Spurs edge ahead in race for Champions League

Tottenham Hotspur edged closer to a possible Champions League place with a 2-1 victory at Stoke City keeping them clear of the pack in the race for fourth place in the Premier League.

Goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen and Niko Kranjcar earned Spurs the win against a Stoke side reduced to 10 men early in the second half when Dean Whitehead was dismissed.

Victory took them on to 55 points from 30 matches, four points ahead of Liverpool, who face leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Aston Villa, also in the race for fourth, stumbled in their lunchtime kickoff when they were held to a 2-2 draw by their relegation-threatened local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers. Villa remained in seventh place on 50 points.

Hull City, playing their first game under new coach Iain Dowie and battling against the drop, lost 3-2 at Championship-bound bottom club Portsmouth, who scored twice in the last two minutes to seal a rare win.

In the other afternoon matches, Everton beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0, Sunderland beat Birmingham City 3-1 and Wigan Athletic beat Burnley 1-0.

- Reuters