English Premier League Power Rankings: Week 28
This week in the Premier League, the leaders extended their lead, the second place team slipped up and two famed clubs are continuing their way up the table.
Manchester United defeated Bolton to extend their lead to five points after Arsenal slipped up at The Hawthorns by drawing West Brom.
Chelsea and Liverpool are continuing their late season run of form as they both won 2-0 in their respective games, and the other two of the old Big Four are now in third (Chelsea) and sixth (Liverpool) in the table and Liverpool is looking to get one of the European spots.
The Premier League takes a week off for international matches, but will return in the first weekend of April.
20. Birmingham (17)
1 of 20
Only a few weeks after winning the Carling Cup, Birmingham look destined to be relegated.
After getting an opening goal from Liam Ridgewell in the sixth minute against Wigan, Birmingham failed to keep the lead and gave up a 90th-minute winner in the 2-1 loss on Saturday.
The Blues will host Bolton in two weeks as they continue their quest to get out of the relegation zone.
19. Newcastle (15)
2 of 20
Newcastle suffered their 12th loss of the season in embarrassing fashion.
Alan Pardew's men lost to Stoke by the score of 4-0 on Saturday.
The Magpies still sit in 11th place in the table, but are only four points ahead of 18th placed Wolves and will have to improve their form if they want to stay clear of a relegation battle.
18. Blackpool (18)
3 of 20
Charlie Adam's two first-half goals were not enough for the Tangerines, as they blew the two-goal lead against Blackburn on Saturday.
The 2-2 result was only the sixth draw of the season for Ian Holloway's club.
Sitting right in the middle of the relegation battle in 15th place, the Tangerines face Fulham on April 3rd in London at Craven Cottage when league play resumes.
17. Blackburn (19)
4 of 20
David Hoilett's injury-time goal gave Rovers a draw at home with Blackpool on Saturday.
Hoilett's goal completed a two-goal comeback that was started by Chris Samba in the 49th minute.
Sitting 13th in the table on 33 points, manager Steve Kean has said that if the club reaches 42 points, they should be safe from relegation.
As of right now, they are at the top of a four club group at 33 points.
16. Wigan (20)
5 of 20
Wigan got a rare win at home on Saturday against Birmingham.
Maynor Figueroa scored in the 90th minute to win the game 2-1 for the Latics.
The goal was only Figueroa's third goal in his three years at the club. Tom Cleverley scored the opener in the 25th minute.
15. Sunderland (13)
6 of 20
Sunderland dropped a spot in the table after their 2-0 home loss to Liverpool on Sunday.
The Black Cats fell to ninth and extended their winless streak to six after their hot start to the season.
Sunderland visits Manchester City on April 3rd before heading into a stretch in their last seven games where they face no one above seventh in the table.
14. Aston Villa (11)
7 of 20
Aston Villa dropped to one point above the relegation zone after their 1-0 loss to the Wolves on Saturday.
The loss at Villa Park was the club's 13th defeat of the season.
With pressure coming from all angles on Gerard Houllier to guide his club clear of the drop, Houllier needs to do something to change the recent results as the Villains have only won one game in their last six.
13. West Brom (16)
8 of 20
Goals from Steven Reid and Peter Odemwingie gave the Baggies a two-goal lead at The Hawthorns against Arsenal.
That two-goal lead was lost due to two Arsenal goals that gave the Baggies their ninth draw of the season.
The draw on Saturday extended a five-game unbeaten streak for the club, who are still only a point ahead of the relegation zone heading into a tough stretch where they play Liverpool, Sunderland and Chelsea in their next three league games.
12. Wolverhampton (12)
9 of 20
New England call-up Matthew Jarvis proved why Fabio Capello is looking at him to be part of England's future, as he scored a 38th-minute goal for the Wolves in their 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
Mick McCarthy's club got only their second away win of the season at Villa Park on Saturday.
With eight points in their last four matches, Wolves have jumped up to 18th place and with a win against Newcastle on April 2nd, they have a chance to jump as high as 13th place.
