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.






Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
Please continue to support me by viewing and following me.
See you next week everyone!

EPL Saturday Special LIVE:

 EPL Saturday Special:

12:45pm:

Bolton Wanderers vs QPR: LIVE

Defender Darren Pratley opened the scoring with a header after 37 minutes to give the home side the lead at half-time. Striker Djibril Cisse eqaulised for the away side, two minutes after the restart (although he was in an offside position) Defender Clint Hill scored early in the first half for QPR, but it was disallowed as the ball did not cross the line, (which it actually did). Commentator Gary Neville was very frustated, and has called for goal-line technology to sort this problem out. Ryo Miyaichi set up striker Ivan Klasnic who came off the bench to score a late goal in the 86th minute.
QPR were desperate to equalise again in the dying minutes, but Bolton shut up shop and ended up winning 2-1.


Attendance: 21,551.

Defender Darren Pratley opens the scoring for Bolton with a header after 37 minutes.

Djibril Cisse celebrates his 47th minute equaliser for QPR at The Reebok Stadium..

Striker Ivan Klasnic scores his 8th goal of the season for Bolton to win late on against QPR in the 86th minute.

Full-time:
Bolton 2 QPR 1
Bolton now move up to 16th place, 1 point ahead of QPR in 17th. 




15:00pm kick-off team news:

Aston Villa v Fulham: 

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Cuellar, Collins, Warnock, Albrighton, Herd, Petrov, N'Zogbia, Ireland, Agbonlahor. Subs: Guzan, Heskey, Bannan, Weimann, Lichaj, Baker, Gardner.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Senderos, Hangeland, John Arne Riise, Duff, Dembele, Murphy, Dempsey, Pogrebnyak, Johnson. Subs: Stockdale, Baird, Orlando Sa, Hughes, Diarra, Etuhu, Davies.

FACT: Fulham have picked up 16 points in 2012, in the EPL - and only Manchester United (19) and Manchester City (21) have more.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Blackburn Rovers:
Wolves: Hennessey, Zubar, Stearman, Bassong, Ward, Doyle, Davis, Edwards, O'Hara, Jarvis, Fletcher. Subs: De Vries, Kightly, Ebanks-Blake, Johnson, Berra, Milijas, Foley.

Blackburn: Robinson, Lowe, Dann, Hanley, Martin Olsson, Formica, Pedersen, Nzonzi, Marcus Olsson, Hoilett, Yakubu. Subs: Bunn, Givet, Dunn, Modeste, Petrovic, Goodwillie, Vukcevic.

FACT: Wolves have conceded 9 goals in the first 15 minutes of play, and scored none in that time which is a record.

FACT: Wolves have not won at home since February 2011.

Chelsea v Stoke:
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Lampard, Meireles, Kalou, Drogba. Subs: Turnbull, Luiz, Essien, Romeu, Torres, Mata, Sturridge.

Interesting team line-up for Chelsea.

Stoke: Begovic, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Shotton, Whitehead, Diao, Fuller, Jones, Walters. Subs: Sorensen, Pennant, Upson, Delap, Crouch, Jerome, Palacios.

FACT: Stoke have only scored 3 goals against Chelsea in the last 9 meetings - to Chelsea's 20.

Sunderland v Liverpool:
Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, O'Shea, Turner, Bridge, Larsson, Colback, Gardner, McClean, Bendtner, Campbell. Subs: Gordon, Wickham, Kilgallon, Vaughan, Meyler, Kyrgiakos, Elmohamady.

Liverpool: Reina, Kelly, Skrtel, Coates, Jose Enrique, Kuyt, Henderson, Adam, Spearing, Bellamy, Suarez. Subs: Doni, Gerrard, Carroll, Maxi, Downing, Carragher, Flanagan.

FACT: Liverpool's last fixture against Sunderland was a 1-1 draw on the first day of the season.

15:00: The 3oclock kick-offs have started.

15:04: 

Stamford Bridge,

Chelsea vs Stoke City:

The Blues are currently dominating at home... with Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross almost scoring an own goal....

15:13:

The Stadium of Light,

Sunderland vs Liverpool:

Sunderland are pressing Liverpool here..... they could score soon..

