The Weekend's EPL Match Predictions:

The Weekend's EPL Match Previews:

Saturday (all 15:00pm):
 

Aston Villa vs Chelsea:

My prediction: Chelsea edge out a win, with either Mata, Sturridge and Lamard/Drogba scoring. Villa will work hard, for team-mate Petrov who has been diagnosed WITH leukamia. 

Everton vs West Brom:

Everton comfortably beat a WBA side with a dodgy defence.. 

Fulham vs Norwich:

Could be interesting.... Fulham could win with in-form Dempsey and Pogrebynak scoring, especially as Norwich's top goalscorer, Grant Holt in out with a suspension.

Manchester City vs Sunderland:

City need to beat Sunderland to stay on track for the title this season. Aguero is out, but Silva and Dzeko not to mention Yaya Toure should edge out Sunderland.

QPR vs Arsenal:

7 wins in a row for Arsene Wenger and The Arsenal. 

Next up is QPR who are trying to avoid relegation this season. 

Can they do it? Yes they can. Robin Van Persie to the Rescue?!

Wigan vs Stoke:

Stoke should beat Wigan. Surely?

Wolves vs Bolton:Pray 4 Muamba. Play 4 Muamba. Win 4 Muamba.

Bolton will have Mr. in their thoughts, which should inspire them, especially as he took his picture from hospital on Twitter today. Looks good.

Against Terry Connor's men. Coca-Cola Championship calling?

Sunday:

Newcastle United vs Liverpool: LIVE at 13:30pm

6th vs 7th, could decide the fate of the postions of the two this season.

Demba Ba and international team-mate Papiss Cisse along with Hatem Ben Arfa vs Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard along with Martin Skrtel.?

Andy Carroll will be upset if he does not score on Sunday against his old club.

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

Draw. Swansea? Spurs?

I'm in the middle, but you would have thought that Spurs would see off a newly-promoted club!!!

Monday:

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

Another monday match in the Prem. 

3-2 was the score last time. 

United will look to stay 1st place with a thrashing this time.. Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck (pace-setter) and Ryan Giggs (engine) on-form.

De Gea the unsung hero.

EPL/FA Cup Quarter Final Replay Round Up plus EPL News:

EPL Round Up:

These fixtures were the last two matches in the EPL, from Round 30 which were not played on Saturday.

Newcastle were looking for a vital three points in the race for Europe against West Brom, while Manchester United could move three points clear at the top of the table with a win over 13th placed Fulham, who are only 6 points away from 7th placed Liverpool.

Sunday:

West Bromwich Albion 1 Newcastle United 3

This match was played at The Hawthorns as 14th placed West Brom hosted 6th placed Newcastle in an important match for both teams.

Striker Papiss Demba Cisse got the away side a perfect goal after 6 minutes to break the deadlock.

Striker Papiss Cisse beats 'keeper Ben Foster to open the scoring for Newcastle against WBA, after 6 minutes.

Midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa tucked the ball into the net in the 12th minute to make it 2-0 after a great pass-and-move from Ba and Cisse was finished clinically.

Midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa celebrates his 12th minute goal making it 2-0 to Newcastle against West Brom at The Hawthorns.

Cisse scored again to make it 3-0 before half-time in the 34th minute, to show total domination from the visitors.

£10million man: Cisse scores past Foster for his 5th goal for Newcastle since moving from Freiburg in late January. 

Shane Long scored a goal for The Baggies in the 53rd minute after captalizing on a Newcastle defensive mistake, but it was eventually a consolation.

Consolation prize: Striker Shane Long gives the hosts something to shout about despite their 3-1 loss at home.

Newcastle are now level on points with 5th placed Chelsea, and only 5 points of Tottenham (who are in 4th).

West Brom stay in 14th place, only 4 points away from 8th placed Sunderland, but only 4 points away from relegation trouble also.

This shows how tight mid-table is at the moment, with 4 points seperating the teams between 8th place and 14th place.

If I were Alan Pardew, I would be thanking Liverpool right now...

£35million, well spent (and he has not even spent it all yet!).

