City move up to second; Liverpool held by West Brom

Manchester City made hard work of securing three points in the Premier League on Saturday as they beat FA Cup finalists Aston Villa 3-2.

Sergio Aguero gave City the lead on three minutes after a horrible mistake by Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

And Manuel Pellegrini's side looked comfortable when they doubled their lead in the second half, Aleksandar Kolarov curling in a free kick.

However, Tom Cleverley pulled a goal back just two minutes later before Carlos Sanchez pounced on an unconvincing punch by goalkeeper Joe Hart to make it 2-2.

But 60 seconds later City were back in front as Fernandinho rifled in to secure three points and propel the side into second place, a point above Arsenal who have two games in hand.

Liverpool's slim hopes of finishing in the top four suffered a significant setback as they were held to a goalless draw at West Bromwich Albion.

Steven Gerrard was included in the starting XI as he made his 500th Premier League appearance, while Mario Balotelli was given a rare chance in the Liverpool attack, but Brendan Rodgers' side struggled to create any chances during a dreary first half.

The visitors showed some improvement in the second half, with Jordan Henderson passing up a good opportunity while Jordon Ibe hit the woodwork, but ultimately they came away from The Hawthorns with a point that will do little to bolster their chances of returning to the Champions League.

Tottenham remain one point ahead of Southampton after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 at Southampton.

Southampton took the lead on 29 minutes when Ryan Mason slipped in possession and Ben Davies dallied, allowing Graziano Pelle to steal in and poke the ball home.

However, Spurs were level at the break, with Erik Lamela diverting an Eric Dier cross past Kelvin Davis in the 43rd minute, seemingly with the use of his arm.

Pelle restored Saints' lead with his second of the game on 65 minutes when he rose to head home a Shane Long cross, but the lead did not last long, with Dier playing in Nacer Chadli to equalise on 70 minutes.

The result does little to advance either team's faint chances of finishing in the top four but both remain very much in contention for next season's Europa League.

In-form Leicester continued their resurgence with a 1-0 victory at Burnley.

Burnley won a penalty just before the hour mark when Matthew Taylor was tripped, but his spot kick came back off the post, and Sean Dyche's men were punished instantly.

Marc Albrighton's cross took a deflection from Michael Duff and, after Tom Heaton's attempt to rescue it, Jamie Vardy was on hand to nudge it home to ensure a fourth straight win for the Foxes.

That proved decisive as Leicester moved one point clear of the relegation zone, with Sunderland dropping down into 18th after they were held to a 1-1 draw at Stoke.

Sunderland were in front within the opening few seconds when Connor Wickham pounced on an error by Potters goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

Stoke deservedly equalised in the 27th minute as Charlie Adam continued his recent goalscoring heroics by cracking home an unstoppable shot, moments after Jermain Defoe had spurned a fine chance for the visitors.

There were decent opportunities for either side to win the match after the break, but it finished with honours even, with Costel Pantilimon diving to keep out another Adam strike at the end.

Dame N'Doye's second-half brace handed Hull hope of avoiding the drop as they won 2-0 at Crystal Palace.

Misfiring striker N'Doye wasted several chances before first tapping in from two yards, then blasting home at the end as Hull claimed their first win in seven matches.

Victory ensured Hull stay above the drop zone, but in no way eases their relegation fears, with Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United still ahead.

John Carver's problems took a turn for the worse as Swansea beat Newcastle 3-2, condemning the Magpies to a club-record seventh successive Premier League defeat.

Newcastle, who started the day just seven points clear of the relegation zone, went into first-half stoppage time leading through Ayoze Perez's 20th-minute strike, but surrendered their advantage before they returned to the dressing room when striker Nelson Oliveira took advantage of weak defending to head home, and capitulated within five minutes of the restart as Gylfi Sigurdsson gave the visitors the lead.

Jack Cork put the Swans further ahead 19 minutes from time and, although Siem de Jong marked his return from an eight-month injury nightmare with an 88th-minute goal, he could not prevent his side from slipping to a 3-2 loss.

Charlie Austin missed a first-half penalty as QPR's survival hopes were left hanging by a thread after they were held to a goalles draw by West Ham.

Both teams had chances to take all three points at Loftus Road but the best fell to Austin when James Collins handled in the area but the striker's spot kick was saved by Adrian's legs.

Richard Dunne also had a header ruled out in the second period as Rangers remained 19th in the table and slipped four points adrift of safety.