The timing of this weekend’s FA Cup matches couldn’t be worse. Most Premier League squads are exhausted after 4 games in 10 days. And while the magic of the FA Cup is greater for lower-league teams, the Third Round of the FA Cup this weekend seems like a unnecessary evil. To make matters worse, there’s also the threat of a FA Cup replay hanging over the teams’ heads if they don’t get a victory this weekend.

Not surprisingly, most Premier League teams are planning on dropping many of their stars. Here’s the complete list of squad news ahead of this weekend’s games.

ARSENAL

Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina is expected to start Arsenal’s FA Cup third-round match against Hull on Sunday.

Striker Danny Welbeck (thigh) missed the Barclays Premier League defeat at Southampton, as did forward Lukas Podolski (groin), who is a transfer target for Inter Milan. Both are expected to again be absent, while Olivier Giroud serves the last part of his three-match suspension.

England international Theo Walcott could come back into the side following a return to fitness, along with midfielder Mathieu Flamini as manager Arsene Wenger is expected to rotate his squad. Aaron Ramsey (hamstring), Mikel Arteta (calf), Mesut Ozil (knee), Abou Diaby (calf) and Jack Wilshere (ankle) all continue their rehabilitation.

Provisional squad: Ospina, Monreal, Chambers, Mertesacker, Bellerin, Coquelin, Flamini, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Walcott, Szczesny, Debuchy, Koscielny, Sanchez, Campbell, Akpom, Maitland-Niles.

ASTON VILLA

Ron Vlaar is likely to be out for Aston Villa after he limped off in their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Thursday.

The defender suffered a knee injury and was due to have a scan on Friday to discover the severity of the problem. Fabian Delph is still suspended while Ashley Westwood, Nathan Baker and Libor Kozak are out.

Jack Grealish, Shay Given and Matt Lowton could all start with Paul Lambert expected to rotate his squad.

Provisional squad: Guzan, Given, Hutton, Lowton, Okore, Clark, Herd, Cissokho, Sanchez, N’Zogbia, Cole, Cleverley, Richardson, Grealish, Bacuna, Weimann, Benteke, Robinson, Agbonlahor.

BURNLEY

Burnley boss Sean Dyche will make changes to his starting line-up for the first time in seven games when Tottenham visit Turf Moor on Monday in the third round of the FA Cup.

Defence is a worry for the Clarets boss, with captain Jason Shackell picking up an early calf problem in Thursday’s 3-3 draw at Newcastle before his replacement Kevin Long suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury.

Michael Duff (calf) has been sidelined for more than a month while Dyche must check on the availability of on-loan Manchester United centre-half Michael Keane. Dean Marney was also forced off at Newcastle through illness.

Provisional squad: Heaton, Cisak, Trippier, Mee, Reid, Wallace, Kightly, Sordell, Marney, Jutkiewicz, Boyd, Gilks, Keane, Barnes, Arfield, Ings, Vokes, Jones.

CHELSEA

Striker Diego Costa and forward Eden Hazard are among the front-line Chelsea players who could be rotated out of the starting XI for Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie with Watford.

Petr Cech could replace Thibaut Courtois in goal, depending on the severity of the latter’s finger injury, while Oscar, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic could also be afforded a rest.

Jose Mourinho will aim to balance fielding a side to advance with one which gives his players a rest after an arduous festive fixture schedule which included Thursday’s 5-3 loss at Tottenham.

Provisional squad: Courtois, Cech, Ivanovic, Luis, Fabregas, Zouma, Ake, Ramires, Oscar, Hazard, Drogba, Mikel, Schurrle, Salah, Remy, Costa, Matic, Willian, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Schwarzer.

CRYSTAL PALACE

Crystal Palace will give fitness tests to Damien Delaney and James McArthur for Sunday's FA Cup tie at Dover Athletic.

The Eagles pair picked up unspecified injuries in the goalless at Aston Villa on New Year's Day and are to be assessed. Glenn Murray, Jack Hunt and Adlene Guedioura are available after returning from loan spells, but Mile Jedinak is on international duty with Australia.

