Manchester United made light of Wayne Rooney's absence through suspension as Dimitar Berbatov and Antonio Valencia fired them to a 2-0 win against Fulham, putting them 10 points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table.

The Cottagers spurned three early half-chances and were fully punished as Nani played a key role in setting up both goals with the Red Devils closing in on a record 19th top-flight crown.

Chelsea, who travel to Old Trafford in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, climbed to third in the table with a scrappy 1-0 success over Wigan, where Fernando Torres started on the bench.

The Latics, who had shipped 14 goals without reply in their last two games against the champions, were undone in the 67th minute as Florent Malouda forced home from a corner as the visitors failed to clear.

Everton pushed sorry Wolves closer to relegation as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Mick McCarthy's men at Molineux after some dismal defending from the hosts.

Read more of the NEWSCORE report at the Herald Sun ....