Today's EPL Results with Analysis:

Hello and welcome to my latest installment of my EPL Blog in this season's 2012-13 English Premier League. Today, there were 6 matches on show including Arsenal vs West Brom and Chelsea vs Sunderland in the 3pm kick-offs.

Today's Matches:

Arsenal 2 West Bromwich Albion 0

This match was played at The Emirates Stadium as 10th placed Arsenal hosted a West Brom side who have had great form all season so far, but have dipped in the last 2 matches.

The match had its first goal in the 26th minute after a controversial penalty was awarded in Arsenal's favour after West Brom defender Steven Reid apparently tackled midfielder Santi Cazorla inside the box. 

Controversy: Arsenal were awarded a penalty after an apparent dive by Cazorla. 

Protest: The West Brom players protest to the referee because of his decision to give a penalty.

Fellow Spainsh midfielder Mikel Arteta stepped up, and scored cooly past the goalkeeper to give The Gunners the lead. 

Clinical: Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta breaks the deadlock from the penalty spot.

Arsenal were awarded with another penalty after 64 minutes, and Arteta was not afraid to step up and take it again. He scored again, and celebrated his 3rd goal this season to kill off Wst Brom's hopes of getting back into the match.

Arsenal dominated the match with their precise passing and showed glimpses of the old Arsenal who challenged hard for trophies every season, while bouncing back from the 2-0 defeat last Saturday against Swansea. 
They move up to 6th place, within 2 points of local rivals Tottenham who play against Everton tomorrow in a crunch match at the top end of the table (4th vs 7th).

West Brom have now lost 3 matches in a row, and their good form at the start of the season is start to crumble in the run up to Christmas. 
They are now in 5th place, behind Tottenham who are currently in the final Champions League spot. 

Sunderland 1 Chelsea 3 

This match was played at The Stadium of Light, as both managers Martin O'Neill and Rafael Benitez were under-fire after poor performances of late.

The game started well for the away side, thanks to a half volley from striker Fernando Torres to open the scoring after only 11 minutes. 

Impact: Torres breaks the deadlock after 11 minutes with a half volley past Mignolet. 

Slowly, but surely: Torres celebrates his 5th goal of the season against Sunderland.

Torres scored again to make it 2-0, but this time from the penalty spot just before half-time after Sunderland midfielder Sebastien Larsson fouled Chelsea winger Ramires inside the box. 

Clumsy: Larsson fouls Ramires inside the box to award Chelsea a stonewall penalty. 

2 for me: Torres completes his brace from the penalty spot to give Chelsea a comfortable lead.

Sunderland could not find a way back into the match, and were deservedly punished in the 48th minute after Torres' shot hit the crossbar, and the rebound fell to Juan Mata who did not fail to finish his golden chance to put the match to bed. 

Follow-up: Juan Mata takes advantage of the rebound from Torres' shot to make it 3-0. 

Sunderland's £10million summer signing Adam Johnson scored a consolation goal in the 66th minute, but Chelsea stuck firm away from home and got interim manager Benitez his first 3 points as boss.

First three points on the job: Benitez wins his first EPL match as interim manager of Chelsea.

Partnership: Torres celebrates his 6th goal of the season, and has improved since Benitez took charge. 

Stark contrast: Martin O'Neil looks frustrated as his side move back into the relegation zone.

Southampton 1 Reading 0 

This match was played at St. Mary's Stadium, with a relegation battle match between two of the bottom three in the league. 

Midfielder Jason Puncheon scored the only goal of the match in the 61st minute to give the hosts all three points and push them out of the relegation zone into 15th place with 15 points. 

Vital: Jason Puncheon scores in the 61st minute to give Southampton an important 3 points.

Keep it up: Southampton move out of the bottom three after beating Reading today.

Aston Villa 0 Stoke City 0

This match was a goal-less draw at Villa Park. The major news story was that Aston Villa's record signing Darren Bent was left on the bench AGAIN today. 

What about me? Bent has been left out of the Aston Villa squad on a number of occasions this season.

A bit surprising? Aston Villa's record-signing Darren Bent warms up during the match.

Meanwhile Stoke full-back Ryan Shotton was controversially given a red card after a challenge where there was NO contact.

Injustice: Ryan Shotton tries to protest after being sent off by the referee after a dive by Delph. 

