Manchester United went top of the English Premier League after they ended Tottenham's winning run with a 3-1 victory on Saturday.
Spurs beat Arsenal and Chelsea in their last two games but Ryan Giggs scored two second-half penalties and Nani struck another goal to take the defending champions to 79 points with two games remaining.
Chelsea has 77 points ahead of its game against Stoke on Sunday.
Tottenham can still qualify for the Champions League for the first time if it wins its remaining three matches, after third- place Arsenal held Manchester City to a 0-0 draw.
The draw left Arsenal on 72 points and formally ended its chances of winning the title. City has 63 points, one fewer than Tottenham, which plays at City on May 5.
Tottenham's hopes of finishing the season in fourth place above City, which has spent about 200 million pounds (307 million dollars) on players over the past two years in an effort to break into the elite.
West Ham has 34 points after beating visiting Wigan 3-2, so 19th-placed Burnley could be demoted if it fails to beat Liverpool in one of Sunday's four matches.
Wigan was holding the Hammers to 2-2 with 13 minutes left when midfielder Scott Parker smashed in a 25-meter shot.
Hull had United States striker Jozy Altidore sent off and slipped closer to relegation with a 1-0 loss to Sunderland.
The result left Hull in 18th place with 28 points. The Tigers' only chance of avoiding relegation is to win both its remaining games by big margins and hope West Ham loses its last two matches.
Aruna Dindane scored twice for Portsmouth to lead the relegated team from 2-0 down to a 2-2 draw at Bolton, while Wolverhampton Wanderers is safe from demotion after Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's 81st- minute goal secured a 1-1 draw against Blackburn.
Aston Villa tries to close on fourth place when it hosts Birmingham on Sunday, when Everton hosts Fulham.
With Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion having already clinched the League Championship promotion spots, Leicester joined Nottingham Forest and Cardiff in the playoffs with a 1-0 win at Preston.
Blackpool is in sixth place and the final playoff spot ahead of next week's final round of League Championship matches.