Sunday EPL Special LIVE:

7 matches LIVE from the EPL today in the penultimate day of the season, including Manchester United vs Swansea, and City vs Newcastle.

Sunday EPL Special LIVE:

Newcastle vs Manchester City: LIVE at 13:30pm
 
Newcastle: Krul; Perch, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon; Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez; Ben Arfa, Cisse, Ba. Subs: Elliot, Gosling, Ryan Taylor, Marveaux, Shola Ameobi, Obertan, Ferguson.

In-form striker Papiss Cisse starts again today for Newcastle, along with strike partners Demba Ba and Hatem Ben Arfa. 

FACT: Newcastle have not beaten Manchester City at home since the 24th of September 2005.


Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Clichy, Kompany, Lescott, Barry, Yaya Toure, Nasri, Silva, Aguero, Tevez. Subs: Pantilimon, Richards, Milner, Dzeko, Johnson, Kolarov, De Jong.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart starts his 50th match of the season today.
Defensive powerhouse Micah Richards and Newcastle fan Adam Johnson among the substitutes for City today.

14:00:

Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur:

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Cuellar, Dunne, Warnock, Lichaj, Herd, Clark, N'Zogbia, Ireland, Heskey. 
Subs: Guzan, Collins, Delfouneso, Bannan, Weimann, Gardner, Carruthers.


Tottenham: Friedel, Dawson, Gallas, Kaboul, Rose, Lennon, Sandro, Modric, Bale, Van der Vaart, Adebayor. 
Subs: Cudicini, Parker, Saha, Giovani, Defoe, Livermore, Nelsen.


QPR vs Stoke City:

QPR: Kenny, Onuoha, Ferdinand, Hill, Taiwo, Barton, Derry, Buzsaky, Mackie, Taarabt, Zamora. 
Subs: Cerny, Hall, Gabbidon, Bothroyd, Traore, Cisse, Wright-Phillips.

QPR will be desperate to bounce back from their 6-1 thrashing against West London rivals Chelsea last weekend. Dijrbil Cisse and Shaun Wright-Phillips are both on the subs bench.



Stoke: Sorensen, Huth, Shawcross, Upson, Wilson, Walters, Whelan, Delap, Jerome, Crouch, Fuller.
Subs: Begovic, Jones, Whitehead, Etherington, Shotton, Woodgate, Palacios.

Strong Stoke side, atlhough Ricardo Fuller starts ahead of Matthew Etheringotn. They could need Ryan Shotton later on, as he has lots of pace.

Bolton Wanderers vs West Bromwich Albion:

Bolton: Bogdan, Boyata, Wheater, Ream, Ricketts, Eagles, Reo-Coker, Mark Davies, Petrov, Kevin Davies, Ngog.
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Alonso, Knight, Klasnic, Lee, Miyaichi, Vela.

West Brom: Foster, Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell, Brunt, Mulumbu, Andrews, Dorrans, Fortune, Long. 
Subs: Fulop, Morrison, Allan, Shorey, Dawson, Cox, Scharner.

Fulham vs Sunderland: 

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hangeland, Hughes, John Arne Riise, Duff, Murphy, Diarra, Dempsey, Dembele, Pogrebnyak. 
Subs: Stockdale, Baird, Kasami, Senderos, Frei, Kacaniklic, Trotta.

First team Fulham squad here with some attacking and defending options on the bench including Kerim Frei and Phillipe Senderos.


Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Turner, O'Shea, Kilgallon, McClean, Colback, Cattermole, Gardner, Sessegnon, Ji. 
Subs: Westwood, Bridge, Campbell, Meyler, Bramble, Elmohamady, Bendtner.

Striker Ji starts, ahead of on-loan Nicklas Bendtner.

Wayne Bridge and Fraizer Campbell among the subs on the bench for Sunderland.

Wolves vs Everton:

Wolves: De Vries, Zubar, Stearman, Berra, Ward, Kightly, Henry, Edwards, Hunt, Doyle, Fletcher.
Subs: Ikeme, Elokobi, Ebanks-Blake, Johnson, Milijas, Jonsson, Forde.