Monday:

Manchester United 1 Fulham 0
This match was played at Old Trafford, as 2nd placed Manchester United had the chance to move back into 1st place and three points ahead of rivals City as well if they beat Fulham, at home.
Striker Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, after Fulham failed to clear Ashley Young's cross which fell to defender Johnny Evans who set him up at the far post for an easy tap-in.

Striker Wayne Rooney places the ball past the Fulham defence into the net from inside the 16-yard-box.

Lethal: Striker Wayne Rooney has now scored 17 goals in his last 17 matches, and 28 for the season.

This was the only goal of the match, however United had many chances at goal which were saved well by Mark Schwarzer.

In the 90th minute, midfielder Michael Carrick tackled Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy inside the penalty area, and he could have scored. The referee did not give the away side a penalty, athlough several replays showed that they was contact and it should have been awarded.

Controversy: Carrick brings down Murphy inside the box in the last minute, but no penalty is awarded.

Now, United are three points clear of 2nd placed rivals City, while Fulham stay in 13th place.

EPL News:

Roberto Mancini has laughed off Sir Alex Ferguson's attempts at playing mind games.

Arsenal are ready to battle Fulham and Newcastle for Southampton youngster Calum Chambers.


Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko is wanted by German side Borussia Dortmund to boost their strikeforce.

Midfielder Mario Gotze has stopped all transfer speculation for now, after signing a new contract until 2015, which will deter Mancini from a fee plus trade for the youngster.


Sir Alex Ferguson will open talks over a new Manchester United deal for Rio Ferdinand in the summer - to kill off interest from teams in America, Russia and China.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson last night admitted he got it wrong in Europe, but vowed to make amends by winning his most satisfying Premier League title yet.


Goalkeeper Petr Cech says Chelsea will have a "lost year" if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

They are currently in 5th place, and if they do not qualify for the CL, Abramovich will be fuming.
He has always wanted the CL, but imagine how humilating will it be to not even be in it???

Midfielder Gareth Barry believes Manchester City must win all eight of their remaining EPL matches, if they are to pip rivals United to the title.
Even that might not be enough to win the title. Lack of experience could be their downfall, as well as mounting pressure from Roberto Mancini and the board.

Midfielder Darren Fletcher believes that he can complete his comeback to the Manchester United squad next season. The Scotsman has had a serious bowel condition.

Spainish side Real Sociedad are lining up for a £3.5million bid for Arsenal striker Carlos Vela who is currently on loan with them.

Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering lateral ligament damage in his right knee.

FA Cup Quarter Final Round-Up:

Tuesday:

Tottenham Hotspur 3 Bolton 1

This match was played at White Hart Lane as Bolton looked to move into the Last 4 of the FA Cup, especially for midfielder (and) cardiac arrest victim Fabrice Muamba who is currently in intensive care (in hospital).
During the pre-match warm-ups etc, every player and supporter in the ground had Muamba in their thoughts, after he collapsed during the scheduled match two weeks on Saturday.

Bolton captain Kevin Davies wears the 'Uniting for Fabrice' t-shirt during the warm-up, as support for his fellow team-mate.

Clap 4 Muamba: Tottenham Hotspur players applauding before the replay kicked off.

Along with us: Bolton players show their support for their midfielder and team-mate.

The match was a stalemate, until the 74th minute when defender Ryan Nelsen broke the deadlock for the hosts from a powerful header.

Ryan Nelsen's header opens the scoring for Spurs against Bolton at White Hart Lane in the 74th minute.

Winger Gareth Bale doubled their lead, three minutes later to make it 2-0.

Winger Gareth Bale fires Spurs 2-0 ahead, three minutes later against Bolton.

Captain Kevin Davies halved the lead in the last minute, to give Bolton faint hope of going to the semi-finals, before striker Louis Saha killed off the match in the same minute to make it a comprehensive 3-1 victory for Spurs.

Tottenham celebrate moving into the semi-finals of the FA Cup to face Chelsea, where they could win their first piece of silverware since 2009.

