EPL Super Sunday LIVE Coverage:

Hello everyone, and welcome to my LIVE Coverage of 4 EPL matches today, including the Merseyside derby between Liverpool vs Everton and the top of the table clash between Chelsea and Manchester United.

Here is the full list of matches being played today:

Everton host derby rivals Liverpool at Goodison Park. Who will win this derby if either?

Everton vs Liverpool: LIVE at 13:30pm

Everton host Liverpool at Goodison Park, with Everton having the slight advantage over their rivals for the first time in a long time.
They have been consistent this season, and have only lost 1 match this season. 

Liverpool beat Reading last week, and Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League on Thursday 1-0, so will be hoping to keep their form up. 

Not very often: Liverpol winger Stewart Downing scores in the 53rd minute against Anzhi on Thursday night.

Keep it up: Downing celebrates against Anzhi with his team-mates. They hope they can continue today against Everton.

 

Interesting: Newcastle host West Brom in a mid-table clash at St. James Park. Both have lost twice this season.

Newcastle vs West Bromwich Albion: LIVE at 15:00pm

This match will be played at St. James Park, as 11th placed Newcastle host 8th placed West Brom.
This will be an interesting match as both sides have played consistently this season. 

Newcastle played against Club Brugges on Thursday night and beat them 1-0 in the Europa League. They will be happy with another win against West Brom today.

On-form: Newcastle winger Gabriel Obertan scores against Club Brugge.

Underdogs: 19th placed Southampton are the underdogs at home against 7th placed Tottenham.

Southampton vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE at 15:00pm 

Southampton have been very unlucky in matches this season, and find themselves in 19th place in their first season back in the EPL.

Unfortunately, they suffered two unlucky 3-2 losses to both Manchester clubs in their first three matches before losses to Wigan, a 6-1 thrashing against Arsenal, Everton and West Ham see them stuck in the relegation places.

Tottenham on the other hand have had a mixed season so far. They have drawn all three of their Europa League matches so far, and a famous 3-2 win over Manchester United will probably be their highlight of the season so far.

Boring: Gylfi Sigurdsson celebrates his goal against Maribor with his team-mates, but this is their 5th draw of the season.

 
They have only lost twice this season against Chelsea and Newcastle, but for a team whose main target is a Champions League spot, they need to stop drawing matches... 

Exciting match: 1st placed Chelsea host 3rd placed Manchester United at Stamford Bridge this afternoon...

Chelsea vs Manchester United: LIVE at 16:00pm

This is the crunch match today, as EPL leaders Chelsea host 3rd placed Manchester United at Stamford Bridge at 4pm. 

Manchester United can go within a point of the league leaders with a win today, but Sir Alex Ferguson's men know that they will be in for a tricky challenge.

Chelsea have spent a LOT of money over the summer, and their midfield is looking very promising. The deadly three of Oscar, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata have been tearing defences up for fun, but today is their hardest challenge to date.

Chelsea need to get the 2-1 loss against Shakthar during midweek out of their heads, and concentrate on title rivals United. They know that anything other than a win today will be costly, as the start of the season is the most important to get points on the board. 

Shaky Chelsea: Fernandinho celebrates his goal against Chelsea to make it 2-0 to Shakthar on Tuesday night.

Manchester City are only 1 point off Chelsea, so no pressure there.

Plus Sir Alex Ferguson has put his traditional mind games up, saying that Chelsea are 'not as good as Mourinho's side', but Manchester United are not very strong either.... 

Today will be an interesting gauge of how far both clubs have come, and everyone is expecting an exciting match.   
 
13:05:

BREAKING NEWS:

Team Line-ups:

Everton vs Liverpool:

Everton: Howard, Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Naismith, Neville, Osman, Mirallas, Fellaini, Jelavic. 

Subs: Mucha, Hibbert, Heitinga, Oviedo, Hitzlsperger, Gueye, Vellios.

Liverpool: Jones, Wisdom, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique, Gerrard, Allen,Suso, Suarez, Sterling.

Subs: Reina, Assaidi, Henderson, Coates, Downing, Carragher, Shelvey.

Everton are without the suspended midfielder Steven Pienaar who was given a controversial red card last week against QPR.
Fellaini returns to the side after missing the match against QPR.

Liverpool on the other hand keep goalkeeper Brad Jones in between the sticks as Pepe Reina is out with a hamstring injury, but on the bench as a precautionary measure.

Youngsters Raheem Sterling, Andre Wisdom and Suso all start for The Reds, while young midfielders Jonjo Shelvey, Oussama Assaidi and Henderson are all on the bench.

13:25: The players are walking out of the tunnel at Goodison Park.

13:29: Striker Steven Naismith starts for Everton today, in his first Merseyside derby.

The atmosphere is loud, and the fans are chanting and singing. 

13:30: This is the 219th Merseyside derby, and Everton kick off at home.

Everton vs Liverpool - LIVE Commentary:

0: Everton kick off, with Leighton Baines with an early corner. 

1: Liverpool young winger Raheem Sterling is furious with a cross by full-back Jose Enrique. Baines' cross was cleared away by defender Daniel Agger, before Liverpool had a dangerous counter attack.
Enrique's cross was poor.


