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.



Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
I appreciate the support from daily views and followers.
If you like what you are reading, then do not forget to follow me.
Do not be afraid to comment about the EPL or any latest football topics or opinions (at the bottom of every blog post)
Please spread the word to your family and friends who are interested in football (or soccer if in US, Canada etc.)

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

Saturday EPL Special LIVE:

Saturday EPL Special LIVE:

Welcome to my Saturday EPL Special LIVE, with 7 matches including Sunderland vs Tottenham and Liverpool vs Aston Villa.

Yesterday:

Newcastle United 2 Swansea City 0

This match was played at The Sports Direct Arena as 6th placed Newcastle hosted 11th placed Swansea. 
Papiss Cisse broke the deadlock for the home side in the 5th minute to make it 1-0.

Perfect start: Cisse breaks the deadlock in the 5th minute for Newcastle against Swansea.

The match was tense after this, and although Swansea pressed well for the equaliser, Cisse scored again in the 70th minute with a delightful chip from 16 yards out over Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm's head but just underneath the crossbar.

Papiss Cisse scores a beautifully placed chip to make it 2-0 against Swansea in the 70th minute.

Newcastle are now 2 points ahead of 6th placed Chelsea, and move into their spot, while Swansea stay in 11th place.


Papiss Cisse has now scored 9 goals in his first 9 matches.



Sunderland 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0: LIVE 
The early kick-off in the Premier League today, sees 9th placed Sunderland host 4th placed Tottenham at The Stadium of Light.
Tottenham only need a draw to leapfrog rivals Arsenal into 3rd place, but it will not be on easy street against a Sunderland side who has beaten Manchester City and Arsenal here.
60 minutes gone, and it is still goalless. 


Team Line-ups:


Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Turner, Kilgallon, Colback, Larsson, Gardner, Cattermole, McClean, Sessegnon, Bendtner.  
Subs: Westwood, Bridge, Richardson, Vaughan, Ji, Meyler, Kyrgiakos.


Sebastien Larsson and Nicklas Bendtner both start for Sunderland against their former North London rivals Tottenham (as they both used to play for Arsenal, Bendtner still does)


Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Van der Vaart, Sandro, Parker, Modric, Bale, Adebayor.  
Subs: Cudicini, Lennon, Saha, Defoe, Kranjcar, Livermore, Nelsen.

A strong Tottenham side, with VDV, Modric, Bale and Adebayor in the striking mind.
Two defensive minded players in Sandro and Scott Parker. Formation would probably be: 4-2-2-2. 
A strong bench also with Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe and Louis Saha all ready for action.

63: Sunderland pressing for the first goal here, good play by midfielder Stephane Sessegnon who is giving the Spurs defence problems.

64: Tottenham are looking to make a substitution. The first of the match.

Aaron Lennon ON
Sandro OFF

An attacking option for Spurs then. Van Der Vaart and Lennon on the wings.
Sandro already being recently booked. 


68:
2nd half possession:
Sunderland 31%, Tottenham 69%

69: Cameras on Harry Redknapp. One word: Frustration.

70: Lovely through ball by Lee Catermole to Phil Bardsley who takes a powerful cross the ball into the box for Josh McClean, who cannot keep the ball on the pitch. 
Goal-kick.

71: Midfielder Lee Catermole has gone down injured, now recieving treatment on the sidelines.

72: Quick ball towards Van Der Vaart by Aaron Lennon into space, he takes a shot towards goal.... Deflected by a Sunderland defender (near the hand) before being cleared out.


75: Sunderland subsutition:
David Vaughan ON
Lee Catermole OFF
Catermole's hamstring injury was too much to play the rest of the match. Unlucky, as he was important to Sunderland going forward and has been important to Sunderland going forward and at the back. 


77: Tottenham substitution:
Emmanuel Adebayor OFF
Louis Saha ON

81: Tottenham substitution:
Jermain Defoe ON
Rafael Van Der Vaart OFF

FACT: Defoe has scored 19 goals as a substitute. This is the all-time Premier League record.  
 

