Football: Weekend guide to the Premiership

MATCH OF THE DAY

Aston Villa v Liverpool

Last season: 2-1

WHILE JOHN GREGORY'S Aston Villa will be looking to make Premier League history today if they avoid defeat - no top-flight side has had an unbeaten start of 13 matches since the Premiership's inaugural season in 1992 - Liverpool's manager Gerard Houllier will be looking merely to bolster the confidence of his men.

"The players are a bit down at the moment," Houllier said. His side have now lost three League games in a row, their worst run for six years. "Our objective is to raise confidence, and confidence comes through results and good performances," Houllier continued. "We are at the foot of two mountains - we play the undefeated Premiership leaders and the undefeated leaders in Spain [Celta Vigo, who knocked Villa out the Uefa Cup]. We have nothing to lose.

"Obviously we have a defensive problem. This is not new and we've been talking about it for a long time. But only work and patience will put the team back on the right way and they know that."

Michael Owen could return for Liverpool, having missed last week's 3- 1 defeat against Leeds with a hamstring problem. Houllier will wait until the last minute before deciding whether to play the striker, who trained yesterday. Jamie Redknapp should be fit to play despite carrying a slight groin injury but Steve McManaman is out until the new year. As if he needs the pressure when still not fully back to form, Robbie Fowler (right), may have to shoulder the burden of the striking duties.

John Gregory is knitting an impressive team and has benefited from the outstanding form not only of his established players but also teenagers like Gareth Barry and Lee Hendrie (left), who made his England debut against the Czech Republic on Wednesday and nearly scored late in the game after coming on as a substitute in the closing minutes.

His inspirational play - as well as Dion Dublin's five goals in his first two matches for Villa - are just two of the ingredients totally lacking in a confidence-strapped Liverpool side. Villa will turn to Mark Draper or Alan Thompson to replace Ian Taylor, who is serving a one-match ban having picked up five bookings this season. Mark Bosnich is still out with a shoulder injury.

"While you are in top position the others have to catch you and although that puts pressure on us, it it still the best position to be in," Gregory said yesterday. Wouldn't Houllier like to be in his shoes.

ASTON VILLA (from): Oakes, Watson, Ehiogu, Southgate, Barry, Wright, Hendrie, Thompson, Merson, Collymore, Dublin, Joachim, Charles, Grayson, Draper, Rachel.

LIVERPOOL (from): James, McAteer, Carragher, Staunton, Bjornebye, Leonhardsen, Fowler, Riedle, Owen, Redknapp, Ince, Thompson, Harkness, Heggem, Berger, Friedel, Murphy, Kvarme.

Injuries: Villa: Bosnich. Liverpool: McManaman.

Suspensions: Villa: Taylor. Liverpool: None.

Referee: P Jones.

Blackburn v Southampton

Last season: 1-0

WITH BLACKBURN'S Kevin Gallacher fully fit and Nathan Blake scoring against Manchester United last week, Kevin Davies may be dropped to the bench against his former club. Football being what it is, however, it would not be a surprise if Davies chose today to score his first goal for his new club since his pounds 7.25m summer move. Winger Jason Wilcox is back in contention less than three weeks after a hernia operation. Blackburn have not lost to Southampton at Ewood Park since October 1951.

Saints' Matt Le Tissier is undergoing treatment for a hamstring injury which forced him to be substituted during last weekend's 4-1 defeat against Aston Villa, and will have a late fitness test. Norwegian defender Claus Lundekvam is out with a hamstring injury, while his compatriot Egil Ostenstad is doubtful with a similar problem. England Under-21 striker James Beattie stands by for a recall. England Under-18 winger Wayne Bridge is hoping to recover from hamstring trouble, while Mark Hughes returns after missing the Villa game with a one-match ban.

BLACKBURN ROVERS (from): Filan, Kenna, Henchoz, Peacock, Sherwood, Dailly, Johnson, Duff, Blake, Davies, Marcolin, Fettis, Dunn, Croft, Gallacher, Broomes, Wilcox.

SOUTHAMPTON (from): Jones, Hiley, Benali, Dodd, Monkou, Palmer, Oakley, Ripley, M Hughes, Le Tissier, Beattie, Williams, Dryden, Kachloul, Gibbens, Ostenstad.

Injuries: Blackburn: Flowers, McKinlay, Flitcroft, Perez, Davidson. Saints: Hirst, D Hughes, Beresford, Lundekvam, Howells.

Suspensions: Blackburn: Sutton. Saints: None.

