MX23RW : Sunday, December 29 03:08:30| >> :120:10828:10828:

Live Commentary: Premier League - The Final Day

Follow live updates of all the goals and incidents from what promises to be a dramatic final day of Premier League action.

Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary from the final of the Premier League season.

So much is still to be decided in the top flight, from the destination of the title to who will be playing their football in the Championship next season.

Stay tuned right here for all the goals and incidents from what is set up to be a dramatic afternoon of Premier League action.

Note that all matches will get underway at 3pm.

(Please refresh this page for the latest updates)

4:55pm MANCHESTER CITY ARE THE CHAMPIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1968

4:54pm GOAL! Man City 3-2 QPR Aguero must have sealed the title for City. Unreal. Two goals in stoppage time.

4:51pm GOAL! Man City 2-2 QPR Edin Dzeko scores! Utter madness. One more for City and they will be champions. Three minutes of injury time remaining.

4:50pm Man United 1-0 Sunderland, Man City 1-2 QPR - THAT IS HOW IT STANDS.

4:48pm GOAL! Wigan 3-2 Wolves Wolves are back in at the DW Stadium thanks to Steven Fletcher.

4:46pm Ball is in the net for Stoke but it won't stand as Walters was flagged offside.

4:45pm Score check

Chelsea 2-1 Blackburn
Everton 3-1 Newcastle
Man City 1-2 QPR
Norwich 2-0 Villa
Stoke 2-2 Bolton
Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd
Swansea 0-0 Liverpool
Spurs 2-0 Fulham
West Brom 2-3 Arsenal
Wigan 3-1 Wolves

4:41pm City continue to attack, but with no success as yet. Title still heading to United.

4:40pm GOAL! Wigan 3-1 Wolves: Boyce scores his second (yes second) against Wolves!

4:36pm GOAL! Stoke 2-2 Bolton: Bolton are heading for the drop as Walters equalises from the spot.

4:35pm GOAL! Everton 3-1 Newcastle: Consolation for Newcastle as Tony Hibbert puts through his own net.

4:34pm Mario Balotelli is about to be introduced by Man City. Can the recent villain turn hero?

4:32pm City are throwing everything at QPR, who continue to stand firm. Can they hold on? Can they?!

4:31pm United are still 1-0 up at Sunderland, who have come into the game in the second half.

4:30pm Apologies for a lack of updates! Still stunned by Mackie's goal! *Regains composure!*

4.28pm GOAL! Everton 3-0 Newcastle: Johnny Heitinga seals the points for Everton at home to Newcastle. Great second half of the season for Moyes's side.

4.26 GOAL! Man City 1-2 QPR: OH. MY. WORD! Jamie Mackie puts QPR 2-1 up! Words fail me!

4.25pm We said it would all change and it has! As it stands, Man United are champions, Arsenal are third, Spurs are fourth and Bolton are heading down.

4:22pm Score check.

Chelsea 2-1 Blackburn
Everton 2-0 Newcastle
Man City 1-1 QPR
Norwich 2-0 Villa
Stoke 1-2 Bolton
Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd
Swansea 0-0 Liverpool
Spurs 1-0 Fulham
West Brom 2-3 Arsenal
Wigan 2-1 Wolves

4:21pm GOAL! Spurs 2-0 Fulham: You get the impression this one is all over after Jermain Defoe puts Spurs two goals to the good.

4:20pm GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Blackburn: Yakubu brings Blackburn back into the game at Stamford Bridge.

4:19pm Matt Etherington spurns a chance from eight yards out to draw Stoke level against Bolton.

4:18pm Just seen a replay of the Barton incident. The midfielder also aims a headbutt in Vincent Kompany's direction, before clashing with Mario Balotelli on the touchline. What a pair they make!

4:15pm RED CARD - JOEY BARTON QPR are down to ten men after Barton is handed his marching orders for aiming an elbow at Carlos Tevez. After being dismissed, Barton walks over to Tevez's teammate Aguero and knees him in the back. Shocking, but not unexpected behaviour.

4:14pm As it stands, Arsenal are now third, Spurs drop to fourth.

4:13pm GOAL! West Brom 2-3 Arsenal: Another mistake from Fulop! The goalkeeper punches the ball straight to Laurent Koscielny, who turns the ball in.

4:12pm Argentine striker Sergio Aguero somehow blazes over from six yards out as City look to regain the lead and the title.

4:10pm The United fans at the Stadium of Light have gone mad at learning of QPR's goal! Meanwhile, a hush descends over Eastlands.

