Start of the 2012-13 season - The Weekend's EPL Fixtures Preview:

The best league in the world begins again, for the 21st season tomorrow.

Hello and welcome to my EPL Fixture Preview Blog Post once again. This is the first time that I have done this in over 3 months, as the start of the new 2012-13 EPL season begins on tomorrow afternoon.

First, let me start with the latest EPL transfers and news:

Wigan Athletic have bolstered their attacking options by signing Arsenal's young forward Ryo Miyaichi on a season-long loan.

For the future: Ryo Miyaichi has joined Wigan on a season-long loan deal to give him more first-team experience.

Newcastle United have completed the signing of Ajax full-back Vurnon Anita for around £6.5million.

New boy on the block: Left-back Vurnon Anita has completed his transfer to Newcastle from Ajax.

He will give manager Alan Pardew more options in the attacking and defending sides of his team for the next few season to come.

Manchester City have been given some bad injury news:
Defender Micah Richards has been ruled out of action for up to 10 weeks with an ankle injury suffered at the London Olympics, playing for Team GB.

LATEST - in the Robin Van Persie transfer saga:

Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie has arrived in Manchester for his medical with Manchester United.

Welcome to United: Manager Sir Alex Ferguson unveiled Robin Van Persie at a press conference earlier today.

Press conference: RVP answers questions in his first conference as a United player.

Strong strikeforce: Robin Van Persie trains with new team-mate and fellow striker Wayne Rooney.

He has completed his medical and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said that he fully expects RVP to make his full debut in a United shirt on Monday, when they face Everton. 

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has been fined £45,000 by The FA after a comment posted on Twitter.

Sunderland have confirmed the signing of former Manchester United striker Louis Saha.
He was released by Tottenham at the end of last season, and Sunderland's lack of attacking options made them show interest in the free agent.

Adventure: Striker Louis Saha has signed a one-year contract deal with Sunderland. This will be his 6th EPL club.

Fulham have fined midfielder Clint Dempsey after he refused to play for the club ever again. 
Manager Martin Jol has confirmed that he is able to leave the club as Liverpool and Arsenal are among the clubs wanting to sign him.

QPR have confirmed the signing of full-back Jose Bosingwa on a three-year-deal. 

Staying in London: Full-back Jose Bosingwa will stay in London after a four-year spell with Chelsea.

FACT: This is QPR's 8th signing of the transfer window.

He was released by Chelsea at the end of last season. 

Liverpool have confirmed the £3million signing of 24-year-old Morocco winger Oussama Assaidi.  

Looks promising: Liverpool have completed the £3million signing of winger Oussama Assaidi.

The green light: Assaidi is put through his medical at Melwood by the club doctor.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that defensive midfielder Alex Song could be on his way out of the club, and could be moving to Barcelona for £15million.

He has confirmed that defender Thomas Vermaelen will become the new captain after RVP's departure.

LATEST - In the Luka Modric transfer saga:

Yesterday, as all of the Tottenham players returned from international duty, one notable absentee was Croatia midfielder Luka Modric.

He has missed yesterday's training session, to leave England and fly into Spain, where he will hold personal talks with Real after Tottenham accepting a £34million deal for him.


Southampton have had a club's record £11.8million bid for Bologna striker Gaston Ramirez accepted. 

They beat Liverpool and Tottenham to him.

Ramirez has confirmed to Italian media that the clubs have agreed everything and he will join, but he is yet to agree personal terms.

Newly promoted Southampton are sending a big message to the rest of the EPL by making big-money signings to highly boost their chances of staying in the EPL for years to come.

Big statement: Striker Gaston Ramirez impressed during the Football at London Olympics for Uruguay.

QPR midfielder Joey Barton is closed to joining French club Marseile on a season-long loan.

Marseille defender Stephane M'Bia would be moving to QPR.

Swansea winger Scott Sinclair has refused to sign a new contract deal with Swansea.

Interesting news: Swansea winger Scott Sinclair has refused to sign a new contract.

This news has attracted a lot of attention from Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal.

The Weekend's EPL Fixtures Preview:

Saturday (15:00 unless stated):

Arsenal vs Sunderland:

'One to watch': Arsenal vs Sunderland.

The first of four 'one to watch' football matches this weekend sees The Gunners face Sunderland at The Emirates.

One of the reasons why it is a 'one to watch' match because it will be very interesting to see how Arsenal will be able to cope without their talisman last season Robin Van Persie.

Arsenal:

New signings Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski are expected to start and lead the attack, meanwhile winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and defender Laurent Koscielny are both ruled out due to injuries.

Set to start: Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla is set to make his debut tomorrow against Sunderland.

Replacing RVP: German striker Lukas Podolski should start for Arsenal tomorrow.

As to are full-back Bacary Sagna (broken leg) and midfielder Jack Wilshere (ankle rehabilitation)

Sunderland:

Meanwhile, The Black Cats have new striker Louis Saha who should start instead of Stephane Sessegnon (injury - doubt).

Defenders Wes Brown (knee ligaments), Phil Bardsley (ankle) midfielder and David Vaughan (surgery) are all on the sidelines.


