FA Cup 5th Round Fixtures and Previews:

FA Cup 5th Round Previews:

Tomorrow:

15:00pm (unless stated) 

Chelsea vs Birmingham City: LIVE at 12:30pm

Defender John Terry looks unlikely to be risked for the match against Birmingham, despite recovering from the knee injury that has sidelined him for three weeks.
Ashley Cole (calf) is unable to play tomorrow.
Strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou will only be available in the midweek tie against Napoli after returning from African Cup of Nations duty, but midfielder Ramires could return from a knee injury against Birmingham.

Birmingham will be without front-line strikers Nikola Zigic (knee) and Marlon King (groin).
Adam Rooney is set to bolster the attack as npower Championship play-off contenders City look to secure a quarter-final spot for the third successive season via a major upset.

Chelsea will hope to move swiftly from their current (let's just say) 'interesting' form of late with a comfortable win against Championship opposition. It may not be routine against the power of Adam Rooney and co though who have secured a quarter-final place in the FA Cup for the past two years.

Everton vs Blackpool:

Everton will be without midfielder Steven Pienaar for Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round tie at Goodison Park because the winger, on loan from Tottenham, is cup-tied.
Midfielder Landon Donovan is available for the last time before he returns to the Los Angeles Galaxy, but illness could rule him out. Striker Nikica Jelavic misses out due to pubalgia (which is a groin problem)
Young playmaker Seamus Coleman could feature for The Toffees having overcome a thigh problem, but defender Shane Duffy has an ankle complaint and joins an injury list that also includes Jack Rodwell (hamstring), Leon Osman and Phil Jagielka (both knee)
Everton will be expecting to win against a lower side. To say the least...!

Millwall vs Bolton Wanderers:

Bolton forward Kevin Davies has been ruled out of the 5th round tie at Millwall due to a knee injury.

Owen Coyle has revealed that he sustained medial ligament damage in the 2-1 loss to Wigan last week. Defender Tyrone Mears is facing more time on the sidelines after suffering a setback in his recovery from a broken leg.
New striker Marvin Sordell is cup-tied, but defender Joe Riley may feature having regained his fitness after a groin problem and there could be first Bolton starts for two January signings in centre-back Tim Ream, who would make his debut and on-loan winger Ryo Miyaichi.
Bolton's new strengthed side should have enough to see off Millwall, and a place in the Quarter-finals would boost the board of directors' faith in under-fire manager Owen Coyle. 

Norwich City vs Leicester City: 

Norwich will have striker James Vaughan in the squad to face Leicester in Saturday's FA Cup tie after five months on the sidelines with a knee injury.

The Canaries are still without Daniel Ayala (hamstring) and Zak Whitbread (hamstring).
Norwich will be praying that their current form in the EPL, may continue in the FA Cup tomorrow.

Sunderland vs Arsenal: LIVE at 17:30pm

Arsenal are without centre-backs Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny for tomorrow's FA Cup fifth-round tie away at Sunderland.
Mertesacker (ankle) is out for the long term, according to manager Arsene Wenger, while Koscielny (knee) should be missing for only one week.
Gervinho returns from African Nations Cup duty, but defenders Carl Jenkinson (back) and Andre Santos (ankle) are still out, along with midfielders Abou Diaby (hamstring) and Jack Wilshere (ankle). Thierry Henry has completed his loan spell from New York Red Bulls and is back in America much to Arsenal supporters discontent (as they feel the spell was too sort for the legend).
Midfielder Lee Cattermole could be back in the Sunderland squad after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Striker Nicklas Bendtner is on loan from The Gunners so he is ineligible for the fifth-round clash at the Stadium of Light.
David Vaughan (ankle) is still out as are Wes Brown (knee) and Titus Bramble (Achilles).


Sunderland gave Arsenal a run for their money in the EPL last week, with an unlucky 2-1 loss thanks to Aaron Ramsey and Thierry Henry's late goals. They want revenge against an Arsenal side who have lost morale after their humilating 4-0 loss on Wednesday against AC Milan.

Sunday:

Crawley Town vs Stoke City: LIVE at 12:00pm

Stoke boss Tony Pulis will rotate his squad after the 1-0 defeat to Valencia yesterday in Spain for the trip to Crawley on Sunday.
Defender Matthew Upson could be involved after serving a European ban, while fellow centre-back Robert Huth will sit out the second of his three-match domestic suspension, but goalkeeper Asmir Begovic is likely to keep his place. Stoke have to monitior the fitness of midfielder Dean Whitehead after he sustained a nasty gash to his leg yesterday against Valencia in a clash. 

Stevenage vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE at 14:00pm

Rafael van der Vaart has failed to overcome a calf injury and will miss the match against Stevenage on Sunday.

Defender Younes Kaboul is struggling with a knee injury and captain Ledley King is likely to be rested, meaning Ryan Nelsen should start his first game for his new club.
Forward Louis Saha did not play for Everton in the FA Cup earlier this season and he is therefore available this weekend, but long-term absentees William Gallas (calf) and Tom Huddlestone (ankle) are out.
Spurs are in-form this season and could even win the EPL for the first time since, since.... err... 1950.
If they lose to Stevenage, they will be livid as they will want every trophy possible this season....

