.
At the top of the table a superb brace from Samir Nasri took Arsenal into top spot above Manchester United, whose game against Blackpool was postponed, as Chelsea continued to struggle for form.
Chelsea were held to another home draw by Everton to leave Carlo Ancelotti's men with just one win in their last six league matches.
Man City kept themselves in the race with a 1-0 home win against Bolton.
At the bottom Wigan managed a home point inching closer to safety while Wolves lost 3-0 away at Blackburn
.
| Premiership results |
|
Saturday 4th December
|
| 15.00 |
Arsenal |
2-1 |
Fulham |
| 15.00 |
Birmingham |
1-1 |
Tottenham |
| 15.00 |
Blackburn |
3-0 |
Wolves |
| 15.00 |
Blackpool |
P |
Man Utd |
| 15.00 |
Chelsea |
1-1 |
Everton |
| 15.00 |
Man City |
1-0 |
Bolton |
| 15.00 |
Wigan |
2-2 |
Stoke |
|
Sunday 5th December
|
| 13.30 |
West Brom |
3-1 |
Newcastle |
| 16.00 |
Sunderland |
1-0 |
West Ham |
|
Monday 6th December
|
| 20.00 |
Liverpool |
3-0 |
Aston Villa |
|
Top 4 |
Top 6 |
Top 10 |
Bottom Half |
Relegation |
|
Arsenal (1) 2 Fulham (1) 1
In a weekend when Manchester United's clash with Blackpool fell foul to the 'big freeze', Arsenal had the chance to take full advantage and they duly did thanks to a 2-1 home win over Fulham in an entertaining London derby at the Emirates.
Samir Nasri continued his excellent form with two world-class goals, making a mockery of the Cottagers defence in the 14th minute to waltz through and smash into the top corner.
Diomansy Kamara equalised for the away side as Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci did their best Laurel and Hardy impression, but Nasri netted the winner in the second half - twisting in the area before rounding the goalkeeper and pirouetting to finish with aplomb
Birmingham (0) 1 Tottenham (1) 1
An away win at Birmingham City has been difficult to come by in recent seasons but Tottenham were left feeling like they had dropped three points after throwing away a lead to draw 1-1 at St Andrews.
Gareth Bale was once more a constant threat for Spurs and a cross from the Welsh wizard resulted in Sebastien Bassong slamming home from close range in the 19th minute.
But the Blues have proved they are no pushovers at home and fought back to earn a late equaliser as Craig Gardner headed in with nine minutes remaining thanks to good work from Nikola Zigic - who is beginning to find some form following his summer switch from Valencia.
| Premiership table |
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
Arsenal |
16 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
19 |
10 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
15 |
8 |
16 |
32 |
| 2 |
Man Utd |
15 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
24 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
11 |
10 |
19 |
31 |
| 3 |
Chelsea |
16 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
18 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
12 |
7 |
19 |
30 |
| 4 |
Man City |
16 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
7 |
9 |
29 |
| 5 |
Tottenham |
16 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
13 |
8 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
11 |
13 |
3 |
26 |
| 6 |
Bolton |
16 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
17 |
11 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
11 |
12 |
5 |
23 |
| 7 |
Sunderland |
16 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
10 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
10 |
13 |
2 |
23 |
| 8 |
Liverpool |
16 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
15 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
13 |
1 |
22 |
| 9 |
West Brom |
16 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
10 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
12 |
17 |
-4 |
22 |
| 10 |
Stoke |
16 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
9 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
9 |
12 |
0 |
21 |
| 11 |
Blackburn |
16 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
10 |
19 |
-4 |
21 |
| 12 |
Newcastle |
16 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
16 |
10 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
15 |
-1 |
19 |
| 13 |
Blackpool |
15 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
11 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
12 |
18 |
-6 |
19 |
| 14 |
Birmingham |
16 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
6 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
9 |
13 |
-2 |
18 |
| 15 |
Everton |
16 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
12 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
8 |
8 |
-2 |
17 |
| 16 |
Aston Villa |
16 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
12 |
9 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
18 |
-10 |
17 |
| 17 |
Fulham |
16 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
10 |
11 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
-4 |
15 |
| 18 |
Wigan |
16 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
11 |
-15 |
15 |
| 19 |
Wolves |
16 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
12 |
13 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
17 |
-13 |
12 |
| 20 |
West Ham |
16 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
12 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
15 |
-13 |
12 |
Blackburn (2) 3 Wolverhampton (0) 0
Sam Allardyce will have been delighted with Blackburn's bouncebackability after they put their Old Trafford nightmare behind them and earned a 3-0 win over Wolves.
Rovers were thumped 7-1 by Manchester United last weekend but responded with a victory at Ewood Park, although they have goalkeeper Paul Robinson to thank for some heroics between the sticks.
Were it not for Robinson, Blackburn could easily have found themselves behind, but the former England shot-stopper kept them in the game early on and they made Wolves pay for their missed opportunities.
David Dunn headed in a 29th minute opener and then a fine strike from Brett Emerton doubled the lead before the break. Ryan Nelsen poked home to secure the win in the 55th minute to heap more woe on Mick McCarthy's men.
