Hello and welcome to my latest blog post, with 2 of the last 3 FA Cup 3rd Round Matches being played today on Sunday.
Swansea host Arsenal in their last match before Wednesday's Capital One Cup Semi-Final Match with Chelsea, while League 2 side Mansfield Town play against Liverpool in the afternoon match.
Shocks can be on the cardxs today, with Liverpool hoping to avoid the same fate as Newcastle did yesterday - A 3rd Round exit.
Swansea vs Arsenal - LIVE:
35 minutes gone at The Liberty Stadium, and it is still goal-less in the first half.
The home side have not threatened much, apart from Swansea striker Danny Graham, who beat defender Per Mertesacker with pace before having a 20-yard strike parried away by goalkeeper Wojiech Szczesny.
 |
| Chance: Swansea striker Danny Graham beat Per Mertesacker before having a 20-yard shot saved by Szczesny. |
Arsenal have been dominating possession and are passing the ball well. They are also been threatening from free-kicks, but it is still 0-0.
Team Line-ups:
Interesting ties for EPL sides... A lot of replays to be played though, so it is hard to say who will go through out of the teams playing.
Norwich, Aston Villa, Reading and Chelsea should all go through with ease though.
Mansfield vs Liverpool:
Mansfield: Marriott, Thompson, Dempster, Geohaghon, Beevers, Meikle, Clements, Murray, Howell, Briscoe, Green.
Subs: Sutton, Speight, Wright, Rhead, Hutchinson, Stevenson, Daniel.
Liverpool: Jones, Wisdom, Coates, Carragher, Robinson, Lucas, Allen, Shelvey, Suso, Sturridge, Downing.
Subs: Gulacsi, Suarez, Henderson, Sterling, Coady, Skrtel, Flanagan.
Suarez, Skrtel and Sterling among the players on the subs bench for Liverpool as the first-team players get a rest.
Brad Jones starts in goal for The Reds, while Andre Wisdom and Jack Robinson both start as wing-backs.
Lucas, Allen, Shelvey, Suso and Downing play in a 5-player midfield, while £12million new signing Daniel Sturridge starts in attack.
16:50:
HALF-TIME: Mansfield 0 Liverpool 1
New signing Daniel Sturridge has broken the deadlock in the first 8 minutes of the match.
Liverpool could be 3 or 4-0 up, but have not been able to take their chances as clinically as they would like to, so the hosts are still in the match at half-time. 1-0.
17:16:
Liverpool SUB:
Luis Suarez ON
Daniel Sturridge OFF
Suarez's turn to come on, after being rested by manager Brendan Rodgers after Sturridge scored on his debut. Can Suarez double the visitiors lead?
17:18:
GOAL! Luis Suarez has doubled the lead in the 59th minute to give Liverpool a comfortable 2-0 lead with 30 minutes to play.
Mansfield need to score soon if they want to get back into this match. The best they can hope for is a replay at the moment...
17:56:
FULL-TIME:
Mansfield 1 Liverpool 2
The hosts bow out to EPL side Liverpool in a 2-1 loss.
New £12million signing Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez both scored for the away side, and despite Mansfield's late charge for a replay with a goal, it was too late.
Liverpool will go on to play against Oldham in the 4th Round, and that should be an easy tie for the EPL side.
He said:
"Some English clubs are looking at our players and have not yet come knocking on the door. It will come."
"The only window of opportunity at the moment is for Loic Remy. If a big club comes for him and he is interested we will see, but otherwise no one will go."
Marseille sporting director Jose Anigo has praised on-loan QPR midfielder Joey Barton and suggests they are keen to sign him permanently.
He said this about Barton:
"He was described as an animal, but he is just the opposite. He is funny, intelligent, and he fights for victory,"
"We can see that the team has been lifted by his competitive spirit. He is now established as a leader in our group.
"He is very happy here, maybe he has found the right club for him. Should he desire (to stay) it could be very good. We have a very good relationship with his club QPR."
Manchester City have confirmed their interest in £40million-rated Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, and Mr.Controversial Mario Balotelli may leave the club to make way.
Chelsea are looking at Toulouse's £10million-rated midfielder Etienne Capoue.
Fulham want to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Raul Garcia and Benfica striker Nolito to bolster their Europa League qualification hopes.
