Hull in trouble as West Brom refuse to go quietly

Hull City's flirtation with Premier League football is looking increasingly unconvincing as they suffered yet another home defeat, this time to Stoke, which leaves them in deep trouble just one place above the relegation places and either Newcastle or Middlesbrough could leapfrog them in the table on Monday.

After a bright start they fell behind to a Ricardo Fuller after 41 minutes and in the second half a Liam Lawrence 25-yarder confirmed Stoke's win, despite a late consolation from Hull's Andy Dawson.

Hull now have one win and seven points in the last 18 games. For Stoke's part, the win guarantees them Premier League football next season.

Even further down the table West Brom earned themselves a stay of execution with a dynamic 3-1 home win over Wigan.

Two goals from Marc-Antoine Fortune and a penalty from Chris Brunt kept West Brom's hopes alive, they are now level on points with Newcastle and Middlesbrough - and three behind Hull.

Wigan's goal came from Hugo Rodallega, which was his first in the Premier League.

Sunderland battled hard against Bolton to earn a point that puts them five points clear of the drop zone. The Black Cats had by far the better of the game, but Kieran Richardson squandered several chances and in the end a last minute save from keeper Marton Fulop with the score still at 0-0 earned them the draw.

Blackburn may not yet be mathematically safe - they could still go down on goal difference - but their 2-0 win over Portsmouth saw them leapfrog the south coast side into 14th place and reach the magic 40 point mark. The goals came from Morton Gamst Pedersen and a Benni McCarthy penalty.

Pompey remain on 38 points in 15th spot, but will also be confident about their chances of staying up.

Fulham's excellent home form and Aston Villa's dismal run continued with a 3-1 win for the Cottager at Craven Cottage. The victory means Fulham remain in seventh position and on course for Europe. An early Danny Murphy penalty and two goals from Diomasy Camara in the second half secured the win, despite Ashley Young's first half strike that levelled the scores early on.

Everton and Spurs's encounter at Goodison Park ended goalless with the Toffees more concerned about the FA CUp and Tottenham safe. ·