Middlesbrough and Newcastle look doomed but Blackburn, Portsmouth and Bolton are all safe after a dramatic penultimate day of Premier League action that began with Manchester United being crowned champions.

"Two big home games to save our season" were the words of Alan Shearer two weeks ago. Well, after beating Middlesbrough Shearer's Newcastle succumbed to Fulham to leave themselves in the bottom three going into the final day.

Boro themselves looked like they might perform mission impossible when they led Aston Villa but a draw, coupled with Hull's point at Bolton, means Gareth Southgate's men rely on some hugely generous results if they are to survive.

Elsewhere, Tottenham will challenge Fulham all the way for seventh after they beat Manchester City, while Everton moved up to fifth by beating West Ham. Meanwhile, manager of the season Tony Pulis took Stoke up to 11th with victory over Wigan.

Middlesbrough find themselves in the deepest trouble going into the final day after Tuncay Sanli's brilliant opener was cancelled out by John Carew for Aston Villa. Boro now need to beat West Ham next week whilst hoping Manchester United can stick a few past Hull - who have a four-goal advantage.

Newcastle drop back into the relegation zone after they were well beaten 1-0 by Fulham thanks to Diomansy Kamara's first half finish. Sebastien Bassong saw red in the second half for a professional foul, so he will not be present as The Magpies go searching for a point at Aston Villa, whilst hoping Hull are defeated by Manchester United. Victory for Fulham means they are assured of European football if Tottenham fail to beat Liverpool on the final day.

Hull go into the deciding day in the driving seat after they battered Bolton for a 1-1 draw at The Reebok. Gretar Steinsson had Bolton ahead, but Craig Fagan punished a Danny Shittu mistake to level, before Jussi Jaaskelainen made a string of world class saves to deny Hull a crucial victory - securing Bolton's safety in the process. Hull now face champions United on the final day, realistically knowing that they need Newcastle to lose in order to stay up.

At the top of the table, Manchester United secured their 18th Premier League title with a 0-0 draw against Arsenal. The Gunners pressed hard for a winner that would have kept the title race alive, but United's defense held firm to enable the party to get well-and-truly underway at Old Trafford.

In the chase for European football, Tottenham beat Manchester City 2-1 thanks to goals from Jermaine Defoe and Robbie Keane (pen), either side of Valeri Bojinov's leveller. Spurs now need Fulham to lose on the final day so that they can snatch seventh spot by beating Liverpool.

Everton moved ahead of Aston Villa into fifth spot with a 3-1 triumph over West Ham. The Hammers had led through Radoslav Kovac's 30-yard cracker, but James Tomkins saw red for bringing down Tim Cahill, allowing Louis Saha to net the first of two goals on the day while Joseph Yobo also netted. Defeat ends West Ham's European hopes.

The other game of the day saw Stoke give themselves of a quite superb chance of a top half finish, beating Wigan 2-0. Ricardo Fuller and James Beattie grabbed the goals to leave The Potters two points behind 10th-placed Manchester City going into the final day.