English Premier League Power Rankings: Week 19

The English Premier League saw two sets of games in the past week, continuing the holiday schedule.

Chelsea and Aston Villa played the best game of the week, as they recreated one of the better ties from Boxing Day 2008 and played to a draw with three goals in the last 10 minutes.

Manchester United remained undefeated, but did slip up and draw with Birmingham giving Manchester City a chance to pull level on points.

With the January transfer window opening and the FA Cup third round and Carling Cup semifinals coming up as well, the Premier League will only take action on Tuesday and Wednesday before taking a week and a half break.

The Baggies had a rough week, losing both of their games and losing out on a late chase at getting Federico Macheda on loan.

Losses to Blackburn and Manchester United at home dropped West Brom down to 14th in the table on 20 points.

Next up is a road trip to struggling Fulham on Tuesday before the Baggies visit Reading on Saturday in the FA Cup.

Wigan were only able to snag one point out of their two games this week and that was thanks to an own goal.

Sebastien Squillaci's own goal for Arsenal gave Wigan a 2-2 draw at home with the Gunners.

On Sunday, the Latics' fate was not as good as Wednesday as they lost to Newcastle at home.

The Latics will look to not drop into the relegation zone with a loss as they face Bolton on the road at the Reebok Stadium on Wednesday.

Birmingham held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday thanks to a late controversial Lee Bowyer goal.

The Blues could not find the net at all against Arsenal on Saturday, losing 3-0.

The one point gained in the two matches could not help the Blues in the standings as they are sitting in 19th place on 19 points.

Alex McLeish will lead his club in to three away matches in three different competitions in the next eight days, as they are still alive in the FA and Carling Cups.

Stephen Ward sent a shock around England on Wednesday when he scored in the 56th minute at Anfield to give Wolves a win over Liverpool.

The momentum could not carry into Upton Park on Saturday, as Wolves dropped an important relegation battle to West Ham and the Wolves dropped down to the bottom of the table.

It does not get any better for Mick McCarthy's club, as they host Chelsea on Wednesday before their away trip to Doncaster in the FA Cup on Saturday.

The surprise goal scorer of the week award goes to Chris Baird, who scored twice against Stoke on Tuesday to give Fulham their third win of the season.

A loss in the London derby with Tottenham on Saturday kept the Cottagers in the relegation zone in 18th place.

With a win over West Brom at home on Tuesday, the Cottagers could pull themselves out of the drop zone before their first FA Cup tie of the year at home against Peterborough on Saturday.

Aston Villa suffered a rough loss at the hands of Manchester City on Tuesday, but had a thrilling comeback at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to draw Chelsea.

Ciaran Clark's last minute header gave Villa a point that looked to be lost after falling behind just a minute before.

Villa now sit 15th in the table and look to be a busy club in the January transfer window, with Stephen Ireland and Steve Sidwell on the way out and with Gueida Fofana and Omar Cummings possibly joining the Villains.

What a difference a month can make, especially at Upton Park this season.

After being mired in the bottom of the table for most of the season, West Ham has now sprung up to 16th place after getting four points this week.

A Tony Hibbert goal gave West Ham a point against Everton, and then yet another own goal plus a Freddie Sears goal gave the Hammers a 2-0 win over Wolves.

Good news could still be on the horizon in the form of Robbie Keane if a loan fee is settled with Tottenham.

Everton had a tough week, only gaining one point out of two games.

Seamus Coleman saved a point at Upton Park on Tuesday before the Toffees were taken down by two goals at Stoke on Saturday.

Now with Tim Cahill leaving for the Asian Cup and no Landon Donovan on loan, David Moyes will need to find someone to score goals in the next month

Blackburn scored three goals on Tuesday and then gave up three goals on Saturday to keep the club at mid table by getting one win out of their two games.

Nikola Kalinic scored twice and was followed by a Mame Biram Diouf goal to give Rovers a 3-1 win over West Brom before being shutout over the weekend by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Rumors spread wild over the weekend that Blackburn ownership was looking into signing Ronaldinho, who is exiting AC Milan, but those rumors are true or false depending on who you talk to.

