EPL Super Sunday: Reading vs Tottenham - LIVE Commentary

Hello and welcome to my LIVE Commentary of Reading vs Tottenham Hotspur from The Madjeski Stadium.

But first,

Yesterday's Evening Match:

Sunderland 1 Liverpool 1 

This match was played at The Stadium of Light as Sunderland hosted Liverpool. 
(MORE TO FOLLOW AFTER LIVE COMMENTARY)


This is the last match of the weekend, as both teams look for their first wins of the season.

Reading are expected to be in the relegation battle come the end of the season, so need to win points at the start where they can, especially at home. 

Tottenham are hoping for a Champions League spot this season, and a top 4 finish but they players need to gel together well with new manager Andre Villas Boas and quickly or they will drop even more points after draws against Newcastle, West Brom and Norwich.

Team Line-Ups:

Reading: McCarthy, Gunter, Pearce, Gorkss, Harte, McAnuff, Karacan, Guthrie, Leigertwood, McCleary, Pogrebnyak. 
Subs: Taylor, Shorey, Mariappa, Cummings, Robson-Kanu, Le Fondre, Hunt.

Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Vertonghen, Naughton, Sigurdsson, Sandro, Dembele, Lennon, Defoe, Bale.
Subs: Lloris, Dempsey, Huddlestone, Adebayor, Dawson, Townsend, Caulker.

Midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson starts today against his former club Reading who he left in 2010 for German club Hoffenheim.

Back at Reading: Tottenham midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson spent 5 years at Reading before leaving in 2010.

Hugo Lloris vs Brad Friedel continues, with the latter starting in goal.

Goalkeeping rivalry: Brad Friedel and Hugo Lloris talk during pre-match training.

Kyle Naughton replaces the injured Benoit Assou-Ekotto in the left-back position. 

£6million midfielder Clint Dempsey is on the bench, alongisde Tom Huddlestone (who despite a red card last week) appealed against a 3 match ban and won his case.

Reading vs Tottenham - LIVE Commentary

16:00: The match has kicked off at The Madjeski Stadium.
Reading are playing from left to right and Tottenham right to left. 

My prediction: Tottenham win, comofortably.

16:35:

Tottenham lead by 1 goal to nil, thanks to a great solo run by winger Aaron Lennon was finished off by striker Jermain Defoe inside the 18 yard box. 

On-form: Jermain Defoe scores his second goal for Spurs this season, after a good showing for England.

Deadlock broken: Defoe celebrates his 18th minute goal with creators Lennon, Sigurdsson and Walker.

They could be 2-0 up after a goalkeeping mistake by Reading's debutant keeper McCarthy was cleared off the line after a shot by Sigurdsson.

40:
Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff has an ambitious shot from 20 yards out, it curls towards goal.... OVER THE BAR!!!

Nothing to trouble Friedel in goal.

Reading fans are starting to get excited, trying to motivate their players to get back into the match. 

43: Reading corner with Pogrebnyak probing inside the box, but Tottenham clear. 

45: The fourth official has signalled for two minutes of stoppage time to be added on.

45+2: Referee Howard Webb blows the whistle to end the first half at The Madjeski Stadium.

HALF-TIME SCORE:

Reading 0 Tottenham 1 

The home side are trailing by 1 goal to nil, with Defoe the goalscorer in the 18th minute.

Tottenham have played well in the first half, and Reading have struggled to trouble Brad Friedel in goal at all.
They have only had one shot, to Tottenham's 9 but they are not out of the match just yet.

Reading may feel hard done by because of a penalty shout which was not given by Howard Webb, after Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker handballed inside the penalty area from a free-kick.

Spurs may regret not taking more chances, if Reading get back into the match but the only danger man for Reading at the moment is srtiker Pavel Pogrebnyak. 

17:03: 
Referee Howard Webb blows his whistle to start the second half.

45: Reading kick off the second half. 

46: 1 minute into the second half, and you can already see that Reading have improved from the first half with a dangerous cross into the box, but no-one got to the ball.

48: Lennon runs into the box before a 1-2 pass with Sigurdsson is too powerful for him to latch onto and the ball goes out for a goal-kick.

