Source: Daily_Mail
PREMIER LEAGUE LIVE: Follow all the action from around the grounds as it happens
Follow Sportsmail's live coverage of the Premier League's Boxing Day clashes, where there are five games in action at 3pm including; Blackburn v Stoke, Bolton v West Brom, Manchester United v Sunderland, Newcastle V Manchester City and Wolves v Wigan. Email all your thoughts on the action to me at dan.ripley@dailymail.co.uk[LNB] Premier League (3pm)Blackburn 0-2 Stoke FT[LNB]Bolton 2-0 West Brom FT[LNB]Manchester United 2-0 Sunderland FT[LNB]Newcastle 1-3 Manchester City FT[LNB]Wolves 1-2 Wigan FT[LNB]16.58: But how about that at the bottom. Wigan's win takes them up to the dizzy heights of 16th and three points clear of the relegation zone and Fulham in 18th.[LNB]Wolves pay the heavy price of falling to the bottom of the table, themselves three points behind safety.[LNB]That's it from our coverage of the 3pm kick-offs, but click here to follow the final Premier League game of the day at Villa Park where Aston Villa take on Tottenham.[LNB]If that's not for you thank your for following and good day to you.[LNB]16.56: Manchester United strengthen their grip at the top of the table leading City by two points and Arsenal by five.[LNB]City have played two extra games though and it just shows how strong United's position is.[LNB]16.53: Full-time: Newcastle 1-3 Manchester CityFull-time: Wolves 0-2 WiganFull-time: Bolton 2-0 West Brom[LNB]16.51: Full-time: Manchester United 2-0 SunderlandFull-time: Blackburn 0-2 Stoke[LNB]16.50: GOAL! Blackburn 0-2 STOKE[LNB]It's been constant Blackburn pressure but Stoke have a sting in their tail as we enter injury time, with Marc Wilson effectively handing all three points to the Potters.[LNB]16.48: GOAL! WOLVES 1-2 Wigan[LNB]Steven Fletcher is the sharpest tool in the box and he buries a loose ball from close range. A pivotal last few minutes in terms of how the season will pan out at the bottom.[LNB]16.46: GOAL! BOLTON 2-0 West Brom[LNB]Johan Elmander makes it safe for the Trotters, with his contract up at the end of the season that should a few more pounds a week.[LNB]16.43: Wolves continue to huff and puff but Wigan have done a really professional job. just over five minutes left.[LNB] Game over: Carlos Tevez celebrates restoring City's two goal advantage with James Milner[LNB]16.40: GOAL! Newcastle 1-3 MANCHESTER CITY[LNB]Football is a cruel game and after constant Newcastle pressure, City break and Carlos Tevez scores his second goal of the game via a deflection, restoring the away side's two goal lead and composure to match.[LNB]16.38: Rovers pressing forward, and now it's Begovic pulling out all the stops as he denies Hanley.[LNB]16.36: It's ALL Newcastle, City have turned into a nervous wreck and the momentum is fully with the home side.[LNB]16.33: I have to admit if I fancied any side to lose a two goal lead, it was Wigan.[LNB]But the Latics continue to prove me wrong and while they are not seeing much of the ball, Wolves have hardly created anything of note this half, this would be a massive win for Martinez.[LNB]16.30: GOAL! NEWCASTLE 1-2 Manchester City[LNB]This is awful defending from City, it's bad enough leaving any player unmarked for an header but to leave Andy Carroll in free space to head a cross home at the far post is a crime, game on there.[LNB]16.28: The story of the second half at the Reebok is pretty much the same as the first. West Brom on top but they just cannot finish, with Peter Odemwingie failing to make clean contact from a Chris Brunt cross.[LNB]16.25: Good chance for Wigan to secure all three points with Ben Watson's free-kick central from over 20 yards out just sailing over the bar.[LNB]Matt Jarvis is on for Wolves and it seems to have put them into a higher gear.[LNB]16.23: Etherhington is on fire, once again he sends an excellent in the box but this time Kenwyne Jones' header is well saved by Robinson.