Clarets Dent Chelsea Gap While Reds Defeat Spurs

Ahead of the return of European action and the next round of the FA Cup, the Premier League action reached gameweek 25.

The weekend began with Arsenal hosting struggling Hull City at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners opened the scoring through Alexis Sanchez after 34 minutes before the striker wrapped up the points with a penalty late on.

Manchester United moved into fifth with a 2-0 win over Watford at Old Trafford.

The hosts went ahead on 32 minutes with an opener from Juan Mata before Anthony Martial doubled the lead on the hour mark.

Middlesbrough remain on the fringes of the bottom three after securing a 0-0 draw at home to in-form Everton.

Crystal Palace remain in the bottom two with a two point gap to safety after suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat to Stoke City.

The crucial strike came on 67 minutes as Joe Allen struck to seal the win.

Sunderland sit rock bottom after being hammered 4-0 by Southampton.

The Saints went ahead as Manolo Gabbiadini made it two goals in as many games on the half-hour. He added a second just before half-time for a 2-0 lead at the interval. The hosts' afternoon got worse late on as Jason Denayer hit into his own net before Shane Long completed the rout.

West Ham United stayed tenth after drawing 2-2 with West Bromwich Albion.

The Baggies continued their run of scoring early in games as Nacer Chadli struck inside six minutes, the lead lasted until just after the hour mark when Sofiane Feghouli levelled for the Hammers. Manuel Lanzini completed the comeback for the hosts and looked to have sealed the win with a strike on 86 minutes. However, the visitors were not to be denied a point as Gareth McAuley sealed a point in added time.

The late-kick off saw a battle between two title challengers at Anfield as Liverpool hosted Tottenham Hotspur.

The Reds continued their run of positive results against their title rivals as they sealed a 2-0 win with both goals coming inside the first 20 minutes. Sadio Mané struck the opener on 16 minutes before doubling the lead in stunning style two minutes later.

Sunday's action began at Turf Moor as Burnley hosted league leaders Chelsea.

The Blues opened the scoring inside seven minutes through Pedro before the Clarets levelled with an excellent effort from Robbie Brady on 24 minutes and held on to secure a 1-1 draw.

Leicester City's turbulent season got worse as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Swansea City.

The Swans went ahead with a strike from Andy Mawson in the 37th minute with Martin Olsson doubling the lead just before half-time.

The final action of the weekend came on Monday night as Bournemouth hosted Manchester City.

City moved to second spot with a 2-0 win over the Cherries with Raheem Sterling striking an opener in the 20th minute ahead of an own goal from Tyrone Mings in the 69th minute.

Chelsea Extend Summit Stay As Hull Humble Reds

Gameweek 24 sees a minor addition with a short review of the sole FA Cup Fourth Round replay.

Chelsea moved 12 points clear at the top after a 3-1 win over fierce London rivals Arsenal.

Marcos Alonso fired the Blues ahead inside 13 minutes before Eden Hazard made it 2-0 seven minutes after half-time. The points were wrapped up five minutes from the end as former Gunner Cesc Fabregas struck but Arsenal did have the last say as Olivier Giroud scored late on.

Sunderland remain bottom but cut the gap to safety with a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace. 

Lamine Kone put the visitors ahead inside just nine minutes before Didier N'Dong doubled the lead two minutes before half-time. A stunning first half for Sunderland saw Jermaine Defoe strike an added time brace for 4-0.

Everton closed the gap to the top four as the took the points in a nine-goal thriller against Bournemouth. A rapid start from the Toffees saw Romelu Lukaku strike inside the first minute with James McCarthy doubling the lead before Lukaku sent the hosts into the lead with a 3-0 lead. 

The Cherries battled with a brace from Joshua King on 59 and 71 minutes before Lukaku completed his hat-trick and reached four for a 5-2 lead. Harry Arter made it 5-3 before Ross Barkley rounded off a 6-3 win.

Hull City remain in the bottom three despite a surprise 2-0 win over Liverpool who dropped out of the top four. The hosts went ahead just before half-time as Alfred N'Diaye struck before Oumar Niasse sealed the points with five minutes to go. 

West Ham United moved into the top half after a 3-1 win over Southampton. 

The Hammers fell behind with 12 minutes gone as Manolo Gabbiadini struck before Andy Carroll equalised two minutes later. The points were wrapped up by strikes either side of half-time as Pedro Obiang struck on 44 minutes and Mark Noble on 52 minutes.

Watford moved into the top half with a 2-1 win over Burnley. 

