If Manchester City fail to win this evening vs. Bournemouth, Chelsea’s lead at the top of the table will be at least ten points with just 13 games to go. Some would say such a gap is unbridgeable.

Even though a draw was the result at Burnley’s Turf Moor on Sunday, Antonio Conte’s men moved a point further clear at the summit of the Premier League due to Spurs’ loss at Anfield, which must have made the trip back from Lancashire all the more enjoyable, even though Robbie Brady’s free-kick cancelled out an opening effort from Pedro. Man City may well close the gap to eight points, but Chelsea are in a commanding position.

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So, who was the pick of the bunch in blue vs. the Clarets? Well, Eden Hazard stood out…

The Belgian was once again at his dynamic best, with his nine successful dribbles more than double his closest competitor across the 90 minutes, Willian, could muster. On top of this standout stat, Hazard was heavily involved in the play with 91 touches of the ball and 70 passes, while his two key passes and two shots illustrated his attacking threat.

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It may be English football’s poor cousin – even a ‘Mickey Mouse competition’ on the evening your club departs it – but the League Cup (née COC, Carling, Worthington, Coca-Cola, Rumbelows, Littlewoods, and Milk) has produced some classic and iconic finals in its time.

Manchester United and Southampton will have to go some this Sunday to rival these ace clashes that linger long in the memory.

QPR 3 West Brom 2 1967

Six years into its existence the two-legged finals were scrapped in favour of a one-off Wembley showdown and it’s fair to say that QPR and the Baggies did the decision justice from the off.

Two divisions separated the sides and when the top flight Midlands club went two up before the break the result appeared a formality. An incredible 18 minutes in the second half turned the game on its head starting with a set-piece put away by Roger Morgan before pre-superstar Rodney Marsh scored what he later described as ‘the defining goal of my career’ finishing off a typically individual run. Nine minutes from time perhaps the most aptly named match-winner of them all – Mark Lazarus – tapped home to delight half of the 98,000 present.

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It shouldn’t be under-estimated how much this cracking game did to establish the tournament’s credentials.

Manchester City 2 Newcastle United 1 1976

The nationwide audience that tuned in were treated to one of the most memorable Wembley deciders ever and they would have been staggered to learn that this would be City’s last major piece of silverware for thirty-five years. Twelve months later this talented side finished runners up to Liverpool in the league before succumbing to decades of Cityitis.

The Blues boasted the indomitable pairing of Doyle and Watson at the back with teenage sensation Peter Barnes scheming on the wing and Asa Hartford probing away in midfield. 11 minutes in, Barnes opened the scoring only for Alan Gowling to level before the break.

The second period was barely underway when Tommy Booth headed across the Newcastle box and Dennis Tueart launched himself into a spectacular scissors kick that connected sweetly. Even today grown men approach the former forward and tell him they practised the move countless times as a child often injuring themselves on the settee or bed.

Born-and-bred Geordie Tueart didn’t visit home for a while after this.

Norwich City 1 Sunderland 0

This may not have been the most captivating of showpieces but the backstory alone warrants its inclusion here.

With both clubs heading for the relegation trap-door and otherwise enduring tough seasons both sets of fans were determined to enjoy their day thus fostering a communal spirit between them that persists. It means that in the 24 meetings since – in the league and cups – a ‘Friendship Trophy’ has additionally been contested for with Mackems and Canaries sharing pubs post-games to reminisce.

Missing the point entirely, Talksport named it one of football’s most pointless awards in 2013. We think it’s rather lovely and only wish it were more commonplace.

Luton Town 3 Arsenal 2 1988

For those of a certain vintage this is a pure slice of retro-heaven and a thoroughly outstanding match to boot. Arsenal were the clear favourites with manager George Graham’s dynasty built on 1-0 wins firmly in place but it was the underdogs who went ahead through an early Brian Stein strike. Order was restored late on with Hayes and Smith putting the Gunners ahead and they then looked to kill off the game carving out a succession of chances.

