International Friendly: England vs Italy - LIVE Commentary with EPL News and Transfers:

Hello and welcome to my Live Commentary on England's international friendly match with Italy in Switzerland.
With 3 days before the start of the new EPL season, England will have their only match before qualifications start for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

LIVE Commentary - England vs Italy, LIVE from 8pm:

The major news from this match for both teams is that Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has been ruled out due to an eye problem.

England manager Roy Hodgson has admitted that he hopes Chelsea defender John Terry beats an FA charge and is able to continue playing for England.

Manchester City goalkeeper and England No.1 Joe Hart has been ruled out due to a back injury, while Arsenal wingers Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott are both injured.

John Ruddy and Jack Butland are both fighting it out to start for England tonight, with both goalkeepers wanting their first starts.

Jack Butland and John Ruddy both training to get ready for England's match tonight.

Young guns: England face a tough test against Italy tonight, and only 6 players who were at Euro 2012 will feature.

FACT: England have won 4 of their last 6 matches
FACT: Italy have lost their last 3 friendlies without scoring

England's next 6 matches:

Italy - TONIGHT
September 7th - Moldova (A)
September 11th - Ukraine (H)
October 12th - San Marino (H)
October 16th - Poland (A)
November 14th - Sweden (A)

 
13:30:

Let me tell you about the LATEST news in the EPL now:

Liverpool defender Daniel Agger who is wanted by Manchester City, has admitted that he would leave Liverpool for Barcelona.

Wanted: Agger is wanted by Manchester City, but has admitted that he would only leave for Barca.

He said this 'I am loyal to Liverpool but, there is one club who would make it very hard for me to stay at Anfield, Barcelona would be great because they are the best in the world'

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner is wanted by Italian club AC Milan. 

Impressive: Nicklas Bendtner was impressive during the Euros for Denmark scoring 2 goals against Portugal.

The bidding war between Luka Modric and Real Madrid has begun, with a bid already been rejected.

Spain calling: Real Madrid are still desperate to sign Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric.

Tottenham want at least £35million for the midfielder, yet Real are sticking to £25million.

Everton have confirmed that Olympiakos midfielder Kevin Mirallas is close to finalising a £6million transfer deal. 

Good signing: Kevin Mirallas is on the way to Everton, as they beat Arsenal and Liverpool in the race to sign him.

He is expected to be at Everton on Thursday.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has called on Chelsea to open new contract talks with him, because he has one year left on his contract, and he has said that he wants to retire at Stamford Bridge. 

Manchester United are very close to signing Chilean youngster and striker Angelo Henriquez.

For the future: Chilean youngster Angelo Henriquez is on his way to Manchester United.

Peterborough striker Paul Taylor is wanted by two London clubs Fulham and QPR.


Arsenal have started official talks with rivals Manchester United over an improved bid for striker and captain Robin Van Persie.

BREAKING NEWS: Robin Van Persie has been left out of the Holland starting 11 against Belgium tonight.

Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin is expected to choose between Arsenal and Liverpool by the end of this week to move to on a season-long loan. 

The Carling Cup will now be called the Capital One Cup from now on because of sponsorship deals.

Here is the Second Round Draw for the Capital One Cup (also known as the Carling Cup)

EPL Teams only:

Swansea City vs Barnsley
Yeovil vs West Brom
West Ham vs Crewe 
Reading vs Peterborough
Sheffield Wednesday vs Fulham
QPR vs Walsall
Stevenage vs Southampton
Nottingham Forest vs Wigan Athletic
Stoke City vs Swindon Town
Aston Villa vs Tranmere
Everton vs Leyton Orient
Sunderland vs Morecambe
Norwich vs Scunthorpe

Ties to be played week commencing August 27th.

BREAKING NEWS:

Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba has been told by doctors to retire from football.
That is sad news, because he was a very good player but his health is very important and his well-being is his number one priority.




19:45:

BREAKING NEWS:

Manchester United have confirmed the £24million signing of Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie subject to a medical and confirmation over personal terms.

