English Premier League Power Rankings: Week 21
This week in the Premier League, title contenders Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea all gained points on leaders Manchester United, who drew with Tottenham.
Derby Sunday turned into draw Sunday with the Birmingham, Merseyside, and Tyne-Wear derbies all ending with both teams taking a point.
In transfer news, Aston Villa made a huge splash by signing Darren Bent from Sunderland, days after Stephen Pienaar moved from Everton to Tottenham.
20. West Ham (18)
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The Hammers again fell to the bottom of the EPL table after suffering a 3-0 loss to rivals Arsenal on Saturday.
With Avram Grant still in charge after former Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill decided not to replace Grant, the Hammers move on to a road trip to Goodison Park on Saturday to face Everton.
19. Blackpool (19)
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Blackpool played a back and forth match with West Brom but ended up on the losing side after giving up a late goal.
The 3-2 loss came after a big win against Liverpool during midweek.
The Tangerines are still hoping to keep captain Charlie Adam as Aston Villa are still making an approach to sign the midfielder.
18. Aston Villa (17)
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James Collins' 73rd-minute equalizer gave Villa the draw in the Birmingham derby on Sunday.
Villa's luck got even better when they pulled off a surprise transfer early this week with the signing of Darren Bent from Sunderland.
The signing of Bent is just what the struggling club and its manager Gerard Houllier needed to boost the morale of the club and its fans in the middle of the relegation battle.
Bent and Villa get to take on Manchester City at Villa Park on Saturday.
17. Wigan (16)
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Wigan were held to a draw at home by Fulham on Saturday.
Hugo Rodallega scored his sixth goal of the season for the Latics, but the point was not enough to boost the club out of the drop zone, as they still sit in 18th place.
Next up for the Latics is a trip to the Emirates on Saturday to face Arsenal.
16. West Brom (20)
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Peter Odemwingie scored his second goal of the game to beat Blackpool 3-2.
Odemwingie scored an equalizer in the 37th minute and then the winner in the 87th.
The win puts the Baggies up to 14th place in the table on 25 points.
15. Blackburn (13)
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Blackburn lost 2-0 to Chelsea on Saturday and consequently fell to 11th place ih the table.
In the past week, Rovers have signed American Jermaine Jones on loan from Schalke as well as bringing back Roque Santa Cruz from Manchester City on loan.
Steve Kean's club host West Brom on Sunday at Ewood Park.
14. Wolverhampton (9)
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Wolves almost pulled off a spectacular comeback at the City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday but were a goal short of securing a point.
Down by three goals, Kevin Doyle's penalty and a goal from Ronald Zubar made the final result 4-3 in Manchester City's favor.
Mick McCarthy's club recovered from the loss with a 5-0 win over Doncaster Rovers in their FA Cup Third Round replay on Tuesday.
Sitting in 19th place, Wolves will look to upset Liverpool at home on Saturday.
13. Birmingham (15)
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Birmingham took a draw in the Birmingham derby at St. Andrews' Stadium on Sunday.
Roger Johnson scored in the 49th minute before the game was equalized by Aston Villa.
The Blues take a trip to Old Trafford to take on leaders Manchester United on Saturday.
12. Liverpool (14)
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Dirk Kuyt's 68th minute penalty secured a draw for Liverpool in the Merseyside derby on Sunday.
The draw puts Liverpool in 13th place and it looks like Ryan Babel will no longer be in the club's plans with rumors of his departure.
Kenny Dalglish is still looking for his first win as manager in his second go around and will look to beat Wolves at the Molineux Stadium on Saturday.
11. Fulham (11)
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Andy Johnson was the hero for Fulham on their trip to the DW Stadium on Saturday.
Johnson saved a point for the Cottagers after scoring in the 85th minute and kept the club above the relegation zone.
Craven Cottage gets a visit from Stoke on Saturday in Fulham's next league game.
10. Newcastle (12)
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Newcastle were denied a full three points in the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday due to a last gasp Sunderland goal.
The Magpies are in the hunt for Shaun Wright-Phillips and are looking to stave off other Premier League teams with their bids for striker Andy Carroll.
9. Bolton (6)
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Bolton's travels to the Britannia Stadium ended up in a 2-0 loss to Stoke on Saturday.
Despite the loss, the Trotters stayed in seventh place in the league table on 30 points.
Big transfer news came this week with David Wheater being signed from Middlesborough, which could pave the way for the exit of Gary Cahill.
8. Everton (8)
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Everton's chance at a full three points in the Merseyside derby were denied in the last few minutes by a Liverpool penalty.
The Toffees got goals from Sylvain Distin and Jermaine Beckford in the 2-2 draw.
The 12th place club have sold Stephen Pienaar to Tottenham and are currently searching for a replacement whether it be with Diniyar Bilyaletdinov or through a transfer is still unknown.
7. Sunderland (7)
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Asamoah Gyan scored in stoppage time to give Sunderland a 1-1 draw in the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday.
While one goal scorer was saving points, another was on his way out of the Stadium of Light with Darren Bent signing with Aston Villa on Tuesday.
And now with Danny Welbeck ruled out until March, Steve Bruce needs to find a healthy forward to put in his lineup alongside Gyan when the Black Cats visit Blackpool on Saturday.
6. Stoke (10)
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Danny Higginbotham and Matthew Etherington scored a goal each for Stoke in their 2-0 win at home over Bolton on Saturday.
The Potters go to Craven Cottage on Saturday to face Fulham still in search of more attacking help with Demba Ba failing a medical, the focus has now turned to John Carew.
5. Tottenham (4)
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Tottenham could not capitalize on a 10-man Manchester United on Sunday, and it led to a goalless draw at White Hart Lane.
The transfer tornado that is Tottenham Hotspur has signed Stephen Pienaar and seen David Bentley leave, and there are rumors flying everywhere with players going out like Robbie Keane, Roman Pavlyuchenko and even Luca Modric.
The list of rumored players coming in is small but impressive with Guiseppe Rossi leading that list.
4. Chelsea (5)
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Chelsea took care of business with a 2-0 won over Blackburn at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Goals from Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic gave the Blues their third positive result in their last four games.
In the transfer market, the club are still looking for a defender, and with bids for David Luiz of Benfica being denied, they could go after Bolton's Gary Cahill.
3. Manchester City (3)
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City survived a near collapse at home against Wolves on Saturday.
After two goals from Carlos Tevez and one each from the brothers Toure put City up by three, they ended up winning 4-3 and barely got away with the full three points.
The win does put Roberto Mancini's club level with their cross town rivals at the top of the table as they go into their Saturday match up away at Aston Villa.
2. Manchester United (1)
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Manchester United took their ninth draw of the season at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
The road trip to London was rough with Rafael being sent off in the second half but the Red Devils were able to survive and keep their undefeated record.
Next up for United is a home match up with Birmingham on Saturday.
1. Arsenal (2)
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Robin van Persie's double alongside a goal from Theo Walcott gave the Gunners a 3-0 win over West Ham on Saturday.
The win helped Arsenal pick up points on leaders Manchester United, and they now sit two points behind United and Man City.
A visit from Wigan to the Emirates comes up on Saturday for Arsene Wenger and company.
