Today's EPL and FA Cup Results:

Today's EPL (Round 33) and FA Cup Semi-Final Results, Analysis:

Today's EPL Matches:

Norwich City 1 Manchester City 6
This match was played at Carrow Road as 10th placed Norwich hosted 2nd placed Manchester City. 

Striker Carlos Tevez broke the deadlock in the 18th minute to make it 1-0.

Sergio Aguero doubled City's lead, 9 minutes later to make it 2-0.

Sergio Aguero celebrates his first goal of the afternoon against Norwich to make it 2-0 to City.

After half-time, midfielder Andy Surman halved the defiecit in the 52nd minute, to give Norwich hope of an equaliser.

If only they knew: Andy Surman scores Norwich's only goal of the match in the 52nd minute to give the Canaries faint hope.

But two goals in quick succession from strikers Tevez (73) and then Aguero (75), 2 minutes later made it 4-1 to the away side. 

Carlos Tevez completed his hat-trick in the 80th minute to make it 5-1.

Hat-trick hero: Striker Carlos Tevez scores his 4th goal of the season, and the 4th this week to make it 5-1 to City.

Before winger Adam Johnson rubbed the salt into Norwich's wounds in the 90th minute, to make it 6-1 to City.  

Unsung hero: Winger Adam Johnson scores in the 90th minute, to make it 6-1 to City.

What a result for Manchester City, but despite this manager Roberto Mancini still says that it is too late for a title win.
Really Mancini?!?!


City move within 2 points of Manchester United who face Aston Villa tomorrow at Old Trafford.
Striker Carlos Tevez has now scored 4 goals in one week, with 4 goals this season from 2 matches (which is more than a lot of players in the EPL). 
You have to wonder whether if Tevez was NOT suspended in October, City could be far ahead in the title race...


Norwich drop 1 place into 11th place with 43 points this season, which secures their place in the EPL next season.

Sunderland 0 Wolves 0
This match was played at Stadium of Light as 9th placed Sunderland hosted bottom club Wolves. 

There were lots of chances for both sides as both pressed for the opening goal and looked for clean sheets. Wayne Hennessey stopped Sunderland from scoring a late goal in the last minute, after midfielder James McClean's header was saved with his feet from 9 yards out. 

A point for both sides was probably the best result, although as a football fan, I would have liked for there to be some goals in this match.
Both teams stay in their respective positions.

Swansea City 3 Blackburn Rovers 0
This match came from Wales at The Liberty Stadium, as 14th placed Swansea hosted a dejected Blackburn side who unluckily lost 3-2 to Liverpool on Tuesday, in the last few seconds. 

In-form striker Glyfi Sigurdsson broke the deadlock for the home side to put Swansea ahead after 37 minutes.

What a loan signing! Striker Glfyi Sigurdsson scores his 7th goal for Swansea to put Swansea ahead against Blackburn in the 37th minute.

Winger Nathan Dyer doubled the lead before half-time in the 43rd minute to give The Swans a 2-0 lead going into the break.

2-0 up: Winger Nathan Dyer's goal helps Swansea to go into the break 2-0 ahead of Blackburn Rovers.

Defender Scott Dann scored an own goal in the 64th minute, to give Swansea all the points at home and complete a 3-0 win. 


Swansea move two places into 12th, while Blackburn are back in the bottom three, in 19th place.

West Bromwich Albion 1 QPR 0
14th placed West Brom hosted a QPR side full of confidence after their 3-0 win against Swansea on Wednesday.

Midfielder Graham Dorrans scored the only goal of the match for WBA, in the 22nd minute to make it 1-0 to West Brom.


QPR tried but did not succeed to equalise and get back into the match. 


 

 

 

Today's FA Cup Semi-Final Match:

Liverpool 2 Everton 1  

This match was played at Wembley as hot Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton went head-to-head.

Striker Nikica Jelavic broke the deadlock in the 24th minute to make it 1-0 to Everton.

Striker Nikica Jelavic places the ball nicely past 3rd goalkeeper Brad Jones to give Everton the lead at Wembley after 24 minutes.

Perfect start to his Everton career: Jelavic has now scored 6 goals in 11 matches for The Toffees.