54: Tottenham are probing for the second goal, but Reading are closing them down well.

57: Tottenham midfielder Gareth Bale has a shot from 25 yards out.... JUST WIDE!!! Close by the Welshman.

FACT: Bale has not scored for Tottenham in 17 EPL matches.

61: A Reading corner is cleared away well by Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen. 


64: Reading go on the counter attack with Le Fondre crossing the ball into the box for Pogrebnyak..... SAVED and HELD!! by Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

65: Reading are starting to press Tottenham, and the worry signs are just creeping in for Tottenham who have lost 1-0 leads in their last few matches.

66: Bale runs down the wing for Tottenham before passing the ball inside the box towards Defoe who takes one touch before hitting the ball powerfully and high towards goal... OVER THE BAR!!!

Defoe should have at least hit the target, after Bale's skillful run at the Reading defenders.

67: Reading midfielder Danny Guthrie is clutching his face on the floor....


Replays show that he got caught by Tottenham defensive midfielder Sandro while they were both battling for possession of the ball.







68: The match continues, with Guthrie reciveing treatment on the touchline.

69: Cameras show that Andre Villas Boas is talking to substitute Tom Huddlestone.

70: Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker beats three defenders for pace and skill down the wing before puling the ball back for Gareth Bale inside the box.... he shoots... GOAL!!!!!

Bale doubles Tottenham's lead with 20 minutes to go!

71: Tottenham manager Andre Villas Boas can now make his substitution in peace:

Tottenham SUB:
Tom Huddlestone ON
Gylfi Sigurdsson OFF 

73: Reading passing the ball, before Defoe closes the defender down well... he then steals the ball off him and runs half the length of the pitch before unleashing a shot towards goal inside the box...

GOAL!!! And that wraps up the match surely?! 

75: Reading looked down after the second goal went in to be honest, and Tottenham have almost certainly sealed three points away from home.

78: Tottenham SUB:
Gareth Bale OFF
Clint Dempsey ON

Good decision by AVB to take Bale off, he has played a lot recently for Wales so Dempsey gets his first 10+ minutes for his new club.

80: 10 minutes left to play plus stoppages, and Tottenham are in total control.

Reading have improved since the first half, but have hardly had any shots and Spurs have been a class above their opponents today.


83: Reading SUBS:

Danny Guthrie OFF
Pavel Pogbrenyak OFF
Noel Hunt ON
Hal Robson-Kanu ON


85: 
SHOTS:
Reading 2, Tottenham 19.


That stat says a lot about the match in truth.... Reading could have made life harded for Tottenham, if they had more SHOTS


86: Adam Le Fondre has a shot cleared off the line by Tottenham defender William Gallas. 


That re-enforces my point that Reading have been unlucky and it they had more chances in-front of goal, the score-line would not be so one sided.


87: Tottenham SUB:
Aaron Lennon OFF
Andros Townsend ON



Townsend is coming on for a burst of pace. Lennon is being rested after a good performance, running down the wings all day long.


89: Adam Le Fondre runs down the wing for Reading on the counter attack before unleashing a chip over goalkeeper Brad Friedel's head towards the far post of the goal.

Substitute Hal Robson-Kanu is lurking there and sprints to reach the ball and tap in  into the net. 


3-1 and Reading get a consolation goal at home. If only...


90: The fourth official has signalled for three minutes of stoppage time.


90+2: Howard Webb brandishes striker Jermain Defoe with a yellow card for decent.



90+3: Howard Webb blows the whistle to end the match at The Madjeski Stadium, after defender William Gallas bodychecks a Reading midfielder inside the box and the Reading players scream for a penalty...


FULL-TIME SCORE:


Reading 1 Tottenham 3

Tottenham dominated and were in total control throughout the match.

Reading will have wished that they had taken more shots because the 1 out of 4 that they took was a goal.

My Man Of The Match: Jermain Defoe

He scored twice for Tottenham, and could have scored 4 or 5. 
Was always making runs and was a danger to Reading throughout the match. 


After that result:

Tottenham have moved up to 10th place, while Reading are stuck in 19th in the table.