Swansea City 3 Norwich City 4

A 7-goal thriller at The Liberty Stadium in Wales, as Swansea lost their 5th home match of the season against a fired-up Norwich side.

The first half was all Norwich, with 3 goals by Whittaker, Bassong and Holt to give the away side a comfortable lead going into half-time.

Cool as you like: Bassong celebrates his goal against Swansea to make it 2-0.

First-half rout: Holt celebrates his 4th goal of the season to make it 3-0 before half-time.

Swansea midfielders Michu and Jonathan De Guzman each scored a goal between them during the second half in the 51st and 58th minute to give The Swans a lifeline and give Norwich pressure. 

In the 77th minute, Robert Snodgrass made it 4-2 to Norwich which almost sealed the three points for the away side.

Miguel Michu doubled his tally for the day by scoring a late consolation goal in the 90th minute, but it was too late and not enough to earn his side a point.

Frustration: Miguel Michu realises it is too late to equalise after scoring a late consolation goal.

Wigan Athletic 2 QPR 2

This match was played at the DW Stadium, with a relegation battle clash between 17th placed Wigan and 20th placed QPR.

Midfielder James McCarthy broke the deadlock in the 18th minute to give his side a 1-0 lead.

Deadlock broken: Midfielder James McCarthy scores in the 18th minute to make it 1-0. 

7 minutes later, defender Ryan Nelsen equalised for QPR thanks to a header past goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi. 

Equaliser: Defender Ryan Nelsen heads QPR into an equaliser in the 25th minute.

Fighting spirit: Ryan Nelsen celebrates his rare goal for QPR to make it 1-1 against Wigan.

Striker Djibril Cisse made it 2-1 to QPR after coming off the substitute's bench to cap off his return to the first-team, but McCarthy ensured that QPR did not win their first match of the season, and earned the home side a point after completing his double three minutes later. 

We are winning! Djibril Cisse scores for QPR to give them the lead in the 71st minute....

Flying high: Cisse celebrates his goal after coming on as a substitute. 

Oh dear: McCarthy scores again to give Wigan a point, and deny QPR their first win of the season.

Harry Redknapp's new boys continue their winless run. It is now 16 matches without a win in the EPL after a 2-2 draw against 17th placed Wigan - a side that they should be beating if they do not want to get relegated this season.

FACT: This is the worst winless run in the EPL since Sheffield  United in the 1990-91 season.


Thank you for reading my EPL Blog, and I will be back tomorrow for LIVE Coverage of three matches:

Clash of the titans: Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini go head-to-head tomorrow.

Manchester City vs Manchester United: LIVE from 13:30pm at The Ethiad.

The most fierce derby in English history. The EPL leaders versus the defending champions. 
Last year, Manchester City won both derby matches, and ended up with their first EPL trophy in over 40 years.

Shock: Manchester City thrashed United at OT last season. Can they do it again at The Ethiad?

That was then: Kompany celebrates his winning header against Manchester United that sealed the title last season.

This past week, they failed to qualify for the Europa League after a loss against Dortmund took them firmly out of the prestigious Champions League. 

This is now: City have now become the first English team not to win a CL group stage match after being knocked out last month.

Whoever wins the match tomorrow, will have bragging rights over the Christmas period.

Who will have the impact in the traditional derby?
van Persie? Balotelli? Rooney? Tevez? Aguero? Hernandez?

On-form: Robin van Persie has scored 10 in the EPL this season.

I am behind you: Carlos Tevez has got 7 goals in the EPL for Manchester City this season.

Expect drama, controversy, cards, fouls, and goals.

Balotelli's famous 'Why always me?' celebration after he scored in the 6-1 derby last season.

History: United fans will remember Rooney's overhead kick goal against City in 2011.

Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE from 3:00pm at Goodison Park.

This will be an interesting crunch match between two good sides who are desperate to play in Europe next season.
Tottenham have played well this season with 8 wins this season, while the hosts Everton could be in the top 4 if they stopped DRAWING.

Top scorer: Jermain Defoe has scored 9 goals this season so far in the EPL.

Indispensable: Marouane Fellaini has scored 8 for The Toffees this term, and will be needed. 

Everton have drawn 8 matches this season, which is the joint-highest in the league along with Stoke.

And, West Ham United vs Liverpool: LIVE from 4:00pm at Upton Park.