Welcome to Old Trafford: Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie will join Manchester United on Thursday.

For a 29-year-old striker who is injury prone and on his last year on contract, £24million is not a bad deal.

Arsenal should now sign a solid defender and replace RVP with Llorente who is also on his last year on his contract. He has refused a contract extension also.

Team Line-ups:

England: Butland, Walker, Cahill, Jagielka, Baines, Carrick, Lampard, Johnson, Cleverley, Young, Carroll.

Birmingham City goalkeeper Jack Butland starts his first match for England tonight!

Subs: Ruddy, Lescott, Bertrand, Caulker, Milner, Livermore, Rodwell, Defoe.
 
Italy: Sirigu, Ogbonna, Abate, Balzaretti, Astori, El Shaarawy, Aquilani, De Rossi, Diamanti, Nocerino, Destro.

Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo and Buffon are all out for Italy.
AC Milan young midfielder Stephan El Shaarawy starts for Italy. Exciting player he is.

Subs: Perin, De Sciglio, Peluso, Acerbi, Poli, Schelotto, Gastaldello, Gabbiadini, Verratti, Consigli.

20:00:

0: The referee has kicked off this match in Switzerland.
8: England corner by Frank Lampard, whipped into the box, but cleared away by the Italy defence.
9: Good ball by De Rossi over the top of the England defence to Destro who skips away from Cahill and Jagielka but Butland holds the ball comfortably.
10: Sloppy defensive play by Italy sees an England corner being conceded. Lampard takes the corner and finds Carroll who heads towards goal... OVER THE BAR!!
He should have done better with that, and if he had headered the ball downards, it would have at least been on target and given Siriugu something to worry about.

13: Italy are looking dangerous inside England's half.
Destro tried to find Aquillani from 12 yards out but the pass was poor.

14: Italy free-kick from 26 yards out, whipped into the box but the ball takes a deflection from the wall before Butland parries the ball away for a corner.

15: Italy corner, whipped into the box to Daniele De Rossi who is not marked well, he jumps up for the header before unleashing a header high towards goal... GOAL!!!!

Captain leading the way: Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi heads the ball past Jack Butland from a corner.

Captain's celebrations: Midfielder Daniele De Rossi celebrates his headed goal against England.

Italy lead England by 1-0 with the captain De Rossi breaking the deadlock.

16: To be honest, it was poor defending because no-one was marking their man tightly enough.

18: Good build-up play by Italy with El Shaarawy looking dangerous down the wing before delivering a 35-yard pass.
The through ball went straight to striker Destro inside the box, but he was not able to head the ball powerfully enough to really trouble Butland who comfortably holds the ball.

20: Slow, patient build-up play by England as they look to equalise before Johnson is tackled by two defenders and Italy clear.

21: Good vision by Frank Lampard to find Adam Johnson with a ball just outside the box.
Johnson weaves past a defender quickly before having a shot from 18 yards but Siriugu holds the ball comfortably.

23: Ashley Young wins an England corner before Italy clear again.
England need to test the goalkeeper more than they are doing, and need to keep possession of the ball by passing more accurately.

25: Italy corner is whipped into the box, but goalkeeper Jack Butland takes the ball into his arms comfortably before clearing the danger.

26: England go on the counter with Adam Johnson sidestepping a defender before finding Kyle Walker with a good pass.
Defender Angelo Ogbonna tackles on the edge of the box, and England have a free corner.

27: Corner taken into the box, with defender Phil Jagielka making a run before making a diving header towards goal... GOAL!!

Diving header: Everton defender Phil Jagielka scores his 1st goal for England with a diving header to equalise.

Everton defender Phil Jagielka has equalised for England here on 27 minutes!



28: Italy 1 England 1, and now the match is getting more interesting.

Other scores include:
Sweden 0 Brazil 1
Denmark 1 Slovakia 0
Argentina 0 Germany 0
France 0 Uruguay 0
Croatia 1 Switzerland 2

FACT: This is Phil Jagielka's first goal for England.

