Premier League Power Rankings: Week 8
The eighth week of the Premier League featured an interesting set of results that saw title contenders Chelsea and Manchester United drop points.
Amid the controversy around the sale of their club, Liverpool failed to win the Merseyside derby and dropped to 19th place in the table.
Other results saw Manchester City continue their winning form and Sunderland with their fifth straight draw.
20. Liverpool (18)
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With the sale of the club finally completed, Liverpool had a chance to pick up the momentum with a win in the 214th Merseyside derby.
But that was not the case.
There are still some problems on field with the team and the need to be fixed. With matchups against Bolton and Blackburn in their next two weeks, hopefully Roy Hodgson can get his team to get points from both games.
19. Wolverhampton (20)
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Wolves played to 1-1 draw at home against West Ham on Saturday, giving them a point to keep level with their relegation rivals.
Matthew Jarvis scored in the 10th minute for Mick McCarthy's club, continuing his impressive form to start the season for a team that has not had many bright spots.
Wolves now have a tough stretch coming up, with games against Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and two against Manchester United in their next five games.
18. Newcastle (19)
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The Magpies snatched a point at the death against Wigan at home on Saturday thanks to a Fabricio Coloccini goal in stoppage time.
Shola Ameobi scored in the 72nd minute after coming on as a second-half sub to give Newcastle hope before Coloccini struck with his equalizer.
A trip to Upton Park awaits Chris Hughton's men next week in another battle for points among relegation-zone teams.
17. Birmingham (16)
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Things were looking good for the Blues at the Emirates on Saturday after Nikola Zigic gave them the lead in the 33rd minute.
But, Arsenal came back to score two and beat Alex McLeish's club.
After a good start to the season, the Blues have only been able to take two points out of five matches, and are in 17th place in the table now.
A visit from Blackpool is next up on the schedule before the Birmingham derby with Aston Villa on Halloween.
16. Blackburn (17)
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Blackburn played a goalless draw with Sunderland with 10 men after Christopher Samba was sent off in stoppage time in the first half.
Rovers are doing their best to grab points, with three draws and a win in the past five games, giving them some breathing room from the drop zone with nine points in 14th in the table.
A trip to Anfield comes up on Sunday for Sam Allardyce and company.
15. Wigan (15)
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Charles N'Zogbia had a wonderful return to St. James' Park as a member of the Latics, with goals in the 22nd and 23rd minutes to put his team up by two goals.
However, Wigan could not hold on to the lead and ended up in a 2-2 draw with Newcastle.
Next up for the Latics is a home match with Bolton on Saturday.
14. Blackpool (12)
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Ian Holloway's club gave Manchester City a fight at Bloomfield Road, but it did result in a loss for the Tangerines.
Late goals from Marlon Harewood and Gary Taylor-Fletcher made the game interesting, and showed that this Blackpool team has heart and will be a tough team to beat in any game this season.
A trip to Birmingham is next up on the schedule for team now 10th in the table.
13. West Ham (14)
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Mark Noble's 53rd-minute penalty gave the Hammers an equalizer against Wolves and the game ended tied at 1-1.
This is getting to be a familiar result for Avram Grant's club, as they have had three of their last four games end in that score, with a 1-0 win over Spurs mixed in there as well.
West Ham look to be in good shape after their horrendous start, but they are still in the relegation zone and need to pick themselves up out of it.
A perfect way to do just that would be to beat Newcastle at home on Saturday.
12. Stoke (9)
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The Potters suffered a road loss this weekend at the Reebok Stadium to Bolton.
Rory Delap scored the only goal for Stoke in the 48th minute.
Tony Pulis' club remains in ninth place and host struggling Manchester United at the Brittania Stadium on Sunday.
11. Aston Villa (11)
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Villa held Chelsea to a scoreless draw at Villa Park on Saturday, giving Gerard Houllier yet another point since he took over as the club's manager.
The Villains sit eighth in the table and could move up to the Champions League spots with wins in their next few games against Sunderland and Birmingham.