11. West Ham (10)
10 of 20
West Ham held London rivals, Tottenham to a goalless draw on Saturday and picked up a point that kept them from dropping back into the relegation zone.
The Hammers are in 17th place because their goal difference is one goal better than the 18th place Wolves.
When play resumes on April 2nd, the Hammers will welcome Manchester United to Upton Park.
10. Fulham (9)
11 of 20
Clint Dempsey's 62nd-minute goal was not enough to lead a comeback against Everton on Saturday.
The 2-1 loss dropped Fulham to 12th place in the table on 35 points.
Mark Hughes' club will host Blackpool on April 3rd at Craven Cottage.
9. Stoke (14)
12 of 20
A four-goal outburst for the Potters gave them an impressive win over Newcastle on Saturday.
Jonathan Walters started the scoring in the 28th minute and was followed by goals from Jermaine Pennant, Danny Higginbotham and Ricardo Fuller.
The win came six days after Tony Pulis' men clinched a spot at Wembley by advancing to the FA Cup semifinals to face Bolton.
8. Arsenal (8)
13 of 20
Andrei Arshavin and Robin Van Persie saved face for the Gunners as they were able to manage a 2-2 draw against West Brom on Saturday.
The draw was the latest in a string of disappointing results for Arsene Wenger and company that put the Gunners five points back of Manchester United in the table.
The good news is that the Gunners do have a game in hand.
After the international break, the Gunners will look to get back on track when they host Blackburn on April 2nd.
7. Bolton (7)
14 of 20
Bolton suffered two major blows on Saturday.
First, the club gave up a late goal to ten-man Manchester United to lose 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Then, the club found out that American midfielder Stuart Holden will miss six months after suffering a knee injury that caused United's Jonny Evans to be shown red.
The loss kept the Trotters in seventh place in the table, but lost ground on sixth place Liverpool who won on Sunday.
6. Manchester City (3)
15 of 20
City gave up two second-half goals to Chelsea and suffered their seventh defeat of the season on Sunday.
The loss ended a disappointing week in which the club was eliminated from the Europa League after failing to equal Dynamo Kiev on aggregate.
City now face a battle to keep their fourth place spot in the table, as Tottenham and maybe even Liverpool will challenge them for the last Champions League spot.
5. Tottenham (5)
16 of 20
Tottenham played to a goalless draw at White Hart Lane with West Ham on Saturday.
Gareth Bale had the closest shot to scoring from a free kick in the second half, but he was unable to fool West Ham's Robert Green who made a spectacular save.
Good news is coming in the form of Tom Huddlestone, who is close to being fully recovered from injury and he could feature at Wigan on April 2nd.
4. Everton (6)
17 of 20
Seamus Coleman and Louis Saha scored a goal a piece in the Toffees' 2-1 win over Fulham.
The match marked the first match since David Moyes celebrated his 10th year in charge at Goodison Park for the club he has guided up to eighth in the table.
3. Manchester United (4)
18 of 20
Dimitar Berbatov netted his 20th goal of the season in the 88th minute to give ten-man United the win over Bolton.
With the win, United extended their lead to five points over Arsenal, even though the second place club has a game in hand on the leaders.
2. Liverpool (2)
19 of 20
Liverpool continued their impressive league form on Sunday by beating Sunderland 2-0.
Dirk Kuyt knocked home a penalty in the 33rd minute and Luis Suarez's 77th-minute strike lead the Reds to victory.
Since Dalglish took over on Jan. 8th, Liverpool has won six of ten with two draws and only two losses to bring them closer to the European qualification spots.
1. Chelsea (1)
20 of 20
The legend of David Luiz continues to grow at Stamford Bridge after his header clinched the win for Chelsea over Manchester City on Sunday.
Luiz's fellow Brazilian, Ramires scored a goal in stoppage time to make City's trip back to the Eastlands worse.
With the win, Carlo Ancelotti's club is now in third place in the league table and their next goal is to try and overtake Arsenal for second place, as the Blues are only four points behind them.
