All your St Stephen’s Day Premier League team news

Liverpool look to stay on top, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s back at Old Trafford

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team will aim to continue their unbeaten league start against Rafael Benitez’ Newcastle team. Photograph: Getty Images

Wednesday, December 26th

Brighton (13th) v Arsenal (5th)
Shane Duffy will replace Lewis Dunk in the centre of defence for Brighton.
Duffy is available after a three-match ban and steps in for his usual defensive partner Dunk, who is now suspended following his red card against Bournemouth. Wingers Alireza Jahanbakhsh (hamstring) and Jose Izquierdo (knee) are still out injured.

Arsenal could be without as many as five defenders for the trip south. Rob Holding (knee), Konstantinos Mavropanos (groin) and Hector Bellerin (calf) are definitely out, while Nacho Monreal (hamstring) will be assessed and Shkodran Mustafi (hamstring) is set to return to training this week. Playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan (fractured metatarsal) is out for six weeks and striker Danny Welbeck (ankle) is a long-term absentee.

Last season: Brighton 2 Arsenal 1, Arsenal 2 Brighton 0
Last five league matches: Brighton W W L L L; Arsenal W D W L W
Top scorers (all competitions): Glenn Murray (Brighton) 8; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) 14
Referee: Anthony Taylor

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Burnley (18th) v Everton (11th)
Burnley are likely to host Everton with the same squad which fell to defeat at Arsenal. Midfielder Robbie Brady recovered from a knock to start at the Emirates Stadium and could feature again. Winger Aaron Lennon (knee), goalkeeper Nick Pope (shoulder) and left-back Stephen Ward (knee) will be absent while midfielder Steven Defour (calf) is unlikely to be back.

Idrissa Gana Gueye could return to the Everton squad after missing the last two matches with a groin problem. Gueye's availability could be timely as fellow midfielder Andre Gomes was forced off with a knee injury against Tottenham on Sunday.

Last season: Burnley 2 Everton 1, Everton 0 Burnley 1
Last five league matches: Burnley L L W L L; Everton L D D L L
Top scorers (all competitions): Ashley Barnes (Burnley) 4; Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton) 8
Referee: Michael Oliver

Crystal Palace (14th) v Cardiff (17th)
Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate are expected to return for Palace. Full-back Martin Kelly is doubtful but has not yet been ruled out by manager Roy Hodgson and will be assessed. Striker Christian Benteke remains on the sidelines.

Joe Bennett could be back in the mix for Cardiff. The full-back missed Saturday's 5-1 home defeat against Manchester United after being forced off at Watford the previous weekend, but he has returned to training. Danny Ward is out, though, while Jazz Richards has been battling to overcome a hamstring problem.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Crystal Palace W L L W W; Cardiff W L W L L
Top scorers (all competitions): Andros Townsend and Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace) 5; Callum Paterson (Cardiff) 4
Referee: Lee Probert

Fulham (20th) v Wolves (10th)
Fulham boss Claudio Ranieri has no fresh injury problems. Winger Ryan Sessegnon missed the goalless draw at Newcastle with a groin strain and could return. There was no place either for midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa as he recovers from a knock.

Diogo Jota (hamstring) is likely to remain out for Wolves after missing Friday's 2-0 defeat to Liverpool. Conor Coady and Ryan Bennett are one caution away from a suspension ahead of the yellow card amnesty.

Last season: No corresponding fixture
Last five league matches: Fulham L D L L D; Wolverhampton L W W W L
Top scorers (all competitions): Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) 7; Raul Jimenez (Wolves) 5
Referee: Andre Marriner

Leicester (9th) v Manchester City (2nd)
Leicester will make a late decision on whether to hand striker Jamie Vardy a second start in five days. Vardy netted the winner in Saturday's 1-0 victory at Chelsea, having recovered from groin issues. Matty James and Daniel Amartey are still long-term absentees.

Manchester City will check on midfielder Fernandinho after he missed Saturday's loss to Crystal Palace with a thigh problem. The game may come too soon for David Silva, although the playmaker has returned to light training, while defenders Vincent Kompany and Danilo are again doubtful. Left-back Benjamin Mendy and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo are long-term absentees.