The pressure is slowly but surely lifting for Tottenham's new manager Andre Villas Boas but there is still work to be done, after a late goal being conceded and consistency which is needed for a top 4 finish this season.


Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
I truly appreciate all of the support by daily views and my followers. If you have not already, do not forget to follow me for updates everytime a blog post is completed.
I will be back later next week with a UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League 1st Group Match update.

But before I leave you;

Here are next week's European matches (involving EPL sides):

UEFA Champions League (19:45pm):

Tuesday:

Group B:
Montpellier vs Arsenal

Group D:

Real Madrid vs Manchester City

Wednesday:

Group E:

Chelsea vs Juventus

Group H:

Manchester United vs Galatasaray

 

UEFA Europa League (18:00pm unless stated)

Thursday:

Group A:
Young Boys vs Liverpool

Group D:
Maritimo vs Newcastle

Group J: 
Tottenham vs Lazio - LIVE at 20:05pm

EPL Sunday Special including Newcastle vs Liverpool and Tottenham vs Swansea, EPL News:

EPL Sunday Special:

Fernando Torres ended his 6 month scoring drought in the league yesterday, as Chelsea cruised to a 4-2 win over Villa. QPR shocked 3rd placed Arsenal with a 2-1 win while City cameback from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 against Sunderland.

There were also wins for Fulham, Bolton and Everton, while Wigan beat Stoke 2-0 at the DW Stadium for their first home win in 7 months.

Newcastle United vs Liverpool: LIVE from 13:30pm

This match will be played at The Sports Direct Arena, as 6th placed Newcastle host 7th placed Liverpool in a crucial match for both sides in the race for a European spot.
FACT: If Newcastle can pull off a win here today, they will be 11 points ahead of Liverpool.

and,

Tottenham Hotspur vs Swansea City: LIVE from 16:00pm

4th placed Tottenham host underdogs Swansea City at White Hart Lane where Spurs can leapfrog 3rd place rivals Arsenal if they win today (comfortably with goal difference)
FACT: Tottenham have only lost 2 matches at home this season.

While we await team news from Newcastle, let's talk.. EPL News:

Gareth Bale has told Harry Redknapp he can't turn down the England job.


Arsenal will reportedly buy Cologne striker Lukas Podolski for £11million after the £11m striker snubbed Manchester United.



Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers has a release clause on his contract, which means that hif he left Swansea,

Tottenham are closing in on an £8m summer deal for Real Madrid's Lassana Diara.


West Ham are after Kieran Richardson from Sunderland.


Brendan Rodgers has risked pricing himself out of the Tottenham job by having a £5m compensation clause written into his Swansea contract.


Yakubu is set to quit Blackburn in the summer even if they stay up.


PSG are still very interested in Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez.


Wigan striker Victor Moses will reject a new contract, to move to a bigger club in the summer.
Liverpool are interested. 


Arsene Wenger wants to snap up French striker Olivier Giroud before Euro 2012.


Aston Villa are ready to move for Huddersfield top striker Jordan Rhodes.
This could be a big cultural change for a young player like this, from League 1 to the EPL (one of the best leagues in the world).
Is this a wise move?


EPL leaders Manchester United are ready to bid £15million have lined up a £15m deal for PSV Eindhoven midfielder Kevin Strootman.



West Brom defender Jonas Olsson is wanted by Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.


Newcastle and Sunderland are on red alert, after news that Manchester City may sell winger Adam Johnson in the summer.
Newcastle are the favourites, with £10-15million in the bidding war starting price.Team News:

Newcastle:

Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Perch, Gutierrez, Tiote, Guthrie, Ba, Ben Arfa, Cisse, Cabaye.
Subs: Elliot, Santon, Gosling, Taylor, Amoebi, Ferguson, Vuckic.

Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse both start in strike for the home side, along with in-form Hatem Ben Arfa.

Liverpool:

Reina, Flanagan, Carragher, Skrtel, Enrique, Shelvey, Gerrard, Bellamy, Carroll, Spearing, Suarez.
Subs: Doni, Aurelio, Henderson, Kuyt, Maxi, Coates, Downing. 
Jose Enrique and Andy Carroll both start against their old club Newcastle.
Jonjo Shelvey and Jay Spearing also both start for The Reds.
Liverpool have attacking flair on their bench, including Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez.


