Newcastle United surged toward Champions League qualification with a 3-0 home win over Stoke City to move into fourth spot in the Premier League Saturday as rivals Arsenal and Chelsea ground out a 0-0 draw and Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 at lowly Queens Park Rangers. Two goals by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye and one from Papiss Cisse gave Newcastle a sixth straight victory to put it three points above Tottenham Hotspur and three behind third-placed Arsenal with a game in hand. Chelsea, which dug in for a point at Arsenal despite making eight changes from the side that beat Barcelona in midweek, is now four points behind Newcastle with four games left and struggling to qualify for next season's Champions League. Tottenham's dismal run, which has brought only one win in nine league games, continued as former player Adel Taarabt scored QPR's winner with a free kick before halftime to lift it three points clear of the relegation zone. Taarabt was later shown a red card but QPR held on. Blackburn Rovers gave itself fresh hope of avoiding the drop with a 2-0 home defeat of Norwich City although it stayed in the bottom three, while fellow struggler Bolton Wanderers drew 1-1 at home to Swansea City. Wigan Athletic came down to earth after back-to-back wins against Manchester United and Arsenal by losing 2-1 at Fulham, while Aston Villa is still looking over its shoulder after drawing 0-0 at home to Sunderland. The battle for the Premier League title continues Sunday, when leaders Manchester United host Everton and second-placed Manchester City goes to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers, which will be relegated unless it wins. Sandwiched between the first and second legs of Chelsea's Champions League semifinal against Barcelona, the lunchtime London derby at the Emirates proved unappetizing with a draw not much use to either club in the light of Newcastle's victory. In the battle to finish in the top four, Arsenal has 65 points from 35 matches, Newcastle has 62 from 34, while Tottenham has 59 from 34. Chelsea, which will try to defend a 1-0 lead in the Nou Camp Tuesday, is sixth with 58 from 34.
