Leaders Chelsea could be without central defender David Luiz and midfielder Juan Mata for Saturday's trip to Swansea City after they picked up ankle and hamstring injuries respectively in the League Cup victory over Manchester United in midweek.
John Terry is still serving a four-match ban for racist language, leaving Chelsea stretched at the back, although left-back Ashley Cole has recovered from a swollen ankle.
Frank Lampard is still sidelined with a calf injury.
Swansea are sweating on the fitness of defender Chico Flores after he limped out of Wednesday's League Cup victory at Liverpool while German Gerhard Tremmel will continue in goal in the absence of first-choice Michel Vorm who was injured in the defeat by Manchester City last week.
Brazilian midfielder Anderson could feature for Manchester United at home to Arsenal on Saturday after impressing in the 5-4 League Cup defeat by Chelsea in midweek.
"Ando was the best player on the pitch [on Wednesday] until he tired," manager Sir Alex Ferguson said on Friday. "He needs games now and hopefully we can give him them."
United beat Arsenal 8-2 in the corresponding fixture last season and could go top of the league with victory in the early kick-off. However, Ferguson is not expecting a repeat of the goal spree of last year.
"They have proved defensively this year that they're a stronger, more physical team. I watched them last week against QPR and it'll be a hard game," he said.
Argentina full-back Pablo Zabaleta's return to fitness is a boost for Manchester City as they travel for Saturday's late kick-off at West Ham United.
Zabaleta has been hit with a hamstring injury but is expected to return to the right back slot after Micah Richards was injured in the 1-0 home victory against Swansea City last week.
"I feel good, I've been training with the team and I think I should be fine to play on Saturday," Zabaleta told City's website. "We have some problems in defence at the moment. We've had three full-backs injured over the past few months, so it is great to be back with the team."
Manager Roberto Mancini said Richards' knee injury was not as bad as had been reported and he would be out for "one month" rather than the 16 weeks initially feared.
Fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur will again be without injured midfielder Moussa Dembele (hip) as they host Wigan Athletic on Saturday but striker Emmanuel Adebayor returns to the squad after a stop-start season.
"Moussa will have further information on his injury today, so he will be out of the game," manager Andre Villas-Boas told Tottenham's website.
"Ade has made a good return - he trained today - so he will be available for selection."
Adebayor scored 17 goals in the Premier League last season while on loan from Manchester City but none in his four appearances since he signed on a permanent basis in the summer.
