United were able to see off Spurs without the services of Wayne Rooney. When Harry Redknapp saw the teamsheet he must have had high hopes that his team could beat all the top three sides within a week but the Londoners never really threatened at Old Trafford.

Chelsea were facing a Stoke side that were unbeaten away from home since January but Carlo Ancelotti selected an aggressive line up with all three of his main strikers in the side. His boldness paid off as Salomon Kalou came up with a hat-trick to make the victory something of a stroll.

The title race seems likely to be decided by Chelsea’s trip to Anfield. Ancelotti has to assume Manchester United will take six points from their final pair of fixtures though a visit to Sunderland is no walkover.

Tottenham’s defeat and Manchester City’s inability to find a goal against Arsenal proved to be great news for Aston Villa. Martin O’Neill’s side now have a realistic chance of grabbing fourth place again after looking out of it just a couple of weeks ago.

Villa were lucky to get past their city rivals Birmingham. A James Milner penalty separated the two clubs and the decision against centre half Roger Johnson was certainly marginal, to say the least. At the time, Birmingham appeared the side more likely to force a win.

At the bottom, the relegation issues were just about settled. West Ham forced a 3-2 win over Wigan Athletic which sent Burnley down when the Clarets crashed 4-0 at home to Liverpool. Happily for the Londoners, Wigan had just about secured their future by beating Arsenal at the DW Stadium.

West Ham’s victory all but confirmed Hull City’s relegation too. The Tigers would need to win both their remaining games and turn around a massive deficit on goal difference to catch the London club- even assuming West Ham lose both their matches.

Liverpool’s win is significant because they could still finish fourth- though it is unlikely- and so Chelsea will have a tough encounter when they visit Anfield next week.

Related posts:

1. Chelsea Take Advantage Of Manchester United Defeat at Everton
2. Burnley and Hull City Hot Favourites To Go Down
3. Chelsea v Manchester City: Tough Times For Roberto Mancini

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