4:08pm GOAL! Man City 1-1 QPR HUGE, HUGE, HUGE goal! Cisse equalises for QPR, who are now staying up! What's more, Man United are now champions! Madness at the Etihad.

4:07pm Concern for Spurs and England. Full-back Kyle Walker is hobbling with an ankle injury.

4:06pm Chance for City to double their advantage. Aguero flicks Clichy's cross goalwards but his effort is deflected wide.

4:04pm We are back underway in all of the Premier League encounters.

3:58pm Well that was hectic! A total of 19 goals were scored during the opening 45 minutes in the Premier League. Recovered yet?! Ready to go again in around five minutes.

3:52pm A current Premier League table for you.

3:51pm So, as it stands, Manchester City are champions, Spurs are third and Arsenal are fourth, while QPR are going down. Of course this can, and probably will, all change in the remaining 45 minutes.

3:48pm HALF-TIME: West Brom 2-2 Arsenal, Sunderland 0-1 Man United, Wigan 2-1 Wolves, Stoke 1-2 Bolton, Man City 1-0 QPR, Norwich 2-0 Villa, Swansea 0-0 Liverpool, Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn, Spurs 1-0 Fulham, Everton 2-0 Newcastle.

3:46pm Man City's Toure cannot continue any more with a hamstring problem and is replaced by Nigel De Jong.

3:45pm GOAL! Stoke 1-2 Bolton Bolton are staying up as it stands! What an error from Sorensen in the Stoke goal. The Danish stopper allows Kevin Davies's strike to fly into the net. QPR are now in the relegation zone.

3:44pm How will United react to news of City scoring at the Etihad?

3:42pm GOAL! Stoke 1-1 Bolton: Big, big goal for Bolton. Mark Davies draws them level at Stoke. Now, just one goal will keep them in the Premier League, as it stands.

3:41pm As it stands, Man City are champions.

3:41pm GOAL! Man City 1-0 QPR: Massive goal in Man City's history! The unlikely Pablo Zabaleta puts them in front following an error from QPR goalkeeper Kenny.

3:40pm Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel makes two saves to deny Fulham duo John Arne Riise and Moussa Dembele.

3:39pm Score check

Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn
Everton 2-0 Newcastle
Man City 0-0 QPR
Norwich 2-0 Villa
Stoke 1-0 Bolton
Sunderland 0-1 Man Utd
Swansea 0-0 Liverpool
Spurs 1-0 Fulham
West Brom 2-2 Arsenal
Wigan 2-1 Wolves

3:36pm Man City's Yaya Toure looks to be struggling with a hamstring injury. The Citizens could really do without losing their key midfielder.

3:35pm GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn: Chelsea are warming up for next week's Champions League final in style. Raul Meireles toe-pokes the Blues two goals in front against Blackburn.

3:34pm In the words of Chris Kamara: "QPR are defending like beavers at the moment!" City are having all the possession, but they are not forcing Paddy Kenny into any action.

3:33pm Chance for Bolton and Ivan Klasnic. The Croat's shot from 25 yards out has been palmed away by Thomas Sorensen.

3:32pm GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Blackburn: He may not end up going to the Euros, but John Terry opens the scoring for Chelsea against Blackburn. His headed effort is his sixth goal of the season.

3:31pm Wayne Rooney hits the bar for Man United as the Reds look to heap more pressure on Man City.

3:30pm GOAL! West Brom 2-2 Arsenal: Andre Santos keeps Arsenal in the race for third spot with a powerful effort that Fulop fails to keep out.

3:29pm GOAL! Everton 2-0 Newcastle: The Magpies' quest for Champions League football is going horribly wrong! Nikica Jelavic is the scorer on this occasion, grabbing his tenth in a blue shirt.

3:28pm Stoke continue to dominate their match against Bolton as the Trotters' stay in the Premier League looks increasingly likely to end.

3:26pm Free-kick to Man City in a dangerous area. Tevez and Silva stand over the ball... but the Spaniard drills straight at the wall.

3.25pm Djibril Cisse has QPR's first meaningful effort against Man City, but Joe Hart gets down low to hold the Frenchman's effort.

3.23pm Also, check out how the Premier League table currently looks here.

3.22pm GOAL! Norwich 2-0 Villa: McLeish out? Could well be after Simeon Jackson scores Norwich's second of the afternoon against Villa.

3:21pm GOAL! Sunderland 0-1 Man United: Squeaky bum time for Man City! Wayne Rooney puts United 1-0 up at Sunderland. As it stands, the Red Devils will be champions.