Sunderland substitution:
Kieran Richardson ON
Phil Bardsley OFF

I have team line-ups from all the 3oclock kick-offs.
I will give the line-ups after this match.


83: Goal-kick taken by goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

84: Foul by Tottenham full-back Kyle Walker on Sunderland midfielder James McClean. Free-kick taken by Sebastien Larsson into open play.

85: Sunderland corner taken by Sebastien Larsson, but nothing comes of it.

88: Sebastien Larsson has been booked for 'unsporting behaviour'.  


89: Foul by Tottenham full-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto on Sunderland midfielder Stephane Sessegnon. Yellow card given to Ekotto.


90: Foul by Sunderland midfielder David Vaughan on Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon. Yellow card given.


90+3: The referee blows the whistle for full-time here at The Stadium of Light.

FACT: This is the first time in 22 meetings that Sunderland and Tottenham have had a goalless draw.


Tottenham move into 3rd place, into at least tomorrow, when rivals Arsenal face Manchester City.

Spurs will feel disappointed that they could not get the win, as they had at least 15 shots and could not score at least one shot on target.
They had a lot of quality, but could not get the job done.


Sunderland will feel happy that they keep Spurs under control and took a point, but will be thinking whether they could have taken all three.

15:00 EPL Line-ups: 

Norwich v Everton:

Norwich: Ruddy, Martin, Ryan Bennett, Ward, Drury, Elliott Bennett, Fox, Howson, Surman, Hoolahan, Holt. 
Subs: Steer, Johnson, Morison, Crofts, Jackson, Wilbraham, Naughton.

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Neville, Gibson, Pienaar, Gueye, Jelavic, Cahill. 
Subs: Mucha, Heitinga, Stracqualursi, McFadden, Coleman, Fellaini, Anichebe.


Liverpool v Aston Villa:

Liverpool: Doni, Flanagan, Carragher, Skrtel, Jose Enrique, Henderson, Gerrard, Shelvey, Downing, Suarez, Kuyt.
Subs: Jones, Agger, Carroll, Maxi, Coates, Spearing, Bellamy.

Doni starts his first match for Liverpool as 1st team goalkeeper Pepe Reina is suspended after his headbutt against Newcastle last weekend.
Defender Daniel Agger is on the bench, along with forward Craig Bellamy and under-performer Andy Carroll. 
Maxi Rodriguez and Jay Spearing are also both on the bench to give Kenny Daglish help if needed.


Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Collins, Baker, Warnock, Lichaj, Ireland, Herd, Bannan, Heskey, Agbonlahor. 
Subs: Guzan, Weimann, Stevens, Johnson, Williams, Gardner, Carruthers.

A decent Villa side, with Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey in strike.
Barry Bannan and Steven Ireland are both in the centre of midfield.

Chelsea vs Wigan Athletic:

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Bertrand, Meireles, Essien, Sturridge, Mata, Malouda, Drogba. 
Subs: Turnbull, Romeu, Torres, Mikel, Bosingwa, Ferreira, Kalou.

Only 4 players stay in the starting 11 from the 2-1 win against Benfica on Wednesday night, with Sturridge, Meireles, Cech and David Luiz.
Full-back Ryan Bertrand is given his full EPL debut for Chelsea.


Wigan: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Moses, Di Santo, Maloney. 
Subs: Kirkland, Crusat, Ben Watson, Gomez, Sammon, Diame, Stam.

Two words: Victor Moses


Bolton v Fulham:

Bolton: Bogdan, Ricketts, Wheater, Ream, Alonso, Mark Davies, Reo-Coker, Pratley, Miyaichi, Ngog, Petrov. 
Subs: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Eagles, Knight, Kevin Davies, Klasnic, Sordell.

Midfielder Marcos Alonso starts after his first EPL goal last weekend. Ryo Miyaichi and Martin Petrov along with David Ngog are in strike.



Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hangeland, Hughes, John Arne Riise, Duff, 
Dembele, Diarra, Kacaniklic, Ruiz, Dempsey. 
Subs: Stockdale, Baird, Senderos, Etuhu, Frei, Davies, Trotta.

