Sunderland beat West Ham 1-0 to go seventh on 23 points and leave their opponents bottom of the league, while West Brom overcame Newcastle 3-1 to climb to the heady heights of eighth on 22.
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Sunderland and Manchester United are the only teams yet to lose at home this season and Steve Bruce's side were just about worth victory in a tight game.
After a flat opening half-hour at The Hawthorns Somen Tchoyi fashioned West Brom's opener with neat control on the edge of the box and curled the ball beyond Tim Krul after 32 minutes.
The second came after 71 when Newcastle's Danny Guthrie slipped to present Peter Odemwingie with a clear run on goal.
West Brom are the classic "yo-yo club", regularly swinging from Premier League relegation to Championship promotion, but they will harbour genuine hopes of survival this season.
Newcastle have been similarly inconsistent. A season that has brought a 6-0 win over Aston Villa, a 5-1 thrashing of Sunderland, victory at Arsenal and last week's draw with Chelsea also featured a 5-1 loss at Bolton Wanderers and home defeats by Stoke, Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool.
