Source: Daily_Mail
LIVE: PREMIER LEAGUE - All the Bank Holiday football action as it happens
The festive football schedule continues this afternoon with four games involving teams at both ends of the Premier League. Sportsmail will keep you up-to-date with all the action from Blackburn versus Sunderland, Chelsea versus Fulham, Everton versus Burnley, and Stoke versus Birmingham.[LNB] BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUEBlackburn 1 Sunderland 2 Chelsea 0 Fulham 1Everton 0 Burnley 0 Stoke 0 Birmingham 1 4.23: GOAL! Darren Bent with his second of the game and his 13th of the season. Played in, Samba couldn't chase him down and Bent fired past Robinson from the edge of the D. Great goal.[LNB]4.20: RED CARD - Stephen Jordan goes for his second bookable offence and Burnley are down to 10 men. The Clarets were on top in the second half up to that point - David Nugent had hit the post with a fine strike just moments earlier. [LNB]4.16: Great save from Joe Hart, he's keeping Birmingham in front on his own at the moment - Abdoulaye Faye's header was angling down into corner but a flying hand from Hart low to his right kept it out. England's number one?[LNB]4.12: GOAL! Morten Gamst Pedersen gets Rovers back on terms almost immediately! Flying down the wing, he cut in and smashed a shot in off the post with his weaker right foot. Great goal.[LNB]4.11: GOAL! Darren Bent lashes the ball past Paul Robinson after a melee in the box for his 12th goal of the season to give Sunderland the lead.[LNB]4.10: GOAL! Cameron Jerome prods the Blues in front from a corner -two yards out. Not a pretty goal but it puts the visitors in poll position to make it 12 games unbeaten in the top flight for the first time in their history.[LNB] Cameron the mark: Birmingham players mob the goalscorer [LNB]4.08: Chance for Fulham! Good Lord, could you imagine the response of the home crowd if their side went two behind? Bobby Zamora found himself in space but smacked his shot straight into Petr Cech. [LNB]4.05: All the 3pm kick-offs are back underway.[LNB]4.01: So, will this be another great day for Arsenal and Manchester United? If Fulham can continue to defend as if their lives depended on it Chelsea's lead will be cut to three points - United have a game in hand but if the Gunners win their two games in hand they'd go top. Let's not get carried away, though. [LNB]3.50: HALF TIME - The Chelsea fans boo their side off after a difficult first 45 minutes.[LNB]3.47: HALF TIME - The first 45 minutes come to an end in the games at Blackburn, Everton and Stoke. [LNB]3.43: At Goodison - Tim Cahill breaks into the box but his cross to the far-post was well cleared. The hosts are asking all the questions in that game. [LNB]3.42 ... and the Chelsea fans are booing their side. Can you believe it?[LNB] Stroll in the Park: Hoilett holds off Campbell and Cana's challenge[LNB]3.39: A very quick turn around for John Terry who is now back on the pitch at Stamford Bridge where his side remain behind after Zoltan Gera's early strike. And it could be two after Clint Dempsey's shot was just helped over the bar by Petr Cech. [LNB]3.35: Just the one goal in the Premier League so far this afternoon but it should be two - Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's run and drive went just past the post after a smart save from Burnley's Brian Jensen. [LNB]3.32: Chelsea are down to 10 men. No red card but there is blood on the pitch after John Terry took a blow to the face from Yuri Zhirkov that left a gash just below his eye. The Blues' captain has gone off for some treatment but is expected to return. [LNB]3.28: Over at Goodison Park, the game has come alive after two smart saves from Tim Howard keep out efforts from Wade Elliot and Steven Fletcher and Leighton Baines' cross has hit the crossbar. [LNB] Premier clash: Barry Ferguson tangles with Dean Whithead at the Britannia[LNB]3.23: The latest news from the game at Ewood Park is that there is no news. An uninspiring match, marked by it's lack of quality - hardly surprising given the two side's recent form. [LNB]3.18: What a chance for Ryan Shawcross at the Britannia Stadium. From Etherington's corner, Shawcross had only to poke it in from two yards but he missed the ball. [LNB]3.15: Great chance for Stoke to take the lead - Etherington whipped in a cross that Barry Ferguson flicked on towards his own goal, Robert Huth only had to tap it in but completely missed the ball. [LNB] Zoltan the great: Chelsea go behind inside five minutes after Gera's strike[LNB]3.10: It's all Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as the league leaders try to regain parity but for all their possession they are struggling to create a clear-cut chance.