Referee: S Dunn.

Leeds United

v Charlton

Last season: No fixture

DAVID O' LEARY'S adventurous new-look 3-4-3 Leeds will again be without influential captain Lucas Radebe, who is still suffering with the knee injury sustained three weeks ago against Derby. Stephen McPhail (calf strain) is also out. Teenage striker Alan Smith, who scored the equaliser last week at Anfield with his first touch in the Premiership - before Jimmy Hasselbaink re-found his touch to bag a brace - is in line to make his home debut, but there is no place in the squad for the transfer- listed Lee Sharpe.

Charlton's captain, Mark Kinsella, should maintain his 100 per cent Premiership appearance record. Kinsella has been included in Charlton's squad for the trip to Elland Road despite travelling to Belgrade in midweek with the Republic of Ireland squad. Paul Mortimer has recovered from the hamstring trouble which kept him out of contention for the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough last week. Neil Redfearn is now fully recovered from a knee problem so Curbishley must choose three from five contenders in midfield.

LEEDS UNITED (from): Martyn, Haaland, Wetherall, Wijnhard, Hasselbaink, Ribeiro, Bowyer, Hopkin, Granville, Halle, Kewell, Harte, Hiden, Woodgate, Molenaar, Smith, Robinson.

CHARLTON ATHLETIC (from): Ilic, Royce, Mills, Youds, Rufus, Tiler, Powell, Redfearn, Robinson, K Jones, Kinsella, Mortimer, Hunt, Mendonca, Brown, Bright, S Jones, Barness.

Injuries: Leeds: Radebe, McPhail. Charlton: No new injuries.

Suspensions: Leeds: None. Charlton: None.

Referee: R Harris.

Leicester

v Chelsea

Last season: 2-0

LEICESTER CITY'S Manager of the Month, Martin O'Neill, could have his top goalscorer Tony Cottee back for the visit of Chelsea. The former Everton and West Ham striker faces a late fitness test on a thigh injury before O'Neill names his side. Veteran defender Steve Walsh may continue as a makeshift striker. Emile Heskey (ankle) is rated as extremely doubtful while Swedish international Pontus Kaamark (Achilles) is still out. In Chelsea's last 10 League visits to Filbert Street, Leicester have lost once.

Gianluca Vialli has a near full-strength Chelsea squad available as his side look to extend their unbeaten run to 17 games, but Dennis Wise is still suspended and Eddie Newton and Pierluigi Casiraghi are injured. All the players on international duty during the week returned unscathed - despite doubts over Tore Andre Flo. It was reported the Norwegian had to play with a pain-killing injection against Egypt in Cairo, but he told Chelsea officials he was fit and well after the game and scored the equaliser after 63 minutes of the friendly.

LEICESTER CITY (from): Keller, Savage, Sinclair, Elliott, Ullathorne, Walsh, Zagorakis, Lennon, Parker, Fenton, Izzet, Campbell, Wilson, McMahon, Oakes, Arphexad, Cottee, Heskey.

CHELSEA (from): Vialli, Petrescu, Di Matteo, Zola, Leboeuf, De Goey, Babayaro, Desailly, Poyet, Flo, Le Saux, Kharine, Goldbaek, Hitchcock, Ferrer, Duberry, Lambourde, Nicholls, Morris.

Injuries: Leicester: Kaamark. Chelsea: Newton, Casiraghi.

Suspensions: Leicester: None. Chelsea: Wise.

Referee: P. Durkin.

Middlesbrough v Coventry

Last season: No fixture

MIDDLESBROUGH HAVE now gone 25 League matches unbeaten at home, eight more than any other Premiership side. Given this record their confidence should be high but they face Coventry today without the suspended midfield trio of Paul Gascoigne, Robbie Mustoe and Phil Stamp. Whereas Gazza's absence might be a blessing - until he is fully fit he is more likely to give away goals through rash challenges than score them, as happened against Charlton last week - the loss of Stamp may cause more problems. It was Stamp who replaced Gascoigne last week and scored the second-half goal that earned Boro a point at The Valley. Neil Maddison will make a comeback after a foot injury and Mark Summerbell could be promoted from the reserves.

Coventry, coping well in the post-Dublin era, as last week's 3-0 win over Everton showed, are expected to be unchanged. Manager Gordon Strachan is likely to keep the same side that lifted the Sky Blues out of the bottom five, which means Gary Breen and Darren Jackson will be on the substitutes' bench.

