Manchester United vs Everton: LIVE Commentary of the Second Half

Hello and welcome to my second half LIVE Commentary of the Manchester United vs Everton match.

But first, here is the analysis from yesterday's late afternoon match, between Manchester City and Southampton.

Manchester City 3 Southampton 2

What an epic match at The Ethiad Stadium yesterday.

EPL Champions versus EPL new boys.

Striker Sergio Aguero gave City injury worries in the 8th minute after getting a twisted knee after a late challenge from Nathaniel Clyne.

Southampton pressed in the first half after this, before and after Tevez was tripped in the penalty box after 15 minutes.
A weak penalty by midfielder David Silva was saved by Kelvin Davies.

Weak: Manchester City midfielder David Silva has his weak and low penalty saved by Kelvin Davies.

Tevez broke the deadlock after a good pass by Nasri was finished into the corner in the 40th minute.

Striker Rickie Lambert equalised for Southampton in the 59th minute with a low curling shot out of goalkeeper Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart's reach.

Equaliser: Striker Rickie Lambert makes it 1-1 against Manchester City in the 59th minute.

Midfielder Steven Davis made it 2-1 to Southampton in the 68th minute.  

Shock - but not for long: Midfielder Steven Davis celebrates his goal against Manchester City in the 68th minute.

In the 72nd minute, Manchester City substitute striker Edin Dzeko was open in free space inside the 16-yard-box before shooting from 6 yards out to equalise.

Vital equaliser: Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko made it 2-2 in the 72nd minute and gave City hope.

Relief: Edin Dzeko celebrates his goal to give City a chance of winning the match at The Ethiad.

In the 80th minute, from a Manchester City corner which was cleared away by a Southampton defender fell to Samir Nasri who hit the ball downwards towards goal before the ball fiercely hit the net.

Late winner: Midfielder Samir Nasri scores in the 80th minute for City against Southampton.

Three points instead of one: Nasri seals an important win for City after a scare against Southampton.

Nasri won the match for City, 3-2.

Southampton played very well despite losing 3-2... Scoring 2 goals and pressing City throughout the match.
They were not afraid of City, and gave them a lot of trouble - on City's OWN BACK YARD.
 



At 20:56:
HALF-TIME SCORE:

Manchester United 0 Everton 0 

An interesting first half, in which United goalkeeper David De Gea has been busy in the sticks, having to save lots of shots, especially from Baines' curling free-kick.

Clearing away to safety: Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea punches the ball away from danger.

Everton has dominated the first half with midfielder Marouane Fellani, Steven Pienaar and Nikica Jelavic both linking up well.

BREAKING NEWS: Everton have confirmed the £5million signing of Belgian midfielder Kevin Mirallas on a four-year contract deal.

Unveiled: Everton unveiled midfielder Kevin Mirallas at Goodison Park before the match tonight against United.

United's new signing Shinji Kagawa has played well so far, passing the ball well and finding his team-mates with pace and trickery.

Fine showing: Manchester United's new midfielder Shinji Kagawa has impressed so far against Everton tonight.

However headline striker Robin Van Persie is on the bench for United.

Waiting game: Robin Van Persie has to be patient before playing on his debut for new club Manchester United.

Here is a recap of the Team Line-ups:

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Osman, Gibson, Neville, Pienaar, Fellaini, Jelavic.
Subs: Mucha, Heitinga, Naismith, Gueye, Barkley, Coleman, Anichebe.

Man Utd: De Gea, Valencia, Carrick, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Cleverley, Scholes, Kagawa, Rooney, Welbeck.
Subs: Lindegaard, Da Silva, Anderson, Berbatov, Young, Van Persie, Wootton.

Referee: Andre Marriner 

LIVE Commentary: Manchester United vs Everton - Second Half

21:03:

45: United have kicked off the second half at Goodison Park. No changes for either side at the minute.