Liverpool vs Brighton and Hove Albion: LIVE at 16:30pm

Maxi Rodriguez could make his return to the Liverpool team in this weekend's FA Cup fifth-round clash with Brighton at Anfield.
Midfielder Rodriguez has not featured since the end of January due to a foot problem, in the 2-1 win against United in the 4th round.
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has indicated that young defenders Jon Flanagan and Jack Robinson may come into his thinking for the tie.

The Reds will expect to win comfortably after beating rivals Manchester United in the 4th Round, but Brighton will be hoping to keep Liverpool busy throughout the match and hopefully pull off an upset (which they nearly did in the 3rd round of the Carling Cup)

My Predictions:


Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Stoke, Everton, Bolton, Norwich all prevail - making an all EPL Last 8 quarter-final line-up.

UEFA Europa League Last 32 Coverage:

 

UEFA Europa League Last 32 First Leg:

Tuesday's Results:

Rubin Kasan 0 Olympiakos 1
Fuster 71'

Braga 0 Besiktas 2
Sivok 37'
Simao 58'

Today's (main) Fixtures:

Live from 18:00pm (unless stated):

Lokomotiv Moscow vs Athletic Bilbao
Ajax vs Manchester United
United face a tough test against Dutch opposition in Amsterdam. 
Defender Rio Ferdinand will captain United in their last-32 first-leg tie as full-back Patrice Evra is rested following an 'emotional week'.
Ryan Giggs (ankle) misses out along with striker Dimitar Berbatov, who was injured in training on Tuesday. 
Winger Nani (foot) and defender Phil Jones (ankle) return after missing the last four matches.
Ashley Young and Tom Cleverley are also in the 20-man squad.
Danger man: Ashley Young to give Ajax problems with his pace and creativity.


AZ Alkmaar vs Anderlecht
Lazio vs Atletico Madrid 
Legia Warsaw vs Sporting Lisbon
Viktoria Plzen vs Schalke 04
FC Porto vs Manchester City: LIVE at 20:05pm
City welcome back midfielder Yaya Toure and defender Kolo Toure against Porto tonight.
They are back from African Cup of Nations duty were they came 2nd.
Striker Mario Balotelli is also in contention after serving a domestic suspension but fellow striker Carlos Tevez who is back in training after his absence in Argentina has not been registered.
Danger man: Vincent Kompany to defend City's back-line against players like Hulk and Moutinho which he has done successfully since the start fo the season.

Stoke City vs Valencia: LIVE at 20:05pm
Stoke will be without defender Matthew Upson as he was sent off in their final group stage match against Besiktas in December and has to serve a one-match suspension.

Centre-back Robert Huth is available along with Jonathan Woodgate and Danny Collins are now eligible to play.

Danger men: Jermaine Pennant and Ryan Shotton with the pace down the wings to give Valencia's back four trouble thoroughout.


Udinese vs PAOK Salonki: LIVE at 20:05pm

Results and Analysis link here: http://www.footballblogdirectory.co.uk/2012/02/manchester-clubs-1-stoke-0.html

UEFA Champions League Results:

UEFA Champions League Last 16 Results:

This midweek is the first CL and EL action in 2012......

With four EPL clubs in competition in the space of two days, it is sure to be an exciting week.

Yesterday's Action:


Bayer Leverkusen 1 Barcelona 3
The best footballing team in the world showed yet again why they are the best in the business with a comfortable 3-1 win against tough German opposition.
Chilean winger Andres Sanchez scored twice (41st minute and 55th minute) to give Barcelona a 2-1 lead after Michal Kadlec levelled after 51 minutes.
The best player in the world, Lionel Messi added a third in the 88th minute to give Barca a relaxing 3-1 aggregate score, with away goals almost pushing the defending champions through to the Last 8.

Magic Messi: Capping off a fine performance for Barca in Germany. 

Sanchez scoring to make it 2-1 to Barca against Leverkusen after 55 minutes.

FACT: Sanchez scored his first two goals in the Champions League in his career yesterday.
FACT: Lionel Messi has now scored 7 goals in the Champions League so far this season - and is the competition's top goalscorer.


Lyon 1 APOEL 0
The French giants take a slender 1-0 home lead against the 2011 Cypriot champions to Cyprus.
Striker Alexandre Lacazette scored the only goal of the match for 'The Kids' in the 58th minute.

FACT: APOEL are the first team from Cypriot to ever reach the Last 16 of the Cl.




Today's CL Action:


Zenit St Petersburg 3 Benfica 2
This match was played in Russia on a cold night with temperatures falling down to -10c.
Defender Maxi Pereira opened the scoring for the visitors after twenty minutes, before striker Shirokov equalised for Zenit, seven minutes later. 
After these two quick-fire goals, it was relatively quiet for the rest of the half and the second half was quiet until 71 minutes, when midfielder Sergei Semak gave the hosts the lead for the first time in the match after a cross was finished with a cheeky backheel past the keeper.
Striker Oscar Cardozo tapped in a goal from 4 yards out after a comical mishap by the keeper after a weak shot was parried - straight into Cardozo's feet.
The old saying is that you are at your most vulnerable when you have just scored, and this was the case for Benfica who took their foot off the pedal for a second and were punished. 
Less than a minute later, Shirokov scored his second of the match to give Zenit a late winner in the 88th minute and to give them the 3-2 aggregate edge going into the second leg of the tie.....