30: England midfielder Frank Lampard had a long shot from 22 yards out parried away by the goalkeeper. Close, on target and was troubling Siriugu.

36: England are trying to hold the ball now, with quick precise passes to try and tire out the Italy defence.

39: Italy are trying to press England again with a swerving ball by Diamanti into the box. 
Goalkeeper Jack Butland had to come out of his goal and clear the ball away from his goal using his feet.

41: The England band are trying to motivate the squad with loud cheers and the national anthem being sung loudly in the crowd.

43: Nice 1-2 passing play by Italy, with full-back Ignizio Abate unleashing a shot from the wing across goal. Close shot, but not accurate enough to hit the target and worry Butland.

45: The referee blows the whistle to indicate the end of the first half with no added time.


England have played well, considering the fact that most of the team are the second crop of players and almost all of the players are inexperienced and young (for the future players) 
Italy have shown their class at times during the first half, and believe it or not, apart from De Rossi, Abate and Aquilani (maybe Nocerino), this is their second side (excluding El Shaarawy who has a lot of potential).
The match has been interesting so far, but England have not troubled Italy's goal at all apart from the goal and Lampard's long shot effort.


Two headed goals, in 45 minutes.

Join me for the second half in 15 minutes.

International Friendly Score Centre:

Norway 2 Greece 3 FT

Two goals from Fulham players John Arne Riise and Brede Hangeland were not enough for Norway to beat Greece as they lost 3-2.

Sweden 0 Brazil 3 FT

The strength of Brazil has been too much for Sweden tonight as they cruised to a 3-0 victory.
London Olympics top goal scorer Leandro Damiao scored again for Brazil in the 32nd minute.
Two goals in two minutes by AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato (84th and 86th) sealed the win for Brazil.

Germany 0 Argentina 2 - LIVE

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has missed a penalty for Argentina, but so far his side are leading against Euro 2012 semi-finalists Germany.
Real Madrid defensive midfielder Sami Khedira has scored an own goal on the stroke of half-time, before Messi made up for the penalty miss with a goal in the 52nd minute with a goal. Second half underway there.

Croatia 2 Switzerland 3 - LIVE


Former Arsenal striker Eduardo has scored twice already, but his side are still behind against Switzerland.


21:00:


England have made a couple of changes here:


Jack Butland OFF
Andy Carroll OFF

John Ruddy ON
Jermain Defoe ON


Butland has done well in goal tonight, and has his first cap in-tact so a change so that he can stay fit for Birmingham.
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has also come off for Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, and you know that Defoe commands the 6-yard box.

45: The referee has started the second half of this match. England 1 Italy 1.

48: Italy free-kick given after Defoe tackled Daniele De Rossi.


53: Italy on the counter with Aquilani finding El Shaarawy who chips the ball down the wing towards Diamanti who tries to weave past Tottenham full-back Kyle Walker but he is bodychecked.


54: Good pressure by the Italians.  
A cross was whipped into the box before striker Destro shot from 8 yards out towards goal by John Ruddy parried the ball away to safety.
The ball trickled through Chelsea defender Gary Cahill's legs and sometimes those can slide past the keeper into the net.

58: Italy SUB:
Alessandro Diamanti OFF
Stephan El Shaarawy OFF
Marco Verratti ON
Manolo Gabbiadini ON


61: England SUB:
Ashley Young OFF
Phil Jagielka OFF
Joleon Lescott ON
James Milner ON



62: Uh oh..... Chelsea defender Cary Cahill is down on the floor clutching his nose. He has recievied a knock after being hit by Destro with his arm across the face.

66: England corner taken into the box to Cahill who volleys the ball towards goal... GOAL!!! 
No goal, the whistle has been blown. 
Still 1-1, because Lescott was pushing and shoving with an Italy defender inside the box.

68: England SUB:
Frank Lampard OFF
Jake Livermore ON

Italy SUB:
Alberto Aquilani OFF
Andrea Poli ON


Debut for young Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore.


72: England free-kick, whipped into the box by Manchester City midfielder James Milner.... 
The ball is high over the defenders and the England attackers, before the ball curls towards goal but the ball hits defender Peluso before goalkeeper Sirigu clears the ball off the line.