An in-form West Ham host mid-table Liverpool in an interesting tea-time kick-off tomorrow.
There will be a huge gap left for both teams in the starting line-ups, as Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez are both unavailable to play due to injury and suspension respectively.

Sidelined: Carroll will not be able to play against parent club Liverpool after suffering a knee injury.

Talisman out: Suarez is unavailable for Liverpool due to five yellow cards this season. 

West Ham could move up to 6th place with a win at home tomorrow, while Liverpool could leapfrog their opposition. 

EPL Round-Up over the past week:

Hello and welcome to my latest blog installment of this season's 2012-13 English Premier League. I apologise for not being able to post for the last couple of days due to personal troubles added with the fact that the blog posts were not working for me. Either way, I am back with a full review of last week's EPL matches.

Last Wednesday's Matches:

Everton 1 Arsenal 1

Everton talisman Marouane Fellaini gave the hosts one goals and eventually one point after they went 1-0 down at Goodison Park thanks to a quick-fire goal by Theo Walcott in the first minute.

Manchester United 1 West Ham 0

£24million striker Robin van Persie scored the only goal of the match in the 35th second to give United all three points at home against a surprisingly good West Ham side who have played well this season.

Chelsea 0 Fulham 0

Rafa Benitez's second match as interim Chelsea manager gave The Blues their second draw in a row at home against local London rivals Fulham. He will have to get his act together if he wants to secure a top 4 finish for Chelsea come the end of the season.

Southampton 1 Norwich City 1

Rickie Lambert gave The Saints the lead after 32 minutes, and it looked like Norwich's good form in the EPL had come to an end after impressive wins over both Manchester United and Arsenal, not to mention a last minute equaliser against Everton.

However, this was not to be the case thanks to Robert Snodgrass' goal in the 45th minute just before half-time. 

Stoke City 2 Newcastle United 1

A shock scoreline at The Britannia, despite Stoke being at home. Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse scored his first goal of the season to break the deadlock in the 47th minute, but 2 goals in the last 10 minutes of the match by strikers Jonathan Walters and Cameron Jerome secured all 3 points for Tony Pulis' men.

Swansea City 3 West Bromwich Albion 1

This match was played at The Liberty Stadium, as consistent side Swansea hosted high-flyers West Brom who found themselves in 3rd place after great form in the EPL. 

£2million bargain summer signing Michu scored his 7th goal of the season to break the deadlock after only 9 minutes to give the home side the lead.

Forward Wayne Routledge scored a brace in the 11th and 39th minute to give Swansea a 3-0 lead going into half-time.

But, striker Romelu Lukaku gave Swansea a slight shock after scoring his 5th goal of the season just before half-time in the 45+3rd minute.

The match ended with Swansea taking all three points, and giving West Brom only their 4th loss of the season. 

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Liverpool 1

This match was played at White Hart Lane, as Tottenham hosted mid-table club Liverpool.

Wingers Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale gave Spurs a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes. Bale scored another goal - but this time at the other end of the pitch with an unlucky own goal after the ball hit his face after an attempted goal-line clearance.
Liverpool had hope of grabbing an equaliser, but they left it too late and their 10-goal talisman Suarez was not able to help them this time.

Wigan Athletic 0 Manchester City 2

This match was played at the DW Stadium, as Wigan hosted Manchester City in a tough match for the home side, as they looked to contain a 2nd placed City side who needed a win to keep the pressure on local rivals Manchester United in the early stages of the title race.

Both sides started the match slowly, with Manchester City not taking their chances and Wigan's defence staying strong throughout the first half. The home side even had some chances of their own, but were so surprised that they even got the ball in a dangerous position to really trouble Joe Hart.

Two good class goals from striker Mario Balotelli and defensive midfielder James Milner ended Wigan's hopes of grabbing a point (or even 3!) and gave the visitors three points. 

The Weekend's Action:

Saturday:
 

West Ham United 3 Chelsea 1 

This match was played at Upton Park, as West Ham hosted Chelsea in the early afternoon London derby. Chelsea looked for their first win under interim manager Rafa Benitez, and that was far from what happened away from home on Saturday.

Firstly, Benitez fielded Moses, Mata and Hazard all behind an in-consistent Fernando Torres in strike. He also gave right-back Cesar Azpilicueta first-team experience away from home. 

And his side (for this season at least) gave him a welcome lead after great play down the wing by Torres to cross a low ball into the box for his fellow countryman Juan Mata to easily place past Jussi Jaaskelainen to break the deadlock in the 13th minute.  

