Everton missed out on the chance to go level on points with near neighbours Liverpool in the battle for fourth place after Birmingham City claimed a point in a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Only the top four in England at the end of the season will qualify for the Champions League and Everton's draw left them two points behind fourth-placed Liverpool ahead of the Reds' match against Blackburn at Anfield on Sunday. At St Andrews, the match was deadlocked until Everton's England defender Joleon Lescott headed in from close range in the 78th minute.
But Argentina ace Mauro Zarate drew Birmingham level seven minutes from time with a 20 yard free-kick, a point leaving the Midlanders on the brink of the drop zone. Fulham and Bolton both gave themselves hope of Premier League survival with wins over Reading and West Ham respectively. Although they each remained in the bottom three, Bolton's 1-0 success saw them move to within two points of Birmingham.
Meanwhile Fulham's 2-0 victory at the Madejski Stadium - their first league win on their travels since 2006 - left them four points adrift of relegation rivals Birmingham.
Sunderland were left looking nervously over their shoulders after a late flurry of goals saw them lose 2-1 to Manchester City while their north-east rivals Middlesbrough too were left just seven points above the drop zone after a 1-1 draw away to Tottenham.
Aston Villa added to already-relegated Derby County's woes with a 6-0 thrashing of their Midlands rivals. Reigning champions Manchester United will go six points clear at the top if they beat Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday. But victory for the Gunners would see them go level on points with second-placed Chelsea.
The Blues, three points behind United heading into this latest round of fixtures, are not in action again until Monday when they face Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge.
Victory for FA Cup finalists Portsmouth over Newcastle United in Saturday's late kick-off at Fratton Park would see them close to within two points of Everton in the battle for fifth place and the UEFA Cup spot that goes with it. Brian McBride put Fulham ahead in the 24th minute, the United States international getting on the end of a Simon Davies cross.
Astonishingly, Fulham then hit the crossbar three times before Erik Nevlan's last minute goal secured all three points. The 100th goal of Kevin Davies's professional career sealed Bolton's victory at the Reebok Stadium in the 47th minute as West Ham lost 1-0 for the second time in a week following their defeat by Portsmouth.
Spurs went ahead at White Hart Lane in the 27th minute when Aaron Lennon's mishit shot went in off Middlesbrough defender Jonathan Grounds for an own-goal. English Premier League results
Birmingham 1 (Zarate 83) Everton 1 (Lescott 78); Bolton 1 (Davies 47) West Ham 0; Derby 0 Aston Villa 6 (Young 25, Carew 26, Petrov 36, Barry 58, Agbonlahor 76, Harewood 85); Reading 0 Fulham 2 (McBride 24, Nevland 90); Sunderland 1 (Whitehead 82) Manchester City 2 (Elano 79-pen, Vassell 87); Tottenham 1 (Grounds 27-og) Middlesbrough 1 (Downing 69)
PLAYING SUNDAY: Liverpool v Blackburn
Manchester United v Arsenal
PLAYING MONDAY: Chelsea v Wigan.
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