EPL Gameweek 31: Super Sunday - As it happened...

With the win, Sunderland have jumped to 15th place and can afford to plan other things than worrying about playing in the Championship next year. Earlier in the day, Burnley hold Tottenham to a goal-less draw at home to share the spoils. All in all, weekend's football actions from EPL have been exceptional, with lots of great goals and that usual swing of fortunes for teams.

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Full-Time: Sunderland 1 - 0 Newcastle

FULL-TIME Sunderland 1-0 Newcastle. A thunderbolt from Defoe sends the Black Cats 3pts clear of the drop zone #SUNNEW pic.twitter.com/1vbrlFwqz2 — Premier League (@premierleague) April 5, 2015

SECOND-HALF

90+5' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Yet another win for Sunderland over Newcastle.

On the sidelines, Defoe pumped his fists. A great win for the Balck Cats to climb above the relegation zone, out of the bottom five. And two wins in two games for Dick Advocaat, who replaced Gus Poyet last month.

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90' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Newcastle have won lots of second-balls in these dying minutes, but Sunderland players are defending in hordes. Five minutes of injury time. Advocaat is furious.

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88' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Ayoze Perez missed a game-saving goal by whisker. The Spaniard found himself in the right place from a corner from Ryan Taylor but, his shot failed to hit the target. Would have been a great goal for the visitors.

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87' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Sam Ameobi has been replaced by teenager Adam Armstrong.

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85' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Flurry of attacks from Sunderland as the match goes into the final five minutes. First Sebastian Larsson was denied by a well-time tackle inside the Newcastle boz, then from the resultant corner, Santiago Vergini missed the target from a strong header.

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81' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Huge applause for Jermain Defoe. The goal-scorer is replaced by Adam Johnson. In between, Sebastian Larsson received a booking, fifth for Sunderland.

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79' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Pantilimon produced a save to deny Ayoze Perez the equaliser. Moments ago, Connor Wickham was booked. He is the fourth Sunderland player to get booking today.

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77' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Another chance for Sunderland. Sebastian Larsson produced a delicate free-kick but the ball missed the target. Black Cats are bouyed by the chance of climbing out of relegation zone. With three points from this match, they can sigh a relief, at least until the next fixture. And they certainly look like winning this match.

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70' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Sam Ameobi has been playing one hell of a game but in a losing cause. In the meantime, Sunderland have increase the tempoof the game. Jermain Defoe set-up Steven Fletcher inside the Newcastle box, but the latter overcooked his attempt, just missed the target by a whisker.

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66' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Sunderland defender from the Netherlands Patrick van Aanholt also get in to referee's book.

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62' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Michael Dean has booked two players at a go, first Sunderland's Jordi Gomez and then Jack Colback for Newcastle. The game is heating up.

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56' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: First substitute for Newcastle. Emmanuel Riviere on for Yoan Gouffran.

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56' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Sunderland earned their first corner of the half. Sebastian Larsson's delivery failed to trouble the Newcastle defenders.

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52' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Remy Cabella tried a long-ranger against Sunderland but it ended no-where. On the counter, Black Cats produced an intelligent run involving Connor Wickham and ever busy Steven Fletcher.

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48 ' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: Newcastle started the second half in a sprightly fashion, with full on running. They will need to strike early to make a return in the match. And they have won the first corner of the half.

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Thierry Henry on Defoe's stunning strike: "What a goal. You can't wish for more than that." #SUNNEW pic.twitter.com/naAzCR65G1 — Premier League (@premierleague) April 5, 2015

FIRST-HALF

45+1 ' Sunderland (Defoe 45+1') 1 - 0 Newcastle: What a volley from Jermain Defoe. The 32-year-old Tottenham legend has put the Black Cats ahead with a left-footed volley. Sumptuous strike, good ball from Fletcher. Deserving lead for the home side following a relentless attack from both flanks.

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43 ' Sunderland 0 - 0 Newcastle: Jonas Gutierrez conceded a free-kick to Sunderland. Bad call from the referee. The Argentine had won the ball from Billy Jones, and punished for nothing. It was one of the many soft free-kicks given to the home side.

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40 ' Sunderland 0 - 0 Newcastle: Flurry of activities. Santiago Vergini got a booking, Sunderland's 75th of the season for shirt-pulling. But in no time, they have created couple more chances, but Tim Krul is standing tall under the bar.

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37 ' Sunderland 0 - 0 Newcastle: Great chance for Sunderland, Steven Fletcher latched onto loose ball to set up Jermain Defoe, but the former English striker failed to convert it to a goal.