47: Everton midfielder Darron Gibson finds space from 25 yards out before taking an ambitious shot.... OVER THE BAR!! 

48: Cross by defender Tim Hibbert into the box, partially cleared away to Leon Osman who strikes the ball high towards goal... OFF THE WOODWARK!!!
Close by Osman, as De Gea was beaten but the crossbar comes to United's rescue.

49: A United counter attack by Danny Welbeck is well cleared away by defender Phil Jagielka who slides in cleanly to win the ball.


55: United midfielder Tom Cleverley intercepts a pass, before trying to find Rooney with a through ball.
Everton defender Distin sees through it, and clears the ball away.

56: Great play by Kagawa. Nice pass to Rooney, before doing a dummy past Baines into the box. Rooney had a long shot, but it was WELL WIDE of the goal.


57: Everton whip a corner into the box, before midfielder Marouane Fellani heads the ball downwards towards goal.... GOAL!!!

Everton have broken the deadlock at Goodison Park, with none other than Fellani who has been the star man tonight!!

Bullet: Midfielder Marouane Fellani broke the deadlock for Everton against Manchester United in the 58th minute.

Pure jubilation: Jelavic and goalscorer Fellani get mobbed by the Everton crowd after the opening goal.

Everton 1 Manchester United 0, with 30 minutes to go.

You think United will give up? I certainly do not.

62: United pressing for the equaliser here with a corner and several crosses into the box. Everton are strong in defence though.

63: Everton free-kick lifting into the box by Baines for Fellani again. He jumps higher than Vidic before heading towards goal.... SAVE! by David De Gea.

65: Everton fans are jubilant and all singing here.
I bet none other than one of my favourite bloggers Dan.

Look at his blog please fellow football fans here:

http://dansfootballmusings.blogspot.co.uk/

67: I knew this was going to happen all night:

Manchester United SUB:

Danny Welbeck OFF 
Robin Van Persie ON

69: United fans hoping that Van Persie can deliver a debut miracle. 1-0 to Everton, 20 minutes to be played.

70: Everton striker Nikica Jelavic has gone off for treatment after a cut underneath his eye.
Meanwhile, United continue to press with Vidic's header just wide of the goalmouth.


73: United desperate for the equaliser. Misplaced pass by Nani gives Everton a goal-kick to clear away any danger.

74: I can just imagine the look on Gary Neville's face right now in the SkySports studios... Urging United to score here. LOL

75: Poor cross by Manchester United winger Nani into the box, as there is another Everton goal-kick. 

76: Winger Ashley Young looks to be coming on for United here... Last chance saloon here.

77: Robin Van Persie tries to find Wayne Rooney with a through ball into the box, but Distin clears the ball away for a corner.

80: Everton SUB:

Leon Osman OFF
Seamus Coleman ON

Fresh legs needed for Everton, with 10 minutes remaining.
I can picture all Everton fans all over the qworld biting their fingernails now... LOL

82: Great tackle by Everton defender Tony Hibbert to deny Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra from crossing the ball into the area.
Not getting past him with ease.

84: Manchester United SUB:
Tom Cleverley OFF
Anderson ON

Fresh legs for United, as they look for the equaliser with 5 minutes plus stoppage left.

85: Everton try and make a counter attack with Coleman trying to cross from the wing, but it rebounds off him and it is a goal-kick.

86: Everton have a welcome break here, with striker Nikica Jelavic down on the floor with cramp.

88: Tense last few minutes at Goodison Park, with United passing patiently looking for a gap in the defence.
Everton counter attack with Coleman taking his time past Vidic. 
Everton free-kick after Vidic was pulling his shirt.

89: Everton SUB:
Nikica Jelavic OFF
Steven Naismith ON

90: The fourth official has signalled for four minutes of stoppage time to be added on.

90+1: Manchester United midfielder Anderson has a shot from 20 yards out which is powerful.... JUST WIDE!!!!


