Stoke – Stoke-on-Trent, England (Sports Network) - Manchester City's title aspirations were shaken a bit on Saturday as the Citizens were held to a 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium by Stoke City.
Peter Crouch put the Potters ahead in the 59th minute with a brilliant volley, only for Yaya Toure to cancel it out with a long-range rocket 15 minutes from time.
City moves back to the top of the league on goal difference with the result, but Manchester United will now have the chance to go three points clear with a win on Monday at home against Fulham.
Stoke almost took the lead before the break when a header from Ryan Shawcross was cleared off the goal line by Pablo Zabaleta.
The hosts looked plenty threatening and took the lead with a moment of magic from Crouch.
A long clearance from goalkeeper Asmir Begovic was flicked on by Crouch to Jermaine Pennant, who quickly returned the ball to the striker. Crouch took one touch to set himself up and fired a sensational volley inside the far post.
City was clearly stunned but was able to recover in the 76th minute when Toure unleashed a long-range effort that took a slight deflection off of Shawcross on its past Begovic.
The visitors threw men forward in the last 10 minutes in search of a winner but Stoke came closer to grabbing all three points when Shawcross had a goal called back for a foul in the build up.
Chelsea 0, Tottenham 0
London, England - Tottenham remained five points clear of Chelsea in the race for fourth place after the two sides played to a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The result extends Tottenham's winless run to five games, but it does more for Spurs than Chelsea, which now faces an uphill battle to get into the top four.
Chances were at a premium for both teams in the first half but things opened up just a bit after the break and both sides were denied by the woodwork.
Juan Mata's free kick had Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel easily beaten, but it came back off the post, while Gareth Bale got free inside the penalty area to head a corner kick off the crossbar.
Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor also missed a great opportunity when he beat the offsides trap and rounded goalkeeper Petr Cech, only to have his shot toward the empty net blocked by defender Gary Cahill.
Arsenal 3, Aston Villa 0
London, England - Arsenal remained in great form on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium by handing Aston Villa a 3-0 defeat that extends the Gunners' winning streak to seven games.
Arsenal had little trouble brushing aside Villa and took the lead after 16 minutes when Kieran Gibbs beat goalkeeper Shay Given at his near post on a shot that Given should have kept out.
Theo Walcott made it 2-0 in the 25th minute after he brought down a nice chipped pass from Alex Song before beating Given, while Mikel Arteta sealed the win in stoppage time with a brilliant free kick from 25 yards that left Given with no chance.
Arsenal now leads fourth-place Tottenham by three points, while Villa had its three-match unbeaten streak ended.
Bolton 2, Blackburn 1
Bolton, England - Bolton bounced back from an emotional week to claim a valuable 2-1 win over Blackburn at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday.
Defender David Wheater scored a pair of first-half goals for Wanderers, which was enough to see off a second-half reply from Blackburn's Steven Nzonzi and give the club a much-needed boost after the health scare off midfielder Fabrice Muamba.
Wheater had yet to tally a goal for Bolton in the league this season but changed that just before the half-hour mark by heading home a deflected cross from Martin Petrov at the back post.
He then doubled his tally and Bolton's lead six minutes later by nodding Ryo Miyaichi's corner kick beyond goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
Nzonzi scored in a crowded penalty area to make it 2-1, but Bolton saw off the rest of the match to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season to move one point above the drop zone.
Wigan 2, Liverpool 1
Liverpool, England - Wigan secured a massive win on Saturday at Anfield as the Latics piled more misery on Liverpool with a surprising 2-1 win that boosts their survival hopes.
Manager Roberto Martinez has seen his team lose just once in its last seven games to move to within one point of safety, while Liverpool is fading fast having dropped five of its last six matches.
A first-half penalty kick from Shaun Maloney handed the visitors the lead, but his effort was canceled out by Luis Suarez early in the second half after he worked a one-two with Steven Gerrard.
But it was Wigan's day as James McCarthy's shot was deflected into the path of Gary Caldwell and he kept his nerve inside the box to beat goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
Norwich City 2, Wolverhampton 1
Norwich, England - Grant Holt plunged Wolverhampton further into relegation worry as he scored two goals in the first half of a 2-1 Norwich City win over Wolves.
The visitors had lost their last three games by a combined score of 12-0, so it was a positive sign when Matt Jarvis put them in front in the 25th minute.
But Norwich answered right back when Holt flicked the ball over goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey to head home from close range and level the match.
The Canaries then went in front just before the break as Wesley Hoolahan's shot was handled by Eggert Jonsson inside the area, allowing Holt to beat Hennessey from 12 yards.
Holt was sent off in the closing minutes of the match but it wasn't enough to keep the hosts from claiming the win.
Sunderland 3, QPR 1
Sunderland, England - QPR slipped into the relegation zone after suffering a 3-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland on Saturday.
The visitors fell behind to Nicklas Bendtner's 41st-minute goal before Djibril Cisse made things worse in the 55th minute with a two-footed challenge on Sunderland's Fraizer Campbell that earned him a red card.
The Black Cats took advantage 20 minutes from time when James McClean netted his fifth goal of the season before Stephane Sessegnon made it 3-0 six minutes later.
Taye Taiwo spoiled the clean sheet in the 79th minute for QPR, but it was little consolation for the London side, which has lost five of its last seven games to sit one point from safety.
Everton 2, Swansea City 0
Swansea, Wales - Everton became only the third team to win at the Liberty Stadium this season after second-half goal from Leighton Baines and Nikica Jelavic helped the Toffees to a 2-0 win over Swansea City.
The Swans had won their last three games, each by shutout, but were finally unlocked just before the hour mark by Baines, who curled a well-placed free kick past goalkeeper Michel Vorm.
Jelavic missed some good chances to extend the lead but finally found the net 15 minutes from time when Marouane Fellaini set him up for a simple tap in that clinched all three points.
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