Highlights from the match (Bogdan vs Spurs):

 

Sunderland 0 Everton 2
This match was played at The Stadium of Light as Sunderland hosted Everton in a quarter-final replay.
Nikica Jelavic and a Mark Vaughan own goal send Everton into the semi-final at Wembley, against fierce rivals Liverpool.
Watch highlights from the match here:

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
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I will speak to you all on Friday, where it will be an EPL Preview and European Round-Up Blog post!

Today's EPL Results:

Today's EPL Results:

8 matches come from the Premier League on this lovely Saturday afternoon in England.

Chelsea host Tottenham in the early kick-off, Arsenal face Aston Villa, Wigan go to Anfield to face 7th placed Liverpool, Stoke City and Manchester City clash in the evening kick-off and much more!

12:45:

Chelsea 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0

This London derby rival match between 5th placed Chelsea and 4th placed Spurs ended in a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge. 

Both teams take one point, much to 3rd placed Arsenal's pleasure before their 3oclock match with Villa as they could move further away from their rivals in the race for a Champions League place next season.

FACT: Chelsea are now 20 points away from first placed Manchester United who have 70 points from 29 matches.

FACT: Tottenham have now drawn 7 matches this season.

15:00:

Arsenal 3 Aston Villa 0

This match was played at The Emirates Stadium as 3rd placed Arsenal hosted 15th placed Aston Villa. The home side were very eager to move 3 points clear of 4th placed rivals Spurs, and 8 points clear of Chelsea (in 5th).

Full-back Kieran Gibbs scored his first EPL goal for the hosts after 16 minutes to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead. 

Full-back Kieran Gibbs fires past goalkeeper Shay Given to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead against Aston Villa.

Winger Theo Walcott scored, 9 minutes later to double their lead.

Winger Theo Walcott celebrates doubling the home side's lead for his 6th EPL goal of the season.

Midfielder Mikel Arteta ended the match with a sweet free-kick in the 90th minute to put the icing on the cake for Arsenal's day.

Midfielder Mikel Arteta celebrates scoring a nice free-kick to gift Arsenal a 3-0 win at The Emirates.

FACT: This is Arsenal's 7th consecutive win in a row.

Liverpool 1 Wigan Athletic 2

This match was played at Anfield, as 7th placed Liverpool looked to get back in-form against 19th placed Wigan who are also in poor form.

Striker Shaun Maloney opened the scoring for the visitors after 30 minutes from a penalty.

Striker Shaun Maloney breaks the deadlock for Wigan against Liverpool from the penalty spot by beating Pepe Reina.

In-form striker Luis Suarez equalised for The Reds, 2 minutes after half-time before having another goal ruled out for handball in the 58th minute.

Defender Gary Caldwell scored the last goal of the match in the 63rd minute to give the away side all 3 points.

Late winner: Gary Caldwell pushes the ball past Reina to give Wigan their 5th win of the season.

FACT: Liverpool are on course for their worst ever finish in the EPL.

Bolton Wanderers 2 Blackburn Rovers 1

This match was played at The Reebok Stadium, as 19th placed Bolton hosted Blackburn in their first match since midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed last Saturday against Tottenham in the FA Cup Quarter Final.

Defender David Wheater broke the deadlock for The Trotters in the 28th minute, before scoring yet again in the 35th minute (7 mins later) to make it 2-0.

Defender David Wheater doubles the lead for Bolton to make it 2-0 against Blackburn.

In the 56th minute, midfielder Steven N'Zonzi halved the 2 goal lead after converted Morten Gamst Pedersen's pass but this was the final result, and it was too little too late for Blackburn.

Norwich City 2 Wolves 1

This match came from Carrow Road, as 13th placed Norwich hosted bottom club Wolves in a must win match for both clubs in their seperate (mid-table and avoiding relegation) goals.

Midfielder Matthew Jarvis opened the scoring in the 25th minute for Wolves to give Terry Connor's men a 1-0 lead away from home. 

1-0: Wolves midfielder Matthew Jarvis hits the ball past the defence and goalkeeper John Ruddy for the lead at Carrow Road against Norwich.

