Premier League on Betfair: Rooney brace fires United towards Champions League football

There were two goals for Rooney in an easy home win for United

Wayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United beat Sunderland at Old Trafford on what was a bad day for teams at the wrong end of the Premier League table...

On a low scoring day in the Premier League, Manchester United made a significant move in their bid for Champions League football next season - they can be backed at 1.774/5 for a Top Four Finish - while ensuring Sunderland remain deep in the relegation mire.

But defeats for Burnley, Aston Villa and Hull meant the Black Cats' relegation rivals did not capitalise on United's 11th league win of the season at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney was United's hero, scoring both goals in a 2-0 win that sends his team into third place, though Arsenal have a chance to leapfrog Lous van Gaal's men if they beat Everton on Sunday.

Tim Sherwood lost again in his second game as Aston Villa manager, going down by a lone goal at Newcastle. Villa remain in the bottom three and are 2.26/5 to go down.

That suggests the Midlands outfit will dodge the drop but the same cannot be said of Burnley , who are well fancied to be playing Championship football next season after their 1-0 home defeat to Swansea. Sean Dyche's team are 1.3130/100 to play just a solitary season of Premier League football.

A four point gap between the Clarets and Hull gives Steve Bruce's side a handy cushion in their bid to beat the drop, but they can still be backed at 4.03/1 to fall out of the top-flight. A lone Peter Crouch goal was enough to give Mark Hughes' outfit a sixth home win of the season.

Southampton were the day's fourth 1-0 losers, going down at West Brom to a Saido Berahino goal in the second minute of their clash at The Hawthorns. Tony Pulis appears to have already achieved his only goal of saving West Brom from the drop - they trade at 24.023/1 to go down.

Crystal Palace were the day's only heavy scorers - hitting three goals past West Ham's Adrian in a tremendous away win at Upton Park. The 1-3 scoreline was backed at 110.0109/1.