[LNB]Steve Kean needs to make some changes because Stoke are threatening to run away with this.[LNB]16.22: Nearly more problems for Rovers. Etherhington again is the creator on the left but his cross is this time headed over by Dean Whitehead.[LNB] Out of sight: Dimitar Berbatov doubles Manchester United's lead[LNB]16.18: For the teams two goals down, Newcastle are pressing against Manchester City and Wolves likewise against Wigan.[LNB]Both away sides are holding fort so far and have looked dangerous on the counter too.[LNB]16.15: GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 Sunderland[LNB]The deflection to end all deflections. Anderson lays the ball off to Dimitar Berbatov and his effort has a huge change in direction after coming off a Anton Ferdinand. Gordon obviously no chance.[LNB]16.13: More United chances, Rooney plays in Anderson but his effort from 18 yards is well blocked by Anton Ferdinand.[LNB]16.10: A chance for them though, with Gael Givet just failing to get a major touch in the box following a Morten Gamst Pedersen free-kick.[LNB] Headmaster: Robert Huth continues Stoke's fine scoring record in the second halves of games[LNB]16.07: GOAL! Blackburn 0-1 STOKE[LNB]No chance for Robinson, Matthew Etherington whips in a cross and Robert Huth powers home the header. It's looking bleak for Rovers fans.[LNB]16.05: We're back underway for the second halves.[LNB]16.03: As for Wigan, if they can hold on to this lead they will drag themselves out the relegation zone. So often they have been poor this season and I am struggling to understand how they can finish the afternoon anywhere but the bottom three. fair play to them though.[LNB]15.57: It's been quite an eventful afternoon so far, but how much pressure does the Manchester clubs winning put on their title rivals? They have been quite convincing so far.[LNB]15.53: Very loud boos as the players walk off at half-time at Molineux, I wouldn't be surprised if the M6 traffic would have heard that. Home fans are far from impressed with the job Wigan are doing on their side.[LNB]15.50: Half-time: Newcastle 0-2 WiganHalf-time: Wolves 0-2 Wigan[LNB]15.48: Half-time: Bolton 1-0 West Brom[LNB]15.46: Half-time: Blackburn 0-0 StokeHalf-time: Manchester United 1-0 Sunderland[LNB] Ecstasy: Matthew Tayor celebrates his strike that put Bolton a goal up against West Brom [LNB]15.43: So nearly boing-boing Baggies. Gonzalo Jara tries his luck from distance and it nearky favours him, as Jussi Jaaskelainen does well to tip his effort over.[LNB]15.40: GOAL! BOLTON 1-0 Stoke[LNB]A good sign that Bolton are made of sterner stuff under Owen Coyle, Chung-yong Lee plays a the ball across goal for Matthew Taylor to fire home.[LNB]Festive spirit: Blackburn fans show their views of the new owners at Ewood Park [LNB]15.38: But Roberto Martinez's side are lucky to survive there! Nenad Milijas's effort takes a deflection and with Ali Al Habsi wrong footed the keeper just manages to leave a trailing leg to keep the ball out. Top keeping.[LNB]15.37: Fans still showing their frustration at Wolves and they just cannot break down WIgan. the Latics with a two goal lead are happy to play on the counter and the likes of Rodallega are looking sharp in attack.[LNB]15.34: Very even contest at Ewood Park. It's been a good start for Grant Hanley who has looked confident and imposing for Rovers so far.[LNB]15.31: Sunderland finally break ground and venture out their own half.[LNB]It has evened out a bit at Old Trafford now and with the Black cats surviving that onslaught with just the one goal conceded, are still in this game.[LNB]15.28: West Brom still dominating. Somen Tchoyi plays in Marek Cech but he gets caught in two minds and elects to shoot across goal. Probably should have crossed it but judging by the effort he had a bit of both in mind.