Striker Pavel Pogrebnyak is not playing for Fulham. Bryan Ruiz and Clint Dempsey both start along with Diarra and Dembele.
Alex Kacaniklic starts.

West Brom v Blackburn:

West Brom: Foster, Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Andrews, Odemwingie, Fortune, Brunt. 
Subs: Daniels, Tchoyi, Long, Shorey, Dawson, Cox, Scharner. 

Blackburn: Robinson, Orr, Dann, Grant Hanley, Martin Olsson, Lowe, Nzonzi, Dunn, Pedersen, Hoilett, Yakubu.
Subs: Kean, Givet, Modeste, Formica, Petrovic, Marcus Olsson, Goodwillie.


Steve Kean only makes one change from the 2-0 loss against Manchester United on Monday. 
David Dunn comes in for Marcus Olsson, who is on the subs bench along with David Goodwille.


15:00: The 3oclock kick-offs has started.


15:07:
The Hawthorns,
West Brom vs Blackburn Rovers:
Defender Gareth McAuley breaks the deadlock in the 7th minute for the home side. 1-0 to WBA. 
If results go their way, West Brom can move up to 11th place.

WBA Defender Gareth McAuley heads the ball twoards goal, to score the opening goal against Blackburn in the 7th minute.

15:10:
Anfield,
Liverpool vs Aston Villa:
Oh dear.., Defender Chris Herd has put the away side off the the perfect side against 8th placed Liverpool.

FACT: If Liverpool lose today, then they will have lost their MOST EVER defeats in a League season. (12) 

15:22:
Carrow Road,
Norwich vs Everton:
The deadlock has been broken here!
Striker Nikica Jelavic with the goal for the visitors in the 22nd minute. 1-0.
What a signing he is proving to be for The Toffees.

Super signing: Nikica Jelavic celebrates opening the scoring for Everton, against Norwich in the 22nd minute.

15:22:
The Reebok,
Bolton vs Fulham:
On-loan striker Ryo Miyaichi takes a shot... but it is over the bar!
Unlucky by the youngster.

15:23:
Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea vs Wigan:
Midfielder Michael Essien has been booked. First yellow card of the 3oclock kick-offs, and he has to be careful now... 

15:26:
The Reebok,
Bolton vs Fulham:
In-form midfielder Clint Dempsey thinks he has put the away side in-front with a goal, but it is disallowed for offside. 


15:30:
The Reebok,
Bolton vs Fulham:
Clint Demspey scores again, from a powerful free-kick - but this time it is not offside.
1-0 to Fulham.

,

20th of the season: In-form midfielder Clint Dempsey breaks the deadlock against Bolton in the 30th minute from a free-kick.

15:39:
Carrow Road,
Norwich vs Everton:
Midfielder Jonny Howson equalises for the home side in the 39th minute to make it 1-1.


15:45:
The Reebok,
Bolton vs Fulham:
Midfielder Clint Dempsey scores his second goal of the match in the 45th minute to double the away side's lead. 2-0 now just before half-time.
That will change Martin Jol's team-talk.


15:50:
Anfield,
Liverpool vs Aston Villa:
Striker Dirk Kuyt has just missed a great chance for an equaliser at Anfield!
He was in-front of goal from 2 yards out, but somehow missed a tap-in shot.
No wonder the newspapers are saying Kuyt may leave Liverpool for as low as £1million....

15:51:
HALF-TIMES:

Liverpool 0 Aston Villa 1
Chelsea 0 Wigan 0
Norwich 1 Everton 1
West Brom 1 Blackburn 0
Bolton 0 Fulham 2

16:04:
The second halves have all started in the EPL.


16:18:
Carrow Road,
Norwich vs Everton:
Nikica Jelavic takes a shot and scores in the 61st minute!!
Norwich did not play to the whistle, as they were expecting a drop ball from Pienaar's actions (after getting the ball stuck to his feet).

4 in 4: Striker Nikica Jelavic celebrates scoring for Everton. He has now scored 4 goals in 4 matches.

16:21:
Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea vs Wigan:
The deadlock is broken here! Controversy surrounds it as Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic's goal should have been offside as he was yards off.

