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As it happenedended

Watford vs West Ham - as it happened: Andre Ayew's second half-strike salvages a point for the visitors

Re-love all the action from Saturday's Premier League fixtures

Sam Dymond
Saturday 25 February 2017 12:23 EST
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West Ham celebrate their equaliser at Vicarage Road
West Ham celebrate their equaliser at Vicarage Road (Getty)

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It's a return to normality after last weekend's round of FA Cup fixtures and while there may be a shortage of eye-catching clashes, there's still plenty to get stuck into.

With six of the bottom seven sides in action, today could prove to be a significant turning point as the battle for survival heats up.

Crystal Palace host fellow relegation rivals Middlesbrough in a crunch match for the two struggling sides. With three precious points up the grabs, expect fireworks.

Elsewhere, Sunderland travel to Goodison Park in an difficult fixture for David Moyes' men while Hull take on Burnley at the KCOM Stadium.

League leaders Chelsea welcome the resurgent Swans to Stamford Bridge, Bournemouth travel to West Brom and Watford round up proceedings at Vicarage Road as they go head-to-head with London rivals West Ham.

Follow the live action below...

Please allow a moment for the blog to load.

Saturday's kick-off times:

Chelsea 15:00 Swansea

Crystal Palace 15:00 Middlesbrough

Everton 15:00 Sunderland

Hull 15:00 Burnley

West Brom 15:00 Bournemouth

Watford 17:30 West Ham

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's Premier League action. After last week's FA Cup frenzy, it's a return to the bread and butter of the top flight this weekend with six fixtures on the agenda.

Stay tuned as we bring you all the build-up and latest updates from across the division.

Saturday's fixtures

  • Chelsea v Swansea - 3pm
  • Crystal Palace v Middlesbrough - 3pm
  • Everton v Sunderland - 3pm
  • Hull v Burnley - 3pm
  • West Brom v Bournemouth - 3pm
  • Watford v West Ham - 5.30pm

David Moyes returns to Goodison Park this afternoon with Sunderland 

Samuel Lovett25 February 2017 12:08

The team news from Saturday's three o'clock kick-offs is imminent...

Sam Dymond25 February 2017 13:58

...and here are those teams...

Chelsea v Swansea

Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Cahill, Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso, Pedro, Diego Costa, Hazard

Subs: Begovic, Zouma, Terry, Matic, Loftus-Cheek, Willian, Batshuayi

Swansea: Fabianski, Naughton, Fernandez, Mawson, Olsson, Fer, Cork, Carroll, Routledge, Llorente, Sigurdsson

Subs: Nordfeldt, Amat, Ayew, Britton, Borja, Rangel, Narsingh

Referee: Neil Swarbrick

Crystal Palace v Middlesbrough

Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Ward, Tomkins, Sakho, Van Aanholt, Milivojevic, Townsend, Cabaye, Puncheon, Zaha, Benteke

Subs: Speroni, Dann, Campbell, McArthur, Kaikai, Delaney, Schlupp

Middlesbrough: Valdes, Bernardo, Ayala, Gibson, Fabio, Forshaw, De Roon, Stuani, Ramirez, Downing, Negredo

Subs: Guzan, Leadbitter, Clayton, Fry, Guedioura, Gestede, Traore

Referee: Robert Madley

Everton v Sunderland 

Everton: Robles, Coleman, Williams, Funes Mori, Baines, Davies, Schneiderlin, Gueye, Barkley, Lukaku, Lookman

Subs: Stekelenburg, Jagielka, Mirallas, McCarthy, Barry, Valencia, Holgate

Sunderland: Pickford, Jones, Kone, O'Shea, Oviedo, Larsson, Gibson, Ndong, Borini, Januzaj, Defoe

Subs: Mika, Khazri, Lescott, Manquillo, Love, Honeyman, Gooch

Referee: Stuart Attwell

Hull v Burnley

Hull: Jakupovic, Elmohamady, Ranocchia, Maguire, Robertson, Elabdellaoui, Huddlestone, N'Diaye, Grosicki, Maloney, Mbokani

Subs: Marshall, Meyler, Hernandez, Diomande, Niasse, Tymon, Bowen

Burnley: Heaton, Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward, Boyd, Westwood, Barton, Brady, Barnes, Gray

Subs: Robinson, Flanagan, Vokes, Tarkowski, Darikwa, Agyei, Arfield

Referee: Martin Atkinson

West Brom v Bournemouth

West Brom: Foster, Dawson, McAuley, Evans, Nyom, Livermore, Fletcher, Chadli, Morrison, Brunt, Rondon

Subs: Myhill, Olsson, Robson-Kanu, Yacob, McClean, Leko, Field

Bournemouth: Boruc, A. Smith, Mings, Cook, Daniels, Arter, Surman, Pugh, Wilshere, Fraser, King

Subs: Allsop, Gosling, Afobe, Gradel, B. Smith, Stanislas, Mousset

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Sam Dymond25 February 2017 14:12

Jordan Pickford returns to the Sunderland team after injury. It's the young goalkeeper's first appearance since the Boxing Day defeat at Manchester United.

Sam Dymond25 February 2017 14:19

However, the young stopper will have his work cut out against one of the Premier League's in-form hitmen...

Sam Dymond25 February 2017 14:20

Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas is set to make his 300th Premier League appearance this afternoon. It's a landmark occasion for the Spanish midfielder.

Sam Dymond25 February 2017 14:33

Mamadou Sakho is ready to make his Crystal Palace debut against Middlesbrough. It will be the French defender's first appearance since April 2016.

Sam Dymond25 February 2017 14:41

It's 300 up for Leighton Baines too. The left-back reaches his third century in Everton blue.

Sam Dymond25 February 2017 14:42

With Chelsea being the only side in the top six to see action this Saturday, the Blues have a great opportunity to move 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Manchester City and Arsenal have the weekend off, Manchester United compete in the League Cup final tomorrow while Tottenham and Liverpool's league games follow over the next two days.

Come five o'clock, it could be advantage Antonio.

Sam Dymond25 February 2017 14:50

This is your five-minute warning. We're almost ready for action.

Sam Dymond25 February 2017 14:55

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