Man City new boy Adam Johnson had a good day on the wing for City and his attack created the opening and Tevez converted the resulting penalty (31). Bolton had no answer and an Adebayor strike (73) sealed the 2-0 victory.

Portsmouth, on the verge of bankruptcy with the decision of the tax court, managed a 1-1 draw with Sunderland on a stoppage time header from Dindane. With the ongoing parade of ownership groups, the missed paydays, pending administration, etc, it is only a little short of a miracle that they've managed to put a team on the pitch.

A 1-1 draw was also the result at Wigan. A Paul Scharner strike (14) and a Tuncay header (74) leveled for Stoke in a match where the Latics probably deserved the three. The point lifts them to 14th for the time being.

Fulham dismissed Burnley 3-0 at the Cottage to continue the Clarets woes on the road on goals from Murphy (23), David Elm (31) and a terrific free kick from Zamora (54) filled in the sheet. Burnley's poor form away from Turf Moor continues to keep them in jeopardy. The Clarets have won only 1 point on the road while conceding 38 goals and scoring only 8 in 13 games. The win lifts Fulham to 9th and keeps the Clarets just above the relegation zone.

Everton welcomed the leaders Chelsea to Goodison Park and fell behind on a Malouda strike (17) before launching their fightback for a 2-1 victory via a Louis Saha double. Saha leveled from a Donovan corner (32) then hit the match winner in the 72nd after failing to convert a penalty awarded for a take down of Donovan just before the end of the opening half. Again, Landon Donovan had a positive impact on the outcome and this one tightened up the race reducing Chelsea's lead to a single point over United. Donovan was also involved in a challenge with Ashley Cole that resulted in Cole's broken ankle that will see him miss the rest of the season with possible impact on the England national team.

Aston Villa entertained the in form Man United and the rampant Wayne Rooney for a match that could go a long way in preserving their battle for a Champions League place. Villa took the lead on a Cuellar looping header (19) only to see the match on even terms just four minutes later. United were reduced to ten men when Nani was dismissed for his two footed lunge (29). Despite that, it was United that created the better chances but their goal came from their 2nd leading scorer on the season, the OG. A Giggs cross was deflected past Friedel by Collins (23) and the match ended 1-1 thanks to some big saves by the Villa net minder. Villa managed only two shots on goal in the match with the man advantage for over an hour. Giggs was lost to United with a fracture in his right arm that will see him miss a month.

With losses to Man United and Chelsea and a draw to Villa in their last three Wenger's Gunners faced a test from a revived Liverpool in a match that promised to be pivotal for both sides. A prescription for a draw?

No way as it ended Arsenal 1–0 Liverpool as the Reds again produced a dour effort. Ahead of the match the press had Rafa saying Liverpool would approach the game with the same counter-attacking strategy that was used by both Chelsea and United in their recent defeats of the Gunners. What the match showed was that that approach didn't suit the Reds or the Arsenal fans either as the opening half was lackluster for the most part. In the second period Arsenal's running off the ball began to open the Liverpool defense and on 72 minutes a Rosicky cross found Abu Diaby for a free header which he slammed past Reina for the win. Arsenal remains in third and Liverpool fourth on goal difference over Man City who have two games in hand.

Wolves do the double on Tottenham on a David Jones header for a 1-0 victory that lifts them out of the relegation zone.

West Ham earns three precious points of the their own with a 2-0 victory over Birmingham as the Hammers join three other clubs (Hull, Wigan and Wolves) just one point (24) above the zone.

Blackburn gets a deserved 1-0 win over Hull on a Boaz Myhill OG. To say it was 'deserved' sounds silly, but the Rovers dominated the contest and would have had more if it had not been for yet another good performance by Myhill. The goal came from an inadvertant deflection on an attempt to swat the ball away.

In the FA Cup Cardiff City earned a big game against EPL leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and a south coast derby with embattled Portsmouth visiting neighborhood rivals Southampton.

Chelsea got out the gate quickly scoring inside of two minutes via Drogba only to have Chopra level matters (34) for the Bluebirds before Chelsea ran off three more in the second half from Ballack, Sturridge and Kalou for the 4-1 final. The FA Cup holders book their place in the last 8 with a solid victory.