[LNB]15.24: No goals yet at the Reebok but West Brom have started the much brighter of the two teams, but it's Bolton that have gone closest with Johan Elmander firing over inside the box.[LNB] Clever boy: Tom Cleverley doubles the Latics' lead[LNB]15.22: GOAL! Wolves 0-2 WIGAN[LNB] It's not happening for Wolves, the fans are turning against them and they now find themselves two goals down, after Tom Cleverley smashes a low shot through the legs of Wayne Hennessey.[LNB] Boxer day: WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan waves to the Bolton fans before the game at the Reebok Stadium[LNB]15.20: I fear for Sunderland, it's all Manchester United and the evergreen Ryan Giggs is running the show. he threads in a pass for Berbatov but his shot is comfortable enough for Gordan to save.[LNB]15.17: Newcastle are starting to get back into this. Andy Carroll wins a header (as you would expect) in the box but Kevin Nolan just can't apply the finish. Good response from the Toon Army.[LNB]15.14: And a sitter at Ewood Park, as Matthew Etherington misses from one yard out. All he had to do was clip the ball across Paul Robinson's goal, shocking miss.[LNB] Hugo boss: Despite the close attention of Wolves defenders, Hugo Rodallega puts Wigan in front[LNB]15.11: GOAL! Wolves 0-1 WIGAN[LNB]Fair play to Wigan they have made a bright start at Molineux, and it's Hugo Rodallega who strikes first with a right foot volley from a difficult angle.[LNB]15.09: It is all Manchester United and Rooney goes so close to scoring one of the goals of the season.[LNB]United fans will remember Eric Cantona's chip against Sunderland and it was very similar to that, just the Englishman's dipped agonisingly wide.[LNB] Baby blue: Carlos Tevez celebrates with a dummy after quickly doubling City's lead[LNB]15.06: GOAL! Newcastle 0-2 MANCHESTER CITY[LNB]This is ridiculous. Cheik Tiote's is now mugged off the ball by Carlos Tevez who after laying the ball out to James Milner on the wing, bursts into the box to slide home the returning cross.[LNB]This is a nightmare for Alan Pardew who has seen the Argnetine take apart his team in these early stages, Tevez never scored under Pardew during their time at West Ham.[LNB] Berba is back: Dimitar Berbatov puts Manchester United into a quick lead against Sunderland[LNB]15.05: GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 Sunderland[LNB]The Manchester sides are flying, Wayne Rooney clips a lovely ball to Dimitar Berbatov at the near post who makes no mistake in firing past Craig Gordan. That stat at 15.00 is flashing up in bright colours now...metaphorically of course.[LNB] Quick out the blocks: Gareth Barry fires Manchester City in front after two minutesFOR EDITORIAL USE Additional licence required for any commercial/promotional use or use on TV or internet (except identical online version of newspaper) of Premier League/Football League photos. Tel DataCo +44 207 2981656. Do not alter/modify photo (Photo credit should read GRAHAM STUART/AFP/Getty Images)[LNB]15.02: GOAL! Newcastle 0-1 MANCHESTER CITY[LNB]Nightmare after Christmas for Tim Krul, he tries to be too clever on the edge of his box with the ball rather than just clearing it, before Carlos Tevez steals it from him laying it off Gareth Barry and you know the rest.[LNB]15.00: Sunderland fans look away now as OptaJoe brings us a quite daunting stat:[LNB]0 - Steve Bruce has won none & lost 11 of his 13 Premier League matches as a coach against former boss Sir Alex Ferguson. Apprentice.[LNB]14.59: Teams making their way out across the country, Sir Alex Ferguson looking especially chirpy as he signs a few autographs.[LNB]14.57: Speaking of grudge matches though, Manchester City travel up to St James' Park...or more specifically Nigel de Jong does. Following his leg breaking tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa earlier in the season, I wonder what sort of reception he will get on Tyneside.