Liverpool prepared for a must-win Champions League match against FC Basel in midweek with an uninspiring 0-0 draw against Sunderland.
Brendan Rodgers' side failed to meet the desired standards in the first half at Anfield, but a belated improvement in the final half-hour did not prove enough to secure the points. Simon Mignolet even produced a fine save from Jordi Gomez's drive from distance to ensure the afternoon did not end with another setback.
Hull City and West Bromwich Albion reinforced the reasons behind their place in the relegation mire with a scoreless draw at the KC Stadium. The primary talking point occurred after just eight minutes when Allan McGregor saved Graham Dorrans' penalty. McGregor produced a decent save from Craig Gardner's second-half free kick to ensure his misfiring side secured a point.
At Loftus Road, QPR clambered out of the relegation zone with a deserved 2-0 win over Burnley thanks to goals from Leroy Fer and Charlie Austin. Fer opened the scoring for QPR just after the break, with Austin and Bobby Zamora combining to set up Fer, whose shot deflected into the net off Ben Mee.
Austin then doubled the lead and sealed the points 15 minutes from time, slipping home from close range after a nice pull-back from Mauricio Isla. But Austin quickly went from hero to goat, getting sent off a minute later for his second yellow card of the afternoon, a cheap foul on Michael Keane. That's likely to be costly for QPR as Austin is currently their hottest striker.
Tottenham were lucky to leave White Hart Lane with a point after an inspired show from Crystal Palace failed to produce a goal. Hugo Lloris was called upon several times to foil Jason Puncheon, and Yannick Bolasie should have seen a reward from some brilliant trickery that ended with a shot just over the Spurs bar.
Spurs are now mired in tenth ahead of the late game in Manchester and manager Mauricio Pochettino will be under even more pressure to turn it around. Right now, Spurs are an expensive side that look nothing like a true team.