With just ten minutes left on the clock Arsenal were awarded a penalty and the eminently-likable Nigel Winterburn duly stepped up only to see stand-in keeper Andy Dibble save it. With hope revived Luton equalised soon after and as the game eked out into inevitable extra-time Stein guided home a last-minute winner to send Hatters fans and neutrals alike screaming at their tellies.

Birmingham City 2 Arsenal 1 2011

Arsenal once again reluctantly played the role of big bad giants but this enthralling game was all about Birmingham’s quest to secure their first trophy for just shy of half a century.

That it was achieved with just sixty seconds to spare made it all the sweeter especially as Brum had defended for their lives in the preceding 89 minutes with Ben Foster deservedly grabbing the Man of the Match award with both hands.

A comical cock-up between Szczesny and Koscielny very late on saw the ball squirm into Obafemi Martins’ path for an easy finish and though the Blues were relegated three months later they had this glorious moment to take with them. As the commentator on the day put it: “What a finish, what a final, what a celebration.”

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A week is a long time in football and Leicester City showed that last night with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Liverpool, in a result that lifted the Foxes out of the bottom-three once again and provided a major dent to Jurgen Klopp’s hopes of a top-four finish.

Following days of negative reports concerning last season’s Premier League champions and the decision to axe Claudio Ranieri last week, Leicester responded brilliantly to secure a result that may just keep them in the top-flight.

There’s still a lot of football to be played, 1080 minutes for each team to be exact, but the scoreline may also result in huge consequences at the top end of the table- as Liverpool’s hopes of returning to the Champions League decreased further.

In the end though, it was a perfect advert for Monday night football in the Premier League and these five images tell the story of the match.

RIP football

Prior to kick-off, headlines were made when a hearse was pictured outside the King Power Stadium with flowers that read ‘RIP football’- in reference to the decision to sack Claudio Ranieri last week just nine months after he guided the Foxes to the Premier League title.

Fans were understandably upset by the decision to remove the popular Italian but even the most optimistic of supporters would not have expected what was to follow.

Vardy strikes

Leicester came out flying from the blocks in the match and looked to have rekindled their best form just when it mattered, following the sides drop into the bottom three of the Premier League over the weekend- but that wasn’t to last.

With 28 minutes on the clock, time seemed to rewind to last season as Danny Drinkwater perfectly timed a through ball for Jamie Vardy to run onto, leaving the Liverpool defenders for dead, and the England international cooly struck home.

Drinkwater’s stunner

If people expected Vardy’s opening goal to have been a minor blip for Liverpool, or against the run of play if you weren’t watching the match, Danny Drinkwater’s stunning strike to double Leicester’s lead showed the Foxes were there for the victory.

Liverpool were hapless to prevent the strike from firing into the bottom corner from outside the box, with the chance falling on a plate for Drinkwater after the Reds had failed to clear their lines on numerous occasions.

The next goal in this match was now crucial- and we got it in the second-half.

Lightning strikes twice

An early goal for Liverpool in the second-half would have turned the game on it’s head but the result was sealed 15 minutes after the interval, as Jamie Vardy put the Reds to the sword once again by netting his second of the match.

The 30-year-old forward had ended his goalscoring drought in the Premier League in some style and took his tally for the season in the league to seven- and he’s now just one short of double figures for the season, having netted against Sevilla last week and against Manchester United in the Community Shield back in August.

Coutinho’s consolation

Liverpool did manage to get their names on the scoresheet through Philippe Coutinho, eight minutes after Jamie Vardy extended Leicester’s advantage to three, but by that stage the game was over as a contest- as Liverpool were at sixes and sevens throughout the game.

On a personal level, it saw Coutinho claim his fifth Premier League goal of the season and it was the first time the Brazilian has been directly involved in a league goal since the start of 2017- which may go some way to revealing Liverpool’s issues.

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has revealed that Scott Hogan could return to action in two weeks’ time.

The 24-year-old has missed the last four games after suffering an ankle injury during the Villans’ 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United on February 20.

Hogan arrived at the Midlands club with plenty of promise having netted 14 goals in 25 Championship appearances for Brentford.

The forward is yet to find the back of the net since his January transfer to Villa Park, but he only made four appearances before he was struck down with injury.