Luis Suarez equalised for The Reds in the second half, after 62 minutes to make it 1-1 and gived Liverpol hope of a second final this year.

Striker Luis Suarez beats defender Heitinga to the ball before striking past goal to equalise for Liverpool in the 62nd minute.

Red half of Wembley: Luis Suarez celebrates his 14th goal of the season to equalise for Liverpool.

Guess who?
Striker Andy Carroll's header from a free-kick in the 87th minute, secured Liverpool's final hopes!

Striker Andy Carroll heads from a free-kick inside the box to beat the defenders and Tim Howard and gift Liverpool into the final.

Am I worth £35million now? Andy Carroll celebrates his 2nd goal of the week to put Liverpool in the FA Cup final against either Chelsea or Tottenham.

(MORE TO FOLLOW SOON)

EPL (Round 34) and FA Cup Semi Final Previews:

EPL (Round 34) and FA Cup Semi Final Previews:

This weekend is going to be very interesting, as there will be six matches (4 on Saturday, 1 on Sunday and 1 on Monday).

London rivals Chelsea face Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final, and Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton are in the other semi-final.

In the EPL (on Saturday), Sunderland host Wolves, Norwich are at home to 2nd placed Manchester City and more.

On Sunday, Aston Villa go to Old Trafford to play against defending champions Manchester United. 

 On Monday, 3rd placed Arsenal host Wigan.

Saturday (15:00 unless stated):

Norwich vs Manchester City:

Sunderland vs Wolverhampton Wanderers: 

Swansea City vs Blackburn Rovers:

West Brom vs QPR:

Sunday:

Manchester United vs Aston Villa: LIVE at 16:00pm

Monday:

Arsenal vs Wigan Athletic: LIVE at 20:00pm

FA Cup Semi-Final Previews:

Saturday:

Liverpool vs Everton: LIVE at 12:30pm from Wembley.

Sunday:

Tottenham vs Chelsea: LIVE from 18:00pm from Wembley.

Wacky EPL Wednesday LIVE:

Wacky EPL Wednesday LIVE:

What an action packed Wednesday night for English football!

The top three clubs all in action as 1st placed Manchester United face Wigan, Manchester City host West Brom and Arsenal face Wolves.

QPR vs Swansea is the 8pm kick-off from Loftus Road.

Yesterday's EPL Result:
Blackburn Rovers 2 Liverpool 3
It was an overcast dark night, as 19th placed Blackburn hosted 8th placed Liverpool in an important match for both sides.
Liverpool started off well, with two quick fire goals from midfielder Maxi Rodriguez in the 13th and 16th minute.


Then, goalkeeper Doni got a straight red card for a late tackle inside the box on winger David Holiett.
Blackburn's penalty was taken by Yakubu and 3rd choice goalkeeper Brad Jones stepped up and saved striker Yakubu's weak shot. 
Everyone thought it would be over for Blackburn, before top-scorer Yakubu halved the lead in the 36th minute.
Yakubu redeemed himself after his early penalty miss with a goal in the 61st minute from the penalty spot to level the match-up.
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll scored late on in the 92nd minute from a header to give The Reds all three points luckily in the LAST minute. 

Striker Andy Carroll heads the ball past goalkeeper Paul Robinson to give Liverpool all 3 points at Ewood Park.

Important: Andy Carroll celebrates his first goal since January, and what a vital goal it proved to be in the last minute.

19:45pm kick-offs:

Manchester City vs West Bromwich Albion:

Team line-ups:

Man City: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Silva, De Jong, Barry, Nasri, Aguero, Tevez.

Subs: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Milner, Pizarro, Dzeko, Johnson, Kolarov.

Big news for City, is that Carlos Tevez starts his first match for Manchester City this year after all the news and controversy around him. Can he make a positive impact?


Yaya Toure is out from the knee knock suffered on Sunday against Arsenal, so Nigel De Jong is recalled along with David Silva.

West Brom: Foster, Jones, Dawson, Olsson, Shorey, Cox, Mulumbu, Scharner, Andrews, Dorrans, Long. 

Subs: Daniels, Tchoyi, McAuley, Odemwingie, Hurst, Fortune, Roofe.

Star striker Peter Odemwingie can only make the WBA bench along with goalscorer Marc Fortune who scored in the 3-0 win at the weekend.

