The Premier League resumed in midweek following the FA Cup fourth round at the weekend – with all 20 sides in action over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday.
SillySeason will round-up the action, as the table starts to take shape, both at the top and bottom of the standings.
TOTTENHAM STROLL TO COMFORTABLE VICTORY AT NORWICH CITY
Tottenham Hotspur moved up to third, a place above North London rivals Arsenal, on Tuesday night when they eased to a 3-0 win away to Norwich City at Carrow Road.
Dele Alli tapped the visitors into a second minute lead, an advantage which was increased courtesy of Harry Kane, who scored on the half-hour, before adding his second from the penalty spot in injury time at the end of the encounter.
Having collected maximum points in Norfolk, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have acquired 47 points from 24 matches, while Alex Neil’s Norwich City are two-points and a place above the relegation zone, sitting in 17th position.
LEICESTER CITY MAINTAIN TOP SPOT WITH HOME TRIUMPH OVER LIVERPOOL
Leicester City retained top-spot in the race for the Premier League title, following a Jamie Vardy brace against Liverpool at the King Power Stadium – leaving them three-points above Manchester City.
It took the Foxes exactly an hour to make the breakthrough, as Vardy superbly hit a dipping 25-yard effort beyond the dive of Simon Mignolet, after latching onto Riyad Mahrez’s dinked ball.
He sealed the victory 15 minutes later – turning in Shinji Okazaki’s deflected shot – notching his 18th goal of the season, so far.
Leicester travel to second-placed Manchester City this coming Saturday, in what could be a defining fixture at the Etihad Stadium.
AFC BOURNEMOUTH WIN AT CRYSTAL PALACE:
At the other end of the league spectrum, AFC Bournemouth continued their upwardly moving form as they came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Tuesday.
Scott Dann had initially given Palace a 27th minute advantage, only for his strike to be cancelled out by Marc Pugh, eight minutes later.
Benik Afobe, the Cherries new January signing from Wolverhampton Wanderers, glanced home the winner with 57 minutes on the clock – the result lifted Eddie Howe’s men up to 15th, while Palace drop down to 11th place.
MANCHESTER CITY EDGE MAXIMUM AT SUNDERLAND
Sergio Aguero scored his 13th goal of the season as Manchester City beat Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light, also on Tuesday evening.
Just 24 hours after Manuel Pellegrini confirmed that he will leave his position of manager at the end of the season, in place of the Bayern Munich manager, Pep Guardiola – it took just 16 minutes for the Argentine to finish coolly with a side-footed effort.
Sunderland had their chances, with Joe Hart forced into a late save towards the end of the proceedings, though despite a late rally, City escaped with the three-points, prior to the anticipated visit of Leicester City on Saturday lunchtime.
Meanwhile, Sam Allardyce’s Sunderland reside second bottom of the Premier League, four points from safety, following their latest reverse.
ELSEWHERE ON TUESDAY: CLASSIFIED RESULTS
Arsenal 0-0 Southampton
West Ham 2-0 Aston Villa
Manchester United 3-0 Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Swansea City
WEDNESDAY’S MATCHES
EVERTON CLAIM COMFORTABLE NEWCASTLE UNITED WIN
Everton returned to winning ways with a resounding 3-0 win over Newcastle United at Goodison Park on Wednesday evening.
The Toffees, who haven’t registered a win in the league since Boxing day, through Aaron Lennon’s 23rd minute low-finish.
A late double in the final two minutes from Ross Barkley confirmed the win against the lowly Magpies, who also had Lascelles sent-off late on.
Roberto Martinez’s side moved up to 11th, while Newcastle dropped to 18th.
WATFORD AND CHELSEA DRAW A BLANK
Watford and Chelsea took a share of the spoils in a goalless draw at Vicarage Road on Wednesday.
Heurelho Gomes kept the Hornets in the game, keeping out Diego Costa twice, meanwhile Etienne Capoue was denied by Thibaut Courtois.
The Blues are 13th with 29 points, while Watford are a place and four-points better off.