Blackpool finally got back to the football pitch this week and the rest payed off with a two goal win over Sunderland on Tuesday.

D.J. Campbell scored a double for the Tangerines at the Stadium of Light, which came four days before they were dealt a loss to Manchester City on Saturday.

Hopefully, the pitch at Bloomfield Road will be playable for Tuesday's match with Birmingham so that the 11th placed club will not have to postpone yet another game.

Shola Ameobi scored in the 19th minute to give Newcastle a win over Wigan on Sunday.

The win came after a loss to Tottenham on Tuesday and put the Magpies into 10th place in the table.

A fairly easy week should be ahead for Alan Pardew's club, as they host West Ham on Wednesday and then face Stevenage in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Bolton had the worst week of Europa League contenders, as they were taken down by both Chelsea and Liverpool.

The only goal in the two games came from Kevin Davies' early goal at Anfield that would be beaten by two Liverpool goals.

Owen Coyle's club will look to get back on track as they host Wigan on Wednesday.

A win over Bolton on Saturday could not cover up the damage that the loss to Wolves at Anfield on Wednesday caused.

Roy Hodgson is still under fire and some fans are wondering why he is still the manager.

Rumors are swirling that Kenny Dalglish could take over as interim manager until the end of the season for the ninth placed club.

Stoke were on the winning and losing sides of two games this week.

A loss to Fulham on Tuesday was followed by a win over Everton thanks to a goal from Kenwyne Jones and an own goal from Phil Jagielka.

A trip to Old Trafford awaits on Tuesday for the Potters before they face Championship side Cardiff at home in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Sunderland took a loss on Tuesday to Blackpool but rebounded with a 3-0 win over Blackburn on Saturday.

Danny Welbeck, Darren Bent, and Asamoah Gyan all found the net for the Black Cats in the win that boosted the club up to sixth in the table.

A visit to Aston Villa on Wednesday is up next for Steve Bruce's club.

Chelsea could have easily taken six points this week from their games except for a tragic ending to the match against Aston Villa.

An easy win over Bolton was followed by Chelsea coming back to get a goal each from Didier Drogba and John Terry before getting equalized by Aston Villa late in the game.

Chelsea are still stuck in fifth after the draw, and they will look to get back on the winning track at the Molineux Stadium against Wolves on Wednesday.

Arsenal took care of business on Saturday at St. Andrews' Stadium by defeating Birmingham 3-0.

The win came after a disappointing draw for the Gunners on Wednesday at Wigan.

A big game now awaits for Arsene Wenger and company as they host Manchester City at the Emirates on Wednesday before they venture into both English Cup competitions.

Tottenham took care of business this week with wins over Newcastle and Fulham.

Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale both scored in the win over Newcastle, and Bale scored the winner in the London derby against Fulham.

The big story surrounding White Hart Lane over the weekend was David Beckham.

According to reports, Beckham may be joining the Spurs on loan if the LA Galaxy decide to let the England midfielder play during the MLS offseason.

Mario Balotelli was the star on Tuesday against Aston Villa, as he scored a hat trick in City's 4-0 win.

Joleon Lescott scored the fourth goal on Tuesday, while Adam Johnson found the back of the net on Saturday to give the Citizens a win over Blackpool.

The January transfer window is open and Manchester City is already busy with Edin Dzeko already signed from Wolfsburg and Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Wayne Bridge possibly leaving the City of Manchester Stadium.

United did slip up on Tuesday at Birmingham, but rebounded with a win over West Brom on Saturday and kept them top of the table.

Ahead of City on goal differential, United are still unbeaten and will not be active in the transfer window except for the loan move of Federico Macheda to Sampdoria.

Stoke visits Old Trafford on Tuesday before the best match of the FA Cup this weekend with Livepool coming to visit their rivals in Manchester.