Two London clubs in need of a win beat their opponents via a penalty kick, a player got sent off in what is arguably one of the most chaotic fixtures in the league every year, and Unai Emery's machine continued marching on with a tenth win in ten games as Villa close out the season in style. These are the winners and losers from gameweek 17 of English Premier League action.

You can tell that he's just licking his lips and relishing the prospect of pipping his former protege to yet another title, and possibly his last in England. There has been so much speculation around Pep's future this season, and he has always insisted that he will leave when he is ready. However, with news surfacing that the City higher-ups are making a list of potential replacements (Maresca is supposedly high on the list), it's not unlikely that this could be Pep's final season at the Etihad. And if it is, I'm sure he'd like to go out in style.

City wobbled in the early parts of the season and looked like they wouldn't be in a title race at all this season, but things have stabilised since then. Saturday's 3-0 win over West Ham took them to the top of the table briefly before Arsenal played later that day. I suspect that Guardiola loves this situation, chasing instead of being chased, but I just can't prove it. If he does manage to win the title, it'll be a hat-trick of chasing down Mikel Arteta and nicking a Premier League trophy from him. I can't prove it either, but I suspect that Guardiola would love that as well.

In the first half against Chelsea this weekend, Newcastle looked like their old selves again. They pressed high and aggressively, were direct on the counter, and just generally bullied Chelsea off the pitch, resulting in a 2-0 lead at halftime courtesy of two brilliant goals by Nick Woltemade. I'm sure everyone watching the game had only one question on their minds as the teams walked back out for the second half: "Will Newcastle be able to maintain the intensity from the first half?" They were not, in fact, able to maintain the consistency. From the first kick of the ball in the second half, Newcastle were more subdued; the intensity levels dropped off massively, and Chelsea eventually grabbed two goals and escaped with a point. This game epitomises Newcastle's season; they've been inconsistent, unable to bring the same level of application across games as the season has unfolded. We're almost halfway through the season, and Eddie Howe doesn't seem to have cracked the code for consistency; it's not looking good, brev.

Fulham moved to 13th on the table with 23 points after their victory on Monday evening. They're now closer to Sunderland in 6th (26 points) than they are to Monday's opponents, Nottingham Forest in 17th (18 points). The days of wondering about a potential relegation battle are over at Craven Cottage, and Marco Silva will not care that it took a Raul Jimenez penalty to ensure all three points. The performance itself wasn't stellar, and it could be argued that they won because Nottingham Forest were worse than they were. However, one also has to account for the fact that Fulham were missing three key players in Bassey, Iwobi, and Chukwueze due to AFCON duties. All that matters is that the ship has been steadied and fortune's reversed, and now there is the chance of a push for European spots again at Craven Cottage.

Tottenham are in 14th place on the table with 22 points. Read that again, slowly.

For a club of Tottenham's size and ambitions, to be in this position almost halfway through the season is horrible to say the least. Thomas Frank has struggled to get the team ticking, settle on a style of play, or generate any sort of consistency so far. The game against Liverpool presented them with an opportunity to prey on the troubles Liverpool is having and give themselves a much-needed ego boost. But they failed to capitalise. Xavi Simons got sent off for a rash challenge after just 33 minutes, and Liverpool were able to run out 2-1 winners. It's a troubling position that Thomas Frank and his team find themselves in, and they'll need things to change real soon before the fans lose all patience.

I have no idea what Daniel Farke said to his players coming into December, but whatever it was, it has been mighty effective. They've lost only once in the last five games and amassed 8 points from a possible 15 in that time, taking points off the likes of Liverpool and defeating the likes of Chelsea and Sunday's opponent, Crystal Palace. In short, no one could have predicted that Leeds would be undefeated at this point in December, looking at the quality of opponents they've had to face this month, but they are. I don't know which result the Leeds fanbase has loved the most so far, but Sunday's thrashing of Crystal Palace has to be one of the best. With that 4-1 victory, Leeds has now moved up to 16th on the table with 19 points, and more importantly, put 6 points between them and West Ham in the relegation places. I don't think many people had Leeds staying up on their bingo cards, but they might just be about to pull it off.