[LNB]14.54: With clubs starting to play their return fixtures in the Premier League there are some big clashes out there.[LNB]At Molineux, Wolves will hope to overturn their 2-0 defeat against Wigan at the DW Stadium, where Karl Henry was sent off for a horrendous sliding challenge on Jordi Gomez (remember it now?).[LNB]It's not about the on pitch battles there though, both sides occupy the bottom two places in the Premier League so there is A LOT to play for.[LNB]14.51: Even Andy Townsend can break away from Christmas to give us his views on this weekend's action from his boot room. Try and cut him some slack for his game of the day, not many of us saw Goodison park falling victim to the weather today.[LNB]Click here for his Premier League previews.[LNB]14.48: Top scorer Peter Odemwingie returns to the West Brom side for today's Barclays Premier League trip to Bolton after recovering from a calf injury.[LNB]The Nigerian international's recall is one of two changes made by manager Roberto Di Matteo from the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa, with Youssouf Mulumbu playing for the first time since his second red card of the season at Everton last month in place of Jerome Thomas, who missed out through illness.[LNB]Bolton manager Owen Coyle also makes two changes, bringing in Gretar Steinsson for Sam Ricketts and giving Chung-yong Lee a run out before his departure for the Asia Cup in place of Martin Petrov.[LNB]Bolton v West BromBolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Robinson, Lee,Muamba, Holden, Taylor, Elmander, Kevin Davies. Subs: Bogdan,Petrov, Mark Davies, Klasnic, Ricketts, Moreno, Blake.West Brom: Carson, Jara, Tamas, Scharner, Cech, Mulumbu,Tchoyi, Dorrans, Brunt, Morrison, Odemwingie. Subs: Myhill,Shorey, Miller, Pablo, Reid, Barnes, Cox.Referee: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire)[LNB]14.45: Dimitar Berbatov and Ryan Giggs return to the Manchester United starting line-up for this afternoon's Barclays Premier League encounter - but Michael Owen does not even make the bench despite the striker's claim he is now fully fit.[LNB]Nani and Darren Fletcher are missing from the United side that beat Arsenal a fortnight ago and that are looking to consolidate their place at the top of the table.[LNB]Sunderland have already shown their capabilities with a stunning win at Chelsea last month. But the chances of a repeat were reduced markedly by the absence of seven players, including Danny Welbeck, who is on loan from United.[LNB]Man Utd v SunderlandMan Utd: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Park, Carrick, Anderson, Giggs, Rooney, Berbatov. Subs: Kuszczak, Neville, Smalling, Hernandez, Macheda, Gibson, Bebe.Sunderland: Gordon, Onuoha, Ferdinand, Elmohamady, Bardsley, Malbranque, Henderson, Riveros, Zenden, Bent, Gyan. Subs: Mignolet, Angeleri, Da Silva, Meyler, Cook, Adams, Reed.Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)[LNB]14.42: Wantaway defender Christopher Samba is ruled out with an ankle injury as Steve Kean prepares for his first match in charge of Blackburn since being handed the job until the end of the season.[LNB]Kean makes three changes to the team held at home by West Ham in their last match with Grant Hanley replacing Samba for his full home debut, with Nikola Kalinic and Martin Olsson also back.[LNB]Jon Walters returns from a bout of flu to replace Ricardo Fuller in the only change made by Stoke boss Tony Pulis. Fit-again keeper Thomas Sorensen had to be content with a place on the bench.[LNB]Blackburn v StokeBlackburn: Robinson, Salgado, Nelsen, Givet, Olsson, Emerton, Hanley, Dunn, Pedersen, Mame Diouf, Kalinic. Subs: Bunn, El-Hadji Diouf, Linganzi, Doran, Mwaruwari, Hoilett, Morris.Stoke: Begovic, Huth, Shawcross, Collins, Wilkinson, Pennant, Whitehead, Delap, Etherington, Jones, Walters. Subs: Sorensen, Higginbotham, Whelan, Gudjohnsen, Fuller, Wilson, Sanli.Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)[LNB]14.39: Wolves boss Mick McCarthy names an unchanged side for this afternoon's Barclays Premier League basement battle with Wigan at Molineux.[LNB]Latics captain Gary Caldwell returns to the visitors' starting line-up in one of three adjustments made by their manager Roberto Martinez.[LNB]Caldwell's brother Steven dropped to the bench, while Ronnie Stam and James McArthur come in for suspended duo Maynor Figueroa and Hendry Thomas.[LNB]Wolverhampton v WiganWolverhampton: Hennessey, Zubar, Stearman, Berra, Elokobi,Foley, Edwards, Milijas, Hunt, Ward, Ebanks-Blake. Subs: Hahnemann, Fletcher, David Jones, Jarvis, Bent, Mujangi Bia, Doherty.Wigan: Al Habsi, Gohouri, Gary Caldwell, Alcaraz, Stam, McArthur, Diame, Cleverley, Watson, N'Zogbia, Rodallega. Subs: Pollitt, Boselli, Steven Caldwell, Gomez, De Ridder, Robinson, McManaman.Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)[LNB]14.36: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini leaves £24million striker Mario Balotelli on the bench for this afternoon's Barclays Premier League trip to Newcastle.[LNB]The 20-year-old Italian is one of three men to make way from the side which lost 2-1 at home to Everton on Monday evening with Pablo Zabaleta and the suspended Kolo Toure also missing out.[LNB]Joleon Lescott and Jerome Boateng are drafted in at the back while Nigel de Jong, the man whose challenge left Magpies winger Hatem Ben Arfa with a double leg fracture in October, returns from his own ban in midfield.[LNB]Newcastle manager Alan Pardew makes only two changes to the side which beat Liverpool 3-1 with Fabricio Coloccini replacing Sol Campbell after completing a three-match ban and Wayne Routledge coming in for the injured Shola Ameobi.[LNB]Newcastle v Man CityNewcastle: Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Jose Enrique, Routledge, Barton, Tiote, Gutierrez, Nolan, Carroll. Subs: Harper, Williamson, Guthrie, Perch, Smith, Best, Ranger.Man City: Hart, Boateng, Lescott, Kompany, Kolarov, Barry, De Jong, Milner, Toure Yaya, Silva, Tevez. Subs: Given, Richards, Zabaleta, Adam Johnson, Vieira, Jo, Balotelli.Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)[LNB]14.33: There are two casualties to the weather, Blackpool's match with Liverpool perhaps predictably being called off due to a frozen pitch.[LNB]But both Merseyside clubs are out of action, as Everton's game at home to Birmingham is also called off due to frozen pipes in and around Goodison Park.[LNB]14.30: 'That's that over for another year' may have been muttered in many a household yesterday but that is far from the case in the Premier League, as we have five Christmas crackers for you this afternoon.[LNB]As you may be aware there are two noticeable omissions in that list, more on those in a sec with team news on the way.[LNB] Captain Carlos: After defeat last time out to Everton, Carlos Tevez (right) will hope to bring Manchester City back into the title race with a win at Newcastle[LNB] Freezing festive weather sees two Premier League fixtures called off Ferguson: Players are softer these days but my desire is just the same[LNB] Explore more:People: Hatem Ben Arfa, Joleon Lescott, Sol Campbell, Wayne Routledge, Adam Johnson, Kolo Toure, Steven Taylor, Roberto Mancini, Christopher Samba, Ryan Giggs, Mick McCarthy, Thomas Sorensen, Martin Petrov, Michael Owen, Danny Welbeck, Dimitar Berbatov, Bebe, Jerome Thomas, Roberto Martinez, Kevin Davies, Gary Caldwell, Martin Olsson, Roberto Di Matteo, Darren Fletcher, Tony Pulis, Owen Coyle, Alex Ferguson, Karl Henry, Gareth Barry, Steve Bruce, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney, Matthew Etherington, Andy Carroll, Paul Robinson, James Milner, Kevin Nolan, Johan Elmander, Wayne Hennessey, Nenad Milijas, Matthew Taylor, Robert Huth, Ben Watson, Matt Jarvis, Dean Whitehead, Steven Fletcher Places: Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester
