With Premier League leaders Chelsea on Capital One Cup final duty as Matchday 27 rolled around, the chance was there for the Blues title rivals to close the gap at the top of the table.Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City all set about seizing that opportunity across the weekend, with the latter duo squaring up at Anfield on Sunday.Heres a look at a full fixture list across Matchday 27 and in-depth analysis on the weeks biggest storylines.Saturday RecapManchester Uniteds unconvincing 2-0 victory against Sunderland at Old Trafford earned them third in the Premier League table.Wayne Rooney bagged a brace to break his 2015 duck, but the match was overshadowed by a bizarre refereeing decision.Rooney netted the games opener from the spot after Radamel Falcao was brought down by John OShea, but man-in-the-middle Roger East gave Wes Brown his marching orders in a rather confusing case of mistaken identity.OShea himself told East that he was the offender, but he wasnt changing his mind, as Gary Lineker reported:Rooney then found the net from close range after Costel Pantilimon parried an Adnan Januzaj effort onto his head, and in doing so made a big statement of where he should be playing in the United setup. ESPNs Mark Payne believes as much, too, saying that Rooney should be an out-and-out striker:The captain had a wearisome first half but ultimately came up with two goals which ended an eight-game league drought, in a match-winning effort. His headed second was the first goal in open play from a United striker in almost a month and he can send no clearer message to the manager than that regarding his preferred position.With upcoming matches against Newcastle United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, sending Rooney up top could well be the ticket to success.Arsenal and Spurs are both battling for that all-important fourth Champions League place and will fancy their chances of taking points from Old Trafford if United keep up this form.Elsewhere, the other side looking to break into the top four, Southampton, slipped up away at West Bromwich Albion, as a Saido Berahino goal inside two minutes was enough to hand the Baggies all three points.With Saints now fifth in the table, Liverpool and Tottenham have a chance to go above them with wins in their respective matches.West Ham United also lost ground on the European football-chasing pack, as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace.A Glenn Murray brace either side of a Scott Dann goal handed Alan Pardew the points against his former club, with Enner Valencias consolation goal not enough to lift the gloom at Upton Park.Table Within a TableThe bottom of the table sees several sides scrapping it out for Premier League survival, with Aston Villa the biggest name looking to avoid the drop in a mini table at the bottom.However, new manager Tim Sherwood saw his Aston Villa side slip to another defeat on Saturday, this time at the hands of Newcastle United.Papiss Cisse scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win for the Magpies, although that strike came against the run of play, as Stan Collymore reflected on:The performance was a lot better from Villa, but they still have a mountain to climb if theyre to avoid the drop this season.Level on points with Burnley and QPR and three adrift on 17th-place Sunderland, Villa need a big lift in the coming weeks, starting with their clash against Midlands rivals West Brom on March 7.They were helped by fellow strugglers Burnley losing 1-0 at home to Swansea City, though. A Kieran Trippier own goal was enough to send the Welsh fans home happy.Meanwhile, Stoke City played out an uninspiring 1-0 win against Hull City at the Britannia to keep the Tigers in trouble, with Peter Crouch coming on as a substitute to head the winner in the 71st minute.In doing so, the Englishman equalled Alan Shearers record of scoring 46 headed goals in the Premier League, as OptaJoe revealed:The three points kept Stoke in the hunt for a Europa League place in 10th, just six points adrift of sixth-place Liverpool, who are in action in the early kick-off on Sunday.The Reds welcome Manchester City to Anfield, looking to continue their impressive form and replicate their dramatic 3-2 victory against the champions last season.Arsenal are also in action, taking on Everton, and seeking redemption for their drab performance in the Champions League in midweek against Monaco.While Saturdays matches werent exactly a demonstration of the Premier League at its scintillating best, results have left the table wonderfully poised for the weeks of drama ahead.Read more World Football news on BleacherReport.com
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