Wigan Athletic vs Manchester United:

Team line-ups:

Wigan: Al Habsi, Alcaraz, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Moses, Di Santo, Maloney. 

Subs: Pollitt, Crusat, Ben Watson, Gomez, Sammon, Diame, Stam.

FACT: Wigan have not scored against Manchester United in 512 minutes of EPL football.

Man Utd: De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Giggs, Carrick, Young, Rooney, Hernandez. 

Subs: Amos, Smalling, Park, Nani, Welbeck, Cleverley, Pogba.

Nani, Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley are all on the bench for United. 

Wolves vs Arsenal:

Team line-ups:

Wolves: Hennessey, Zubar, Stearman, Bassong, Ward, Kightly, Henry, Davis, Jarvis, Edwards, Doyle. 

Subs: De Vries, Ebanks-Blake, Fletcher, Johnson, Berra, Milijas, Forde.

Top-scorer Stephen Fletcher is on the bench for Wolves.

Interesting or what?!

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Djourou, Vermaelen, Andre Santos, Arteta, Song, Walcott, Ramsey, Benayoun, van Persie.

Subs: Fabianski, Rosicky, Park, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Squillaci, Jenkinson, Chamakh.

Defender Laurent Koscielny starts a two-match ban after getting his 10th yellow card of the season against Manchester City on Sunday.
Kieran Gibbs is injured, so Andre Santos and Johan Djourou are brought back into the frame. 
Aaron Ramsey also starts, ahead of Tomas Rosicky who played on Sunday.

The 20:00 kick-off:

QPR vs Swansea City:

Team line-ups:

QPR: Kenny, Onuoha, Ferdinand, Hill, Taiwo, Mackie, Barton, Diakite, Buzsaky, Taarabt, Zamora. 

Subs: Cerny, Gabbidon, Campbell, Bothroyd, Young, Smith, Wright-Phillips.

Joey Barton starts for QPR, after being dropped the whole of last month (let's not get into detail).
Shaun Wright-Phillips is surprisingly only on the bench for Rangers though.

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Caulker, Williams, Taylor, Sigurdsson, Britton, Allen, Routledge, Graham, Sinclair. 

Subs: Tremmel, Tate, Dyer, Monk, McEachran, Moore, Gower.

On-loan Chelsea midfielder Josh McEachran and Nathan Dyer both start from the bench for Swansea, as Danny Graham and Scott Sinclair are given recalls after being rested in the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle on Easter Friday.

LIVE Commentary/Clockwatch of all 4 matches:

19:45: The three matches have all kicked off.

19:51:

The Ethiad Stadium,

Manchester City vs West Bromwich Albion:

Striker Sergio Aguero breaks the deadlock in the 6th minute for the home side! 1-0 to City! He hit the ball from the edge of the box and it fell into the bottom corner of the net.

Super start by Manchester City, who have come out of the blocks running (unlike the 1-0 defeat on Sunday to Arsenal).

19:53:

Molienuex,

Wolves vs Arsenal:
Winger Theo Walcott ran with a lot of pace into the box before defender Christopher Bassong who tripped him up and held onto him before he fell to the ground.

The referee points to the penalty spot and brings out one of his cards.... IT'S RED!!

He had no choice, Walcott was about to score.

Early shower for you: Bassong tackles Walcott inside the penalty area, to get sent off and a three-match ban. 

19:54: 

Striker Robin Van Persie puts the ball on the spot, runs up to the white spot before stuttering.....

He chips the ball towards goal, WHAT A CHEEKY GOAL!!!!!!

1-0 to The Arsenal!

Dangerous: Striker Robin Van Persie celebrates his 27th goal of the season against Wolves with the rest of his team-mates.

FACT: RVP has broken the record, and now he is the first player to score against 18 teams in the EPL in one season since Ian Wright.

Lethal.

19:56:

Molienuex,

Wolves vs Arsenal:

GOAL!

2 goals in 2 minutes.... Theo Walcott with pace from the kick-off to confuse the defenders before cooly slotting past Wayne Hennessey.

The Arsenal fans including (me!) were still celebrating RVP's cheeky penalty finish. 2-0, and Wolves are in trouble in the first 10 minutes of the match.

