LONDON, England (AP) — Newcastle capitalised on a stalemate between Arsenal and Chelsea to maintain their surge toward qualification for next season’s Champions League, easing past Stoke, 3-0, to claim a sixth straight victory and climb into the English Premier League’s top four yesterday.

Papiss Demba Cisse scored for the sixth match in a row and Yohan Cabaye grabbed two goals in a superb individual display for Newcastle, who are is now just three points behind third-placed Arsenal, having played a game fewer.

Tottenham continued their freefall by dropping a place to fifth following a 1-0 loss at relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers, which left Harry Redknapp’s team three points outside the Champions League positions.

Chelsea rode their luck to escape with a 0-0 draw at Arsenal, who struck the goal frame twice, and are now four points behind Newcastle with only four games left.

The battle against relegation took another twist thanks to Blackburn’s 2-0 win over Norwich that lifted Steve Kean’s team above Bolton, who fell to next to last with a 1-1 draw against Swansea.

Fifth-bottom Wigan’s stunning recent run, which included wins over league leaders Manchester United and Arsenal, came to an end with a 2-1 loss to Fulham, while Aston Villa drew 0-0 with Sunderland in the other match.