Close, and a good ball into the box by Milner.


77:  England SUB:
Leighton Baines OFF
Ryan Bertrand ON



79: England are on the counter attack with midfielder James Milner finding Defoe with a through ball. Defoe beats Abate with skill before unleashing a shot from the edge of the box towards goal... GOAL!!!!!

Wonder strike: Jermain Defoe scores a belter from the edge of the box against Italy to give England the lead.

What a goal by Defoe, and England gave taken the lead with 10 minutes to go here. 

82: All England need to do for the last 8-12 minutes is to KEEP THE BALL. 
Something they are having trouble with so far this year.

85: First yellow card of the match for Diego Fabbrini. 

Italy SUB:
Ignazio Abate OFF
Ezequiel Schelotto ON

89: James Milner with a run down the wing before passing the ball towards Defoe, but Ogbonna clears the ball out for a corner.

90: The fourth-offical has indicated that there will be three minutes of stoppage time to be added on here.

90+3: The referee has blown the whsitle to end this international friendly match.

FULL-TIME: England 2 Italy 1

A good win for England tonight.
An amazing strike from Jermain Defoe gave England the win against a tough Italian side who played well throughout but did not attack as much as they did in the first half, in the second and were sloppy at the back at times.

Promising young guns for England with Jack Butland, Tom Cleverley, Kyle Walker, Jake Livermore and Ryan Bertrand all playing well.

Stand-out of the match:
Jermain Defoe and James Milner

Despite lacklustre performances in Euro 2012 for Milner, he played well tonight, with good passes, crosses and looked dangerous throughout by giving Italy trouble.

Defoe scored an amazing winner for England and proved yet again why he is a 'Super Sub'.


I will speak to all of you on Friday when I do my first EPL Match Preview of the new 2012-13 season.

This are the matches this weekend:

Saturday:
(LIVE from 15:00pm unless stated)

Arsenal vs Sunderland
Fulham vs Norwich City
QPR vs Swansea City
Reading vs Stoke City
West Brom vs Liverpool
West Ham vs Aston Villa
Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur - LIVE from 17:30pm 

Sunday:
Wigan Athletic vs Chelsea - LIVE from 13:30pm
Manchester City vs Southampton - LIVE from 16:00pm

Monday:
Everton vs Manchester United - LIVE from 20:00pm

EPL Transfer News and Community Shield Preview:

Hello and welcome to my EPL Transfer News Update and Community Shield Preview:

EPL Transfer News Update:

Manchester City have told midfielder Nigel De Jong that he can leave the club if he wants to.

Wanted: Nigel De Jong can leave Manchester City this summer. Inter Milan are among the clubs interested in him.

Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Italian clubs Inter Milan and Roma are all interested in the defensive midfielder.

De Jong's international team-mate Wesley Sneijder has said to his club that it is vital that they sign De Jong and they are reportedly readyt to make City an offer for him. 

West Ham have confirmed the £2million signing of 31-year-old midfielder Alou Diarra from French club Marseille. 

Liverpool forward Craig Bellamy has joined Championship club Cardiff on a two-year-deal and a free transfer after passing a medical in Wales this morning.

Back in Wales: Winger Craig Bellamy has left Liverpool to move back to Welsh club Cardiff on a free transfer.

 

Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar has had talks with Tottenham over a possible move there, as they are looking to buy a new goalkeeper.

EPL News: 

Aston Villa have some new fresh injury problems after winger Marc Albrighton has been ruled out of action for at least 6 weeks because of a broken metatarsal.

Out of action: Aston Villa winger Marc Albrighton is out of action for at least two months with a broken metatarsal.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has admitted that he is disappointed at the fact that City have not signed anyone in the transfer window yet.

He is interested in Liverpool defender Daniel Agger and Arsenal captain Robin Van Persie to name a few players. 

Chelsea young striker is close to signing on-loan at a EPL club, but will NOT join Fulham for next season.

