Guess who's back, with an EPL Transfer Update:

Hello and welcome to my first EPL Update in over a week.... Wow. It feels weird, but I MUST continue.


This will be a VERY long update, because a lot has happened over the last 10 days, including the official start of the London 2012 Olympics and some more EPL transfer activity, not to mention lots of football friendly action at the men's Olympic toournament has started.


So, without further ado, let me begin:

Chelsea have confirmed the £25million signing of Sao Paulo midfielder Oscar.

Promising startlet: Brazillian International Oscar has joined Chelsea for £25million.

American club New York Red Bulls have announced the signing of Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, subject to international clearance. 

It's official: Everton midfielder Tim Cahill has moved to New York Red Bulls for an undisclosed fee.

I'm here: Cahill talks the walk out into the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

Interesting or what?: Tim Cahill has not ruled out a move back to Everton (on-loan)

Cahill said this on the club website:
'I am very happy to start a new chapter of my career with the New York Red Bulls'
'As we have seen over the past few years, MLS has developed into a very competitive league with many talented players.' 
'I am impressed with what the Red Bulls are trying to accomplish in MLS and within American soccer and I am looking forward to this new challenge. I will do everything I can to help bring New York its first MLS Cup'





Does anyone remember the news article that I had last post about Lens winger Thorgan Hazard?


Well, he has signed for Chelsea now, and will link-up with his brother next season.

It's official: Winger Thorgan Hazard will join Chelsea next season.

He will slide into the U21 squad, and may be loaned out for some first-team experience..


Interesting transfer done deal here: 


QPR have signed Blackburn Rovers winger Junior Holiett after agreeing a four-year contract deal.

Back to the EPL: He will fit into the way QPR play football, and will be their star player next season.

He wants to play EPL football next season, so you cannot blame him for wanting to move from a relegated club Blackburn.
He will be their young gem, and could score a lot of goals next season.

The following video proves that he has a lots of potential in the future and his talent from this video:

EPL Transfer Rumours:

Fulham forward Clint Dempsey has dropped a big hint fore his future, after missing The Cottagers pre-season trip to Switzerland. He has been linked with a move to Liverpool as he looks to play CL football before the end of his career.

Not surpirsing: Clint Dempsey may NOT play for Fulham next season, as he tries to force his way into a CL club.

Newcastle have made a £4milllion bid for FC Twente defender Douglas Texeira.

FC Twente may accept the offer, considering the fact that he only has one year left on his contract and he can leave next season on a free transfer.

England bound, surely? Newcastle have made a £4million bid for FC Twente defender Douglas Texeira (right).

Liverpool have rejected a £13million bid from Manchester City for defender Daniel Agger, who are looking to bolster their defence.

Hard decision: Defender Daniel Agger could be on his way out of Liverpool, to move to City or Barcelona.

Chelsea are ready to sign Wigan winger Victor Moses for £7.5million now after having being rejected twice already. 

Sunderland are looking to replace Asamoah Gyan with a decent striker who can give them a mid-table finish next season. 

They have had a £12million bid rejected from Wolves for Steven Fletcher.

If I was Wolves, I would accept the bid, because for a Championship club £12million is a lot and they want to return to the PL next season. They should be able to replace him anyway.

Liverpool reportedly have made a £12.5million bid for Swansea midfielder Joe Allen.

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay says that the club are still in the transfer market for a few more signings.

Tottenham are considering a £7million bid for Liverpool's 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling. 

Wanted: 17-year-old Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling is wanted by Tottenham Hotspur.

There is just over 2 weeks left until the start of the EPL 2012-13 season begins. It would not be fitting to start the season without a montage of the last, so please watch this 4 minute video to remind you of why this is the best league in the world.  

Everton have completed the signing of Tottenham midfielder Steven Pienaar for £4.5million on a four-year contract deal.

Guess who's back again: Midfielder Steven Pienaar re-joins Everton for his 4th spell at the club.

He will be Everton's talisman along with Nikica Jelavic after the departures of Mikel Arteta and now Tim Cahill in recent seasons.