Bruce’s side has scored five goals since Hogan was sent to the treatment table, and he will be hoping for an attacking boost when the player returns.

The away match against Wigan Athletic on March 18 has been earmarked as Hogan’s comeback appearance, according to the Birmingham Mail.

Bruce is quoted as saying:

“We’re hoping to have him back in a fortnight.”

The Midlands outfit currently reside 15th in the Championship table after 11 wins, 12 draws and 13 defeats.

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Leeds United defender Pontus Jansson has avoided bringing up the reason behind his surprise omission from Garry Monk’s starting lineup.

Eyebrows were raised when the Swedish centre-back was not named in the first XI for Saturday’s Championship game over Brighton.

The 26-year-old has started 28 league games this season, but Liam Cooper was preferred in the centre of defence.

There has not been a clear cut explanation for why Jansson started on the bench, but it did not affect the team too much as they earned a 2-0 triumph at Elland Road.

The defender took to Twitter on Sunday, but he did not mention the fact that he was an unused substitute.

The result has put the Whites on course for possible automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Newcastle United and Brighton occupy the top two spots in the table, but after Leeds overcame the Seagulls and the Magpies were held to a goalless draw by Birmingham, Monk’s side are eight points adrift.

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West Ham United will be looking to end a run of three straight Premier League defeats when they face Hull City at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday.

The Irons are without a win since their 3-1 success against Southampton at St Mary’s at the start of February, and they picked up just two points from their last five league matches to leave them in 13th position in the table.

The previous three losses have come against Chelsea, Bournemouth and Leicester City, and are results that have put Slaven Bilic’s future as manager into further doubt.

A decision will be made on his future at the end of the season, but The Sun suggests that the Croatian needs to secure a top half finish to save his job – he will be hopeful that his side start the run-in by picking up all three points against the third-from-bottom Tigers this weekend.

Here are THREE reasons the Hammers will get back to winning ways in Yorkshire…

They’re playing for their manager’s future

The Hammers players will have seen all of the speculation surrounding Slaven Bilic’s future in the press this week following a run of bad results, and they will know that they need to deliver for their manager when they make the trip to Yorkshire this weekend.

The side has let the Croatian down with some disappointing performances this season but having continued to show faith in the majority of his first team players, they must start paying him back.

They aren’t at home

For some sides travelling away from home can be a bit of a nightmare, but it is probably where the Irons players would prefer to be right now.

The side has struggled to adapt to the London Stadium and the performances and the results on the pitch have shown that.

There is far less pressure on their travels, and it means they can play with a little more freedom when they face Hull this weekend.

They have impressed on the road

While they have struggled at home, Slaven Bilic’s side’s last Premier League win was an impressive 3-1 success against Southampton at St Mary’s at the start of February, and they also won by the same scoreline at Middlesbrough a fortnight earlier.

Their record on the road may not be perfect, though they have shown in 2017 that their better performances have come on their travels, and Bilic will be hoping for another one when they come up against a relegation battler on Saturday.

It does appear that Tottenham Hotspur are the more confident of the two sets of supporters entering Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley.

Indeed, the reaction to posts on Spurs’ official Twitter page has been positive, but Chelsea’s feed has been full of calls for certain players to start, and the likes of Diego Costa to be dropped.

Victor Wanyama is expected to be in the Spurs XI for Saturday’s last-four clash in London, and the former Southampton midfielder took to Twitter on Saturday afternoon in a bid to rally the club’s supporters.

The 25-year-old, who has made 40 appearances for Spurs in all competitions during the 2016-17 campaign, was hailed in the response section, with the midfielder becoming a favourite at White Hart Lane after joining Mauricio Pochettino’s side last summer.

Tottenham have not won the FA Cup since 1991, but they have the chance to move one step closer to the trophy against Chelsea.

You don’t get many true club legends these days. Modern football has developed in a way that makes it pretty difficult for a player to stay at one club for more than two or three seasons at a time.

But back in the early days of the Premier League, and of course before then, it was far easier for a player to sign for a club and call it his home for many, many years. That’s what Lucas Radebe did when he rocked up at Elland Road in 1994.

