Hello and welcome to my latest blog post, where I have LIVE 8 EPL matches on Easter Saturday for all you fanatic football fans to enjoy and dissect with analysis and your opinions.
Among those 8 matches is Southampton vs Chelsea, Sunderland vs Manchester United and Arsenal vs Reading.
United could move 18 points clear at the top of the table provided they beat Sunderland away from home, and City lose to Newcastle later today.
Before I go to the team line-ups for the early afternoon match at The Stadium of Light, here is some of the LATEST EPL News over the past few days, along with some highlights from the International break where many countries continued on the Road to Rio 2014 - World Cup Qualifying.
90: Substitutions galore over the last 10 minutes for both sides, with 6 minutes of stoppage time to be added on due to 30 seconds per sub - and all 6 subs were made.
90+1: United have not had much to do throughout this second half, just having to contain Sunderland.
90+4: Possession:
Sunderland - 38%
United - 62%
90+6: The referee blows the whistle to end the match at The Stadium of Light, as United comfortably beat Sunderland away from home to increase their lead at the top of the table to 18 points clear of local rivals Manchester City, who play against Newcastle United in exactly 20 minutes.
Nothing less than a win will do for Roberto Mancini's side, because if they lose at home today, they will have virtually lost the EPL title before the rivals clash a week on Monday.
My Man of the Match: Simon Mignolet
Standout goalkeeper, standout player for Sunderland today. He kept them in the match throughout, and made some great saves to deny Young, Buttner, van Persie as well as many others.
Wigan Athletic vs Norwich City:
Wigan: Robles, Scharner, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, Gomez, Beausejour, Maloney, McManaman, Kone.
Subs: Al Habsi, Caldwell, Di Santo, Henriquez, McArthur, Espinoza, Stam.
Norwich: Camp, Martin, Turner, Bassong, Garrido, Howson, Johnson, Snodgrass, Elliott Bennett, Hoolahan, Kamara.
Subs: Steer, Whittaker, Holt, Fox, Becchio, Tierney, Tettey.
15:00: All the 6 EPL matches have kicked off for the start of the first half.
15:08:
Liberty Stadium,
Swansea City vs Tottenham:
GOAL! Tottenham have broken the deadlock in the 8th minute, thanks to defender Jan Vertonghen. He ran 40 yards with the ball, before doing a nice 1-2 move with Welsh winger Gareth Bale who chipped the ball up into the air for the Belgian to cooly slot the ball past Michel Vorm into the net.
1-0 to the visitors.
AS IT STANDS:
3rd: Tottenham with 57 points
4th: Chelsea with 56 points
5th: Arsenal with 51 points
15:12:
The Emirates Stadium,
Arsenal vs Reading:
GOAL! Well-worked goal by the hosts, with a good pass and move with Cazorla before he has a shot deflected towards goal. Ivorian winger Gervinho was lurking, and he tapped the ball past the goalkeeper into the net! 1-0 to the hosts, but you cannot say that it is not deserved from The Gunners.
French striker Olivier Giroud had a half-chance earlier, and Arsenal are dominating the game so far.
Arsenal are still in 5th place, but as it stands;
3rd: Tottenham with 56 points
4th: Chelsea with 56 points
5th: Arsenal with 54 points
Much closer between 3rd and 5th now!
15:15:
Upton Park,
West Ham vs West Brom:
GOAL! The hosts are ahead after West Brom defenders fail to mark their men for the Gary O'Neil corner.
England striker Andy Carroll towers above everyone inside the box to head the ball over Ben Foster into the roof of the net! 1-0 to West Ham.
15:22:
Liberty Stadium,
Swansea vs Tottenham Hotspur:
GOAL! Welsh winger Gareth Bale doubles Spurs' lead away from home. Some nice team play with Vertonghen sees him bury a sensational strike past Michel Vorm into the net.
2-0, and if Spurs do not finish the match off now, there will be a LOT of problems.
15:25:
St.Mary's Stadium,
Southampton vs Chelsea:
GOAL! Good teamwork from the hosts, with Lambert, Steven Davis and Jay Rodriguez all exchanging passes before the latter hits a strike past Petr Cech into the net for a deserved 1-0 lead.
15:28:
Upton Park,
West Ham vs West Brom:
Great finish from the playmaker from the first goal - Gary O'Neil scored after controlling a Ricardo Vaz Te pass before shooting the ball powerful into the top corner of the net.
15:31:
St.Mary's Stadium,
Southampton vs Chelsea:
Chelsea defender John Terry wins a header to nod home German winger Marko Marin's corner.
The Blues have equalised, and Chelsea restore the amount of points they had at the start of today. 1-1, and this match has just got interesting.
15:34:
St.Mary's Stadium,
Southampton vs Chelsea:
GOAL! English striker Rickie Lambert scores a free-kick on his 500th league appearance from 30 yards out to restore Southampton's lead!
15:40:
The Ethiad Stadium,
Manchester City vs Newcastle:
French full-back Gael Clichy whips a cross into the box for Argentinan striker Carlos Tevez, who clinically finishes off the chance to break the deadlock for City, closing the gap back to 15 points.
