Saturday 16 March 2013

EPL 6-Match LIVE Coverage:



Hello and welcome to my latest blog post, where I have LIVE Coverage of 6 EPL matches today including Swansea vs Arsenal and Southampton vs Liverpool.

Early afternoon match:

Everton vs Manchester City - LIVE

80 minutes played at Goodison Park, with the hosts leading by 1 goal to nil thanks to midfielder Leon Osman's first-half strike in the 33rd minute. 
South African midfielder Steven Pienaar has been sent off after a 2nd yellow, as City have 10 minutes to get back into the match against 10-man Everton. 

Bullet: Leon Osman breaks the deadlock at home against Manchester City.

Shock at home: Osman is mobbed by his team-mates after his goal gave Everton the lead against City
Down to ten men: Pienaar is given a second yellow card and Everton have to play the rest of the game with 10.

Too late to plead: Pienaar asks the referee to reconsider the red card.


14:27: City need to win with 5 minutes to play, or else... They will stay 12 points behind 1st placed Manchester rivals United who will have a game in hand, playing against Reading in the evening kick-off from 5.30pm.

14:28: Controversy.... Tevez has a shot handled by Everton striker Steven Naismith, but the referee blows his whistle for a free-kick, despite the ball being INSIDE the penalty area.
It should have been a City penalty, and Everton are let off due to a poor refereeing decision which will probably be talked about for a couple of days yet...

14:31: Everton are looking to make a substitution, with Croatian striker Nikica Jelavic warming up with less than 3 minutes to play. 

14:32:
Everton SUB:
Victor Anichebe OFF

Nikica Jelavic ON

Anichebe recieves a warm applause as he comes off having played well, and Jelavic replaces him.   

14:34: Tense last few minutes to play, City still looking for the equaliser.   

14:36: GOAL! Everton have closed out the game, and it is now 2-0 to the hosts, with Jelavic scoring a deflected shot off full-back Gael Clichy which beat Joe Hart into the net. City are in trouble now though...  

14:37: GAME OVER! The referee blows his whistle to end the match at Goodison, with Everton moving up into 6th place above their Merseyside rivals Liverpool, with a comfortable 2-0 win against the defending EPL champions. 

14:40:

Team Line-ups:  

Southampton vs Liverpool:
 
Southampton: Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Shaw, Schneiderlin, Cork, Rodriguez, Ramirez, Lallana, Lambert. 

Subs: Kelvin Davis, Fonte, Steven Davis, Forren, Ward-Prowse, Do Prado, Puncheon.

Liverpool: Jones, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Jose Enrique, Allen, Downing, Gerrard, Coutinho, Suarez, Sturridge. 
Subs: Gulacsi, Henderson, Lucas, Suso, Shelvey, Ibe, Wisdom.

No Pepe Reina again for Liverpool, but the new exciting partnership between Coutinho, Suarez, Enrique and Sturridge will be interesting to see again today at St. Mary's Stadium.

The hosts will be hoping to win today, with Lambert, Lallana and Ramirez all dangerous threats for The Reds having to deal with. 

Aston Villa vs QPR:
 
Aston Villa: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Baker, Sylla, Westwood, Bannan, Weimann, Benteke, Agbonlahor. 

Subs: Given, N'Zogbia, Holman, Bowery, Dawkins, Bennett, Carruthers.

QPR: Julio Cesar, Bosingwa, Samba, Hill, Da Silva, Park, Mbia, Jenas, Remy, Zamora, Townsend.
Subs: Murphy, Taarabt, Wright-Phillips, Mackie, Granero, Onuoha, Hoilett.

17th vs 20th in a relegation derby type match. 
Both sides won their respective matches last week, and QPR could get their hopes of staying in the EPL boosted with another 3 points today.
Benteke and Agbonlahor will be out to ensure this does not happen however.  

Stoke City vs West Brom:
 
Stoke: Begovic, Shotton, Shawcross, Wilson, Cameron, Jerome, Whelan, Nzonzi, Etherington, Walters, Crouch.

Subs: Sorensen, Jones, Owen, Adam, Whitehead, Kightly, Wilkinson.

West Brom: Foster, Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell, Thomas, Yacob, Morrison, Mulumbu, Brunt, Lukaku.
Subs: Myhill, Popov, Rosenberg, Long, Odemwingie, Tamas, Fortune.