0: The referee blows the whistle and this match has officially kicked off at Sports Direct Arena.
2: Great atmosphere here, and reception for striker Andy Carroll who is back at home for the first time since leaving to move to Liverpool in 2011.
4: First corner taken by Steven Gerrard, cleared away by Cisse.
7: Liverpool free-kick taken by Gerrard, in the box for defender Martin Skrtel whose header goes over the bar! 
10: Former Newcastle striker Andy Carroll is the first player to be booked this match, after an obstruction on Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul.
11: Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye takes a free-kick into the box, for striker Papiss Cisse who heads the ball from 12 yards out......... into Pepe Reina's gloves.
15: Corner by Craig Bellamy into the box for Carroll, whose header is wide of the goal. Still 0-0.
17: Foul by Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey on Papiss Cisse. Yellow card given to the midfielder for a late challenge.
19: Cross by Newcvastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa into the 6-yard box to striker Papiss Demba Cisse who heads towards goal.... GOAL!!!! The home side are in-front in the first 20 minutes!

Cisse time: Papiss heads the ball towards goal before beating Reina and scores in the 19th minute against Liverpool.

Hand to the sky: Papiss Demba Cisse celebrates his 5th goal in the EPL since moving from Freiburg in January.

28: Andy Carroll has missed another chance here.... Not looking good in terms of goalscoring action for the former Newcastle no.9....
29: Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote has been booked, for a challenge on striker Luis Suarez. Captain Gerrard was about to take a quick free-kick, but Cisse blocked the free-kick with his leg as his team-mates were not ready. Yellow card to him also, for wasting time and decent...
35: Newcastle defender Mike Williamson with a header from 12 yards out.... OVER THE BAR!!
45: Cheeky foul by Liverpool defender John Flanagan on midfielder Tiote. Clipped the leg hard and was a late tackle.
Yellow card for the youngster.
45+2: The referee blows the whistle for half-time.
Newcastle are in-front by a goal.

45: The referee blows the whistle to start the second half at The Sports Direct Arena.
48: Foul by Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote on Liverpool defender John Flanagan.
Yellow card given to the Ivorian. Revenge from the earlier tackle in the first half.
57: Fouls galore so far in this match. Flanagan takes a shot from 20 yards out..... saved (caught)! by goalkeeper Tim Krul.
59: Pass by midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa to Cisse who shoots from 6 yards out... GOAL!!! 2-0 to Newcastle and Liverpool are in trouble!

Deadly No.9: Cisse celebrates his second goal of the match in the 59th minute against Liverpool.

65: Newcastle SUB:
Danny Guthrie OFF
Danny Gosling ON (injury)

74: Liverpool desperately trying to get back into this match-up, with Suarez, Bellamy and Carroll trying to work the goalkeeper. A lot of fouls still nonetheless, as Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi is replacing no.9 Cisse (who gets a warm reception after his two goals, one each half)

75: Liverpool SUB:
Jonjo Shelvey OFF
Stewart Downing ON

79: Liverpool making a double substitution here:
Andy Carroll OFF
Craig Bellamy OFF
Stewart Downing ON
Dirk Kuyt ON
Desperate times call for desperate measures....

81: Foul by James Perch on Pepe Reina. Obstruction from a clearance.
Reina is not happy though.... and headbutts Perch after pushing him.
82: Everyone is surrounding the referee and the two players..... Perch is on the floor... Reina has been given a card, and it is RED!!!! 10 men Liverpool now, and all their subs have been used...
Perch gets a yellow card for his part in the fracus.

83: Full-back Jose Enrique is going to play in goal for the rest of the match now.

90: The fourth official signals 5 minutes of stoppage time to be added on here. Still 2-0.
90+1:
Newcastle SUB:
Hatem Ben Arfa OFF
Davide Santon ON
Well played by Ben Arfa. Had lots of attacking flair throughout the match, and set up both of Cisse's goals.
90+3: Liverpool trying to get a consolation here with Suarez causing the Newcastle defence problems.
90+5: The referee blows the whistle here at The Sports Direct Arena. Newcastle beat Liverpool by 2 goals to nil.

