Manchester City secured a record 15th straight victory in all competitions with a 3-1 win at Championship side Swansea City in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday.
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.
Rediff.com brings you the previews of the main matches scheduled for this weekend in the English Premier League.
Liverpool flirted with what would have been an embarrassing low in their poor start to the season as they were taken to penalties by fourth tier Carlisle United, but came through to reach the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday.
Former Cup winners Coventry, now plying their trade in the bottom division of the Football League, revived memories of happier times as Jordan Willis and Jack Grimmer scored the goals in a 2-1 victory at the Ricoh Arena.
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.
Chelsea exploited Manchester City's decision to field a weakened team by romping to a 5-1 win in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday as they joined London rivals West Ham United and Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals.
Manchester United won 2-1 at Crystal Palace to consolidate fourth spot.
Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard says it "would be a dream" to play under French great and current Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane in the future.
Arsenal stayed ahead of Manchester United in the race to qualify directly for next season's Champions League when they drew 1-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday while Manchester City made sure of their place in the group stage with a 4-2 win at Swansea City.
Manchester United humbled Manchester City 4-2 in the continent's big derby of the weekend.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Newcastle United's Papiss Cisse struck twice in a 2-1 victory against English Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Liverpool have extended captain Jordan Henderson's contract, the Premier League side said on Tuesday, putting an end to speculation over his future at the Merseyside club.
Manchester United have made purchases in the impressive Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao and former manager Alex Ferguson has expressed his satisfaction at the changes made in the team line-up.
Jamie Vardy equalled the English Premier League record by scoring for a 10th successive match as his Leicester City side went top after winning 3-0 at Newcastle United while champions Chelsea ended their slump with a 1-0 win over Norwich City on Saturday.
Manchester United are optimistic ahead of a crucial period of fixtures as they are close to finding their best form, midfielder Ander Herrera said ahead of Sunday's top of the table showdown against Premier League leaders Manchester City.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The destination of the Premier League trophy will not be decided when current champions Chelsea meet their immediate predecessors Manchester City.
Arsenal shoved Chelsea off the top of the table but Leicester City's Jamie Vardy, with a dazzling hat-trick, was the man of the moment on Saturday as the struggling Premier League champions blew aside Manchester City 4-2.
Arsenal suffered another painful Premier League defeat as Swansea City capitalised on some glaring errors to win 3-1 on Tuesday, boosting their survival hopes and denting the visitors' top four chances.
Diego Costa was on target again as Chelsea overcame a defensive West Bromwich Albion 1-0 to return to the top of the Premier League with their ninth victory in a row on Sunday. The Spaniard's second-half strike sent the Blues three points clear of Arsenal, who had taken the overall lead on goals scored on Saturday after seeing off Stoke City 3-1 at the Emirates.
Philippe Coutinho inspired Liverpool to a comfortable 3-1 home win over Everton in the 228th Merseyside derby on Saturday to move provisionally up to third in the Premier League.
Wayne Rooney ended his eight-game Premier League scoring drought with a 2-0 victory against a dogged Sunderland.
Arsenal eased past second-tier Reading 2-0 with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scoring twice, while Newcastle United romped to a 6-0 win over 10-man Preston North End and Hull City won 2-1 at Bristol City.
David Silva came to the rescue of Manchester City with two goals in a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Sunday.
Belgium have retained injured Vincent Kompany in their final World Cup squad but put fellow defender Laurent Ciman on standby in case the Manchester City skipper is not fit for their opening match in Russia.
Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of the Premier League fixtures on April 28-30
Manchester City's faltering attempts to retain their title suffered a huge blow on Saturday when they lost 1-0 at Burnley, giving Chelsea the chance to open an eight-point lead when they host Southampton on Sunday.
Liverpool took a giant step towards their first title in 24 years with a 3-2 win at a plucky Norwich City on Sunday, opening up a five point lead over second-placed Chelsea with three matches remaining.
An Eden Hazard hat-trick swept Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League on Saturday when they beat Newcastle United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge after previous leaders Arsenal were thrashed 5-1 at Liverpool.
The protracted disagreement between Cardiff City chairman Vincent Tan and manager Malky Mackay reached its inevitable conclusion on Friday when the Scot was sacked seven months after winning promotion to the Premier League.
Images from the English Premier League London derby played between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates on Wednesday
Among other transfer news globally, defender Rahul Bheke joins Mumbai City FC while Locatelli completes Juventus move.
Premier League champions Liverpool maintained their 100 per cent start to the season with a 3-1 win against Arsenal at Anfield on Monday leaving them level on nine points with pacesetters Everton and Leicester City.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Substitute Jesse Lingard struck twice in the second half as Manchester United fought back from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 Premier League draw with Burnley at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
"I think Hazard will be able to get a breather every now and again now," said Hudson.
Five talking-points from the Premier League weekend after Manchester City suffered a shock home loss to Crystal Palace, meaning that Liverpool stayed four points clear at the top following their win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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