Sky Bet Championship leaders Wolves missed out on the chance to extend their advantage at the top of the table as they were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Preston.
Helder Costa grabbed a second-half equaliser for Wolves almost immediately after John Welsh was dismissed for a second yellow card, Alan Browne having put the hosts ahead just after the break.
A draw ended Wolves’ run of three successive victories as their lead at the top was trimmed to 11 points, while the in-form Lilywhites remained just outside of the play-off spots.
Fulham got the better of promotion rivals Aston Villa with a 2-0 win at Craven Cottage.
Neither side had lost a league game in 2018 at the start of the day but second-half goals from Ryan Sessegnon and Floyd Ayite saw Villa’s winning run end at seven.
That allowed Cardiff to move into second place with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
Sean Morrison headed home Junior Hoilett’s free-kick after 32 minutes to seal the points for the Bluebirds.
Struggling Sunderland slumped to a third defeat in four games as Brentford claimed a 2-0 win at the Stadium of Light.
Kamohelo Mokotjo opened the scoring after 13 minutes and Neal Maupay fired a second 15 minutes later to leave Chris Coleman’s side separated from the foot of the table only by goal difference.
Bolton also remained in trouble after a 2-0 defeat at QPR.
The sending off of Mark Little for a foul on Massimo Luongo 10 minutes into the second half swung the momentum crucially in Rangers’ favour, and they made their numerical advantage tell with goals from Joel Lynch and Matt Smith.
Birmingham are also looking over their shoulders after Fred Onyedinma’s goal with 13 minutes remaining secured Millwall’s third successive away win with a 1-0 victory at St Andrew’s.
Elsewhere, bottom side Burton picked up a welcome point with a goalless draw against Nottingham Forest, who had Eric Lichaj sent off in the first half.