MIDDLESBROUGH (from): Schwarzer, Fleming, Cooper, Vickers, Festa, Gordon, Kinder, Blackmore, Stockdale, Baker, Maddison, Townsend, Summerbell, Beck, Ricard, Deane, Ormerod.

COVENTRY (from): Hedman, Nilsson, Shaw, Williams, Edworthy, Telfer, McAllister, Clement, Froggatt, Huckerby, Whelan, Breen, Jackson, Soltvedt, Boateng, P Hall, Wallemme, Ogrizovic.

Injuries: Boro: Pallister. Coventry: No new injuries confirmed.

Suspensions: Boro: Gascoigne, Mustoe, Stamp. Coventry: None.

Referee: G Willard.

Sheff Wed v

Man Utd

Last season: 2-0

PAVEL SRNICEK, the new Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper, should keep his place in the side despite Kevin Pressman being close to full fitness after a thigh injury. Srnicek made his debut in the 1-1 draw at Newcastle and the Czech international produced a fine performance which should sway manager Danny Wilson, who otherwise has a nearly full squad to chose from. The long-term injured Ian Nolan and Earl Barrett are unavailable, as is the suspended Paolo Di Canio.

Paul Scholes is Manchester United's main doubt. The midfielder, who scored twice during last Saturday's 3-2 win over Blackburn, was sent home from the England camp on Tuesday suffering from a slight hamstring injury. Scholes has had treatment all week but Nicky Butt is standing by to replace him. Roy Keane returns to midfield after being rested for most of last week's game. Young full-back John Curtis looks likely to make way for the return of Wes Brown as United look for their first League win at Hillsborough in five years.

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY (from): Srnicek, Atherton, Jonk, Walker, Carbone, Booth, Hyde, Sanetti, Cobian, Humphreys, Briscoe, Oakes, Hinchcliffe, Sedloski, Emerson, Magilton, Rudi, Alexandersson, Sonner, Pressman, Clarke.

MANCHESTER UNITED (from): Schmeichel, P Neville, Stam, G Neville, Irwin, Beckham, Keane, Butt, Scholes, Blomqvist, Cole, Yorke, Solskajer, Cruyff, Berg, Brown, Curtis, Van der Gouw.

Injuries: Wednesday: Nolan, Barrett. Man Utd: No new injuries confirmed.

Suspensions: Wednesday: Di Canio. Man Utd: None.

Referee: D Elleray.

Tottenham v Nottm Forest

Last season: No fixture

DAVID GINOLA is back to full fitness and should return for Tottenham. The Frenchman was kept on the bench for the completely unpredictable 0- 0 draw at Arsenal last weekend when George Graham made his first return to Highbury as the Spurs manager. Graham's only absentee from last week's squad is Ramon Vega, who has a knee injury.

Forest's Dave Bassett will check on the fitness of Jon Olav Hjelde (flu) before finalising his plans for today. If the Norwegian defender recovers in time, he is likely to return to the starting line-up as Bassett reverts to a 3-5-2 formation. Bassett is likely to leave out Thierry Bonalair to accommodate the recall of Hjelde. Bassett could give Welshman Christian Edwards his Premier League debut if Hjelde is declared unfit but it's more likely that, in that instance, he will name an unchanged starting line-up.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (from): Baardsen, Carr, Calderwood, Nielsen, Fox, Anderton, Armstrong, Edinburgh, Ginola, Wilson, Scales, Iversen, Dominguez, Allen, Sinton, Campbell, Clemence, Walker.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (from): Beasant, Bonalair, Rogers, Chettle, Armstrong, Stone, Gemmill, Bart-Williams, Quashie, Van Hooijdonk, Freedman, Hjelde, Darcheville, Louis-Jean, Edwards, Gray, Harewood, Shipperley, Crossley.

Injuries: Spurs: Vega. Forest: No new injuries.

Suspensions: Spurs: None. Forest: None.

Referee: S Lodge.

Wimbledon v Arsenal

Last season: 0-1

EFAN EKOKU is likely to return for Wimbledon. The Nigerian international striker has returned to full training after several weeks out with a damaged hamstring. Manager Joe Kinnear's only remaining injury doubt is young forward Jason Euell, who suffered severe bruising to his ankle during the 3-0 defeat by Chelsea last week and is unlikely to feature in what should be a closely contested and hard-played London derby.

