Premier League, Week 6: QPR remain bottom after West Ham loss

Relying on physical play to contain the buzzing West Ham front line does have its disadvantages, however. The Hammers were getting set pieces, and eventually managed to double their lead when Granero felled Nolan thirty yards out.

Despite getting the ball in the back of the net in the sixth minute of first half stoppage time (the goal was ruled out for a clear offside), it was clear that Mark Hughes was going to need to make some changes during the break. He didn’t, and so the game remained on its course. The hosts had Cesar to thank for keeping the deficit to two after the impressive Mohammed Diame was allowed to waltz into the box and unleash a thunderous angled drive at the goal, but it looked like the third Hammers goal was coming, and soon.

By this point, Spurs supporters were hiding behind whatever they could find. They’re not used to being in the lead at Old Trafford, and it felt as though United were destined to win the game. Even as the clock ticked down, the equaliser seemed inevitable.

Four minutes of injury time later, and it hadn’t. United were dealt their second defeat of the season, and Tottenham had secured -- that’s almost certainly the wrong word -- a hugely valuable 3-2 victory. It was their first in the league at Old Trafford for 23 years.

The second half was largely uneventful, with Everton remaining comfortably on top as they protected their two-goal lead easily.

It’s not the scoreline anyone was expecting, considering that Manchester United haven’t dropped points since their opening fixture of the 2012/13 season, but hey -- it’s Spurs 1, United 0. There’s plenty of time for a comeback, and the hosts have generally required a kick up the pants to get them going this year, but still, an awful start.

It was a heartbreaking way for such a well-played match to end, and the Cottagers might feel like they deserved a point.

It’s a far cry from the scintillating performances with which Swansea opened up their season -- they’re in freefall right now.

Manchester United: Lindegaard; Rafael, Evra, Ferdinand, Evans; Scholes, Nani, Giggs, Carrick; Kagawa; van Persie. Bench: De Gea, Anderson, Rooney, Hernandez, Welbeck, Cleverley, Wootton.

Nuri Sahin notched his first Premier League goal shortly after halftime when Suarez teed him up for a close-range finish, a strike that made it 3-0 Liverpool. Things weren’t all rosy, however -- had Norwich taken advantage of their several chances the match would have looked very different. Nothing illustrated just how poor/unlucky the hosts were in front of goal so much as Robert Snodgrass contriving to clear his own teammates’ shot off the line just prior to Sahin’s goal.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, that would be the only positive contribution that Gervinho made to the game. It was a bizarre day for Torres and Gervinho, two players who generally contribute positively to their teams, but can’t finish. Instead, both scored excellent goals, then proceeded to play very poorly for the rest of the match.

With their win, Chelsea have padded their lead on the top of the table and will not be caught this week. Arsenal stay in fifth, and could potentially be passed by as many as five teams this weekend.

Fulham: Schwarzer; Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise; Duff, Baird, Sidwell, Rodallega; Ruiz, Petric. Bench: Stockdale, Kelly, Kasami, Karagounis, Kacaniklic, Briggs, Smith.

Norwich, meanwhile, also drop one of their forwards in Grant Holt. A revelation last season, the burly striker has not yet scored this season and has been moved to the bench with Steve Morison preferred up front for the Canaries.

Liverpool: Reina, Wisdom, Skrtel, Agger, Johnson, Gerrard, Allen, Sahin, Suso, Suarez, Sterling. Bench: Jones, Carragher, Henderson, Downing, Assaidi, Coates, Borini.

Two minutes later, Koscielny made another error, falling down on a ball forward to Torres. That allowed the Chelsea striker to get through one-on-one with the keeper, but he completely fluffed his shot. At live speed, it looked like Torres had won a penalty, but he actually managed to trip himself by mis-kicking the ball.

The French midfielder has always been notoriously injury-prone, and despite Gunners boss Arsene Wenger’s hopes that this could be a breakthrough season for him, it seems that his fitness problems will not go away. Diaby has suffered ever since injuring his ankle in 2006, and the following complications have sidelined him with over 20 muscular injuries since that time. Last summer he had surgery on his ankle - the fourth time he has gone under the knife to attempt to fix the problem.

Stay tuned to our live stream of coverage on the Premier League for updates on Arsenal vs. Chelsea, Diaby’s injury, and all the other Premier League action happening today.

United have their own defensive concerns with Nemanja Vidic again facing another extended absence. Sir Alex Ferguson’s defense has been shaky when with Vidic in the team, so it stands to reason things could get even dicier at the back.

With both sides facing defensive issues, this could be an entertaining and high-scoring match at Old Trafford.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Ramires, Oscar, Hazard, Mata, Torres. Bench: Turnbull, Romeu, Lampard, Moses, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Bertrand.

No matter what happens on Saturday afternoon, one fanbase will be filled with all kinds of hope that their team is a true challenger to Manchester United and Manchester City for the title. Is this true? Probably not, but neutrals should probably cheer for one team -- either team -- to take all three points to keep hopes of a three-team title race alive.

Chelsea injuries and suspensions

The Premier League is starting to take shape. Whereas you spent the opening weeks of the season guessing and hoping that you could predict what would happen and then put money on those wild guesses because you’re a degenerate, now you know what is going on. It has been a month and the cream has risen to the top.

Wait, huh?

Pick: Draw, 2-2