.
.
Saturday
| Premiership results |
|
Saturday 11th December
|
|
15.00 |
Aston Villa |
2-1 |
West Brom |
|
15.00 |
Everton |
0-0 |
Wigan |
|
15.00 |
Fulham |
0-0 |
Sunderland |
|
15.00 |
Stoke |
0-1 |
Blackpool |
|
15.00 |
West Ham |
1-3 |
Man City |
|
17.30 |
Newcastle |
3-1 |
Liverpool |
|
Sunday 12th December
|
|
13.30 |
Bolton |
2-1 |
Blackburn |
|
13.30 |
Wolves |
1-0 |
Birmingham |
|
16.00 |
Tottenham |
1-1 |
Chelsea |
|
Monday 13th December
|
|
20.00 |
Man Utd |
1-0 |
Arsenal |
|
Top 4 |
Top 6 |
Top 10 |
Bottom Half |
Relegation |
|
Manchester City moved level with Arsenal at the top of the table as Aston Villa claimed a vital derby victory against West Brom.
In the evening kick-off Newcastle United gave Alan Pardew a winning start as the club's new manager courtesy of a 3-1 success over Liverpool.
Blackpool added Stoke to their list of scalps this season, while Fulham played out a goalless draw at home to Sunderland and Everton's clash with Wigan also ended in stalemate.
Aston Villa v West Brom
Aston Villa overcame Midlands rivals West Brom 2-1 to end a run of three successive losses and ease the pressure on beleaguered boss Gerard Houllier.
Stewart Downing broke the deadlock for Villa with a close-range finish on 25 minutes after Marc Albrighton had bamboozled Marek Cech down the right wing and delivered an inviting cross to the far post.
Albrighton then set up the second just 10 minutes from time with a cross from the opposite flank that glanced off a defender and presented itself for Emile Heskey to head home.
The Baggies did manage to pull a goal back late on when Chris Brunt's corner was headed in by Paul Scharner, with Nigel Reo-Coker failing to make the clearance on the line.
| Premiership table |
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
Man Utd |
16 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
25 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
11 |
10 |
20 |
34 |
| 2 |
Arsenal |
17 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
19 |
10 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
15 |
9 |
15 |
32 |
| 3 |
Man City |
17 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
16 |
8 |
11 |
32 |
| 4 |
Chelsea |
17 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
18 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
13 |
8 |
19 |
31 |
| 5 |
Tottenham |
17 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
14 |
9 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
11 |
13 |
3 |
27 |
| 6 |
Bolton |
17 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
19 |
12 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
11 |
12 |
6 |
26 |
| 7 |
Sunderland |
17 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
10 |
5 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
10 |
13 |
2 |
24 |
| 8 |
Newcastle |
17 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
19 |
11 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
15 |
1 |
22 |
| 9 |
Liverpool |
17 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
15 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
6 |
16 |
-1 |
22 |
| 10 |
Blackpool |
16 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
11 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
13 |
18 |
-5 |
22 |
| 11 |
West Brom |
17 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
10 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
13 |
19 |
-5 |
22 |
| 12 |
Stoke |
17 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
12 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
9 |
12 |
-1 |
21 |
| 13 |
Blackburn |
17 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
11 |
21 |
-5 |
21 |
| 14 |
Aston Villa |
17 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
14 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
18 |
-9 |
20 |
| 15 |
Everton |
17 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
10 |
12 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
8 |
8 |
-2 |
18 |
| 16 |
Birmingham |
17 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
6 |
0 |
5 |
4 |
9 |
14 |
-3 |
18 |
| 17 |
Fulham |
17 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
10 |
11 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
-4 |
16 |
| 18 |
Wigan |
17 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
11 |
-15 |
16 |
| 19 |
Wolves |
17 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
13 |
13 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
17 |
-12 |
15 |
| 20 |
West Ham |
17 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
11 |
15 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
15 |
-15 |
12 |
Everton v Wigan
Everton are now without a win in seven after a frustrating 0-0 draw against Wigan, who stay in the relegation zone.
Everton have struggled to convert possession and panache into points throughout the first few months of their campaign and they were again lacking a cutting edge in a scrappy encounter typified by Hendry Thomas' first-half duel with Steven Pienaar.
David Moyes' side piled on the pressure as the game progressed but could not break down a spirited Wigan side, with Tim Cahill's header coming agonisingly off the post.
Fulham v Sunderland
Fulham staged yet another stalemate at Craven Cottage as their shyness in front of goal continued with a 0-0 draw against Sunderland.
It was the Cottagers' 10th draw of the Premier League campaign and the game produced few chances, particularly in a dire first half.
Andrew Johnson's introduction for the second half gave the hosts a greater threat and it was he who came closest to breaking the deadlock.
Dickson Etuhu had a header cleared off the line while substitute Boudewijn Zenden dragged narrowly wide for the Black Cats.
The last five meetings between these two sides have now produced just two goals, therefore a classic was never likely to be on the cards.
Hovering above the relegation zone, Fulham looked short on confidence and desperately need a win to kick-start their climb up the table.
Stoke City v Blackpool
Blackpool withstood a late onslaught to edge out Stoke 1-0 at the Britannia Stadium and consolidate their position in mid-table.
Stoke carved out the better opportunities in a pulsating first half, but Ricardo Fuller's curling effort ricocheted off the crossbar to safety and Rory Delap had a goal disallowed for a foul on goalkeeper Richard Kingson.
The Potters were made to pay at the start of the second period when DJ Campbell showed his predatory instincts to tuck the ball away following good work by Luke Varney and Charlie Adam.