This is Wolves' last home match before they move back into the Champonship. They have all of their first team players including Stephen Fletcher.



Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Heitinga, Jagielka, Distin, McFadden, Cahill, Osman, Pienaar, Fellaini, Jelavic. 
Subs: Mucha, Stracqualursi, Gueye, Barkley, Coleman, Duffy, Baxter.

In-form Nikica Jelavic and Steven Pienaar both start for the away side as they look to strenghen their hold on 7th place.

Newcastle vs Manchester City: LIVE

0: Referee Howard Webb blows the whistle to start this match at The Sports Direct Arena. 

Newcastle could move into 3rd place today, with a win while 1st placed City will tighten their grip of the title if they win, and move 3 points clear of rivals United with 1 match to play this season.

3: Newcastle trying to pass the ball well here, getting the ball moving and give the players confidence as they are playing against a tough City side.

6: Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye catches Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry with his feet in the face. Accidental foul. City free-kick.

9: City awarded a corner, with David Silva and Samir Nasri giving Newcastle trouble here.

10: Newcastle fans are really getting behind their team here.

10: Nasri with a trhoguh ball to playmaker David Silva who runs inside the box before unleashing a deadly shot.... GOOD SAVE!! by goalkeeper Tim Krul.

16: Manchester City move on the counter attack with striker Sergio Aguero who makes space for himself before hitting the ball hard and low towards goal.... SAVED!! (and held) by Tim Krul. 

Aguero did not hit the ball fast enough. 

18:

Last 10 minutes possession:

Newcastle: 23%, Manchester City: 77%

20: Full-back Gael Clichy takes a sbot from 30 yards out... WIDE!!

24: Nice footwork by City defender Vincent Kompany to skill to Newcastle defenders before playing a nice 1-2 with Gael Clichy, before slipping on the floor when he was about to cross the ball into the box.

26: Full-back Gael Clichy on the run for Manchester City, before getting tripped by Newcastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa. Yellow card given, as it was in a dangerous and goalscoring position outside the box.

City free-kick from 30 yards out.

27: Striker Carlos Tevez takes a curling shot towards goal... SAVED! by Tim Krul.

It was close by Tevez but Krul had seen the ball coming after it moved over the wall.

29: Newcastle go on the counter attack with Hatem Ben Arfa and Jonas running past the City defence. Gareth Barry tackles Jonas outside the box and it was late. Yellow card given to Barry, right next to the referee.

31: Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote fouls playmaker David Silva from 28 yards out late, sticking both legs out, and gets a yellow card for a dangerous tackle.

City free-kick, with Silva clipping the ball into the box for the midfielders but the ball is too powerful for the City players.

33: Demba Ba with a shot which is blocked by defender Gael Clichy towards winger Ben Arfa who powerfully volleys the ball towards goal... GREAT SAVE!!! by Joe Hart.

36: Newcastle full-back James Perch is given a yellow card after cliping David Silva. Unlucky, but it was late.

14:00: The five matches have all kicked off.

38: Yaya Toure is booked for a late challenge. Newcastle fans are going mad and are angry that he is not of the pitch now. Getting a bit hyper these last 10 minutes, and Newcastle have finally settled down.

39: Sergio Aguero with the ball at his feet. He is closed down well by Coloccini who clears the ball away to Jonas who finds Ben Arfa. Ben Arfa crosses the ball into the box for Demba Ba who heads the ball towards goal... OVER THE BAR!!
Nice play by Newcastle.


40: Drama.
Midfielder Gareth Barry with the ball at his feet from 20 yards out after David Silva's cross inside the box, and he hits the ball parried by Krul and on the rebound it goes past past Tim Krul, but the ball is cleared off the line by full-back Davide Santon. 
City try and score afterwards but Newcastle clear.

14:14:


Craven Cottage,
Fulham vs Sunderland:


Midfielder Clint Dempsey breaks the deadlock for the home side. 1-0 to Fulham, and Dempsey scores his 17th goal of the season from a long range effort. What a year for the American!

Deadlock is broken: Dempsey scores against Sunderland from a long range effort in the 14th minute.