The South African initially struggled with injuries during his early years at Leeds but as soon as manager Howard Wilkinson was replaced with George Graham, the defender was able to show the Premier League what he was all about.

Eleven seasons, 256 first team appearances, three goals and a Champions League semi-final later and Radebe had become a Leeds United legend.

On Wednesday the great man turned 48-years-young, so we’ve put together the video below to honour his time with Leeds and the impact he had on the Premier League…

Leeds United’s hopes of reaching the Championship play-offs took a fatal blow on Saturday when they failed to beat Norwich City at Elland Road.3-0 down at half-time thanks to a Stephen Naismith goal and a Nelson Oliveira double, the home side actually gave a spirited attempt to try and claw their back for a vital three points but just could get the all important fourth goal.They fought until the death and goals from Chris Wood, Kyle Bartley and Pablo Hernandez put them on the verge of one of the great Football League comebacks.With Fulham also drawing in their match and Sheffield Wednesday winning, only a Fulham loss, a Leeds win and a gargantuan swing in goal difference, 14 goals, would see them reach the play-offs and it’s obviously incredibly unlikely.The afternoon’s results were of course joyous for opposition fans with Sheffield Wednesday now guaranteed their spot in the race for promotion alongside Reading and Huddersfield. Fulham fans are of course confident too.Rival fans took to Twitter to rub it in to Leeds supporters…

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It might be the biggest ‘will-he won’t-he’ of the summer transfer window, but if David de Gea decides to leave Manchester United, one thing is certain: Jose Mourinho’s side will be losing a fabulous goalkeeper.

What that means in practice, though, is that United need to be planning already for life without him. They need a replacement lined-up before they even know if he’s going.

Inevitably, the biggest names in the world would be linked with the club if the possibility of De Gea leaving gathered speed, but that might not be the route United should take.

For one thing, the biggest names in the world won’t join Manchester United. They’re too busy playing for clubs they’ll likely never leave: Gianluigi Buffon and Manuel Neuer are both showing that the biggest thing a goalkeeper can wish for is stability. Even when Victor Valdes left Barcelona for Manchester United, that pretty much spelled the end of his days at the top.

It doesn’t always work out that way. United signed Edwin van der Sar, which turned out to be a fabulous signing, but despite that, Mourinho should think about someone a bit younger who will have time to establish himself as the number one at Old Trafford the coming years.

Names like Hugo Lloris and Jan Oblak will be linked with United, but the answer might be much closer to home.

Since his move from Birmingham to Stoke City, Jack Butland – rated at £7.65m by Transfermarkt.co.uk – has seen his star rise, even if this season has been something of a write-off for the England international. It was a costly injury sustained at the end of the last campaign which not only ruled him out of the European Championships in France last summer, but also meant Butland missed almost the entirety of this season.

His comeback came at a time when football was no longer on the minds of his team.

Returning in late April, Butland has made only four appearances this season, conceding an average of two goals per game – a pretty hefty chunk of goals to let in for a keeper who would like to challenge Joe Hart for England’s number one jersey sooner rather than later. And yet, this is the sort of record which Stoke might well benefit from in the near-future.

If bigger clubs search for a goalkeeper this summer, they’ll see Butland as a player who has just come back from an injury with a bad record. But that only tells half the story. Stoke’s players have been dreaming of deck chairs on the beach since January, really, and six of the eight goals Butland has conceded have come against Swansea and Arsenal, two teams who still had something left to play for.

What people forget is that before his injury, Butland was in sensational form in his breakthrough Premier League season. Since Joining Stoke, he’s been loaned out to four different clubs before finally cementing his place in the side after the sale of Asmir Begovic to Chelsea at the start of last season.

At 24, Butland is at the prime age for United this summer. Any bigger club looking at him would have wanted to see two full seasons in the Premier League, just to be sure. That probably plays into the hands of Stoke, who may keep him for another year because of the injury.

And yet, if De Gea does leave United this summer, Mourinho should take the gamble. If he doesn’t, it means he’ll have to replace the Spaniard with another player, and that means losing out on Butland.

And if he does take the gamble, he could sign Manchester United’s number one for the next decade. It could be well worth the risk.