Sluggish Chelsea draw with West Ham

Chelsea spurned the chance to take a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a lacklustre 1-1 draw at struggling West Ham United.

Penalties from Alessandro Diamanti and former West Ham player Frank Lampard either side of halftime left Chelsea four points ahead of champions Manchester United after 18 games while West Ham stayed second bottom, a point ahead of Portsmouth.

Chelsea have taken only five points from a possible 12 in the league this month, though United's form has also been inconsistent, with two defeats in four December matches.

In this morning's (NZ time) early games Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Burnley 2-0 while Everton drew 1-1 at home with Birmingham City.

Wolves were back to full strength after a toothless midweek excursion to Manchester United and the win has moved them out of the relegation zone.

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy made nine changes to the controversial line-up that lost 3-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday and was rewarded with goals in each half from Nenad Milijas and Kevin Doyle.

Wolves moved from 18th to 12th place on goal difference with 19 points to leapfrog Burnley while at a sodden Goodison Park struggling Everton were frustrated by a resilient Birmingham City 1-1 which takes the promoted club to seventh, above Liverpool on 28 points.

Everton moved up a place to 15th on 18 points, one behind Burnley.

McCarthy was widely criticised after he rested players in mid-week, making 10 changes at United to the team who had beaten Tottenham Hotspur the previous Saturday. The Premier League has asked for an explanation for his actions.

McCarthy, answering his critics, told the Wolves club radio: "I have to say that there has been one or two dubious characters who have been giving me a bit of stick. They have questioned my honesty and integrity when I think I stand up for all those things.

"I've never cheated in my life so that does bother me. I'm not looking for vindication by it, I'm looking for points."

MAIN AIM

The manager, whose main aim is to avoid relegation, could feel vindicated by his tactics with Milijas putting Wolves ahead in the 16th minute when he fired into an empty net after Brian Jensen parried Matt Jarvis's shot.

Doyle made it 2-0 in the 50th minute, beating Jensen after muscling past two defenders but was booked for removing his shirt in the goal celebration on one of the coldest days of the year.

"It showed didn't it, we were sharper from the off," Doyle told Sky Sports News when asked whether the Wolves players had benefited from the rest. "We were the fresher team at home."

In the later kickoff, Everton took an early lead when Russian Diniyar Bilyaletdinov gathered a Louis Saha flick on five minutes and slammed the ball into the net, beginning a spell of dominance over the visiting side.

Despite the pressure and terrible conditions Birmingham City, now unbeaten in nine league matches, refused to wilt and they levelled halfway into the first period when Sebastian Larsson finished off a slick passing move.

- Reuters