England Premier League Southampton vs WBA

Southampton vs WBA 1-0

Adam Lallana struck to earn Southampton only their second win in 10 league matches as they dominated West Brom in a scrappy affair at St Mary's.

The England midfielder shot under Ben Foster after a clever pass from substitute Gaston Ramirez.
Rickie Lambert and Lallana had shots saved in the first half, before Jay Rodriguez fired wide after the break.
West Brom, with new head coach Pepe Mel in the stands, were denied late on when Artur Boruc saved from Shane Long.

Mel, who will take charge when the Baggies host Everton in their next league game, will inherit a side with one win in 11 matches and their lacklustre display on the south coast underlines the job in hand.

West Brom's effort could not be questioned and emphasised why caretaker boss Keith Downing had suffered defeat just once in four matches ahead of kick-off, but his side's attacking intent was almost non-existent.
All too often they invited pressure, before changing tack after Lallana scored his sixth goal of the season to cap a typically busy display.
Downing's side opened the game in disjointed fashion and Steven Reid's wayward shot from 35 yards was all they had to show for their first-half endeavour.
Southampton, despite their positivity, were unable to penetrate their opponents' defence, prompting wayward efforts from range by Lambert and Rodriguez.
Since the 4-1 rout of Hull in November, Mauricio Pochettino's side have slipped from third to ninth, but they showed more willing in a second half in which their visitors looked happy to settle for a point.

Rodriguez seized upon a loose Youssouf Mulumbu pass but smashed a shot wide as the visiting defenders retreated, but Southampton were yet to forge a clear opening.

West Brom frustrated their hosts. often keeping 10 men behind the ball, but it was the introduction of Ramirez which led to their defence being breached.
The Uruguayan's lofted first-time pass from out wide found Lallana in space and the midfielder, who scored his first senior goal against West Brom in 2008, drilled home from 12 yards.
The introduction of Baggies top scorer Saido Berahino offered the away side a much-needed edge late on, but it was Long who nearly equalised.
Liam Ridgewell's cut-back found the striker unmarked five yards from goal but Boruc, back after eight games out injured, produced a stunning save with his left leg.
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Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino:
"I think the evolution as of late has been good, I think the team has progressed a lot.
"I think the team as of late has been playing better, but it has been lacking defensive solidity.
"Today we recovered that, we recovered that winning spirit, we recovered that solidity at the back."
West Brom caretaker manager Keith Downing:
"I think Pepe Mel would have seen us an organised side. Without the ball we restricted Southampton to not many opportunities, not clear-cut opportunities anyway.
"We are all disappointed about what we did with the ball and credit to the opposition, they don't give you time and quickly press you as soon as they lose it.
"I think he will work on us in terms of possession and creativity, but I thought there was commitment in terms of the team defensively."

England Premier League Sunderland vs Fulham

Sunderland vs Fulham 4-1

Adam Johnson's hat-trick helped Sunderland thrash Fulham to move off the bottom of the Premier League.

Johnson put the visitors ahead, curling in a 25-yard free-kick, before his low set-piece was steered in by Ki Sung-Yueng from 12 yards for 2-0.
Fulham pulled a goal back when Steve Sidwell headed in Damien Duff's corner.
But Johnson grabbed his second with a low shot, before completing his hat-trick with a penalty after Philippe Senderos fouled Jozy Altidore.
The victory, only Sunderland's second away from home this season, was enough to take them above Crystal Palace into 19th place on goal difference.
Gus Poyet's side are only one point adrift of 17th-placed West Ham while Fulham, who had won two of their past three home games, missed the chance to ease their relegation fears with a disappointing home performance.
Johnson took his chance after being restored to the starting line-up having impressed as a substitute in the Black Cats' 2-1 Capital One Cup victory over Manchester United on Tuesday.
With Arsenal's Theo Walcott ruled out for six months because of a knee injury, right-winger Johnson could yet force his way back into Roy Hodgson's plans for the World Cup in Brazil this summer.
The last of his 12 international appearances came in a 2-1 friendly win over Italy in August 2012, but he proved the difference between the sides at Craven Cottage.
Fulham, who are 16th in the table, will regret early missed chances, with Dimitar Berbatov heading straight at Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone from close range inside the opening seven minutes.

