Tottenham Hotspur edged closer to a possible Champions League place after a 2-1 victory at Stoke City kept them clear of the pack in the race for fourth place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Blackburn Rovers clawed their way out of the Premier League relegation zone when they won 2-1 at Fulham with a late winner from Jason Roberts on Wednesday.
Portsmouth face almost certain relegation from the English Premier League after being docked nine points on Wednesday for going into administration last month. The debt-laden south-coast club are the first Premier League team to suffer a points penalty for entering administration. They now have just 10 points and are 17 points adrift of the safety zone with just nine games remaining.
Holders Chelsea advanced to the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a 2-0 home win over Stoke City while Aston Villa joined them after coming from 2-0 down to win 4-2 at Reading with a John Carew hat-trick on Sunday.
Portsmouth made light of their financial woes to reach the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Birmingham City on Saturday, Frederic Piquionne scoring twice to give their long-suffering fans something to cheer. In the day's other sixth round tie Fulham, bidding to reach the FA Cup final for the first time since 1975, played out a 0-0 draw with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage.
Free-scoring Manchester City maintained their grip at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 home win over Newcastle United on Saturday to take their goals tally to 42 from 12 games.
Two goals for Roman Pavlyuchenko and two own goals helped Tottenham Hotspur advance to an FA Cup quarter-final meeting with Fulham after a 4-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers in their fifth-round replay on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa gained ground in the Premier League's increasingly tight battle for fourth place on Sunday as they beat Wigan Athletic and Burnley respectively.
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.
Aston Villa skipper Stilian Petrov headed an equaliser three minutes from time to force a 2-2 draw at Championship side Crystal Palace in an outstanding FA Cup fifth round tie Sunday.
Holders Chelsea eased into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 4-1 home victory over Championship (second division) side Cardiff City on Saturday while Portsmouth won by the same score at local rivals Southampton. After a season of shocks, the upsets dried up in the fifth round as Birmingham City came from behind to win 2-1 at Championship side Derby County with a last-minute goal by Liam Ridgewell while Manchester City and Stoke City drew 1-1.
Manchester City made ground in the battle for fourth place in the Premier League on Tuesday but looked a long way from Champions League material as they struggled to an forgettable 2-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers.
Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai has become Portsmouth's fourth owner in less than a year and will soon look to sell on to a fifth, the troubled Premier League club said on Thursday.
Notts County produced an FA Cup replay shock with a 2-0 win at Premier League Wigan Athletic on Tuesday to earn a place in the fifth round.
English Premier League clubs' transfer spending dropped to a seven-year low in the January window compared to a record high last year, as financial woes weighed on the market, according to business advisory firm Deloitte. English clubs' spending was around 30 million pounds in the January transfer market, as much as for Italian Serie A clubs, compared to 170 million pounds last year, Deloitte said in a report after the deadline closed Monday.
Chelsea returned to the top of the Premier League when they convincingly beat Birmingham City 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Holders and FA Cup favourites Chelsea were handed a home tie against Cardiff City when the fifth-round draw was made on Sunday.
Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says he wants to return to England to coach, hinting he could be back with a Premier League club for the start of next season.
Chelsea were heading for defeat against Fulham, but Drogba levelled with a 73rd-minute header before a Chris Smalling own goal gave them the win that re-opened their five-point lead over Manchester United, albeit with an extra game.
Tottenham Hotspur maintained their push for a Premier League top-four finish with a well-deserved 2-0 home win over struggling London rivals West Ham United on Monday.
Consistency in the second half of the season will decide the Premier League title, Manchester United and Arsenal agreed on Sunday after reeling in faltering leaders Chelsea.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said there was still no return date set for defender Rio Ferdinand who is sidelined by a recurring back problem.
Chelsea's stuttering form continued on Saturday when the Premier League leaders kicked off a hectic holiday programme with a 0-0 draw at Birmingham City.
Blackburn Rovers heaped more misery on Arsenal when they came from behind to beat Arsene Wenger's side 4-3 in the Premier League on Saturday with the Gunners conceding two second half own goals at Ewood Park.
Manchester United wasted a glorious chance to catch Chelsea at the top of the Premier League when they lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa on Saturday. Earlier leaders Chelsea were held 3-3 at home by Everton despite two goals from Didier Drogba.
Two goals in a frantic last 12 minutes and a stoppage-time penalty save by Tim Howard gave Everton a barely deserved but desperately needed 2-2 home Premier League draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
An injury-time strike by Jonathan Reis sent PSV Eindhoven into the Europa League knockout rounds with a 1-0 home win over Sparta Prague on Thursday.
Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky continued to swipe past the seeds at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday by dumping World No 4 Maria Sharapova from the hard court tournament with a 7-6(3), 7-5 victory.
Manchester United threw away a 2-0 lead after a Patrice Evra own goal and an error by Edwin van der Sar saw them held 2-2 by West Bromwich Albion while Premier League leaders Chelsea drew 0-0 at Aston Villa Saturday.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez's troubles will increase further after he admitted that ace striker Fernando Torres may need an operation.
Manchester City's Premier League challenge continued along its spluttering, unconvincing path when they were held to a goalless draw at Birmingham City on Sunday, their fourth successive league draw.
Tottenham Hotspur's bid to break up the Premier League's big-four cartel suffered a hefty setback on Saturday when they lost 1-0 at home to Stoke City courtesy of an 86th-minute goal by Glenn Whelan.
Darren Bent scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to earn Sunderland a 1-1 home draw after 10-man Arsenal had scored a freak goal but also missed a penalty in a thunderous Premier League clash on Saturday.
Chelsea moved two points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 defeat of Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has praised Italian rookie Vito Mannone for his impact during the Premier League club's goalkeeping crisis.
Coaches, players and fans need to be told how referees calculate stoppage time to stop the current confusion at the end of matches, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Thursday.
Holders Manchester United overcame the 29th-minute sending-off of teenaged Brazilian defender Fabio Da Silva to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 in the third round of the League Cup on Wednesday.
Substitute Michael Owen struck in the sixth minute of stoppage-time to earn Manchester United a 4-3 Premier League win over Manchester City in one of the all-time great derby matches on Sunday.
Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder and Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan can strengthen their cases to be World Player of the Year with more stellar performances in Friday's European Super Cup.
Chelsea and Arsenal notched impressive 6-0 victories on Saturday as the champions destroyed Wigan Athletic and Arsene Wenger's team brought 10-man Blackpool crashing back to Premier League reality.
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