"We know what we are" is a chant that reverberates from Chelsea supporters mouth's following their Munich penalty shoot-out triumph in May after being heavily written off throughout their Champions League campaign. They came back from the dead to down Barcelona at the Nou Camp and Bayern awaited them in their home stadium - the rest as they say, is history.
The Champions League victory which came against all the odds followed an FA Cup victory which Chelsea seemed relatively comfortable in, downing Tottenham in a controversial semi-final and then beating Liverpool in the final. These victories cemented Roberto Di Matteo his job as full-time Chelsea manager after an initial spell as interim manager, in June after his trophy-winning exploits, Di Matteo signed a 2-year contract and the future looked seemingly hunky-dorey for the Italian and Chelsea, with Di Matteo being labelled the 'greatest caretaker of all-time', guiding Chelsea to the trophy which Roman Abramovich has spent over a billion pounds in investment trying to win. Chelsea then went on a typical summer spending spree, spending over £75million on the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Victor Moses, Cesar Azpilicueta, Marko Marin & Thorgan Hazard. The season started off well, with Chelsea's attacking midfield trio of Oscar, Hazard and Juan Mata inter-linking like they'd been playing together for years and the season started off well for the usually mis-firing Fernando Torres, it looked like Chelsea had well and truly moved on from the loss of Didier Drogba and the twilight years of John Terry & Frank Lampard, the future was being looked at with rose-tinted spectacles.
But where did it all go wrong? John Terry's court charge with racism after last season's spat with Anton Ferdinand provided what seemed to be the launchpad for a Chelsea downfall, Ashley Cole added his unwanted two cents by calling the FA a "bunch of twats" and then the Clattenburg-Mikel incident took place, making Chelsea probably the most unfavourable club in England. The media negativity seems to have thrown Chelsea into disrepute, they haven't won in their last four Premiership games and their only win in the last six was a last-gasp victory of Shakhtar. Another catalyst in their turn in form was no doubt the contoversial 3 - 2 defeat at the hands of Manchester United, the game which famously turned referee Mark Clattenburg into the most hated man in Stamford Bridge. Chelsea's decency has been questioned in the media, with the club refusing to apologize to Clattenburg and personally I think it was a claim made purely out of Chelsea's discontent at Clattenburg's (and the officials as a whole) decision after sending off two Chelsea players and allowing a blatent off-side goal to stand.
Di Matteo's controlling of his players (similar to AVB) was questioned, with top names being lost in the dressing room and his man-management skills being tested, which managed to run parallel with the loss of form. What of the future now for Chelsea? As we've seen, after Abramovich dishes out a cheque to get rid of a manager and a new one has been brought in it has bred success. Even though he has spent £86million on paying-off sacked managers it has led him to three Premiership titles, three FA cups, two league cups and the most coveted of all - the Champions League it seems it is almost impossible to satisfy Abramovich's unquenchable thirst for glory. He has invested over £1billion on making Chelsea a football juggernaut and their achievements since his arrival have been nothing short of incredible, taking them from the doldrums of near administration to European champions in just under a decade was surely something that even Chelsea fans (both old and new) couldn't imagine in their wildest dreams. It is also common knowledge that if you double-cross Abramovich you won't last long in the job, Jose Mourinho discovered this when an argument over big-money flop Andrey Shevchenko's place in the team added fuel to a burning fire of power struggles and rifts, it managed to result in 'The Special One' seemingly losing his job overnight - despite being Chelsea's most successful manager ever.
This leaves Rafa Benitez in a worrying position while he is interim manager, Chelsea have swung from one extreme to another - the most popular caretaker of all-time to the most unpopular are two quite different sides of the spectrum and it is clear that his entrance into the Chelsea hotseat isn't the one a lot of fans would have chosen. Liverpool fans have every right to feel a bit aggrieved but he did give the Merseysiders their best team in about a decade and also their most successful spell since the turn of the century. But for Chelsea, they are getting a manager with a strong pedigree, he is not their first-choice, but that isn't his fault. The only way Benitez can win over the Chelsea fans is proving his commitment to the cause and breeding further success, but the Chelsea guillotine will forever be hanging over his head because in the Chelsea managerial position it seems that no-one is safe.
Friday, 23 November 2012
Friday, 16 November 2012
Matchweek 12 Preview
Sorry about the two week gap between posts, I was going to do a matchweek 11 preview but I got chosen as a news-week editor for Staffslive and that sort of took priority over this past week or so, not to mention a night-out in Leeds last week too, but let's get started!
The lunchtime kick-off on Saturday is the highly anticipated North London derby where Arsenal will welcome fierce rivals to Tottenham to the Emirates Stadium. Last season's encounter saw Tottenham breeze into a 2 - 0 first half lead and it looked as if Arsenal's poor season would continue, but Bacary Sagna & Robin Van Persie goals before half-time got Arsenal level and after the break a goal from Tomas Rosicky and a Theo Walcott brace got Arsenal's season back on track and they ultimately toppled Spurs from third spot on the last day of the season.
Arsenal can welcome back Jack Wilshere who returns from a one-match suspension after picking up two yellows cards against Manchester United two weeks ago but Arsene Wenger will sweat over the fitness of Olivier Giroud (calf/hamstring), Theo Walcott (leg), Mikel Arteta (hip) and Bacary Sagna (leg) who will face late fitness tests but goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is close to returning from the ankle problem which has kept him out. Gervinho (ankle), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Abou Diaby and Kieran Gibbs (both thigh) all stay on the sidelines.
Tottenham will be without Mousa Dembele again as the midfielder continues his recovery from a hip injury. Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe and Kyle Walker are all struggling with hamstring problems and will face late fitness tests while long-term absentees Scott Parker (Achilles), Younes Kaboul & Benoit Assou-Ekotto (both knee) continue their rehabilitation.
Liverpool welcome Wigan to Anfield looking for their third win of the season and looking to extend their seven match unbeaten run while Wigan will be looking to repeat their famous win at Anfield last season.
Pepe Reina is set to return in goal for Liverpool after missing the last four league matches with a hamstring injury. Midfielder Jonjo Shelvey is fit after a thigh problem while centre-back partnership Daniel Agger (groin) and Martin Skrtel (illness) are expected to be fit.
On-loan winger Ryo Miyaichi is available after missing five games with a hip injury. James McArthur is a doubt due to a dead leg while Albert Crusat (knee) and Antolin Alcaraz (groin) are still out.
High-flying West Brom will welcome third place Chelsea to The Hawthorns with the Londoners looking to return to winning ways after picking up just two points in their last three matches.
Steve Clarke will be without Ben Foster who is recovering from groin surgery and Gareth McAuley is a doubt after picking up a hamstring injury on international duty. The Baggies will be hopeful that Youssouf Mulumbu will be fit after a hamstring injury of his own while on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is not eligible to face his parent club.
Chelsea could welcome back Ashley Cole after missing two games with a hamstring injury, John Terry will be out for around three weeks with a knee injury he picked up after colliding with Luis Suarez in the 1 - 1 draw vs. Liverpool. Frank Lampard is a doubt with a calf injury and Roberto Di Matteo will assess all players who travelled with their national teams in midweek.
Aston Villa will travel to the Etihad Stadium looking for their second win in 14 games to face a Manchester City team that are unbeaten in the league this season.
The defending champions can welcome back James Milner and Joleon Lescott who have recovered from hamstring and back problems, respectively. Gael Clichy may also be fit after missing France's midweek international with a back injury of his own and Samir Nasri has recovered from illness. Italian striker Mario Balotelli could be in contention after being dropped last weekend but rumours surfaced of yet another rift between him and Roberto Mancini. Jack Rodwell (hamstring) and Micah Richards (knee) are not ready to return yet.
The Villains can welcome back defenders Eric Lichaj & Nathan Baker who return from suspension & injury respectively. Darrent Bent, Chris Herd, Richard Dunne, Charles N'Zogbia and Joe Bennett are all still out.
Newcastle United welcome Swansea to St. James' Park with the Swans having never won a Premiership match in November.
The Magpies could be without Papiss Cisse after complications over registering a back injury with the Senegal national team and they could invoke the FIFA five-day match rule, ruling the striker out of the match against Swansea. Alan Pardew will be without Yohan Cabaye (groin), Jonas Gutierrez (knee), James Perch (thigh) and defender Fabricio Coloccini who is suspended. But Newcastle can welcome back Danny Simpson (shoulder) and Demba Ba (shin) and Cheick Tiote who has served his three-match ban.
