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

England vs Moldova - World Cup Qualifiers LIVE Commentary:

Hello and welcome to my International LIVE Commentary, as England face Moldova in their first World Cup 2014 Qualifying Match plus other fixtures in the first World Cup Qualifying Match over Europe.

Team Line-ups:

Moldova: Namasco, Armas, Epureanu, Bulgaru, Golovatenco, Sergei Kovalchuk, Kovalchuk, Gatcan, Onica, Suvorov, Patras, Picusciac.

Subs: S Pascenco, Racu, Ovseanicov, Cebotaru, Bordiyan, Doros, Sidorenco, A Pascenco, Dedov, Ivanov, Alexeev, Negai.

England: Hart, Johnson, Lescott, Terry, Baines, Milner, Lampard, Cleverley, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gerrard, Defoe.
Subs: Ruddy, Walker, Bertrand, Cahill, Carrick, Jagielka, Walcott, Sturridge, Welbeck, Butland.


19:45:

0: The match has kicked off in the Zimbru Stadium in Moldova.

3: England awarded a penalty after a shot from Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley hits defender Bulgaru on his hand, despite trying to turn away from the ball. The shot was too powerful for him to see, and it looks like it is a harsh penalty to be honest.

3: Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard steps up to take the penalty..... Hits the ball low and hard towards goal... GOAL!!!

Low and hard from 12 yards: Chelsea midfielder Frank Lamaprd breaks the deadlock for England in the 3rd minute.

Early lead: Lampard celebrates his penalty goal with the midfielder who won the pen Tom Cleverley.

England break the deadlock in 3 minutes.

4: FACT:
Frank Lampard has scored more penalties for England than any other player in the squad.

6: Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson has beeen booked for a late challenge on Bulgaru.

8: Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain weaves past two defenders for pace before crossing the ball into the box for Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe.... he shoots... JUST PAST THE POST!

10: England passing well and looking dangerous near goal.

17: Moldova striker Patras has the ball at his feet, before turning and hitting the ball towards goal from 25 yards out...The ball flies towards goal... OVER THE BAR!! 

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart had to dive for the ball there, because he did not know whether the ball was going to dip or not at the last second.

18: Moldova's supporters are suddenly excited and the atmosphere has just increased now after that shot which was close to a goal.

23: England have been awarded a free-kick from just outside the box, in a dangerous position...

5 players in the wall, before Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard hits the ball hard and powerfully towards goal.... OVER THE BAR! 

24: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain finds Gerrard with a great through ball... he looks to find Defoe on his right, but the defender sees the attempted pass and cuts it out.

25: Moldova are starting to press England's defence now, improving their play.


A shot is deflected out for a corner as the Moldovan supporters roar to encourage their team forward.


27: LATEST:

Manchester United striker Robin Van Persie, Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko and Newcastle midifelder Yohan Cabaye have all scored for the respective countries tonight.
More news at half-time.


28: Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard finds his Liverpol team-mate Glen Johnson, who crosses the ball towards the box for Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard. 
He heads the ball forward..... GOAL!!!!

Clean finish: Lampard doubles his tally for the night after a great cross from full-back Glen Johnson.

It's in: Lampard does his trademark celebration - pointing to the sky after scoring a header in the 28th minute.

England have doubled their lead, and Lampard scores again.


Top class ball through by Johnson, and the finish was accurate into the corner of the goal.


31: Chamberlain finds space to run into, before unleashing a through ball towards striker Jermain Defoe... he hits the ball towards goal and the goalkeeper tries to save it, but the ball goes underneath him.

Poor goal for Moldova to concede, but a good build-up play goal by England with Chamberlain making an assist for Defoe.


36: Moldova free-kick....
Comes of nothing though as the header goes over the ball, nothing to trouble Joe Hart.

39: Defoe has a shot towards goal, but defender blocks it before it comes off Defoe. 
Moldova goal-kick.

40: LATEST:
Luxembourg 1 Portugal 1

Mr. 'I want more money' Cristiano Ronaldo scores for Portugal to equalise in the 29th minute. 

43: Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley tries to cross the ball into the box for Everton left-back Leighton Baines, but the ball goes over the bar and looks more like a shot.

45: The referee blows the whistle to end the first half at The Zimbru Stadium. 