15:19:
Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea vs Stoke:
Midfielders Diao (Stoke) and John Obi Mikel (Chelsea) have both picked up yellow cards.... they now have to be careful....


15:26:
Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea vs Stoke City:
Striker Ricardo Fuller has been given a straight red card for Stoke to put them down to ten men after a late challenge on Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic (violent conduct). He walks off the pitch, without any complaints.

Striker Ricardo Fuller is given a straight red card against Chelsea on his first match for Stoke since January.

Now Stoke could be in trouble without a form of strike, and this could spark Chelsea's time in the match.


15:35:
Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea vs Stoke:
Raul Meireles crosses the ball into the box for Didier Drogba who misses the ball completely along with Salomon Kalou to the relief of Stoke supporters.


15:39:
Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea vs Stoke:
Tactical substution:
Raul Meireles OFF
Juan Mata ON
I would have thought Mikel would be coming off (as he plays more defensive than Meireles)..... 
Torres is being seen warming up here...


15:42:
FACT: This is the first time that no EPL team has scored on a Saturday in the 3oclock for 42 minutes since, last season....
Very dull first half.... :(


15:43:
Molineux,
Wolves vs Blackburn Rovers:
Finally!!!! 
The first goal of the 3oclock kick-offs!
Winger David Hoilett breaks the deadlock just before half-time with a great volley down into the net for the visitors. 1-0.

Winger Junior Hoilett celebrates his breakthrough just before half-time to give Blackburn the lead against Wolves.

Hopefully now it sparks every other match....


FACT: Wolves have now failed to keep a clean sheet at home for the last 13 matches. 


15:50:
The 3oclock kick-offs are all half-time:


Chelsea 0 Stoke City 0 HT
Bolton 2 QPR 1 FT
Aston Villa 0 Fulham 0 HT
Sunderland 0 Liverpool 0 HT
Wolves 0 Blackburn 1 HT 


16:03: The 3oclock kick-offs have all started the second halves.
Hopefully there will be more goals in the second half.


16:04:
Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea vs Stoke:  
Branislav Ivanovic OFF
David Luiz ON
Ivanovic has picked up an injury for Chelsea and has had to come off for Luiz at the start of the second half.
Unlucky.


Villa Park,
Aston Villa vs Fulham:
Fulham substitution:
Danny Murphy OFF

Mahamadou Diarra ON

Diarra comes on for Murphy who had a clash in the first half which drew blood and has never looked the same....

Bloody Murphy: Forced off after a cut face injury.

16:14:

The Stadium of Light,

Sunderland vs Liverpool:

Striker Nicklas Bendtner has scored to break the deadlock for Sunderland against Liverpool! Fraizer Campbell's shot was parried against the post by Pepe Reina, but Bendtner was there to tap-in the ball. 1-0.

Striker Nicklas Bendtner strikes past Pepe Reina to break the deadlock for Sunderland against Liverpool.

FACT: This is Bendtner's 1st goal at home for Sunderland since October.
Unlucky Reina, who tried his hardest but it was not enough to keep a clean sheet today.....


16:24:
Molineux,
Wolves vs Blackburn:


Junior Holiett takes the ball at his feet from 30 yards out.... sidesteps 1 defender before hitting the ball towards goal.... GOAL!!!!!!!!!!! 2-0! Blackburn have surely sealed their win here away from home against 19th placed Wolves.
Great long-distance strike! Goal of the day?


16:27:
Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea vs Stoke City:


Striker Didier Drogba breaks the deadlock for the home side here after 68 minutes!
Juan Mata's cross went straight to him, and he went around Begovic before putting the ball into an empty net.
1-0 to Chelsea.


FACT: Didier Drogba has now scored 100 EPL goals for Chelsea.


16:33:
Some attendances have been announced:


Chelsea vs Stoke:
Attendance: 40,945


Sunderland vs Liverpool:
Attendance: 41,661


Aston Villa vs Fulham:
Attendance: 32,372


Wolves vs Blackburn Rovers:
Attendance: 26,121


16:34:
The Stadium Of Light,
Sunderland vs Liverpool:
Liverpool substitutions:
Steven Gerrard ON
Andy Carroll ON
Craig Bellamy OFF
Charlie Adam OFF
Liverpool desperate not to lose today, trying to attack with their dangerous subs...


