Another exciting weekend of Premiership action saw both Manchester United and Chelsea extend their winning runs, and move further clear of the pack ahead of their eagerly awaited clash at Old Trafford next Sunday.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United had to come from behind to defeat Neil Warnock's Sheffield United at 
Keith Gillespie netted against his former employers to give the Blades an early lead but a brace from the in-form Wayne Rooney (30 & 75) retained United's lead at the summit.
Chelsea meanwhile show no sign of giving up their relentless pursuit of the Red Devils and a rare goal from Geremi gave the Blues a narrow victory over West Ham United, who have now lost their last six away games.
Jay DeMerit gave the visitors a deserved lead on 32, but Kanu levelled as half time approached.
Watford had justified claims for two penalties before Lomana LuaLua then converted a hotly disputed late spot-kick to condemn the Golden Boys to a fifth away defeat of the season and leave manager, Aidy Boothroyd berating the inconsistent performance of referee Mr. Foy, for more click here.
Arsenal needed the brilliance of Thierry Henry to rescue a point at home to struggling Newcastle United.
Fit again England midfielder, Kieron Dyer (30) gave lowly Newcastle United the lead before a second half onslaught finally saw the Gunners restore equality, Henry (70) equalising with a superlative free-kick.
Elsewhere,
Stuart Pearce's Manchester City, so good at home and equally poor on their travels, began brightly and raced into a two goal lead thanks to a brace from Bernad Corradi (12 & 32), the Italian's first goals for the club, and the game was effectively over when Joey Barton added a third just before half time. The Cottagers improved after the interval but could only muster a Collins John consolation in reply.
A superb strike by Mikel Arteta sealed a tense home victory for David Moyes Everton over an out of form Bolton Wanderers who are now without a win in five matches.
Liverpool have still not registered a goal on their travels since the opening day of the season, and despite numerous second half chances had to settle for a goalless draw against 
Indeed Gareth Southgate's men might have won it had the normally reliable Yakubu not fly-kicked from six yards with the goal at his mercy.
The televised Sunday fixtures ended all square.
Aston Villa continued their impressive start under Martin O'Neill with a hard fought goalless draw against Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium, while later in the day free falling Blackburn Rovers picked up their first point in five matches against Martin Jol's travel sick Tottenham Hotspur.
Tugay gave Rovers the lead midway through the first half with a stunning strike, but the visitors came back strongly in the second half and levelled just after the hour, Jermain Defoe keeping his nerve from twelve yards after Tugay had seen Red for an infringement that had led to a penalty. Referee Mr. Dowd then redressed the balance by sending off Tottenham Hotspur's Hossam Ghaly in the closing moments.
Last game played on
Sunday 19th November 2006Pld Home Away Overall Pts GD W D L F A W D L F A W D L F A 1 Manchester United 13 5 0 1 13 2 6 1 0 16 4 11 1 1 29 6 34 +23 2 Chelsea 13 6 1 0 14 3 4 0 2 9 4 10 1 2 23 7 31 +16 3 Portsmouth 13 5 1 1 12 4 2 1 3 7 7 7 2 4 19 11 23 +8 4 Arsenal 12 3 4 0 13 4 3 0 2 7 3 6 4 2 20 7 22 +13 5 Aston Villa 13 4 2 0 10 3 1 5 1 5 6 5 7 1 15 9 22 +6 6 Bolton Wanderers 13 3 1 2 5 5 3 2 2 7 7 6 3 4 12 12 21 0 7 Everton 13 4 2 1 11 5 1 3 2 6 6 5 5 3 17 11 20 +6 8 Reading 13 4 1 2 10 9 2 0 4 5 9 6 1 6 15 18 19 -3 9 Wigan Athletic 12 3 2 1 10 6 2 1 3 6 7 5 3 4 16 13 18 +3 10 Liverpool 13 5 1 0 13 3 0 2 5 1 12 5 3 5 14 15 18 -1 11 Fulham 13 3 1 2 5 5 1 4 2 9 14 4 5 4 14 19 17 -5 12 Manchester City 13 4 3 0 7 1 0 1 5 3 14 4 4 5 10 15 16 -5 13 Tottenham Hotspur 13 4 1 1 7 4 0 3 4 3 11 4 4 5 10 15 16 -5 14 Middlesbrough 13 4 1 2 6 7 0 2 4 4 9 4 3 6 10 16 15 -6 15 Blackburn Rovers 13 2 2 3 8 9 1 2 3 3 8 3 4 6 11 17 13 -6 16 West Ham United 13 3 1 2 7 6 0 1 6 2 10 3 2 8 9 16 11 -7 17 Newcastle United 13 1 2 3 5 7 1 2 4 3 8 2 4 7 8 15 10 -7 18 Sheffield United 13 1 3 3 7 10 1 1 4 1 8 2 4 7 8 18 10 -10 19 Watford 13 1 4 1 7 6 0 2 5 3 13 1 6 6 10 19 9 -9 20 Charlton Athletic 13 2 1 3 4 6 0 1 6 5 14 2 2 9 9 20 8 -11 COLOUR KEY: Champions / Promotion place(s) Transfer place(s) Play-off place(s) Relegation place(s)