Welcome to our coverage of the Premier League 3pm games, where you can already feel the fast-approaching end of the season increasing the anxiety and tension around fixtures. At the Stadium of Light, both Liverpool and Sunderland will want to get back to winning ways; Wolves and Blackburn face off in a relegation clash and Chelsea will want to get on track again after the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas. A win at home to Stoke is imperative if they want to avoid missing out on Champions League football for the first time in a decade.

The teams:

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, O’Shea, Turner, Bridge, Larsson, Colback, Gardner, McClean, Bendtner, Campbell. Subs: Gordon, Wickham, Kilgallon, Vaughan, Meyler, Kyrgiakos, Elmohamady.

Liverpool: Reina, Kelly, Skrtel, Coates, Jose Enrique, Kuyt, Henderson, Adam, Spearing, Bellamy, Suarez. Subs: Doni, Gerrard, Carroll, Maxi, Downing, Carragher, Flanagan.

Referee: Anthony Taylor

At Stamford Bridge:

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Lampard, Meireles, Kalou, Drogba. Subs: Turnbull, Luiz, Essien, Romeu, Torres, Mata, Sturridge.

Stoke: Begovic, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Shotton, Whitehead, Diao, Fuller, Jones, Walters. Subs: Sorensen, Pennant, Upson, Delap, Crouch, Jerome, Palacios.

Referee: Andre Marriner

At Molineux:

Wolverhampton: Hennessey, Zubar, Stearman, Bassong, Ward, Doyle, Davis, Edwards, O’Hara, Jarvis, Fletcher. Subs: De Vries, Kightly, Ebanks-Blake, Johnson, Berra, Milijas, Foley.

Blackburn: Robinson, Lowe, Dann, Hanley, Martin Olsson, Formica, Pedersen, Nzonzi, Marcus Olsson, Hoilett, Yakubu. Subs: Bunn, Givet, Dunn, Modeste, Petrovic, Goodwillie, Vukcevic.

Referee: Chris Foy

And at Villa  Park:

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Cuellar, Collins, Warnock, Albrighton, Herd, Petrov, N’Zogbia, Ireland, Agbonlahor. Subs: Guzan, Heskey, Bannan, Weimann, Lichaj, Baker, Gardner.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly, Senderos, Hangeland, John Arne Riise, Duff, Dembele, Murphy, Dempsey, Pogrebnyak, Johnson. Subs: Stockdale, Baird, Orlando Sa, Hughes, Diarra, Etuhu, Davies.

Referee: Jon Moss

And we’re off.

Interesting at the Stadium of Light as Seabstian Coates starts at centre-half  for Liverpool rather than Jamie Carragher.

Liverpool have been keeping it economical enough at the Stadiumof Light but they’re quickly rocked out of that as Sunderland threaten with real intent. A slightly worrying start for Coates as he lackadaisically allows a ball to slip by him to give Bendtner space to cross. That should provide a wake-up call for the Uruguayan.

Blackburn have been the better team against Wolves but that’s a relative term. It’s a poor game between two sides who you couldn’t really speak of confidently as regards safety in any way.

Villa absolutely dominating against Fulham, forcing a series of corners. But, as has been custom for them this season – and particularly without Darren Bent – struggling to convert them.

RED CARD! Stoke’s Ricardo Fuller gets sent off for disgracefully stamping on Branko Ivanovic. Worse, it’s his first start in over a year. It ends very quickly, andvery shamefully.

Because of the anticipated tension, we perhaps overtalked these games in the build-up. They’ve all been awful so far, especially at the Stadium of Light.

Adam blazes a shot over the bar after nice trickery from Bellamy. Sums up the two players’ seasons really.

John Terry hits the crossbar for Chelsea from a corner. If there’s a goal to finally come in these 3 o’clocks, it’s likeliest there.

Chelsea have brought on Mata – who was being saved for Napoli – for Meireles after just 38 minutes. Ten-man Stoke there to be beaten.

Adam’s inswinging corner dangerous for Sunderland, as they’re forced to boot it off the line.

GOAL! Wolves 0-1 Blackburn Rovers

First goal of the 3pm kick-offs and another potentially big one in the grander scheme of the season. A long throw is only half-cleared and the livewire Junior Hoilett smashes the dropping ball past Hennessy.

Half-time: mostly cautious stuff so far with the only goal coming at Molineux.

The second halves are under way…

Liverpool have started the second half a little more positively, pressing Sunderland strongly in the opening two minutes.

GOAL! Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool

It seemed it was always going to take a bit of luck or something different to break the deadlock here and Sunderland get it. Campbell’s shot bounces off the post, off the diving Reina’s head and back off the post again, allowing Nicklas Bentnder to swoop and slam the ball in.

At Villa Park, Marc Albrigthon smashes the crossbar from 20 yards. Chelsea meanwhile, laying siege to Stoke’s goal. No give yet though.

Liverpool probing but not producing at the Stadium of Light. Only Bellamy really injecting a bit of urgency into this. Sunderland holding out rather comfortably as it stands.

Liverpool fans singing Steven Gerrard’s name as the team toil without him.

GOAL! Wolves 0-2 Blackburn Rovers

And that might seal the game and, quite possibly, go a long way to sealing Wolves’ fate this season. Hoilett gets his second of the day with a low drive from 25 yards.

GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Stoke

And Chelsea now break the deadlock! That man, Didier Drogba finishes after a sublime pass from Mata. that’s the striker’s100th Premier League goal.

At the Stadium of Light, Gerrard and Carroll come on for Adam and Bellamy. And now clear what Liverpool want to do, with the captain already swinging in a cross for the hulking striker.

Still not happening for Liverpool, with Sunderland even looking threatening on the break. With the way things have gone you’d almost fancy them to get the next goal before Liverpool do.

Henderson off, Downing on for Liverpool.

Bentnder – the likely match-winner – unfortunately has to leave the field on a stretcher. Hope all is OK, he was on the ground for quite some time. Conor Wickham on.

Villa still in command without looking anyway clinical. You can sense the discontent at the ground. Really, they should be wining games against Fulham at home.

Into the 90th minute now…

Full-time at the Stadium of Light, giving Sunderland their first win in four and resulting in Liverpool only winning two of their last 11 games. They missed a chance at the end but, even in contrast to other recent games, they didn’t really create enough.

GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Fulham

And Villa do it in the final minute! Andreas Weimann pounces on Mark Schwarzer’s parry to seal it!

And that’s it all over. A day that will prove biggest at the bottom of the table. Liverpool, however, will have to ask themselves a few questions while Roberto Di Matteo answered some with Chelsea. We’ll be back shortly with Everton-Tottenham.