Aston Villa 1-1 Ipswich Town

DEBUTANT GOALKEEPER ALEX Palmer helped 10-man Ipswich hold off Aston Villa to earn a valuable point in their quest for Premier League safety after a 1-1 draw at Villa Park.

Things looked dicey for the Tractor Boys when Axel Tuanzebe was sent off in the first half for picking up two yellow cards in the space of 12 minutes.

But Liam Delap put them in front when he flicked home in the 56th minute.

Ollie Watkins soon levelled for Villa, but a brilliant rearguard action, led by the unbeatable Palmer,

who made a string of saves, saw Kieran McKenna’s men hold on for a draw.

It moved them to within two points of safety ahead of Wolves’ visit to Liverpool on Sunday.

For Villa, who threw on January signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio, this was a big chance missed in their bid to qualify for the Champions League for a second successive season.

Dara O’Shea played the full game for Ipswich, with Jack Taylor coming off the bench late on.

West Ham 0-1 Brentford

Kevin Schade’s early goal gave Brentford a 1-0 win at West Ham, with Graham Potter’s spell in charge yet to work its magic.

The Hammers have had 12 days of fine-tuning under new boss Potter since their last match, a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea, and somehow they have got worse.

In a one-sided first half, Brentford scored after four minutes, had two goals disallowed and hit a post, with West Ham looking utterly powerless to stop them.

A triple substitution, and an encouraging debut from Evan Ferguson, saw an improvement after the break, but not enough to snatch a point as Brentford sat on what they had.

Nathan Collins played the full game for the Bees, battling with his Irish team-mate Ferguson in the second half.

Fulham showed their aerial dominance as two headed goals helped them secure a 2-1 win over Premier League top-four contenders Nottingham Forest.

Chris Wood netted his 18th goal of the season at Craven Cottage but it was not enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side as headers from Emile Smith Rowe and Calvin Bassey allowed Manchester City and Bournemouth to close the gap on Forest in third.

It was a third successive victory in all competitions for Fulham following back-to-back wins against Newcastle in the league and Wigan in the FA Cup last Saturday.

Southampton 1-3 Bournemouth

Ryan Christie starred as Bournemouth soared to fifth in the Premier League table by pushing south-coast rivals Southampton a step closer to relegation with a 3-1 win at St Mary’s.

Creative midfielder Christie conjured a fine assist for Dango Ouattara’s 14th-minute opener before swiftly firing home a superb second to help put the Cherries on the cusp of the Champions League qualification spots.

Substitute Marcus Tavernier sealed victory seven minutes from time after Kamaldeen Sulemana briefly created some jeopardy by halving Saints’ deficit.

Defeat for bottom club Southampton was their 20th of a miserable top-flight campaign as near neighbours Bournemouth deservedly claimed local bragging rights and a first league double in this fixture.

Ivan Juric’s beleaguered side sit 10 points from safety, having now played a game more than 17th-placed Wolves, while Andoni Iraola’s Cherries are dreaming of a maiden European adventure after climbing above Chelsea, on goal difference, and Newcastle.

Will Smallbone played 55 minutes in a rare start for the Saints, while Ryan Manning featured as a second-half substitute.