No pressure - Laws
Burnley boss Brian Laws insists his side are not under any pressure ahead of their two crucial home matches against Stoke and Wolves.
Two wins from the next two games would give the Clarets an excellent chance of staying up going into the last lap of the season but defeats would leave them with a mountain to climb.
Laws though insists they are not under pressure, rather it is the clubs who have spent a lot of money and our down the bottom end of the table that are facing all the pressure, and he maintains no one will be looking forward to coming to Burnley.
"These are not pressure games, although we know and understand what they mean. Pressure games are the last of the season when all depends on it," he told Sky.
"Have a look instead at the teams who have spent a fortune and are down at the bottom end. They are twitchy.
"The pressure is mounting heavily on them and they are panicking. We should not be panicking. We should be enjoying it and we are.
"Everyone outside of Burnley expects us to get beaten every week. But we have changed that fact.
"We have great support behind us and that gives us a bit of leverage and a great chance. No-one can come here and enjoy the prospect. It is going to be very noisy."
Midfielder out for Trotters
Bolton boss Owen Coyle will again have to make changes to his midfield against Sunderland as Tamir Cohen is suspended.
Cohen picked up two yellow cards in the 2-1 win at West Ham on Saturday and will now have to serve an automatic one-match ban at the Stadium of Light.
Coyle does have options and could play Ricardo Gardner in the middle after he came off the bench at Upton Park, while Mark Davies is back in contention after recovering from an ankle injury.
The Wanderers boss also has to decide whether to keep faith with the misfiring Johan Elmander or bring in Ivan Klasnic alongside Kevin Davies in attack.
Fab ruled out for Gunners
Arsene Wenger has confirmed Cesc Fabregas will not play when Arsenal take on Porto in the Champions League tonight.
Fabregas suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury against Burnley on Saturday but Wenger hinted his influential midfielder could still play as the Gunners look to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit.
However Fabregas has now been ruled out of the game and Wenger just hopes he is not out for even longer.
"Cesc has a hamstring problem and we could not even take a gamble with him," said Wenger. "I was hoping he would recover after the Burnley game because we were cautious with him.
"We don't know how long he will be out. He is having a scan today and we are convinced it will only be a small time, and he has a small chance of getting back for next weekend against Hull, but to play him again would mean significant damage."
Elsewhere Alex Song is back available after serving a two-match ban while midfield duo Andrey Arshavin and Abou Diaby, who came off the bench at the weekend, could start.
William Gallas is again expected to miss out with a calf injury.
O'Neill wants more from Carew
Martin O'Neill has told John Carew he needs to show the same hunger every week if he wants to keep his place in the Villa side.
Carew bagged a hat-trick as Villa booked their place in the FA Cup semi-final with a remarkable fight back at Reading on Sunday but that does not mean he is guaranteed a starting place next time out.
The Norwegian was only in the side after Gabriel Agbonlahor picked up a sickness bug on the morning of the game and although O'Neill was delighted with his performance, he wants to see that kind of desire more often.
"Gabriel Agbonlahor was poorly in the morning and had to go home, so John steps in and scores a second-half hat-trick which was absolutely delightful," O'Neill revealed.
"John at his hungriest can perform like that. He got the equaliser for us and his game lifted two or three-fold. Goals give him confidence and the next thing you know he is running the game. He can do that and I want him to perform like that more often.
"I would be delighted if he could score a hat-trick every week but first he needs to find a level of performance which is up there with the best strikers."
Midfielder adds to injury woes
Stoke midfielder Glenn Whelan faces a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring strain as injury problems mount for boss Tony Pulis.
Whelan suffered the injury in the FA Cup defeat against Chelsea on Sunday and now looks certain to miss Stoke's Premier League clash with Burnley on Wednesday.
Whelan joins a growing list of Potters stars on the sidelines, with Salif Diao, James Beattie, Danny Higginbotham and Matthew Etherington all doubts ahead of the trip to Turf Moor.
To add to Pulis' problems defender Ryan Shawcross is suspended for the next two fixtures after receiving a straight red card for his now infamous challenge on Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey.
