Monday 30 January 2012

FA Cup 4th Round Results, 5th Round Draw and Midweek EPL Fixtures:

FA Cup 4th Round Results:

Saturday:

QPR 0 Chelsea 1
Liverpool 2 Manchester United 1
Bolton 2 Swansea City 1
West Brom 2 Norwich City 1
Derby 0 Stoke City 2
Brighton 1 Newcastle United 0

Yesterday:

Sunderland 1 Middlesborough 1
Arsenal 3 Aston Villa 2
2 Robin Van Persie penalties and an Theo Walcott goal saved Arsenal after they went 2-0 down at half-time due to defender Richard Dunne and striker Darren Bent giving the away side the lead at half-time.

5th Round Draw:

Liverpool vs Brighton
Everton vs
Blackpool or Sheffield Wednesday
Chelsea vs Birmingham
Crawley vs Stoke
Stevenage vs Tottenham
Norwich vs Leicester
Sunderland or Middlesbrough vs Arsenal
Millwall or Southampton vs Bolton



Ties to be played on the 18th and 19th of February.
You would expect all EPL teams to waltz through to the 6th Round.


EPL Midweek Fixtures:
(19:45pm unless stated)

Tomorrow:

Swansea City vs Chelsea
Draw but Swansea could pull off a surprise...
Tottenham Hotspur vs Wigan Athletic
Home win.
Wolves vs Liverpool
Away win.
Everton vs Manchester City: LIVE at 20:00pm
City prevail.
Stoke City vs Manchester United: LIVE at 20:00pm
United comfortable win.

Wednesday:
(20:00pm unless stated)

Aston Villa vs QPR: LIVE at 19:45pm
I have to back Villa here....
Blackburn vs Newcastle
Draw.
Bolton vs Arsenal
Away win.
Fulham vs West Brom
Home win.
Sunderland vs Norwich City
Draw.

Saturday 28 January 2012

FA Cup 4th Round LIVE Coverage:



FA Cup 4th Round Special:




Recap on last night's action:




Tottenham Hotspur vs Watford:
Midifelder Rafael Van Der Vaart score the only goal of the game for Spurs in the 42nd minute from 22 yards out when his shot deflected of a Watford defender and went over the keeper's head into the net. Watford pressed for the equaliser and hit the post twice and the bar but it was not enough as Spurs become the 1st team progress to the 5th Round.

Van Der Vaart: Saves Harry Redknapp and Spurs again.




Everton vs Fulham:
This match was played at Goodison Park as Everton hosted Fulham in an interesting all EPL team match. Danny Murphy put the away side in-front from a penalty in the 14th minute after defender John Heitinga handballed inside the box. Striker Denis Stracqualursi scored his first goal in an Everton shirt from a leaping header in the 27th minute to equalise for Everton. Midfielder Marouane Fellani put Everton ahead to the home side in the 73rd minute and that is how it finished as Everton came from a goal behind to beat favourites Fulham 2-1.

Fellani celebrates scoring his winner for Everton against Fulham at Goodison Park.



Today's FA Cup Matches (EPL teams only):


QPR vs Chelsea: LIVE at 12:00pm
Teams:
QPR: Kenny, Hill, Hall, Ferdinand, Young; Mackie, Buzsaky, Barton, Wright-Phillips, Smith, Helguson. Subs: Cerny, Orr, Derry, Hulse, Ephraim, Macheda, Onuoha.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Meireles, Malouda, Sturridge, Torres, Mata. Subs: Turnbull, Bosingwa, Bertrand, Cahill, Essien, Romeu, Lukaku.


Half-time here at Loftus Road. Goaless so far. The rivalry between Anton Ferdinand and John Terry is still there despite the handshake ritual being called off due to mutual consent from both teams. The Blues will hope to brush past QPR but they hoped to do that in October and looked what happened.


Liverpool vs Manchester United: LIVE at 12:45pm
The tasty derby match between Liverpool and Manchester United starts again today. Liverpool have only beaten United in the FA Cup 3 times out of 16 to United's 9 but the away side's teams in weaker than usual so anything can happen after Liverpool overcame the odds against City on Wednesday to reach the Carling Cup Final. The fixture has pride, passion, talent, controversy and late drama but only one can win here.


Bolton Wanderers vs Swansea City: LIVE at 15:00pm
The home side will hope to win but they have a tough test against the 6th best passing team in the world who are flying in the league.


Derby County vs Stoke City: LIVE at 15:00pm
A bit of a mismatch at Pride Park between Derby and Stoke. It was not long ago that Stoke were in the same league as Derby but they have moved on to bigger and better things. The home side will be praying for an upset but do not be surprised if Stoke prevail.

West Bromwich Albion vs Norwich City: LIVE at 15:00pm
An interesting match between 2 of the EPL teams is an understatement. West Brom's defence is dodgy and so is Norwich's attack. So expect a draw or a slender win from either team.

Brighton vs Newcastle United: LIVE at 17:15pm
Well, well, well... Newcastle were happy to draw Brighton in the 4th round. After sliding past Blackburn Rovers in the 3rd round, they will hope that they can dominate against the underdogs away from home. Brighton did well to get this far but you can only feel that they are finished surely.




Liverpool vs Manchester United: LIVE

Teams:
Liverpool: Reina, Skrtel, Carragher, Agger, Kelly, Henderson, Gerrard, Enrique, Downing, Carroll, Maxi. Subs: Adam, Kuyt, Bellamy, Doni, Johnson, Coates, Shelvey.
Man Utd: De Gea, Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Evra, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Valencia, Welbeck, Park. Subs: Lindegaard, Ferdinand, Berbatov, Hernandez, Fabio, Keane, Pogba.