Chelsea (1) 1 Everton (0) 1
Chelsea's stuttering form continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by a plucky Everton outfit. John Terry returned to the fold following an injury but even the captain's presence was not enough to warm the cockles at Stamford Bridge.
Phil Neville's disastrous back-pass sold Tim Howard short, and Nicolas Anelka nicked the ball past the keeper and went down under the challenge. Didier Drogba smacked home the resulting penalty and all seemed rosy once more in West London, but after a spirited fightback from the Toffees, Jermaine Beckford, once on the books at Chelsea, nodded home with four minutes remaining to earn a deserved point.
Carlo Ancelotti admits he is losing sleep, but he may lose his job if things do not improve soon.
.
Man City (1) 1 Bolton (0) 0
Put a group of players with big egos together and what do you get - Manchester City. After a week of training-ground spats Roberto Mancini's men were under the spotlight at Eastlands on Saturday and they responded with a 1-0 triumph over Bolton.
| Up-Coming Premiership games |
|
Saturday 11th December
|
| 15.00 |
Aston Villa |
v |
West Brom |
| 15.00 |
Everton |
v |
Wigan |
| 15.00 |
Fulham |
v |
Sunderland |
| 15.00 |
Stoke |
v |
Blackpool |
| 15.00 |
West Ham |
v |
Man City |
| 17.30 |
Newcastle |
v |
Liverpool |
|
Sunday 12th December
|
| 13.30 |
Bolton |
v |
Blackburn |
| 13.30 |
Wolves |
v |
Birmingham |
| 16.00 |
Tottenham |
v |
Chelsea |
|
Monday 13th December
|
| 20.00 |
Man Utd |
v |
Arsenal |
|
Top 4 |
Top 6 |
Top 10 |
Bottom Half |
Relegation |
|
In truth it could have been more, but as so often this season, Carlos Tevez scored the crucial goal after just four minutes and neither side could find the back of the net for the remainder of the tie.
There was no lack of drama though, as Aleksandar Kolarov was sent off for two yellow cards, and when Tevez was substituted in the closing stages he reacted furiously and confronted Mancini on the touchline. City may have earned an important victory, but it seems there are other underlying problems at the club.
Wigan (2) 2 Stoke (2) 2
Few would have predicted a goalfest before kick-off at the DW Stadium this weekend ahead of Wigan's home clash with Stoke, but the two sides fought out an entertaining 2-2 draw. The old adage 'if you don't shoot you don't score' proved accurate as three goals came from deflections in a blistering first half.
Wigan twice had to come from behind to earn a point against the Potters, as after Robert Huth's long-range effort squirmed in, Danny Collins deflected a low free-kick into his own net. Matthew Etherington then ghosted in at the back post to finish emphatically, however, the Latics levelled again before the break as Tom Cleverley's effort flew in off Rory Delap.
West Brom moved into 9th spot with a 3-1 defeat of Newcastle perhaps causing the sacking of Chris Hughton while West Ham lost again
West Brom (1) 3 Newcastle (0) 1
Newcastle and West Brom were both promoted from the Championship last term but so far this season they have shown encouraging signs that they are up for the top-flight challenge ahead of them. The Magpies, though, are on a poor run and West Brom looked by far the better side at The Hawthorns on Sunday as they ran away with a 3-1 win. Somen Tchoyi opened the scoring with a fine curling effort before Peter Odemwingie netted a brace to give the Baggies an unassailable lead.
Forgotten man Peter Lovenkrands hit a late consolation for Newcastle, but the defeat leaves Chris Hughton looking over his shoulder ahead of the busy festive period.
Sunderland (1) 1 West Ham (0) 0
The final game of the weekend took place at a bitterly cold Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon but Sunderland fans will be pleased they braved the weather as the Black Cats saw off the challenge of West Ham to win 1-0. In a frantic encounter which saw chances at both ends, Jordan Henderson scored his first goal of the season and his fine finish turned out to be the match-winner.
Avram Grant's Hammers had risen off the bottom of the table on goal difference after Wolves' defeat the previous day, but their brief flirtation with 19th place came to end on Wearside and they must regroup ahead of their next game.
.
The last game of Premiership Match Day 16 saw Liverpool wacking Aston Villa and climbing to their highest position in the table so far.
Liverpool (2) 3 Aston Villa (0) 0
Liverpool romped to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa to spoil Gerard Houllier's return to Anfield.
The former Reds boss was making his first return as a manager but his depleted side were outclassed by a home team that were not at full strength themselves.
Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard are injured while Fernando Torres was unable to play as his wife had gone into labour but David Ngog and Ryan Babel impressed in his absence.
Ngog opened the scoring in the 14th minute with his eighth of the season and his first in 13 games before strike partner Babel struck just two minutes later.
Joe Reina denied Gabriel Agbonlahor from a rare Villa chance just after the restart and moments later Maxi Rodriguez sealed victory with a neat finish in the 55th minute.
The Reds eased home to claim their fourth straight Premier League win at Anfield and climb up to eighth - their highest position of the season so far - while Villa remain 16th, just two points above the drop zone.