5: Everton striker Steven Naismith's through ball to Nikica Jelavic is collected by Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones.

If only the ball was wide, Jelavic would have been able to test Jones.

8: Great feet by striker Kevin Mirallas to get past 4 Liverpol players, before his cross into the box was blocked out for a corner by defender Daniel Agger.

10: Corners:

Everton - 3, Liverpool - 2.

13: Drama.
Liverpool midfielder Suso plays a through ball to Jose Enrique and at the same time is fouled late by Steven Naismith.
Enrique crosses the ball into the box for Raheem Sterling. 
Sterling leaves it for Suarez, who hits the ball powerfully towards goal.... 
 
GOAL!!! Suarez scores and breaks the deadlock for Liverpool! 

On target: Liverpool striker Luis Suarez scores aganst Everton in the 13th minute, to kick-start the Merseyside derby.

15: And Suarez celebrates his goal by doing a diving celebration straight in front of Everton manager David Moyes, who has blasted him for his diving antics in matches. 

18: Midfielder Leon Osman is booked for a soft challenge on winger Raheem Sterling.
They were both sprinting for the ball, and Osman caught the back of Sterling's leg before they both went down. 

19: Liverpol midfielder Steven Gerrard whips the ball into the box from the free-kick...
Luis Suarez is unmarked and jumps to head the ball...

GOAL!!!! Suarez makes Everton pay with his 2nd goal in 5 minutes!

2 for me: Luis Suarez celebrates his second against Everton in 5 minutes with team-mate Martin Skrtel.

Tim Howard was never saving that....

22: An Everton corner is whipped into the box, but goalkeeper Brad Jones clears the ball away by punching the ball clear.

The ball falls to midfielder Leon Osman on the edge of the 18-yard box.... he hits the ball towards goal powerfully with swerve... GOAL!!!!!

Unstoppable shot by Osman, drilled into the far corner out of Brad Jones' reach. 2-1, and Everton are back in the match.

29: Raheem Sterling is harshly booked for a trip on Leighton Baines.
He has to be carefulm with his challenges now.

32: Sterling deliberately trips Baines again, after losing out to him for pace to win the ball. The referee Andre Marriner blows the whistle to give Everton a free-kick, knowing that he has already booked Sterling... He gives Sterling a final warning after some words with captain Steven Gerrard to calm him down.

35: Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini has a low cross across goal... towards striker Steven Naismith who taps the ball straight past Brad Jones inside the 6 yard box to equalise. 

2-2, and Everton have made a great comeback, after trailing 2-0 thanks to Suarez.

38: Everton winger Kevin Mirallas uses trickery and pace to skin full-back Andre Wisdom, before having a shot from an awkward angle parried away for a corner by Brad Jones.

40: Kevin Mirallas skins Suarez, before getting fouled by Suarez. A free-kick is given, and Baines whips the ball into the box, but the linesman flags for offside.

43: Mirallas skins Wisdom again, before having a shot blocked by Skrtel.

He limps off the pitch, clutching his ankle after a late tackle by Suarez a few minutes earlier. He is now receiving treatment from the Everton physio.

44: Everton full-back Seamus Coleman has a half-volley from 25 yards out, but the shot JUST goes over the bar.

Well-struck shot, unlucky from the youngster.

45: Mirallas is back on the field of play, while the fourth offical signals for 3 minutes of stoppage time to be added on.

45+2: Everton captain Phil Neville is booked for apparently diving, after going down from a push by Agger... Wow.

45+3: The referee blows the whistle to end the first half at Goodison Park.

A four goal thriller, and the match is not even over yet. What will happen in the second half remains to be seen, but if it is as good as the first half, it will be a contender for the best match of the season!

Everton have the upper hand, after a great 2 goal comeback. Can Fellaini, Naismith, Jelavic and co take all three points at home to cliam a famous derby victory? Can Suarez save Liverpool?

14:34:

45: The referee blows the whistle to start the second half at Goodison Park, with both teams making substitutions.

Everton SUB:
Kevin Mirallas OFF
Magaye Gueye ON

Liverpool SUBS:
Nuri Sahin OFF
Suso OFF
Sebastien Coates ON  
Jonjo Shelvey ON 

Team Line-ups:

Newcastle United vs West Brom:

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson, Santon, Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Perch, Gutierrez, Ba, Shola Ameobi.
Subs: Harper, Anita, Cisse, Obertan, Steven Taylor, Sammy Ameobi, Ferguson.

West Brom: Foster, Tamas, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell, Morrison, Gera, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Odemwingie, Lukaku.
Subs: Luke Daniels, Popov, Rosenberg, Long, El Ghanassy, Jara Reyes, Fortune.

Southampton vs Tottenham Hotspur:

  
Southampton: Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Fonte, Fox, Puncheon, Schneiderlin, Steven Davis, Lallana, Lambert, Rodriguez.
Subs: Kelvin Davis, Hooiveld, Ward-Prowse, Do Prado, Mayuka, Chaplow, Reeves.

Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Caulker, Gallas, Vertonghen, Sandro, Huddlestone, Lennon, Dempsey, Bale, Defoe.
Subs: Lloris, Naughton, Dawson, Sigurdsson, Falque, Livermore, Townsend.

52: Everton have started the second half, with precise passing.
They want to win here, but need to test Jones more as he lacks self confidence.

53: Good challenge by Leon Osman, as he sees the Liverpool counter attack, and tackles Steven Gerrard well just as he is about to play a through ball to Luis Suarez on the wing.

Suarez is protesting a free-kick but Andre Marriner is having none of it..  

55: Suarez keeps the ball in play, before running down the wing and beating Everton defender Phil Jagielka by passing the ball onto his body and running past him.
He has a shot, but the shot is blocked well and cleared away. 

56: Raheem Sterling is ready to burst and catch a through over the top ball by Jonjo Shelvey, but Jagielka catches him and trips him to ensure that he does not reach the ball.

Andre Marriner gives Jagielka a yellow card for blocking play and tripping Sterling.

FACT: Jagielka has been given the fourth yellow card of the match.  

  
57: Liverpool captain and midfielder Steven Gerrard has a free-kick, and takes it with a curling low shot towards goal....
PARRIED away by Tim Howard. Close, and was a good, powerful shot on goal.

60: Everton are pressing for another goal, after Fellaini's header towards goal is just wide, and a lovely piece of 1-2 play by Everton just needs the finishing touch after Coleman's low cross into the box is cleared away by Wisdom.

62: 
Shots:

Everton - 12, Liverpool - 6

66: Everton free-kick, with Leighton Baines standing over it...

He whips the ball into the box, and Jelavic jumps higher than defender Martin Skrtel before heading the ball towards goal.. WIDE!!

He should at least get the shot on target... Another chance, not taken by Everton. You wonder whether they will begin to regret not taking another of their chances.

67: Ouch. The Everton fans are chanting, 'You know what you are, you know what you are, Luis Suarez, you know what you are'.

68: Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini shoulder barges Liverpool defender Daniel Agger in an attempt to shield him from the ball.

Agger grabs the ball in mid-air in anger at the challenge, and is given a yellow card for decent... Unlucky.

69: 
Liverpool make their last subsitution of the match;

Andre Wisdom OFF
Jordan Henderson ON 

70: Luis Suarez is given a yellow card, after studs up, and stepping on Everton defender Distin's achilles heel. Looks painful, and Distin is recieving treatment from the physio.

71: The two 3pm kick-offs have both started;

Southampton vs Tottenham and Newcastle vs West Brom  

76: Young midfielder Jonjo Shelvey has a shot from 25 yards out, but it is wide, and was not a good decision, as he had Sterling to his left.

85: Everton SUB:
Steven Naismith OFF
Bryan Oviedo ON

15:15 - GOAL UPDATE:

Southampton vs Tottenham Hotspur,
St. Mary's Stadium:

15 minutes gone, and Totenham have broken the deadlock, thanks to the winger who did NOT last week in the London derby against Chelsea last week, due to the birth of his first child.
Young winger Gareth Bale has made it 1-0.   

90: The fourth official has signalled for 4 minutes to be added on at Goodison Park.

90+2: A Liverpool free-kick is whipped into the box, and the ball falls to Luis Suarez.... GOAL!!!

The linesman has his flag up though, and the goal is DISALLOWED.

90+4: The referee blows the whistle to end the second half, and the match at Goodison Park. 

Everton will breath a sign of relief, after a late goal was disallowed.
They will regret the fact that they missed a lot of chances, and could have won the game by more than 2 goals.

They got back into the game surprisingly quickly after Liverpool were 2-0 up, but in the second half did NOT take their chances.  

Liverpool will be disappointed having lead 2-0, and that they were not given a late goal, as Luis Suarez was not offside and was denied his hat-trick.

My Man Of The Match: Luis Suarez

He scored twice, got himself into good positions all of the match and was given Everton trouble throughout.    
  
Team Line-ups:

Chelsea vs Manchester United:

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Mikel, Ramires, Hazard, Oscar, Mata, Torres. 

Subs: Turnbull, Romeu, Moses, Marin, Sturridge, Azpilicueta, Bertrand.

Chelsea name the same side that they played against Tottenham last season. Sturridge, Moses, Azpilicueta and Bertrand are all on the bench fo The Blues.

They look dangerous in attack, but are shaky in defence, so expect a lot of GOALS and drama in this match.


Man Utd: De Gea, Da Silva, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Young, Rooney, van Persie. 

Subs: Lindegaard, Anderson, Giggs, Hernandez, Nani, Welbeck, Scholes.
 
Ashley Young makes his first start for Manchester United after suffering an injury, while Rooney and van Persie start in attack. 
Javier Hernandez, Welbeck and Paul Scholes are all on the bench.

15:50:

HALF-TIME SCORES:

Southampton 0 Tottenham 2

Clint Dempsey made it 2-0 to Tottenham, after Gareth Bale broke the deadlock against his former club. 2-0 at half-time to the visitors.

Newcastle 1 West Brom 0

Striker Demba Ba has scored his 7th goal of the season to put the hosts Newcastle in-front against West Brom after 35 minutes. Half-time. 