0: This match has kicked off here at Anfield.
I think Liverpool will score first here.....
20: Corner whipped into the box for defender Daniel Agger who heads the ball towards goal... the ball goes over De Gea's head.... GOAL!!! Agger puts Liverpool ahead in the 20th minute.
31: United looking dangerous here with precise passes.
39: Partice Evra with a cross into the box... Park is there, hits the ball fiercely past Reina... GOAL!!! United equalise from the tightest of angles. 
45: The 4th official at the far side signals just 1 minute of stoppage time to be added on here at Anfield.
45+1: The referee blows the whistle at half-time. Liverpool 1 Manchester United 1
88: Dirk Kuyt with the ball at his feet... he volleys the ball past De Gea into the net... GOAL!!!! Kuyt puts Liverpool ahead!!! 2-1 late on!!! United are out. Liverpool progress in the last minutes of the match.
89: Andy Carroll heads the ball against the post... Kuyt on the rebound.... he hits the ball but it trickles wide.
Should have been game over.
90: The 4th official signals 3 minutes of stoppage time to be added on here.
United have 3 minutes to salvage a replay here... I doubt this.
90+3: The referee blows the whistle for full-time here at Anfield. The Liverpool crowd go wild, while the Manchester United fans are silent. 
United have to concentrate on the Premier League now along with rivals City who were knocked out in the 3rd Round (by United)
Liverpool will think that the sky is the limit for them as they are in the final of the Carling Cup against Cardiff and beat Manchester United today to move to the 5th Round.
FACT: Liverpool beat both Manchester clubs in less than a week.


QPR 0 Chelsea 1: FT
Juan Mata scored the only goal of the match in the 62nd minute from a penalty as Chelsea go through to the 5th Round.


Juan Mata fires Chelsea ahead against QPR after 62 minutes at Loftus Road.




Liverpool 2 Manchester United 1 FT
Daniel Agger opened the scoring for Liverpool from a header in the 20th minute. J-Sung Park hit United's equaliser in the 39th minute. Striker Dirk Kuyt scored late on for Liverpool to win the match in the 88th minute.


Forward Dirk Kuyt fires Liverpool ahead in the 88th minute against Manchester United at Anfield.









Team News for 15:00pm kick-offs:




West Brom v Norwich City:

West Brom: Foster, Jara Reyes, Dawson, Tamas, Mattock, Morrison, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Thomas, Fortune, Cox. Subs: Fulop, Olsson, Tchoyi, Long, McAuley, Odemwingie, Thorne.


Norwich: Steer, Martin, Whitbread, Ayala, Drury, Bennett, Crofts, Fox, Pilkington, Hoolahan, Holt. Subs: Ruddy, Johnson, Jackson, Lappin, Barnett, Wilbraham, Tierney.
Bolton vs Swansea City:

Bolton: Bogdan, Riley, Wheater, Boyata, Ricketts, Eagles, Reo-Coker, Pratley, Petrov, Mark Davies, Ngog. Subs: Jaaskelainen, Robinson, Muamba, Sanli, Kevin Davies, Mears, O'Halloran.


Swansea: Tremmel, Richards, Williams, Monk, Bessone, Routledge, McEachran, Agustien, Gower, Moore, Lita. Subs: Moreira, Tate, Graham, Dyer, Rangel, Allen, Sigurdsson.


Derby County vs Stoke City:

Derby: Fielding, Brayford, Barker, Shackell, Roberts, Green, Bailey, Hendrick, Ward, Bryson, Ball. Subs: Legzdins, Tyson, Maguire, Doyle, Buxton, Ben Davies, Naylor.


Stoke: Begovic, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Walters, Whitehead, Whelan, Etherington, Crouch, Jerome. Subs: Nash, Jones, Fuller, Pennant, Delap, Shotton, Woodgate.


15:00: The matches have all kicked off in the FA Cup 4th Round.

Derby County vs Stoke City: LIVE
5: Midfielder Glenn Whelan with a cross into the Derby box... striker Cameron Jerome moves into the box and taps the ball towards goal.... GOAL!!! Jerome sends Stoke in-front after just 5 minutes!!!
Stoke City celebrating Cameron Jerome's early goal to give them the lead against Derby.

West Bromwich Albion vs Norwich City: LIVE
39: Elliott Bennett is played through on the flank by Wes Hoolahan, crosses the ball into the box for striker Grant Holt who shoots from 6 yards out past Ben Foster..... GOAL!!!! Norwich are ahead here at The Hawthrons.
FACT: Grant Holt has now scored 9 goals in all competitions this season.
Grant Holt scoring for the away side after 39 minutes to give Norwich the lead at The Hawthorns.
 
Bolton Wanderers vs Swansea City: LIVE
45: Lovely pass and move by The Swans here... striker Luke Moore with the ball at his feet... defender David Wheater is close by.... he shakes him off before taking a shot..... GOAL!!! Swansea are in-front after scoring their first chance of the match.
45+3: Bolton free-kick taken by midfielder Martin Petrov. Whipped in to the box for defender Darren Pratley who heads towards the goalmouth.... GOAL!!! Bolton level just before half-time!!!
FACT: Darren Pratley has now scored against Swansea who he played for, for 5 years!
Half-time:
West Bromwich Albion 0 Norwich City 1 
Striker Grant Holt puts Norwich in-front at half-time.
Bolton Wanderers 1 Swansea City 1
Darren Pratley equalised for the home side after Luke Moore put Swansea ahead.
Derby County 0 Stoke City 1
Stoke lead due to Jerome's tap in after 5 minutes.

16:01:
The 2nd halves are now underway in all of today's 15:00pm FA Cup 4th Round kick-offs.

16:14: 
West Bromwich Albion vs Norwich City:
Marc-Antoine Fortune scores for the home side from close range to make it 1-1 and to level for West Brom.

16:16:
Bolton Wanderers vs Swansea City:
Chris Eagles makes it 2-1 to Bolton after pouncing on Swansea's defensive mistakes.  
Midfielder Chris Eagles celebrating scoring for Bolton to put them 2-1 ahead against Swansea City.





