The destination of the Premier League trophy will not be decided when current champions Chelsea meet their immediate predecessors Manchester City.
Manchester City conceded four goals in 36 hapless minutes on Saturday as they slumped to a 4-2 defeat by VfB Stuttgart in a pre-season friendly.
Players from European champions Barcelona made up nearly half of UEFA's Team of the Year which was revealed on Friday, while Cristiano Ronaldo made the lineup for a record 10th time. Eight players from La Liga were included in the final XI, voted for by 7.2 million UEFA.com users from a 40-strong shortlist. Lionel Messi, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta and Neymar were the Barcelona players included, while Real Madrid provided Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez.
Chelsea landed a potentially decisive blow in the Premier League title race with a 2-1 win at Aston Villa on Saturday that put them seven points clear of Manchester City, who self-destructed in a 1-1 draw at home to Hull.
David Silva came to the rescue of Manchester City with two goals in a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was named African Footballer of the Year on Thursday, narrowly edging out Yaya Toure at the Confederation of African Football award ceremony.
Xherdan Shaqiri inspired StokeCity to a convincing 2-0 victory over Premier League leaders ManchesterCity in blustery conditions at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann appear among the 55 nominees for the FIFPro 2016 World 11 released on Friday but England forward Wayne Rooney failed to make the shortlist for the first time. Portugal captain Ronaldo, led his country to victory at Euro 2016, while France forward Griezmann was the top player at the tournament. It is the first time that 25-year-old Griezmann has made the cut, but England captain Rooney is absent for the first time in the competition's 12-year history, after England crashed out of Euro 2016 to lowly Iceland.
Manchester City moved back into third place and almost guaranteed Champions League qualification thanks to a 3-1 home victory against West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium.
First win for Liverpool manager Klopp, City thrash Palace 5-1
Manchester City keeper Willy Caballero's penalty shootout heroics sealed a League Cup final win against Liverpool.
Chelsea ripped apart Premier League title rivals Arsenal in a 6-0 mauling at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to ensure Arsene Wenger's 1,000th game turned sour and Liverpool and Manchester City kept up the pressure with big wins.
Here are some photos from the memorable evening...
Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United; Champions Manchester City took full advantage of Chelsea's surprise reverse to cut the gap at the top.
Chelsea's Spanish striker Diego Costa was named along with usual suspects Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 23- man FIFA Ballon D'Or short-list released on Tuesday.
It was a wonder that Louis van Gaal's face did not turn as scarlet as his team's shirts.
'Players like Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard -- they've been brought up in this city. Paul Pogba was brought up in the city from the age of 14. They will find if difficult'
Sergio Aguero proved he is still vital to Manchester City's cause as the Argentine paved the way for a routine 2-0 victory at bottom club Sunderland on Sunday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played at Old Trafford on Saturday
It is time to deliver for Paris St Germain and Manchester City as the two mega-rich teams prepare to lock horns in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Two quickfire headed goals from Wilfried Bony and Gervinho helped Ivory Coast recover to beat Japan 2-1 on Saturday as their bid for a first appearance in the World Cup knockout stages got off to a fine start.
ManchesterCity manager Pep Guardiola had his spirits cheered with a 5-0 FA Cup thrashing of West Ham United on Friday that the Spaniard hopes will turn his side into "believers" for the rest of the campaign.
Russia will still stage the 2018 World Cup finals despite the continuing blight of racism in the country's soccer, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Sunday.
But such was Pep Guardiola's team's domination of the Premier League last season that reinforcements hardly seemed necessary and the solitary addition of Riyad Mahrez makes an already potent attack even more fearsome.
Real Madrid completed their pre-season tour of Australia with a crushing 4-1 friendly win over a depleted Manchester City in front of a record soccer crowd of 99,382 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
Manchester City were never out of the title race and the Premier League champions did not need to change their style despite a frustrating to start the season, manager Manuel Pellegrini has said.
Danny Welbeck, making his first appearance of the season as a late substitute, headed a stoppage-time winner to give Arsenal a 2-1 home win over league leaders Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho stoked up his war of words with Manuel Pellegrini on Monday by questioning the Manchester City manager's sums.
Manchester City have bolstered their attacking arsenal with the signing of Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Bony from Swansea City, the English champions said on Wednesday.
Manchester City reached the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time after a superb curling shot from Kevin de Bruyne gave them a 1-0 second-leg win over Paris St Germain that sealed a 3-2 aggregate victory on Tuesday.
Manchester City's Sergio Aguero has been playing like one of the gods all year and after being honoured by the FSF at its annual gala dinner in London.
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) .
Successive home defeats by leaders Leicester City and second placed Tottenham Hotspur have left City six points off the pace with serious doubts about whether their expensively-assembled squad is still playing for the manager.
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.
Arsenal landed a meaty blow in the Premier League title race with a 2-1 win at home to rivals Manchester City that swept away a few more doubts about their title credentials.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino likes to erase bad memories and cherish good ones and it is a trait he hopes his players have acquired ahead of Saturday's clash at Premier League champions Manchester City.
Newly-acquired Spain forward Pedro highlighted his potential worth to Premier League champions Chelsea with a goal, assist and eye-catching performance in their 3-2 win at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Demonised as a caricature of the highly-paid modern-day footballer whose ego dwarfs his talent, Raheem Sterling will have few fans when the Premier League begins next weekend.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini insists he will not change the way his team play despite suffering two defeats in a week and losing playmaker David Silva ahead of Manchester United's visit on Sunday.
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