Steve Bruce has welcomed the walking wounded back into the fold at Newcastle United this week and says Jonjo Shelvey, Emil Krafth and Big Andy Carroll are not too far away from action either. “It’s the first time we’ve had 18 or 19 players training for weeks so it’s a welcome boost,” he said. “Dwight Gayle has trained all week and puts himself in contention, so does Yoshi Muto. Christian Atsu is sick and we’ve got a slight doubt about Joelinton, who has a bit of a sore thigh, but we expect him to be OK.”
Eddie Howe is also an early bird, and there’s a mini-boost for Bournemouth in the sense that David Brooks is edging back to fitness, though this weekend’s trip to Burnley still comes too soon for the Wales winger. “No one will return [from injury] for this game but there is a group of four who are making good progress,” said Howe, who remains without Charlie Daniels and Arnaut Danjuma. “David has had his best week in terms of his recovery, but there is still a way to go.”
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Preamble
We are in for a blockbuster. Not only will we chew over every last word from the Arsenal, Wolves and Rangers camps following a jolly good night’s work in the Europa League, and doubtless a healthy dosing of Manchester United reaction after their outing to Brugge, but there is also the small fry of Chelsea v Tottenham, aka Lampard v Mourinho, and Leicester v Manchester City to look forward to. And that’s before we get stuck into the chaos of the Championship and beyond, namely
Middlesbrough’s
Saturday’s Premier League action
Chelsea v Tottenham, 12.30pm (GMT)
Burnley v Bournemouth
Crystal Palace v Newcastle
Sheffield United v Brighton
Southampton v Aston Villa
Leicester v Man City
Sunday
Manchester United v Watford, 2pm
Wolves v Norwich City, 2pm
Arsenal v Everton, 4.30pm
Monday
Liverpool v West Ham, 8pm
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