Here we go again, then. Less than 48 hours after Gameweek 18 got underway, the next round of fixtures is already thrust upon us – with only a handful of official news updates yesterday, though, we are mainly left to assess the lay of the land after Friday’s fixtures.
Phil Jagielka (hamstring) and Tim Howard (calf) are both likely to miss Everton’s trip to Newcastle after the pair was forced off with injuries in the home loss to Stoke. Kevin Mirallas and John Stones will be assessed after the duo sustained knocks in Friday’s 1-0 defeat. Mo Besic is hoping to shrug off an illness in time, though Steven Naismith is set to serve a one-match ban after topping off the Suspension Tightrope.
Olivier Giroud serves the first of a three-match ban as Arsenal head to West Ham this afternoon after his Boxing Day dismissal at home to QPR. Laurent Koscielny “has a chance” of making the match, though Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain “has an ever smaller chance” after missing Friday’s match with a groin problem.
Marouane Fellaini is ruled out of Man United’s trip to Spurs with a broken rib, whilst Adnan Januzaj is set miss out through illness. United are awaiting scans on the pelvic problem that forced Angel Di Maria out of Friday’s win over Newcastle. Judging by Ashley Young’s Instagram account, it seems Luke Shaw is back in the squad for the trip to White Hart Lane.
Gabby Agbonlahor will miss Aston Villa’s home encounter with Sunderland due to suspension. The forward earned his fifth yellow of the season away to Swansea and will serve a one-match ban.
Mark Hughes will check on Bojan (back) and Phil Bardsley (calf) ahead of the derby visit of West Brom, whilst Ryan Shawcross is expected to start despite picking up a head knock at Everton.
Fraizer Campbell is a doubt as managerless Palace travel to London neighbours QPR just 24 hours after the dismissal of Neil Warnock. The forward limped off just after the break in Friday’s home loss to Southampton.
Leicester’s Jamie Vardy is also unavailable after earning his fifth caution of the campaign in Gameweek 18, whilst Andy King has been ruled out with the knock that forced him off against Spurs.
Brad Jones is likely to miss Liverpool’s home clash with Swansea after being forced off with a thigh injury in the first-half of Friday’s win at Burnley. Simon Mignolet is set to return to the starting XI after being dropped due to poor form in recent weeks.
Stevan Jovetic and Vincent Kompany could return for City’s home clash with Burnley, according to reports. The former has stepped up his recovery from another hamstring problem and was an unused sub in Friday’s win at West Brom.
Andrew Robertson is a doubt for Hull due to a hamstring problem. James Chester misses the visit of Leicester through suspension, whilst Jake Livermore returns after serving a similar one-match ban.
Carl Jenkinson is unavailable to face parent club Arsenal at Upton Park later today, whilst Sam Allardyce still has doubts over James Tomkins’ ongoing hamstring problem.
All this and more has now been updated in the Team News section ahead of this morning’s deadline. Keep an eye on our official Twitter Stream as breaking news unfolds.