As you do: Juan Mata cooly slots the ball past Jaaskelainen to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead.

5 for the season: Mata celebrates becoming Chelsea's top scorer with 5 goals this season. 

Chelsea dominated the rest of the first half, and the half-time score was 1-0 to the visitors who looked comfortable for the three points.

However, in the second half West Ham played much differently with a certain physical edge to their play. 
A deflected cross into the box from £10million winger Matt Jarvis found striker Carlton Cole who got the better of defender Branislav Ivanovic to head the ball past Cech into the bottom corner of the net to equalise in the 63rd minute.

Reward: Carlton Cole equalises for West Ham after a change of tactic in the second half.

West Ham midfielder Mohamed Diame made it 2-1 with a bullet strike in the 86th minute to give the hosts the lead just before the full-time whistle.

Bullet strike: Diame scores to give the hosts the lead against Chelsea after 86 minutes.

Another screamer: Diame celebrates his goal against Chelsea after his clean strike against Arsenal.

And the salt was rubbed fully into the Chelsea wounds in the last minute of play, when Ashley Cole's misplaced pass fell to Maiga who ended the match with a nice finish into the net to make it 3-1 and give all the travelling Chelsea fans nightmares. 

Sloppy: Striker Modibo Maiga cleans up and makes it 3-1 after a misplaced pass by Ashley Cole.

Good luck Benitez... Three matches in the EPL, 2 points. No pressure for a time that need to win things this season.

Interim is the key word: Rafael Benitez has started slowly as Chelsea interim manager.

Arsenal 0 Swansea City 2

This match was played at The Emirates Stadium, as a shaky Arsenal side hosted in-form Swansea.

Swansea dominated the match from the get-go, and could have broken the deadlock earlier on after full-back Angel Rangel had two powerful shots on target saved by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. 

They continued to pass the ball well and were comfortable in possession despite being away from their comfort zone 200 miles away from The Liberty Stadium in London.

Olivier Giroud was denied a penalty after Chico Flores' late tackle from behind inside the box, and Miguel Michu scored a great double with a placed strike, and a finesse into the bottom corner of the net in the last 3 minutes of the match to score his 10th of the season.

Consistent: Michu takes advantage of a sloppy Arsenal defence to finesse the ball into the net.

Bargain: Michu has become only the third Spainard to score 10 goals in the EPL before Christmas.

Arsenal failed to show any attacking threat throughout the match, and were deservedly punished by Michu.

Three points for us: Michu celebrates his second goal with the travelling Swansea fans.

FACT: This is Swansea's first away win against Arsenal since February 1982. 

Not very good for Arsene Wenger, who is under critiscim after his worst start to a season since he took charge of Arsenal 16 years ago. The Gunners lie in 10th place, and are chasing the top 4.

Time for a change? Arsenal fans are beginning to think that Wenger should step down as Arsenal boss.

Fulham 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3

This match was played at Craven Cottage, as another London derby was played on Saturday. 

Liverpool 1 Southampton 0

Manchester City 1 Everton 1

QPR 1 Aston Villa 1

West Bromwich Albion 0 Stoke City 1

Reading 3 Manchester United 4

Sunday:

Norwich City 2 Sunderland 1

Monday:

Newcastle United 3 Wigan Athletic 0

The Weekend's Action:

(MORE TO FOLLOW TOMORROW - Final draft)

Notice - Friday's Post:

My next EPL post will be on Friday, where I analyse all of the EPL matches yesterday and being played today.

These are the fixtures being played today, and the matches which were played yesterday:

Yesterday:

Sunderland 0 QPR 0

Newly appointed boss Harry Redknapp won his first point as QPR manager, as his new side drew 0-0 with Sunderland at The Stadium Of Light.

Aston Villa 1 Reading 0

Striker Christian Benteke scored the only goal of the match in the 80th minute thanks to a header from a corner. 

Who needs Bent? Benteke breaks the deadlock after 80 minutes to give Aston Villa the lead, and 3 points.

Boost: Benteke celebrates his goal against Reading to move Villa out of the relegation zone.

Aston Villa move up to 17th place, while Reading stay in 19th place, stuck in the relegation places.

