This season is shaping up to be the tightest contest in several years. The top of the Premier League table has changed once again after a weekend of surprises and upsets.

Birmingham and Stoke win, Portsmouth steals a draw, and Manchester United flounder; who would have thought it possible? There are sure to be plenty of happy punters who picked the long odds winner, so let’s take a look at the best matches from week 10.

Birmingham City (2) vs. Sunderland (1): Birmingham City jumped out of the relegation zone after a surprise victory over in-form Sunderland. The Black Cats failed to close down City’s attack and ultimately conceded a rare loss.

Birmingham always looked in good stead during the first 45, and when defender Liam Ridgewell caught onto the end of Sebastian Larsson’s free kick it was all too clear what their intentions were.

Up 1-0 at the break, Sunderland fans could only look on in horror as their side slipped two goals behind after James McFadden got past some sloppy defending and slipped the ball into the back of the net. Scott Dann got a heavy touch on Michael Turner’s effort to give Sunderland a gift of a goal, but the game was already over and City took a well-deserved win.

Chelsea (5) vs. Blackburn Rovers (0): Chelsea are back in fine form after their shock loss to Aston Villa last weekend. The Blues cruised to victory at the expense of Rovers, and showed just how far the club has come from a season ago.

The first half was a close contest, with only a single goal the decisive factor at halftime. Gael Givet got his name on the scoresheet, but for all the wrong reasons. A Nicolas Anelka cross was dealt with poorly by Givet, and Paul Robinson could do little to keep the ball from rolling into his own net.

The second half was a rout. Blackburn just didn’t turn up, and Chelsea took advantage of the situation. First Frank Lampard and Michael Essien put the Blues three up, and then Rovers gave away a stupid penalty that put the game beyond doubt. The salt was well and truly in the wound by the 63rd minute, when Didier Drogba continued his stellar goal run this season with Chelsea’s fifth.

Bolton Wanderers (3) vs. Everton (2): Bolton Wanderers quashed a second half comeback from Everton to take their third win of the season, although the score could have been far more one-sided.

Lee Chung-Yong opened the scoring on 16 minutes after Everton’s defenders failed to deal with an inviting cross. Bolton fans didn’t have to wait long for the second, with Gary Cahill heading in a wonderful set piece goal. The game was by no means over, though, and fifteen minutes before halftime Louis Saha halved the deficit with a cracking strike from 30 yards after he was given far too much room to attack.

A 2-1, the fans had plenty to cheer about, and the match continued to get better. Marouane Fellaini put the Toffees back on level pegging, but a late strike from Ivan Klasnic, his first goal for Bolton, turned out to be the winner.

Manchester City (2) vs. Fulham (2): Fresh off a recent win over Hull City, Fulham have come from behind to steal a draw against premiership contenders Manchester City.

The first half was a mixed bag of poor football and missed chances. There were plenty of opportunities for the opener, but a failure to hit the target, and some decent goalkeeping, meant that Manchester City were halfway to their third consecutive Premier League draw.

The second 45 was a different story altogether; the Sky Blues came out firing, and after only 15 minutes they had two goals to show for it. Fulham looked stunned but not out of it, and immediately returned fire. Within two minutes of Martin Petrov’s goal, Damien Duff scored for the second time in his short Fulham career before Clint Dempsey equalised.

You can check out BetUS today for all of the odds on this week’s matches. In a season where even the giants have fallen there are plenty of exciting betting opportunities on offer.

Results

Wolves 1-1 Aston Villa
Burnley 1-3 Wigan Athletic
Hull City 0-0 Portsmouth
Tottenham 0-1 Stoke City
Liverpool 2-0 Manchester United
West Ham United 2-2 Arsenal