Saturday 31 March 2012

Today's EPL Results, plus Analysis and the LATEST News:


Today's EPL Action:

(All 15:00pm)

Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 4

This match was played at Villa Park, as 15th placed Aston Villa hosted 5th placed Chelsea in an important match for both teams. 
Midfielder Stiliyan Petrov was seen in the stands after being diagnosed with acute leukaemia yesterday lunchtime.

Retirement beckons? Aston Villa captain Petrov watches on at Villa Park as his side face Chelsea.
Striker Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring for the away side after 9 minutes to make it 1-0 to Chelsea.

10th of the season: Daniel Sturridge celebrates opening the scoring for Chelsea against Villa in the 9th minute.

Centre-back Branislav Ivanovic doubled their lead, in the 51st minute to make it 2-0.

Defender James Collins halved Chelsea's lead in the 77th minute, to give Villa hope of salvaging something at home.

James Collins' header flew past Petr Cech to give Aston Villa a chance of equalising against Chelsea at home.

Fellow defender Eric Lichaj also scored for the hosts, three minutes later in the 80th minute to equalise.

False hope: Eric Lihaj equalises for Aston Villa to make it 2-2, but it was not enough to beat Chelsea.

Ivanovic scored his second of the day in the 83rd minute, before striker Fernado Torres capped off a 4-2 win for Chelsea in the 90th minute to put the icing on the cake and take Villa out of the match.

Striker Fernando Torres scores his first goal in the EPL for six months to end his drought and give Chelsea a 4-2 win against Aston Villa.

£50million man starting to shine: Torres celebrates scoring against Villa for his 3rd goal in 3 matches.

Everton 2 West Bromwich Albion 0
This match came from Goodison Park, as a morale boosted Everton side who moved into the semi-final of the FA Cup on Tuesday, faced 14th placed West Brom who are 11 points away from the relegation zone. 

Defender Gareth McAuley broke the deadlock in the 18th minute for Everton - with an own goal after it took a deflection from Leon Osman's shot.
Striker Victor Anichebe doubled the hosts lead in the 68th minute, to end the match with a 2-0 win at home for Everton.

Everton players celebrate striker Victor Anichebe's goal to make it 2-0 in the 68th minute against West Brom.

Fulham 2 Norwich City 1

This match was played at Craven Cottage, as 13th placed Fulham faced Norwich who are in 11th place.
Midfielder Clint Dempsey gave the hosts an early 1-0 lead in the 2nd minute.
Fellow midfield man Damien Duff scored for Fulham to make it 2-0, in the 13 minute.
Andrew Wilbraham made it 2-1 after half-time, in the 77th minute but it was too late for them to win or earn a point at Craven Cottage.

Fulham move into 11th place, 4 points off 7th place, while Norwich drop down a place into 12th but stay on the same points as Fulham.


Manchester City 3 Sunderland 3

2nd placed City faced 8th placed Sunderland in an important match for the future of the EPL title this season. Rivals United face Blackburn on Monday, and they need a win to move back into 1st.

Midfielder Sebastien Larsson broke the deadlock for the visitors in the 31st minute, to give Sunderland a shock lead at The Ethiad Stadium.
Striker Mario Balotelli equalised for the home side in the 43rd minute, from the penalty spot after Dzeko was obstructed by Craig Gardner.

Striker Mario Balotelli equalises for Manchester City in the 43rd minute from the penalty spot.

Nicklas Bendtner scored just before half time (45) to make it 2-1 to Sunderland.
Larsson scored his second of the match in the 55th minute to give them a 3-1 lead.

Midfielder Larsson celebrates scoring his second goal of the match against Manchester City in the 56th minute.

Balotelli inspired a comeback for City in the 85th minute after scoring his second, with 5 minutes left to give City a chance to equalise.
Alexsandar Kolarov equalised for City in the 86th minute to complete the comeback against Sunderland.

 
The comeback is sealed: Kolarov equalises for City against Sunderland in the 86th minute to make it 3-3.