16:47:
Molineux,
Wolves vs Blackburn:
The home crowd are been seen to be leaving the match...... No surprises there.


16:49:
Molinuex,
Wolves vs Blackurn:
The referee blows the whistle for full-time here. 
Junior Holiett wins the match for the away side, while Terry Connor and Wolves lose YET again...
FACT: This is Blackburn's first clean sheet this season.


16:52:
Aston Villa vs Fulham:
Andreas Weimann scores his first goal for Villa, as they win at home against 8th placed Fulham. 

Last-gasp winner: Weimann scores a late goal for Aston Villa against Fulham at Villa Park.

16:53:
Chelsea vs Stoke:
Full-time, Didier Drogba scores the only goal for Chelsea as Roberto Di Matteo wins his first EPL match in charge of The Blues.

Striker Didier Drogba celebrated his 100th EPL goal for Chelsea against Stoke in the 69th minute.

16:54:
Sunderland vs Liverpool:
Full-time, Nicklas Bendtner scored the only goal of the match for the home side in the 56th minute.
Sunderland move within two points of 7th place Liverpool.


16:56:
Full-times:


Sunderland 1 Liverpool 0 FT
Bolton 2 QPR 1 FT
Chelsea 1 Stoke City 0 FT
Aston Villa 1 Fulham 0 FT
Wolves 0 Blackburn Rovers 2 FT


Thank you all for reading.
Please continue to support me by viewing, following me and spreading the word (to friends and family)
I will see you tomorrow.

Midweek Champions League and Europa League Action, The Weekend's EPL Fixture Previews:

Midweek Champions League Last 16 Second Leg Action:

Tuesday:


Arsenal 3 AC Milan 0 (Aggregate 3-4)
This match was played at The Emirates as The Gunners tried to overturn a 4-0 deficit against tricky Italian opposition to stay in the Champions League Knock-out Rounds...
Defender Laurent Kosicelny opened the scoring for Arsenal to give them the lead after only 7 minutes. Midfielder Tomas Rosicky doubled the lead for The Gunners to half the 4-0 result (from the first leg) to 4-2. Captain and striker Robin Van Persie gave Arsenal real hope just before half-time with a penalty to gift Arsenal a golden 3-0 scoreline. After the second half started, Milan started to play better while Chamberlain was injured, the home side lacked creativity and missed key chances. 

Defender Laurent Koscielny heads Arsenal in-front at The Emirates against AC Milan.

Striker Robin Van Persie scores from the penalty spot just before half-time to make it 3-0 on the night against AC Milan and 3-4 on aggregate.

Arsenal realise that their 3-0 win against Milan was not enough to progress through to the Last 8 of the Champions League..

Benfica 2 Zenit St Petersburg 0 (Aggregate 4-3)
Benfica narrowly beat Zenit with a 2-0 win (and a 4-3 aggregate score) to move into the Quarter Final.
Goals:
Maxi Pereira 45'
Nelson Oliveira 90'.


Wednesday:


Barcelona 7 Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Aggregate 10-2)
This match was played at the Nou Camp as Champions League defending champions Barcelona hosted a tough German Bayer Leverkusen side.
Striker Lionel Messi opened the scoring for the home side after 25 minutes after chipping the goalkeeper. He doubled the lead, just before half-time (42nd) to make it 2-0. 
Messi scored again, for his hat-trick, 4 minutes after the start of the second half. 
Substitute Tello placed the ball past the keeper low into the corner of the net in the 55th minute - with his first touch of the ball...
Lionel added ANOTHER three minutes later, before Tello doubled his personal tally to make the scoreline 6-0 in the 62nd minute. The Argentine added ANOTHER in the 84th minute to give himself 5 goals on the night. Karim Bellarabi scored a late consolation for Leverkusen but this took nothing away from the scoreline on the night.... 7-1 with an embarassing 10-2 aggregate score.
Barcelona strolled through into the Last 8, without breaking sweat on gear 3/4. This shows a message towards their rivals AC Milan, Real Madrid and Napoli that they are a dangerous force to face.

Striker Lionel Messi opens the scoring for Barcelona against Bayer Leverkusen after 25 minutes.

