London - Middlesbrough's hopes of avoiding relegation from the English Premier League suffered another blow on Saturday as they were held to a goalless draw at home by Fulham.

Victory could have lifted them out of the bottom three, but with Sunderland beating Hull City 1-0, they are now still four points away from safety, although they did move above Newcastle United into 18th place.

Djibril Cisse's goal, just before half-time, gave Sunderland all three points against Hull, who are now just two places above the bottom three themselves.

Blackburn Rovers are one place worse off than Hull, behind them on goals scored, after they were beaten 1-0 at Stoke City, who now appear safe.

Portsmouth also look safe after they scraped their way to a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers thanks to Kanu's second-half goal.

Aston Villa's slim hopes of overtaking Arsenal in fourth to claim a Champions League spot were dealt another blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by West Ham United.

Emile Heskey put the home side ahead early on, but Diego Tristan headed the equalizer to leave Villa still seven points behind Arsenal, having played a game more.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, meanwhile, won promotion to the Premier League next season. (dpa)