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30 ' Sunderland 0 - 0 Newcastle: With half-hour play, Sunderland are seemingly toying with Newcastle defence, but no breakthrough though. They have four shots on the goal and five corners.

Sunderland have had 5 corners & 74% of the possession - but no breakthrough for Advocaat's side yet #SUNNEW pic.twitter.com/YPilGAV1W0 — Premier League (@premierleague) April 5, 2015

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23 ' Sunderland 0 - 0 Newcastle: Mighty close for Black Cats. Connor Wickham out-jumped Newcastle defenders to connect a corner kick from Sebastian Larsson. But his header got deflected off the right post, thanks to the intervention by Moussa Sissoko in defence.

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17 ' Sunderland 0 - 0 Newcastle: Sunderland have won another free-kick inside the Newcastle half, following a tackle from Mike Williamson. Jermain Defoe in the thick of actions.

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11 ' Sunderland 0 - 0 Newcastle: Sunderland have dominated the possession in this early phase of the match and have had two shots on the goal too, to Newcastle's none.

No doubt, Sunderland -- despite their awful league form -- have been in a good run against the Toons. They have won four successive league derbies against Newcastle United for the first time in their history.

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6' Sunderland 0 - 0 Newcastle: Ayoze Perez almost had a penalty for Newcastle. But referee Mike Dean judged the tackle from Santiago Vergini as legal. Anxious moments for the home side.

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First-half

1' Sunderland 0 - 0 Newcastle: If these initial exchanges are to be taken into account, it will be a a cracker of a match. Tim Krul was forced to relieve his post and do some frenetic defending. Good start from the Black Cats in from of a packed home support.

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Next up is the Wear-Tyne derby. And after the 0-0 result from Turf Moor, Sunderland will start the match on 26 points, same with Burnley. And between these clubs is the dreaded line.

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FULL-TIME

FULL-TIME Burnley 0-0 Spurs. A point apiece sees Burnley move up to 18th & Spurs up to 6th #BURTOT pic.twitter.com/PZGbBZPg58 — Premier League (@premierleague) April 5, 2015

Second-half

90+3' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Burnley tried to get all three points from the fixture, but one point is still better than a nil for the relegation-threatened team. Spurs, they have failed to threaten the promoted sides. And that's it.

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84' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Mauricio Pochettino made his final change. Brought in Andros Townsend for Ryan Mason.

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Team news from Sunderland-Newcastle match

Newcastle XI

#NUFC at @SunderlandAFC: Krul, R.Taylor, Janmaat, Williamson, Colback, Sissoko (c), Gutierrez, Gouffran, Ameobi, Cabella, Perez. — Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 5, 2015

Subs

#NUFC subs at @SunderlandAFC: Elliot, Anita, Abeid, Kemen, Obertan, Riviere, Armstrong. — Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) April 5, 2015

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Sunderland XI

#SAFC: Pantilimon, Jones, van Aanholt, O'Shea (c), Vergini, Cattermole, Gomez, Larsson, Fletcher, Wickham, Defoe. — Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) April 5, 2015

Subs

#SAFC Subs: Bridcutt, Johnson, Reveillere, Graham, Coates, Buckley, Mannone. — Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) April 5, 2015

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80' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: With ten minutes into the regulation time, Burnley have had 12 attempts on the goal, with four hitting targets. For Spurs, they have 11 attempts with two on target.

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78' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Ben Mee got his yellow card for a nasty foul on Eric Lamela. One-one even in booking counts.

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76' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Not much to write about. Still a dull and dab affair in Turf Moor. In between, Burnley have their first substitute. Lukas Jutkiewicz in for Sam Vokes.

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68' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Kieran Trippier booked, for a tripping Danny Rose. First yellow card of the day.

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65' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Nacer Chadli out, Eric Lamela in. Remember that RABONA in the Europa League. The Argentine is talented and can do things. In that line, his salary is four times bigger than all of Burnley squad.

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60' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Little theatrics will spice-up the proceedings. And Danny Rose just had one moment. The England winger called for a penalty, following a tackle or not, inside the Bunrley box. Referee didn't buy his call, though.

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54' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Couple of nasty challenges from either side, in the centre of the field, but Atkinson is happy. No card yet in this match. Huge achievement for both the teams, considering Atkinson has so far dished out 98 yellow and four red cards this season. By the way, Burnley have least number of bookings.

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49' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Harry Kane, the scorer of 19 goals this season, has got his first touch inside the opponent box. And his attempt went off the radar.