Swansea will be without summer signing Ki-Sung Yeung who will miss out with a hamstring injury, while Kemy Agustien is struggling with a toe injury. Leon Britton could miss out with a knock while winger Pablo Hernandez is recovering from an ankle injury, but Chico Flores could return from a dead leg.
Southampton travel to face QPR at Loftus Road in what is a proverbial six-pointer for the two bottom clubs, with QPR still searching for their first league win of the season.
On-loan Man United defender Fabio is back from his hamstring injury but club captain Park Ji-Sung (knee) is unavailable. Bobby Zamora is doubtful with a hip injury while Ryan Nelsen and Jamie Mackie should both be fit despite missing international games during midweek. Hogan Ephraim is available after a hamstring problem and Kieron Dyer could return from yet another injury. Andy Johnson is still out with a knee problem while Stephane M'Bia is still suspended.
Southampton will be withou Frazer Richardson and Richard Chaplow but Guly De Prado could return to the Southampton squad.
Reading will play host to Everton at the Madejski Stadium still looking for their first win in their return season in the top-flight while Everton will look to keep up their early season fight for a Champions League spot.
Reading could be without winger Jimmy Kebe who has a thigh problem, while Brian McDermott will definitely be without Alex McCarthy (shoulder), Danny Guthrie (thigh) and Jem Karacan (knee).
Kevin Mirallas will miss out with a hamstring injury, as will Darron Gibson who has a thigh injury. Victor Anichebe (hamstring) and defender Tony Hibbert (calf) are doubts.
Norwich welcome Premiership leader Manchester United to Carrow Road with a good home record having won three of their last four but Manchester United will be bouyed after coming back from two goals down against Aston Villa in yet another comeback.
Norwich will be without Russell Martin who has a back problem but Alex Tettey should be available after a back problem which kept him out of Norway's midweek friendly. On-loan striker Harry Kane continues his recovery from a broken metatarsal.
Forward Wayne Rooney (ankle) is a major doubt for Man United as is defender Johnny Evans (groin). Robin Van Persie is expected to be fit after missing Holland's friendly in midweek.
The only fixture on Sunday sees Fulham welcome Sunderland to Craven Cottage with Martin O' Neill's team looking to end their torrid run.
Kieran Richardson won't be fit to face his former club after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3 - 3 draw against Arsenal. Simon Davies (hip) misses out, as does Chris Baird who is suspended while Mahamadou Diarra (knee) and Mickael Tavaras (hamstring) are big doubts.
Steven Fletcher (calf) and Kieren Westwood (thigh) missed their respective internationals in midweek and are doubts for the Black Cats while Phil Bardsley (hamstring) and Lee Cattermole (knee) remain doubts.
The Monday night game will see West Ham welcome this season's draw specialists Stoke City to Upton Park with the high-flying Hammers looking to maintain their good start to the season.
James Collins could return to the West Ham starting line-up with Guy Demel also pushing for a start. Matthew Taylor has returned to training following a calf problem while Jack Collison (knee) and Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) are still out.
Tony Pulis is monitoring the fitness of Glenn Whelan who limped off during Ireland's friendly with a hamstring problem. Dean Whitehead is missing out due to suspension and Rory Delap (hernia) and Marc Wilson (broken leg) are definitely out. Michael Owen is a doubt for the Potters with a hamstring injury but Stoke manager Pulis will be hopeful that Jon Walters and Charlie Adam will be fit after both picked up knocks.
The lunchtime kick-off on Saturday is the highly anticipated North London derby where Arsenal will welcome fierce rivals to Tottenham to the Emirates Stadium. Last season's encounter saw Tottenham breeze into a 2 - 0 first half lead and it looked as if Arsenal's poor season would continue, but Bacary Sagna & Robin Van Persie goals before half-time got Arsenal level and after the break a goal from Tomas Rosicky and a Theo Walcott brace got Arsenal's season back on track and they ultimately toppled Spurs from third spot on the last day of the season.
Arsenal can welcome back Jack Wilshere who returns from a one-match suspension after picking up two yellows cards against Manchester United two weeks ago but Arsene Wenger will sweat over the fitness of Olivier Giroud (calf/hamstring), Theo Walcott (leg), Mikel Arteta (hip) and Bacary Sagna (leg) who will face late fitness tests but goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is close to returning from the ankle problem which has kept him out. Gervinho (ankle), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Abou Diaby and Kieran Gibbs (both thigh) all stay on the sidelines.
Tottenham will be without Mousa Dembele again as the midfielder continues his recovery from a hip injury. Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe and Kyle Walker are all struggling with hamstring problems and will face late fitness tests while long-term absentees Scott Parker (Achilles), Younes Kaboul & Benoit Assou-Ekotto (both knee) continue their rehabilitation.
Liverpool welcome Wigan to Anfield looking for their third win of the season and looking to extend their seven match unbeaten run while Wigan will be looking to repeat their famous win at Anfield last season.
Pepe Reina is set to return in goal for Liverpool after missing the last four league matches with a hamstring injury. Midfielder Jonjo Shelvey is fit after a thigh problem while centre-back partnership Daniel Agger (groin) and Martin Skrtel (illness) are expected to be fit.
On-loan winger Ryo Miyaichi is available after missing five games with a hip injury. James McArthur is a doubt due to a dead leg while Albert Crusat (knee) and Antolin Alcaraz (groin) are still out.
High-flying West Brom will welcome third place Chelsea to The Hawthorns with the Londoners looking to return to winning ways after picking up just two points in their last three matches.
Steve Clarke will be without Ben Foster who is recovering from groin surgery and Gareth McAuley is a doubt after picking up a hamstring injury on international duty. The Baggies will be hopeful that Youssouf Mulumbu will be fit after a hamstring injury of his own while on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is not eligible to face his parent club.
Chelsea could welcome back Ashley Cole after missing two games with a hamstring injury, John Terry will be out for around three weeks with a knee injury he picked up after colliding with Luis Suarez in the 1 - 1 draw vs. Liverpool. Frank Lampard is a doubt with a calf injury and Roberto Di Matteo will assess all players who travelled with their national teams in midweek.
Aston Villa will travel to the Etihad Stadium looking for their second win in 14 games to face a Manchester City team that are unbeaten in the league this season.
The defending champions can welcome back James Milner and Joleon Lescott who have recovered from hamstring and back problems, respectively. Gael Clichy may also be fit after missing France's midweek international with a back injury of his own and Samir Nasri has recovered from illness. Italian striker Mario Balotelli could be in contention after being dropped last weekend but rumours surfaced of yet another rift between him and Roberto Mancini. Jack Rodwell (hamstring) and Micah Richards (knee) are not ready to return yet.
The Villains can welcome back defenders Eric Lichaj & Nathan Baker who return from suspension & injury respectively. Darrent Bent, Chris Herd, Richard Dunne, Charles N'Zogbia and Joe Bennett are all still out.
Newcastle United welcome Swansea to St. James' Park with the Swans having never won a Premiership match in November.
The Magpies could be without Papiss Cisse after complications over registering a back injury with the Senegal national team and they could invoke the FIFA five-day match rule, ruling the striker out of the match against Swansea. Alan Pardew will be without Yohan Cabaye (groin), Jonas Gutierrez (knee), James Perch (thigh) and defender Fabricio Coloccini who is suspended. But Newcastle can welcome back Danny Simpson (shoulder) and Demba Ba (shin) and Cheick Tiote who has served his three-match ban.
Swansea will be without summer signing Ki-Sung Yeung who will miss out with a hamstring injury, while Kemy Agustien is struggling with a toe injury. Leon Britton could miss out with a knock while winger Pablo Hernandez is recovering from an ankle injury, but Chico Flores could return from a dead leg.
Southampton travel to face QPR at Loftus Road in what is a proverbial six-pointer for the two bottom clubs, with QPR still searching for their first league win of the season.
On-loan Man United defender Fabio is back from his hamstring injury but club captain Park Ji-Sung (knee) is unavailable. Bobby Zamora is doubtful with a hip injury while Ryan Nelsen and Jamie Mackie should both be fit despite missing international games during midweek. Hogan Ephraim is available after a hamstring problem and Kieron Dyer could return from yet another injury. Andy Johnson is still out with a knee problem while Stephane M'Bia is still suspended.