Uses great skill and knowledge to double his tally in the 42nd minute. 2-0.

Hat-trick hero: Messi delightfully lifts the ball in the air over keeper Leno, into the bottom corner of the net.

Magic Messi: Barcelona celebrate as Lionel Messi scores 5 against Bayer Leverkusen, for total domination into the Last 8.

FACT: Lionel Messi has now scored 12 goals in the Champions League this season.
FACT: Barcelona have made it to the Quarter Final of the CL, 11 times in their history now (which is the second highest total behind Manchester United).


APOEL 1 Lyon 0 (Aggregate 1-1 after full-time), (1-0 still aet) (pens 4-3)


FACT: APOEL are the first team from Cyprus to reach the Last 8 of the Champions League - in history...


Qualified teams:
AC Milan
Barcelona
APOEL
Benfica

Europa League Last 16 First Leg:

Thursday:


Sporting Lisbon 1 Manchester City 0
This match was played at The Estadio Jose Alvalade as Portugese side Sporting Lisbon hosted EPL leaders Manchester City. Xandao scored the only goal of the match in the 51st minute for the home side with a cheeky backheel through the legs of two defenders and into the net. 

Xandao scores the only goal of the match in the 51st minute against Manchester City.

Manchester United 2 Athletic Bilbao 3
This match was played at Old Trafford.
Striker Wayne Rooney opened the scoring after Hernandez's shot was parried towards him with a tap-in into the net. Striker Fernando Llorente equalised in the 44th minute. 

The Weekend's Fixture Previews:

This weekend is Round 28 of this season's EPL. The title race is now a two horse race between both Manchester clubs as Tottenham have lost a lot of ground over the past fortnight, losing to rivals Arsenal (5-2) and United (3-1), and are now fighting to keep 3rd place against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

This weekend sees Roberto Di Matteo take over his first EPL match in charge at Chelsea, after owner Roman Abramovich sacked £13.3million rated Andre Villas Boas last Sunday after a bad run of form.

Saturday:


(15:00pm unless stated)


Bolton Wanderers vs QPR: LIVE at 12:45pm

This match will be played at The Reebok Stadium as 19th placed Bolton host 16th placed QPR in an interesting relegation battle. There is only 2 points between the teams.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle will wait to discover whether Marcos Alonso will be available for tomorrow's match. Alonso returned to Spain following the death of his grandfather, and will contact his manager today to inform him whether he is in the right frame of mind to play.

Striker Kevin Davies (knee) is fit again after a three-match absence and could be on the bench.

Striker Djibril Cisse, midfielder Samba Diakite and right-back Luke Young all return for QPR.

Cisse and Diakite come back into the fold after suspension, while defender Young is back in the squad after overcoming a hamstring injury.

Winger Adel Taarabt is a doubt with a hamstring problem, while on-loan striker Federico Macheda is unavailable due to an ankle problem. Fitz Hall trained with the squad this week but manager Mark Hughes does not believe the defender will be ready for the game.

QPR striker Bobby Zamora has scored 7 goals this season and could score tomorrow against Aston Villa..

Aston Villa vs Fulham:
This match will be played at Villa Park as 15th placed Villa host a strong 8th placed Fulham in a mid-table clash.

Alex McLeish has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match against Fulham tomorrow

Striker Darren Bent (ankle), defender Richard Dunne (collarbone) and midfielder Fabian Delph (ankle) are all long-term casualties while defender/midfielder Ciaran Clark continues to make good progress in his recovery from a knee setback but this match is too early for a comeback.

Fulham defender Aaron Hughes is an injury doubt for The Cottagers.

He has a calf problem so may miss out while fellow defenders Stephen Kelly (quad) and Zdenek Grygera (knee) are unavailable for at least the next week.

Midfielder Steve Sidwell (hernia) is two weeks away from a return, although forward Bryan Ruiz is available for the first time since the 25th of February after a virus.

FACT: Aston Villa are looking for their first home win since the 5th of November.

Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey has scored 12 goals this season.

Fulham will be looking to win away from home against a Villa side who have 3 key players on the sidelines. They will be boosted by talisman Clint Dempsey opening talks for a new contract, along with the rewarding form of loan striker Pavel Pogrebnyak. Having said this, Fulham have only won 2 away matches throughout the season.