Norwich want to sign Stoke striker Cameron Jerome to partner Grant Holt in attack, as he is not playing much first-team football.
If the deal falls through, manager Chris Hughton is ready to make a bid for West Ham striker Carlton Cole.
Liverpool are ready to sign Blackpool's highly rated striker Tom Ince for £5million.
Manchester United are still linked with Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski who is reportedly going to sign for £12million pounds - whether it is in this transfer window or the summer.
Newcastle are ready to make a £5million offer for Valeciennes defender Nicolas Isimat-Mirin.
AC Milan midfielder Kevin Prince Boaten has said that he is not ruling out a move back to England, after he recieved racist abuse during a friendly this week and he walked off the pitch.
Chelsea have said that they are set to re-open contract talks with midfielder Frank Lampard.
Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal are all battling to sign Cystal Palace's "hot property" winger Wilfried Zaha.
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has confirmed that striker Michu WILL be staying at The Swans, amid interest from other clubs around the world after his great start to life in England.
Arsenal are interested in signing France defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.
Manchester City, United and Arsenal all want Derby wonderkid Will Hughes.
Tottenham are ready to make a £15million bid for Brazillian striker Leandro Damiao, while they are reportedly reviving their interest in Porto's midfielder Joao Moutinho.
Sunderland are ready to move for Anderlecht defender Roland Juhasz to solve their defensive problems.
Thank you for reading my EPL Blog, and I will be back next week for analysis of the two Capital One Cup matches;
Chelsea vs Swansea, and Bradford vs Aston Villa.
Swansea: Vorm, Tiendalli, Chioc, Bartley, Davies, Dyer, Britton, De Guzman, Ki, Routledge, Graham.
Subs: Tremmel, Michu, Hernandez, Monk, Shechter, Rangel, Agustien.
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Ramsey, Cazorla, Giroud, Walcott.
Subs: Martinez, Vermaelen, Rosicky, Podolski, Andre Santos, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin.
45+2: The referee has blown the whistle to end the first half at The Liberty Stadium.
Swansea are unlucky not to be ahead at half-time, as former Arsenal full-back Kyle Bartley hit the crossbar with a header.
15:20:
Swansea 2 Arsenal 2
Who would have seen that coming after the slow first half?!
Swansea striker Michu came off the substitute bench to score in the 58th minute (less than 2 minutes after he came on!), to break the deadlock for the hosts.
Lukas Podolski came off the bench for Arsenal to equalise in the 81st minute with an amazing strike past Michel Vorm inside the 16-yard box.
Arsenal full-back Kieran Gibbs played a nice 1-2 with striker Olivier Giroud before striking the ball into the top corner to give Arsenal the momentum to go on to win the match.
Swansea striker Danny Graham broke the travelling Arsenal hearts, and gave the hosts a replay in London in the 87th minute after a corner was whipped into the box, and the ball fell to him at the far post.
Norwich City vs Luton
Oldham vs Liverpool
Macclesfield vs Wigan/Bournemouth
Millwall vs Aston Villa
Leeds/Birmingham vs Tottenham
Brighton v Swansea/Arsenal
Crystal Palace/Stoke vs Manchester City
West Ham/Manchester United vs Fulham/Blackpool
Southend/Brentford vs Chelsea
Reading vs Sheffield United
QPR/West Brom vs Sheffield Wednesday/MK Dons
Bolton/Sunderland vs Cheltenham/Everton
Swansea 2 Arsenal 2
Who would have seen that coming after the slow first half?!
Swansea striker Michu came off the substitute bench to score in the 58th minute (less than 2 minutes after he came on!), to break the deadlock for the hosts.
 |
| Ahead: Swansea striker Michu pokes the ball past Szczesny to give the hosts the lead in the 58th minute. |
 |
| Super sub: Michu celebrates his 3rd goal against Arsenal this season - and his 15th this season. |
Lukas Podolski came off the bench for Arsenal to equalise in the 81st minute with an amazing strike past Michel Vorm inside the 16-yard box.
 |
| Enthuastic: Podolski celebrates his goal against Swansea - by taking a fans Arsenal hat and trying it on! |
Arsenal full-back Kieran Gibbs played a nice 1-2 with striker Olivier Giroud before striking the ball into the top corner to give Arsenal the momentum to go on to win the match.