Just a minute later, in-form striker Grant Holt equalised for the hosts to make it 1-1.

Holt's header gives Norwich the equaliser against Wolves at Carrow Road.

Holt made it 2-1 to the home side in the 45th minute, before getting sent off (for two yellows) in the 85th minute.

The good of Grant Holt: Celebrates scoring his second of the day, and his 12th goal of the season.

The bad of Grant Holt: Holt gets a red card after recieving two yellow cards and now has a 1-match ban.

This had no positive effect for Wolves who eventually lost and did not take advantage of this.

Norwich move up to 11th place, while Wolves stay bottom of the table with caretaker manager Terry Connor in trouble if he wants them to stay in the PL next season.

Swansea 0 Everton 2

10th vs 13th in the EPL at The Liberty Stadium as Swansea hosted Everton.

Full-back Leighton Baines made the scoreline 1-0 to the away side after 58 minutes, from a sweet curling free-kick. 

Free-kick taken, free-kick scored: Baines curls the ball into the net to give the visitors the lead at The Liberty.

Striker Nikica Jelavic scored his second goal for the club in the 76th minute to ensure that The Toffees took all 3 points away from home.

I'll take that: Striker Nikica Jelavic enjoys his winner for Everton at Swansea in the 76th minute.

FACT: Swansea have now only lost 3 matches at home this season.

Sunderland 3 QPR 1

This match was played at The Stadium of Light, as 12th placed Sunderland hosted a QPR side who came back from 2 goals down to beat Liverpool 3-2 with 13 minutes to play in midweek.

Striker Nicklas Bendtner broke the deadlock for the home side after 41 minutes to make it 1-0. 

Striker Nicklas Bendtner heads Sunderland ahead against QPR after 41 minutes.

Djibril Cisse hit the headlines in the 55th minute, for the wrong reasons as he was given a straight red card (and a 3-match ban) after a dangerous tackle. 

Cisse sees red: He is given his second red card since moving to QPR in January - against his old club Sunderland.

Midfielder James McClean doubled the home side's lead in the 70th minute before Stephane Sessegnon made it 3-0, 6 minutes later.
Full-back Taye Taiwo scored his first goal in English football to give Rangers a consolation goal away from home.

17:30:
 

Stoke City 1 Manchester City 1

City had the chance to go back top of the table until at least Monday with a point at a tough side Stoke.

Midweek EPL Results and Analysis, The Weekend's EPL Previews:

Midweek EPL Results and Analysis:

Tuesday:

Aston Villa vs Bolton Wanderers: POSTPONED
This match was supposed to take place on Tuesday at Villa Park, but Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba's condition was too serious for Bolton players to focus on the football match.

Blackburn Rovers 2 Sunderland 0
This match was played at Ewood Park as 17th placed Blackburn hosted 9th placed Sunderland. 
Midfielder David Holiett opened the scoring for the home side after 58 minutes to make it 1-0.

Winger Junior Holiett breaks the deadlock against Sunderland at Ewood Park after 58 minutes to give Rovers a 1-0 lead. 

Striker Yakubu scored his 14th goal of the season to double Blackburn's lead in the 86th minute to ensure all three points for Rovers.

Heads I win: Striker Yakubu scores his 14th goal of the season - making him 5th top scorer in the EPL.

Pray 4 Muamba: Yakubu shows his support for Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba who is in intensive care.

Blackburn are now in 16th place with 28 points, while Sunderland are still in 9th place with 37 points.

Wednesday:

Everton 0 Arsenal 1
This match was played at Goodison Park, as 10th placed Everton hosted 4th placed Arsenal.
Defender Thomas Vermaelen scored the only goal of the whole match for the away side after 8 minutes.

Defender Thomas Vermaelen heads Arsenal into the lead at Goodison Park.

Celebration time: Vermaelen celebrates the eventual winner for Arsenal against Everton and his 5th goal of the season.

The home side had some controversial decisions that were not given including a disallowed goal by Royston Drenthe, and luck was not on their side on Wednesday. 