England lead by three goals to nil against Moldova, but to be honest, the home side have been poor and not troubled goalkeeper Joe Hart so far.

Looks like the Three Lions have got their first three points in the WC qualifying campaign. 

WORLD CUP 2014 QUALIFYING LATEST SCORES:

Wales 0 Belgium 1 - HT

Wales and West Ham defender James Collins has been sent off in the first half. 

Manchester City captain and defender Vincent Kompany scored for Belgium from a header in the 41st minute.

Bulgaria 1 Italy 2 - HT

Germany 1 Faroe Islands 0 - HT 

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze has scored for Germany, as they lead at half-time against Faroe Islands.

Finland 0 France 1 - HT

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has scored for France in the 20th minute, as they lead by 1 goal to nil against Finland at half-time away from home.

Montenegro 2 Poland 1 - HT

Russia 2 Northern Ireland 0 - FT

Croatia 1 Republic of Macedonia 0 - LIVE 

Everton striker Nikica Jelavic has broken the deadlock for the home side against Macedonia in the 69th minute. 

20:45:

45: England kick-off the second half, with both sides making one change each:

England SUB:
Steven Gerrard OFF
Michael Carrick ON

Moldova SUB:
Alexandru Suvorov OFF
Alexandru Dedov ON

49: Moldova have a half chance after Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson makes a mistake, but nothing too challengng for Joe Hart.

51: England have started the second half calmly, looking as though they will hold the lead comfortably, and maybe add 1 or 2 more goals.

58: England SUB:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain OFF
Theo Walcott ON

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been electric tonight, and has played well, making one assist. 

Danger: Arsenal and England winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been a danger for Moldova's defence tonight.

His club team-mate Theo Walcott replaces him, so there is even MORE pace injection for Moldova to worry about.

68: 
England SUB:
Jermain Defoe OFF
Danny Welbeck ON 

Defoe comes off, for Welbeck after scoring a good goal and putting in a good shift.


73: Arsenal winger Theo Walcott goes on the run with pace, before getting intercepted by a defender.

He regains the ball and runs into the box on the wing, before some build-up play, (with good passes) inside the box with Welbeck and Milner ends up with Milner unleashing a powerful shot past the goalkeeper into the back of the net.

76: Moldova SUB:
Picusciac OFF
Sidorence ON 

79: 
Chelsea defender John Terry has been limping for the last few minutes with a knock, and may recieve medical attention.

83: 
England free-kick going to be taken by Everton full-back Leighton Baines who can scores free-kicks....

He hits the ball towards goal... the ball curls and hits a Moldova player deflecting the flight of the ball, into the top corner of the goal..

England 5 Moldova 0, and Baines scores his first international goal.

89: England manager Roy Hodgson is not going to take any chances with Chelsea defender John Terry who has been limping and struggling.
He walks down into the tunnel, with Carrick filling in for him at centre-back with Lescott.

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

90+2: The referee has blown the final whistle in Moldova.

England have thrashed Moldova by 5 goals to nil, without really breaking sweating or getting into fourth gear. 

They have just taken their chances well, and have punished Moldova on the counter attack.

World Cup 2014 Qualifying Match RESULTS:

Wales 0 Belgium 2

Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany and Tottenham defender Jan Vertoghen both scored for the away side as Belgium beat Wales by 2 goals to nil.

Bulgaria 2 Italy 2

Croatia 1 Republic Of Macedonia 0

Group C:

Germany 3 Faroe Islands 0

Mario Gotze and a double from Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Ozil gave Germany a 3-0 win against Faroe Islands in Group C.

Group D:

Holland 2 Turkey 0

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie and Luciano Nasringh both scored for Holland, as they beat Turkey 2-0 in Group D.

Group E:

Iceland 2 Norway 0

Slovenia 0 Switzerland 2

Group F:

Russia 2 Northern Ireland 0

Fayzulin and Shirokov both scored for new Russian boss (former England manager) Fabio Capello.

Thank you for reading my latest installment of my EPL Blog.
I shall be back soon with another EPL update, due to the International break this weekend.

EPL Super Sunday LIVE Commentary:

Hello, and welcome to my Super Sunday LIVE Commentary Double Bill.
Yesterday, after 93 days of waiting for it, the 2012-13 EPL season started with a bang. 