Two London clubs in need of a win beat their opponents via a penalty kick, a player got sent off in what is arguably one of the most chaotic fixtures in the league every year, and Unai Emery's machine continued marching on with a tenth win in ten games as Villa close out the season in style. These are the winners and losers from gameweek 17 of English Premier League action.

You can tell that he's just licking his lips and relishing the prospect of pipping his former protege to yet another title, and possibly his last in England. There has been so much speculation around Pep's future this season, and he has always insisted that he will leave when he is ready. However, with news surfacing that the City higher-ups are making a list of potential replacements (Maresca is supposedly high on the list), it's not unlikely that this could be Pep's final season at the Etihad. And if it is, I'm sure he'd like to go out in style.

City wobbled in the early parts of the season and looked like they wouldn't be in a title race at all this season, but things have stabilised since then. Saturday's 3-0 win over West Ham took them to the top of the table briefly before Arsenal played later that day. I suspect that Guardiola loves this situation, chasing instead of being chased, but I just can't prove it. If he does manage to win the title, it'll be a hat-trick of chasing down Mikel Arteta and nicking a Premier League trophy from him. I can't prove it either, but I suspect that Guardiola would love that as well.

In the first half against Chelsea this weekend, Newcastle looked like their old selves again. They pressed high and aggressively, were direct on the counter, and just generally bullied Chelsea off the pitch, resulting in a 2-0 lead at halftime courtesy of two brilliant goals by Nick Woltemade. I'm sure everyone watching the game had only one question on their minds as the teams walked back out for the second half: "Will Newcastle be able to maintain the intensity from the first half?" They were not, in fact, able to maintain the consistency. From the first kick of the ball in the second half, Newcastle were more subdued; the intensity levels dropped off massively, and Chelsea eventually grabbed two goals and escaped with a point. This game epitomises Newcastle's season; they've been inconsistent, unable to bring the same level of application across games as the season has unfolded. We're almost halfway through the season, and Eddie Howe doesn't seem to have cracked the code for consistency; it's not looking good, brev.

Fulham moved to 13th on the table with 23 points after their victory on Monday evening. They're now closer to Sunderland in 6th (26 points) than they are to Monday's opponents, Nottingham Forest in 17th (18 points). The days of wondering about a potential relegation battle are over at Craven Cottage, and Marco Silva will not care that it took a Raul Jimenez penalty to ensure all three points. The performance itself wasn't stellar, and it could be argued that they won because Nottingham Forest were worse than they were. However, one also has to account for the fact that Fulham were missing three key players in Bassey, Iwobi, and Chukwueze due to AFCON duties. All that matters is that the ship has been steadied and fortune's reversed, and now there is the chance of a push for European spots again at Craven Cottage.

Tottenham are in 14th place on the table with 22 points. Read that again, slowly.

For a club of Tottenham's size and ambitions, to be in this position almost halfway through the season is horrible to say the least. Thomas Frank has struggled to get the team ticking, settle on a style of play, or generate any sort of consistency so far. The game against Liverpool presented them with an opportunity to prey on the troubles Liverpool is having and give themselves a much-needed ego boost. But they failed to capitalise. Xavi Simons got sent off for a rash challenge after just 33 minutes, and Liverpool were able to run out 2-1 winners. It's a troubling position that Thomas Frank and his team find themselves in, and they'll need things to change real soon before the fans lose all patience.

I have no idea what Daniel Farke said to his players coming into December, but whatever it was, it has been mighty effective. They've lost only once in the last five games and amassed 8 points from a possible 15 in that time, taking points off the likes of Liverpool and defeating the likes of Chelsea and Sunday's opponent, Crystal Palace. In short, no one could have predicted that Leeds would be undefeated at this point in December, looking at the quality of opponents they've had to face this month, but they are. I don't know which result the Leeds fanbase has loved the most so far, but Sunday's thrashing of Crystal Palace has to be one of the best. With that 4-1 victory, Leeds has now moved up to 16th on the table with 19 points, and more importantly, put 6 points between them and West Ham in the relegation places. I don't think many people had Leeds staying up on their bingo cards, but they might just be about to pull it off.