AS IT STANDS:
1st: Manchester United with 77 points
2nd: Manchester City with 62 points
15:46:
The Ethiad Stadium,
Manchester City vs Newcastle:
GOAL! The hosts are absolutely dominating Newcastle now. French playmaker Samir Nasri shows some of that electric skill from his "good old days" at Arsenal to beat the Newcastle defender before playing in Spainsh midfielder David Silva to convert his chance well into the net.
2-0, just before half-time.
EPL News and Rumours:
Everton manager David Moyes has said that he will wait until he knows what his transfer budget for next season will be before deciding on his Everton future.
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert believes that he can hold onto rising stars Christian Benteke and Andreas Weimann, but it will be a fight.
Liverpool are leading the race to sign Ajax playmaker Christian Eriksen, with the Dutch side revealing that The Reds have scouted him a lot of times throughout this season.
Manchester United are ready to make a £20million bid for Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who wants to play first-team football every week to ensure that he has the best chance of developing into one of the best midfielders in the world and gets into the Spain national squad.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned all of his players that they are playing for their futures.
BREAKING NEWS:
Sunderland vs Manchester United: Team Line-ups
Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Bramble, O'Shea, Rose, Johnson, Gardner, N'Diaye, McClean, Sessegnon, Graham.
Subs: Westwood, Larsson, Wickham, Kilgallon, Colback, Mangane, Mandron.
Man Utd: De Gea, Da Silva, Vidic, Smalling, Buttner, Valencia, Carrick, Anderson, Young, Kagawa, Van Persie.
Subs: Lindegaard, Evra, Evans, Nani, Welbeck, Cleverley, Powell.
12:45: The match has kicked of at The Stadium of Light, with Sunderland hosting the side that beat them 1-0 at this ground on the last day of last season, but lost the EPL title on goal difference to Manchester City.
Robin van Persie starts for United, after having scored 3 goals in 2 matches during the International break for Holland.
Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs are all rested by Sir Alex Ferguson, with Welbeck and Cleverley on the bench.
The hosts meanwhile are weakened by the injuries of talismanic striker Steven Fletcher and defensive midfielder Lee Catermole. They will be hoping that they can get a decent result at home today against the side that are most likely to regain their EPL title this season.
A shock win for the hosts would move them up to 12th place provided results go their way today.
0: The referee has blown his whistle to start the match, and the first of many this weekend begins!
2: Early injury worry for United, as Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic puts the ball out of play, clutching his back. He has not asked for treatment however, so the match continues.
12:45: The match has kicked of at The Stadium of Light, with Sunderland hosting the side that beat them 1-0 at this ground on the last day of last season, but lost the EPL title on goal difference to Manchester City.
Robin van Persie starts for United, after having scored 3 goals in 2 matches during the International break for Holland.
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| On fire: Robin van Persie scored 3 goals in 2 matches on International duty for Holland this week. |
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| Suarez, I'm coming for you: Robin van Persie has scored 20 goals in the EPL this season - Luis Suarez has 22. |
Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs are all rested by Sir Alex Ferguson, with Welbeck and Cleverley on the bench.
The hosts meanwhile are weakened by the injuries of talismanic striker Steven Fletcher and defensive midfielder Lee Catermole. They will be hoping that they can get a decent result at home today against the side that are most likely to regain their EPL title this season.
A shock win for the hosts would move them up to 12th place provided results go their way today.
0: The referee has blown his whistle to start the match, and the first of many this weekend begins!
2: Early injury worry for United, as Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic puts the ball out of play, clutching his back. He has not asked for treatment however, so the match continues.
90: Substitutions galore over the last 10 minutes for both sides, with 6 minutes of stoppage time to be added on due to 30 seconds per sub - and all 6 subs were made.
90+1: United have not had much to do throughout this second half, just having to contain Sunderland.
90+4: Possession:
Sunderland - 38%
United - 62%
90+6: The referee blows the whistle to end the match at The Stadium of Light, as United comfortably beat Sunderland away from home to increase their lead at the top of the table to 18 points clear of local rivals Manchester City, who play against Newcastle United in exactly 20 minutes.
Nothing less than a win will do for Roberto Mancini's side, because if they lose at home today, they will have virtually lost the EPL title before the rivals clash a week on Monday.
My Man of the Match: Simon Mignolet
Standout goalkeeper, standout player for Sunderland today. He kept them in the match throughout, and made some great saves to deny Young, Buttner, van Persie as well as many others.
Team Line-Ups for the 3pm kick-offs:
Wigan: Robles, Scharner, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, Gomez, Beausejour, Maloney, McManaman, Kone.
Subs: Al Habsi, Caldwell, Di Santo, Henriquez, McArthur, Espinoza, Stam.
Norwich: Camp, Martin, Turner, Bassong, Garrido, Howson, Johnson, Snodgrass, Elliott Bennett, Hoolahan, Kamara.
Subs: Steer, Whittaker, Holt, Fox, Becchio, Tierney, Tettey.
15:00: All the 6 EPL matches have kicked off for the start of the first half.
