Other closely watched games on Monday are a London Derby with Spurs hosting the Hammers and Man City on the road at the Molineux to face Wolves. On Tuesday Liverpool visits Aston Villa. Then, Arsenal goes to bottom side Portsmouth while Man United entertains Wigan on Wednesday.

What will we see of Torres now that rumours are swirling again about his possible quitting the Reds and his out of form and lack of effort displays of late? Many suspect it is not just his injury that has made his latest efforts fall far short of what is expected of him. As Rafa loses his grip events such as these can contribute to the downward spiral as the rats get set to flee the sinking ship.

With all the criticism aside Liverpool may just have more of a chance than expected due largely to the much more competitve nature of the league. If that aspect should continue deep into the second half of the season the Reds could benefit hugely as the leaders drop more points along the way. That will only play out in their favor if they manage to recover their confidence and play up to their ability and not down to the opposition as they seem prone to do far too often.

The Round 20 scenario represents another of Wenger's criticisms as some teams will be playing with only one day between their previous match and this rounds game. Guess which teams get a bit of an advantage here? You got it, Wenger's Arsenal and SAF's Man United, yet it is Wenger doing the complaining about the fixture congestion, etc. Smoke screen or does he just like hearing himself present this gripe year after year?

It is real. With the mid-week games ahead of Boxing Day, then the quick return to the pitch, followed quickly by FA Cup 3rd Round this weekend Wenger has a very good point. In his case there is actually an added game in the mix too because Arsenal will play their game in hand in a mid-week encounter, then back to the league action on January 5. So yes, his Gunners will not only be playing every third day, as will the other clubs of course, but he'll have that added league match (the game in hand) in the mix too. Are you shedding a tear for Wenger? I guess he wants to play that postponed match sometime next year...like maybe in the summer during the World Cup. Just kidding.

Spurs defeated the Hammers 2-0 on goals from Modric and Defoe to go 4th, and Chelsea came from behind to down Fulham 2-1 at the Bridge. The Blues went down to an early goal (4) by Gera and for the next 70 minutes huffed and puffed but couldn't find the answer until Drogba's powerful header finally found the net at the far post. Less than two minutes later an unfortunate OG by Stalling in his first ever appearance became the margin of victory. Schwarzer pushed aside the initial shot but it deflected in off the young defender to ruin his debut day.

Sunderland, led by the under-appreciated Darren Bent's double (51 & 64) ended in a 2-2 draw at Blackburn. Each of Bent's goals put the Black Cats up only to see Rovers rally on goals from Pederson (52) and El Hadj Diouf (76) to save a point for Blackburn. Sunderland again drops points from a winning position. This time it just didn't happen in the last five minutes of the match.

Late goals from Vaughn who had just come on as a sub less than a minute before scoring (82) and Pienaar in stoppage time won the day for Everton 2-0 over Burnley who had been reduced to 10 men just minutes before Vaughn's goal. A 49th minute strike from Cameron Jerome extended in-form Birmingham City's run of unbeaten games to 11 in a 1-0 victory over home side Stoke.

Man City's visit to Wolves proved to be a bit of a party for Carlos Tevez as his double and Bellamy's energy led them to a 3-0 victory. The opener from Tevez was aided by a cruel deflection off a defender that left Hahnemann stranded. Garrido's precise free kick was sandwiched between the Tevez goals in his second appearance for City. It was City's 2nd win under the new boss and their first win on the road in 4 months.

Bolton boss Gary Megson, under fire before the match, now finds himself at the center of a storm after watching his guys build a 2-0 lead at home to Hull. Looking ahead to the full points and escape from the zone Bolton saw Hull rally on two goals from Steven Hunt to get the 2-2 draw. The first, a slam bang header and the 2nd a chip over Jaaskalinin that got over the line just ahead of a last ditch attempt to clear it. On Wednesday morning Megson was sacked.

Aston Villa at home to Liverpool in the snow went to stoppage time scoreless before a sliding tackle of Benayoun popped the ball loose and it fell to Torres putting him alone on Friedel. Fernando made no mistake on his 50th goal for Liverpool and the 1-0 victory. The win levels the season series with Villa who defeated Liverpool at Anfield back in August and the Reds go to 7th.

Chelsea's challenger's make a statement loud and clear.

Portsmouth had no answer for a dominant Arsenal losing at home 4-1 on goals from Eduardo, Nasri and Ramsey before Belhadj pulled one back for Pompey. Song restored the 3 goal advantage with a classy free header (80) that ended any hopes of a revival.

Man United blasted Wigan at Old Trafford 5-0 in a match that looked much like a training ground effort for the champs despite their supposed crisis on defense. Rooney, Carrick, Da Silva, Berbatov and Valencia all hit the net behind Kirkland and to be honest their might have been a few more. Rooney hit the post and bar and Berbatov could have had a hat trick before halftime as the champs put on quite a show for the home fans.

Looking ahead to the weekend the FA Cup takes center stage as EPL clubs join the competition with some interesting matches on the cards such as United facing Leeds for the first time since their 1-1 draw in 2004. Leeds, now at the top of League One and battling to regain their former status, welcome this challenge against the reigning EPL champions as a sign of their continued revival.

And in a match that will be more than just passing interest to OC Barons fans Reading FC entertains Liverpool. Reading too are in the midst of a very difficult campaign and find themselves in a struggle to avoid relegation having won only once in 12 games on their own home ground. On the other hand Liverpool find themselves in unfamiliar terrority too. A poor showing here could be devastating for the Reds.

Nottingham Forest, making a strong bid to achieve Premier League status (currently 3rd in the League Championship) will face Birmingham City, the current in form club of the EPL (as unexpected as that may be). Birmingham's last losing effort was in a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal, 11 games ago (October 17). Oh, by the way, in the spirit of full disclosure and to refresh your memory that match at the Emirates just happened to be their 4th consecutive loss and the pressure was building on the manager. Now, he's a hero and the run has seen them climb up the table (currently 8th).