Eurosport
Manchester United could be without Wayne Rooney for their tense final day trip to Wigan, while several clubs are preparing to say their goodbyes to key people.
All matches kick off Sunday May 11 at 15:00 BST
Wigan Athletic v Manchester United
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is a major doubt for the visit to Wigan, where a win will guarantee his side keep hold of the league title. The England forward will be fit in time for the Champions League final, however. Defender Nemanja Vidic is set to return to the heart of the United defence, meaning Wes Brown will return to right-back and Owen Hargreaves to the bench. Nani is suspended for his red card against West Ham.
Wigan boss Steve Bruce will keep faith with Jason Koumas on the left wing at the expense of Ryan Taylor, while highly-rated duo Wilson Palacios and Luis Antonio Valencia are also both fit.
After coming off the bench to set up his side’s second goal against Newcastle, Frank Lampard is set to regain his starting berth in the Chelsea midfield. The man who scored that goal, Florent Malouda, will have to fend off Chelsea’s player of the year, Joe Cole, to keep his place. Defender Ricardo Carvalho did not train on Friday, but manager Avram Grant is hopeful that the Portuguese will recover from a back injury in time to play.
Bolton are now safe from relegation, unless they concede a hatful at Stamford Bridge and Reading thrash Derby. Therefore boss Gary Megson is set to name an unchanged side from the one which beat Sunderland. El-Hadji Diouf, who scored the opener in that 2-0 win, has publicly announced that he hopes this is his final game for the club.
Birmingham City v Blackburn Rovers
At the other end of the table, Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has no new injury problems as he plots his side’s last-minute escape from the bottom three. Defender Stephen Kelly will have played every single minute of his team’s season should he start and finish this crucial match, in which the Blues need to better the results of both Fulham and Reading to stay up.
Benni McCarthy is fit again for Blackburn, but boss Mark Hughes may keep faith with Jason Roberts, who scored last week. Defender Christopher Samba has overcome a thigh problem and should continue alongside Ryan Nelsen.
Derby County v Reading
Claude Davis remains sidelined for the Rams, along with long-term absentee Giles Barnes. Miles Addison will again play in place of Dean Leacock, who is recovering from a hernia operation.
Liam Rosenior will continue at right-back in place of Graeme Murty for Reading, who only dropped into the relegation zone last week. Leroy Lita will remain in the attack alongside top-scorer Dave Kitson, with Kevin Doyle staying out on the right wing.
Portsmouth v Fulham
Portsmouth goalkeeper David James has declared himself fit for the FA Cup final, and manager Harry Redknapp may well start with the England number one against Fulham. Jermain Defoe, who is cup-tied for the match against Cardiff, will partner Milan Baros up front.
Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has a fully-fit squad after veteran striker Jari Litmanen was passed fit to play, though it’s likely to be the same Fulham side that beat Birmingham last week to climb out of the bottom three. A win will confirm Premier League football at Craven Cottage for next season.
Midfielder Mikel Arteta is recovering from a stomach operation, and joins long-term absentees Tim Cahill and Anthony Gardner on the sidelines. A point will see Everton qualify for the UEFA Cup next term, no matter what result sixth-placed Aston Villa achieve.
Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan will not be able to field his preferred triple-pronged attack, as Mark Viduka misses out with an Achilles problem that could keep him out for months to come. Joey Barton and James Milner are also unavailable, so Alan Smith and Damien Duff come into the midfield.
West Ham United v Aston Villa
The Hammers are set to name an unchanged side despite losing 4-1 at Old Trafford last week, mainly due to their extraordinarily long injury list. Teenager James Tomkins continues alongside Lucas Neill in defence.
Villa defender Olof Mellberg will play his final match for the club before moving to Juventus in the summer. Manager Martin O’Neill will stay with the same first XI that has brought him to the cusp of a European place this season. Should they win and Everton lose, they will qualify for the UEFA Cup at the expense of the Toffees.
Sunderland v Arsenal
Sunderland manager Roy Keane has no new additions to his list of injured players, and should field the same side that lost 2-0 to Bolton last week.
Mathieu Flamini has already played his final match for the Gunners, as he is injured and will join Milan in the summer. Alexander Hleb may be in the same boat, as he is suspended for this match and has been the subject of intense speculation over a move to Internazionale. If picked, goalkeeper Jens Lehmann will make his 200th and final appearance for Arsenal. After scoring the winner against Everton last week, Nicklas Bendtner should keep his place alongside Emmanuel Adebayor at the expense of Robin van Persie. Manager Arsene Wenger has also hinted that he could play a couple of his youngsters, most likely Kieran Gibbs and Mark Randall.
Middlesbrough v Manchester City
With midfielder Gary O’Neil out injured for several weeks, George Boateng continues in his stead on the right wing, while Chris Riggott remains in defence in place of the injured Robert Huth.
City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson also has no new injury worries for what is likely to be his final match in charge. Sun Jihai looks set to continue at right-back as Vedran Corluka stays in the centre of defence to cover for the injured Micah Richards.
Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov has recovered from a groin strain to make potentially his final appearance for Spurs. Radek Cerny, who will almost certainly leave for QPR in the summer, remains in goal in place of the injured Paul Robinson.
Liverpool welcome back defender Fabio Aurelio, but are still without centre-back Daniel Agger and midfielder Harry Kewell.
Follow LIVE comments on all of the final day’s action in the Premier League at uk.eurosport.yahoo.com!!
Tony Mabert / Eurosport
Comments
Loading…