 |
| Tables turned: Arsenal full-back Kieran Gibbs celebrates his 1st goal of the season to make it 2-1. |
Swansea striker Danny Graham broke the travelling Arsenal hearts, and gave the hosts a replay in London in the 87th minute after a corner was whipped into the box, and the ball fell to him at the far post.
 |
| Replay for us: Swansea's in-form striker Danny Graham celebrates his 87th minute goal with team-mate Ki. |
FA Cup 4th Round Draw
(matches that involve EPL teams only):
Oldham vs Liverpool
Macclesfield vs Wigan/Bournemouth
Millwall vs Aston Villa
Leeds/Birmingham vs Tottenham
Brighton v Swansea/Arsenal
Crystal Palace/Stoke vs Manchester City
West Ham/Manchester United vs Fulham/Blackpool
Southend/Brentford vs Chelsea
Reading vs Sheffield United
QPR/West Brom vs Sheffield Wednesday/MK Dons
Bolton/Sunderland vs Cheltenham/Everton
Interesting ties for EPL sides... A lot of replays to be played though, so it is hard to say who will go through out of the teams playing.
Norwich, Aston Villa, Reading and Chelsea should all go through with ease though.
FA Cup 3rd Round: Mansfield vs Liverpool - LIVE Coverage:
Team Line-Ups:
Mansfield: Marriott, Thompson, Dempster, Geohaghon, Beevers, Meikle, Clements, Murray, Howell, Briscoe, Green.
Subs: Sutton, Speight, Wright, Rhead, Hutchinson, Stevenson, Daniel.
Liverpool: Jones, Wisdom, Coates, Carragher, Robinson, Lucas, Allen, Shelvey, Suso, Sturridge, Downing.
Subs: Gulacsi, Suarez, Henderson, Sterling, Coady, Skrtel, Flanagan.
Suarez, Skrtel and Sterling among the players on the subs bench for Liverpool as the first-team players get a rest.
Brad Jones starts in goal for The Reds, while Andre Wisdom and Jack Robinson both start as wing-backs.
Lucas, Allen, Shelvey, Suso and Downing play in a 5-player midfield, while £12million new signing Daniel Sturridge starts in attack.
16:50:
HALF-TIME: Mansfield 0 Liverpool 1
New signing Daniel Sturridge has broken the deadlock in the first 8 minutes of the match.
 |
| Nicely done: Striker Daniel Sturridge scores in the 8th minute to give Liverpool the lead on his debut. |
 |
| Promising: Sturridge follows in the footsteps of Demba Ba after scoring on his debut in the FA Cup. |
Liverpool could be 3 or 4-0 up, but have not been able to take their chances as clinically as they would like to, so the hosts are still in the match at half-time. 1-0.
17:16:
Liverpool SUB:
Luis Suarez ON
Daniel Sturridge OFF
Suarez's turn to come on, after being rested by manager Brendan Rodgers after Sturridge scored on his debut. Can Suarez double the visitiors lead?
17:18:
GOAL! Luis Suarez has doubled the lead in the 59th minute to give Liverpool a comfortable 2-0 lead with 30 minutes to play.
 |
| Not seen: Suarez seemed to handle the ball before it went in the net to give Liverpool a 2-0 lead. |
 |
| Record breaker: Suarez celebrates his 20th goal of the season in all competitions as Liverpool move 2-0 ahead. |
Mansfield need to score soon if they want to get back into this match. The best they can hope for is a replay at the moment...
17:56:
FULL-TIME:
Mansfield 1 Liverpool 2
The hosts bow out to EPL side Liverpool in a 2-1 loss.
New £12million signing Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez both scored for the away side, and despite Mansfield's late charge for a replay with a goal, it was too late.
Liverpool will go on to play against Oldham in the 4th Round, and that should be an easy tie for the EPL side.
Transfer Rumours and activity so far - Day 6:
Since there has been no permanent transfer done deals in the last 2 days since Friday, here are the rumours and news concerning the EPL in this winter transfer window.
