Premiership weekend preview

The first game of the weekend incidentally seems to be the biggest with Chelsea travelling to Tottenham for a highly-anticipated London derby. Both clubs will be looking to continue their good run of form with Tottenham looking to extend their winning streak of four games and Chelsea looking to continue their unbeaten start to the season which has seen them shoot to pole position, Chelsea will also be looking to win their first league game at White Hart Lane in seven meetings.
 Andre Villas-Boas will be looking to settle a few scores after his failed spell in West London and it will probably pain him to welcome Chelsea to White Hart Lane as European Champions which is a title he thought he could give to them himself before his spell came to an end in March.
Tottenham will be without club captain Scott Parker until Christmas, the 32-year-old hasn't played since England's Euro 2012 quarter-final exit at the hands of Italy. AVB will also be without long-term absentees Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Younes Kaboul who both have knee injuries but he will welcome the returns of Jake Livermore and Kyle Naughton to training this week after recovering from groin and ankle injuries respectively.
Chelsea will be without John Terry as he starts his four-match ban for misconduct but Chelsea gaffer Roberto Di Matteo will be able to welcome back midfielder Frank Lampard and left-back Ryan Bertrand after both players missed England's World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland, Lampard has recovered from a calf injury and Bertrand has shaken off an illness which saw him leave the England camp.

Manchester United will welcome Stoke City to Old Trafford with Stoke looking to grab their first points at Old Trafford since their return to the top-flight and their first win at Old Trafford since 1972. Man United will be hoping that Robin Van Persie can keep up his good record against Stoke, the striker has scored six goals in his five league games against The Potters.
Manchester United can welcome back winger Ashley Young after a two month absence with a knee injury and could be in contention to make a return against Stoke. Sir Alex Ferguson also may choose to put Chris Smalling to use after he is closing in on a return to full fitness after his foot injury.
Stoke manager Tony Pulis has been monitoring the fitness of both Glenn Whelan and Michael Owen. Midfielder Whelan, who limped out of Stoke's 0 - 0 draw against Liverpool with a hamstring problem missed Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Faroe Islands and is rated as '50-50' by Pulis. He also expects that striker Owen, who missed the Liverpool game due to a groin tweak, to be fit for the bench to face his former club. Defender Andy Wilkinson is available again after a 3-match suspension.

Champions Manchester City will be travelling to the Hawthorns to face a West Brom side who have started the season in good form, currently sitting 6th in the table. Man City will be hoping that Tottenham can get a result against Chelsea so that City can catch up to the Premiership leaders while the Baggies will look to extend their best home start to a top-flight season in 92 years but will no doubt face a tough game with their hardest home game of the season yet.
The Baggies may be without midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, the Congo international picked up a niggle on international duty. On-loan striker Romelu Lukaku should be fit to return after a minor ankle problem but both Steven Reid & Chris Brunt (both hamstring) won't be available while Billy Jones and Boaz Myhill are both out with knee and thumb injuries respectively, long-term absentee Jerome Thomas is still not ready to return to first-team action.
The champions are without David Silva who suffered a hamstring injury just 12 minutes into Spain's 1 - 1 draw against France, while Jack Rodwell is also missing after suffering a hamstring injury of his own while on international duty with England-U21's. Midfield new-boy Javi Garcia is still on the sidelines due to a thigh problem and Maicon is also still missing due to a foot injury.

Liverpool will welcome newly-promoted Reading to Anfield and will be looking to add to their solitary win so far this season, the home side have made their joint-worst start to a Premier League season and sit 14th in the table. Reading will be looking to pick up their first win of the season.
Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina will face a late fitness test on a minor hamstring problem he picked up while on international duty with Spain, striker Fabio Borini has been ruled out for three months with a fractured foot he picked up with Italy U-21's but defenders Jose Enrique and John Flanagan returned to training this week. Jonjo Shelvey is also available again after his three-match suspension.
Reading forward Noel Hunt is a doubt because of a heel problem but midfielder Mikele Leigertwood
has been passed fit after recovering from a dead leg.

Fulham will face an Aston Villa side at Craven Cottage who have made their worst ever start to a Premier League season while Fulham will be looking to build on their good start to the season.
Martin Jol can welcome back strikers Dimitar Berbatov and Mladen Petric who have recovered from hip and calf problems respectively. Midfielder Mahamadou Diarra has also recovered from his knee injury which means he could be in contention for a starting place, however Simon Davies (hip) remains out and Bryan Ruiz is a doubt with a groin injury.
Villans midfielder Stephen Ireland has returned to the squad after missing three games with a broken arm. Manager Paul Lambert will assess the situations of Brad Guzan, Brett Holman & Karim El Ahmadi after long-haul midweek trips playing with America, Australia and Morocco respectively. Full-back Joe Bennett is expected to be fit after suffering a leg injury in Villa's 2 - 0 loss to Tottenham. Richard Dunne remains a long-term absentee.