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46' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Restart and Kyle Walker is back to the tunnel. Bizarre, to say the least, as the defender was barely walking when the match restarted. Ben Davies replaced him. Still no signs of picking up the pace. Calls from the Clarets in the stands have more energy.

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First-half

HALF-TIME Burnley 0-0 Spurs. Danny Ings has twice come close, but it remains goalless at Turf Moor #BURTOT pic.twitter.com/7vtU9H1jep — Premier League (@premierleague) April 5, 2015

45' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Ings yet again denied the chance score. This time, Heaton produced a flying save to keep the score-board clean. More or less, Burnley are the more active, more direct in the match as Spurs seem happy to lay back and wait for counter attacks.

And Kane is quite.

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35' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Against the run of the game, Spurs got their first corner of the match, thanks to a Eriksen run from his own half. He tried to minus the ball for Kane on parallel, but a defender blocked his effort, resulting in the flag kick.

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Tense at Turf Moor... Half an hour gone, and no goals yet #BURTOT pic.twitter.com/MfrDp1Ecbd — Premier League (@premierleague) April 5, 2015

30' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: It's relatively quite match, considering yesterday's barrage of goals in the league. Both the sides have created occasional breaks, opportunities but have so far failed open the scoring. And referee Martin Atkinson isn't also doing much, just allowing the game to flow in its leisurely pace.

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21' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Barnes missed the best chance of the match. His  volley failed to drill through the Spurs defence and the ball ricocheted from a defender. Close save for the visitors.

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16' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Nacer Chadli got his sight on the goal -- a long-ranger, but Heaten has no issues collecting it. Rather comfortably. Spurs are slowly building the tempo.

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13' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Burnly are enjoying a decent possession in the early moments, and have also produced the only attempt on the goal so far.

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6' BURNLEY 0 - 0 TOTTENHAM: Danny Ings failed to capture the first real chance that came his way. His low drive was cleared by a diving Michel Vorm, for a corner. Could have been fatal mistake from Mason, as he was dispossessed by Ings just in front of Spurs goal.

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Despite huge odds, the hosts will take pride from the fact that they have beaten Spurs 4-2 at this very ground in 2010. It was the only time these two sides ever met in Burnley.

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Sstarting line-ups

The big news before the start of the match is, Harry Kane will captain Tottenham and they have made changes - Vorm, Paulinho  and Chiriches come in for Lloris, Vertonghen and Townsend. Still a side to beat.

Burnley are unchanged from their last match, wherein they lost to 0-2 to Southampton.

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Burnley XI:

Confirmed #BFC starting XI: Heaton; Trippier, Duff, Shackell (c), Mee; Boyd, Jones, Arfield, Barnes; Ings, Vokes. #ClaretsLIVE — Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) April 5, 2015

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Tottenham XI:

#THFC team: Vorm, Walker, Chiriches, Dier, Rose; Bentaleb, Mason; Chadli, Eriksen, Paulinho; Kane (c) #COYS — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 5, 2015

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Preview:

After yesterday's goal-fest, which included a wonder-goal from Scottish midfielder Charlie Adam for Stoke City against Chelsea, Sunday football have two more thrilling matches on the cards. In the early kick-off starting 6:00 PM IST at Turf Moor, relegation threatened Burnley will host Champions League spot chasing Tottenham Hotspur.

Visiting Mauricio Pochettino's side has the likes of England's new football face and hope, Harry Kane, and Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen – all in good forms. But fighting to stay in the top-flight, Sean Dyche's Clarets can't afford further slips up. And leading their attack against the Spurs will be another young English player – Danny Ings.

In the late kick-off, Sunderland will host their inter-city rivals Newcastle United for that famed Wear-Tyne derby at the Stadium of Light. Regarded as one of the fiercest rivalries in England, this match will witness two floundering but once respected sides.

Hosts Black Cats are languishing at 17 points, just a place above the dreaded relegation zone, while the Magpies have compromised a relatively stable start to the season and are now find themselves in a mid-table dog-fight.

So, the stakes are high for both the sides. And with the rivalry between these two proud teams, today's clash will be more than mere results. Besides, both the clubs have seen managerial recent changes after slump in their respective forms.

On the playing field, John Carver's visiting will start as favourites but one can ignore the threat pose by the experienced Jermain Defoe and the maverick Lee Cattermole. And Dick Advocaat, with all his experience, will try to reinvigorate Sunderland's losing listless run.

The match starts 8:30 PM IST.