Shirokov celebrates scoring a late winner in Russia against Benfica.

AC Milan 4 Arsenal 0
Robinho, Boateng and Ibrahimovic showed no mercy........


 http://kitchenscalesale.co.uk

My thoughts and opinions on tonight's 4-0 loss against AC Milan:
http://www.footballblogdirectory.co.uk/2012/02/thrashing-in-milan-is-it-8-years-yet.html

See you tomorrow for some tasty Europa League fixtures including Manchester City vs FC Porto, and Manchester United vs Ajax.

Today's EPL Results and LATEST News:

These were the last fixtures in the Round 25 of this season's English Premier League:


Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 West Bromwich Albion 5
This match was played at Moleniuex as 18th placed Wolves faced 15th placed West Brom. 
Striker Peter Odemwingie opened the scoring after 35 minutes for the away side. Forward Stephen Fletcher scored his 10th goal of the season to level just before half-time in the 45th minute. Midfielder Jonas Olsson made it 2-1 to West Brom after 65 minutes and Odemwingie added his second of the match thirteen minutes later (78th) to make it 3-1. New signing Keith Andrews made it 4-1 in the 85th minute, before Odemwingie completed his hat-trick in the 89th minute to cap off a great performance by the away side.

 Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie celebrating scoring his hat-trick against Wolves.

Manchester City 1 Aston Villa 0
This match was played at The Ethiad as 2nd placed City faced 14th placed Aston Villa. If Villa won, they would shoot up to 11th while City were chasing rivals United who were ahead of them (by only 1 point). 
This game was a very cagey affair with 20 fouls for both sides and 26 shots between them (on and off target) but defender Joleon Lescott finally broke the deadlock for the home side after 63 minutes. This was how the match finished so City took a slender 1-0 win and move above United into 1st, two points ahead while Aston Villa drop down to 15th place only seven points above relegation....

 Joleon Lescott scoring the only goal of the match for Manchester City against Aston Villa in the 63rd minute.

Did not really look that good on paper, but with seven goals between them, they were two interesting matches.

EPL News:

Liverpool forward Luis Suarez has apologised for refusing to accept Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra's hand at Old Trafford yesterday.
Good.... it was a silly decision that took all eyes away from the match....


Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will receive a formal approach to take over as England manager from the FA within the next few days after former manager Fabio Capello resigned on Wednesday.
Dilemma for Redknapp.... Spurs or England!?!?


Winger Ryan Giggs has signed a one-year extension to his Manchester United contract in a deal that will see the Welshman complete his 21st season as a first-team player.
A brilliant achievement for anyone, and he is still super-fit and essential to United's plans at 37 years of age.


American side New York Red Bulls have confirmed that striker Thierry Henry will not be allowed to extend his loan spell at Arsenal.
Sad news for The Gunners, as the legend was needed in their short-term future.... what does this mean now?

And lastly:
Andre Villas-Boas has said that yesterday's 2-0 defeat to Everton is Chelsea's worst display of the season.


What does this mean for Chelsea? Are they going to sack AVB (like everyone else who has tried and failed)?
Are they even going to qualify for the Champions League with Arsenal and Liverpool strong candidates?

Thank you all for reading my EPL Blog, if you like it then follow me and continue reading my posts.

I will see you later.

EPL LIVE Saturday Special:

Hello and welcome to the 25th Round of EPL Matches in the 2011/12 Season. 
This is going to be an interesting week of football with five clubs playing in Europe next week.


Watch out for Tottenham vs Newcastle and Blackburn vs QPR which could be goal feasts.....


Today's EPL Matches:

Early kick-off:
Manchester United vs Liverpool: LIVE (started) at 12:45pm

Interesting match ahead at Old Trafford as striker Luis Suarez returns from an eight match ban to face the team who gave his the ban - Manchester United. Liverpool are eyeing the last Champions League spot while United will be desperate to continue pressurising rivals City in 1st place.

United will be looking for revenge after losing to The Reds in the FA Cup 4th Round who are on a high after beating both Manchester clubs and have won three matches in a row. Expect drama and shots.

Man Utd: De Gea, Rafael Da Silva, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Rooney, Welbeck.
Subs: Amos, Berbatov, Park, Hernandez, Fabio Da Silva, Cleverley, Pogba.
Weaker than usual?
United are wearing their home kit and are weaing black armbands because this is their first home match since Monday's anniversary of the Munich air disaster.

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Jose Enrique, Spearing, Henderson, Kuyt, Gerrard, Downing, Suarez. Subs: Doni, Carroll, Carragher, Adam, Shelvey, Kelly, Bellamy.
Adam should be playing instead of Spearing....?
Liverpool are wearing their alternate (white and blue) kit.

