Wounded Foxes bare teeth in survival fight

Villa Europa push

Aston Villa had looked in danger of relegation when Unai Emery took over in October.

His predecessor Steven Gerrard had left the club after securing just two league wins, with the team one place above the bottom three.

Emery has turned Villa's fortunes around in spectacular fashion, with Tuesday's 1-0 win against Fulham moving it up to fifth and in contention to qualify for the Europa League.

Villa's rise has come on the back of a run of 10 games without defeat, including eight wins.

Tyrone Mings scored the only goal of the game against Fulham.

"We are in the top 10. We are in the Europa position," Emery said. "There's still Liverpool and Tottenham and Brighton (to play) and we are going to fight with them but with each match we are winning, it is giving us confidence and a chance to get there."

Wolves' fears ease

Wolves are up to 13th after a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace put top-flight safety within reach.

Joachim Andersen scored an own-goal after three minutes and Ruben Neves struck from the penalty spot in stoppage time to secure the three points.

Julen Lopetegui's team is now nine points ahead of the relegation zone after recovering from the setback of losing to relegation rival Leicester over the weekend.

"We are happy," Lopetegui said. "Three days ago we were sad and today we are happy because we got a good victory against a good team. We had to suffer but we got the win."

United bidding war

Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus insisted again on Tuesday his second offer to buy Manchester United still stands.

Zilliacus said earlier this month he would not be entering a third round of bidding, accusing existing United owners the Glazer family of turning the process into a "farce".

But he said then his second-round offer remained on the table ahead of a deadline for third bids to be submitted on April 28.

And he reiterated his position on Tuesday, saying on Twitter: "As said when I announced that I would not do a new third-round bid, I have today informed the bank handling the sale of United that my bid from round two stands. My bid does not have a cap. The final price is subject to negotiations with the sellers #ManchesterUnited #UnitedWeStand."

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe both submitted a second bid last month.

Several offers are understood to have been received in recent weeks but Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe remain the front-runners should the Glazers give up control of the club they bought in 2005 for 790 million pounds ($980 million).

United's unpopular US-based owners announced in November they were conducting a strategic review, with the sale of the club one option being considered along with external investment.

Agencies via Xinhua