Late Fitness Check - GW11

Both Arsenal and Liverpool have come under the media spotlight this week having lost players to injury.

The Gunners’ of course are no stranger to the glare of publicity but while the club have enjoyed a relatively injury-free start to the season; the muscular problems picked up by Ramsey, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain have thrust Arsenal back into the limelight while former Wales Assistant Manager Raymond Verheijen is happy to fan the flames. Arsene Wenger denies claims that old-school training and prehistoric coaching methods are to blame and even invited the Dutch fitness coach for a look behind the scenes. “I trust my medical and coaching staff to do well. We are very well organised on that front.”

Jürgen Klopp also felt the need to defend his medical and sports science staff due to an ever-growing injury list which saw Kolo Toure [hamstring] added this week. “I think this is one of the departments that works perfect,” he said. “Chris (Morgan, head physio) and his team are working hard. There is no doubt from my side after two and a half weeks here. Look at the kind of injuries we have, it’s nothing to do with the medical department. It’s been because of hits or other things.”

Just another boring week in Premier League paradise!

Chelsea – vs – Liverpool

Thibaut Courtois [knee] and Branislav Ivanovic [hamstring] are the only definite absentees for Chelsea in the early kick-off. "We are waiting on Pedro and Diego, the others are fine," revealed Mourinho. The Blues made just three changes to the side for the midweek cup tie at The Britannia – a signal of the managers’ intent – but it still wasn’t enough as Chelsea exited the fourth round on penalties. Eden Hazard – missed the crucial spot kick – although his overall performance was much improved. Diego Costa went to hospital on the night with suspected fractured ribs, but despite talk of heavy strapping or a protective corset being used I expect Loic Remy to start. Nemanja Matic is available following his suspension.

Daniel Sturridge “is progressing,” but there is still a little swelling around the strikers’ knee and he won’t be risked unnecessarily. Christian Benteke was rested as a precaution midweek but the Belgian returned to the training field on Thursday and has been passed fit. It remains to be seen whether Klopp believes Benteke is fit enough for a start following his superb goal – a trademark header from the bench at Southampton - otherwise Divock Origi will lead the line. James Milner can be called upon having served his ban. Liverpool have drawn 8 of their last ten games [all competitions] and another share of the spoils would come as no surprise.

Swansea City – vs – Arsenal

Garry Monk has a fully fit squad to choose from after Wayne Routledge was back at the training ground this week following his recovery from a calf strain. Swansea ended a run of six games without a win at Villa Park - a victory which ultimately cost Tim Sherwood his job. Kyle Naughton was back amongst the ranks as Angel Rangel dropped out and it was his assist for Andre Ayew which helped secure all 3-pts. Gylfi Sigurdsson scored the other meaning he has directly contributed to 30-goals in his sixty appearances for the club - scoring [16] and assisting [14].

Arsenal were dealt a double injury blow on Tuesday as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott both limped off within 20-minutes of cup tie at Hillsborough. Ox pulled up within the first five minutes after tweaking his hamstring and should return after the international break while Walcott – his replacement – will be slightly longer after a scan revealed a calf strain. Olivier Giroud – best goals per minute ratio in the PL this season - is set for an extended run in the first team. Forgotten man Joel Campbell come in on the right-hand side. Aaron Ramsey, David Ospina and Mikel Arteta should be back by mid-to-late November.

West Brom – vs – Leicester City

West Brom made it successive [1-nil] PL wins last time out and barring injuries Tony Pulis could keep faith in the same side which beat Sunderland and Norwich. "We still have one or two knocks. We won't know who is going to be fit until Saturday morning." James Morrison is one of those. However, the midfielder would have to settle for a place on the bench – if passed fit – having been side-lined since early October.

Claudio Ranieri confirms Leonardo Ulloa should return this weekend. The Argentine has missed the last 3-games because of a thigh complaint "I didn't want to risk him [versus Hull].” Jamie Vardy created history against Palace in game week ten. The striker was Jonny on the spot once again to make it seven consecutive PL games in which he has scored. He joins an elite group of players featuring Alan Shearer and Ian Wright. Ranieri made a raft of changes for the midweek trip to Hull suggesting that his priorities are focussed firmly on the league this year.

Crystal Palace – vs – Manchester United

Alan Pardew has revealed that both Yohan Cabaye and Pape Souare "are doubts, it's less likely that they'll play, than more likely." Mile Jedinak and Adrian Mariappa could deputise. Connor Wickham “is a definite no," but should return next week while Marouane Chamakh is training “but needs a full pre-season.” Joel Ward may be rested following his recent return from a knee injury but Jason Puncheon is over a bout of illness. Dwight Gayle could be recalled to the starting eleven after serving his ban as Frazier Campbell and Patrick Bamford warm the bench. Yannick Bolasie has been passed fit following a clash of heads with Zabaleta which required stitches and James McArthur will be available after his wife gave birth this week.

Memphis Depay and James Wilson both picked up injuries during Wednesday nights’ Capital One Cup exit "We have to wait and see," confirmed Louis van Gaal. However, the duo are expected to miss out along with Antonio Valencia and Paddy McNair. Matteo Darmian is likely to start, in what could be the only change from the derby bore-draw line-up. Wayne Rooney continues to disappoint and stats back-up what most of us are thinking. The skipper should be dropped. Rooney had the worst passing accuracy, fewest touches and lost the ball more times than any other United player last weekend. Martial through the middle would pose a much greater attacking threat while the manager could accommodate his captain in the No.10 role.

Manchester City – vs – Norwich City

Pablo Zabaleta "should be back after the international break," after a scan showed the defender had damaged medial knee ligaments – although the injury is not as bad as originally feared. Bacary Sagna will continue at right-back. David Silva “still has some pain in his ankle," and won’t make the game but he could be considered for the trip to Sevilla on Tuesday. Fabian Delph and Gael Clichy will "hopefully" return next weekend while Fernandinho is available after serving his suspension in the cup. Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero remain out. Pellegrini must decide whether to play Wilfried Bony up top or go with Kelechi Iheanacho who was named man-of-the-match on his first competitive start against Crystal Palace.

Andre Wisdom "will struggle for the game," confirms Alex Neil after picking up a knee injury against Everton. "Dieumerci Mbokani is still trying to get over his illness." The boss also alludes to a third Canaries’ player but "I can't say who. It's another worry though." Norwich were unlucky not to progress in the Capital One after an encouraging display at Goodison Park. Youssouf Mulumbu made his first competitive start [following a fractured metatarsal] but the midfielder isn’t quite ready for 90-minutes just yet. Lewis Grabban seized his chance on Tuesday and following a solid performance could be set for a more prominent role following the departure of Gary Hooper [on-loan to Sheffield Wednesday]. Only Newcastle and AFC Bournemouth have conceded more goals than Norwich and the visitors will do very well to keep a City side at bay [17-goals in five home games].

Newcastle United – vs – Stoke City

Newcastle won their appeal against Fabricio Coloccini’s sending off which means the captain will be available to face Stoke. However, there was bad news regarding Jack Colback after a scan confirmed he would miss around 6-weeks due to ligament damage following a tackle by former teammate Lee Cattermole. Steve McClaren hinted that Vernon Anita could be the player to take his place. Kevin Mbabu and Rolando Aarons are available despite neither making last weeks’ match-day squad. Karl Darlow has an outside chance of returning before the international break. Newcastle were excellent during the opening forty-five at the Stadium of Light so expect minimal changes “If we perform like we did at Sunderland we will win 8 or 9 times out of 10." Tim Krul had surgery this week and begins his long road to recovery.

Marc Muniesa suffered a "significant" hamstring strain against Chelsea and the defender could miss up-to a month. Glen Johnson "may be available," after Mark Hughes confirmed the full-back returned to training on Thursday. A thigh issue will keep Geoff Cameron out for "another 4-5 days," but Jon Walters “should be OK,” after suffering a dead leg. Mame Diouf played 120 minutes on his return [including 30 minutes at right-back after Phil Bardsley was sent-off] but despite being "stiff and sore" the Senegal striker should make the squad. Bojan Krkic will return. Ryan Shawcross is back in the fold and came through the match relatively unscathed. Following a disappointing home defeat to Watford expect Hughes to freshen his side for the trip to St James’ Park.