10. Everton (13)
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The 214th Merseyside derby went to the blue side of Liverpool in a 2-0 win over their struggling rivals.
Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta provided the goals for the Toffees, as they took care of Liverpool and pulled themselves out of the relegation zone and into 11th place with nine points on the season.
A big match awaits David Moyes and company, as they travel to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham in the early Saturday kickoff.
9. Bolton (10)
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Bolton broke their streak of three straight draws and came up with a win at home against Stoke.
Lee Chung-Yong hit the back of the net in the 23rd minute, and then Ivan Klasnic scored the winner in the 90th minute.
Klasnic got more attention for what he did after the goal, as he was booked twice and sent off in stoppage time after he scored the game winner.
Without Klasnic, the Trotters will trot on over to the DW Stadium for a match with Wigan on Saturday.
8. Fulham (5)
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Fulham were on the bad end of a controversial goal scored by Tottenham's Tom Huddlestone on the weekend.
Huddlestone's shot found the back of the net, but William Gallas appeared to be offside. But referee Mike Dean overruled the call by his sideline official and allowed the goal.
Fulham did have plenty of time to score an equalizer, as Huddlestone struck in the 63rd minute. But Diomansy Kamara's 30th-minute goal was all the Cottagers could muster in their 2-1 defeat.
Mark Hughes' club will look to rebound with a trip to the Hawthorns to face a very difficult West Brom squad.
7. Sunderland (8)
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A goalless draw against a 10-man Blackburn squad was all the Black Cats could get on their trip to Ewood Park on Monday.
The result on Monday marks Sunderland's fifth straight draw of the season and their sixth overall.
Steve Bruce's club has only lost once this season, and will look to continue their unbeaten streak at the Stadium of Light against Aston Villa on Saturday.
6. Manchester United (3)
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United are in a mountain of controversy and disarray after the past week's events.
It all started with Wayne Rooney being benched by Sir Alex Ferguson, followed by the self destruction at Old Trafford that resulted in a 2-2 draw with West Brom.
Patrice Evra's own goal and Edwin van der Sar's howler led to the Baggies' two goals, and gave the Red Devils a drop of points that puts them in fourth behind Arsenal in the table.
The Rooney rumors also continue to swirl, and it looks like he may be getting the David Beckham treatment from Sir Alex and could leave in the January transfer window.
5. Arsenal (7)
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The Gunners took care of business after going down a goal to Birmingham at home Saturday.
Samir Nasri's penalty in the 41st and Marouane Chamakh's 47th-minute strike gave the Gunners a 2-1 home win and moved them into third place in the table.
A trip to the City of Manchester City awaits on Sunday for the Gunners, who will look to take down of their main title contenders.
4. West Brom (6)
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The Baggies have, by far, been the surprise of the season so far, and their fairytale season continued with a very fortunate 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.
The Baggies capitalized on two Manchester United mistakes, a Evra own goal, and a Van Der Sar howler than resulted in Somen Tchoyi's goal helped them grab a point on Saturday.
A home match with Fulham awaits the sixth-place team in EPL table.
3. Tottenham (4)
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Tottenham won their second straight game with a 2-1 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
After going down in the 30th minute, Roman Pavlyuchenko scored in the 31st to level the score. Then Tom Huddlestone's controversial strike from in the 63rd minute was overruled by referee Mike Dean and gave Spurs the win.
After a match with Inter Milan at the San Siro in the Champions League, a home match with Everton is next on the EPL schedule for Spurs.
2. Chelsea (2)
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A goalless draw with Aston Villa on the road forced Chelsea to drop points, and now puts them only two points over Manchester City in the table.
After a visit to Moscow to face Spartak in the Champions League, the Blues will face Wolves at home on Saturday.
1. Manchester City (1)
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A successful trip to Bloomfield Road kept City on in the current form and could take over the top of the table soon.
Carlos Tevez continued his hot streak with goals in the 67th and 73rd minute, putting his goal tally at seven for the season.
David Silva scored in the 90th minute to seal the win with his first Premier League goal.
A big game awaits as Arsenal travel to the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday, as City looks to continue their march to the top.
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