FACT: This is Liverpool's worst league run for 59 years, and they are now in 8th place, 11 points off 5th placed Chelsea.

Now, Newcastle are 11 points ahead of 8th placed Liverpool in 6th. They are level on points with Chelsea in 5th place.
Liverpool drop a place into 8th, a point behind rivals Everton who beat West Brom yesterday.
Newcastle dominated the match, and deserved to score more goals with their chances at goal.
The foul count was 22, so it was packed with late and fiesty challenges.


17:45:
Tottenham Hotspur 3 Swansea City 1:
This match was played at White Hart Lane, as 4th placed Spurs hosted Swansea in an important match.

Midfielder Rafael Van Der Vaart put the hosts in-front in the 19th minute.

Spurs winger Rafael Van Der Vaart scores his 11th goal of the season against fellow Dutch team-mate Michel Vorm.

Goal time: Van Der Vaart celebrates with fellow team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor after breaking the deadlock against Swansea.

On-loan striker Gylfi Sigurdsson equalised for The Swans, in the 59th minute to make it 1-1.

Striker Sigurdsson shoots (and scores)! a downward volley to equalise for Swansea against Tottenham.

6th of the season: Gylfi Sigurdsson is proving to be a super loan signing!

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor scored in the 73rd minute to make it 2-1 to Spurs from a header from a corner.

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor heads home his 13th goal in the EPL this season.

He scored again in the 86th minute to ensure all 3 points for Tottenham who are now level on points with 3rd placed rivals Arsenal.

Finshed product: Spurs players celebrate their 3-1 win over Swansea, which is their 1st win in 6 matches.

Tomorrow:

Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United: LIVE from 20:00pm

United have the chance to move 5 points clear of 2nd placed rivals Manchester City who drew 3-3 yesterday against Sunderland.
It will not be easy though against a Blackburn side that will be the underdogs but beat United in the most recent match, 3-2.

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
I appreciate all the support from all the views and followers.
This motivates me to spend more time on the Blog, and post better content for all of you to enjoy.
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Saturday FA Cup and EPL Special LIVE:

Saturday FA Cup and EPL Special LIVE:

The quarter-finals of the FA Cup and Round 30th of this season's EPL, merged into a Super Saturday!

FA Cup:

Sunderland vs Everton: LIVE

Defender Phil Bardsley put the home side in-front after only 12 minutes, after a short free-kick was hit by him from 25 yards out into the net.

Phil Bardsley and Sunderland celebrate taking the lead against Everton after 12 minutes at The Stadium of Light.

Midfielder Tim Cahill equalised for The Toffees after taking a shot after Nikica Jelavic's header fell to him into the net from a corner - to score his second goal in 41 matches for Everton!

Midfielder Tim Cahill scores an equaliser for Everton in the 23rd minute to keep the away side in the FA Cup tie.

Halfway through the second half (65 mins), 1-1.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Bolton Wanderers: LIVE from 17:30pm

Team news from White Hart Lane at 17:00pm...

EPL:

Fulham vs Swansea City: LIVE at 15:00pm

10th placed Fulham host 11th placed Swansea in a mid-table battle at Craven Cottage. If either team wins, they could move up to 8th place. 

Swansea will have high morale after their 1-0 home win against 2nd placed Manchester City last Sunday, while Fulham lost late on at Villa Park against Aston Villa.

Wigan Athletic vs West Bromwich Albion: LIVE at 15:00pm

Bottom club Wigan host 14th placed WBA at the DW Stadium.

Wigan will be looking to push out of the relegation zone today provided that they win, while West Brom could be 8th at the end of the day (if the result at Craven Cottage goes their way).

The Stadium of Light,

FA Cup Quarter-Final,

Sunderland vs Everton:

Team line-ups:

Everton: Howard, Neville, Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Coleman,Fellaini, Osman, Drenthe, Cahill, Jelavic. Subs: Hahnemann, Hibbert, Jagielka, Stracqualursi, McFadden, Gueye, Anichebe.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, O'Shea, Turner, Bridge, Larsson, Colback, Gardner, McClean, Campbell, Bendtner. Subs: Gordon, Wickham, Kilgallon, Vaughan, Meyler, Kyrgiakos, Elmohamady.

70: Header by striker Nikica Jelavic from 12 yards out..... COMFORTABLE SAVE!! by Simon Mignolet...

72:

Everton SUB:

Seamus Coleman OFF

Magaye Gueye ON

73:

Sunderland SUB:

Fraizer Campbell OFF

David Vaughan ON

79: 5 yellow cards in this match, 27 fouls...... Dangerous and stuck-in game. I predicted that it would either be a slender win or a replay. I should (but won't) be a betting man... :)

Let's digress for a few minutes, and look at some news:.

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov is reportedly on his way back to Germany due to a lack of first-team action, with Hannover 96 leading the race.

Berbatov is actually under-rated at United... They need to give him a chance because every match he has played for them this season, he has at least scored once....

Dimitar Berbatov: Lack of first team action for the striker at Manchester United, means that he WILL leave in the Summer.

Anderlecht want Arsenal flop Chu-Young Park to join them to boost their strikeforce.

Chu Young Park: Leaving Arsenal after only one season at The Gunners?

£2million is in the works...

Harry Redknapp has confirmed Tottenham are ready to smash their record transfer fee to land £35million Lille wonderkid Eden Hazard.

Eden Hazard: The Lille winger is wanted by up to 6 different EPL clubs.... including Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester United.

Sunderland have a big fight on their hands to hang onto key midfielder Stephane Sessegnon, who is struggling to settle in the North-West.

Should I stay or should I go? Sessegnon is wanted by PSG and Arsenal....

EPL LIVE Line-ups:

Wigan v West Brom:

Wigan: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Moses, Di Santo, Maloney. Subs: Kirkland, Crusat, Ben Watson, Gomez, McManaman, Diame, Stam.

West Brom: Foster, Jones, McAuley, Ridgewell, Shorey, Thomas, Morrison, Mulumbu, Scharner, Brunt, Long. Subs: Daniels, Andrews, Dorrans, Dawson, Tamas, Cox, Fortune.

Fulham v Swansea City:

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Senderos, Hangeland, John Arne Riise, Ruiz, Dembele, Diarra, Dempsey, Johnson, Pogrebnyak. Subs: Stockdale, Baird, Murphy, Duff, Hughes, Etuhu, Frei.

Clint Dempsey and Pavel Pogrebnyak both start for the home side, along with Bryan Ruiz and Moussa Dembele.

Very strong Fulham side....

FACT: Mahamadou Diarra is going to start his first match for Fulham since moving from a free agent when he left Real Madrid last Summer.

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Caulker, Monk, Taylor, Allen, Britton, Sigurdsson, Routledge, Graham, Sinclair. Subs: Tremmel, Tate, McEachran, Lita, Moore, Gower, Richards.

Danny Graham and Scott Sinclair both start in strike for The Swans along with in-form goalkeeper Michel Vorm and striker Gylfi Sigurdsson. 

Michel Vorm: Has to be on top-form to prevent players such as Clint Dempsey and Pogrebnyak from scoring at Craven Cottage this afternoon...

FULL-TIME:

Sunderland 1 Everton 1

This means that the quarter-final, will go to a replay.

Replay will be played on the 27th of March at 19:45pm.

15:00:

The two 3oclock EPL kick-offs have started at Craven Cottage and the DW Stadium...

15:10:

DW Stadium,

Wigan vs West Brom:

Wigan have had four shots at goal, and it is still goaless.... 

This is the difference between relegation and mid-table....

Although I give them credit for coming out of the starting blocks quick against a tough WBA side.

15:13:

Craven Cottage,

Fulham vs Swansea City:

Full-back/midfielder John Arne Riise takes a shot from 20 yards out.... OVER THE BAR!!

Unlucky by Riise, who used to score from over 20 yards a LOT in his Liverpool days... still looking for his first Fulham goal since moving last Summer.

Goals clip at Liverpool:

15:16:

DW Stadium,

Wigan vs WBA:

Defender Emmerson Boyce takes a shot from 6 yards out... HITS THE POST!

Cleared away by the WBA defence...

Wigan are really pushing for the first goal here... That is their 5th shot of the game.

