Midweek Premier League action is one of life’s great treats. Whether the winter break would be beneficial or not, it is always great to have this extra portion of Premier League football during the cold, dark nights around Christmas. It can, as so many cliché-ridden pundits will tell you, be a truly pivotal point in a campaign, too.

Everyone loves a narrative and the festive fixtures so often throw up a fair share. Sky and BT can fill their boots with cringeworthy plays on words, pundits can question the rotation policies of managers and fans get to generate the sort of raucous atmosphere that is almost exclusive to midweek football.

This week, too, there seemed to be so much at stake in the Premier League. The bottom of the table changed and results for the top sides shifted the weight of pressure somewhat. While it was not the feast of goals that we have seen regularly of late, it still presented layer upon layer of fascination.

So, here are five of the key points from all the midweek action.

Hammering it Home

Slaven Bilic knew that West Ham’s fixture with Burnley would be vital. Having held their own for a dramatic draw with Liverpool last weekend, the Hammers needed to build on that in an overwhelmingly winnable home fixture.

They did.

Mark Noble did the honours just before half-time, as the Irons took advantage of all the pressure they piled onto Sean Dyche’s side. The Clarets have still scored just one goal away from home this season, but this was a victory that could be a turning point in West Ham’s campaign.

Sweet Manchester Relief

With Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola engaging in a competition to be the most frustrated in their press conferences, Manchester’s two footballing giants needed positive results this week. With Manchester United scraping past Crystal Palace and City beating Watford, they duly delivered.

Both teams remain far short of their lofty expectations for the season, but these results – despite being universally expected – release some of the pressure that was mounting. Manchester United have notched their first back-to-back wins in months and Guardiola’s City team showed they have moved on from the Leicester calamity.

Cut adrift

With challenging fixtures, Swansea, Sunderland and Hull will have been pessimistic ahead of this round of matches. That pessimism was proven to be rather understandable as they all fell to defeat, putting them at risk of being cut away from the rest of the Premier League.

The bottom three, who are separated by just one point, are three points adrift of 17th placed Middlesbrough now. Of the three sides, Sunderland can take the most positives out of their midweek performance, but they remain bottom of the table and pressure is beginning to build on David Moyes once again.

Same Old Arsenal

With the chance to go top of the Premier League table, Arsenal were under a bit of pressure heading to out-of-form Everton on Tuesday evening. Having taken an early lead, everything looked to be going to plan. Then, a flat performance from the Gunners turned into a disaster.

Everton upped their game and the Arsenal defence looked vulnerable, with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez’s impact limited. The Toffees played on the crest of a wave of Goodison Park energy, but Arsenal’s performance will have given many a Gunner painful flashbacks to previous crumbling sides.

No Hazards

With the news of Eden Hazard not travelling to Sunderland, Chelsea’s winning streak was under threat. Proving they can do it without their star, the Blues nicked a 1-0 victory against David Moyes’ side to extend their lead at the top of the table.

Its now ten victories on the bounce for the Blues and this was one of the most impressive yet. The supporting cast is stepping up for Antonio Conte’s side - they almost unstoppable at the moment.