Vardy on target as Leicester beat West Brom 1-0

Jamie Vardy pounced just before halftime to earn Leicester City a 1-0 over West Brom at The Hawthorns on Saturday, to take them closer to Premier League survival.

The win lifts reigning champions Leicester, who have spent much of the season facing the threat of relegation, up four places to the relative safety of 11th, nine points ahead of third-from-bottom side Swansea City, with four games to play.

Vardy netted in the 43rd minute after Shinji Okazaki snapped up a bad back pass and played him in, and the England striker slotted home his 12th league goal of the season.

Second-half substitute James McClean provided a much-needed injection of pace and trickery on the left for West Brom, but despite plenty of possession they could not find the back of the net, yet they remain eighth despite losing their last four league games and failing to score in five.

Stoke and West Ham fight out lively goalless draw

Stoke City and West Ham United both edged towards Premier League survival after Saturday's action-packed 0-0 draw kept them well clear of the relegation struggle below them.

Goalkeepers at both ends shone as Stoke's Jack Butland kept out two efforts by West Ham's Ghana forward Andrew Ayew, notably a spectacular overhead kick in the 36th minute, while he also thwarted Manuel Lanzini.

West Ham's Spanish shot-stopper Adrian denied Marko Arnautovic, Saido Berahino and Xherdan Shaqiri, the latter also missing Stoke's best chance of the match when he dragged his shot wide from close range.

Stoke piled on the pressure in the closing stages as they started whipping inviting crosses into West Ham's penalty area but the visitors held firm to stretch their unbeaten run to four games, albeit three of them draws.