15:27:

Craven Cottage,

Fulham vs Swansea:

Midfielder Clint Dempsey takes a shot from 25 yards out... MISS!!!

15:29:

Craven Cottage:

Fulham vs Swansea:

Gylfi Sigurdsson takes a shot from 18 yards out... MISS!!

Fulham vs Swansea:

30: Cross by Riise to Bryan Ruiz who takes a shot from 25 yards out... SAVED! by Michel Vorm.

31: Shot by Swansea striker Scott Sinclair from 6 yards out... PARRIED OUT!! by Mark Schwarzer!

36: Cross delivered into the box by Scott Sinclair, finds Sigurdsson who takes a header from 6 yards out... GOAL!! 

Swansea are ahead at Craven Cottage!

Striker Gylfi Sigurdsson heads Swansea ahead at Craven Cottage against Fulham after 36 minutes.

Swansea celebrate their opening goal of the match against Fulham, courtesy of striker Gylfi Sigurdsson.

15:49:

HALF-TIME:

Fulham 0 Swansea 1

Gylfi Sigurdsson scored his 4th goal in 8 matches for the away team to put The Swans ahead at Craven Cottage. Fulham have to step up in the second half if they want to win this match against a tough Swansea side.

Wigan 0 WBA 0

10 chances for Wigan, to West Brom's 4 but no-one has been able to convert so far in this match-up.

Surely this will not be the final scoreline?

16:02:

The second halves have started in the EPL....

No substitutions at Craven Cottage or the DW.

16:08:

DW Stadium,

Wigan vs West Brom:

Striker Shaun Maloney takes a shot from 25 yards out.... SAVE (caught)!! by goalkeeper Ben Foster...

Still goalless...

16:14:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs WBA:
The deadlock has finally been broken here!
Midfielder James McCarthur scores for the home side with a sweet finish from 6 yards out after winger Victor Moses crossed the ball to him. 1-0.

Scrappy goal: Midfielder James McCarthur puts Wigan in-front against West Brom.

As it stands: Wigan are out of the bottom three, into 17th place.
You cannot say that this was not coming... Wigan have been pressing since the first whistle...


16:17:
Craven Cottage,
Fulham vs Swansea:
Fulham SUB:
Bryan Ruiz OFF
Damien Duff ON


16:23:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs West Brom:
Corner whipped into the box by Chris Brunt, finds defender Paul Scharner who heads the ball goalwards from 6 yards out.... GOAL!! Scharner equalises for WBA, against his old club Wigan. 1-1.

Sign of respect: Defender Paul Scharner equalises for West Brom against Wigan, but refuses to celebrate against his old club.

16:25:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs WBA:
There has been a heated argument between both sets of players here, after a late tackle by Wigan midfielder James McCarthur on West Brom's Youssouf Mulumbu. 
Mulumbu, Jerome Thomas and Emmerson Boyce have all been booked for descent and their part in the argument. 


16:26:
Craven Cottage,
Fulham vs Swansea City:
Winger Wayne Routledge finds striker Gylfi Sigurdsson with a precise pass who shoots from 12 yards out... GOAL!!  Sigurdsson doubles Swansea's lead and his tally for the afternoon!


16:39:
Craven Cottage,
Fulham vs Swansea:
Scott Sinclair with a pass to midfielder Joe Allen who takes a shot from 20 yards out... GOAL!!! Swansea have surely sealed three points away from home after this latest goal!?




16:53:
FULL-TIME:
Fulham 0 Swansea City 3
Sigurdsson scored twice and Joe Allen also scored for the away side as The Swans move up into  place with an impressive 3-0 victory over Fulham.


FACT: Today is only the third time that Swansea have scored 3 goals in an away match in the EPL - in their history.


Wigan 1 West Bromwich Albion 1
Midfielder James McCarthur gave the hosts the lead in the 54th minute, before defender Paul Scharner equalised for The Baggies in the 65th minute, which means that the two teams have to settle for one point each.






Analysis:


Wigan will feel disappointed that they did not win and get out of the bottom three, as they took lots of goal-scoring chances but only converted 1 out of 20 taken.