Adel Taarabt also shot wide, Clint Dempsey fired off target and Mannone deflected Taarabt's powerful, angled shot over the bar, before Sunderland took the lead.

Johnson, who also netted in his side's 3-1 FA Cup win over Carlisle on Sunday, scored direct from a free-kick after was he fouled by Sidwell.
Sunderland, who had only scored five goals in their 10 previous away Premier League matches, doubled their lead 12 minutes later. It came after a clever free-kick routine that saw Johnson play a low pass to the penalty spot, from where Ki shot through a crowded six-yard box.
Sidwell gave Fulham a lifeline within seven minutes of the second half starting, but Sunderland soon restored their two-goal advantage as Ki's intelligent pass found Johnson, who drilled a low effort into the net.
The winger completed his hat-trick late on when he converted a penalty after Senderos's clumsy challenge on Altidore as Sunderland secured only their fourth Premier League win of the season.
Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen:
"It is a massive blow for us. We know how important it is to win your home games, especially against the teams near you in the table, but it's a massive opportunity missed for us to move up the league.
"We settled really well and had some really good chances. You want your chances to fall to someone like Dimitar Berbatov, but he did not put it away.
"Then we went 1-0 behind and that gave us a mountain to climb. We were playing well enough to get back into it and there was still plenty of time but when it went to 3-1, that was the killer goal.
"We know from experience that the January transfer window is a difficult time, but we need to look at possible targets that are available and hopefully we can get something done."

England Premier League Everton vs Norwich

Everton vs Norwich 2-0

Everton moved into the Premier League top four as they comfortably beat Norwich to leave the Canaries winless in six league matches.

Gareth Barry's stunning 20-yard strike, his 50th Premier League goal, opened the scoring for the dominant hosts.
Kevin Mirallas's free-kick from 20 yards doubled the lead after the break as Everton eased to victory.
Robert Snodgrass headed against the post late on for the visitors before Ricky van Wolfswinkel shot wide.
Everton unveiled Republic of Ireland winger Aiden McGeady on the pitch before the game, having completed his signing from Spartak Moscow on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
The 27-year-old was wanted by Toffees boss Roberto Martinez at Wigan last season but will know he has a fight on his hands to earn a regular starting place as Everton continued their sparkling form this season.
Martinez's career as Everton manager could hardly have started better this campaign, with the Toffees going into the game five points and one place better off than at the same stage last season.

Much of their success has come from their continued good form at Goodison Park. Boxing Day's defeat by Sunderland was their only home loss in 2013 with only four defeats in their last 32 home games.

Their confident start was no surprise then as they dominated possession early on. Romelu Lukaku dragged a shot wide before the Belgian striker headed inches wide at the far post after Mirallas's deep cross from the left.
Norwich's resolve was finally broken when Barry drove the ball into the top corner from 20 yards, after Lukaku's lay-off, for his third Everton goal since joining on loan from Manchester City.
With the Canaries struggling for goals this season, having scored only 17 goals in 20 games, Gary Hooper was partnered with record signing Van Wolfswinkel for the first time.
The Dutchman has scored just once for the club since signing from Sporting Lisbon in the summer for in the region of £8.5m, in the 2-2 draw with Everton on the opening day, and almost brought the visitors level with a curling strike from 20 yards that was clawed out by Tim Howard.
Norwich chances were few and far between though, although Hooper was denied twice by Howard when through, as an impressive passing display from the hosts left Chris Hughton's men hanging on just to stay in the game.
Everton continued to dominate after the break but, as they failed to capitalise on their possession, the visitors' hope grew, with Van Wolfswinkel volleying a rare chance over the bar.
That hope was extinguished soon after as Mirallas curled home his third goal of the season from 20 yards, leaving Norwich, who rallied late on, just two points above the relegation zone.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez:
"It was an entertaining game and important to score that second goal.
"Overall we created a lot of chances, maybe that clinical touch in the final third was missing but I couldn't be happier the way we had a clean sheet. Some of the phases of our game were fantastic.
"The way we handled the second half was pleasing. The understanding between the players is clear, we are getting really strong. We need players back from injury and make sure competition for places is as strong."
Norwich manager Chris Hughton:
"They were good. We knew that before we came here. There isn't a side who has come here and had more possession this season.
"What you need to do is stick in there. We had the best chance of the half through Gary Hooper, they score a spectacular goal.
"In the second half I thought we gave a good account of ourselves but we were up against a really good unit."