16:00: The match has started at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Manchester United.

16:10:

10 minutes gone at Stamford Bridge, and the home side are trailing by 1 goal to nil thanks to a 4th minute goal by Robin van Persie.

Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia's cross into the box found van Persie whose shot hit the post before hitting David Luiz and going into the net.

14: Valencia runs down the wing, before drilling a cross into the box for Robin van Persie. He hits the ball low towards goal... GOAL!!

Manchester United lead by 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, and the league leaders trail.

GOAL UPDATE: 

Newcastle vs West Brom,
St James Park:

Striker Romelu Lukaku has equalised for West Brom at St. James Park. 1-1, with 55 minutes played.

23: Defender David Luiz has a free-kick from 30 yards out, and decides to have a shot at goal.
The shot is powerful, but David De Gea saves the ball from going past him, by using his legs.

GOAL UPDATE -

Southampton vs Tottenham,
St. Mary's Stadium:

Striker Jay Rodriguez has given Southampton hope of getting back into the match at home. 25 minutes to go, and they are trailing by 2 goals to 1.

30: Whenever Manchester United break, Chelsea are getting split open, especially when winger Antonio Valencia has the ball.

36: Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel's cross deflects off Manchester United defender Jonny Evans onto the post! Corner for Chelsea.

42: Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic forces a corner from Manchester United winger Ashley Young.

Chelsea are piling on the pressure now...

Mata whips in a cross straight to striker Fernando Torres... he heads the ball towards goal... GREAT SAVE!! by David De Gea.

That was almost a certain goal until De Gea stepped in.

44: Chelsea winger Eden Hazard has the ball at his feet, and is brought down by striker Wayne Rooney just outside the box.
Free-kick for Chelsea, in a dangerous position....

45: Juan Mata stands over the free-kick, and hits the ball from 25 yards out... GOAL!!

What a strike from Juan Mata, and Chelsea are back in the match!

45+2: The referee has blown his whistle to end the first half at Stamford Bridge, with Manchester United leading by 2 goals to 1. 

HALF-TIME:

Manchester United 2 Chelsea 1

If Chelsea can continue with the pressure that they showed at the end of the first half, they can equalise with ease, and maybe even win the match.

Manchester United on the other hand need to ensure that they do not stand back and let Chelsea play.

FULL-TIME:

Southampton 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Tottenham's win pushes them up to 4th place, 5 points off the league leaders Chelsea, who are currently losing to Manchester United.

Clint Dempsey and Gareth Bale were the scorers for the away side, before Jay Rodriguez scored for Southampton, but it proved to be a consolation goal.

Heads we score: Gareth Bale heads Tottenham into a 1-0 lead at St. Mary's Stadium.

Tottenham midfielder Gareth Bale celebrates as he scores against his old club Southampton.

Newcastle 2 West Brom 1

Striker Papiss Cisse scored in the 90th minute to give Newcastle all three points at home to in-form West Brom.
Demba Ba scored his 7th of the season before Lukaku levelled the scoring at 1-1 after 55 minutes.

45: The referee has blown the whistle to start the second half at Stamford Bridge.
United lead by 2 goals to 1, but Chelsea are getting back into the match.

53: Chelsea winger Ramires equalises for The Blues at home! A header ended up past De Gea.

54: Chelsea winger Eden Hazard has a low shot towards goal saved by Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea with his feet!
Good save, as the shot was creeping in at the near post..

63: Manchester United winger Ashley Young has the ball at his feet... he runs towards goal before being tugged back by Branislav Ivanovic....
The referee points for a free-kick, and surely Ivanovic will get a card aswell...?
The referee pulls a card out of his pocket... IT'S RED!!!

Ivanovic is off! 
Chelsea are down to ten men now!

65: Manchester United SUB:

Tom Cleverley OFF
Javier Hernandez ON

An attacking minded substitution for United, as the pacy goal-poacher comes on after scoring twice during midweek.

66: Chelsea SUB:

Oscar OFF
Cesar Azpilicueta ON

Defensive change by Roberto Di Matteo, seeing as he is down to ten men, he must get as many players back as possible, but at the same time look for a winner.

69: 
Chelsea striker Fernando Torres on the ball. He knocks the ball past Evans before diving after a lunge by Evans...

The referee blows the whistle for a United free-kick and gives Torres a yellow card for diving... which is his second of the afternoon. RED CARD!!!!!!!! Chelsea are now down to 9 MEN.

72: Chelsea SUB:
Juan Mata OFF
Ryan Bertrand ON

Chelsea going ultra defensive now, because they are just looking for a draw now.

74: Manchester United SUB:
Wayne Rooney OFF
Ryan Giggs ON

75: 
Robin van Persie has a shot towards goal.. PARRIED away by Petr Cech! The ball hits the post and comes back out to Rafael, who's shot was turned into a pass straight to Hernandez. Hernandez shoots.... GOAL!!!!!!!!!

Manchester United lead again, thanks to super sub Javier Hernandez.