Watford – vs – West Ham

Jose Jurado will face a late fitness test. The Spanish midfielder has spent over a month on the side-lines after picking up a hamstring injury in training. However, Quique Flores is expected to stick with the same eleven which took all 3-pts from The Britannia. Tommie Hoban and Joel Ekstrand remain out but Valon Behrami [calf] and Victor Ibarbo [knee] will be available despite their recent niggling injury problems. Troy Deeney finally broke his Premier League goal scoring hoodoo against Stoke by converting his 26^th shot this season.

No fresh injury concerns for West Ham. "We should be alright, almost a fully fit for Saturday,” confirmed Slaven Bilic who could also welcome Winston Reid back. “He has trained with us for a few days now too.” Victor Moses was unavailable against Chelsea due to his loan agreement but Mauro Zarate came in and scored which could mean the winger has to settle for a place on the bench. Alex Song will begin first team training on Sunday.

Everton – vs – Sunderland

A stomach bug threatens to rule Seamus Coleman out. There is a "huge question mark - he has lost a lot of weight," said Roberto Martinez. Mo Besic and Leighton Baines will join the group in training on Friday but neither are expected to feature. Joel Robles was excellent midweek with some suggesting the Spaniard would oust Tim Howard, however, the manager has already stated that his US international remains his number one “no question.” Funes Mori will come back into the side after tests confirmed Phil Jagielka damaged medial knee ligaments following a “needless” challenge with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The England international could be out until the New Year although it’s hoped the 33-year-old could return within “8-9 weeks.” Gareth Barry served his suspension midweek and will be available.

Sam Allardyce will give injured trio – John O'Shea, Younes Kaboul and Ola Toivonen - every chance to prove their fitness although he admits "We may have to juggle around the team and the system due to injuries.” Fabio Borini had a small injection in his ankle and should train on Friday. Seb Coates, Seb Larsson and Wes Brown are all available should any of those fail to recover in time. Sunderland will be hoping to use last weekends’ derby win over Newcastle as a springboard - the Black Cats climbed above their local rivals but remain within the bottom three.

Southampton – vs – AFC Bournemouth

Jay Rodriguez is struggling with a foot complaint and will miss out again while Ronald Koeman also confirms Shane Long hasn’t quite recovered from the ankle sprain he picked up on international duty. Sadio Mane is available after he was booked twice in added time at Anfield - the Senegal international served his ban midweek.

Harry Arter has “recovered well” after his first competitive appearance of the season at Anfield and the Cherries’ midfielder comes into contention for Sundays’ derby at St Marys. Eddie Howe will consider his goalkeeping options as Artur Boruc is still nursing a minor thigh problem - Adam Federici may start in goal. Bournemouth are sitting just above the relegation zone and despite scoring after just 49 seconds last weekend [the fastest goal in the PL this season] they went onto lose [5-1] for the second successive game. Lee Tomlin has recovered from illness while Marc Pugh [ribs] and Andrew Surman [calf] are fine.

Tottenham – vs – Aston Villa

No fresh injury concerns for Tottenham who expect to have the same group of players available. Nabil Bentaleb, Heung-Min Son, Tom Carroll, Nacer Chadli and Frederico Fazio are all ruled out “We assess and analyse them every day and hope that they are ready to be in the squad as soon as possible." Ryan Mason was back on the bench at Dean Court but the midfielder is still short of match-fitness having been out since the win at Sunderland six weeks ago. Harry Kane finally got his season underway with a hat-trick last weekend while Spurs – unbeaten in nine – scored five for the first time since New Year’s Day.

Remi Garde is expected to be the eventual successor to Tim Sherwood but during the interim Kevin MacDonald will take temporary charge of the club. Villa are winless in nine, a run which has seen them drop to the bottom of the table and the 54-year-old will be hoping for a major upturn in fortunes. Jores Okore was named among the substitutes in the cup but after nearly 5-months out – following knee surgery – the defender is not quite ready for the rigours of league football. Joleon Lescott should return after missing out midweek but Micah Richards has accepted an FA misconduct charge and may receive a ban. Ciaran Clark would return after missing the last month because of a thigh strain.