Belgian teenager Romelu Lukaku has scored 13 goals already this season, and will be hoping to score again today against a tough Stoke side at The Britannia. 
Asmir Begovic will be out to stop him, along with English powerhouse Ryan Shawcross.  

Swansea City vs Arsenal:


Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Monk, Davies, Dyer, Britton, De Guzman, Ki, Hernandez, Michu.

Subs: Tremmel, Bartley, Lamah, Routledge, Shechter, Moore, Tiendalli.

Arsenal: Fabianski, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Arteta, Diaby, Walcott, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud.
Subs: Szczesny, Vermaelen, Rosicky, Ramsey, Coquelin, Gervinho, Gibbs.

Arsenal travel to Wales to play against a strong Swansea side after beating Bayern 2-0 during midweek despite going out of the UCL due to the away goal rule. 

Early lead: Giroud broke the deadlock in the 3rd minute for Arsenal, as they beat Bayern 2-0.

Back in it? Giroud celebrates his finish with Walcott to make it 3-2 on aggregate in Germany.

If only: Laurent Koscielny scored a header to make it 2-0 to Arsenal, but they still lost on away goals.

The hosts will hope that they can win comfortably today, but they will know it will not be easy against an Arsenal side that always dominate possession and passing, but hardly ever score or take their chances. 

Szczesny, Gibbs and Vermaelen are all on the Arsenal bench, while 2nd string Fabianski deputises in goal again for The Gunners and Oxlade-Chamberlain and Diaby both start.  

Swansea have Lamah, Moore and Routledge on the bench, but De Guzman, Nathan Dyer and Michu all start.  

15:00: The 4 EPL matches all kicked off now....  

15:06: 
Southampton 1 Liverpool 0
The hosts are ahead, with Morgan Schneiderlin scoring in the 6th minute with a tap-in shot which beat Brad Jones.  

Ahead: Schneiderlin taps the ball past Brad Jones into the net to give Southampton a 1-0 lead against Liverpool.

15:07: 
Swansea vs Arsenal:
Close by The Gunners! Young midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain gets past Angel Rangel well before having a well-struck shot hit the crossbar and stay out... Swansea are lucky not to be trailing at home. 

15:11:
Aston Villa vs QPR:
USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan has prevented QPR going 2-0 ahead, saving well from a header by Christopher Samba, and a shot which was not cleared away by Villa.  
The hosts are under the knife now... with Villa not pressing the returning Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar as of yet.   

15:15:
Southampton vs Liverpool:
Rickie Lambert almost doubled the lead for the hosts, with a cheeky shot inside the box being blocked well by Brad Jones to deny him his 13th EPL goal of the season. Still 1-0 to the hosts, with The Reds trailing again. 

15:20:
Aston Villa vs QPR:
Young defender Nathan Baker limps off the pitch down the tunnel after picking up a knock after a collision with Christopher Samba.
He is being substituted by Joe Bennett. 

15:22:
Southampton vs Liverpool:
Two shots from Jay Rodriguez within quick time, but it is still 1-0 to the hosts. Liverpool have not got into the match properly, and are being dominated.

15:23:
Aston Villa vs QPR:
GOAL! QPR have finally got what they deserved in the 23rd minute, with midfielder Jermaine Jenas scoring his 2nd goal in 2 matches with a rebounded shot after Zamora's effort is parried away by Guzan to give Harry Redknapp's side a 1-0 lead away from home.  

2 goals in 2 matches: Jermaine Jenas celebrates his goal against Aston Villa to make it 1-0 away from home.
The "Great Escape" looks more and more likely now for QPR...    

AS IT STANDS:
20th: Reading with 23 points
19th: Wigan with 24 points
18th: QPR with 26 points

17th: Aston Villa with 27 points   

15:25:
Swansea vs Arsenal:
Michel Vorm denies The Gunners the opener, after a nice through ball by Santi Cazorla almost falls to Theo Walcott on the edge of the area, but the Dutch goalkeeper runs out to collect.   

15:33:
Aston Villa vs QPR: 
QPR are dominating this match so far, but it is still 1-0 to the away side.     

15:34:
Southampton vs Liverpool:
GOAL! Rickie Lambert doubles the hosts' lead after a 30-yard free-kick deflects against the wall before spinning away from Brad Jones into the net. 2-0 to The Saints, and The Reds have a mountain to climb now.
 


