Manchester United closed in on the Premier League's pole position after a 2-1 home win over Aston Villa on Friday put them level on points and games played with champions and leaders Liverpool.
Liverpool started the ball rolling with a convincing 4-1 win at home to promoted Norwich and City responded a day later with an even more emphatic 5-0 victory at West Ham United.
Liverpool will resume their quest for a first top-flight title in 30 years at city rivals Everton on June 21, as the English Premier League released its revised fixture list for the first three weeks of the restarted season on Friday. Liverpool are 25 points clear at the top and are two victories away from winning the Premier League, but will have a shot at securing the title by beating Everton if City lose to Arsenal.
Leicester will remain second overnight with Everton, level on points with them, not playing later on Monday after their home match against Manchester City was postponed following more positive COVID-19 cases at City.
Manchester City's target this season will be to match Manchester United's record of three successive Premier League titles
Guardiola gave a debut to close-season signing Nathan Ake, the Dutch defender signed from Bournemouth, lining up alongside John Stones in the centre of defence.
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere will be out of action for three months after undergoing ankle surgery, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
Liverpool overcame another obstacle on the path to what looks an almost certain Premier League title triumph as they chalked up a record-breaking 20th win
Given the improvements at Chelsea and Arsenal, it will still be a significant achievement for United to secure a top four finish and in the Champions League, a decent run in the knockout stages would also be a sign of progress.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
Premier League clubs have been in discussions to finish the season, which has nine rounds remaining, and the possibility of a restart next month was given a boost when the government said elite sport could return after June 1.
Manchester City moved 13 points clear at the top of the English Premier League table after a 2-1 win over West Ham United on Saturday - their 20th straight win in all competitions.
The 20 Premier League clubs held a conference call on Friday in which they looked at plans for a resumption of training this month but deferred making a decision on resuming the season until the government gave the go-ahead.
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.
The Premier League, which has been on hold since March 13, remains suspended until at least April 30 while lockdown measures are in place in the United Kingdom until May 7, when the government is set to review the current restrictions in place.
Arsenal finally halted their seven-match losing streak, to go up to ninth spot with 22 points from 16 games in the Premier League table on Monday.
English Premier League matches have continued behind closed doors during the second lockdown announced on November 1. Supporters have not been allowed into sporting venues since the first lockdown was announced in March, barring a few exceptions.
'I know there is pressure on players, but it is nobody's business what you do with your wages. You take your wages and if you want to be generous, go ahead and do it'
IMAGES from Saturday's English Premier League matches.
The 27-year-old, who has been sidelined since he fractured his hand in February, was originally meant to serve 21 months but earned an exemption when he led South Korea to gold at the 2018 Asian Games.
Manchester United eased the pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a 3-1 win at Everton in the Premier League on Saturday with Bruno Fernandes scoring twice and Edinson Cavani grabbing his first for the club.
Manchester United and Chelsea secured places in the Champions League with wins on the final day of the Premier League season while Watford and Bournemouth were relegated along with bottom club Norwich City.
Watford enjoyed their first Premier League win of the season as goals from Gerard Deulofeu and substitute Andre Gray gave them a 2-0 win at Norwich City in a bottom-of-the-table game on Friday.
Manchester United remain winless at home in the league this season after Arsenal enjoyed their first win at Old Trafford
The 2020-21 English Premier League season will begin on September 12 and the final round of matches will be held on May 23, the league announced on Friday. The new season, originally scheduled to begin on August 8, has been delayed this year after the Premier League suspended the 2019-20 season for three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Manchester City drawing 2-2 at Arsenal and Liverpool suffering a shock 1-0 home defeat by Aston Villa, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea were the big winners in the fourth round of Premier League games.
Images from EPL matches played on Wednesday
Watford's hopes of avoiding relegation suffered a double blow on Tuesday when they were thrashed 4-0 at home by Manchester City and then slipped into the Premier League relegation zone after fellow strugglers Aston Villa beat Arsenal in the late game.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
The former Chelsea goalkeeper had to wait for 11 games to reach the landmark and produced an inspired performance that included a second-half penalty save from Watford striker Troy Deeney to help Arsenal seal the win.
World soccer governing body FIFA had said in April that it would be flexible with transfer windows and allow them to be moved "so they fall between the end of the old season and the start of the new season."
Images from EPL matches played on Tuesday
The result leaves Arsenal in fifth place on 15 points, two behind Leicester City and Chelsea, while Sheffield United moved into ninth on 12 points.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia feels that IPL should now be held in two separate halves with a significant increase in number of matches after the BCCI made a 'killing' at the media rights auction with a US$ 6.2 billion deal.
Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp has beaten Manchester United only twice in his career and never at Old Trafford -- his worst record against any Premier League side.
Leaders Chelsea stretched their Premier League winning run to a club record-equalling 11 as Diego Costa's header shortly before halftime secured a 1-0 victory at London rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday.
A summary of Saturday's matches in the English Premier League.
Everton and Manchester United drew 1-1 at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Sunday in an enthralling game which ended with late VAR drama.
Five talking points from the Premier League weekend:
