Brief news before this weekend's Premier League matches:
* Spain striker Fernando Torres will miss second-placed Liverpool's match at home to West Ham United on Monday along with Brazilian defender Fabio Aurelio.
Both picked up injuries in Wednesday's Champions League win over Olympique Marseille, with Torres (hamstring) set to miss up to three weeks and Aurelio (calf) two.
"It's alarming," Torres told the Spanish radio station Onda Madrid. "I have noticed it's in a similar place to some of my other recent injuries.
"I need to be more careful, to recover properly without rushing back or setting deadlines, to make sure it doesn't happen again."
* Arsenal could be boosted by the return of Emmanuel Adebayor for their visit to leaders Chelsea on Sunday. The Togo striker has only played 30 minutes in the last three league games since injuring his ankle at the start of November.
The London club, currently fifth in the table, are also monitoring the progress of midfielder Samir Nasri (knee) and defender Bacary Sagna (ankle).
* Chelsea and Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba will miss Sunday's clash serving out the second of a three-match domestic ban for throwing a coin at Burnley fans during Chelsea's shock League Cup defeat earlier this month.
* Manchester United are waiting on the fitness of striker Dimitar Berbatov who is a doubt for Sunday's derby away to Manchester City with a hamstring injury.
"It's not an easy one. He's never had a hamstring injury before," manager Alex Ferguson told the club's website (www.manutd.com).
Edwin van der Saar will return to goal after being rested on Tuesday in the Champions League draw at Villarreal.
* Mid-table City are hopeful that Brazilian playmakers Elano and Robinho will figure on Sunday after missing Thursday's UEFA Cup win at Schalke 04. Robinho was suffering from an ankle injury while Elano's wife had a baby.
* Everton manager David Moyes is short of strikers with only Aiyegbeni Yakubu likely to feature against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Louis Saha and Victor Anichebe (both hamstring) are set to miss out, although South African attacker Steven Pienaar is on the verge of resuming training.
* Newcastle United could welcome back defender Steven Taylor (groin) for the derby away at Middlesbrough on tomorrow while Australian striker Mark Viduka also returned to training this week.
* Fourth-placed Aston Villa could be without John Carew for their home game against Fulham tomorrow after the forward missed training yesterday with a hip injury. Defender Carlos Cuellar may return following a series of injuries.
* Sunderland and Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon is unlikely to face Bolton Wanderers tomorrow despite returning to training after cracking a bone in his ankle. Striker El Hadji-Diouf is in contention to play his former club.