English Premier League Power Rankings: Week 18
This week in the English Premier League, the weather took out two fixtures with Bloomfield Road once again being in poor condition.
In the game of the weekend, Arsenal took down Chelsea at the Emirates and are level on points with Manchester City for second place.
Both teams are sitting two points behind leaders Manchester United who remained unbeaten with a win over Sunderland.
20. Fulham (18)
1 of 20
Aaron Hughes got the scoring going for Fulham at Craven Cottage but unfortuneately West Ham did the rest of the scoring.
Mark Hughes' took a big blow with the 3-1 loss to the EPL bottom feeders.
The loss puts the Cottagers in the drop zone in 18th place and Hughes' employment at the club is being questioned.
19. Wolverhampton (17)
2 of 20
Wolves are now at the bottom of the table thanks to their 2-1 loss to Wigan at home on Boxing Day.
Steven Fletcher scored a late goal but Wolves were unable to mount a comeback.
Things do not get any easier for Mick McCarthy's club as a trip to Anfield to face a rested Liverpool side comes up on Wednesday.
18. West Brom (15)
3 of 20
West Brom were shutout for the fifth time this season on Boxing Day at the Reebok Stadium.
The Baggies loss to Bolton is their second loss in a row and a mid table matchup with Blackburn at The Hawthorns comes up next on Tuesday.
17. Aston Villa (13)
4 of 20
Villa could not overcome a ten man Tottenham squad to win at home Sunday.
Marc Albrighton scored a late consolation goal in the 82nd minute.
The Villains continue to drop points and are now down to 15th place in the table and with road trips to Manchester City and Chelsea up next on the schedule, the hard times could continue at Villa Park.
16. West Ham (20)
5 of 20
After giving up an early goal to Fulham on Boxing Day, the Hammers received a late Christmas gift in the form of a Carlton Cole double and Frederic Puquionne's fifth goal of the season to pull them out of last place.
Avram Grant and company have a chance to pull out of the relegation zone with home matches against Everton and Wolverhampton coming up this week.
15. Wigan (19)
6 of 20
Hugo Rodallega and Tom Cleverley struck home first half goals to give Wigan a 2-1 win over Wolves on Boxing Day.
The Latics are now up to 16th place in the table but have two tough home matches ahead with Arsenal on Wednesday and Newcastle visiting the DW Stadium on Sunday.
14. Blackburn (11)
7 of 20
Blackburn extended their winless streak to three games after they lost at home to Stoke on Boxing Day.
Rovers sit in 13th place in the table heading into their road trip to The Hawthorns to face West Brom on Tuesday.
13. Birmingham (16)
8 of 20
Birmingham's road trip to Goodison Park was postponed over the weekend.
The Blues now host Manchester United and Arsenal in their next two games where they will look to get some type of points.
12. Everton (14)
9 of 20
Everton's home match with Birmingham was postponed due to poor pitch conditions on Boxing Day.
The Toffees will look to gain ground in the table with road games against West Brom and Stoke in the next week.
11. Newcastle (8)
10 of 20
Andy Carroll netted his eleventh goal of the season in Newcastle's loss at home to Manchester City on Sunday.
The Magpies have one win in seven matches and it will be difficult to break that streak on Tuesday when they visit Tottenham, a better chance to break the trend will come on Sunday at Wigan.
10. Liverpool (10)
11 of 20
Liverpool's trip to Blackpool was postponed due to poor pitch conditions at Bloomfield Road on Sunday.
Roy Hodgson and company get back to playing the games Wednesday at Anfield against Wolves and then on New Years' Day when they host Bolton.
9. Blackpool (9)
12 of 20
Blackpool had yet another home match postponed due to Bloomfield Road's poor pitch.
The Tangerines will not have to worry about the poor home pitch for the rest of the week as they visit Sunderland on Tuesday and Manchester City on New Years' Day.
8. Stoke (12)
13 of 20
Robert Huth and Marc Wilson both scored in the Potters' 2-0 road win over Blackburn on Boxing Day.
The win vaulted Stoke up to eighth place in the table on twenty four points.
Tony Pulis and company get to stay at home at the Britannia Stadium for their next two games against Fulham on Tuesday and Everton on New Years' Day.
7. Sunderland (6)
14 of 20
Sunderland's trip to Old Trafford on Boxing Day was unsuccessful and resulted in a 2-0 loss.
The Black Cats will host Blackpool and Blackburn over the rest of the week and will look to pull closer to Bolton for sixth place in the table.
6. Chelsea (4)
15 of 20
Chelsea are still lacking form and that showed yet again in their loss to Arsenal on Monday night.
Branislav Ivanovic did score on a header in the 57th minute but defensive errors led to two Arsenal goals and the Blues could not catch up.
Carlo Ancelotti's club are now winless in their last six matches and will look to turn things around with Bolton and Aston Villa coming to Stamford Bridge this week.
5. Bolton (7)
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Bolton took care of business at home against West Brom on Boxing Day.
Matthew Taylor and Johan Elmander both found the back of the net in the 2-0 win.
Owen Coyle and his sixth placed team now travel to Stamford Bridge for a test with Chelsea on Wednesday, followed by trip to Anfield on New Years' Day.
4. Manchester City (5)
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Gareth Barry's second minute goal, followed by a Carlos Tevez double with goals in the fifth and eighty first minutes gave City a 3-1 road win at Newcastle.
The win puts the Sky Blues two points behind leaders Manchester United.
With visits by Aston Villa and Blackpool to the City of Manchester Stadium this week, Roberto Mancini's club will look to keep pace with United.
3. Tottenham (2)
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Tottenham survived the sending off of Jermain Defoe in the 27th minute to beat Aston Villa on Sunday at Villa Park.
Super transfer Rafael van der Vaart scored both of Spurs' goals, bringing his total to eight on the season.
Newcastle and Fulham will visit the fifth place club at White Hart Lane this week.
2. Arsenal (3)
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Arsenal proved they could beat one of the big guns in the Premier League with their impressive win over Chelsea at the Emirates on Monday night.
Alex Song opened the scoring in the 44th minute, while Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott both scored within two minutes of each other in the second half.
The win boosts the Gunners up to second in the table and they will look to continue their form on the road with trips to Wigan and Birmingham coming up this week.
1. Manchester United (1)
20 of 20
Dimitar Berbatov scored in the fifth and fifty seventh minutes to give the Red Devils a 2-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
United stay top of the table with 39 points and a game in hand over second place Arsenal.
The undefeated Red Devils take their show to Birmingham on Tuesday and West Brom on New Years' Day.
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