Having opened the defence of their English Premier League title with a 6-0 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion last week, Chelsea now face the team they beat 8-0 to secure the crown three months ago.
A tactical switch by Arsene Wenger has made free-scoring Arsenal look like title contenders before Saturday's Premier League trip to champions Manchester United.
Manchester City dominated transfer activity on the eve of the Premier League season on Friday with the signing of Italy's Mario Balotelli.
Tottenham Hotspur maintained their perfect start to the season when they came from behind to win 2-1 at West Ham United and stay top of the Premier League on Sunday. Spurs lead the table with nine points from three games, followed by five clubs on six points, including Chelsea who play at Fulham later.
Didier Drogba struck in stoppage time as Chelsea marked Carlo Ancelotti's first Premier League match in charge with a 2-1 victory over Hull City on Saturday.
Former England manager Bobby Robson had been battling various forms of cancer for several years> He was diagnosed with inoperable tumours in both lungs last year.
A selection of tributes that flooded in on Friday for former England manager Bobby Robson, who died peacefully at home from cancer aged 76.
Roy Hodgson was tasked with reviving Liverpool's flagging fortunes on Thursday when the much-travelled 62-year-old was confirmed as the club's new manager after resigning from Fulham.
Chelsea were held and Newcastle United and Liverpool humbled on a day of surprises in the Premier League on Saturday when the lesser lights enjoyed some unexpected success against the more established teams.
A cruel own goal by Damien Duff condemned Newcastle United to relegation from the Premier League after they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday.
Newcastle United's euphoria after their win over Middlesbrough on Monday turned to despair on Saturday when a 1-0 loss at home to Fulham left their Premier League status hanging by a thread.
Alex Ferguson has already masterminded 10 English titles since arriving at Manchester United but Saturday's clash with Arsenal offers him a rare opportunity to get the job done at Old Trafford.
Gareth Southgate insists Middlesbrough will fight on after their Premier League future was left hanging by a thread following a damaging 3-1 defeat by relegation rivals Newcastle United.
Newcastle United grabbed a Premier League lifeline Monday when late goals by substitutes Obafemi Martins and Peter Lovenkrands secured a 3-1 home win over fellow relegation strugglers Middlesbrough.
West Bromwich Albion, who pulled off a famous escape from relegation in 2005, could be on their way to surviving in the Premier League again after beating Wigan Athletic 3-1 at The Hawthorns on Saturday.
Tottenham Hotspur guaranteed a top-four finish in the Premier League when Peter Crouch's late header secured a gutsy 1-0 win at Manchester City on Wednesday.
Barcelona stand between Chelsea and a second successive appearance in an all-English Champions League final. Manchester United, who beat Chelsea on penalties in last year's final in Moscow, take a 1-0 advantage to Arsenal on Tuesday in the other semi-final.
Goals from Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-sung gave Manchester United a comfortable 2-0 win at Middlesbrough on Saturday to extend their lead in the Premier League to six points with four games remaining.
Liverpool's hopes of prising the Premier League title from Manchester United's grip will be boosted by the return of captain Steven Gerrard for Sunday's match at home to Newcastle United.
Diego Forlan's extra-time effort sent Atletico Madrid into the Europa League final on away goals at the expense of Liverpool after a 2-2 aggregate draw on Thursday. Atletico will meet Fulham in the May 12 final in Hamburg where they will bid to win their first major European trophy since the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1962.
It is hardly the triumphant gallop to an 18th league title Manchester United were expecting a few weeks ago, rather they are grinding their way towards the finishing tape like a racehorse in heavy going. United must negotiate the next six EPL games without any hiccups, starting at home to a buoyant Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Brazil striker Robinho is finding it a struggle to make an impact in the second half of the Premier League season, Manchester City manager Mark Hughes said.
Teenager Federico Macheda's brilliant winner last weekend merely papered over the cracks in a Manchester United team floundering in their defence of the English Premier League title. When they visit Sunderland on Saturday (1930 IST), United may find themselves once again looking to claim back their one-point lead from Liverpool whose home kickoff against Blackburn Rovers is two-and-a-quarter hours earlier.
Wednesday's Liverpool - Chelsea match is the most eagerly anticipated Champions League quarter-final first leg this week despite the pair having met in the competition in each of the last four seasons. Holders Manchester United host Porto on Tuesday, five years after the Portuguese club knocked out Alex Ferguson's side on their way to winning the 2004 Champions League.
Manchester United fought back to beat Aston Villa 3-2 in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday with an injury time winner from 17-year-old substitute Federico Macheda. United lead the table with 68 points from 30 matches, one point more than Liverpool who had gone top on Saturday after their 1-0 stoppage time win at Fulham.
Chelsea proved unpopular guests at the Alan Shearer homecoming party on Saturday as they won 2-0 at St James' Park to stay in the Premier League title hunt and leave Newcastle United mired in relegation trouble.
Benfica's Paraguay forward Oscar Cardozo converted two second-half penalties to help them come from behind and beat 10-man Liverpool 2-1 as the Europa League dished up more drama in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Phil Neville scored the decisive spot kick to give Everton a 4-3 penalty shootout win over holders Chelsea after their FA Cup fourth-round replay ended in a 1-1 draw after extra time at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Frank Lampard hit four goals for Chelsea in a 7-1 demolition of Aston Villa to put the Londoners briefly on top of the English Premier League with 71 points before United responded with a 4-0 win in an evening game at Bolton Wanderers -- Dimitar Berbatov scoring twice for the champions.
Chelsea blinked first in the race for the Premier League title on Sunday, letting slip two points in a 1-1 draw at Blackburn as champions Manchester United enjoyed a two-point cushion at the top of the table.
Arsenal set up an FA Cup quarter-final against Hull City when they cruised past Championship (second division) side Burnley 3-0 in their delayed fifth round match at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Manchester United and Chelsea cruised into the FA Cup semi-finals with comfortable away wins at Fulham and Coventry City respectively on Saturday. Carlos Tevez scored twice and Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-sung also struck as United turned on the style at Craven Cottage, while goals from Didier Drogba and Alex made it six wins out of six since new manager Guus Hiddink arrived at Chelsea.
Didier Drogba scored twice to lift Chelsea to a 4-1 victory over West Ham United on Saturday and back to the top of the Premier League while Arsenal shadowed them with a last-gasp victory at Hull City.
Leaders Manchester United suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season on Saturday as they went down 2-1 at bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Five-times European champions Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat at Lille after a late goal by forward Eden Hazard while Juventus beat underdogs Fulham 3-1 in Europa League last 16 first leg matches on Thursday.
Aston Villa blew a chance to go eight points clear of Arsenal in the race for England's fourth Champions League berth Sunday after conceding two late goals against relegation-threatened Stoke City. The 2-2 draw, with Stoke cancelling out their hosts' 2-0 lead in the final three minutes, left fourth-placed Villa six points ahead of Arsenal and three adrift of second-placed Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League.
Manchester United won the League Cup on penalties against Tottenham Hotspur after the Wembley showpiece ended 0-0 after extra time on Sunday.
Liverpool's lingering Premier League title hopes virtually disappeared on Saturday when they lost 2-0 at Middlesbrough as the home side secured their first league win in 15 matches.
Liverpool suffered another blow to their Premier League title hopes as a scrappy 1-1 home draw with Manchester City on Sunday left leaders Manchester United seven points clear.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson dismissed Chelsea's Premier League title hopes on Wednesday.
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