Tonight's matches (7.45pm unless stated):

Everton 1 Arsenal 1

Winger Theo Walcott broke the deadlock for The Gunners to give them an early lead inside the 1st minute at Goodison Park, but Everton's talisman and midfielder Marouane Fellaini has equalised for the home side to make it 1-1, with 30 minutes gone.

Chelsea 0 Fulham 0

The west London derby is goalless after 30 minutes on the clock. The main story leading into this match was how Rafa Benitez would cope with a match that he should be winning in his second match as interim Chelsea manager after Roberto Di Matteo's dismissal this time last week.

Southampton 1 Norwich 0 

Striker Rickie Lambert has broken the deadlock after 32 minutes, to score his 6th goal this season at home. 

This will be Norwich's 5th loss of the season if the score stays like this, which would mean that they would be falling back into the mid-table mindset after impressive victories against both Manchester United and Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Southampton can move back out of the relegation zone with a win tonight.

Stoke 0 Newcastle United 0 

This match remains goalless at The Britannia Stadium. Both sides have tough defences, so the match may be decided on 1 goal or mistake.

Swansea 3 West Bromwich Albion 0

£2million for Michu is proving to be a real bargain, with him scoring AGAIN tonight to score his 8th goal for Swansea since moving from Rayo Vallencano in the summer. 

Winger Wayne Routledge has scored twice, to almost certainly give The Swans 3 points at home after a draw against Liverpool on Sunday.

This will be West Brom's 4th loss of the season and even though they are currently in 3rd place after a fast start to the season, they may be moving down the table very quickly if they don't pick the Winter pace.

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Liverpool 0

A double by Welsh winger Gareth Bale has given Spurs a comfortable lead against mid-table side Liverpool in the first half.

8:00pm kick-off: Manchester United 1 West Ham United 0

Robin van Persie has scored his 9th goal of the season to give United the lead at home to 8th placed West Ham. A win at Old Trafford tonight will ensure that United stay on top of the table, as local rivals Manchester City are also in action against Wigan.

8:00pm kick-off: Wigan Athletic 0 Manchester City 0

End-to-end stuff at The DW Stadium. The Wigan defence is staying strong, despite threats from Balotelli, Aguero and Silva. They are making chances of their own, but are struggling to really test Joe Hart yet. 0-0, interesting match.

I will have a full report on Friday.

EPL Super Sunday LIVE Coverage:

Hello and welcome to my latest blog installment of this year's English Premier League with 4 matches LIVE today including the crunch match between Manchester City and Chelsea for all you football fans to enjoy and dissect with analysis and descriptions. 

First match in charge: Rafael Benitez's first test as Chelsea manager is a match against Manchester City today.

Swansea City vs Liverpool - LIVE

60 minutes gone at the Liberty Stadium, where former manager Brendan Rodgers faces his old club Swansea for the first time since leaving his post to move to Liverpool.

Liverpool's 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling has hit the crossbar in the first half with a stinging half volley along with full-back Jose Enrique who had a goal disallowed for offside.

Disallowed goal: Full-back Jose Enrique had a goal disallowed for offside inside the first half.

It has been an end-to-end match, with both teams passing the ball well, but neither side being able to take their goal-scoring chances.

Southampton vs Newcastle - Team line-ups:

Southampton: Gazzinga, Clyne, Fonte, Shaw, Yoshida, Puncheon, Cork, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Ramirez, Lambert.

Subs: Kelvin Davis, Hooiveld, Steven Davis, Rodriguez, Do Prado, Ward-Prowse, Mayuka.

Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Williamson, Santon, Tiote, Anita, Gutierrez, Feguson, Ba, Cisse.

Subs: Harper, Perch, Bigirimana, Marveaux, Sammy Ameobi, Ranger, Tavernier.   

 

15:00:

The match between Southampton and Newcastle has just kicked off, meanwhile Swansea winger Nathan Dyer and Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina are involved in a nasty collison after Dyer skins Downing on the right flank.

Full-on collision: Dyer tries to keep possesion of the ball, while Reina comes out to collect inside the box.

15:06:
 
Double substitution for Liverpool, with midfielder Jordan Henderson and winger Stewart Downing are replaced by young midfielder Jonjo Shelvey and forward Joe Cole. 

15:09:

Team Line-ups for Chelsea vs Manchester City:

Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Ivanovic, Cole, Mikel, Ramires, Mata, Oscar, Hazard, Torres.
Subs: Turnbull, Romeu, Moses, Ferreira, Marin, Cahill, Bertrand.