3:20pm Here is how the scores currently look:

Chelsea 0-0 Blackburn
Everton 1-0 Newcastle
Man City 0-0 QPR
Norwich 1-0 Villa
Stoke 1-0 Bolton
Sunderland 0-0 Man Utd
Swansea 0-0 Liverpool
Spurs 1-0 Fulham
West Brom 2-1 Arsenal
Wigan 2-1 Wolves

3:18pm Blimey, any chance of the Premier League teams cutting us some slack?! Nine goals already!

3:17pm GOAL! Everton 1-0 Newcastle: Newcastle's hopes of reaching the Champions League appear to be fading fast! Steven Pienaar opens the scoring for the Toffees against the Magpies.

3:16pm GOAL! West Brom 2-1 Arsenal: What are Arsenal doing?! They are now 2-1 down at the Hawthorns courtesy of strike from Graham Dorrans. Advantage Tottenham in terms of third spot.

3:15pm GOAL! Wigan 2-1 Wolves: Two goals to tell you about at the DW Stadium! Franco Di Santo and Emmerson Boyce score twice within a minute to heap more misery on Terry Connor and Wolves.

3:14pm GOAL! Stoke 1-0 Bolton: Bolton look to be heading for the Championship after Jonathan Walters bundles Stoke into the lead. The news has been welcomed by QPR fans at the Etihad!

3:13pm GOAL! West Brom 1-1 Arsenal: Shane Long puts Spurs back into third spot as he equalises for West Brom against Arsenal. However, the Irish international looked offside and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is letting the fourth official know!

3:11pm GOAL! Norwich 1-0 Villa: Holt for England?! The striker divides opinion but not where Norwich are concerned as he puts the Canaries 1-0 up against Villa.

3:10pm GOAL! Wigan 0-1 Wolves: Already-relegated Wolves taken the lead at Wigan thanks to Matt Jarvis.

3:09pm Man United have started the brighter of the two sides at the Stadium of Light. However, they are yet to call Simon Mignolet into action.

3:08pm Chance for Man City. Tevez's mis-kick falls to Yaya Toure, who shoots wide from the edge of the area.

3:07pm Stoke start brightly against Bolton, with Peter Crouch sending an effort just wide of goal.

3:06pm It sounds like Martin Fulop, making his debut in goal for West Brom, is having what they call a mare at the moment! Meanwhile, City continue to dominate QPR.

3:04pm GOAL! Spurs 1-0 Fulham: Scrap that! Benayoun puts Arsenal back into third with the opening goal against West Brom. What a difference a minute makes!

3:03pm GOAL! West Brom 0-1 Arsenal: First goal of the afternoon! Emmanuel Adebayor strikes for Spurs who lead Fulham 1-0. As it stands, Spurs are third, above rivals Arsenal.

3:02pm Man City start brightly at the Etihad. Long afternoon ahead for QPR perhaps?

3:01pm Strap yourselves in! We are underway!

2.58pm The players are out on the pitch. Just two minutes until we are underway. Stick with us for all the goals and incidents.

2.57pm Bolton fans at the Britannia Stadium display a big banner which reads: 'The Great Escape'. Will Wanderers manage to pull off a Steve McQueen-type story!?

2.55pm Meanwhile, his rival Mancini said: "We worked, we want this and we are here. Now it depends on us. It will be a difficult game because QPR are a very good side and they are playing against relegation."

2.53pm Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson talking to Sky Sports News: "We have a very difficult game here. People keep talking about QPR versus Manchester City and making predictions around that but they seem to forget we have got a very difficult game here."

2.51pm Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas gives his support to his former club on Twitter: "Come on #Arsenal let's get 3rd place. Good luck guys!"

2.49pm While Fulham are without leading goalscorer Clint Dempsey. Here is how they will begin at White Hart Lane: Schwarzer; Kelly, Hughes, Hangeland, John Arne Riise; Diarra, Murphy, Dembele, Duff; Pogrebnyak, Frei

2.47pm Gareth Bale starts at left-back for Spurs against Fulham. Here is their side: Friedel; Walker, Gallas, Kaboul, Bale; Lennon, Livermore, Sandro, Modric, Van der Vaart; Adebayor

2.44pm Just seen shots of Roberto Mancini on the touchline at the Etihad Stadium. The Man City manager certainly looks composed despite the enormity of the 90 minutes that lie ahead of him and his players.

2.42pm Arguably the best January signing, Papiss Cisse, starts up front for Champions League hunting Newcastle at Everton. Full team news from Goodison Park here.

2.41pm No Gerrard, Reina or Skrtel for Liverpool. Surely their supporters cannot be too confident of finishing above Everton, can they?

