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EPL……….01-01-2014

Arsenal v Cardiff

 

Arsenal will be without midfielders Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey, defender Kieran Gibbs and striker Olivier Giroud. Midfielders Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere both face fitness tests, as does England forward Theo Walcott. Defenders Nacho Monreal and Thomas Vermaelen have both been laid low by illness. Yaya Sanogo, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby all remain sidelined. Craig Bellamy will again miss out for Cardiff. Left-back Andrew Taylor is also set to miss out with a knock that means teenager Declan John should continue in defence

Crystal Palace v Norwich

 

Cameron Jerome will face a late test on a knee injury. Midfield duo Stuart O’Keefe and Kagisho Dikgacoi have returned to training following minor muscular injuries but Jack Hunt, Glenn Murray, Jerome Thomas and Adlene Guedioura remain out.Norwich hope to have forward Gary Hooper fit to face Crystal Palace after he was troubled by a tight muscle in his leg against Manchester United. Centre-half Michael Turner returns from suspension, but midfielder Jonny Howson remains doubtful.

Fulham v West Ham

 

Fulham will give a late fitness tests to Dimitar Berbatov and Adel Taarabt but Scott Parker will return. West Ham will be without any recognised central defenders. James Tomkins was forced off early in the 3-3 draw with West Brom with a groin injury and joins fellow defenders James Collins and Winston Reid on the sidelines, although midfielder Ravel Morrison could return.

Liverpool v Hull

 

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard could make his return. Joe Allen has been ruled out for “a few weeks” and Mamadou Sakho also looks set to miss a number of matches, but Jordan Henderson is expected to be fit. Steve Bruce is likely to keep faith with the same XI that started on Saturday as the Tigers thrashed Fulham 6-0. Robbie Brady may be replaced, however, if he fails to recover sufficiently from an on-going groin problem.

 

Southampton v Chelsea

 

Southampton will assess the fitness of club-record signing Dani Osvaldo. Morgan Schneiderlin returns from suspension while Nathaniel Clyne will be hoping to start as he steps up his return from a hamstring complaint. Chelsea are without Frank Lampard, Branislav Ivanovic and David Luiz. Ramires is back from a one-game ban.

Stoke v Everton

 

Stoke pair of defender Marc Wilson and midfielder Glenn Whelan return from suspension. Forward Marko Arnautovic could also return. Everton defender Sylvain Distin is expected to recover from a minor hamstring problem. . Fellow centre-back Phil Jagielka will be sidelined for a few weeks with a similar injury but midfielder Gareth Barry returns from a one-match suspension. Goalkeeper Tim Howard is likely to regain his place.

Sunderland v Aston Villa

 

Gus Poyet will take late decisions over John O’Shea, Fabio Borini and Adam Johnson. Paul Lambert will monitor the fitness of Christian Benteke and Ron Vlaar. Ciaran Clark is suspended.

West Brom v Newcastle

 

Striker Shane Long is expected to be fit after missing the last two games with a calf strain and Chris Brunt should be fit, but striker Victor Anichebe remains a big doubt.West Brom caretaker boss Keith Downing must decide whether to stick with striker Nicolas Anelka after his ‘quenelle’ goal celebration. Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has no injury problems

Manchester United v Tottenham 17:30

 

Manchester United could be without star striking duo Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney. Paulinho is out for Spurs with an ankle ligament injury. Sandro, Younes Kaboul, Andros Townsend and Jan

Written by Israel Saria

For the last 20 years I have been working as a football pundit. This experience has provided me with a very useful insight into football and the opportunity to carry out extensive research into the game including its players, the stadiums, the rules and tactics and I have also been grateful to meet a wide range of people connected to football in the UK, Tanzania, Germany .....

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