In that big south coast derby the Saints fought back to get even at 1 via their top scorer Richard Lambert (70) ahead of a crunch from Pompey that saw them score 3 in the last 15 minutes to walk off with a 1-4 victory. Despite all the problems at Fratton Park on the pitch Portsmouth were far and away the better side in this big neighborhood battle.

Derby County hosted EPL surprise package Birmingham City and surprise it was as the fightback came late with the winner from Liam Ridgewell in stoppage time for a 1-2 victory for City.

Reading hosted table toppers West Brom in an all League Championship confrontation. The Royals are in the best form of the season having won the last 3 in the league. The Baggies have a great run of their own going that has taken them to the top but Reading's Jimmy Kebe got the match off to a rousing start for the Royals hitting the opener from just inside the area in the first minute. In the 18th minute Koren leveled for the Baggies from inside the six yard box stabbing in a cross from Chris Brunt. Simon Church hit for the Royals in the 73rd before a blistering strike from Mattock leveled matters again at 2 to earn the replay.

In an all EPL battle Man City entertained Stoke who they will meet again in the midweek when City cashes in one of their games in hand. Now they'll face one another in three consecutive outings as a patented long throw from Delap was headed home by Fuller (57) to cancel out Sean Wright-Phillips 11th minute strike from a route one counter.

Bolton got a visit from Spurs with a possible debut for US international Stuart Holden for the Wanderers. A first half that Redknapp would rather forget ended with Bolton 1-0 on a Kevin Davies hit but the Defoe leveler sends the tie to a replay at White Hart Lane after the 1-1 draw. Huddlestone missed a penalty that would have sent Spurs to the quarter finals. Oh, Holden did not appear although he was on the substitutes bench for the match.

Notts County looked for another scalp as they visited West London side Fulham but the League II side were outclassed in a 4-0 win for the Cottagers.

Crystal Palace earned a shot at Aston Villa at Selhurst Park looking for a big scalp to help boost their value. Villa's lack of scoring punch, evident in their last few matches, makes them a potential candidate for elimination and Palace were poised to take advantage despite the difficulties at the club.

Though Villa sits 7th in the EPL they have scored only 32 goals in 25 league games. Three teams lower in the standings have scored as many or more than Villa (Everton, West Ham and Sunderland). The saving grace for Villa is that they also have conceded fewer goals (19) than any other EPL side. Only leaders Chelsea and United are even close, with 22 and 21 respectively. The reason those two are leading the pack is that they have also scored far more often than the punchless Villa (61 for the Blues and 62 for United). Villa's dilemma is that they have built a team that is too dependent on two big men (Heskey and Carew) that seem unable to achieve true match fitness.

These are two guys that are frequently unavailable due to constant niggling injuries that has them unable to make the matchday squad. While both have done better in that regard this campaign appearing in 20 of 25 in the league, many of them are as late match subs for 20 minutes or less. That in itself is an example of the dilemma as they are frequently used in a match while not truly fit which only extends the time needed for them to regain true match fitness. The injuries linger which hurts the team down the road. A difficult situation for a manager and medical staff to be sure but it is clearly a big part of why this team simply is not likely to rise to their full potential. It would also put them in jeopardy of elimination right here in Round 5.

Going down to a more energetic and threatening attack from Palace twice it took a very late strike (87) by Petrov to earn a replay for Villa with a 2-2 draw. Villa's opportunities rarely resulted in actual chances to score as they broke down in the final third repeatedly and they had to rely on a goal from a very unlikely source (Collins) to knot the score at 1 (35) after Ertl opened the scoring for Palace (24) with his first ever for the club and against the run of play at that stage. Villa's best offensive efforts came only after falling behind 2-1 in the 70th on a brilliant free kick from 35 yards by Ambrose.

In the quarter finals Chelsea will face the winner of the Man City – Stoke replay and Fulham will do battle against the winner of the Bolton – Tottenham tie. Pompey will host Birmingham. The winner of the Villa – Palace replay will face the winner of the all Championship replay between Reading and West Brom.