Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur
Paul Lambert has challenged his Aston Villa players to bounce back quickly from their 8-0 mauling at Chelsea. "It's about how we react," the manager said. "You can't dwell on it and start feeling sorry sorry for yourselves. As a footballer, if you start feeling sorry for yourselves, there is only one place you are going to go." PA
Everton v Wigan Athletic
David Moyes is without the suspended Marouane Fellaini and the injured Kevin Mirallas but will be confident of maintaining Everton's top-four place against a Wigan side condemned to the bottom three at Christmas by Saturday's controversial defeat by Arsenal. Roberto Martínez has an extensive injury list but, as the Arsenal display showed, spirit has not been drained by a run of six defeats in eight games. Andy Hunter
Fulham v Southampton
Steve Sidwell returns from suspension and is likely to go straight back into the Fulham team as they look to win for only the second time in 11 games against Southampton. From harbouring hopes of qualifying for Europe, Martin Jol's men are now just five points clear of the bottom three, with Saturday's 4-0 humbling at Anfield pointing towards a group of players woefully short of confidence. Fulham can ill afford another defeat against Nigel Adkins' side, who suffered their own setback last weekend, losing 1-0 to Sunderland. Sachin Nakrani
Manchester United v Newcastle United
Sir Alex Ferguson's team host a struggling Newcastle United side who managed a much-needed win over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday that lifted them to 20 points and into the healthier position of 14th place as they visit the 19-times champions. In October's reverse fixture Manchester United left Tyneside having beat Newcastle 3-0 and, with Ferguson having Nemanja Vidic back to shore up the defence, another win over Alan Pardew's side appears likely. Jamie Jackson
Norwich City v Chelsea
Norwich were beaten 4-1 at Stamford Bridge in October and face Chelsea three days after the Blues hammered Aston Villa 8-0. "They have great attacking options," said the Norwich manager, Chris Hughton. "We experienced that at their place." Grant Holt is fit again but the defender Steven Whittaker is out, with Russell Martin in line to start. PA
Queens Park Rangers v West Bromwich Albion
Harry Redknapp's scathing assessment of the squad he has inherited, delivered after Saturday's defeat at Newcastle, reflects the daunting task he has taken on in west London. He will hope the criticism will spark a reaction against West Bromwich Albion – a team who continue to impress – with wins from successive home games imperative. Last season's clamber to safety owed everything to resurgent form at Loftus Road, with a run of five wins on home territory effectively serving to preserve their top-flight status. A repeat will be needed. Dominic Fifield
Reading v Swansea
Reading have no fresh injuries from a defeat at Manchester City but Jason Roberts, who is close to fitness, is again missing, as is the defender Sean Morrison. Swansea's manager, Michael Laudrup, may shuffle his pack after drawing with Manchester United. He hopes to have Pablo Hernández available and Ki Sung-yueng could come back into the side. PA
Stoke City v Liverpool
Tony Pulis's rigorous work on team structure has made Stoke a stubborn proposition but the manager has put the fans on a special programme to gain an edge against Liverpool. "We are praying that our supporters have a belly full of turkey and they want to work it off," he said. "We will need them because it will be a tough night." David Hytner
Sunderland v Manchester City
Adam Johnson is struggling to shrug off a dead leg in time to face his former employers and perhaps prove a point to Roberto Mancini. City's manager was left incandescent last New Year when Ji Dong-won's late goal consigned his side to a 1-0 defeat on Wearside but now Ji is Sunderland's forgotten man and the 21-year-old could soon return to South Korea. Louise Taylor
No comments:
Post a Comment