• 5 star Fulham beat Norwich by 5 goals to nil
• Swansea thrashed QPR 5-0
• Reading drew 1-1 with Stoke
• Arsenal started life without RVP with a 0- draw against Sunderland
• Newcastle beat Tottenham 2-1
• West Brom shocked Liverpool, winning 3-0 at home
• West Ham beat Aston Villa 1-0.

I promised you that I would give you an update from Yesterday's match so hear it is:

Yesterday's Evening Match:

Newcastle United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1

This match was played at The Sports Direct Arena, as Newcastle went head-to-head with Tottenham.

This was new Tottenham manager Andre Villas Boas' first match in charge and he wanted to start it off with a win.

Tottenham dominated the first half, with Bale and Defoe both hitting the post and the bar.
In the second half, Newcastle started to play better, and not let Tottenham have the ball. 

Striker Demba Ba scored his first goal for the club since February with a lovely curling swerving finesse shot from 22 yards out which curled over goalkeeper Brad Friedel into the net in the 56th minute. 


Today, there are two matches with Wigan vs Chelsea and Manchester City vs Southampton both in action.

Team Line-Ups:

Wigan Athletic v Chelsea:

Wigan: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Ramis, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Figueroa, Maloney, Di Santo, Moses.
Subs: Pollitt, Kone, Jones, Crusat, Ben Watson, Gomez, Boselli.

3-4-3 formation for Wigan, with Victor Moses starting in attack along with Franco Di Santo and Shaun Maloney despite all the transfer attention from Chelsea over the past few weeks.


Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Mikel, Eden Hazard, Mata, Bertrand, Torres.
Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Oscar, Ferreira, Meireles, Sturridge, Cahill.

4-2-3-1 formation for The Blues with Fernando Torres the lone man up-front with Mata, Eden Hazard and Ryan Bertrand behind him.

13:30: Wigan have kicked us off here at The DW Stadium.

1: Nice play by Chelsea before winger Eden Hazard turnes past a defender and plays a through ball towards defender Branislav Ivanovic.
Ivanovic runs into the box before keeping his head down and blasting the ball low in the corner of the net away from goalkeeeper Ali Al Habsi. 

1 minute, 1 goal: Defender Branislav Ivanovic finishes off a nice Chelsea move to give them the lead against Wigan.

Mobbed: Ivanovic is mobbed by his team-mates as he scores Chelsea's first goal of the new 2012-13 season.

GOAL!!! 
What a goal from Chelsea, nice build-up play with Ivanovic finishing the move off in style. 1 minute gone, 1 goal scored for Chelsea. 

5: Eden Hazard weaves in and out of two Wigan defenders before getting bodychecked by Evan Ramis inside the box... PENALTY!

Trouble: Chelsea new boy Hazard weaves past two defenders before being brought down by Ramis.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard steps up to take the penalty.... He shoots low and hard towards goal and SCORES! 2-0 to Chelsea, and Lampard scores yet another penalty for The Blues.

39 for Chelsea: Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has now scored 39 penalties for Chelsea in the EPL.

A litle bit lucky because the keeper guessed the right way but it was too powerful a shot for him to save it.

10: Chelsea free-kick awarded after a late challenge on Eden Hazard by Wigan defender Gary Caldwell.
Yellow card after a poor challenge, in which he did not win the ball and had his studs showing.

12: Wigan pressing Chelsea, trying to get back into the match with Figueroa looking dangerous down the right wing.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech is equal to his cross and comfortably catches the ball.

15: Wigan corner, taken by Shaun Maloney into the box, but cleared away by Chelsea defensive midfielder John Obi Mikel.

16: Nice link-up play by Juan Mata and Eden Hazard down the wing before Mata gets taken out by McArthur. Chelsea free-kick taken quickly.

17: Good penalty shout by Chelsea, with striker Fernando Torres getting taken out just inside the box by defender Alcaraz.
Referee says it was a shoulder barge, and play on.

19: Wigan cross into the box by Victor Moses, for striker Franco Di Santo who heads towards goal..... OVER THE BAR!!

19: Moses with his quick feet sidesteps Chelsea defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole before getting taken out by Frank Lampard who sticks a leg out.


22: Chelsea on the ball, with Cole passing the ball to Lampard who finds Mata on the wing.
Mata passes the ball into the box for Torres, but goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi comfortably saves the ball and makes sure Torres does not have a chance to get a shot on goal.

24: Another Wigan corner comes of nothing, thanks to a block by Eden Hazard who has impressed for Chelsea so far in this match.

26: Mata finds Torres with a nice through ball but Torres takes to long to sort out whether he was going to take a shot or not, and gets swarmed by 4 Wigan defenders before losing the ball.

28: Nice patient build-up play by Wigan, but Chelsea's defence clear.
Captain John Terry looks to have a knock, and is limping uncomfortably here.

31: Eden Hazard goes down again, after getting tackled by Wigan midfielder James McCarthy. No card though for McCarthy.

34: Chelsea defender David Luiz goes in late on Wigan forward Shaun Maloney.
The referee pulls Luiz back for the foul before showing the yellow card.

He is a bit unlucky as he looked to play the ball but was late to it.

36: McCarthur is penalised for accidentally htting Hazard in the face with his arm while trying to balance with the ball.
Chelsea free-kick taken quickly by Mata to Torres, but the flag is up for offside.

37: Wigan forward Victor Moses zooms past Ashley Cole before letting a shot fly from 20 yards out towards goal... Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech gets a hand to the shot and now Wigan have a corner.

Moses has been a constant threat for Wigan oday to the Chelsea defenders. Unlucky not to score then.

39: Nothing comes of the resulting corner for Wigan again.

42: Victor Moses skills up Ashley Cole before crossing the ball into the box from the wing.. The cross is too powerful for any Wigan player to latch onto, and the ball goes out for a throw-in.

45: YET ANOTHER CORNER for Wigan, (and you know what I am going to say next don't you!) 
Nothing comes of it. 
The fourth official has signalled for two minutes of added time to play at the end of the first half.

46: Nice through ball straight to Franco Di Santo, he only has Cech to beat!!!
He takes a first touch before chipping the ball over Cech.... Defender David Luiz clears the ball away.

Di Santo should have scored there but his first touch was too much.

45+2: The referee has blown the whistle to signal the end of the first half of play at The DW Stadium.
Chelsea lead by 2 goals to nil against a Wigan side who have been threatening to score, but have not really trouble Cech apart from Moses.
Chelsea have only had to play very well for the first ten minutes of the match, and the rest were in second gear.

14:30: The second half has started at the DW.

47: John Terry has been fouled by Franco Di Santo with his studs up into his ankle as he went to clear the ball away. Chelsea free-kick, but Santo is left with a warning.

48: Wigan SUB:
Shaun Maloney OFF
Jordi Gomez ON

Maloney seems to be struggling with a thigh injury, and comes off for striker Gomez.

56: Chelsea free-kick awarded after Wigan midfielder James McArthur catches Frank Lampard's leg dangerously, and it was nowhere near the ball.

59: Wigan find space with captain Gary Caldwell finding striker Di Santo with a long ball towards the wing.
He moves past Luiz inside the box before taking a shot towards goal... WIDE!

A weak, off target shot, and to be honest, Wigan should have equalised by now with the amount of chances that Di Santo has had. 

62: Manager Roberto Di Matteo is seen talking to £25million signing Oscar on the touchline. He should becoming on the pitch soon.

63: Nice skill by Bertrand before finding Torres inside the box.... he is fighting to keep his balance before he taps the ball past Al Habsi.
The ball trickles towards goal but defender Evan Ramis runs towards the ball... AND CLEARS THE BALL OFF THE LINE!!!

65: Chelsea SUB:
Eden Hazard OFF
Oscar ON

Hazard has been impressive today, and has been one to watch for Chelsea. Well played, and now we look at £25million signing Oscar from Internacional.

66: Wigan SUB:
Franco Di Santo OFF
Arouna Kone ON

Debut for new Wigan signing Arouna Kone.

68: Oscar on the ball... takes a shot from outside the box.... JUST PAST THE POST!!!
Close by Oscar, and he looks promising aswell...

74: Wigan free-kick, taken by Jordi Gomez towards goal.... SAVED by Petr Cech!
A good save by Cech, because the ball was swerving away from him, and he had to get his body behind the ball.

80: Wigan SUB:
James McArthur OFF
Ben Watson ON

82: Chelsea SUB:
Juan Mata OFF
Raul Meireles ON

Mata has played very well for Chelsea today, and along with Hazard my man of the match today.