Go like the wind: Walcott finishes off a great run against Wolves in the 10th minute with a firm hit to make it 2-0.

20:01: The match at Loftus Road has started between QPR and Swansea City.

20:04:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs Manchester United:
The home side are NOT struggling to contain the defending champions here... still goalless but if anyone would be the first to score, it would probably be Wigan. 


20:07:
Molienuex,
Wolves vs Arsenal:
'You don't know what you're doing' is the chant going around the ground. 2-0 to the away side.


20:10:
Loftus Road,
QPR vs Swansea:


Possession:
QPR 32% : Swansea 68%
Not really a surprise from Swansea, who love to pass the ball around to frustrate their opposition. Still 0-0 though, and the away fans are chanting, 'Boring, boring Swansea'.




20:13:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs Manchester United:


LOL.
Good refereeing by Phil Dowd.
Clumsy challenge by Johnny Evans on striker Franco Di Santo. Yellow card given to the young United defender, but Di Santo is also booked, for an imaginary wave of the card.


20:16:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs Manchester United:
Controversy at the DW here.
Striker Victor Moses heads the ball into the net from a corner but the goal is disallowed as defender Gary Caldwell apparently blocked goalkeeper David De Gea.

Controversy: Striker Victor Moses's header was disallowed as (bottom left) Caldwell blocked goalkeeper David De Gea.

20:35:
HALF-TIMES:


Wigan Athletic 0 Manchester United 0
Goal-less draw at The DW. 


Wolves 0 Arsenal 2
FACT: Three of the last five players who have been sent off in the first ten minutes of the match in the EPL have been facing Arsenal.


Manchester City 1 West Brom 0
Aguero has scored the only goal of the game to put City 1-0 ahead in the 6th minute. 


20:46:
Loftus Road,
QPR vs Swansea:


GOAL!
The deadlock has been broken, just before half-time.
A free-kick was whipped into the box, and midfielder Joey Barton was in the right place at the right time to tap into the net.

Leading by example: Captain Joey Barton celebrates with the QPR fans after scoring against Swansea just before half-time. 

20:48:
HALF-TIME:


QPR 1 Swansea 0
Joey Barton has put the hosts ahead just before half-time.  


20:52:
The 7:45pm kick-offs have all re-started, for the second half.


20:52:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs Manchester United:
United SUB:
Ashley Young OFF
Tom Cleverley ON 


20:57:
DW Stadium,
Wigan vs Manchester United:
Well, well... The title race is certainly not over yet.
Striker Shaun Maloney (who is involved in controversy with Ivanovic), has put the hosts ahead in the 50th minute.
A clean strike from 20 yards out which De Gea could not have saved at any rate.


20:59:
The Ethiad Stadium,
Manchester City vs West Brom:
Fans are erupting in Manchester!
First, news of United losing to Wigan before striker Sergio Aguero doubles the lead and his tally for the night in the 52nd minute with a simply tucked away finish.


21:03:
Loftus Road,
QPR vs Swansea:


Double substitution for Swansea:
Nathan Dyer and Alan Tate on for Wayne Routledge and Neil Taylor.


21:06:
The Ethiad Stadium,
Manchester City vs West Brom:


Nice passing between midfielder Samir Nasri and striker Sergio Aguero, before striker Carlos Tevez (who else!) clinically finishes the ball into the net.

Striker Carlos Tevez cooly scores past goalkeeper Ben Foster to make it 3-0 to Manchester City against West Brom.

1st of the season: Tevez salutes the City fans after his 6-month controversial ban from playing for City (after failing to come off the bench to play a match).  

There is only 1 Carlos Tevez!
Stadium announcer reads out Tevez's name, and the fans make a big cheer.


21:09:
The Ethiad Stadium,
Manchester City vs West Brom:
GOAL!
Playmaker David Silva with a neat chip over goalkeeper Ben Foster's head into the net. 4-0 to City, no coming back for WBA in this match.

David 'Delightfully Silky' Silva: Makes it 4-0 to City with a chip over Ben Foster into the net.

'That's the one': David Silva celebrates his goal for City to thrash West Brom 4-0.

Manchester City substitution:
Carlos Tevez is coming off for Adam Johnson.
Warm reception for Tevez, who scored his first goal for City this season. Fringe player and winger Johnson who could leave City in the Summer for up to £10million to go to Newcastle or Sunderland replaces him.


21:12:
Loftus Road,
QPR vs Swansea:

A controversial decision goes in QPR's favour, as striker Jamie Mackie runs from an offside position to win the ball from Anton Ferdinand before taking a shot which deflects off Angel Rangel into the net. 2-0 to QPR.


21:16:
Molienuex,
Wolves vs Arsenal:
GOAL
Midfielder Alex Song finds fellow midfielder Yossi Benayoun who picks the ball up on the edge of the box before curling the ball towards goal, and it beats keeper Wayne Hennessey.
3-0 to The Arsenal, and the three points are all wrapped up now if there was any doubt!

21:25:
Loftus Road,
QPR vs Swansea:


Midfielder Akos Buzsaky ends Swansea's hopes of getting something out of this match with a 25 yard drive which beat Michel Vorm.
Game over, and 3-0 to the home side.


21:40:
FULL-TIME:
Manchester City 4 West Brom 0
Aguero (2), Tevez and Silva all scored for the home side to give City faint hope of winning the title race against rivals Manchester United. 
They are now only 5 points behind, with the Manchester derby coming up in late April.


Wigan Athletic 1 Manchester United 0
FACT: Wigan have won their first match against Manchester United since their existence as a club.

Not just yet: Manchester United have not won the Premier League title yet after a 1-0 shock defeat to Wigan.

Wolves 0 Arsenal 3
Yossi Benayoun, Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott were all on the scoresheet for The Gunners, as they strengthened their hold on 3rd place and a Champions League spot next season.

Deadly hit: On-loan midfielder Benayoun wraps up the three points for Arsenal against Wolves with his 4th goal of the season.

21:52:
FULL-TIME:
QPR 3 Swansea 0
Buzsaky, Barton and Mackie all scored for QPR, as they move 2 points away from the relegation zone and surely you have to think they can do enough to stay in the Premier League next season after their 3-0 win against a tough Swansea side.


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EPL Easter Monday Special LIVE:

EPL Easter Monday Special LIVE:

Happy Easter Monday to you all!

Yesterday, Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta unofficially ended City's title hopes with a bullet strike winner for Arsenal in the 87th minute.

Striker Wayne Rooney and 'Golden Oldie' Paul Scholes were both on the scoresheet for the defending champions as they beat ten-man QPR earlier in the day.

Today, we have 5 different matches for you including Everton vs Sunderland and the North-London derby between Fulham vs Chelsea, with 3 different time-frames.
I could do the day in parts, but it will be confusing so I will do a BIG blog post instead.






15:00 kick-offs:


Everton vs Sunderland:
Team line-ups:

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Heitinga, Neville, Gueye, Fellaini, Osman, Pienaar, McFadden, Stracqualursi. 

Subs: Mucha, Gibson, Drenthe, Distin, Coleman, Anichebe, Duffy.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Turner, Kilgallon, Colback, Larsson, Vaughan, Cattermole, McClean, Gardner, Sessegnon. 

Subs: Westwood, Bridge, Wickham, Richardson, Ji, Meyler, Kyrgiakos.

FACT: Everton manager David Moyes has never lost to Sunderland in his managing career.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Norwich City:

Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Livermore, Modric, Bale, Saha, Defoe.

Subs: Cudicini, Adebayor, Van der Vaart, Kranjcar, Rose, Sandro, Nelsen.

Emmanuel Adebayor is replaced by Jermain Defoe who starts in strike along with Louis Saha.

VDV also on the bench with Niko Kranxjar and Sandro.

Norwich: Ruddy, Martin, Ryan Bennett, Ward, Drury, Elliott Bennett, Howson, Johnson, Pilkington, Holt, Wilbraham.

Subs: Steer, Morison, Crofts, Jackson,Surman, Hoolahan,
Barnett.

Newcastle United vs Bolton:

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon, Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Perch, Gutierrez, Ba, Cisse.

Subs: Elliot, Abeid, Gosling, Ryan Taylor, Shola Ameobi, Ferguson, Tavernier.

Deadly partnership duo Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse both start for NUFC. 