76: Replays show that Hernandez was in an offside position, but United do not care. 
Chelsea on the other hand are livid with the referee and linesman.
Midfielder John Obi Mikel is given a yellow card for dissent after arguing with the referee.  

82: Chelsea SUB:
Eden Hazard OFF
Daniel Sturridge ON

86: Chelsea are desperately looking for a late equaliser, but United are holding on for a 3-2 win.

90: The fourth official has signalled for 5 minutes of stoppage time to be added on, after two red cards from Chelsea.

90+2: Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia has been booked for diving.

90+3: Valencia has a shot one-on-one with Cech, but mis-hits his shot and it is well wide of the goal.

90+5: The referee blows the whistle to end the match at Stamford Bridge.

FULL-TIME SCORE:

Chelsea 2 Manchester United 3

United lead 2-1 at half-time. Ramires equalised, before a controversial goal from Hernandez gave United three points at Stamford Bridge.


What an end to a memorable day in the English Premier League.

Recap:

Liverpool lose a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 against local rivals Everton.
Newcastle leave it late to beat West Brom 2-1.
Tottenham beat Southampton 2-1 thanks to Clint Dempsey and Gareth Bale.
9-men Chelsea lose at home to Manchester United, and slip up in the early title race.


Thank you for reading my EPL Blog.
I appreciate all of the daily views and my followers.
If you have not already, please follow and view this blog for more football coverage. 
I will speak to you all next week, where I will have LIVE Coverage of the Capital One Cup 4th Round Matches on Tuesday and Wednesday.

EPL Super Saturday LIVE Coverage:

Hello and welcome to my latest installment of my EPL Blog. 
Today for all you football fans, there are 6 EPL matches after the UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches during midweek.

Here is a recap of all of the EPL teams during midweek in Europe:

Champions League Action:

Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Chelsea 1
Manchester United 3 Braga 2
Ajax 3 Manchester City 1 
Arsenal 0 FC Schalke 2

Europa League Action:

NK Maribor 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Newcastle 1 Club Brugges 0
Liverpool 1 Anzhi Makhachkala 0

Today's EPL Fixtures 3pm (unless stated):

Aston Villa vs Norwich City: LIVE from 12:30pm

Arsenal vs QPR

Reading vs Fulham

Stoke City vs Sunderland 

Wigan Athletic vs West Ham United

Manchester City vs Swansea: LIVE from 17:30pm 

14:40:

FULL-TIME SCORE:

Aston Villa 1 Norwich City 1

The major news story comng into this match was that £24million striker Darren Bent would NOT start for Aston Villa today, despite coming off the bench to score in their match against West Brom a few weeks ago.  

Wasted talent: £24million striker Darren Bent is shown on the subs bench alongside team-mate Stephen Ireland.

Striker Christian Benteke broke the deadlock in the 27th minute, after a lovely cross by winger Marc Albrighton the net cooly slotted past the goalkeeper into the net.

Classy finish: Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke breaks the deadlock in the 27th minute against Norwich.

There we go: Benteke celebrates his 2nd goal for Aston Villa after his £7million summer move from Genk.

Defender Joe Bennett was given two yellow cards (1 either half) and consquently sent off in the 52nd minute.

Norwich equalised with a goal of their own with 11 minutes to go thanks to defender Michael Turner, and that is how the match ended, 1-1. 

Late equaliser: Norwich defender Michael Turner celebrates his late goal with Snodgrass and the Norwich fans.

3pm Team Line-ups: 

Arsenal vs QPR:

Arsenal: Mannone, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Andre Santos, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Ramsey, Podolski, Giroud. 
Subs: Martinez, Koscielny, Walcott, Coquelin, Arshavin, Jenkinson, Gervinho.

Arsenal host QPR in an interesting match at The Emirates. 
After losing 2-0 at home to Schalke in the Champions League, will Arsenal's poor run of form continue against a side who have not won a match this season?

Sloppy Arsenal: Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar celebrates his goal against Arsenal during midweek.

Were you sleepy? Afellay celebrates making it 2-0 against Arsenal, making the defence look sleepy and weak

Arsene Wenger welcomes back right-back Bacary Sagna and young midfielder Jack Wilshere after lengthy spells on the sidelines with injuries.

Welcome back Jack: Arsenal's young midfielder Jack Wilshere starts his first EPL match in over a year.

QPR: Julio Cesar, Bosingwa, Mbia, Nelsen, Traore, Wright-Phillips, Diakite, Granero, Hoilett, Taarabt, Zamora.
Subs: Green, Ferdinand, Cisse, Mackie, Onuoha, Ephraim, Faurlin.

Mark Hughes' men face a trip to The Emirates, in a London derby against Arsenal.
They drew against Everton 1-1 last time out, and face an Arsenal side who have started the season well, but lost their touch in the last few matches. 


Reading vs Fulham:
 
Reading: McCarthy, Cummings, Gorkss, Mariappa, Shorey, Pogrebnyak, Tabb, Leigertwood, Kebe, McAnuff, Roberts.
Subs: Federici, Gunter, Pearce, Le Fondre, Hunt, McCleary, Robson-Kanu.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise, Duff, Baird, Diarra, Richardson, Rodallega, Berbatov. 
Subs: Stockdale, Senderos, Sidwell, Petric, Ruiz, Karagounis, Dejagah. 