Southampton will be withou Frazer Richardson and Richard Chaplow but Guly De Prado could return to the Southampton squad.
Reading will play host to Everton at the Madejski Stadium still looking for their first win in their return season in the top-flight while Everton will look to keep up their early season fight for a Champions League spot.
Reading could be without winger Jimmy Kebe who has a thigh problem, while Brian McDermott will definitely be without Alex McCarthy (shoulder), Danny Guthrie (thigh) and Jem Karacan (knee).
Kevin Mirallas will miss out with a hamstring injury, as will Darron Gibson who has a thigh injury. Victor Anichebe (hamstring) and defender Tony Hibbert (calf) are doubts.
Norwich welcome Premiership leader Manchester United to Carrow Road with a good home record having won three of their last four but Manchester United will be bouyed after coming back from two goals down against Aston Villa in yet another comeback.
Norwich will be without Russell Martin who has a back problem but Alex Tettey should be available after a back problem which kept him out of Norway's midweek friendly. On-loan striker Harry Kane continues his recovery from a broken metatarsal.
Forward Wayne Rooney (ankle) is a major doubt for Man United as is defender Johnny Evans (groin). Robin Van Persie is expected to be fit after missing Holland's friendly in midweek.
The only fixture on Sunday sees Fulham welcome Sunderland to Craven Cottage with Martin O' Neill's team looking to end their torrid run.
Kieran Richardson won't be fit to face his former club after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3 - 3 draw against Arsenal. Simon Davies (hip) misses out, as does Chris Baird who is suspended while Mahamadou Diarra (knee) and Mickael Tavaras (hamstring) are big doubts.
Steven Fletcher (calf) and Kieren Westwood (thigh) missed their respective internationals in midweek and are doubts for the Black Cats while Phil Bardsley (hamstring) and Lee Cattermole (knee) remain doubts.
The Monday night game will see West Ham welcome this season's draw specialists Stoke City to Upton Park with the high-flying Hammers looking to maintain their good start to the season.
James Collins could return to the West Ham starting line-up with Guy Demel also pushing for a start. Matthew Taylor has returned to training following a calf problem while Jack Collison (knee) and Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) are still out.
Tony Pulis is monitoring the fitness of Glenn Whelan who limped off during Ireland's friendly with a hamstring problem. Dean Whitehead is missing out due to suspension and Rory Delap (hernia) and Marc Wilson (broken leg) are definitely out. Michael Owen is a doubt for the Potters with a hamstring injury but Stoke manager Pulis will be hopeful that Jon Walters and Charlie Adam will be fit after both picked up knocks.
Friday, 2 November 2012
Matchweek 10 Preview
The 12:45 kick-off on Saturday sees Manchester United welcome old rivals Arsenal to Old Trafford where Arsenal will be looking to improve on their poor record at Old Trafford and hoping to avoid a repeat of the 8 - 2 demolition at the beginning of last season. Man United will be looking for their fourth straight league victory.
Man United have no fresh injury worries, Chris Smalling is making good progress on his recovery from a broken metatarsal but the game against the Gunners will come too soon for the defender. Phil Jones (knee) is also not quite ready while United are still without Shinji Kagawa (also knee) while news broke today that club captain Nemanja Vidic is likely to be out until Christmas with a knee injury of his own.
Arsenal also have no fresh injury concerns, Bacary Sagna and Jack Wilshere came through their comeback games last weekend unscathed. Theo Walcott may have to settle for a place on the bench after playing the whole 120 minutes in Tuesday's 7 - 5 thriller against Reading. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has reportedly suffered an injury setback which is set to keep him out for two weeks while Kieran Gibbs (thigh), Wojciech Szczesny (ankle), midfielder Abou Diaby (thigh) and Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) are all still sidelined. Gervinho is also set to miss out for around three weeks with his ankle injury sustained in the 1 - 0 win over QPR.
Chelsea travel to the Liberty Stadium to face Swansea looking to recover from their controversial 3 - 2 defeat to Man United at Old Trafford last Sunday. Although the league leaders will be looking to carry on their unbeaten away run in the league this season. Michael Laudrup's team will be looking to build on their strong home form.