Arsenal should have too much quality for Sunderland to handle at The Emirates tomorrow, even without Robin Van Persie.
We will see.

Fulham vs Norwich City:

This match will be played at Craven Cottage, as Fulham host Norwich.

This will be an interesting match.

Fulham:

Fulham have been in the football headlines recently, notably wantaway midfielder Clint Dempsey who has been left out of the squad for tomorrow's match.

Winger Kerim Frei (pelvis), defenders Philippe Senderos (foot) and Zdenek Grygera (knee) are unavailable from Fulham's selection.

Norwich:

Norwich are hopeful that midfielders Wes Hoolahan (Achilles) and Anthony Pilkington (hamstring) will be in the squad tomorrow.

Summer signings Steven Whittaker (ankle) and Jacob Butterfield (knee) will miss out, but midfielder Robert Snodgrass and defender Michael Turner should feature. 

Fulham should edge out this match, simply because they have more quality than Norwich.
But stranger things have happened...

QPR vs Swansea City:

This match will be very interesting also, because Swansea were the surprise team of the season last season.

QPR:

QPR have signed a lot of players in this transfer window including Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung, Blackburn winger Junior Holiett and West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green.

Injury news:

Midfielder Alejandro Faurlin is still lacking match sharpness following a long injury lay-off, and full-back Armand Traore (ankle) are definite absentees while striker Bobby Zamora and midfielder Samba Diakite (both knee) could also miss out.

Swansea:

Swansea will play against QPR tomorrow, with new signings including Michu, Chico Flores and Kyle Bartley all set to make their debuts for the club.

Manager Michael Laudrup is set to make a late decision over the availability of winger Scott Sinclair who has refused to sign a new contract and is poised to leave the club soon.

I'm off: Scott Sinclair will not know until tomorrow whether he will play against QPR.

The only injury problems for The Swans is that defender Garry Monk is set to miss the match with a back problem.

Swansea and QPR are both good teams, but QPR's summer spending spree should give them a slight edge over Swansea after the departure of Joe Allen and Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Reading vs Stoke:

This match will be played at the Madejski Stadium as newly promoted side Reading face a tough task against tough tacklers Stoke.

Reading:

Reading have decided to include Jem Karacan in their provisional squad for the match tomorrow against Stoke.

Karacan wants to return to first-team action after breaking his leg.

Reading however, will be without winger Jimmy Kebe hamstring and striker Jason Roberts who will be serving a two-match ban.

Stoke:

Stoke defender Robert Huth could play tomorrow, despite spending last week in hospital with viral meningitis.

Winger Jermaine Pennant and Huth will both be medically assessed before the match to see whether they are 100%.

Stoke should win this match, considering that they have a lot of experience in the EPL, but Reading could pull off an upset with a win at home or take a draw.

West Brom vs Liverpool:

This match will be played at The Hawthorns Stadium where West Brom host Liverpool, who are desperate to get back into the Champions League this season after a poor league campaign last season.

West Brom:

West Ham United vs Aston Villa:

Newcastle vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE at 17:30pm

Sunday:

Wigan Athletic vs Chelsea: LIVE at 13:30pm

Manchester City vs Southampton: LIVE at 16:00pm

Monday:

Everton vs Manchester United: LIVE at 20:00pm

Monday Night Football comes back with a bang, and the last of my featured matches this weekend (yes, I know Monday is not in the weekend).

Last season, this match was very exciting, dramatic and was a 4-4 thriller.

This season, it will be an interesting encounter because United's attack has been significantly strenghtened with the signings of Shinji Kagawa and Robin Van Persie.

EPL/FA Cup Quarter Final Replay Round Up plus EPL News:

EPL Round Up:

These fixtures were the last two matches in the EPL, from Round 30 which were not played on Saturday.

Newcastle were looking for a vital three points in the race for Europe against West Brom, while Manchester United could move three points clear at the top of the table with a win over 13th placed Fulham, who are only 6 points away from 7th placed Liverpool.

Sunday:

West Bromwich Albion 1 Newcastle United 3

This match was played at The Hawthorns as 14th placed West Brom hosted 6th placed Newcastle in an important match for both teams.

Striker Papiss Demba Cisse got the away side a perfect goal after 6 minutes to break the deadlock.

Striker Papiss Cisse beats 'keeper Ben Foster to open the scoring for Newcastle against WBA, after 6 minutes.

Midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa tucked the ball into the net in the 12th minute to make it 2-0 after a great pass-and-move from Ba and Cisse was finished clinically.

Midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa celebrates his 12th minute goal making it 2-0 to Newcastle against West Brom at The Hawthorns.

Cisse scored again to make it 3-0 before half-time in the 34th minute, to show total domination from the visitors.

£10million man: Cisse scores past Foster for his 5th goal for Newcastle since moving from Freiburg in late January. 

Shane Long scored a goal for The Baggies in the 53rd minute after captalizing on a Newcastle defensive mistake, but it was eventually a consolation.