In-form: Clint Dempsey celebrates his 50th goal for Fulham against Sunderland at Craven Cottage.

This is the first goal of the afternoon in the EPL, and probably not the last!


45: The fourth official signals just 1 minute of stoppage time to be added on here after this epic first half. 


45+1: Howard Webb blows the whistle to end this first half.

Half-time: Newcastle 0 Manchester City 0

No goals in this half, 5 yellow cards and lots of good shots and possession sells for both sides.
2nd placed United will be happy with the scoreline so far, along with Newcastle, but Roberto Mancini will be disappointed, that City have not been able to take their chances and turn them into goals.


The Reebok Stadium,
Bolton vs West Brom:

Big match here at Bolton, and a big goal for Bolton as midfielder Martin Petrov scores for the home side from the penalty spot. 
Bolton have a chance of staying in the EPL next season, as long as they keep this up and win today against 10th palced West Brom.

Craven Cottage,
Fulham vs Sunderland:

Defender Phil Bardsley equalises for Sunderland in the 34th minute. 1-1 now. 

Equaliser: Defender Phil Bardsley wheels away to celebrate his goal against Fulham with his team-mates.

GOAL


Fulham 2 Sunderland 1

Midfielder Moussa Dembele makes it 2-1 to the home side now!
Just after conceding! 2 goals in 2 minutes.

Quickfire time: Moussa Dembele is mobbed by his team-mates after making it 2-1 to Fulham against Sunderland.

45: Referee Howard Webb starts the second half here at The Sports Direct Arena. 


GOAL


Villa Park,
Aston Villa 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0

Defender Ciaran Clark breaks the deadlock for Aston Villa after 35 minutes gone here. Great news for us (Arsenal) and Newcastle!

Deadly strike: Defender Ciaran Clark unleashes a long range effort to give Aston Villa the lead against Tottenham.

50: Striker Carlos Tevez brings full-back James Perch into making a tackle. He clips Tevez and he gets a free-kick.

51: Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure takes the free-kick... OVER THE BAR!!!


53: Carlos Tevez takes a shot inside the box, but he messed the positioning up, and it went wild.
Yaya Toure is clutching his arm now, and looks in considerable pain.


54: City cranking up the pressure, with Toure finding Carlos Tevez who takes a shot from 25 yards out but Krul catches the ball and clears.


55: City are looking dangerous and are also dominating now.


HALF-TIMES:


Fulham 2 Sunderland 1

Bolton 1 West Brom 0

QPR 0 Stoke City 0

Wolves 0 Everton 0


Aston Villa 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0



60: MIdifelder Nigel De Jong is seen warming up on the touchline here. A change is imminent.

61: 
Manchester City SUB:
Nigel De Jong ON
Samir Nasri OFF


Newcastle are giving De Jong a bad reception, after the incident which happened two years ago, when he broke top midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa's leg.


62: Newcastle are trying to calm Manchester City, and are pressing them into passing in their own half.

64: Newcastle on the counter attack, with Ben Arfa cutting inside the box past Gael Clichy before unleashing a shot towards goal... CLOSE!!!
The ball skims the side netting as the ball goes out of play for a goal kick. 
Nice play by Newcastle who are very dangerous on the counter.


67: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is giving striker Ein Dzeko his orders, before he can come on the pitch.


70:
Manchester City SUB:
Edin Dzeko ON
Carlos Tevez OFF

70:
OH WHAT A GOAL!!
Nice play by Manchester City, and a 1-2 with Sergio Aguero to Yaya Toure who powefully places the ball into the bottom corner of the net from 20 yards out. 

Finally: Midfielder Yaya Toure shoots from 20 yards out to give City the lead against Newcastle after 70 minutes.

Beautiful goal by Yaya Toure, and this is his 8th goal of the season.
1-0 to Manchester City, and this could pave the way for City to win the EPL title for the first time since 1968. 

Delight: Toure celebrates his goal with Edin Dzeko and the City fans.

73: Foul by Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse on midfielder Gareth Barry. Free-kick given to City.


73: Nice cross to Edin Dzeko who jumps over his marked man to control the ball before pulling the ball to shoot.... WIDE!!!
Should have scored then.