16:55: Full-time:


Recap of Today's FA Cup 4th Round Matches:



QPR 0 Chelsea 1
Liverpool 2 Manchester United 1
West Brom 2 Norwich 1
Bolton 2 Swansea City 1
Blackpool 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1
A replay will be played.
Derby County 0 Stoke City 2
Hull City 0 Crawley Town 1
A real 'Cupset' as Championship side Hull crash out to League 2 club Crawley Town. Striker Matt Tubbs sent Crawley to the 5th Round.
Leicester City 2 Swindon Town 0
Millwall 1 Southampton 1
A replay will be played...
Sheffield United 0 Birmingham City 4
Stevenage 1 Notts County 0




17:15: The match between Brighton and Newcastle has kicked off.
Teams:
Brighton: Brezovan, Greer, Dunk, El-Abd, Barnes, Sparrow, Mackail-Smith, Calderon, Bridcutt, Buckley, Forster-Caskey. Subs: Ankergren, Hoskins, Navarro, Harley, Vincelot, Agdestein, Hall. 
Newcastle: Krul, Santon, Simpson, Williamson, Perch, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Guthrie, Best, Ameobi, Ben Arfa. Subs: Elliot, Lovenkrands, Gosling, Taylor, Obertan, Ferguson, Kadar.
A strong (ish) Newcastle squad apart from Demba Ba and Coloccini. They should expect to win, but anything is possible, especially in the FA Cup.

18:00: The referee blows the whistle for half-time between Brighton and Newcastle..... Goalless at the moment. Who will prevail in the last FA Cup match of the day?
18:12: The match has restarted.
18:46: Newcastle defender Mike Williamson has opened the scoring - for Brighton!!! He has scored an own goal in the 76th minute after midfielder Will Buckley's shot was deflected past Ti Krul. Can the home side hold on and provide 1 of the shocks of the FA Cup?
19:02: Full-time here. Brighton 1 Newcastle United 0.
What a result for Brighton! Newcastle will feel disappointed especially as they should have dominated the match and failed to even score. The manner in which they lost was not good, but Brighton will take this and hope for the best team they can get in tomorrow's draw.


Tomorrow's Action:


Sunderland vs Middlesborough: LIVE at 13:30pm
Arsenal vs Aston Villa: LIVE at 16:00pm


And the LIVE draw for the 5th Round of the FA Cup.


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See you later everyone.

Wednesday 25 January 2012

The Weekend's EPL Results and African Cup Of Nations Coverage:


The Weekend's EPL Results:

Saturday:

12:45:
Norwich City 0 Chelsea 0

15:00:
Everton 1 Blackburn Rovers 1
Fulham 5 Newcastle United 2
QPR 3 Wigan Athletic 1
Stoke City 1 West Bromwich Albion 2
Sunderland 2 Swansea City 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Aston Villa 3

17:30:
Bolton Wanderers 3 Liverpool 1

Sunday:

13:30:
Manchester City 3 Tottenham Hotspur 2

16:00:
Arsenal 1 Manchester United 2




African Cup Of Nations:

The 23rd annual African Cup of Nations is being hosted in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea.

Group A:
Equatorial Guinea
Libya
Zambia
Senegal

Group B:
Ivory Coast
Sudan
Burkina Faso
Angola

Group C:
Gabon
Niger
Morocco
Tunisia

Group D:
Ghana
Botswana
Mali
Guinea

My Winners:

Ivory Coast
Didier Drogba's presence (in the competition) and shots, Yaya Toure's strength, brother Kolo's experience and Kalou and Gervinho's flair and pace will be too much for everyone to handle.

Results so far:

Equatorial Guinea 1 Libya 0
Senegal 1 Zambia 2
Ivory Coast 1 Sudan
Burkina Faso 1 Angola 2
Gabon 2 Niger 0
Morocco 1 Tunisia 2
Ghana 1 Botswana 0
Mali 1 Guinea 0

Sunday 15 January 2012

LIVE Commentary of Swansea vs Arsenal:


Earlier:

Newcastle 1 QPR 0


New QPR manager Mark Hughes failed to get off to a winning start at the Sports Direct Arena as striker Leon Best scored the only goal of the game after 37 minutes.

Leon Best scoring the only goal of the match against QPR.

Newcastle move up to 6th place above Liverpool and QPR go down to 18th place.

LIVE Commentary of Swansea vs Arsenal:
I am expecting an entertaining game as two of the EPL's best passing sides go head-to-head...

Teams:

Swansea:
Vorm, Rangel, Caulker, Williams, Taylor, Britton, Dyer, Agustien, Allen, Sinclair. Subs: Tremmel, Routledge, Monk, Lita, Moore, Richards, Sigurdsson.

FACT: Swansea are the 6th best passers of football - in the world (behind Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan, Inter and Bayern Munich).
FACT: Have only lost once at home this season - against Manchester United (1-0)

Arsenal:
Szczesny, Djororou, Mertesacker, Miguel, Koscielny, Benayoun, Ramsey, Van Persie, Song, Walcott and Arshavin. Subs: Almunia, Henry, Yennaris, Chamberlain, Rosicky, Park, Squillaci.

FACT: Arsenal have conceded 22 goals away from home this season.

0: The match has kicked off here at the Liberty Stadium.
0: Agustien with a shot from 20 yards out..... MISS!!!
2: Swansea are trying to pass the ball around here.