Controversy: Chelsea defender Ivanovic's goal against Wigan was offside, and should have been ruled out.

16:24:
At Anfield, Stewart Downing and Jonjo Shelvey both replace Craig Bellamy and Andy Carroll.


16:30:
The Hawthorns,
West Brom vs Blackburn:
Striker Marc Antoine-Fortune scores in the 69th minute for WBA, to make it 2-0 to the hosts!


16:33:
Carrow Road,
Norwich vs Everton:
GOAL!!!! Norwich have equalised here!
Midfielder Aaron Wilbraham takes a shot which is saved, but he eventually goes on to lay-off top striker Grant Holt who puts the ball in the back of the net.


16:36:
At Anfield, Daniel Agger has replaced Jose Enrique with 13 minutes to go. Still 1-0 to Aston Villa.


16:39:
The Reebok Stadium,
Bolton vs Fulham:
GOAL!
Midfielder Mahamadou Diarra ends Bolton's hopes of getting back into the match with a goal from the edge of the box, after a nice run. 3-0 with 10 minutes to go.

FACT: This is Diarra's first goal for his new club Fulham.


16:40:
Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea vs Wigan:
Midfielder Mohammed Diame takes advantage of Chelsea full-back Ryan Bertrand giving him space, to take a shot. It goes past Cech into the net for an equaliser in the 82nd minute....


16:41:
Anfield,
Liverpool vs Aston Villa:
Defender Daniel Agger heads the ball towards goal, but it hits the bar before striker Luis Suarez taps the ball into the net from close range as goalkeeper Shay Given is down on the floor. 1-1! Suarez with the equaliser!

8th goal of the season: Luis Suarez heads from close range to equalise for Liverpool against Aston Villa in the 83rd minute.

MORE TO FOLLOW SOON!


Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
I widely appreciate all of the support from the daily views and loyal followers.
If you have not already, do not forget to follow me.


I will speak to you tomorrow, in my next post where:

Manchester United vs QPR
Arsenal vs Manchester City

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals Round-Up, The Weekend's EPL Fixture Predictions and Analysis:

UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg Round-Up:

Tuesday:

Barcelona 3 AC Milan 1 (Aggregate 3-1)

This match was played at The Now Camp as defending champions Barca hosted Milan in an interesting second leg of a quarter-final.

Striker Lionel Messi broke the deadlock in the 11th minute to make it 1-0, from the penalty spot.

Striker Lionel Messi slots home his 1st penalty of the night to open the scoring against Milan.

Midfielder Antonio Nocerino equalised in the 32nd minute for 1-1.

Good, but not good enough: Nocerino equalises for Milan against Barcelona in the 32nd minute.

Messi made it 2-1 in the 42nd minute from the penalty spot again to give the home side the lead going into the second half.

Messi scores his 2nd penalty to make it 2-1 to Barcelona against Milan in the 42nd minute, for his 14th goal of the competition.

Bayern Munich 2 Marseille 0 (Aggregate 4-0)

Olic 13', 37'

Olic puts Bayern Munich 2-0 ahead against Marseille in the 37th minute.

Bring on Real Madrid: Bayern Munich fans celebrate the 2-0 win against Marseille in the quarter-finals.

Wednesday:

Chelsea 2 Benfica 1 (Aggregate 3-1)

This match was played at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea hosted Benfica for a place in the semi-finals. Chelsea had a 1-0 away advantage coming into this match against a Benfica side who rarely lose in Europe.

In the 20th minute, full-back Ashley Cole was pulled down in the box after a sprinting run from the wing. A penalty was given and midfielder Frank Lampard hit the ball with venom towards the left bottom corner and the keeper could not save the ball.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard scores his 14th goal of the season in all competitions against Benfica in the 21st minute.

Defender Maxi Peireira was sent off after two yellow cards in the 40th minute, to put Benfica down to 10 men before half-time.

In the second half, defensive midfielder Javi Garcia headed the ball past Cech in the 85th minute to give Benfica a glimmer of hope.

