Aston Villa win thriller; Gibbs-White bags hat-trick in Forest's victory

Ollie Watkins scored twice for Villa, who moved level on 58 points with third-placed Manchester United, three clear of Liverpool.

England forward Watkins' early opener was cancelled out by Sunderland's Chris Rigg but Watkins restored Villa's lead in the 36th minute with his second headed goal of the game.

Morgan Rogers gave Villa breathing space with a third shortly after the restart but Unai Emery's team nearly threw it away as first Trai Hume and then Wilson Isidor scored within a minute for Sunderland.

But there was still time for Tammy Abraham to grab a dramatic late winner.

"What a position we are in, semi-final of European competition (Europa League) and pole position to qualify for top five," said captain John McGinn.

"We can go and achieve what not many Aston Villa players have done for a long time. We're keen to do that and we're driven, five big games left to try and get ourselves over the line."

Nottingham Forest, involved in a relegation scrap with West Ham and Tottenham, fell behind against Burnley but Gibbs-White put on a second-half masterclass to seal an ultimately comfortable win.

Forest are five points clear of 18th-placed Spurs, with Wolves and Burnley almost certainly doomed.

Tottenham could only manage a 2-2 draw at home to Brighton on Saturday to move a point behind West Ham, who travel to face Crystal Palace on Monday.