FACT: Thomas Vermaelen has now scored two winners for Arsenal in back-to-back matches.


Arsenal move up to 3rd place, 1 point above Tottenham while Everton stay in 10th place.

Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1
This match came from The Ethiad Stadium, as 5th placed Chelsea and 2nd placed City went head-to-head in an interesting battle. City were looking for revenge after a 2-1 defeat suffered earlier in the season at Stamford Bridge (which was also their first of the season), while Chelsea looked to make ground in the race for 4th place. 


This match was exciting from the start of the second half.... and the away side were surprisingly in-front thanks to defender Gary Cahill with a half-volley which took a deflection and sent goalkeeper Joe Hart the wrong way to break the deadlock after 60 minutes.

Wrong way: Goalkeeper Joe Hart is sent the wrong way from a deflection and Chelsea go 1-0 up against Manchester City from defender Gary Cahill in the 60th minute. 

Left-back Aleksandar Kolarov took a shot inside the 18-yard box which was deflected by the hand of Chelsea midfielder Michael Esssien, and City were awarded a penalty. 
Striker Sergio Aguero cooly slotted the ball past 'keeper Petr Cech to give the visitors hope in the 78th minute.
Carlos Tevez came off the bench in the 68th minute and had a positive effect on City's performance, which paid off in the 85th minute when his clever lay-off to midfielder Samir Nasri who chipped 'keeper Cech and scored a late winner for the home side.

Samir Nasri: Scores a late winner for the home side against Chelsea in the 85th minute with a cheeky chip over Petr Cech.

Jubilation: Celebrates scoring with Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko

This result puts City in 1 point of 1st placed United, while Chelsea lose ground for a top 4 place after Tottenham drew and Arsenal won so they are 5 points off 4th placed Spurs (and 6 off 3rd placed Arsenal)

QPR 3 Liverpool 2
This fiery five-goal thriller surprisingly came from Loftus Road, home of 18th placed QPR who hosted 7th placed Liverpool. 


Defender Sebastian Coates broke the deadlock for the visitors in the 54th minute, from an overhead bicycle kick which flew past goalkeeper Paddy Kenny into the net.

Defemder Sebastien Coates hits his first ever Liverpool goal, which was a spectacular finish against QPR.

Striker Dirk Kuyt doubled the scoreline in the 72nd minute to give The Reds a 2-0 lead. Everyone though that it was all over for QPR, before defender Shaun Derry halved the deficit in the 78th minute to make it 2-1. Former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse equalised late on in the 86th minute for QPR before striker Jamie Mackie scored in the 90th minute to give Rangers the comeback of all comebacks to gift them 3 points against Liverpool.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Stoke City 1
This match was played at White Hart Lane as 3rd placed Spurs hoped to move closer to title rivals City and United, while edging closer away from London rivals Arsenal for a 3rd place finish.

The Weekend's EPL Previews:

This is Round 30 of this season's EPL. Title challengers City face Stoke while rivals United host Fulham on Monday. The race for a Champions League spot is heating up with all three (top 6) London rivals in the fight. Arsenal face Villa, while rivals Chelsea and Tottenham go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge for a place in Europe next season. 
The relegation battle is still alive for 5 different clubs with Wigan, Wolves, QPR, Bolton and Blackburn in the frame.

Saturday (15:00 unless stated):

Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE at 12:45pm


The first match of the weekend comes from Stamford Bridge as an early kick-off between two rivals Chelsea and Tottenham fight for a Champions League spot in 5th and 4th place (respectively), (with only 5 points between them)
Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon will miss tomorrow's match against Chelsea with a hamstring injury.
Striker Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring) is a major doubt for the match.

Defender Ledley King (knee) will have a late fitness test but long-term absentees Michael Dawson (ankle), goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes (knee), and midfielder Tom Huddlestone (ankle) are out.

John Terry is set to return to lead out Chelsea. The Blues captain missed Wednesday night's defeat at Manchester City with a calf strain but trained fully on Thursday.

Fellow defender Branislav Ivanovic is doubtful with a thigh problem suffered at the Etihad Stadium, while Oriol Romeu is fit after a knee injury.