15:08:
Liberty Stadium,
Swansea City vs Tottenham:
GOAL! Tottenham have broken the deadlock in the 8th minute, thanks to defender Jan Vertonghen. He ran 40 yards with the ball, before doing a nice 1-2 move with Welsh winger Gareth Bale who chipped the ball up into the air for the Belgian to cooly slot the ball past Michel Vorm into the net.
1-0 to the visitors.
 |
| Belgian brilliance: Vertonghen celebrates his 6th goal in all competitions for Spurs to break the deadlock. |
AS IT STANDS:
3rd: Tottenham with 57 points
4th: Chelsea with 56 points
5th: Arsenal with 51 points
15:12:
The Emirates Stadium,
Arsenal vs Reading:
GOAL! Well-worked goal by the hosts, with a good pass and move with Cazorla before he has a shot deflected towards goal. Ivorian winger Gervinho was lurking, and he tapped the ball past the goalkeeper into the net! 1-0 to the hosts, but you cannot say that it is not deserved from The Gunners.
 |
| Nicely done: Ivorian winger Gervinho celebrates his opener - and his 2nd goal in 2 matches for Arsenal. |
French striker Olivier Giroud had a half-chance earlier, and Arsenal are dominating the game so far.
Arsenal are still in 5th place, but as it stands;
3rd: Tottenham with 56 points
4th: Chelsea with 56 points
5th: Arsenal with 54 points
Much closer between 3rd and 5th now!
15:15:
Upton Park,
West Ham vs West Brom:
GOAL! The hosts are ahead after West Brom defenders fail to mark their men for the Gary O'Neil corner.
England striker Andy Carroll towers above everyone inside the box to head the ball over Ben Foster into the roof of the net! 1-0 to West Ham.
 |
| Striker Andy Carroll takes advantage of not being marked well enough to break the deadlock for West Ham |
 |
| Back with a bang: Carroll celebrates his 3rd goal for his loanee club West Ham. |
15:22:
Liberty Stadium,
Swansea vs Tottenham Hotspur:
GOAL! Welsh winger Gareth Bale doubles Spurs' lead away from home. Some nice team play with Vertonghen sees him bury a sensational strike past Michel Vorm into the net.
2-0, and if Spurs do not finish the match off now, there will be a LOT of problems.
 |
| Sensational: Bale hits a wonder strike against Swansea - in his home country of Wales for Spurs to make it 2-0 |
15:25:
St.Mary's Stadium,
Southampton vs Chelsea:
GOAL! Good teamwork from the hosts, with Lambert, Steven Davis and Jay Rodriguez all exchanging passes before the latter hits a strike past Petr Cech into the net for a deserved 1-0 lead.
 |
| Ahead: Jay Rodriguez finishes off a nice Southampton move with a placed effort past Cech. |
15:28:
Upton Park,
West Ham vs West Brom:
Great finish from the playmaker from the first goal - Gary O'Neil scored after controlling a Ricardo Vaz Te pass before shooting the ball powerful into the top corner of the net.
 |
| Rare: Gary O'Neil hits a strike to make it 2-0 to West Ham, to score his first goal of the season |
15:31:
St.Mary's Stadium,
Southampton vs Chelsea:
Chelsea defender John Terry wins a header to nod home German winger Marko Marin's corner.
The Blues have equalised, and Chelsea restore the amount of points they had at the start of today. 1-1, and this match has just got interesting.
 |
| All square: Defender John Terry heads Chelsea into a 1-1 scoreline after 31 minutes. |
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| Back in it - for 2 minutes to be exact: John Terry celebrates scoring the equaliser with team-mate Oscar. |
15:34:
St.Mary's Stadium,
Southampton vs Chelsea:
GOAL! English striker Rickie Lambert scores a free-kick on his 500th league appearance from 30 yards out to restore Southampton's lead!
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| Landmark: Rickie Lambert celebrates his 14th EPL goal of the season on his 500th league appearance. |
The Ethiad Stadium,
Manchester City vs Newcastle:
French full-back Gael Clichy whips a cross into the box for Argentinan striker Carlos Tevez, who clinically finishes off the chance to break the deadlock for City, closing the gap back to 15 points.
AS IT STANDS:
1st: Manchester United with 77 points
2nd: Manchester City with 62 points
15:46:
The Ethiad Stadium,
Manchester City vs Newcastle:
GOAL! The hosts are absolutely dominating Newcastle now. French playmaker Samir Nasri shows some of that electric skill from his "good old days" at Arsenal to beat the Newcastle defender before playing in Spainsh midfielder David Silva to convert his chance well into the net.
2-0, just before half-time.
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| Doubling the lead: Despite not having the best of seasons, Silva celebrates his 7th goal in all competitions. |
Thank you for reading my EPL Blog today, and for joining me for this LIVE Coverage.
I will have a match report of the evening kick-off match between 6th placed Everton and tough test Stoke tomorrow, along with the match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at Villa Park.
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Please spread the word to all your friends and family and people you know that have an interest in football (or soccer) to help me achieve a small aspiration of mine - to become a professional part-time football journalist.
Thanks once again for reading, remember to watch Match of The Day tonight at 10.25pm and stay safe. I'll speak to you all again very soon :)
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