Last season: Man City 5 Leicester 1, Leicester 0 Man City 2
Last five league matches: Leicester W D L L W; Man City W W L W L
Top scorers (all competitions): Jamie Vardy (Leicester) 6; Sergio Aguero (Man City) 12
Referee: Mike Dean

Liverpool (1st) v Newcastle (15th)
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to return after missing the last two matches with a foot injury. Naby Keita is expected to resume training ahead of the game after sustaining a foot injury and bruised ribs at Wolves on Friday. Centre-backs Joe Gomez (fractured leg) and Joel Matip (broken collarbone) remain sidelined for another three to four weeks.

Newcastle will be without South Korea midfielder Ki Sung-yueng after he headed off to the Asia Cup. Jonjo Shelvey is struggling to shake off a thigh injury so Isaac Hayden could come into contention. Ciaran Clark (ankle) missed Saturday's 0-0 draw with Fulham while Federico Fernandez (calf) was on the bench. Goalkeeper Karl Darlow (elbow) is still out.

Last season: Liverpool 2 Newcastle 0, Newcastle 1 Liverpool 1
Last five league matches: Liverpool W W W W W; Newcastle L D L W D
Top scorers (all competitions): Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) 14; Salomon Rondon (Newcastle) 5
Referee: Graham Scott

Manchester United (6th) v Huddersfield (19th)
Romelu Lukaku looks likely to miss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first home match as caretaker manager of Manchester United. The Belgium striker was given time off due to a private matter and missed the trip to Cardiff, where fellow forward Alexis Sanchez was absent through injury. Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian, Antonio Valencia and Scott McTominay were also missing in the Welsh capital.

Huddersfield are hopeful Jonathan Hogg (knee) will be available after missing last weekend's loss to Southampton. Fellow midfielder Rajiv Van La Parra could also return nearly three months after suffering a back injury. Tommy Smith (hamstring), Aaron Mooy (knee), Danny Williams (knee) and Abdelhamid Sabiri (collarbone) are all out.

Last season: Man Utd 2 Huddersfield 0, Huddersfield 2 Man Utd 1
Last five league matches: Man Utd D D W L W; Huddersfield L L L L L
Top scorers (all competitions): Anthony Martial (Man Utd) 9; Mathias Jorgensen, Phillip Billing and Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield) 2
Referee: Jonathan Moss

Tottenham (3rd) v Bournemouth (8th)
Dele Alli may not be risked after being forced off at half-time of Tottenham's 6-2 win over Everton with a minor hamstring problem. Fellow midfielder Moussa Sissoko could be rested after playing all but seven minutes of the last five matches.

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has no fresh injury concerns as captain Simon Francis (groin) and striker Callum Wilson (hamstring) each played the full 90 minutes against Brighton. Defender Adam Smith and central midfielders Lewis Cook and Dan Gosling (all knee) remain sidelined ahead of the game at Wembley.

Last season: Bournemouth 1 Tottenham 4, Tottenham 1 Bournemouth 0
Last five league matches: Tottenham L W W W W; Bournemouth L W L L W
Top scorers (all competitions): Harry Kane (Tottenham) 15; Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) 9
Referee: Chris Kavanagh

Watford (7th) v Chelsea (4th)
Watford will have an unchanged squad for the visit of Chelsea as Will Hughes (hip), Andre Gray (leg), Sebastian Prodl (knee) and Adalberto Penaranda (foot) remain sidelined for the Hornets

Alvaro Morata should be fit for Chelsea despite struggling with a knee problem. He is back in full training and Blues boss Maurizio Sarri is hopeful he will be ready to return at Vicarage Road. Andreas Christensen (hamstring) may miss out again.

Last season: Watford 4 Chelsea 1, Chelsea 4 Watford 2
Last five league matches: Watford L L D W W; Chelsea W L W W L
Top scorers (all competitions): Roberto Pereyra (Watford) 5; Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 10
Referee: Martin Atkinson


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