EPL Super Saturday LIVE Coverage:

Hello and welcome to my EPL Live Coverage of Saturday's EPL Matches!

Let me begin with the early afternoon match between Swansea and West Ham which started at 12:45pm.

Swansea 3 West Ham United 0 FT

New signing Michu, striker Danny Graham and an own goal from goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen gave Swansea three points at The Liberty Stadium against West Ham.

In the 20th minute, full-back Angel Rangel took a shot from 7 yards out along the wing before the ball slipped underneath goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen into the net.

In the 28th minute, an attempted back pass by West Ham defender James Collins was weak and found Swansea midfielder Michu who ran through on goal before poking the ball past Jaaskelainen to double Swansea's lead.

In the second half, Swansea play good football before Wayne Routledge's cross falls to striker Danny Graham who hits the ball towards goal before a deflection from defender Guy Demel hits the net to give Swansea a 3-0 lead.

Welcome to Wales: New £5.5million signing and midfielder Ki Sung Yeung is unveiled at Swansea this afternoon.

Deadlock broken: Angel Rangel celebrates the opening goal for Swansea after Jussi Jaaskelainen scores an own goal.

Bargain: Swansea midfielder Michu scores his 3rd goal in 2 matches in the 29th minute to give Swansea a 2-0 lead.

Remember the name - Michu: He celebrates doubling Swansea's lead at home against West Ham.

15:00pm kick-offs:

BREAKING NEWS:
Sunderland vs Reading has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. 

Called off: The match between Sunderland and Reading has been called off due to poor weather conditions.

Aston Villa vs Everton:

Aston Villa: 
Given, Lowton, Vlaar, Baker, Clark, N'Zogbia, Herd, El Ahmadi, Bannan, Delfouneso, Bent.
Subs: Guzan, Ireland, Holman, Delph, Weimann, Lichaj, Burke.

Everton: Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Osman, Pienaar, Gibson, Naismith, Jelavic, Fellani.
Subs: Mucha, Heitinga, Mirallas, Gueye, Barkley, Coleman, Anichebe.

Manchester United vs Fulham:

Manchester United: De Gea, Rafael, Carrick, Vidic, Evra, Cleverley, Anderson, Valencia, Kagawa, Young, Van Persie. Subs: Lindegaard, Evans, Rooney, Giggs, Hernandez, Welbeck, Scholes.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Briggs, Duff, Diarra, Dembele, Kacaniklic, Ruiz, Petric.
Subs: Stockdale, Kelly, Baird, Sidwell, Kasami, Rodallega, Halliche.

Southampton vs Wigan:

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

Wigan: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Kone, Boyce, McArthur, Figueroa, Ramis, Di Santo, Maloney.

Subs: Pollitt, Jones, Crusat, Watson, Gomez, Boselli, Beausejour. 

Tottenham Hotspur vs West Brom:

Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Vertoghen, Assou-Ekotto, Livermore, Sandro, Lennnon, Van Der Vaart, Bale, Defoe. Subs: Cudicini, Naughton, Jenas, Sigurdsson, Adebayor, Townsend, Caulker.

West Brom: Foster, Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewll, Yacob, Dorrans, Morrison, Fortune, Long. 
Subs: Myhill, Rosenberg, Brunt, Lukaku, Gera, Dawson and Jones.

15:00: The 5 matches have all kicked off.

15:03:

Old Trafford - Manchester United vs Fulham:

Midfielder Damien Duff has scored his 2nd goal in two matches in the 2nd minute for Fulham... 1-0 to the away side.

2 in 2: Fulham midfielder Damien Duff celebrates breaking the deadlock in the 2nd minute at Old Trafford.

15:04:

Villa Park - Aston Villa vs Everton:

Midfielder Steven Pienaar has broken the deadlock at Villa Park for the away side. Everton are continuing their good form from the 1-0 win against Manchester United on Monday by dominating Aston Villa away from home.

Nice one: Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar celebrates opening the scoring in the 4th minute.

15:10:

Old Trafford - Manchester United vs Fulham:

Manchester United have equalised! And guess you scored it?!!!
£24million signing Robin Van Persie scored an amazing left foot volley after full-back Evra's cross was delivered straight to him.

First goal in his first start: Manchester United striker Robin Van Persie volleys United into an equaliser against Fulham.

There is more to come: RVP is mobbed by his new United team-mates after equalising in the 10th minute.

15:11:

Carrow Road - Norwich vs QPR:

The deadlock has been broken with Norwich defender Simoen Jackson scoring in the 11th minute against QPR as they look to bounce back from a 5-0 thrashing against Fulham last week.

15:18:

Carrow Road - Norwich vs QPR:

PENALTY

QPR have a penalty after striker Djibril Cisse is brought down by new defender Sebastien Bassong.

Cisse steps up to take the pen... SAVED by goalkeeper John Ruddy but the ball comes to striker Bobby Zamora who shoots towards goal... GOAL!!!

On the rebound: QPR forward Bobby Zamora equalises against Norwich, after Cisse has his penalty saved.

Zamora scores the rebound for QPR. 1-1

15:30:

Villa Park - Aston Villa vs Everton:

GOAL

Ecverton have doubled their lead thanks to Monday's hero and midfielder Marouane Fellani. He scored a header from a cross which goalkeeper Shay Given struggled to save and the ball ended up in the back of the net.

Belgian boy: Midfielder Marouane Fellani heads Everton into a 2-0 lead against Aston Villa at Villa Park.

15:35:

Old Trafford - Manchester United vs Fulham:

New signing and midfielder Shinji Kagawa has scored on his Old Trafford debut to make it 2-1 to United.

15:41:

Old Trafford - Manchester United vs Fulham:

Full-back Rafael Da Silva has made it 3-1 to United! 
He heads home winger Ashley Young's cross.

15:44:

Villa Park - Aston Villa vs Everton:

Surely it is game over for Aston Villa now, with Everton striker Nikica Jelavic making it 3-0 just before half-time.

15:48:

HALF-TIME SCORES:

Aston Villa 0 Everton 3
Southampton 0 Wigan 0
Norwich 1 QPR 1
Manchester United 3 Fulham 1
Tottenham Hotspur 0 West Brom 0


16:03:

The second halves have all started in EPL.

Villa Park - Aston Villa vs Everton:

Aston Villa SUB:

Brett Holman ON
Nathan Delfouneso OFF

In the Norwich vs QPR match:

QPR have made their first substitution with defender Clint Hill has been replaced by young defender Nedum Onuoha.

16:09:
 
St Mary Stadium - Southampton vs Wigan:

Wigan, who today start life without Victor Moses have broken the deadlock in the 51st minute. 
Striker Franco Di Santo is the goalscorer.

16:18:
Villa Park - Aston Villa vs Everton:

It has gone from very bad to worse for Villa as young defender Ciaran Clark has been sent off after a late challenge on Everton striker Nikica Jelavic who was through on goal and could have scored.

Villa are now down to ten men and are in trouble.

16:23:

Tottenham are dominating West Brom, but cannot find a goal to show for it. £5million signing Emmanuel Adebayor looks to be warming up on the touchline, getting ready to come on.

16:25:

Old Trafford - Manchester United vs Fulham:

GOAL

The Manchester United defence have been given a nightmare with some poor defending before the ball hits captain Vidic towards goal past David De Gea who flaps at the ball but fails to save it from going into the net. 

Fulham are given a lifeline, with 20 minutes to go.

Manchester United SUBS:
Shinji Kagawa OFF
Ashley Young OFF
Wayne Rooney ON
Danny Welbeck ON

16:35:

Villa Park - Aston Villa vs Everton:

A consolation goal for Aston Villa as new £4million signing Karim El Ahmadi scores his first goal for his new club to make it 3-1 and make the score slightly more respoectable from a Villa point of view.

16:36:

The Hawthorns - West Brom vs Tottenham:

GOAL

Tottenham have broken the deadlock, FINALLY!

West Brom clear the ball away after a corner is taken but the ball falls to full-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto who takes a touch before unleasjhing a deadly strike from 30 yards out.
The strike takes a deflection before hitting the back of the net!

1-0 to Tottenham, but do NOT count out West Brom until the final whistle.

16:40:

St Mary's Stadium - Southampton vs Wigan:

Defender Jos Hooiveld has had a header hit the crossbar in the 80th minute as Southampton look for an equlaiser at home against Wigan.

16:46:

Villa Park - Aston Villa vs Everton: 

£6million forward Kevin Mirallas has come off the bench for Everton to score, but he has had the goal disallowed for offside.
Unlucky.

16:48:

St Mary Stadium - Southampton vs Wigan:
 
GOAL

Wigan striker Aroune Kone has broken Southampton hearts with a late winner in the 88th minute. First goal for his new club and now it is surely game over for Southamptona and the three points will go to Wigan. 

Game over: New srtriker Aroune Kone ended the match against Southampton with a 88th minute strike.