Chelsea vs Stoke City:
This match will be played at Stamford Bridge, as caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo takes charge of his first EPL match against a tough Stoke side who have not necessarily been getting the results they deserve this season who find themselves in 9th place.

Defender John Terry is set for his first action since the match against Swansea on the 31st of January after undergoing surgery on his injured knee.

The captain has trained well all of this week.

Full-back Ashley Cole has recovered from the heel injury he sustained against West Brom last week.

Di Matteo has stated that he has a full strength squad for the match tomorrow against Stoke.

Stoke defender Andy Wilkinson is an injury doubt as he has a hamstring problem.

Winger Jermaine Pennant, whose involvement will be of serious interest after he denied this week reports he had recently been fined by The Potters for two breaches of discipline.

Midfielder Rory Delap missed the Norwich match with a hamstring complaint (along with Wilkinson) - and they both will be assessed ahead of the trip to West London.

FACT: Chelsea have only won 3 out of their last 12 matches.

FACT: Stoke have won only 4 of their last 23 away matches.

Frank Lampard: Chelsea's top goalscorer this season with 10 goals...

Sunderland vs Liverpool:
This match will come from The Stadium of Light as 12th placed Sunderland host 7th placed Liverpool. There is only 5 points between the two sides (with a 5 place difference).

Liverpool captain (and midfielder) Steven Gerrard and defender Glen Johnson are both set to return to the squad to face Sunderland tomorrow.

Gerrard sustained a minor hamstring problem on England duty against Holland, while Johnson pulled out before the friendly (against Holland), and they both missed last weekend's home defeat by Arsenal.

Defender Daniel Agger is still out injured with a cracked rib so Jamie Carragher will continue to play in central defence.

Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill will be without suspended midfield duo Lee Cattermole and Stephane Sessegnon.

Midfielder Cattermole starts a four-match ban after being sent off at the end of last Sunday's 1-1 derby draw at Newcastle during which Sessegnon, who will sit out three games, was given a straight red card for elbowing Cheick Tiote.

Full-back Kieran Richardson is a major doubt with a calf problem and loan signing Wayne Bridge is standing by, although John O'Shea is expected to play with a protective cast over a broken bone in his hand and fellow central defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos (heel) could return to contention, but Keiren Westwood (wrist) is still out.

Liverpool will be wanting to win against Sunderland (who are slipping out of form), to keep pressure on Newcastle and Chelsea.

Striker Luis Suarez is Liverpool's joint scorer with 6 goals.... and looks positively influenced after his recent eight match ban.

FACT: Sunderland have only beaten Liverpool once out of the last 10 matches.

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Blackburn Rovers:
This match will be played at Molienuex as 18th placed Wolves host 17th placed Blackburn

Wolves skipper and defender Roger Johnson is included in the squad for Saturday's home Barclays Premier League clash with Blackburn after being disciplined for being in an unfit condition to train on Monday.

Johnson, dropped for the past two games, and on-loan Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong, who has recovered from a hamstring injury, are in contention after the 5-0 defeat at Fulham last weekend.

Midfielder David Davis, recalled from a loan spell at Chesterfield, is included in the squad as a possible replacement for Karl Henry who is side-lined with a hamstring injury.

Fellow midfielder Dave Edwards resumed training yesterday after two weeks out with a knee injury while top scorer Steven Fletcher has recovered from illness.

Blackburn manager Steve Kean has extra defensive options at his disposal, with both Gael Givet and Jason Lowe returning from suspension.

It is unlikely the duo will break into the Scot's starting line-up, though, with both short of match practice.

One man who could start at Molineux is David Dunn, with the midfielder having come off the bench against Aston Villa last week to score the equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE at 17:30pm

Aaron Lennon is unavailable for Tottenham's game at Everton on Saturday after suffering a hamstring injury against Stevenage on Wednesday.

Toffees boss David Moyes claims Louis Saha won't play against his old club due to a gentleman's agreement between Harry Redknapp and himself while Michael Dawson is out for the rest of the season after rupturing ankle ligaments in midweek.

William Gallas has fully recovered from a calf injury and is available but Ledley King (knee) will have a late test and Tom Huddlestone (ankle) is out.

