English Premier League Saturday: City Convincing At West Ham, Villa Wins Derby With Brom

In a comedy of errors, the ball laughably bounced off the back of Sol Campbell’s head and into the path of Kuyt. Neither Taylor or Enrique could deal with the on rushing Kuyt who’s relatively tame attempt took the slightest of deflections off Taylor and past Tim Krul in the Newcastle goal.

There’s now only one minute left at Villa Park. Gerard Houllier and Villa are trying to hang on to a much needed three points.

In the 89th, James Tomkins has pulled one back for West Ham to make the score 3-1 after he won a header from a corner and found the back of the net. The goal will be welcomed, but will only be a small bit of consolation as West Ham stay bottom of the league. With the three points gained, City are now level with Arsenal on points for top spot as Arsenal await their trip to Old Trafford on Monday for a top of the table showdown.

The goal came after a scoreless first half where Blackpool attempted to make inroads with long, diagonal passes that quick changed the point of attack. While Blackpool didn’t open the second half with the same kind of dramatic movements, they kept moving the ball quickly and wide, forcing the big but low slow defenders to move.

Campbell’s goal embodied that approach. The ball was swung left to Luke Varney, who moved the ball back to the middle for Charlie Adam. As Stoke’s defense adjusted, the captain moved the ball along to Campbell, who got his shot off before Stoke could account for him. Being Asmir Begovic in the 48th minute, Campbell gave the Tangerines a 1-0 lead.

And while the freeze that’s plagued Britain in recent weeks seems to have loosened its grip somewhat, City’s Mario Balotelli has elected to sport tights and gloves while he continues to pursue the title for the league’s most accessorized footballer.

Albrighton, in his second match back after an appendectomy, deserves to be highlighted on the play. The Villa winger had to deal with two Baggies along the right flank, beating each of them to get to the line, putting a perfect cross into the six yard box.

“Perfect” may seem an exaggeration to some, but consider the details. The ball was less the a hand’s width outside the reach of goalkeeper Scott Carson, at the near post, ready to cut out a ball. With only Downing, making a far post run, a viable target, Albrighton needed to get the ball as deep in the box as possible while still alluding Carson. Less than one hand’s length? How much better can you get? You could even see the surprise on Carson’s face when his outstretched right arm failed to find the ball.

Today, the match is still scoreless, with neither team meaningfully threatening. Now in the 14th minute, the match is still even, 0-0.

As English Premier League Saturdays go, today’s is relatively light, a good thing considering the league at times tries to cram eight matches into the weekend’s first act. Today there are only six spread over two start times, and most importantly to this boy who enjoys his San Diego, California lifestyle? A reasonable wake-up time. though I do find it perverse that 6 a.m. isn’t a time the sun’s out.

We’re just 30 minutes away from the 10:00 a.m. Eastern start time, as of this posting. SB Nation Soccer will be updating live throughout the day, so stick around, refresh - you know how this internet thing works. And in case you’ve already forgotten today’s matches, here’s a table. You’re welcome.