Alistair Mann
MOTD commentator

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If Burnley beat Sunderland they'll move nine points clear of their opponents and could conceivably end 2016 in the top half of the table.

While Sean Dyche rarely inflates the importance of one fixture against another, those incentives must surely play a significant part in his team's motivation.

The visitors arrive having been hit with yet another significant blow as Jordan Pickford's untimely injury has now added to what is already one of the longest casualty lists in the division.

With at least three of his squad shortly departing for the Africa Cup of Nations, and seemingly little money to spend in January, David Moyes' side can ill afford to lose this increasingly significant fixture.

Burnley make two changes from the side that beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on Boxing Day as Steven Defour replaces the suspended Jeff Hendrick with Matt Lowton coming in for Jon Flanagan. 

Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward, Boyd, Marney, Defour, Berg Gudmundsson, Gray, Barnes.

Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone makes his first Premier League start since August as Jordan Pickford is out for at least six weeks with a knee injury.

John O'Shea returns to captain the side, while Adnan Januzaj, who was ineligible for the 3-1 loss at Manchester United on 26 December, is also back in the team.

Sunderland: Mannone, Jones, Kone, O'Shea, Djilobodji, Van Aanholt, Larsson, Januzaj, Anichebe, Defoe, Borini.

Riyad Mahrez returns for Leicester City as Claudio Ranieri responds to his side's 2-0 home defeat to Everton on Boxing Day by making three changes.

Midfielder Danny Drinkwater and defender Robert Huth are also back - Marcin Wasilewski, Andy King and Shinji Okazaki all making way.

Leicester City: Schmeichel, Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Chilwell, Mahrez, Drinkwater, Amartey, Albrighton, Slimani, Gray.

Subs: Musa, King, Okazaki, Zieler, Ulloa, Mendy, Fuchs.

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West Ham United are on a three-match winning run so it's no surprise that boss Slaven Bilic has named the same side that started the 4-1 win at Swansea City on Boxing Day.

West Ham United: Randolph, Nordtveit, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Noble, Kouyate, Antonio, Ayew, Payet, Carroll.

Subs: Feghouli, Lanzini, Adrian, Obiang, Fletcher, Fernandes, Quina.

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Four goals in his last seven games, the club's top scorer, yet Salomon Rondon is riding the pine for West Brom today.

Baggies manager Tony Pulis has been explaining the Venezuelan's absence from his starting line-up. 

"Salomon has been a little down physically so we want to give him a breather," he said. 

"He has been a little tried and with a game on Tuesday we thought that this would be a good game for Hal to play in. He has done well for us when he has come on."

Chelsea striker Diego Costa and defensive midfielder N'Golo Kante are back in the first XI following their one-match suspensions.

Nemanja Matic is on the bench and Pedro is suspended.

Chelsea XI: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill, Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso, Willian, Costa, Hazard.   

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Stoke make three changes to their starting XI.

Attacking midfielder Ibrahim Afellay makes his first start since April. Charlie Adam and Xherdan Shaqiri are also back in the side. Glenn Whelan and Gianelli Imbula are on the bench and Jon Walters is not included in the squad.

Stoke XI: Grant, Johnson, Shawcross, Martins Indi, Diouf, Affelay, Adam, Pieters, Allen, Shaqiri, Crouch.

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Jose Mourinho rings the changes for Manchester United, with five in all from the side that beat Sunderland last time out. Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly are the preferred central defensive partnership in place of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo.

Marouane Fellaini, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial all start, while Michael Carrick, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard miss out.

Man Utd XI: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Blind, Herrera, Fellaini, Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Ibrahimovic, Martial.

Aitor Karanka also makes five changes to the Middlesbrough line-up from Boxing Day.

Bernardo, George Friend, Grant Leadbitter, Adama Traore and Stewart Downing start, as Fabio (against his old club), Antonio Barrahan, Adam Clayton, Cristhian Stuani and Gaston Ramirez miss out.

Goalkeeper Victor Valdes plays against his previous team.

Boro XI: Valdes, Bernardo, Chambers, Gibson, Friend, Forshaw, Leadbitter, De Roon, Traore, Negredo, Downing.

Claude Puel replaces three of his back four in the wake of the 4-1 defeat by Spurs with Virgil van Dijk joined by Maya Yoshida, Cuco Martina and Sam McQueen in a reworked backline.

Jose Fonte - linked with Everton and Manchester United in the January transfer window - is on the bench.

Out with the old and in with the new at Swansea.

Bob Bradley has barely let the door hit him on the way out of the Liberty Stadium and already his last starting XI has been torn to shreds.

Caretaker boss Alan Curtis has made SEVEN changes from the Boxing Day loss to West Ham - among the players coming in are Fernando Llorente and Kyle Naughton.

Hal Robson-Kanu starts up front for West Brom with Salomon Rondon left on the bench. It is the Wales forward's first start of the season.

In a move that will no doubt delight Manchester United fans, Marouane Fellaini starts for the first time since 6 November. That's one of five changes for United, with the omission of Phil Jones leaving Fantasy Football managers kicking the cat.

Fabio da Silva, on his return to Old Trafford, is on the bench for Boro.

Charlie Adam, Ibrahim  Afelley and Xherdan Shaqiri return in three changes to the Stoke starting line-up. Jon Walters has a knee issue which keeps him out but Wilfried Bony remains on the bench.

Leicester City playmaker Riyad Mahrez is back in the side after featuring as a substitute in the Boxing Day defeat against Everton.

The champions also have defender Roberth Huth back from suspension.

Striker Diego Costa and midfielder N'Golo Kante return from suspension for Chelsea with Nemanja Matic on the bench for the hosts.

Joey Barton - the subject of a Football Association probe into betting on games - has arrived at Turf Moor.

Earlier this week Burnley manager Sean Dyche said that the club were still interested in signing Barton despite the possibility of disciplinary action hanging over the 34-year-old midfielder's head.

Image source, Reuters

Celtic have taken the long route at Ibrox, but they lead though a Scott Sinclair strike.

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Tim in Marlow: So, Pep Guardiola thinks Raheem Sterling can score twenty goals a season. How many players do that without taking penalties? I think it's inconceivable that Sterling could score 20.

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Sheffield United will go to the top of League One if they beat Northampton Town, but it might only be a temporary stay at the summit for the Blades. They kicked off at 13:00 GMT - it's goalless approaching half-time - while current leaders Scunthorpe United do not play Bolton Wanderers until 15:00 GMT. Bolton, in third, have designs on first place and will get there if they win and the Blades lose.

At the foot of the table, Coventry City will be keen to end a run of seven straight league defeats when they travel to Peterborough United, while back-markers Oldham Athletic visit Fleetwood Town.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport at Old Trafford

Image source, Reuters

There has not always been harmony between the dug-outs when these two sides have met.

In 2006, then Boro boss Gareth Southgate labelled Cristiano Ronaldo "a diver" after one Old Trafford encounter that had not gone his way, an observation it is fair to say Sir Alex Ferguson was not in agreement with.

There won't be any issues for fourth official Neil Swarbrick today.

Not only are Jose Mourinho and Aitor Karanka close friends who worked together at Real Madrid, the cousin of United assistant boss Rui Faria holds a similar position at Boro.

"We are all really big friends. I am not sure if we will be hugging or fighting before the match," said Mourinho in his programme notes.

David Gold is not an understated gentleman, is he?

A claret Rolls Royce has rolled up outside the King Power Stadium and out of it emerges the West Ham co-owner, resplendent in a chequered, almost tartan, suit.

He's landed, folks.