2.40pm Liverpool are without skipper Steven Gerrard and goalkeeper Pepe Reina for the trip to Swansea. Both team's starting 11s can be found here.

2.38pm Kick-offs are fast approaching! How are those nails?!

2.37pm Matt Jarvis has returned from injury to take his place in the Wolves side that has travelled to Wigan. Starting lineups for both sides here.

2.35pm As expected, Cech has dropped to the Chelsea bench for today's home encounter with Blackburn. Full lineups here.

2.27pm Ben Foster has suffered a training injury and misses West Brom's home game against Arsenal. Full West Brom lineup: Fulop; Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell; Cox, Morrison, Mulumbu, Dorrans; Long, Fortune

2.26pmArsenal starting lineup to play West Brom: Szczesny; Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Andre Santos; Rosicky, Song, Coquelin, Benayoun, Gervinho; Van Persie

2.23pm Emile Heskey starts in what will be his last appearance for Villa against Norwich. Full lineups here.

2:18pm Quick trip back up to Scotland to reveal that Gary Hooper has scored his fifth goal for Celtic against Hearts! A day to remember for the centre-forward.

2:17pm Quite a positive starting lineup from QPR manager Mark Hughes, although Adel Taarabt is named among the subs.

2:16pm QPR team to face Man City: Kenny; Hill, Ferdinand, Onuoha, Taiwo; Derry, Barton, Mackie, Wright-Phillips; Zamora, Cisse.

2:15pm Another thing to note from the United squad is that Michael Owen has returned to the bench. Will the former England striker, who is out of contract in the summer, make it onto the pitch?

2:12pm It looks as though United will start with a 4-5-1 formation at the Stadium of Light. Is that not a bit negative from Sir Alex Ferguson?

2:11pm Man United starting lineup to face Sunderland: De Gea; Jones, Evra, Ferdinand, Evans; Valencia, Young, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs; Rooney

2:09pm So, no David Ngog for Bolton as Ivan Klasnic and Kevin Davies are preferred in attack. Correct decision from Owen Coyle or not?

2:08pm Bolton team looking to defeat Stoke and stay up: Bogdan; Boyata, Knight, Ream, Ricketts; Eagles, Reo-Coker, M Davies, Petrov; K Davies, Klasnic

2:06pm What do City fans think to that lineup? Seems pretty predictable in truth.

2:05pm Man City team to face QPR: Hart; Zabaleta, Clichy, Kompany (c), Lescott; Barry, Yaya, Silva, Nasri; Aguero, Tevez

2pm Just one hour until the referees blow their whistles for the first time! Team news imminent.

1:55pm Meanwhile, Gary Hooper has just scored his and Celtic's fourth against Hearts at Parkhead. The English striker has been recently linked with Southampton.

1:54pm It is all over at Whaddon Road. Cheltenham 2-0 Torquay.

1:52pm Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck in the club's programme: "We do not consider that to be satisfactory and Roman Abramovich and the board will be working over the summer to try to ensure that doesn't happen again." Bye, bye Roberto?

1:51pm It has just been confirmed that captain Nemanja Vidic will miss Man United's pre-season tour. The Serbian has been out of action since November with a knee injury.

1:48pm Early rumours at Stamford Bridge suggests that Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has been rested with the Champions League final in mind.

1:46pm Hodgson will name his squad for Euro 2012 on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier in the week Sports Mole played England manager by deciding who we would take to the tournament. Find out who made the cut here.

1:43pm Another discussion point - how will West Brom perform against Arsenal? With Roy Hodgson preparing to take charge of England, will his players put in one last major effort for their departing boss?

1:37pm Returning to the Manchester title race, we explored ten of the biggest turning points that have led the two sides reaching this point. Find out our choices here.

1.33pm What next for Emile Heskey? The former England international will play his final game as a Villa player this afternoon. The club have decided not to renew his contract.

1.27pm More bad news for Man United fans - QPR have won just three matches away from home this season. They are travelling to a side in Man City have failed to win just once at home in the league.

1:24pm What we can tell you is that David Luiz and Gary Cahill will be absent for Chelsea with injuries, while Chris Smalling will miss United's trip to Sunderland with a groin complaint.

1:22pm Team news from all Premier League matches is expected at around 2pm.

1:20pm A quick jump north of the border to tell you that Celtic striker Gary Hooper has scored three goals within the opening 45 minutes against Hearts. The Bhoys head into the break with a 3-0 advantage.

1:16pm Harry Redknapp has wrote in the Spurs programme that his side have produced "a great season" and "played some great football". What do you Tottenham fans think? Will it all be wasted if you end up in the Europa League?