He joined Spurs 18 months ago, but was not given a chance to shine and only started 5 matches.  Everton signed him up on a season-long loan in January where he scored 4 important goals.  

EPL Poll:  

Goal of the EPL Season:    

A: Papiss Cisse vs Chelsea: B: Fraizer Campbell vs Norwich City C: Peter Crouch vs Stoke City D: Robin Van Persie vs  E: Stilyan Petrov vs Everton F: Hatem Ben Arfa vs Bolton       ALL THE GOALS ARE ON THE FOLLOWING VIDEO BELOW:

   

Friendlies and The Olympics: 

Arsenal 0 Manchester City 2, in Beijing - July 27th

Midfielder Yaya Toure and defender Pablo Zabaleta both scored for City as they beat Arsenal by 2 goals to nil. 

Promising start: Midfielder Yaya Toure slots the ball out of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski's reach into the net.

EPL Champions City celebrate Yaya Toure's 45th minute goal to give them a 2-0 lead against Arsenal in China.

Arsenal's brick wall: Defensive midfielder Alex Song prevents Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez from scoring.

Do not be fooled by the scoreline though because:

Arsenal played better football throughout the match, and had all of their youngsters on. Much fitter than City and passed the ball better.

They look very promising for the next season.

Arsenal 2 Kitchee 2, Hong Kong - July 29th

Arsenal continued their pre-season preparations with a 2-2 draw in Hong Kong against Kitchee.

Midfielder Thomas Eisfeld who joined the club for £450,000 in January from Borussia Dortmund equalised with 12 minutes to go of the match.

Forward Theo Walcott who has been subject to transfer speculation also scored for The Gunners.

Make it seem easy: Theo Walcott cooly slots the ball into the net to give Arsenal a goal against Kitchee.

MLS All Stars 3 Chelsea 2, Pennslyvania(USA) - July 25th

Chelsea suffered their first pre-season defeat in their America tour against the MLS All Stars.

Happy faces: Chelsea defender John Terry shakes LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham's hand before the match.

Defender John Terry and Midfielder Frank Lampard both scored for The Blues, but it was not enough for them to win the match. 

Thank you very much: Midfielder Frank Lampard has played over 560 matches for Chelsea.

Notable faces for the All Stars included Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and David Beckham.

Chelsea 0 AC Milan 1, Sun Life Stadium, Miami(USA) - July 28th

Midfielder Urby Emmanuelson scored the only goal of the match for AC Milan as they beat Chelsea 1-0.

Notable faces including Fernando Torres returned to the Chelsea side but were not able to prevent The Blues from losing against the Italian giants.  Manchester United 1 Shangai Shenhua 0, Shangai Stadium - July 25th  United continued to send a message to local rivals City that they would challenge to regain their EPL title next season. This time, £17million signing Shinji Kagawa stole all of the headlines against a Chinese club who snapped up both Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba from Chelsea over the past year.

Raring to go: Manchester United winger Shinji Kagawa scores his first goal for the club against Shangai Shenhua.

Golden Boy: Kagawa is mobbed by his team-mates after a great start to his United career.

EPL, Here I come: The Japanese winger could be United's secret weapon in the next few seasons.

He scored the only goal of the match, and fitted in well playing for United. Looks promising for the future, and could even dominate the EPL. Watch this space.

 

London 2012 Men's Football Olympics:

Team GB's Results:

Great Britain 1 Senegal 1 - July 26th at Old Trafford

Liverpool forward Craig Bellamy scored the only goal of the match for Team GB as they drew against African side Senegal.

19-year-old Pape Moussa Konate equalised for Senegal in the 81st minute to give them 1 point.

Great Britain 3 UAE 1 - July 29th at Wembley Stadium

Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge, Swansea winger Scott Sinclair and Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs were all of the scoresheet for Team GB as they cruised to a 3-1 win against United Arab Emirates.

Golden Oldie: Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs heads Team GB into the lead against UAE after 16 minutes.

 FACT: Ryan Giggs has become the oldest football player to score at the Olympics.

Deadlock broken: Ryan Giggs does the trademark fist pump as he celebrates his goal.