Bolton: Bogdan, Ricketts, Ream, Wheater, Steinsson, Mark Davies, Reo-Coker, Pratley, Kevin Davies, Petrov, Eagles. 

Subs:Jaaskelainen, Alonso, Knight, Klasnic, Ngog, Sordell, Miyaichi.

Marcos Alonso, Ivan Klasnic, Marvin Sordell and Ryo Miyiachi all on the bench for Bolton.

15:00: The 3 matches have all started.


15:04: Striker Louis Saha's shot for Tottenham (against) Norwich is well saved by John Ruddy.


15:08: Standout performer for Everton so far is midfielder Steven Pienaar, who is being creative but no-one can take any shots at the moment.


15:13: 
White Hart Lane,
Tottenham vs Norwich:
And the first goal of the day, has come at White Hart Lane... to the away side.
Midfielder Anthony Pilkington with the goal in the 13th minute.

Shock start: Anthony Pilkington celebrates his opener for Norwich against Spurs at White Hart Lane.

Yes!!!! Good result so far for 'the biggest Arsenal fan', me.  :)
Trouble for Harry Redknapp... :) 


15:18:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
Midfielder and captain Lee Catermole is getting stuck in with his tackles.
Has recieved a yellow card, and now has to be careful.


15:32:
White Hart Lane,
Tottenham vs Norwich:
The home side has equalised! It was surely only a matter of time, and guess who scores it!
Super sub Jermain Defoe who started today... Nice through ball to him from Assou-Ekotto, before he chipped Ruddy nicely to score his 5th goal in 6 appearances.


15:35:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
Everton passing well..., Heitinga with a chip to Fellani who volleys the ball from 14 yards out, but does not catch it well, and the ball goes wide. Still goal-less in this FA Cup quarter-final revenge match.


15:37:
FACT: Norwich are the first club this season in the EPL to have 10 English players in their starting 11 line-up.


15:45:
One minute of stoppage time at Goodison Park.


Tottenham vs Norwich:


Tottenham substitution:
Ryan Nelsen ON
Younes Kaboul (injury) OFF 


15:48:
HALF-TIMES:


Tottenham 1 Norwich City 1
Defoe equalised for Tottenham controversially as a potential penalty was NOT given at the other end a minute earlier after a shock start, 1-1 at half-time.
Consistency..


Newcastle 0 Bolton 0
Papiss Cisse, Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba all have not been able to influence the scoreline in Newcastle's favour at the moment.


Everton 0 Sunderland 0
Goalless at the break, but plenty of chances that Everton should have put away.
Sunderland came close with midfielder Stephane Sessegnon's overhead kick was just wide.


16:03: The second halves have all started in the 3oclock kick-offs.


16:12:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
Finally! Everton have taken one of their chances!
Striker Magaye Gueye scores his first goal for The Toffees after he hit a shot from a rebound.


16:26:
White Hart Lane,
Tottenham vs Norwich City:
GOAL
Midfielder Elliot Bennett takes advantage of the Tottenham defence's decision not to close him down, by taking an ambitious shot from 25 yards out towards goal., before beating Brad Friedel and scoring for Norwich!

Midfielder Elliot Bennett fires Norwich ahead at White Hart Lane against Tottenham in the 66th minute.

16:33:
Sports Direct Arena,
Newcastle United vs Bolton:
The first goal from this stadium to goes to the home side!
After 73 minutes, in-form midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa breaks the deadlock!
Wonderful solo goal, and Newcastle are close to 3 points today.
1-0 to Newcastle.


16:35:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
He has been troubling all game, and finally midfielder Steven Pienaar gets his goal!
Doubles Everton's lead with 15 minutes left, and Sunderland have not scored for 75 minutes, so 2 goals could be a big ask...
16:36:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
Another goal! 2 goals in 2 minutes for Everton, with midfielder Leon Osman's curling shot beating Simon Mignolet from the restart.

16:41:
Goodison Park,
Everton vs Sunderland:
No mercy!
Striker Victor Anichebe completes the domination, in the 81st minute with a goal for the Nigerian International.

16:43:
Sports Direct Arena,
Newcastle vs Bolton:
It was 1-0 to Newcastle, now it is 2!
Guess who scored it....
In-form striker Mr. Cisse, with his 10th goal in 9 matches after 83 minutes, which surely seals the 3 points for Newcastle now from a easy tap-in from 6 yards out.