West Brom will feel good that they took a point away from home and are now in 12th place, but could have taken all three today against a Wigan side who did not take their chances. You would have thought that they would capitalize on their opponent's poor run of form, but it is hard to do without key player Peter Odemwingie who was missed today.


The match was dirty towards the end with both teams getting frustrated and there were 18 fouls, and 6 yellow cards.


Fulham will also feel upset that they could not impress their home supporters and get the result that they needed today, despite taking 14 shots and not scoring. Plus, they had a very strong team meanwhile Swansea's team was just above average; with the pace of Scott Sinclair and the clinical finishing of Gylfi Sigurdsson.


Swansea will feel good, after winning 2 in a row against very decent opposition (City and now Fulham), and now will push for a top 10 finish.


17:10:
Now onto the last football action today with the 2nd of 4 FA Cup Quarter-Finals this weekend:

Tottenham v Bolton:

Tottenham: Cudicini, Walker, Nelsen, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto, Van der Vaart, Parker, Modric, Bale, Defoe, Saha. Subs: Friedel, Kaboul, Giovani, Kranjcar, Rose, Livermore, Sandro.

Carlo Cudicini starts in-between the sticks for Spurs, defender Ryan Nelsen comes back into the squad.

Emmanuel Adebayor is out of action due to a hamstring injury so Louis Saha takes his place, while central defender William Gallas starts his first match for 10 weeks.

A strong Spurs side, that should be easily able to get the job done.

Bolton: Bogdan, Alonso, Boyata, Knight, Ricketts, Pratley, Muamba, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Miyaichi, Klasnic. Subs: Jaaskelainen, Eagles, Sanli, Kevin Davies, Ngog, Ream, Vela.

Ivan Klasnic and Ryo Miyaichi both start for Bolton, which will strengthen their strikeforce and attacking flair against a strong Spurs side.

17:30:

White Hart Lane, 

Tottenham vs Bolton:

The referee blows the whistle to start the first half.

17:36:

A Bolton corner, whipped into the box by Martin Petrov, falls to defender Darren Pratley who heads the ball towards goal... hits Gareth Bale and falls into the net past Cudicini. 1-0 to Bolton after only 6 minutes, with Gareth Bale scoring an own goal.

17:41:

Gareth Bale speeds past the Bolton defence, before whipping a cross into the box for full-back Kyle Walker to put his head onto.... GOAL!! Spurs are level in less than 5 minutes after conceding! Bale repays Tottenham after his own goal and it is 1-1.

17:43:

Striker Louis Saha takes a shot from 20 yards out towards goal... SAVE! (caught) by Bolton 'keeper Adam Bogdan. 

17:53:

Full-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto crosses a ball into the Bolton 16-yard box for Bale, who heads the ball towards the net.. MISS!!

17:58:

Shot by Bolton midfielder Martin Petrov from 18 yards out....

MISS!

18:04:
Spurs corner, crossed into the box by winger Rafael Van Der Vaart to defender Ryan Nelsen who heads the ball towards goal..... MISS!!


18:13-18:55: Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba is down in agony.... Both sets of medical staff rush onto the pitch now to treat him...
This looks VERY serious...., now the supporters around the ground are gobsmacked and are chanting his name.
He collapsed near the half-way line, on his own without any physical contact from anyone else.
CPR is being performed.... but I think he needs more.
He is not breathing, and is being rushed to hospital.
Referee Howard Webb has called off the match.
Smart decision...

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba recieves CPR from the medical staff after collapsing on the pitch in the 42nd minute against Tottenham.

Tottenham winger Gareth Bale comforts striker Jermain Defoe who is distressed by what is being seen.

Horror show: Tottenham players Assou-Ekotto, William Gallas, Carlo Cudicini and Bolton manager Owen Coyle are in absolute shock at what they have seen regarding midfielder Fabrice Muamba.

Get well soon Muamba, stay with us please.
I will pray for you.


A distressing end to a Saturday.....
I hope his family are ok and he gets better soon in hospital.


See you tomorrow everyone.
Please continue to support me by viewing frequently and following my EPL Blog
I am sure that you all will pray for Fabrice Muamba and his family at this disturbing time.
Thank you.