Premier League round-up: Wolves pile misery on West Ham as Brighton down Burnley

After Aston Villa’s 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest in the early kick-off, two more games were on offer in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Sticking around in the Midlands, West Ham travelled to Wolves for a huge clash at the bottom of the standings.

Both teams sit in the relegation zone, but with Forest losing, the Hammers had the chance to close the gap to just one point from safety.

On the other side, Wolves needed a win if they were to give themselves any chance or forcing their way out of the bottom spot.

In the other game, Brighton welcomed Burnley to the South Coast. The Seagulls are sitting pretty in the top half of the table, and were looking to keep their good form at the Amex up.

Burnley, however, remain desperate for wins under Scott Parker. Read on to see how both games unfolded in the top flight.

Wolves 3-0 West Ham

Wolves claimed a long-awaited Premier League victory with a commanding 3-0 win over West Ham at Molineux, ending their winless run in emphatic fashion.

The damage was done in an impressive first-half display from the hosts. Jhon Arias opened the scoring inside four minutes, steering home from close range after a well-worked move involving Mateus Mane and Hee-Chan Hwang.

Wolves doubled their advantage midway through the half when Hwang calmly converted from the penalty spot following a foul on Mane.

The third arrived before the break as 18-year-old Mane fired in his first senior goal for the club, capping a dominant spell.

West Ham struggled to respond and created very little across the 90 minutes, managing only sporadic efforts despite several half-time changes.

Brighton 2-0 Burnley

Brighton secured a comfortable 2-0 home win over Burnley to end a six-game Premier League winless run and move into the top eight.

The hosts controlled possession from the outset and took the lead just before the half-hour mark. After a sustained spell of pressure, Georginio Rutter reacted quickest to a deflected effort and finished from a tight angle to give Brighton a deserved advantage.

Burnley offered little in response, although they did force Bart Verbruggen into a late first-half save to keep the score at 1-0.

Any hope of a comeback was effectively ended moments after the restart. Yasin Ayari doubled Brighton’s lead with a precise right-footed strike into the bottom corner, capitalising on Burnley’s slow start to the second half.

Premier League fixtures and results this weekend

Elsewhere today, there was plenty more action in the Premier League.

On Sunday, six more games are on offer. Leeds welcome Manchester United in the early kick off, as Liverpool also take on Fulham, Sunderland travel to Tottenham, and in the big match, Manchester City host Chelsea.

Matches start at 15:00 GMT / 10:00 ET / 07:00 PT unless stated otherwise.

Saturday, January 3

Brighton vs Burnley

Wolves vs West Ham

Bournemouth vs Arsenal (17:30)

Sunday, January 4

Leeds vs Manchester United (12:30)

Everton vs Brentford

Fulham vs Liverpool

Newcastle vs Crystal Palace

Tottenham vs Sunderland

Manchester City vs Chelsea (17:30)