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Kolarov, Barry, Yaya Toure, Barry, Silva, Milner, Dzeko, Aguero.
Subs: Pantilimon, Maicon, Nasri, Javi Garcia, Balotelli, Kolo Toure, Tevez. 

15:23: FULL-TIME SCORE:

Swansea 0 Liverpool 0

A 0-0 draw at The Liberty Stadium, with goalkeeper Tremmel saving his side on numerous occasions from losing at home to Liverpool. 

It seems from afar like it was a boring match but it was far from it.
It was entertaining, dramatic and was full of passes and 29 attempts on goal during the match, but neither side was able to take their chances in-front of goal.

Both teams won 1 point each, with Swansea moving up to 8th place and The Reds going up to 11th.

15:34:

GOAL UPDATE - Southampton 1 Newcastle 0 

Midfielder Adam Lallana breaks the deadlock for The Saints after 34 minutes thanks to a failed clearance by Tim Krul and the Newcastle defence.

He cooly tapped in a shot after midfielder Jack Cork played the ball across goal.

Easy: Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana scores a tap-in after a good through pass from Ramirez.

2nd goal of the season: Lallana wheels away to celebrate his goal against Newcastle in the 34th minute.

15:42: Newcastle need half-time soon, they are being dominated at Southampton.

Tottenham vs West Ham - Team Line-ups:

Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Caulker, Vertonghen, Huddlestone, Sandro, Lennon, Dempsey, Bale, Defoe.

Subs: Friedel, Gallas, Naughton, Dembele, Sigurdsson, Livermore, Carroll.  

West Ham: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Tomkins, Reid, McCartney, Maiga, Diame, O'Neil,Noble, Nolan, Carroll.  

Subs: Spiegel, Jarvis, Cole, Taylor, Collins, Demel, Moncur. 

15:46: HALF-TIME:

Southampton 1 Newcastle United 0 

Chelsea vs Manchester City - LIVE Match Commentary: 

0: The match has started at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Manchester City aswell as Tottenham vs West Ham in the EPL.

2: Chelsea winger Ramires is down after colliding with Manchester City defensive midfielder James Milner. He is now recieving treament on the field.

3: While Ramires recieves treatment, the cameras show Chelsea fans with banners including 'OnlyoneDiMatteo' which shows that Di Matteo has left Chelsea with some dignity after being ruthlessly sacked in midweek after losing to Juventus 3-0. 

5: Manchester City are holding the ball well in the midfield in the early stages, after a corner by Kolarov came of nothing.

6: A lot is riding on this match today for both sides. Chelsea will move back into 3rd place if they win today while Manchester City will leapfrog local rivals Manchester United back into 1st place with an away win.  

12: Chelsea are starting to find their passing game, but their end product is not good enough in the final third.

14: Manchester City starting to press Chelsea's defence now, especially targeting shaky defender David Luiz as the ball goes out for a City corner.

15: City's corner comes of nothing, and Chelsea are given a quick rest.

16: Chelsea's supporters applaud Roberto Di Matteo throughout this minute, probably in thanks because of his nservices to the club, while many fans have banners saying 'In Roberto we trusted and loved, in Rafa we will never trust! Fact!'

GOAL UPDATE - Southampton 2 Newcastle 0
Forward Gaston Ramirez doubles the lead for The Saints!

Another failure to clear by Tim Krul from Jason Puncheon's cross allows Ramirez to capitalize on his mistake and hit the ball into the net easily to make it 2-0.     

Record signing: Gaston Ramirez celebrates his 1st goal in a Southampton shirt transfer after a move from Bologna.

31: Chelsea had the chance to counter attack with Cole on the wing, but a misplaced pass lets the ball go out for a City goal-kick. 

45: The referee blows the whistle to end the first half at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are holding Manchester City to a 0-0 draw at the moment, but it doesn't look as though it will stay like this throughout the second half.

GOAL UPDATE - Tottenham 1 West Ham 0

Striker Jermain Defoe has broken the deadlock just before half-time with his 6th goal of the season after cutting inside and shooting from just outside the 18-yard box.  

6th goal of the season: Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe hits a powerful strike to make it 1-0 against West Ham.

Defoe is mobbed by his team-mates after his goal just before half-time gave Spurs the lead going into the break.

  
16:50:

HALF-TIME:

Chelsea 0 Manchester City 0
Tottenham 1 West Ham 0 

FULL-TIME - Southampton 2 Newcastle 0

That result moves Southampton out of the relegation zone into 17th place while pushing Aston Villa back into the 'drop zone', after goals from Lallana and Ramirez.

It is their 2nd home win of the season, while Newcastle fail to move up into as high as 9th place after securing a place in the Last 32 of the Europa League on Thursday night.  

This time of year will be vital to Newcastle's chase of another UEFA Europa League spot next season, especially as key players Ryan Taylor and Hatem Ben Arfa are both out injured. 
 

17:04: The 4pm kick-offs have both restarted with Chelsea vs Manchester City and Tottenham vs West Ham both in the second half now.

55: The match is looking more interesting at Stamford Bridge, with both sides starting counter attacks quickly. 

Manchester City defensive midfielder Yaya Toure tries to find Sergio Aguero with a through ball into the box, but Aguero's run is too early and the ball goes out.

57: Chelsea have a corner with Juan Mata whipping the ball into the box. David Luiz towers above centre-back Nastasic before unleashing a header towards goal.... OVER THE BAR!!!
The header was too high to even trouble England no.1 goalkeeper Joe Hart.

60: Chelsea have another corner.... the ball is whipped into the box, but Manchester City defender and captain Vincent Kompany heading the ball away to safety. 

61: Chelsea winger Eden Hazard gets past three Manchester City defenders before weaving inside and out towards the box.
He eventually loses the ball, but City's clearance finds Torres who has an ambitious shot from 20 yards out.... OVER THE BAR!!!

At least Torres is having a go... Chelsea are starting to fire up in this match suddenly...

62: GOAL UPDATE - Tottenham 2 West Ham 0
Tottenham winger Gareth Bale doubles Spurs' lead. 

Good header: Tottenham winger Gareth Bale heads Spurs into a 2-0 lead in the 58th minute.

 
63: Manchester City full-back Pablo Zabaleta is given a yellow card after tripping Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic on a dangerous counter attack.

65: GOAL UPDATE - Tottenham 3 West Ham 0

Easy street now for Spurs, as Defoe scores his second goal of the match to make it 3-0 to the home side, and to almost certainly secure all three points. A win for Tottenham will see them move above West Ham into 7th, 1 place behind local rivals Arsenal. 

Make that 7 goals: Defoe celebrates scoring his double against West Ham in the 64th minute.

 
68: Manchester City suddenly increasing the intensity of the match, by camping in Chelsea's half and taking shots.

69: Manchester City SUB:
Carlos Tevez ON
James Milner OFF

Roberto Mancini looks for a more attacking option as he looks for his team to score the first goal in this match. 20 minutes to go.

71: Chelsea SUB:
Eden Hazard OFF
Victor Moses ON

An injection of pace for Benitez to try and push for the winning goal with less than 20 minutes to go.
Hazard has played okay today, but nothing special despite glimpses of genius.

75: 15 minutes left of the match plus stoppages with a Manchester City coming up.
The ball is cleared away by Torres.

76: Manchester City free-kick after a handball by Victor Moses. 

77: Kolarov is given a yellow card after a challenge from behind on Moses. Free-kick to Chelsea.

78: Rain is starting to fall heavily on West London now, which will make the last 10 minutes interesting to watch. 

79: Chelsea SUB:
Oriol Romeu ON
John Obi Mikel OFF

It looks as though Benitez would rather take the 1 point than lose all three, so is strengthening the defence for the last 10 minutes. 

FACT: If the scoreline stays the same, it will be Chelsea's 3rd draw in 4 matches in the Premier League.   

82: Cameras show striker Mario Balotelli is changing and getting ready to come on for Manchester City. 

84: GOAL UPDATE - Tottenham 3 West Ham 1

Andy Carroll has given the visitors a late consolation by scoring his first goal for West Ham after moving on a loan transfer from Liverpool in the summer transfer window. 

85: These last few minutes are going to be tense as both teams are looking for the winner.
Full-back Ashley Cole has a shot from 20 yards out over the bar. Goal-kick to City.  

86: Manchester City SUB:
Sergio Aguero OFF  
Mario Balotelli ON

Last-ditch attempt for a winner for Mancini. Balotelli comes on.  

87: Chelsea supporters are screaming for a red card to Vincent Kompany after he tackles Fernando Torres just outside the box and he is the last man. No foul, and Torres gets up quickly. 

90: The fourth official signals for 2 minutes of stoppage time to be added on as Romeu concedes a Manchester City corner. 

90+1: Manchester City defender Natasic has a header towards goal.... comfortably SAVED by Petr Cech!

90+2: Mario Balotelli is given a yellow card for a controversial dive, where there was contact between him and David Luiz.

The referee blows the whistle to end the match at Stamford Bridge. 

FULL-TIME SCORE::

Chelsea 0 Manchester City 0

New interim manager Rafael Benitez keeps a clean sheet on his first match in charge of Chelsea, but is not able to win the match against the defending EPL champions, or move back into 3rd place. 

Negative: Chelsea fans show their lack of support to Benitez, after the sacking of RDM this week.

 
My Man Of The Match: Vincent Kompany 

He worked hard throughout, and dominated the defence.
He made sure that Oscar, Mata and Torres did not give Hart much trouble and stopped them in their tracks.
He lead the back line well and kept a clean sheet.

Not going anywhere: Vincent Kompany contains the threat of Chelsea winger Juan Mata.

Neither are you: Torres tries to get past Kompany in the centre of the defence, but it was not enough.

Analysis:

• Chelsea stay in 4th place
• Manchester City fail to move back into 1st 
• Tottenham move up to the after a 3-1 win over West Ham
• Liverpool and Swansea ends 0-0  
• Southampton move out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Newcastle 

Thank you for reading my EPL Blog. I will speak to you all next week, where there are many matches during midweek in the EPL.

Southampton v NewcastleSouthampton: Gazzaniga, Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw, Puncheon, Cork, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Ramirez, Lambert. Subs: Kelvin Davis, Hooiveld, Steven Davis, Rodriguez, Do Prado, Ward-Prowse, Mayuka.
Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Williamson, Santon, Anita, Tiote, Gutierrez, Ferguson, Ba, Cisse. Subs: Harper, Perch, Bigirimana, Marveaux, Sammy Ameobi, Ranger, Tavernier.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2237495/Chelsea-v-Manchester-City-Swansea-v-Liverpool-Tottenham-v-West-Ham-Southampton-v-Newcastle-live.html#ixzz2DFKnQYCV
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Southampton v NewcastleSouthampton: Gazzaniga, Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw, Puncheon, Cork, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Ramirez, Lambert. Subs: Kelvin Davis, Hooiveld, Steven Davis, Rodriguez, Do Prado, Ward-Prowse, Mayuka.
Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Williamson, Santon, Anita, Tiote, Gutierrez, Ferguson, Ba, Cisse. Subs: Harper, Perch, Bigirimana, Marveaux, Sammy Ameobi, Ranger, Tavernier.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2237495/Chelsea-v-Manchester-City-Swansea-v-Liverpool-Tottenham-v-West-Ham-Southampton-v-Newcastle-live.html#ixzz2DFPsqIqs
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Southampton v NewcastleSouthampton: Gazzaniga, Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw, Puncheon, Cork, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Ramirez, Lambert. Subs: Kelvin Davis, Hooiveld, Steven Davis, Rodriguez, Do Prado, Ward-Prowse, Mayuka.
Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Williamson, Santon, Anita, Tiote, Gutierrez, Ferguson, Ba, Cisse. Subs: Harper, Perch, Bigirimana, Marveaux, Sammy Ameobi, Ranger, Tavernier.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2237495/Chelsea-v-Manchester-City-Swansea-v-Liverpool-Tottenham-v-West-Ham-Southampton-v-Newcastle-live.html#ixzz2DFKW5ZfX
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Southampton v NewcastleSouthampton: Gazzaniga, Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw, Puncheon, Cork, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Ramirez, Lambert. Subs: Kelvin Davis, Hooiveld, Steven Davis, Rodriguez, Do Prado, Ward-Prowse, Mayuka.
Newcastle: Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Williamson, Santon, Anita, Tiote, Gutierrez, Ferguson, Ba, Cisse. Subs: Harper, Perch, Bigirimana, Marveaux, Sammy Ameobi, Ranger, Tavernier.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2237495/Chelsea-v-Manchester-City-Swansea-v-Liverpool-Tottenham-v-West-Ham-Southampton-v-Newcastle-live.html#ixzz2DFKW5ZfX
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook