TEAM NEWS for todays FIXTURES from the BBC. EVERTON V MAN CIT Leighton Baines is fit for Everton after missing Tuesdays FA Cup tie against West Ham with a minor injury suffered on New Years Day. Antolin Alcaraz returns from suspension but Sylvain Distin has a groin problem and joins a lengthy injury list. Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is available after overcoming a hamstring problem. Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko are also in the squad after a month out with knee and calf injuries respectively. Yaya Toure is unavailable, having flown to Equatorial Guinea to play in the Africa Cup of Nations. CHELSEA V NEWCASTLE Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul will replace Jak Alnwick in the starting line-up after proving his fitness in a practice match on Thursday. Leading goalscorer Papiss Cisse and midfielder Cheick Tiote are both on Africa Cup of Nations duty. Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns ahead of their clash with Newcastle.Thibaut Courtois, John Terry, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas are among those expected to return after being rested against Watford in the FA Cup. CRYSTAL PALACE V TOTTENHAM Crystal Palaces Yannick Bolasie and Mile Jedinak are both absent on international duty. Striker Marouane Chamakh could return after four matches out with a hamstring injury, while midfielder James McArthur should be fit despite a rib problem. Tottenham will be without midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, who has joined Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations. Ryan Mason misses out with a hamstring injury, while Erik Lamela is absent with a calf problem. SWANSEA V WEST HAM Swansea will be without top scorer Wilfried Bony and Ki Sung-Yueng, who are both away on international duty. Jonjo Shelvey is banned and Jefferson Montero is still out with a hamstring injury, but new signings Nelson Oliveira and Matt Grimes are available. West Ham striker Diafra Sakho is ruled out with the back injury which forced him to miss the Africa Cup of Nations. Cheikhou Kouyate is away with Senegal, but Alex Song is available after retiring frominternational football. LEICESTER V ASTON VILLA New signing Mark Schwarzer could make his Leicester debut but Andrej Kramaric will not join in time to face Villa. Dean Hammond and Andy King are fit to return but Danny Drinkwater (groin) is a doubt, Esteban Cambiasso and Jeff Schlupp are injured and Riyad Mahrez is on Africa Cup of Nations duty. Villas Ron Vlaar has been ruled out for up to six weeks with a knee injury. Fabian Delph is banned but Gabriel Agbonlahor, Nathan Baker and Kieran Richardson could return from injuries. WEST BROM V HULL CITY West Brom head coach Tony Pulis has a near full-strength squad for his first Premier League game in charge. Craig Gardner should return after a calf injury, leaving Youssouf Mulumbu and Jonas Olsson as the only absentees. Hull defenders Michael Dawson and James Chester are expected to be fit after respective hamstring and knee injuries. Nikica Jelavic is back after illness but Sone Aluko, Mohamed Diame, Gaston Ramirez, Andy Robertson and Liam Rosenior are all injured. BURNLEY V QPR Burnley could be unchanged for a seventh straight league game if Jason Shackell and Dean Marney recover from injury and illness respectively. Fit-again striker Sam Vokes is pressing for a start after scoring against Tottenham in the FA Cup. QPR could give a debut to forward Mauro Zarate, who has joined on loan from West Ham. Midfielder Sandro is still short of fitness, but several key players who were rested last weekend will return. LIVERPOOL V SUNDERLAND Sunderland captain Lee Cattermole is still struggling with a groin injury, while Jack Rodwell will be given a fitness test on a muscle strain. Ricky Alvarez and Emanuele Giaccherini are fit again but Sebastian Coates is ineligible against his parent club. Liverpools Adam Lallana has a calf injury, and Kolo Toure is now on international duty with the Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations. Joe Allen, Glen Johnson, Jon Flanagan and Brad Jones all remain sidelined.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 10:50:29 +0000