Premiership MatchDay 31 results
Saturday 30th March 2013
KO	Home		Away	Ref	TV
12:45	Sunderland	0-1	Man Utd	K Friend	Sky1
15:00	Arsenal	4-1	Reading	C Foy
15:00	Man City	4-0	Newcastle	N Swarbrick
15:00	Southampton	2-1	Chelsea	J Moss
15:00	Swansea	1-2	Tottenham	A Taylor
15:00	West Ham	3-1	West Brom	A Marriner
15:00	Wigan	1-0	Norwich	H Webb
17:30	Everton	1-0	Stoke	M Jones	ESPN
Sunday 31st March 2013
13:30	Aston Villa	1-2	Liverpool	L Mason	Sky1
Monday 1st April 2013
20:00	Fulham	3-2	QPR	L Probert	Sky1

Premier League MatchDay 31 kicked off on Saturday at Sunderland where Titus Bramble's unfortunate own goal allowed Manchester United to tighten their stranglehold on the Premier League title with a narrow 1-0 victory.

Arsenal kept up the pressure in the race for Champions League qualification with a 4-1 win over Reading at Emirates Stadium, which sent the Royals bottom of the Barclays Premier League.

Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany was amongst the scorers as the Blues recorded their biggest Premier League win since November, 4-0 against Newcastle.

Rickie Lambert celebrated his new Southampton contract in some style by smashing home an exquisite free-kick to secure a 2-1 win over Chelsea.

Premiership table - after 1st April 2013
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Man Utd	30	14	0	1	39	15	11	2	2	31	16	39	77
2	Man City	30	11	3	1	35	11	7	5	3	20	15	29	62
3	Tottenham	31	8	4	3	22	15	9	2	5	31	23	15	57
4	Chelsea	30	9	4	2	33	12	7	3	5	26	20	27	55
5	Arsenal	30	9	3	3	39	20	6	5	4	20	13	26	53
6	Everton	30	9	6	1	28	17	4	6	4	19	18	12	51
7	Liverpool	31	8	3	4	30	14	5	6	5	29	26	19	48
8	West Brom	31	9	2	4	23	14	4	3	9	18	27	0	44
9	Swansea	31	6	6	4	28	23	4	4	7	13	17	1	40
10	Fulham	30	7	3	5	25	19	3	6	6	18	27	-3	39
11	West Ham	30	7	4	4	26	18	3	2	10	9	26	-9	36
12	Southampton	31	6	5	5	24	19	2	5	8	20	34	-9	34
13	Stoke	31	6	7	2	18	15	1	6	9	9	21	-9	34
14	Norwich	31	6	6	3	16	15	1	7	8	12	32	-19	34
15	Newcastle	31	8	1	6	23	21	1	5	10	18	35	-15	33
16	Sunderland	31	4	6	6	17	17	3	4	8	16	26	-10	31
17	Wigan	30	4	4	8	20	32	4	2	8	16	24	-20	30
18	Aston Villa	31	4	4	8	15	24	3	5	7	17	34	-26	30
19	QPR	31	2	7	6	11	22	2	4	10	17	29	-23	23
20	Reading	31	4	6	5	23	29	1	2	13	13	32	-25	23

The latest instalment of the Gareth Bale show helped Tottenham climb to third in the Premier League table with a 2-1 victory at Swansea.

Andy Carroll gave Roy Hodgson a timely reminder of his talents as he inspired West Ham to an impressive win, over West Brom, which eased any lingering hopes of relegation at Upton Park.

Wigan's survival bid gathered pace as Arouna Kone's solitary goal against Norwich nine minutes from time made it three wins in a row for Roberto Martinez's side.

Forward Kevin Mirallas kept Everton's bid for Champions League football alive with the only goal in a 1-0 victory to increase Stoke's worries as their slide down the table continued.

Premier League MatchDay 31 kicked off on Sunday at Aston Villa  who remain in the Premier League bottom three after Liverpool came from behind to claim the three points and keep alive their faint hopes of securing a Champions League spot.

Premier League MatchDay 31 continued on Monday at Fulham where QPR's chances of beating the drop look bleaker than ever after defensive mistakes cost them dear in the west London derby.




Titus Bramble's unfortunate own goal allowed Manchester United to tighten their stranglehold on a 20th league title with a narrow 1-0 victory at Sunderland. The luckless defender unwittingly turned Robin van Persie's 27th-minute shot past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet after it had also clipped Phil Bardsley on its way to goal.

