English Premier League Power Rankings: Week 14

Following a week of weak results in week 13, the Premier League's best came to play this week and shined brightly.

All of the main contenders for the title scored wins while one early season contender, Newcastle, lost to one of the favorites for the second straight week and dropped back to reality.

At the bottom of the table, Blackburn scored a spirited win in a shootout while Wigan and Bolton fell again and Sunderland failed to impress new boss Martin O'Neill in a loss to Wolves.

As always, last week's ranking is parenthesis.

20. Bolton (19)

Bolton suffered a huge blow early in their match with Tottenham on Saturday as Gary Cahill was shown a red card in the 18th minute.

After the sending off, Bolton did not fare well as they lost 3-0 to Spurs.

Somehow, Owen Coyle still has a job with the 19th placed club as they head into Saturday's home match with Aston Villa at the Reebok Stadium.

19. Sunderland (16)

After sacking manager Steve Bruce during the week, Sunderland were unable to win in front of new boss Martin O'Neill on the road at Wolves.

Things looked good for the Black Cats when Kieran Richardson scored in the 52nd minute but then Wolves came back to score two goals and hand Sunderland their seventh loss of the season.

Martin O'Neill will make his debut as Sunderland boss on Sunday when the club host Blackburn in a relegation battle at the Stadium of Light.

18. Wigan (15)

Wigan were thrashed at home by Arsenal as the Latics were shutout 4-0.

The loss broke the Latics' two game unbeaten streak and dropped them to dead last in the table.

A tough stretch is ahead for Roberto Martinez's club as they visit West Brom and then host Chelsea and Liverpool in the next three matches, a string of fixtures that Martinez may not survive.

17. Swansea City (14)

Swansea were defeated by a yak attack at Ewood Park on Saturday as Yakubu netted four goals past Swans keeper Michael Vorm.

The Swans did get goals from Leroy Lita and Luke Moore but they were not enough in the 4-2 loss.

16. Blackburn (20)

Following a loss to Cardiff in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, Blackburn took down the other prominent Welsh club, Swansea thanks to an offensive explosion by Yakubu.

The Nigerian forward scored all four of Blackburn's goals in the 4-2 at home and he may have saved Steve Kean's job.

Once again, when he needed a result to save his job, Kean got a win but now he will look to get his club to string together a group of wins starting at Sunderland on Sunday.

15. Wolverhampton (18)

Wolves got their first win since the beginning of November over Sunderland at home on Sunday.

Steven Fletcher scored two late goals, eight minutes apart from each other, to give Wolves the 2-1 win.

A trip to Old Trafford is up next for Wolves on Saturday as they face Manchester United.

14. Fulham (17)

After losing to Twente in the Europa League on Thursday, Fulham surprisingly bounced back and took down Liverpool by the score of 1-0 on Monday night.

Clint Dempsey scored in the 85th minute to give the club a home win at Craven Cottage.

The win moved the Cottagers all the way up to 13th in the table with 15 points ahead of their road trip to Wales to face Swansea on Saturday.

13. Norwich City (9)

Norwich's positive momentum going into Saturday was crushed by Manchester City in a 5-1 loss in Manchester.

Steve Morison took the club lead in goals in the 81st minute as he scored his fifth goal of the season.

Struggling Newcastle will march into Carrow Road and visit the Canaries on Saturday.

12. Everton (11)

Everton fell victim to an early first half goal to Stoke's Robert Huth and could never answer back in a 1-0 loss at home on Saturday.

The loss was marked the fourth time the Toffees had been shutout all season and they will need some goals to get past Arsenal on Saturday.

11. West Brom (13)

Shane Long saved West Brom from losing in London on Saturday to QPR.

The Irish forward scored his club leading fifth goal in the 81st minute to give the Baggies a 1-1 draw with QPR.

West Brom now have a good chance to get points out of their next two games as they take on relegation fighters Wigan and Blackburn.

10. Queens Park Rangers (12)

QPR earned their 16th point of the season in a tough 1-1 draw with West Brom.

Heidar Helguson scored the match opener in the 20th minute but the R's were not able to hold on to the lead at home and drew with West Brom.

Neil Warnock now has to guide his club through a difficult two game stretch with Liverpool and Manchester United up next on the fixture list.

9. Aston Villa (8)

Aston Villa's winless streak was extended to three games after they lost 1-0 to Manchester United.

Villa now heads into the Reebok Stadium to visit Bolton on Saturday in a very winnable game for the Villains to get back on track.

8. Newcastle (7)

Newcastle failed to score in their first home game since having their home ground being renamed.

At the Sports Direct Arena on Saturday, the Magpies dropped their second game of the season against Chelsea.

The Magpies now get relief in the schedule as Norwich, Swansea, West Brom and Bolton go up against the sixth placed club in the next four matches.

7. Stoke (10)

Stoke continued their surge up the table as they recorded second straight win over Everton on Sunday.

Robert Huth scored in the 15th minute to give the Potters a 1-0, which ended up being the final result.

The nonstop list of fixtures continues next week for Stoke as they visit Tottenham on Sunday before traveling to Turkey three days later for a clash with Besiktas in the Europa League.

6. Liverpool (6)

Liverpool were handed a tough defeat Monday night in London against Fulham.

After a controversial sending off of Jay Spearing in the 72nd minute and then Fulham took control late and won 1-0 over the Reds.

The loss comes after the Reds advanced to the Carling Cup semifinals with a win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and they will now face Manchester City in the semifinals in January.

5. Chelsea (5)

After losing to Liverpool in the Carling Cup during the week, Chelsea rebounded nicely with their second straight 3-0 league win.

This week, the win came at Newcastle with Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Daniel Sturridge all netting goals.

The Blues were in the news often this week with the speculation around the job security of manager Andre Villas-Boas and with Nicolas Anelka and Alex announcing they will leave the club in January.

4. Arsenal (4)

Arsenal did what they were supposed to do to Wigan on Saturday, blow them out.

The 4-0 win featured goals from guys not named van Persie with Mikel Arteta, Thomas Vermaelen and Gervinho scoring with the Dutchman van Persie getting his 14th goal of the season late in the second half to cap the victory.

A trip to Greece is on the horizon for the Gunners on Tuesday to face Olympiakos in the Champions League before coming back home to the Emirates Stadium to host Everton on Saturday.

3. Manchester United (3)

Manchester United quietly took care of business on the road at Villa Park on Saturday with a 1-0 win.

Phil Jones put home his first goal of the season in the 20th minute to put United back on their winning ways after being upset by Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup on Wednesday.

United will look to take care of business this week against lesser competition as they visit FC Basel on Wednesday in the Champions League before hosting Wolves on Saturday.

2. Tottenham (2)

Tottenham took full advantage of ten man Bolton on Saturday with a 3-0 win at home.

Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe all scored a goal each for Spurs as they cruised to victory yet again extending their unbeaten streak to 11 games.

A difficult task is ahead to extend that streak as Spurs visit Stoke on Sunday.

1. Manchester City (1)

Manchester City took out their anger from a rough week at the hands of Norwich City.

The 5-1 win over Norwich helped the Citizens recover from a draw with Liverpool and a difficult 1-0 win over Arsenal in the Carling Cup.

Five different City players scored in the win at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Now three glamour matchups are ahead for City, with Bayern Munich at home in the Champions League on Wednesday, Chelsea on the road on Monday and then a home date with Arsenal the week after.