This is how the match finished in the end, with City dropping points in the race for the title although they made a sudden comeback to keep their unbeaten run at The Ethiad alive.
Sunderland are now 9th and will be upset that they blew a 3-1 lead against City and could have moved into 7th place but thankful they took a point away from home.

QPR 2 Arsenal 1

Today, Loftus Road was the stadium where 3rd placed Arsenal looked for their 8th win in a row. QPR were the team in their way, having comeback from 2-0 down to beat Liverpool 3-2 last week.
Striker Adel Taarabt gave the hosts the lead in the 22nd minute to make it 1-0.

Adel Taarabt breaks the deadlock for QPR against Arsenal at Loftus Road in the 22nd minute.
First goal in the EPL for the former Tottenham striker, against his London rivals Arsenal.

Theo Walcott equalised for The Gunners, 15 minutes later.

Winger Theo Walcott scores his 10th goal of the season for Arsenal to level at Loftus Road against QPR.

Another camera angle view, of Walcott's equaliser against QPR at Loftus Road.


Midfielder Samba Diakite scored his first goal for QPR to win the match for the home side in the 66th minute.

There was a hint of timewasting by QPR, with three players geting booked in the last minute (Barton, Ferdinand and Diakite), but Rangers took the three points. 

Wigan Athletic 2 Stoke City 0

Relegation calling for Wigan who are in 19th place against an unpredictable 12th placed Stoke.
Wigan captain and defender Antolin Alcaraz opened the scoring for the home side after half-time in the 54th minute to make it 1-0.

Defender Alcaraz towers to head the ball the past past the Stoke defence to break the deadlock at The DW.

Striker Victor Moses doubled the hosts lead in the 90th minute to seal Wigan's first win at the DW Stadium for 7 months.


Long time coming: Victor Moses scores the winner for Wigan to give them their first win at the DW in 7 months.

They are still in 19th place though as results did not go their way with QPR and Bolton both winning today.
Stoke have moved 1 place down to 13th place, 2 points away from the magic 40 point barrier which almost certainly seals next season's place in the EPL.

Wolves 2 Bolton Wanderers 3

Terry Connor looked for his first win as caretaker manager against Bolton. 2 relegation fighting teams going head-to-head, with Bolton looking to win for Fabrice Muamba who is currently in hospital.
This match was a thrilling 5 goal thriller at Molienuex.

Midfielder Michael Kightly broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute to make it 1-0 to Wolves. 

Deadlock broken: Kightly celebrates scoring against Bolton in the 51st minute
Midfielder Martin Petrov equalised, 10 minutes later from the penalty spot.

A placed penalty is the best penalty: Petrov equalises from the penalty spot for Bolton against Wolves.

Marcos Alonso made it 2-1 to the visitors, in the 80th minute to give them the lead for the first time in the match.

Jubilation: Marcos Alonso celebrates his 1st goal of the season to make it 2-1 to Bolton.

Captain Kevin Davies made it 3-1, 4 minutes later before Matthew Jarvis pulled a goal back in the 88th minute to make it 3-2.
This was not enough for Wolves to save the match, and they lost eventually.
They will be disappointed that they lost all three points at home, especially as they were in-front. 




The LATEST EPL News:


Arsene Wenger slammed UEFA after vowing to appeal a three-match European ban and a £33,000 fine after he reportedly abused a referee during their 3-0 win (4-3 loss) against AC Milan.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are all interested in  cut-price £6million Athletic Bilbao midfielder Markel Susaeta.

Jose Mourinho has distanced himself from a shock move to Manchester City.


Real Madrid are ready to launch a £10million bid for Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois, who has been on loan with Atletico Madrid.
Courtois: Been on-loan at Atletico Madrid from Chelsea, but Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho are interested.

Arsene Wenger's first priority this summer is tying Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie to new long-term deals at Arsenal.

Manchester City's title hopes have suffered a new blow following a bizarre injury to star striker Sergio Aguero.  

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers, strongly linked with taking over at Tottenham should Harry Redknapp become England boss, says he is ready for a top job.

Brendan Rodgers: Ready for the big job call-up to Tottenham?

Everton manager David Moyes has credited Nikica Jelavic with helping to transform Everton's season.

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has expressed anger and disappointment at the decision to stage Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur at 6pm on Sunday, April 15.

Defender Rio Ferdinand is considering an offer to move to  China when his contract at Manchester United finishes at the end of next season.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp suggested yesterday that key midfielder Luka Modric could be interested in a lucrative move this summer, with Roberto Mancini admitting his admiration for the Croatian.

Modric: Manchester City calling the Croatian, on a possible £10million salary a year.

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
It means a lot to me, as you all read it.
This inspires me to write more often and better content.
I will speak to all of you tomorrow, in my next post where the race for a European place next season intensifies, as Liverpool face Newcastle and Tottenham play Swansea.

Friday 30 March 2012

The Weekend's EPL Match Predictions:


The Weekend's EPL Match Previews:

Saturday (all 15:00pm):
 
Aston Villa vs Chelsea:
My prediction: Chelsea edge out a win, with either Mata, Sturridge and Lamard/Drogba scoring. Villa will work hard, for team-mate Petrov who has been diagnosed WITH leukamia. 

Everton vs West Brom:
Everton comfortably beat a WBA side with a dodgy defence.. 

Fulham vs Norwich:
Could be interesting.... Fulham could win with in-form Dempsey and Pogrebynak scoring, especially as Norwich's top goalscorer, Grant Holt in out with a suspension.

Manchester City vs Sunderland:
City need to beat Sunderland to stay on track for the title this season. Aguero is out, but Silva and Dzeko not to mention Yaya Toure should edge out Sunderland.

QPR vs Arsenal:
7 wins in a row for Arsene Wenger and The Arsenal. 
Next up is QPR who are trying to avoid relegation this season. 
Can they do it? Yes they can. Robin Van Persie to the Rescue?!

Wigan vs Stoke:
Stoke should beat Wigan. Surely?

Wolves vs Bolton:Pray 4 Muamba. Play 4 Muamba. Win 4 Muamba.
Bolton will have Mr. in their thoughts, which should inspire them, especially as he took his picture from hospital on Twitter today. Looks good.
Against Terry Connor's men. Coca-Cola Championship calling?

Sunday:

Newcastle United vs Liverpool: LIVE at 13:30pm
6th vs 7th, could decide the fate of the postions of the two this season.
Demba Ba and international team-mate Papiss Cisse along with Hatem Ben Arfa vs Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard along with Martin Skrtel.?
Andy Carroll will be upset if he does not score on Sunday against his old club.


Tottenham Hotspur vs Swansea City: LIVE at 16:00pm
Draw. Swansea? Spurs?
I'm in the middle, but you would have thought that Spurs would see off a newly-promoted club!!!


Monday:

Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United: LIVE at 20:00pm
Another monday match in the Prem. 
3-2 was the score last time. 
United will look to stay 1st place with a thrashing this time.. Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck (pace-setter) and Ryan Giggs (engine) on-form.
De Gea the unsung hero.


Wednesday 28 March 2012

EPL/FA Cup Quarter Final Replay Round Up plus EPL News:


EPL Round Up:
These fixtures were the last two matches in the EPL, from Round 30 which were not played on Saturday.
Newcastle were looking for a vital three points in the race for Europe against West Brom, while Manchester United could move three points clear at the top of the table with a win over 13th placed Fulham, who are only 6 points away from 7th placed Liverpool.



Sunday:

West Bromwich Albion 1 Newcastle United 3
This match was played at The Hawthorns as 14th placed West Brom hosted 6th placed Newcastle in an important match for both teams.
Striker Papiss Demba Cisse got the away side a perfect goal after 6 minutes to break the deadlock.


Striker Papiss Cisse beats 'keeper Ben Foster to open the scoring for Newcastle against WBA, after 6 minutes.

Midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa tucked the ball into the net in the 12th minute to make it 2-0 after a great pass-and-move from Ba and Cisse was finished clinically.

Midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa celebrates his 12th minute goal making it 2-0 to Newcastle against West Brom at The Hawthorns.

Cisse scored again to make it 3-0 before half-time in the 34th minute, to show total domination from the visitors.

£10million man: Cisse scores past Foster for his 5th goal for Newcastle since moving from Freiburg in late January. 


Shane Long scored a goal for The Baggies in the 53rd minute after captalizing on a Newcastle defensive mistake, but it was eventually a consolation.


Consolation prize: Striker Shane Long gives the hosts something to shout about despite their 3-1 loss at home.

Newcastle are now level on points with 5th placed Chelsea, and only 5 points of Tottenham (who are in 4th).
West Brom stay in 14th place, only 4 points away from 8th placed Sunderland, but only 4 points away from relegation trouble also.

This shows how tight mid-table is at the moment, with 4 points seperating the teams between 8th place and 14th place.

If I were Alan Pardew, I would be thanking Liverpool right now...
£35million, well spent (and he has not even spent it all yet!).

Monday:

Manchester United 1 Fulham 0
This match was played at Old Trafford, as 2nd placed Manchester United had the chance to move back into 1st place and three points ahead of rivals City as well if they beat Fulham, at home.
Striker Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, after Fulham failed to clear Ashley Young's cross which fell to defender Johnny Evans who set him up at the far post for an easy tap-in.

Striker Wayne Rooney places the ball past the Fulham defence into the net from inside the 16-yard-box.
Lethal: Striker Wayne Rooney has now scored 17 goals in his last 17 matches, and 28 for the season.


This was the only goal of the match, however United had many chances at goal which were saved well by Mark Schwarzer.

In the 90th minute, midfielder Michael Carrick tackled Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy inside the penalty area, and he could have scored. The referee did not give the away side a penalty, athlough several replays showed that they was contact and it should have been awarded.


Controversy: Carrick brings down Murphy inside the box in the last minute, but no penalty is awarded.
Now, United are three points clear of 2nd placed rivals City, while Fulham stay in 13th place.


EPL News:


Roberto Mancini has laughed off Sir Alex Ferguson's attempts at playing mind games.

Arsenal are ready to battle Fulham and Newcastle for Southampton youngster Calum Chambers.


Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko is wanted by German side Borussia Dortmund to boost their strikeforce.

Midfielder Mario Gotze has stopped all transfer speculation for now, after signing a new contract until 2015, which will deter Mancini from a fee plus trade for the youngster.


Sir Alex Ferguson will open talks over a new Manchester United deal for Rio Ferdinand in the summer - to kill off interest from teams in America, Russia and China.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson last night admitted he got it wrong in Europe, but vowed to make amends by winning his most satisfying Premier League title yet.


Goalkeeper Petr Cech says Chelsea will have a "lost year" if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

They are currently in 5th place, and if they do not qualify for the CL, Abramovich will be fuming.
He has always wanted the CL, but imagine how humilating will it be to not even be in it???

Midfielder Gareth Barry believes Manchester City must win all eight of their remaining EPL matches, if they are to pip rivals United to the title.
Even that might not be enough to win the title. Lack of experience could be their downfall, as well as mounting pressure from Roberto Mancini and the board.

Midfielder Darren Fletcher believes that he can complete his comeback to the Manchester United squad next season. The Scotsman has had a serious bowel condition.

Spainish side Real Sociedad are lining up for a £3.5million bid for Arsenal striker Carlos Vela who is currently on loan with them.

Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering lateral ligament damage in his right knee.