15:38:
Aston Villa vs QPR:
Andros Townsend almost doubled the lead for QPR with a screamer from 25 yards out, which was well saved by Brad Guzan to deny Townsend his 2nd screamer in 1 week. Villa are not playing very well today, and Benteke cannot get onto the ball because every time his side have it, they lose the ball.   

15:43:
Swansea City vs Arsenal:

Oxlade-Chamberlain hits the crossbar again for Arsenal! Swansea are let off again, and it stays 0-0 with a couple of minutes left in the first-half.   

15:46:
Southampton vs Liverpool: 
Brazil youngster Phillipe Coutinho scores his 2nd goal for Liverpool after his £10million move from Inter Milan in January, to pull back a goal for The Reds just before half-time with a goalmouth scramble ending with him finishing off a chance to make it 2-1.  

15:47:
Aston Villa vs QPR:
Against the run of play, Villa have equalised against QPR just before half-time, with Gabriel Agbonlahor scoring his 2nd goal in 2 matches with a header past Julio Cesar after Matt Lowton's delivery into the box.  

AS IT STANDS:
20th: Reading with 23 points
19th: Wigan with 24 points
18th: QPR with 24 points
17th: Aston Villa with
28 points


15:51:

HALF-TIME SCORES:
Aston Villa 1 QPR 1
Southampton 2 Liverpool 1 
Stoke City 0 West Brom 0
Swansea City 0 Arsenal 0 



UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League Last 8 Draws:

UEFA CL Draw:

Bayern Munich vs Juventus 
Real Madrid vs Galatasaray
Borrusia Dortmund vs Malaga
Barcelona vs PSG

UEFA EL Draw:

Benfica vs Newcastle United
Chelsea vs Rubin Kazan
Tottenham vs FC Basel
Fenerbache vs Lazio  

16:04: The second halves have all started in the 4 EPL matches being played today.   

16:10:
Southampton vs Liverpool:  
The Reds getting more comfortable, back in the match despite trailing by 2 goals to 1. 
Sturridge and Coutinho have had half-chances however  

16:17:
Aston Villa vs QPR:
Andreas Weimann gives Aston Villa a 2-1 lead after a low strike which beats Julio Cesar into the net. QPR are back to where they started at the start of the day. In 20th place. 

16:31:
Aston Villa vs QPR:
Andros Townsend equalises for QPR to make it 2-2 with a strike that deflects off a Villa defender before beating Brad Guzan into the net.  
The EXACT same players that scored against Sunderland last week, Jenas and Townsend.   

16:54:

FULL-TIME:

Aston Villa 3 QPR 2
The great trio of Agbonlahor, Weimann and Benteke proved to be the difference, as Villa beat a resillent QPR side 3-2 at home. Goals from Townsend and Jenas made it a 5-goal thriller, but Rangers stay at the bottom of the EPL.
 
Southampton 3 Liverpool 1
Coutinho's goal for The Reds proved to be just a consolation, as Southampton beat Liverpool 3-1 at home thanks to goals from Schneiderlin, Lambert and Rodriguez.

Scramble: Coutinho gives Liverpool faint hope of getting back into the match with a scrappy strike inside the box.


 
Stoke City 0 West Brom 0
A goal-less draw at The Britannia, with Stoke and West Brom sharing the spoils.

 
Swansea City 0 Arsenal 2
Goals from new full-back Nacho Monreal and Ivorian winger Gervinho sealed a 2-0 away win for The Gunners. It moves them 2 points behind 4th placed Chelsea.  

Landmark: Nacho Monreal scores his 1st goal for Arsenal with a volley against Swansea.

1st but not last: Monreal celebrates his goal with his team-mates after making it 1-0 at The Liberty Stadium.
Icing on the cake: Gervinho makes it 2-0 to The Gunners in Wales to give Arsenal all 3 points away from home.

Rare: Gervinho celebrates scoring his 5th goal of the season to seal the 3 points for Arsenal.

Evening match:

Manchester United 1 Reading 0 - FT
 

 
  
  
(MORE TO FOLLOW - AS THE DAY CONTINUES)

2 comments:

  1. Match of the week was southampton vs liverpool

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I agree. Southampton pulled off a minor shock with that 3-1 win didn't they?
    Coutinho is really proving to be a great buy for Liverpool though, despite that away loss.

    ReplyDelete