It proved enough to hand United a seventh successive league victory on a day when they became the first side in Premier League history to record 25 wins from their opening 30 games of a campaign.

The Black Cats were barely in the game before the break but, buoyed by United's failure to build upon their lead, rallied after it without ever testing keeper David De Gea as they extended their run without a league win to eight games, leaving them one point above the drop zone.

United probably should have killed the game off long before the final whistle, but they did enough to extend their lead at the top of the table, for a few hours at least, to 18 points, the ideal preparation for Monday's FA Cup quarter-final replay at Chelsea.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley (Larsson 78), Bramble, O'Shea, Rose (Colback 85), Johnson (Wickham 76), Gardner, N'Diaye,McClean, Sessegnon, Graham.
Subs not used: Westwood, Kilgallon, Mangane, Mandron.

Booked: N'Diaye, O'Shea, Bardsley.

Man Utd: De Gea, Da Silva (Evans 32), Vidic, Smalling, Buttner, Valencia, Carrick, Anderson (Cleverley 84), Young, Kagawa (Welbeck 78), van Persie.
Subs not used: Lindegaard, Evra, Nani, Powell.

Booked: Van Persie.

Goals: Bramble og 27 .

Attendance : 43,760

Referee: Kevin Friend



Arsenal capitalised as they welcomed a Reading side guided by new boss Nigel Adkins to Emirates Stadium, chalking up a 4-1 victory without England internationals Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott. Defeat, which was inflicted by Gervinho, Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Mikel Arteta, leaves the Royals seven points from safety with only another seven games to play.

Arsene Wenger had warned his players they are playing for their futures until the end of the season, and the scorer of the opening goal, Gervinho, may have been one of those feeling he had a point to prove. The enigmatic forward struck after 11 minutes - tapping home Cazorla's centre - and the Gunners were then denied a blatant penalty when Giroud was clattered inside the area.

It mattered little when Cazorla capped a fine move with a beautiful curling effort three minutes into the second period, and then Giroud swept home a third after Gervinho's 40-yard run down the flank. Hal Robson-Kanu headed a consolation for the Royals, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ended any hopes of a fightback by winning a penalty that Arteta converted.

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal (Gibbs 71), Arteta, Rosicky, Ramsey, Gervinho (Oxlade-Chamberlain 75), Cazorla, Giroud (Podolski 75).
Subs not used: Szczesny, Vermaelen, Coquelin, Jenkinson.

Goals: Gervinho 11, Cazorla 48, Giroud 67, Arteta pen 77

Reading: Taylor, Kelly, Pearce, Mariappa, Shorey, Leigertwood, Karacan (Akpan 76), Guthrie, McAnuff, Robson-Kanu (McCleary 80), Pogrebnyak (Hunt 61).
Subs not used: McCarthy, Gunter, Le Fondre, Morrison.

Booked: Guthrie

Goals: Robson-Kanu 68

Attendance : 60,082

Referee: Chris Foy.



Manchester City maintained their feint hopes of a title defence with a thumping 4-0 win over Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium. Goals from Carlos Tevez, David Silva and Vincent Kompany - in addition to a James Perch own goal - returned the gap at the top to 15 points, while defeat for Alan Pardew's Magpies has them sitting extremely precariously three above the drop zone.

Samir Nasri was at the heart of everything City produced for most of the first half, but it was Tevez who made the breakthrough five minutes before the interval after Gael Clichy's assist. Silva then effectively ended the game by half-time, ramming home at the near post after more good work from Nasri.

City will still hope to end the season with silverware as the FA Cup remains a significant prospect for them, and they helped themselves to more goals in the second period as Kompany diverted Gareth Barry's shot past Rob Elliot. Yaya Toure then rattled in a deflected effort off Perch for number four.

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany (Garcia, 73), Lescott, Clichy, Barry, Yaya Toure, Silva (Sinclair, 82), Nasri (Aguero, 71), Tevez, Dzeko.
Subs not used: Pantilimon, Kolo Toure, Kolarov, Milner.

Goals: Tevez 41, Silva 45, Kompany 56, Yaya Toure 69

Newcastle: Elliot; Simpson, S.Taylor, Yanga-Mbiwa, Gutierrez, Anita, Cabaye (Bigirimana 74), Obertan (Perch, 45), Sissoko, Gouffran (Gosling, 63), Cisse.
Subs not used: Harper, Good, Marveaux, Campbell.