Prediction: Manchester United win as they are at home, they want revenge against Liverpool and are looking to get their 20th EPL title this season..
Even though The Reds have the second best defensive record in the EPL this season, United have the second best goal record this season.....
0: The match is finally underway here between Manchester United and Liverpool. The main story in the last 5 minutes is that Suarez has snubbed a handhake from Evra.
1: Defender Rio Ferdinand is needing treatment after Suarez barged he onto Evra and on the floor.
6: Antonio Valencia is fouled by Jose Enrique just outside the box on the right hand side. Giggs delivers the ball in and Glen Johnson heads it behind with Rooney lurking. The corner falls to Rooney but his header is weak and into the hands of Pepe Reina.
10: Luis Suarez is getting unsurprisingly booed here.
12: Liverpool holding the ball, trying to dominate here.
26: Giggs on the ball, passes straight to Rooney who drills a shot low and hard from 25 yards out.... WIDE!!!
30: Cross by Valencia into the box for Scholes who heads the ball towards goal...... Reina parries and Skrtel clears the ball out of the danger area.
Close from United, finally starting to play like champions....
34: Giggs finds Valencia who whips a ball into the box, high for Patrice Evra who jumps over the defender and heads the ball.... OVER THE BAR!!!
37: Danny Welbeck runs at the Liverpool defence and finds himself inside the box before taking a shot.... WIDE!
Good play by the young striker.
41: Midfielder Steven Gerrard takes a shot..... deflected for a corner.
44: Liverpool midfielder Stewart Downing gets the first yellow card of the match after a late tackle.
45: The fourth official signals 2 minutes of stoppage time to be added on.
45+2: The referee blows the whistle for half-time here.
United should be in-front at half-time due to their chances, but don't be surprised if they come out in the second half all guns blazing against Liverpool who want to keep them grounded.

45: The referee blows the whistle to start the second half here.
46: United win a corner in the opening minute of the second half. Ryan Giggs flicks the ball into the box for Wayne Rooney who volleys the ball towards goal.... GOAL!!!! 
In the first minute of the second half, what a reaction by United!
50: Midfielder Jay Spearing loses the ball to United's Valencia, he passes the ball to striker Wayne Rooney and he slots the ball past Pepe Reina into the goal to double United's lead in the space of 3 minutes.
What a start to the second half for United!
53: 'Suarez, Suarez, what's the score' rings out around Old Trafford as the United fans celebrate. Striker Andy Carroll is currently warming up on the touchline.
80: Midfielder Michael Carrick is cautioned with a yellow card after a tackle. 
Striker Luis Suarez shoots inside the box..... GOAL!!!
Is it too little, too late for Liverpool?
90: The referee blows the final whistle here at Old Trafford. 
United move up to 1st place, 1 point ahead of rivals City who face Aston Villa at 4pm tomorrow. Liverpool stay in a lowly 7th place with 39 points from 25 matches.


Manchester United 2 Liverpool 1

Today's 15:00pm kick-offs (unless stated):

Sunderland vs Arsenal
Blackburn vs QPR
Bolton Wanderers vs Wigan Athletic
Everton vs Chelsea
Fulham vs Stoke City
Swansea vs Norwich
Tottenham Hotpsur vs Newcastle United: LIVE at 17:30pm


15:00: The 15:00pm kick-offs have all kicked off in the EPL.


15:05:
Everton vs Chelsea: LIVE
On loan midfielder Steven Pienaar scores for Everton on his second spell for the club after 5 minutes! Chelsea are behind away from home after 5 minutes.

Midfielder Steven Pienaar celebrates after beating goalkeeper Petr Cech to put his side 1-0 up in the 5th minute against Chelsea.

15:15:
Blackburn vs QPR: LIVE
Nigerian striker Yakubu scores his 13th goal of the season for Blackburn to break the deadlock for the home side after 15 minutes. 


15:16:
Fulham vs Stoke: LIVE
Striker Pavel Pogrebnyak (what a tongue twister!) scores his first goal for his new club after moving in the January Transfer Window.

Pogrebnyak: New Fulham goal-scorer???

15:23:
Blackburn vs QPR: LIVE
Miidfielder Steven NZonzi doubles Blackburn's lead in the 23rd minute to put the home side 2-0 ahead.


15:28:
Fulham vs Stoke: LIVE
Goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen has scored a goal here - an own goal. Doubles Fulham's lead.


Swansea vs Norwich: LIVE
Striker Danny Graham opens the scoring with his 12th of the season at The Liberty Stadium to put Swansea 1-0 ahead. 


15:43: 
Bolton vs Wigan: LIVE
Defender Gary Caldwell scores for Wigan to put the away side in-front just before half-time. Roberto Martinez' team talk is going to change now....


15:45:
Blackburn vs QPR: LIVE 
Defender Nedum Onuoha scores the second own goal of the afternoon after his deflection from midfielder Junior Holiett's shot turned into his own net to put Blackburn comfortably 3-0 up at half-time.


15:48:
The 15:00pm kick-offs in the EPL have all grinded to a holt for fifteen minutes while the managers talk tactics to the players....


HALF-TIMES:
Blackburn 3 QPR 0
Bolton 0 Wigan 1
Everton 1 Chelsea 0
Sunderland 0 Arsenal 0
Swansea 1 Norwich 0
Fulham 2 Stoke 0


16:03:
The second halves have started in the EPL all over the country.


16:05:
Swansea vs Norwich:
And the first goal of the second half comes from The Liberty Stadium...
In-form English (hint hint) midfielder Grant Holt equalises for the away side after 47 minutes.