Provisional squad: Speroni, Mariappa, Dann, Delaney, Ward, McArthur, Fryers, Ledley, Puncheon, Zaha, Bolasie, Hangeland, Doyle, Campbell, Hennessey, Thomas, Bannan, Kelly, Gayle, Murray, Hunt, Guedioura.

EVERTON

Everton boss Roberto Martinez will keep a close eye on the progress of James McCarthy in training ahead of Thursday’s Barclays Premier League clash with Hull City at the KC Stadium.

The midfielder was withdrawn after 60 minutes in the 3-2 loss against Newcastle as a precaution, and according to his manager is still not ready to play a full 90 minutes.

Martinez has also confirmed that goalkeeper Tim Howard faces up to six weeks out with a calf injury sustained against Stoke, while both John Stones and captain Phil Jagielka remain sidelined with ankle injuries.

Provisional squad: Robles, Griffiths, Coleman, Distin, Baines, McCarthy, Barkley, McGeady, Mirallas, Besic, Barry, Lukaku, Pienaar, Stones, Garbutt, Naismith, Alcaraz, Eto’o, Kone.

HULL CITY

Hull welcome back Tom Huddlestone from suspension as they replay last season’s FA Cup final opponents Arsenal in the third round of the competition.

Huddlestone is back after four games out, Stephen Quinn returns from a one-match ban and the likes of Harry Maguire, Tom Ince and Yannick Sagbo will be pushing for rare starts.

There are gaps to fill elsewhere, with Andy Robertson (ankle), Liam Rosenior (hamstring), Gaston Ramirez (groin), Mohamed Diame (knee) and Michael Dawson (hamstring) all missing.

Provisional squad: McGregor, Jakupovic, Harper, Chester, Davies, Maguire, McShane, Figueroa, Bruce, Elmohamady, Livermore, Meyler, Ince, Brady, Aluko, Quinn, Huddlestone, Hernandez, Jelavic, Sagbo.

LEICESTER CITY

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson is likely to be without midfielders Dean Hammond and Danny Drinkwater for the FA Cup third round visit of Newcastle.

Hammond has a calf problem while Drinkwater came off against Liverpool on 1 January with a groin injury.

LIVERPOOL

Defender Martin Skrtel returns from suspension for Liverpool’s FA Cup trip to face AFC Wimbledon.

Fellow centre-back Dejan Lovren could make his first appearance since December 17 after recovering from a groin injury.

Captain Steven Gerrard, who has announced he will be leaving the club in the summer, is likely to be rested while striker Mario Balotelli needs to be assessed after missing Thursday’s draw with Leicester through injury.

Provisional squad: Mignolet, Lovren, Skrtel, Sakho, Manquillo, Henderson, Lucas, Markovic, Coutinho, Sterling, Borini, Ward, Toure, Moreno, Enrique, Gerrard, Can, Lallana, Lambert, Balotelli, Ojo, Rossiter.

MANCHESTER CITY

Manchester City are still without captain Vincent Kompany (calf/hamstring) and strikers Edin Dzeko (calf) and Sergio Aguero (knee) for their FA Cup third-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday.

Midfielder Fernando is available again after suspension but Yaya Toure could be involved for the final time before joining up with Ivory Coast for the African Cup of Nations.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini has hinted that second-choice goalkeeper Willy Caballero is likely to keep his place for another game with England number one Joe Hart being rested.

Provisional squad: Caballero, Hart, Sagna, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Mangala, Boyata, Clichy, Kolarov, Nasri, Silva, Milner, Navas, Toure, Fernando, Fernandinho, Lampard, Jovetic, Pozo.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Ashley Young has been ruled out of Manchester United’s FA Cup third round tie at Yeovil because of a hamstring injury he suffered against Stoke on New Year’s Day

Midfielder Angel di Maria is back in training following his pelvic injury and could feature against the Sky Bet League One side.

Marcos Rojo (thigh), Daley Blind (knee) and Marouane Fellaini (illness) are all major doubts.

Provisional squad: De Gea, Lindegaard, Amos, Vermijl, Blackett, Shaw, Thorpe, Smalling, Evans, Jones, McNair, Rafael, Pereira, Fletcher, Herrera, Valencia, Lingard, Anderson, Carrick, Januzaj, Di Maria, Mata, Falcao, Rooney, Van Persie, Wilson, W Keane.

NEWCASTLE UNITED

Newcastle defender Steven Taylor will miss Saturday’s FA Cup third round trip to Leicester as he waits to discover the full extent of his ankle injury.

The 28-year-old limped off with a suspected ruptured Achilles tendon during Thursday’s 3-3 Barclays Premier League draw with Burnley and is likely to miss the remainder of the season if the club’s worst fears are confirmed.

Striker Papiss Cisse is suspended and has been released to join up with the Senegal squad ahead of the African Cup of Nations, and midfielder Cheick Tiote and Mehdi Abeid are due to follow suit with the Ivory Coast and Algeria respectively. Goalkeepers Tim Krul (ankle) and Rob Elliot (thigh), Siem de Jong (thigh), Rolando Aarons (hamstring), Gabriel Obertan (thigh), Sammy Ameobi and Ryan Taylor (both knee) are all still out.

Provisional squad: Alnwick, Woodman, Janmaat, Dummett, Santon, Williamson, Coloccini, Streete, Haidara, Anita, Sissoko, Cabella, Colback, Gouffran, Gutierrez, Riviere, Perez, Armstrong.

QUEENS PARK RANGERS

QPR boss Harry Redknapp is likely to rest several key players for Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie at home to Sheffield United.

Rob Green, Richard Dunne, Joey Barton and Clint Hill have all featured regularly over the busy Christmas schedule and are likely to sit out the match.

Sandro and Alejandro Faurlin are both ruled out with knee injuries while Yun Suk-Young remains sidelined with an ankle problem and Adel Taarabt is not considered fit enough to play.

Provisional squad: Green, McCarthy, Murphy, Traore, Onuoha, Ferdinand, Dunne, Caulker, Hill, Henry, Barton, Fer, Mutch, Phillips, Kranjcar, Hoilett, Austin, Zamora.

SOUTHAMPTON

Southampton will again be without right-back Nathaniel Clyne (foot) for Sunday’s FA Cup third round tie against Ipswich.

France midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin will be available again following suspension for the Barclays Premier League win over Arsenal.

Midfielder Sadio Mane is set for a scan after limping off after scoring against the Gunners, and had been scheduled to join up with Senegal ahead of the African Nations Cup. Japan defender Maya Yoshida has left on international duty at the AFC Asia Cup in Australia.

Provisional Squad: Forster, Gardos, Fonte, Bertrand, Alderweireld, Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse, Davis, Wanyama, Tadic, Pelle, Long, Davis, Isgrove, Targett, McCarthy, Reed, Rowe.

STOKE CITY

Stoke will be without influential forward Bojan Krkic on Sunday due to the hamstring problem that kept him out of the United match, although the Spaniard may have been rested even if fit, with Hughes expected to make changes.

Fringe players such as goalkeeper Jack Butland and midfielder Oliver Shenton could feature.

SUNDERLAND

Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole is out of Sunday’s FA Cup third round tie with Leeds at the Stadium of Light.

The 26-year-old missed Thursday’s 3-2 Barclays Premier League defeat at Manchester City with a groin injury and will sit out once again.

However, head coach Gus Poyet will have a tailor-made replacement available following Liam Bridcutt’s return after concussion, while full-backs Patrick van Aanholt (shoulder) and Anthony Reveillere (calf) are expected to resume training next week.

Provisional squad: Pantilimon, Mannone, Jones, Brown, O'Shea, Vergini, Coates, Bridcutt, Rodwell, Gomez, Larsson, Johnson, Buckley, Alvarez, Mavrias, Giaccherini, Wickham, Fletcher, Altidore.

SWANSEA CITY

Swansea manager Garry Monk will make several changes for the FA Cup third-round tie at Tranmere on Saturday following a demanding festive fixture schedule which has already seen them visit Hull, Liverpool and QPR in the last fortnight.

Fringe players Gerhard Tremmel, Jazz Richards, Kyle Bartley, Tom Carroll and Marvin Emnes could all start with top goalscorer Wilfried Bony and midfielder Ki Sung-yueng now away on international duty, Jonjo Shelvey suspended and Jefferson Montero sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Swansea must wait to see if Wayne Routledge will be available having appealed against the winger’s straight red card in the 1-1 draw at QPR on New Year’s Day.

Provisional squad: Tremmel, Richards, Bartley, Fernandez, Taylor, Britton, Carroll, Dyer, Emnes, Sigurdsson, Gomis, Fabianski, Williams, Amat, Routledge, Emnes, Barrow, Tiendalli, Fulton, King.

TOTTENHAM

Ryan Mason is not expected to feature in Tottenham’s FA Cup third-round tie at Burnley on Monday.

The 23-year-old midfielder lasted just 11 minutes of the 5-3 victory over Chelsea on New Year’s Day after picking up a hamstring injury when stretching for the ball. Erik Lamela missed that match with a minor calf complaint and may not be risked against Burnley, against whom head coach Mauricio Pochettino is likely to rotate his squad.

Provisional squad: Lloris, Vorm, Friedel, Walker, Naughton, Dier, Rose, Davies, Fazio, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Chiriches, Stambouli, Dembele, Paulinho, Capoue, Bentaleb, Lamela, Eriksen, Chadli, Lennon, Townsend, Soldado, Kane, Adebayor.

WEST BROM

Tony Pulis will take charge of his first match against Gateshead on Saturday after being named West Brom’s new head coach.

He could be without Victor Anichebe (groin) but is definitely without Jonas Olsson who is still recovering from an Achilles operation.

Georgios Samaras, Gareth McAuley, Jason Davidson and Brown Ideye could all start with Pulis ready to give his players a clean slate.

Provisional squad: Foster, Myhill, Pocognoli, Gamboa, Dawson, Lescott, McAuley, Yacob, Davidson, Wisdom, Baird, Varela, Gardner, Brunt, Morrison, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Blanco, Sessegnon, Ideye, Berahino, Samaras.

WEST HAM

West Ham winger Matt Jarvis has his sights set on making up for lost time with an extended run in the first team.

The Irons labored through a 1-1 draw against West Brom on Thursday, after two grueling Barclays Premier League fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal.

Manager Sam Allardyce’s squad will welcome extra recovery time from the hectic Christmas schedule as their FA Cup third-round tie at Everton will not be played until Tuesday night.

Jarvis came off the bench against the Baggies, who were watched at Upton Park by new manager Tony Pulis, and offered some threat down the flanks.

With Senegal duo Cheikhou Kouyate and Diafra Sakho set to head to the African Nations Cup, former Wolves midfielder Jarvis is hoping to make the most of any more opportunities having spent a spell out earlier in the season following a thigh injury.

"It has been very frustrating for me, but when you get a chance to play, you have to do well and hopefully I have done that," said Jarvis, who has made just four appearances since October.

"I was extremely disappointed to get injured before the start of the season, that has cost me, but now I am back to being fully fit and trying to get back into the team."

After taking just one point from three matches, West Ham stand in seventh place, yet still within striking distance of the top four.

Jarvis said: "The two games before were very hard fixtures and it would have been for any team.

"We were disappointed not to have taken all three points against West Brom, but it is another point and we keep going."

Sakho, who headed West Ham into an early lead before Saido Berahino equalized for West Brom, is set for a scan on his back after being substituted during the second half.

However he would have been unavailable for the Everton match anyway under FIFA regulations for international release.

Allardyce admits the scheduling of the cup fixture came as something of a surprise.

"It is a big FA Cup third-round tie on a Tuesday night, which is a bit bizarre and something I don't think I have done before," he said.

"But it gives the lads time to rest and recover and make sure we can put a team out to try to get through to the next round."

 

For viewers in the United States, here’s the complete list of FA Cup games being televised or shown live on the Internet this week.