FA Cup Quarter Final Round-Up:

Tuesday:

Tottenham Hotspur 3 Bolton 1
This match was played at White Hart Lane as Bolton looked to move into the Last 4 of the FA Cup, especially for midfielder (and) cardiac arrest victim Fabrice Muamba who is currently in intensive care (in hospital).
During the pre-match warm-ups etc, every player and supporter in the ground had Muamba in their thoughts, after he collapsed during the scheduled match two weeks on Saturday.

Bolton captain Kevin Davies wears the 'Uniting for Fabrice' t-shirt during the warm-up, as support for his fellow team-mate.

Clap 4 Muamba: Tottenham Hotspur players applauding before the replay kicked off.

Along with us: Bolton players show their support for their midfielder and team-mate.
The match was a stalemate, until the 74th minute when defender Ryan Nelsen broke the deadlock for the hosts from a powerful header.


Ryan Nelsen's header opens the scoring for Spurs against Bolton at White Hart Lane in the 74th minute.

Winger Gareth Bale doubled their lead, three minutes later to make it 2-0.


Winger Gareth Bale fires Spurs 2-0 ahead, three minutes later against Bolton.

Captain Kevin Davies halved the lead in the last minute, to give Bolton faint hope of going to the semi-finals, before striker Louis Saha killed off the match in the same minute to make it a comprehensive 3-1 victory for Spurs.

Tottenham celebrate moving into the semi-finals of the FA Cup to face Chelsea, where they could win their first piece of silverware since 2009.

Highlights from the match (Bogdan vs Spurs):



 

Sunderland 0 Everton 2
This match was played at The Stadium of Light as Sunderland hosted Everton in a quarter-final replay.
Nikica Jelavic and a Mark Vaughan own goal send Everton into the semi-final at Wembley, against fierce rivals Liverpool.
Watch highlights from the match here:



Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
I appreciate all the support from views and followers.
This inspires me to do better by posting more often and better and longer content.
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I will speak to you all on Friday, where it will be an EPL Preview and European Round-Up Blog post!

Saturday 24 March 2012

Today's EPL Results:


Today's EPL Results:
8 matches come from the Premier League on this lovely Saturday afternoon in England.
Chelsea host Tottenham in the early kick-off, Arsenal face Aston Villa, Wigan go to Anfield to face 7th placed Liverpool, Stoke City and Manchester City clash in the evening kick-off and much more!


12:45:

Chelsea 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0

This London derby rival match between 5th placed Chelsea and 4th placed Spurs ended in a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge. 
Both teams take one point, much to 3rd placed Arsenal's pleasure before their 3oclock match with Villa as they could move further away from their rivals in the race for a Champions League place next season.

FACT: Chelsea are now 20 points away from first placed Manchester United who have 70 points from 29 matches.
FACT: Tottenham have now drawn 7 matches this season.

15:00:

Arsenal 3 Aston Villa 0

This match was played at The Emirates Stadium as 3rd placed Arsenal hosted 15th placed Aston Villa. The home side were very eager to move 3 points clear of 4th placed rivals Spurs, and 8 points clear of Chelsea (in 5th).
Full-back Kieran Gibbs scored his first EPL goal for the hosts after 16 minutes to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead. 

Full-back Kieran Gibbs fires past goalkeeper Shay Given to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead against Aston Villa.


Winger Theo Walcott scored, 9 minutes later to double their lead.

Winger Theo Walcott celebrates doubling the home side's lead for his 6th EPL goal of the season.


Midfielder Mikel Arteta ended the match with a sweet free-kick in the 90th minute to put the icing on the cake for Arsenal's day.

Midfielder Mikel Arteta celebrates scoring a nice free-kick to gift Arsenal a 3-0 win at The Emirates.
FACT: This is Arsenal's 7th consecutive win in a row.

Liverpool 1 Wigan Athletic 2

This match was played at Anfield, as 7th placed Liverpool looked to get back in-form against 19th placed Wigan who are also in poor form.
Striker Shaun Maloney opened the scoring for the visitors after 30 minutes from a penalty.

Striker Shaun Maloney breaks the deadlock for Wigan against Liverpool from the penalty spot by beating Pepe Reina.


