Yahoo News Crystal Palace and West Ham force breathing space in relegation battle as Swansea and Hull lose
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.
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
1 | Chelsea | 31 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 40 | 75 |
2 | Tottenham | 32 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 46 | 71 |
3 | Liverpool | 32 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 28 | 63 |
4 | Man City | 31 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 61 |
5 | Everton | 33 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 23 | 57 |
6 | Manchester United | 30 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 22 | 57 |
7 | Arsenal | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 54 |
8 | West Brom | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | -2 | 44 |
9 | Southampton | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 40 |
10 | Watford | 32 | 11 | 7 | 14 | -15 | 40 |
11 | Stoke | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | -11 | 39 |
12 | Leicester | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | -12 | 37 |
13 | West Ham | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | -15 | 37 |
14 | Burnley | 33 | 10 | 6 | 17 | -14 | 36 |
15 | Crystal Palace | 32 | 10 | 5 | 17 | -8 | 35 |
16 | Bournemouth | 33 | 9 | 8 | 16 | -18 | 35 |
17 | Hull City | 33 | 8 | 6 | 19 | -33 | 30 |
18 | Swansea City | 33 | 8 | 4 | 21 | -31 | 28 |
19 | Middlesbrough | 31 | 4 | 12 | 15 | -15 | 24 |
20 | Sunderland | 32 | 5 | 6 | 21 | -32 | 21 |
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.
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.