A lot of Barcelona players (including midfielder Andres Iniesta and defender Gerard Pique) have been praising Arsenal defensive midfielder Alex Song after reports claim that Barca are ready to make a £15million offer for him.

Wanted: Arsenal defensive midfielder Alex Song is being scouted by Spainish giants Barcelona.

England manager Roy Hodgson has named his 23-man squad for the upcoming friendly match against Euro 2012 finalists Italy on Wednesday 15th of August in Switzerland.

The squad is:
 

Goalkeepers:

Jack Butland (Birmingham), Joe Hart (Man City) and John Ruddy (Norwich)

Defenders:
Steven Caulker and Kyle Walker (both Tottenham), Ryan Bertrand and Gary Cahill (both Chelsea), Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka (both Everton)

Midfielders:

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Adam Johnson and James Milner (Man City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Jake Livermore (Tottenham), Jack Rodwell (Everton); Ashley Young, Tom Cleverley and Michael Carrick (all Man United)

Forwards:

Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham) and Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)

Notable absences include Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard, Chelsea defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole, and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Comebacks include Tottenham defender Steven Caulker, Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick, Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge and Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore.

Europa League Qualification 3rd Round Second Leg:

Liverpool 3 FC Gomel 0 (Aggregate 4-0)

Liverpool have sealed their place into the Europa League Play-Off Round after beating FC Gomel the second time in one week.

£10million signing Fabio Borini opened the scoring with a piledriver goal after a solo run by striker Luis Suarez was parried away by the goalkeeper, straight to Borini who blasted the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

Piledriver: New £10million signing Fabio Borini breaks the deadlock to make it 2-0 on aggregate against Gomel.

Hungry for more: Striker Fabio Borini celebrates his first goal on his debut at Anfield.

Another nice solo run past three defenders by Suarez before enticing the keeper to come out before smartly passing the ball straight to captain Gerrard who tapped the ball into an empty net to make it 2-0.

Record breaking: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard celebrates his 150th goal for The Reds against FC Gomel.

Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson made it 3-0 in the 70th minute after a sweet half-volley flew past the goalkeeper into the net.

Swansea midfielder Joe Allen was spotted in the crowd at Anfield, while a £15million deal is complete for him to move to Liverpool.

2nd signing of the transfer window: Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen has signed from Swansea for £15million.

On the way: Swansea midfielder Joe Allen was spotted at Anfield last night, hours after making a transfer request.

UEFA Europa League Play-Off Draw - EPL Ties:

Hearts vs Liverpool

Liverpool face Scottish club Hearts in their Play-off match.

Atromitos vs Newcastle United

While Newcastle face Greek club Atromitos who is quite un-heard of as a football club.

First leg to be played on Thursday the 23rd of August

Second leg to be played on Thursday the 30th of August 

Community Shield Preview 

Manchester City vs Chelsea:

LIVE on ITV from 13:30pm

EPL Champions Manchester City face a tough test against FA Cup winners Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

Chelsea have strengthened their squad since their Champions League final win against Bayern Munich by signing Marko Marin, Oscar, Eden and Thorgan Hazard.

City however have surprisingly not signed any players yet though so their team on Sunday will be players who will be desperate to show their worth ahead of the new season.

Both teams stuggled to win their respective titles and it was close shaves for City and Chelsea.

This match will be EPIC with lots of talent on show for both teams including Eden Hazard, Sergio Aguero, Frank Lampard, Vincent Kompany and much more.

Plus, the two BEST goalkeepers in the EPL will go head-to-head.

Therefore you know that the players will have to do their best to get past the keepers.

Potential Battles on Sunday: 

Petr Cech vs Sergio Aguero

Champions League winner: Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech kept his side in the CL final against Bayern Munich.

30 goals for Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero last season. Can he score again in the CS on Sunday?

30 goals last season for Aguero.

10 clean sheets and 84 saves in 3060 minutes last season for Petr Cech.

Can Aguero score on Sunday and win the Community Shield for City?

Can Cech prove his worth to Chelsea yet again and stop Aguero and co for his team?