90+2: Everton SUB:
Maroaune Fellani OFF
John Heitinga ON

Everton trying to strengthen the defence with Heitinga coming on.

90+4: Everton fans are screaming here, as referee Andre Marriner blows the whistle to end the match at Goodison Park!

FULL-TIME SCORE: 

Everton 1 Manchester United 0

My Man of the Match:

Everton midfielder Marouane Fellani. 

He worked very hard, throughout the match, until he was substituted in the last few minutes of the match. He won Everton the match with a good header, and was the anchor in their team tonight.


Before I leave you all tonight, I will do a quick EPL transfer and news Update:

Barcelona have confirmed that Arsenal midfielder Alexandre Song has moved to them for a fee of £15million pounds, and he has signed a five-year contract deal.

Bye Bye Arsenal: Song arrived in Spain, at Barcelona on Monday morning, before addressing supporters.

Superstar's welcome: Alex Song signs autographs for his new club's supporters outside the club.

I do not understand what Wenger is trying to prove here, selling two of his best players again.... Arsenal will struggle to qualify for the CL next season now.

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has announced that he has signed a long-term contract with The Reds. 

Signed: Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has signed a new long-term contract deal with The Reds.

Vitesse Arnhem left-back Alexander Buttner has revealed that he is set to seal a 'dream' £4million move from Manchester United.
He has arrived in Manchester, and has completed his medical.


Chelsea's young midfielder Josh McEachran has joined Championship club Middlesborough on a season-long loan deal.

Tottenham are reportedly going to attempt to secure the £6million signing of Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor this week.

The only on-going issue is wage demands, because at City he is getting a lot of money per week....

Celtic midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng has almost completed a £6million move to Swansea, after admitting that he wants to move.
Although, there has been a lot of interest from other clubs in the EPL, including Arsenal and Liverpool.

Arsenal have stepping up their interest in Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin, by asking them whether they can sign him if his loan spell is succesful.

We will see: What Nuri Sahin would look like at Arsenal. Liverpool look to be out of the race to sign him.

Liverpool look out of the race to sign Sahin, due to the fact that they cannot provide CL football, yet Arsenal can.

Arsenal are close to signing him... and he should be an Arsenal player by the end of this week... 

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has challenged EPL clubs to show that they really want him after admitting that he wants to return to the English Premier League in the near future.

 

Wants to return: Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that he may leave if there is interest shown.

 

Manchester United have been offered Real Madrid midfielder Kaka on a season-long loan deal.



 




Thank you for reading my EPL Blog and I will speak to you all in my next EPL Update, on Wednesday.

UEFA Champions League and Europa League Round-Up, FA Cup 6th Round + 4 EPL Match Previews:

UEFA Champions League and Europa League Last 16, Second Legs Round Up:

Champions League Last 16, Second Leg Action:

Tuesday:

 

Inter Milan 2 Marseille 1 (Aggregate 2-2, Marseille go through on away goals)
Milito 75'           Brandao 90+2'
Pazzini 90+6'

Bayern Munich 7 Basel 0 (Aggregate 7-1)
Robben 11', 81'
Muller 42'
Gomez 44', 50', 61'

Bayern Munich celebrate their 7-0 thrashing of FC Basel, to move into the Last 8 of the Champions League.

 

Wednesday:

Real Madrid 4 CSKA Moscow 1 (Aggregate 5-1)

'Higuain 26'                      'Tosic 77'

'Ronaldo 55, 90+4'  

'Benzema 70'  

Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo celebrate their 5-2 win over CSKA Moscow, putting themselves into the Quarter Finals of the Champions League.

Chelsea 3 Napoli 1 (Aggregate 4-4) (AET 5-4)

This match was played at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea hosted Napoli in a do or die matchup for The Blues if they wanted to qualify for the Last 8 of the CL (after a 3-1 loss in the first leg in Naples).

