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60 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2014 Sport FOOTBALL Resilient Sunderland hold Chelsea to draw A review of Saturday's action in the Barclays Premier League, including Chelsea's draw at Sunderland and victories for Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool CHELSEA failed to win for only the third time in the Premier League season as Sunderland held Jose Mourinho's men to a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light. The draw sees Chelsea seven points clear at the top of the table ahead of Southampton, who play third-placed Manchester City on Sunday. It was a spirited performance by Sunderland, who came close to snatching victory late on only for Adam Johnson to waste the chance. Earlier, Manchester United made it three wins in a row for the first time in almost a year as Louis van Gaal's men put Hull to the sword with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford. Chris Smalling scrambled the ball home to give United a 16th- minute lead before Wayne Rooney made it 2-0 three minutes before the break. Robin van Persie fired into the top corner for only his fourth goal in 12 games but there was some bad injury news for Van Gaal as record signing Angel di Maria limped off early on. The win saw United maintain their fourth place which had been under threat when Danny Wel- beck's thumping header saw Ar- senal take all three points in the lunchtime kick-off at West Brom. The Gunners dominated but only managed a 1-0 win, thanks to Wel- beck's fourth Premier League goal of the season in the 60th minute, while Saido Berahino came clos- est for the Baggies but his header struck the bar. Newcastle's hopes of winning seven league matches on the trot for the first time since Kevin Keegan was in charge came unstuck against one of their former managers. Sam Allardyce's West Ham took the honours winning 1-0 thanks to Aaron Creswell's 55th-minute shot, with the Magpies' task not be- ing helped by Moussa Sissoko being sent off for a second bookable of- fence. Liverpool were also celebrating a 1-0 win at home to Stoke where Glen Johnson's brave header five minutes from time brought some welcome relief to manager Brendan Rodgers, after a generally lethargic display at Anfield. Burnley's decent form continued with a 1-1 draw at home to Aston Villa but the Clarets were grateful to an 87th-minute penalty from Danny Ings after Lukas Jutkiewicz had been fouled. Villa had gone ahead in the 39th minute thanks to Joe Cole, who marked his first Premier League start since December 2013 with the opening goal. QPR lifted themselves off the bottom of the table after emerging 3-2 victors over fellow strugglers Leicester. Esteban Cambiasso gave the visi- tors the lead with a sweet finish in the eighth minute, before a Wes Morgan own goal saw QPR draw level. Leroy Fer grabbed the lead for the hosts just before the break only for Jeffrey Schlupp to equalise in the 67th minute. It was left to Charlie Austin, with his fifth goal in five games, to snatch the points for Harry Redknapp's side with a close-range header. It finished all square in Wales be- tween Swansea and Crystal Palace, where Wilfried Bony's sixth of sea- son saw the Swans take the lead but Neil Warnock's visitors battled back to secure a 1-1 draw. Palace's Australian skipper Mile Jedinak scored from the spot for his fifth goal in eight matches after Jonjo Shelvey had been penalised for fouling Marouane Chamakh. Barclays Premier League Preview EDWARD FALZON FOLLOWING Sergio Aguero's bril- liant individual performance in the champions League against Bayern Munich, City Manager Manuel Pel- legrini will be hoping the Argen- tina star continues his impressive form today against surprise package Southampton currently sitting in second place ahead of the citizens. Today, the current champions will come up against the leagues' mean- est defense with Ryan Bertrand and Nathaniel Clyne producing some excellent performances for the Saints. For Pel- legrinis' side, this is a crucial encounter if they want to stay behind Chelsea and in contention for the title. Left Back Aleksander Kolarov will again be missing through injury. For the Saints this will be an op- portunity to prove their ambitions, in what has been a surprisingly strong start to the season after sell- ing their best players in the sum- mer. The Saints have been consistent in every department particularly in the defense, while Ital- ian striker Graziano Pelle has been a revelation finding the goals consist- ently. Southampton will again have to do without star man Jay Rodriguez, with Morgan Schneiderlin, Steven Davis and Sam Gallagher doubtful for the clash. Southampton Vs Manchester City (14.30pm – St.Mary's Sta- dium) The last game for the weekend promises an exciting encounter between two attacking sides with a somewhat slow start to their season. Both sides have struggled to capture a positive form, although recent weeks have seen them both back on track. Everton manager Roberto Martinez will have to cope without captain Leighton Baines who is out through injury. Spurs will be hoping top scorer Nacer Chadli recovers in time, but they can count on midfield magi- cian Christian Eriksen to trouble the Everton defense. Everton will be relying on the physical presence of forward Romelu Lukaku who will no doubt pose a constant threat to the spurs goal. Tottenham Hotspur Vs Everton (17.00pm – White Hart Lane) Crucial clash for Manchester City YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt