Bryan Ruiz has a chance of returning from a hamstring injury for Fulham’s home game with Southampton, though Damien Duff and Mladen Petric are out for the Cottagers. The Costa Rican’s possible comeback would see a more advanced role for Dimitar Berbatov ahead of a run of three home games in the next four for the Cottagers.
Martin O’Neill is sweating over the fitness of Seb Larsson and Adam Johnson ahead of the visit of City – both were subbed off last weekend with knee and leg problems respectively.
In what has been a relatively quiet day in terms of official news, Chris Hughton has confirmed Grant Holt is expected to return as Norwich prepare for the visit of Chelsea, though right-back Steven Whittaker is ruled out for the Canaries.
Darron Gibson is available for Everton’s Boxing Day home game with Wigan. The Toffees have appealed against the midfielder’s dismissal at West Ham last weekend, with the FA expected to review the case on December 27.
Michael Laudrup is hopeful on a return for Pablo Hernandez as Swansea make their way to Reading, though Angel Rangel remains a doubt for the Welsh outfit, while Harry Redknapp is optimistic on Julio Cesar’s chances of a comeback as QPR prepare for the visit of West Brom.
We’ve collected all this in our team news section and added our current predicted lineups ahead of Wednesday’s fixtures. You can keep in touch with the very latest via our twitter feed as always.
