Manchester United end Tottenham's winning run

Manchester United 3 Tottenham 1

Manchester United ended Tottenham's winning run Saturday with a 3-1 victory that kept up the pressure on Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.

Spurs beat Arsenal and Chelsea in their last two games but Ryan Giggs scored two second-half penalties and Nani struck another goal to take the defending champions to 79 points with two games remaining.

Chelsea has 77 points ahead of its game against Stoke on Sunday. Third-place Arsenal hosted Manchester City later Saturday.

"The main thing is we are top of the table with two games left," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "Who is to say what is going to happen? We have done our job."

At the other end of the standings, Hull had United States striker Jody Altidore sent off and slipped closer to relegation with a 1-0 loss to Sunderland.

England international Darren Bent had already put Sunderland ahead in the seventh minute with his 24th league goal of the season when both teams were reduced to 10 men.

Altidore and Sunderland defender Alan Hutton were sent off in the 50th for clash near the touchline. Hutton threw the ball at Altidore after it went out for a throw and the U.S. international responded with a head butt.

The result left Hull in 18th place with 28 points. The Tigers' only chance of avoiding relegation is to win both its remaining games by big margins and hope West Ham loses its last two matches.

"It's not worked out the way we wanted to," Hull chairman Adam Pearson said. "We've been in the bottom three all season. We just didn't have that bit of quality.

"I can't say it's been a huge surprise."

West Ham has 34 points after beating visiting Wigan 3-2, so 19th-place Burnley could be demoted if it fails to beat Liverpool in one of Sunday's four matches.

Wigan was holding the Hammers to 2-2 with 13 minutes left when midfielder Scott Parker smashed in a 25-meter (yard) shot.

Aruna Dindane scored twice for Portsmouth to lead the relegated team from 2-0 down to a 2-2 draw at Bolton, while Wolverhampton Wanderers is safe from demotion after Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's 81st-minute goal secured a 1-1 draw against Blackburn.

Aston Villa tries to close on fourth place when it hosts Birmingham on Sunday, when Everton hosts Fulham.

With Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion having already clinched the League Championship promotion spots, Leicester joined Nottingham Forest and Cardiff in the playoffs with a 1-0 win at Preston.

Blackpool is in sixth place and the final playoff spot ahead of next week's final round of League Championship matches.