16:51:

The Hawthorns - West Brom vs Tottenham:

GOAL

Midfielder James Morrison has equalised with a LATE goal for West Brom.
1-1 against Tottenham and they have secured a crucial point at home against a tough Spurs side who have not taken their chances. 

Equaliser: Midfielder James Morrison (first left) celebrates his late goal against Tottenham to give his side a point.

16:53:

Old Trafford - Manchester United vs Fulham:

Striker Wayne Rooney has had to be stretchered off for United, after having a gaping wound on his knee because of being caught by flying studs.  

Big wound: Striker Wayne Rooney clutches his leg after getting caught by studs late in the match.

In a bad way: Wayne Rooney had to be stretchered off the pitch and could face months off the pitch.

16:54:

FULL-TIME SCORES:

West Brom 1 Tottenham 1
Manchester United 3 Fulham 2
Southampton 0 Wigan 2
Aston Villa 1 Everton 3
Norwich 1 QPR 1

17:15:

Chelsea vs Newcastle:

Team Line-ups:

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole, Mikel, Meireles Mata, Hazard, Bertrand, Torres.

Subs: Turnbull, Essien, Romeu, Ramires, Lampard, Oscar, Sturridge. 

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, S Taylor, Santon, Gutierrez, Anita, Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Ba, Cisse.

Subs: Harper, Williamson, Perch, R Taylor, Amalfitano, Marveaux, Obertan.

17:30: The match has kicked off at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea host Newcastle.

17:55:

Chelsea 1 Newcastle 0
Eden Hazard has scored a penalty for The Blues in the 22nd minute after Torres was fouled by Newcastle's new £5million signing Vurnon Anita inside the box.

Impressive: Eden Hazard scores his first goal for Chelsea to score against Newcastle in the 22nd minute.

That's the one: £32million Eden Hazard celebrates his goal with team-mate Fernando Torres.

18:02: I will do a match result analysis of Chelsea vs Newcastle tomorrow, along with the LIVE Commentaries of Stoke vs Arsenal and Liverpool vs Manchester City.

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog, and I will speak to you all tomorrow in my next post.
Do not be afraid to post comments on issues involving football.
Please spread my blog to your friends and family who are interested in soccer so that the football blogging community can grow.
I am grateful for all of the daily views that I get and followers that I have, because it motivates me to post more often and longer despite the fact that it takes a lot of time.

P.S. Watch Match Of The Day tonight! :)

Super Sunday EPL Special LIVE, PFA Player (and Young) of the Year Coverage:

Super Sunday EPL Special LIVE:

Today:

12:30pm:

Manchester United 4 Everton 4

This match was played at Old Trafford, as 1st placed United hosted 7th placed Everton. 

Striker Nikica Jelavic broke the deadlock in the 34th minute after heading the ball from an impossible angle past De Gea which hit the post before hitting the net.

Deadlock broken: Jelavic heads Everton ahead against Manchester United in the 34th minute at Old Trafford to make it 1-0.

Shock start: Jelavic celebrates his goal with his team-mates, after he opened the scoring against Manchester United.

Wayne Rooney equalised just before half-time in the 41st minute to ensure Everton would not take a lead into the second half.

Striker Wayne Rooney's header beats goalkeeper Tim Howard to equalise for United in the 41st minute.

After half-time, in the 57th minute striker Danny Welbeck did a fake shot past two defenders before placing the ball into the top right hand corner of the net from 20 yards out.

Power over placement: Young striker Danny Welbeck makes it 2-1 to United with a beautiful effort.

Winger Nani used his incredible pace to push past the Everton defenders before chipping the ball over Tim Howard's head into the goal-mouth in the 61st minute to make it 3-1 to United.

Cheeky chip: Winger Nani chips 'keeper Howard to give United a 3-1 lead in the 61st minute.

If only you knew: Nani celebrates with Evra, Welbeck and Carrick, thinking that the match is over.

In the 69th minute, midfielder Marouane Fellani hit a clean volley past goalkeeper David De Gea to put Everton back into the match from a cross.

Back in the match: Fellani celebrates his goal with his team-mates to make it 3-2 against Manchester United.

2 minutes later, striker Wayne Rooney scored his second goal of the match to give United a 4-2 lead.

Is it over yet? Wayne Rooney scored his 34th goal of the season to make it 4-2 against Everton.

In the 83rd minute, striker Nikica Jelavic scored a late goal to give Everton  hope of getting something out off the match..

6th goal in the EPL: Nikica Jelavic scores his second of the match, to make it 4-3 against United with 5 minutes to play.