Newcastle SUB:
Shane Ferguson ON
Shola Ameobi ON
James Perch OFF
Hatem Ben Arfa OFF


74: Nice ball by David Silva through to striker Sergio Aguero who places the ball past Tim Krul.... WHISTLES PAST THE POST! 
How did he miss that?!


15:05: The second halves in the 2pm kick-offs have all started.

Villa Park,
Aston Villa vs Tottenham: 

Tottenham Hotspur full-back Danny Rose is SENT OFF.
More news when I get it.

Arguments galore: The Tottenham players protest full-back Danny Rose's dismissal after he is sent off.

78: Cross into the box from Newcastle, to Papiss Cisse who heads the ball towards goal... MISS!!
Close by the Senegal International.


79: Foul by Pablo Zabaleta on Shane Ferguson who was running with pace towards the 18 yard box.
Newcastle free-kick taken by Yohan Cabaye but City clear the ball away from danger by David Silva who is caught by Ferguson. Yellow card given.


82:
Newcastle SUB:
Ryan Taylor ON
Cheick Tiote OFF

This was it: This late challenge on Alan Hutton gave Danny Rose a straight red card at Villa Park.

84:
Nice through ball, by striker Sergio Aguero towards Yaya Toure who burst forward past the defence before turning past the goalkeepr who clips him. Toure back flicks the ball towards Aguero who takes a shot from 20 yards out but it is parried by Tim Krul for a corner.


84: Nothing comes of the corner and the ball goes out for a goal kick.


85: Manchester City SUB:
Micah Richards ON
David Silva OFF


88: 
Nice quick passing by Manchester City with Aguero, De Jong and Clichy.
Clichy finds Toure inside the box who shoots the ball over Tim Krul's head into the net. GOAL!!!! 2 for Yaya Toure!

Double: Yaya Toure slots the ball over Tim Krul's head to give City a 2-0 win against Newcastle.

Pure relief: Yaya Toure celebrates scoring his 9th goal of the season.

90: The fourth official signals 3 minutes of stoppage time to be added on the electronic board, after Demba Ba's shot was brilliantly stopped by goalkeeper Joe Hart.


90+1:
Manchester City easily holding the ball up with nice two touch passing.


90+3:
Referee Howard Webb blows the whistle to end the match here at The Sports Direct Arena.
Manchester City are jubilant as they know that they are almost there, and they have one hand on the trophy.


Full-time:
Newcastle United 0 Manchester City 2
Manchester City are now three points clear of rivals United, with their goal difference being +10.


My Man Of The Match:
Yaya Toure
He was electric in defence and in the hub of midfield.
He passed well and lead the midfield throughout.
Not to mention, he scored twice today.


Special mentions to:

Joe Hart
Was not needed very often, but pulled off some great saves to deny Newcastle from scoring, and kept a clean sheet throughout which is not an easy thing to do at The Sports Direct Arena. 


Vincent Kompany
A great leader at the back for City. Made some great tackles and moved forward well. Ensured that Newcastle did not dominate and could have even scored a goal in the first half. 


David Silva
Was City's danger going forward, always making runs and through balls towards Aguero and Nasri. Looked dangerous throughout the match and played well.


Tim Krul
Kept his side in the match for 85 minutes, with some great saves and stops to deny City although they dominated for large periods of the match.
Made some mistakes in the match but the two goals conceded were unstoppable and he should not be too hard on himself.  


FULL-TIMES:


Bolton Wanderers 2 West Bromwich Albion 2

Aston Villa 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Tottenham slip up again and stay in 5th place, to gift Arsenal and Newcastle 3rd and 4th place (respectively)

Wolves 0 Everton 0

A goalless draw sends Molienuex (Wolves' home stadium) into the Championship against 7th placed Everton.

QPR 1 Stoke City 0

Striker Djibril Cisse gave the home side the three points at home from a late goal in the 90th minute. 

Pure relief: Cisse celebates his late goal for QPR against Stoke to give them faint hope of beating relegation this season.