'Flying like a Swan': Swansea forward Scott Sinclair celebrates make it 2-1 to Team GB in the 73rd minute.

Recovered: Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge recovered from meningitis to score for Team GB with a delightful chip to make it 3-1.

Other Groups News:

Spain have been knocked out of the Men's Olympics Football Tournament after 2 losses against Honduras and Japan. 

Japan and Brazil and the first two teams to go through to the Quarter-Finals. 

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.

Please spread the word to your family and friends (who like soccer/football!). 

I truly appreciate all the support from daily views and my followers. If you like what you are reading, then do nto forget to follow me for updates when I post.

I will speak to you all very soon for my next update.

Today's EPL Results, News and Analysis:

Today's EPL Results and Analysis:


12:45:


Arsenal 0 Chelsea 0

This match was played at The Emirates Stadium, as 3rd placed Arsenal hosted 6th placed Chelsea on the back of a 1-0 win against Barcelona on Wednesday. 

Full-back Kieran Gibbs scored an offside goal in the second half for Arsenal, but apart from this nothing went into the net.
Captain Robin Van Persie had a few chances at goal, but he was denied by the woodwork and Petr Cech's solid goalkeeping. 
Winger Theo Walcott had to come off, with a hamstring injury in the second half.

Striker Robin Van Persie takes an aerial shot inside the box but is denied by the woodwork.

Denied: Van Persie's shot is well saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Seen: Mikel Arteta is shown with a crutch and a protective boot after the injury suffered against Wigan watching Arsenal.

There were 7 yellow cards throughout this match:
3 for Arsenal, 4 for Chelsea.
(Van Persie, Rosicky, Diaby, Cahill, Cole, Malouda and Bosingwa)


Arsenal missed the chance to move further away from Newcastle, Tottenham and Chelsea with a goal-less draw against London rivals Chelsea who are in 6th place...



15:00:


Aston Villa 0 Sunderland 0

This match was played at Villa Park, as Aston Villa hosted Sunderland. 

Goal-less draw was the score at full-time, which was not a good result for either side who have seperate goals. Villa move closer towards the relegation zone while Sunderland have slipped down the pecking order in the EPL with a few draws of late.


Fulham 2 Wigan Athletic 1

This match was played at Craven Cottage, as 11th placed Fulham hosted 17th placed Wigan who are on the back of two big wins against Manchester United and Arsenal, but still have a long way to go if they want to stay up in the Prem this season.. 

In the 57th minute, Wigan defender Emmerson Boyce gave the visitors the lead to make it 1-0.

Delight: Defender Emmerson Boyce celebrates his goal to break the deadlock against Fulham.

1 minute later, the home side equalised after striker Pavel Pogrebnyak scored his 6th goal for Fulham after returning to action from an ankle injury. 

I'm back to business: Pavel Pogbrenyak celebrates with his team-mates after equalising against Wigan.

Defender Phillipe Senderos scored a header in the 89th minute to give Fulham the late win. 

Heads I score: Senderos heads Fulham into the lead in the 89th minute to give Fulham all three points at home.

Fulham move up to 9th place with only a point behind 7th placed Everton.
Wigan stay in 17th place, but fail to move further away from the relegation zone, with only 34 points from 35 matches.



Blackburn Rovers 2 Norwich City 0

This match was played at Ewood Park, as 19th placed Blackburn hosted 12th placed Norwich.
Midfielder Mauro Formica opened the scoring for Blackburn in the 41st minute. 

Winger David 'Junior' Holiett made it 2, in the 49th minute.


This was how the match finished, with Blackburn moving one place up into 18th.
Norwich stay 12th.



Newcastle United 3 Stoke City 0
This match was played at Sports Direct Arena as 5th placed Newcastle looked to boost their Champions League qualification hopes.


Bolton Wanderers 1 Swansea City 1 



17:30: 


Tottenham Hotspur 0 QPR 1


This match was played at White Hart Lane, as 5th placed Spurs had the chance to move back into 4th place against a QPR side who are unpredictable.


Former Spurs player Adel Taarabt scored the only goal for the away side in the 23th minute from a free-kick, to break the deadlock.

QPR winger Adel Taarabt scores a free-kick at Loftus Road to break the deadlock against Tottenham.

He got a yellow card in the 43rd minute, and after a stupid decision, he was given a red card in the 78th minute, (when a free-kick was awarded to Tottenham and he kicked the ball away, he got a second booking).

EPL News: 

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that although winger Theo Walcott is ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury suffered against Chelsea this afternoon, he should be ok for Euro 2012.

Wenger also hopes that world class captain Robin Van Persie signs a new contract with The Gunners, before Euro 2012.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has admitted that he is interested in Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, but said that wages could be a problem for him.

Everton manager David Moyes says that a top 10 finish this season would be 'great'.
Try 'top 8'. 


Villa boss Alex McLeish expects captain Gabriel Agbonlahor to stay at Aston Villa throughout the rest of his career.
Is he sure?!


Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill admits he will have to strengthen his squad in the summer, if he wants a 'top 10' finish next season.

Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey is out for the rest of the season with a torn cruciate ligament.
Surely they are going back into the Championship now?! 

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho admits that he is interested in Manchester City full-back/defender Micah Richards, and could line up a £15million bid in the Summer. 


Shakhtar Donetsk have told Chelsea that they can have winger Willian, but only for £24million.


Both Manchester United and Manchester City are in a battle to sign Valencia left-back Jordi Alba.


Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt will leave Liverpool this summer, with Roma and Fiorentina both interested.


Newcastle United are looking at FC Twente striker Luuk de Jong to replace Demba Ba.


Arsenal are planning a £15million bid for Fulham midfielder Moussa Dembele and Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge.


Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is on the shortlist for the GB squad, even though interim manager Stuart Pearce has promised not to pick anyone selected for Euro 2012 for the London Olympics...


French side Marseille have reportedly won the chase to sign Blackburn winger Junior Holiett.

PFA Player of the Year Award Nominees:

Robin Van Persie (Arsenal)

Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)

Sergio Aguero (Man City)

Joe Hart (Man City)

Scott Parker (Tottenham)

David Silva (Man City)

Favourite:
Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie 

The Arsenal captain has scored 34 goals this season in all competitions - more than any other player in the EPL.

PFA Player of The Year Award Nominees: 


Sergio Aguero (Man City)
Gareth Bale (Tottenham)
Danny Welbeck (Man Utd)
Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)
Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain (Arsenal)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham)


Favourite to win:
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero

Favourite: Manchester City's leading top scorer this season, with 28 goals.

(MORE TO FOLLOW SOON) 

Midweek EPL Results and Analysis, The Weekend's EPL Previews:

Midweek EPL Results and Analysis:

Tuesday:

Aston Villa vs Bolton Wanderers: POSTPONED
This match was supposed to take place on Tuesday at Villa Park, but Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba's condition was too serious for Bolton players to focus on the football match.

Blackburn Rovers 2 Sunderland 0
This match was played at Ewood Park as 17th placed Blackburn hosted 9th placed Sunderland. 
Midfielder David Holiett opened the scoring for the home side after 58 minutes to make it 1-0.

Winger Junior Holiett breaks the deadlock against Sunderland at Ewood Park after 58 minutes to give Rovers a 1-0 lead. 

Striker Yakubu scored his 14th goal of the season to double Blackburn's lead in the 86th minute to ensure all three points for Rovers.

Heads I win: Striker Yakubu scores his 14th goal of the season - making him 5th top scorer in the EPL.

Pray 4 Muamba: Yakubu shows his support for Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba who is in intensive care.

Blackburn are now in 16th place with 28 points, while Sunderland are still in 9th place with 37 points.

Wednesday:

Everton 0 Arsenal 1
This match was played at Goodison Park, as 10th placed Everton hosted 4th placed Arsenal.
Defender Thomas Vermaelen scored the only goal of the whole match for the away side after 8 minutes.

Defender Thomas Vermaelen heads Arsenal into the lead at Goodison Park.

Celebration time: Vermaelen celebrates the eventual winner for Arsenal against Everton and his 5th goal of the season.