Arsenal vs Aston Villa:


This match will be played at The Emirates Stadium, as in-form Arsenal will look to continue their current run of form by moving 4 points away from rivals Tottenham.

Aston Villa winger Charles N'Zogbia is battling to overcome a tweaked knee ligament in time to face Arsenal tomorrow.

Striker Andreas Weimann is pushing for a start after scoring the winner against Fulham a fortnight ago. If N'Zogbia is ruled out of the match, Weimann could play up front with Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Striker Darren Bent (ankle), defender Richard Dunne (shoulder) and midfielder Fabian Delph (ankle) remain long-term absentees while utility player Ciaran Clark is still recovering from a knee problem.

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby will not be risked. He has recovered from a hamstring injury, but boss Arsene Wenger will not name him in his squad until next week.

Wenger will use an unchanged squad against Villa from the group which won at Everton, with Per Mertesacker (ankle) and midfielder Jack Wilshere (ankle) still sidelined.

Bolton Wanderers vs Blackburn Rovers:

Bolton return to action against Blackburn at the Reebok Stadium a week after Fabrice Muamba's harrowing collapse at White Hart Lane.

Muamba remains in intensive care after suffering a cardiac arrest, but his family have given the go ahead for the match to start as manager Owen Coyle's men looked to haul themselves out of the relegation zone.

Coyle has told any player who does not feel up to taking part they should step aside, but it does not appear he has had anyone who has dropped out yet.

Defender Gael Givet is Blackburn's only doubt ahead of the match.

Givet aggravated a slight hamstring problem while on Tuesday and is doubtful to make the squad.

Steve Kean is only to make a few slight changes.

Liverpool vs Wigan Athletic:


This match will be played at Anfield as 7th placed Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from their embarrassing 3-2 defeat on Wednesday to QPR after being 2-0 with 13 minutes to go against 19th placed Wigan.


Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega remains an injury doubt for the match after missing last week's match due to a knee problem.
The Latics manager Roberto Martinez says that the trip to Liverpool may come too soon for the forward to make his return to football action.
Midfielder David Jones (knee) and goalkeeper Mike Pollitt (shoulder problem) are not 

Defender Martin Kelly should be fit despite having to come off injured in Liverpool's last two matches.

The club are awaiting a full assessment of Charlie Adam's knee problem, sustained in Wednesday's defeat at QPR, but the midfielder could be doubtful.

Right-back Glen Johnson and forward Craig Bellamy are still missing with niggles while centre-half Daniel Agger (rib) is not yet ready.

Norwich City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers:

Wolves will be without suspended defender Ronald Zubar for the away Barclays Premier League clash with Norwich after his red card against Manchester United last weekend.

It could mean a recall in a reshuffled back four for skipper Roger Johnson who has been axed for the past four matches since caretaker boss Terry Connor took charge.

But Connor's biggest headache is in central midfield where David Davis (broken rib) has joined Karl Henry (hamstring) and Jamie O'Hara (groin) on the injury list.

The only positive team news for Connor is the return to training of midfielder Nenad Milijas after his calf problem.

Norwich midfielder Anthony Pilkington has recovered from the knock he suffered at Newcastle last weekend and is available.

Marc Tierney and Daniel Ayala are back in training, but not yet ready, while James Vaughan is still missing with knee trouble.

Goalkeeper Declan Rudd, meanwhile, has resumed light training.

Sunderland vs QPR:

Sunderland striker Stephane Sessegnon returns to the squad for Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash with QPR after suspension.

The Benin international is available after completing the three-match ban he incurred for his sending-off in the derby draw at Newcastle, but midfielder Lee Cattermole still has one game left to serve.

Central defender John O'Shea will undergo a late fitness check on his hamstring injury, but Kieran Richardson (calf) is still out, as are long-term absentees Wes Brown (knee) and Titus Bramble (Achilles/calf).

Armand Traore will miss QPR's trip to Sunderland on Saturday in the Barclays Premier League.

The Senegal international was brought off at half-time of Wednesday's 3-2 victory against Liverpool and is out for the next couple of weeks with a grade one hamstring injury.

