Chelsea play "ugly" football under Jose Mourinho and the Premier League's runaway leaders deserve to be branded as boring because of their refusal to attack teams, their former manager Ruud Gullit has said.
Didier Drogba is expecting a 'crazy' Stamford Bridge atmosphere.
Arsene Wenger hit back at Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's thinly-veiled criticism.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho delivered an expletive-laden halftime team talk that fired his side to a 3-1 comeback victory over Leicester City on Wednesday and moved them to within three points of the Premier League title.
Chelsea have been accused of being boring but they will not mind one bit if they beat Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to win the Premier League title for the first time in five years.
Jose Mourinho has again refuted criticism that his team plays dull football after Arsenal fans jeered them with chants of "Boring, boring Chelsea" during the London derby on Sunday.
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
A man who tried to rob Arsenal players Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac at knifepoint in a failed North London carjacking last July was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Friday.
Manchester United, buoyed by five successive Premier League victories, head into Sunday's derby against Manchester City a place and a point above their rivals and believing they are poised to restore red ascendancy in the city.
Under pressure from the chasing pack and rocked on their heels by a Charlie Adam bolt from the blue, Chelsea showed cool heads to extend their Premier League to seven points on Saturday with a 2-1 home win over Stoke City.
The Premier League bursts back into life after the international break.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
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.
How quickly affections can switch in soccer. Where once they would serenade coach Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge with an operatic flourish, now Chelsea fans have fallen headlong for another man driving them inexorably to the Premier League title.
Third-placed Arsenal tightened their grip on a spot in the top four on the English Premier League table, continuing an impressive run of form at the Emirates with a 3-0 win over West Ham United on Saturday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Sunderland and England midfielder Adam Johnson was arrested on Monday on suspicion of having sex with an under-age girl.
With less than a month of the Premier League season left it remains Chelsea's title to lose but Tottenham Hotspur defiantly stayed in contention by grinding out a 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
Buoyant Chelsea extended their Premier League lead and calmed nerves at Stamford Bridge with a 4-2 win over Southampton on Tuesday that moved them seven points clear of their nearest pursuers Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea offered a chink of light to Manchester City in the Premier League title race after a stormy 1-1 home draw with Burnley on Saturday that gave more ammunition to their outspoken manager Jose Mourinho.
Manchester United battled back from two goals down to beat Newcastle United 3-2 at Old Trafford on Saturday as a 90th-minute winner from Alexis Sanchez completed a spirited comeback to ease the pressure on manager Jose Mourinho.
Brown Ideye scored twice as West Bromwich Albion progressed to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Aston Villa sacked manager Paul Lambert.
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.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said he was unsure whether there were divisions in the club's boardroom regarding his future and that he was more focused on salvaging his team's stuttering Premier League campaign.
Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho helped Liverpool reach the FA Cup fifth round.
Middlesbrough were rewarded for beating Manchester City with a trip to FA Cup holders Arsenal while Chelsea's conquerors Bradford City host Sunderland or Fulham after the fifth round draw on Monday.
Images from the League Cup matches played on Tuesday
Tottenham Hotspur have the chance to exert psychological pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea when they open the weekend programme at home to Watford on Saturday.
Chelsea ticked off three more points in their Premier League title quest with a 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Wednesday but Tottenham Hotspur's Houdini-like 3-1 win at Swansea means the race is far from over.
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.
Chelsea ran riot at Swansea City, scoring four times before halftime on the way to a 5-0 win that sent Jose Mourinho's side five points clear in the Premier League on Saturday.
Southampton's bustling midfielder Victor Wanyama will be out for "a few weeks" after injuring his hamstring moments before he was due to be substituted in their FA Cup third-round replay win at Ipswich Town on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur stormed back from 2-0 down to beat Burnley 4-2 in their FA Cup third-round replay on Wednesday despite resting their top striker in the once-fabled competition.
A round-up Wednesday's football news on and off the field.
Chelsea may have restored some breathing space over Manchester City with a 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday but they have not regained the form that made them runaway title favourites earlier in the season.
Sheffield United pulled off the first major shock of FA Cup third round weekend when the third-tier English side triumphed 3-0 at Premier League outfit Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.
For the second time in a week Manchester City threw away a 2-0 lead against a Premier League struggler but this time they hit back as Frank Lampard came off the bench to secure a 3-2 win over Sunderland on Thursday.
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