This weekend marked the last round of Premier League fixtures for two weeks, with the FA Cup taking the main stage next weekend.
Manchester United faced Liverpool for the second time in two weeks and there were two key fixtures at the bottom of the table as Blackburn met QPR and Wigan travelled to Bolton.
Here is the Football.co.uk Premier League team of the week.
Position : Goalkeeper
Joe Hart (Manchester City)
England's number one was again in great from for Man City against Villa. He did very little for the majority of the game but was there when he was needed to pull off a match-winning save from Darren Bent late in the game.
Position: Defender
Joleon Lescott (Manchester City)
Lescott scored the only goal of the game to take Manchester City back to the top of the Premier League table. He latched on to Gareth Barry's header and buried his shot from close range against his boyhood club, Aston Villa.
Position: Defender
Jonny Evans (Manchester United)
An outstanding performance from the often criticised centre back. His calm and assured performance at the back against Liverpool helped go some way to proving he is a capable defender. It was a massive 3 points for United, who now find themselves edging closer to rivals Manchester City.
Position: Defender
Jonas Olsson (West Brom)
The Swedish centre back caused chaos for Wolves every time he went forward for a corner. He scored one and set up Peter Odemwingie during the 5-1 rout. His back-heeled finish looked like that of an accomplished centre forward, rather than a defender.
Position: Midfielder
Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)
The Ecuadorian winger has been one of the star performers at Old Trafford this season. Since returning from injury, Valencia has been in excellent form and is also perhaps one of the best 'team players' in the league. His unselfishness nature has resulted in nine assists for him so far this season.
Position: Midfielder
Steven N'Zonzi (Blackburn)
The Frenchman scored a brilliant goal in the crucial win over relegation rivals Queens Park Rangers. His hard-working performance in the middle of the pitch was instrumental in helping Rovers pull themselves back into the game and take all three points.
Position: Midfielder
James McClean (Sunderland)
The young Irish winger has been revitalised since the appointment of Martin O'Neill. His goal put Sunderland into the lead against Arsenal on Saturday and but for a last minute goal from Thierry Henry, would have earned Sunderland a good point.
Position: Midfielder
Steven Pienaar (Everton)
The Goodison Park favourite returned on transfer deadline day, on loan for the rest of the season. The South African instantly made an impact upon his return by scoring the goal that put Everton into the lead against Chelsea. The recent upsurge in form for Everton was rounded off with a 2-0 victory over Chelsea.
Position: Forward
Peter Odemwingie (West Brom)
West Brom turned on the style at just the right time to record their biggest victory since 1962. Odemwingie is back to scoring goals after netting a hat-trick in the Black Country derby. The Nigerian forward ripped Wolves apart on numerous occasions and made it 5 goals in 4 games against their local rivals.
Position: Forward
Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham)
The former Arsenal forward is in terrific form and completely ripped Newcastle apart on Saturday. Having already assisted the first four goals, he was on hand to put away the fifth and round off a superb display for Spurs with a 5-0 win.
Position: Forward
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Two superb strikes from the England forward were not enough to hit the headlines, this was due to the controversy surrounding the handshake incident between Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez. That should take nothing away from Rooney who crowned his 500th league appearance with a superb performance and win over Liverpool.
Source: DSG
Source: DSG