Craig Gardner struck the winner as Birmingham City set up a League Cup final against Arsenal after coming from behind to beat West Ham United 4-3 on aggregate on Wednesday.
A sparkling two-goal display by Carlos Tevez overshadowed a promising debut by Edin Dzeko as Manchester City claimed a nervy 4-3 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers to go top of the Premier League on Saturday. Dzeko, a 27 million pounds ($42.77 million) buy from VfL Wolfsburg, made a good first impression as City led 4-1 but they were hanging on at the end against the doughty visitors.
Midfielder Joe Cole was given the chance to rekindle his career on Monday when he joined Liverpool after being released by Chelsea in May.
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.
West Ham United face sanctions after the FA said the Premier League club had been found guilty on two charges of crowd trouble at a League Cup match against Millwall at Upton Park last August.
West Ham United will know later on Friday whether Andy Carroll will have to complete a three-match suspension after the English FA agreed to an arbitration hearing following a failed appeal against his red card in a Premier League match last week.
Newcastle United named Alan Pardew as their 12th manager in the last 13 years on Thursday in place of Chris Hughton who was controversially sacked this week.
Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion stayed in touch with the Premier League leaders with solid home wins over West Ham United and Newcastle United on Sunday.
England football team manager Sam Allardyce has been caught up in a newspaper sting in which he is alleged to have met a bogus consortium of Far East businessmen seeking advice on the Premier League's billion pound transfer market.
Tottenham Hotspur are favourites to win the Premier League this season according to table-topping Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri, because their title charge has virtually gone under the radar.
Manchester United maintained their stranglehold on Tottenham Hotspur with a controversial 2-0 Old Trafford victory to move back within five points of Premier League leaders Chelsea on Saturday.
Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner made goalscoring returns from injury on Wednesday as Arsenal thrashed Newcastle United 4-0 away to reach the last eight of the League Cup.
Tottenham Hotspur's exhilarating Premier League title surge came to a shuddering halt as they lost 1-0 at West Ham United on Friday to leave Chelsea needing six points from four games to be crowned champions.
West Ham United eased into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a 5-1 romp at second-tier Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.
Volcanic ash cloud has paralysed air travel and has affected sporting events around Europe. Take a look:
Liverpool enjoyed a leisurely 3-0 stroll past a lifeless West Ham United at Anfield on Monday, ideal preparation before their marathon journey to Spain for this week's Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been named the Premier League manager of the month for February, while in-form Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane picked up his fourth player of the month award.
Harry Kane's superb scoring streak continued as Tottenham Hotspur survived some late nerves to beat Everton 3-2 at White Hart Lane on Sunday and cut Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points.
Chelsea ended their slump with a win over Arsenal while seemingly invincible Manchester City lost their 100 per cent record to West Ham United on a day of contrasting fortunes for the Premier League title favourites on Saturday.
Lacazette fired the Gunners ahead in the eighth minute after poor defending by the home side before new signing Gabriel made it 2-0 in the 49th and Aubameyang put the icing on the cake with a superb shot into the top corner.
Chelsea made it four wins out of four and left West Ham United rooted to the bottom of the Premier League with four defeats as the champions strolled to a 3-1 victory at their London rivals on Saturday.
Liverpool have assembled a squad with enough skill to end their trophy drought next season, midfielder Adam Lallana has said.
Manchester City must rebuild for title challenge: Guardiola
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday night.
South Africa striker Benni McCarthy must lose weight or face a fine, said West Ham United owner David Sullivan on Friday.
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.
Everton yet to receive clarification after City game postponed: Ancelotti
West Ham United have been fined 115,000 pounds by the Football Association following a pitch invasion by their fans in a League Cup tie against Millwall. The FA said on Friday that the Premier League club had been found guilty by an Independent Regulatory Commission of breaking rules on controlling fans.
Former England defender Sol Campbell took a step towards a remarkable return to Arsenal's first team when he played for their reserves against West Ham United Tuesday. 'Talks are ongoing with Sol with a view to a permanent move back to Arsenal Football Club,' the Premier League club said on their website (www.arsenal.com).
Chelsea have signed Liverpool's versatile midfielder Yossi Benayoun on a three-year deal, the Premier League champions said on Friday.
West Ham United capitalised on two mistakes from Arsenal's new goalkeeper Petr Cech to claim a surprise 2-0 victory at the Emirates and bring the Gunners' early Premier League optimism down to earth with a bump on Sunday.
Gianfranco Zola was the darling of Stamford Bridge in his Chelsea days but the Italian has yet to win the hearts of West Ham United's faithful. Zola's transformation from midfield magician to coach has been a tough one, and on Sunday his relegation-threatened West Ham host Premier League leaders Chelsea in front of an Upton Park crowd rapidly losing confidence in his managerial ability.
Champions Chelsea begin title defence at home to Swansea City, while runners-up Manchester City kick-off at West Bromwich Albion
Guardiola expects this season's Premier League title race to be more open than last season's
Liverpool's first loss of the season means they cannot finish the campaign unbeaten to match Arsenal's 'Invincibles' of 2003-04.
Manchester City got back to winning ways in the Premier League after their derby setback when two goals by Carlos Tevez inspired a 3-1 home victory over the Argentine's former club West Ham United on Monday.
Manchester City moved 17 points clear of the pack with a 3-0 win at Fulham on Saturday
Wolverhampton Wanderers moved seven points clear of the Premier League drop zone with a 3-1 win at relegation rivals West Ham United on Tuesday.
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was handed a three-match ban for violent conduct by the English Football Association on Thursday.
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