83: This time, a Wigan corner is taken by Jordi Gomez into the box... for Aroune Kone who heads the ball towards goal... WIDE!

From that angle and the distance from the goal... he should have scored.

85: Gomez takes a spectacular overhead kick from 12 yards out... MISS!!
Just missed the target, unlucky.

87: A Chelsea free-kick just outside the box taken by Raul Meireles towards goal before Luiz heads the ball towards goal.. SAVED and held well by Ali Al Habsi.

90: The fourth official has signal for three minutes of stoppage time to be added on. 

Team Line-ups from Manchester City vs Southampton:

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Silva, Rodwell, Toure, Nasri, Aguero, Tevez.
Subs: Pantilimon, Milner, Dzeko, Kolarov, Savic, De Jong, Balotelli.

Strong Manchester City squad, with £15million signing Jack Rodwell starting on his debut for the club. 

BREAKING NEWS: Winger Adam Johnson has been left out of the City squad, and now surely he will leave the club?!

Southampton: Kelvin Davis, Clyne, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox, Ward-Prowse, Lallana, Schneiderlin, Puncheon, Rodriguez, Do Prado.
Subs: Gazzaniga, Lambert, Steven Davis, Sharp, Richardson, Shaw, Seaborne.


14:02: Tevez and Aguero kick City off at The Ethiad Stadium.

2: Southampton break before City new boy Jack Rodwell clears the danger for a corner. Corner comes off nothing though.

7: Clyne tackles Aguero on the run. He has gone down injured, and he is clutching his knee in pain.

He looks to have twisted his knee badly... 

10: He is limping off the pitch, while strikers Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko are both warming up on the touchline.

11: Aguero is being stretchered off now.
Southampton midfielder Schneiderlin has a shot missed wide from close range... 

14: Southampton have been taming the EPL Champions now, giving them trouble and dominating possession in City's own half.

Manchester City SUB: 

Sergio Aguero OFF (injury)
Edin Dzeko ON

Dzeko has a chance now... will he take it?

15: Manchester City are starting to get into the match, with David Silva and Samir Nasri linking up together to make good build-up player.

16: Tevez gets the ball from Nasri, before getting tripped by Jos Hooiveld..
David Silva steps up to take the penalty.... SAVE! by Kelvin Davis.
A weak and low shot from Silva is easily saved.

16:20: I am leaving now, but I will give you an update tomorrow.... I promise.

EPL Easter Monday Special LIVE:

EPL Easter Monday Special LIVE:

Happy Easter Monday to you all!

Yesterday, Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta unofficially ended City's title hopes with a bullet strike winner for Arsenal in the 87th minute.

Striker Wayne Rooney and 'Golden Oldie' Paul Scholes were both on the scoresheet for the defending champions as they beat ten-man QPR earlier in the day.

Today, we have 5 different matches for you including Everton vs Sunderland and the North-London derby between Fulham vs Chelsea, with 3 different time-frames.
I could do the day in parts, but it will be confusing so I will do a BIG blog post instead.






15:00 kick-offs:


Everton vs Sunderland:
Team line-ups:

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Heitinga, Neville, Gueye, Fellaini, Osman, Pienaar, McFadden, Stracqualursi. 

Subs: Mucha, Gibson, Drenthe, Distin, Coleman, Anichebe, Duffy.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Turner, Kilgallon, Colback, Larsson, Vaughan, Cattermole, McClean, Gardner, Sessegnon. 

Subs: Westwood, Bridge, Wickham, Richardson, Ji, Meyler, Kyrgiakos.

FACT: Everton manager David Moyes has never lost to Sunderland in his managing career.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Norwich City:

Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Livermore, Modric, Bale, Saha, Defoe.

Subs: Cudicini, Adebayor, Van der Vaart, Kranjcar, Rose, Sandro, Nelsen.

Emmanuel Adebayor is replaced by Jermain Defoe who starts in strike along with Louis Saha.

VDV also on the bench with Niko Kranxjar and Sandro.

Norwich: Ruddy, Martin, Ryan Bennett, Ward, Drury, Elliott Bennett, Howson, Johnson, Pilkington, Holt, Wilbraham.

Subs: Steer, Morison, Crofts, Jackson,Surman, Hoolahan,
Barnett.

Newcastle United vs Bolton:

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon, Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Perch, Gutierrez, Ba, Cisse.

Subs: Elliot, Abeid, Gosling, Ryan Taylor, Shola Ameobi, Ferguson, Tavernier.

Deadly partnership duo Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse both start for NUFC. 

Bolton: Bogdan, Ricketts, Ream, Wheater, Steinsson, Mark Davies, Reo-Coker, Pratley, Kevin Davies, Petrov, Eagles. 

Subs:Jaaskelainen, Alonso, Knight, Klasnic, Ngog, Sordell, Miyaichi.

Marcos Alonso, Ivan Klasnic, Marvin Sordell and Ryo Miyiachi all on the bench for Bolton.

15:00: The 3 matches have all started.


15:04: Striker Louis Saha's shot for Tottenham (against) Norwich is well saved by John Ruddy.


15:08: Standout performer for Everton so far is midfielder Steven Pienaar, who is being creative but no-one can take any shots at the moment.


15:13: 
White Hart Lane,
Tottenham vs Norwich:
And the first goal of the day, has come at White Hart Lane... to the away side.
Midfielder Anthony Pilkington with the goal in the 13th minute.

Shock start: Anthony Pilkington celebrates his opener for Norwich against Spurs at White Hart Lane.

Yes!!!! Good result so far for 'the biggest Arsenal fan', me.  :)
Trouble for Harry Redknapp... :) 


15:18:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
Midfielder and captain Lee Catermole is getting stuck in with his tackles.
Has recieved a yellow card, and now has to be careful.


15:32:
White Hart Lane,
Tottenham vs Norwich:
The home side has equalised! It was surely only a matter of time, and guess who scores it!
Super sub Jermain Defoe who started today... Nice through ball to him from Assou-Ekotto, before he chipped Ruddy nicely to score his 5th goal in 6 appearances.


15:35:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
Everton passing well..., Heitinga with a chip to Fellani who volleys the ball from 14 yards out, but does not catch it well, and the ball goes wide. Still goal-less in this FA Cup quarter-final revenge match.


15:37:
FACT: Norwich are the first club this season in the EPL to have 10 English players in their starting 11 line-up.


15:45:
One minute of stoppage time at Goodison Park.


Tottenham vs Norwich:


Tottenham substitution:
Ryan Nelsen ON
Younes Kaboul (injury) OFF 


15:48:
HALF-TIMES:


Tottenham 1 Norwich City 1
Defoe equalised for Tottenham controversially as a potential penalty was NOT given at the other end a minute earlier after a shock start, 1-1 at half-time.
Consistency..


Newcastle 0 Bolton 0
Papiss Cisse, Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba all have not been able to influence the scoreline in Newcastle's favour at the moment.


Everton 0 Sunderland 0
Goalless at the break, but plenty of chances that Everton should have put away.
Sunderland came close with midfielder Stephane Sessegnon's overhead kick was just wide.


16:03: The second halves have all started in the 3oclock kick-offs.


16:12:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
Finally! Everton have taken one of their chances!
Striker Magaye Gueye scores his first goal for The Toffees after he hit a shot from a rebound.


16:26:
White Hart Lane,
Tottenham vs Norwich City:
GOAL
Midfielder Elliot Bennett takes advantage of the Tottenham defence's decision not to close him down, by taking an ambitious shot from 25 yards out towards goal., before beating Brad Friedel and scoring for Norwich!

Midfielder Elliot Bennett fires Norwich ahead at White Hart Lane against Tottenham in the 66th minute.

16:33:
Sports Direct Arena,
Newcastle United vs Bolton:
The first goal from this stadium to goes to the home side!
After 73 minutes, in-form midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa breaks the deadlock!
Wonderful solo goal, and Newcastle are close to 3 points today.
1-0 to Newcastle.


16:35:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
He has been troubling all game, and finally midfielder Steven Pienaar gets his goal!
Doubles Everton's lead with 15 minutes left, and Sunderland have not scored for 75 minutes, so 2 goals could be a big ask...
16:36:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
Another goal! 2 goals in 2 minutes for Everton, with midfielder Leon Osman's curling shot beating Simon Mignolet from the restart.

16:41:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
No mercy!
Striker Victor Anichebe completes the domination, in the 81st minute with a goal for the Nigerian International.

16:43:
Sports Direct Arena,
Newcastle vs Bolton:
It was 1-0 to Newcastle, now it is 2!
Guess who scored it....
In-form striker Mr. Cisse, with his 10th goal in 9 matches after 83 minutes, which surely seals the 3 points for Newcastle now from a easy tap-in from 6 yards out.

16:52:
FULL-TIMES:
Newcastle 2 Bolton 0
In-form players Papiss Cisse and Hatem Ben Arfa with the goals to put Newcastle level on points with 4th placed Tottenham which gives their Champions League challenge hope.

Everton 4 Sunderland 0
You would not have thought Martin O'Neil's men would have been thrashed by Everton 4-0.
Even without top striker Nikica Jelavic, Everton comfortably saw off Sunderland with an inspiring performance from Steven Pienaar.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Norwich City 2
Tottenham fail to move back into 3rd place, and keep the pressure on rivals Arsenal, with a shock 2-1 defeat to newly promoted side Norwich.
 19:10:
FULL-TIME:
Aston Villa 1 Stoke City 1
This match was played at Villa Park, as 15th placed Aston Villa hosted 12th placed Stoke.
Midfielder Andreas Weimann started his 2nd match for Villa and capped it with another goal in the 32nd minute to break the deadlock for the home side.

Defender Robert Huth equalised for the visitors in the 71st minute to make it 1-1 from a powerful header to give Stoke a point from the match.


Chelsea vs Fulham:
Team line-ups:

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hangeland, Hughes, John Arne Riise, Duff, Murphy, Diarra, Frei, Dembele, Dempsey. Subs: Stockdale, Orlando Sa, Kasami, Senderos, Etuhu, Briggs, Kacaniklic.

FACT: Fulham could leapfrog Liverpool, ino 8th place, with a win against Chelsea today.

Strong Fulham side, with Clint Dempsey, Kerim Frei (one to watch for the future!), Moussa Dembele and John Arne Riise in the attacking frame, while Danny Murphy, Damien Duff, Mohammadou Diarra and Brede Hangeland in the defensive style of play.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Bertrand, Mikel, Meireles, Kalou, Lampard, Ramires, Torres.
Subs: Turnbull, Romeu, Mata, Drogba, Malouda, Bosingwa, Sturridge.

FACT: Chelsea could move into 4th place, with a 2 goal win against Fulham today.

Didier Drogba, Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata all on the Chelsea bench, needed a rest ahead of a long fortnight.
Defender Branislav Ivanovic will probably play his last EPL match for rthis month, with a three match ban hanging over his head after an off-the-ball incident with Shaun Maloney (he punched him) against Wigan on Saturday just before he scored.
John Terry starts despite broken ribs along with John Obi Mikel and Fernando Torres.

20:40:
Craven Cottage,
Fulham vs Chelsea:
End-to-end 40 minutes in the match. Striker Fernando Torres had a shot from a dangerous area blocked by Hangeland, Midfielder Raul Meireles' shot was wide from 25 yards out, Fulham winger Kerim Frei had a low drive well saved by Petr Cech.

Both teams have had good spells of possession with precise passing by Dempsey, Riise and Frei for Fulham.
The same with Lampard, Ramires and Mikel for Chelsea.
Despite the rain, a good game of football but still goalless.
Two yellow cards for Chelsea, with Meireles and Cahill despite calls that they were harsh fouls. None for Fulham though who could open the scoring with Dempsey etc.
Chelsea breaking the deadlock would not be unsurprising though.

43:
PENALTY
Danny Murphy lunged into striker Salomon Kalou with both feet in from 16 yards out.
It looks a little bit harsh as Kalou was not going to score and defenders were behind him.
About to be taken, by midfielder Frank Lampard.
He steps up to take it.... and shoots.... GOAL!!
Powerful shot by Lampard, and even though goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer went the right way, the ball had too much pace to control and keep the ball out of the net.

FACT: Frank Lampard has now scored 150 goals in the EPL for Chelsea.

Fulham 0 Chelsea 1.

45: The fourth official signals only 1 minute of stoppage time to be added on here at Craven Cottage.

45+1: The referee blows the whistle to end the first half here.
The cameras are showing Fulham players still protesting the penalty decision, but it will not bring the scoreline back to 0-0.
Fulham are trailing by a controversial Lampard penalty just before half-time, and may feel they should be the side in-front at the break.


MORE TO FOLLOW SOON!