Wigan vs West Ham:

Wigan: Al Habsi, Ramis, Caldwell, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Kone, Di Santo, Maloney. 
Subs: Pollitt, Jones, Watson, Gomez, McManaman, Boselli, Stam.

West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Tomkins, Collins, Reid, McCartney, Jarvis, Noble, Nolan, Diame, Benayoun, Carroll.
Subs: Spiegel, Cole, Maiga, O'Brien, O'Neil, Chambers, Hall.

Stoke vs Sunderland:
 
Stoke: Begovic, Cameron, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Kightly, Whitehead, Adam, Nzonzi, Walters, Crouch.
Subs: Sorensen, Jones, Owen, Upson, Etherington, Wilkinson, Palacios.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Gardner, O'Shea, Cuellar, Rose, Larsson, Cattermole, Colback, Johnson, McClean, Fletcher.
Subs: Westwood, Bardsley, Campbell, Kilgallon, Vaughan, Saha, Sessegnon.

15:00: The 3pm kick-off's have all started in the EPL.
 
22:00:

FULL-TIME SCORES:

Arsenal 1 QPR 0

This match was played at The Emirates Stadium, as 9th placed Arsenal hosted QPR.

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta scored the only goal of the match in the 84th minute after a goal mouth scramble inside the 6 yard box. 

Scramble, but went in: Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta scores in the 84th minute to make it 1-0 against QPR.

QPR defender Stephane M'Bia was given a straight red card for a dangerous tackle, and Arteta broke Julio Cesar's shot stopping form today four minutes later. 

Arsenal had lots of chances, and played well throughout but Cesar kept QPR in the match for several periods and they were lucky to keep the score at 1-0.

Another plus for The Gunners is that full-back Bacary Sagna and midfielder Jack Wilshere both played their first matches this season, and came away unscathed.

Unscathed: Arsenal right-back Bacary Sagna plays his first match of the season after suffering a broken foot

Guess who's back: Wilshere in action for Arsenal for the first time in 524 days after an injury-plague 18 months.

 

The Gunners killed their poor run of form late, with a win at home. They move up to 4th place, with 15 points from 9 matches.
QPR are still stuck in 20th place, with 3 points from 9 matches. 

Reading 3 Fulham 3

This match was played at The Madjeski Stadium, as 19th placed Reading hosted 9th placed Fulham. 

Reading defender Mikele Leigertwood broke the deadlock in the 26th minute, to give the home side the lead. 

Deadlock broken: Reading defender Mikele Leigterwood celebrates his goal against Fulham.

Fulham winger Bryan Ruiz equalised in the 61st minute to make it 1-1, before defender Chris Baird made it 2-1 in the 77th minute.

Gary McCleary made it 2-2 in the 85th minute before striker Dimitar Berbatov made it 3-2 in the 88th minute. 
Berbatov thought that he won the game for Fulham, but he was wrong.... 

Hal Robson-Kanu equalised in the last minute to give Reading a point in a dramatic 6-goal thriller. 
 

Stoke City 0 Sunderland 0

Wigan Athletic 2 West Ham United 1

Manchester City 1 Swansea City 0 

 

  




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Wednesday's UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matches:

Hello everyone, and welcome to my EPL Blog with a twist today in-store. 
In this post, I will talk about Wednesday's UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matches, including English sides Arsenal and Manchester City having tough fixtures against FC Schalke 04 and Ajax respectively.



Group A:

Dinamo Zagreb 0 PSG 2

FC Porto 3 Dynamo Kiev 2

Group B:

Arsenal 0 Schalke 04 2

This match was played at The Emirates Stadium, as English side Arsenal who topped Group B hosted a tough side German side Schalke.

Winger Ibrahim Afellay was controversially given a yellow card in the 14th minute after the referee felt that he dived after a challenge from Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone.

Striker Huntelaar missed the target with a shot just outside the 6-yard box, but failed to trouble Mannone.

Arsenal missed a chance of their own after Ramsey's attempted backheel went straight into the goalkeeper's hands.

Schalke continued to pressure Arsenal, before Gervinho was given a yellow card for a dive inside the penalty area after a tackle by Jermain Jones.

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker tried to play the offside rule as a Schalke cross came into the box, but Huntelaar found space away from Mertesacker, and as the fall came to his feet, he blasted the ball powerfully away from Mannone's reach into the net to break the deadlock at The Emirates in the 76th minute.

Bullet: Schalke and Holland striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar broke the deadlock at Arsenal with a powerful strike

In-form: Huntelaar celebrates his goal with the travelling Schalke fans

Arsenal's sloppy play continued in the 85th minute, when left-back Andre Santos gave winger Jefferson Farfan a yard, and his low cross into the box easily found Afellay at the far post, who cooly slotted the ball into the net away from a helpless Mannone to end the match with 5 minutes to go.

A gift: Ibrahim Afellay celebrates his easy tap-in goal against Arsenal in the 85th minute.

The match ended 2-0 to Schalke, and they leapfrogged Arsenal into 1st place away from home in London.

