Liverpool's half-baked pre-season transfer dealings have come back to bite them with Brendan Rodgers admitting his side have lacked the quality to finish in the Premier League's top four.
Jose Mourinho will select a strong Chelsea side out of respect to high-flying Championship team Derby County when they meet in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.
There were, however, no eye-catching major deals in the final 24 hours of transfer activity for European clubs which continues the trend of recent January windows.
Tottenham Hotspur have the chance to exert psychological pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea when they open the weekend programme at home to Watford on Saturday.
Jordan Henderson has spent much ofhis Liverpool career being compared unfavourably with Steven Gerrard, but his stunning goal against Chelsea on Friday could have come straight from the copybook of the former Anfield hero. After Dejan Lovren had put Liverpool ahead, Hendersontook aim from 30 metres, curling home a superb effort that ended a goal drought stretching back more than eight months. It put Liverpool two ahead on their way to a 2-1 victory that ended the hosts' unbeaten start to the season and underlined the growing potential of Juergen Klopp's Liverpool side.
Manchester United are finally beginning to look like their old selves.
England manager Sam Allardyce has defended the decision to leave Everton midfielder Ross Barkley out of his first squad for the 2018 World Cup qualifier in Slovakia at the weekend. The 22-year-old has enjoyed an impressive start to the Premier League season and many observers felt he had done enough to deserve a place in the 23-man group named on Sunday.
With Premier League leaders Chelsea on top form, Manchester City will be hoping their Champions League win over Bayern Munich boosts confidence and re-ignites their title defence when they visit high-flying Southampton on Sunday (1900 IST) .
Chelsea striker Diego Costa is uncertain to start their Premier League game against Stoke City as he tries to shake off the lingering effects of a hamstring injury, manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday.
Something will have to give when in-form Liverpool and bitter rivals Manchester United clash in one of the Premier League's showcase fixtures at Anfield on Sunday.
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Louis van Gaal accused his Manchester United players of being out-fought in a 3-0 defeat at Everton.
Liverpool will attempt to sweep away the January blues on the last day of a wretched month when they host commanding Premier League leaders Chelsea at Anfield on Tuesday.
Surat -- Gujarat's diamond city and the epicentre of the Patidar quota movement -- is set for a tough assembly poll battle as the Congress has added the face of the Patidar agitation Hardik Patel to its arsenal this time.
The Premier League said on Monday that 10 people had returned positive results in its latest round of COVID-19 tests conducted on players and staff last week, the highest number of cases in a single round since the new season began this month.
Liverpool belatedly kick-started their year and damaged Tottenham Hotspur's slender Premier League title hopes as Sadio Mane struck both goals in a 2-0 victory at Anfield.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Irresistible Chelsea go into the Christmas round of fixtures knowing they can end the year by re-writing the record books.
The next man in charge faces an unenviable task trying to sort out the existing mess and then living up to goals that seem ever more distant.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Mesut Ozil faces around six weeks out with a knee ligament injury, a problem that was only discovered when the midfielder joined up with the Germany squad for international duty last week.
With no European prizes left to chase this season, England's top clubs are focussed on winning the Premier League title, although that goal looks beyond all but Chelsea.
Conte wants 'perfect game', while hoping Messi's goal drought continues
Arsenal's improbable late run at the Premier League title gained momentum with a 1-0 victory at struggling Burnley on Saturday, an eighth straight triumph that moved them within four points of leaders Chelsea.
England under-21 coach Gareth Southgate looks likely to be put in temporary charge of the national team after the resignation of Roy Hodgson following the side's Euro 2016 exit, British media reported on Wednesday.
Chelsea face the prospect of having veteran Didier Drogba as their only fit striker for their visit to Manchester United on Sunday in what is usually one of the standout matches of the Premier League season.
Heavyweight trio Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea kept up their 100 per cent starts to the Premier League season this weekend.
Just like his father nearly two decades ago, Kasper Schmeichel proved a formidable last line of defence.
Barcelona take a 32-match unbeaten run to Arsenal for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday as the Catalans continue their bid to become the first team to retain the trophy in 26 years.
Wayne Rooney scored two first half goals to help send Manchester United to a 4-1 win over a spirited Aston Villa on Saturday, temporarily lifting the gloom surrounding David Moyes' dismal first term in charge.
Manchester United's top-four aspirations suffered a setback as Louis van Gaal's side were blown away 3-0 by Everton.
Manchester City can pile the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea for the first time this season.
Manchester United have signed Leicester City's England centre back Harry Maguire on a six-year contract, the Manchester club announced on Monday.
Southampton's rich vein of form in the Premier League continued as they beat Burnley 3-1 with two goals from Charlie Austin on Sunday while another promoted side, Middlesbrough, fared just as poorly, losing 1-0 at home to Watford.
England striker Daniel Sturridge celebrated his return after a five-month injury layoff when he came off the bench to score as Liverpool beat West Ham United 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Manchester City continued their imperious start to the season with a 2-1 win over Swansea City to reach the fourth round of the League Cup on Wednesday but it was a testing night for rivals United who eventually overcame Northampton Town 3-1.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Arsene Wenger hit back at Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's thinly-veiled criticism.
Not many people talk badly of Pep Guardiola, a sainted figure in football, but Manchester City's manager will find two of his most vocal critics facing him down at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere will be out of action for three months after undergoing ankle surgery, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
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