Norwich celebrate forward Grant Holt's equaliser in the 47th minute at The Liberty Stadium.

16:09:
Swansea vs Norwich:
Antony Pilkington puts The Canaries ahead in the match for the first time after 51 minutes to give Swansea a headache.
Quick start by Norwich in this second half....


16:21:
Swansea vs Norwich:
ANOTHER GOAL from The Liberty Stadium......
Grant Holt scores again to put Norwich 3-1 up in the 63rd minute!


16:25:
Bolton vs Wigan:
Midfielder Mark Davies scores an equaliser for Bolton after 67 minutes to make it 1-1 at The Reebok.


16:28
Sunderland vs Arsenal:
Finally a goal here at The Stadium of Light, but for the in-form hosts as midfielder Josh McClean opens the scoring in the 70th minute!

Midfielder Josh McClean opens the scoring for the home side against Arsenal after 70 minutes.

16:29: 
Blackburn vs QPR: LIVE
Striker Jamie Mackie brings a goal back for the away side as Rangers fight for a late comeback.


Everton vs Chelsea: LIVE
Denis Stracquarlursi doubles The Toffees' lead at Goodison Park against 4th placed Chelsea in the 71st minute!
Surely no way back for The Blues now!?!?


16:34:
Sunderland vs Arsenal: LIVE
Midfielder Aaron Ramsey comes off the Arsenal bench - three minutes later, he equalises for the away side! 1-1 with 15 minutes left of the game, it could still go either way here..

Ramsey's strike levelled the match against Sunderland in the 75th minute.

16:35:
Bolton vs Wigan: LIVE
James McCarthur puts the away side ahead once again after 76 minutes at The Reebok.


16:37:
Fulham vs Stoke: LIVE
Defender Ryan Shawcross halves Fulham's lead in the 78th minute... The Potters have faint hope of salvaging something in this match.


16:48:
Swansea vs Norwich: LIVE
Striker Danny Graham scores his second of the match from the penalty spot in the 89th minute to halve Norwich's 3-1 lead to 3-2...
1 minute plus stoppage time for Swansea to get something here...


16:49:
Blackburn vs QPR: LIVE
Striker Jamie Mackie scores his second of the day but surely it's too late...?
3-2 to Blackburn.


16:51:
Sunderland vs Arsenal: LIVE
Andrey Arshavin with a cross into the box for lurking striker Thierry Henry who heads the ball towards goal..... GOAL!!! Arsenal have stolen the match in the last dying seconds! 

Thierry Henry: What. A. Legend.

From 1-0 down, to 2-1 up!
And Henry is the scorer! What a finale to this match!


16:53:
The referees have all blown their whistles in the EPL 15:00pm kick-offs....


FULL-TIMES:
Sunderland 1 Arsenal 2
Thierry Henry marks his last EPL appearance in an Arsenal shirt before going back to New York Red Bulls with a goal as The Gunners made a remarkable 15 minute comeback. They move up to 4th place, in serious contention for the last Champions League spot at the end of the season.
FACT: Henry has scored more goals this year than £50million man Fernando Torres.. *cough*


Fulham 2 Stoke City 1
Although Stoke fought throughout the match, Fulham prevailed with new signing Pavel Pogrebnyak scoring on his home debut.


Swansea 2 Norwich City 3
Grant Holt scored twice as Norwich became only the second team to win away from home against Swansea this season.
Opposite striker Danny Graham scored twice (once from a penalty) but it was not enough as Swansea drop to 11th place in the table while Norwich move up to a comfortable 8th. 
FACT: Danny Graham and Grant Holt have scored 23 goals combined this season, which is more than any player in the EPL (on their own) apart from Robin Van Persie. 


Everton 2 Chelsea 0
Chelsea fall to their 6th defeat of the season as they lost 2-0 to 10th placed Everton.


Blackburn 3 QPR 2
A 5 goalfeast at Ewood Park as Blackburn beat a newly renovated QPR side by 3 goals to 2.
Jamie Mackie scored twice but it was not enough as the home side won.
QPR are now currently in 16th while Blackburn are in 18th, with both teams level on points.


Bolton Wanderers 1 Wigan 2


Tottenham vs Newcastle United: LIVE at 17:30pm


Tottenham:
Friedel, Walker, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto, Modric, Parker, Kranjcar, Bale, Adebayor, Saha.  Subs: Cudicini, Lennon, Defoe, Rose, Livermore, Nelsen, Khumalo.


Striker Louis Saha starts for Spurs at home...

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon, Obertan, Guthrie, Perch, Gutierrez, Ba, Cisse. Subs: Elliot, Ben Arfa, Lovenkrands, Abeid, Gosling, Shola Ameobi, Ferguson.

17:34:

Full-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto opens the scoring for Spurs in the 4th minute.

Assou-Ekotto opens the scoring for Spurs after 4 minutes against Newcastle.

17:36: 

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor passes the ball to Louis Saha who shoots from 12 yards, and scores from 12 yards to double the home side's lead after 6 minutes and score on his home debut.

Striker Louis Saha doubles Tottenham's lead - after only 6 minutes.

