Alan Pardew has some mixed injury news ahead of this weekend’s Tyne-Wear derby. Stewart Downing has fully recovered from illness for Liverpool, Chelsea’s problems at left-back escalate, Chris Hughton ponders a switch to 4-4-2 in order to solve his side’s dire scoring record, while unconfirmed reports indicate Theo Walcott will be fit for Arsenal’s clash with Norwich this weekend:

Alan Pardew rolled out an injury update ahead of Newcastle’s Europa League clash with Benfica this evening, revealing a trio of first-team regulars could be set to return for this weekend’s Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland:

“Hatem (Ben Arfa) has made an unbelievable recovery. He will be involved tomorrow and I’m sure if he’s needed he will be somebody that can turn the game. (Cheick) Tiote and (Mathieu) Debuchy – who’s obviously unavailable – are both going to be training tomorrow, which is good news for us. For this game, Hatem is available. Steven Taylor’s got a knock this morning so he’s a doubt for the game tomorrow, which is a bit of a shame. Other than that, everybody else is available. Colo (Fabricio Coloccini) I would say is looking at West Brom in terms of our fixture list – he has perhaps a small chance of that game – but we’re almost there.”

There’s no doubt the availability of Ben Arfa, Tiote and Debuchy is huge news for the Magpies. Given Ben Arfa’s history injury this season, Pardew is likely to hand him game time off the bench but with Davide Santon a likely casualty, Debuchy’s return to training is a relief, particularly with Taylor likely to miss out this evening. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and James Perch look set to be fielded at centre-half against the Portuguese side and while the hosts will be desperate to claw back a two-goal first leg deficit, Sunday’s showdown will surely play a part in Pardew’s thinking – victory would take his side to 39 points, eight points clear of their bitter rivals.

Brendan Rodgers also issued an update on his squad yesterday. Ahead of a weekend trip to Reading, the Liverpool boss revealed:

“Young Raheem (Sterling) won’t be involved. The medics wanted to take him out for a few weeks just to see where he was at with injuries. It has been an ongoing one. When he shows signs of fatigue and a little bit of injury, we have to look at that and treat it in the best way we think possible. At the moment, that’s to take him out. Stewart Downing had a bout of sickness last weekend just before the game, hence the reason for him having to come off. He’s fine now. Apart from that, we’re fit and strong – the players are looking very good. “

Having played a total of 45 minutes in the last nine Gameweeks, Sterling’s season has ground to a halt after a run of 19 starts in the first 22 matches. His omission certainly lessens the competition for places on the flank – good news for those who have invested in Philippe Coutinho in recent weeks – while Downing’s recovery once again places question marks over Daniel Sturridge’s game time. The former Chelsea man lost his place due to a recent tactical reshuffle but replaced Downing midway through the first-half of Sunday’s home draw with West Ham after illness forced the latter off. While Sturridge owners were hoping Downing’s continued absence would afford another chance out wide, it looks like he’ll be back on the bench again as the Reds head off to the Madejski.

Theo Walcott’s owners were given cause for optimism yesterday after reports suggested the winger has declared himself fit for this weekend’s clash with Norwich. The unconfirmed news came via a tweet from a journalist who had just interviewed the Arsenal winger for a magazine shoot – at this point we’re still a little cautious, with neither the player, the club or Arsene Wenger issuing any confirmation on the matter. Nevertheless, it’s fair to say Walcott’s potential return for the Canaries clash would have a huge effect on Fantasy plans, given the Gunners are braced for a double Gameweek but at present, we’ll await confirmation from the Emirates before getting carried away.

Chris Hughton has admitted he is pondering a change to his attacking set-up as he looks for goals to secure Norwich’s top-flight survival. The Canaries boss has mainly opted for a 4-4-1-1 formation this term but, in discussing last weekend’s home draw against Swansea, he also mulled over the idea of moving to a front two:

“It’s certainly something I’m always thinking about. It’s about the opposition and the decision on the day. It’s just trying to get the balance. Although we’re at home, if you look at the Premier League you probably won’t see another team that’s playing two wingers and two players up front, which is what we have with Robert(Snodgrass) and Elliott (Bennett). I think certainly Wes (Hoolahan) in the role that he plays has been able to have some influence on the games. I knew the way Swansea played. They play through midfield, so that was my decision. I do think in this division it is very difficult to play with two wingers and two forwards up front. You have to have some sort of balances in the team and generally that is what I’ve tried. “

Aside from last weekend’s 2-2 clash with the Swans and a 2-1 win over Everton in Gameweek 27, Hughton’s side have been alarmingly poor since the turn of the year – scoring three goals in their other 10 games in 2013. The last few matches have seen Kei Kamara leading the line with Grant Holt climbing off the bench late on as the Canaries go on the offensive but a safety-first approach is proving detrimental to their prospects. Luckily for Hughton, after this weekend’s trip to Arsenal, his side are handed a run of four fixtures which could help their prospects – Reading, Villa and West Brom all make their way to Carrow Road and with a trip to Stoke also on the horizon, Holt could be recalled to the first XI as his manager looks for extra impetus up top to steer his side to safety.

Chelsea’s woes at left-back continued yesterday with the news that Ryan Bertrand has been ruled out of their Europa League clash against Rubin Kazan due to a virus. Rafa Benitez is, of course, already devoid of Ashley Cole’s services this evening as he looks to protect a 3-1 advantage from last week’s first leg at the Bridge. Benitez also revealed Gary Cahill has recently undergone minor surgery on a knee problem but the centre-half and Cole are both back in the gym and are on course to return to action within the next fortnight:

“He had an operation, we did it very quickly. The Saturday of the Southampton game he was training and when we were testing we wanted to wait two or three days, but he was not feeling well so we did the operation quickly.”