How many top strikers would pass up the chance of a hat-trick so a man who might end up taking their place could get a goal?

Fantasy Premier League managers everywhere love a good moan about the allocation of bonus points - usually when one of their players gets short-changed. This week was very different, though.

Burnley climbed into the Champions League places as Ashley Barnes' late winner earned them a 1-0 victory over troubled Stoke.

England once again disappointed in victory as Gareth Southgate's men stuttered against Lithuania in the final competitive match before next summer's World Cup.

Substitute Peter Crouch took advantage of a terrible defensive mix-up to earn Stoke a 1-1 Premier League draw at West Brom.

It was a list that should have embarrassed Stoke City’s manager: West Ham, Stevenage, Sunderland, Hull, Swansea, Watford, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, and Southampton.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger complained his side had been denied a goal and a penalty by incorrect decisions from the match officials in the 1-0 loss at Stoke.

Sunderland's 10-year stay in the Premier League was ended as Josh King's late winner for Bournemouth confirmed their relegation.

We’ve all nodded along sagely to warnings that Double Gameweek players don’t necessarily outscore their single-fixture counterparts, but it takes a week like this to make us actually believe it.

Stoke have completed the permanent signing of Derby goalkeeper Lee Grant for £1.3million following his impressive loan spell at the Premier League club.

Shay Given’s hopes of proving his fitness to Martin O’Neill ahead of Euro 2016 are in the balance after Stoke boss Mark Hughes again came out in support of goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard.

Martin Olsson scored in stoppage time to earn Norwich a vital 3-2 win over a Newcastle side now staring at Premier League relegation.

Ireland and Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot admitted the tears flowed when he discovered the seriousness of the knee injury which will rule him out for the rest of the season, including the European Championships in France.

England goalkeeper Jack Butland looks set to miss the European finals after fracturing his ankle in Saturday’s win. Butland is likely to be ruled out with the tournament 10 weeks away.

England manager Roy Hodgson believes Dele Alli can become the new Bryan Robson and will give the Tottenham teenager another chance to shine when inexperienced England face world champions Germany.

Southampton’s appeal against Sadio Mane’s red card will be heard by the Football Association this afternoon.

Graziano Pelle ended a four-month wait for a goal with a first-half brace as Southampton defeated Stoke to go up to seventh in the Barclays Premier League table.

Guus Hiddink wrote off Chelsea's chances of reaching the top four following the 1-1 draw with Stoke.

Manchester United eased the pressure on Louis van Gaal as they blew away Stoke.

Liverpool 0 Stoke City 1 (1-1 on aggregate, Liverpool win 6-5 on penalties): Midfielder Joe Allen was the penalty shoot-out hero as his spot-kick sent Liverpool to Wembley after a tense Capital One Cup semi-final second leg at Anfield.

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott feels the title race the Gunners are currently leading is shaping up as the most exciting yet in the Premier League era.

Norwich proved instrumental in their own downfall as they succumbed to defeat at Stoke.

Xherdan Shaqiri delivered one of the goals of the season and Romelu Lukaku continued his remarkable scoring record at Goodison Park but ultimately a controversial penalty in injury time was the deciding factor as Stoke finally triumphed in a seven-goal epic.

Premier League round-up

Liverpool have lost only one of the opening 10 matches of Jurgen Klopp’s reign, but that defeat means the German is not getting carried away by his start at Anfield.

There was more goalkeeping worry for Martin O’Neill after Newcastle manager Steve McClaren confirmed Rob Elliot suffered a recurrence of a thigh injury.

The pressure on Jose Mourinho cranked up another notch as holders Chelsea crashed out of the Capital One Cup with a 5-4 loss on penalties at 10-man Stoke following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.

The state of the Premier League nation...

Arsenal 2 Stoke 0: Arsene Wenger has a selection problem going into a vital run of early season games. Some might argue the problem is of his own making, but he has to chose between strikers Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud at a time when both need a run of games to increase their goalscoring confidence.

Sitting in the autumnal sunshine at the Arsenal on Saturday, soaking up some rays, while watching a supremely dominant display against Stoke, with the Gunners spraying the ball around in such a pleasing-on-the-eye fashion, it’s hard to imagine a more pleasurable way of passing a Saturday afternoon.

Catch up with all the weekend antics from the Premier League in Monday Morning Leftback 

Norwich City 1 Stoke City 1: Stoke manager Mark Hughes revealed goalkeeper Jack Butland defied a broken finger to produce his man-of-the-match display at Carrow Road.