Arsenal's poor week continued after a 1-0 loss to Norwich in the EPL on Saturday evening. 

The big question for Arsenal is, Is this a blip or will their poor form continue into this weekend against QPR? 

FACT: Schalke are the first team to win against Arsenal away frot home since 2003

FACT: Arsenal only had 1 shot on target against Schalke. Poor, and not good enough.  

Montpellier 1 Olympiakos 2

This match was played in France at the La Mosson Stadium, as French champions Montpellier hosted the Greek champions Olympiakos in an interesting clash between 3rd and 4th place in Group B.

The home side opened the scoring with Charbonnier hitting a powerful low piledriver towards goal from 17 yards out. 
The goaalkeeper had no chance, and even though he dived to save the ball from creeping in at the near post, there was no use.

But Olympiakos equalised with Torosidis scorto c from a free-kick after Montpellier failed to clear the ball away inside the box.

Olympiakos won the match, with a low cross into the box was cleanly finished with an easy tap-in by striker Kevin Mitrologu.

Group B Table:  

  

1. Schalke, with 7 points

2. Arsenal, with 6 points  

3. Olympiakos, with 3 points
4. Montpellier, with 1 point.

Matchday 4: 

Olmpiakos vs Montpellier
Schalke vs Arsenal

What I have noticed so far:
Montpellier are virtually out, unless a miracle happens and they win all of their remaining fixtures which is unlikely unless everyone else does NOT win.
Olympiakos will settle for 3rd place, and a UEFA Europa League place is not so bad for the Greek champions.
Schalke vs Arsenal for 1st place.
 

Group C:

Zenit St Petersburg 1 Anderlecht 0

This early afternoon match was played in Russia as big spenders Zenit St Petersburg hosted Belgian side Anderlecht. 

Striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov scored the only goal of the match in the 72nd minute from the penalty spot after fellow striker Milan Jovanovic pulled him down inside the area as the ball was coming towards him to try and block him from scoring.

Jumping for joy: Kerzhakov celebrates his 72nd minute winner against Anderlecht in Russia.

 
Malaga 1 AC Milan 0

This match was played in Spain at La Rosaleda as Malaga hosted Italian club AC Milan.

Malaga were given a penalty in the 45th minute, after AC Milan defender Kevin Constant shoulder barged a Malaga player and the referee felt that he did not get any of the ball.
Joaquin hit the crossbar and missed. 

But three minutes after half-time, he got his reward with a lovely placed goal past the goalkeeper, which hit both posts before going in the net.

Making amends: Joaqiun celebrates after scoring the winner for Malaga, despite missing a penalty earlier on.

This was how the match ended, 1-0 to Malaga at home. 

Group C Table: 

1st: Malaga, with 9 points

2nd: AC Milan, with 4 points

3rd: Zenit St Petersburg, with 3 points

4th: Anderlecht, with 1 point.  

Matchday 4: 

AC Milan vs Malaga

Anderlecht vs Zenit

What I have noticed so far:  

Anderlecht (just like Montpellier in Group B) are virtually out of the CL, with big spenders Zenit proving so far that they cannot cut it with the 'big boys of Europe'.

A Europa League spot maybe on the cards for Zenit unless they get better and quickly with no time to spare.

A point for Malaga in their next game while give them breathing space,a nd ensure that they qualify for the Last 16.   

AC Milan should be able to qualify for the Last 16, but Zenit are breathing down their necks at the moment, only a point off them...

Group D:

Ajax 3 Manchester City 1

This match was played at The Amsterdam Arena as Dutch champions Ajax hosted defending English champions Manchester City.

Midfielder Samir Nasri broke the deadlock for City in the 22nd minute after some lovely play by full-back Micah Richards and defensive midfielder James Milner which was finished off with a lovely finesse shot into the top corner of the net past goalkeeper Kevin Vermeer.

Opener: Samir Nasri places the ball past Kevin Vermeer inside the box to break the deadlock in Holland against Ajax.

Good one: Nasri celebrates the only goal of the match for City with Dzeko and Aguero.

Micah Richards had a shot well saved by Vermeer from outside the box, before Ajax equalised just before half-time thanks to a bullet drive by striker Siem De Jong into the far corner of the net out of Joe Hart's reach.

Out of reach: Striker De Jong's strike beats the City defenders and Joe Hart to equalise for Ajax.

Borussia Dortmund 2 Real Madrid 1 

This match was played at the Dortmund Stadium, as Dortmund hosted Spainish champions Real Madrid.

Real Madrid defender Pepe made a big mistake with a mis-placed pass and Dortmund capatailized on this. 

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski was through on goal after a great through ball by captain Kehl.
He had a low but firm shot towards goal, and the ball JUST went past Real Madrid goalkeeper Casillas into the bottom corner of the net to break the deadelock for the ome side in the 36th minute.

It did not take long for Real Madrid to come back in the match, after a nice through ball went straight to winger Cristiano Ronaldo who used his pace to run down the wing and beat a defender before slyly waiting for the Dortmund goalkeeper Weidenfeller to come out of his goal, before chipping the ball over his head into the empty net to make it 1-1 after 38 minutes.