In-form striker Luis Suarez equalised for The Reds, 2 minutes after half-time before having another goal ruled out for handball in the 58th minute.

Defender Gary Caldwell scored the last goal of the match in the 63rd minute to give the away side all 3 points.

Late winner: Gary Caldwell pushes the ball past Reina to give Wigan their 5th win of the season.
FACT: Liverpool are on course for their worst ever finish in the EPL.

Bolton Wanderers 2 Blackburn Rovers 1

This match was played at The Reebok Stadium, as 19th placed Bolton hosted Blackburn in their first match since midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed last Saturday against Tottenham in the FA Cup Quarter Final.
Defender David Wheater broke the deadlock for The Trotters in the 28th minute, before scoring yet again in the 35th minute (7 mins later) to make it 2-0.

Defender David Wheater doubles the lead for Bolton to make it 2-0 against Blackburn.


In the 56th minute, midfielder Steven N'Zonzi halved the 2 goal lead after converted Morten Gamst Pedersen's pass but this was the final result, and it was too little too late for Blackburn.

Norwich City 2 Wolves 1
This match came from Carrow Road, as 13th placed Norwich hosted bottom club Wolves in a must win match for both clubs in their seperate (mid-table and avoiding relegation) goals.
Midfielder Matthew Jarvis opened the scoring in the 25th minute for Wolves to give Terry Connor's men a 1-0 lead away from home. 

1-0: Wolves midfielder Matthew Jarvis hits the ball past the defence and goalkeeper John Ruddy for the lead at Carrow Road against Norwich.


Just a minute later, in-form striker Grant Holt equalised for the hosts to make it 1-1.

Holt's header gives Norwich the equaliser against Wolves at Carrow Road.


Holt made it 2-1 to the home side in the 45th minute, before getting sent off (for two yellows) in the 85th minute.

The good of Grant Holt: Celebrates scoring his second of the day, and his 12th goal of the season.
The bad of Grant Holt: Holt gets a red card after recieving two yellow cards and now has a 1-match ban.


This had no positive effect for Wolves who eventually lost and did not take advantage of this.

Norwich move up to 11th place, while Wolves stay bottom of the table with caretaker manager Terry Connor in trouble if he wants them to stay in the PL next season.

Swansea 0 Everton 2
10th vs 13th in the EPL at The Liberty Stadium as Swansea hosted Everton.
Full-back Leighton Baines made the scoreline 1-0 to the away side after 58 minutes, from a sweet curling free-kick. 

Free-kick taken, free-kick scored: Baines curls the ball into the net to give the visitors the lead at The Liberty.


Striker Nikica Jelavic scored his second goal for the club in the 76th minute to ensure that The Toffees took all 3 points away from home.

I'll take that: Striker Nikica Jelavic enjoys his winner for Everton at Swansea in the 76th minute.


FACT: Swansea have now only lost 3 matches at home this season.

Sunderland 3 QPR 1
This match was played at The Stadium of Light, as 12th placed Sunderland hosted a QPR side who came back from 2 goals down to beat Liverpool 3-2 with 13 minutes to play in midweek.
Striker Nicklas Bendtner broke the deadlock for the home side after 41 minutes to make it 1-0. 

Striker Nicklas Bendtner heads Sunderland ahead against QPR after 41 minutes.

Djibril Cisse hit the headlines in the 55th minute, for the wrong reasons as he was given a straight red card (and a 3-match ban) after a dangerous tackle. 

Cisse sees red: He is given his second red card since moving to QPR in January - against his old club Sunderland.
Midfielder James McClean doubled the home side's lead in the 70th minute before Stephane Sessegnon made it 3-0, 6 minutes later.
Full-back Taye Taiwo scored his first goal in English football to give Rangers a consolation goal away from home.


17:30:
 
Stoke City 1 Manchester City 1

City had the chance to go back top of the table until at least Monday with a point at a tough side Stoke.