The home side had some controversial decisions that were not given including a disallowed goal by Royston Drenthe, and luck was not on their side on Wednesday. 


FACT: Thomas Vermaelen has now scored two winners for Arsenal in back-to-back matches.


Arsenal move up to 3rd place, 1 point above Tottenham while Everton stay in 10th place.

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1
This match came from The Ethiad Stadium, as 5th placed Chelsea and 2nd placed City went head-to-head in an interesting battle. City were looking for revenge after a 2-1 defeat suffered earlier in the season at Stamford Bridge (which was also their first of the season), while Chelsea looked to make ground in the race for 4th place. 


This match was exciting from the start of the second half.... and the away side were surprisingly in-front thanks to defender Gary Cahill with a half-volley which took a deflection and sent goalkeeper Joe Hart the wrong way to break the deadlock after 60 minutes.

Wrong way: Goalkeeper Joe Hart is sent the wrong way from a deflection and Chelsea go 1-0 up against Manchester City from defender Gary Cahill in the 60th minute. 

Left-back Aleksandar Kolarov took a shot inside the 18-yard box which was deflected by the hand of Chelsea midfielder Michael Esssien, and City were awarded a penalty. 
Striker Sergio Aguero cooly slotted the ball past 'keeper Petr Cech to give the visitors hope in the 78th minute.
Carlos Tevez came off the bench in the 68th minute and had a positive effect on City's performance, which paid off in the 85th minute when his clever lay-off to midfielder Samir Nasri who chipped 'keeper Cech and scored a late winner for the home side.

Samir Nasri: Scores a late winner for the home side against Chelsea in the 85th minute with a cheeky chip over Petr Cech.

Jubilation: Celebrates scoring with Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko

This result puts City in 1 point of 1st placed United, while Chelsea lose ground for a top 4 place after Tottenham drew and Arsenal won so they are 5 points off 4th placed Spurs (and 6 off 3rd placed Arsenal)

QPR 3 Liverpool 2
This fiery five-goal thriller surprisingly came from Loftus Road, home of 18th placed QPR who hosted 7th placed Liverpool. 


Defender Sebastian Coates broke the deadlock for the visitors in the 54th minute, from an overhead bicycle kick which flew past goalkeeper Paddy Kenny into the net.

Defemder Sebastien Coates hits his first ever Liverpool goal, which was a spectacular finish against QPR.

Striker Dirk Kuyt doubled the scoreline in the 72nd minute to give The Reds a 2-0 lead. Everyone though that it was all over for QPR, before defender Shaun Derry halved the deficit in the 78th minute to make it 2-1. Former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse equalised late on in the 86th minute for QPR before striker Jamie Mackie scored in the 90th minute to give Rangers the comeback of all comebacks to gift them 3 points against Liverpool.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Stoke City 1
This match was played at White Hart Lane as 3rd placed Spurs hoped to move closer to title rivals City and United, while edging closer away from London rivals Arsenal for a 3rd place finish.

The Weekend's EPL Previews:

This is Round 30 of this season's EPL. Title challengers City face Stoke while rivals United host Fulham on Monday. The race for a Champions League spot is heating up with all three (top 6) London rivals in the fight. Arsenal face Villa, while rivals Chelsea and Tottenham go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge for a place in Europe next season. 
The relegation battle is still alive for 5 different clubs with Wigan, Wolves, QPR, Bolton and Blackburn in the frame.

Saturday (15:00 unless stated):

Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE at 12:45pm


The first match of the weekend comes from Stamford Bridge as an early kick-off between two rivals Chelsea and Tottenham fight for a Champions League spot in 5th and 4th place (respectively), (with only 5 points between them)
Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon will miss tomorrow's match against Chelsea with a hamstring injury.
Striker Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring) is a major doubt for the match.

Defender Ledley King (knee) will have a late fitness test but long-term absentees Michael Dawson (ankle), goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes (knee), and midfielder Tom Huddlestone (ankle) are out.

John Terry is set to return to lead out Chelsea. The Blues captain missed Wednesday night's defeat at Manchester City with a calf strain but trained fully on Thursday.

