Manchester City V Chelsea betting

Premiership injuries / suspensions Team News 5-6 December 2009
 
Portsmouth v Burnley
Pompey will be missing defender Linvoy Primus again as they bid to climb away from the foot of the table when they take on Burnley at Fratton Park.
Keeper David James, Papa Bouba Diop and Steve Finnan will face late fitness tests.
Burnley will again be without injured trio Jay Rodriguez, Chris McCann and Martin Paterson as the Clarets seek their first away win of the season.
 
Arsenal v Stoke City
Arsenal will continue without striker Robin Van Persie(7 goals,7 assists), Kieran Gibbs, Gael Clichy, Nicklas Bendtner(1 goal,1 assist) & Johan Djourou when they take on Stoke City at the Emirates Stadium.
Stoke’s Abdoulaye Faye(1 goal) is sidelined again, while they will test the fitness of highly rated defender Ryan Shawcross(1 goal) prior to the trip.
 
Aston Villa v Hull City
Villa could go fourth if they beat Hull on Saturday. They will again be without defender Curtis Davies, and Stephen Warnock(1 assist) & James Collins(1 goal) will have to be assessed before the match.
Hull are the only other team in the Premiership yet to record an away win, and they’ll have to do without skipper Ian Ashbee again.
Striker Craig Fagan and Seyi Olofinjana(1 goal) are close to returns as the Tigers seek their first away win.
 
Blackburn v Liverpool
Rovers take on shaky Liverpool on the back of dumping Chelsea out of the Reserves er I mean, Carling Cup.
However, they will be without leading scorer David Dunn(5 goals,1 assist) who is injured with a calf strain. Defender Martin Olsson is still suffering with a virus and is doubtful.
Liverpool will travel to Ewood Park without striker Ryan Babel(2 goals,1 assist), while fellow striker Fernando Torres(10 goals,1 assist) may not be fit in time.
 
West Ham v Manchester Utd
If the Hammers weren’t already facing an uphill task against rampant United – they are now. Leading scorer Carlton Cole(7 goals,1 assist) is out for a few weeks with a knee injury, leaving Guillermo Franco(3 goals,1 assist) leading the line.
Luis Boa Morte, Callum Davenport & Dean Ashton remain sidelined, while West Ham will be hoping that defender Matthew Upson(2 goals) & Alessandro Diamanti(2 goals,1 assist) recover from their hamstring and hip injuries respectively.
For Man Utd, midfielder Owen Hargreaves is still a couple of weeks away, along with Rio Ferdinand who is still injured.
United await the fitness of keeper Edwin Van der Sar, Fabio, John O`Shea(1 goal,1 assist) and Jonny Evans as they bid to close the gap on leaders Chelsea.

Wigan v Birmingham City
Wigan take on Birmingham who have been unbeaten in five matches.
Wigan don’t have any injuries to report on.
Birmingham’s injury list has eased slightly but they will still be without defenders Stuart Parnaby, Martin Taylor and David Murphy.
Striker Garry O`Connor(1 goal) is ruled out also, while Damien Johnson may be fit again.
However, it is unlikely that boss Alex McLeish will tinker with his line-up as Blues seek a third successive win.
 
Wolves v Bolton
Wolves’ woes continue as winger Michael Kightly has been ruled out with an ankle injury sustained in last weekend’s derby with Birmingham City.
Murray continues on the sidelines, while Ronald Zubar, Chris Iwelumo and David Jones are rated as doubtful for the vital relegation battle with Bolton.
Bolton will be without midfielder Sean Davis and Joey O`Brien, while Danny Shittu & Riga are doubtful.
 
Manchester City v Chelsea
Manchester City’s creative midfielder Martin Petrov(3 goals,2 assists) is still sidelined as City seek to spoil Chelsea’s reign at the top of the league.
City are unbeaten at home so far, while Chelsea slay all in their wake; something’s gotta give.
Chelsea travel to Eastlands once again without Jose Bosingwa(1 assist) who is sidelined for around 8 weeks with a knee injury.
 
Fulham v Sunderland
Fulham striker Andrew Johnson(1 assist) is facing a lengthy lay-off after an exploratory groin operation and misses out again as the Cottagers take on Sunderland at Craven Cottage.
Diomansy Kamara(1 goal) is the other absentee as Fulham make slow but steady progress up the league.
Sunderland will definitely be missing keeper Craig Gordon and Lee Cattermole for the away trip to Fulham. Their away form is an exact reverse of their impressive home record so far!
 
Everton v Tottenham
Everton continue to flirt with the relegation zone as several key players continue to sit it out on the sidelines.
James Vaughan, Phil Neville, Victor Anichebe, Phil Jagielka & Mikel Arteta are all missing, while Jack Rodwell and Leon Osman(1 goal) are doubtful. However, Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov(2 goals) impressed in Europa League midweek and may well start.
Spurs keeper Carlo Cudicini and Luka Modric are still out for Tottenham, along with Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King – both defenders fighting to be fit for the trip to Goodison Park.