One out of three was a poor return for west London clubs at the weekend - and the midlands is definitely a no-go area.

Birmingham did for QPR in a lunchtime kick-off on Saturday when Kevin Phillips struck from six yards out to ensure an unahppy return for a club that have taken only one point out of the last possible 12.

Up the road an hour later, WBA scrambled home a winner against Fulham courtesy of Roman Bednar to give the Whites nothing from three away trips this season.

But when the midlands visited west London on Sunday it was a different story.

Chelsea remain top of the Premiership pile because Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka's goals were a poor return for dominating Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.