A glimmer of Benfica hope: Javi Garcia heads the ball past Petr Cech to make it 1-1 in the 85th minute.

Midfielder Raul Meireles ended his former Portuguese rivals' CL this season in the 89th minute.

Midfielder Raul Meireles scores for Chelsea in the 89th minute, to put Chelsea through to the semi-finals of the CL.

Real Madrid 5 APOEL 2 (Aggregate 8-2)

Ronaldo 27', 75'                    Manduca 62'

Kaka 37'                                Solari 82'

Callejon 80'

Di Maria 84'

Midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo scores for Real Madrid against APOEL to make it 1-0.

Midfielder Kaka celebrates scoring his goal against APOEL in the 37th minute.

Jose Callejon celebrates scoring for Madrid in the 84th minute to make it 5-2.

Europa League Quarter Final Results (Just in-case you wanted to know):

Thursday:

Athletic Bilbao 2 Schalke 04 2 (Aggregate 6-4)

Valencia 4 AZ Alkmaar 0 (Aggregate 5-2)

Hannover 1 Atletico Madrid 2 (Aggregate 2-4)

Metalist Kharviv 1 Sporting Lisbon 1 (Aggregate 2-3)

The Weekend's EPL Fixtures Predictions and Analysis:

Saturday (15:00 unless stated):

Sunderland vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE at 12:45pm
Tottenham want to put pressure on 3rd placed Arsenal for the coveted Champions League spot and need to beat Sunderland to do this. It will not be an easy match against Martin O'Neil's men.

Bolton vs Fulham:
Fulham will expect to beat 16th placed Bolton, with the attacking flair of Clint Dempsey, John Arne Riise and Pavel Pogrebnyak.

Chelsea vs Wigan Athletic:
Chelsea will be without John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, but Juan Mata, Daniel Sturridge and Didier Drogba should still be able to cause a lot of problems for Wigan, and have a comfortable win. Can Fernando Torres score again?

Liverpool vs Aston Villa:
Liverpool have had a very poor run of form, losing to Wigan, Newcastle and QPR in their last 4 matches. They find themselves in 8th place, BEHIND rivals Everton in 7th. 
They will be desperate to get back to winning ways, with a win against 15th place Aston Villa. They cannot underestimate Villa though...

FACT: Liverpool have only lost twice at home this season.

Norwich vs Everton:
7th placed Everton go to Carrow Road against an under-rated 12th placed Norwich side.
Norwich's home form has been decent against a strong Everton side who need a win to stay 7th place. 
Drenthe, Pienaar and Jelavic will be dangerous for Norwich and will surely prove too much to handle.
 

West Brom vs Blackburn:
14th vs 18th place at The Hawthorns.
Peter Odemwingie and a decent WBA defence should be enough to see off Blackburn, but if Junior Holiett and Yakubu have a good partnership, Blackburn could move out of the bottom three with an away win.

Stoke vs Wolves: LIVE at 17:30pm

Stoke win against a struggling Wolves side who are fighting to stay in the EPL.

Sunday:

Manchester United vs QPR: LIVE at 13:30pm

United win against a lacklustre QPR side. Surely Rooney and co will be too much for Mark Hughes' men to handle?
If results go their way and they win, United will go 8 points clear of 2nd placed rivals City with 6 matches to play.

Arsenal vs Manchester City: LIVE at 16:00pm

City have to win on Sunday, if they are to still be in the title race, according to Mancini. They will have to face a tough Arsenal side who will look for revenge from the 1-0 loss earlier in the season.
Captain Robin Van Persie at the forefront for The Gunners.
Expect an interesting match, City could win but do not be surprised if Arsenal win (as they are at home and are chasing 3rd place).

5 points clear with 7 matches to play, Race for a European place is hotting up:

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is surprised that his side are 5 points clear of 2nd placed rivlas City.

After Monday night's 2-0 late win against Blackburn with goals from Valencia and Young.



Midfielder Luis Antonio Valencia celebrates breaking the deadlock for United against Blackburn in the 82nd minute.