Booked: Cabaye, Anita

Referee: Neil Swarbrick, Lancs

Attendance : 47,201



Chelsea are in great danger of missing out on Champions League football next season after they came away from Southampton with a 2-1 defeat, following Rafael Benitez's decision to rest star names for Monday's FA Cup quarter-final replay with United. Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert were on the scoresheet for Saints, leaving Chelsea only two points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal.

Benitez excused Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Demba Ba from his starting XI as he left one eye on the Cup, and Chelsea were punished when Rodriguez exchanged a one-two with Steven Davis before slotting past Petr Cech.

John Terry capitalised on poor Southampton marking to equalise at a corner, but within two minutes Lambert restored Saints' lead prior to half-time, slamming home a wonderful free-kick. Chelsea searched desperately for a route back into the match but Hazard fired agonisingly wide with one of their better efforts, as Saints moved four points clear of danger.

Southampton: Boruc (Kelvin Davis 46), Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Shaw, Puncheon (Ward-Prowse 62), Schneiderlin, Cork, Steven Davis (Fox 85), Rodriguez, Lambert.
Subs not used: Fonte, Ramirez, Forren, Do Prado.

Goals: Rodriguez 23, Lambert 35.

Booked: Lambert, Schneiderlin.

Chelsea: Cech, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Terry, Bertrand, Mikel (Ramires 71), Lampard, Moses, Oscar (Benayoun 76), Marin (Hazard 60), Torres.
Subs not used: Turnbull, Cole, Luiz, Ba.

Goals: Terry 33.

Booked: Torres.

Attendance : 31,779.

Referee: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire).



Victory for Arsenal keeps them within four points of third-placed Tottenham with a game in hand after Spurs beat Swansea 2-1 at the Liberty Stadium. Andre Villas-Boas may have feared another end-of-season collapse after Spurs suffered back-to-back league defeats prior to the international break, but goals from Jan Verthonghen and Gareth Bale got them back on track.

It took seven minutes for Verthonghen to open the scoring, and it was a finish of which any striker would have been proud as he slotted past Michel Vorm after Bale had hooked the ball into his path. However, Tottenham's second - by Bale - was special. Receiving the ball around the edge of the area he swiped it past Vorm in a flash - leaving the Swansea keeper motionless.

Michael Laudrup's side found a reply with 19 minutes remaining when Michu sent a powerful header off the inside of a post, but an equaliser failed to arrive.

Swansea: Vorm, Tiendalli, Chico (Monk 66), Williams, Davies, Britton, de Guzman (Ki 57), Routledge, Dyer, Hernandez (Shechter 79), Michu.
Subs not used: Tremmel, Bartley, Lamah, Moore.

Booked: Michu, Davies.

Goals: Michu 71.

Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton, Parker, Dembele, Bale, Sigurdsson (Holtby 76), Lennon, Adebayor (Defoe 61).
Subs not used: Archer, Assou-Ekotto, Caulker, Livermore, Huddlestone.

Booked: Adebayor, Walker, Holtby, Parker.

Goals: Vertonghen 7, Bale 21.

Attendance : 20,604

Referee:Anthony Taylor (Cheshire).



West Ham eased any fears they might have had about relegation with a 3-1 victory over West Brom. The Hammers, who netted through Andy Carroll (2) and Gary O'Neil, are now up to 36 points - six clear of the drop.

Carroll opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a booming header, and then O'Neil's delightful clip doubled the advantage inside the half-hour. Carroll then added another, before Graham Dorrans' late penalty for the Baggies. Youssouf Mulumbu was sent off at the death for kicking the ball at O'Neil.

West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Demel (McCartney 78), Reid, Collins, O'Brien, O'Neil, Diame (Collison 82), Nolan (Taylor 69), Jarvis, Carroll, Vaz Te.
Subs not used: Henderson, Tomkins, Carlton Cole, Chamakh.

Booked: Reid.

Goals: Carroll 16, O'Neil 28, Carroll 80.

West Brom: Foster, McAuley, Ridgewell, Jones, Olsson, Yacob (Odemwingie 71), Dorrans (Fortune 88), Mulumbu, Brunt, Long (Rosenberg 71), Lukaku.
Subs not used: Myhill, Popov, Thomas, Tamas.