FACT: Adebayor has now made 8 assists this season, only Manchester City's David Silva and Manchester United's Antonio Valencia have more in the whole of the EPL.

Does not look good though for Newcastle....

17:50:
Assou-Ekotto passes a through ball to midfielder Luka Modric who crosses the ball into the box for Adebayor. He brings the ball back for Louis Saha who smashes the ball towards goal... and SCORES his second of the match after only 20 minutes in the first half!! 
9 assists...




17:54:
Tottenham defensive midfielder Scott Parker has been given a yellow card after a dangerous tackle on Newcastle striker Demba Ba from 25 yards out. It is also the first yellow of the match so far.


18:04:
Midfielder Niko Kranjcar scores  after Tim Krul parried Emmanuel Adebayor's shot. 4-0 now and Spurs are killing Newcastle at the moment....


18:09:
Full-back Kyle Walker has been given the second yellow card of the match after a late challenge on opposite full-back James Perch in the 39th minute.


18:14: The fourth official signals for three minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half.


18:17: The referee blows the whistle for half-time here.
FACT: This is the first time in EPL history that Tottenham have been 4-0 up at half-time.

18:51: Louis Saha crosses the ball into the box for Emmanuel Adebayor who volleys the ball towards goal..... GOAL!!! Adebayor scores his 10th goal of the season! 


19:20: The referee blows the whistle for full-time after playing three minutes of stoppage time at White Hart Lane.


Tottenham take advantage of earlier results with a five star performance from Adebayor and Saha.
They are now ten points clear of 4th placed rivals Arsenal, and only five points of 1st placed United.
Newcastle stay in 6th place, but fail to capitalize on Liverpool's 2-1 loss against United earlier in the afternoon.

Emmanuel Adebayor making it 5-0 to Tottenham against Newcastle after 64 minutes.

 




Thank you for reading my EPL Blog. 
Comment, follow and continue to read for more EPL football action.


See you tomorrow for:
West Bromwich Albion vs Wolverhampton Wanderers: LIVE at 13:30pm
Manchester City vs Aston Villa: LIVE at 16:00pm

African Cup of Nations and EPL UPDATE:

Semi Final:
Zambia 1 Ghana 0
Zambia now progress through to the final against Ivory Coast or Mali on Sunday.
The Black Stars' hopes of their first ACON trophy for over 30 years is gone after they lost 1-0 earlier today.
Their last match in the tournament is on Saturday where they have a 3rd vs 4th Play-off match.

Ivory Coast vs Mali: LIVE from 19:10pm
The other semi-final will be played later where captain and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba hopes to lead his side to the final on Sunday against captain Seydou Keita of Barcelona.

Monday's EPL Results:
Liverpool 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0
A goalless draw at Anfield sees Spurs stay in 3rd place, 5 points behind 2nd placed Manchester United while Liverpool stick in 7th, picking up their 9th draw of the season (the fifth highest in the EPL)

EPL News:
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has been cleared of tax evasion and now is the odds on favourite to become the next England manager.

Barcelona have confirmed that they have come to London nine times to see Tottenham winger Gareth Bale in the last four months.
They have revealed that they are ready to sell three youngsters to Arsenal and Chelsea to help fund for Spurs' transfer demands.
Isaac Cuenca and Cristian Tello (to Arsenal) and Jonathan Dos Santos (to Chelsea).

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that he is ready to make a £45million summer swoop for Lille winger Eden Hazard and Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge.

Newcastle striker Leon Best's x-ray scan shows that he has suffered a knee ligament injury in the 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday. He is out for up to two months.

Chelsea defender John Terry has been axed from football boot sponsor Umbro following the racial allegations with QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

Wolves have confirmed on-loan midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong will return to parent club Arsenal after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
He is out until the end of the season.
Unfortunate as he was playing well on his loan spell.

In-form striker Demba Ba insists he will not quit Newcastle, saying such talk makes him 'smile'. The Senegal striker has a £10m release clause in his contract.

And lastly:

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has no intention of apologising to Manchester United defender Patrice Evra on Saturday when the two sides meet over the race row which led to his eight-game suspension.
Interesting..... 

EPL Sunday Double Bill LIVE:



Hello and welcome to a Sunday Double Bill with two tasty fixtures in the top 6 guaranteed to have goals in the race for Europa League and Champions League qualification.

So we start off with:

Newcastle United vs Aston Villa: LIVE (started) at 13:30pm 
Senegalese striker Demba Ba opened the scoring for the home side in the 30th minute to score his 16th goal of the season for Newcastle to put the home side ahead. Striker Robbie Keane equalised for Villa in the 5th minute of stoppage time in the first half before Papiss Demba Cisse scored a wonder strike from 15 yards on the 72nd minute.

Newcastle striker Demba Ba celebrating his goal against Aston Villa after 30 minutes.

FACT: Papiss Demba Cisse becomes the first Newcastle player to score on his debut since Xisco in 2008 (against Hull)

FULL-TIME:
Newcastle 2 Aston Villa 1
This result means that Newcastle move up to 5th place in the table above Arsenal and Liverpool, level on points with Chelsea who play in half an hour.
Villa are now 13th, a point in-front of Fulham and two behind Stoke, Everton and Swansea.

