Crystal Palace and West Ham force breathing space in relegation battle as Swansea and Hull lose

Dejected: Hull remain two points above the drop zone despite defeat at Stoke
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Tom Dutton15 April 2017

Crystal Palace and West Ham edged a step close to Premier League survival as Hull and Swansea suffered defeats on Saturday.

The Eagles fought back from 2-0 down against champions Leicester to rescure a point and move seven points clear of the drop as Watford secured a narrow win over Swansea, who remain in bottom three after a costly error from Alfie Mawson.

Etienne Capoue capitalised on Mawson's sloppiness to score the only goal of a dull encounter, the 1-0 win taking Watford onto 40 points and all-but securing their top-flight status.

But it was a fifth loss in six games for the Swans, who failed to take advantage of Hull's 3-1 loss at Stoke and are swimming against the tide in their bid to avoid the drop.

It is looking increasingly like a survival shoot-out between Swansea and Hull, who remain two points above the drop zone despite their second defeat in as many games.

Xherdan Shaqiri's stunning 30-yard strike capped Stoke's victory, firing into the top corner with 10 minutes remaining.

PosTeamPWDLGDPts
1Chelsea3124344075
2Tottenham3221834671
3Liverpool3218952863
4Man City3118762561
5Everton3316982357
6Manchester United30151232257
7Arsenal3016682254
8West Brom3212812-244
9Southampton3011712040
10Watford3211714-1540
11Stoke3310914-1139
12Leicester3210715-1237
13West Ham3310716-1537
14Burnley3310617-1436
15Crystal Palace3210517-835
16Bournemouth339816-1835
17Hull City338619-3330
18Swansea City338421-3128
19Middlesbrough3141215-1524
20Sunderland325621-3221

Still without an away success in the league since August, Marco Silva's side had been level when Harry Maguire cancelled out Marko Arnautovic's opener, yet substitute Peter Crouch restored Stoke's lead before Shaqiri's moment of magic.

Burnley remain eight points clear of the drop despite their 3-1 defeat at Everton.

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West Ham are a further point ahead after Fabio Borini's late strike denied them all three points at the Stadium of Light, while Bournemouth dropped to 16th after their heavy loss at White Hart Lane.