2 minutes later, midfielder Steven Pienaar took a shot from inside the box in the 85th minute which beat De Gea before hitting the back off the net to make it 4-4, and complete an amazing comeback.

Steven Pienaar scores his 5th goal of the season, and it was his most important as he made it 4-4 against United.

Comeback kings: Everton celebrate Pienaar's goal to equalise against United and earn a point in the race against their rivals Liverpool for 7th place.

United pressed for a late goal, but Everton stayed strong for the last 10 minutes (5 minutes of stoppage time), and took a well earned point from Old Trafford (while scoring 4 at OT), which is not an easy thing to do.

16:00pm:
 

Wolves 0 Manchester City 2 

This match was played at Molienuex, as 20th placed Wolves HAD to win against Manchester City, or they would be relegated to the Championship.
Manchester City needed a win, to close the gap between them and 1st placed rivals United to only 3 points after United failed to beat Everton earlier in the day.


Striker Sergio Aguero finally broke the deadlock for the away side in the 27th minute after a heap of chances were all wasted.

Finally: Sergio Aguero breaks the deadlock in the 27th minute to give Manchester City the lead at Molienuex.

22nd goal in the EPL: Aguero wheels away to celebrate his goal against Wolves.

Liverpool 0 West Bromwich Albion 1 
This match was played at Anfield, as 8th placed Liverpool had the chance to overtake rivals Everton into 7th place.

Striker Peter Odemiwngie scored the only goal of the match in the 78th minute, to give the away side the three points at Anfield.


PFA Player of the Year Winner:

Robin Van Persie  (Arsenal)

Captain Fantastic: 34 goals this season in all competitions for Van Persie.

2nd place: David Silva (Manchester City)

3rd place: Wayne Rooney (Manchester Untied)


PFA Young Player of the Year Winner:

Kyle Walker (Tottenham)

Young startlet: Full-back Kyle Walker is a favourite to play for England at Euro 2012.

2nd place:
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

3rd place:
Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea) 

PFA EPL Team of the Year:


Goalkeeper: Joe Hart
Defenders: Vincent Kompany, Fabricio Coloccini, Leighton Baines, Kyle Walker. 
Midfielders: Yaya Toure, David Silva, Scott Parker, Gareth Bale.
Strikers: Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney.

LIVE Coverage of the EPL (Round 34) and FA Cup Semi-Final:

LIVE Commentary and Coverage of Manchester United vs Aston Villa and Chelsea vs Tottenham:

Manchester United vs Aston Villa: LIVE from 16:00pm
This match will come from Old Trafford as EPL leaders Manchester United have the chance to move 5 points clear of rivals Manchester City in 2nd placed who beat Norwich 6-1 yesterday.
Aston Villa who are in 15th place, have a job to do if they are to beat United.
Team news coming from 15:00pm

Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur:

Two London rivals face each other at Wembley for a place in the final of the FA Cup.
Chelsea may rest some of their most experienced players, as they have to play against Barcelona in the semi-final of the Champions League early next week.
Liverpool will face the winner of this match, in the final in May.

Team news coming from 17:30pm

This has all of the makings of being an epic semi-final between these two. 
Expect controversy, drama, tackles, fouls, cards galore and a lot of talent. 

Manchester United vs Aston Villa:
Team Line-ups:

Man Utd:

De Gea, Rafael, Evans, Ferdinand, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Young, Scholes, Rooney, Welbeck. 
Subs: Amos, Jones, Berbatov, Nani, Cleverley, Hernandez and Giggs.

United have a strong first team, with a strong bench also. Nani, Ryan Giggs and Javier Hernandez are among the subs. 
Winger Ashley Young starts against his old club Aston Villa.


Aston Villa:

Given, Hutton, Lichaj, Collins, Baker, Bannan, Ireland, Clark, Gardner, Agbonlahor, Weimann. 
Subs: Guzan, N'Zogbia, Heskey, Delfouneso, Cuellar, Johnson and Carruthers. 

Midfielder Charles N'Zogbia and strikwe Nathan Delfouneso are both the attacking options that manager Alex Mcleish has on his subs bench today against United. He may need them... 


FACT: Villa last beat Manchester United in 2009. Can they shock them again today?!

EPL News: 

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed young defender Fabio will go out on loan next season.

He is not getting as much first-team action, as he could so a loan spell is not a bad idea.

Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has thanked manager Roberto Mancini for keeping faith in him. 

Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko wants midfielder Luka Modric to join Manchester City this Summer. 

Modric may want to leave Tottenham in the summer, if they fail to get Champions League football.

Winger Royston Drenthe is ready to move to the other side of Merseyside to join Liverpool on a permanent deal in the Summer from Real Madrid.

Chelsea's £8million goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois wants to stay another season at boyhood club Atletico Madrid.

Tottenham defender Vedran Corluka wants to leave Tottenham at the end of the season, and join German side Bayer Leverkusen in a permanent deal, after having a successful loan spell.

Manchester United coaches are scouting in Spain for Athletic Bilbao winger Iker Muniain. Reports suggest that a £20million bid is being lined up by Sir Alex Ferguson.

15:45:
Manchester United vs Aston Villa: LIVE
It is half-time at Old Trafford here.
Striker Wayne Rooney broke the deadlock for the home side in the 7th minute, from the penalty spot after winger and former Villa player Ashley Young was tripped by defender Ciaran Clark inside the box. 

Should be in the Olympic Diving team: Ashley Young with a dive inside the box after a small trip by Ciaran Clark.

Striker Wayne Rooney cooly slots away a goal from the penalty spot to give United the lead after 7 minutes.

Mobbed: Manchester United celebrate scoring from the penalty spot. Rooney has now scored 23 goals this season.

In the 44th minute, striker Danny Welbeck doubled United's lead after some poor defending which allowed him to strike at the far post.

Danny Welbeck takes advantage of some poor Villa defending to slide in a goal at the far end to give United a 2-0 lead going into half-time.

FACT: Manchester United have now been awarded 11 penalties this season.
More than any other side in the EPL this season, and the most since Chelsea in the 2009-10 season.


We are into the last 10 minutes, with Wayne Rooney scoring his 2nd goal of the day with the outside of the foot in the 74th minute before being substituted for Dimitar Berbatov.
Paul Scholes and Ashley Young have both been subbed and Tom Cleverley and Luis Nani have both come on.

Aston Villa have looked more lively in the second half, especially when striker Emile Heskey replaced injured defender Ciaran Clark. 


17:55:
FULL-TIME:
Manchester United 4 Aston Villa 0

Winger Nani chipped goalkeeper Shay Given in the 90+2nd minute to make it 4-0 to United, to complete a thrashing against Villa, and keep the presure on 2nd placed rivals City who are now 5 points away from United...



Aston Villa did not help themselves in the match, with comical and sloppy (not to mention!) poor defending which gave United three points without getting into top gear.

For instance, Wayne Rooney who hardly played well today, scored twice.
United had 18 shots at goal, and could have easily scored 6 or 7 goals today.
Alex McLeish should have started Charles N'Zogbia and Emile Heskey, as they had a direct impact on the match and made United sweat in defence.

FA Cup Semi-Final LIVE from Wembley:


Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea: LIVE
60 minutes gone at Wembley, as London rivals Tottenham and Chelsea face each other in a tense derby match.

Striker Didier Drogba scored a bullet from 16 yards out to beat goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead going into half-time.

Bullet: Didier Drogba avoids a tackle from Tottenham defender William Gallas to score a belter past Cudicini.

Celebration time: Didier Drogba scores his 1st goal of the FA Cup this season to give Chelsea the lead against Tottenham in the semi-final.

Controversy gave Chelsea another goal in the 49th minute, after defender David Luiz's header was parried by goalkeeper Brad Friedel before winger Juan Mata's shot hit two defenders near the goal-line before being cleared away by full-back Assou-Ekotto, WITHOUT actually crossing the line.

Controversy: The referee gave Chelsea the goal, even though the ball CLEARLY DID NOT cross the line and was cleared away.

Winger Gareth Bale scored a tap-in after Adebayor was fouled by Petr Cech inside the box in the 56th minute, to give Tottenham hope of a Wembley final against Liverpool in May. 

12th of the season: Winger Gareth Bale's tap-in made it 2-1 against Chelsea.

Midfielder Ramires made it 3-1 with a delicate chip past Cudicini in the 77th minute, after a long run with pace.

Before key midfielder Frank Lampard ended the match and Tottenham's FA Cup for another season in the 81st minute after a curling and fast free-kick which flew past the wall and the goalkeeper before feriously hitting the back of the net.

Midfielder Frank Lampard's curling free-kick from 30 yards out beat the wall and Tottenham goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini to make it 4-1 to Chelsea.

FA Cup Final:

Chelsea vs Liverpool: LIVE from Wembley on Saturday May the 5th.

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