Johan Djourou, Hannover from Arsenal - loan
 |
| First-team action: Arsenal defender Johan Djourou has been loaned out to German side Hannover 96. |
The Arsenal defender has moved to the German club Hannover on a short-term loan, in the hope of gaining some first-team experience in a different country, while developing as a player.
He has not impressed Arsene Wenger in the past few years, and a transfer could be on the cards, if he impresses his short-term manager in Germany.
Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has ruled out any possibility of him leaving Manchester City during this transfer window.
Roberto Mancini has also said that he will NOT sell any players during this transfer window, and has said that he needs to BUY instead of selling because of the injuries and losses to his squad due to Yaya and Kolo Toure leaving to play in the African Cup of Nations.
French club Marseille's sporting director Jose Anigo has revealed that striker Loic Remy can leave the club this month - if an offer comes in for him from a big club.
 |
| Allowed to leave: Loic Remy has been told that he is allowed to leave the club after interest from Newcastle. |
Newcastle, QPR and Tottenham were both reportedly interested in his services, and Newcastle are ready to make a bid for him after the transfer of Demba Ba to Chelsea on Friday.
"Some English clubs are looking at our players and have not yet come knocking on the door. It will come."
"The only window of opportunity at the moment is for Loic Remy. If a big club comes for him and he is interested we will see, but otherwise no one will go."
Marseille sporting director Jose Anigo has praised on-loan QPR midfielder Joey Barton and suggests they are keen to sign him permanently.
He said this about Barton:
"He was described as an animal, but he is just the opposite. He is funny, intelligent, and he fights for victory,"
"We can see that the team has been lifted by his competitive spirit. He is now established as a leader in our group.
"He is very happy here, maybe he has found the right club for him. Should he desire (to stay) it could be very good. We have a very good relationship with his club QPR."
Manchester City have confirmed their interest in £40million-rated Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, and Mr.Controversial Mario Balotelli may leave the club to make way.
 |
| Wanted: Napoli's £40million-rated striker Edinson Cavani is wanted by Manchester City as their new talisman. |
 |
| Last straw: Balotelli and Mancini had a fight at the training ground on Thursday, and despite Mancini playing down the incident, Balotelli could be on his way out of the club. |
Chelsea are looking at Toulouse's £10million-rated midfielder Etienne Capoue.
Fulham want to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Raul Garcia and Benfica striker Nolito to bolster their Europa League qualification hopes.
Norwich want to sign Stoke striker Cameron Jerome to partner Grant Holt in attack, as he is not playing much first-team football.
If the deal falls through, manager Chris Hughton is ready to make a bid for West Ham striker Carlton Cole.
Liverpool are ready to sign Blackpool's highly rated striker Tom Ince for £5million.
Manchester United are still linked with Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski who is reportedly going to sign for £12million pounds - whether it is in this transfer window or the summer.
Newcastle are ready to make a £5million offer for Valeciennes defender Nicolas Isimat-Mirin.
AC Milan midfielder Kevin Prince Boaten has said that he is not ruling out a move back to England, after he recieved racist abuse during a friendly this week and he walked off the pitch.
 |
| Abuse: AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng left the pitch during a friendly against Pro Patria this week. |
 |
| Coming back? Kevin-Prince Boateng has refused to rule out a move back to England |
Chelsea have said that they are set to re-open contract talks with midfielder Frank Lampard.
Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal are all battling to sign Cystal Palace's "hot property" winger Wilfried Zaha.
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has confirmed that striker Michu WILL be staying at The Swans, amid interest from other clubs around the world after his great start to life in England.
Arsenal are interested in signing France defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.
 |
| Wanted: Montpellier defender Mapou Yanga Mbiwa has said that it is his dream to play in England. |
Manchester City, United and Arsenal all want Derby wonderkid Will Hughes.
 |
| Wonderkid wanted: Derby midfielder Will Hughes is wanted by City, United and Arsenal. |
Tottenham are ready to make a £15million bid for Brazillian striker Leandro Damiao, while they are reportedly reviving their interest in Porto's midfielder Joao Moutinho.
Sunderland are ready to move for Anderlecht defender Roland Juhasz to solve their defensive problems.
Thank you for reading my EPL Blog, and I will be back next week for analysis of the two Capital One Cup matches;
Chelsea vs Swansea, and Bradford vs Aston Villa.
No comments:
Post a Comment