Swansea have had to be patient with defender Chico Flores after he picked up a dead leg in the win over Liverpool in midweek, Ashley Williams will captain the side despite an ankle problem with Michel Vorm (groin), Neil Taylor (broken ankle) and Kyle Bartley (thigh) all out.
Chelsea could be without Juan Mata (hamstring) and David Luiz (ankle) who picked up injuries in their epic 5 - 4 win over Man United on Wednesday. Ashley Cole returns from an ankle knock and Fernando Torres & Branislav Ivanovic will return from their one-match suspensions. Frank Lampard (calf) is still sidelined and John Terry will serve the final game of his four match ban.
Tottenham host Wigan at White Hart Lane looking to stay above Arsenal & Everton with three points while the Latics are looking for their second win at White Hart Lane.
Mousa Dembele is unavailable due to a hip injury while Emmanuel Adebayor is in contention after recovering from a back injury and illness. Jake Livermore is a doubt after suffering an ankle injury in Wednesday's defeat to Norwich. Scott Parker (achilles), Younes Kaboul & Benoit Assou-Ekotto (both knee) remain long-term absentees.
Roberto Martinez expects to be without on-loan Arsenal winger Ryo Miyaichi again as the winger continues his bid for fitness following a groin problem which has seen him miss the last three games. Still sidelined are Albert Crusat & Antolin Alcaraz (knee and groin problems, respectively).
Everton travel to Craven Cottage to face a Fulham team who have won three of their last four games at home. Everton will be looking for their first win since September.
Martin Jol is likely to stick to the same team that played in the thrilling 3 - 3 draw against Reading last weekend, however Bryan Ruiz is likely to step in for Dimitar Berbatov should the Bulgarian striker not recover from a rib problem. Alexander Kacaniklic is likely to miss out again.
Everton will be without Kevin Mirallas who picked up a knock in the Merseyside derby last weekend. Steven Pienaar is liekly to return after serving his one-match ban. Darron Gibson is the Toffees only other injury worry but may return to the squad.
Sunderland will entertain Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light with both sides looking to halt their underwhelming starts to the season.
Martin O' Neill has no more players to add to his injury list, although Wes Brown has suffered a set-back in his return from injury which will keep him out for a couple more weeks. Titus Bramble remains a doubt with a hip injury.
The Villans can welcome back left-back Joe Bennett who served his one-match suspension in midweek but midfielder Karim El Ahmadi will have to serve a one-match ban of his own after incurring his fifth booking of the season in the Capital One Cup match against Swindon. Defender Chris Herd may also miss out after being substituted with a knee injury in the match against Swindon.
Norwich City face Stoke City at Carrow Road looking for their third successive home win in all competitions while Stoke haven't won away in 14 league matches.
Defender Russell Martin has made a good recovery from his back injury and could be fit. Harry Kane is still a long-term absentee but could be back before Christmas following foot surgery.
The Potters will be without midfielder turned full-back Marc Wilson who is set to be out for three months after sustaining a fractured fibula in last week's 0 - 0 bore draw with Sunderland. Glenn Whelan wasn't deemed fit enough for the match against Sunderland but has given Tony Pulis a 'good problem' by being declared fit enough to be available for selection again.
West Ham will welcome champions Man City to Upton Park and will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing away defeat to Wigan while Man City play their second away evening kick-off in a row.
Sam Allardyce has no new injuries but cannot welcome back any players either. Guy Demel (hernia) and Matthew Taylor (calf) are both hoping to be in contention in a couple of weeks. Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) and Jack Collison (knee) remain long-term absentees for the Hammers.
Man City can welcome back James Milner who served his suspension picked up against Fulham, Pablo Zabaleta and Javi Garcia who have recovered from hamstring & thigh injuries respectively. Roberto Mancini will be without Micah Richards for about a month after the defender sustained a knee injury in the win against Swansea. David Silva, Jack Rodwell (both knee) and Maicon (foot) remain sidelined.
Reading travel to Loftus Road to face QPR looking to recover from their Capital One Cup capitulation in midweek with both sides being the only two without a win in the Premiership.
QPR captain Park Ji-Sung is a major doubt having not trained all week due to a knee injury. Bobby Zamora suffered a hip injury which could keep him out while Armand Traore is also struggling with a leg injury. Stephane M'bia start a three-match ban after his foolish sending off against Arsenal while Fabio (hamstring) and Andy Johnson (knee) remain sidelined.