Chelsea vs Manchester United: LIVE at 16:00pm  

This match will be played at Stamford Bridge as 4th placed Chelsea host 2nd placed Manchester United who have not beaten Chelsea away from home in almost 10 years.

United will hope to win so they put pressure on Manchester City in 1st and level on points but Chelsea will not be an easy test and they will want to move 3 points ahead of 5th placed Newcastle to stake their claim of the last Champions League qualification spot. These two have shared the EPL trophy for the last 7 years so expect drama, lots of quality and shots.

Teams:

Chelsea:

Cech, Ivanovic, Bosingwa, Luiz, Cahill, Essien, Meireles, Sturridge, Torres, Mata, Malouda. Subs: Turnbull, Ferreira, Hutchinson, Bertrand, Lukaku, Piazon, Romeu.

Chelsea without Lampard (gap in the creative department of midfield excluding Mata who is a winger) and Terry Essien starts for Chelsea, along with Gary Cahill who makes his debut following his £7million move from Bolton in January. Can Torres score today? Can Mata make some magic? Can Sturridge help?

Manchester United:
De Gea, Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Giggs, Young, Carrick, Rooney, Welbeck. Subs: Amos, Fabio, Scholes, Pogba, Park, Berbatov, Hernandez.

An under-strength United side, without Nani (notably) Vidic and under-fire goalkeeper De Gea returns..... Can Young provide danger for Chelsea in his first competitive match of 2012? Valencia will be hoping to continue his great run of form lately and Welbeck will look to give Cahill and Luiz trouble at the back.

My prediction:

Draw because De Gea is in goal for United, but both sides have weak squads.

0: The referee has blown the whistle to start the match.

7: Manchester United looking dangerous here... Young nfalls inside the box but Howard Webb says play on.

11: Defender Gary Cahill slides in on United striker Danny Welbeck outside the box but the ref waves play on....

15: Ashley Young is looking menacing here on the wing.... takes a shot.... SAVED!!! by Petr Cech!

30: Midfielder Valencia chips the ball over the top of the Chelsea defence straight to Wayne Rooney who runs 20 yards and pass the ball across the post to Welbeck but Ivanovic clears for a corner....

36: Daniel Sturridge runs at the United defence and moves towards the far post before geting past Evra, takes a shot which defelcets off Evans into the net..... GOAL!!! Sturridge will claim it but it will go down as a Evans own goal. 1-0 to the home side and the crowd are finally awake.

45: Ivanovic is booked for persistent fouls.

Thrre minutes of stoppage time to be added on.

45+3: Half-time whistle blown here at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea leading 1-0 but you only feel that there are going to be more goals in the second half.

FACT: Jonny Evans is the only player to score an own goal in this fixture for the last 12 years.

45: The referee blows the whistle to start the second half.

46: Cross by striker Fernando Torres into the box for Juan Mata who volleys the ball past De Gea.... GOAL!!! What a start to the second half! Chelsea have doubled their lead.

51: Free-kick taken swung into the box for defender David Luiz who heads the ball towards goal.... GOAL!!!! Chelsea are now 3-0 up!!!!!

58: Patrice Evra sprints past the Chelsea defence on the wing, Sturridge clips him inside the box..... Howard Webb points the spot.

Striker Wayne Rooney steps up to take the pen..... he shoots., GOAL!!!!! Straight into the top corner.

3-1, United are back in this?

69: Danny Welbeck moves inside the box and Ivanovic drags his leg back and clips him....... Another penalty!!!!

Rooney to step up again.... he shoots, GOAL!!! Hard and low into the corner, out of Petr Cech's reach. United are haunting Chelsea here.... 3-2.

84: Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs running down the wing avoiding a challenge from full-back Bosingwa, crosses the ball high into the box for forward Javier Henrandez who heads the ball with menace, GOAL!!! Cech got a hand to it, but it was not enough to deny the Mexican!!! 3-0 down, 3-3 now!!!!

90: The fourth official signals four minutes to be added on here.

90+3: Chelsea free-kick, the last action of the match with midfielder Juan Mata to take it from 25 yards out against his national team-mate De Gea.

He curls the ball over the wall and it dips towards goal.... GREAT SAVE!! by David De Gea! It was creeping in the goal!

90+4: The referee blows the whistle for full-time here at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester United salvage a point after a classic comebcak despite going 3-0 down after 51 minutes. Chelsea stay 4th and move a point further away from 5th placed Newcastle while United lose ground against rivals City 2 points the gap now.

What an epic football match. Great image for the sport..

Sturridge's cross hit Evans to turn into the goal for the opening goal for Chelsea after 36 minutes.

Midfielder Juan Mata doubling Chelsea's lead straight after half-time.

David Luiz heads home for Chelsea to make it 3-0 against Manchester United in the 50th minute.

Striker Wayne Rooney places the ball past goalkeeper Petr Cech to give United hope for a result at 3-2 in the 69th minute.

Completed comeback: Javier Hernandez's header gave United a late point in the 84th minute.

