Liverpool have completed the signing of winger Stewart Downing from Aston Villa and AS Roma's Brazilian goalkeeper Alexander Doni, the Premier League club said on Friday.
Mikel Arteta's team are third with 61 points after 27 games, a point behind Manchester City
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has been banned for two games following his sending-off during the 4-1 home defeat by Liverpool on Saturday.
Aston Villa will meet holders Arsenal in the FA Cup final next month.
Images from football matches played across Europe over the weekend.
Paul Scholes will start for Manchester United at home to Aston Villa on Sunday as Alex Ferguson looks for the midfielder's experience to help settle the Premier League leaders after a shock midweek loss at lowly Wigan Athletic.
Ruthless Arsenal threw down the gauntlet in the Premier League title race with a 5-0 thrashing of London rivals Chelsea to roar three points clear at the top of the table on Tuesday.
Rio Ferdinand will miss England's friendly with Egypt next week because of the back injury that will also keep him out of Sunday's League Cup final against Aston Villa, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said Thursday.
England manager Fabio Capello has given a surprise call-up to Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne for Wednesday's friendly in Germany and left out former captain David Beckham. Mancienne, who has performed well for England's under-21s but has never started a Premier League game, acknowledged the call-up had been unexpected.
Reading reached the FA Cup quarter-finals at Premier League at Everton's expense after a first-half goal from defender Matt Mills earned a 1-0 fifth round victory at Goodison Park on Tuesday.
Holders and FA Cup favourites Chelsea were handed a home tie against Cardiff City when the fifth-round draw was made on Sunday.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has told arch rivals Arsenal that its time to show their mettle for the Premier League title.
Didier Drogba cemented his name in Chelsea folklore with his 150th goal for the club on Saturday but it was not enough to prevent a 3-1 home defeat by Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, restricted to a brief substitute appearance in the 1-1 home draw with neighbours Fulham in the Premier League on December 26, is looking to chalk up his 150th goal for the London club on Saturday.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, restricted to a brief substitute appearance in the 1-1 home draw with neighbours Fulham in the Premier League on December 26, is looking to chalk up his 150th goal for the London club on Saturday.
Brazil international Sandro was picked out for special praise by manager Harry Redknapp after Queens Park Rangers leapfrogged Burnley at the foot of the Premier League table on Monday.
Images from the EPL match match being played over the weekend.
Manchester City's Premier League challenge continued along its spluttering, unconvincing path when they were held to a goalless draw at Birmingham City on Sunday, their fourth successive league draw.
A young Arsenal side delighted a near capacity crowd at the Emirates Stadium with a scintillating 2-1 victory over Liverpool to secure a place in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur celebrated the return of manager Harry Redknapp with a comfortable 2-0 win over Aston Villa which lifted them to third in the Premier League on Monday.
Champions Manchester United take on cross-town rivals Manchester City in a highly anticipated encounter on Sunday.
Manchester City went top of the Premier League when they beat Aston Villa 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday after Manchester United dropped two points in a 1-1 draw at Liverpool.
Manchester City went top of the Premier League when they beat Aston Villa 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday after Manchester United dropped two points in a 1-1 draw at Liverpool. City won with goals from Mario Balotelli, Adam Johnson, Vincent Kompany and James Milner against his former club and moved on to 22 points from their eight matches, two points clear of United who are on 20.
If newly rich Manchester City wanted to rile Manchester United during the close-season they certainly went about it the right way -- and not just by spending over 100 million pounds on new players. The arrivals of Carlos Tevez from United, Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure from Arsenal, Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn and Gareth Barry from Aston Villa should certainly see City improve in the new Premier League season starting this weekend.
A sensational solo goal by Nani and a Michael Owen header earned Manchester United a point as they twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Bolton Wanderers in a lively lunchtime kickoff in the Premier League on Sunday.
Carlos Tevez claimed two second-half goals as a confident Manchester City overwhelmed Liverpool 3-0 to underline their Premier League title credentials on Monday.
The schedule of matches in the 2010-11 English Premier LEague season.
Manchester City dominated transfer activity on the eve of the Premier League season on Friday with the signing of Italy's Mario Balotelli.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday
England striker Emile Heskey announced his international retirement on Thursday after his country's disappointing World Cup campaign.
European champions Manchester United will probably have to rely on more than another winning goal from teenager Federico Macheda to eliminate Porto from the Champions League on Wednesday. Macheda, 17, came on as a substitute in the last two Premier League matches to score crucial winners against Aston Villa and Sunderland.
England coach Fabio Capello said striker Peter Crouch would start Wednesday's 2010 World Cup qualifier against Ukraine after recovering from a knock in the weekend friendly win over Slovakia.
The Gunners' only league defeat of the campaign was in September away to one of England's traditional top-six clubs, Manchester United, drawing criticism that their strong start to the season was based on wins against lesser opposition.
Allowing independent panels to punish players retrospectively for diving and other infringements would be a "disaster", according to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
Bradford City struck a blow for the paupers and restored the faith of those who say Premier League riches have killed the romance of English football by holding off Aston Villa to reach the League Cup final on Tuesday.
Bolton Wanderers ended Birmingham City's dream of an FA and League Cup double when South Korean Lee Chung-yong headed home in the 90th minute to secure a 3-2 win in their FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
Arsenal bounced back from their shock defeat by Birmingham City in the League Cup final when Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 demolition of Leyton Orient in the FA Cup on Wednesday.
England's national team faces a bleak future, Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce warned after Wednesday's game between Portsmouth and Arsenal became the first in the top flight not to feature an English player in the starting line-up. Wednesday's match, which Arsenal won 4-1, featured players from 15 countries among the 22 starters with seven French players on the field.
Liverpool are sweating on the fitness of key players Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres ahead of Tuesday's Champions League encounter away to Marseille.
Arsenal inflicted Liverpool's sixth Premier League defeat of the season with a 2-1 victory on Sunday, their first league win at Anfield since 2003.