Pulis admits it will be a test for his squad on Wednesday, with Burnley in desperate need of points in their battle to beat the drop.
He told the club's official website: "The injuries are mounting up at the moment and it will be a case of seeing what side we can put out at Burnley on Wednesday.
"It is certainly going to test the strength in depth of the squad because we don't want to rush players back if they are not quite ready."
Hodgson delights in fixture pile-up
Roy Hodgson believes Fulham should enjoy the situation they find themselves in rather than worry about a fixture pile-up.
The Cottagers face a gruelling next five fixtures, with two Europa League games against Italian giants Juventus as well as Premier League fixtures with both Manchester clubs and an FA Cup replay with Spurs.
However, boss Hodgson feels his players and the fans should enjoy their coming fixtures as they reflect how successful Fulham have been over the last two years.
He said: "Success is what you strive for as a professional sportsman and we are reaping the benefits.
"Yes we are playing a lot of games but we are not victims in any way.
"You look at our next few fixtures and that is what you play sport for.
"There are many players at a lower level who would give anything to be in the position we are in.
"So my message to everyone is we may not win every game but we should enjoy each and every one of them."
Piquionne hopes for Premier stay
Portsmouth striker Frederic Piquionne, on-loan from Lyon, is hopeful he can stay in England beyond the end of the current campaign.
Piquionne scored a brace in Pompey's FA Cup quarter-final victory over Birmingham at the weekend.
The 31-year-old striker remains hopeful Portsmouth can go all the way in the competition and is confident he can do enough between now and the end of the season to convince an English side to offer him a deal.
He said: "I am 31 yet I have never experienced an atmosphere like that during and after a match.
"We have lost a lot of matches this season and endured many problems. Yet still the supporters are cheering and applauding us.
"Now I hope they love me because the last few years in France have not been great for me. I have never won a trophy before in my career and maybe that can change.
"Whatever happens, I want to stay in England and I am doing all I can to find a club here."
However, Pompey's financial troubles mean it is almost impossible they will be able to secure a deal for Piquionne, although another Premier League outfit may make a move if he can continue to find the net on a regular basis before the current campaign draws to a close.
Moses set for Liverpool test
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez may hand teenage star Victor Moses his first start when Liverpool travel to the DW Stadium on Monday.
Moses is yet to start a match for the Latics since his January move from Crystal Palace but after impressing as a substitute it is thought Martinez will give him his chance against Liverpool.
Midfielder Charles N'Zogbia faces a late fitness test on a knee injury, while defender Paul Scharner is also a doubt with a groin problem although both are expected to be passed.
If Scharner and N'Zogbia both pass their fitness tests Martinez will have a virtually fully-fit squad to chose from, with just Ivorian defender Steve Gohouri ruled out with a back problem.
McLeish is no technophobe
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has called for the introduction of goal line technology after Saturday's FA Cup defeat at Portsmouth.
The Blues were beaten 2-0 by Premier League strugglers Pompey at Fratton Park but McLeish feels things could have worked out differently had assistant referee Adam Watts spotted Liam Ridgwell's header had crossed the line with 10 minutes remaining.
In a bizarre coincidence, during Birmingham's FA Cup quarter-final defeat the International Football Association Board, football's rule makers, voted against the idea of using technology in the sport.
However, McLeish feels football should follow the example of sports where technology has been used successfully, such as rugby and tennis, to avoid incidents such as Ridgwell's disallowed goal.
He said: "They bring it in at the top level in other sports and I don't see why it can't be used in football, especially with what's at stake. There was a semi-final at stake in the FA Cup, one of the most coveted tournaments in the world, and it denied us a lifeline to possibly still be in the cup.
"There must be stringent rules for this level for referees to be top match-fit and obviously the eyesight is a huge factor.
"But sometimes it happens that quickly that you can see why assistants make mistakes, which is why they should bring in technology.
"You don't have to disrupt the game throughout the 90 minutes and make it boring for the crowd, but at key moments like that I think they're actually doing the officials a disservice.
"Although it's not responsible for us going out of the cup, it certainly would have given us a lifeline."