[LNB]3.04: GOAL! Zoltan Gera has slammed the Cottagers in front after just four minutes. [LNB]3pm: The games are all underway .. [LNB] Not so special: Jose Mourinho doesn't look best pleased after watching his former side go behind to an early goal from Zoltan Gera at Stamford Bridge [LNB]2.56: And in today's final other 3pm kick-off at Ewood Park ... Steve Bruce has handed 20-year-old Irish midfielder David Meyler his first-team debut today as injury-hit Sunderland looked to get back to winning ways. [LNB] Meyler was one of four changes made by Bruce after the Boxing Day draw with Everton, with potentially his most costly absentee being hamstring injury victim Kenwyne Jones.[LNB]Seeking his side's first win in seven league games, Rovers boss Sam Allardyce has made two changes with Jason Roberts and Morten Gamst Pedersen in for Franco di Santo and Michel Salgado respectively.[LNB]Blackburn: Robinson, Chimbonda, Samba, Nelsen, Givet, Hoilett, Andrews, Nzonzi, Pedersen, Roberts, McCarthy. Subs: Brown, Jacobsen, Diouf, Olsson, Kalinic, Di Santo, Salgado.Sunderland: Fulop, Bardsley, Nosworthy, Da Silva, McCartney, Henderson, Meyler, Cana, Murphy, Campbell, Bent. Subs: Carson, Zenden, Healy, Reed, Anderson, Noble, Liddle.[LNB]Referee: Mike Dean [LNB]2.52: And now here's the news from Goodison ... David Moyes has made one change to the side that drew at Sunderland on Boxing Day, striker Ayegbeni Yakubu replaces Louis Saha, who has a muscle injury.[LNB]Burnley, without a victory in eight games, are unchanged from the side which drew with Bolton at the weekend.[LNB]Neither of these two sides has won a Premier League match for almost two months.[LNB]Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Heitinga, Neill, Baines, Bilyaletdinov, Osman, Fellaini, Pienaar, Cahill, Yakubu. Subs: Nash, Vaughan, Neville, Coleman, Duffy, Agard, Baxter.Burnley: Jensen, Mears, Duff, Bikey, Jordan, Alexander, Eagles, Elliott, McDonald, Steven Fletcher, Nugent. Subs: Penny, Kalvenes, Gudjonsson, Edgar, Blake, Thompson, Guerrero.[LNB]Referee: Howard Webb[LNB] Goal-den: Fellaini celebrates his goal in Everton's game with Sunderland[LNB]2.48: We have the news from Stamford Bridge now ... Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou have been paired in attack for today's clash with Fulham - the duo's last appearance in club colours before departing for the African Nations Cup. [LNB]Chelsea have made six changes to the side that drew with Birmingham, only John Terry remains from the back four that started at St Andrew's withRicardo Carvalho, Yuri Zhirkov and Paulo Ferreira joining him. [LNB]Michael Ballack and Joe Cole also returned while Fulham defender BredeHangeland lost his battle against a knee injury so Chris Smalling made his full debut.[LNB]Chelsea: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Zhirkov, Mikel, Ballack, Lampard, Joe Cole, Drogba, Kalou. Subs: Hilario, Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Sturridge, Alex, Belletti, Kakuta.Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Hughes, Smalling, Konchesky, Duff, Murphy, Baird, Dempsey, Gera, Zamora. Subs: Zuberbuhler, Andrew Johnson, Nevland, Riise, Etuhu, Greening, Kallio.[LNB]Referee: Andre Marriner [LNB] Hero returns: Mourinho makes an appearance at Stamford Bridge [LNB]2.46: The first team news of the day comes in from Stoke ... Tony Pulis has made five changes to his side for the visit of Birmingham.[LNB]Glenn Whelan and Salif Diao are suspended, Andy Wilkinson misses out with an ankle injury sustained in the 2-0 Boxing Day defeat at Manchester City, while Danny Collins and Mamady Sidibe have been benched.[LNB]Pulis has brought in Robert Huth, Ryan Shawcross, Liam Lawrence, Rory Delap and James Beattie to face a Birmingham side unchanged following their goalless draw at home to Chelsea two days ago.[LNB]Stoke: Sorensen, Huth, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Lawrence, Delap, Whitehead, Etherington, Beattie, Sanli. Subs: Simonsen, Cort, Fuller, Sidibe, Pugh, Amdy Faye, Collins.Birmingham: Hart, Carr, Roger Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, McFadden, Jerome, Benitez. Subs: Maik Taylor, Phillips, Fahey, McSheffrey, Damien Johnson, Carsley, Vignal.[LNB]Referee: Martin Atkinson [LNB]2.45pm: Good afternoon and welcome to Sportsmail's coverage of the Bank Holiday Monday Barclays Premier League clashes.[LNB]We've got the West London derby as look to re-establish their five point lead at the top of the table against in-form local rivals Fulham.[LNB] Creative force: Joe Cole will be vital for Chelsea in the coming weeks [LNB] Manchester City close in on Cordoba after Inter star's spat with MourinhoSportsmail looks at the Xmas gifts Premier League clubs REALLY wantedGRAHAM POLL: Why the fourth official was right to sort Wolves' yellow perilPICTURE SPECIAL: David Beckham arrives at AC Milan with all GUNS blazing [LNB]