Fellow defender Branislav Ivanovic is doubtful with a thigh problem suffered at the Etihad Stadium, while Oriol Romeu is fit after a knee injury.

Arsenal vs Aston Villa:


This match will be played at The Emirates Stadium, as in-form Arsenal will look to continue their current run of form by moving 4 points away from rivals Tottenham.

Aston Villa winger Charles N'Zogbia is battling to overcome a tweaked knee ligament in time to face Arsenal tomorrow.

Striker Andreas Weimann is pushing for a start after scoring the winner against Fulham a fortnight ago. If N'Zogbia is ruled out of the match, Weimann could play up front with Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Striker Darren Bent (ankle), defender Richard Dunne (shoulder) and midfielder Fabian Delph (ankle) remain long-term absentees while utility player Ciaran Clark is still recovering from a knee problem.

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby will not be risked. He has recovered from a hamstring injury, but boss Arsene Wenger will not name him in his squad until next week.

Wenger will use an unchanged squad against Villa from the group which won at Everton, with Per Mertesacker (ankle) and midfielder Jack Wilshere (ankle) still sidelined.

Bolton Wanderers vs Blackburn Rovers:

Bolton return to action against Blackburn at the Reebok Stadium a week after Fabrice Muamba's harrowing collapse at White Hart Lane.

Muamba remains in intensive care after suffering a cardiac arrest, but his family have given the go ahead for the match to start as manager Owen Coyle's men looked to haul themselves out of the relegation zone.

Coyle has told any player who does not feel up to taking part they should step aside, but it does not appear he has had anyone who has dropped out yet.

Defender Gael Givet is Blackburn's only doubt ahead of the match.

Givet aggravated a slight hamstring problem while on Tuesday and is doubtful to make the squad.

Steve Kean is only to make a few slight changes.

Liverpool vs Wigan Athletic:


This match will be played at Anfield as 7th placed Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from their embarrassing 3-2 defeat on Wednesday to QPR after being 2-0 with 13 minutes to go against 19th placed Wigan.


Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega remains an injury doubt for the match after missing last week's match due to a knee problem.
The Latics manager Roberto Martinez says that the trip to Liverpool may come too soon for the forward to make his return to football action.
Midfielder David Jones (knee) and goalkeeper Mike Pollitt (shoulder problem) are not 

Defender Martin Kelly should be fit despite having to come off injured in Liverpool's last two matches.

The club are awaiting a full assessment of Charlie Adam's knee problem, sustained in Wednesday's defeat at QPR, but the midfielder could be doubtful.

Right-back Glen Johnson and forward Craig Bellamy are still missing with niggles while centre-half Daniel Agger (rib) is not yet ready.

Norwich City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers:

Wolves will be without suspended defender Ronald Zubar for the away Barclays Premier League clash with Norwich after his red card against Manchester United last weekend.

It could mean a recall in a reshuffled back four for skipper Roger Johnson who has been axed for the past four matches since caretaker boss Terry Connor took charge.

But Connor's biggest headache is in central midfield where David Davis (broken rib) has joined Karl Henry (hamstring) and Jamie O'Hara (groin) on the injury list.

The only positive team news for Connor is the return to training of midfielder Nenad Milijas after his calf problem.

Norwich midfielder Anthony Pilkington has recovered from the knock he suffered at Newcastle last weekend and is available.

Marc Tierney and Daniel Ayala are back in training, but not yet ready, while James Vaughan is still missing with knee trouble.

Goalkeeper Declan Rudd, meanwhile, has resumed light training.

Sunderland vs QPR:

Sunderland striker Stephane Sessegnon returns to the squad for Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash with QPR after suspension.

The Benin international is available after completing the three-match ban he incurred for his sending-off in the derby draw at Newcastle, but midfielder Lee Cattermole still has one game left to serve.

Central defender John O'Shea will undergo a late fitness check on his hamstring injury, but Kieran Richardson (calf) is still out, as are long-term absentees Wes Brown (knee) and Titus Bramble (Achilles/calf).

Armand Traore will miss QPR's trip to Sunderland on Saturday in the Barclays Premier League.

The Senegal international was brought off at half-time of Wednesday's 3-2 victory against Liverpool and is out for the next couple of weeks with a grade one hamstring injury.

Clint Hill will travel with the squad to the Stadium of Light but will have a back injury assessed, while long-term absentees DJ Campbell and Heidar Helguson are making good progress.

Swansea City vs Everton:

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers is set to restore Ashley Williams to his starting XI for Saturday's Barclays Premier League meeting with Everton.

The defender missed last weekend's impressive win at Fulham due to illness, but is likely to take his place back from club captain Garry Monk against the Toffees.

Wayne Routledge will continue on the right wing as Nathan Dyer serves the final game of his three-match ban after his red card in the win at Wigan.

Everton could have Darron Gibson back at the Liberty Stadium.

The Republic of Ireland international has been out of action for five games due to a knee problem but Toffees manager David Moyes says Gibson's fitness is improving and has indicated he could feature against the Swans.

Fellow midfielder Jack Rodwell (hamstring) and wideman Seamus Coleman (thigh) remain sidelined.

Stoke City vs Manchester City: LIVE at 17:30pm


This match will come from The Brittania Stadium, as 2nd placed Manchester City can leapfrog rivals United into 1st place, two points ahead (at least until Monday) with a win at Stoke.

Manchester City hope to have captain Vincent Kompany back for Saturday's Barclays Premier League trip to Stoke.

The Belgium defender has an outside chance of returning after missing three games with a calf injury but centre-back partner Joleon Lescott (hip) is ruled out.

Striker Carlos Tevez is again expected to be on the bench after making his first appearance for six months in the midweek win over Chelsea.

Stoke winger Matthew Etherington (ankle) is fit to return after missing the midweek draw against Tottenham.

Midfielder Salif Diao (hamstring) is likely to miss out but defender Jonathan Woodgate, who has not played for a month, could come into contention for a place on the bench.

Striker Ricardo Fuller misses out as he completes a three-match suspension.

Sunday:


West Bromwich Albion vs Newcastle United: LIVE at 16:00pm


This match will be played at The Hawthorns, as 13th placed West Brom host 6th placed Newcastle in a slight mis-match.

West Brom centre-back Jonas Olsson will return after a one-match suspension for the home Barclays Premier League clash with Newcastle on Sunday.

Olsson's probable recall alongside Gareth McAuley means Liam Ridgewell is likely to revert from central defence to left-back in place of Nicky Shorey.

Albion are hopeful striker Peter Odemwingie will be fit after missing the 1-1 draw at Wigan last weekend with a hamstring injury. Midfielder Zoltan Gera (knee) and right-back Steven Reid (foot) remain long-term absentees.

Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote is rated at 50-50 to return from injury.

The Ivory Coast international missed last weekend's 1-0 win over Norwich with a hamstring problem and remains a doubt, although full-back Danny Simpson has a chance of returning from his adductor strain.

Utility man Ryan Taylor (calf) is still out, as are long-term casualties Peter Lovenkrands (thigh), Leon Best and Sammy Ameobi (both knee), Steven Taylor (Achilles) and Sylvain Marveaux (groin).

Monday:


Manchester United vs Fulham: LIVE at 20:00pm


1st placed Manchester United host Fulham at Old Trafford. A win will ensure that they stay at the top of the EPL table ahead of rivals City in 2nd place who are only 1 point behind The Red Devils.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be picking from strength when Manchester United face Fulham at Old Trafford on Monday.

Nani (ankle), Anders Lindegaard (ankle) and Michael Owen (thigh) are the only absentees, along with long-term casualties Nemanja Vidic and Darren Fletcher.

Chris Smalling, Tom Cleverley, Fabio, Paul Pogba and Phil Jones all came through a reserve outing on Thursday unscathed.

Fulham have no new major concerns heading into Monday's trip north.

The Cottagers came through last week's defeat to Swansea unscathed, although they will be without third-choice goalkeeper Neil Etheridge for at least the next couple of weeks with a wrist problem.

Zdenek Grygera (knee), Steve Sidwell (hernia) and Orlando Sa (hamstring) are expected to be the only notable absentees.