Eden Hazard vs Vincent Kompany 

Huge price tag: Belgian winger Eden Hazard cost Chelsea £32million in the TW and has to prove his worth to his team on Sunday.

Defender of the season: Vincent Kompany holds the EPL trophy up aloft after a great season at City.

Belgium team-mates against each other.

Does not get closer than this,

£32million winger from Lille versus the best defender in the EPL last season.

Joe Hart vs Fernando Torres

Form of his life: Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has been unstoppable in goal. Can he stop Chelsea?

Golden Glove last season for Joe Hart.

17 clean sheets in 3420 minutes. 

Torres:
15 goals from 53 appearances (11 for Chelsea, 4 for Spain)

Fernando Torres had the best-worst season ever last season.
At the start, did not score for 3 months, was missing open goals and getting sent off.
 
Won the FA Cup and Champions League along with the Euro 2012 with Spain at the end of the season.

Can he kick-start it on Sunday?

Drama, goals, controversy and a preview of what is to come next season on Sunday.

Do not miss my LIVE Commentary on Sunday for the match.

EPL Super Sunday Special:

Today's EPL Fixtures:

Manchester United vs West Bromwich Albion: LIVE at 14:00pm


Team News:

Man Utd: De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Young, Carrick, Scholes, Welbeck, Rooney, Hernandez. Subs: Amos, Berbatov, Giggs, Park, Rafael Da Silva, Cleverley, Pogba.


Ferdinand and Carrick both start for the home side. Ryan Giggs and Tom Cleverley among the subs.
Defender Chris Smalling is out with a severe head cut sustained against Holland (for England), opened wound against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.

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

United looking to leapfrog City into 1st place, provided the result goes their way at The Liberty and they beat WBA today who saw off Chelsea last weekend.

FACT: United are looking to beat West Brom twice in one season (the double) for the 4th time and the first since the 2008-09 season.

Swansea City vs Manchester City: LIVE at 14:00pm


Team News:

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Caulker, Taylor, Allen, Britton, Sinclair, Sigurdsson, Routledge, Graham. Subs: Tremmel, Tate, Monk, McEachran, Lita, Moore, Gower.

Man City: Hart, Richards, Savic, Toure, Clichy, Barry, De Jong, Nasri, Toure Yaya, Silva, Balotelli. Subs: Pantilimon, Milner, Pizarro, Dzeko, Johnson, Kolarov, Aguero.

Aguero and Dzeko among the subs for City..... desperate to bounce back from their 1-0 loss against Sporting Lisbon on Thursday. Mario Balotelli is the lone striker for City, 4-5-1 formation...

FACT: Manchester City have lost three away matches this season - to Swansea's 8.

Norwich City vs Wigan Athletic: LIVE at 16:00pm
Team news coming in at 15:30pm....




Yesterday's Evening Fixture:


Everton 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0
Tottenham slip even further down the pecking order with a 1-0 away loss to 14th placed Everton who move into 10th place.
Striker Nikica Jelavic scored his first goal in English football for The Toffees in the 24th minute to give manager David Moyes a good 10th year anniversary.

EPL News:

Manchester City are ready to make Arsenal striker Robin van Persie the highest-paid player in the EPL with a massive £210,000-a-week contract offer.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has continued to deny Van Persie will leave - especially to Manchester City.

Arsenal are making moves for Cologne striker Lukas Podolski (£10.8million) and Borussia Dortmund midfield maestro Mario Gotze (£30million) to persuade RVP to stay at the club.

Juventus are interested in Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko as he is not getting much first-team action and could be a great addition to their squad. £20million is the starting price at the moment.

German side Hannover 96 want Sunderland loanee Nicklas Bendtner for £5million.

He is currently at the North-West club from Arsenal, where he does not get enough first team football.

Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson took a surprise trip to France yesterday, to watch Lyon play Lille, which is a hint that he will make a summer bid for Lille winger Eden Hazard.

The FA have repeated their desire to see goal-line technology introduced very soon possibly by next season, after controversy yesterday as QPR defender Clint Hill was denied a goal which clearly was over the line (when shown in the replays).

Goal or no goal?: Clint Hill's header was disallowed, but goal technology would have prevented this mistake...

LIVE Commentary - Clockwatch:

14:00: 
Both Manchester clubs are in action - and they have both kicked off against West Brom and Swansea.


14:06:
Micah Richards is at right-back for City and Stefan Savic is centre-back.
Samir Nasri starts his first EPL match for the league leaders away from home since Tuesday the 31st of January, when they lost 1-0 to Everton.


14:07:
The Liberty Stadium,
Swansea City vs Manchester City:
Goalkeeper Joe Hart fouls winger Wayne Routledge inside the box.... PENALTY!
Scott Sinclair steps up to take the pen., he shoots, SAVED!! by Hart. 

Scott Sinclair's 7th minute penalty was saved by in-form Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

Corner taken and Ashley Williams heads goalwards, but Hart clears.


14:11:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:
Striker Wayne Rooney takes a shot from 20 yards out... OVER THE BAR!


14:16:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:
Midfielder Keith Andrews takes a shot from 25 yards out after a free-kick..... TIPPED OVER THE POST!!! by David De Gea.
Nice try.... they have to continue to do this if they want to get anything out of this match - work De Gea.


14:18:
The Liberty Stadium,
Swansea City vs Manchester City:
The first yellow card of the match (and the day) goes to Manchester City midfielder Nigel De Jong who is booked after a late tackle on winger Wayne Routledge.


14:23:
The Liberty Stadium,
Swansea City vs Manchester City Striker Mario Balotelli has an attempt at goal from 12 yards out...  MISS!!! 
FACT: That is City's 1st shot of the match.... to Swansea's 3.


14:25:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:
United corner whipped into the box by winger Ashley Young, which finds striker Danny Welbeck who heads towards goal..... OVER THE BAR!
That would have been Welbeck's 10th goal of the season.... Unlucky. 


14:33:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:
Cross by winger Ashley Young, straight to striker Wayne Rooney who volleys the ball from 6 yards out..., SAVE!! by Ben Foster.
I think Rooney will eventually score here... United look dangerous in attack and WBA's defence is too weak to handle the pace of Hernandez and Welbeck and the finishing of Rooney.


14:35:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:
And the first goal of the day goes to United!
Guess who?
Wayne Rooney!
Hernandez took a shot, blocked and rebounded to Rooney who hardly misses from 12 yards out. 1-0.

Striker Wayne Rooney reacts quickly to Ben Foster's fumble to score his 26th goal of the season.

I should (but won't) be a betting man... LOL


14:37:
The Liberty Stadium,
Swansea City vs Manchester City:
Manchester City SUB:
Gareth Barry OFF
Sergio Aguero ON
Attacking style approach by Mancini's men. But I would have started Aguero in the first place.
You have just made Gareth Barry unsurprisingly upset as he is not injured, and it is only 37 minutes. Well done Mancini.
City equation: Balotelli + Silva + Aguero = Danger.


14:43:
Liberty Stadium,
Swansea vs Manchester City:
City corner taken by Samir Nasri, whipped into the box... saved by Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm.


14:49:
HALF-TIME:
Manchester United 1 West Brom 0
Swansea 0 Manchester City 0
One half of Manchester leading, the other drawing at the moment. 
Can City win against a regenerated Swansea side?
Can United see off West Brom?
We will see...


15:03:
The referees have both restarted these matches. Lee Probert (United vs WBA) Lee Mason (Swansea vs City).


15:07:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:
West Brom defender Jonas Olsson has been shown a yellow card for a late tackle on striker Wayne Rooney.
He has to be careful now if he wants to stay on the pitch. 


The Liberty Stadium,
Swansea vs Manchester City:
Sergio Aguero has had a shot from 12 yards out, but missed the target and the scoreline is still 0-0.


15:11:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:
Striker Javier Hernandez takes a shot from 18 yards out.... HITS THE POST!!!
Corner whipped in to the box by Ashley Young, finds Rooney who takes an overhead kick...... SAVE! by Ben Foster.
United are looking to end this match soon.. Pressing hard against WBA.