Reading will be without Danny Guthrie because of a thigh strain and Jem Karacan is still sidelined with a knee injury that could keep him out until December.
Liverpool welcome Newcastle United to Anfield with the visitors looking for their third win on the trot and their first win at Anfield in 18 years. Capital One Cup holders Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from being knocked out of the cup they hold at the hands of Swansea in midweek.
Jose Reina and Glen Johnson remain injury doubts for Liverpool but the latter has a better chance of playing with both being assessed ahead of Sunday.
The Magpies could welcome back top scorer Demba Ba who has been recovering from a calf injury, but they will still be without Ivorian midfielder Cheick Tiote who serves the second of his three-match ban.
Monday night's game sees West Brom host Southampton at The Hawthorns with the Baggies looking to continue their impressive league run. Southampton currently hold the worst defence in the league.
Club captain Chris Brunt & defender Billy Jones have recovered from hamstring and knee injuries respectively and are in contention to start. Steve Clarke is hopeful Shane Long will recover from a hamstring injury while Claudio Yacob could also return.
The Saints could welcome back record signing Gaston Ramirez after the 21-year-old trained all week following his thigh injury. Frazer Richardson (groin) and Jack Cork (knee) remain sidelined but Tadanari Lee could make his league return after he featured in the Capital One Cup clash against Leeds in midweek following his elbow injury.
Man United have no fresh injury worries, Chris Smalling is making good progress on his recovery from a broken metatarsal but the game against the Gunners will come too soon for the defender. Phil Jones (knee) is also not quite ready while United are still without Shinji Kagawa (also knee) while news broke today that club captain Nemanja Vidic is likely to be out until Christmas with a knee injury of his own.
Arsenal also have no fresh injury concerns, Bacary Sagna and Jack Wilshere came through their comeback games last weekend unscathed. Theo Walcott may have to settle for a place on the bench after playing the whole 120 minutes in Tuesday's 7 - 5 thriller against Reading. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has reportedly suffered an injury setback which is set to keep him out for two weeks while Kieran Gibbs (thigh), Wojciech Szczesny (ankle), midfielder Abou Diaby (thigh) and Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) are all still sidelined. Gervinho is also set to miss out for around three weeks with his ankle injury sustained in the 1 - 0 win over QPR.
Chelsea travel to the Liberty Stadium to face Swansea looking to recover from their controversial 3 - 2 defeat to Man United at Old Trafford last Sunday. Although the league leaders will be looking to carry on their unbeaten away run in the league this season. Michael Laudrup's team will be looking to build on their strong home form.
Swansea have had to be patient with defender Chico Flores after he picked up a dead leg in the win over Liverpool in midweek, Ashley Williams will captain the side despite an ankle problem with Michel Vorm (groin), Neil Taylor (broken ankle) and Kyle Bartley (thigh) all out.
Chelsea could be without Juan Mata (hamstring) and David Luiz (ankle) who picked up injuries in their epic 5 - 4 win over Man United on Wednesday. Ashley Cole returns from an ankle knock and Fernando Torres & Branislav Ivanovic will return from their one-match suspensions. Frank Lampard (calf) is still sidelined and John Terry will serve the final game of his four match ban.
Tottenham host Wigan at White Hart Lane looking to stay above Arsenal & Everton with three points while the Latics are looking for their second win at White Hart Lane.
Mousa Dembele is unavailable due to a hip injury while Emmanuel Adebayor is in contention after recovering from a back injury and illness. Jake Livermore is a doubt after suffering an ankle injury in Wednesday's defeat to Norwich. Scott Parker (achilles), Younes Kaboul & Benoit Assou-Ekotto (both knee) remain long-term absentees.
Roberto Martinez expects to be without on-loan Arsenal winger Ryo Miyaichi again as the winger continues his bid for fitness following a groin problem which has seen him miss the last three games. Still sidelined are Albert Crusat & Antolin Alcaraz (knee and groin problems, respectively).
Everton travel to Craven Cottage to face a Fulham team who have won three of their last four games at home. Everton will be looking for their first win since September.