Dennis Bergkamp has been passed fit to return for Arsenal and captain Tony Adams also plays after making his comeback from back trouble in the goalless draw with Tottenham last Saturday. Manager Arsene Wenger has rejected the option of resting Bergkamp for next Wednesday's Champions' League match with Lens at Wembley. "Dennis has trained well this week and needs games. Next Wednesday's match is not important to me until Sunday because we also have great ambitions in the league," said Wenger. Adams' continued presence could prove crucial. He missed five matches before the Spurs game but now his deputy Gilles Grimandi is out with a hamstring injury sustained in the reserves. Arsenal, without a goal in 264 minutes, have never played in a goalless League match away at Wimbledon.

WIMBLEDON (from): Sullivan, Cunningham, Kimble, Perry, Blackwell, Thatcher, Earle, Ekoku, Roberts, Gayle, Ardley, Heald, Goodman, Leaburn, Ainsworth, Hughes, McAllister, Kennedy, Castledine, Jupp, Clarke, Cort, Fear.

ARSENAL (from): Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Keown, Winterburn, Parlour, Vieira, Petit, Overmars, Bergkamp, Anelka, Ljungberg, Wreh, Hughes, Vivas, Mendez, Boa Morte, Upson, Manninger.

Injuries: Wimbledon: None confirmed. Arsenal: Grimandi.

Suspensions: Wimbledon: None. Arsenal: None.

Referee: M Riley.

MONDAY - 8PM

Everton v Newcastle Utd

Last season: 0-0

SLAVEN BILIC could make his first appearance of the season for Everton against Newcastle on Monday night. The Croatian has missed the first three months of the season with a thigh injury but he could replace Marco Materazzi, who is suspended. Everton will also be without captain Duncan Ferguson, who will be serving a one-match ban. Midfielders John Collins and Olivier Dacourt are also rated as doubtful. Everton have now recorded three consecutive defeats in the Premiership and they are 17th in the League, just two points clear of the relegation places.

Newcastle, who have themselves shown less than stunning form in recent weeks - recording three straight draws including the 1-1 result last week against Sheffield Wednesday - look likely to be without Alan Shearer. The England striker is doubtful with a hamstring injury, while defender Stuart Pearce sits out the second game of a three-match ban. Greek international Nikos Dabizas is back in contention after missing last week's match through international duty. Discipline problems are catching up with the Magpies, as Dabizas is suspended next week and David Batty and Robert Lee are on four yellow cards each this season.

EVERTON (from): Myhre, Short, Ball, Watson, Unsworth, Bilic, Cleland, Dunne, Dacourt, Collins, Hutchison, Oster, Cadamarteri, Bakayoko, Grant, Simonsen, Milligan..

NEWCASTLE UNITED (from): Given, Harper, Griffin, Barton, Dabizas, Charvet, Hughes, Lee, Batty, Hamann, Glass, Solano, Gillespie, Speed, Dalglish, Andersson, Ketsbaia, Georgiadis, Serrant.

Injuries: Everton: None. Newcastle: Shearer doubtful.

Suspensions: Everton: Materazzi, Ferguson. Newcastle: Pearce.

Referee: N Barry.

SUNDAY - 4PM

Derby County

v West Ham

Last season: 2-0

MART POOM could start his first game of the season tomorrow. Poom lost the goalkeeping spot to Russell Hoult at the start of the season but the former Leicester player was taken off on a stretcher with concussion in Monday's 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest. A doctor will make a decision on Hoult's condition but Poom is favourite to play. Captain Igor Stimac is available after serving a one-match ban and Lee Carsley has recovered from a knee injury but defender Stefan Schnoor(groin) is doubtful.

West Ham's injury problems have eased with Chilean defender Javier Margas coming through a reserve team comeback following a knee operation two months ago. Andy Impey and Stan Lazaridis trained yesterday and are into contention. Neil Ruddock is available again after a one-match ban and Harry Redknapp must decide whether to drop Julian Dicks to make way for him or employ a 4-4-2 formation, which would mean Eyal Berkovic dropping to the bench.

DERBY COUNTY (from): Poom, Hoult, Prior, Laursen, Stimac, Carbonari, Elliott, Delap, Powell, Bohinen, Dorigo, Wanchope, Sturridge, Burton, Baiano, Eranio, Carsley, Schnoor, Harper.

WEST HAM (from): Hislop, Sealey, Ferdinand, Dicks, Ruddock, Pearce, Potts, Lomas, Lampard, Berkovic, Keller, Sinclair, Wright, Kitson, Hartson, Moncur, Abou, Margas, Breacker.

Injuries: Derby: None confirmed. West Ham: No new injuries.

Suspensions: Derby: None. West Ham: None.

Referee: A Wilkie.