Fulham 2 Newcastle United 1

The Fulham players enjoy their traditional 'lap of honour' at Craven Cottage after leapfrogging Liverpool into 8th place.

16:00


Manchester United 2 Swansea City 0 FT

Two goals from midfielder Paul Scholes and winger Ashley Young gave Manchester United hope of retaining their EPL title next Sunday.

Hardly a celebration is it? Paul Scholes walks away after breaking the deadlock at Old Trafford.

Bullet: Winger Ashley Young scores his 7th goal of the season to give United a 2-0 lead against Swansea.

Faint hope: Manchester United have to beat Sunderland and hope City fail to win against QPR next week to win the title.

NEXT WEEK:


Tomorrow:


Blackburn Rovers vs Wigan Athletic: LIVE from 20:00pm


Tuesday:


Chelsea vs Liverpool: LIVE from 20:00pm


Sunday:

All 10 EPL fixtures on the Last day of the Premier League 2011-12 season:

(All 15:00pm kick-offs:)


Sunderland vs Manchester United

Swansea City vs Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham

QPR vs Manchester City 

West Brom vs Arsenal

Chelsea vs Blackburn Rovers

Everton vs Newcastle United

Wigan Athletic vs Wolves

Norwich City vs Aston Villa

Stoke City vs Bolton


Thank you for reading my EPL Blog. I hope that you enjoyed this blog post as much as I did writing it!
I appreciate all the support from daily views and comments. Please help me to get better by continuing this.
If you like what you are reading, follow me so you can have easy access to all of my blog posts (and when I post them).


Lastly, I want to direct you to one of my favourite football bloggers so you can see what he's about:


http://dansfootballmusings.blogspot.co.uk/

My other blog (which re-starts next week):

http://epltransferwindowlive.blogspot.co.uk/

See you later everyone.

Midweek EPL Action, including Monday's epic Manchester derby:

Midweek EPL Action:


But first,

Let me tell you all that West Brom manager Roy Hodgson has been appointed as the the new England manager.

New manager: Roy Hodgson being unveiled by The FA at Wembley earlier this afternoon.

It is sealed! Hodgson shakes FA chairman David Bernstein's hand after accepting the England job.

 


Good luck Roy! Prove the haters wrong!

Chelsea have completed the signing of Werder Bremen midfielder Marko Marin for £7-£8million on a four year contract deal. 

Marko Marin is the latest player to join the Chelsea revolution. The 23-year-old will join his new club in the Summer.

And unofficially*,

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Koln striker Lukas Podolski for £10-£11million.

* I say that this is unofficial, as he has not been unveiled as of yet. 

Former Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur defender Sol Campbell has confirmed that he has retired from professional football at the age of 37, after two decades in the beautiful game. 

Olden days: Sol Campbell was captain for Tottenham Hotspur, and played with them from 1992-2001.

From one side of North London to the other: Sol Campbell playing for Arsenal in 2010.

Great times: Campbell lifts the FA Cup trophy with Portsmouth, back in 2008 after beating Cardiff in the final.

He made 73 international appearances for England and played at three different World Cups.
He has also in total played 644 matches in his career, scoring 29 goals.

Well done, and good luck in the future. Great defender and was rock solid at the back. 
Legend.


You can find this, (and more!) at my Transfer Window Blog every TW at:


http://epltransferwindowlive.blogspot.co.uk/   
(Which re-opens in mid-May)




Let's look at the epic title derby match from The Ethiad Stadium on Monday first:

Race for the title: Derby match between Manchester City vs Manchester United at The Ethiad.

Manchester City 1 Manchester United 0


This match was played at The Ethiad Stadium on 'Monday Night Football', as 1st placed United had the chance to go 6 points clear at the top of the table, against arch rivals City in 2nd place (which with a win would allow them to go back into 1st place).


This first 20 minutes, were all United, as they dominated possession and had more fire in their bellies. They looked like they wanted to win more than City to be honest. The atmosphere was electric and after half an hour, the City players nerves were finally calmed down.

Striker Sergio Aguero was the first player to give United goalkeeper David De Gea something to be scared of, with two good chances to go ahead which were both narrowly missed.


Just before half-time, City had a corner whipped into the box for defender Vincent Kompany who left man Chris Smalling before powerfully heading the ball far out of De Gea's reach to break the deadlock just before half-time.

Goal bound: De Gea is left helpless after Kompany's powerful header flies past him into the net.

Relief: City captain Vincent Kompany celebrates his goal against Manchester United at The Ethiad.

What a time to score for the home side, just before the break.

In the second half, United were desperate for the equaliser, and you could tell as they were starting to get a little bit frustrated when they did not get the ball.

The two managers were getting a bit angry aswell, with some entertaining action on the touchline.

You what? The two Manchester club managers had to be spilt up to avoid a fight on the touchline.

There were some notable celebrities in the crowd including Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, and famous retired Argentinan football player Diego Maradona (who was supporting his son-in-law Aguero). 

We can see you! Argentinan legend Diego Maradona is spotted watching the match high in the stands.

Tuesday's Action:
 
Liverpool 0 Fulham 1

This match was played at Anfield, as 8th placed Liverool hosted 9th placed Fulham in an interested mid-table battle between two decent clubs both wanting to play in Europe.
Defender Martin Skrtel gave his team the worst possible start, after his deflected from a Damien Duff cross went past goalkeeper Doni into his own net after only 5 minutes.

Oh dear: Martin Skrtel's deflection beat his own goalkeeper to put Fulham ahead at Anfield in the 5th minute.

Everton 1 Stoke City 1

This match was played at Goodison Park as in-form side Everton hosted a Stoke side who have only won 4 matches away from home this season.




Wednesday: 

Chelsea 0 Newcastle 2

This crunch, mouthwatering and interesting match was played at Stamford Bridge, as 6th placed Champions League finalists Chelsea hosted Champions League hopefuls Newcastle in a tense match which could effectively seal the fate of who plays in the CL next season.




Tottenham Hotspur 4 Bolton Wanderers 1

The main story surrounding this match broke on Tuesday night, as midfielder Fabrice Muamba confirmed that he would be watching the match at White Hart Lane, six weeks after collapsing on the pitch against Spurs in a FA Cup Quarter-final match.






Thank you for reading my EPL Blog. 
I widely appreciate all the daily views that I am getting, and the support from my followers.
Thank you for helping me to get over 15,000 views so far, I never want to stop doing this, as I love everything to do with football. With your motivation and support, I do not have to.
If you like what you are reading, and you have not already do not be afraid to follow me for updates when I post.


See you later everyone.

Easter Sunday EPL Special LIVE:

Easter Sunday EPL Special:

Yesterday:

Controversially, Chelsea beat Wigan 2-1 at Stamford Bridge (even though both goals were offisde) to move back into 5th place above Newcastle. Tottenham leapfrogged rivals Arsenal back into 3rd place, despite a 0-0 draw with Sunderland.

In-form strikers Clint Dempsey (Fulham) and Nikica Jelavic (Everton) both scored twice for their clubs, as Fulham took three points. 

Liverpool drew with Aston Villa at home, thanks to Luis Suarez saving the day again, West Brom dominated Blackburn 3-0 at The Hawthorns and at Carrow Road there was a 4 goal thriller, and Jelavic's double was not enough for all three points as top scorer Grant Holt stole the show for Norwich.

Today:

Manchester United 2 QPR 0 FT

The match was played at Old Trafford as 1st placed Manchester United hosted 17th placed QPR.

Striker Wayne Rooney broke the deadlock in the 15th minute for the home side from the penalty spot after Ashley Young was upheld by midfielder Shaun Derry, who was given a straight red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity (even though Young and Rooney were both offside and it would not have counted, and Young went down too easily looking for the penalty) 

Is this a red card? Ashley Young goes down after a nudge by Shaun Derry and United are given a penalty.

Striker Wayne Rooney powerfully slots away his 22nd goal in the EPL this season against QPR in the 15th minute from the penalty spot.

Striker Wayne Rooney celebrates his penalty goal to break the deadlock at Old Trafford.

In the second half, midfielder Paul Scholes doubled United's lead in the 68th minute from 25 yards out with a powerful strike after Rafael's pass.

3rd since coming out of retirement: Paul Scholes hits a strike from 25 yards out to score against QPR to make it 2-0 in the 68th minute.

This was how the match finished, and now United are 8 points clear of 2nd placed rivals City, who have to face Arsenal later today.


Yesterday's Evening kick-off:


Stoke City 2 Wolves 1
This match was played at The Britannia Stadium, as 14th placed Stoke hosted an under-fire Wolves side stuck in 20th place.
Midfielder Michael Kightly broke the deadlock for Wolves in the 26th minute to make it 1-0. 

Kightly and some of the rest of the Wolves players celebrate breaking the deadlock at Stoke after 26 minutes. 

Defender Robert Huth equalised in the 37th minute to make it 1-1 and give Stoke a chance to get back into the match.

Defender Robert Huth shoots to equalise for the home side against Wolves in the 37th minute.

Striker Peter Crouch (who is desperate for an England recall), used his height to his advantage to head the ball past goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey in the 61st minute.

9th of the season: Crouch and his Stoke team-mates celebrate the winning goal against Wolves in the 61st minute. 

Wolves are now 6 points away from 17th placed QPR, and have 22 points from 32 matches which is far from safety with 6 matches to play. 
Their remaining matches are against Arsenal, Sunderland, Manchester City, Everton, Swansea and Wigan.
Good luck!


Stoke move up to 11th place, and they are safe from relegation this season, with the magic 40 point barrier past.
 

Arsenal vs Manchester City: LIVE at 16:00pm 

Arsenal have the chance to go back into 3rd place with a win against 2nd placed City, while Roberto Mancini's men know that a loss could be the end of their title race hopes.

It will not be an easy match for City or Arsenal and it could be interesting and a close match at The Emirates.

Team news from 15:15pm.

Arsenal vs Manchester City: LIVE

Arsenal have been dominating so far in this first half at The Emirates.

In-form striker Robin Van Persie almost scored from a header from a corner kick, but defender Thomas Vermaelen accidentally deflected the ball off the goal-line.

Midfielder Yaya Toure has come off injured in the 15th minute for City after a knee knock and has been replaced by midfielder David Pizarro.

35 minutes played, still goalless.

Team Line-ups:

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Song, Walcott, Rosicky, Benayoun, Van Persie.

Subs: Fabianski, Andre Santos, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Djourou, Jenkinson, Chamakh.

Yossi Benayoun and Tomas Rosicky both start for The Gunners, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey are on the bench.

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Y Toure (off), Barry, Milner, Aguero, Nasri, Balotelli.
Subs: Pantilimon, Richards, Pizarro (on), Dzeko, Kolarov, Tevez, De Jong.

David Silva misses out due to a knee problem.
Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri both start against their former team.
Sergio Aguero returns after a foot injury.
Micah Richards and Carlos Tevez are both on the bench for City.


38: Mario Balotelli has finally booked after a late challenge on Sagna with his studs up.
43: A throw by Szczesny falls straight to Walcott who runs towards the box to set up a cross before defender Vincent Kompamy tackles him and clears the ball away from danger.
45: The fourth official signals three minutes of stoppage time to be added on here at the end of the half.
45+2: City free-kick given after Gareth Barry is bodychecked by Yossi Benayoun.
45+2: Mario Balotelli is testing referee Martin Atkinson's patience, with a deliberate handball to control the ball on the edge of the box..
He should be off the pitch by now...
45+3: The referee blows the whistle for half-time here at The Emirates.
Arsenal should be ahead at the break as they dominated throughout with passing and chances galore but City will be grateful that they are not losing.
Striker Mario Balotelli should be sent off by now, with 5 dangerous tackles and he is putting his club down.
Captain Vincent Kompany has been heroic at the back for City, and without him, it could be 3 or 4-0.


45: The referee blows the whistle to start the second half here at The Emirates.
No half-time subsitutions.

48: Full-back Kieran Gibbs looks to be struggling with a knock.
Andre Santos is seen warming up by the TV cameras.
49: City midfielder Samir Nasri has fouled Mikel Arteta. Free-kick.
56: Tomas Rosicky on the run with the ball for Arsenal before getting tackled by James Milner. Free-kick, and Milner gets booked for his troubles.
57: Arsenal SUB:
Andre Santos ON
Kieran Gibbs OFF
Gibbs is struggling with a knock.... so here comes the attacking minded full-back Santos.
59: Santos has now been booked for shirt pulling with striker Mario Balotelli who is unsuprisingly upset about the foul.
62: Alex Song with a beautifully placed cross to Van Persie who is unmarked and heads the ball with pace towards goal.... HITS THE POST!! Joe Hart was beaten! but the post was not! Still 0-0, unlucky by Van Persie and Arsenal (should be 2 ahead now).
65: FACT: RVP has now hit the post 7 times this season, second most in the Prem behind Luis Suarez with 8. 
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carlos Tevez are seen warming up for their respective teams. Can they do something about this 0-0 scoreline?!

68: Gareth Barry with the ball at his feet, Koscielny slides in to win the ball, but tackles late. Free-kick, and a yellow card for Koscielny.
He will now miss Arsenal's next two matches against Wolves and Wigan as this is his 10th yellow card of the season.
72: Through ball by Alexandre Song to Robin Van Persie who cuts inside the defenders before shooting past Hart... GOAL!!!!!, NO!
It's offside... Of all times to put the flag up this weekend, why now?!
75: How Arsenal are not winning now, I do not know for the life of me!
Theo Walcott with a shot which was saved and palmed away by Hart before hitting the post. Vermaelen slips and hits the ball across goal to Benayoun whose shot is wide.
78: Arsenal SUB:
Aaron Ramsey ON
Yossi Benayoun OFF

Manchester City SUB:
Alexsandar Kolarov ON
Samir Nasri OFF

82:
Manchester City SUB:
Sergio Aguero ON
Carlos Tevez OFF

84:
Arsenal SUB:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ON
Theo Walcott OFF
This sub should have happened earlier.. Not necessarily Walcott the player coming off though, as he has been dangerous going forward and caused City problems.

86:
Pizarro loses the ball from 30 yards out, to midfielder Mikel Arteta who takes one touch before taking a powerful drive from the ball towards goal..... GOAL!!! Hart was beaten! 1-0! The deadlock is FINALLY BROKEN! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! What a goal it was aswell..

Bullet: Mikel Arteta unofficially seals Manchester City's title hopes over in the EPL this season with a rocket goal.

Mikel Arteta celebrates scoring for Arsenal in the 87th minute to break the deadlock against Manchester City.

Nice Easter present for me, the Gunner! :)

88: Mario Balotelli fouls Sagna late in the Arsenal half.
He is already on a yellow card..... The referee blows his whistle, and looks at Balotelli before brandishing a card.., yellow! TWO yellows = RED CARD!!!

Bye bye: Mario Balotelli recieves his 4th red card since joining City in 2011.

He's finally off. The challenge on Song was a leg breaker, and how he did not get a straight red card for that I will never know..

90: Balotelli walks off the pitch slowly as the fourth official signals four minutes of stoppage time to be added on.
90+4: City's free-kick hits the wall, before Arsenal go on the counter attack with Ramsey, Van Persie and Chamberlain on the attack. Ramsey cuts inside the box before slicing his shot WIDE!!
90+5: The referee blows the whistle for full-time.
Arsenal beat Manchester City 1-0, even though they know it could have been 4 or 5.
Mikel Arteta's strike surely ends City's title hopes.
Striker Mario Balotelli lost the plot throughout the match, and deservedly got sent off.


Man of the Match: Mikel Arteta/Alex Song.


City are now 8 points away from United who are in 1st place.
Tottenham are now back into 4th place, Arsenal move back into 3rd place with a 2 point gap.



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I will speak to you all in the next post, which will be tomorrow in an Easter Monday Special LIVE, where the matches will be:

15:00:
Everton vs Sunderland
Newcastle vs Bolton
Tottenham vs Norwich City

17:30:
Aston Villa vs Stoke City

20:00
Chelsea vs Fulham