London, April 22 - Aston Villa kept alive their hopes of finishing fourth in the English Premier League with a comfortable 2-0 win over struggling Hull City at the KC Stadium on Wednesday night.

Goals from Gabriel Agbonlahor and James Milner took Villa above Liverpool into sixth place on 61 points, still three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have played a game less.

For Hull, the defeat brings the prospect of relegation ever closer. With only three games remaining, they sit in 18th place on 28 points, three points from safety.

The opening goal for Villa came after 13 minutes when poor defending from Hull left Agbonlahor space on the left edge of the penalty area to finish expertly past Matt Duke in the home goal.

A largely uneventful second half was partly overshadowed by what appeared to be a serious injury for Hull striker Jan Venegoor of Hesselink, who was carried from the pitch after a clash of heads with Villa defender Richard Dunne.

It was Agbonlahor again who had the best chance to add to the away side's lead, but his shot was tipped over the crossbar by Duke.

But shortly after, Hull captain George Boateng brought down James Milner in the area and the England midfielder himself fired in the penalty to confirm the three points for Villa. (IANS)