Chelsea's Premier League lead is down to nine points, and that could be cut to six today.
Second-place Manchester United will know what its chances are of catching the Blues before it kicks off at Bolton today. If Chelsea tumbles at relegation-threatened Birmingham in a game that kicks off early, the title race could be back on with six games still to play.
"It is going to be tough for United," said West Ham manager Alan Pardew, whose team lost 1-0 at United on Wednesday. "Chelsea are a team who can get results and they have proved it over the season. But United are making a really good fist of it and you cannot ask for any more than that."
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea was 18 points ahead only two weeks ago before a 1-0 loss at Fulham gave the chasing teams a glimpse of a chance.
Although the Blues responded with a 2-0 victory over Manchester City, Manchester United -- which had games in hand -- has made up ground thanks to a run of five league victories in a row, including Wednesday's win over West Ham.
"We're in great form at the moment and looking forward to every match," said Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, whose team has 69 points to Chelsea's 78 and has a five-point advantage over third-place Liverpool with a game to spare.
The chances of Chelsea losing at Birmingham appear slim, however.
Steve Bruce's Birmingham is in a depressing run of form, losing 7-0 at home to Liverpool in the FA Cup a week ago and 3-0 at Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday. It has lost its last three league and cup games, scoring none and conceding 12.
While 18th-place Birmingham is threatened with relegation from the top flight, Chelsea is reportedly close to signing Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack and AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko.
But Chelsea's recent form, including the surprise loss at Fulham, gives Bruce's team a slight chance. Blues striker Didier Drogba came in for heavy criticism after handling the ball for one goal in Saturday's victory over Manchester City and admitting that he sometimes dives -- a statement he later retracted.
By contrast, traditional rivals Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are in standout form. Fourth-place Tottenham has won three of its last four games and lost one of its last seven.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, returning to the United starting lineup after spending five games on the bench, scored the only goal against the Hammers. That took him ahead of Arsenal's Thierry Henry in the Premier League scorers' list with 20.
Ferguson's decision to drop the Dutch striker prompted speculation that Van Nistelrooy might be leaving Old Trafford. The veteran manager said it was part of his strategy to give all his strikers some action.
"When we were at our very best, we had four great strikers," Ferguson said. "It was one of the factors in us winning the [league, FA Cup and Champions League] treble. We had great players at the time and everyone did their job.
"If we can do that again and get four strikers competing for the position, and we can rotate them at the right moments, that has to be good for the club."
Liverpool has won four league and cup games in a row with a combined goals tally of 18. Today, it goes to another relegation-threatened club, West Bromwich Albion, and has a great record against the Baggies.
Liverpool has won its last five meetings with West Brom with a combined goals tally of 17-0 and has won its last two visits to the Hawthorns 5-0 and 6-0.
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