15:16:
The Liberty Stadium,
Swansea vs Manchester City:
A shot by City midfielder Samir Nasri from 12 yards out.... SAVE!! by Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm. Still 0-0, but you would predict that the scoreline will not end like this.


15:24:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:
Defender Jonas Olsson is being pulled back by the ref after a dangerous tackle on striker Javier Hernandez..... Yellow card, which means he is OFF! 
TWO YELLOW CARDS - RED.
WBA are in trouble now of not getting anything from this match.... 


15:28:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom
Foul by WBA midfielder Keith Andrews on Ashley Young inside the box..... PENALTY! 
Wayne Rooney steps up to take it.... he places it low towards the corner of the net, and SCORES! 2-0 to United! 

Penalty time: Wayne Rooney scores his 4th EPL penalty of the season - which is more than 15 other PL clubs total together.

15:30:
Team Line-ups for Norwich vs Wigan Athletic:

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

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

15:32:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:


West Brom SUBS:
Keith Andrews OFF
Chris Brunt OFF
Nicky Shorey ON
Paul Scharner ON


Manchester United SUB:
Paul Scholes OFF
Paul Pogba ON


Subs galore at OT! 


15:36:
Liberty Stadium,
Swansea vs Manchester City:
No goals so far to tell you here, but striker Mario Balotelli is getting back to his old ways, and has been booked for a cheeky foul on Swansea striker Glyfi Sigurdsson.


15:37:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:

WBA SUB:
Marc-Antoine Fortune OFF
Shane Long ON
He can be a dangerous partner with Odemwingie, but I do not see why he is just coming on now.... he should have started... Too little, too late.


MUFC SUB:
Danny Welbeck OFF
Tom Cleverley ON
Depth holding the midfield for the last 10-15 minutes to keep a clean sheet. Well played Welbeck and SAF.




15:41:
Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:
Striker Shane Long takes a shot from 12 yards out.... SAVED!!! by De Gea. 
This is the reason why he should have started... He is already a danger and he has only been on the field for 4 minutes.


15:43:
Liberty Stadium,
Swansea vs Manchester City:
GOAL!!!! 
Wayne Routledge's cross finds substitute striker Luke Moore who heads the ball past goalkeeper Joe Hart into the net to break the deadlock in the 83rd minute! What a story! What a goal for Swansea!

Super sub: Striker Luke Moore's header gives Swansea three points against Manchester City.

Old Trafford,
Manchester United vs West Brom:
United fans are roaring like mad as they hear that City have gone down 1-0 to Swansea. If it stays like this, then they will be top of the table before 4oclock today. 


15:44:
Liberty Stadium,
Swansea vs Manchester City:
City manager Roberto Mancini is going for broke here...
SUB:
Nigel De Jong OFF
Adam Johnson ON


15:46:
Liberty Stadium,
Swansea vs Manchester City:
WOW....
City are desperate to equalise here...
1. Mario Balotelli shot from 12 yards out, but Vorm denied him.
2. Kolo Toure took a shot from 25 yards out but Vorm pulled off another good save to keep it 1-0 to The Swans.


15:52:
FULL-TIME:


Manchester United 2 West Brom 0
Striker Wayne Rooney scored twice as United leapfrog rivals City into 1st place.

Manchester United: Flying high - into 1st place for the first time since the 2nd of October 2011.

FACT: This is the first time that United are in 1st place in the EPL, since the 2nd of October 2011.


Swansea 1 Manchester City 0
An 83rd minute header from Luke Moore ensures that City drop to 2nd place and The Swans move into 12th place.

Swansea City: The giant killers dispose of moneybags Manchester City.

FACT: Manchester City have now dropped 16 points from their last 16 matches (compared to 2 points in their first 12 matches.)


LATEST:
Norwich City 1 Wigan Athletic 0
Wes Hoolahan scored for the home side after 10 minutes to give Norwich the lead with a volley.






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