LIVE from 20:00pm on Monday:
Liverpool vs Totteham Hotspur

Today's EPL Matches (Saturday Special):

Today EPL Matches:

Arsenal 6 Blackburn Rovers 1: LIVE (started) at 13:00pm

Striker Robin Van Persie opened the scoring in the 2nd minute to put the home side in-front. Midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen equalised for Blackburn in the 33rd minute. Van Persie scored again, 5 minutes later. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made it 3-1 before half-time. Defender Gael Givet got a straight red card in the 43rd minute to put the away side down to 10 men. Midfielder Mikel Arteta made it 4-1 to Arsenal in the 51st minute, before Chamberlain added another, 3 minutes later. Captain Van Persie completed his hat-trick in the 61st minute to show why he is the most prolific striker in the EPL.

90+4: Striker Thierry Henry shoots... 7!!!!! Arsenal have rubbed salt into nthe wounds of an already (very) weakened Blackburn side.

Arsenal move within two points of 4th placed Chelsea and still have hope of a Champions League spot. Striker Robin Van Persie was my man of the match with a hat-trick and helping an inspired victory for The Gunners. Blackburn on the other hand, are in all sorts of trouble with them stuck in 19th place, looking relegation straight in the face...

Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade Chamberlain putting The Gunners 3-1 up.

Midifleder Mikel Arteta hitting the target to give Arsenal a 4-1 lead.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain doubling his tally for 5-1.

Captain Robin Van Persie has now scored 28 goals for Arsenal in all competitons this season.

15:00pm kick-offs:

Norwich City vs Bolton:

QPR vs Wolverhampton Wanderers:

Stoke City vs Sunderland:

West Bromwich Albion vs Swansea City:

Wigan Athletic vs Everton:

15:16:

QPR vs Wolverhampton Wanderers:

The first goal of the 15:00pm kick-offs comes from Loftus Road. Guess who scores it..... striker Bobby Zamora on his QPR debut after his £7million transfer from Fulham on Tuesday.

1-0 to the home side.

15:34:

QPR vs Wolverhampton Wanderers:

No.... it's not a goal here, but striker Djibril Cisse has had a sent red card for volent conduct with Wolves defender Roger Johnson.

Automatic 3 match ban...... not good on his 2nd match for QPR.....

15:48:

Half-time in all the 15:00pm kick-offs:

Only 1 goal in all the 5 matches so far... but expect it to change after half-time.....

16:04:

Second halves have kicked- off and we are underway....

16:05:
QPR vs Wolverhampton Wanderers:

And BAM! 1 minute, 1 goal.

Midfielder Matt Jarvis equalises for Wolves in the 46th minute to score his 3rd goal of the season.

16:13:

West Brom vs Swansea City:

Striker Marc Antoine Fortune has broken the deadlock for the home side at The Hawthorns in the 54th minute. West Brom 1 Swansea 0.

16:14:
West Brom vs Swansea City:

Gylfi Sigurdsson scores for Swansea to equalise a minute after Fortune had put the home side in-front.... 1-1.

16:19:

West Brom vs Swansea City:

Danny Graham scores for The Swans to put them 2-1 up now!

Stoke vs Sunderland:

Josh McClean opens the scoring for the away side on the hour mark.

16:29:
Norwich vs Bolton:
Finally a goal here..... Andy Surman with the goal in the 70th minute to put the hosts ahead.

16:30:
QPR vs Wolves:
It's all happening at Loftus Road..... Wolves have taken the lead with Republic Of Irelnad striker Kevin Doyle turning things around for the away side in the 71st minute!!

16:35:

Everton vs Wigan:

Defender Phil Neville has turned the ball into his own net to put The Latics ahead after 76 minutes.

Can they get back into the match with just under 15 minutes to play? Or will Wigan kill the match off with another goal?

16:42:
Everton vs Wigan:

Someone scored at Goodison Park..... 

And it is striker Victor Anichebe who equalises for the home side in the 83nd minute!

16:44:

Norwich vs Bolton:

Anthony Pilkington has confirmed Norwich's win by doubling their lead to 2-0 in the 85th minute! Game over!  

16:50:

Full-times:

Norwich 2 Bolton 0

Andrew Surman firing home his opener against Bolton in the 70th minute.

Everton 1 Wigan 1

QPR 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2

QPR striker Bobby Zamora opens the scoring for his new club - on his debut.

Stoke City 0 Sunderland 1

Midfielder Josh McClean scoring the winner for Sundelrand against Stoke in the 60th minute.

West Bomwich Albion 1 Swansea City 2

Swansea celebrate Danny Graham's winner against West Brom.

Manchester City vs Fulham: LIVE (started) at 17:30pm

Forward Sergio Aguero opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a penalty to score his 18th goal of the season.
Fulham defender Chris Baird scored an own goal to make it 2-0 in the 30th minute and striker Edin Dzeko finished Fulham off after 70 minutes.  

Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero putting the hosts 1-0 ahead from the penalty spot in the 10th minute against Fulham.

 Snow proved dangerous and a nuisance throughout the match for both teams.

FULL-TIME:
Manchester City 3 Fulham 0
City move three points ahead of United who play tomorrow against Chelsea.


Tomorrow:
Newcastle vs Aston Villa: LIVE at 13:30pm
Chelsea vs Manchester United: LIVE at 16:00pm

Monday:
Liverpool vs Tottenham: LIVE from 20:00pm