Soccer Table Update as of 1/26

Well I am back from a two week break. I got married the Saturday before last and then went on a honeymoon to Curacao. Lovely trip, but lets get back to the action. Here is a recap of the past week's action and where the tables stand. Note: This is as of Tuesday morning (26th), so the EPL matches scheduled for this afternoon are not included and will be discussed in next week's table update on Monday (Feb 1st).

EPL:
- Past week's results - EPL action was minimized this past week due to FA Cup action. Two matches took place during the middle of last week with Arsenal defeating Bolton for the second time in four days, 4-2. Liverpool bounced back to expected form with a victory over Tottenham. On Saturday, Manchester United continued the push to defend their league title with a 4-0 rout over Hull City.
- Current EPL Table - (Note - This will change as games finalize Tuesday and Wednesday). With Chelsea on a break, Manchester United took over first place at 50 points, but having played two games more than the Blues. Arsenal at 48 points, with Chelsea, are the clear title runners. Fourth place is up for dispute between
Tottenham and Manchester City at 38 points. Liverpool's victory moved them back into UEFA CL contention, currently in 6th place with 37 points. Portsmouth continue to sit at the bottom of the table at 14 point, while the other two relegation spots seems up for battle between Burnley, West Ham, Wolverhampton, Hull City and Bolton.

Serie A:
- Past week's results - On Saturday AS Roma pulled off an impressive road victory against Juventus 2-1. Catania upset Parma as they try to pull out of the relegation zone. On Sunday the Italian action was headlined by Inter's 2-0 win over AC Milan. Inter went down to nine men by the end of the match but were able to hold on against their main league title competition. In a battle for UEFA CL or Europa League spots Palermo topped Fiorentina 3-0.
- Current Serie A Table - Inter's (49) win moved them 9 points clear of second place AC Milan (40). However, AC Milan still have one game in hand. AS Roma (38) and Napoli (37) sit in third and fourth waiting to make a move for second and looking for a spot in Europe next year. Juventus' (33) loss has dropped them to 6th place and are in danger of falling out of continental soccer completely.

FA Cup:
- Fourth Round Results - Some key results to note: Reading defeated Burnley 1-0. Stoke City upset Arsenal 3-1. WBA topped Newcastle 4-2. Everton lost 2-1 to Birmingham City. Aston Villa, Chelsea, Fulham, and ManCity all advanced as well. There were three ties which will be replayed - Wigan v. Notts County, Crystal Palace v. Wolverhampton, Leeds United v. Tottenham.
- Fifth Round Draw - The biggest match-ups of the fifth round appear to be Aston Villa vs. the Crystal Palace v. Wolverhampton winner - Manchester City vs. Stoke City, and Bolton vs. the Leeds United v. Tottenham winner.