Striker Didier Drogba opened the scoring after 28 minutes, after midfielder Ramires' cross was headered past the goalkeeper into the net.

Striker Didier Drogba heads Chelsea ahead against Napoli in the 28th minute at Stamford Bridge.

Napoli conceded a silly corner in the 47th minute, in which winger Juan Mata's cross was quickly converted with a powerful header by John Terry to give Chelsea a 2-0 lead on the night, and level the aggregate score.

Defender John Terry doubles Chelsea's lead against Napoli in the 48th minute with a powerful header.

Midfielder Goklan Inler halved Chelsea's advantage with a sweet striker from 30 yards out in the 55th minute.

Frank Lampard made it 3-1 to the hosts after he scored a penalty in the 75th minute to take the match to extra time.

Every player was tired and defender Branislav Ivanovic ended the match with a clinical shot from 12 yards out.

UEFA Champions League Last 8 Draw:

APOEL vs Real Madrid

Benfica vs Chelsea

Marseille vs Bayern Munich

AC Milan vs Barcelona

First leg ties to be played on the 27th/28th of March, second legs on the 3rd/4th of April.

Europa League Action (EPL Teams mainly):

Thursday:

Athletic Bilbao 2 Manchester United 1 (Aggregate 5-3)
Manchester United had to overturn a 1 goal aggregate lead and ensure that Bilbao did not score more than once, to keep their Europa League dreams alive.
Watch highlights here:

Sorry about the foreign commentary...

Manchester City 3 Sporting Lisbon 2 (Aggregate 3-3, Sporting win on away goals)
This match was played at The Ethiad Stadium, as Manchester City hosted Sporting Lisbon in a must-win match if they wanted
to continue in the Europa League.
Sergio Aguero (2) and a Mario Balotelli penalty was not enough for City to qualify for the Last 8 of the Europa League.
Fernandez and Ricky Van Wolfswinkel both scored for the visitors in the first half.

UEFA Europa League Last 8 Draw:

(Just for the record)

AZ vs Valencia

Schalke 4 vs Athletic Bilbao

Sporting Lisbon vs Metalist Kharkiv

Athletico Madrid vs Hannover 96

First legs: 29th of March, second legs on the 5th of April.

FA Cup 6th Round Previews:

Saturday:

Everton vs Sunderland: LIVE at 12:45pm

This match will be played at Goodison Park as Everton look to move into the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 2009, against a tough Sunderland side who have been under-rated so far this season and beat Arsenal 2-0 in the Fifth round to get here.

Everton playmaker Steven Pienaar is cup-tied for Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final against Sunderland at Goodison Park.
Central midfielder Darron Gibson is also unlikely to return to action from a knee injury.
Manager David Moyes is expected to rotate his squad after making six changes for the midweek defeat at Liverpool - which included first starts in two months for defender Phil Jagielka and midfielder Jack Rodwell - but today reported "a couple of niggling injuries" to unnamed players.
Striker Nicklas Bendtner is expected to be fit for Sunderland.
The Denmark international left the field on a stretcher with a knee problem during the closing stages of last weekend's 1-0 Barclays Premier League win over Liverpool, but has made a rapid recovery.
However, full-back Kieran Richardson is losing his battle to recover from a calf problem in time and Wayne Bridge could continue, while suspended pair Lee Cattermole and Stephane Sessegnon and injured duo Wes Brown (knee) and Titus Bramble (Achilles/calf) remain on the sidelines.

It could have the makings of a replay, or a heated and close match.

Most pundits would expect Everton to prevail in whichever sort of fashion as Sunderland have not beaten them IN ANY COMPETITION since the 22nd of December 2001. 

Tottenham Hotspur vs Bolton Wanderers: LIVE at 17:30pm

This match will come from White Hart Lane as an out-of-form Spurs side host a Bolton side who they will look to as an easy team to get back to winning ways in the race for the Champions League in the EPL.

Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor is a doubt for tomorrow's match due to a hamstring injury.
Winger Aaron Lennon remains sidelined with a hamstring problem while Ledley King (knee) will have a fitness test today.
Defender William Gallas could make his first appearance since January after recovering from a calf problem, but defender Michael Dawson (ankle), goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes (knee), and midfielder Tom Huddlestone (ankle) are all out.

Midfielder Chris Eagles is a doubt for Bolton. He suffered a hamstring injury last weekend after coming on as substitute in the 2-1 victory over QPR.
England Under-21 striker Marvin Sordell is cup-tied due to his involvement with Watford, but Spanish defender Marcos Alonso is in contention for his first game in three months after coming through two reserves games unscathed.

Spurs will be very surprised if they do not beat Bolton, but do not underestimate The Trotters, who got to the FA Cup semi-final last season.

Sunday:

Chelsea vs Leicester City: LIVE at 14:05pm

This match will be played at Stamford Bridge as Roberto Di Matteo will be looking for his fourth win in a row as a 4-1 win against Napoli on Wednesday, but they host Championship side Leicester who will certainly be under-dogs in the race for a place in the semi-finals.

Di Matteo is confident that defenders John Terry and David Luiz will be fit to play against The Foxes on Sunday.
Blues captain Terry failed to finish Wednesday night's Champions League triumph over Napoli, while centre-back partner Luiz was limping badly afterwards with an ankle injury.
Di Matteo looks set to make changes after many players completed 120 minutes in midweek, while midfielder Raul Meireles is available after suspension.
Former Liverpool defender Paul Konchesky will return for Leicester, after serving a three-match suspension after his was sent off at the start of the month against Coventry.
Fellow defender Matt Mills, midfielder Ben Marshall and strikers Steve Howard and Jeff Schlupp are also pushing for recalls.
Midfielder Danny Drinkwater, back-up goalkeeper Conrad Logan and teenage defender Liam Moore are all cup-tied.

Liverpool vs Stoke City: LIVE at 16:00pm

The most interesting FA Cup match-up this weekend will come from Anfield as Liverpool host Stoke City in a match between two teams who have been having a rivalry lately.

Winger Craig Bellamy could return to the Liverpool squad for Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final against Stoke having missed the midweek Merseyside 3-0 derby victory.
Full-back Glen Johnson is still not match-fit having not played the last three matches while centre-back Daniel Agger remains sidelined with a cracked rib.
Stoke will be without suspended striker Ricardo Fuller.
The Jamaican serves the first of a three-match ban following his sending-off against Chelsea last weekend for a naughty stamp on defender Branislav Ivanovic.
Potters boss Tony Pulis has already confirmed goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen will get his chance in between the sticks after losing the number one spot to Asmir Begovic last month while striker Peter Crouch, rested against Chelsea, will also return.

4 EPL Match Previews:

This is a snippet of Round 30 of this season's EPL.

Manchester United will hope to bounce back (and move 4 points clear of rivals City) from their midweek defeat to Athletic Bilbao by beating Wolves on Sunday.

Fulham will look to extend their good form of late with a win over Swansea City, while Newcastle and Wigan will both be desperate to win to help themselves for Europe and avoiding relegation (respectively) 

Saturday:

 

Fulham vs Swansea City: LIVE at 15:00pm

This match will be played at Craven Cottage as 10th placed Fulham host 11th placed Swansea in an interesting match between two mid-table teams. 
Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell has suffered an injury setback that looks likely to rule him out for a further four weeks.
He was close to a return to first-team action but has had to have another operation on a hernia injury, putting his rehabilitation back and ruling him out of tomorrow's match against Swansea.
Midfielder Aaron Hughes returns to the squad after missing last weekend's match against Aston Villa with a calf complaint, while Zdenek Grygera is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Striker Orlando Sa is out for at least three or four weeks with a hamstring injury.
Swansea have no fresh injury concerns.
Swansea winger Nathan Dyer will be out through a red-card suspension against Stoke City.
Andrea Orlandi is back in training after a hamstring tear, while Kemy Agustien is likely to miss the rest of the season after ankle surgery.

Fulham will be gunning for the win against Swansea, but it will not necessarily be easy..
They need Clint Dempsey and Pavel Pogbrenyak on top form if they want to win tomorrow.

Wigan Athletic vs West Bromwich Albion: LIVE at 15:00pm
This match will be played at DW Stadium as bottom side Wigan host 14th placed West Brom. There are 14 points between the sides.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is waiting on the fitness of striker Hugo Rodallega and midfielder Albert Crusat ahead of tomorrow match against WBA.
Rodallega picked up a knock to his knee during last weekend's 1-1 draw against Norwich while Crusat injured a toe in training.
Goalkeeper Michael Pollitt is estimated to be 10 days away from a return after suffering a shoulder injury and midfielder David Jones is still sidelined with a knee problem.

West Brom centre-back Jonas Olsson is suspended after his sending off against Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend.
Defenders Craig Dawson and Gabriel Tamas will want to partner Gareth McAuley in the cenre of the defence. Right-back Billy Jones is also available again after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Striker Peter Odemwingie is unavailable (10% of playing) because of a calf problem. Shane Long, Somen Tchoyi and Simon Cox are all in contention to replace the Nigerian international.
Winger Jerome Thomas has shaken off his recent hamstring injury while midfielder Keith Andrews (knee) should be fit despite missing training during the early part of the week.

West Brom wil look to move comfortably past bottom placed Wigan, even without star player Peter Odemwingie.

Sunday:

Wolves vs Manchester United: LIVE at 13:30pm
This match will be played at Molienuex as under-fire Wolves host 1st placed Manchester United who are serious EPL title contenders, with only 9 matches left to play this season.
Manchester United will hope key striker Wayne Rooney shrugs off the knock he suffered during yesterday's Europa League defeat in Spain in time to face Wolves on Sunday. 
Paul Scholes is set to return in midfield against the home side, whilst defender Phil Jones hopes to shrug off a flu bug.
Wolves caretaker manager Terry Connor has no fresh injury problems.
Midfielder Karl Henry is the only player sidelined and he hopes to return from his hamstring injury.

FACT: Wolves have conceded 9 goals in 3 matches since captain Roger Johnson was dropped by caretaker manager Terry Connor.
Leaky, dangerous choice by Mr. Connor....

Newcastle United vs Norwich City: LIVE at 16:00pm
This match will be played at The Sports Direct Arena as 6th placed Newcastle host 12th placed Norwich.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is worried about the fitness of key duo Cheick Tiote and Danny Simpson ahead of Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash with Norwich.
Midfielder Tiote picked up a hamstring problem on Monday during the 2-1 defeat against Arsenal, while full-back Simpson suffered an adductor strain in the same game.
Apart from that, Newcastle have no new injury concerns, although striker Peter Lovenkrands (thigh) and fellow long-term absentees Leon Best, Sammy Ameobi (both knee), Steven Taylor (Achilles) and Sylvain Marveaux (groin) are ALL still missing.
Norwich expect to have midfielder Jonny Howson available again after an illness.
Defenders Daniel Ayala (hamstring) and Marc Tierney (groin) are still recovering to full match fitness.
Striker James Vaughan (hamstring) is another still not available for first-team selection.

Newcastle will be disappointed if they do not win on Sunday against a high-and-low Norwich side.
Having said this, The Canaries are very un-predictable and can take a result from anywhere...

Demba Ba, Jonas and Papiss Demba Cisse's partnership will be key for the hosts.
 

Thanks for reading my EPL Blog.

Pease continue to support me by following this blog and viewing frequently which you are doing very well.

This means a lot to me as it inspires me to put more work, time and effort towards this blog!

I will see all of you tomorrow.

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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