Sent Off: Mulumbu (90).

Booked: Long.

Goals: Dorrans pen 88 .

Attendance : 34,966

Referee:Andre Marriner (W Midlands).



At the bottom, Wigan are in the mood for another great escape after they beat Norwich 1-0 at the DW Stadium. Arouna Kone's 81st-minute strike, which should have been saved by Lee Camp, moves the Latics above Aston Villa on 30 points with goal difference keeping them out of the bottom three.

Wigan: Robles, Scharner, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, Gomez, Beausejour, Maloney, McManaman (McArthur 66), Kone (Di Santo 90).
Subs not used: Al Habsi, Caldwell, Henriquez, Espinoza, Stam.

Booked: Scharner.

Goals: Kone 81.

Norwich: Camp, Martin, Turner, Bassong, Garrido, Howson (Tettey 85), Johnson, Snodgrass, Elliott Bennett, Hoolahan (Becchio 85), Kamara (Holt 80).
Subs not used: Steer, Whittaker, Fox, Tierney.

Booked: Elliott Bennett, Holt.

Attendance : 17,784

Referee: Howard Webb



Forward Kevin Mirallas kept Everton's bid for Champions League football alive with the only goal to increase Stoke's worries as their slide down the table continued.

The Belgium international struck from an electrifyingly quick counter-attack in the first half which left defenders trailing in his wake.

His sixth goal of the season, although only his third in 18 league appearances, was enough to ensure David Moyes' side built on their victory over champions Manchester City before the international break.

Everton: Howard, Jagielka, Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Coleman, Gibson, Osman, Mirallas (Barkley 80), Jelavic, Anichebe.
Subs not used: Mucha, Oviedo, Naismith, Hitzlsperger, Stones, Duffy.

Goals: Mirallas 28.

Booked: Barkley.

Stoke: Begovic, Cameron (Adam 79), Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Shotton, Whelan, Nzonzi, Walters, Crouch (Jones 79), Jerome.
Subs not used: Sorensen, Owen, Whitehead, Kightly, Wilkinson.

Booked: Shawcross, Whelan, Shotton.

Attendance : 33,977.

Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)





It is looking bleak for Villa after they failed for the 15th successive match to keep a clean sheet, conceding second-half goals to Liverpool's Jordan Henderson and, via the penalty spot, Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard, who played with a pain-killing injection in his heel, cleared Benteke's header off the line to preserve a victory that enabled Liverpool to climb to within three points of neighbours Everton.

Aston Villa: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Baker, Bennett, Sylla (El Ahmadi 76), Westwood, Bannan (Delph 62), Weimann (N'Zogbia 62), Benteke, Agbonlahor
Subs not used: Given, Bowery, Dawkins, Lichaj

Booked: Westwood

Goals: Benteke 31

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Jose Enrique, Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson, Coutinho (Sterling 77), Downing, Suarez.
Subs not used: Jones, Sturridge, Coates, Suso, Shelvey, Skrtel

Booked: Gerrard

Goals: Henderson 47, Gerrard pen 60

Attendance : 42,037

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)





Harry Redknapp may not agree, but Queens Park Rangers look certainties for relegation now. The Loftus Road club fell just short of completing a breathtaking comeback against West London rivals Fulham last night after gifting the hosts three first-half goals.

A two-goal fightback in the second half was not enough to prevent a hugely damaging loss. They are seven points from safety with seven games to play and that looks a step too far even for Harry Houdini.

Fulham on the other hand are able to concentrate on another season in the top flight.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Riether, Senderos, Hangeland, Riise, Duff, Karagounis, Sidwell, Dejagah (Emanuelson 38) (Frimpong 80), Ruiz, Berbatov.
Subs not used: Etheridge, Richardson, Hughes, Rodallega, Frei.

Booked: Riether, Senderos

Sent Off: Sidwell

Goals: Berbatov pen 8, Berbatov 22, Hill og 41.

QPR: Julio Cesar, Bosingwa, Samba, Hill (Onuhoa 46), Traore (Mackie 84), Townsend, Mbia, Jenas, Taarabt (Hoilett 75), Zamora, Remy.
Subs not used: Green, Park, Granero, Ben Haim,

Booked: Hill

Goals: Taarabt 45, Remy 51.

Attendance :

Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire)

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