Consolation prize: Striker Shane Long gives the hosts something to shout about despite their 3-1 loss at home.

Newcastle are now level on points with 5th placed Chelsea, and only 5 points of Tottenham (who are in 4th).

West Brom stay in 14th place, only 4 points away from 8th placed Sunderland, but only 4 points away from relegation trouble also.

This shows how tight mid-table is at the moment, with 4 points seperating the teams between 8th place and 14th place.

If I were Alan Pardew, I would be thanking Liverpool right now...

£35million, well spent (and he has not even spent it all yet!).

Monday:

Manchester United 1 Fulham 0
This match was played at Old Trafford, as 2nd placed Manchester United had the chance to move back into 1st place and three points ahead of rivals City as well if they beat Fulham, at home.
Striker Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, after Fulham failed to clear Ashley Young's cross which fell to defender Johnny Evans who set him up at the far post for an easy tap-in.

Striker Wayne Rooney places the ball past the Fulham defence into the net from inside the 16-yard-box.

Lethal: Striker Wayne Rooney has now scored 17 goals in his last 17 matches, and 28 for the season.

This was the only goal of the match, however United had many chances at goal which were saved well by Mark Schwarzer.

In the 90th minute, midfielder Michael Carrick tackled Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy inside the penalty area, and he could have scored. The referee did not give the away side a penalty, athlough several replays showed that they was contact and it should have been awarded.

Controversy: Carrick brings down Murphy inside the box in the last minute, but no penalty is awarded.

Now, United are three points clear of 2nd placed rivals City, while Fulham stay in 13th place.

EPL News:

Roberto Mancini has laughed off Sir Alex Ferguson's attempts at playing mind games.

Arsenal are ready to battle Fulham and Newcastle for Southampton youngster Calum Chambers.


Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko is wanted by German side Borussia Dortmund to boost their strikeforce.

Midfielder Mario Gotze has stopped all transfer speculation for now, after signing a new contract until 2015, which will deter Mancini from a fee plus trade for the youngster.


Sir Alex Ferguson will open talks over a new Manchester United deal for Rio Ferdinand in the summer - to kill off interest from teams in America, Russia and China.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson last night admitted he got it wrong in Europe, but vowed to make amends by winning his most satisfying Premier League title yet.


Goalkeeper Petr Cech says Chelsea will have a "lost year" if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

They are currently in 5th place, and if they do not qualify for the CL, Abramovich will be fuming.
He has always wanted the CL, but imagine how humilating will it be to not even be in it???

Midfielder Gareth Barry believes Manchester City must win all eight of their remaining EPL matches, if they are to pip rivals United to the title.
Even that might not be enough to win the title. Lack of experience could be their downfall, as well as mounting pressure from Roberto Mancini and the board.

Midfielder Darren Fletcher believes that he can complete his comeback to the Manchester United squad next season. The Scotsman has had a serious bowel condition.

Spainish side Real Sociedad are lining up for a £3.5million bid for Arsenal striker Carlos Vela who is currently on loan with them.

Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering lateral ligament damage in his right knee.

FA Cup Quarter Final Round-Up:

Tuesday:

Tottenham Hotspur 3 Bolton 1

This match was played at White Hart Lane as Bolton looked to move into the Last 4 of the FA Cup, especially for midfielder (and) cardiac arrest victim Fabrice Muamba who is currently in intensive care (in hospital).
During the pre-match warm-ups etc, every player and supporter in the ground had Muamba in their thoughts, after he collapsed during the scheduled match two weeks on Saturday.

Bolton captain Kevin Davies wears the 'Uniting for Fabrice' t-shirt during the warm-up, as support for his fellow team-mate.

Clap 4 Muamba: Tottenham Hotspur players applauding before the replay kicked off.

Along with us: Bolton players show their support for their midfielder and team-mate.

The match was a stalemate, until the 74th minute when defender Ryan Nelsen broke the deadlock for the hosts from a powerful header.

Ryan Nelsen's header opens the scoring for Spurs against Bolton at White Hart Lane in the 74th minute.

Winger Gareth Bale doubled their lead, three minutes later to make it 2-0.

Winger Gareth Bale fires Spurs 2-0 ahead, three minutes later against Bolton.

Captain Kevin Davies halved the lead in the last minute, to give Bolton faint hope of going to the semi-finals, before striker Louis Saha killed off the match in the same minute to make it a comprehensive 3-1 victory for Spurs.

Tottenham celebrate moving into the semi-finals of the FA Cup to face Chelsea, where they could win their first piece of silverware since 2009.

Highlights from the match (Bogdan vs Spurs):

 

Sunderland 0 Everton 2
This match was played at The Stadium of Light as Sunderland hosted Everton in a quarter-final replay.
Nikica Jelavic and a Mark Vaughan own goal send Everton into the semi-final at Wembley, against fierce rivals Liverpool.
Watch highlights from the match here:

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
I appreciate all the support from views and followers.
This inspires me to do better by posting more often and better and longer content.
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I will speak to you all on Friday, where it will be an EPL Preview and European Round-Up Blog post!