Swansea face Wigan Athletic at the Liberty Stadium with both teams failing to pick up a win in their last five attempts.
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup could name an unchanged side from the one that came from 2 goals down against Reading to draw 2 - 2. Danny Graham looks set to start up front despite being withdrawn at half-time against The Royals, record signing Ki-Sung Yeung could keep Jonathan De Guzman out of the side. Kemy Agustien is back in contention after a calf problem but Neil Taylor is a long-term absentee with a broken ankle.
Wigan will be without Antolin Alcaraz who has not played since August because of a groin injury, winger Albert Crusat is missing after sustaining a knee problem and Latics manager Roberto Martinez will be monitoring the fitness of Maynor Figueroa & Jean Beausejour after long international trips with Honduras and Chile respectively.

West Ham will welcome a Southampton team to Upton Park who are looking for their first clean sheet of the season, while West Ham will be looking to bounce back from their last home game where they suffered a 3 - 1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal.
Defenders Guy Demel (thigh) and Winston Reid (back) are West Ham's main injury concerns and will both face late fitness tests to prove their fitness while forward Ricardo Vaz Te has undergone surgery on a dislocated shoulder sustained in the loss to Arsenal.
Southampton will be missing record signing Gaston Ramirez after the 21-year-old was ruled out for four weeks, while Frazer Richardson is also sidelined due to a knee injury. Jack Cork, Danny Butterfield (knee) & Tadanari Lee (elbow) are also out, while Nathaniel Clyne is set to return.

The evening kick-off on Saturday sees Arsenal travel to Carrow Road to face a Norwich team who are seeking their first win against the Gunners in 11 attempts while Arsenal will look to keep their strong start to the season going.
Norwich will hope to have Robert Snodgrass back after he returned from international duty with Scotland with an injury, defender Steven Whittaker has returned to full training after sustaining a pre-season ankle problem. On loan Tottenham striker Harry Kane is sidelined by a broken metatarsal.
Arsenal will be without defender Laurent Koscielny who sustained a back injury while on international duty with France, defender Kieran Gibbs will miss out with a thigh injury after he limped off in the second half of the win over West Ham & Theo Walcott will also miss out after he sustained a chest injury after a nasty collision in England's win over San Marino. Emmanuel Frimpong could be in the squad after returning from a long-term knee injury and Jack Wilshere will be in the squad after 15 months out with an ankle injury but it is not likely that he will make an appearance. Wojciech Szczesny (ankle), Abou Diaby (thigh), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) & Bacary Sagna (broken leg) all remain sidelined but the latter has made appearances for the U21's. Lukasz Fabianski set for three months out after rupturing ankle ligaments.

Sunderland will host rivals Newcastle United at The Stadium of Light in the 147th Tyne-Wear derby with Newcastle looking to extend a five-game unbeaten run against their rivals.
Sunderland winger James McClean is back in contention after shaking off a groin injury which kept him out of Republic of Ireland's international friendlies. Full-back Phil Bardsley has featured for the U21's and could make the squad after he recovered from an ankle injury which has kept him out since pre-season. Titus Bramble is a doubt with a hip problem and captain Lee Cattermole completes his three-match ban.
Alan Pardew could welcome back defenders Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini. Taylor damaged his calf in the 2 - 2 draw against Reading and Coloccini has missed the last seven games with a hamstring injury. Goalkeeper Tim Krul could make a return after recovering from an elbow injury he sustained on international duty with Holland & Danny Simpson could be in contention to start after his hamstring injury after he sat out the 3 - 0 defeat to Man United last time out.

Struggling Londoners QPR welcome an Everton side to Loftus Road who have started the season impressively. QPR manager Mark Hughes will be under pressure to get his first win of the season after making some significant signings during the summer.
Jose Bosingwa and Anton Ferdinand are both fit but Hughes will be without Fabio Da Silva who will have a scan on a hamstring injury while Armand Traore is battling for match fitness. Midfielder Samba Diakite returns from a one-match ban while striker Andy Johnson remains a long-term absentee with a knee injury.
Everton will be without midfielder Marouane Fellaini which will be seen as a huge blow to Everton manager David Moyes who is hopeful the Belgian won't be injured for too long after he suffered a knee injury against Wigan. Defender Tony Hibbert (calf) is being considered but Darron Gibson (thigh) will not be available. New signing Thomas Hitzlsperger will not be considered at this stage.