Clint Hill will travel with the squad to the Stadium of Light but will have a back injury assessed, while long-term absentees DJ Campbell and Heidar Helguson are making good progress.

Swansea City vs Everton:

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers is set to restore Ashley Williams to his starting XI for Saturday's Barclays Premier League meeting with Everton.

The defender missed last weekend's impressive win at Fulham due to illness, but is likely to take his place back from club captain Garry Monk against the Toffees.

Wayne Routledge will continue on the right wing as Nathan Dyer serves the final game of his three-match ban after his red card in the win at Wigan.

Everton could have Darron Gibson back at the Liberty Stadium.

The Republic of Ireland international has been out of action for five games due to a knee problem but Toffees manager David Moyes says Gibson's fitness is improving and has indicated he could feature against the Swans.

Fellow midfielder Jack Rodwell (hamstring) and wideman Seamus Coleman (thigh) remain sidelined.

Stoke City vs Manchester City: LIVE at 17:30pm


This match will come from The Brittania Stadium, as 2nd placed Manchester City can leapfrog rivals United into 1st place, two points ahead (at least until Monday) with a win at Stoke.

Manchester City hope to have captain Vincent Kompany back for Saturday's Barclays Premier League trip to Stoke.

The Belgium defender has an outside chance of returning after missing three games with a calf injury but centre-back partner Joleon Lescott (hip) is ruled out.

Striker Carlos Tevez is again expected to be on the bench after making his first appearance for six months in the midweek win over Chelsea.

Stoke winger Matthew Etherington (ankle) is fit to return after missing the midweek draw against Tottenham.

Midfielder Salif Diao (hamstring) is likely to miss out but defender Jonathan Woodgate, who has not played for a month, could come into contention for a place on the bench.

Striker Ricardo Fuller misses out as he completes a three-match suspension.

Sunday:


West Bromwich Albion vs Newcastle United: LIVE at 16:00pm


This match will be played at The Hawthorns, as 13th placed West Brom host 6th placed Newcastle in a slight mis-match.

West Brom centre-back Jonas Olsson will return after a one-match suspension for the home Barclays Premier League clash with Newcastle on Sunday.

Olsson's probable recall alongside Gareth McAuley means Liam Ridgewell is likely to revert from central defence to left-back in place of Nicky Shorey.

Albion are hopeful striker Peter Odemwingie will be fit after missing the 1-1 draw at Wigan last weekend with a hamstring injury. Midfielder Zoltan Gera (knee) and right-back Steven Reid (foot) remain long-term absentees.

Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote is rated at 50-50 to return from injury.

The Ivory Coast international missed last weekend's 1-0 win over Norwich with a hamstring problem and remains a doubt, although full-back Danny Simpson has a chance of returning from his adductor strain.

Utility man Ryan Taylor (calf) is still out, as are long-term casualties Peter Lovenkrands (thigh), Leon Best and Sammy Ameobi (both knee), Steven Taylor (Achilles) and Sylvain Marveaux (groin).

Monday:


Manchester United vs Fulham: LIVE at 20:00pm


1st placed Manchester United host Fulham at Old Trafford. A win will ensure that they stay at the top of the EPL table ahead of rivals City in 2nd place who are only 1 point behind The Red Devils.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be picking from strength when Manchester United face Fulham at Old Trafford on Monday.

Nani (ankle), Anders Lindegaard (ankle) and Michael Owen (thigh) are the only absentees, along with long-term casualties Nemanja Vidic and Darren Fletcher.

Chris Smalling, Tom Cleverley, Fabio, Paul Pogba and Phil Jones all came through a reserve outing on Thursday unscathed.

Fulham have no new major concerns heading into Monday's trip north.

The Cottagers came through last week's defeat to Swansea unscathed, although they will be without third-choice goalkeeper Neil Etheridge for at least the next couple of weeks with a wrist problem.

Zdenek Grygera (knee), Steve Sidwell (hernia) and Orlando Sa (hamstring) are expected to be the only notable absentees.