Tiredness and pressure start to tell at the summit

With only four matches to go in the English Premiership, both Manchester United and Chelsea forfeited two points in their last outing as fatigue and pressure are starting to show on the players.

United, held by Middlesbrough 1-1 at Old Trafford, left the door open for Chelsea to close the gap to one point but 24 hours later the Blues offered nothing at Newcastle where the spoils were shared in a goalless draw.

From the remaining fixtures, United must play three away matches and Chelsea will be involved three times at Stamford Bridge.

The two teams also had the midweek first legs of the Champions League semi-final at the back of their minds. United, with key defenders missing, made English football proud following a remarkable performance against Milan. Their 3-2 win was merited and left armchair viewers on the edge of their seats. Paul Scholes's pass to Wayne Rooney for the second goal was sheer fantasy.

Chelsea are holding an edge over Liverpool following their 1-0 win on Wednesday. But if Liverpool raise their game at Anfield they can still turn the tables on their opponents.

United and Chelsea have an early kick-off this afternoon. While United play at Goodison Park against Everton, Chelsea will entertain Bolton at home.

Jose Mourinho, now with the backing of the board for next season, is kicking himself for his side's failure at Newcastle to capitalise.

Chelsea beat Bolton 5-1 last season (Drogba 2, Lampard 2, Gudjohnsen - Giannakopoulos). The Red Devils, having won 3-0 at Old Trafford against Everton, will be looking to chalk up their 11th double of the season.

Cristiano Ronaldo made a clean sweep of the PFA awards, lifting both the Player of the Year and the Young Player of the Year to emulate Andy Gray's feat with Aston Villa in 1977.

This week, the United winger also earned the accolade of 'Fans Player of the Year'.

Chelsea fans were left fuming since only one player (Didier Drogba) was named in the PFA team while United had eight. The other two were Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) and Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham).

Liverpool there

After beating Wigan at home, Liverpool cemented their place in the Champions League for next season. While Liverpool are favourites to finish third as they did last year, the 2005/06 final points total of 82 points cannot be reached this time.

This afternoon, Liverpool travel to the south coast to tackle Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Pompey are eighth in the standings but can still achieve their goal and qualify for Europe.

This year, teams that finish fifth, sixth and seventh will all claim a UEFA Cup entry.

The London derby between Arsenal and Fulham will be on at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow. Arsene Wenger has shown once more his loyalty to honour his contract at Arsenal after his closest ally David Dein left the club.

He remarked that he wanted to keep the club 'stable' and had also agreed to choose the man to fill the void left by Dein. Wenger insisted that he was not opposed to foreign ownership at the club.

New Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez saw his side claim a point against Blackburn but the Cottagers are still in murky waters.

On Monday night, Reading, who along with Everton and Bolton are bracketed in the zone for a place in Europe, square up to Newcastle at the Madejski Stadium.

In addition to this fixture the remaining games for the trio read: Everton - Portsmouth (home), Chelsea (away); Bolton - West Ham (away), Aston Villa (home); Reading - Watford (home), Blackburn (away).

Royals' schemer-cum-scorer Step-hen Hunt promised the fans that there was no way they would do 'a West Ham' next season. Michael Owen will probably line up for Newcastle for his first match of the season sequel to his injury in the World Cup last year.

Tottenham, who had to wait for the very last moments of the London derby to equalise against Arsenal, could have lost manager Martin Jol had the Gunners won the match.

Jol succeeded in stirring a commotion at White Hart Lane, but many believe that the cash he had spent should have put Spurs in a position to fight for a Champions League berth.

The Spurs, who travel to Middlesbrough, have not won in their last five league and cup outings. Boro have shown leaders Manchester United that they are still their bogey team even if Steve McClaren has left the Riverside Stadium.

At Ewood Park, Blackburn cross swords with Charlton. While the Rovers appear to have given up hope of playing in Europe next season, Charlton struggle on to stay in the Premiership.

Blackburn concentrated much of their efforts on the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

In the meantime, they won only one match from three prior to that showdown.

When Stuart Pearce was about to get the sack, Manchester City players came in to his rescue and City are now in safer waters. They play hosts to Aston Villa today.

Following their gutsy performances of late, Sheffield United will be out to collect three priceless points against demoted Watford at Bramall Lane. The Blades have lost only once in their last seven home matches.

Another relegation struggle is the clash between Wigan and West Ham.

Only three points separate the two sides with Wigan on the outside (of the drop zone) looking in. The Hammers' leading scorer Bobby Zamora is playing through pain to help his club fight the drop.