Manager David Moyes has virtually a fully-fit squad - but a number of players are lacking match sharpness.

Defender Phil Jagielka, forward Victor Anichebe and midfielder Leon Osman all played for the reserves in midweek but are among those in need of pitch time.

Midfielder Darron Gibson (knee) is a few weeks from fitness while on-loan Steven Pienaar is ineligible against his parent club.

Sunday:


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

Chris Smalling is Manchester United's major fitness doubt ahead of Sunday's Premier League encounter with West Brom at Old Trafford.

Smalling re-opened a head wound originally sustained on England duty during Thursday night's Europa League defeat to Athletic Bilbao and will need to be assessed to ensure there is no possibility of a repeat.

Midfielder Tom Cleverley is set to be involved after recovering from an ankle injury, whilst it is also anticipated Paul Scholes will play some part after being rested for the Bilbao defeat.

West Brom captain Chris Brunt is in contention for his first start in two months, after recovering from a broken foot.

The Northern Ireland international would be a ready-made replacement for fellow midfielder Jerome Thomas, who is struggling to overcome a hamstring injury which has dogged him in recent weeks.

With right-back Steven Reid already ruled out with an ankle problem, head coach Roy Hodgson is hoping Billy Jones will have shaken off a leg injury to replace him. If he is still ruled out, Gabriel Tamas is likely to deputise.

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

Manchester City will be without captain Vincent Kompany for Sunday's Barclays Premier League trip to Swansea.

The Belgium defender suffered a calf injury in Thursday night's Europa League loss at Sporting Lisbon and the club are yet to learn the full extent of the damage.

Fellow defenders Micah Richards and Joleon Lescott should be fit but another, right-back Pablo Zabaleta (hamstring), remains sidelined and striker Carlos Tevez is still short of match-fitness.

Swansea will be without suspended winger Nathan Dyer.

Dyer is beginning a three-match ban following his red card in last weekend's win at Wigan, so Wayne Routledge will be handed the starting role on the right flank, while defender Ashley Williams should be fit despite a stomach bug.

Andrea Orlandi is closing in on a return from a hamstring tear but is not available to face City, while Kemy Agustien is likely to miss the rest of the season after ankle surgery.

Norwich City vs Wigan Athletic: LIVE at 16:00pm

Wigan midfielder David Jones will be out of action for two weeks with a knee injury.

It means Jones will miss Sunday's trip to Norwich as the Barclays Premier League's bottom club look to get their season back on track after last weekend's horror show against Swansea.

Mike Pollitt is out for four weeks with a shoulder problem but Victor Moses, Mohamed Diame and Hugo Rodallega are all expected to return to the Latics' line-up after starting the latest defeat on the bench.

Norwich will again be without defenders Daniel Ayala (hamstring) and Marc Tierney (groin).

England under-21 centre-back Ryan Bennett is in contention after being an unused substitute during the defeat at Stoke, where fit-again midfielder Jonny Howson made his first appearance since signing from Leeds.

Striker James Vaughan (hamstring) is still not available.

Monday:


Arsenal vs Newcastle United: LIVE at 20:00pm

Brazil full-back Andre Santos could return to the Arsenal squad for Monday night's Barclays Premier League clash against Newcastle after recovering from a broken ankle.

Midfielder Mikel Arteta is available having been rested for the midweek Champions League win over AC Milan because of a blow to the head at Liverpool, while Wales captain Aaron Ramsey (ankle) should also be involved.

Yossi Benayoun has been out with a virus, while there were no other fresh injuries from midweek. Abou Diaby (hamstring), defender Francis Coquelin (hamstring), centre-back Per Mertesacker (ankle) and midfielder Jack Wilshere (ankle) remain sidelined.

Newcastle striker Peter Lovenkrands is definitely out and could miss the rest of the season after he suffered a suspected ruptured thigh muscle.

Alan Pardew otherwise has no fresh injury concerns, with Shola Ameobi having recovered from the bout of illness which limited him to the substitutes' bench last weekend, and has just long-term absentees Leon Best and Sammy Ameobi (both knee), Steven Taylor (Achilles) and Sylvain Marveaux (groin) still missing.

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