A summary of Sunday's Premier League matches
Chelsea missed their chance to slash Manchester United's lead in the Premier League to a single point on Sunday when they were held to a 0-0 draw at Newcastle United.
Manchester United opened up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League even as rivals Man City suffered a shocking reverse at Sunderland on the Boxing Day.
Liverpool kept alive their hopes of Champions League football next season with a comfortable 2-0 Premier League victory on Monday against a Newcastle United side who finished with 10 men.
Albert Luque steered Newcastle to the top of UEFA Cup Group H when he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Palermo on Thursday.
Arsenal, who fired Unai Emery as manager last week and appointed former player Freddie Ljungberg as caretaker boss, now sit 10th in the table on 19 points, with Brighton a single point behind and three places below them.
Alan Shearer broke Newcastle United's goal-scoring record in a 2-0 home win over fellow strugglers Portsmouth.
League leaders Chelsea and Liverpool however won their matches in the Premier League.
Newcastle United's Papiss Cisse has gatecrashed the Premier League in spectacular style and his second strike in Wednesday's win at Chelsea could sneak in as a goal of the season contender, especially given its potential importance.
The victory lifted Newcastle up to 10th place in the Premier League. West Brom stay 17th.
Liverpool's Raheem Sterling netted a sharply-taken double in a 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Wednesday to set up a League Cup semi-final with Chelsea.
Newcastle United continued their push for Europa League football next season when two excellent goals from Papiss Cisse and a superb strike from Hatem ben Arfa gave them a 3-1 win at West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Sunday.
Last season's UEFA Cup semi-finalists marched into the last 32 with their third successive win in the group stage.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Newcastle United's charge towards Champions League qualification gathered pace on Saturday with a 3-0 home win over Stoke City which moved them into fourth spot in the Premier League as rivals Arsenal and Chelsea could only draw 0-0.
"We are all hopeful that the surgery I have had will ensure I don't have any repeat of the condition in the future."
Manchester United were given an early scare at Newcastle United on Wednesday before hitting back for a 2-1 victory that restored their seven-point cushion at the top of the English Premier League. Fourth-placed Aston Villa's Champions League ambitions were dealt a blow with a 2-0 loss at Manchester City while Stoke City climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers. West Ham United won 1-0 at Wigan Athletic.
Newcastle United were left deep in relegation trouble after being held to a goalless draw at home to Portsmouth in a tense Premier League match on Monday. With four matches left to play, Newcastle remain in the drop zone with 31 points, although the draw was enough to move them ahead of Middlesbrough on goal difference and up to 18th place.
The 28-year-old Dutch international signed a three-year deal with the Premiership side.
Demba Ba scored a hat-trick as Newcastle United continued their impressive start to the season with a deserved 3-1 win at Stoke City in the Premier League on Monday.
Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Communications on Monday said news reports that it was acquiring the English Premier League club Newcastle United for an estimated 260 million pounds were false and baseless.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Newcastle United, playing with 10 men for 75 minutes, earned a spirited 2-2 draw with Manchester City at St James' Park.
Thierry Henry scored twice in a 3-2 victory in the English premiership.
Newcastle United have signed French winger Gabriel Obertan on a five-year deal from Premier League champions Manchester United, the north-east club said on their website on Tuesday.
Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton will miss his team's pre-season tour of the United States after being denied a visa, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
Manchester United's title charge was slowed when they drew 0-0 at Newcastle United on Tuesday and missed the chance to move nine points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League standings.
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew faces a hefty fine and a touchline ban after being sent off for headbutting Hull City midfielder David Meyler during his side's 4-1 win at the KC Stadium on Saturday.
The former England captain told Newcastle United that unless he is a regular in the team in his last premier league season he could look for another club.
Bleeding money since taking over Newcastle United, sportswear tycoon Mike Ashley is putting it on sale with a 100 million tag after the club was relegated from the Premier League.
ManchesterCity moved up to third in the Premier League on Saturday while Newcastle United boosted their hopes of survival by coming back from two goals down at Liverpool to draw 2-2 and secure a precious point.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Liverpool snatched three points with a wild 1-0 victory over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.
Israel debutant Yarden Shua scored an 86th-minute winner as they upset more fancied Belgium 1-0 in Budapest on Sunday.
The Liverpool skipper was booed by sections of the home crowd in a backlash against England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008 but he responded with a thunderous opening goal against Newcastle United and a big hand in the other two.
Newcastle United have signed Serbian forward Aleksandar Mitrovic from Belgian side Anderlecht, subject to a work permit, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday.
Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse has been charged with violent conduct, the FA said in a statement on Monday referring to an incident in the Premier League match against Everton.
Kevin Keegan resigned as manager of Newcastle United on Thursday, less than eight months after taking charge of the Premier League club for the second time. In a statement issued through the League Managers Association, Keegan said he had been left with "no choice" other than to leave because of the way the club was being run.
Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton was released from jail on Monday after serving 2-1/2 months of a six-month sentence for attacking a teenager last year.