4: Robin Van Persie on the ball from an Arshavin pass.... he passes 2 defenders and takes a shot at the far post.... GOAL!!! Van Persie breaks the deadlock for Arsenal after 4 minutes!!!
That's his 17th goal of the season..... he is on fire!!!
Swansea 0 Arsenal 1.
6: Arsenal free-kick from 27 yards out.... dips into the box.... goes out for a goal-kick.
8: Misplaced pass goes out for an Arsenal throw-in.
13: Swansea are looking dangerous here.
15: Dyer with the ball at his feet inside the 18 yard box... he is caught by Aaron Ramsey who clips his leg.... PENALTY!!!
16: Striker Scott Sinclair to take the penalty.... he places the ball beyond Sczcesny into the right hand side of the net to score his 6th goal of the season.
18: Swansea free-kick from 26 yards out... deflected out for a corner.
19: Corner is taken... cleared away by Laurent Koscielny.
23: Wasted cross chance by Scott Sinclair.
24: All the cameras are focused on Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger who is frustrated at the moment after losing his 1-0 lead.
26: Arsenal free-kick taken long by Szczesny.
27: Swansea on the counter attack..... Arsenal's defence saw it though.
28: England manager Fabio Capello has been spotted in the crowd today.... spying on some of Swansea's players (mostly Scott Sinclair)
29: Robin Van Persie with the ball at his feet... he has space here.... he shoots from 14 yards out.... GOOD SAVE!!! by Michel Vorm to deny the Dutchman his second of the game.
30: Benayoun with a tackle from a dangerous position... Free-kick taken by Joe Allen... Sinclair with a header.... Van Persie clears the ball off the line!!!! (Szczesny was ready though...)
Theo Walcott's passes and crosses have been second best so far in this first half... he needs to step up if he does not want to be subbed....
33: Swansea are playing beautiful football here.... Arsenal and all football fans are in ore..
34: 1st half Possession:
Swansea 63% Arsenal 37%

35: Defender Per Mertesacker clears away a Swansea cross..
35: Arsenal on the counter with Arshavin... he passes the ball to Miguel... but is offside.
36: Free-kick taken by Vorm.
39: Swansea midfielder Nathan Dyer darts across the wing and gets passes Miguel with ease... shoots from 16 yards out... Szczesny holds the ball safely.
40: Swansea are looking to get a second goal before the break here... to give the fans something to shout about.
41: Van Persie strayed offside. Swansea take a quick free-kick and continue to pass.
44: Arsenal free-kick taken by Andrey Arshavin... curls into the box... comfortable save for Vorm.
45: The fourth offical signals for 2 minutes of stoppage time to be added on here.
45+1: Nice build up play by Arsenal... but Kemy Agustien read the pass and intercepted.
45+2: The referee blows the whistle for half-time here at The Liberty Stadium.

Half-time:

Swansea City 1 Arsenal 1
This has been a very interesting first 45 minutes here.... lots of passes which was expected, and we have not been disappointed. 
Lots of chances for both sides and it has been a very disclipined first-half with no yellow cards.
Can Swansea dominate the 2nd half and win here? Can captain Van Persie save the day again for The Gunner? We will see in the second half....

45: The referee kicks off the second half here at The Liberty Stadium.
Swansea SUB:

Sigurdsson ON
Agustien OFF
45: Theo Walcott takes a shot from 12 yards out... OVER THE BAR!!!
46: Cameras have shown Thierry Henry warming up for Arsenal.
47: Theo Walcott with the ball at his feet... he passes to Ramsey who passes the Arshavin. He takes a shot from 23 yards out... OVER THE BAR!! Wasted chance by the Russian.
48: Swansea corner... taken by Sigurdsson.... cleared away by the Arsenal defence.
50: Swansea midfielder Nathan Dyer with the ball at his feet inside the Arsenal box.... he shoots... it's curling... it's curling!!! OUT!!!
54: Sigurdsson set to take Swansea's 5th corner of the match... whipped into the box... cleared away by Benayoun.
55: Arsenal defender Miguel gives the ball away , now Swansea can dominate possession again.
56: Arsenal goal-kick taken long by Szczesny.
57: Ramsey loses the ball to Joe Allen who passes to Nathan Dyer... he shoots the ball from 20 yards out... GOAL!! It flew past Sczcesny....
60: Scott Sinclair sprints past Djororou before passing to Joe Allen. Swansea can now play a game called 'pass and move'.
62: Swansea are playing pass and move well here.
Arsenal SUB:
Andrey Arshavin OFF
Yossi Benayoun OFF
Thierry Henry ON
Tomas Rosicky ON
63: Arsenal are being dominated here...
64: Henry with the ball.. passes to Van Persie, lays-off Rosicky who shoots from 25 yards out with a stinging drive... JUST WIDE!!!
65: 25 minutes left here at The Liberty. Arsenal need to become the 1st team to score 2 goals away from home against Swansea if they are to get back into this game.
67: Nice build-up play by Arsenal here with Song and Rosicky passing well... they need to create chances though if they want to win.
68: Aaron Ramsey is carring a knock here... he looks in pain but wants to continue.
68: Johan Djororou with a through ball towards Theo Walcott... he runs past the defender and chips the goalkeeper... GOAL!!!! Arsenal are back in this match!
69: Sigurdsson passes the ball to striker Danny Graham who places th ball into the left bottom corner of the net. 3-2!!! What was that!!! Arsenal celebrate, Swansea score.... You score 1, we score 1. Swansea 3 Arsenal 2, What a match and there is still 20 minutes left!
74: Arsenal are pushing for that 3rd goal of the match.
Alex Song with the ball, passes to Theo Walcott who has a run at the Swansea defence..... crosses in the box... cleared away for a corner.
75: Van Persie crosses the ball... cleared away.
76: The announcer has just said that the attendance at the Liberty for the game is: 20,409, which is the record attendance at the Liberty.
77: Arsenal SUB:
Per Mertesacker OFF
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain ON

Alex Song moves to CB, Chamberlain moves into Song's position, but pushes up to create chances.

