Manchester City regains momentum with victory against Wolverhampton, while Liverpool's troubles intensify.

Manchester City regains momentum with victory against Wolverhampton, while Liverpool's troubles intensify.

Manchester City returned to form with a 2-0 victory over bottom-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, bringing them within four points of Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday. Meanwhile, Liverpool's struggles continued as they suffered a last-minute 3-2 defeat at Bournemouth.

City's manager, Pep Guardiola, opted to leave leading scorer Erling Haaland out of the starting eleven, yet they secured their first league win in nearly a month, thanks to goals from Omar Marmoush and new acquisition Antoine Semenyo. Arsenal, who will host fifth-placed Manchester United on Sunday, currently hold 50 points, while City sits at 46 points, having played one additional match.

The reigning champions, Liverpool, find their top-four position at risk after following four consecutive league draws with a loss on the south coast, despite having fought back from a 2-0 deficit.

Bournemouth's Amine Adli netted the winning goal for the hosts in the 95th minute, effectively the last kick of the match, elevating them 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

Liverpool may be surpassed by Manchester United and Chelsea on Sunday.

West Ham United triumphed over Sunderland with a 3-1 home victory, marking their second consecutive league win. Captain Jarrod Bowen set a club record with both an assist and a goal in this match. They remain in the relegation zone but have narrowed the gap to 17th-placed Nottingham Forest to two points ahead of Forest's match on Sunday against Brentford.

Burnley, sitting second from the bottom, played to a third consecutive draw in the Premier League, as Cristian Romero's late equaliser for Tottenham Hotspur resulted in a 2-2 stalemate, denying them a vital win.

Fulham climbed to seventh in the standings after coming from behind to defeat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1, with Harry Wilson scoring a stunning late free kick at Craven Cottage.

Yasin Ayari had given Brighton the lead in the first half, but substitute Samuel Chukwueze managed to equalise.

HAALAND ON BENCH

City approached their match against the improving Wolves following a disappointing run of three draws and one defeat in their last four league matches, with the memory of this week's 3-1 loss to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League still fresh in their minds.Their recent decline has enabled Arsenal to establish a clear lead at the top, coinciding with Haaland's dip in performance, as the Norwegian has managed to score only once in his last eight matches across all competitions prior to the encounter against Wolves.

Guardiola remarked that the striker was 'exhausted' following a demanding fixture schedule, and his choice to rotate the squad against Wolves proved beneficial. In his first league appearance since the Africa Cup of Nations, Marmoush started ahead of Haaland and opened the scoring in the sixth minute with his inaugural league goal of the season, striking from Matheus Nunes's cross.

Semenyo, who was acquired two weeks ago from Bournemouth, extended City's advantage in first-half stoppage time with his first league goal for the club, delivering a powerful low shot past Jose Sa.

City also introduced centre back Marc Guehi, who was signed earlier in the week from Crystal Palace, while Haaland made his entrance from the bench in the 74th minute.

BOWEN BREAKS CLUB RECORD

Liverpool found themselves trailing 2-0, with Evanilson and Alex Jimenez finding the net for the hosts, but Virgil van Dijk's header narrowed the gap before halftime.

Dominik Szoboszlai equalized with a low free kick in the 80th minute, yet Bournemouth could have regained the lead when Evanilson missed a great opportunity by steering the ball wide.

However, Bournemouth persevered and clinched the victory when a long throw created confusion, allowing Adli to slot the ball in from close range, igniting wild celebrations.

West Ham's 2-1 triumph last week against Tottenham seems to have sparked a survival effort, as they delivered a robust first-half performance against mid-table Sunderland.

"The message before the match was simply to continue building on our recent performances," Bowen stated.

They took the lead in the 14th minute when Bowen's lofted cross was headed in by Crysencio Summerville.

Bowen converted a penalty to make it 2-0 following Trai Hume's foul on Ollie Scarles, with Mateus Fernandes adding a third just before halftime with a long-range effort.

Bowen's assist for the first goal propelled him past Michail Antonio's record for goal involvements at West Ham, bringing his total to 103 -- comprising 63 goals and 40 assists.