Martin Jol is likely to stick to the same team that played in the thrilling 3 - 3 draw against Reading last weekend, however Bryan Ruiz is likely to step in for Dimitar Berbatov should the Bulgarian striker not recover from a rib problem. Alexander Kacaniklic is likely to miss out again.
Everton will be without Kevin Mirallas who picked up a knock in the Merseyside derby last weekend. Steven Pienaar is liekly to return after serving his one-match ban. Darron Gibson is the Toffees only other injury worry but may return to the squad.
Sunderland will entertain Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light with both sides looking to halt their underwhelming starts to the season.
Martin O' Neill has no more players to add to his injury list, although Wes Brown has suffered a set-back in his return from injury which will keep him out for a couple more weeks. Titus Bramble remains a doubt with a hip injury.
The Villans can welcome back left-back Joe Bennett who served his one-match suspension in midweek but midfielder Karim El Ahmadi will have to serve a one-match ban of his own after incurring his fifth booking of the season in the Capital One Cup match against Swindon. Defender Chris Herd may also miss out after being substituted with a knee injury in the match against Swindon.
Norwich City face Stoke City at Carrow Road looking for their third successive home win in all competitions while Stoke haven't won away in 14 league matches.
Defender Russell Martin has made a good recovery from his back injury and could be fit. Harry Kane is still a long-term absentee but could be back before Christmas following foot surgery.
The Potters will be without midfielder turned full-back Marc Wilson who is set to be out for three months after sustaining a fractured fibula in last week's 0 - 0 bore draw with Sunderland. Glenn Whelan wasn't deemed fit enough for the match against Sunderland but has given Tony Pulis a 'good problem' by being declared fit enough to be available for selection again.
West Ham will welcome champions Man City to Upton Park and will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing away defeat to Wigan while Man City play their second away evening kick-off in a row.
Sam Allardyce has no new injuries but cannot welcome back any players either. Guy Demel (hernia) and Matthew Taylor (calf) are both hoping to be in contention in a couple of weeks. Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) and Jack Collison (knee) remain long-term absentees for the Hammers.
Man City can welcome back James Milner who served his suspension picked up against Fulham, Pablo Zabaleta and Javi Garcia who have recovered from hamstring & thigh injuries respectively. Roberto Mancini will be without Micah Richards for about a month after the defender sustained a knee injury in the win against Swansea. David Silva, Jack Rodwell (both knee) and Maicon (foot) remain sidelined.
Reading travel to Loftus Road to face QPR looking to recover from their Capital One Cup capitulation in midweek with both sides being the only two without a win in the Premiership.
QPR captain Park Ji-Sung is a major doubt having not trained all week due to a knee injury. Bobby Zamora suffered a hip injury which could keep him out while Armand Traore is also struggling with a leg injury. Stephane M'bia start a three-match ban after his foolish sending off against Arsenal while Fabio (hamstring) and Andy Johnson (knee) remain sidelined.
Reading will be without Danny Guthrie because of a thigh strain and Jem Karacan is still sidelined with a knee injury that could keep him out until December.
Liverpool welcome Newcastle United to Anfield with the visitors looking for their third win on the trot and their first win at Anfield in 18 years. Capital One Cup holders Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from being knocked out of the cup they hold at the hands of Swansea in midweek.
Jose Reina and Glen Johnson remain injury doubts for Liverpool but the latter has a better chance of playing with both being assessed ahead of Sunday.
The Magpies could welcome back top scorer Demba Ba who has been recovering from a calf injury, but they will still be without Ivorian midfielder Cheick Tiote who serves the second of his three-match ban.
Monday night's game sees West Brom host Southampton at The Hawthorns with the Baggies looking to continue their impressive league run. Southampton currently hold the worst defence in the league.
Club captain Chris Brunt & defender Billy Jones have recovered from hamstring and knee injuries respectively and are in contention to start. Steve Clarke is hopeful Shane Long will recover from a hamstring injury while Claudio Yacob could also return.
The Saints could welcome back record signing Gaston Ramirez after the 21-year-old trained all week following his thigh injury. Frazer Richardson (groin) and Jack Cork (knee) remain sidelined but Tadanari Lee could make his league return after he featured in the Capital One Cup clash against Leeds in midweek following his elbow injury.
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