Manchester City went two points clear at the top of the English Premier League following a 4-0 win at home to Aston Villa while Sunderland ensured of their Premier League status with a 2-0 win over West Brom.

With Liverpool watching their title ambitions go up in smoke after the 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday, Man. City had the chance to take the initiative in the title race but Villa proved stubborn opponents.

Following a goalless first half at the Etihad Stadium however, Edin Dzeko finally settled the nerves with the opener just after the hour mark, adding a second minutes later to send City on their way to a comfortable result.

Goals from Stevan Jovetic and a superb solo effort from Yaya Toure late on completed the night for City, who now need to only avoid defeat at home to West Ham this weekend to win the Premier League title.

Sunderland meanwhile secured their place in the Premier League thanks to first half goals from Jack Colback and Fabio Borini in their match against West Brom at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland’s win also meant Norwich City will be relegated from the Premier League, barring freak results that would see Norwich score a big win against Arsenal and West Brom lose by a lot of goals against Stoke City.