Calm down: Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his goal against Dortmund - by calming down the Real fans.

Marcel Schmelzer ended the match with a sweet volley in the 64th minute from just inside the 18-yard box which bounced past goalkeeper Casillas into the bottom corner of the net to make it 2-1 to Dortmund. 

Sweet volley: Borussia Dortmund left-back Marcel Schmelzer volleys his side into the lead against Real in the 64th minute.

Delight and passion: Dortmund left-back Schmelzer celebrates his goal with his team-mates.

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Yesterday's UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matches:

Hello and welcome to the latest installment of my football blog. In this post, I will be covering te UEFA Champions League for the first time in over a fortnight, as Chelsea and Manchester United both play in their respective group stage matches, along with Barcelona who play against Celtic.

Group E: 

Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Chelsea 1

The defending Champions League winners went to Ukraine to play against Shakhtar Donetsk, but were surprisingly beaten 2-1. 

The main story before this match was that Chelsea defender John Terry would be made captain, after accepting a 4-match ban for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

Shakthar got off to the best start, with Alex Teixeira taking advantage of sloppy defending by Ashley Cole and John Terry to slot the ball cooly past goalkeeper Petr Cech into the net in the 3rd minute.

Early lead at home: Alex Teixeira celebrates his goal with his Shakthar team-mates.

Shakthar continued with their attacking style with two shots by Willian which were both over the bar after some great skill.
 
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard was replaced after 18 minutes by winger Eden Hazard, after injuring his ankle while crossing the ball into the box.

Disapointing: Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard had to be replaced in the 18th minute by Hazard

Mkhitaryan had a shot well saved and parried over the bar by Petr Cech, who kept his side in the match at this point.

Fernandinho made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute with a low drive away from Cech after a dangerous counter attack by Adriano.    

Thank you: Fernandinho celebrates his goal from a counter attack to give Shaktar a 2-0 lead after 53 minutes

Fernandinho almost made it 3-0 with a stinging low drive which just went past the post.

Mkhitaryan had another shot parried over the bar by Cech from 20 yards out.

Chelsea midfielder Oscar scored a goal in the 88th minute, after defender Branislav Ivanovic used pace to drive into the box down thw wing, before passing the ball into the middle. 

Defender Gary Cahill faked and the ball went through his legs, before Oscar popped up and slotted the ball into the net.

Consolation goal: Chelsea midfielder Oscar scores, before running with the ball as he wants an equaliser.

Chelsea tried to press for a late equaliser, but Shaktar held on for a famous victory at home against the defending champions of Europe and Oscar's goal proved to be only a consolation for the travelling side.

FACT: Chelsea have only won once out of their last three group stage matches now, after drawing against Juventus on the opening night and losing to Shakhtar. They beat Nordsjaelland 4-0.
     
FC Nordsjaelland 1 Juventus 1

This match was played in Denmark at the Stadium-Parken in Copenhagen
as Nordsjaelland hosted Italian champions Juventus.

Mikkel Beckmann broke the deadlock in the 50th minute for the home side with a curling free-kick from 20 yards out which beat Buffon and hit the underside of the net.

Beautiful free-kick: Beckmann scores from 20 yards out past Buffon to give Nordsjealland a 1-0 lead.

There we go: Beckmann is mobbed by his team-mates as he breaks the deadlock against Juventus.

Group E Table: 

1st - Shakhtar, 7 points

2nd - Chelsea, 4 points

3rd - Juventus, 3 points

4th - Nordsjaelland, 1 point 

Matchday 4

Juventus vs Nordsjaelland

Chelsea vs Shakhtar Donetsk  

 

Group F:

BATE Borisov 0 Valencia 3

Lille 0 Bayern Munich 1

Group G:

Spartak Moscow 2 Benfica 1

This early-afternoon match was played in Russia, as Spartak looked to win their first match of the group after losing to Celtic and Barcelona in recent matches.  

Barcelona 2 Celtic 1 

This match was played at the Camp Nou, as Barcelona hosted Scottish champions Celtic, in a highly rated mismatch between two teams at different ends of the footballing spectrum.  
  
Barcelona winger Alexis Sanchez missed a golden chance to break the deadlock within the first 3 minutes, after a great oassing move and through ball by Andres Iniesta was hit past the goalkeeper, but just past the post.

A Celtic free-kick in the 18th minute was whipped into the box and Georgios Samaras' header deflected off Barcelona defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano before beating Victor Valdes to go into the net.

Shock at the Nou Camp: Celtic celebrate Samaras' goal against Barcelona in the 18th minute, to make it 1-0.

Midfielder Andres Iniesta finished off a fabulous passing and move game with Xavi and Messi finding him in the box before he slotted the ball away from the goalkeeper into the low corner of the net to equalise for Barcelona just before half-time.  



Tonight's UEFA Champions League Matches include;

Arsenal host tough German side Schalke at The Emirates tonight. Will they get another three points tonight?

Arsenal vs FC Schalke 04
Ajax vs Manchester City
Malaga vs AC Milan
Dinamo Zagreb vs PSG

Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid 



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