England Premier League West Ham vs Cardiff

West Ham vs Cardiff 2-0

Struggling West Ham lifted the pressure on manager Sam Allardyce with a battling win at Cardiff City.

The visitors had to survive a serious injury to Guy Demel and the sending-off of James Tomkins to claim their first Premier League win in seven attempts.
West Ham led when Carlton Cole was picked out by Matt Jarvis, before Mark Noble's late breakaway settled things.
It ruined Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's league debut as Cardiff boss as his side replaced West Ham in the bottom three.
Despite public support from West Ham co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan, Allardyce brought his team to the Welsh capital second-bottom and three points behind their hosts.
On top of that were humbling defeats in their previous two matches, with a 5-0 loss to Championship side Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup followed by a 6-0 defeat by Manchester City in the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg. 

Premier League Chelsea vs Hull

Chelsea vs Hull 2-0

Chelsea moved to the top of the Premier League as goals from Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres gave them victory over a resilient Hull at the KC Stadium. With Manchester City playing on Sunday and Arsenal on Monday, the Blues took advantage with their eighth win in their past 10 league games. Hazard opened the scoring 11 minutes after the break when he fired a low strike past Allan McGregor. Play media Mourinho hails 'solid' Blues Torres added a second with another low shot, from 18 yards, to seal the win. And with goalkeeper Petr Cech beating Peter Bonetti's club record with his 209th clean sheet, Chelsea showed they are in a good position to push title challengers City and Arsenal all the way. That said, apart from twice picking the ball out of net and one remarkable save from Oscar, McGregor had little to do. Clean-sheet Cech Chelsea's Petr Cech is the second goalkeeper to keep 150 clean sheets in the Premier League after David James, who kept 169. And Hull manager Steve Bruce will be happy with how few chances the visitors had at the KC Stadium, where his team had only conceded six goals this season prior to today. However, they were made to realise the cream of the Premier League can make the most of what little they do create. And in the case of Chelsea, they have two magicians who can punish the most disciplined of defences - Juan Mata, who was on the bench, and Hazard. Play media Hull had one of those days - Bruce Mourinho has rightly eulogised about Hazard, who joined the club in 2012, and this week dismissed reports Paris St-Germain wanted to sign him. The Belgian forward scored his 11th goal of the season in typically dazzling style. The move was started by David Luiz, who drove towards goal before passing to Ashley Cole. The England left-back's deft flick set Hazard free, and he ran along the edge of the area and feigned to shoot before his brilliant strike beat McGregor to his left. The visitors should have added a second when Brazil forward Oscar, who forced a great save from McGregor in the first half, nonchalantly tried to place the ball past the keeper from eight yards, but instead saw his shot blocked by Curtis Davies. Chelsea made sure of the victory with three minutes left of normal time, when Torres, who had been well marshalled, raced towards the area before shooting into the bottom corner. Hull only forced Cech into making two good saves - from long-range Ahmed Elmohamady and Jake Livermore efforts in the first half. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho: "We want to win the league if we can and hopefully clean sheets will help us achieve our targets. "Now we're top of the league for the first time in a long time and hopefully we can stay there. "We hope to keep going. We are getting better and today was a very difficult game. But we were very solid and good in attack and that's why we score goals." Hull manager Steve Bruce: "If we're being honest it was arguably our poorest performances against one of the big teams. "When you play against the big teams you have to play really well. "Today we didn't pass it well enough and kept giving away possession "Our goalkeeper made great saves to keep us in it. They are a wonderful side and have just gone top of the league."

England Premier League Southampton vs Hull

Southampton vs Hull 4-1

England Premier League Liverpool vs Fulham

Liverpool vs Fulham 4-0