79: Danny Graham with the ball... passes to Joe Allen, cleared away by Djororou.
80: 10 minutes left here.... Anything is possible still.
Scott Sinclair looks dangerous on the wing for Swansea.
81: Swansea SUB:
Nathan Dyer OFF
Wayne Routledge ON
82: Midfielder Aaron Ramsey with a shot from 14 yards out... comfortable save for Michel Vorm.
84: Swansea are looking dangerous here in the last few minutes of the match. They have fire in their belly, Arsenal do not.
86: Aaron Ramsey passes to Djororou, out of danger.... to try and salvage something in the last few minutes. Chamberlain on the wing... runs at the defender, beats him and crosses the ball to midfielder Tomas Rosicky who shoots... but hits the ball over the bar.
Arsenal need to be taking these types of chances... which they are not, hence why they are not winning.
90: 4 minutes of stoppage time to be added on here.
90+2: Danny Graham OFF
Leroy Lita ON
Classic move to waste time here...
90+3: Swansea fans blowing whistles here... 10 seconds left....
Taking their time obviously.
90+4: The referee blows the whistle here at The Liberty.

Full-time:

Swansea City 3 Arsenal 2

Striker Robin Van Persie celebrating his opener for Arsenal after 4 minutes.



Striker Scott Sinclair slotting Swansea's equaliser after 16 minutes.

Midfielder Nathan Dyer striking past Szczesny to make it 2-1 to Swansea in the 56th minute.



They came from 1-0 behind to win 3-2.
What a match with 5 different scorers, Arsenal should have taken their chances.... but wasted shot after shot. Swansea outplayed us (Arsenal) and dominated the match with precise passes all over the pitch. There were 23 shots in total for both teams. They were unlucky with the penalty but either way, they would have lost anyways.
A breathtaking match nonetheless with 2 goals in less than 1 minute and it just shows you how open the whole of the EPL is this season.

The Gunners stay 5th place but drop 3 points in the race for a Top 4 finish. Swansea move up to the top half of the table, into 10th place.

My Man of the Match: Robin Van Persie
He worked hard throughout the match and never stopped working despite losing. He scored the opener with a great shot and created chances (which half the team failed to do)


Thank you for joining me for my first EPL LIVE Commentary of 2012, if you like reading it and the rest of my EPL Blog, follow me for the LATEST updates when I post a blog.
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See you later everyone. 

Today's EPL Matches LIVE and News:



Today's EPL Matches LIVE:


Aston Villa vs Everton:
Teams:


Villa: Given, Hutton, Dunne, Collins,Warnock, Clark, Petrov, Albrighton, Ireland, Agbonlahor, Bent. 
Subs: Guzan, N'Zogbia, Delph, Keane, Cuellar, Bannan, Gardner.


Everton:
Howard, Neville, Duffy, Heitinga, Donovan, Baines, Gibson, Fellani, Drenthe, Cahill, Saha. Subs: Mucha, Stracqualursi, Anichebe, Vellios, McFadden, Gueye and Bilyaletdinov.




Blackburn Rovers vs Fulham:
Teams:
Blackburn: Robinson, Lowe, Hanley, Givet, Olsson, Nzonzi, Pedersen, Dunn, Petrovic, Hoilett, Yakubu. Subs: Bunn, Formica, Rochina, Goodwillie, Vukcevic, Morris, Henley.
 

Fulham: Stockdale, Kelly, Senderos, Hangeland, John Arne Riise, Murphy, Dembele, Dempsey, Duff, Zamora, Ruiz. Subs: Etheridge, Sidwell, Johnson, Kasami, Hughes, Frei, Davies.



Chelsea vs Sunderland:
Teams:
Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Romeu, Meireles, Ramires, Torres, Mata. Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Malouda, Lukaku, Sturridge, Hutchinson, Bertrand.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Kilgallon, O'Shea, Richardson, Larsson, Cattermole, Vaughan, McClean, Sessegnon, Bendtner. Subs: Westwood, Turner, Gardner, Wickham, Ji, Meyler, Elmohamady.


Liverpool vs Stoke City:
Teams:
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Coates, Skrtel, Jose Enrique, Carragher, Adam, Henderson, Gerrard, Downing, Kuyt. Subs: Doni, Aurelio, Carroll, Shelvey, Kelly, Flanagan, Bellamy.


Stoke: Sorensen, Woodgate, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Delap, Whelan, Palacios, Etherington, Walters, Crouch. Subs: Begovic, Jones, Fuller, Pennant, Whitehead, Wilkinson, Jerome.


Manchester United vs Bolton Wanderers:
Teams:


United: Lindegaard, Rafael Da Silva, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Nani, Rooney, Welbeck. Subs: De Gea, Berbatov, Giggs, Park, Hernandez, Fabio Da Silva, Pogba.

Bolton: Bogdan, Steinsson, Wheater, Knight, Ricketts, Eagles, Reo-Coker, Muamba, Petrov, Mark Davies, Ngog. Subs: Lynch, Sanli, Kevin Davies, Klasnic, Pratley, Boyata, Riley.



Tottenham vs Wolverhampton Wanderers:
Teams:


Spurs:
Friedel, Walker, Kaboul, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Parker, Modric, Bale, Adebayor, Van der Vaart. Subs: Cudicini, Pavlyuchenko, Defoe, Bassong, Kranjcar, Rose, Livermore.

Wolves: Hennessey, Foley, Johnson, Berra, Ward, Kightly, Frimpong, Henry, Jarvis, Edwards, Fletcher. Subs: De Vries, Elokobi, Stearman, Ebanks-Blake, Hunt, Milijas, Doyle.


West Bromwich Albion vs Norwich City:
Teams:

West Brom: Foster, Jara Reyes, McAuley, Dawson, Shorey, Morrison, Scharner, Mulumbu, Thomas, Odemwingie, Cox. Subs: Fulop, Mattock, Long, Dorrans, Thorne, Tamas, Fortune.
 

Norwich: Ruddy, Martin, Whitbread, Ayala, Naughton, Johnson, Pilkington, Surman, Hoolahan, Morison, Jackson. Subs: Steer, Drury, Crofts, Holt, Fox, Bennett, Wilbraham.




FULL-TIME:

Aston Villa 1 Everton 1
Striker Darren Bent opened the scoring for the home side in the 56th minute. Opposite striker Victor Anichebe equalised for Everton in the 69th minute and that was how it finished at Villa Park.

2 goals in 2 matches for striker Victor Anichebe.

Aston Villa are in 12th place while Everton move up to 10th place.


Blackburn Rovers 3 Fulham 1

This match was played at Ewood Park as bottom placed club Blackburn hosted 13th placed Fulham. 
Striker Yakubu got a straight red card in the 23rd minute to put Rovers down to ten men. 
Midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen broke the deadlock in the 45th minute. Defender David Dunn made it 2-0 a minute after half-time. Midfielder Damien Duff cut the deficit to make it 2-1 in the 56th minute. Mauro Formica finished the match off for The Cottagers in the 79th minute.

Blackburn move up to 17th place and Fulham drop to 14th in the table.

Chelsea 1 Sunderland 0 
This match was played at Stamford Bridge as 4th placed Chelsea hosted 11th placed Sunderland. Midfielder Frank Lampard opened the scoring for the home side in the 13th minute after striker Fernando Torres hit the bar from a shot inside the 16 yard box. It stayed 1-0 in the end.

Midfielder Frank Lampard saves the day for Andre Villas Boas once again after scoring the only goal against Sunderland.

The Blues are now 8 points off City (in 1st)
Sunderland stay in 11th place and have 24 points from 21 matches.

Liverpool 0 Stoke City 0
This match was played at Anfield as 6th placed Liverpool went head-to-head with 8th placed Stoke. Both teams had chances but in the end, it was a goalless draw with three yellow cards given to Stoke (Walters, Sorensen and Shawcross). 

FACT: Liverpool now have drawn 8 times this season.
Both teams stay in 6th and 8th (respectively but only move a point further towards Arsenal and Newcastle) 




Manchester United 3 Bolton Wanderers 0

This match came from Old Trafford as 2nd placed United hosted 19th placed Bolton in a mismatch between top of the table and bottom of the pecking order.
Striker Wayne Rooney had his penalty saved by goalkeeper Adam Bogdan in the 22nd minute to deny the home side a lead. Midfielder Paul Scholes (aged 37) proved that he could still score at the highest level by putting United ahead in the 45th minute. Striker Danny Welbeck made it 2 in the 74th minute. Midfielder Michael Carrick sealed all 3 points for United in the 83rd minute.


Paul Scholes: The Golden Oldie against Bolton.


Manchester United put pressure on rivals City in 1st place and are now level on points. Bolton stay 19th place with 16 points from 21 matches.

Tottenham Hotpsur 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 

This match came from White Hart Lane as 3rd place in-form Spurs hosted a Wolves side who have only won 4 matches (home and away) this season.
A shock start for the home side as Stephen Fletcher opened the scoring in the 22nd minute for Wolves. Spurs pressed and pressed ever since and midfielder Luka Modric equalised in the 51st minute from 23 yards out. Striker Emmanuel Adebayor had a goal disallowed for offside, Scott Parker and Gareth Bale had chances, but it was not enough for Harry Rdknapp's men to steal all 3 points.

Spurs stay 3rd place but fail to move within a point of EPL leaders Manchester City. Wolves take a valuable point against tricky opposition and are currently in 16th place, a dangerous place to be rocking in the EPL.


West Bromwich Albion 1 Norwich City 2
This match was played at The Hawthorns as West Brom faced 9th placed Norwich City. Andy Surman opened the scoring for the away side in the 43rd minute. Striker Shane Long equalised for West Brom after converting a penalty in the 68th minute. Steve Morison stole all 3 points for Norwich in the 78th minute.


Tomorrow's EPL Matches:

Newcastle vs QPR: LIVE at 13:30pm 
Swansea vs Arsenal: LIVE at 16:00pm


Monday's Action:

Manchester City vs Wigan: LIVE at 20:00pm




Today's EPL News and Transfer Talk:

Friday 13 January 2012

Monday 9 January 2012

Bulletin:

For Ballon D'Or LIVE and more:

http://www.footballblogdirectory.co.uk/2012/01/fa-cup-united-prevail-in-manchester.html

EPL News:

Manchester City have appealed defender Vincent Kompany's red card.

Chelsea's midfielder Michael Essien is nearing a return after playing for the reserves yesterday.

QPR midfielder Alejandro Faurlin is out for the rest of the season with cruciate ligament damage.

Liverpool midfielder Stewart Downing has been arrested on suspicion of assault.

Swansea hope to complete the loan signing of Chelsea's Josh McEachran.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has named striker Thierry Henry in his Champions League squad.


FA Cup 3rd Round Match TONIGHT:

Arsenal vs Leeds United: LIVE from 20:00pm

Teams:

Arsenal:

Szczesny, Coquelin, Koscielny, Squillaci, Miquel, Song, Arteta, Ramsey, Oxlade Chamberlain, Arshavin, Chamakh.

NEWS: Thierry Henry is on the bench for Arsenal tonight.

I think it will be 1-0 to The Gunners, And Henry scores the goal....

Leeds:

Lonergan, Thompson, Lees, O'Dea, White, Clayton, Vayrynen, Pugh, Townsend, Becchio, Nunez.

Sunday 8 January 2012

FA Cup 3rd Round Results and 4th Round Draw LIVE:


Yesterday's FA Cup Action: (EPL teams only)

Birmingham City 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0
A replay will be played after the goalless draw at St. Andrews.

Barnsley 2 Swansea City 4
Striker Danny Graham scored twice as The Swans move into the Fourth round.

Everton 2 Tamworth United 0
Defenders Johnny Heitinga and Leighton Baines (pen) both scored for the home side as Everton brush past Blue Square Premier League side Tamworth.

Fulham 4 Charlton 0
Midfielder Clint Dempsey scored a hat-trick and Damien Duff also scored for Fulham as they thrashed Charlton 4-0.

Swindon Town 2 Wigan 1
The surprise result in the FA Cup so far was League 2's Swindon Town beating Wigan by 2-1.
Especially after going 1-0 down to win 2-1 with Connell and Benson scoring for the home side.

Newcastle United 2 Blackburn Rovers 1
This was the only match on Saturday with two EPL teams facing each other.
Midfielder David Goodwillie opened the scoring for the visitors in the 35th minute. Midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa equalised for Newcastle in the 70th minute, putting pressure on Blackburn. It looked like it was going to be a replay but in the last minute, midfielder Jonas Gutiérrez scored a late winner for the home side.

Norwich 4 Burnley 1
There were 4 different scorers as Norwich dominated against Burnley. Strikers Grant Holt and Steve Morison were among the scorers for the home side.

Gillingham 1 Stoke City 3
Despite going 1-0 down, Stoke defeated Gillingham with strikers Jonathan Walters and Cameron Jerome, plus defender Robert Huth scoring for Tony Pulis's men between 15 minutes.

West Brom 4 Cardiff 2
Midfielder Simon Cox scored a hat-trick and striker Peter Odemwingie also scored as West Brom pushed past Championship side Cardiff. Robert Earnshaw and Ryan Mason both scored for Cardiff to make it 2-2, but it was not enough.

Tottenham 3 Cheltenham 0
This match was played at White Hart Lane as high-flying Spurs hosted Cheltenham. Striker Jermain Defoe opened the scoring in the 24th minute. Forward Roman Pavluychenko made it

Bristol Rovers 1 Aston Villa 3
Gabriel Agbonlaor, Marc Albrighton and Cieran Clark all scored for Villa as they cruised to a 3-1 win against Bristol Rovers. McGleish scored a consolation goal in the 90th minute but it was too late for Bristol to get back in the game.

Today's FA Cup Action:

Manchester City 2 Manchester United 3

This match was played at The Ethiad Stadium as holders City hosted rivals United.
Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a header from Valencia's cross.
Manchester City captain and defender Vincent Kompany tackled with two feet against Nani, and was given a straight red card. Danny Welbeck made it 2-0 with a clean volley which flew into the net, and Wayne Rooney scored his second of the day with a rebound from his penalty which was (saved)
In the 47th minute, defender Kolarov curled the ball past goalkeeper Anders Lindergaad to make it 3-1 and to give City faint hope.
Striker Sergio Aguero pounced on a mistake from 37-year-old midfielder Paul Scholes to make it 3-2 with 25 minutes to go and City pressed United to the death but United kept the ball until the final whistle.

Peterborough United 0 Sunderland 2
Sebastien Larsson broke the dealock for Sunderland in the 47th minute from a 30 yard free-kick and Josh Mclean made it 2-0 10 minutes later to secure a 4th Round place for the away side.

Chelsea 4 Portsmouth 0
This match was played at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea hosted Portsmouth.
Forward Juan Mata opened the scoring in the 48th minute after he tapped in a cross at the far post. Ramires scored 2 goals in quick succession (2 minutes) before midfielder Frank Lampard made it 4 in the 90th minute.


Tomorrow's FA Cup Fixture:

Arsenal vs Leeds United: LIVE at 20:00pm


FA Cup 4th Round LIVE:
(EPL Teams)


Brighton or Wrexham vs Newcastle United
Sunderland vs Middlesbrough
MK Dons or QPR vs Chelsea
West Bromwich Albion vs Norwich City
Arsenal or Leeds United vs Aston Villa
Watford vs Tottenham Hotspur
Liverpool vs Manchester United
Derby vs Stoke City
Everton vs Fulham
Macclesfield Town or Bolton vs Swansea City
Sheffield United vs Birmingham City or Wolves

Interesting ties there... with (up to 6 full EPL fixtures) if QPR get past MK Dons in the replay, Chelsea will be looking for revenge.
Liverpool vs Manchester United..... well... United scraped out a 3-2 win against rivals City today and have a tough test against Liverpool.... I think there may be a replay.
Everton vs Fulham could be interesting and Arsenal vs Aston Villa (provided they qualify) could be tight. Tottenham will be happy with the draw as they face Watford which you would expect to be easy and Stoke will hope that they have dominate against Championship side Derby.

NEWS UPDATE:
QPR have confirmed the sacking of manager Neil Warnock.

Ties to be played the weekend of 28th and 29th of January 2012.

If you like what you read...  then follow me for latest blog posts, as soon as I post them.
See you all next week.


Saturday 7 January 2012

The Week's EPL Results, Done Deals in the Transfer Window after 7 days and the Weekend's F.A. Cup Fixtures:


Tuesday's EPL Results:

Tottenham Hotspur 1 West Bromwich Albion 0
Striker Jermain Defoe saved the day for high-flying Spurs in the 60th minute after cutting past two defenders before hitting a low drive inside the 16 yard box under the keeper's reach.

Wigan Athletic 1 Sunderland 4
This match was played as Wigan hosted Sunderland. Defender Craig Gardner broke the deadlock in the 45th minute for the home side. Joshua McClean doubled Sunderland's lead in the 55th minute. Striker Hugo Rodallega made it 2-1 in the 62nd minute. Midfielder Stephane Sessegnon made it 3-1 to Sunderland in the 73rd minute and David Vaughan made it 4-1 to ensure all 3 points in the 80th minute.

Manchester City 3 Liverpool 0
Forward Sergio Aguero broke the deadlock for City in the 10th minute from 23 yards out after sweetly hitting a ball through keeper Pepe Reina's body.
Midfielder Yaya Toure headered City 2-0 in-front in the 33rd minute after converting David Silva's corner.
Midfielder James Milner sent keeper Reina the wrong way from a penalty in the 75th minute.

Manchester City move 3 points ahead of rivals United in 2nd.  Liverpool stay in 6th place, but fail to captalize on Arsenal's 2-1 loss against Fulham.

Wednesday EPL Results:

Everton 1 Bolton Wanderers 2
Goalkeeper Tim Howard (yes goalkeeper) opened the scoring for the home side from 102 yards out in the 63rd minute, after the wind speed flew past Bogdan.
In the 67th minute, former Liverpool striker David Ngog equalised for Bolton.
After 78 minutes, defender Gary Cahill (in probably his last match in a Bolton shirt as his move to Chelsea is imminent) cut past two defenders before driving the ball low past Howard from the wing side. Full-back Leighton Baines hit the post in the 90th minute, but it was not enough as Bolton took the points.

Newcastle United 3 Manchester United 0
This match was played at The Sports Direct Arena as 7th placed Newcastle hosted 2nd placed Manchester United.
Striker Demba Ba put the home side in-front after a half-vollveyed which goalkeeper Anders Lindergaad could not keep out.
Midfielder Yohan Cabaye made it 2-0 in the 47th minute after a beautiful free-kick from 30 yards out flew off the crossbar and went in the net.
In the 90th minute, a miscommunication between keeper and defender Phil Jones saw him head the ball into his own net to rub salt into the wounds.

Midfielder Yohan Cabaye cannot believe scoring his amazing 30 yard free-kick against Manchester United to make it 2-0 in the 47th minute.

Done Deals in the EPL Transfer Window (after 7 days):

Clubs:
Arsenal:
Thierry Henry from New York Red Bulls (2 month loan)
Emmanuel Frimpong to Wolves (season long loan)
Vito Mannone to Hull (season loan)

Aston Villa:
Enda Stevens from Shamrock Rovers (undisclosed fee)

Chelsea:
Nicolas Anelka to Shanhgai Shenhua (free transfer)

Everton:
Landon Donovan from LA Galaxy (season loan)

Liverpool:
Jordan Ibe from Wycombe (£2million)
Danny Wilson to Blackpool (season loan)

Stoke:
Danny Pugh to Leeds (undisclosed fee)

Tottenham:
David Button to Doncaster (loan)
Harry Kane to Millwall (loan)
Andros Townsend to Leeds (loan)QPR:
Federico Macheda from Manchester United (season loan)




Yesterday's FA Cup Result:

Liverpool 5 Oldham Athletic 1

The Reds gave Oldham a hiding at Anfield as they progress to the 4th Round..
Scorers: Craig Bellamy (30), Steven Gerrard (45 pen), Jonjo Shelvey (68), Andy Carroll (89) and Stewart Downing (90).

Midfielder and captain Steven Gerrard celebrating scoring his penalty to make it 2-1 to Liverpool against Oldham.

Today's FA Cup Fixtures (EPL Teams):

All 15:00pm kick-offs (unless stated)

Barnsley vs Swansea City
Tottenham Hotspur vs Cheltenham
Everton vs Tamworth
West Brom vs Cardiff
Norwich vs Burnley
Birmingham City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers: LIVE at 12:45pm
Gillingham vs Stoke City
Newcastle United vs Blackburn Rovers:
Macclesfield vs Bolton
Swindon vs Wigan
Fulham vs Charlton
Bristol City vs Aston Villa: LIVE at 17:30pm
MK Dons vs QPR

Monday 2 January 2012

Today's EPL Results and Done Deals in the EPL Transfer Window so far:



Today's EPL Match Results for Monday the 2nd of January:

Aston Villa 0 Swansea City 2
This match was played at Villa Park as 11th place Aston Villa hosted 15th place Swansea.
Midfielder Nathan Dyer opened the scoring for the away side in the 4th minute. Wayne Routledge made it 2-0 to Swansea in the 47th minute to ensure all 3 points.
Aston Villa move down to 12th place in the table while Swansea move up to 11th place.
Attendance: 35,642

Routledge firing Swansea 2-0 ahead at Villa Park in the 47th minute.

Blackburn Rovers 1 Stoke City 2

This match came from Ewood Park as 19th place Blackburn hosted 8th place Stoke.
Blackburn came into this match shocking United with a 3-2 win at Old Trafford and Stoke were on the other end of a 2-2 draw with 18th place Wigan.
Stoke striker Peter Crouch opened the scoring for the away side in the 17th minute. He scored again in the 45th minute to put Stoke 2-0 up. Midfielder David Goodwillie gave Blackburn a lifeline in the 70th minute but it was too late.
Both teams stay in their respective places (19th and 8th) but Stoke move within a point of 7th place Newcastle.

Attendance: 20,615

Fulham 2 Arsenal 1

This match came from Craven Cottage as London rivals Fulham and Arsenal went head-to-head.
Defender Laurent Koscielny headered the away side infront isure and took lots of chances. In the 84th minute for Fulham, Steve Sidwell equalised with a header to make it 1-1. Striker Bobby Zamora scored late to make it 2-1 in the 90+2nd minute to steal all 3 points from Arsenal's grasp..
Fulham go up to 13th and Arsenal move down to 5th place.
Attendance: 25,700
Bobby Zamora celebrates scoring a late winner for Fulham in the 90+2nd minute.

QPR 1 Norwich City 2

This was played at Loftus Road as QPR hosted 13th placed Norwich.
Attendance: 18,033

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Chelsea 2

This match came from Molieneux as 16th place Wolves hosted a Chelsea side in 5th place who had failed to win a match in 4.
Attendance: 27,289

Done Deals in the EPL Transfer Window:

Federico Macheda - Manchester United to QPR (season long loan deal)
Macheda: To finally get regular first-team action.
Nicolas Anelka - Chelsea to Shanghai Senhua (free transfer) 
Anelka: China bound after spending over 12 years in England.
Andros Townsend - Tottenham to Leeds (end of season loan)
Jordan Ibe - Wycombe to Liverpool (£2million)
Thierry Henry - New York Red Bulls to Arsenal (2 month loan deal)

Arsenal: Leaked picture of Thierry Henry's return....