There will be no seismic shifts in the balance of the world's richest football competition if the first weekend of the new Premier League season is anything to go by.
A preview of the line-up action in the English Premier League from October 20-22.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday
A Roberto Firmino hat-trick proved the highlight of Liverpool's 5-1 demolition of Arsenal as the Premier League leaders opened a nine-point gap over Tottenham Hotspur, who lost 3-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Other countries will dread the prospect of facing England in the Euro 2016 knockout rounds, midfielder Eric Dier has said, despite his side's failure to secure top spot in Group B.
Emotions ran high as Nantes paid tribute to their former player Emiliano Sala on Wednesday in their first game since the Argentine went missing in a light aircraft over the English Channel.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Everton's Abdoulaye Doucoure scored an extra-time winner as they edged Rotherham United 2-1 in an absorbing FA Cup
Newcastle thump Preston in tense match to romp back to the top-tier
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
Leicester City recorded the biggest ever English top-flight away win by beating 10-man Southampton 9-0 at a rain-sodden St Mary's to move up to second place in the Premier League on Friday.
Marouane Fellaini scored late in extra time to spare Everton's blushes as they came from a goal down to beat League One (third division) Stevenage 2-1 and reach the League Cup third round on Wednesday.
Ukraine kept alive their dream of reaching the World Cup finals by beating Scotland 3-1 in their playoff at Hampden Park on Wednesday in their first game since the Russian invasion of their country.
Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of round 11 of the Premier League on Nov. 3-5:
Tottenham Hotspur have shown impressive durability in the Premier League lately, but they will need to be at their most steadfast to deny champions and league leaders Manchester City who travel to Wembley on Monday.
England players Wayne Rooney, Phil Jones and Glen Johnson have withdrawn from the squad for the country's World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine through injury, the FA said on Sunday.
Talking points from this weekend's Premier League action as top two Manchester City and Liverpool both won with City remaining a point clear with two games remaining.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
United sacked manager Jose Mourinho on Tuesday after the sixth-placed side made their worst start to a season for 28 years.
Dave Whelan, owner of Championship side Wigan Athletic, has been charged by the FA for insulting Jewish and Chinese people in a newspaper interview.
Bayern, who won the Champions League in 2013, have yet to hit top form this season, with many players tired after the World Cup and others, including Thiago Alcantara, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Rafinha, out injured.
Rewind five years and Liverpool hosted Chelsea with three games remaining, knowing victory would have left them six points clear and a first league title since 1990 almost secure.
A preview of the line-up action in the English Premier League
Tim Sherwood's hopes of becoming Tottenham Hotspur's next permanent manager were boosted after his attacking team came back to win 3-2 at stuttering Southampton in an enthralling Premier League encounter on Sunday.
The Senegal international, 26, joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2016 for 34 million pounds ($43.8 million) and has scored 40 goals in 89 games for the Anfield club.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
The 25-year-old Mata struggled for game time this season under Jose Mourinho, with Chelsea's manager preferring an attacking midfield trio comprising Brazilian internationals Oscar and Willian and Belgium winger Eden Hazard.
Here are five talking points from the final weekend of the Premier League season:
The Welsh, who reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals, finished runners-up on 14 points from eight games, three behind Croatia who sealed their berth on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Slovakia.
Robin van Persie could return from injury for Manchester United's Premier League game with Everton on Wednesday, manager David Moyes said on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Eriksen punctured Brighton's armour from Tottenham's 29th goal attempt -- 21 of which were from outside the penalty area.
Neymar was in a class of his own again on Sunday, scoring a double to help Paris St Germain extend their Ligue 1 lead to 10 points with a 2-0 win at Lille. The Brazilian dedicated his goal to former Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, by raising two fingers in one hand and four fingers with the other to signal the number 24 -- Bryant's shirt number.
United sacked Mourinho on Tuesday after suffering their worst start to a season for 28 years and replaced him with former striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer until the end of the current Premier League campaign.
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey will miss the rest of the club's holiday fixtures after hobbling off with a muscle injury in the 3-1 victory at West Ham United on Thursday.
Chelsea's slim hopes of winning the Premier League all but evaporated in the Stamford Bridge sunshine on Sunday as Norwich City ground out a 0-0 draw that left them hanging on to top- flight status by their fingernails.
The former Valencia player expressed surprise that Chelsea were willing to let him depart, but having been an unused substitute in their last two league matches, he relished the chance to play for another "massive club".
Captain Aron Gunnarsson says Iceland will take inspiration from fellow underdogs Wales when they take on hosts France in the quarter-finals on Sunday -- and the tiny country even believe they can win Euro 2016 outright. Iceland, with a population of just 330,000, have produced a series of astonishing displays to reach the tournament's last eight, including a comfortable 2-1 win over England in the second round.
Champions Manchester United will travel to Swansea City for their first English Premier League match under new manager David Moyes, while Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City are at home to Newcastle United on August 17.
But for third-placed Spurs, who trail leaders Manchester City and Liverpool by five points, this may prove to be a loss that leaves them with too much ground to make up.
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