The Clarets suffered an early blow with Jeff Hendrick sent off inside six minutes and the Hornets took just four minutes to take advantage with Troy Deeney opening the scoring. M'Baye Niang doubled the lead at the interval with Ashley Barnes pulling one back for the Clarets with a 78th minute penalty.

West Bromwich Albion retained eighth spot with a narrow 1-0 win over Stoke City.

The winning goal for the Baggies was scored after just six minutes as James Morrison's strike sealed the points. 

The evening kick-off saw Tottenham open up a gap in second spot after a narrow 1-0 win over Middlesbrough. 

The crucial strike came on 58 minutes as Harry Kane converted a penalty.

Manchester City sit third after securing a 2-1 win over Swansea City.

The hosts went ahead in the 12th minute as Gabriel Jesus struck for 1-0, a lead that looked to be enough for the win as the game entered the final ten minutes. Gylfi Sigurdsson looked to have salvaged a draw for the Swans but Gabriel Jesus struck his second late on to claim the win.

The final game of the weekend saw Manchester United close on the top four with a comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester City. 

The visitors claimed the points with three strikes in the space of eight minutes either side of half-time. Henrikh Mkhitaryan put United ahead on 41 minutes with Zlatan Ibrahimovic doubling the lead into the interval. The third goal came on 49 minutes as Juan Mata struck. 

After the FA Cup Fourth Round saw just one game result in a draw, the sole replay took place in midweek as Leicester City hosted Derby County.

The Foxes went ahead through Andy King four minutes before half-time but the Championship side drew level through Camara just after the hour mark. The tie remained at 1-1 which resulted in extra time in which the Foxes secured a 3-1 win with goals from Ndidi and Demarai Gray. 

Chelsea Stay Nine Clear After Reds Draw

After an exciting and unpredictable FA Cup fourth round saw some sides make mass changes and even face a shock exit, Premier League action resumed with a midweek set of games.

Arsenal missed the chance to cut the gap at the top as they lost 2-1 to Watford.

The Hornets raced into a 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes with a strike from Younes Kaboul followed up by Troy Deeney's effort. The Gunners cut the deficit with a goal on 58 minutes from Alex Iwobi but were unable to equalise as the Hornets claimed a famous win.

Crystal Palace remain in the bottom three despite securing a 2-0 win over Bournemouth.

The Eagles went ahead with a strike from Scott Dann two minutes after half-time before Christian Benteke wrapped up the points late on.

Leicester City remain on the fringes of the crop zone after suffering a narrow 1-0 loss to Burnley.

The Clarets rose to tenth in the standings after Sam Vokes struck the winning goal in the 87th minute.

Middlesbrough are also on the fringes of the drop zone despite coming from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion.

Both goals came early in the game with the Baggies taking the lead inside six minutes through James Morrison but they were soon pegged back by Alvaro Negredo's penalty in the 16th minute.

Sunderland continue to prop up the standings but did well to secure a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.

The goalless draw benefits the hosts more than the visiting Spurs who missed the chance to cut the gap to Chelsea at the top.

Swansea City moved outside the bottom three after a 2-1 win over Southampton.

The Swans took the lead with six minutes left of the first half as Andy Mawson struck the opener. The Saints drew level with 56 minutes on the clock as Shane Long equalised but Swansea were not to be denied the win as Gylfi Sigurdsson sealed victory with a 71st minute effort.

Leaders Chelsea travel to fourth placed Liverpool with the sides sharing the points in a 1-1 draw.

The Blues opened the scoring in style as David Luiz clipped in a free-kick that swept past the helpless Simon Mignolet in the Reds goal on 24 minutes. Liverpool levelled with a clever effort from Georginio Wijnaldum but could have gone behind when Chelsea were awarded a penalty. Diego Costa stepped up but saw his shot saved as Mignolet went from zero to hero.

Manchester City kept up their top four hopes with a comfortable 4-0 routing of West Ham United.

The Hammers fell behind on 17 minutes as Gabriel Jesus opened his account for the club with David Silva doubling the lead four minutes later. Kevin De Bruyne made it 3-0 six minutes before half-time with the gloss on the win coming on 67 minutes with a penalty from Yaya Touré.

Manchester United remain in sixth after being held to a 0-0 draw by Hull City. The visitors remain in the bottom three themselves but will be the happier of the two sides in taking a point.

The final game of midweek saw Stoke City and Everton draw 1-1. The Potters took the lead inside seven minutes as Peter Crouch scored his 100th league goal and capped it off with a 'robotic' celebration. Everton levelled five minutes before half-time as Ryan Shawcross hit into his own net.