16:52:
FULL-TIMES:
Newcastle 2 Bolton 0
In-form players Papiss Cisse and Hatem Ben Arfa with the goals to put Newcastle level on points with 4th placed Tottenham which gives their Champions League challenge hope.

Everton 4 Sunderland 0
You would not have thought Martin O'Neil's men would have been thrashed by Everton 4-0.
Even without top striker Nikica Jelavic, Everton comfortably saw off Sunderland with an inspiring performance from Steven Pienaar.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Norwich City 2
Tottenham fail to move back into 3rd place, and keep the pressure on rivals Arsenal, with a shock 2-1 defeat to newly promoted side Norwich.
 19:10:
FULL-TIME:
Aston Villa 1 Stoke City 1
This match was played at Villa Park, as 15th placed Aston Villa hosted 12th placed Stoke.
Midfielder Andreas Weimann started his 2nd match for Villa and capped it with another goal in the 32nd minute to break the deadlock for the home side.

Defender Robert Huth equalised for the visitors in the 71st minute to make it 1-1 from a powerful header to give Stoke a point from the match.


Chelsea vs Fulham:
Team line-ups:

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Hangeland, Hughes, John Arne Riise, Duff, Murphy, Diarra, Frei, Dembele, Dempsey. Subs: Stockdale, Orlando Sa, Kasami, Senderos, Etuhu, Briggs, Kacaniklic.

FACT: Fulham could leapfrog Liverpool, ino 8th place, with a win against Chelsea today.

Strong Fulham side, with Clint Dempsey, Kerim Frei (one to watch for the future!), Moussa Dembele and John Arne Riise in the attacking frame, while Danny Murphy, Damien Duff, Mohammadou Diarra and Brede Hangeland in the defensive style of play.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Bertrand, Mikel, Meireles, Kalou, Lampard, Ramires, Torres.
Subs: Turnbull, Romeu, Mata, Drogba, Malouda, Bosingwa, Sturridge.

FACT: Chelsea could move into 4th place, with a 2 goal win against Fulham today.

Didier Drogba, Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata all on the Chelsea bench, needed a rest ahead of a long fortnight.
Defender Branislav Ivanovic will probably play his last EPL match for rthis month, with a three match ban hanging over his head after an off-the-ball incident with Shaun Maloney (he punched him) against Wigan on Saturday just before he scored.
John Terry starts despite broken ribs along with John Obi Mikel and Fernando Torres.

20:40:
Craven Cottage,
Fulham vs Chelsea:
End-to-end 40 minutes in the match. Striker Fernando Torres had a shot from a dangerous area blocked by Hangeland, Midfielder Raul Meireles' shot was wide from 25 yards out, Fulham winger Kerim Frei had a low drive well saved by Petr Cech.

Both teams have had good spells of possession with precise passing by Dempsey, Riise and Frei for Fulham.
The same with Lampard, Ramires and Mikel for Chelsea.
Despite the rain, a good game of football but still goalless.
Two yellow cards for Chelsea, with Meireles and Cahill despite calls that they were harsh fouls. None for Fulham though who could open the scoring with Dempsey etc.
Chelsea breaking the deadlock would not be unsurprising though.

43:
PENALTY
Danny Murphy lunged into striker Salomon Kalou with both feet in from 16 yards out.
It looks a little bit harsh as Kalou was not going to score and defenders were behind him.
About to be taken, by midfielder Frank Lampard.
He steps up to take it.... and shoots.... GOAL!!
Powerful shot by Lampard, and even though goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer went the right way, the ball had too much pace to control and keep the ball out of the net.

FACT: Frank Lampard has now scored 150 goals in the EPL for Chelsea.

Fulham 0 Chelsea 1.

45: The fourth official signals only 1 minute of stoppage time to be added on here at Craven Cottage.

45+1: The referee blows the whistle to end the first half here.
The cameras are showing Fulham players still protesting the penalty decision, but it will not bring the scoreline back to 0-0.
Fulham are trailing by a controversial Lampard penalty just before half-time, and may feel they should be the side in-front at the break.


MORE TO FOLLOW SOON!