1:12pm A bit of bright news for all those worried Bolton supporters. Stoke have not won on the final day of the season in all three of their Premier League campaigns.

1:09pm Former Arsenal and England striker believes that this season has been the best in the history of the Premier League. Agree?

1:08pm Back to the title race. Sky Sports News have revealed that a number of City supporters are walking around the Etihad with "Champions 2012" on t-shirts. Are they being a little hasty?

1:05pm The other is Blackburn, who have also been relegated, versus Chelsea. However, Steve Kean and Roberto Di Matteo head into the fixture wondering if it will be their final match in charge of their respective clubs.

1:03pm From that list, there are only really two games without anything riding on it. The first is already relegated Wolves' trip to Wigan, although it will mark Terry Connor's final match in charge of the club. Are Wolves fans disappointed by that?

1:01pm By the way, here is who is taking on who:

Chelsea vs. Blackburn
Everton vs. Newcastle
Man City vs. QPR
Norwich vs. Villa
Stoke vs. Bolton
Sunderland vs. Man Utd
Swansea vs. Liverpool
Spurs vs. Fulham
West Brom vs. Arsenal
Wigan vs. Wolves

1pm Two hours until the matches get underway! Who's nervous?!

12:56 With that in mind, we spoke to Cheltenham's leading goalscorer Darryl Duffy during the week. Find out what the Scottish striker had to say here.

12:53pm Away from the Premier League, Cheltenham Town hold a 1-0 lead over Torquay United in the opening leg of their League Two playoffs clash against Torquay United. Read our half-time report from Whaddon Road.

12:50pm Just discovered that it is Yaya Toure's 29th birthday today. Will the Man City midfielder have double reason to celebrate at the final whistle?!

12:44pm Talking of the Swans, Elvis will quite literally be in the building this afternoon! Manager Brendan Rodgers has called upon the club's supporters to dress up as the singer at the Liberty Stadium. Find out why here.

12:42pm Sorry to all Everton supporters! We missed the fact that the Toffees will finish above rivals Liverpool if they defeat Newcastle at Goodison Park. The red half of Merseyside travel to Swansea City.

12:37pm Looking back we could have saved ourselves a lot of time by just showing you the Premier League table!

12:35pm Right, that seems to be all done. Phew! *Takes deep breath and relaxes*

12:33pm Not forgetting Aston Villa, who could be relegated if they lose away at Norwich City and Bolton beat Stoke by around 15 goals! Don't all rush down the bookies at once to back that happening!

12:31pm QPR currently hold a two-point advantage over Bolton in 18th place. The R's travel to title hopefuls City, while Wanderers face a trip to the home of the long throw - Stoke City!

12:30pm There is also the battle at the bottom. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers have already been relegated. That leaves QPR and Bolton Wanderers to scrap for the right to remain in the Premier League.

12.28pm Of course Chelsea can make that entire explanation a waste of time next Saturday in the Allianz Arena! Should the Blues, who are currently sixth, beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, then they will take the place of whoever finishes fourth in the competition next time out.

12:26pm As it stands, the team that finish third and fourth will be entered into next season's Champions League along with Europe's elite.

12:24pm Arsenal, who are currently in possession of third spot, travel to West Bromwich Albion, while Spurs in fourth host Fulham. Newcastle in fifth arguably have the toughest encounter - a trip to David Moyes's Everton.

12:23pm Slightly further down the table is the battle for Champions League spots. Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United will all be vying for third and fourth place this afternoon.

12:20pm Their closest challengers are Manchester United, who trail City on goal difference. United head to Sunderland looking to take advantage of any slip ups that the Citizens make at the Etihad Stadium.

12:14pm Let's start at the very top. Manchester City are in firm control of the title race. Victory over Queens Park Rangers will almost certainly guarantee the club their first league title since 1968!

12:09pm There are 77 possible outcomes in the Premier League this afternoon! Don't worry, we won't bore you with every single one!

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6pm
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6pm
Panthers
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6pm
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Giants
6pm
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9.05pm
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool17133140172342
2Arsenal18106235161936
3Chelsea18105338211735
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest1810442419534
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle188553021929
6Bournemouth188552721629
7Manchester CityMan City188463026428
8Fulham187742623328
9Aston Villa188462629-328
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton186842726126
11Brentford187383232024
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs1872939261323
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham186572330-723
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd186482124-322
15Everton173861522-717
16Crystal Palace183871826-817
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1843112940-1115
18Leicester CityLeicester1835102240-1814
19Ipswich TownIpswich1826101633-1712
20Southampton1813141137-266


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
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