Winger Ashley Young hits the ball past the Blackburn defence to double the lead, 2-0.

5 points ahead of City: Young celebrates his goal against Blackburn.

But to be honest, we knew that they would have the advantage ever since:

Tuesday 31st of January, when they lost 1-0 to Everton away from home.

Manchester United on the other hand, beat Stoke at home 2-0.

On Sunday the 11th of March, City lost 1-0 to Swansea away from home thanks to Luke Moore's header in the 83rd minute.

Meanwhile, Manchester United beat West Brom 2-0 at home.

On Saturday the 24th of March, City drew 1-1 with Stoke City at home after Peter Crouch's screamer was over-ruled by Yaya Toure's fierce 25-yard shot.


And on the other side of Manchester on Monday,
Fulham were beaten 1-0 away from home against United.


Why City CAN win the title:
They are unbeaten in the League at home.
They have deadly strikers


Why City CANNOT win the title:
They have not got any experience, and have not won the League since 1968.
Their away form has been dodgy this season.
The players are all having bust-ups with each other and fights.
Mario Balotelli and Nigel De Jong at the forefront.


Why United CAN win the title:
They have lots of experience, with 71 EPL winner's medals between the whole squad.
They have top-class strikers in Berbatov, Welbeck, Rooney and Hernandez.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has the knowledge to win it, having won it 12 times and being involved in the last 20.


Why United CANNOT win the title:
They are without key defender and captain Nemanja Vidic who bolsters the defence every time he is on the pitch.
Their form has been unpredictable, with losses against Newcastle (3-0), Blackburn (3-2) and a 6-1 thrashing from rivals City.

Race for a European place:

Liverpool have already sealed a place in the Europa Lerague, after their recent success in the Carling Cup.

Chelsea are the only English club still in the Champions League, facing Barcelona in the semi-final, while North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham are fighting for 4th place..

Current EPL positions:

3rd: Arsenal with 58 points

4th: Tottenham with 58 points

5th: Chelsea with 53 points

6th: Newcastle with 53 points

8th: Liverpool with 42 points

As you can tell by the EPL table positions, it is very tight between 3 and 6th (with only 5 points between Champions and Europa League)

Liverpool will want to move as high up in the table as possible (as top 4 is not possible anymore, and they already have qualified for EL)

Newcastle are in great form having won 15 matches so far this season, losing only 8 (with most coming from top 4 sides)

FACT: Newcastle could leapfrog Chelsea into 5th place with a win today against Swansea City.

Arsenal have won 7 out of their last 8 EPL matches, and face Manchester City on Sunday in a crunch match for a top 4 spot.

FACT: Arsenal have not failed to qualify for the Champions League since the 1997-98 season.

Tottenham won their 1st match in 6 against Swansea (3-1) last weekend, and are back and ready to fight for a Champions League place next season.

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I will speak to you all in the next post.

EPL Sunday Special including Newcastle vs Liverpool and Tottenham vs Swansea, EPL News:

EPL Sunday Special:

Fernando Torres ended his 6 month scoring drought in the league yesterday, as Chelsea cruised to a 4-2 win over Villa. QPR shocked 3rd placed Arsenal with a 2-1 win while City cameback from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 against Sunderland.

There were also wins for Fulham, Bolton and Everton, while Wigan beat Stoke 2-0 at the DW Stadium for their first home win in 7 months.

Newcastle United vs Liverpool: LIVE from 13:30pm

This match will be played at The Sports Direct Arena, as 6th placed Newcastle host 7th placed Liverpool in a crucial match for both sides in the race for a European spot.
FACT: If Newcastle can pull off a win here today, they will be 11 points ahead of Liverpool.

and,

Tottenham Hotspur vs Swansea City: LIVE from 16:00pm

4th placed Tottenham host underdogs Swansea City at White Hart Lane where Spurs can leapfrog 3rd place rivals Arsenal if they win today (comfortably with goal difference)
FACT: Tottenham have only lost 2 matches at home this season.

While we await team news from Newcastle, let's talk.. EPL News:

Gareth Bale has told Harry Redknapp he can't turn down the England job.


Arsenal will reportedly buy Cologne striker Lukas Podolski for £11million after the £11m striker snubbed Manchester United.



Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers has a release clause on his contract, which means that hif he left Swansea,

Tottenham are closing in on an £8m summer deal for Real Madrid's Lassana Diara.


West Ham are after Kieran Richardson from Sunderland.


Brendan Rodgers has risked pricing himself out of the Tottenham job by having a £5m compensation clause written into his Swansea contract.


Yakubu is set to quit Blackburn in the summer even if they stay up.


PSG are still very interested in Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez.


Wigan striker Victor Moses will reject a new contract, to move to a bigger club in the summer.
Liverpool are interested. 


Arsene Wenger wants to snap up French striker Olivier Giroud before Euro 2012.


Aston Villa are ready to move for Huddersfield top striker Jordan Rhodes.
This could be a big cultural change for a young player like this, from League 1 to the EPL (one of the best leagues in the world).
Is this a wise move?


EPL leaders Manchester United are ready to bid £15million have lined up a £15m deal for PSV Eindhoven midfielder Kevin Strootman.



West Brom defender Jonas Olsson is wanted by Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.


Newcastle and Sunderland are on red alert, after news that Manchester City may sell winger Adam Johnson in the summer.
Newcastle are the favourites, with £10-15million in the bidding war starting price.Team News:

Newcastle:

Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Perch, Gutierrez, Tiote, Guthrie, Ba, Ben Arfa, Cisse, Cabaye.
Subs: Elliot, Santon, Gosling, Taylor, Amoebi, Ferguson, Vuckic.

Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse both start in strike for the home side, along with in-form Hatem Ben Arfa.

Liverpool:

Reina, Flanagan, Carragher, Skrtel, Enrique, Shelvey, Gerrard, Bellamy, Carroll, Spearing, Suarez.
Subs: Doni, Aurelio, Henderson, Kuyt, Maxi, Coates, Downing. 
Jose Enrique and Andy Carroll both start against their old club Newcastle.
Jonjo Shelvey and Jay Spearing also both start for The Reds.
Liverpool have attacking flair on their bench, including Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez.


0: The referee blows the whistle and this match has officially kicked off at Sports Direct Arena.
2: Great atmosphere here, and reception for striker Andy Carroll who is back at home for the first time since leaving to move to Liverpool in 2011.
4: First corner taken by Steven Gerrard, cleared away by Cisse.
7: Liverpool free-kick taken by Gerrard, in the box for defender Martin Skrtel whose header goes over the bar! 
10: Former Newcastle striker Andy Carroll is the first player to be booked this match, after an obstruction on Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul.
11: Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye takes a free-kick into the box, for striker Papiss Cisse who heads the ball from 12 yards out......... into Pepe Reina's gloves.
15: Corner by Craig Bellamy into the box for Carroll, whose header is wide of the goal. Still 0-0.
17: Foul by Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey on Papiss Cisse. Yellow card given to the midfielder for a late challenge.
19: Cross by Newcvastle midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa into the 6-yard box to striker Papiss Demba Cisse who heads towards goal.... GOAL!!!! The home side are in-front in the first 20 minutes!

Cisse time: Papiss heads the ball towards goal before beating Reina and scores in the 19th minute against Liverpool.

Hand to the sky: Papiss Demba Cisse celebrates his 5th goal in the EPL since moving from Freiburg in January.

28: Andy Carroll has missed another chance here.... Not looking good in terms of goalscoring action for the former Newcastle no.9....
29: Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote has been booked, for a challenge on striker Luis Suarez. Captain Gerrard was about to take a quick free-kick, but Cisse blocked the free-kick with his leg as his team-mates were not ready. Yellow card to him also, for wasting time and decent...
35: Newcastle defender Mike Williamson with a header from 12 yards out.... OVER THE BAR!!
45: Cheeky foul by Liverpool defender John Flanagan on midfielder Tiote. Clipped the leg hard and was a late tackle.
Yellow card for the youngster.
45+2: The referee blows the whistle for half-time.
Newcastle are in-front by a goal.

45: The referee blows the whistle to start the second half at The Sports Direct Arena.
48: Foul by Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote on Liverpool defender John Flanagan.
Yellow card given to the Ivorian. Revenge from the earlier tackle in the first half.
57: Fouls galore so far in this match. Flanagan takes a shot from 20 yards out..... saved (caught)! by goalkeeper Tim Krul.
59: Pass by midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa to Cisse who shoots from 6 yards out... GOAL!!! 2-0 to Newcastle and Liverpool are in trouble!

Deadly No.9: Cisse celebrates his second goal of the match in the 59th minute against Liverpool.

65: Newcastle SUB:
Danny Guthrie OFF
Danny Gosling ON (injury)

74: Liverpool desperately trying to get back into this match-up, with Suarez, Bellamy and Carroll trying to work the goalkeeper. A lot of fouls still nonetheless, as Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi is replacing no.9 Cisse (who gets a warm reception after his two goals, one each half)

75: Liverpool SUB:
Jonjo Shelvey OFF
Stewart Downing ON

79: Liverpool making a double substitution here:
Andy Carroll OFF
Craig Bellamy OFF
Stewart Downing ON
Dirk Kuyt ON
Desperate times call for desperate measures....

81: Foul by James Perch on Pepe Reina. Obstruction from a clearance.
Reina is not happy though.... and headbutts Perch after pushing him.
82: Everyone is surrounding the referee and the two players..... Perch is on the floor... Reina has been given a card, and it is RED!!!! 10 men Liverpool now, and all their subs have been used...
Perch gets a yellow card for his part in the fracus.

83: Full-back Jose Enrique is going to play in goal for the rest of the match now.

90: The fourth official signals 5 minutes of stoppage time to be added on here. Still 2-0.
90+1:
Newcastle SUB:
Hatem Ben Arfa OFF
Davide Santon ON
Well played by Ben Arfa. Had lots of attacking flair throughout the match, and set up both of Cisse's goals.
90+3: Liverpool trying to get a consolation here with Suarez causing the Newcastle defence problems.
90+5: The referee blows the whistle here at The Sports Direct Arena. Newcastle beat Liverpool by 2 goals to nil.

FACT: This is Liverpool's worst league run for 59 years, and they are now in 8th place, 11 points off 5th placed Chelsea.

Now, Newcastle are 11 points ahead of 8th placed Liverpool in 6th. They are level on points with Chelsea in 5th place.
Liverpool drop a place into 8th, a point behind rivals Everton who beat West Brom yesterday.
Newcastle dominated the match, and deserved to score more goals with their chances at goal.
The foul count was 22, so it was packed with late and fiesty challenges.


17:45:
Tottenham Hotspur 3 Swansea City 1:
This match was played at White Hart Lane, as 4th placed Spurs hosted Swansea in an important match.

Midfielder Rafael Van Der Vaart put the hosts in-front in the 19th minute.

Spurs winger Rafael Van Der Vaart scores his 11th goal of the season against fellow Dutch team-mate Michel Vorm.

Goal time: Van Der Vaart celebrates with fellow team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor after breaking the deadlock against Swansea.

On-loan striker Gylfi Sigurdsson equalised for The Swans, in the 59th minute to make it 1-1.

Striker Sigurdsson shoots (and scores)! a downward volley to equalise for Swansea against Tottenham.

6th of the season: Gylfi Sigurdsson is proving to be a super loan signing!

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor scored in the 73rd minute to make it 2-1 to Spurs from a header from a corner.

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor heads home his 13th goal in the EPL this season.

He scored again in the 86th minute to ensure all 3 points for Tottenham who are now level on points with 3rd placed rivals Arsenal.

Finshed product: Spurs players celebrate their 3-1 win over Swansea, which is their 1st win in 6 matches.

Tomorrow:

Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United: LIVE from 20:00pm

United have the chance to move 5 points clear of 2nd placed rivals Manchester City who drew 3-3 yesterday against Sunderland.
It will not be easy though against a Blackburn side that will be the underdogs but beat United in the most recent match, 3-2.

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