And Blackpool held firm in the closing stages to inflict on Stoke a first defeat in six matches.
| Up-Coming Premiership games |
|
Saturday 18th December
|
| 12.45 |
Sunderland |
v |
Bolton |
| 15.00 |
Arsenal |
v |
Stoke |
| 15.00 |
Birmingham |
v |
Newcastle |
| 15.00 |
Blackburn |
v |
West Ham |
| 15.00 |
Wigan |
v |
Aston Villa |
| 17.30 |
Liverpool |
v |
Fulham |
|
Sunday 19th December |
| 12.00 |
West Brom |
v |
Wolves |
| 13.30 |
Blackpool |
v |
Tottenham |
| 16.00 |
Chelsea |
v |
Man Utd |
|
Monday 20th December |
| 20.00 |
Man City |
v |
Everton |
|
Top 4 |
Top 6 |
Top 10 |
Bottom Half |
Relegation |
|
West Ham v Man City
Manchester City extended their unbeaten run to seven games with a 3-1 victory at Upton Park that leaves West Ham bottom of the Premier League standings.
Roberto Mancini had called on his players to show they could score, and win, without Carlos Tevez, and Yaya Toure accepted the challenge on the half-hour mark by producing a fantastic strike into the top corner from 20 yards that the suspended Argentine would have been proud of.
West Ham briefly threatened a comeback in the second half before City doubled their advantage in the 73rd minute when Toure's angled drive struck the post before going in off Robert Green's back.
Substitute Adam Johnson, who replaced a misfiring Mario Balotelli, then got in on the act with nine minutes remaining as he latched onto a defence-splitting pass from David Silva and rounded the goalkeeper.
James Tomkins reduced the Hammers' arrears with a header that deflected past Joe Hart but there was not enough time left to unsettle City nerves any further.
Newcastle v Liverpool
Newcastle climbed into fourth in the Premier League table in the late kick-off following a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Liverpool.
Dirk Kuyt cancelled out Kevin Nolan's first-half opener just minutes into the second half, however, The Magpies finished with a flourish to claim all three points.
Joey Barton slotted home the go-ahead goal after pouncing on a loose ball before Andy Carroll's superb strike deep into added time wrapped up the success.
Sunday
Tottenham played out a 1-1 draw with Chelsea which included a goalkeeping howler and a saved penalty, Wolves gathered in a valuable three points while Blackburn lost away at Bolton perhaps causing the sacking of Big Sam on Monday.
Bolton v Blackburn
Stuart Holden's late goal earned 10-man Bolton a battling 2-1 win over Blackburn in their local derby at the Reebok Stadium to send them back into the top six.
American midfielder Holden hit the winner two minutes from time just seconds after Blackburn substitute Mame Diouf had cancelled out Fabrice Muamba's opener for Bolton.
After a dour first half the game burst into life when Mark Davies was sent off for a second bookable offence after catching Blackburn midfielder Phil Jones with his elbow.
Despite the numerical disadvantage Bolton broke the deadlock on 65 minutes when Muamba cut inside Ryan Nelsen and drilled his shot low past Paul Robinson.
Blackburn looked to have salvaged a point when Jason Roberts fed Diouf inside the box and the on-loan Manchester United man lifted the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen on 87 minutes
But Holden had the last word when he volleyed home Kevin Davies' knock-down just a minute later to send the home fans into raptures
Wolves v Birmingham
Under-strength Wolverhampton Wanderers overcame the adversity of their injury problems to beat Birmingham City 1-0 at Molineux on Sunday.
Mick McCarthy entered the derby fixture with one of the most severe injury crisis situations he has had to contend with in almost two decades of management, with enough players sidelined to make a starting XI.
But Stephen Hunt's 50th league goal gave Wolves the precious three points after latching onto Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's wicked cross on the brink of half-time.
Second-bottom Wanderers had lost five of their last six but McCarthy's side gave their survival hopes a shot in the arm with their fourth win of the season and their first clean sheet of the campaign as they moved within a point from safety.
Birmingham, who have now failed to win in their last 14 top-flight away matches, remain just two points above the drop-zone in 16th place following defeat to one of their local rivals.
Tottenham v Chelsea
Heurelho Gomes made amends for a couple of mistakes with a late penalty save as Tottenham and Chelsea played out an absorbing 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.
The Spurs goalkeeper was at fault for Didier Drogba's equaliser after Roman Pavlyuchenko had opened the scoring, and then conceded a spot-kick in stoppage time for clumsily clattering into Ramires.
But the Brazilian guessed right to deny Drogba from 12 yards and leave Chelsea without a win in five matches.
Pavlyuchenko's goal arrived on 15 minutes when he fired a fine low finish past Petr Cech after receiving a Jermain Defoe pass and cleverly creating space with his first touch.
Drogba stepped off the substitutes' bench to draw the Blues level with a powerful shot 20 minutes from time that was straight at Gomes but knocked the keeper off his feet and still had enough on it to trickle over the line.
It looked like Chelsea would nick the win but Gomes turned from villain to hero to keep Spurs within four points of their fourth-placed London rivals.
Man Utd v Arsenal
Manchester United took the initiative in the Premier League title race after a tight 1-0 win over arch-rivals Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Ji-Sung Park's brilliantly deft and improvised header in the 41st minute gave United the three points that allowed Ferguson's men to leapfrog Arsene Wenger's team at the top of the table by two points.
But the match epitomised what has been a fiercely competitive and entertaining title race, with a lack of overall quality in the areas that matter most.
And Wayne Rooney's hopelessly wayward second-half penalty, after Gael Clichy was adjudged to have handled inside the 18-yard area, provided a snapshot of the 90 minutes.
For Arsenal, the sorry statistic of a fifth reverse concealed a desperately disappointing performance which did not get that much better even after Wenger had thrown his star man Cesc Fabregas on in a last desperate bid to secure a share of the spoils.