Five talking points from the Premier League weekend:
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
After an indifferent Premier League start and without an away win this season, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal's belief that his side can still win the Premier League is misplaced, says former club captain Gary Neville.
Premier League quartet Sunderland, Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers and Swansea City were bundled out of the League Cup in the second round on Tuesday.
English champions Manchester United opened their title defence with a 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday while Chelsea could manage a draw only in new coach Andre Villas-Boas' first Premier League match.
Injured striker Robin van Persie is expected to miss Manchester United's Capital One Cup tie against Liverpool on Wednesday but could be fit for Saturday's Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion.
Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson scored as Liverpool registered their first Premier League win since August with a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Saturday.
Leicester City must ensure they maintain their rapid progress beyond the current campaign, manager Claudio Ranieri said ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash against third-placed Arsenal.
Two goals from Wayne Rooney put Manchester United back on top of the Premier League for the first time in five months when they beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday and Manchester City went down to a 1-0 defeat at Swansea City.
Liverpool regained their place at the top of the English Premier League with a 2-0 win at Cardiff City on Sunday that restored their two-point lead over Manchester City
Daniel Sturridge's Liverpool career seemed to be heading for a premature end last season but the striker showed on Tuesday he may yet have an important role after taking his chance during a rare start in the Champions League win over Paris St Germain.
Images from the EPL matches played on Saturday
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of moving into the top four stalled in a 2-2 draw at bottom club Norwich City, while several VAR interventions overshadowed the action. Images from EPL matches played on Saturday.
Tuesday's semi-final in St Petersburg sees team mates from English champions Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur go head to head as well as rivalries between club colleagues from Barcelona, Paris St Germain and Monaco.
Florent Malouda scored a late winner as Chelsea came from behind to beat visitors West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Saturday, while Arsenal's woes deepened with a 2-0 defeat by Liverpool in the Premier League.
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea's stuttering start to his career at his new club is just part of getting to grips with life in the Premier League, manager Alex Ferguson said on Sunday.
Manchester City tightened their stranglehold at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday by trouncing bottom club West Bromwich Albion 3-0 as nearest rivals Manchester United suffered a chastening 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
The unprecedented shutdown of world sport in response to the coronavirus spread that has infected more than 134,000 people and killed around 5,000 also prompted organisers to postpone the Formula One motor races in Vietnam and Bahrain. The start of the lucrative Indian Premier League has also been postponed until April 15 as a "precautionary measure", the Board of Control for Cricket in India said.
Cesc Fabregas came off the bench to score a last-minute penalty to earn 10-times winners Arsenal a 1-1 home draw with Championship (second division) side Leeds United in a pulsating FA Cup third-round match on Saturday.
The omens are good for a Chelsea side heading into Christmas top of the Premier League tree but manager Jose Mourinho does not want to give title rivals Manchester City any reason to cheer over the festive season. Check out the big games on Boxing Day.
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce will seek divine intervention ahead of Sunday's clash with Premier League leaders Leicester City after watching his relegation-threatened side fail to convert dominance into goals last weekend.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester United will kick-off their title defence away to West Bromwich Albion on August 13, the Premier League said on Friday. Runners-up Chelsea are also away from home on the opening day of the 2011/12 season, when they head to FA Cup finalists Stoke City.
Brighton kept a disciplined formation, frustrating Liverpool and as the second half wore on the home side began to lose their fluency.
Striker Costa ends second spell at Atletico Madrid.
Roy Hodgson made a swifter than planned return to Premier League management on Friday when he was named West Bromwich Albion boss, one month after his departure from Liverpool.
The "noisy neighbours" have been generally a bit quieter in recent weeks and should Manchester United beat Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday their title claims will be just about silenced.
Under-fire Jose Mourinho had been on the verge of delivering the perfect response to his critics on Saturday with Manchester United closing in on a second consecutive comeback win, at the home of his old club Chelsea to boot.
Provoking England midfielder Dele Alli could end up being a plan that backfires, Wales defender and Tottenham Hotspur teammate Ben Davies has said ahead of their Euro 2016 Group B encounter in Lens on Thursday.
Top-class goals from Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero took Manchester City back to the top of the Premier League in a 2-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Bernardo Silva has made an encouraging start to the Premier League campaign and the Manchester City midfielder said that feeling more settled at his second season with the champions was a key factor in his performances.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri said it was his job to take risks and chase victories if they are to land the unlikeliest of Premier League titles.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Didier Drogba was on target again as Chelsea, the only top-six team in Premier League action on Saturday, chalked up their 11th successive league win over West Bromwich Albion with a 3-1 triumph at the Hawthorns.
David Silva scored a late goal as runaway leaders Manchester City won their 13th successive Premier League game and restored their eight-point lead with a 2-1 victory against West Ham United on Sunday.
Chelsea maintained their stranglehold on the Premier League by beating Sunderland 1-0 on Wednesday to register their 10th successive win and move six points clear at the top of the table.
On a day of frenetic spending that took the Premier League total to a record far above one billion pounds ($1.29 billion), Antonio Conte's side also missed out on two of their other targets - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fernando Llorente.
Dimitar Berbatov came off the bench to give Manchester United a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday that put them five points clear in the Premier League while Arsenal rallied to draw at West Bromwich Albion.
West Bromwich Albion inflicted further misery on Manchester United, winning 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday to condemn the champions to their worst start to a Premier League season and leave them in the bottom half of the table after six games.
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