill

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Portsmouth v West Brom (3pm)

Suspended Glen Johnson and injured Sean Davis (knee) miss are out for Portsmouth, with Jermaine Pennant fit enough to start after a calf problem and Younes Kaboul to remain at right back.

West Brom defender Abdoulaye Meite could come into contention for a recall and may replace Shelton Martis following the 2-0 home reversal against Stoke.

Portsmouth squad: James, Kaboul, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Pennant, Hughes, Mullins, Nugent, Kranjcar, Crouch, Kanu, Pamarot, Belhadj, Utaka, Basinas, Traore, Wilson, Cranie, Begovic

West Brom squad: Carson, Kiely, Zuiverloon, Hoefkens, Meite, Olsson, Martis, Robinson, Cech, Morrison, Greening, Koren, Brunt, Do-Heon, Teixeira, Dorrans, Valero, Simpson, Fortune, Bednar, Moore

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Stoke v Newcastle (5.30pm)

Newcastle boss Alan Shearer could have defender Sebastien Bassong back at his disposal after the Frenchman returned to training following a groin injury .

Steven Taylor (ankle) and Jose Enrique (knee) have already been ruled out, as has midfielder Peter Lovenkrands (illness).

Stoke are expected to name an unchanged line-up from the team that beat West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Their only worry is Danny Higginbotham, who should recover from a back injury in time to face the Magpies.

Stoke squad: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Lawrence, Delap, Whelan, Etherington, Beattie, Fuller, Simonsen, Pugh, Cresswell, Olofinjana, Kelly, Camara, Sonko, Amdy Faye, Diao, Cort, Tonge, Griffin

Newcastle squad: Harper, Forster, Krul, Beye, Bassong, Coloccini, Edgar, Cacapa, Butt, Duff, R. Taylor, Gutierrez, Nolan, Guthrie, Geremi, Smith, Martins, Owen, Carroll, Xisco, Ranger

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Sunderland v Man Utd (3pm)

Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia could be without captain Dean Whitehead as he battles against a calf injury.

Teemu Tainio could return after five matches out with a knee problem, but Sbragia is likely to be without full-back George McCartney (calf) and striker David Healy (groin).

Rio Ferdinand will miss the trip to Sunderland with a groin injury.

Jonny Evans (groin) could play against his former club, although John O’Shea will fill the central defensive slot if the Northern Ireland star misses out.

Sunderland squad: Fulop, Gordon, Bardsley, Ferdinand, Ben-Haim, Collins, Nosworthy, Davenport, McShane, Edwards, Malbranque, Whitehead, Leadbitter, Richardson, Reid, Tainio, Murphy, Jones, Cisse

Man Utd squad: Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak, O’Shea, Neville, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Eckersley, Ronaldo, Nani, Fletcher, Gibson, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Park, Rooney, Tevez, Welbeck, Macheda

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Tottenham v West Ham (3pm)

Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios is suspended, while Alan Hutton (foot) is back with the reserves after being sidelined.

Aaron Lennon has been carrying a groin problem but should be fit to play a part.

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola is waiting for updates on the fitness of midfield duo Scott Parker (groin) and Radoslav Kovac (thigh).

Strikers Carlton Cole (groin) and Dean Ashton (ankle), midfielders Valon Behrami, Jack Collison (both knee) and defenders Danny Gabbidon (back/stomach) and Jonathan Spector (concussion) are all unavailable.

Tottenham squad: Gomes, Cudicini, Corluka, Hutton, Chimbonda, Bale, Assou-Ekotto, King, Woodgate, Dawson, Modric, Jenas, Zokora, Lennon, Huddlestone, O’Hara, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko, Campbell, Keane, Bent

West Ham squad: Green, Neill, Upson, Collins, Tomkins, Ilunga, Noble, Boa Morte, Lopez, Tristan, Payne, Di Michele, Dyer, Lastuvka, Sears, N’Gala, Stanislas, Savio, Parker, Kovac

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Wigan v Arsenal (3pm)

Amr Zaki will not be involved in tomorrow’s clash with Arsenal regardless of whether he is fit or not.

The Latics striker sustained a hamstring injury while on international duty with Egypt, resulting in an unauthorised absence that has had boss Steve Bruce fuming.

Bruce is due to sit down with Zaki today to discuss his future, but has made it clear the 26-year-old will not figure against Arsenal, even if he has recovered.

Arsenal hope to have strikers Robin van Persie and Eduardo (both groin) available.

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia (ankle) and full-back Gael Clichy (back) will miss out, while centre-half William Gallas looks set to be sidelined for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage.

Wigan squad: Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Boyce, Figueroa, Watson, Brown, Koumas, Scharner, Kapo, N’Zogbia, De Ridder, Rodallega, Valencia, Sibierski, Mido, Kingson, Edman

Arsenal squad: Fabianski, Sagna, Toure, Djourou, Silvestre, Arshavin, Denilson, Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott, Adebayor, Mannone, Song, Vela, Bendtner, Gibbs, Ramsey, Wilshere, Diaby

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SUNDAY

Aston Villa v Everton (2pm)

Aston Villa are hoping striker Gabriel Agbonlahor shakes off a virus in time, while Defender Carlos Cuellar is suffering from a back problem.

Zat Knight could earn a recall alongside Curtis Davies.

Emile Heskey, skipper Martin Laursen and Wilfred Bouma are still side-lined through injury.

Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard will definitely play despite a sore hamstring.

Aston Villa squad: Friedel, Guzan, L Young, Davies, Knight, Cuellar, Shorey, Milner, Barry, Sidwell, Petrov, A Young, Reo-Coker, Gardner, Carew, Agbonlahor, Delfouneso

Everton squad: Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Lescott, Baines, Pienaar, Osman, Cahill, Fellaini, Saha, Jo, Rodwell, Baxter, Nash, Castillo, Jacobsen, Gosling, Wallace, Van der Meyde, Hibbert

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Man City v Fulham (4.10pm)

Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy looks certain to miss the next two games after the recurrence of a knee injury.

Benjani also looks likely to be sidelined for a spell with a ruptured thigh muscle.

Shaun Wright-Phillips (ankle) and Vincent Kompany (hamstring) are doubtful through injury but Nigel de Jong is available again after being ineligible for the UEFA Cup.

Fulham are expected to remain largely unchanged from last week's defeat at home to Liverpool.

Zoltan Gera is expected to shake off a foot injury suffered in the game against the Reds, although defender Toni could miss out after struggling all week with a virus.

Man City squad: Given, Richards, Onuoha, Dunne, Zabaleta, Wright-Phillips, Elano, Ireland, de Jong, Robinho, Bojinov, Bridge, Garrido, Fernandes, Evans, Etuhu, Vassell, McGivern, Hart, Petrov

Fulham squad: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Stoor, Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky, Baird, Davies, Etuhu, Dacourt, Murphy, Gera, Dempsey, Johnson, Zamora, Zuberbuhler, Kallio, Nevland, Kamara, Gray, Barnes

Mowbray looking for luck

Tony Mowbray is looking for abit more luck as his team take on Portsmouth this afternoon(Saturday).

The Baggies could only manage a point against their relegation rivals four months ago when they battled out a 1-1 draw with Jonathan Greening opening for Mowbray's side only for Peter Crouch to cancel it out with his deflected shot.

As the games disappear and they find themselves eight points from safety, its beginning to look like Championship football for West Brom next season.

Tony Mowbray's team still has the fans support as 1,400 fans will be making the trip to the south coast to see them hopefully end their run of nine games without a win.

And as Mowbray finds himself telling the clubs official website about the Portsmouth game, its fortune they need on their side and not just the fans.

"Our home game against Portsmouth was one where we felt we could get three points," said Mowbray, who lost striker Ishmael Miller for the season in that fixture.

"Great credit to the team because we performed well that day.

"The likes of Crouch and Defoe played for them and yet we were still very competitive.

"We've got to go down to Fratton Park and make sure we're just the same in this game.

"Let's hope we can grab a little bit of fortune that hasn't been going our way recently."

But its Portsmouth as well that are looking to take the points as well.

"Portsmouth seem to be able to grind out results at the moment," he said.

"We've played them a few times over the last couple of years and they're a good, well-organised side.

"They've got experienced footballers in Sol Campbell, Sylvain Distin, Hermann Hreidarsson and David James, who have all been around a long time.

"They know what this league is about and what it takes.

"It's going to be a tough nut to crack.

"They're hard to score against because of the experience they have at the back.

"Campbell and James were the main rocks of the English national team for a long time.

"Now they're at Portsmouth doing their job week in, week out.

"That makes it very difficult to get in behind them and to break them down.

"At the other end, they have Crouch, another England international, in a bit of form and scoring goals.

"He is a handful for anyone because of his size and quality."

And with the players still reeling from their last defeat, its the way that they have responded in training that has impressed the Baggies manager.

"The players needed to get back to work, get their heads down and get on with it," said Mowbray.

"Training has been fine and their attitude has been good."

Mowbray added: "You've got to remain hopeful.

"There's no point in me sitting here and saying 'all hope is gone'.

"If you look at the next two fixtures, on paper they look very difficult.

"You could say 'we've only won one away all season so why are we going to win the next two?'

"But when you get to this stage of the season there are various reasons that decide matches.

"If we go to Portsmouth and get a victory then the Man City game becomes less daunting.

"They've had a lengthy run in the UEFA Cup and they will have played on the previous Thursday night.

"It will be an emotion-filled evening for them in the second leg against Hamburg.

"If that takes a little bit out of their team, maybe we can go there and get a result on the Sunday because they may not quite be mentally prepared for the game.

"Who's to say we can't win two games away from home very quickly?

"I look at the table and think if we'd won the last two games we really targeted we would be sitting one victory from catapulting out of the bottom three."

By Steven Fisher

Kalou to the Bridge

Salomon Kalou returns to Stamford Bridge after almost a month of being on the road and is relishing the thought of playing back on home turf.

After defeat at Tottenham and then wins against Newcastle and Liverpool, plus the ill-fated match for the Ivory Coast, its the home fans warm reception that Kalou is looking forward too.

The Ivorian talks to the clubs official website about playing back at the Bridge and the fixtures coming up.

'I think it is going to be a good reception and we have to confirm that on Saturday by winning and everyone will be pleased again,' says Kalou.

'It will be a good feeling to play at home again and hopefully I can make it an even better feeling by winning and scoring.'

The Chelsea forward played as one of two wide attackers against Liverpool setting up Drogba and Alex in the process.

'I haven't been playing a lot and to be playing against Liverpool at Anfield, it was a good motivator. I was really ready to give a good fight and fight every second for the team - and I think we did a great job.

We were playing away and we knew that we have to play the second leg at home so the most important thing was not to concede a goal,' he reports.

'We know we have people up front who can always score, so the most important for our wide players was to block the Liverpool wingers and full-backs because they are really dangerous when crossing and overlapping.

'The most important thing for me was to close the gap with [Branislav] Ivanovic and not allow the cross to come.

'Also it meant Frank could go more free with Didier up front. We could support them, Flo [Florent Malouda] and I.'

And its been a while since playing in the centre for Chelsea.

'I don't remember the last game I played in the centre,' he admits. For Chelsea it was in the FA Cup against QPR in January 2008.

'Definitely I am a winger now. Didier plays in the centre for both sides, Ivory Coast and here, and I am lucky to be the type of player who can play in different aspects of the front line and I am pleased with that. Now I can say that I am a winger and no more a striker.'

and with Bolton coming up, its a game they must take serious.

'It will be a tough game,' he insists, 'and every game this season now will become a tough game. We have to be aware of that and be focused and go on the pitch and fight again.'

By Steven Fisher

Lapland for Carew

Martin O'Neill have revealed how he doesn't mind John Carew visiting the odd lap-dancing club and how one trip last year has been well and truly forgotten.

The big Norwegian angered O'Neill just before Christmas by going to a lap-dancing club only hours before a UEFA cup game against Ajax.

The Irishman inevitably threw the book at him with a £100,000 fine and was met with the excuse that he didn't think he was in the squad but Carew knew that he had done wrong and accepted the fine.

But its all forgiveness at Villa Park even with the fans belting out the chant 'Get your T*ts out for Carew' and as Martin O'Neill tells the Daily Star its all behind them as they chase Arsenal.

“John can be anything he wants to be. He’s a very talented player – not just a big lump. He has a lot of talent and the crowd like him a lot.

“He’s an absolute handful but everything is really up to him at the end of it all.

“He can do it but if you want to be known as a really feared centre-forward you have to be consistently excellent.

“He’s done exceptionally well and has had a frustrating time of things this season with a back injury and one thing or another.

“But what he needs is that high level of consistency when you are doing it 80 per cent of the time.”

And with the signing of Emile Heskey, did it mean Carew's days were numbered?

“I do think he’s got a future here and, yes, I do think he’s happy here. I’m very pleased with him.”

“Wandering down the street at 2am on a day when you may be playing isn’t great. He’s pretty inconspicuous isn’t he?”

“It’s a big game and one we need to win – but the funny thing is the players go into it with their confidence restored despite our recent form and the fact we ended up losing at Manchester United after being in front,” he said.

“We go into the game with confidence and still feel we can have a real go at taking fourth spot.”

By Steven Fisher