* West Ham sacked manager Manuel Pellegrini after Saturday's (Dec 28) 2-1 home defeat to Leicester left the Hammers just one point above the Premier League's relegation zone in 17th.
* Carlo Ancelotti's flying start as Everton manager continued as his side won 2-1 at Newcastle United and Watford are also thriving under new boss Nigel Pearson after crushing relegation rivals Aston Villa 3-0 on Saturday.
* Striker Danny Ings scored his 12th Premier League goal of the season to grab a point for Southampton as they came back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Crystal Palace in their clash at St. Mary's Stadium on Saturday.
* Harry Kane's penalty eight minutes from time salvaged a point for Tottenham in a 2-2 thriller at Norwich on Saturday (Dec 28) that exposed both sides' inability to defend.
* Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Aaron Mooy both broke their goalscoring ducks for Brighton & Hove Albion who returned to winning ways at home with a 2-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
* Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin kept up his fine run of form as he scored twice to give Everton a 2-1 win at Newcastle United in a pulsating Premier League clash on Saturday.
* Serie A basement club Genoa have sacked coach Thiago Motta and appointed former player Davide Nicola in his place, the Serie A club announced on Friday (Dec 28). Motta, also a former Genoa player, took over two months ago, but was fired after the western port side lost 4-0 to Inter Milan in their last game before the winter break on Dec 21.
* Leonardo Jardim has been fired by Monaco just over a year since he was previously sent packing and replaced by former Spain coach Roberto Moreno, the club announced on Saturday (Dec 28).
* Andy Murray has pulled out of next month's Australian Open because of a pelvic injury, the three-time Grand Slam champion's management team announced on Saturday (Dec 28).
